Movie review: Dark

When a young local boy disappears from the small town of Winden, a series of events are unleashed revealing the relationships between four families in a story that spans decades.

Louis Hofmann (Jonas), Karoline Eichhorn (Charlotte), Lisa Vicari (Martha), Maja Schone (Hanna), Stephan Kampwirth (Peter), Jordis Triebel (Katharina), Paul Lux (Bartosz), Moritz Jahn (Magnus), Oliver Masucci (Ulrich).

Dark looks strange from the start, and only gets stranger. The story sounds simple up front; a young boy disappears from a small German town and the resulting events reveal relationships between four families. What it doesn't explain is the relationships span decades, something explored in the series via time and inter-dimensional travel. It also great over-simplifies the plot. The relationships are built through time, not with time, and are ridiculously convoluted to follow. The result is a film with incredible depth that demands attention to be followed.

Acting was pretty good in Dark. Hofmann did a nice job and fit his role fairly well. Vicari was enjoyable and delivered nicely as well. Schone put forth good emotion, as did Masucci, though he felt a bit colder. Triebel was good, as were Lux and Jahn who both fit nicely. The large cast overall did quite well.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds are good without being overdone. The cave scenes could have used slightly more explanation. Effects and action were enjoyable without taking over the film. Dialogue can be challenging at time so captions become your friend. Sound and soundtrack are okay.

Overall if you enjoy time-travel films with depth you should enjoy this 3 season series. The only real complaint here is with direction. There was a lot of pausing in the dialogue, to the point we wondered a couple of times if Hofmann had forgotten his lines. Prepare to dedicate some time with this series as watching it over time may prove difficult with the plot depth.

With a fair amount of sexuality, some nudity, violence, gore, foul language, adult themes and scenes, save this one for older teens and above.

Released: 2020
Reviewed: 7.20.20
Star rating: 3 out of 5
Genre: Mystery, Sci-Fi, Drama, Crime, Time-travel

copyright ©2020 Dave Riedel

Movie review: The Lighthouse

Two lighthouse keepers on an isolated New England island in the late 1800's struggle to maintain their sanity in the face of an approaching storm.

Robert Pattinson (Thomas Howard), Willem Dafoe (Thomas Wake), Valeriia Karaman (Mermaid), Logan Hawkes (Winslow), Kyla Nicolle (Rock woman).

The Lighthouse begins by reminding us how to turn on subtitles as the language used along with actors accents was challenging to say the least. Next up is checking the television or monitor to see if maybe you switched it to monochrome. You did not. The film is indeed in black and white. But while you are in there, check your sound settings. They are fine, but you will soon think they are not.

Housekeeping done, the film is now underway including the plot with the two lighthouse keepers, Thomas and Thomas, starting to crack. As part of the cracking they each begin to suspect the other in more and more sinister ways. Along the way we are treated to the brutal destruction of a seagull, homophobia, and repeated demonstrations as to the use of a chamber pot. The rest of the film is about as lively, or as logical, as filming in black and white these days.

Acting was disturbing, meaning Dafoe did well and fit his role perfectly. Pattinson was also well cast and fit well with Dafoe. Though the two seemed to have chemistry, they didn't have enough to share with the film itself.

Indie and alternative films can be entertaining, interesting, amusing and more. This film at best feels like a prototype for something that could be entertaining, might be interesting, is definitely disturbing, and knows not what amusing means. No audience recommendation as the 1890 was over 100 years ago so the point is mute.

Mild nudity and sexuality, graphic violence and gore, foul language, more graphic gore and violence, alcoholism, and potentially disturbing images so save this one for adults and above.

Released: 2019
Reviewed: 7.19.20
Star rating: 2 out of 5
Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Drama, Period Pieces, Indie Thriller

copyright ©2020 Dave Riedel

Movie review: Judy

Judy Garland rose to fame as a child, but thirty years later her star is fading. In an attempt to reboot her career and regain her children Judy heads to London and a 5-week sold out show. Along the way she finds fifth husband Mickey while struggling with her anxiety and physical decline.

Renee Zellweger (Judy), Jessie Buckley (Rosalyn), Finn Wittrock (Mickey), Rufus Sewell (Sid), Michael Gambon (Bernard), Richard Cordery (Louis Mayer), Darci Shaw (Young Judy), Andy Nyman (Dan).

Judy is the story of Judy Garland in her later years. While there are some flashbacks and disturbing history about her grooming to be a star, the film really focuses on her time in London. The story starts off well with character introductions and the current state of Judy's life, which is appearing to disintegrate. The London shows give her a chance to reclaim some fame but anxiety and her physical decline remain a problem. And husband Mickey eventually did little but add to her problems. The result is a biography that is heavy on drama with few laughs and no happy ending.

Though not a Zellweger fan, her performance was impressive physically and she delivered solid emotion throughout the film. Buckley was enjoyable in a smaller role. Wittrock delivered nicely as did Sewell and Gambon. Cordery fit his role perfectly and did well as did the remainder of the cast.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds are good. Makeup on Zellweger was exceptionally well done, as was costuming. Dialogue has nice depth and movement. Sound and soundtrack are very well done with some nice tracks and a nod to the musical parent of this film.

Overall Judy is a well done and engaging film that told us a lot about Judy we never knew. Judy fans, or Zellweger fans, should enjoy this one a lot. With plenty of drama and some romance, genre fans should enjoy this as well.

A few bits of foul language and some mild adult situations are the only things here limiting audience age. Teens and above should be fine with this one, though they will likely get bored with the drama.

Released: 2019
Reviewed: 7.8.20
Star rating: 4 out of 5
Genre: Drama, Romance, Biography, Stories based on Real Life, Musicals

copyright ©2020 Dave Riedel

Movie review: The 5th Wave

Aliens want Earth and after four waves of increasingly deadly attacks humanity is being decimated. Traveling a destroyed landscape, 16-yr-old Cassie searches for her younger brother even as a fifth and more deadly attack becomes imminent.

Chloe Moretz (Cassie), Matthew Zuk (Wounded Man), Gabriela Lopez (Lizbeth), Bailey Borders (Julia), Nick Robinson (Ben/Zombie), Ron Livingston (Oliver), Maggie Siff (Lisa), Zackary Arthur (Sam), Live Schreiber (Vosch), Alex Roe (Evan).

The 5th Wave launches right into the chaos that is an alien invasion, but this one is a bit different. The aliens want Earth, but not the inhabitants, so their invasion appears a bit different. After the first couple of waves, the Sullivan family is separated and Cassie ends up searching a desolate landscape in hopes of finding and saving her young brother. This is also about the time she realizes the fourth wave has placed aliens among us.

Acting was solid with Moretz delivering a nice performance. Arthur also does well and seems to work well with Moretz, as did Roe who fit pretty well here. Livingston and Siff contributed nicely with a solid feel. Schreiber delivered his usual in a role he has seen before. The remainder of the cast was enjoyable.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds are well done with a life-sized feel throughout. Effects are good for the most part, though scale seemed a bit off with the alien ships. Dialogue was decent and moved things along with a fair amount of information. Sound and soundtrack are fitting.

Overall The 5th Wave is a slightly unique and enjoyable alien sci-fi. Despite the long almost 2 hour runtime, the film does well until closer to the end when it turns from an alien sci-fi into more of a teen survival flick like a few other recent franchises. Teens should enjoy this one while adults may lose interest toward the end.

With some sexuality, violence, gore, some foul language, and adult situations, this should be fine for teens and above.

Released: 2016
Reviewed: 6.30.20
Star rating: 4 out of 5
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure, Aliens, Sci-Fi Action

copyright ©2020 Dave Riedel

Movie review: Cosmos (2019)

Out in the woods a trio of astronomers settles in for a night of stargazing when one of them discovers an unusual signal. Determining the signal is alien, they race to share their discovery with the world.

Tom England (Mike), Joshua Ford (Harry), Arjun Panam (Roy), Ben Vardy (Dave).

Cosmos begins nicely with some character introductions and brief plot setup. A trio of astronomers out in the woods settles in for a night of star watching in their well equipped vehicle. Rather quickly one of the three discovers an unusual audio signal coming from the stars. Through some investigation, the trio realizes they have an authentic alien signal. From there the race is on to tell the world.

Acting was solid in this one with all three of the main actors doing well in a film that required solid emotion and depth throughout.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds were well done considering this was a very low-budget film with an even smaller technical crew. Dialogue was the meat in this one and it was nicely done with good movement, detail, and depth. Sound and soundtrack are enjoyable and fitting.

While Cosmos may sound like an intense sci-fi flick, it is really more about the drama. There is little action, no aliens, and only a whisper of special effects. Those who enjoy a sci-fi with well developed characters and sub-plot drama should enjoy this one. Those wanting aliens and explosions will likely be disappointed.

Nothing here to limit audience age.

Released: 2019
Reviewed: 6.30.20
Star rating: 2 out of 5
Genre: Sci-Fi, Mystery, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Sci-Fi Drama

copyright ©2020 Dave Riedel