Barbarian

 

After seeing Barbarian, I find myself staring that the screen wondering how I even begin to review this movie since so much of it's demented delights are in the surprises it holds. The trailer for the film was wisely enigmatic, hiding as much as possible from the audience and not showing anything beyond the first third of the film. But I will say the film gets so much wilder than I could have possibly imagined and it is all the better for it. It is best seen in the theater with a crowd, everyone reacting together, preferably going in knowing as little as possible. 

Tess Marshall (played by Georgina Campbell) has traveled to Detroit, Michigan for a job interview and rented a small house to stay in. When she arrives, she discovers the house has been double booked and is already occupied by another tenant, Keith Toshko (played by Bill Skarsgard). With it pouring rain and other hotels fully booked, the two begrudgingly agree to share the house with Tess taking the bedroom and Keith taking the couch (there is only one bedroom). The next morning, Tess goes to her job interview and when she tells her interviewer where she is staying is warned she shouldn't stay in that neighborhood. It turns out every house in the neighborhood aside from the one she is staying in is condemned and heavily vandalized. When she returns to the house, she can't help but explore the house a bit, discovering a hidden door in the basement that leads to a series of tunnels that run deep underground the house and probably even the neighborhood. Telling  Keith about what she found, he has to go explore for himself leading them to discover that the two of them are not as alone as they thought. 

The film was written and directed by Zach Cregger and I have to say he has crafted a corker of a tale. Of course, this makes it difficult to review the film because I want to make sure I don't reveal any of the surprises this film has in store for it's audience (and there is more than one, for sure). That said, Cregger juggles these shifts in plot quite well, even as they are jarring for the audience but I think that was the point. There were moments where I wanted to audibly exclaim, "What?!" at the screen throughout, yet I was still having fun with the movie. The hook of the story and how it starts out is even unique, although I have a feeling "untold horrors discovered in the AirBnB" is going to quickly become a new horror movie trope. Throughout the beginning of the movie, I wasn't sure where it was going. The film had me on my toes from the get go, having me second guess everything and wondering when and how this scenario was going to go sideways. I was hooked from the beginning and wondering how the story was going to develop and I love it when a movie is able to do that. 

Georgina Campbell is great as the smart and resourceful Tess. She gives her character real tenacity and smarts as she works through whatever scenario she faces. She gives some real depth to her character and made her one I instantly liked and rooted for to survive. Bill Skarsgard does well with the character of Keith and does an interesting job with the role, giving a performance that could be read one of two ways. His character is already at the AirBnB when Tess arrives and while he is perfectly welcoming, I was never quite sure we could trust him. He goes out of his way to seem trustworthy, offering to make Tess tea to warm up from the cold, rainy night, as well as a bottle of wine, which he waits to open until she is there just so she could make sure he didn't drug it, which is both considerate and yet a curiously specific denial, raising red flags nonetheless. As more weirdness occurs from there, one wonders is it Keith doing it...or something else? Rounding out the main cast is a surprise appearance of Justin Long as A.J Gilbride. He gives a hilarious performance as a sitcom actor who finds himself in the midst of a scandal. How he ties into the story, I will leave for the viewer to discover. However, I was impressed with the depth Long gives to his character as well as giving him a bit more shades of gray than we would normally expect. 

Overall, Barbarian is a movie that I certainly had a blast watching but it may not be for everyone. One's ability or desire to keep up with the shifting tones and dramatic plot twists is going to vary, if the post screening feedback from my friends was anything to go by with some not sure they loved it while others, myself included, enjoyed the craziness. I did find it amusing that the beginning of the movie had the exact same set up as the terrible Netflix Rom-Com Love in the Villa, albeit with very different outcomes between the two movies, of course. I'm not saying one is ripping off the other, especially since both are coming out at the same time, but it is an amusing coincidence that had me chuckling to myself in the theatre.  

Nope

 

I can only admire the way the mystery behind Jordan Peele's latest film, Nope, was revealed over the past year. It started with a very enigmatic teaser poster that got everyone guessing what it could be about, immediately generating interest in the movie. It wasn't until the second trailer that we got an idea that the movie was going to be a Sci-Fi thriller about UFOs but even then there is more to it than it appears. 

Otis "OJ" Haywood, Jr (played by Daniel Kaluuya) runs a small horse ranch outside Los Angeles with his sister Em (played by Keke Palmer) that they inherited when their father, Otis Sr. (played by Keith David) died suddenly. On the ranch, they train and loan out horses for movie productions. When they are fired from a production after an onset accident that wasn't their fault, the ranch's financial woes become even more dire, forcing OJ to start selling some of the horses to a nearby tourist attraction, an old west town called Jupiter's Claim, run by former child star Ricky "Jupe" Park (played by Steven Yeun). They soon begin to notice strange electrical fluctuations around the ranch as well as their horses are starting to disappear or react violently to an unknown presence. One night, while out searching for one of the horses, OJ catches a glimpse of what appears to be a UFO in the night sky. OJ and Em sense a chance to make some money and turn to local tech installer Angel Torres (played by Brandon Perea) to set up cameras around the property to try and get a great shot of the UFO with hopes of selling the photos to raise enough money to save the family ranch.  

The film was written and directed by Jordan Peele, who has a lot of fun with this film as he plays with the mythos of UFOs and their effect on his characters. I appreciated the limited scope the film has, focusing on the Haywood ranch as well as the nearby Jupiter Claim where this particular UFO has an interest in, especially the horses on the ranch. In fact, it is an interesting touch that the film is broken up into chapters, with each one named after one of the ranch's horses. I appreciated the way Peele crafts his tale, as the story unfolds as the film goes on and the mystery of this UFO is revealed, including why it's there and what it wants. Of course, any thriller like this has to create a compelling reason for our characters to not just throw in the towel and get out (pun intended), and Peele give his characters a good one. But as the film goes on, figuring out what the UFO is and capturing proof of it quickly becomes an obsession for them, giving us shades of Close Encounters of the Third Kind.  

The film has a fantastic cast led by Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer as OJ and Em Haywood. The two of them play off one another wonderfully and have a strong sibling dynamic, with OJ more determined to keeping the family ranch going and Em being a bit more of a free spirit who feels they should take the deal to sell the ranch to Ricky Park. This naturally leads to a bit of conflict between the two which Kaluuya and Palmer portray quite well, as well as the strong bond the lies beneath and comes to the forefront once they decide to try and capture photographic proof of the UFO they've both seen. Brandon Perea has a lot of fun with his role as Angel Torres, who enters the story initially as the installer for the security cameras OJ and Em have installed around the property, but gets more and more involved in their plans to capture proof of the UFO, becoming just as obsessed as they are. Michael Wincott rounds out the main cast as a famed cinematographer Antlers Holst that OJ and Em turn to for help capture irrefutable evidence of the UFO hanging around the valley their ranch is. Wincott has a lot of fun with the role of the fussy and pretentious cinematographer. Steven Yeun is great as Ricky "Jupe" Park, a former child star who is trading on his best remember role in an old T.V show with his roadside theme park, Jupiter's Claim. There is a shadier side to the character too, as he also has a hidden display to another show he was on as a kid with a far more tragic history that he is only too happy to exploit, provided a guest knows to ask about it. Steven Yeun plays both sides of this character quite well. 

Of course, with this review I am dancing around a lot of potential spoilers as I want to maintain as many of the film's surprises as possible and there are several. As with his previous films, Jordan Peele works in several themes into his films, including themes involving the history of filmmaking and minorities within that industry and the public's need for spectacle. As always, there is more than what initially appears to be with this film. I thought I knew what I was getting into going into this one, but there was still plenty to be revealed. I enjoyed the hell out of this one and look forward to seeing it again because there were certain things even I missed the first time through.     

The Black Phone

 

I've long been a fan of filmmakers Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill as well as author Joe Hill, so the three of them coming together to make a new movie was an enticing prospect indeed. With a riveting story and a stellar cast to back them up, this is one of the best horror movies I have seen in quite awhile. 

In 1978, a Denver suburb has been experiencing a series of child abductions following an eerie pattern. The person behind them, known only as The Grabber (played by Ethan Hawke), has remained elusive even as his attacks have become increasingly bold with no witnesses. Finney Blake (played by Mason Thames) is growing increasingly concerned, especially when kids he knows are taken, including Bruce (played by Tristan Pravong) and Robin (played by Miguel Cazarez Mora). Meanwhile, his sister Gwen (played by Madeline McGraw) has been having psychic dreams, giving her details about The Grabber that there is no other way she could have known, catching the attention of the two detectives working the case (played by E. Roger Mitchell and Troy Rudeseal), which angers their alcoholic father (played by Jeremy Davies) after he gets a visit from the detectives. When Finney himself is kidnapped, he his knocked out by The Grabber and awakes in a soundproof basement that is sealed by a heavy metal door, and has only a bed, bolted to the floor, a toilet and a disconnected phone on the wall - the titular black phone. Much to his surprise, the phone starts ringing. At first, no one is there, but soon enough voices come through. Voices of the ghosts of The Grabber's previous victims and they are determined to help Finney survive, telling him what he needs to do to defeat the Grabber and escape. Meanwhile, Gwen's dreams become more intense, giving her clues as to where her brother is being held sending her on her own journey to desperately try to find the house and alert the authorities.  

The film was directed by Scott Derrickson from a script he co-wrote with C. Robert Cargill, based on the short story of the same name by Joe Hill. The film is an excellent adaptation of the source material, taking what was on the page and expanding on it beautifully to bring the story to feature length. Derrickson and Cargill take their time with laying out the story and establishing the characters which makes the story all the more richer because we are not only familiar with the kids Finney talks to later in the film as well as establishing the fractured and volatile (if not downright abusive) home life of Finney and Gwen. This set-up is important though, because it all pays off wonderfully as the film goes on and into the climax. Stylistically, the film feels like a spirtual successor to their previous collaboration, Sinister, with some of the same stylistic touches, especially with the grainier film look to depict Gwen's prophetic dreams as opposed to the rest of the of the film. I enjoyed the way that Derrickson handles the segments of the film where Finney is talking to the ghosts through the phone. Where it could have been just voices on the phone, instead he opts to show the ghosts of the kids in the scene talking to Finney (even though Finney can't see the ghosts), giving us more to see and respond to as viewers (as well as giving us a couple solid jump scares too). 

The film has a fantastic cast assembled, with Mason Thames in the lead as Finney. He does a great job carrying the film, for a long stretch of it mainly on his own as he is trapped in the room and has to work out how to try and escape from his prison. He really shows his character's fear and also his resolve to survive, working through each obstacle as he gets a step closer to freedom, as well as his frustrations when he hits a setback. It's a marvelous performance making Finney a character that is easy to root for. Madeline McGraw is equally compelling as Gwen, Finney's sister. She is a fantastic character and portrayed wonderfully by McGraw. She's not afraid of her psychic abilities and tries desperately to hone them to try and help find her brother. She also plays off Mason Thames well as the two easily establish a strong sibling bond throughout the movie. Ethan Hawke is memorably creepy as The Grabber, where the film slowly reveals his character and inclinations as the film goes on. Hawke hits the right notes from the get go when we get our first real interaction with The Grabber and Finney as he uses a carefully planned ruse to get Finney to drop his guard until it's too late. Ethan Hawke is fearless as he depicts The Grabber as a serious creep as the film goes on and reveals just how twisted he really is, but yet the performance is grounded in a way that makes him more fleshed out and real rather than as a cartoonish or over the top villain. He feels like the sort of sicko you could encounter in real life, albeit with certain affectations including a very creepy mask that has interchangeable expressions. Jeremy Davies does excellent work as Finney and Gwen's father. In what could have been another stereotypical alcoholic dad role, Davies finds a lot of nuance in the role. It's clear he loves his kids and wants what's best for them, but also has a real temper and does lash out at them. There is a great scene early in the film when they are gathering around the breakfast table and his character is clearly hungover, wincing at every sound, either Finney slurping his cereal milk or Gwen opening the breadbox. You can tell his character wants to yell at them to be quiet, but he doesn't, he pulls back. It's such a wonderful character moment and there are a number of them throughout the film. Miguel Cazarez Mora makes quite an impression with his limited screen time as Robin as a friend of Finney's who sticks up from Finney from school bullies and encourages him to stick up for himself. He's only in a few scenes but he nails each one in a way that pays off perfectly by the end of the movie. James Ransone has a fun supporting turn as Max, a early potential suspect only to turn out to be someone who has been obsessively following the case himself trying to figure out who The Grabber is.  

The Black Phone is one of the more satisfying horror movies I have seen in recent memory. With a compelling story, well drawn characters, sharp writing and stylish direction this one was firing on all cylinders. I was glued to the screen throughout from beginning to end. The film has it's share of good scares, but I also appreciated the focus more on psychological horror rather than buckets of gore, making the story that much more impactful. I also appreciated that the more supernatural elements of the story were left a bit ambiguous, with some hints that Finney and Gwen's mother may have had similar gifts as well, to allow the audiences to draw their own conclusions. I hate it when movies feel the need to over-explain everything but Derrickson and Cargill strike just the right note with this one and it is all the more satisfying for it.   

Top Gun: Maverick

 

There is a part of me that can't quite believe it took 36 years to get a sequel to Top Gun. The original film was a monster hit in the summer of 1986. Still, after having seen the belated follow-up, perhaps taking it's time to get a sequel was the best thing for it. Rather than make a simple cash-in sequel back in the 80's, this sequel feels a bit more earned as we revisit an older, more experienced, but maybe not much wiser Maverick. 

After a test flight for an experimental new aircraft goes sideways, Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (played by Tom Cruise) is re-assigned at special request of Admiral Thomas "Iceman" Kazansky (played by Val Kilmer) to return to Miramar to train a specialized group of Top Gun graduates for a very specific and dangerous mission. Among the graduates he is going to be teaching is Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw (played by Miles Teller), the son of Maverick's late best friend, Nick "Goose" Bradshaw. Maverick's task is to train the pilots how to fly a low level mission to attack a facility that is being built to develop weapons grade uranium. The facility is located in a highly protected mountain region and the only way to get close undetected is to fly through the canyons, below the surface to air missles dotting the landscape to protect the facility. It's a near impossible mission that even Maverick is not sure someone could come home from. Among the recruits is the cynical Jake "Hangman" Seresin (played by Glenn Powell), who naturally finds himself butting heads with Rooster, who he sees as his direct competition. Other impressive pilots include Natasha "Phoenix" Trace (played by Monica Barbaro) and Robert "Bob" Floyd (played by Lewis Pullman). Maverick also reunites with a past love, Penny Benjamin (played by Jennifer Connelly) a single mom and local bar owner, and a new romance blossoms between the two. But as the end of training looms large and the deadline for the mission approaches, Maverick grows increasingly concerned his recruits may not be ready, especially with his commanding officer Vice Admiral Beau "Cyclone" Simpson (played by Jon Hamm) breathing down his neck and well as facing the fact that he may very well have to send Rooster on the mission.

Joseph Kosinski takes over director duties for this film from the late Tony Scott, who directed the original film. The screenplay for the film was written by Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, and Christopher McQuarrie. The filmmakers certainly took the task of crafting a follow up to the iconic 80's original head on, crafting a film that is at once familiar and notable step forward in the story of Maverick. It's a careful balancing act but the filmmakers pull it off beautifully giving the audience the nostalgic throwbacks the audience wants while crafting a new story with it's own dramatic weight to it with perhaps even higher stakes than the first film, leading to a genuine white knuckle climax that had me on the edge of my seat. The filmmakers were committed to authenticity as well, using as much real flight footage as possible, pulling off some genuinely impressive and thrilling sequences of aerial combat that surpasses the original film. This is balanced with well written character moments that give the proceedings real emotional stakes, especially between Maverick and Rooster who have some very real conflicts they need to resolve as well as between Rooster and Hangman, who have a rivalry that mirrors Maverick and Iceman in the first film. The film is beautifully shot by Claudio Miranda that complements the cinematography of the original film while also being it's own film as well. Topping things off is a fantastic score by Harold Faltermeyer, who returns from the original film, with additional music by Lady Gaga and Hans Zimmer.    

Tom Cruise makes a welcome return to the role of Pete "Maverick" Mitchell. As we catch up with Maverick all these years later, he's single again and living a solitary life serving as a Navy test pilot and spending his spare time fixing up a P-51 Mustang plane. He is clearly still carrying unresolved issues from the tragic death of his best friend Goose, which Cruise portrays wonderfully. Miles Teller is great as Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw, portraying his character's pent up issues of his own quite well as both he and Maverick face their respective pasts. It also helps that he really does resemble a young Anthony Edwards from the first film, which causes some weird Deja Vu moments for Maverick throughout the film. Jennifer Connelly does well as Penny Benjamin, who has great chemistry with Cruise. They play off each other quite well, giving their romance in the film a real spark. Glen Howell is clearly having fun playing the cocky and cynical Hangman, crafting a palpable rivalry with Rooster. Monica Barbaro adds a much needed level-headedness to the mix as Natasha "Phoenix" Trace, giving her character a real focus and determination to win without also making her a total stick in the mud, crafting a well rounded character that I really liked. I also really enjoyed Lewis Pullman as Robert "Bob" Floyd, crafting a character who would be easy to dismiss but has hidden talents, proving appearances can be deceiving. Jon Hamm gives real presence as Vice Admiral Beau "Cyclone" Simpson, giving a fresh spin to the sort of antagonistic authority figures you expect in a movie like this. He doesn't agree with Maverick's teaching styles throughout the film, yet plays the character with genuine concern for his cadets and wanting the mission to succeed. 

Top Gun: Maverick is a worthwhile follow-up that reflects on the past while also knowing not to get bogged down in it. It has a real emotional weight to it, brought to life wonderfully by it's characters portrayed by a great cast in a film crafted by a talented crew. It's buoyed by some truly stunning and thrilling action sequences that reminded me how much I've missed a good Jerry Bruckheimer action movie in the summertime. This is blockbuster filmmaking at it's best and at this time of the year, I couldn't ask for much more. I loved every minute of it and, after a number of release date delays, it was more than worth the wait.        

Downton Abbey: A New Era

 

There has always been something rather charming and comforting about Downton Abbey, both as a series and in it's transition to the big screen. With it's latest installment, the same charm and light wit continues as we once again rejoin the adventures of the Crawley family and their assorted adventures that is every bit as satisfying as what has come before. 

We rejoin the Crawley family with the wedding of Tom Branson (played by Allen Leech) and Lucy Smith (played by Tuppence Middleton). Shortly after, Violet (played by Maggie Smith) announces to her family that she has inherited a villa in the south of France after the passing of the Marquis de Montmirail and she intends to bequeath it to Lady Sybbie, Tom's daughter. They are invited by the new Marquis (played by Jonathan Zaccai) to check out the villa. Violet is not well enough to travel, so her son Robert (played by Hugh Bonneville), his wife Cora (played by Elizabeth McGovern), Tom, Lucy, Lady Maud Bagshaw (played by Imelda Staunton), Edith (played by Laura Carmichael) and her husband Bertie (played by Harry Hadden-Paton) travel to France along with Butler Carson (played by Jim Carter) and Mrs. Baxter (played by Raquel Cassidy). While there, they uncover some surprising insights into Violet's past, especially for Richard. Meanwhile, back at Downton, the house has been invaded my a movie crew to use the historic home as a primary location for a movie directed by Jack Barber (played by Hugh Dancy) and starring Guy Dexter (played by Dominic West) and Myrna Dalgleish (played by Laura Haddock) with Lady Mary (played by Michelle Dockery) overseeing things while they are there. Mary welcomes the money the production will infuse into the household, allowing them to make some much needed repairs, as well as the welcome distraction the production provides from her growing discontent at her husband Henry's constant travels. 

The film was directed by Simon Curtis from a script by series creator Julian Fellowes. Once again, Fellowes aptly juggles a number of different plotlines within the span of roughly two hours. The fact that half of the film goes abroad to the south of France freshens things up a lot with Simon Curtis and Cinematographer Andrew Dunn capturing some truly stunning scenery. Of course, Fellowes actually manages to sell this change of scenery rather well as we discover some more of the past of fan favorite Dowager Countess Violet Crawley leading to a couple genuine surprises. On the other side of the coin, the movie gets a little meta as Downton Abbey becomes a filming location to a feature film, adding a whole new sort of excitement and chaos to the household, especially as household members become increasingly involved as the production hits a unique speedbump: the invention of "talking pictures" in a plot development Fellowes cribs from Singing in the Rain (hey, if you're going to steal, steal from the best). The film moves between these two storylines with ease while keeping the film moving at a brisk page. As always, with a cast as large as this, some have larger parts than others in the film, with Fellowes wisely giving larger parts to characters who weren't featured as heavily in the previous film. 

The film has amassed an impressive and massive cast with almost everyone coming back again for round two. Maggie Smith once again is a delight as Violet, handling the exposition needed to get the plot moving with ease and trading barbs with Isobel (played by Penelope Wilton). This is very likely going to be her final outing in the series and she goes out on top. Hugh Bonneville has some fun new bits to play in this outing as his trip leads him to discover some new things about his mother's past. Jim Carter as always is great as the high strung and fussy Mr. Carson, who has some amusing bits as he finds the decidedly warmer southern France in the summer time not well timed with his heavier British wardrobe. Michelle Dockery has plenty to play with as she oversees the film production that his invaded Downton and finds herself getting more and more involved in the production, especially with the director. She pairs well with Hugh Dancy, who plays director Jack Barber as they both try to keep the production going forward while a friendship develops between to two or perhaps more? The introduction of the two film's stars add some unique drama to the film as well. Dominic West does a great job capturing that Old Hollywood Leading Man presence while also showing his character has his share of secrets, including finding himself fancying Downton Butler Thomas Barrow (played by Robert James-Collier) and presenting him with an enticing offer for his future. Laura Haddock finds some nice nuance to her character of Myrna Dalgleish, who is finding her career jeopardized due to her heavy accent with the incoming invention of the talking films. She could easily just be a snobbish, high strung villain, but she is able to keep her character at least somewhat sympathetic, especially as the film goes on.       

Overall, Downton Abbey: A New Era will please longtime fans as the film serves up the same sort of gentle humor and melodrama the series has become known for with a style and grace. There is nothing earth shattering here, but in that case that is not a bad thing. The film moves the story of the Crawleys and all the beloved characters forward with new adventures while leaving the door open for future adventures. As a fan, I left quite satisfied and happy to have been able to spend another couple hours with some beloved characters.      

Firestarter (2022)

I don't think I have been more disappointed by a recent film than I have by the new adaptation of the classic Stephen King novel, Firestarter. It's no secret I have a certain affection for the original novel as well as the 1984 film. That said, even I would concede there was room for improvement with a new version. However, somehow this one is actually a worse movie by a wide margin.

Charlie McGee (played by Ryan Kiera Armstrong) is a young girl with a very unique talent: She can start fires with just her thoughts. It's a very dangerous talent that she struggles to keep under control, especially in times of emotional duress. Her parents, Andy (played by Zac Efron) and Vicky (played by Sydney Lemmon), participated in a medical test in college where they were injected with a experimental drug called Lot 6, causing them to develop unique telepathic and telekinetic abilities and it is also inferred this is the source of Charlie's abilities as well. This has led to the three of them being constantly on the run, trying their best to live off the radar due to being pursued by a shadow government operation known as The Shop who are very interested in Charlie's abilities. When Charlie loses control of her abilities at school, their cover is blown. The Shop's leader, Captain Hollister (played by Gloria Ruben) taps assassin John Rainbird (played by Michael Greyeyes) to capture Charlie and return her by any means necessary. When Rainbird finds them and Vicky is killed in the confrontation, Andy and Charlie have no choice but to flee, trying to figure out their next move. 

The film was directed by Keith Thomas from a script by Scott Teems, based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King. This new rendition takes some pretty big departures from the source material, which I am not necessarily opposed to if the changes are being made to help improve the story. But there is something off with this adaptation. It starts off decently enough as it focuses on the home life of Andy, Charlie and Vicky and how they deal with the unique challenges their family faces, especially with Charlie's very dangerous abilities. They even get into the opposing viewpoints of how Charlie should handle her abilities. Andy, knowing the physical toll his own telepathic abilities have had on him believes she should bury them down and not use them at all, whereas Vicky feels she needs to practice and train to know how to harness them correctly. However, as the film goes on, it starts to feel more and more rushed to get to the climax. This is when the movie diverts from the source material the most with almost a completely different ending, as well as one that feels wholly unearned. Perhaps most disappointing is it lacks the fireworks that the original provided so spectacularly in it's finale, leaving a very muted finale that feels like the whole production ran out of money as much of the destruction Charlie causes is curiously left off screen. Which is a shame, because with all the improved effects over the last 38 years, there was plenty of opportunity to craft some truly bonkers and impressive set pieces for this film. The film also just plods along with no real sense of suspense or tension at all, as though it were just going through the motions. On the other hand, the film does boast a solid score by John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter, and Daniel Davies. Which is ironic since John Carpenter was originally supposed to direct the 1984 film until he was fired off the project following the dismal box office for The Thing. 

Zac Efron leads the cast as Andy McGee and is actually decent in the role. It's hard to believe he is actually old enough to convincingly play a father, but he pulls it off quite nicely. He really captures the conflict his character is experiencing as he tries to figure out how to not only raise a child with some real dangerous abilities. Ryan Kiera Armstrong was really good as Charlie. She portrayed both sides of her character quite well, both the part that was afraid of her abilities and what they can do as well as the part of her that sort of enjoys it. Michael Greyeyes certainly adds some more nuance to the character of John Rainbird, who is at once a very effective and efficient government agent, but also one who hates his work and he does a decent job handling that duality. This also adds a interesting connection between him and Charlie as they are both the result of experiments by The Shop and unfortunately this is an aspect that the film utterly fails at exploring properly. Gloria Rueben lacks any sense of real menace as Captain Hollister and is barely established. She does her best with a severely underwritten character, trying to add dimension to the character but it's not enough to save it. 

This remake had some good ideas to it that should have been fleshed out and better explored that would have made for a more satisfying watch. It had the potential to surpass the original given the low bar that film set and yet it managed to mess even that up. There is a certain charm to the original film, along with some truly dazzling practical fire effects, that this film never captures. It's certainly not the fault of the able cast, but rather in either the writing or the editing. It starts out strong, but just gets worse as it goes along, speeding through the story while remaining rather underwhelming. It just smolders when it should be bursting into flame.       

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

The concept of a Multiverse has been a hot topic in cinemas lately, with Spider-Man: No Way Home and Everything Everywhere All At Once being notable previous films to tackle the subject, with Doctor Strange himself even factoring into the former film. This outing takes a darker tone than either of those two films as Doctor Strange and company find themselves facing a formidable and far more powerful villain 

Doctor Stephen Strange (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) has been trying to get back to a sense of normalcy in his life. He is even attending the wedding of his ex-girlfriend, Christine Palmer (played by Rachel McAdams). The peace is short lived when during the reception a large tentacle monster is attacking and chasing after a young woman, America Chavez (played by Xochitl Gomez). With assistance from Wong (played by Benedict Wong), he is able to defeat the monster and rescue America. She explains to Stephen and Wong that she is being hunted by demons due to her ability to traverse the Multiverse. Recognizing rune symbols on the monster, Strange reaches out to Wanda Maximoff (played by Elizabeth Olsen) for help only to discover that she is responsible for the monster herself due to being manipulated by the Darkhold, a source of dark magic. She intends to steal America's powers and use them herself to get back to her two boys, Billy and Tommy (played by Julian Hillard and Jett Klyne), the kids she created during her time in Westview (as seen in the Disney+ mini-series Wandavision). Realizing the threat an out of control Wanda presents, now as the Scarlet Witch, he takes America to the Kamar-Taj for protection. When the Scarlet Witch attacks the Kamar-Taj, this triggers America's power, sending her and Doctor Strange into the Multiverse. Since America doesn't have control over her powers, they set out to try and find help while also staying ahead of the Scarlet Witch, who is desperate to find a way to capture America. 

The film was directed by Sam Raimi from a script by Michael Waldron. Raimi does a good job keeping the pace up for the entire runtime of the film, resulting in a one of the leaner Marvel films in recent memory. The film also strikes a much darker tone than many other Marvel films, even edging into the horror genre in places with growing tension and a few decent jump scares too. It is a welcome change to the well worn Marvel formula as the filmmakers also work in a number of surprises for Marvel fans, only one that has been hinted at in the trailers. Like previous films featuring Doctor Strange, this one also brings the inventive and crazy visuals, accentuated even further as we factor in the alternate universes that Doctor Strange and America find themselves in, as well as assorted pocket dimensions. It was clear the filmmakers were having fun coming up with the inventive visuals, especially as Raimi himself sneaks in a few Easter eggs to his past films. Although, the film has stirred up a bit of controversy upon it's release with some suggesting it's too dark for a PG-13 film. I would respectfully disagree. As someone well versed in the horror genre, the violence and scares in the film are really rather tame and well within the confines of the PG-13 rating. It's just that this entry conforms more the the idea of what PG-13 should be than some other movies that could have almost been PG movies. 

The acting in the film is top notch. Benedict Cumberbatch once again proves to be a great Doctor Strange. He is given plenty to work with in this film as his character faces the choices he's made in his life and trying to make peace with where he has wound up and the decisions he's made. Elizabeth Olsen has a trickier role as Wanda Maximoff. It's easy to see where she is coming from in her character's motivations to get her boys back even as she turns to forces to accomplish this that manipulate her and turn her to the dark side. It's a difficult tightrope to walk being the villain of the film, but also coming from a very empathetic and understandable place but Olsen delivers it quite well. Xochitl Gomez is quite good as America Chavez, balancing a vulnerability as well as strength with her character. Benedict Wong continues to be great as Wong, who has long been a mentor of sorts for Doctor Strange as well and usually the voice of reason in a crisis, which he continues to be here. He plays off Benedict Cumberbatch well and the two make an entertaining pair. Rachel McAdams makes a good return as Christine, playing a couple different versions of the character in different universes and does a great job creating subtle differences between the two characters. Chiwetel Ejiofor makes a brief appearance as an alternate version of Karl Mordo and does a great job playing a character we're not sure we can trust or not.      

Overall, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is another solid Marvel film with a good pace that doesn't overstay it's welcome. I enjoyed the depths to the story as well. While it is a darker and scarier film that most Marvel movies, it doesn't get too dark or too scary. It does fall into the new age of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that does require the viewer to not only keep up with the films but at least one of the Disney+ shows to fully understand what is going on. While those series have been excellent so far, it will be interesting to see how long audience patience for this model lasts.