REVIEW: “Beast” (2022)

June 7, 2022 by Keith Garlington

No, this isn’t the ‘Idris Elba vs. a man-eating lion’ movie (that “Beast” comes out in a couple of months). This “Beast” is the Bollywood action-comedy from writer-director Nelson Dilipkumar (who simply goes by Nelson). The film stars Vijay, one of India’s highest paid actors with over 65 movies to his credit. Here he plays a former government agent who goes one-on-one with a terrorist group who takes over a shopping mall. Plenty of action ensues.

Vijay plays Veera, an ex-RAW agent who someone in the movie actually describes as the “Indian James Bond”. Veera quit RAW after a mission goes terribly wrong, resulting in the death of a young child. Eleven months pass and a traumatized Veera is still experiencing PTSD. Obviously nothing about any of that sounds remotely humorous and you may be wondering how this could be an ‘action-comedy’. Well, “Beast” routinely shifts gears on a dime which turns out to be both a strength and a frustration.

Case in point: Immediately after the tragedy, we see Veera getting canned by his psychologist. Afterwards the two casually bounce off to a wedding party where he meets the beautiful Preethi (Pooja Hegde). It takes a minute, but the two hit it off which leads to a big elaborate song and dance number. Now fans of Bollywood won’t be surprised as this is pretty much a signature of many of their movies. In this case, the tonal hopscotch makes it hard to take anything in “Beast” seriously.

The movie seems to want to build a relationship between Veera and Preethi. At the wedding party, we learn she is engaged to someone she hates. She has one month to “find her man and settle down” and it looks like Veera is meant to be the one. Unfortunately, Preethi quickly falls into the background almost becoming an afterthought. It’s a shame because Hegde has energy and charisma to spare.

Preethi does convince Veera to join her private security firm which is ran by the surly Dominic (VTV Ganesh). The three of them head to the East Coast Shopping Mall to discuss their contract with the manager. As they enter, Veera grows suspicious after noticing the escalators, elevators, and even the internet are all down. Within minutes, heavily armed Santa Clauses (yep) hijack the mall, sealing it shut and rigging it with explosives. With 200 civilians inside, their leader Umar (Ankur Ajit Vikal) demands the release of his brother Farooq (Lilliput) or ….you know… bad things will happen.

You know the story – bad guys take over a place but don’t realize there is a one-man army inside with them. It’s pretty conventional stuff. What makes it fun is Nelson’s keen eye for well choreographed action and Vijay’s straight-faced delivery. Together the two put together some terrific action scenes that are as silly as they are thrilling. The sweeping cameras, the intentionally gratuitous slow-motion, the brutal edginess. These scenes keep the movie entertaining.

But there are also slow patches, especially whenever the story shifts back to the police and their lackadaisical negotiations. There’s also an uninteresting and mostly unfunny side bit with a crooked Home Minister who’s in cahoots with the terrorists. These dialogue-heavy scenes drag out the runtime and keep us away from the movie’s biggest strengths.

Thankfully “Beast” has plenty of outlandish action to keep it afloat. Vijay carries himself like a bonafide star yet smartly (much like the movie) never takes himself too seriously. The movie misses an opportunity by not doing more with Hegde, and it could have easily been twenty minutes shorter. But audiences will surely come to “Beast” for the action and Nelson gives them plenty. “Beast” is now streaming on Netflix.

VERDICT – 3 STARS

REVIEW: “Row 19” (2022)

June 6, 2022 by Keith Garlington

The new Russian thriller “Row 19” opens with a jolt. At 30,000 feet, a passenger plane mysteriously loses power and plunges to the earth, crashing near Novosibirsk. Miraculously there is a lone survivor – a seven-year-old girl named Katarina who unwittingly becomes a national celebrity. It’s a tragic event that would be hard for anyone to put behind them. But it’s made impossible for Katarina, who is hounded by an obsessed media who are constantly retelling her story.

Bounce ahead 20 years. Katarina (Svetlana Ivanova) is a now a psychologist with a daughter named Diana (Marta Timofeeva). Despite her past trauma, Katarina seems to have conquered her fears and she puts on a good show for her daughter and the press. But when she and Diana board a late-night flight bound for Pontianak, we immediately feel her tension. And before the plane has even reached cruising altitude, Katarina’s terror begins manifesting itself in ways meant to shape the movie’s suspense.

Directed by Alexander Baba and written by James Rabb, “Row 19” has a good setup and it instantly has us studying its characters and scrounging for clues. Is what we are seeing real or is it all in Katarina’s head? Unfortunately, despite a good hook, the film stalls and has a hard time propelling itself forward. Even with a lean 70-minute runtime, the movie has a hard time keeping a good pace. Before long there’s only 15 minutes left and we still haven’t moved very far from where we started.

Again, I do like how Baba and Rabb place us in their confined space and make us a part of the mostly empty seven-passenger flight. Aside from Katarina and Diana, there’s a hunky ex-reporter, an elderly couple, a sour businessman, and an antsy hipster. Add the two flight attendants and you have all the human pieces for what unfolds. The performances are solid and fit nicely with the variety of personalities. But understandably, as the story begins to sputter so do the characters and their arcs.

There are a few injections of horror – bloody hands on the plane’s windows, a creepy milky-eyed crone, a particularly brutal use of fire. And there is nifty final act twist that adds a much needed kick. But it’s the slow-moving path to the finale that brings the film down. There’s simply not enough to bridge the movie’s strong start and surprise ending. It’s a good effort and the movie is easy to digest. But there’s a good chance you’ll leave it wishing it had more to offer. “Row 19” is now out on Blu-ray and VOD.

VERDICT – 2 STARS

REVIEW: “Men” (2022)

June 2, 2022 by Keith Garlington

Alex Garland has put together an interesting career as a novelist, a screenwriter, a television producer, a writer and story supervisor for video games, and of course film directing. His past screenplays include “28 Days Later” and its sequel “28 Weeks Later”, “Never Let Me Go”, and “Dredd”. He became a full-fledged writer-director in 2014 with the highly acclaimed “Ex Machina” followed by the fascinating “Annihilation”. Now he’s back with the equally intriguing “Men”.

“Men” is a surreal-ish folk horror film that can best be described as an admirable mess. It takes some big swings resulting in a terrific setup, and it features some bold creative choices that you can’t help but admire. Jessie Buckley (as always) gives a powerful performance and does a superb job anchoring us in her character’s hellish reality. And Rory Kinnear’s chameleon-like presence (playing different faces of the film’s multi-headed monster) will make your skin crawl. There’s lots to like here.

What’s disappointing is how surprisingly little the film has to say aside from men are bad, they’ve always been bad, and from the looks of things they’ll always be bad, at least from the experience of Buckley’s Harper Marlowe. But rather than engaging his audience and stirring them to think, Garland’s straightforward pared-down approach leaves us asking the wrong kinds of questions as we look for meaning outside of his blunt messaging.

Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t say that as a man who left the theater cradling his bruised ego. I fully expected that to be the message of the movie (the aggressively direct and accusatory title left little doubt). In fact, I was excited to see how Garland explored that notion through the experience of Buckley’s character. But I also expected more depth and nuance. Themes of grief, guilt, and loss barely crack the surface. And if you strain you can see some of Garland’s reoccurring interests in identity and isolation. But all of those things are clearly secondary concerns.

Buckley’s Harper is a compelling character and one we eagerly get behind despite learning painfully little about her. Traumatized after watching her husband James (Paapa Essiedu) fall (or did he jump?) to his death from their high-rise apartment, Harper heads out to the countryside for a time of healing. She rents a remote country manor owned by a strange but cordial man named Geoffrey (Kinnear). It’s an idyllic place nestled among rolling green pastures, lush forests, and it’s only a stones throw from a nearby village. It seems like the perfect place for Harper to recalibrate.

Garland and his go-to DP Rob Hardy hone in on the area’s natural beauty with one postcard quality image after another. But they also infuse those same images with a persistent sense of unease. Take when Harper goes out for a walk shortly after arriving. The richly verdant scenery is stunning, but the sense of dread grows with each step she takes. She finally makes it home, but doesn’t notice the fully naked man (also Kinnear) who follows her out of the woods and begins skulking around her Airbnb.

Later while visiting an old local church, Harper encounters a handsy vicar (also Kinnear) who seems to blame her for her husband’s death. Afterwards she stops by the village pub where she encounters several other unsavory men (all played by Kinnear) – a policeman, a bartender, and a redneck. She’s even berated by a young delinquent boy with Kinnear’s likeness digitally projected on the kid’s face (it’s effectively creepy but at times glaringly fake).

Kinnear gives each of his characters their own distinct personalities, but there’s also a startling similitude between them. Each represent different shades of twisted masculinity and each push their own self-absorbed sense of empowerment over Harper. It’s a thoroughly engrossing setup but one barely explored. Instead it’s all streamlined into an on-the-nose metaphorical finish – a grotesque body-horror climax that left one poor soul sitting in my row shuttering in discomfort. It’s utterly bonkers but very obvious. And it’s the kind of ending that grabs attention but doesn’t provoke the kind of deep thought it clearly wants to.

As I left “Men” I remember wondering to myself about the movie’s point-of-view? Was it Harper’s or Garland’s or both? If it’s Harper’s, then the film misses out on an opportunity to really explore her experiences and the layers of abuse found in them. If it’s Garland’s, then the cynical “Men” takes the cheap and easy approach to its subject. If it’s both…. well, remember that “admirable mess” I mentioned above. It’s a shame because the movie starts off really strong. But it’s glaringly obvious ending isn’t nearly as crafty as it tries to be, and no amount of zany grotesquery can quite make up for it. “Men” is out now in theaters.

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS

REVIEW: “Interceptor” (2022)

June 1, 2022 by Keith Garlington

“Interceptor” is one of those action movies where you sorta know what you’re going to get before seeing it. There’s just enough in the trailer to (despite your better judgement) give you hope. And since movies like this can be a lot of fun, you go in optimistic. But then you see it and you remember why you were hesitant to begin with. It may be a movie you want to root for, but it’s just too silly and trite to get behind.

Directed by Matthew Reilly and produced by Chris Hemsworth (who also has a brief tone-shattering cameo that milks his likable goof persona dry), “Interceptor” starts off on the wrong foot. The ridiculous setup goes something like this: The US has only two early warning stations that can detect and shoot down nuclear missiles (we’re doomed). They’re called Interceptor bases. One is at the icy Fort Greely in Alaska. The other is a seaborne platform called SBX-1. Text tells us that SBX-1 is 1500 miles northwest of Hawaii but its exact location is “classified” (because, you know, audiences might tip off the Russians and we don’t want that).

A generic terrorist group takes command of 16 (!!!) Russian nuclear missile installations with the intent of destroying 16 U.S. cities. But they’ll need to knock out America’s defense systems. First they wipe out Fort Greely. That leaves SBX-1 as the lone deterrent. But wouldn’t you know it, the terrorists have infiltrated the platform. Posing as janitors, the semi-ruthless Alexander Kessel (Luke Bracey) and his blank-slate henchmen have plans of taking over SBX-1.

But he didn’t count on Captain JJ Collins (Elsa Pataky of the “Fast & Furious” series). Transferred to the undesirable SBX-1 following a sexual assault cover-up by the military, JJ is promptly welcomed to her post in “the middle of nowhere” by Kessel and his mercs who attempt to gain entry into the control room. But JJ fights them off, sealing herself and the antsy Corporal Shah (Mayen Mehta) inside. In one of the more hilarious details, JJ radios for help but is informed that reinforcements to one of America’s most crucial defense stations is 90 minutes away.

Surrounded by an endless horizon of ocean and no help in sight, our hero must “hold the room” and fend off the terrorists until backup arrives. Along the way we’re fed a steady diet of silly one-liners and cringy dialogue (“We’re the only thing standing between America and Armageddon.”). The characters don’t fare much better. Pataky has a good action presence and has the physicality for some really good fight sequences. But too often she’s handcuffed by some truly awful lines. To her credit she does keep the film watchable, but putting the whole thing on her back is too much to ask.

The villains are dealt far worse hands. Bracey tries to deliver charisma and danger but he’s only slightly menacing. Again, it’s the script that hangs him out to dry. He’s handed such an uninteresting antagonist who probably seemed better on paper than on screen. Both Kessel and his cause are hard to buy into and eventually spills over into absurdity. And at times you can’t tell if the filmmakers are on his side or against him.

Yet, “Interceptor” somehow manages to hold your attention. Lots of it has to do with Pataky who earns our sympathies. Not so much for the terrorist threat her character faces, but for the task she’s given of making a really sub-par script entertaining. It’s an impossible undertaking yet she gives it her all. And because of her effort and the countless number of unintentional laughs, the film isn’t the unbearable experience it easily could have been. “Interceptor” premieres June 3rd on Netflix.

VERDICT – 2 STARS

First Glance: “Beast”

May 31, 2022 by Keith Garlington

Idris Elba protects his daughters from a man-eating lion. That’s the kind of popcorn entertainment I can go for. And that’s what we get in the upcoming feature film “Beast” from Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur. The movie offers up a fun and meaty (no pun intended) role for the effortlessly charismatic Elba, and the first trailer gives us a good taste (ok, pun intended there) of what Kormákur is going for.

Elba plays a widowed father who takes his daughters to South Africa where he and their mother first met. While there, he takes them out on a safari led by an old friend (Sharlto Copley). But their fun day of site-seeing turns bad after they’re attacked by a ferocious lion. Soon the group is trapped on the reserve where they encounter other predators besides the deadly cat. As the trailer shows, the film quickly turns into an all-out survival thriller with Elba doing everything he can to protect his girls. Sure it looks a little silly, but it also looks like the kind of entertainment that can be an absolute blast. I’m in.

“Beast” hits theaters August 19th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

REVIEW: “Montana Story” (2022)

May 30, 2022 by Keith Garlington

(CLICK HERE for my full review in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

The terrific Haley Lu Richardson’s latest is “Montana Story” and it’s the kind of earnest low-key family drama that I have a real soft spot for. Co-directed, co-written, and co-produced by David Siegel and Scott McGehee, “Montana Story” is a movie loaded with emotion yet handled with remarkable restraint. It makes sense considering the very story itself is about deeply buried pain, bitterness, and trauma. But not every filmmaker can resist the urge to soak this type of story in melodrama. Thankfully Siegel and McGehee do.

“Montana Story” actually premiered last September at the Toronto International Film Festival but is just now getting its U.S. release. It was filmed in late 2020 under strict pandemic protocols and shot over a six week period in Montana’s Paradise Valley. It’s a setting that fits nicely with the quiet melancholic beats of the storytelling. And the sweeping landscapes (wonderfully captured by DP Giles Nuttgens) represent a lot more than just pretty scenery.

The story revolves around two estranged siblings who return to their family’s river valley ranch where their father lies on his deathbed, comatose following a massive stroke. Cal (Owen Teague) is a civil engineer from Cheyenne who arrives at the ranch to get his father’s affairs in order. The first sign of tension comes with Cal’s desire to reconnect with the family’s 25-year-old stallion Mr. T before seeing his father who lies in his study connected to an assortment of life-sustaining machines. There he’s treated by a hospice nurse named Ace (Gilbert Owuor) and his longtime housekeeper Valentina (Kimberly Guerrero).

Cal ends up with a lot on his plate. It turns out his father was a lawyer who helped shield companies from government oversight. His shady business dealings led to him filing bankruptcy and having to borrow against the ranch to get by. Now Cal will have to sell the ranch just to cover his father’s medical bills. And with no one left to care for Mr. T, Cal is left with no choice but to have a vet come to put down their beloved horse (an obvious yet rich reoccurring analogy).

But Cal is shocked when his sister Erin (Richardson) suddenly arrives unannounced. The two haven’t spoken in seven years, since the day Erin ran away from home following a horrible incident that ripped their family apart. “I just want to see him one more time,” she says using all the strength she can muster to hold in her enmity. And when she gets word that Cal plans on euthanizing Mr. T, the friction between siblings comes to a boil as the ugliness of their family’s history slowly comes into focus.

At times “Montana Story” looks and plays like a neo-Western (minus the gunfights and Stetsons). Other times it almost feels like a deconstruction of the genre. The movie is full of symbolism and impossible to miss metaphors while several side characters offer a unique indigenous perspective. And so many things bring texture and depth to the story – Mr. T, the gray Lexus belonging to Carl’s late mother, their deceptively idyllic farmhouse nestled in the shadows of the beautiful mountains. All of it adds meaningful layers that Siegel and McGehee use to great effect.

But the heart of the movie is Cal, Erin, and their frayed relationship. Richardson and Teague take well-measured approaches to their roles and do a good job conveying the very different yet intrinsically linked pain and resentment buried within their characters. Both give understated performances and the sibling chemistry between them is true and organic. Richardson is especially convincing as a wounded soul who’s strong but carrying a lot of baggage.

A part of me wishes Siegel and McGehee would have done more with the supporting players as they all seem to have interesting stories to tell. But in the end I appreciate their choice to stick to their two central characters and the trauma, resentment and disappointment that binds them. We know where things are heading; that an emotional eruption is all but inevitable. But the movie never overplays the tension. The story remains focused and the performances are rich enough to give us glimmers of hope for a reconciliation.