Author Archives: Keith Garlington

REVIEW: “Laws of Man” (2025)

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Writer-director Phil Blattenberger’s “Laws of Man” is a pulpy throwback genre feature – the kind that’s sure to scratch the nostalgic itch of anyone (like me) who has an affection for movies of its kind. It has a colorful company of characters, deliciously heightened drama, a terrific period-rich setting, and one gloriously gonzo ending that I never saw coming (but probably should have).

Set in 1963 at the Dawn of the Cold War, “Laws of Man” follows two U.S. Marshals stationed out of Carson City who are sent to rural Nevada to serve two warrants. Frank Fenton (Jacob Keohane) is strait-laced and uptight, fully operating by-the-book while concealing his lingering PTSD from World War II. Tommy Morton (Jackson Rathbone) is young and cocky, more prone to bending the rules and not afraid to go into any scenario guns blazing. Together in their black suits, black ties, and black Cadillac, they fit the lawman look to the letter.

Image Courtesy of Saban Films

Their first warrant is for a backwoods gang leader named Crash Mooncalf (played by the always great Richard Brake). It goes quickly and violently. But it’s their second warrant that proves to be more complicated. They are to arrest Benjamin Bonney (Dermot Mulroney), a psychopathic rancher who along with his three halfwit sons are accused of murdering local landowners whose property Bonney believes is rightfully his.

After driving all day, Frank and Tommy check in to the appropriately named Last Chance Motel to get a night’s rest before approaching the Bonney’s. While there, they meet a number of interesting locals including a friendly barmaid (Kelly Lynn Reiter), the cantankerous sheriff (Graham Greene), and a traveling preacher (Harvey Keitel). But none of these lively characters can prepare the lawmen for what lies ahead.

Image Courtesy of Saban Films

Frank and Tommy’s bullet-riddled first encounter with the Bonneys evolves into a complicated chess match littered with surprise visits from the FBI, missing evidence, and other unexpected revelations that take the story in a wonderfully bonkers direction. As it plays out Blattenberger has a blast dipping his toes into a number of genres, wrangling them all together into one entertaining and self-aware mash-up. The performances are mostly solid with everyone seemingly in tune with the kind of movie they’re making. And there are loads of great period details from Frank’s love for 7-Up to the government’s Communist anxieties.

While the story is a blast from start to finish, it has some holes that will have you scratching your head if you think about them long enough. And certain characters seem to vanish without a trace whenever the script is done with them. But those feel like quibbles considering how much fun I had with “Laws of Man”. The sure-handed Blattenberger has put together an energetic and flavorful 98 minutes that flew by and left a ridiculous smile plastered across my face. “Laws of Man” releases January 10th in select theaters and on VOD.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

First Glance: “Companion”

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Following its wildly intriguing teaser released several weeks ago, the first full trailer for “Companion” just dropped and it adds even more reasons to be interested. Written and directed by Drew Hancock, “Companion” is yet another A.I./robot thriller that joins the numerous others put out over the last several years. But the trailer leaves the impression that this one may have a unique flavor all its own.

Part sci-fi thriller and part breakup comedy, “Companion” sees Sophie Thatcher playing Iris, the android girlfriend to Jack Quaid’s Josh. Problems start when Josh decides to jail-break his companion like an iPhone. Iris suddenly starts malfunctioning and things quickly turn violent. There’s a lot to like about the trailer including the wild premise and some gnarly kills. But there’s also some curious character bits which are a little questionable.

“Companion” hits theaters January 31st. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

REVIEW: “Survive” (2025)

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The title says it all in “Survive”, a fun and fittingly propulsive French feature that mixes disaster and survival thriller elements into one entertaining cocktail. Directed by Frédéric Jardin and written by Matt Alexander, “Survive” follows a stranded family of four fighting for their lives following a cataclysmic global disaster. It’s nothing you would consider strikingly original, but it remains enjoyable throughout.

“Survive” opens with some table-setting script that reads “Since its formation, the Earth has experienced five mass extinctions. The sixth is just beginning.” And just like that we get a good idea of the experience we’re in for. Jardin and Alexander don’t waste time digging into the hows and whys of the catastrophe that’s set to unfold. Instead they take a straightforward genre approach – setting the stakes, building tension, and ratcheting up the peril for a taut and fast-paced 85 minutes.

Image Courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films

Somewhere off the coast of Puerto Rico, Cassie (Lisa Delamar), her husband Tom (Andreas Pietschmann), and their two kids Julia (Émilie Dequenne) and Ben (Lucas Ebel) are spending a few days on their mini yacht in the Caribbean Sea. After a fun evening celebrating Ben’s 13th birthday, their trip takes a terrible turn when the Earth’s poles suddenly reverse. Burning satellites begin falling from the sky and the changing currents below sends the ocean waters rushing inland.

As the winds and waves violently ravage their boat, the family is knocked out. They wake up to find what’s left of their boat grounded on a ridge of what was once the ocean floor but is now a vast desert wasteland. Obvious questions immediately come to mind that the movie never attempts to answer. Just know that the ocean now covers the mainlands presumably wiping out huge numbers of the planet’s population.

Stunned and stranded, the family now must figure out how to survive. The first thing Tom does is get the radio working. He makes contact with a fellow oceanographer named Nao (Olivier Ho Hio Hen) who was deep sea diving when the waters retreated. Nao informs them that his instruments indicate the water will come rushing back within a week’s time. Left with no other options, the family sets out on the long and arduous trek to Nao’s submersible vessel that sits miles away.

Image Courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films

If racing against the clock wasn’t enough, their journey grows even more perilous with the sudden appearance of a creepy stranger (Arben Bajraktaraj). And then there are the thousands upon thousands of flesh-eating crabs from the deep, starving and driven mad by the oxygen. They make for an admittedly goofy yet wildly entertaining addition that speaks to the movie’s genre affections.

Jardin deserves a lot of credit for what he accomplishes with a reportedly meager budget. Shot on location in Morocco, Jardin creates vast and desolate landscapes that provide a fittingly forbidding setting which he uses to great effect. And the digital effects we get are used strategically and help ramp up the excitement. Sure, it’s all pretty silly and the character choices don’t always make sense. But the family dynamic adds some emotional stakes while the crisp pacing never lets our eyes wander from the screen.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

First Glance: “In the Lost Lands”

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Based on the short story of the same name by George R. R. Martin, “In the Lost Lands” is an upcoming action-fantasy epic from director Paul W. S. Anderson. The film stars Anderson’s real-life wife Milla Jovovich who he previously worked with on the Resident Evil film series and more recently “Monster Hunter”. The film also stars Dave Bautista who can be good if given the right material. The first trailer dropped today and it’s hard to get a good feel for what to expect.

From the trailer the film’s fantastical story is a little hard to put together. It sees Jovovich playing a powerful witch named Gray Alys who’s on a mission to the violent post-apocalyptic wilderness known as the Lost Lands. Ahead of her journey she hires a guide named Boyce (Bautista) who is familiar with the dangers that lie ahead. The two immediately encounter a variety of threats, some natural and some not so much. The film looks to incorporate a heavy does of dark fantasy action and it looks to have an equally dark story. Hopefully that story has enough meat on its bones to stay interesting.

“In the Lost Lands” opens in theaters February 28th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

REVIEW: “The Damned” (2025)

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Odessa Young plays a widow suffering the consequences of an impossible choice in “The Damned”, a period psychological horror thriller from director Thordur Palsson. Set in the 19th century, the story (written for the screen by Jamie Hannigan) builds much of its tension through its harsh setting. It often implies more than it shows which fuels much of the dread. The rest comes down to Palsson’s ability to sustain a chilling atmosphere for the duration.

Young’s character is named Eva. She and her husband Magnus purchased a fishing station along the icy Icelandic coast. It’s a frigid and forbidding place, but one that offers tremendous opportunity for those able to endure the cold. When we first meet Eva, Magnus has already died in a tragic accident. Determined to keep her husband’s dream going, Eva opens it up to fisherman who come to fish during the winter months. There they stay, snowed in until Spring when they can take their earnings and reunite with their loved ones.

Image Courtesy of Vertical

One afternoon Eva and the fisherman witness a ship sinking out in the icy bay. They’re left with a harrowing choice. If they venture out into the tumultuous sea to help they run the risk of crashing their boat against the rocks. And if they do save the sailors and bring them to shore, will they have enough food to make it through the winter? A pained Eva decides not to send their boat out to help which leads to some devastating consequences.

Their fateful choice weighs heavier on them after bodies from the shipwreck begin washing up on the shore. To make matters worse, the camp’s hyper-superstitious cook Helga (Siobhan Finneran) ominously warns that vengeful spirits have been unleashed due to their inaction. The fisherman are quick to dismiss her claims as old wives’ tales. But as a series of horrifying events befall the small group, we’re left to wonder if they’re cracking under the weight of guilt or if a supernatural evil is in their midst.

Image Courtesy of Vertical

Even with its lean 89-minute running time, “The Damned” is a bit of a slow-burn. The film has its grisly moments which fit well and have a savagely potent effect. But Palsson is less interested in spectacle and more into patiently developing an intensifying sense of fear, tension, and paranoia. And while Hannigan’s script can be light on characterization, there remains a human pulse which is seen most in the way guilt gnaws away at Eva and the men. It’s mental and physical toll is crushing.

Filmed on location in Iceland, “The Damned” uses its distinct setting as a key means of defining its characters’ bleak and pitiless circumstances. DP Eli Arenson’s high-contrast cinematography is bone-chilling in a variety of ways. It effectively captures the forbidding Westfjords winter while also setting up some of the movie’s biggest frights. A case could be made that Palsson leans it tad too much on the visuals and the atmosphere they help create. But they’re essential in making “The Damned” a truly visceral experience.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

The 5 Worst Films I Saw in 2024

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Recently I shared my Top 10 films of 2024 (you can check them out HERE). Today is a far less joyous occasion. As I’ve often done in the past, today I’m sharing my choices for the five worst movies I saw this past year. It’s sad to say but there were quite a lot to choose from. But who takes these things seriously anyway? So without further ado, here are my picks. Enjoy….I guess.

Dishonorable Mentions: “Babygirl”, “Dirty Angels”, “Red One”, “Lonely Planet”, “The Killer’s Game”, “Tarot”, “Kinds of Kindness”, “The Crow”, “The Union”, “A Family Affair”, “The Exorcism”, “Something in the Water”, “Sunrise”, “Mean Girls”, “The Apprentice”

#5 – “Space Cadet”

The premise of “Space Cadet” isn’t very encouraging. Then you actually watch the movie and realize it’s worse than expected. “Space Cadet” is absurd in all the wrong ways. You do feel for Emma Roberts who does everything she can to make us laugh or at least care about what we’re seeing. Sadly, her efforts are in vain as the material is just too bad for her or anyone else to overcome.

#4 – “Anora”

I know, I know. People love this thing which may lead some to accuse me of being a contrarian. But nothing could be further from the truth. I left the theater with the same opinion I have now – “Anora” is a messy and shallow grind. It’s a numbingly exhausting 140 minutes spent with annoying characters with practically no meaningful depth.  And good luck finding an emotional core amid the endless yelling, constant arguing, and (at times) brain-melting dialogue.

#3 – “Madame Web”

It certainly wasn’t a great year for superhero movies. Sony’s SpiderVerse had an especially tough time led by the train-wreck that was “Madame Web”. I feel bad for Dakota Johnson who I’m sure received a nice paycheck but who didn’t exactly get a career boost with this one. The movie was risky from the start. But I can’t imagine many expected such catastrophic results. Bland story, bland protagonists, a bland villain, and bland action. That’s not a winning formula.

#2 – “The Strangers: Chapter 1”

I really responded to 2008’s home invasion horror film “The Strangers”. Sadly “The Strangers: Chapter One” captures none of what made the original successful. It’s essentially a stripped-down version of the original film that has us spending most of the running time waiting for something to happen. There’s barely enough material here to fill a 30-minute pilot episode much less a feature length movie. And when something FINALLY does happen, it isn’t worth the wait.

#1 – “Mea Culpa”

Tyler Perry’s self-branded feature “Mea Culpa” clearly wants to be a legal, psychological, and erotic thriller all wrapped into one. The problem is the film isn’t remotely thrilling in any imaginable way. Instead, this astonishingly bad, completely hollow, and downright trashy straight-to-streaming debacle only gets by on its handful of unintentional laughs. There’s certainly talent in the cast, but sadly they’re trapped in a no-win situation. And so is the audience.