Movie review: Velvet Buzzsaw

 

 Hoping to strike it rich with a series of paintings from an unknown artist who is also now dead, a group of art profiteers instead encounter a supernatural force determined to have revenge.

Jake Gyllenhaal (Morf), Rene Russo (Rhodora), Zawe Ashton (Josephina), Tom Sturridge (Jon), Toni Collette (Gretchen), John Malkovich (Piers), Natalia Dyer (Coco), Daveed Diggs (Damrish), Alan Mandell (Dease).

Velvet Buzzsaw is an interesting concept being a quirky mix of horror, drama, and arguably comedy. What the film does not do is execute well. The story begins well enough but quickly devolves into senseless scenes of boredom punctuated by weak attempts at horror. Drama is probably the strongest component of the film but even that is somewhat lost with the unusual, almost unrealistic, characters. The last third of the film, where we would hope to see the plot come together, felt like it missed the mark by a mile.

Surprisingly, acting was good. Gyllenhaal fit his unusual role with his usual style. Russo also delivered well as did Collette, Malkovich, and others. Ashton was solid in the first half of the film but felt like she lost it in the second half. The remainder of the supporting cast was at least interesting.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds are good with nice variety and a solid feel for the most part. Action scenes are mild but good while horror scenes were simply disappointing. Dialogue was a mess of failed humor, drama, and social commentary. Sound and soundtrack are okay.

Overall Velvet Buzzsaw is probably going to appeal to a fairly narrow audience. Those who enjoy high quality B-movies, quirky drama, or hate the art world may enjoy this one.

With some sexuality, nudity, violence, gore, foul language, potentially disturbing scenes, and a dose of mental destruction, save this one for older teens and above.

Released: 2019
Reviewed: 3.6.19
Star rating: 2 out of 5
Genre: Thriller, Drama, Horror, Mystery

copyright ©2019 Dave Riedel

Movie review: Ant-Man and the Wasp

 

 Wrapping up his time on home arrest, Scott has learned to balance being a super-hero and a father. But when Hope and Dr. Pym come up with a new mission, Ant-Man finds himself fighting alongside The Wasp in hopes of correcting a mistake made years ago.

Paul Rudd (Scott/Ant-Man), Evangeline Lilly (Hope/Wasp), Michael Pena (Luis), Walton Goggins (Sonny), Bobby Cannavale (Paxton), Judy Greer (Maggie), Hannah John-Kamen (Ava/Ghost), Michelle Pfeiffer (Janet/Wasp), Laurence Fishburne (Dr. Foster), Michael Douglas (Dr. Pym).

Ant-Man and the Wasp begins by showing us Scott's life under house-arrest and completing a bit of plot setup. For the past two years things have been pretty quiet but when Scott dreams of Janet, lost when she shrank to the sub-atomic level, he contacts Hope and Pym. They quickly come up with a plan to rescue Janet, drawing Scott back as Ant-Man to help. The remainder of the film is an action-adventure journey as Scott and friends attempt to rescue Janet while at the same time foiling a plot by Ghost.

Acting is solid with Rudd doing well in a role he has held before. Lilly was good and seemed to work well with Rudd and others. Pena was silly fun as always, as was Cannavale. John-Kamen was interesting if somewhat dark and brooding. Pfeiffer, Fishburne, Douglas, and the remainder of the supporting cast were enjoyable.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds which are heavily reliant on CGI are good. Action scenes and effects were a lot of fun and supported the film well. Dialogue was good with a bit of comedy to keep kids interested. Sound and soundtrack are solid.

Overall Ant-Man and the Wasp is a fun family action-adventure flick that would make a great choice for family movie night. The film moves along at a decent pace with a lighter focus on the drama. Adults will appreciate the well done CGI and plot with some depth.

With a little mild foul language and some action violence, this should be fine for preens and above.

Released: 2018
Reviewed: 3.4.19
Star rating: 3 out of 5
Genre: Action & Adventure, Action Comedy, Action, Adventure, Comedy

copyright ©2019 Dave Riedel

Movie review: Mars (2016 Series)

 

 In the year 2033 the first manned mission from Earth to Mars attempts to colonize the planet.

Jihae (Hana), Alberto Ammann (Javier), Clementine Poidatz (Amelie), Sammi Rotibi (Robert), Anamaria Marinca (Marta), Nick Wittman (Oliver), Cosima Shaw (Leslie), Olivier Martinez (Ed), Roxy Sternberg (Jen).

Mars is an unusual mix of sci-fi along with interviews and clips from well known researchers and others. Once humans land on Mars, things get slightly more interesting as the focus shifts to drama rather than sci-fi. At this point the film feels more interested in the psychological impact of colonizing Mars than anything else. And this is where the series lost us. The sci-fi aspect is so forgotten in favor of drama you can almost forget the characters are on another planet. Maybe the series will get better, but midway through Season 1 this one is looking like a loser.

Acting was dry, lifeless, and lacking emotion in just about every scene. Very little here to engage audience interest.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds are pretty good with nice variety and a fairly realistic feel. Dialogue is dry and plodding at best. Sound and soundtrack are probably the brightest aspect of the film.

Overall Mars is a very low energy, somewhat realistic look at colonizing Mars. While some may enjoy the exercise, those looking for entertainment rather than education may be slightly disappointed.

With one instance of mild gore, this should be fine for just about any audience.

Released: 2016
Reviewed: 3.4.19
Star rating: 2 out of 5
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi, Adventure, Fantasy

copyright ©2019 Dave Riedel

Movie review: The Night Eats the World

 

 Seeking refuge from a crowded party in a back room, Sam falls asleep, only to wake the next morning to find Paris overrun by zombies. And himself trapped in an apartment building.

Anders Lie (Sam), Golshifteh Farahani (Sarah), Denis Lavant (Alfred), Sigrid Bouaziz (Fanny), David Kammenos (Mathieu).

The Night Eats the World doesn't waste any time on backstory with Sam falling asleep before the marquee is even run. With Sam now trapped in a Paris apartment building surrounded by zombies, the film explores how he lives. This is a different take on zombie flicks, focusing on Sam's survival both physically and mentally. While zombies are fairly prominent in the film, they are not an invisible threat and Sam even learns to live with them in some ways.

Acting was pretty good. Lie felt detached and dry at first but warmed up by the end. Farahani's role was brief but she handled it well. Lavant did well with a challenging role that held audience interest nicely. The remainder of the zombies, I mean supporting cast, did nicely.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds are solid with a realistic and natural feel. Action scenes were well done with good intensity. These are not your slow zombie model folks! Dialogue is sparse but the film doesn't feel empty and what dialogue there is worked well. Sound and soundtrack are enjoyable.

Overall The Night Eats the World is a different type of zombie flick that may not appeal to everyone. Those interested in the reality of life with or after zombies should enjoy this one. Those looking for the intense thrill of zombies may be slightly disappointed.

Plenty of violence, gore, and foul language with a couple of intense situations thrown in for giggles so save this one for those above nightmare age.

Released: 2018
Reviewed: 2.28.19
Star rating: 3 out of 5
Genre: Zombies, Horror, Foreign Horror, Thrillers, French films

copyright ©2019 Dave Riedel

Movie review: Ken Jeong: You Complete Me, Ho

 

Ken Joeng: You Complete Me, Ho in his first network stand-up special.

Ken Joeng talks about the movies he has been in, and the cool people he has met. Between trying to impress us with who he knows, he tries to tell a joke or two. We laughed at one.

Tried twice to watch this and failed. Don't be a failure like us. Find something else to watch.

Might have had some foul language, not sure, wasn't paying attention. Let your kids watch this one at your own risk.

Released: 2019
Reviewed: 2.23.19
Star rating: 1 out of 5
Genre: Bad Stand-up Comedy

copyright ©2019 Dave Riedel

Movie review: Mission: Impossible - Fallout

 

 Following a failed mission, Ethan Hunt and crew return once again and are this time tasked with recovering three containers of weapons grade plutonium. Their competition; a new organization known as the Apostles possibly run by an old nemesis.

Tom Cruise (Ethan), Henry Cavill (Walker), Ving Rhames (Luther), Simon Pegg (Benji), Rebecca Ferguson (Ilsa), Sean Harris (Solomon), Angela Bassett (Sloane), Vanessa Kirby (White Widow), Michelle Monaghan (Julia).

Mission: Impossible - Fallout begins nicely by bringing us up to speed on Hunt, his team, and events that will setup the plot. With an almost two-and-one-half-hour runtime we expected a detailed plot but less than an hour, and at least four subplots, into the film we quit trying to follow the plot and just enjoyed the stunts. What was left was a Tom Cruise action flick that was almost believable. Just kidding.

Acting from Cruise is about what we have come to expect with his tough-guy persona and lack of emotion. Someday he will look genuinely happy again and surprise us all. Cavill felt almost out of place in this one, maybe intentionally, but we expected more. Rhames, Pegg, and Monaghan delivered as usual while Ferguson and Kirby were nice additions.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds were good and fitting for a big budget flick. Stunts were solid while CGI was all over the map. Some shots looked ridiculously elementary while others were quite good. Dialogue was okay with some mild depth. Sound and soundtrack are nice.

While Mission: Impossible - Fallout, and the Mission: Impossible franchise in general, still bring the action they don't bring much else. The plot here felt thin and recycled at best. Acting was solid but nothing new for the franchise. The result is all fluff and no meat.

With some mild sexuality, plenty of violence and gore, and foul language, this should be okay for older teens and above.

Released: 2018
Reviewed: 2.23.19
Star rating: 3 out of 5
Genre: Thriller, Action, Crime Action, Adventure, Espionage Action

copyright ©2019 Dave Riedel