Tag: 729fcf

Categories
Movie Review

The Prototype (2022) Movie Review

Director: Marcelo Grion

Writer: Stephen Brown, Marcelo Grion, Stephen Karandy (Screenplay)

Starring: Mark Vasconcellos, Frank Spinelli, Michael Bertaut, Victoria De Mare

Plot: A government agent stumbles upon an alien conspiracy to conquer Earth. Using a blue liquid created by the aliens to make soldiers stronger. He becomes The Prototype-the only hope for mankind.


Tagline – Left for dead. Back for more.

Runtime: 1 Hour 37 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Prototype starts when Garrett (Vasconcellos) wakes up in a conquered Earth. As the lone survivor who has survived off a liquid created by the aliens that conquered Earth. Garrett is greeted by a clone of his former partner, as he dives into his memories to see if they could uncover the truth.

As Garrett learns more about the past, he learns about Piak (Spinelli) who has been leading the controlling alien species that has been taking over planets for centuries.

Thoughts on The Prototype

Thoughts – The Prototype is a low budget sci-fi film that will look to see the aftermath, battle to prevent and solution to stop the end of the world. In a way that would make sense, showing the bigger picture of what could happen to someone trying to learn to defeat a deadlier enemy.

The Prototype uses the low budget side of the production to help focus on the dialogue, offing the deeper conversations about how things could be changed. When it comes to the action side of the movie, there is a clear weakness being show. Which is going to have to be something you will have to overlook to get the enjoyment out of the film. The performances in this film are strong. Without showing the weaknesses that could have come from the film.

Final Thoughts – The Prototype is a solid low budget sci-fi movie with great ideas helping hide the weaknesses.

Categories
Movie Review

Confession (2022) Movie Review

Confession: A Vengeful Tale of Redemption

Confession: A Vengeful Tale of Redemption

Director: David Beton

Writer: David Beton (Screenplay)

Starring: Colm Meaney, Stephen Moyer, Clare-Hope Ashitey, Kris Johnson, Sadie Jean Shirley

Plot: One church, one priest, a wounded man and his loaded gun. An intense thriller played out in real time during one night where a vengeful confession must take place.

Runtime: 1 Hour 20 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Confession starts when an injured man Victor Strong (Moyer) arrives in a church to confess his sins to a Priest and Father Peter (Meaney). Getting the doors locked, the pair start the story, with the former partner Willow (Ashitey) lurking in the shadows.

As the three collide, the truth about each of them will be revealed, showing they all have something to hide and live with pain in their lives.

Thoughts on Confession

Thoughts – Confession is drama thriller that will see how three people will come together in a church to finally let the truth out, which will give us a story that is filled with twists and turns along the way. This is an interesting look at people wanting to give away their truths, while having a gritty cop like drama going on within it.

It shows people may live with regrets, which they will always find themselves struggling to adapt too. The performances from the three leads are great, making themselves come off as an engaging style, while keeping everything within the walls of the church. This might not be everything you are expecting, as it is a film that is focused more on the discussions going on with everything.

Final Thoughts – Confession is an interesting discussion-based film, around mistakes we can make.

Categories
Movie Review

Plan A (2021) Movie Review ‘Great Historical Drama’

Plan A – Great Historical Drama

Max (August Diehl) lost everything in the holocaust as a group of British soldiers help him search for war criminals in Plan A – a daring operation.

Director: Doron Paz, Yoav Paz

Writer: Doron Paz, Yoav Paz (Screenplay)

Starring: Sylvia Hoeks (Blade Runner 2049), Michael Aloni, August Diehl, Nikolai Kinski, Milton Welsh, Oz Zahavi

Plot: In 1945, a group of Jewish holocaust survivors planned to poison the water system in Germany. The film tells the dangerous and bold secret-operation which was called – Plan A.

Runtime: 1 Hour 49 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Plan A starts as we meet Max (Diehl) a man that lost everything in the holocaust meeting a group of British soldiers who help him after as they go in search for the war criminals, before sending Max on his way to meet the fellow Jewish survivors, looking to get back on their feet in a nation torn to shreds.

Max meets another secret group of survivors, with Ana (Hoeks) who has saved him in the past, the group is planning their own revenge on the nation, with Plan A, an idea to poison the water system in Germany, now we see how they look to get this done.

Thoughts on Plan A

Characters & Performances – Max is a Holocaust survivor, he was the only one from his family to survive, finding himself in the woods, desperate for food, in the aftermath of the war, he sees how the British were looking to kill the former soldiers, before meeting fellow survivors who are planning their revenge. He must prove his worth to the group, using his natural artistic skills to make this a reality. August Diehl does a great job in the leading role, he will bring the pain of his experiences with the desperate hope of trying to move on. Ana is a member of the group looking to get their revenge on the Germans that never stopped the Nazis, she has been through the same levels of pain, losing her family in the bids to escape. Sylvia Hoeks like August brings all the pain to her performance, with them both showing just how much they have been through. When it comes to the supporting cast, we get to meet the fellow survivors that have lost everything, blinded by the revenge they want to inflict on people, as well as the German people that are trying to get on with their lives, like nothing happened.

Story – The story here follows a survivor of the Holocaust, as he looks to find a purpose in his life after losing everything, he sees the revenge on the soldiers, before getting drawn into a secret group looking to get revenge on the people who just stood and watch everything happen, as the group plan a retaliation that would kills millions. When it comes to any story from the war, we know we are going to be seeing people that have been through extreme amounts of pain, grief and loss, revenge will be something that drives them, with this plan being one that could only make things worse. This will end up falling into the stories that might have been, anyone who knows their history, would know they never succeeded in this plan.

Themes – Plan A is an interesting historical drama, showing us how people would have searched for a form of revenge on people they believe didn’t help them during the Holocaust, it shows a plan to get revenge having a thrilling side to seeing how they put the plan together.

Plan A is on premium digital 3 September and DVD 13 September from Signature Entertainment.

Final Thoughts – Plan A is a great historical thriller that is filled with all the pain the survivors would have been through.

Categories
Movie Review

Witch Hunt (2021) Movie Review

Witch Hunt: A Journey of Prejudice & Courage in Modern America

Witch Hunt: A Journey of Prejudice & Courage in Modern America

Director: Elle Callahan

Writer: Elle Callahan (Screenplay)

Starring: Elizabeth Mitchell (Santa Claus 1, 2), Abigail Cowen, Christian Camargo, Cameron Crovetti, Gideon Adlon, Lulu Antariksa

Plot: In a modern America where witches are real and witchcraft is illegal, a sheltered teenager must face her own demons and prejudices as she helps two young witches avoid law enforcement and cross the southern border to asylum in Mexico.

Runtime: 1 Hour 32 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Witch Hunt starts as we enter a world where witchcraft is real, but illegal, Martha Goode (Mitchell) and her daughter Claire (Adlon) help witches gets across the border and out of America into Mexico.

When the BWI start investigating the local area, Martha’s connection is exposed, leaving Martha with two witches, Fiona (Cowen) and her little sister Shae, only for the authorities to start getting closer to her and the truth, how much can she risk to keep her daughter safe from these barbaric behaviours.

Thoughts on Witch Hunt

Characters & Performances – Claire is the high school girl that has been living next to the border seeing what happens when witches get close, she has her own feelings towards them, despite her mother helping them. She starts to learn more about what has been happening, learning they are innocent, learning to open her eyes to the bigger reality going on.

Gideon Adlon does well in her leading role, showing the learning curve her character must go on. Martha Goode is Claire’s mother that has been living the quiet life to make sure her secret of helping witches remains that way, she is doing everything for the right thing, willing to help when most others turn away.

Elizabeth Mitchell is good in her role, showing the importance of the person setting the right example. Fiona is the latest witch they family look after, with her appearance becoming longer than expect, helping show Claire just how normal the witches truly are.

Abigail Cowen does bring the scared mixed with innocent to the film, which is important to show how people like her are being treated. The rest of the cast get to show us the different decision that Claire will end up watching unfold during the string of events that get increased over time.

Story – The story here follows a family that are secretly helping witches cross the border to safety, while they are being hunted down for illegal activities, with the teenage daughter learning just how dangerous this world will become. This story does bring the clear message about immigration, using the idea of witches to step away from nationalities who will get treated differently. The story is mostly told through the eyes of Claire, shows us just how someone can learn about the problems going on which is good to see. While that side of the story is interesting to see, the man hunting them down could have been given a bigger intense presence while searching for the witches, building a more menacing presence for the innocent figures.

Themes – Witch Hunt is a horror thriller that uses the unique idea of having witchcraft being real, but being illegal, not showing the horrors of what witchcraft could do, but showing just how the human factor could do horrendous things to potential witches. The town by the border does help make this just as important for the main characters to get the right thing done.

Signature Entertainment presents Witch Hunt on DVD and Digital Platforms 5th July

Final Thoughts – Witch Hunt is a smart horror that brings a modern problem in a supernatural twist.

Witch Hunt is available on Amazon to get your own DVD copy Here

Categories
Movie Review

ABC Film Challenge – Thriller – S – Shot Caller (2017) Movie Review

Director: Ric Roman Waugh

Writer: Ric Roman Waugh (Screenplay)

Starring: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Omari Hardwick, Lake Bell, Jon Bernthal (Walking Dead), Emory Cohen, Jeffrey Donovan, Evan Jones

Plot: A newly released prisoner is forced by the leaders of his gang to orchestrate a major crime with a brutal rival gang on the streets of Southern California.

Runtime: 2 Hours 1 Minute

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Crime 101

Story: Shot Caller starts when known gangster Money (Coster-Waldau) gets released from prison, returning to his gang with Frank (Bernthal) filling in the blanks of his time locked up, with Howie (Cohen) showing him around. Meanwhile Jacob a successful businessman gets involved in an accident which sees his best friend killed and him needing to take a plea to get a shorten prison sentence.

With Jacob being in prison, he builds up the reputation of a criminal, using his skills with money to gain the nickname becoming the big shot that everyone turns too, even though his parole officer Kutcher (Hardwick) is watching his every move once he is on the outside.

Thoughts on Shot Caller

Characters – Jacob was once a brilliant stockbroker until an accident leaves his best friend dead and him facing jail, he isn’t prepared for what he will be facing, until his skills become useful, he rising up the ranks of a gang becoming a man known as Money, who has respect and power, without the evil intentions behind the greed of the other gang members. Kutcher is the parole officer that has been dealing with the criminals, he knows how to get through the people, which unlike most sees him needing to take a stronger stand to get the best out of people. Kate is the wife that Jacob loses with his own mistake, she wants him to consider his options, knowing he is a good man inside, but doesn’t understand the man he has become. Frank is the man that takes Jacob into the criminal lifestyle, showing him the wrong path, which will only lead him to a world of darkness.

Performances – Nikolaj Coster-Waldau does give a strong performance in the leading role of the film, without being anything that we haven’t already seen in the crime world. Omari Hardwick does play an interesting character only we don’t get enough of his character. Lake Bell is the same, she doesn’t do anything wrong, only we could have seen more of her, this could well be the problem for most of the performance, not enough screen time for them.

Story – The story here follows a stockbroker who is involved in a fatefully accident which sees him put in jail, where he slowly starts to rise up the ranks of a gang, finding herself as part of the big war for power. This story is told in a strange order, which just doesn’t make it easy to enjoy, it follows every single typical idea of how somebody would rise up the ranks of a gang, even if they come from a life where they wouldn’t be anyway near beforehand. We don’t seem to get anything new to the ideas and by the end we know what to expect.

Crime – The crime side of this film focuses on how the world of crime and how somebody can climb the ranks by knowing how to play the system.

Settings – The film is mostly set in the prisons, showing how Jacob uses his imprisonment to get what he wants.


Scene of the Movie – Cage fight.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – We don’t seem to get the motivation that Jacob has.

Final Thoughts –This is a by the book crime drama that focus on one man’s rise into the gang world after an accident puts his own life into ruins, it isn’t anything we haven’t seen before though.

Overall: By the Book.

Short Caller dives head-first into the world of crime with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. Money is forced to orchestrate a major crime with a brutal rival gang in Southern California.

 

Categories
Movie Review

Cry for the Bad Man (2019) Movie Review

Cry for the Badman: Marsha Kane’s Grisly Confrontation

Cry for the Badman: Marsha Kane's Grisly Confrontation

Director: Sam Farmer

Writer: Sam Farmer (Screenplay)

Starring: Camille Keaton, Scott Peeler, Karen Konzen, Eric Dooley, Christopher James Forrest, Victor Jones

Plot: A small town widow faces a grisly confrontation with her would-be extortionists.

Runtime: 1 Hour 10 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Thriller 101

Story: Cry for the Bad Man starts when Marsha Kane (Keaton) a widower who finds herself being pressured into selling her home by the MacMohan family, with the three sons, Wayne (Peeler), Derrek (Dooley) and Billy Jr (Forrest) visiting and trying to intimidate her with nightly visits.

Marsha is prepared for the next visit, which shows she has a much deadlier side then the brothers believed, which sees both sides needing to try and stay ahead of each other or face death.

Thoughts on Cry for the Bad Man

Characters – Marsha Kane is a widow living alone in the family house she has been living in for most of her life, built with memories she never wants to give up, she finds herself being harassed into selling, something she isn’t willing to do, this brings out a side of her that will fight for her home over the people trying to push her out. Wayne, Derrek and Billy Jr are the three brothers who are trying to force Marsha to sell, they visit with threats of a deadly exchange next time, which sees them arrive guns ready to take the house by force, only they learn how dangerous she truly is.

Performances – Camille Keaton in the leading role is the strongest part of the actor, we know she is the biggest name in the film too with her legacy in horror. The supporting cast is solid only they don’t seem to be selling the pain their characters should be experiencing well at all.

Story – The story here follows a widow that is being pushed into selling her by an aggressive family, only for her turn the tables on them, when they come with their biggest threat. This story can be broken down to be very simple to follow, seeing both sides trying to gain control of the situation, with flashes of action. We do have a few too many stand offs, which do go through the same conversations about the situation without going anywhere different, with certain character changes not making complete sense to everything we get told earlier. Overall the story is an easy follow, doesn’t challenge the audience too much and works for the simplistic nature of the concept.

Horror – The horror in this film does rely on the ideas of seeing a home invasion, while it is more prepared for it, rather than sudden impact of it, which does take away moments of fear.

Settings – The film is set in one location for the most part, Marsha’s home, it is isolated away from the world, which does show the threat she could be facing.

Special Effects – The effects are injury related, with the biggest one, never seeming to look like it actually hurt the victim of it.


Scene of the Movie – The second visit start.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The injuries seem to not hurt much.

Final Thoughts – This is a by the book horror thriller that does the spinning the tables on the invaders with ease, keeping everything simple to watch.

Overall: Easy Watch Horror.

 

Categories
Movie Review

Crank 2: High Voltage (2009)

Crank 2: The Movie Where Jason Statham Jumps the Shark

Crank 2: The Movie Where Jason Statham Jumps the Shark

Director: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor

Writer: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor (Screenplay)

Starring: Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Dwight Yoakam, Efren Ramirez, Julanne Chidi Hill, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Reno Wilson

Plot: Chelios faces a Chinese mobster who has stolen his nearly indestructible heart and replaced it with a battery-powered ticker that requires regular jolts of electricity to keep working.


Tagline – He was dead… but he got better.

Runtime: 1 Hour 36 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Jumps the Shark

Story: Crank 2: High Voltage starts right where the last film finished and Chev Chelios (Statham) somehow has survived his fall and is rescued and given a new heart, an electric one, Chev goes in search for his own heart, but needs to keep his current one full charged or face the same fate as the first film.

Chev must track down the man who stole his heart, which will see him returning a few familiar faces including his girlfriend Eve (Smart) and brother to his old friend Venus (Ramirez).

Thoughts on Crank 2: High Voltage

Characters – Chev Chelios somehow survives his mile high fall from the first film, he is given a new artificial heart which he must keep charged or he will die, he goes in search of his own heart which will see him go against another gang in LA, Eve now knows about Chev’s career, she has become a stripper and will supporting him trying to get his heart back. Doc Miles will do everything he can to help Chev giving him advice on how to keep his heart going. Venus is the brother of Kaylo who goes on to help Chev to get revenge for his own brother’s death. We have more gangs that are working against Chev this time, some return others are new.

Performances – Jason Statham does what he can with the leading role, he handles the action with ease, only he just doesn’t reach the same levels as before, this does affect the rest of the cast who do struggle to make an impact in this film.

Story

The story does follow the next chapter of Chev’s life, the one after he should have died, only for him to get a new chance which sees him needing to race against time to get his own heart back. This side is simple enough at does work for what the film is doing, Chev take on endless amounts of enemies, the problem here with the story is that we dive too much into the side characters of what is going on and end up getting too many completely random scenes which just seem offensive on too many levels. This story does end up becoming messy and just has one of the worst scripts out there.

Action/Crime – The action does try to become bigger, only for it to be shot in a style which doesn’t make it easy to connect. The criminal world does feel bigger, but now everything does seem more personal rather gang controlled.

Settings – The film remains set in LA which does continue to show the crazy gangs that are meant to operate in this city.

Special Effects – The effects do feel like they are being more ambitious, only for some to be so farfetched they only seem to make things look confusing, including an insulting looking Godzilla like fight.


Scene of the Movie – Final showdown.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Godzilla like fight.

Final Thoughts – This is a wildly over the top sequel which only ends up becoming too much to handle for the crazy nature of everything going on.

Overall: Too wild.