REVIEW: “Under Paris” (2024)

June 11, 2024 by Keith Garlington

I admit, the general premise of the new French film “Under Paris” is utterly absurd. A man-eating shark loose in the Seine River terrorizing the “City of Light” kinda speaks for itself. But if you have read my reviews for any amount of time you probably know I have a soft spot movies like this. Whether silly, serious, or both, I’m usually onboard when filmmakers deliver on what they’re going for. And such is the case with “Under Paris”.

Shark movies have become a horror sub-genre all their own, and frankly speaking, most of the recent ones have been pretty bad. But “Under Paris” is a nice surprise. Directed by Xavier Gens and starring the always compelling Oscar nominee Bérénice Bejo, the movie makes a number of smart choices that keep it above water. The movie plays it straight and you’ll never find any winking or side-eyes towards the audience. At the same time, Gens’ love for genre is impossible to miss and he lets loose with some wild and gnarly shark kills that are a lot of fun.

In a prologue we’re introduced to Sophia Assalas (Bejo), an oceanographer who specializes in marine ecosystems. She and her team have been studying the rapid growth of a female shark they’ve named Lilith near a huge garbage patch in the Pacific Ocean. But their research expedition takes a tragic turn when Lilith attacks. Sophia ends up loosing her entire crew including her husband Chris (Yannick Choirat).

Three years pass and a still grieving Sophia is now giving tours at a Paris aquarium. On her way home she’s approached by 20-year-old Mika (Léa Léviant), the idealistic leader of the Save Our Seas Collective, an underground organization of young environmentalists inspired by Sophia’s work. Mika informs Sophia that her group has been monitoring Lilith via an old tracking beacon once used by Sophia and her team. And that’s where things get interesting.

It turns out Mika and company claim to have spotted the now enormous Lilith in the Seine River. Sophia doesn’t believe it at first. But after she dusts off her old tracking equipment and sees it for herself, she realizes Mika is right. From there Gens begins building the obvious stakes. To help, he introduces a few key supporting characters including a skeptical Sergeant with the Paris River Police, Adil Faez (Nassim Lyes). Then there is the haughty Paris mayor (Anne Marivin) who is far more interested in the fast-approaching city triathlon than any potential shark threat (she’s a comical callback to Murray Hamilton’s Mayor Larry Vaughn from “Jaws”).

Some of what follows is pretty predictable. Several people make some really bad choices. Those in power don’t listen to the experts until it’s too late. And it all inevitably leads to a plenty of blood and body parts. But the movie has its share of surprises. Some are absolutely preposterous (but in a wildly entertaining way) and require you to just chuckle and go with it. Others catch us off-guard and send the story in some unexpected directions, especially in the gleefully gonzo second half. Eventually everything culminates in an ending that I really appreciated for reasons I won’t spoil.

I don’t want to exaggerate and herald “Under Paris” as some must-see classic. But boy is it fun, especially for those who get onboard and stay in the right frame of mind. DP Nicolas Massart offers up some eye-catching Paris scenery to go with the harrowing underwater shots. Meanwhile the digital effects team have a field day serving up a hearty helping of shark action and human carnage. And sturdy performances from Bejo and Lyes keep us invested regardless of how silly or hammy things may sometimes get. “Under Paris” is now streaming on Netflix.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

REVIEW: “The Acolyte” (2024)

June 10, 2024 by Keith Garlington

“The Acolyte” had every chance to bring something fresh, exciting, and original to the Star Wars franchise. It’s set 100 years before “Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace” in an era that has been unexplored in live action television and movies. It features all new characters, explores a new segment of the galaxy, and tells a brand new story – all ingredients for something special. Sadly, the first four episodes of “The Acolyte” fail to deliver on any of that potential.

The list of problems with “The Acolyte” is a pretty lengthy one with most of the issues finding their roots in the writing. Framed as a serialized mystery thriller set within the Star Wars universe, the show is built upon a genuinely interesting premise. But the stiff and almost mechanical storytelling, the bland and uninspired characters, and the overall lack of cinematic verve weigh the show down. But its biggest fault is as simple as this – very little about “The Acolyte” feels like Star Wars.

Showrunner Leslye Headland’s interests seem to be all over the map, and sadly she’s unable to corral them into something compelling or even cohesive. Instead the movie suffers from bad plotting, complete lapses in logic, drab characters speaking in platitudes, and a general lack of energy and excitement. That pains me to say as a die-hard Star Wars fan. But even the film’s most ardent defenders are speaking volumes with comments like “it’s perfectly fine” and “it’s not the worst Star Wars”.

The story kicks off with the murder of the show’s most intriguing character in the first ten minutes. Jedi Master Indara (a sadly disposed Carrie-Anne Moss) is killed by a mysterious assassin played by Amandla Stenberg. After former Jedi Padawan Osha Aniseya is named as the chief suspect, the Jedi Council sends Osha’s old master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) to track her down and bring her in. Accompanying him is Jedi Knight Yord Fandar (Charlie Barnett) and Padawans Tasi Lowa (Thara Schöön) and Jecki Lon (Dafne Keen).

Master and apprentice are reunited and Osha is quickly proven innocent. It’s then revealed that the assassin is actually her twin sister, Mae who was believed to be dead following a family tragedy which we learn all about in the confounding episode three. Now Mae has a hit list that has her targeting a specific group of Jedi at the behest of her ominous Force-wielding master. Can they stop Mae, perhaps redeeming her in the process? And who is the dark lord she serves?

Stenberg deserves credit for tackling the roles of Osha and Mae. The problem is she plays both of them the same. Mae is (perhaps) a little moodier and their hair is different lengths. But the truth is neither are given enough of their own personality to distinguish themselves. None of the other performances stand out either. Lee Jung-jae is the most promising as Sol. But he’s shackled by painfully pedestrian dialogue. He does what he can with it, even making it seem smarter than it actually is on occasions. That’s not true for the rest of the cast.

Of the many issues with the script, the most glaring may be the handling of the Jedi. The story is set during the High Republic era when the Jedi were considerably more powerful and prominent. So it’s surprising to see that in “The Acolyte” they are so astonishingly dumb. My favorite example is when the Acolyte waltzes through the front door of a Jedi Temple with ease, attempts to kill a meditating Jedi Master, leaves three knives on the floor which no one ever notices, and escapes unsensed and undetected. One a different note, other things occur make you wonder if the Jedi are the bad guys in Headland’s world?

There are some good original creature designs and the mysterious evil master looks genuinely menacing. But aside from that (and a few ignitions of lightsabers), little about the first four episodes of “The Acolyte” resembles Star Wars. The show is said to have a $180 million budget but it’s hard to find it on screen (at least so far). But who knows, maybe that will change. Visually speaking, we do get glimmers of hope in episode four.

I’d like to think that “The Acolyte” can turn things around in the final four episodes. But it’s hard to imagine much will change, especially when so many of the problems are connected to its vision and execution (or lack of either). Headland has made something that doesn’t have the creative oomph to win new fans and is very likely to push away many old ones. And not for the pre-packaged reasons that Kathleen Kennedy and company preemptively threw out there. But more out of frustration for what “The Acolyte” could have been compared to the disappointment it ends up being.

VERDICT – 2 STARS

New on Home Video: “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” on 4K Ultra HD and Digital

June 7, 2024 by Keith Garlington

Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment is bringing “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” to home video next week. This is the fifth installment in Legendary Pictures’ MonsterVerse and is a direct sequel to 2021’s “Godzilla vs. Kong”. Returning director Adam Wingard brings the two titular titans back together in what has ended up being the highest grossing movie in the MonsterVerse to date and the highest grossing Godzilla movie of all time. “The New Empire” was a blast for fans and now they have the chance to bring the monster movie home.

This terrific 4K Ultra HD and Digital Copy edition of “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” will be available for purchase on June 11th. See below for a full synopsis and release information including special features.

About the Film:

Year: 2024

Runtime: 115 Minutes

Director: Adam Wingard

Screenwriter: Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett, Jeremy Slater

Cast: Rebecca Hall, Dan Stevens, Brian Tyree Henry, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns, Fala Chen, Rachel House, Ron Smyck, Chantelle Jamieson, Greg Hatton, Kevin Copeland

Rating: PG-13 for creature violence and action

The epic battle continues! Legendary Pictures’ cinematic Monsterverse follows up the explosive showdown of ”Godzilla vs. Kong” with an all-new adventure that pits the almighty Kong and the fearsome Godzilla against a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world, challenging their very existence—and our own. “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” delves further into the histories of these Titans and their origins, as well as the mysteries of Skull Island and beyond.

Once again at the helm is director Adam Wingard. The film stars Rebecca Hall (“Godzilla vs. Kong,” “The Night House”), Brian Tyree Henry (“Godzilla vs. Kong,” “Bullet Train”), Dan Stevens (“Gaslit,” “Legion,” “Beauty and the Beast”), Kaylee Hottle (“Godzilla vs. Kong”), Alex Ferns (“The Batman,” “Wrath of Man,” “Chernobyl”) and Fala Chen (“Irma Vep,” “Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”).

The screenplay is by Terry Rossio (“Godzilla vs. Kong” the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series) and Simon Barrett (“You’re Next”) and Jeremy Slater (“Moon Knight”), from a story by Rossio & Wingard & Barrett, based on the character “Godzilla” owned and created by TOHO Co., Ltd. The film is produced by Mary Parent, Alex Garcia, Eric Mcleod, Thomas Tull and Brian Rogers. The executive producers are Wingard, Jen Conroy, Jay Ashenfelter, Yoshimitsu Banno, Kenji Okuhira.

Special Features:

“Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” contains the following special features:

GxK: Day of Reckoning
Evolution of the Titans: Godzilla Evolved
Evolution of the Titans: From Lonely God to King
Into the Hollow Earth: Visualizing Hollow Earth
Into the Hollow Earth: Monsters of Hollow Earth
The Battles Royale: A Titanic Fight Among the Pyramids
The Battles Royale: The Zero Gravity Battle
The Battles Royale: The Titans Trash Rio
The Intrepid Director: Adam Wingard: Big Kid
The Intrepid Director: Adam Wingard: Set Tour
The Imagination Department
The Monarch Island Base: Portal to Another World
The Evolution of Jia: From Orphan to Warrior
Bernie’s World: Behind the Triple Locked Door
Commentary by Director Adam Wingard, Visual Effects Supervisor Alessandro Ongaro, Production Designer Tom Hammock and Editor Josh Schaeffer

REVIEW: “Hit Man” (2024)

June 6, 2024 by Keith Garlington

Richard Linklater has been cemented as a favorite filmmaker of mine for a long time and he seems to justify that status with every new movie he makes. Even films of his that may not hit every right note still do something to me that I have a hard time describing. At the risk of sounding corny, Linklater speaks a language in his movies that has always resonated with me in a number of fascinating ways. He does it again with his latest, the fun yet uneven “Hit Man”.

“Hit Man” is one of those Linklater movies that doesn’t hit every right note yet it had me in its corner from the very start. It’s a bit erratic, especially in regards to tone. And there were several times where it didn’t seem certain of the kind of movie it wanted to be. For example, the first third is vintage Linklater, brimming with his signature style and oddball humor. A little later the humor somewhat dries up as the movie takes a more romantic turn. Even later it turns into a Coens-lite crime thriller involving murder, dirty cops, and a big coverup.

Linklater’s “Hit Man” is based on a 2001 article of the same name that was written by Skip Hollandsworth and published in Texas Monthly magazine. It tells the “somewhat true story” of Gary Johnson, played by the current everywhere-man and regular Linklater collaborator, Glen Powell. Gary is an unassuming guy who seems to live a pretty mundane life. He’s a straitlaced psychology and philosophy professor at the University of New Orleans and lives quietly alone with his house plants and two cats, Id and Ego.

But Gary has a second job working in a surveillance van for the New Orleans Police Department. And that’s where his life takes a wild and unexpected turn. After the slimy lead undercover cop (Austin Amelio) gets suspended for beating up two teenagers, Gary is thrust in as a desperate last-minute replacement, wired and posing as a contract killer, tasked with getting the unsuspecting mark to hire him. Not only does he pull it off, but he’s stunningly convincing.

Gary becomes the police’s go-to undercover guy, drawing from all his geeky knowledge of movies and pop culture to tailor his hitmen for every individual client. Most of them are everyday ordinary folks with one small exception – they want to off their spouse, neighbor, business partner, etc. and are willing to pay for it to be done. Gary’s costumes and personas progressively get more outrageous and over-the-top, but his arrest rate only grows.

Admittedly it all sounds utterly preposterous. Would the police toss a civilian into such a situation with such little thought? Was there really an epidemic of people hiring hitmen that the cops needed a special task force dedicated solely to it? Isn’t this some shady form of entrapment? Linklater doesn’t bother with any of those questions and often just goes along with the absurdity of it all. How much these things stick out to you may very well impact how far you can go with “Hit Man”.

Gary’s transition from nerdy nobody to super-cool undercover agent is threatened following a coffee shop meeting with a women named Madison (a saucy Adria Arjona in full femme fatale mode). Distraught, reluctant, yet flirty, Madison wants him to kill her abusive slimeball husband. But Gary, working as a hunky self-assured charmer he calls Ron, discourages her from going through with it and saves her from being arrested. The move confuses his colleagues but leaves quite the impression on Madison. Before long they’re secretly dating on the sly which sees the movie take on a distinctly noir flavor.

Powell’s performance is a key ingredient that makes the film tick. Admittedly, it takes more than a pair of glasses and his hair parted to the side to truly sell him as a nerdy professor. Yet Powell makes it work thanks to his innate sincerity and slightly goofy charm. But its his leading man versatility that stands out most as the actor seamlessly transforms from one identity to the next. Arjona shines as well and builds some great chemistry with Powell despite the relationship between their characters needing more depth.

There’s a lot to like about “Hit Man” from the first-half humor, to Linklater shooting on location, to the unpredictable directions the story goes. Yet despite all of that, the movie is never quite as funny as you expect it to be, nor quite as sexy as it clearly wants to be, and not quite as thrilling as it could be. Still, Linklater is a filmmaker who always puts something compelling on the screen. That may sound like a strange compliment, but it testifies to what he delivers with “Hit Man”. “Hit Man” premieres June 7th on Netflix.

VERDICT – 3 STARS

REVIEW: “Ezra” (2024)

June 5, 2024 by Keith Garlington

Director Tony Goldwyn thoughtfully weaves together a touching story of love and acceptance in “Ezra”, an earnest and personal dramedy written by Tony Spiridakis who was inspired by his own experience raising an autistic son. After years of pouring his heart into his script, Spiridakis shared a final draft with Goldwyn who asked to direct. Soon after, the two close friends were premiering “Ezra” at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival. And now it’s getting a full theater release.

Anchored by a superb cast, “Ezra” sees Bobby Cannavale playing Max Brandel, an impulsive stand-up comic struggling to raise his autistic son, Ezra (newcomer William A. Fitzgerald) with his overprotective ex-wife, Jenna (Rose Byrne). Both love their son dearly, but each have different ideas about what’s best for him. Making matters worse, Ezra has been kicked out of three different public schools, and his current school is threatening to expel him following another outburst.

The tensions between Max and Jenna intensify after it’s recommended that Ezra be sent to a special needs school and put on the antipsychotic drug Risperdal. The loving yet exasperated Jenna is open to the idea while Max wants no part of it. Following some unfortunate circumstances, Ezra is sent to the school leading Max to make a rash decision that he believes is in the best interest of his son. He loads up Ezra and heads across country without telling Jenna.

As you can probably tell from that brief synopsis, the story is as much (if not more) about the people around Ezra than it is Ezra himself. That may frustrate some viewers, but Goldwyn maintains a good balance and is careful that Ezra never becomes just another plot device. The casting of 15-year-old Fitzgerald was a key move. On the Autism Spectrum himself, Fitzgerald adds an authenticity and a vibrancy that the film desperately needs.

The performances are top-to-bottom terrific especially from Cannavale and Byrne. Both play very different roles, but complement each other nicely. Then you have the supporting cast starting with Robert De Niro as Max’s critical and unsupportive father. Whoopi Goldberg plays Max’s manager who’s always looking out for him. Goldwyn himself is really good playing Jenna’s new husband Bruce who tries to stay neutral in a difficult situation. Rainn Wilson pops up as a fellow comedian while the always great Vera Farmiga plays Max’s old friend Grace.

“Ezra” strays a little too far in the final act, losing a bit of the above-mentioned authenticity through a handful of plot contrivances and some swings at levity that don’t quite connect. But Spiridakis’ personal experiences can be felt through his movie’s sincerity. And I appreciate his willingness to buck what many would say a movie about the neurodiversity “should be”. Those on the Spectrum, as well as the people around them, have a broad array of experiences that help define who they are. Neither Spiridakis or Goldwyn handcuff their characters to expectations or formulas. They respect them and their experiences, treating them with an emotional openness and honesty that makes it easy to look past the film’s shortcomings. “Ezra” is in theaters now.

VERDICT – 3 STARS

First Glance: “Alien: Romulus”

June 4, 2024 by Keith Garlington

Yesterday 20th Century Studios dropped a killer new poster as part of their promotion for the upcoming “Alien: Romulus”. Today they’ve given us the first full trailer, and much like the poster, it really helps set the mood for this seventh installment in the long-running Alien franchise. Directed by Fede Álvarez (“Evil Dead”, “Don’t Breathe”) and starring Cailee Spaeny (“Priscilla”, “Civil War”), “Romulus” is set between the first two films yet is unconnected to both. Interesting.

The first trailer is delightfully terrifying and really sets the table for fans of the franchise. The story follows a small group of space colonists who happen upon a seemingly abandoned space station. But after they board, the group discovers that they aren’t alone. You can probably guess what I mean. Originally planned for a Hulu release, it was decided that “Romulus” would be coming to theaters. After seeing the new trailer, that looks like the very best place to watch it. I can’t wait.

“Alien: Romulus” hatches in theaters on August 16th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.