Tag: movies

Film Review: Meet The Thursday Murder Club

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

The Thursday Murder Club is a charming mystery film that manages to stay pretty faithful to the novel written by Richard Osman. The screenplay is written by Katy Brand and Suzanne Heathcote. Chris Columbus is the director of this piece which stars Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie as a group of retired residents in a village who meet on Thursdays to review cold murder cases. David Tennant, Tom Ellis, Naomis Ackie, and Daniel Mays are also included in the cast.

A small group of residents in a rather swanky retirement village meet once a week to review cold cases. Mirren plays Elizabeth, who once worked for MI6. Brosnan plays a rather brash former union leader named Ron. Kingsley is the empathic psychiatrist, Ben, and Celia Imrie rounds out the group as the recently recruited retired nurse named Joyce.

They are examining a case from 1973 in which a woman was apparently shoved out the window. While the small club is searching for new information, one of the owners of Coopers Chase is murdered nearby. The Thursday Murder Club have their first fresh case; however, they also learn that there are plans to redevelop their village into more luxurious apartments. Not only is there a killer lurking; the club has to find a way to save their new homes.

It’s hard to go wrong with the main cast. I am less familiar with Imrie, but she did great alongside the more familiar names such as Mirren, Brosnan, and Kingsley. Imrie may not have quite the same name recognition as her costars, but she is certainly no slouch when it comes to her charisma and ability. She certainly does have a lengthy filmography herself, so she should have no problem continuing her career.

I had read the book fairly recently, and the movie does follow it fairly closely.

Brosnan and Mirren are as reliably charismatic as ever, while Kingsley still maintains that quiet, yet powerful dignity that also makes him compelling.

In spite of some of this being somewhat of a comedy, there are plenty of somewhat poignant moments that are handled quite well.

Even though I knew the solution to the crime, the film may be worth a rewatch to just admire a group of long-time actors who can still appear to be at the top of their game.

I was just pleased that there were not enough alterations from the source material to evoke real annoyance.

Film Review: If Only It Was Just An Affair…

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Holland is a psychological thriller that has a few moments of almost being interesting but just couldn’t quite get there. Mimi Cave is the director of this mediocre cinematic effort, which was written by Andrew Sodroski. Nicole Kidman has the lead role and is accompanied by a cast which includes Matthew Macfadyen, Gael Garcia Bernal, Jude Hill, and Rachel Sennott.

Nancy Vandergroot is a teacher in the small town of Holland, Michigan, which is rather proud of its Dutch American roots. She is quite happy with her family until she starts to wonder if her husband, who travels a lot for work, is having an affair. She enlists the help of a friend and colleague to help her confirm her suspicions; however, the truth is something that is far worse.

The film does have some elements that are somewhat interesting, but somehow the end result is still rather hollow. The exploration of Dutch American roots is something not commonly displayed in movies, so I thought that was a decent start. I think that I had a hard time really caring about any of the main characters. Kidman is usually a solid casting choice, and she does fine with this role, but there is nothing all compelling about her character. I had a hard time being all that interested in her plight that starts to unfold.

The plot of a seemingly dutiful husband’s double life is somewhat overdone even if the setting in this film was a little eccentric and unique.

The performances were not terrible, which was helpful, but also nothing was all that memorable. The town did seem to have some charm.

Although it’s hard to have any real criticism of the film’s technical elements, I just found that it was missing something that should have made it more gripping.

Film Review: A Step In The Right Direction

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a somewhat encouraging addition to the Marvel Studios’ cinematic output and is directed by Matt Shakman. It took four screenwriters to come up with a reasonably enjoyable film, but they got there. Josh Friedman, Eric Pierson, Jeff Kaplan, and Ian Springer wrote the script with someone named Kat Wood sharing the story credit.

Pedro Pascal portrays Reed Richards also known as Mr. Fantastic alongside Vanessa Kirby as the Invisible Woman, Sue Storm. Ebon Moss-Bachrach plays Ben Grimm or the Thing. Finally, Joseph Quinn plays the Human Torch, Johnny Storm. Other cast members include Julia Garner, Sarah Niles, Mark Gatiss, and Ralph Ineson.

This story takes place in some parallel Earth in 1964. It has been four years since the space accident which transformed this family of astronauts and scientists into superheroes. Reed Richards and Sue Storm have discovered that they are about to welcome a new addition to the family. They are also warned by a Silver Surfer that a planet eater named Galactus is on his way to consume the entire planet. When the Fantastic Four take another space trip to find out what this guy’s problem was, they find an absurdly powerful being who is willing to spare the Earth in exchange for the child. Obviously, the Fantastic Four have some understandable objections to this plan and make a harrowing escape back to Earth to come up with a plan to defeat the oncoming. During the escape, the baby is born after Galactus induces Sue to go into labor. The Fantastic Four also have to contend with a growing panic among the people they have been protecting for the past few years. They have to unite the people and come up with a plan to send Galactus on his way with an unfulfilled appetite and without the new child.

This franchise has really struggled in the past couple of decades to gain a reliable cinematic audience. This iteration actually manages to be quite suspenseful and entertaining. The cast is more likeable somehow. The chemistry between Pascal and Kirby was also quite endearing. Johnny Storm was actually kind of funny at times.

The film seemed to have a pretty good mix of humor and heart in the performances. The 1960’s setting worked pretty well. I also appreciated that there was not much time spent on another origin story.

Obviously, there was some ridiculousness to forgive since it is a comic book movie, but it wasn’t quite as hard as it has been in recent contributions from Marvel.

Anyway, I am not generally a Fantastic Four fan, but I can still appreciate some success from the producers and studios when they come up with a reasonably entertaining product.

Film Review: Still Not A Bird Or A Plane

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

The latest cinematic iteration of Superman, written and directed by James Gunn, is reasonably entertaining but not much more than that. David Corenswet is in the title role and puts in a pretty good effort. Rachel Brosnahan is the latest version of Lois Lane. Nicholas Hoult was somehow chosen to play Lex Luther and probably should have been reconsidered. Nathan Fillion, Edi Gathegi, Isabela Merced, Skyler Gisondo, and Pruitt Taylor Vince are also included in the cast.

Superman prevents a war between two fictional nations. He gets in a fight with a metahuman and loses. He seems to be taking care of a super-powered dog as well who gets him back to his isolated Fortress to recuperate. Lex Luther, who is always looking for ways to discredit and destroy Superman gets hold of a message from the Kryptonian visitor’s parents. Apparently, there was a part of the recording that had remained corrupted. Luther’s team manages to repair the message and broadcasts the revelation that Superman’s real parents had expected him to rule over the Earth instead of being the heroic protector that everyone had become familiar with. Luther has also unleashed some kind of pocket universe in an effort destroy the Man of Steel and allied himself with various other superpowered miscreants to help him achieve that goal. Superman has a lot on his plate and has to regain the trust of the people of his adopted home.

There are a lot of cool special effects and fight scenes. Corenswet does not seem to be a terrible casting choice so that helps. I thought Brosnahan was quite good as Lois Lane. She was interesting and feisty but managed to not be too obnoxious.

The plot was a bit of a muddled mess and hard to follow at times. Also, Hoult really did not have the familiar air of menace one would expect from Lex Luther. Hoult is a good actor and usually enjoy his performances, but I found his selection for this role to be somewhat of a misfire.

I have declared for years that Superman is so powerful and morally righteous that it is hard to make him all that interesting.

I didn’t really dislike the film, but there was a lot that i thought could have gone better. My lack of enthusiasm for this may also be due to the oversaturation of superhero flicks coming out of Tinseltown in the past couple of decades.

Film Review: A Hitman’s Mind Starts To Crumble

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Knox Goes Away is a 2023 thriller starring Michael Keaton, who also directed this movie. Gregory Poirier is the director. Keaton is joined by James Marsden. Ray McKinnon, Al Pacino, Marcia Gay Harden, and Suzy Nakamura.

Keaton plays a hitman John Knox, who has just been diagnosed with a very aggressive form of dementia and only has a few weeks before he loses his cognitive awareness. As he is making preparations for his inevitable decline, his son shows up with a wounded hand and in a panic. He explains that he had just killed a man who had lured his teenage daughter online and got her pregnant. The son, Miles, played by James Marsden, is aware of his father’s dubious and lethal profession and calls upon his expertise to help him get away with the understandable murder. Of course, Knox has yet to reveal his condition and is compelled to keep his sanity together as best he can in order to aid his son.

This film has a pretty intriguing plot, and Keaton’s performance is captivating. Knox handles his diagnosis with an impressive amount of stoicism. There is a certain subtlety to how Keaton portrays the lapses in Knox is experiencing as he tries to resolve this crisis and get his personal affairs in order.

Al Pacino plays Knox’s friend who ends up being the only one told about this condition. He is fine in this role, but there just isn’t much for him to do here.

The cast was pretty good overall. Ray McKinnon is one of these character actors who tends to leave an impression for some reason. Much like someone like John Goodman, he tends to make the scenes a bit better regardless of the size of his role. McKinnon plays Knox’s partner who takes the brunt of the consequences brought by Knox’s illness.

There is a fair amount of decent suspense that plays out effectively. One can feel a certain sympathy for Knox’s plight in spite of his terrible career choice.

I still wouldn’t call this a terrific film, but there is some effort at creativity. Keaton does a good job holding it together as both the star and director. It’s a decent enough diversion and has enough depth to keep one engaged.

Film Review: Who Let The Dinosaurs Out?

~ Peter Kanelis ~ 1 Comment

Jurassic World Rebirth continues the franchise began many moons ago by the late Michael Crichton who wrote the first novel, Jurassic Park. This is now the seventh film in the franchise, and my mixed reaction is likely not going to be surprising.

Gareth Edwards is the director of this film which was written by David Koepp. Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Friend, and Manuel Garcia-Rufo are included in the cast.

This story begins with a flashback in which an isolated island is the site of some questionable experiments involving the breeding of hybrid dinosaurs are being conducted. Of course, it all goes a bit awry when one of the experiments escapes and tears the laboratory to pieces before dashing off into the jungle.

Some years later, a team comprised of a couple of scientists, a snobby rich guy, and a few hired guns head out to the island to get some blood samples from various dinosaurs that could help cure some kind of heart disease. The team come across a family on a boating excursion who are attacked by some unfriendly and hungry prehistoric ocean dwellers. Everyone makes their way to the island after another harrowing attack to get to the lab where some hope of escape awaits.

Scarlett Johansson is in the lead as some kind of mercenary. Even though she spent some years playing Black Widow for Marvel Studios, I had a little trouble with being convinced that she was the right choice for this part. I guess I didn’t find her as intimidating as what the script seemed to call for.

The special effects were pretty cool, and dinosaurs were pretty well realized on the screen.

The film seems to have a slow start. but it does get somewhat better when the group makes it to the island. The family with Garcia-Rufo as the father actually got me more interested in the film. In recognized Garcia-Rufo from the Netflix series The Lincoln Lawyer, so it was kind of cool to see him in something a little different. He’s a decent actor and did well in this film.

The film does follow a familiar pattern established in the earlier installments. There are some new bells and whistles when it comes to the visual effects and set design, but the plot did not feel all that unique.

There is an innocent family in the mix, and a child who keeps getting threatened by the big, scaly beasts. Fortunately, I start to like the family. Even the slacker boyfriend of the elder daughter started to grow on me a bit.

The film manages to avoid being utter garbage, but it still isn’t one of the better ones of the series. It has some moments that are redeemable, it overall made me question the wisdom of the studio execs who keep on beating a dead raptor.

Film Review: The Juror With A Secret

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Juror #2 is an intriguing, but slow-paced film directed by Clint Eastwood, which was released in 2024. It was written by Jonathan Abrams and stars Nicholas Hoult in the lead role. Other familiar cast members include Toni Collette, J.K. Simmons, Amy Aquino, Leslie Bibb, and Keifer Sutherland.

Hoult plays Justin Kemp, a recovering alcoholic who is selected to serve on a jury for a murder trial. A man is on trial for murdering his girlfriend on a stormy night after the two of them had a troubling argument at a bar. The woman’s battered body was left under a bridge. As the evidence unfolds, Justin recalls that he was at that bar that night and witnessed the altercation. On his way home, he thought he had hit a deer. As more information is released, Justin becomes more convinced that he may have been the one who accidentally killed the woman, but his life has recently turned for the better lately. His wife is about to have a baby, and he has managed to maintain his sobriety for some time. Justin tries to manipulate the jury into avoiding convicting an innocent man without sacrificing his own life, but the matter becomes more complicated when a former homicide detective serving on the jury starts his own investigation. Hoult is about to discover the challenges and consequences of trying to compromise when it comes to morality and justice.

In spite of the extraordinary amount of coincidence to make this plot plausible, I did find the dilemma rather intriguing. Hoult isn’t a guy who is being flippant about the path of deception and manipulation. He seems genuinely guilt-ridden about the situation he caused, but he allows his instinct for self-preservation to take the wheel.

Meanwhile, the case has gotten some local attention, and the prosecutor, played by Toni Collette, has aspirations for becoming the district attorney, and the case could be the ticket to that goal.

The performances are quite compelling and believable, but that’s hardly surprising considering the talent Eastwood has to work with. The film does feel a little slow at times. In real life, trials can get rather tedious, even if it’s a murder case, but that reality doesn’t need to be translated to the screen. The business about a former homicide detective making it onto the jury seems a little hard to swallow even if there is an attempt at an explanation for what appears to be a pretty big lapse in competence from both attorneys.

I did appreciate that the characters were kind of layered. The prosecutor may be rather ambitious and single-minded, but she was not unethical or unlikeable. One can easily feel some sympathy for Justin’s plight even though he basically caused the whole mess, albeit unintentionally.

I am hesitant to declare this as one of Eastwood’s best films, but I do think it’s a good one overall. If this one does turn out to be Eastwood’s last cinematic contribution, it’s one he can still take some pride in.

Film Review: The Multitudes Within Chuck Krantz

~ Peter Kanelis ~ 1 Comment

The Life of Chuck us in the running to become one of the best movies of 2025, in my humble opinion. Mike Flanagan is the screenwriter and director of this piece, which is adapted from a novella written by a not-so-new writer named Stephen King. Tom Hiddleston is in the lead role alongside the child actors portraying the younger versions of Charles Krantz. Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, Mia Sara, Mark Hamill, and Annalise Basso are part of the formidable cast.

The story unfolds from the end when Ejiofor’s character, Marty Anderson, notices some strange sights in the world around him. There is a serious increase in natural disasters, and the internet has completely collapsed. There are some peculiar advertisements cropping up depicting a picture of a man named Chuck Krantz, a seemingly normal accountant. As Chuck lies near death from a terminal brain tumor, the stars are blinking out, and the universe seems to be just shutting down.

Then, the story moves earlier in the Chuck’s life to a strange but uplifting impromptu dance performance before a street drummer. Then, Chuck’s childhood is laid out. All of this is helped by a narrator, Nick Offerman, who does a fantastic job of guiding the audience on this strange journey.

The novella is part of a collection by Stephen King entitled If It Bleeds. The film probably follows the source material pretty closely. There are some interesting twists and a few surprises throughout the film

The performances were solid and believable. The significant cast members were well-chosen. There was a kind of interesting subtlety to some of the performances during some of the more emotionally charged moments of the movie.

The film does seem to have a bit of a slow start, but it gets more engaging as it unfolds in its unconventional timeline. The three kids who played Chuck’s adolescent years did a great job as well. Flanagan has done quite a few adaptations of King’s works and seems to be pretty reliable. I do not recall being disappointed in some of his other works.

I have not read the novella, but I imagine that it is an example of how King actually demonstrates some variety in his writings.

I will also admit that I did not really recognize Mark Hamill as Chuck’s grandfather until the end credits came up. I thought he was familiar, but I was not sure why. Hamill is not someone who I consider to be a stellar actor, but he did quite well in this one. Maybe, he has actually gotten better in immersing himself in a role over the years, and I just failed to appreciate it.

Anyway, this film does deserve the acclaim it has received. It is certainly better than most of the nonsense coming out of Hollywood these days.

Film Review: Some Accountants Crunch More Than Just Numbers

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Ben Affleck returns as killer accountant Christian Wolff in The Accountant 2 directed by Gavin O’Conner. Bill Dubuque is the screenwriter. Jon Bernthal returns as the estranged, and probably just as dangerous, brother, Braxton. Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Daniella Pineda, Robert Morgan, and Grant Harvey join in the fray. J.K. Simmons has a brief appearance in the beginning.

Christian Wollf is autistic and is high functioning in the most lethal ways. He is asked by a former ally from the first movie to help her figure out why her mentor was murdered. It doesn’t take Christian long to determine a pretty complicated human trafficking situation is going on. Another assassin named Anais is also in the game, but she has amnesia to go along with her own dangerous skill set. Christian calls upon his brother, with whom he has a troubled relationship, to bring his own deadly talents to the table. Now, the players are on the board, the hunt is on, and the Accountant is about to balance the books with a lot of firepower.

As far as sequels go, this is a better one. Affleck does pull off bringing a certain vulnerability to this character in spite of the brutality he exercises. I did find Bernthal’s performance a little too manic at times, but I did find the unconventional brotherly relationship rather interesting.

The fight scenes were pretty slick, even if they were a little fanciful. The climax of the film where the Wolff brothers just storm this compound where children were being imprisoned in Mexico was pretty cool. Some criminals just deserve the kind of brutal attention that Christian and Braxton are so good at dishing out.

The film does have its slow moments periodically, but there are some moments that are almost charming. A scene where Christian ends up line dancing with a pretty girl in a bar seems kind of odd, but it worked for me.

There were some moments where the brothers tried to connect a bit, and those moments were rather poignant.

If another film turns up, I don’t think I will roll my eyes with the same level of derision I have when these announcements are made.

Film Review: Sometimes You Need More Than One Sensei

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Karate Kid: Legends has some pretty cool scenes and character moments, but the plot logistics are quite questionable. Jonathan Entwistle directed this film, which was written by Rob Leiber. The new kid is played by Ben Wang, and he is actually a pretty good choice. Ralph Macchio returns to The Karate Kid franchise as Daniel LaRusso, fresh off the completion of the series Cobra Kai. Jackie Chan reprises his role of Mr. Han from the 2010 The Karate Kid film.

The cast also includes Joshua Jackson, Sadie Stanley, Ming-Na Wen, and Aramis Knight.

The movie begins with a flashback scene in which Mr. Miyagi explains to a young LaRusso the connection his family has to the Han Family. When we’re caught up to the present day, Mr. Han has returned to kung fu instruction fulltime and is doing quite well. One of his students is a great nephew named Li Fong who has been carrying a burden of guilt. His mother has accepted a job in New York as a doctor, so Li has another big adjustment to make in his life.

As usual, he meets a pretty girl and runs afoul of her ex-boyfriend, who is a karate expert. Li is also quite skilled in the martial arts, but this adversary may be better. Mr. Han eventually shows up in the Big Apple to lend a hand in training his nephew for the expected big tournament. He feels that he could use some help and take a quick trip to California to recruit Daniel LaRusso to give his expertise to Li’s training.

There is a lot in this film I liked. The newer characters were actually pretty good. Sadie Stanley was pretty entertaining as Mia, the cheeky but charming love interest. Her relationship with her father, played by Joshua Jackson, was pretty endearing as well. A friendship between Li and the father develops as well, which seems to be a break from the trope in these types of stories.

Ben Wang has quite a bit of charisma to go along with his martial arts skill. It was also great to see Ming-Na Wen in the role of Li’s mother. The mother was pretty dead set against her son continuing his martial arts study, but one can have a bit more sympathy for her once the reason is revealed. Also, Wen is just great to watch. It’s pretty hard to believe that she is just over sixty, but she is Asian and obviously takes well care of herself.

The fight scenes are unrealistic but still fun to watch. The good-natured bickering between LaRusso and Han was also well played by Macchia and Chan.

For the most part, I enjoyed the film, however the plot needs some serious examination. First of all, it’s not really clear what is so unique about Li’s situation that Han felt compelled to seek assistance from LaRusso. The whole idea to get the two sensei in the same place seems rather strange and frankly hard to swallow.

I could almost buy a more coincidental meeting more than Han taking a quick trip to California to make his pitch to LaRusso.

The film does hit the right chords of nostalgia, but I had to fight for that enjoyment since I was pretty distracted by the weak elements in the plot.

Anyway, it’s another one in which I did not find terrible, but a better, more credible reason needed to be found for Han and LaRusso to meet.