At the Movies with Kane and BN

[Kane52630]

Time Cut

This isn't accurate at all, Quinn wouldn't be wearing a Dungeons & Dragons shirt in 2003, he'd be wearing a holographic Yu-Gi-Oh t-shirt of the Dark Magician.

Basically almost beat-for-beat the same plot as Totally Killer except it's set during 2003 instead of the 80s and it's not as good (and Totally Killer wasn't as good as Happy Death Day). The early 2000s nostalgia did make me feel old as I was watching this and all the needle drops & fashion were the only good things about this even though it's pretty basic. The cast they got here wasn't too bad but between the acting and the story, it does feel like you're watching a Disney Channel original movie, especially considering they were aiming for a PG-13 rating and there's no real slasher blood & gore. Overall, just slightly below mediocre.
2/5

 

[Kane52630]

Dirty Angels

Yeah... f**k this American jingoistic propaganda bullsh**. Even with all the Islamophobia, the worst thing about this is Eva Green's god awful attempt at an American accent.
0.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Mayhem! (Farang)

You know, the only thing missing was a flying knee strike while on fire.

A fantastic martial arts/action movie that takes a pretty straightforward revenge/rescue plot and executes it really well. It's basically part The Punisher, part The Raid, part Ong Bak, and part The Night Comes For Us rolled into one. While it doesn't offer wall-to-wall action like those films I've mentioned, they do a good job setting up the plot and the characters and making you really feel for them before it all crashes down. The action itself is somewhat tamed by comparison for most of the movie, but the 3rd act is where it really levels up big time and you really see The Raid influences show up more. Nassim Lyes is used really well in this and knows how to show emotion that carries his performance and his fight choreography is pretty well done even though he doesn't reach the heights of Iko Uwais or Tony Jaa. Xavier Gens is a pretty solid action director and you can see what he learned from Gareth Evans while working on The Gangs of London. Overall, this is exactly the kind of action movie we need more of instead of glossy action figures with CGI blood pretending to be badasses with zero emotion.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

The Return

My therapist: "Ripped AF Ralph Fiennes can't hurt you"
Ripped AF Ralph Fiennes:

Wasn't sure what to make of this but I ended up enjoying it more than I thought I would. It's basically an adaptation of the second half of The Oddesy where Odysseus returns home and the drama that unfolds after he's been gone for years. They did it in a way to show the story without having a giant budget to display his war stories and his adventures which is fine for a performance-driven movie like this. As much as I liked the whole cast, Ralph Fiennes is pretty much driving this movie along with a good performance by Juliette Binoche. I actually like how most of the movie is shot on location in Greece which makes this story feel more real. The 3rd act is pretty damn entertaining and knowing Nolan is going to direct a giant budget version of The Oddesy, I'm curious to see how both of these movies stack up. Overall, really good for what they were trying to achieve.
3.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

You’ll Never Find Me

Whoever makes those Fears to Fathom games are probably pissed they didn't think of this one.

This was a really solid mystery horror bottle film that gets a little predictable towards the end. It's a movie that definitely would work wonders as a double feature with Barbarian, or Heretic, or even Wolf Creek considering it's another of these Australian horror films. The best thing about this is the "dark and stormy night" atmosphere that it creates and the back-and-forth dialogue between the two main actors who are incredible in this played by Brendan Rock & Jordan Cowan. I think I dug the first half more when you're trying to guess who's who in this situation and once the mystery starts getting solved, it gets less and less interesting even though the filmmaking stays pretty well and consistent. Overall, I still really enjoyed it. It's exactly the type of movie you'd hope for when you're searching on Shudder.
3.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Lovely, Dark, and Deep

Ah, the Watchers prequel we were all... not... waiting for.

Unfortunately didn't really work for me. It's a movie with a solid setup, with great actors (Georgina Campbell can do no wrong), and great visuals and cinematography. To me, this movie literally gets lost in the woods plotwise because it doesn't really know what kind of horror movie it wants to be and then it becomes a trauma drama that isn't all too interesting. It falls short on the drama and the suspense by the time you get to the second half and the supernatural scares kinda disappear. It's by Teresa Sutherland who I thought was great when she directed The Wind, this however feels like a less successful version despite it looking so much better visually. Overall, it just ends up being petty average.
2.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

The Killer

John Woo probably overheard some critic talking trash about him over-relying on pigeons & doves in his movies and quadrupled it.

Didn't know what to expect but this feels very much like a John Woo movie for better and for worse. This one really feels like Luc Besson started making it and gave it to John Woo to finish it because it feels like both of their styles and settings are very much in this movie. It's a Euro spy thriller that verges on comedy at times and sometimes it works and other times it's kinda silly. Nathalie Emmanuel & Omar Sy are pretty decent even though they are pretty typical flat action hero characters. I don't know who thought it was a good idea for Sam Worthington to do an Irish accent but he was hilarious every time he showed up. While I thought most of the movie was pretty generic, the last 30 minutes of nonstop action were not bad. Overall, not great but it had its moments.
3/5

 

[Kane52630]

The Greatest Hits

Her spotify wrapped would probably break the all time record of listening hours.

It is a romcom of sorts that is also about struggling with grief that feels too on the nose at times. The script feels like a first-time writer trying to write all the obvious things that you expect a tragic rom-com to have with a sci-fi time travel hook that feels like a hat on a hat. The movie definitely didn't need that for the point to come across. That being said, I thought Lucy Boynton was pretty good in this and it feels like a perfect role for her after being in stuff like Sing Street. Justin H. Min was not bad and while he's not in it enough David Corenswet was solid. The needle drops are also really good and it's shot really well. I think for me the movie bounces around between sweet/earnest and super corny and it never quite found its tone and rhythm as a story for me. Overall, just slightly above average.
3/5

 

[Kane52630]

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person

Yeah, you bet your ass that corny nacho cheese joke got you killed.

A fantastic coming-of-age vampire flick. It's basically what you'd get if Tim Burton directed a John Hughes movie as an indie film. It's also pretty much the show The End of the F***ing World if one of them was a vampire instead of a serial killer. Sara Montpetit & Félix-Antoine Bénard are great and their chemistry is so good it doesn't need a lot of dialogue to convey their feelings for one another. It's very much in the same kind of vampire movie as Let the Right One In and A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night where they do a lot with a lot with a great atmosphere and a vibe. I also really like how they utilize her family like an immigrant family and the scene with them at the end was really good. Overall, I really dug it and it's exactly the kind of vampire movie that really works.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

Marvel should do a "What If" for Feathers McGraw getting all 6 infinity stones.

Fun movie. It is yet another Aardman project that I can't help but love and it was about time they did another Wallace & Gromit full-length feature. The plot itself with new tech and AI Gnomes feels current but it's also very much in the tradition of what has been done one before with a story like this so it feels timeless. I love how they use Feathers McGraw as the big bad like if it was a Marvel movie or the Joker. Gromit is still the coolest dog ever and Wallace is still as incompetent as ever. The movie sets up a sequel in a way that makes me excited to see where they are heading towards. Overall, while it doesn't beat my favorite Aardman movie (Shaun the Sheep Movie), this is still really good and really fun.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

Babygirl

Of course, the one time AMC doesn't play the Nicole Kidman ad, it's this.

An erotic thriller that is pretty much an above-average A24 version of your typical 50 Shades of Grey movie. It's entirely built around the performances by Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson, and Antonio Banderas who I don't think is getting talked about as much as the other two. I don't think it really dives into the root of the movie until the 3rd act and even then it felt like some parts were missing and some things were focused too much on like the daughter subplot. It's just flooded with a lot of cliche erotic thriller moments that are present even though it's better than most because of how the scenes linger on the performances. For Halina Reijn, she's still managed to make this pretty well-directed and well shot even though I much prefer her last movie. Overall, it's pretty good but it didn't really wow me despite whatever wild things they had Nicole Kidman doing.
3/5

 

[Kane52630]

The Damned

The Hound didn't say the C word even once and that's the true horror of this story.

A super slow burn and atmospheric gothic horror film that I really dug which is shocking for a dumpuary movie. It's less stylized than a Robert Eggers film but the setting and the overall vibe are still super entrenched in gothic horror and it's psychologically dreadful. The way the movie plays out as a vibe, it does remind me of Sean Ellis's The Cursed which went underseen by many but done as a Nordic shipwreck ghost film. I thought the best thing about it was the Arctic location they shot this at and the great cinematography that elevated the film for me. The cast was great including Joe Cole and Rory McCann but Odessa Young stole the movie and her performance was incredible. Overall, while it's really nothing new in terms of gothic horror, there's a lot in here that I really dug.
3.5/5

 

[Black Narcissus]

Red Rooms

Kelly-Anne's tinder profile must be insane...

What a deeply disturbing thriller that does a great job of keeping you inside the main character's mind and psyche without any moral lines. This feels like part David Fincher and part Steven Soderbergh with a little bit of early John Carpenter and Michael Mann that delves into similar themed movies like 8mm, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Unfriended: Dark Web, The Den, and The Poughkeepsie Tapes. The movie is also a media circus courtroom drama and they do it in a way that keeps you super invested in every word as you get to know the situation that led to this horrific murder trial. Juliette Gariépy as Kelly-Anne is so incredibly good in this as this emotionally cold and detached from humanity personality and they do such a good job keeping you guessing what her real motives are and what her connection to the trial is. It's a movie that has a real-world sensibility and is set and shot in Quebec and they do such a great job showcasing all the real-world tech fears that are really preset as you're watching this. Overall, it's fantastic. It's a movie that will definitely leave you feeling uneasy, anxious, and paranoid just like the other movie I listed and I can't wait to see what Juliette Gariépy does next.
4/5


@Boom @Black Narcissus @flickchick85

Goddamn.

This was a nice surprise. Went in blind. To keep it honest, THAT court room scene disturbed me more than anything on Nosferatu. I also kept thinking the lead actress would make a great GWTDT replacement, but that shipped kinda passed. 8mm and Girl With The Dragon Tattoo on a court room budget, but done right.

4/5

 

[Kane52630]

Goddamn.

This was a nice surprise. Went in blind. To keep it honest, THAT court room scene disturbed me more than anything on Nosferatu. I also kept thinking the lead actress would make a great GWTDT replacement, but that shipped kinda passed. 8mm and Girl With The Dragon Tattoo on a court room budget, but done right.

4/5

Spoiler

 

[Kane52630]

Mothers’ Instinct

AU Interstellar where Murph finds Brand and travels back in time through the 5th dimension to 1960's suburbia.

It's a suburban psychological thriller that definitely has the veneer of a generic Lifetime movie but elevates the material with the performances by Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain. I did like the first half of this more where they explore what it is like to have guilt over someone else's tragedy and the twisted relationship of being neighbors. I think it starts getting into Lifetime movie territory by the 2nd half and that last 20 minutes kinda jumps off of a cliff into pure bizarre camp. Overall, I still enjoyed it but it's nothing too special, unfortunately.
3/5

 

[Kane52630]

Flow

You either die a chill capybara or you live long enough to become a klepto lemur.

Incredible stuff. This is a fantastic animated adventure movie with no dialogue that is fully immersive on its journey. Someone said it's pretty much Apocalypse Now with a cat, which may sound crazy, but it's honestly not so far off. It more or less acts like you're watching a really fantastic quick-time event game with some really cool 2D/3D designs. The free-flow movement of the "camera" does a great job of putting you inside the mind of this cat. The animation itself is really interesting to watch because all the animals act like how real animals would act and move with just a little bit of intelligence. The story itself is such an interesting concept of showing animals trying to get along with each other or just surviving in a post-apocalyptic world where humans are gone and the sea levels have risen. Overall, it's easily one of the better animated movies in 2024 even though I would still put this right below Robot Dreams, The Peasants, and Memoir of a Snail.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

The Devil’s Bath

Zero stars... There was not a single bathtub in sight!

What a dark, bleak, and atmospheric psychological folk horror film set in 18th-century rural Austria. It's less of a traditional horror film and more of a marriage drama that has pretty intense themes about mental illness, religious oppression, isolation, and despair. The movie doesn't hold back even at the very start and it did remind me of movies like The VVitch, You Won't Be Alone, and Hagazussa. What I really dug the most about it is how they were able to show how a village in that time period operated on a day-to-day basis between work life and home life and they were able to make it all seem believable like you're watching a documentary. Anja Plaschg as Agnes is incredible in this and especially when it gets to the 3rd act, she really goes for it. Overall, a true gem of a horror film that is tough to watch but is so well made.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

Last Straw

And to think all of this could have been avoided if the dad just put up a "sorry the lights are on but we're closed" sign.

It's a fantastic little horror film set in a diner with a little bit of gritty cleverness and a twist that is pretty much made for me. The directing is so obviously 80s neon and synth inspired by the look and sound of it. Storywise it really reminded me of stuff like Green Room, Straw Dogs, and I Spit on Your Grave and they do such a good job keeping it well under 90 minutes. I love how they set up the film and how easy it was to take a very simple idea and expand it into different areas and different perspectives. The performances were pretty good with Jessica Belkin really elevating the material. I love how they didn't make this final girl a pure loveable saint and they don't really give anybody a simple black and white characterization which makes it messy in a good way. Overall, I'm sure most people will have problems with it but for me, it's definitely up there with a lot of my favorite neon & synth horror films.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

The People’s Joker

What being chronically online and catching every Batman reference does to a motherf**ker.

Pretty good if not too long and muddled for what is essentially a queer coming-of-age movie by Vera Drew where they use the Batman IP as a self-parody. It's very DIY with the budget and the effects that borrowed heavily from every Batman movie/show/comics. Sometimes I thought some of the story and comedy really worked but other times it felt too obvious, overly stimulated, and really messy which I get is the point. For many obvious reasons, this reminded me of the Tim & Eric show, which is funny considering both Tim Heidecker and David Liebe Hart are in this. Overall, while pretty repetitive and longer than it needs to be, it's still impressive what they were able to do with a limited budget and a lot of creativity even when it doesn't completely work at times.
3/5

 

[Kane52630]

Caddo Lake

The power of googling and hoping your high school has an archival class year webpage.

A somewhat average sci-fi thriller with several twists about a missing persons case set in the Texas/Louisiana border that was decent enough even though it feels convoluted at times. I think the best part about the movie is how much they shot on location and the cinematography is really good. The performances are really good between Dylan O'Brien and Eliza Scanlen and I thought the first half was stronger than the second. The movie just ends up being borderline silly at times with the sci-fi elements and I feel like others have done this kind of story much better. Overall, just decent but barely.
2.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Music by John Williams

Absolutely wild to hear that John Williams's childhood home was 10 minutes away from my childhood home.

A pretty solid documentary about the life and works of John Williams in a very straightforward tribute/puff piece/vanity project kind of way, but with some great interviews including John Williams himself. Because it was produced by Spielberg and distributed by Disney, I expected a lot of it to be just their works but I'm glad they were able to fit in some of the other ones that were also popular while also fitting in some of his non-commercial works. As a doc it does pretty much what you expected it to do and watch them do a timeline of his works but I'm glad they had room to talk deeper about what it is to be a film composer and how it is reflected among his community of orchestral musicians. Overall, a really good tribute to an all-time great film composer.
3/5

 

[Kane52630]

No Other Land

A truly gutwrenching and powerful documentary about the forced expulsion of a Palestinian village by the IDF over a four-year span. It was filmed by Basel Adra who is a Palestinian activist who lives in the village and Yuval Abraham, an Israeli journalist for the Palestinians. The footage they were able to get while also risking their lives on any given day is just harrowing. Also, how they framed this documentary which captures not only the devastation, but more importantly the story of the lives of people living in that village, and how it was told throughout the doc was really strong. I also thought the conversations between Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham during their downtime were really interesting. Overall, it's by far one of the most important documentaries of recent years.
5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Den of Thieves 2: Pantera

Alternative titles:
Den of Thieves 2: Big Nick's Vacation
Den of Thieves 2: Croissant Diaries
Den of Thieves 2: Euro Heist on a Segway
Den of Thieves 2: Ocean’s 14
Den of Thieves 2: Oh Sh** They Made Another One?


Surprisingly, I enjoyed it a lot. For the first movie being a pretty decent ripoff/homage to Heat, this sequel is pretty much more in the vein of Ocean's 11 or any numerous European/French action thrillers. It's way more funnier and way more into the character stuff that doesn't revolve around the heist which I really enjoyed. Seeing Gerard Butler & O'Shea Jackson Jr work together was fun and their bickering with one another is pretty much the movie. The action itself is really solid and surprisingly quiet in parts even when it's not them doing the heist. You also get to know more of the new crew they were involved with and I thought Evin Ahmad was really good in it. It's one of those action movies where you know where it's ultimately headed but you are there for the ride and it's better than some of the dad-core action thrillers that I've seen recently. Overall, for those who love watching stuff like Frankenheimer's Ronin, Ocean's 11, and The Italian Job, this will be right in your wheelhouse.
3.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Tuesday

You know, sometimes going into a movie completely blind can backfire really hard. lol

It is a real ambitious swing and a miss for a movie that is essentially about letting go of your loved ones starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus & Lola Petticrew. This has a very first screenplay/director vibe about this movie (who was given a CGI budget) where they just start doing weird absurdist sh** just for the sake of it even though you get what they were trying to go for. It's a movie where you have Death personified as a large talking parrot who can change its size and jams to Ice Cube's It Was A Good Day while vaping. It's obvious it was trying to go for the Everything Everywhere All At Once route of telling a human story through weird sci-fi tropes, but I just never bought the conceit or the relationship between the mom and the daughter. Overall, it's not the worst thing ever, but I didn't care for it.
2/5

 

[Kane52630]

The Coffee Table

See... this is exactly why I don't buy from IKEA.

A grueling horror film that I guess counts as a dark comedy even though I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach for almost the entire time. It's probably the closest thing this story reminds me of is The Tell-Tale Heart but with a coffee table and the movie plays on that fear of being caught. The movie did a great job of making you feel uneasy and uncomfortable while trying to figure out what the main character does next. I can kinda see where the dark comedy comes in with the way it starts and ends as if it was a tv show but there's no real comedy to be had and I think they could have stretched the concept a little more if it had more time to play with the 3rd act. The performances were great and Estefanía de los Santos was great showing every possible emotion to be had if he was in that situation. Overall, really good and really disturbing in a way that makes you feel nauseous.
3.5/5