Horizon: An American Saga-Part One

 

      Co-written and directed by Kevin Costner, "Part One" is a 3 hour set up for just the beginning of Mr. Costner's passion project. He introduces lots of characters and situations that will continue to play out in future installments leaving this chapter unfulfilling.

      "Part One" stars Mr. Costner, Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Danny Houston, Jamie Campbell Bower, Luke Wilson, Jena Malone, Tatanka Means, Owen Crow Shoe, Abby Lee, Tom Payne, Will Patton, Georgia MacPhail, and Michael Rooker.

       You can clearly see that Mr. Costner has an affinity for the American west but his script meanders like many western rivers. The dialog tries to be authentic but loses credibility at times (would a Calvary soldier really say "indigenous" in the 1800's) and the authentic costumes are just a bit too clean at times. The film's cinematography, however, is excellent with scenes of beautiful mountains and sweeping vistas.

        Besides opening and closing massacres, not much happens in the way of character development or story. It's all set up or as they say in the west, "all hat and no cattle". I still don't think it's fair to judge the film on it's own as it's only the beginning of a "saga" but three hours easily could have been two.

      

         

Slingshot

 

    This new sci-fi drama is about three astronauts on a long space voyage to Titan, Jupiter's largest moon. Casey Affleck stars as John, Laurence Fishburne is Captain Franks, and Tomer Capone is Nash. Deep in hibernation for months at a time, the drugs needed to sleep and then wakeup provide side effects that over time begin to take their toll on the crew.

      The film take place entirely on the spacecraft but includes flashbacks to time on Earth before the mission starts. This includes a growing romance between John and Zoe (played by Emily Beecham), a member of the design team for the spacecraft. Also back on Earth is David Morrissey who co-stars as Napier, Head of Mission Control.

       Tension mounts after John discovers damage to the hull from an unexplained impact and dissention grows between the crew whether or not to continue the mission. Nash is convinced their lives are in jeopardy and wants to abort. Captain Franks want to continue as the ship's computer system doesn't show any irregularities. John's decision is complicated by growing hallucinations affecting his judgement.

        Little backstory is provided for the crew with the exception of John and Mr. Affleck is well cast as a loner who starts to question his sanity the deeper they go into space. The film itself takes it's time to get to a certain point where the writers really start to mess with the audience. What is real and what is not reaches a wild crescendo in the last act. 

        Whether or not it's worth the 110 minute ride is up to your tolerance level.

Blink Twice

 

       Co-written and directed by Zoe Kravitz, this new "thriller" is easily forgotten (a pun if you see the film). What starts out as a fun filled, hedonistic trip soon turns into a nightmare for friends Frida (played by Naomi Ackie) and Jess (played by Alia Shawkat).

        A group of people are invited to Slater King's (played by Channing Tatum) private island where it becomes a daily ritual of drinking, drugs, and non-stop party time. Ominous clues start appearing and Frida begins to realize all is not right.

         The film turns ugly once Frida remembers the women have been drugged, tied up and raped every night with no memory of what's transpired. Once she remembers, Frida turns the tables and the film dissolves into bloody carnage.

         The film co-stars Christian Slater, Simon Rex, Adria Arjona, Haley Joel Osment, Liz Caribel, Levon Hawke, Trew Mullen, Geena Davis, and Kyle MacLachlan.

         While I try my best to not reveal plot points, I did in this case to forewarn anyone thinking of seeing this film. While it has a notable cast, it's premise is really nasty, and you should know what to expect going in. There is even a disclaimer at the start of the film.

Alien Romulus

 

      Co-written and directed by Fede Alvarez, this is seventh installment in the franchise. The film takes place in time somewhere between "Alien" and "Aliens" and is a very welcome addition to the franchise.

       Mr. Alvarez provides many of Alien's familiar elements but also injects lots of originality into the script. He creates a very claustrophobic environment filled with suspense and dread around every corner.  Once again, the film has a female hero but in this case, she is much younger (as is the whole crew) than past films in the franchise. Adding a youthful cast is just one advantage that provides a fresh take. Mr. Alvarez also finds new and very exciting ways to put the crew in danger, even though we are familiar with the Xenomorphs from the earlier films. The last act, in particular, is very exciting and filled with some very inventive terrors.

       The film stars Cailee Spaeny as Rain, David Jonsson as Andy, Archie Renaux as Tyler, Isabela Merced as Kay, Spike Fearn as Bjorn, and Aileen Wu as Navarro. When the film begins, Ms. Spaeny's Rain doesn't show much range but she quickly grows the character into a very reluctant hero. Mr. Jonsson is terrific as Andy, showing quite the range in a very unexpected way. Daniel Betts in also featured ,in an unusual role, as Rook.

        The film is great fun and if possible, see it in IMAX, which really enhances the sound and visuals.

         

Cuckoo

 

     Written and directed by Tillman Singer, this new horror film is less horror and more simply deranged. It is one of the strangest films I've seen in a while and it's certainly not for everyone.

     The film stars Hunter Schafer as Gretchen, a teenage girl who has recently lost her mother and is now living with her father and his new family. They take up residence at a Bavarian Alps resort run by Herr Konig, played by Dan Stevens. The film co-stars Marton Csokas as Gretchen's father, Jessica Henwick as her stepmother, Mia Lieu as her half sister, Alma and Jan Bluthardt as Henry.

      Sinister things slowly reveal themselves at the resort as the film begins to go off the gonzo deep end. Some might find it scary at times but it is more unhinged than scary and it's Gretchen's predicament that drives the story. Ms. Schafer is fantastic as Gretchen and you really care for her as everything around her begins to go off the rails.  Mr. Stevens is extremely convincing as the creepy owner of the resort hiding wild secrets.

      The title says it all.

The Instigators

 

      Produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon and starring Matt Damon and Casey Affleck (who also co-wrote the film), "The Instigators" is a very Boston-centric "heist" comedy that garners only a few laughs.

     The film is directed by Doug Liman (who directed Mr. Damon in the highly successful, "The Bourne Identity"). Combining all this talent, it's disappointing that this is a very lazy effort from all involved. There is little character development in the leads and the story is claustrophobic in it's Boston setting. It's as if a bunch of high profile friends said, "let's take Apple's money and spend a few week having some fun in our beloved Boston".

      The film co-stars Hong Chau (the best thing about the film), Paul Walter Hauser as a stereotypic "dumb" criminal, Ving Rhames, who seems to be unable to actually move unless he's behind the wheel of a supersized police vehicle, Ron Perlman, chewing scenery as a crooked mayor, and  Alfred Molina, Toby Jones and Andre De Shields, three highly respectable actors in very underwritten roles.

      Mr. Liman's direction is nothing special. Even the requisite car chase he stages is fairly pedestrian, having been done better in numerous films from "The French Connection to the "Mission Impossible" franchise. 

       The film is available only through streaming and if you don't have the particular service, don't worry you haven't missed anything. 

       

      

Borderlands

 

    I have never played the video game this film is based on so I can't make a honest comparison but as a stand alone film, it's a bit of a mess. It's a mash-up of "Guardians of the Galaxy", "Star Wars", and "X-Men: Dark Phoenix" but not in a good way.

    The cast was intriguing to me, especially Cate Blanchett as Lilith. Maybe Ms. Blanchett thought it would be fun do to a sci-fi fantasy film or maybe she didn't read the script beforehand, but either way, she's too fine an actor to be slumming in this film. Kevin Hart, while a terrific comedian, plays a more serious role as Roland, and is totally miscast. Jack Black voices "Claptrap" the robot with his voice an octave higher than usual and almost unrecognizable. His jokes fall flat. Jamie Lee Curtis is Tannis with not much to do except fill in plot holes.

    The film also features Edgar Ramirez as the villain "Atlas", Arianna Greenblatt as "Tiny Tina",  Florian Munteanu as "Krieg", a mountain of a man with little dialog but many muscles, and Gina Gershon as "Moxxi", chewing the scenery as a bar owner.

    Seems like a solid cast but director Eli Roth (also one of the writers) underutilizes all their talent and only shows a flair for the action sequences (of which there are plenty). Known for his "R" rated violent horror films, he tones things down quite a bit with almost no blood to be seen amidst all the fighting. 

     Even in IMAX, the film is a letdown (just loud and chaotic) and only the gamers might find it appealing if it's at all accurate to the game.

Trap

 

      M. Night Shyamalan's latest  thriller is a lot like most of his films, silly and yet clever at the same time with, of course, always including a signature twist.

      The premise is interesting if not entirely believable. A serial killer takes his daughter to a "Lady Raven" concert (A Taylor Swift type of performer) but the the police have been tipped off that the killer will be at the concert and surround the building. They only have a vague notion of what he might look like and intend to stop every adult male concert attendee on the way out.

       Obviously surrounded, the killer must find a way out without his teen daughter even realizing there is something wrong. A far fetched scenario filled with unintentionally funny dialogue, Mr. Shyamalan still manages to create a tension filled film helped by an excellent performance by Josh Harnett.

       The film co-stars Ariel Donoghue as Riley, Saleka Shyamalan as Lady Raven (Mr. Shyamalan's daughter who also wrote and performed her own music), Allison Pill as Rachel and Haley Mills as Dr. Josephine Grant. Seeing Haley Mills again in a film is a real treat.

       Don't expect a great thriller but it is silly fun.