I get that this may be a bit premature, but could we be witnessing a revival of the Western genre? There have been several smaller independent Westerns that have popped up in recent years and Kevin Costner is set to release his massive two-part Western epic this summer. Now we have “The Dead Don’t Hurt” – a new film that’s directed, written, produced, and composed by Viggo Mortensen. If that wasn’t enough, Mortensen also stars in the film which just released its fantastic first trailer.
Set in the 1860s, Mortensen plays a Danish immigrant named Holger Olsen who falls in loved with a French Canadian woman named Vivienne Le Coudy (played by the always terrific Vicky Krieps). The two start a life together on Holger’s Nevada homestead. But when the headstrong Holger’s convictions drive him to enlist in the Union army, Vivienne is left alone on a frontier dominated by ruthless men. The film also stars Danny Huston, Solly McLeod, Garret Dillahunt, Ray McKinnon, Colin Morgan, W. Earl Brown, and Atlas Green. The trailer offers a tantalizing first look for what is a clear passion project for the 65-year-old Mortensen.
“The Dead Don’t Hurt” gallops into theaters on May 31st. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.
Based on Romanian author E.O. Chirovici’s 2017 crime novel “The Book of Mirrors”, the new film “Sleeping Dogs” hands Oscar winner Russell Crowe a meaty and surprisingly heartfelt role. He plays a retired homicide detective who is drawn back into a long unsolved murder case after undergoing a radical experimental procedure for Alzheimer’s disease. How does a cold case and an experimental treatment connect? Well, in a kinda silly yet surprisingly poignant way.
“Sleeping Dogs” marks the feature length directorial debut for Adam Cooper who works from a screenplay he co-wrote with Bill Collage. Their story takes on several different appearances. At times it resembles a somewhat gritty crime thriller. Other times it plays as a moving character drama. But at it’s core lies all the elements of a classic whodunit. Maybe not the most well-oiled whodunit you’ll watch. But a compelling one made all the better thanks to its veteran lead actor.
While perhaps no longer in the heyday of what has been a marvelous 35-year career, Russell Crowe is still finding an array of form-fitting roles. Such is the case with “Sleeping Dogs” where he plays Roy Freeman, a former detective suffering from severe dementia. Roy’s condition has progressed to the point where he can no longer remember anything about his career or family. His house is lined with strips of tape inked with information that covers everything from his name to how to heat up a TV dinner.
Image Courtesy of The Avenue
Roy recently underwent an experimental procedure focused on synaptic regeneration. The hope is that over time it will reverse his condition and reclaim his memories. As part of his mental exercises his doctor instructs him to stimulate his brain. And what better way than through books, jigsaw puzzles, and maybe even a real-life murder mystery.
One day Roy is visited by an advocate for Isaac Samuel (Pacharo Mzembe), a prison inmate who’s on death row for the brutal murder of a college professor named Joseph Wieder (Marton Csokas). With his execution date fast approaching, Isaac requests to speak to Roy who was one of the interrogating officers on the night of his arrest. We learn that Isaac was pressured into signing a confession but has since vehemently professed his innocence. He sees Roy as his last chance to prove it. The problem is Roy remembers nothing about the case.
From there Cooper takes an unexpected diversion. After a person of interest named Richard Finn (Harry Greenwood) winds up dead, we get a lengthy flashback revealing his connection to Professor Wieder. Through it we’re also introduced to Finn’s love interest and Wieder’s research partner, Laura Baines (Karen Gillan) as well as the professor’s ever observant handyman, Wayne Devereaux (Thomas M. Wright). Like every good whodunnit, all fit nicely onto the list of suspects, each with their own possible motives.
Image Courtesy of The Avenue
Meanwhile Roy begins digging deeper into the case which leads him to reconnect with his old partner Jimmy (Tommy Flanagan in a “Gladiator” reunion with Crowe). Jimmy clearly wants Roy to let sleeping dogs lie which immediately adds him to our growing pool of suspects. From there the mystery intensifies as Roy’s treatment shows signs of working and certain memories start rushing back.
The story takes Roy on quite the journey – one marked by uncertainty, sadness, and inevitably violence. The revelations that come throw us several curveballs, some of which are a little far-fetched and others that hit their mark. Perhaps most effective is the ending which you begin to suspect yet that still makes for a solid payoff. And driving it all is Crowe whose well-modulated performance brims with authenticity and nuance.
While it could be tempting to be skeptical after reading its synopsis, “Sleeping Dogs” has a surprisingly smart and layered story with enough of its own identity to get through its handful of flaws. Not everything clicks firmly into place. But it’s hard to push back too much when a filmmaker has you as invested as I was. “Sleeping Dogs” is out now in select theaters.
There is no shortage of trends within the current movie landscape. In recent years one of the most popular involves the many sequels, reboots, and remakes of 1980s movies. “Top Gun”, “Ghostbusters”, “Beverly Hills Cop”, Bill & Ted”, even “Beetlejuice” are just some of the films that have been given the treatment or are on the way. I can honestly say that out of all of the movies to remake, 1989’s “Road House” wasn’t one of the first to come to mind.
The original “Road House” wasn’t a great movie. It was silly, full of cheesy action, and it latched onto the immense popularity of its star Patrick Swayze. Yet the movie had its charms. It also had the infinitely watchable Sam Elliott. In several ways 2024’s “Road House” is much the same. It’s not a great movie and is hampered by shallow characters, stilted dialogue, and an outrageously bad debut performance that we’ll get into shortly. Yet it admittedly has its moments – maybe enough to make it a pretty good bad movie.
This reimagining from director Doug Liman and co-writers Anthony Bagarozzi and Chuck Mondry sets out to tell a story similar to the ‘89 film but with a “modern twist”. Minus a few surface-level changes, I’m not so sure about the “modern twist” part. In many ways their “Road House” is a pretty by-the-numbers action flick and its adherence to the old formula pretty much strips it of any suspense whatsoever.
Image Courtesy of Amazon Studios
On the flip side, “Road House” (smartly) doesn’t take itself too seriously. The movie is peppered with some genuinely funny lines and its efforts at being rowdy can lend to some pretty good laughs (though maybe not always intentionally). As for the fight sequences, they are fittingly brutal. And the larger action set pieces (despite the occasional shaky CGI enhancements) deliver some big jolts.
The movie is also helped by its star, Jake Gyllenhaal. His performance is a weird one in that it takes some time to get a feel for what he’s going for. At first he almost seems disconnected and uninterested. But over time what he’s doing begins to feel more in tune with his character. That isn’t the case for everyone we meet. Again, more on that in a moment.
Gyllenhaal plays Elwood Dalton, a down-on-his-luck former UFC fighter who now dukes it out in rigged underground fights to make ends meet. One evening he’s approached by a woman named Frankie (Jessica Williams) who owns a beachside Road House in the Florida Keys. Lately her establishment has been attracting the wrong clientele – a pack of rowdy bikers who come in every night and trash the place. Desperate for help, she convinces the equally desperate Elwood to take the job as her head bouncer.
Elwood hits it off with several of the locals including a young girl named Hannah (Hannah Lanier) who owns a small bookstore with her father (Kevin Carroll). He also connects with an attractive nurse named Ellie (Daniela Melchior) who becomes his semi-explored love interest. But he also discovers that the island is full of trouble, namely in the form of Ben Brandt (Billy Magnussen), the spoiled and obnoxious son of a local crime boss who’s running his family’s business while his father is in prison.
Image Courtesy of Amazon Studios
In a nutshell, the Brandt’s want Frankie’s place for a lucrative land development deal. She doesn’t want to sell. So they send their goons, under the protection of a crooked sheriff (Joaquim de Almeida) to make a mess of things. But they run head-first into Elwood who is no pushover. In fact, we learn he has a particularly violent past that makes him a nightmare for bullies like Brandt.
As you can guess lots of bloody knuckles, busted noses, and broken bones ensue. And the violence only ramps up with the arrival of one ridiculously over-the-top Conor McGregor. He plays a brutish mob enforcer named Knox who’s called in to take care of Elwood once and for all. Admittedly, Knox is meant to be unhinged and sociopathic. But McGregor’s wildly overly exaggerated performance turns the character into a cartoon rather than a menacing threat. He’s laughably bad and a huge distraction whenever he pops up on-screen.
So this new iteration of “Road House” ends up being a hard movie to figure out. For everything it offers that’s entertaining, there are just as many problems that leave you scratching your head. It’s as harmless as it is forgettable which may not be a ringing endorsement. But it’s a fitting description of this kinda fun yet glaringly flawed time-passer. “Road House” is now streaming on Prime Video.
Busting ghosts dates back to 1984 when Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson saved New York City from a giant Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man and an assortment of other spirits. And wouldn’t you know it, they saved it again in 1989. Aside from a lackluster attempt at a remake in 2016, there was no more busting ghosts until 2021 and the long anticipated “Ghostbusters: Afterlife”, a film that introduced a new generation of busters while bringing back the originals (minus Harold Ramis who died in 2014).
“Afterlife” came out on the backend of COVID-19 and was a modest box office success. Enough so to earn itself a sequel, “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire”. Directed by Gil Kenan, “Frozen Empire” has a lot in common with its predecessor. For example, it’s chock full fan service from the opening titles to the ending credits. And while it has its nostalgic charms, it doesn’t offer much that will stick with anyone other than the Ghostbusters franchise die-hards.
Image Courtesy of Sony Pictures Releasing
The biggest issue with “Frozen Empire” revolves around its script. It’s a case of a movie having too much going on. Much of it feels recycled while anything resembling a new angle is undercooked. And despite several drawn-out stretches where not much happens, there are characters and subplots that never get the attention they need. It doesn’t help that the film is not especially exciting, not at all creepy, and not very funny. That’s a shame considering “Frozen Empire” brings back what is a terrific ensemble. But so many of its characters get lost in the crowd.
Written by Kenan and “Afterlife” director Jason Reitman, the overstuffed “Frozen Empire” goes down several different paths. First you have the ghostbusting family of Callie Spengler (Carrie Coon), her boyfriend Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd), her 18-year-old son Trevor (Finn Wolfhard), and her 15-year-old daughter Phoebe (Mckenna Grace). They live and operate out of the old Manhattan firehouse from the original films, protecting New York City from all kinds of spectral threats. But rather than being lauded, they’re constantly hounded by their arch-nemesis and the city’s new mayor, Walter Peck (William Atherton reprising his role).
Meanwhile Ray Stantz (Aykroyd) runs an old antique and book shop built around ghostly artifacts. He purchases a mysterious orb from a customer named Nadeem (Kumail Nanjiani), a character who epitomizes what happens when comic relief goes bad. As Ray is testing its PKE levels, the orb emits an energy blast that shakes the city and damages the firehouse’s ecto-containment unit. That can’t be good.
Ray rushes the artifact to the underground Paranormal Research Center ran by Winston Zeddemore (Hudson). With the help of Peter Venkman (Murray) the old Ghostbusters learn that the orb holds a malevolent spirit named Garraka. Patton Oswald shows up, unloading ton of momentum-killing exposition about Garraka, his power-hungry past, his powers (he can freeze stuff), and some uninteresting stuff about a group of sorcerers called Fire Masters. It goes without saying that Garraka escapes, puts the Big Apple into a deep freeze and it will take the Ghostbusters young and old to stop him.
Image Courtesy of Sony Pictures Releasing
As the main story chugs along, there are a couple of well intended plot lines that fall flat. One tries to add a coming-of-age flavor and involves Phoebe trying to find herself and where she fits in the world. She hits it off with a ghost named Melody (Emily Alyn Lind) but the relationship that forms between them is rushed and poorly defined. Then there is the subplot of Callie, Gary, Trevor, and Phoebe discovering what it means to be a family. This is something that could have fit in nicely with the central story, but as with so much else, it never gets the attention it needs to matter.
There’s no doubt that some will be drawn to its heavy nostalgia; other to its playful spirit and fun visual effects. But those things alone can’t save “Frozen Empire” from its overstuffed story, too many characters, and its overall lack of anything original. Things often defy logic, some characters get completely lost (poor Wolfhard), and there’s no emotional resonance to speak of. I wouldn’t call this the death knell for the series. At the same time it wouldn’t surprise me if this is the final Ghostbusters adventure we get. But as usual, it’s up to the box office to determine that. “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” is in theaters now.
Liam Neeson action thrillers have almost become their own genre. And you can almost always count on getting one in the first few months of the year. This year’s entry is “In the Land of Saints and Sinners”, a gritty yet slightly uneven feature driven by a killer cast and set to the stunning backdrop of the gorgeous Irish countryside. The setting and time period alone are enough to hold your attention. But the movie has a hard time maintaining its energy, often losing itself in its well-intended yet strangely overwritten character-building.
The film comes from director Robert Lorenz who previously worked with Neeson in 2021’s “The Marksman”. Here he’s directing from a script penned by Mark Michael McNally and Terry Loane. It places Neeson in a role he knows well – that of old grizzled assassin trying to put his old life behind him. It’s a story that we’ve seen on screen many times over. But this one attempts to set itself apart starting with its distinct setting.
Image Courtesy of Samuel
Perhaps the most notable difference with “In the Land of Saints and Sinners” is that it takes place in 1974 Northern Ireland, a turbulent time in Irish history known as The Troubles. Lasting nearly 30 years, TheTroubles was a multifaceted conflict rooted in political, nationalistic, and ethnic division. It saw growing civil unrest eventually explode into full-on armed conflict. It’s a setting the filmmakers could have explored further, but they do offer enough to wet our appetites.
The movie opens with a gripping and violent prelude (one of the film’s best sequences) that sees IRA terrorist Doireann McCann (Kerry Condon) carrying out the bombing of a Belfast pub. But after some unexpected and tragic collateral damage, Doireann and her four-man crew find themselves all over the news. As a result, they flee the city and meet up outside of the quiet coastal village of Glencolmcille. There they hide out, regroup, and begin planning their next move.
But what they don’t know is that Finbar Murphy (Neeson), an aging contract killer with the obligatory violent past, is living in Glencolmcille. Finbar has created a new identity for himself and is enjoying the quiet, off-the-grid life. He’s made a number of friends among the locals including the town’s police chief Vinnie O’Shea (the always great Ciarán Hinds) and an attractive widow named Rita (Niamh Cusack). But as you can probably guess (especially if you’ve watched any hitman movie), an occupation like his isn’t easy to keep buried.
After Doireann’s unhinged brother Curtis (Desmond Eastwood) crosses a line with a young mother and her daughter, Finbar takes it upon himself to “handle” the situation. It sets in motion a deadly game of cat and mouse between an elder assassin protecting a small village and ruthless terrorists dead-set on revenge. It’s undeniably a combustible situation although one that never lights the kind of fuse that keeps us on the edges of our seats. That’s because the tension that builds is often zapped by stretches of dialogue that, while sometimes interesting, can grind the excitement to a halt.
Image Courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films
A few other good names help fill out the movie’s compelling cast of characters including Jack Gleeson as Kevin, a fellow hired killer with a vaguely defined sense of loyalty to Finbar. There’s also Colm Meaney as Robert, a middle-man and friend of Finbar’s. But it’s Neeson’s show and he delivers what is a nicely tempered and nuanced lead performance. The Oscar-nominated Condon is a welcome addition to any project and she certainly makes Doireann a formidable villain. Unfortunately she’s never asked to be anything beyond fiercely intense and perpetually angry.
“In the Land of Saints and Sinners” is a case of having a lot of pieces that are more compelling than the movie is as a whole. That’s not to say it’s bad. Lorenz smartly leans into the film’s strengths, particularly the stellar cast and its intriguing setting. But the movie too often loses itself in its efforts to balance a violent action film with a talky character drama. It’s an admirable ambition and a nice change of pace from the usual Liam Neeson thrillers. But overall it makes for a pretty mixed bag. “In the Land of Saints and Sinners” hits theaters on March 29th.
Sydney Sweeney’s popularity is interesting to consider. I’ve heard some suggest that it’s her busty blonde beauty alone that drives the attention far more than anything acting related. While it’s easy to question the validity of such speculation, especially considering the really good small screen performances in her catalog, Sweeney’s shaky at best big screen work does make you wonder what’s the draw.
Sweeney’s new film “Immaculate” (which she also produces) is a fairly nice change of pace for the 26-year-old actress. It’s yet another entry into the nunsploitation (I love that word) sub-genre that attempts to mix religious and psychological horror. Directed by Michael Mohan and written by Andrew Lobel, the film premiered earlier this month at South by Southwest and received some pretty good early buzz.
In a lot of ways “Immaculate” is just more of the same. We get the creepy religious imagery, the exaggerated spins on Christian theology, and the twisted incorporation of (mostly) Catholic rituals and dogma. Then there are the endless genre gimmicks – creaking doors, eerie figures in the shadows, and those darned flashlights that only halfway work when you need them most. And of course there’s the smattering of cheap jump scares that seem to come baked into nearly every horror movie of our day.
Image Courtesy of NEON
To its credit “Immaculate” is built around a pretty wacky idea – one Mohan and Lobel could have really ran wild with. Sadly the filmmakers leave most of that gonzo potential untapped. Instead they’re content with using their idea for religious shock value rather than with doing anything else. You’ll also notice they introduce several things throughout the movie that mostly go unexplored. It’s a reoccurring frustration that becomes more and more noticeable.
Sweeney plays the wide-eyed and thinly-sketched Sister Cecilia, a sweet young American nun who travels to Italy at the behest of Father Sal Tedeschi (Álvaro Morte) after her Detroit parish closes. Father Tedeschi has invited her to join his isolated convent nestled in the Italian countryside. It has all the spooky amenities courtesy of Adam Reamer’s richly detailed production design. He along with cinematographer Elisha Christian do a good job setting the mood. And it’s especially impressive considering the film’s modest $9 million budget.
Once Sister Cecilia arrives she’s introduced to the crusty Mother Superior (Dora Romano). Later she’s given a tour by the ice-cold Sister Isabelle (Giulia Heathfield Di Renzi). And she eventually befriends the rebellious Sister Gwen (Benedetta Porcaroli). But there are some pretty clear signs that not all is as it seems (at least for anyone who has seen a nunsploitation horror flick). And it really comes to a head after Sister Cecilia is discovered to be pregnant despite still being a virgin (hence the movie’s pretty pointed title).
Don’t worry, I won’t spoil the movie’s surprise twist or the crazy place it chooses to go. I’ll just say it does build up some pretty good suspense even with a few noticeable blunders. It all eventually leads to a blood-soaked finish where “Immaculate” takes the form of a campy B-movie while finally letting Sweeney loose. It’s a welcomed shift but not quite enough to deliver an ending that’s as satisfying as it thinks it is.
Image Courtesy of NEON
To its credit, “Immaculate” creates and maintains an eerie atmosphere throughout and it does a good job planting us into its unsettling setting. Meanwhile fans of blood and gore will love some of the things Mohan and his team throw at us. But those things aren’t enough to cover the film’s biggest issue – its script.
It starts with Cecilia who we learn so little about. We’re told of a past tragedy and a dramatic spiritual transformation but only in the vaguest of terms. And we barely get any explanation as to why she would accept an invitation to a convent all the way in Italy. As for the convent, even less is revealed about it and its obvious dark history. There are so many questions. For instance, what’s the deal with those black robed figures in the crimson red masks who pop up at the most random times?
Unfortunately for “Immaculate” it seems some of its bigger interests are in being provocative and shocking (some of the film’s most recent marketing backs that up). It’s a shame because a little more focus on character and storytelling could have made it stand out from the pack. As it is “Immaculate” exists alongside many other movies that basically do the same thing. That will be enough for some. But those wanting more will have to wait for the next nunsploitation movie to come down the pike. “Immaculate” is in theaters now.
Keith & the Movies 