Multiplex Madness
In the Grey
⭐️⭐️
Genre: Action, Thriller
Director: Guy Ritchie
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Henry Cavill, Eiza González, Kristofer Hivju, Fisher Stevens, Rosamund Pike
Guy Ritchie is a name that can perk my ears when it comes to a quirky action movie. Usually, even if his movies aren't anything great, they're usually something. Something can mean stylish or fun, often both. But if I had to choose one over the other, I'd favor the latter. In the Grey is probably the least interesting movie I've seen from Ritchie in a while, but I also haven't seen that Fountain of Youth movie he did last year. This movie stars Eiza González as a covert operative who is sent to retrieve a large sum of cash that was stolen, which she does so through legal and political means without getting her hands dirty. Should the occasion call for violence, she relies on her extraction team, led by Jake Gyllenhaal and Henry Cavill. It's an interesting take on a heist movie, though one that doesn't always have the moving pieces that a heist film requires to be engaging. Heist movies can also sell themselves on attitude, and In the Grey is rich on attitude. Ritchie movies are usually reliable on that. The lack of intriguing plot development or momentum just makes it a movie that has more fun with being cheeky than it does with progressing. The fact that the actors are having a good time does help sell it, and Gyllenhaal, Cavill, and González are all Ritchie veterans and know what's what. Gyllenhaal and Cavill don't have much character to speak of, choosing to instead be the mysterious enforcers who get the job done. A lot of the film's character beats lie with González, who holds her own. González is a more interesting actress than she's often given credit for. She has a hardened power to her presence that makes her great in roles like this, because she's like Michelle Rodriguez if she had a more emotive voice and the poise a supermodel. She does well with the role she is given here. So do Gyllenhaal and Cavill, even though they're given little to do except to look casually dangerous. They shine more in the suspense and action scenes, of which there are less than you might hope. There is a certain rhythm that Ritchie is going for in this movie by doing a heist plot through verbilization and negotiation and I'm not sure he achieved it, making it feel long in the tooth before things heat up. I think it's interesting that he tried, even if the movie is less interesting than it could be.
Obsession
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Horror
Director: Curry Barker
Starring: Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, Andy Richter
Obession is a movie that most horror voices I follow online have been raving about for months. I didn't think the trailers have been particularly noteworthy, but everyone has been insistent that this was a must-see. So, I prepared myself, optimistically hoping that I'd see a good movie. It turns out that it didn't matter what I expected, there was no bar I could have set, and none of the plot turns that I may have guessed in advance would make a difference. The fact of the matter was that I was thoroughly unprepared to see a movie that went this fucking hard.
The set-up of this movie is very basic Monkey's Paw "be careful what you wish for" stuff (which is also the trite tagline on the poster). This movie could have easily been a Wishmaster movie, but they cut out the middle man and turned the Djinn into a novelty stick. Michael Johnston has a crush on coworker Inde Navarrette, but finds his window of telling her that he might want to be more than friends closing when she is about to quit her job. He makes a wish on a "One-Wish Willow" for her to be in love with him and her demeanor instantly changes in the aftermath, showing a desire to be with him with little focus for anything else and wishing he return his focus similarly. Or bad things will happen. All in the name of proving how much she loves him.
Relationship goals.
One expectation I had for this movie was that it would gradually shift from blooming romance to horror as it goes. Instead, the movie indicates something is very wrong from the get-go. If I have one issue with the movie it's that it escalates way too quickly, choosing not to ramp up tension but get into the meat within an instant. I would dock points for the movie never offering much that's new as it goes on but it makes up for it with the fact that it flies with a constant discomfort that gets under the viewer's skin. And even if I do discredit the movie for hitting too fast, escalation still happens as even though the situation is never at any point manageable, it spirals to a point where it is impossible to contend with. The third act of the movie, while predictable in several ways, is a zealous delivery of a nasty concoction of cringe, brutality, and terror and will sit with me for a very long time.
Inde Navarrette is remarkable in this movie, managing to make her most innocuous and attractive qualities seem sinister. She is aided by stellar direction and cinematography, but the movie wouldn't work if her performance is off-point and she always keeps in step with what the film is doing with her. Even something as simple as a glint in her eye carries a lot of significance. She is spellbinding. And she's working with thematic material that has a weight to it as the film asks us to examine the selfishness of Johnston's character in both his choices and his act of taking away her own because he was unable to verbalize himself and handle the situation properly. The movie also touches upon how keeping our eyes firmly on one thing keeps us from seeing things of value that are just outside of that gaze. The movie can be as sweet in its life outlook as it is brutal with how much it will deny it to the poor suckers who are stuck within it. The movie is an anti-romance with base understanding of romantic ideals. It just also wants to squeeze them until they pop.
The Wizard of the Kremlin
⭐️⭐️
Genre: Drama
Director: Olivier Assayas
Starring: Paul Dano, Jude Law, Alicia Vikander, Jeffery Wright, Tom Sturridge, Will Keen
The Wizard of the Kremlin is based on the fictional novel about a fictional Russian citizen, who started as an artist and eventually rose to be an adviser to Prime Minister turned President Vladimir Putin. It's certainly a more interesting study of Putin's rise to power and eventual abuse of it than it is of this completely made up person, who just isn't that interesting. This is one of those movies where you can see why the filmmakers thought it was fascinating as an idea but in bringing it to the screen there is just little-to-no life in it. When faced with that, one needs to stimulate with a bombastic style, which this movie does not have. It's a very lifeless movie full of talented people who all seem on different wavelengths as to what type of movie they're making. Some actors jump at doing a thick Russian accent, some don't bother at all, working in whatever accent they feel like. It makes the film come off as amateur hour, which is shocking for a film with this many established professionals. But Vladimir Putin is British, apparently. According to Jude Law's performance, at least. That, in particular, is off-putting, because Law is very well cast otherwise. He captures Putin's manorisms quite exquisitely, but every time he opens his mouth, the illusion shatters. On the positive, Alicia Vikander is fun to watch, likely because she's the only character with flavor. Everyone else is a cold politician. But intertwining the fictional with the reality proves to be a cumbersome task, something the filmmakers seem out of their depth with achieving. This movie can't even find a guy to do a quality Larry King impersonation. How hard is that?
Movies Still Playing At My Theater
The Devil Wears Prada 2 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Hokum ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Michael ⭐️⭐️
Mortal Kombat II ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Project Hail Mary ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
The Sheep Detectives ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie ⭐️⭐️1/2
Top Gun ⭐️⭐️1/2
Top Gun: Maverick ⭐️⭐️⭐️
New To Digital
Faces of Death ⭐️⭐️1/2
Project Hail Mary ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
You, Me & Tuscany ⭐️⭐️
New To Physical
Twinless ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Coming Soon!
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