Tag Archives: film

REVIEW: “Eddington” (2025)

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Ari Aster’s short but attention-getting feature film career has been a fascinating rollercoaster. It began with a bang with his exceptional 2018 supernatural/psychological horror gem “Hereditary”. He followed it up with 2019’s “Midsommar” – a movie with a first half that is every bit as brilliant as his debut film and an unfortunate second half that goes completely off the rails. Things only got worse with 2023’s disastrous “Beau Is Afraid”.

Now Aster is back with his fourth film and with it we see his career pendulum swinging back mightily the other way. Aster takes a bold and provocative swing with “Eddington”, shrewdly straddling the line between satirical black comedy and a Neo-Western thriller. His story is set in 2020 during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. He takes an unvarnished look at the heightened paranoia and anxieties that swept through communities while spotlighting the political opportunism and obstinance that only made things more complicated.

Adding to the already tumultuous landscape were the growing tensions following the killing of George Floyd. Impassioned protests swept across the country. But several were overthrown by aggressive rioters, sometimes prompted by well-funded outside agitators eager to plunge the country into violence. Aster’s willingness to take on such fresh wounds speaks to his audacity. But what’s amazing is how well he pulls this crazy thing off.

Image Courtesy of A24

While some may try hard to put “Eddington” in their political corner, the film openly fillets the political left, right, and most everyone in between. It should be stated that Aster isn’t fence-straddling. He offers frank and truthful observations through a fable that is as thematically chaotic as the times it represents (and fittingly so). Most will remember the events with alarming clarity which may make this a difficult watch. Yet Aster mines so many darkly funny moments out of the pointed, pathetic, and preposterous scenes that unfold before us.

The story plays out in Eddington, a small dried-up New Mexico town with a population of 2,435. It’s where we meet Sheriff Joe Cross (an exceptionally pitiful Joaquin Phoenix), a by-the-books rural conservative who keeps the law in his quiet town with the help of his two deputies, Guy (Luke Grimes) and Michael (Michael Ward). The only thing more frustrating to Joe than mask mandates and government imposed lockdowns is his live-in mother-in-law, Dawn (Deirdre O’Connell) who rarely misses a chance to scrutinize how he handles his dissociative wife Louise (an underused Emma Stone).

Joe doesn’t see the coronavirus or the growing unrest as Eddington problems. This puts him at odds with Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal), Eddington’s incumbent mayor who is up for reelection. Ted stands for nearly everything Joe is against. He’s a good-looking and good-talking politician who is intent on protecting his political career by staying on his liberal governor’s good side. That means imposing and enforcing mandates and policies that don’t always apply to him. Far shadier is his involvement in a massive AI data center set to be constructed on Native American land outside of Eddington.

Image Courtesy of A24

As the tensions fester between Joe and Ted, a small but growing BLM-inspired protest breaks out on Main Street. They’re spearheaded by the impressionable Sarah (Amélie Hoeferle) whose verbiage and sloganizing sounds plucked from TikTok videos rather than out of organic conviction. She’s supported by Brian (Cameron Mann) who is more smitten with her than their cause. Joe is ill-equipped to either control the crowd or empathize with their cause which only makes things worse.

Aster throws in so many other things, all ripe for critique. Conspiracy theories, misinformation, social media dependency, cult leaders (a shaggy but captivating Austin Butler is a brief delight), white middle-class radicalism, etc. With so much laid out, the budding question became how would Aster wrangle it all together? The answer – with an insanely violent Tarantino flavored exclamation point at the end. It’s a wildly entertaining finish that speaks to where our intensifying divisions could eventually lead us.

“Eddington” feels like a movie some will need to wrestle with, not just for days but perhaps years. It’s a feature that demands a level of honesty and introspection. Those unwilling will likely contort the movie to fit their political dogmas or simply dismiss it altogether. But those willing to look deeper will find a well-conceived and well-crafted satire that is both ruthlessly funny and daringly insightful. Top it off with a terrific cast (none better than Phoenix), and you have Aster’s best film since his stellar debut. “Eddington” is in theaters now.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

REVIEW: “I Know What You Did Last Summer” (2025)

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Riding hot on the heels of Wes Craven’s enormous box office hit “Scream”, director Jim Gillespie’s 1997 slasher “I Know What You Did Last Summer” pretty much followed the same path to success. It was made on a small budget, it featured a collection of fresh young faces, and it raked in a lot of money leading to one immediate sequel, one later direct-to-video sequel, a now a legacy sequel that follows the events from the second movie.

Originally based on a 1973 novel by Lois Duncan, “I Know What You Did Last Summer” pulls inspiration from an old urban legend of the Hookman. In the 1997 film, a group of teenage friends from Southport, North Carolina are terrorized by a hook-wielding killer one year after they covered up a car accident where they accidentally killed a man. Murder and mayhem ensued as the friends found themselves the target of a mysterious killer.

Image Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

The 2025 film (which follows that silly trend of using the same name as a previous installment) takes place 28 years after the Southport murders. Director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, working from a script she co-wrote with Sam Lansky, basically follows the same blueprint as the first film, with a new group of friends and a couple of old familiar faces which fans will enjoy seeing despite them feeling shoehorned in.

Five not so interesting friends, Ava (Chase Sui Wonders), Danica (Madelyn Cline), Milo (Jonah Hauer-King), Teddy (Tyriq Withers), and Stevie (Sarah Pidgeon), drive up in the hills overlooking Southport for the best view of the town’s annual late-night Fourth of July fireworks show. As the group dumbly goofs around in the middle of the winding road, a truck is forced to swerve to miss them, plunging off the gorge to the rocks below.

Rather than help, the frightened group flee the scene. They later find out the driver was killed, but Teddy’s wealthy father (Billy Campbell) uses his influence with the cops to keep the kids from being implicated. The five friends take an oath to never mention what happened to anyone. But if you know anything about the original movie you know their secret comes back to haunt them.

One year later, Danica receives a mysterious note the reads “I know what you did last summer“. It forces the five startled friends back together where they quickly find themselves being stalked by a hook-wielding killer in a rain slicker. While the police aren’t much help, they find unexpected allies in Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Ray Bronson (Freddie Prinze Jr.) – two original survivors of the 1997 murder spree.

Image Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

Robinson and Lansky try but have a tough time giving us anyone to root for. It’s no fault of the cast as everyone puts what they can into their mostly hollow characters. Even Hewitt and Prinze Jr. struggle to bring anything beyond nostalgia to their characters. The story does them no favors, predictably moving from point to point, relying on jump scares rather than real tension, and eventually falling apart with a desperate twist that is more eye-rolling than shocking.

That leaves us with the kills – something all good slashers lean on to some degree. Here they barely leave an impression and even the most die-hard slasher fan will have a tough time being impressed. It’s just another blemish on what is a mostly lifeless and painfully by-the-numbers snooze that has a difficult time justifying its own existence. We get glimpses of what the movie could have been, but sadly it’s only glimpses. “I Know What You Did Last Summer” opens in theaters today.

VERDICT – 2 STARS

REVIEW: “Warfare” (2025)

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For decades war movies have come in all shapes and sizes. But only a handful of modern war movies have hit as hard as “Warfare” from Iraq War veteran Ray Mendoza. A former U.S. Navy SEAL, Mendoza writes and directs alongside Alex Garland (“Ex Machina”, “Civil War”) to deliver a raw and no frills feature based on his own personal memories. The results are harrowing, sobering, and eye-opening. And it makes for one of the most gripping experiences of the year.

Already heralded for its stunning realism, “Warfare” thrusts us into the grip of combat where bravery and brotherhood are the only means of survival. Before filming began, the cast underwent an intensive three week bootcamp that included weapons training, communications etiquette, and tactical maneuvers. It pays off in some really big ways, adding a striking layer of authenticity that help Mendoza and Garland immerse us deeper into the true-to-life world they’re recreating.

Image Courtesy of A24

The story of “Warfare” is as straightforward as its title. There are no sweeping character arcs, no dense plot, no artificial drama. Set in 2006 during the Iraq War, the movie follows Navy SEAL team Alpha One also known as the Bushmasters. The team are ordered to take up a sniper position on the top floor of a home they commandeer in Ramadi. From there they are to monitor a market place just down the street that’s believed to be a gathering place for insurgents.

One the many effective elements in “Warfare” is in how it presents the moment by moment realities these soldiers face. We’re immediately shown that not every second of a mission is guns blazing. In fact, Mendoza and Garland use their early scenes to emphasize the lull of surveillance and intelligence gathering. Yet they ramp up the tension with subtle references to the danger these young men are in. And when a hand grenade is tossed into their building, the intensity quickly goes from a simmer to a boil.

Things only ratchet up from there as “Warfare” grounds us in the efforts of the platoon to evacuate amid a hail of small arms fire from the converging insurgents. With unflinching effort, Mendoza and Garland put us side by side with the soldiers, making us feel the ferocity of combat without sacrificing verisimilitude for sensationalism. They avoid the usual war movie tropes – no chest-pounding bravado, no “tell my wife I love her” moments, no big inspirational speeches. Every heart-stopping second feels rooted in reality.

Capturing the real-time events is aided by the film’s impressively stacked cast that includes Will Poulter, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Joseph Quinn, Charles Melton, Cosmo Jarvis, Michael Gandolfini, and Kit Connor among others. Each young actor clearly understands their assignment and fully commits to bringing their real-life characters to the screen as authentically as possible. They really shine in the second half as the mission falls apart and the “war is hell” adage takes full form.

Image Courtesy of A24

Equally impressive and just as vital is the technical craft, from the stunning cinematography to the concussive sound design. Both contribute to the overall visceral reaction the movie evokes, at times hitting like a sensory assault but in the most fitting way. Take the scene where an IED is suddenly detonated. The sound of the blast rattled my theater and the disorientation of the aftereffects underscores the chaos. Both leave such an impact.

Those who tend to view war movies through the prism of politics may be discouraged to find that “Warfare” isn’t interested in sermonizing or editorialization. That’s not to say there isn’t plenty that we can conclude from the moral murkiness that unfolds onscreen. But the movie’s focus remains on the men in uniform, and for 93 minutes we follow them through the trenches of warfare where we’re inspired by acts of heroism yet grieved at the human cost. It’s the latter that makes “Warfare” such a gut punch.

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS

REVIEW: “The Alto Knights” (2025)

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I’ve long been fascinated with the history of the Mafia in the United States. Over the years I’ve read countless works of nonfiction and biographies. And I’ve soaked up numerous documentaries covering the Mafia’s violent rise and inglorious fall, both of which left an indelible mark on 20th century America. Of course by extension that makes me a sucker for Hollywood’s storied gangland treatments – “The Godfather”, “Once Upon a Time in America”, “The Departed”, “The Irishman”, just to name a few.

The latest mob movie to join the ranks is “The Alto Knights”, a gangland drama that certainly comes with impressive credentials. It is Oscar-winning director Barry Levinson’s first big screen feature since his 2015 clunker “Rock the Kasbah”. It’s penned by 92-year-old Nicholas Pileggi whose screenwriting credits also include “Goodfellas” and “Casino”. And it stars Robert De Niro, an Academy Award winner himself who’s no stranger to gangster fare.

To be truthful, “The Alto Knights” doesn’t belong in the same company with the superior mob movies mentioned above. That’s because of some nagging shortcomings that hold it back (more on those in a moment). But the film hones in on a fascinating relationship set during an equally fascinating time in the history of the American Mafia. Pileggi’s script shows he has done his homework, and Levinson makes it a point to ensure the film stick close to the facts.

Image Courtesy of Warner Bros.

“The Alto Knights” tells the true story of childhood friends turned mobsters Frank Costello and Vito Genovese (each played by De Niro). Both grew up together on the New York City streets and both rose in the mob ranks under boss Charles “Lucky” Luciano. While they would often work together, Costello and Genovese had dramatically different tactics when it came to mob business. Costello preferred power through influence, often controlling politicians, judges, cops, and city officials. Genovese was more prone to use violence and even murder as a means to an end.

But tensions would form and fester between the two powerful men. Some came from Vito’s involvement in the bustling drug trade which was drawing unnecessary heat from the feds. But most was due to Vito’s desire to become the “boss of all bosses“. The ambitious Vito had long felt he deserved the top seat, but he had one significant obstacle – Frank Costello. After Vito was forced to flee the country to avoid a murder charge, an imprisoned Luciano named Costello acting boss. When Vito returned he begin plotting to gain the title from his old friend.

The movie opens with De Niro’s Frank Costello walking into his apartment building. As he waits for the elevator, a gunman, Vincent Gigante (Cosmo Jarvis) shoots him in the head by orders of Vito Genovese (also De Niro). Miraculously the murder attempt only amounted to a flesh wound, but it convinced Frank to relinquish his power. Yet the ever paranoid and growingly volatile Vito doesn’t buy it and isn’t sold on Frank’s sudden urge to retire.

Image Courtesy of Warner Bros.

From there Levinson takes us back in time to show key moments that led these one-time friends to become high-ranking rivals. He eventually works his way back to the murder attempt and then shifts to the events that follow. Along the way the film highlights the power, the politics, the insecurities, and the inevitable violence that is inherent to the true account. It’s all helped along with solid supporting work that includes Debra Messing as Frank’s wife Bobbie, Kathrine Narducci as Vito’s wife Anne, and Michael Rispoli as Albert Anastasia, the notorious mob enforcer with close ties to Frank.

While the story itself is quite interesting, the storytelling device Levinson uses is wobbly as best. For some reason the story is told through what resembles a video diary shared by an older Frank. Sometimes it’s Frank narrating while sitting in a dark room watching old slides. Other times he’s breaking the fourth wall while sitting outside in some park or garden. There’s no real rhythm or cohesion to any of it, making it more distracting than clever.

“The Alto Knights” recycles a few things from other mob movies and can almost be too straightforward and workmanlike in how it relays parts of its story. But it remains compelling throughout, especially for those familiar with the history and its key players. De Niro’s double duty turns out to be more than a gimmick as he breathes life and personality into these two complex figures. Overall, Levinson and Pileggi add another worthwhile entry into the mobster movie catalog.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

New on Home Video: “Constantine” on 4K Ultra HD + Digital

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Warner Brothers Discovery Home Entertainment is celebrating the 20th Anniversary of “Constantine” by bringing it to 4K Ultra HD for the very first time. The superhero horror film is based on the “Hellblazer” graphic novels from DC Comics and features Keanu Reeves as the titular protagonist John Constantine. It’s the feature film debut for Francis Lawrence who put together a dark and stylish supernatural adventure. Upon release, “Constantine” didn’t get the critical love it deserved. But over time people have rightly warmed up to it.

This cool new 4K Ultra HD edition of “Constantine” comes with a digital copy and will be available to purchase on February 18th. See below for a full synopsis of the film as well as release info including a list of special features.

About the Film:

Year: 2005

Runtime: 121 Minutes

Director: Francis Lawrence

Screenwriters: Kevin Brodbin, Frank Capello

Cast: Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Shia LaBeouf, Tilda Swinton, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Djimon Hounsou, Gavin Rossdale, Peter Stormare, Max Baker, José Zúñiga, Francis Guinan, April Grace

Rating: R for violence and demonic images

Based on the DC Comics/Vertigo “Hellblazer” graphic novels and written by Kevin Brodbin and Frank Cappello, “Constantine” tells the story of John Constantine (Keanu Reeves), a man who has literally been to hell and back.  When he teams up with skeptical policewoman Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz) to solve the mysterious suicide of her twin sister, their investigation takes them through the world of demons and angels that exists just beneath the landscape of contemporary Los Angeles.  Caught in a catastrophic series of otherworldly events, the two become inextricably involved and seek to find their own peace at whatever cost.

Special Features:

“Constantine” Digital release and Ultra HD Blu-ray disc contains a new special feature along with previously released special features:

  • New Feature – Two Decades of Damnation
  • Commentaries
  • Channeling Constantine
  • Conjuring Constantine
  • Holy Relics
  • Shotgun Shootout
  • Hellscape
  • Warrior Wings
  • Unholy Abduction
  • Demon Face
  • Foresight” The Power of Pre-Visualization
  • A Writer’s Vision

 

“Constantine” Ultra HD Blu-ray disc contains the additional previously released special features:

  • Director’s Confessional
  • Demon Face

 

New on Home Video: A Spaghetti Western Double Feature – “Kill Them All and Come Back Alone” + “The Hellbenders” on 4K Ultra HD

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Kino Lorber Studio Classics has released a terrific spaghetti western double feature on home video. This special edition includes Enzo G. Castellari’s “Kill Them All and Come Back Alone” and Sergio Corbucci’s “The Hellbenders”, both on 4K Ultra HD for the very first time. Kino Lorber continues to be an industry leader in the preservation of classic cinema on physical media. They prove it again with this handsomely packaged collection.

This 4K Ultra HD two-film special edition is now available to purchase. See below for a full synopsis of both films as well as release info including a list of special features.

About “Kill Them All and Come Back Alone”:

Year: 1968

Runtime: 100 Minutes

Directors: Enzo G. Castellari

Screenwriters: Tito Carpi, Francesco Scardamaglia, Joaquín Romero Marchent, Enzo G. Castellari

Cast: Chuck Conners, Frank Wolff, Franco Citti, Leo Anchóriz, Ken Wood, Alberto Dell’Acqua, Hercules Cortez

Rating: R

From Enzo G. Castellari, the legendary director of “Street Law”, “The Big Racket”, “Keoma” and “The Inglorious Bastards” comes this action-packed spaghetti western starring screen and television great Chuck Connors (“The Big Country”, TV’s “The Rifleman” and “Branded”). In 1864, a mercenary Clyde McKay (Connors) leads a squad of tough-as-nails cutthroats on a mission for the Confederate high command to infiltrate an enemy fortress and steal millions in gold from the Union Army. Frank Wolfe (“Once Upon a Time in the West”) co-stars in this fully restored first-rate tale of betrayal and revenge.

About “The Hellbenders”:

Year: 1967

Runtime: 92 Minutes

Directors: Sergio Corbucci

Screenwriters: Ugo Liberatore, José Gutiérrez Maesso, Albert Brand

Cast: Joseph Cotten, Norma Bengell, Julián Mateos, Gino Pernice, Ángel Aranda, Claudio Gora, María Martín, Aldo Sambrell, Al Mulock

Rating: NR

From Sergio Corbucci, the legendary director of “Django”, “Navajo Joe”, “The Great Silence” and “The Mercenary” comes this classic spaghetti western starring screen icon Joseph Cotten (“The Third Man”, “Duel in the Sun”) as the fanatical patriarch of a family of ex-Confederate killers who massacre an army convoy carrying millions in cash to finance an invasion of the North. But before they can re-ignite the Civil War, they’ll have to smuggle a coffin crammed with the stolen cash across a frontier enflamed by lust, violence and extreme vengeance. Aldo Sambrell (“For a Few Dollars More”) and Al Mulloch (“The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”) co-star in this fully restored western shocker. “The Hellbenders”—also known as “The Cruel Ones”, Features a rousing score renowned composer Ennio Morricone (“A Fistful of Dollars”).

Special Features:

Product Extras : 

  • 2020 UHD SDR Masters by StudioCanal 
  • Includes Both the 99-Minute English and 100-Minute Italian Cuts of KILL THEM ALL AND COME BACK ALONE 
  • Audio Commentaries (Both Films) by Filmmaker Alex Cox, Author of 10,000 Ways to Die: A Director’s Take on the Italian Western 
  • Theatrical Trailers (Both Films) 
  • KILL THEM ALL – Triple-Layered UHD100 Disc 
  • THE HELLBENDERS – Dual-Layered UHD66 Disc 
  • Optional English Subtitles