At the Movies with Kane and BN

[Kane52630]

John Wick: Chapter 4

Shout out to everyone in that club who witness a least 20 dudes getting murdered and continue to jam to some generic EDM music.

Fun I suppose but it's exhausting once it's over. I will say it's a slight improvement over the last two movies but the same problems I have with this franchise still remain. John Wick is still the least interesting thing about these movies and no offense to Keanu but his stilted acting doesn't help one bit. The Continental and the whole John Wick/Table lore continue to be even more idiotic the more they explain it or make sense of it. The three hour runtime makes it even more obvious that they don't have anything else to say where they stretched out every scene with no dialogue in favor of cool shots and lighting which were admittedly really good. Some actors were wasted like Bill Skarsgard and Clancy Brown who both were trying their best to be some cliche Bond villain. And once again there are also some obvious ripoffs to other classic films mainly The Warriors.

All that being said, the action does deliver and some of the side characters were really interesting. I thought Donnie Yen, Rina Sawayama, Hiroyuki Sanada, and surprisingly Scott Adkins (who does a great Penguin ripoff) were the best parts of this film. You could have easily made them the stars of the movie and nothing would have been lost. As for the ending, I wanna say I liked it but knowing how franchises work, it won't last long. It's really no different than the Fast and Furious or Mission Impossible movies. Overall, had fun but ultimately like the last two movies, I probably won't remember this outside of the Donnie Yen scenes.
3/5

 

[Kane52630]

Champions

Enjoyable but super average. It's one of those small town feel good sports movies that you know every step it takes. It uses all the coach tropes that have been done before, it uses overplayed pop songs from 20 years ago, and it kinda uses the same themes as The Ringer with Johnny Knoxville. All that being said, it's got the right idea and how they approach people with disabilities where they don't want to smother the audience with lovingly sentimentality. Performance wise, Woody Harrelson and Kaitlin Olson were pretty much what you expected. Madison Tevlin is probably the best one out of the whole cast and she does a great job with the little bit she was on screen. Overall, it's alright. It's the kind of movie that was made for folks in middle America.
2.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Infinity Pool: Uncut

Brandon Cronenberg read the last part of the Grapes of Wrath and went with it.

This was great, it's in essence about how the rich and powerful can get away with anything and how anyone can get dragged into it, but done in a wild and Cronenbergian way. I will say Infinity Pool is less ambitious and gory as Possessor, but it is easier to understand as a Eyes Wide Shut 2 comp. Alexander Skarsgård is great here and you buy how easily he got roped into this world. Mia Goth continues to chew every bit of scenery and still makes you question whether or not she is this unhinged in real life. Overall, it's easily the best movie out of this early part of the year.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Between this and Paddington 2, Hugh Grant always seems to know what kind of movie he signed up for.

I guess I admire it more than I enjoyed it. It's a movie that was clearly made for the fans and for the non fans like me, it was a bit hard to enjoy and understand. It's by the guys who made Game Night which is one of the last great comedies and with this they clearly know how to do a fantasy heist film. For whatever reason, I kept expecting this movie to go more meta but they pretty much stay straight as a fantasy comedy from start to finish. I thought the cast did a okay job with Hugh Grant and Chris Pine being the standouts. The best scene in the movie was clearly the graveyard scene and I kept hoping they had more scenes like that but it never really did. I will also say I thought it looked amazing and the character designs were great. But other than that, there wasn't much that kept me invested. Overall, it's a film that is designed for D&D fans but for me it was a bit all over the place.
2.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

The Super Mario Bros. Movie

I saw that Beastie Boys needle drop coming a mile away.

It's a fun adaptation that gets kinda stale and repetitive as it goes along. I thought the first half of this movie was pretty excellent. They do a great job paying homage to the history of Super Mario Bros with a ton of easter eggs and they even copy the same structure as the live action movie from '93. I gotta say Chris Pratt didn't bother me as much as I thought when the story was going. As for the rest of the cast they were really good especially Jack Black's Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key's Toad, and Seth Rogen's Donkey Kong. Illumination's animation is probably the most impressive thing about the movie and the humor wasn't bad. Once it gets to the 2nd half of the movie you kinda realize the story runs out of steam so the movie spends the rest of its run time with so many action set pieces. It's great if you're into that but for me the movie gets too repetitive. Overall, it's a fine straightforward video game movie that could have been way better with some better writing.
3/5

 

[Kane52630]

80 for Brady

I'm not just saying this as a Jets fan but... this is cinematic waterboarding. F*** this sh**.
0.5/5

 

[Black Narcissus]

Infinity Pool: Uncut

Brandon Cronenberg read the last part of the Grapes of Wrath and went with it.

This was great, it's in essence about how the rich and powerful can get away with anything and how anyone can get dragged into it, but done in a wild and Cronenbergian way. I will say Infinity Pool is less ambitious and gory as Possessor, but it is easier to understand as a Eyes Wide Shut 2 comp. Alexander Skarsgård is great here and you buy how easily he got roped into this world. Mia Goth continues to chew every bit of scenery and still makes you question whether or not she is this unhinged in real life. Overall, it's easily the best movie out of this early part of the year.
4/5

Yes, he did. He did that. Beautifully so. Mia Goth haunts both my sexy and scary dreams.

 

[Kane52630]

Is it too early to call this the scene of the year?

 

[Kane52630]

A Good Person

Shout out to Zach Braff for bringing back the pre-God Morgan Freeman who would talk sh*t and curse.

This was a solid old fashion tragedy/sobriety melodrama that goes pretty textbook for the most part. As cheesy as it might look on paper, I thought story does a good job showing the effects of grief, addiction, and acceptance in a smart kind of way. It's really Florence Pugh and Morgan Freeman's performances that elevated the material, mainly Florence Pugh who really gave it her all in this.There's also a decent performance by Celeste O'Connor and Molly Shannon that I thought worked. I also thought the New Jersey-ness worked really well and considering it's by Zach Braff, it's no surprise why it worked. All that being said, I did think the climax was so overly dramatic and at that point it became a bit too tv and predictable. Overall, it's really well made despite the formulaic story.
3.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Renfield

This is what happens when Jean-Ralphio Saperstein is FLUH-UUUUUSH WITH CAAAAAASSSSH, he just starts teaming up with Dracula.

Fun movie overall that knows what it's trying to go for. Similar to something like Scott Pilgrim, Kick Ass, and Zombieland, it's pretty much a pure camp comedy while also being extremely bloody and gory. I did like how they use the original Dracula continuity to tell the story and how everything lead up to present day. Also really dug the practical effects and make up for everything but mostly for Dracula. I thought Nicholas Hoult was great as Renfield but Nicolas Cage steals every scene he's in as Dracula. Awkwafina and Ben Schwartz get some fun moments but they're pretty much what you expect. While there are some fun action sequences, I thought they did a good enough job on the story about Renfield trying to better himself and the group therapy session scenes were great. Overall, while I don't think it's all timer classic in future, I did have a lot of fun with it.
3.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Air

I feel like there's two ways of looking at this movie, it's either an elaborate 80s nostalgia cash grab about a corporation with human rights violations and child labor patting themselves on the back or it's a Moneyball-esque underdog story about trying to get rich and successful from a shoe line and trying to sign a rookie athlete who's about to become the greatest of all time. It's somehow kinda both but I still really enjoyed it despite all the cynicism.

It's very much Ben Affleck trying to get back on the saddle and make a movie that harkens back to the 80s and 90s where they would make a underdog sports movie like this all the time. The best thing about the movie is the script that very much feels like one of Aaron Sorkin's old scripts that he never got to make. They also do a good job encapsulating what the 80s were especially at 1984. There's a lot of solid performances like Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Chris Tucker, and Jason Bateman. There's also a Chris Messina scene that kinda steals the whole movie. All that being said, I did think the filmmaking felt a bit too tv, it's almost like watching two episodes of a really good HBO show. And there's the obvious thing of them not really showing Michael Jordan which kinda sticks out. Overall, it's a fun watch and I wouldn't be surprised if they showed this all the time on cable.
3.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

When You Finish Saving the World

You know what kind of movie this is when the main white teenager kept telling his parents to "shut the f**k up" and they don't do anything about it.

This was written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg and while I've really enjoyed him as an actor, you can tell this is so narcissistically himself that the story and characters crumbles beneath him. I thought Finn Wolfhard and Julianne Moore are pretty unlikable and they don't give you any reason for you care or root for... which isn't a bad thing but for this story, it seems that it was needed. Almost all the characters themselves are written the same in this east coast white liberal bubble kind of way that the issues that the movie tries to acknowledge and bring up feels so tone deaf and nobody really learns anything from it. It's so desperately trying to be something similar to Lady Bird but the writing never came through for me. It's one of those movies that feels targeted for gen z but the everything in it feels hallow and lazy which is last thing you want if you're making a movie that is trying to say something. Overall, pretty awful and mostly annoying despite some cool looking shots. It's crazy that this is coming from A24, but I guess they have to have a dud somewhere.
1.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey

Christopher Robin saying "Help me Pooh, Piglet just killed my wife!" is a real line in this movie.

Terrible but I expected way worse. I will say it did seem like they did try at first with the concept by having that animated intro and having Christoper Robin be in it for the first quarter of the movie. After that it pretty much becomes a Friday the 13th ripoff with just Pooh and Piglet. The cast they got aren't that great which is not a surprise, but their performances somehow gets worse as the movie goes alone. The gore and effects for a microbudget is actually not bad but you see the seams break right away. By the time you get to the ending it's becomes very procedural. Overall, pretty bad. While it's not as cheap and terrible as Asylum, it's right on the cusp.
1.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Shotgun Wedding

When you download the DLC for The White Lotus.

This was fine, it's exactly the crowd pleaser romcom that usually works plus you add in some entry level action. It's nowhere near as annoying and terrible as Ticket to Paradise but it falls short of some of the best vacation style romcoms like Palm Springs. Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel were decent with the material they had, but the real stars were the supporting cast who were able to keep the comedy going like Jennifer Coolidge, Callie Hernandez, Desmin Borges, and D'Arcy Carden. As for the plot, it's basically a hostage film on an island on the day of the wedding. It's got a lot of the typical tropes you'd see. Overall, I had fun with it but it's ultimately base level entertainment.
2.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Tetris

The only successful way to play Tetris now is by playing the Russian cover of Holding Out for a Hero as you play.

This was a lot of fun for a biopic. This was about the complicated story of how Tetris became super famous in the late 80s and its everlasting popularity. It does the smart thing by choosing to be entertaining, slick, and fast pace rather than slow and trying to be extremely accurate to the real story in a paint-by-numbers way. It almost feels like the Danny Bolye's Steve Jobs movie with the way it's directed and put together. Similar to Air and Moneyball, the plot focuses on the contract and license disputes and the business making decisions that allowed it to become world known. What makes this even more entertaining is they added a very 80s-style spy thriller in the heart of the movie that feels like a perfect throwback to when Cold War movies were popular. It comes with a great soundtrack, fantastic 8-bit graphics transitions, and a fun car chase scene. The performances from the cast were fun and you can tell Taron Egerton was having a blast. If there's anything holding this movie back, it would probably be that you do feel the two hours and some of the last hour does go a bit too long. Overall, it's right up there with Air for this year.
3.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Beau is Afraid

I am never not checking my bathroom ceiling ever again.

This was one hell of a surreal dark comedy odyssey/fantasy about confronting childhood trauma, guilt, and anxiety in a very hilarious and absurd way. The movie from the get go has a theater play environment from the way certain moments were shot like the street where Beau lives or the very end of the movie which I can't spoil. For Air Aster, he brought back the absurdist nightmare comedy he was making from his shorts like The Strange Thing About the Johnsons where's he's not really playing off on typical horror themes like in Midsommar and Hereditary. Joaquin Phoenix is phenomenal in it which was expected, but Patti LuPone and Zoe Lister-Jones kinda steal the movie performance wise. It's visually stunning and seeing this in IMAX looked incredible. It's one of those movies where you either get what he was trying to achieve or you find it offensive and nonsensical. The only knock I have against this movie is they could have cut the whole Michel Gondry animated section out of the movie that it would have moved better and faster in that last half. Overall, it's incredible and insanely weird.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

Evil Dead Rise

Shout out to the guy in the vinyl recording who said "It’s called the book of the dead for a reason!"

A fun and gory Evil Dead movie with a new setting. It takes the aesthetic of the Fede Álvarez's Evil Dead movie but inserts more of the fun nature that fans know from Raimi's Evil Dead II and more of the lore connections. Lee Cronin does a great job directing this and putting together a Aliens inspired take on Evil Dead in a rundown apartment building with Lily Sullivan. They do a good job making you care for the main characters. Alyssa Sutherland obviously steals the movie playing the mom who becomes a deadite and they do a good job using her physicality to make her scary and imposing. There's also some very interesting designs of characters and one in particular is obviously inspired by another horror classic. While I thought the gore was pretty well done and gnarly, it still somehow doesn't really reach the heights of the last film even though I like how they weren't afraid to go there and be upsetting at times. I also think it doesn't reach to the levels of Terrifier 2 which to me is a hard task to beat. Overall, it's a solid entry and it's one that fans will be happy with because of all the easter eggs they drop, but I do wish it had more big moments and more to say.
3.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Ghosted

Imaging getting kicked off from a bus and having to walk 50 miles back home because Marta and Ransom wanted to escape from some reject Bond villain and his henchmen.

This was such a run of the mill action romcom that feels like it was generated through AI that wasn't ready yet. I will say I did like how it started before the generic spy thriller stuff comes into play where it felt like a high budgeted Hallmark movie. Chris Evans and Ana de Armas tries to spark the same kind of chemistry they had in Knives Out but it fails completely. Adrien Brody is hamming it up as a bad Bond villain and while it was kinda fun seeing him act silly, he takes away any real threat or plot importance. The action is subpar and nonsensical and having it be PG-13 kinda takes away any grit that this was trying to go for. And the cameos feels forced and unnecessary. Overall, while it wasn't as painful to watch as something like Red Notice, this feels like a lesser version of The Gray Man which wasn't that good to begin with.
2/5

 

[Kane52630]

What's Love Got to Do with It?

Pretty good. It's a very typical British romcom that's been done before in the 90s, but it uses Shazad Latif's character and family as an anchor to explore Pakistani culture and modern day arranged marriages. Lily James and Shazad Latif were fine even though they could have used a bit more backstory between them so the chemistry would have worked better. I thought the family dynamic was probably the most interesting part of the movie even if it kinda goes into Pakistani soap opera territory by the end. It's written by Jemima Khan and it becomes obvious that she needed a white perspective through Lily James's character, it doesn't really hurt the film but you notice it. There's certin scenes towards the middle and end that I thought kinda elevated the movie. Overall, it's a lot better than I was expecting even if it had some problems.
3/5

 

[Kane52630]

Polite Society

Stealing a whole ass roasted chicken as a coping mechanism because you couldn't make it in art school? valid.

This was a fun and campy coming of age film that takes inspirations from Jackie Chan's Hong Kong action films and Scott Pilgrim vs the World and fit it into Desi culture in the UK. The director Nida Manzoor does a great job using teenager angst and sibling rivalry and funnel it into this movie world where everyone suddenly knows how to throw and kick someone through walls and objects like it's Rumble in the Bronx or Supercop. I thought both Priya Kansara and Ritu Arya were fantastic in this and the movie would not work if it weren't for them playing off of each other so well. Nimra Bucha was also pretty good but she also plays a similar kind of villain in Ms Marvel. I dug the action choreography, the humor and the campiness of it all but it did leave me wanting more with the story and the deep character moments. Overall, it's a fun movie that has British South Asians in the forefront and much like Bend it like Beckham, I can see this be a cult classic for teens in the years to come.
3.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Sisu

When he said "I'm Sisu (2023)" I cheered.

This was a pure fun grindhouse spaghetti western that knew what it wanted to be. Plot wise, it basically takes Mad Max Fury Road and set it in WWII Finland. It's a one man wrecking crew movie of a guy trying to go home so he cash in the gold he discovered. It's a collection of incredible set pieces where he faces off against Nazis and the film does a great job making you wonder how he is ever going to get out of each situation. It's directed by Jalmari Helander who made Rare Exports and you do see the same level of grim and grit and blood as the his previous films. It's shot beautifully on location in Finland and they make great use of the environment and it lets you buy into every gory shot and every gruesome moment that happens. The music was also fantastic. Jorma Tommila did a great job having to emote without ever saying a single word. Overall, I loved it. It's exactly the kind of 90 minute gory action film that doesn't need to overexplain or make things convoluted for the sake of story and lore like another movie this year that was almost 3 hours long.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

Children of the Corn

Yeah children going insane and murdering people, but you know who's the real villain is according to this movie? Big Corn.

This was a strange remake that I couldn't tell if it was good or bad. It's basically the same story as before but kinda updated in modern times. I will say it's shot really well for a direct to video/Shudder and there are certain shots that does elevate the movie a bit. It's one of those where the entire cast feel like they are in completely different movies. Kate Moyer is hamming it up and having fun playing the villain in the same vein as the original film with Issac. Meanwhile you have Elena Kampouris and Callan Mulvey acting their asses off like they're in a award winning drama and the rest of the cast knows they're in a bad direct to video horror sequel/reboot and they're pretty one note. The movie plays out exactly what you think it doesn't really do anything new outside of some bizarre moments. Overall, the movie makes a lot odd choices that kept me interested and didn't make me feel bored even though it's not entirely well made.
2.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

The Pope's Exorcist

I cannot deny the power of Russell Crowe speaking Super Mario Italian on a Vespa saying "CUCKOO" while fighting Constantine level demons.

The movie simultaneously stands out among the other million demon movies and it stays mostly the same kind of demon movie you've seen a million times before. Just with the way it was shot and told, Julius Avery really wanted to make his own Constantine movie with a charismatic and weird leading actor and he kinda did it here with Russell Crowe. Every time Crowe is on screen it's easily the best thing about this movie and it's a shame he's not in it more. What you do get more of is a family that moved to Spain and they all play the same haunted house/possession tropes that's been done to death. The movie is more funnier than you expect it to be which was a nice surprise but the movie plays out same outside of the ending that feels like it came out of a comic book. Overall, had fun with it but I wish the movie was more of whatever Russell Crowe was doing in this.
2.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

I agree with Drax, you should always lie down on couches no matter who's house you're in.

Finally the MCU breaks their cold streak for the films and James Gunn was able to deliver a rare third film in a superhero series that doesn't disappoint. The movie does the smart thing in which the story in Vol. 3 is mostly self-contained compared to the MCU and it mostly focuses on the familiar relationships with these characters that grew up and changed but still deliver a laugh or two. I really love that they gave Rocket some backstory and how it ties into the overall plot and it was cool to see them spread that backstory throughout the movie.

The Gamora/Star Lord plot was also interesting and I liked how they didn't give you want you think you want. The rest of the cast were also great and they made sure they gave Drax, Mantis, Nebua, Groot, Kraglin and even Cosmo some moments that you'll remember. Chukwudi Iwuji was also great playing as The High Evolutionary and I liked how they make no bones about who he is and what he does. As for Will Poulter as Adam Warlock, I liked what he did but I wish they gave him more lines and moments. The action, comedy, soundtrack, and the weird scifi elements are just as you hoped it would be for a James Gunn Guardians film, but I feel like the emotional aspects are the highlight of the film. It plays like a perfect sendoff for these characters and it really worked. Overall, it's probably my 2nd favorite MCU trilogy after Cap.
4.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

How to Blow Up a Pipeline

Not since The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, have I got spoiled by the title of the movie.

This was utterly fantastic. It's a movie that asks the question, "What if the Safdie Brothers made Oceans Eleven?" There are also some elements of Michael Mann's Thief which was nice. It's essentially an eco-terrorism thriller that constantly moves and it does a great job throwing you right into the movie from the start and not letting go even when the credits hit. It's as if someone remade The East from 2013 but made it a million times better and didn't make it as annoying and self-aggrandizing. It's directed by Daniel Goldhaber who made Cam which was underrated and he really elevated himself with this film. I really dug the performance by the cast and I like how each has a slightly different side to the cause like any heist film. The movie does a great job dividing its screen time by showcasing each individual that is a part of the mission and how they got to this point. The synth score was incredible and it does a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to the fast pace nature of the movie. Overall, by far one of the best movies of the year and I can't wait to see what Daniel Goldhaber does next.
4.5/5