Tag Archives: Thriller

Jun 24 2021

ABC Film Challenge – Thriller – X – Bad Match (2017) Movie Review

This is under X because it is dealing with an ex that gets into somebody’s life.

Director: David Chirchirillo

Writer: David Chirchirillo (Screenplay)

Starring: Lili Simmons, Brandon Scott, Noureen DeWulf, Kahyun Kim, Jack Cutmore-Scott, Christine Donlon

Plot: An internet-dating playboy’s life spirals out of control after meeting a woman online.

Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Dating Nightmares

Story: Bad Match starts when internet-dating playboy Harris (Cutmore-Scott) meets his latest target, Riley (Simmons) a woman, like most others, he wants to use for a one night stand, before moving onto the next one.

Only his latest pick, sees Riley turn the tables on him, manipulating him and his life, to an extent that he starts suffering nightmares about her, being forced to the extremes to get her out of his life.

Thoughts on Bad Match

Characters – Harris has been spending his time using internet-dating apps for one night stands, he spends the night with the girls before taking them out of his life, he continues to do this until he finds one person that turns the tables on him. He must see his life spiral out of control before facing serious criminal charges, needing to prove he is innocent of a crime. Riley is the latest woman Harris is targeting, she seems like all the rest, only she doesn’t accept the being ghosted well, she pushes Harris to the limits with how she is dealing with the decision to not continue seeing each other. We do meet the generic friends, only we don’t meet them for long enough to learn about them.

Performances – Jack Cutmore-Scott and Lili Simmons in the leading roles show us just how dating will push people to the extremes, they bring both characters, that are both, not the most likeable either.

Story – The story here follows an internet-dating playboy who finds a new girl, only for his latest woman, to turn into a stalker that isn’t going to let him walk away from her so easily, turning his life into a nightmare. This is a story that easily makes us not like the characters involved, the idea of an internet-dating playboy is something that will make people turn their heads on him with how he goes about dating, part of the film does make us believe he deserve to get what he gets, almost karma, before it does go too far. This does show how if you treat somebody badly, it will catch up with you eventually, only it does feel like this got well out of control and could have portrayed one of the two characters in a better light.

Thriller – This does try to keep us on the edge of our seats, only it does seem to end up not becoming as intense as it could well be.

Settings – The film uses the settings to show the routine of everyday life Harris has and has been using, along with how easily it can spin out of control for him.


Scene of the Movie – The creation of Robbie.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The final phone call.

Final Thoughts – This is a thriller that is trying to play on the ideas of internet dating becoming more dangerous to the people involved in it, we have an interesting idea of a playboy having his style turned on its head, only to end up getting caught between going too far and not getting us to support either character.

Overall: Disappointing Thriller.

Jun 21 2021

The Man Standing Next (2020) Movie Review

The Man Standing Next – Nice Political Thriller

 

Director: Min-ho Woo

Writer: Ji-min Lee, Min-ho Woo (Screenplay)

Starring: Lee Byung-hun, Sung-min Lee, Do-won Kwak, Lee Hee-joon, So-jin Kim, Eric Bernard, Jerry Rector

Plot: In the 1970s Korea is under the absolute control of the president Park who controls the KCIA the organization with the edge over any branch of government.

Runtime: 1 Hour 54 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Man Standing Next starts as we learn about President Park (Lee) reign in power over Korea with the KCIA organization keeping him in power, but the former director Park Yong-Gak (Kwak) is looking to expose the meaning behind his power, while current director Kim Kyu-Pyeong (Byung-hun) is torn between the truth and an old friend, needing to let the evidence prove which side he should be fighting for.

Thoughts on The Man Standing Next

Thoughts – The Man Standing Next follows the political coup that took place in Korea during the 1970s, which will see how the President found himself being exposed for the covering up he has been through over his reign of terror, showing just how much he was covering up to make sure he remained in power. The story is told with one man finding himself in the middle of truth, knowing what would happen if he exposed the truth, but knowing he needs to know what needs to change. This will keep you guessing to what will happen next, with the strong performances throughout elevating the film to the next level. This is a nice example of what has come out through the world of history and is one that could be used to show how the world can start to spiral out of control unless the right people step up.

Blue Finch Film Releasing presents The Man Standing Next in Virtual Cinemas including Curzon Home Cinema 25 June and on Digital Download 5 July

Final Thoughts – The Man Standing Next is a good history lesson on Korean politics and the people that tried to do the right thing.

Jun 17 2021

ABC Film Challenge – Thriller – Q – The Intruder (2019) Movie Review

This is under Q because of Dennis Quaid.

Director: Deon Taylor

Writer: David Loughery (Screenplay)

Starring: Michael Ealy, Meagan Good, Dennis Quaid, Erica Cerra, Joseph Sikora, Alvina August

Plot: A young married couple buys a beautiful house on several acres of land, only to find out that the man they bought it from refuses to let go of the property.


Tagline – Don’t Let Him In

Runtime: 1 Hour 42 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Thriller You Can Have Fun With

Story: The Intruder starts as successful businessman Scott (Ealy) decides to surprise his wife Annie (Good) with a new home, a dream home, buying the family home off Charlie Peck (Quaid), who has lived in the house for his whole life.

With the couple moved in, they look to make their own changes to the home, with Charlie turning up to help around the house, never seeming to want to leave, which starts to raise the tension between Scott and Charlie, even though Annie being more welcoming about having somebody else around, until his darker side comes out.

Thoughts on The Intruder

Characters – Scott is the company’s top salesman, he is married to Annie, with them both ready to start a family, he has made mistakes in the past, has strict rules he follows in his own house and gets tired with Charlie always arriving at his house. Annie is the wife that has been waiting to start a family with her dream home, she is welcoming to Charlie because she is spending days alone in the house, without any friends visiting, designing it how she wants to. Charlie is the former homeowner that lived in the house for his whole life, he lost his wife in the house and despite selling, he doesn’t want to leave, always arriving back at the house to visit, being overly friendly, despite getting plenty of warnings about leaving them alone.

Performances – Michael Ealy does struggle to get into the leading man role, he doesn’t make us feel any sympathy for his character in the film. Meagan Good does give us a strong wife figure that shows how friendly her character is, while Dennis Quaid is creepy as they come through the film, stealing every scene.

Story – The story here follows a couple who believe they have bought their dream home, only to find the owner isn’t willing to leave and won’t stop visiting. While this might well turn the home invasion story around in places, with the normal being a mix of complete strangers or former owner living in the walls without anyone knowing, this does change this to be an overly friendly becoming obsessed figure. When it comes to the character development around Scott and Annie, we have very little here, Scott is portrayed to be the cheating type, while Annie is pushed into the wife role that doesn’t have much else to say or do. One of the glaring problems with this story, is the fact the house is worth over $3 million and if you have the money to buy this house, if you think it is strange things are going on, you have the money to leave.

Horror/Mystery – The horror in this film doesn’t get involved until too late into the film, with most of the film balancing on thriller side with what might happen.

Settings – The film does use the house as the main setting, which does have an isolated location while being filled with beauty around it.


Scene of the Movie – The creepy smile.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Just move, its simple, you are that rich.

Final Thoughts – This is a fun to watch silly home invasion movie that is funnier that it should be.

Overall: Fun to watch drunk.

Jun 16 2021

ABC Film Challenge – Thriller – P – Painkillers (2018) Movie Review

Director: Roxy Shih

Writer: Giles Daoust (Screenplay)

Starring: Madeline Zima, Mischa Barton, Debra Wilson, Naomi Grossman, Grant Bowler, Maria Olsen, Adam Huss

Plot: Plagued by guilt following the death of his son in a car crash, John Clarke, a brilliant surgeon comes to realize that the only thing that can ease his pain is the taste of human blood.

Runtime: 1 Hour 23 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Painkillers starts when surgeon John Clarke (Huss) is involved in a car accident which will see his son die, John finds himself with an ultra-rare version of PTSD which will see him struggling to control the shakes, until he finds a way to stop it, human blood.

This brings Herb Morris (Bowler) into John’s life, giving him a chance to try and get back to his normal life, but his wife Chloe (Zima) and boss Gail (Wilson) start to worry about his behaviour.

Thoughts on Painkillers

Characters & Performances – John Clarke is a brilliant surgeon who is involved in a car accident which kills his son, he is left shaken by the events of what happened, in a rare form of PTSD which will see him unable to control his body, constantly shaky in pain. He needs to find a way to stop the pain and shakes, with the first solution being human blood, which will see him needing to balance the right thing or turning into a monster that can’t control his blood lust. Adam Huss does a solid enough job in what is a difficult role with the shakes taking centre stage. Chloe is the concerned wife, who is mostly there to only be concerned, not have a proper discussion about the loss they have been through. This is the same as John boss Gail, who is trying to find the best for John in the future. Herb Morris is the man that offers John a solution which does cure him for a time, only his methods will leave John questioning what to do next. We don’t have any strong performances mainly because the characters just don’t seem to get anything to work with.

Story – The story here follows a man that is suffering from a rare form of PTSD after the death of his son, which will see him struggling with shakes of pain that learns the cure could be drinking human blood, leaving him in a position of not knowing what would bet her right thing to do. This is a story that could easily have a lot to work with, we have loss of a child, which should have been given a lot more time, a potentially new medical condition, which again, should have had more scientific side to everything. We seem to get caught up on trying to bring a fresh approach to the vampire idea, only telling the audience it is all a myth.

Themes – Painkillers is a thriller that doesn’t have enough suspense in the film and fails to capture the locations strong enough, leaving nearly everything flat.

Final Thoughts – Painkillers is a flat thriller that doesn’t dive into the storyline themes in a strong enough way.

Jun 14 2021

ABC Film Challenge – Thriller – N – November Criminals (2017) Movie Review

Director: Sacha Gervasi

Writer: Steven Knight, Sacha Gervasi (Screenplay) Sam Munson (Novel)

Starring: Ansel Elgort, Chloe Grace Moretz, David Strathairn, Catherine Keener, Terry Kinney, Cory Hardrict, Philip Ettinger

Plot: After his friend is murdered, a Washington, D.C. teenager undertakes his own investigation of the crime.

Runtime: 1 Hour 26 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Nice Mystery

Story: November Criminals starts when one of Addison (Elgort) and Phoebe (Moretz) classmates gets gunned down in a café, the police put it down as a gang crime, something doesn’t add up to Addison though.

Addison starts his own investigation to try and solve the crime, believing he couldn’t have been in a gang, with his father Theo (Strathairn) letting him do his thing, Phoebe must be the voice of reason to put him back on the right path before he learns something he shouldn’t.

Thoughts on November Criminals

Characters – Addison is best friends with Phoebe, he has been struggling with his studies after his mother’s death and when one of his classmates is murdered, he wants answers that the police aren’t giving, leading him to dive into his personal life to search for the truth, partly with him spiralling out of control, while also proving to be determined to not have a second unanswered death in his family. Phoebe is the best friend of Addison, she is more popular in her school and is ready for the next step of her life, she will support Addison, only she does worry for him when he gets too involved in the investigation. Theo is Addison’s father that is trying to let him deal with what happened his own way with Fiona being Phoebe’s mother that gets worried about their friendship.

Performances – Ansel Elgort in the leading role continues to show why he is strong in leading role, we can see in his performance just how damaged he feels with his life. Chloe Grace Moretz is wonderful in the supporting role, with the rest of the cast doing a great job through it.

Story – The story here follows a high school student who does start to investigate a classmate’s murders in a way to deal with his own loss in life, however dangerous it could be for him. This does show that losing someone in their life can put focus on things they shouldn’t showing just how dangerous diving into a world you know nothing about. We get the look at relationship between the two, which isn’t as strong as it could be, but does how difficult a modern relationship just before college can be. The crime doesn’t seem like we get enough time with the crime side of the film, which is disappointing.

Crime/Mystery – The crime side of this film is focused on the seemingly random shooting, with the mystery showing us the truth behind the crime, that Addison wants to expose.

Settings – The film uses the settings to show how the city the characters are in, will have secrets they are not prepared for.


Scene of the Movie – The truth.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Just doesn’t feel like the police do something.

Final Thoughts – This is a crime mystery thriller that just doesn’t reach the top levels it could, as the investigation seems slow.

Overall: Simple Investigation.