Tag: prime video

The Skeleton Key

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https://www.rogerebert.com/

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Starring: Kate Hudson, Gena Rowlands, John Hurt, Peter Sarsgaard
Where to watch: This movie was released in 2005. It keeps doing the rounds on the various OTT platforms
To watch or not to watch: The movie succeeds in creating an atmospheric horror, based on voodoo, which is an interesting plot device, and not something common

Caroline (Kate Hudson) is a hospice nurse who is looking for private work after losing a patient at the hospital where she used to work. She comes across a listing in the newspaper (the movie was made in 2005, when people still looked through the newspapers for jobs and such) for a nursing job in Louisiana, paying $1000 per week. The job would be to take care of Ben Devereaux (John Hurt), who is a wheelchair-bound, almost paralytic old man since he suffered a stroke some time back. At least that’s what his wife, Violet Devereaux (Gena Rowlands), tells Caroline. Caroline is a little sceptical about the job, since it is on the outskirts, but she is convinced by Luke (Peter Sarsgaard), who is the lawyer of the couple. Violet gives Caroline a skeleton key, which opens all the doors in the house, except the attic. Because it is a horror movie, and in horror movies people always go to forbidden rooms/hotels/cabins, Caroline finds the key to the attic and enters it, to find it filled with all the mirrors of the house and other paraphernalia which can be used for black magic, along with a vinyl record titled Conjure of Sacrifice. She later learns that 90 years before, the house was owned by a white couple with two kids (a boy and a girl) who employed a black couple as servants, Mama Cecile and Papa Justify. The black couple would practice a religion called hoodoo, which resulted in them being lynched by a mob. In parallel, Caroline is increasingly confident that Ben wants to tell her something about Violet and that Violet is somehow causing Ben to stay ill. Caroline is determined to save this patient even if this means she has to learn Hoodoo to do it.

It is easy to dismiss this movie because of the cast, as it was the first horror movie for all involved, and it is understandable, but in doing so people would be missing out, and this cannot be said for most of the movies out there. Any horror movie which can deliver without the age old plot of possession or haunting is a win, is definitely refreshing and delivers on the scares by subverting expectations. Unfortunately it does have cheap jump scares (it was made in 2005 after all) and has creaking doors and what not, it is still a solid movie. Do not go into the movie expecting gore or creepiness, or wait, scratch that. It is creepy, mostly atmospheric due to its setting, and it rains a lot in the movie, giving it the dark, muddy, restless feel. The pacing is slow and it reveals the dots disjointedly, but it all comes together in the end, leaving the viewer satisfactorily shocked.

There are plot holes in the movie, after all, not everyone can be Denis Villeneuve, but don’t let them distract you from the storyline. This movie skilfully deals with concepts of racism, trauma, and folklore, and doesn’t need any cheap tricks to keep viewers glued. There are multiple confusing points throughout the movie, which make sense after the ending, so be patient. Kate Hudson made a brave choice to star in a horror movie in between a range of rom-coms; this wouldn’t have been an easy decision. And while John Hurt doesn’t have more than 2 words to speak throughout the movie, he speaks volumes with his eyes and expressions. Peter Sarsgaard is, as always, a pleasure to watch, though he doesn’t get too much screen time, and Gena Rowlands is properly menacing as matron of the house. She embodied the role so well that it is difficult to separate her from it.
Definitely watch this one.

Good Fortune

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https://www.joblo.com/

Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Seth Rogen, Aziz Ansari, Keke Palmer, Sandra Oh
Where to watch: PrimeVideo
To watch or not to watch: Aziz Ansari shines in his directorial debut, the story is great, but fizzles out towards the end

Gabriel (Keanu Reeves) is a low-ranking angel in the hierarchy, responsible for saving people from accidents while texting and driving. But like most low-ranking people, he aspires to grow and be responsible for more serious soul-saving acts, but Martha (Sandra Oh) tells him that needs to perform the duties given to him diligently and that he is not ready to handle more responsibility. But Gabriel is adamant, and he finds Arj (Aziz Ansari) who is working odd-jobs and living out of his car. Arj meets Jeff (Seth Rogen) while doing one of his jobs, and learns that Jeff is in need of an assistant, and being enterprising, applies for the job, gets it and starts working as Jeff’s assistant. His life is good for almost one full day, until he uses Jeff’s company credit card to pay for a dinner on a date, which leads to Jeff firing him. Arj then hits rock-bottom when his car is towed because of unpaid parking tickets. Gabriel seeing this, decides that Arj will be the recipient of his beneficence, and grants Arj’s wish to swap places with Jeff, just to show Arj that money is not what it is purported to be. But on the contrary, Arj’s life is better than he could have imagined, and money has solved all of his problems. Martha learns what Gabriel has done and take away his angel status, and will return it only when Arj agrees to swaps his life back with Jeff. This is followed by a commentary on the economy, humanity, and how the wealthy can help the non-wealthy live a better life. It makes for a good concept but not a good movie.

Good Fortune takes the old trope of body swaps and turns it on its head to make it more real. It is turning the adage “High School are the best years” on its head for people who peaked later in life. Imagine Freaky Friday where Lindsay Lohan was having a horrible time at school because of not fitting in, and she swaps with her mother, who has a successful career and a stable relationship; she would not be complaining about the swap. The same thing happens here, which you have read above, and the results are so refreshingly new and honest that it makes the viewer want to wait and see where it goes. And where it goes doesn’t complement the premise. It then loses its USP and becomes predictable and downright silly. It leverages a lot of real personalities of the actors, most obvious being Keanu Reeves. It is easy to imagine him believing that money is not all it is made out to be, because that’s how he is in real life. Seth Rogen is unfortunately not doing much, though there is a lot of potential in his character – either that was his understanding of the script, or he was not very interested, who knows.

This movie has its heart in the right place – it sends a message of empathy and understanding for others who might be dealing with things we are not aware of. But because it is not well made and becomes childish towards the end (when it began as really mature and real and adult-like, it is jarring), it is difficult to say how many people would be watching this movie and then learning from it. It does get points for doing the right thing for the right reasons by the right people. It will be exciting to see Aziz Ansari come out with something interesting down the line. Watch this one, you won’t hate it, but not love it either. Hopefully it changes your perspective towards people who are less-advantaged than you.

The Running Man

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https://www.out.com/

Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Starring: Glen Powell, Josh Brolin, Colman Domingo, Lee Pace, Michael Cera
Where to watch: Prime Video
To watch or not to watch: Even though it is a much anticipated movie by the most creative director of the last decade, this movie fails to do justice to its subject matter

This movie is set in a dystopian world where the country is almost ruled by a broadcasting network (creatively) called the Network in parallel with the government. Most of the population lived below the poverty line in squalor, and money and power reside with a select few, as is with any authoritarian/totalitarian regime. Network has a reality show called The Running Man, where a contestant fights to survive for 30 days in exchange for $1 billion. In this world, there resides our hero Ben Williams (Glen Powell) who is not able to afford flu medicine for his 2 year old kid. He then decides to play for The Running Man, if it means saving his daughter and giving a better life to his family. He is joined by 2 other contestants, who are a little more naive/optimistic than him. As the “game” progresses, we learn how rigged it is, with well-equipped hunters doing everything to ensure the contestants do not win. The game is hosted by Bobby T (Colman Domingo) who is removed from the plight of the people and is only a show piece. The real muscle behind the Network is Dan Killian (Josh Brolin) who is the scary kind of evil – calm and too self-assured. The contestants don’t have any chance of bettering the game or the Network as all the stakes are against them. But our hero Ben fights against all the odds, or at least tries to.

A few years ago, there was a movie called Jackpot starring Awkwafina and John Cena, which was on similar lines, without a dystopian world and an all-powerful Network, but hilarious nonetheless. It is not meant to be taken seriously, and the makers are self-aware. This is exactly the problem with Edgar Wright’s movie – it doesn’t know what it wants to be. It is in equal parts Scott Pilgrim and a socialist’s manifesto. The cinematography of the movie by Chung Chung-hoon is on point and does elicit an emotional response from the viewer. The 80’s aesthetic with the sci-fi future is shown on point. But that’s where the movie’s promise ends. The world setting of the movie in Act 1 is very quick and effective, leaving a huge margin to develop the story and characters, but that is sacrificed for style, which leaves the viewers quite apathetic towards the characters. It also fails to prove a point or even instil hope in the viewer, as most of the people in the movie are portrayed to be too desperate to be good, too selfish to be considerate, which does not land the point of hope home, and hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of things.

Edgar Wright is one director who is not pinned down by genres – be it horror movies like Hot Fuzz and Last Night in Soho, or action-packed Scott Pilgrim, etc, and that too with a blend of genres. Even in movies where he was associated tangentially, his signature style of quick zooms and pans were visible and made for great storytelling. But here where the story was already in place by the great Stephen King, the execution is bland. One would be hard-pressed to determine if the movie was an Edgar Wright work. But that is ok, he has proven himself more times than not, so there is no cause for worry, he will be back soon and better for it (“calm down heart. all is not lost”). In other news, has anyone else noticed how Josh Brolin is in everything these days? Anyway, give The Running Man a miss, and if you are looking for fun escapism, opt for Jackpot.

Ghosts UK

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https://www.thepennmoviegoer.com/

Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Starring: Charlotte Ritchie, Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Lolly Adefope, Mathew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard, Ben Willbond, Katy Wix
Where to watch: BBC/Prime Video
To watch or not to watch: Of course it is a must watch! Why is that even a question!?

Alison (Charlotte Ritchie) and Mike (Kiell Smith-Bynoe) are an average couple looking for a new place to move into. As luck would have it, Alison’s distant relative passes away, and Alison being the only living relative left, she inherits an estate manor. Of course it seems like lady luck has finally shone her light on the couple and their life can finally take off, but no no, not so soon. There are a (couple of) group(s) of ghosts living their best afterlife in that manor who would rather the manor be left to themselves. In this pursuit, they try to push Alison from a first storey window (and this works only in this series) and she wakes up with the ability to see and hear the ghosts as if they were a real people! Ooo! Excitement galore! Now Alison’s life has been changed forever. Since that land has been on earth since life began, there are ghosts from neolithic, regency, World War, etc time periods. We also have a Tory MP who dies in questionable circumstances and is destined to die out the rest of his death without trousers. We also have an Edwardian era royalty who was beheaded and is constantly losing his body. And wait, there are a bunch of ghosts living in the basement from the time they lost their lives to the plague, but then we can ignore them.

This series is super cool and funny. It moves and evolves along with the characters, and the said characters have depth, width and everything in between. We have a closeted war colonel, an enlightened milkmaid, and a politician who missed the birth of his child because he was busy cheating on his wife. This is handled with finesse, calling a spade a spade, but still maintaining a levity throughout. There is never a dull moment in the series, if it is not the fantastical money making schemes of the married couple, it is the opportunistic neighbour who adds excitement. There is also exploration of the themes of death and life. And it is this charm which wins the heart of Alison and the viewers too.

This series, like The Office, has been adapted into a US, German, French and Greek version too, with Australian production on the way. It is a good story, and comparing it with the American version, it is a tighter script with 5 seasons and 6 episodes each. It keeps the story rolling and viewer invested, and left wanting more. The actors and humour are also quintessentially British, without annoying pauses for laughter tracks. It can also be classified as absurd situational comedy. A must watch, and ensure it is the UK version.

Heretic

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A worthy attempt to subvert a genre, but loses its way halfway through
https://www.latimes.com/

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Starring: Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East
To watch or not to watch: It is a decent first watch, and has a lot of shock value, but take that away, and you have any generic thriller

2 LDS missionaries are trying to spread the word of their lord and saviour from home to home, come over to an isolated house near the end of a road. The house is occupied a Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant) who had previously shown interest in learning about the LDS church. Since Mormon women can’t enter a house without a female present, the sisters Barnes and Paxton (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) check with Mr. Reed if he has a girl roommate. It starts raining heavily and after Mr. Reed’s confirmation that his wife, his soulmate is inside, the sisters enter Mr. Reed’s home, away from the torrential rain and a promise of pie. They discuss how religion is not the centre of culture anymore (which we witness in the initial few minutes where some young adults harass the two sisters). The three talk about how important it is to believe in a doctrine and find out through testing what one true religion is. And that is the whole premise of the devilry of Mr. Reed.

This is a clever movie, no denying that. In the typical horror movies we have seen, religion has been used as a weapon to ward off evil, be it The Exorcist, or the more recent Conjuring universe. This movie flips the trope on a tangent and raises the question – which is the correct, true, highest, purest religion? And theoretically, the road to the answer is paved with evil deeds by Mr. Reed (clever, right? *eyebrows wiggling*). And this is also the point where the movie loses its spiel. It begins as a debate on the truth taught by religion, which mostly asserts that that religion is the first religion, the one and the only. But what is first – The Landlord’s Game or Monopoly, Radiohead’s Creep or The Air That I Breathe by The Hollies or Get Free by Lana Del Ray. That is the debate, which gets lost in the rest of the movie. Or if it is present then it is only in words, not in action. Which kinda makes the whole premise lose steam.

The real pull of the movie is seeing Hugh Grant, the rom-com heartthrob who could star opposite Julia Roberts and make people wonder who is prettier of the two, as an old, wrinkled, charming man, with the signature Grant smile and the disarming look of dismay, as a conniving, heartless, sadistic misanthrope. Since this movie is essentially a three-hander chamber piece, it would have been a total dud if it wasn’t for Thatcher and East. They both have given themselves to their characters from beginning to end, and also developing themselves along the way. East being born into the church, but still curious about the world outside it and Thatcher being a convert and dedicating herself to it totally, completely. So strong is her conviction that she has converted 8-9 people through proselytising! It is interesting to see the two young women tackle their belief against a formidable opponent. But it doesn’t mean the story is strong, infallible or that its flaws can be written off as foibles. A worthy attempt in the age old genre, but needs improvement. Watch it with popcorn, but prepare to be disappointed.

Novocaine

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https://www.cinemablend.com/

Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Starring:  Jack Quaid, Amber Midthunder, Ray Nicholson, Jacob Batalon
Where to watch: Prime Video
To watch or not to watch: It has only one joke, but it plays it well!!! A high dose of entertainment for all action movie lovers

Nathan Caine (Jack Quaid) works as an Assistant Manager at a local bank, leads a simple, quiet life, has an unassuming personality, and has a crush on the teller by the name of Sherry (Amber Midthunder) who has the opposite personality of Nathan, being extroverted, a spitfire and full of spark. One day, some lowlives decide to rob the bank, and kidnap Sherry. Nathan being a one-woman-man, has ro rescue his woman from the thugs, even though they are not a real couple. But unbeknownst to people at large, Nathan has a superpower – he doesn’t feel pain. At all. Not even the bladder sensation to pee, or biting tongue while chewing, for example, which means that he has led most of his life sheltered and limited. Now with the love of his life (even if it was only one date) being kidnapped, the curse he has led most of his life threatening his very existence becomes his power where he can fight the bad guys without restraint (luckily he has some good fighting skills without ever learning them). So, that’s what happens – Nathan Caine, aka Novocaine to his bullies, becomes the knight in a bloody body armour to rescue his princess.

It is a good movie, it is fun, it doesn’t take itself seriously, and neither should you. It is a typical light-hearted movie where the trope is the underdog becoming a hero. That’s it. That’s the review.
Well, the last part can be explained a bit more. There are multiple moments where the plot is only a hole, where the cringe is high and gore is more. But then again, it did not promise to be a high intensity thriller with morals and takeaways. It is a plain and simple action comedy, which is hastily thrown together to make it a quasi-cohesive movie which delivers on entertainment. There is much to be said about self-awareness in the movie making world and it is almost always a positive character trait.

It is fun to see Quaid in a The Boys+Punisher mash-up of a role. He is good at it, and after The Boys, it is easier to see him in movies where things blow up and there is blood and gore. Maybe we are seeing him too much in this genre? He is a decent actor by all accounts, his role in The boys is nothing to sneeze at, and maybe because of the success of the series, he is not getting any other scripts? This is of course, only conjecture, unless Jack Quaid himself comments on the website (wishful thinking). This is only to say that he has potential to be more than one role, one character typecast into this. It will be fun for us, but maybe not so fulfilling for an actor of his calibre. Watch Novocaine on a movie night with a bunch of friends and have fun!

Juror #2

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https://www.primevideo.com/

Rating: 2 stars out of 5
Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, J. K. Simmons, Kiefer Sutherland
Where to watch: Prime Video
To watch or not to watch: This is movie is like a motley teenager who thinks they are the President of the United States. The result is the same. The fact that it is directed by the acclaimed Clint Eastwood can be easily ignored.

In a small town in Georgia USA, a murder trial is going on to determine whether James Michael Sythe, abusive boyfriend of the victim Kendall Cater is the perpetrator or not. On the jury are people from different walks of life, with different life priorities, including Juror #2, Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult), whose wife is in a high-risk pregnancy, and he would like nothing better to be excused so he can spend time with her. But as luck would have it, he is a part of the jury nonetheless, and he is a sticky situation, because it turns out he is real perpetrator of the crime, but the police stuck to the theory of the abusive boyfriend being the perp. A fellow juror Harold (JK Simmons) has doubts about the police investigation and he mistakes Justin’s discomfort with the case as doubt into the conviction. The public prosecutor Faith Killebrew (Toni Collette) is standing for elections and is determined to convict Sythe to win the votes basis the fight against domestic violence. The defence attorney Eric Resnick (Chris Messina) is helpless because even though he is convinced of his client’s innocence, there is no way to prove it. It is upto to Justin to sway his fellow jurors away from a guilty verdict all the while walking the tightrope of not implicating himself.

This movie is thankfully not the swan song of the brilliant Clint Eastwood, it would have been a tragedy otherwise. This is a not a good movie. There is no other way to put this.
It might be a spiritual remake of 12 Angry Men, and it does turn into that movie during jury deliberations, it is trying too hard. On the one hand, the importance is on the fact of the situation of Justin Kemp, of course, who could have thought a juror is the very criminal in the case!? Brilliant premise, but somehow the reveal of the fact in the beginning (so early that it is also in the trailors) takes way from the fact. Now Justin is not a slick human like Danny Ocean that he can get away from the scrapes he gets into. He is a recovering alcoholic and a doting husband. And that is another problem – while the fact he is real perp is bang in the beginning, his recovering alcoholism is like a big secret that is hinted at for a long time till it is told (“in case you didn’t get the hints, here is what we were trying to tell you all along”). Weird, confusing, unnecessary and totally unproductive.

A movie with the promises of Eastwood, Collette, Hoult, being disappointing makes one feel hopeless for other releases which are much low on the star power. To be fair, it wasn’t the star power which was a let down, it was the writing. Or rather the confused vision on what the movie wanted to be. Lack of clarity of thought has brought down nations, and this is just a movie. And acting is not a cure, contrary to the movie makers’ belief. They are a tool to bring the vision to life, a face to the written word. There are many instances where a now popular character was earlier planned for a big star, but was given to someone less known and now we cannot imagine that character being played by anyone else. Because actors in a movie can be replaced, thanks to make-up, direction and writing. But there is no cure to bad writing. If anything, a good actor will make bad writing stand out in stark relief.
Not a good movie. Watch 12 Angry Men instead.

Wicked Little Letters

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https://www.primevideo.com/

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Starring: Jesse Buckley, Olivia Colman, Timothy Spall, Anjana Vasan
Where to watch: Prime Video
To watch or not to watch: It is a funny movie starring some of the best actors telling a story on a deep subject. Why not to watch!

The movie is based in 1920 England, where a lonely, devout spinster Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) lives with her overbearing father and gentle mother, next door to a single, Irish immigrant mother Rose Gooding (Jesse Buckley). Not only is Rose a single mother, but she is also living in sin with her partner Bill, swears like a sailor, and has a jolly good time at the pub with the other patrons, all actions not approved by the tight laced Edith. But Edith has another problem, she has been receiving poison pen letter, filled with profanity, which disturb her parents to no end, that too 19 in total! And not just Edith, the who’s-who of the village have had something vile said about them! The nerve! Who could have done such an evil trick, and who has such a potty-mouth? Why, Rose of course, with her new age ideas and little regard to propriety, she is the right suspect for this deed which has troubled the good Christians no end. Rose is thus arrested and having no money for bail, has to spend time in jail, more now that Edith’s poor mother died of a heart attack upon reading one such letter. There is also Gladys (Anjana Vasan) who is assigned this case, pays little attention to this claiming there is more serious crime to be investigated – and rightly so, she is very good at her job, but her misogynistic boss doesn’t recognise her talent. That is, until she decides to give this quickly spiralling case her full attention.

The premise of the movie is hilarious and the execution even more so. Anything which has either Colman or Buckley is a treat in itself and this one has them both. Add to this mix Vasan (of We Are Ladyparts fame) and you get a cherry on your cake you did not know you needed. This movie has some fantastic dialogue writing and a bit of on-time slapstick comedy which makes it an ideal viewing pleasure. The movie touches on a topic, or rather, a side to human nature we all know and talk about but has never given the center stage or a de-facto position it deserves. And that is the real feat of this movie. Anyone who has ever had someone out to get them should come back to this movie and understand the underlying reason for such malice. It might help to understand the other person and maybe lessen their burdens a bit.
On the other side, the story and performance can only do so much. They are not the salve for the wounds caused by sloppy screenplay. Things suddenly take a turn and it is revealed who has been actually writing the letters, and while it deserves a slow camera pan-up to the face of the criminal, and its own crescendo in the background, it gets none of that, but rather a reveal which is more matter-of-fact. That take away from the almost 50% of the runtime build-up we have been viewing and waiting for. And the climax, while totally funny (ngl) is make out to be this big curtain drawing moment, which we saw coming a mile away.

It is confounding to realise why people can be so bitter about themselves and their lives that they have to take it out on others who have absolute zero contribution in their misery. Their only sin is that they have something the bitter person covets. And don’t all humans covet something they see others enjoying? So when does this scarcity give rise to such acid in their nature? Is there a trigger or is this something that builds up slowly, was always there and was only looking for an opening to rear its ugly head? On the flip side, what is stopping anyone from changing their lives, little bit at a time, because afterall it is the little things that matter, that one can control? Or is the effort in making that change so daunting, so scary, and turning into a harmful part of humanity so easy and satisfying, that it becomes the immediate choice? Is it a choice? Maybe it is. Comment if you have any answers to these questions?
This movie is a light-hearted, but deep movie which comes rarely on the screen, and has all but one pillar working for it. It can be a family movie too, if the family has members above the minimum age of voting, or driving, at the more adult’s discretion. The dialogues and the letters are so ridiculously out-there, they are laugh-out-loud. Jesse Buckley’s character’s free way of life is so inviting, all of us would want to be there with her, but we would need to build our characters strong enough. It is uplifting. Watch it!

Run Sweetheart Run

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https://www.heavenofhorror.com/

Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Starring: Ella Balinska, Pilou Asbæk
Where to watch: Amazon PrimeVideo
To watch or not to watch: A survival movie with an average amount of thrill along with a pinch of unsuspected supernatural. It is fine

Cherie (Ella Balinska) is a single mother to a daughter, works as a paralegal, studies part time to become a full-fledged lawyer. She has mistakenly double-booked her boss with a client and his anniversary dinner, and takes his place at the client meeting. She is part hopeful for the meeting to turn into something more, as she has been single a long tim, but carries pepper spray nonetheless. She meets Ethan (Pilou Asbæk), who is rich, considerate and says the right things, all of which is very refreshing for Cherie. What starts as a night of part hope, part skepticism, resulting in more hope than skepticism, ends up turning into horror and a chase for her, when Ethan attacks her after returning from dinner. She narrowly escapes his place and runs to cops who arrest her. Ethan posts her bail and gives her a headstart in the hunt he will pursue. Cherie explores all her options to survive and gives a tough fight.

This movie falls in the sub-genre called social horror (think Jordan Peele’s Get Out), only here the social issue is patriarchy. The problem with movies trying to address two things at once is balance, which is often difficult to strike. This problem exists in this movie as well. It starts as any horror movie, but the dialogues are discordant with what’s happening, like the flow of the movie is being forced in a certain direction only by dialogues. The whole chase sequence is pretty cool, and Ethan’s powers are revealed slowly and it is a good surprise, but mixing it with patriarchy was a bit much. Even the protagonist’s actions did not follow a pattern like it happens with a human in general. A lot of this made the thrill questionable. The second act of the movie was the one part which was great, really gory. But it is a very good execution as the actual violence is actually censored, happens off-screen and left to the imagination of the viewers.

The movie is pretty low-budget and it a testament to the director who has made it possible to remove the actual scares from the screen, and still made it possible to be thrilling. It has very small cast and next to no special effects. Other factor which carries the movie forward are the actors, specially Ella Balinska who managed to convey the pain, hurt, fear and strength through the acting alone. Pilou Asbæk is sufficiently hateful and creepy. The music is another positive aspect, complementing the movie in all the right ways. It is pop, lyrics are relevant to the concept and add to the movie where the story subtracts. Watch it for the average thrill, superb acting and vicarious response to patriarchy. It wouldn’t require too much popcorn though.

See How They Run

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https://film-authority.com/

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Starring: Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan, Adrien Brody, Ruth Wilson
Where to watch: Disney+
To watch or not to watch: A comic whodunit which leaves the audience guessing till the end

It is the 100th performance of Mousetrap in London and during the celebratory party, Leo Köpernick (Adrian Brody) is murdered. He was a notorious drunk and had fluid moral values. He was also looking to direct the movie adaptation of the play. None of the people involved with the project, whether it be the play or the movie-in-the-works, really liked Leo, hence the suspect pool is quite big. The case is handed to a jaded, worn-out and alcoholic Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and an eager, inexperienced and by-the-book Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan). After another person is murdered in the theatre during another Mousetrap screening, the whole situation gets a bit more urgent and serious, making the suspect pool more suspicious. Until it all comes to head Christie fashion.

This movie isn’t an aspirational movie, blazing trail for all the future whodunits to come, doesn’t take itself seriously and isn’t serious. What it is, is a fun movie to watch with a bit of nostalgia, served with a side of Christie-ness. The center stage doesn’t belong to the plot, but to the characters of Sam Rockwell and Saoirse Ronan. Also, to the subtle jokes pulled at the cost of the cliched British murder mysteries. It does feel a bit like a parody of those mysteries, slightly, just a little bit, but tasteful. It doesn’t lead the viewers to an off-path of romance or back stories. It is mentioned and woven in the plot (as in the case of Stoppard) or informed to enhance the character (as in the case of Stalker). The cliched characters are the bedrock on which the story and plot develops.

This movie is a comfort-watch. Everything is in plain-view and repeated watches will not enrich the experience, but it will be an enjoyable watch everytime. It is fun, quirky, perfect watch for a pick-me-up after a long and disappointing day at work.