Apr 27 2020

The Final Wish (2018) Movie Review

Director: Timothy Woodward Jr

Writer: Jeffrey Reddick, William Halfon, Jonathon Doyle (Screenplay)

Starring: Lin Shaye, Michael Welch, Melissa Bolona, Spencer Locke, Tony Todd, Kaiwi Lyman, Jonathan Daniel Brown

Plot: After the death of his father, Aaron returns home to help his grief-stricken mother and to confront his past. Going through his dad’s belongings, he comes across a mysterious item that is more than it seems.

Runtime: 1 Hour 35 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Struggles to Get Going

Story: The Final Wish starts when aspiring lawyer Aaron (Welch) has found himself struggling for money and when his father dies suddenly, he must return home to help his mother Kate (Shaye), even though they have become distant through the recent years.

After Aaron catches up with old friends, he is involved in an accident, but he starts to notice something strange about the people around him after the accident, with a series of things that he wants to solve before it is too late.

Thoughts on The Final Wish

Characters – Aaron has left his small town to try and become a lawyer, he has all the qualifications, only he got them from a weaker college, whose reputation is holding him back from jobs, he must return home after his father’s death and finds himself dealing with a whole new set of problems including dealing with events he simply can’t explain. Kate is Aaron’s mother that is going through the grieving process, she doesn’t want to lose any of the possession he has gathered through the years and is stuck trying to understand why her son never came back earlier. Lisa is a former childhood sweetheart of Aaron’s she has been supporting Kate through the struggles despite having her own problems to overcome, she does end up helping Aaron try to get to the bottom of the problems he is facing. Colin the expert that does fill in most of the blanks about what is happening to Aaron.

Performances – Lin Shaye brings everything you would expect from her in a horror film, even if she is more of a supporting part in the film. Michael Welch takes the leading role and ends filling the generic role without making his character more memorable that he should have, Melissa Bolona fills the supporting side with ease, while Tony Todd gives us a strong cameo, leaving us wanting to see more from.

Story – The story here follows a young man struggling to make his way in his field of choice that must return home after a family death, only to learn that he has unwittingly connects with an evil item within the house. The story here does follow the routine of seeing a relative returning to a family after a death, meeting old friends and getting a chance to catch up on life. When it comes to the horror side of the story, it does take a while to get into everything, which by the time we get into what is happening, it does feel like a dark Aladdin. We also get a conclusion which does feel like kop out.

Horror – The horror in the film is the weakest part, we do have an idea which could be very interesting, only it takes too long to get to the point of the horror, leaving us wondering more than giving us any scares.

Settings – The film uses the small town setting to show what it would be like to return home after being in a big city, filled with memories, but doesn’t use anything for horror.

Scene of the Movie – The final wish.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Takes too long to get to the horror.

Final Thoughts – This is a horror that does have a very interesting idea, only it doesn’t manage to balance the idea with the build up, leaving us wanting more of the horror and less of the memory lane.

Overall: Slow starting horror.

Signature Entertainment presents The Final Wish on Digital HD from May 25th

Apr 27 2020

ABC Film Challenge – Action – # – The Marine 5: Battleground (2017) Movie Review

Being a sequel, it makes the numbers list.

Director: James Nunn

Writer: Edward McHenry, Rory McHenry (Screenplay)

Starring: Mike Mizanin, Maryse Mizanin, Heath Miller, Trinity Fatu, Anna Van Hooft, Sandy Robson, Joe Hennig, Taylor Rotunda

Plot: While working as an EMT back stateside Jake Carter after responding to a distress call, finds himself caught up protecting a person of interest from a biker gang ruthlessly hunting them down.

Runtime: 1 Hour 31 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Nice Late Night Actioner

Story: The Marine 5: Battleground starts as ex-marine turned EMT Jake Carter (Mizanin) is on his first day of the job working with Zoe Williams (Hooft), we see how Jake will risk more to save people and the latest call sees them responding to a heart attack, which turns out to be a gunshot wound from Cole (Mitchell) who has got a biker gang Alonzo (Rotunda), Deacon (Hennig) and Murphy (Fatu) tracking them down in an abandon parking complex.

Jake must use all his skills and military training to keep Cole alive, when the rest of the gang arrive, giving them a massive number advantage.

Thoughts on The Marine 5: Battleground

Characters – Jake Carter has stepped away from the military lifestyle turning his hand to EMT, which should play into his strengths of dealing with crisis situation, on his first day, he is forced to return to his old ways to protect an injured man from a biker gang, he uses every trick in the trade proving he is a lot harder to kill. Cole is the driver in a drive-by, he is forced into the crime, which sees him shot looking to hide from the gang that wants revenge. Cash, Alonzo, Deacon are three members of the biker gang that are looking to kill Cole and anybody who helps him, including Jake and his partner, they might be just generic villains, but they work for the film.

Performances – Mike Mizanin has taken over this franchise to make it his own, he won’t win any awards for his work, but he keeps the character interesting each time out. We do get a lot of different wrestlers in this one, which works for the fights, with Taylor Rotunda being the best of them.

Story – The story here follows an ex-marine turned EMT who finds himself in the middle of a biker gang hunt where he needs to use his military training to make it out alive against the deadly game. This isn’t the biggest or deepest story, it does everything that a late night action film will do, we get a military hero that is trying to have a normal life only finding themselves against criminals. It works, it doesn’t try to make things complicated, just an easy watch.

Action – The action in the film is fights and bullets flying, it is kept simple and nearly always leads to the hero getting the upper hand.

Settings – The film does keep the settings tight, with most of the film inside the parking complex, which has the exits covered, while seeing the abandoned amusement park next door for a final fight.

Scene of the Movie – Amusement park fight.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The villains never feel like a threat.

Final Thoughts – This is an easy to watch late night action movie, it does everything it needs to without be complicating or anything.

Overall: Easy Action Film.

Apr 27 2020

ABC Film Challenge – Action – # – 30,000 Leagues Under the Sea (2007)

Director: Gabriel Bologna

Writer: Eric Forsberg (Screenplay) Jules Verne (Novel)

Starring: Lorenzo Lamas, Sean Lawlor, Natalie Stone, Kim Little, Victor J Springer, Emilio Roso

Plot: Captain Nemo goes even deeper into insanity in this mesmerizing fantasy tale. Once again at the helm of his fearsome, wildly advanced vessel, the nautical madman endeavors to turn the world above the waves upside down.

Tagline – A New World Deep Below the Ocean … Has Declared War on Ours.

Runtime: 1 Hour 26 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Bland

Story: 30,000 Leagues Under the Sea starts when a US Submarine becomes trapped in the Mariana Trent, Lt Michael Arronax (Lamas) and his crew are recruited to use their technology to rescue them, joined by LT Commander Lucille Conciel (Stone) they head off in the rescue attempt.

When Michael vessel clashes with Captain Nemo (Lawlor) the two do clash about rescue, wanting to be in control and his city like vessel is ready for anything Michael tries to throw at him, to stop the madman before he steals all his ideas.

Thoughts on 30,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Characters – Lt Michael Arronax has been working on a prototype that breath under water, which sees him recruited for a daring deep water rescue, he is reluctant to work with his ex-wife, though he does find himself facing up against a naval madman in Captain Nemo, he does believe in saving lives over equipment. Captain Nemo is the naval madman that has plans for the bottom of the ocean, he is willing to go to war with anybody or nation that tries to stop him. LT Commander Lucille Conciel is the ex-wife of Michael, she has been assigned for the mission by the military which gives Michael somebody to bicker with on the mission.

Performances – The performances in this film are not very impressive, they just seem to have no chemistry between them which only makes them working together feeling unlikely with the actors seeming to just deliver their lines without anything behind them.

Story – The story here follows Arronax on a rescue mission where he finds and clashes with Captain Nemo who has big plans for the world above the water. This is a modernisation of the classic novel, without any of the guts and morale dilemmas required to make the story interesting. It does seem to just be a clash between the two, without anything behind what is going on, which just seems to follow a big scheme rather than any sort of action.

Action/Sci-Fi – The action in the film is beyond basic, it is almost non-existent, the idea of the sci-fi side of the film doesn’t seem like too far from the future though which is even more surprisingly weak.

Settings – The film clearly puts us in a couple of random ships which makes it feel like we are watching an old Star Trek episode over anything else.

Special Effects – The effects are weak too, being all CGI which despite the budget never feels connected to anything going on in the film.

Scene of the Movie – The bubble machine.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Everything.

Final Thoughts – This is a terrible version of a classic novel that just feels like lots of random scenes tied together with zero chemistry between the actors and a story that doesn’t even seem to end.

Overall: Terrible watch.

Rating

Apr 27 2020

Extraction (2020) Movie Review

Director: Sam Hargrave

Writer: Joe Russo (Screenplay) Joe Russo (Graphic Novel)

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Golshifteh Farahani, Rudhraksh Jaiswal, Shivam Vichare, Piyush Khati, Randeep Hooda

Plot: Tyler Rake, a fearless black market mercenary, embarks on the most deadly extraction of his career when he’s enlisted to rescue the kidnapped son of an imprisoned international crime lord.

Runtime: 1 Hour 56 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Explosive Actioner

Story: Extraction starts when Indian kid Ovi Mahajan (Jaiswal) is abducted by a rival gang, the ransom is set, his father demands his people go in for the rescue, with Nik Khan (Farahani) bringing her team in for an extraction, Tyler Rake (Hemsworth) leads the extraction mission.

Once Tyler has Ovi, he must find a way to escape the danger filled streets which seem him needing to battle gangster, police and anybody who will accept a pay check from the gangster who took him.

Thoughts on Extraction

Characters – Tyler Rake is a mercenary with a dark past, he has lost everything meaning he will do any mission that comes his way, his latest one see him going alone on an extraction mission of a kidnapped child, needing to use his skills connections to escape a city under lockdown trying to kill him. Nik Khan runs the operation, she has put the team together including Tyler and must find a solution from the outside to try and save him. Ovi is the young boy that has been kidnapped, he must learn to trust Tyler to help him get out of the situation. Saju is one of the men sent to rescue Ovi, only to find himself in the same situation Tyler is at.

Performances – Chris Hemsworth in the leading role is great to watch, he handles both the serious side and the action sequences with ease. Elsewhere we have a great cast that never look out of place through the film.

Story – The story follows a mercenary who is assigned a mission to rescue and extract a kidnapped child only to find himself needing to fight back against an army of enemies to try and get him out alive. When we break down the story it is very simple in how everything plays out, this is entertaining to watch because it doesn’t hold back with how it unfolds. We have one person needing to take on endless enemies to get out. It might not be the most original, but it works on everything it needs to do.

Action – The action is brutal with how the bullets are flying around getting blood flying around with the injuries, we have some wonderful sequences.

Settings – The film keeps most of the film within the city, showing us how the city gets lockdown with no easy escape.

Scene of the Movie – The extraction gone wrong escape.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – One angle doesn’t make sense.

Final Thoughts – This is a non-stop action movie that just doesn’t hold back, we have a great performance from Hemsworth in the leading role and we are kept on the edge of the seats from start to finish.

Overall: Non-Stop Action.