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Movie Review

The Surrogate (2020) Movie Review

The Surrogate – Movie Review

Surrogate

Director: Jeremy Hersh

Writer: Jeremy Hersh (Screenplay)

Cast

  • Jasmine Batchelor (A Journal for Jordan)
  • Chris Perfetti (The Night Of)
  • Sullivan Jones (Harlem)
  • Brooke Bloom (Extremely Loud & Incredible Close)
  • Eboni Booth (Come Play)

Plot: A web designer for a non-profit in Brooklyn, is ecstatic to be the surrogate and egg-donor for her best friend and his husband. Twelve weeks into the pregnancy, a prenatal test comes back with unexpected results that pose a moral dilemma.

Runtime: 1 Hour 33 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Surrogate starts when web designer Jess (Batchelor) agrees to become a surrogate for her gay best friends Josh (Perfetti) and Aaron (Jones). While the agreement is all drawn up, after twelve weeks prenatal test comes back with news the baby has down-syndrome. This leads to questions about whether they would still bring the child into the world.

Jess dives into learning more about down-syndrome, she wants to continue to bring the baby into the world. However, the couple isn’t willing to put in the time to raise the baby. This leads to a moral dilemma for Jess about what she wants to do.

Verdict on The Surrogate

The Surrogate is a drama that follows a moral dilemma that could occur during a surrogate pregnancy. It sees how the people involved must make a moral decision on whether to continue with the pregnancy.

This is an interesting movie, one that offers up a big conversation about learning about early disabilities children can have. Showing the difficult decision people go through knowing they would have to raise a child with down-syndrome. Being a surrogate puts three people in the conversation of having their lives changed and on top of that the legal decision of the parents doesn’t want to have it. It is all fascinating to see unfold. The performances are wonderful too, with the whole cast shining through the decision-making process.

Final Thoughts – The Surrogate is a brilliant drama about a complicated decision.

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Movie Review

Murder at Yellowstone City (2022) Movie Review

Murder at Yellowstone City – ABC Film Challenge – Catch-Up 2022 – Y – Murder at Yellowstone City – Movie Review

Yellowstone City

Director: Richard Gray

Writer: Eric Belgau (Screenplay)

Cast

Plot: A former slave arrives in Yellowstone City, Montana, a desolate former boomtown now on the decline, looking for a place to call home. On that same day, a local prospector discovers gold – and is murdered.

Runtime: 2 Hours 7 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Murder at Yellowstone City starts when Robert Dunnigan (McGowan) strikes gold in a Montana city. He shows his new wealth around the city, making himself known to be rich, leading to somebody murdering him. Sheriff Ambrose (Bryne) must investigate with the clues pointing to a former slave Cicero (Mustafa).

The town believes he is guilty but preacher Thaddeus Murphy (Jane) and his wife Alice (Camp) question certain things about what happened.

Verdict on Murder at Yellowstone City

Murder at Yellowstone City is a slow-action western thriller, following the events of a murder and the finger-pointing it created around the potential suspects. It creates a mystery about who was behind the murder, despite never investigating, just showing the assumptions.

It does have a big cast of well-respected actors but none of them seems to stand out in any way throughout the movie. The story feels like a slog, going nowhere fast and the fighting seems to fall into the end cycle of nothing much happening. While the settings are used to show the openness of the city, where the community together would need to band together.

Final Thoughts – Murder at Yellowstone City is a slow, dull action thriller.

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Movie Review

Air Force The Movie: Selagi Bernyawa (2022) Movie Review

Air Force the Movie: Selagi Bernyawa – Movie Review

Air Force The Movie: Selagi Bernyawa Poster

Director: Zulkarnain Azhar, Frank See

Writer: Zulkarnain Azhar, Peter Toyat, Opie Harris, Frank See (Screenplay)

Writer: Zulkarnain Azhar, Opie Harris, Ahmad Faizal, Azman J (Story)

Cast

  • Aiman Hakim Ridza
  • Adi Putra
  • Nas-t

Plot: The movie follows the story of a PASKAU team led by Captain Adib and his mentor, Major Adnan, tasked with protecting humanitarians serving in the war-torn country, Namburi. On their return home, their plane gets unexpectedly shot down by local militants. Nine of the passengers managed to make their jump before the plane crashes.

Runtime: 1 Hour 43 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Air Force the Movie: Selagi Bernyawa starts when Major Lejan (Putra) and Captain Rock (Nas-T) are leading an escape plan for humanitarians. They have been operating in war-torn Namburi and the militia is becoming lethal. As the plane leaves the island, it gets shot down by the militia.

Nine people escape before the plane crash land, behind enemy lines. They must work together to escape the militia tracking them down. Lejan and Rock must lead the military defence, while protecting the civilians.

Verdict on Air Force the Movie: Selagi Bernyawa

Air Force the Movie: Selagi Bernyawa is an action combat movie following a group of survivors fighting back against a militia. It shows us the small group that is a mix of soldiers and civilians that need to work together. We also get to see a military operation looking to rescue their people.

This does create a fictional war that sees brutality on one side and a calmer approach on the other. They need to use their skills to survive being outnumbered and overcome the odds. It has a brutal wartime style to everything the survivors go through. Doesn’t hold back on the body count. This is a large-scale movie mixing parts of ‘Behind Enemy Lines’ into modern conflicts.

Where to Watch: Air Force the Movie: Selagi Bernyawa is available on Netflix now.

Final Thoughts –Air Force the Movie: Selagi Bernyawa is a large-scale war survival movie.

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Movie Review

Petit Mal (2022) Movie Review

Petit Mal – Movie Review

Petit Mal

Director: Ruth Caudeli

Writer: Ruth Caudeli (Screenplay)

Cast

  • Silvia Varon
  • Ruth Caudeli
  • Ana Maria Otalora

Plot: Have you ever met a throuple? We are opening our home’s doors to show you how is our life, how we, as a women’s throuple, live the absence of one of us. This real fiction show us how we deal with loneliness, jealousy and how we have to adapt ourselves when three become two.

Runtime: 1 Hour 29 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Petit Mal starts as we meet Marina (Varon), Laia (Caudeli) and Anto (Otalora) a throuple living together. They have different lives, which causes problems at times, as they show different levels of jealousy toward each other. It gets to see how at times they can feel lonely, but deep down the three of them love each other.

Verdict on Petit Mal

Petit Mal is an intimate drama following the lives of a throuple. It takes us behind closed doors into their personal life as they see how life changes over time. Giving us a chance to see how what looks like a complicated arrangement can run smoothly, even with the occasional problem.

This is a nice look at how things operate in a relationship others might not be used. It gets a personal feeling for how everything unfolds, without giving us a much bigger story going on. The performances in the movie are good and give everything a natural feel about what we are watching.

Final Thoughts – Petit Mal is a nice personal-feeling movie.

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Movie Review

Pearl (2022) Movie Review

Pearl – ABC Film Challenge – Catch-Up 2022 – X (Sequel) – Pearl – Movie Review

Pearl

Director: Ti West

Writer: Ti West, Mia Goth (Screenplay)

Cast

  • Mia Goth (X)
  • David Corenswet (Look Both Ways)
  • Tandi Wright (Jack the Giant Slayer)
  • Matthew Sunderland (The Nightingale)
  • Emma Jenkins-Purro

Plot: In 1918, a young woman on the brink of madness pursues stardom in a desperate attempt to escape the drudgery, isolation and lovelessness of life on her parents’ farm.

Runtime: 1 Hour 47 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Pearl starts as we meet Pearl (Goth), a wife who dreamer, living on her family farm while her husband is at war. Her mother Ruth (Wright) demands help around the farm as her Father (Sunderland) is wheelchair-bound. Pearl’s mother refuses to let her dream big, constantly trying to shake it out of her mind.

When Pearl learns about a dance competition, she sets her sights on taking part. However, people in her life start holding her back, leading to a much darker side being unleashed.

Verdict on Pearl

Pearl is a horror prequel that takes us into a younger version of Pearl. This sees her early dreams to become a star and how her life was being controlled. It continues to follow the darker side to her mind that leads to a deadly side.

This does bring us more behind one of the great characters from ‘X’ in Pearl. Seeing a younger version helps us learn more about her twisted mind. This whole movie relies on Mia Goth’s masterful performance. She carries this movie with this performance that captures you with her facial expressions throughout the movie. When it comes to the horror elements, it is all about how far she might go, using a lot of suspense.

Final Thoughts – Pearl is a disturbing horror with an outstanding performance from Mia Goth.

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Movie Review

Alive (2022) Movie Review

Alive – Movie Review

Alive Movie Poster

Director: David Marantz

Writer: David Marantz (Screenplay)

Cast

Plot: Helen navigates a ravaged world with her boyfriend Kevin and her little brother Barney. Desperate to find help after Barney’s infection slowly turns him into a zombie, they come upon a house where lives Dan, a man harboring a heavy secret.

Runtime: 1 Hour 33 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Alive starts as a virus spreads across England, turning people into infected zombies. Helen (Hillman), Kevin (Pritchard) and Barney are searching for an island that could give refuge. They stumble across Dan (Sheffield) a lone survivor with his own secrets.

When the group go in search of supplies, they end up clashing with Father Albert (Matthews) and his followers. They need to battle to survive as they search for their chance of rescue.

Verdict on Alive

Alive is a horror thriller following a group of survivors during a zombie apocalypse. They have a plan but after clashing with a group of survivors with other plans, they must learn whom to trust during the life and death times in life.

With an opening sequence that produces the pure chaos involved with a potential zombie outbreak. Showing how slowly people plan for it, believing smaller rescue centres would be the answer. This does turn into a battle for survival between the two sides. Showing how a zombie outbreak could bring the worst out in people. This also leans towards the potential of twisted ideas of what would be considered safety for humanity, a theory that is often thrown at the zombie subgenre. The environment is used well, having one home off the map, with the school offering supplies and troubles.

Final Thoughts – Alive is an entertaining zombie movie.

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Movie Review

Wickensburg (2022) Movie Review

Wickensburg – ABC Film Challenge – Catch Up 2022 – W – Wickensburg – Movie Review

WIckensburg

Director: Richard Boddington

Writer: Richard Boddington (Screenplay)

Cast

Plot: A mother and her young son move to a new small town. They soon discover the town harbours a dark secret, and it’s a race against time to save the town.

Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Wickensburg starts when Celine (Richards) and her son Elliott (Gering) move to a new town. It starts strange in the town, as the two struggle to make friends, except with an outside Willow (White). She makes friends with Elliott and believes she is a witch.

As the two start their own investigation, Celina being a journalist, looks to have her own. The two sides end up working together to investigate a new construction operation in the town, uncovering a bigger cover-up.

Verdict on Wickensburg

Wickensburg is a fantasy horror that follows a new family coming to a mysterious town. They see strange things happening, leading them to investigate and uncover a dark secret. This leads to them racing against time to stop the town from getting worse before it is too late.

The movie does everything by the book. It has a new family in the town, makes friends with an outsider, brings people closer and is a shady business owner. This all comes together for the story, which feels more like an early draft ‘Goosebumps’ story. One that needed a bit more fine-tuning. However, the performances are strong enough to keep us entertained, in what is more of an entry-level fantasy horror.

Final Thoughts – Wickensburg is a safe fantasy horror movie.

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Movie Review

Narvik: Hitler’s First Defeat (2022) Movie Review

Narvik: Hitler’s First Defeat – Movie Review

Narvik Hitler's First Defeat Movie Poster

Director: Erik Skjoldbjærg

Writer: Christopher Grøndahl (Screenplay)

Writer: Christopher Grøndahl, Erik Skjoldbjærg, Live Bonnevie, Sebastian Torngren Wartin (Story)

Cast

  • Kristine Hartgen
  • Henrik Mestad
  • Stig Henrik Hoff (The Thing)
  • Christoph Bach
  • Carl Martin Eggesbø

Plot: April 1940. The eyes of the world are on Narvik, a small town in northern Norway, source of the iron ore needed for Hiter’s war machinery. Through two months of fierce winter warfare, Hitler is dealt his first defeat.

Runtime: 1 Hour 48 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Narvik: Hitler’s First Defeat starts when the small Norwegian town of Narvik comes under attack by the Germans. They take control of the town, wanting the locals to help with the iron ore operation to help in the war. Ingrid Tofte (Hartgen)  is an interpreter between the Mayor and the Germans.

As the Norwegians look for a way out of the town, wanting to keep their civilians safe. They find themselves needing to operate in secret, despite the Germans not using an aggressive approach yet. However, knowing the English are coming, they want to get out of the conflict before innocent lives are taken, leading to their own operation to bring down the Germans.

Verdict on Narvik: Hitler’s First Defeat

Narvik: Hitler’s First Defeat is a war drama showing the first time Hitler’s Nazis last a battle in World War II. His men came up against a determined Norwegian town and army that wouldn’t give up a war-defining set of equipment without a fight. Showing their bravery, they put in to go around in secret to save their loved ones.

This shows the impossible position Ingrid and her fellow civilians were trapped in the middle of the conflict. The families feared for their lives during the combat. While the soldiers had to wait for their chance to take back their city. This does fall into another tragic story from the war, where people lost their lives. In the combat sequences, we see pure terror from being involved in the battles. Seeing their own town attacked and not knowing what will come next.

Where to Watch: Narvik: Hitler’s First Defeat is available on Netflix Now.

Final Thoughts – Narvik: Hitler’s First Defeat is a hard-hitting war movie.

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Movie Review

Sacrifice (2020) Movie Review

Sacrifice (2020) Movie Review

Sacrifice

Director: Andy Collier, Tor Mian

Writer: Toor Mian (Screenplay) Andy Collier, Paul Kane, Toor Mian (Story)

Starring: Sophie Stevens, Ludovic Hughes, Barbara Crampton, Lukas Loughran, Johanna Adde Dahl

Plot: After his mother’s death, Isaac and his pregnant wife return to his birthplace on a remote Norwegian island to claim on unexpected inheritance. During their visit, the couple discover dark secrets from Isaac’s past. Their pleasant trip quickly turns into a nightmare when Isaac and his wife encounter a sinister cult that worships a sea-dwelling deity.

Runtime: 1 Hour 29 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Sacrifice starts as couple Emma (Stevens) and Isaac (Hughes) return to Isaac’s birth home in Norway for an inheritance. Where they get a mixed welcome until the locals learn who he is related too.

With local police officer Renate Nygard (Crampton) explaining what happened to his father. The couple start to suffer strange visions, ones that are disturbing the couple’s time in the home.

Thoughts on Sacrifice

Sacrifice is a mystery horror that will see the couple end up in an unfamiliar location. Where they start to see the change coming from the connection to the past that Isaac has. This will look to dive into the traditions which might be seen as more outdated within the modern world. Sending our characters down a spiral of the unknown throughout the film.

Sacrifice by name will make it clearer that it was going to be more of cult like movie and that is set up to make us feel uneasy throughout the film. As we are not sure where things will go next in the movie. The Norwegian backdrop for the movie is used excellently to show the creepy side to the movie. Performances in the film are strong enough, while by the end it will end up feeling like a movie that is trying to capture the same elements Midsommar bought us.

Final Thoughts – Sacrifice is a tame version of Midsommar.