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Last night I sat down and finally watch Kraven The Hunger (2024), the last movie Sony release that relates to their own Spider Verse Universe that to be hones they didn't know how to exploit with so much potential, sure the movie isn't winning any awards and the plot feels a bit messy and inconclusive, but I had a good time watching Aaron Taylor Johnson bring Kraven to life , the movie delivers some solid action sequences with an R rating that makes it interesting enough to keep you interested until the end, even when the plot isn't as bad as everyone made it out to be. What's interesting about this movie is that they took a different route with the classic Marvel villain than we've seen before, instead of going with the ruthless hunter we know from the comics, Sergei Kravinoff in this movie is presented as more of an anti hero who actually does care about animals and nature, which might be consider by the more pure fans as bad but its the entertaining side of things trying to adapt to make it commercial, somehow works for the story they are trying to tell.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8790086/
• Platform: Amazon Prime Video

Rottentomatoes Rating

From here on Sergei life starts to change after he comes back from defeating death, he attempts to get away from his father's criminal empire as he felt know he has a purpose but it was just a hunch, he also wanted to protect his brother Dmitri from his father's abuse but at the moment there was not much he could do, after he discover his new powers he start to use them to get rid of people just like his father in some pretty violent ways, the R rating could apply just to a few scenes to be honest, some with creative and brutal kills that wouldn't look out of place in a horror movie, but just a few.

Aaron Taylor Johnson brings a lot of speed and muscle to the role and makes the action scenes feel intense and brutal, even if the script doesn't give them enough time to really develop the chemistry between them and the rest of the cast, specially Fred Hechinger who plays the adult version of Dmitri, their brother, who at the end kind of start enjoying violence after he gets his finger cut off during his kidnap.

Russell Crowe probably had some fun as Nikolai with his thick Russian accent and delivering absurd lines about strength and legacy with such conviction as he is so sure he cant be touch like he is always steps ahead of everyone even Kraven, Alessandro Nivola as the Rhino also had some moments of glory within the movie, providing some badly needed entertainment as how crazy some times he acts, like the moments he talk to his dog I truly though he was going to smash the poor thing, even if sometimes he seems over the top it for sure plays out of place with the movie’s tone.

Here comes the worst, the technical aspects of the movie are its biggest issues, the CGI animals look cartoonish and fake, especially during action scenes, the movie went through some re shoots and last minute changes, some scenes don’t quite work same goes for transitions, with time jumps and going from one to another place in a blink of an eye.

The ending kinda brings everything together, I say kinda because there are still the problems I mention above with certain characters with almost no context, sort of predictable but satisfying when it comes to Sergei having to fight both the Rhino and the Foreigner to save his brother from the criminal empire run by his father, yes his father was the one behind everything, action in the final part step it up with some good hand to hand combat scenes and a forest sequence that makes the best use of Kraven's hunting skills. We finally see Aleksei transform into the Rhino and a heavy CGI that was a bit baller in plain day light but fun final battle, we also get to see Dmitri begin to show signs of Chameleon with some shape shifting abilities that play during the climax, but this is probably the biggest cliffhanger since we will probably never see any of them again as Sony is still unsure if to reboot the hole thing or sell the rights to Marvel. On recent news they even blame the audience instead of taking responsibility of their failure, I can understand there are some haters of Sony for trying to "take" from Marvel but if the movies were good enough for sure at least they would all get 7 and up on ratings.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #kraven, #sony, #spiderman, #action, #violence, #hunter, #villain, #animals, #taylorjohnson, #antivillain, #poachers, #lions, #crowe, #calypso, #rhino, #chameleon, #foreigner, #russia, #london, #supernatural, #vigilante, #criminal, #powers, #brutal, #brotherhood, #flixfinder

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I decided to finally watch Jordan Peele directorial debut Get Out from 2017, again slow day at the shop so decided to kill some time. The movie made me have mix feelings about, not because it was bad in any sense but because it confused me in too many ways. Entering the directing field from comedic background, Peele took the horror genre in his hand and the way he did it really gets your attention, not so much of classic scare jumps but there is some dark humor into it plus the psychological aspect that I love about horror movies.

The plot of the film is set with a very simple idea and then develops into something entirely different and sinister, starts with a young black man named Chris Washington; role played by one of my favorites actors Daniel Kaluuya, he goes to meet his girlfriend’s family and that’s where mild horror turns into horror nobody could predict. It is this that makes the movie so brilliant because it turns stereotypical situations such as meeting your partner’s parents for the first time or having to deal with microaggressions such as being told to "not let the race thing get under your skin", Chris has close to zero luck on this department because his girlfriend’s parents; Rose parents, were deeply racist but in a more sinister and calculated way than usual that even falls into the political aspect but all as a strategy to not bring up forward they been racist but take politics as an excuse.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5052448/
• Platform: AppleTV+

Rottentomatoes Rating

Chris and Rose decide to spend the weekend together to introduce Chris to her parents, Rose even then mention Chris "I told you my parents aren’t racists", tf are you serious?... they would vote for Obama thrice if it were possible, like that's some kind of shield, that's like saying I'm sorry but not really. When they get to the Armitage estate, Rose's parents name Dean and Missy, greet Chris with more than friendly warmth, maybe even a little too much affection than he expected. The Black servants that the family has, Walter and Georgina, caught Chris’s interest because they seem so programming like, probably because of the many years working there. It gets more creepy when Missy who was a hypnotist, hypnotizes Chris against his will and takes him to what she refers to as the “sunken place”, there is even an event during a garden party when some of the white rich guests were bidding the body of Chris while he was completely unaware of this, a day after he was hypnotize, the most sinister part of all this is how they handle things like there is nothing wrong doing going on and how when Chris was hypnotize he had this memories of his childhood about his mother's death.

The Armitages are not only racists but they are also the ones who are running a most heinous business of putting into Black bodies the consciousness of white people, meaning they are slave masters in the present day. Rose was completely faking her relationship the hole time, she is not the innocent girlfriend that she looks like, she was only pretending to get a hand to Chris as part of her family's scheme, total manipulator who had done this in the past many many times and had many black men victims on her belt.

Daniel Kaluuya is excellent as Chris, which is quite impressive since he manages to describe all aspects of his character transformation from annoyance to genuine horror, he already felt annoyed before going to met Rose parents but once he got there things started to escalate real quick. During the hypnosis scene, against his will, he shows a lot of effort to come up with all this pain while talking about his mother’s death. Kaluuya makes Chris feel real and relatable which makes his struggle for survival feel more real, he is a very very talented men and I truly love every time he is on screen, from Sicario, Judas and the Black Messiah, Nope, he has been on quite a few great movies where he just performs, Get Out (2017) is probably now one of my favorite Kaluuya's movie.

Catherine Keener and Bradley Whitford as Missy and Dean Armitage shows at first as a bit nosy traditional couple, Keener got to make Missy look incredibly calculating and just a little bit creepy during the hypnosis sequences, like almost saying "I GOT YOU!!!", while Whitford nails the kind of white liberal male who is way too eager to demonstrate that he is not just a man who basically hates black men, as part of his facade he presented himself as a liberal intellectual surgeon who is beyond any kind of racism as part of the trap that he was setting up. Allison Williams plays the role of Rose who is as racist and calculative as their parents with zero remorse, she learn from the two best at it.

When Chris starts to figure out what was going on and why everything around the Armitage felt so weird specially with Jeremy who show her true colors early on against Chris, different than the rest of the family had less control. Chris finds out that Rose collected pictures with previous black men who where her partners and started to understand the full scale of things, realizing where he was standing at against the Armitage. The Armitage manage to control all this bodies through a procedure called Coagula, a fictional procedure from the movie, that was develop by Roman Armitage family where wealthy white people, most of the time whealty people, could transfer their contentiousness into another body so they could life longer life, this itself will get you thinking that they can do this over and over moving form one body to another, almost like Apocalypse in the X-Men but they didn't get into this topic.

Towards the end of the movie when Chris finds out what is going on its when it gets really intense, there were ways to brake the hypnosis or what they call "the sunken place", victims like Walter were fully aware of what was going on, that they were basically trapped, they remain conscious, Walter was a man been controlled by Rose's Grandfather. The psychological aspect of this movie is insane, so the consequences once Chris figures everything out and all goes to hell for the Armitage although I don't want to tell the ending since this is such a great movie.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #hypnosis, #racism, #photographer, #neurosurgeon, #abduction, #brainwashing, #paranoia, #manipulation, #betrayal, #auction, #deer, #immortality, #survival, #escape, #cult, #revenge, #kidnapping, #sunkenplace, #transplant, #coagula, #slavery, #hypnotherapy, #consciousness, #exploitation, #transformation, #flixfinder

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Its the end of the year therefor almost no new content so I keep picking up movies I wanted to watch at some point, most recent The Six Triple Eight, Tyler Perry's latest creation, after watching Masters of The Air and notice all the backlash because of how inaccurate it might be I decided to take this movie for what it is, entertainment production about the only all Black, all female unit to serve overseas during World War II. After watching this movie I was unsure of how Perry handled this important story, the movie swings between powerful moments and somewhat rigid storytelling. It’s not perfect, but it does give credit on these amazing women who served their country during war and discrimination.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7984734/
• Platform: NETFLIX

Rottentomatoes Rating

That movie goes back to 1945, when the U.S. military had a big problem with millions of unmailed letters and packages stacked up in warehouses in England, it was so bad that it was even affecting troop morale, because they weren't getting mail from their loved ones back home, there was no email or smartphones back then so it takes weeks to get letters with any word. The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion of 855 Black women took the impossible task of sorting through this mountain of mail and as expected they deliver, sounds easy and basic although it wasn't.

I thought it was really nice that Perry didn't make this some action packed war movie, he focused on the real challenges these women faced at home and their basic training in Georgia, deployment to Birmingham, England, working in cold rat infested warehouses while German bombs were falling from the sky, probably where it gets even better, these women were not just fighting the obvious enemy, they were also fighting racism and sexism within their own military, at the time it was common to happen, same goes for soldiers.

When the movie focuses on the women’s will to show they can do it when everyone expects them to fail, that is where the movie really shines since it serve the purpose to inspire but not going down into feminism messages. They were given six months to clear the mail backlog and they did it in three, and then did the same thing in France. Perry is often too neat and tidy about the way he presents these achievements, as if he’s going through a 'how to make an inspiring movie' manual, very systematic.

Lena Derriecott, a young woman who joins the Women's Army Corps after her boyfriend Abram dies in the war, that is how the movie starts and from there develops the plot. Under the command of Major Charity Adams, she becomes part of the 6888th, one of hundreds of Black women who take on the massive challenge of fixing the military's broken mail system. We see their training in Georgia dealing with the discrimination and then the reality of working in wartime in Europe where they work in three shifts around the clock processing thousands of pieces of mail every day.

Perry had these women come up with their own system for handling the mail, putting serial numbers and information cards to use, to find the recipients. Sorting letters was not what it was about, it was about solving a complicated puzzle in the middle of air raids, freezing conditions and constant racism, who would actually concentrate under such chaos and pressure.

Kerry Washington is absolutely owning her role as Major Charity Adams in a way that's perfect combination of strength and vulnerability, mainly because she has a great scene in which she stands up to a white officer who tries to tell her unit how to do their job and Washington delivers it with such determination you can’t help but root for her. On the other side of things there is Lena played by Ebony Obsidian, a real emotionally deep women, especially in scenes about her loss, also her growth from a girl from a small town to a capable soldier and she brings real emotional depth indeed in Ebony Obsidian.

The supporting cast did a great job filling in the blanks because each woman in the unit has her own reason for joining, we get a lot of different stories from escaping abuse, seeking education and these are all reasons that give the story a more grounded feeling. Susan Sarandon and Sam Waterston turn up to make short but impactful appearances as Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt they didn't have much screen time but the script seem to be on her favor as you could really notice them been part of the story, but I want them to have had more screen time although its just too many people, very similar to Masters of The Air.

The movie made me think about how much we take communication for granted these days, technology itself. The idea that millions of letters were just sitting there, undelivered, while soldiers and their families were desperate for news from each other, it was the uncertain if they were dead or alive. Director Tyler Perry does a great job of showing this through Lena’s story, particularly when she learns of Abram’s death and click on how important the 6888th’s mission was, even if some thought of it as a waste of time sorting mail when others were dodging bullets out there.

The ending is so neat in my opinion, lots of emotions towards the end, after months of mail mountains in both England and France and the 6888th finally completes their mission early before schedule, the ending makes you realize they have not only succeeded in their mission but they have changed perceptions of what Black women can do in the military, essentially that they can make things happen, without going into any kind of controversy or argument, someone had to take they job and they went beyond.

The movie has a lot of inaccuracy, I have seen in the past that some think this should not be seen with a lazy eye since its war history, but I think that as long as it not drastic changes that takes glory from others, I think its OK. In the final scene white male soldiers salute the women when they come home, something Director Perry himself has admitted never actually happened. The truth is these women were not celebrated or acknowledged when they returned and many of them did not talk about their service because of ugly rumors that had been spread about them, that must be very sad to feel this way but that was part of the world we humans use to live in, now days we can only appreciate things have change for the better, still it was interesting that Perry ended the movie with that symbolic salute anyway, trying to at least give them recognition from himself and the production. At the end of the movie, footage of the real Lena Derriecott King explains that they were really treated better in Europe than when they came back to the United States.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #sixtripleeight, #netflix, #worldwarii, #army, #mail, #soldiers, #racism, #discrimination, #history, #battalion, #women, #military, #kerrywashington, #tylerperry, #blackwomen, #war, #morale, #service, #letters, #england, #france, #segregation, #prejudice, #honor, #veterans, #flixfinder

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Hola, querido hiver.

Termino el año recordando esta increíble película que hasta hace poco seguía en mi lista de pendientes. Es mi primera aproximación a la obra del director Christopher Nolan y debo admitir que me parece una obra maestra que desde ahora ocupa un lugar dentro de mis películas favoritas.

El inicio de la película nos presenta un panorama apocalíptico en el que la vida en la Tierra está llegando a sus últimos momentos debido a unas tormentas de arena que impiden el crecimiento de los cultivos. Si no se encuentra remedio la comida se agotará y la humanidad morirá de hambre.

Aquí entra en juego el protagonista, Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), un ingeniero científico y piloto que vive del cultivo de maíz en Estados Unidos. Toma contacto con la NASA y le proponen que forme parte de una misión inédita en la historia del ser humano.

El objetivo es explorar el Universo en busca de un planeta al que se pueda trasladar la humanidad para garantizar su supervivencia. Para ello los miembros de la expedición deberán asumir riesgos y tomar decisiones que afectarán no solo a sus vidas y a las de sus familias, sino a toda la especie humana.

Tras el despegue de la nave espacial la película es una sucesión de aventuras donde cada momento de tranquilidad es el preludio de un nuevo problema que resolver, manteniendo la tensión y la intriga.

La película construye un relato de gran realismo pese a ser ciencia ficción. El uso de los agujeros de gusano como autopistas intergalácticas o la consideración de las diferentes dimensiones del tiempo y el espacio están tratados con precisión verosímil.

Me sorprende que no obtuviese más nominaciones a los premios cinematográficos conocidos y quedase relegada al apartado de efectos especiales, banda sonora o fotografía. Que también las merecía, pero se me quedan escasas. La obra explora conceptos filosóficos y morales combinados con ciencia, algo que quizás sea visto como "solo apto para frikis". Si es así, agréguenme a la lista, pues la viví con intensidad y la disfruté.

Te deseo un Feliz Año Nuevo.

Créditos: Diseño de la portada en Canva. Todas las imágenes de la película obtenidas de IMDb. Trailer oficial obtenido de YouTube

Hasta la próxima publicación. Mientras tanto, ¡cuídate!

Herramientas: Cámara iPhone 13 Pro, editor de fotos Mac. Mis publicaciones en Worldmappin pinchando aquí Si te gusta lo que publico, únete a mi Fanbase pinchando aquí

©️Copyright 2024 Paloma Peña Pérez. Todos los derechos reservados.

Hi, dear hiver.

I end the year remembering this incredible film that until recently was still on my to-see list. It is my first approach to the work of director Christopher Nolan and I must admit that I find it a masterpiece that from now on occupies a place among my favourite films.

The beginning of the film presents us with an apocalyptic scenario in which life on Earth is reaching its last moments due to sandstorms that prevent crops from growing. If no remedy is found, food will run out and humanity will starve.

This is where the protagonist, Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), a scientific engineer and pilot who makes his living from growing corn in the United States, comes into play. He contacts NASA and is asked to take part in a mission that is unprecedented in human history.

The objective is to explore the Universe in search of a planet to which mankind can move in order to guarantee its survival. To do so, the members of the expedition will have to take risks and make decisions that will affect not only their lives and those of their families, but the entire human species.

After the spaceship takes off, the film is a succession of adventures where each moment of calm is the prelude to a new problem to solve, maintaining the tension and intrigue.

The film constructs a highly realistic story despite being science fiction. The use of wormholes as intergalactic highways or the consideration of the different dimensions of time and space are treated with plausible precision.

I am surprised that it did not get more nominations for the well-known film awards and was relegated to special effects, soundtrack or cinematography. It deserved them too, but I think they were too few. The film explores philosophical and moral concepts combined with science, something that might be seen as ‘only for geeks’. If so, add me to the list, as I experienced it intensely and enjoyed it.

I wish you a Happy New Year.

Credits: Cover design in Canva. All images from the film obtained from IMDb Official trailer obtained from YouTube

See you next time. In the meantime, take care!

Tools: iPhone 13 Pro camera, Mac photo editor. Translated with DeepL My publications in Worldmappin by clicking here If you like my content, join my Fanbase clicking here

©️Copyright 2024 Paloma Peña Pérez. All rights reserved.

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At the shop even though things have been slow I have very little work to do lately as everything is working fine so its just regular maintenance, I had time to kill today and decided to watch The Wailing (2016), this came as a recommendation after watching Train To Busan (2016), both South Korean horror movies that blew my mind now that I'm just getting my feet wet with Asian Horror movies. The Wiling made me wonder about a lot of things which is the best way a movie can blow your mind. The story takes place in a remote country village in Goksung and develops the story of a Japanese man who recently settles in this area, the movie slowly evolve into something that is not quite horror, not quite drama, not quite a crime drama, but a mix of all three that keeps you hooked.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18177528/
• Platform: Amazon Prime Video

Rottentomatoes Rating

Before I start jumping into the characters and actors I got to say I know there is a lot of names that I might get wrong, I'm sorry. The story line presents Jong goo, a clumsy and not too bright local police officer whose task is to solve mysterious murders, during which people get a rash, and then kill everybody, sounds crazy and more like a poison or virus, the movie is not about Zombies rather about demonic possessions but at first did look like a zombie outbreak. It becomes more dramatic and sensitive when he himself finds his daughter named Hyo jin having the same symptoms and this forces Jong goo to figure out why is this happening and to find out the real truth. It has this Jap prof from the mountains maybe he is the chief culprit, a woman with a riddle who can appear and disappear anytime, and there is a shaman who does one of the most I would say extreme exorcism I’ have seen in demonic possession horror movies.

The cast in the Wailing did an excellent job, especially Do won Kwak as Jong goo, he begins this almost as a comedic character, a cop who is so inept that he is unable to do anything right but as the movie goes on and his daughter becomes infected, his performance becomes so real and genuinely sorrowful, not to compare but this reminds me of Godzilla Minus One on how the character starts to evolve into the hero of the movie. On The Wailing who really steals the show though is Kim Hwan hee in the role of Hyo jin; this child is probably one of the top 10 realistic possessed child actor I have seen on movies, she does it in a way that the change from being an innocent daughter to a terrifying presence is very close to perfect.

Before watching the movie I wanted to get more info about it and figure out there is great feedback about it from reviews online, some of it because the movie does a great job of not scaring you to death and even laugh from time to time while there is the main character running against time through his investigation to figure out whats going on so he could save his daughter, keeping high levels of suspense in combination to horror and dark comedy, but the truth is that the plot is a bit complex, its almost like they had this great idea that became too big to handle and start to rush out and cut corners so they could get it back into shape.

What really got me about The Wailing is how it fools you into thinking that it’s one type of movie before throwing curve ball after curve ball and unveiling what it is really about, each time you think that you have got it right something unexpected happens in the movie. The attention to detail and the landscape, the surroundings are awesome with the Korean mountains, specially when there is fog everywhere and rain which adds to the suspense and oppressive feeling. When ever I watch a movie that takes place on other continents it always amaze me, I guess its the opposite feeling from someone from Korea watch a movie that takes place in America without ever visited. I wont say its only about the place but also about the combination of sounds that the movie keeps adding through out, specially on the exorcism scene that obviously gives you this discomfort feeling because its an exorcism but the sound of the drums and bells, nothing like the exorcisms we are use to watch on Hollywood movies.

The ending of The Wailing is one of the most dramatic ones I have seen in a movie based on how the faith of everything goes to the toilet because of one single decision. Once Jong goo chooses to no believe the woman who was trying to help him, who in fact was not a women but a ghost, a protective spirit but because he failed to follow her instructions everything turn into an absolute madness. The last scenes shows Jong goo getting back home and that's when he finds his daughter who is already possessed, killing her mother and grand mother, eventually stabbing him, all this because he couldn't wait to get back home as he was told to wait for three roosters calls, kinda biblical if we think about it, like when Peter who denied Jesus three times before the rooster crowed, Jong goo failed the same test of faith. Eventually breaking the protection spell created by Moo myung leaving the demon free and finish his ritual.

To a certain extend after watching the movie Jong goo had a single chance and everything else against him, I kept thinking how in a moment of desperation when most of us have zero patience, Jong goo tried to protect his daughter and in fact, he doomed her. The genius of this conclusion is that it makes you reevaluate everything that was shown from every conversation, every warning, every friendly face might have been motivated by something very different from what you thought. This movie is the case of when evil does his best job behind scenes, like the shaman who Jong goo's mother in law contact to help with Hyo jin condition and the "Japanese Man" who lived in the forest but in fact where working together, Japanese Man or Stranger who was actually a demon trying to possess people and create chaos within the village. It is the kind of ending that has a deep meaning on how life some times play tricks on you but you have to stay firm in your goal and believes, its better to fail with a plan than without one.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #possession, #demon, #supernatural, #horror, #korean, #shaman, #ghost, #faith, #murder, #infection, #ritual, #stranger, #police, #village, #evil, #paranoia, #disease, #investigation, #exorcism, #mystery, #death, #protection, #tragedy, #curse, #folklore, #flixfinder

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I have always had a thing for small town crime movies, specially if it has comedy involve since it makes the plot feel encapsulated like people see each other every day and start pointing fingers on their head, what a perfect moment to watch a movie I had on my bucket list during a power outage thanks to my good amount of battery power at home, while I wait, decided to pull my tablet and gave it a try. While Greedy People won’t be running for any Oscars it was a surprisingly decent watch that kept me entertained, although I did feel like it was a straight to streaming and not for the big screen. The movie develops on Providence, a sleepy island town where crime is close to none, and that fact sparks intrigue when crime does happen and caught everyone by surprise. This is a dark comedy crime thriller that sometimes works and sometimes almost doesn't but what really kept me watching was how the movie will keep you guessing what the hell is going to happen next, even when the story becomes a little predictable.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt20201748/
• Platform: AppleTV+

Rottentomatoes Rating

The production is not exactly top notch and I personally felt it like a B type of movie, but director Potsy Ponciroli still steers the boat course that doesn't felt bad at all, its that kind of cable movie that is a great watch and you don't mind watching it twice when it comes again on cable. The movie has this interesting way of dividing its story into chapters, each one dedicated to different characters, but it also helps keep the story fresh, you never get lost and its like connecting dots.

It’s the simple start and then it spirals into this web of lies, greed and bad decisions that really kept me interested and I saw this coming right away the moment I saw the trailer months ago. It's like watching a bunch of dominoes fall, except instead of each domino falling after each other this time they all fall together and each bad choice causes an even worse situation, but no one seems to be able to make a smart decision to save their lives. I guess that is the hook of this movie, makes you feel entertained and frustrated with the choices the characters make.

There is a new cop in town, Will Shelley is partnered with Terry Brogan and things go south faster than they might think. On his first day Will accidentally kills a local businessman's wife, finds a million dollars and gets caught up in a cover up plan with his new partner. Right from the start the movie is very very predictable but there is the fun part, that dark humor that you laugh on how dumb they can be and get caught so easy after each of their bad choices, it sometimes feels like they trying too hard to be clever but just don't work out.

Himesh Patel plays the rookie cop Will, who can't catch a break and does a fine job of playing an increasingly desperate man trying to protect his growing family and digging himself deeper in trouble. While it’s strange to see Joseph Gordon Levitt in a movie that feels like a low budget movie than what we’re used to, he adds a great energy to his role as the corrupt cop who is basically a walking disaster waiting for things to go from bad to worst, the chemistry between the two is just great and its a bit contradictory because in the movie they are not best friends at all.

It's in the middle section of the movie where it starts to lose some momentum and pace, feeling as it is just too busy juggling too many plot threads that it doesn't know how to get everything together. Some characters come and go so fast you don’t even have a chance to realize they matter and others stick around longer than they should, its the case of Captain Murphy played by Uzo Abuda, the chief of police in Providence who I think could have a more important role trying to keep an eye on both Will and Terry. There are times where it feels like the movie is having a hard time to decide if it wants to be an actual comedy or more of a serious crime thriller.

Greedy People try to avoid a typical Hollywood wrap up where someone gets away with everything in the end, or there's some kind of redemption story to it, instead opting for something more realistic, it might sound a bit extreme. It's kinda of satisfying in a way because everyone is pretty much getting what they deserve, even the supposedly smart characters get in trouble for what they do and Terry's corruption catches up with him, while Will's attempts to protect his family backfire in spectacular fashion.

The ending works because it brings everything together, all the hit men, the stolen money and the cover up threads converge in an inevitable and surprisingly satisfying way. There is no last minute redemption, no clever escape plan that works out, it's the natural consequences of a bunch of greedy people making bad decisions one after another.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #providence, #greedy, #crime, #money, #police, #murder, #comedy, #hitmen, #corruption, #noir, #smalltown, #thriller, #suspense, #rookie, #island, #accident, #violence, #conspiracy, #greed, #deception, #revenge, #justice, #consequences, #secrets, #betrayal, #flixfinder

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Things have happened

Mira que han pasado cosas

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I really enjoy this type of movie where dark times, full of conspiracy in a way reminds me of Judas and the Black Messiah and I have to admin director Justin Kurzel gave us a great piece of cinema that will make you think about it for hours after its over, in my case specially is how we human get to that point of power just through our words, yeah now days you can tell that is what politics is about but back in the 80s was different, there was no social media, no internet as today, my point is that it was way stronger the power this individuals get over groups like Bob during the movie. This piece of history I knew nothing about take us back to 1983 Idaho and I got fascinated by this part of history that took us back to a world that feels uncomfortably close to our present reality, again the power of word. Terry Husk one of the main character is an FBI agent, is played by an intense Jude Law, and he is investigating a series of bank robberies and bombings in the Pacific Northwest that will prove them all to be linked to a white supremacist group known as The Order.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26625693/
• Platform: AppleTV+

Rottentomatoes Rating

Straight from the start this movie sucked me in with its authentic 80s feel and I loved how Kurzel managed to make everything feel and look as if we were transported right into that time period. The environment is amazing showing off these beautiful but isolating landscapes of the Pacific Northwest as the backdrop of a story that is both thrilling and incredibly unsettling. The camera moves and angles in a way that makes you feel like you are almost in the middle of the action while still giving it all that gritty, feel of this era that makes everything seem more real and immersive, its all about camera angels, distance and lighting, enjoy every part of it. This movie never feels like a crime thriller and yet it is also about hate and extremism, literally feels like the FBI going to war against a ideologist group, even the quiet scenes have that constant tension keeping you on high alert and you can feel something terrible building below just pumping up about to happen. The movie does a great job at keeping everything on the entertaining side of things instead of trying to become a sensationalize media content, it might also have to do sticking to facts as close as possible instead of telling the story from an specific point of view, yes we have bad guys on the story but mostly misguided to certain extend psychologically abuse by others.

Terry Husk arrives in a small Idaho town supposedly to find a place to live, a place to be quiet, but soon is pulled into the investigation of the local Aryan Nations compound. Helped by local cop Jamie Bowen played by Tye Sheridan and FBI agent Joanne Carney played by Jurnee Smollett, as he digs deeper he and the group discover another splinter group led by Bob Matthews played by Nicholas Hoult, who are using contraband and counterfeiting to fund their white supremacist revolution plans.

The story remains familiar and interesting since it keeps unfolding like a classic crime thriller but never letting you forget what the ugly reality is at its core. This is where the bank robberies and armored car heists get staged expertly and create real excitement and tension but always kept in mind that these are not just ordinary criminals, these are domestic terrorists with a frighteningly narrow worldview. The way the movie is able to keep together the investigation with the sneak peak into Matthews organization allows us to see both sides without it making either seem sympathetic.

Jude Law nail it during the the entire movie and absolutely owns every scene he is in as Terry Husk, this intense but kinda worn down energy he brings to the character is someone who has been chasing down the worst kinds of criminals for years and at times look aged and tired from this job where all he wants to is a calm place to be. All of his performance is about the little things, the slight shaking of his hands when he is stressed, honestly some of his best work in years even though this is not a blockbuster movie, to put it perspective I might compare his performance to the back in the day Enemy at the Gates (2001).

Nicholas Hoult is equally as powerful playing the role of Bob Matthews, there is this creepy combination of charm and cold calculation, he totally shines during the movie. He makes you see how Matthews could persuade people to follow him without hiding the monster underneath. Law and Hoult butt heads at every scene they are together, especially when their paths meet at the lake, where there is this unspoken connection between two obsessed men on the opposite sides of the law.

Tye Sheridan also brings this kind of naive determination to Jamie Bowen character, fate that makes his ultimate fate even more tragic and the supporting cast don’t hold back either with others like Jurnee Smollett who play a very cooperative character as Agent Carney, but I wish we had seen more of her character development over the course of the story, gave her more participation and screen time, but its always like this when you got a compelling story and so much talent across the cast.

I really liked the ending of the movie, the cat and mouse game between these two finally ends with Terry running in after Bob even as the building burns around them in that final confrontation at the safe house. This fascinating aspect in their relationship is that none of the two can bring themselves to shoot the other in their previous encounters, like they know something about each other, even though they are on opposite sides of this ideological war, almost like they have a certain respect either not to kill each other or want to grab the other and almost like over power showing who is the final boss. The ending is so powerful as the rest of the story, as it turns out The Turner Diaries the book that inspired Matthews and his group, also went on to inspire other acts of domestic terrorism latter down the line. This falls again into the power and control that some words and men could have over a certain group of people during specific circumstance, most of the time happens with those who are looking for something to grab to in live, want a purpose and feel supported, a reason to keep moving forward, the sad and bad part is how things are misinterpreted falling into misleading.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #terrorism, #hate, #fbi, #robbery, #supremacy, #neonazi, #investigation, #violence, #idaho, #revolution, #pursuit, #racism, #brotherhood, #eighties, #justice, #counterfeiting, #obsession, #ideology, #conspiracy, #criminal, #manhunt, #extremism, #identity, #aryan, #banks, #flixfinder

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I saw this movie a few days ago and I wanted to share my review for it.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2140479/

A thriller including drama, action, crime and mystery.

Director Gavin O'Connor Writer Bill Dubuque Stars Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons

A promising cast that lived up to our expectation, when it comes to acting.

I will try to write about it without adding any spoilers

The Accountant is an action-thriller movie that follows the story of Christian Wolff, a skilled mathematician with a mind uniquely wired for numbers.

During the day, he is a freelance accountant, but its seems as if his clients are not the usual businesses or individuals. Actually, they're some of the world's most dangerous criminal organizations.

Christian (Ben Affleck) has exceptional abilities, paired with an enigmatic personality.

When the investigation lead by the Crime Division, gets closer to him, the story really begins to become more interesting.

He’s hired by a company to investigate a discrepancy in their books and this leads to a very complex situation that includes hunting and murder.

There were some moments (in this 2 hour film) where I felt that I would not miss anything if I put the film in 2x speed, but there were plenty of moments with action and also with mystery. There are some nice and interesting plot twists during the movie that keep the interest going.

The imDb rating is 7.3, but I dont think that I would put more than 6.5. Overall it was an ok movie, but one that I would not see again.

Let me know if you have seen it!

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Cillian Murphy comes back to the screen right after blowing everybody's mind with Oppenheimer, although this movie is nothing close, its a much smaller film but one that still got some punch to it, his action keeps showing his ability to bring deep emotion with very little dialogue. Small Things Like These is set in 1985 Ireland and tells a story that had to be told, as it does so through the eyes of one man who chooses to take a stand against the dark history of the Magdalene laundries. To make things even more tragic, the story is set during Christmas in a small Irish town, Cillian Murphy plays the role of Bill Furlong who run a coal delivery business and take care of his wife and five daughters, but there's so much more going on behind the scenes than just another drama from the period about a working class hero.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18177528/
• Platform: AppleTV+

Rottentomatoes Rating

The scenery does match the story creating an immersive experience, as it is cold and damp atmosphere of 1980s, I cant tell exactly feels like Ireland because I have never been there but does feel like the 80s based on the way people dress. There is also the lighting and camera work that sets the tone of the movie and in particular the convent scenes. There is something special about watching Murphy's character pass through these dark, grimy corridors and coal sheds, along with the kind of darkness that builds off the lack of light, to be honest a very depressing environment as it needs to be. Director Tim Mielants knows how to take you deep into the feeling of the story so you feel whats going on and from the very start understand that things are not right and women living in this places, often known as "fallen women" are not feeling right there is something that is not OK, director opens up the view often shooting from a distance or on the character through windows and doors, enhancing an impenetrable darkness surrounding this story in every corner.

I don’t know what I was expecting from this movie, probably because of it being set at Christmas  but I got something completely different than a happy story, a deeply moving look at how society can turn a blind eye to horrible things happening right in front of us, dark times for sure. From the start I understood this was not going to be a fast pace movie, which is exactly why it works so well in certain way since it takes its time to develop the plot. There are no fast cuts through the story, we’re allowed to spend time with what’s happening and the moral weight of the situation at the Magdalane Laundries through Bill's eyes.

Bill Furlong is a coal merchant who delivers to the local convent, where he stumbles across something that moves him to his core, this sets him up to try to make things right and the plot of this movie is not complicated at all and I guess it doesn't have to be, its either black or white. It’s about a man who’s seen something wrong and he has got to decide if he is going to speak up or just do what everyone else in town is doing. We learn about Bill's own history by flashbacks, his single mother raising him until her death and how he was taken in by a Protestant woman who showed him kindness when others perhaps would not.

When Bill finds Sarah, a young woman locked in the coal shed at the convent the story becomes more intense, this discovery makes him face from first hand a situation that many have been turning there eye the other way, but also his own past and the moral problems that have been bothering him, its shocking how this women were basically force to work but not necessarily by force but also by manipulation. It doesn't shy away from showing just how the Catholic Church's power cover up every part of this small Irish town's life, from education to social norms and the way that power could be used to silence people about the abuses taking place in the Magdalene laundries. Everything blows up for Bill when one morning, doing his deliveries early than usual discovers a teenage girl at the local convent, the girl pregnant locked on a shed, he was shocked and decided there was something going on inside when Sister Mary told him they were playing hide and seek.

Besides the shocking topics the movie touch on, what makes it speciall is the performances and Cillian Murphy leads the way, perhaps one of the best performances of his career so far, I personally enjoy it more than Oppenheimer. Bill Furlong is not the sort of character who requires a lot of talk or dramatic outbursts to tell you the weight of his character's moral struggle. All the little stuff, the way he rubs the coal off his hands at the end of each day as if trying to wash away more than just dirt, the faraway expression in his eyes when he is thinking about his past, the way he holds his body differently when he talks to Sister Mary like he is running out of patience. Emily Watson absolutely nails how Sister Mary comes off as quiet battle of wills with every interaction she and Murphy have and delivers a performance as good, quite funny how its very similar to her recent role as Valya in Dune Prophecy, she does a great job at working out the current of threat and manipulation, even in their politest exchanges, showing off who is in control and power.

There is also Eileen Walsh who is an important character to the story as her role, Bill’s wife, a woman who knows the price you pay for doing the right thing but is also scared of what it means for her family, things get even more complicated to her character when she eventually finds out that Sister Mary try to bribe Bill with money inside a sealed envelop. During most part of the movie she is between wanting to help her husband out, as well as wanting to protect the stability of her family is shocking acting from here. Zara Devlin as Sarah probably the jewel of the crown for this story, the pregnant girl that Bill discovered locked in the coal shed, her fear and desperation felt absolutely real and with all reason justified by the things she go through.

I'm not a drama lover but there is something to the story telling of this movie that kept me interested, not just because I'm also a sucker for historical context but I felt like it still had some very real relevance today in our social environment, it touch on themes of institutional power, moral courage, speaking up for and against injustice at a cost, and depending on everyone situation these are things we often might keep quiet about just like Eileen to keep certain stability either economical or just trying to keep everything in peace until one day is too late and things just happen. I felt there is no agenda or pushing messages on the movie as it actually shows us what happened and leaves it up to the audience of what we would do in Bill’s position, its not trying to make you think certain way but ask yourself what would you do, but what makes it even more powerful and close to the ground, is that these Magdalene laundries were not some far off historical tragedy, the last one closed in 1996 and that is very recent, at first I had not context of the movie since I jump into it because of Cillian Murphy, another reason why it makes it special how he single hand will bring this topic to a bigger audience, not as a documentary but at least to make others aware this actually happen to a certain extend not too far from now days.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #ireland, #murphy, #magdalene, #catholic, #coal, #convent, #laundries, #bill, #christmas, #abuse, #sarah, #nuns, #church, #moral, #winter, #faith, #family, #darkness, #silence, #redemption, #guilt, #courage, #trauma, #kindness, #justice, #flixfinder

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