Daily Archives: June 9, 2021
The Guardian (2020) Movie Review
Director: Charles McDougall
Writer: Cris Cole (Screenplay) Cris Cole, Charles McDougall, Luillo Ruiz, Jorge J Gonzalez (Story)
Starring: Andy Garcia, Dafne Keen, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Luna Lauren Velez, Ramon Franco, Aris Mejias
Plot: Ana meets Rafa in a chance encounter and they embark on a road trip to try and save him from bankruptcy, or worse.
Runtime: 1 Hour 45 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: The Guardian starts when used call salesman Rafa (Garcia) finds a young girl Ana (Keen) in one of his cars after her mother is arrested. Rafa reluctantly takes Ana in for the night before she learns about his debt problem.
The pair set out on a road trip across Puerta Rico in search of Ana’s father, while the Ana looks to help Rafa deal with his increasing debts as the deadline to repay is coming up in 5 days.
Thoughts on The Guardian
Characters – Rafa is a down on his luck used car salesman that finds himself needing to help his neighbour’s daughter as she has no one else to turn to, he is trying to do the right thing which will see him travel across the country to find her father, while trying to clean up his own debts. Ana is young girl that sees her mother arrested, with nobody else to take care of her, wanting to hide from the social services, turning to Rafa, she hasn’t had any guidance before, which will see her getting into more trouble more often than not. On the road trip, the pair meet the mobsters that want Rafa to pay up, long lost friends and new opportunities along the way.
Performances – Andy Garcia brings a comedic side you might not always know from him, showing the kindness trapped inside someone’s heart. Dafne Keen continues to show herself as one of the biggest prospects in young talent here too.
Story – The story here follows a down on his luck car salesman that ends up befriending a next door neighbour daughter after her mother is arrested, seeing the pair travel across Puerta Rico in search of her father, while trying to clean up his own debts. This is a fun road trip movie showing us a country without much hope that needs to support each other, even though people are trying to take advantage of different situations. It will have the unlikely couple travelling that clash, but have the strong moments to connect with each other, as a string of different events happen along the way.
Comedy – The comedy comes mostly from seeing Rafa react to different situations, some are more comical than others, but he isn’t prepared for everything that is coming his way.
Settings – The movie uses the backdrop of Puerta Rico, showing us the side of the cities with different nature, with the beauty of the open road going through the film.
Scene of the Movie – The water story.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The one time special effects are needed.
Final Thoughts – The Guardian is an enjoyable road trip movie that shows the meaning of being good to people who are in need, while being covered in a con-artist movie.
ABC Film Challenge – Thriller – I – I’m A Killer (2016) Movie Review
Director: Maciej Pieprzyca
Writer: Maciej Pieprzyca (Screenplay)
Starring: Miroslaw Haniszewski, Arkadiusz Jakubik, Agata Kulesza, Magdalena Poplawska, Piotr Adamczyk
Plot: Inspired by true events from the 1970s, the story revolves around a young detective who becomes the head of a police unit focused on catching a rampant serial killer of women, nicknamed ‘The Silesian Vampire’.
Runtime: 1 Hour 57 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Interesting Crime Thriller
Story: I’m a Killer starts when detective Janusz Jasinski (Haniszewski) gets sent to lead the investigation into a serial killer dubbed the ‘The Silesian Vampire’ for the relentless number of kills and styles of kills of random women and constant mocking of the police in the letters being sent.
The police are forced to up the investigation when one of the nieces of first secretary is murdered, which sees them looking for people to give information, with Wieslaw Kalicki (Jakubik) becoming one of the main suspects.
Thoughts on I’m a Killer
Characters – Janusz Jasinski is the lead detective placed on the case to bring fresh eyes to the murders, he leads the fellow officers in the investigation, which sees him trying to think outside the box more, he gets a prime suspect, which leaves him waiting for the rest of his team to believe it is the person he believes it is, all while he starts to see his own personal life spiral out of control with an affair. Wieslaw Kalicki is the prime suspect, he does confuse with Janusz with a plan that together would see him look to plan for insanity, he isn’t left with many choices with all the evidence pointing at him. Lidia and Teresa are the long suffering wives of both of detective and killer that deal with their consequences of their actions.
Performances – Miroslaw Haniszewski is the best of the performers in this film, showing us just how his character must take charge, while seeing things in his own life get out of control. The rest of the cast are all fine without being truly brilliant or bad.
Story – The story here follows the investigation into a serial killer in Poland that has been killing a range of women, making it difficult for anybody to put the killings into a bracket, within a country that isn’t willing to accept that type of sexual predator on the streets. The story picks up with a new detective trying to break the case, which would make sense, seeing new eyes being put on it, but it does end up giving us the problem where we are once again focusing on a country that wouldn’t accept anything outside their perfect views on the world being a potential killer, where they would rather wrap up the truth than solve the crimes in question. This isn’t the most engaging investigation, because it focuses more on the idea of getting the story out of the papers, than solving the crime.
Crime – The crimes that have been committed are murder of women in a sexual manner, we don’t see any of the crimes, just the remains and the attempts to get the case closed.
Settings – The film does take us back to the 1970s Poland where the film takes place, using the environment to make us feel like we are part of this movie.
Scene of the Movie – Punch heard around the office.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The music choice makes it feel like a heist movie.
Final Thoughts – This is a crime thriller that doesn’t get the right ideas through, it focuses more on the idea of cleaning up the case, than actually solving it, making it less engaging to learn about the truth.
Overall: Crime thriller that just shuts down the case.
