The Host Movie Review

The Host (2006)

Rent The Host on Amazon Video
Written by: Baek Chul-hyun & Won-jun Ha & Bong Joon-ho (screenplay)
Directed by: Bong Joon-ho
Starring: Song Kang-ho, Byun Hee-bong, Park Hae-il, Bae Doona
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
In Seoul's River Han, a giant mutant creature has developed as a result of toxic chemical dumping. When the squid like monster scoops up the teenage granddaughter of humble snack-bar owner he resolves to track down the murderous beast.

Verdict
It's a monster movie infused with political satire, depicting a government that's uncaring and inept. nd The unlikely hero has a full arc, and he doesn't succeed because he's super human, but because he has help. The CGI is well done and the monster aspect of this is sufficient, but the movie goes above and beyond to have a message too.
Watch it.

Review
The original Korean title translates to Monster. I love the start. An american doctor order his Korean assistant to dump chemicals down the drain. The assistant's protests are ignored and he's forced to complete the task. That scene looks great, from composition to lighting. Years later, a creature is in the water. That's why you take care of the environment.

The monster looks good, and this taps into the fears of what chemicals in the water can do. This also ridicules the government for being bureaucratic and uncaring. They're trying to quarantine people and ordering them to remain calm while chasing them dressed in a hazmat suit.

Gang-du's daughter was taken by the monster and he claims she's still alive. The government dismisses him. Gand-du is the unlikely hero. He's a bit of a dope. At one point his father asks Gang-du's two siblings if they believe in Gang-du. They flatly respond, "No." It's a moment of levity as they prepare to face a beast.

The American title comes from the claim by doctors that the monster is the host to a virus. That virus is a bit of misdirection. The government doesn't want anyone to look into the origin of the creature. You've got to evade fault.

Gang-du and his family defy the odds and law to find his daughter. Gang-du has a neat arc. We first see him as an incompetent shop owner, but he steps up when the plot requires it. Most monster movies are about the monster, but in this movie it's about the family and how the government reacts. That's a cool angle, and this movie does a great job of exploring that.

Hold the Dark Movie Review

Hold the Dark (2018)

Watch Hold the Dark on Netflix // Buy the book
Written by: Macon Blair (screenplay by), William Giraldi (based on the book by)
Directed by: Jeremy Saulnier
Starring: Jeffrey Wright, Alexander Skarsgård, James Badge Dale, Riley Keough, Macon Blair
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer
Hold the Dark Info Page

Plot
Set in Alaska, where nature writer Russell Core tracks a pack of wolves suspected of killing three children. He is hired by one of the children's parents, but after the mother disappears, the boy's father returns from the Iraq War intent on wreaking havoc.

Verdict
This is a baffling movie. I wasn't really sure what this was about or the point. It left on a question mark and it wasn't until I did some more research that the pieces fell in place. I'm usually good at putting everything together, but this movie is a bit too ambiguous. Knowing the clues now and how this is about a couple with a wolf like will to survive, I want to watch it again.
It depends.

Review
I was excited for another Saulnier film. I really liked Green Room and Blue Ruin. Based on those two movies, I'll watch whatever Saulnier makes. I was disappointed to learn, Saulnier didn't write this. Frequent collaborator Macon Blair did. Blair also wrote and directed I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore.

This starts slow with a mom, Medora, contacting wolf expert Russell Core to hunt the wolves that took her son. Core is older, he's not in his prime like on his book covers. You get the sense he's hard up for work. Medora
He's staying in this woman's home, but she isn't quite right. Core is too shocked to do anything when she involves him in a weird night time ritual.

Our introduction to Medora's husband Vernon provides a shock. He's cold blooded. I get it, but wow.

Core treks into the woods to track the wolves, but is less than competent when he discovers a pack of wolves eating their young for survival. The movie comes back to this point, though not explicitly later. Then this movie twists. Then it twists again. I thought this was a wolf tracking movie, but that's over quickly. Core and the cops have stumbled into this tribal village that still believes in spirits and magic to a degree. Medora and Vernon don't quite fit.

Vernon is on a rampage. He seems to be enacting some kind of blood rite and then his friend goes on a rampage against the police in a crazy shoot out. I don't get how his friend isn't even grazed with so many people shooting at him, but he's against a lot of rookies that aren't equipped for the situation. The cops frequently stand up from cover only to get shot. I take issue with that, but the movie does give a bit of explanation when a cop ducks away from cover to help his friend. It's a crazy situation and people aren't always thinking straight.

What do any of these scenes have to do with the plot? Nothing Vernon does makes any sense to me. What's up with the wolf mask? I wondered if we would ever be told the point. We're not really, we do get a few hints. Those hints weren't enough for me to piece this together, and it leaves on a big question mark.

I'm good at reading between the lines of a movie and picking out the point, but I didn't see the clues here. This is an understated movie and reading about this it makes it a lot more interesting. I just wish it went deeper on behavior. This is adapted from a book that's much less ambiguous as to what's happening. What we're seeing is two people that are intent on survival. Like wolves, they will destroy anything in there way if it's a threat. With that in mind, this movie takes on a different meaning. Maybe the wolf mask should be a clue, but we never get any grounding for that to take root.

The Films of Deborah Kerr

I've been watching a lot of Deborah Kerr movies this year and thank goodness I came across the banner for this blogathon on someone's blog as I would have been very upset to have missed this event! It was impossible to choose just one film to write about so I decided to do and overview of Kerr's films that I have seen!

I've always known who Kerr was. I saw The King and I (1956) when I was young and An Affair to Remember (1957) regularly aired on TV (though I usually just saw the end - I have yet to watch the whole thing in one sitting).That was my extant of Kerr's films until last October when I shivered through The Innocents (1961). The next month I watched one of Caftan Woman's recommendations, Vacation From Marriage (1945), And it is here that we will start.

 *May contain Spoilers*

Before and After

In Vacation From Marriage (1945) Kerr plays the dull wife of a dull man, played by Robert Donat. His routine never changes and she always seems to have the sniffles. War strikes and they both go off to do their part, he in the Royal Navy and she with the Wrens (Women's Royal Navy Service). During the three years they are apart, they both become more self confident through their service. Donat was lost at sea for five days and has shaved off his mustache. Kerr, no longer constantly sick, now wears makeup and has her hair styled attractively (of course) thanks to her fun friend Dizzy (played delightfully by Glynis Johns). Both have become attracted to other people yet remain faithful to one another. As the war comes to an end, the two confide in their friends that they don't want to go back to their old lives as they've both changed so much. Not wanting to go back to their dreary apartment, they meet at a bar and are surprised at how different they have become. They decide to release each other so they can begin a new life but can't hide their new attraction for one another and end up deciding to stay together.

This film has delightful performances all around (it was also my introduction to Robert Donat - I've now watched over half of his films). Kerr plays both sides of her character perfectly. It is also an interesting look at how a person can change due to circumstances beyond their control. The film was released to great success in both the UK (as Perfect Strangers) and in the US.

The Hucksters (1947) was Kerr's first film in America and paired her with the King of Hollywood, Clark Gable. Gable plays Victor Norman, a war veteran looking to get a high-paying job in advertising. His strategy? Pretend like he doesn't need a job! He also likes to throw money away (literally!) every so often to remind himself that money isn't everything. He visits his friend Mr. Kimberly (Adolph Menjou) of the Kimberly Advertising Agency and offers to help him out with his toughest client, Evans' Beauty Soap. Evan's (Sydney Greenstreet) wants to secure the  endorsement of twenty-five socially prominent for his soap. Gable takes the top name off the list, Mrs. Kay Dorrance (Kerr). Mrs. Dorrance, who is immediately attracted to Victor and vice-versa, readily agrees to having her photo taken. The two begin seeing one another, though Kay has some  competition in Jean, the attractive singer friend of Victors' (played by a young Ava Gardner). After Kay and Victor have a misunderstanding they part ways. Victor travels out to California to secure the services of a certain radio comic for Evan's Beauty Soap and ends up on the same train as Jean. Jean is in love with Victor but discovers he is still in love with Kay. Kay realizes she loves Victor and goes to meet him in California. Victor tells her that if Evan's likes the radio program it will mean a good paying job to pay for her kids education after they're married. Back in New York, Evan's first insults then offers Victor a job with a fantastic salary. Victor doesn't like the way that Evan's has just treated him and so he ends up turning it down - and giving Evan's a taste of his own tactics. He breaks the news to Kay that they can't get married after all and she reminds him that money isn't everything. Kiss and fade.

Please Believe Me (1950) was written especially for Kerr with her comedic talents in mind. Her character, Alison Kirbe, is a young working girl in London that corresponds with an old soldier she met during the war who lives on a big ranch in Texas. He dies and leaves it to her so she sets sail for America, not knowing that his letters were embellished and it's actually just a bunch of worthless land. While onboard she is romanced by two men: Jeremy Taylor (Peter Lawford) who has millions and wants a girl that doesn't want him for his money, and Terence Keath (Robert Walker) who owes a lot of money to a casino owner and pretends to be rich so he can marry Alison for her money. Keath loans her money until she gets her inheritance and Taylor's attorney, Matt Kinston (Mark Stevens) tries to prevent Taylor from giving her his money. Alison is attracted to all of them but seems to especially like Kinston. When they find out that her land is worthless their true colors are revealed. Alison admonishes them and, after realizing they were wrong, all three propose to her. I'll let you guess who she chose ;)

 

King Solomon's Mines (1950) finds Kerr in Africa looking for her husband who disappeared several years ago with the help of her brother (Richard Carlson) and Granger, who is a hunter and guide. He does not approve a women trekking through the jungle but Kerr keeps up with him, determined to match his strength and stamina. They are led to the fabled treasure caves by the natives and trapped inside, where they find the skeleton of her husband. By this point Granger and Kerr have fallen in love and, as she and her husband had drifted apart, they are able to stay together. They escape through the back of the cave and arrive in time to see the current evil king of the tribe battle for the throne with the rightful heir.

Dream Wife (1953) teamed Kerr with Cary Grant for the first of three times. Grant plays Clemson Reade, an American Salesman engaged to Priscilla "Effie" Effington (Kerr). She works in the state department. While on a business trip to Bukistan he is fascinated with how the Khan's daughters are raised to be the perfect wife. This is reinforced when he returns and finds out that Effie has pushed the date of their wedding to deal with an oil crisis. Fed up, he decides to marry the Khan's daughter, Tarji. It turns into a nightmare however when he finds out he must wait three months and isn't allowed to be left alone with her. She also doesn't speak English. Effie, as chaperone lest Reade cause a national incedent, meanwhile teaches Tarji how American women live. By the time the wedding finally rolls around, Tarji is no longer a "dream wife" and Reade decides to break it off. Tarji tells her father she wants to marry someone of her own choosing and Reade goes back to Effie, realizing he'd rather a woman who is his equal and not merely someone who sees to his every need.

I loved Kerr's character in this film. She holds her own with the men she works with while wearing ultra-feminine gowns. As much as I love Grant, his character was somewhat annoying in his expectations of women. Luckily he saw his errors at the end ;)

From Here to Eternity (1953) has one of the most famous on-screen kisses in history. Since this film is so readily available I'm going to presume most of you have seen it. I will say that I found Kerr's American accent disconcerting. It didn't sound like her at all!

In The End of the Affair (1955) Kerr plays an unfaithful wife who begins an affair with Van Johnson and, after a few months, right after Johnson's flat is bombed and he is hurt, abruptly ends it. The reason why is revealed later after Johnson hires a detective who manages to steal her diary. In the diary she reveals that after the building was bombed she rushed downstairs to find a heavy door on Johnson with only his dead hand sticking out. She goes back upstairs and finds herself praying to God that she will give him up if only He will make Johnson be alive. At that moment Johnson walks into the room, shaken and scratched but okay. The rest of the journal tells how she struggles to keep her promise as she had never really prayed before and wasn't even sure there was a God. I won't give away the end.

In The Innocents (1961) Kerr is governess to two children in a creepy house and comes to believe that they are possessed by the gardener and maid who died there. Don't watch this one at night!

This post is part of The Deborah Kerr Blogathon hosted by Maddy Lovers Her Classic Films. Be sure to visit her blog to check out the other posts on this wonderful actress!

This photo was just begging to be made into a banner.

Hope you don't mind Maddy :)

DAILY CALL SHEET: SEPTEMBER 30, 2018

Brain Twisters (1991) Something happened in this Cronenberg wannabe, but darned if I can remember what it was. Some brains got twisted... I guess. TIL: The soul is present in its entirety in every part of the body, so even if a brain does get twisted, the soul is still there.

Your daily dose of culture courtesy of Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983) - "Everything is changing. People are taking their comedians seriously and the politicians as a joke." - Will Rogers

Blue Iguana (2018)

After the dreadful Solo: A Star Wars Story and the even more dreadful Sierra Burgess Is a Loser, I decided to go with another 2018 movie, Blue Iguana, a movie I knew absolutely nothing about other than it having Sam Rockwell and its IMDb score being lower than the previously mentioned movies. And guess what, it was better than both.

Eddie (Sam Rockwell) and Paul (Ben Schwartz), two American petty criminals on parole, are recruited by British lawyer Kathrine Rookwood (Phoebe Fox) for a big job in London involving a mysterious package. Things go terribly wrong and the two Americans are caught up in a mess involving a mob boss (Peter Polycarpou), a mama's boy (Peter Ferdinando) and a princess (Frances Barber).

Plot-wise, there's nothing special about Blue Iguana. It's a pretty basic, simple heist story that becomes more and more implausible as it develops --if you give this a try, you'll end up wondering what the hell happened as nothing makes sense. There's also a romantic subplot that adds absolutely nothing to the film.

The characters are the film's strongest suit either. They are thin, lack development and aren't given any background story. But at the same time, they all are quirky and memorable with their foibles and fixations, and they are quite amusing.

The credits, however, do not belong to director and writer Hadi Hajaig, but to the cast. It's indeed the actors that make the characters interesting and memorable. Sam Rockwell gives another of his underappreciated performances as Eddie, a skilled, hardass criminal, amusing with his humorous attempt at doing a cockney accent and delighting with his dancing skills. Yes, he dances and he rocks. Ben Schwartz is quite funny as Paul, Eddie's oafishness partner in crime, and his chemistry with Rockwell is brilliant. Peter Ferdinando is pretty awesome too as the mama's boy. It's Phoebe Fox though that absolutely steals the show as the geeky nerdy lawyer who is constantly eating and basically bosses around most of the men in the film.

Screen Media Films

The soundtrack, which is filled with songs from the 80s that aren't often used in films, is great too. Unfortunately, these few elements alone aren't enough and Blue Iguana ends up being just an okay film. The thing is that the comedy rarely works, the reason being that the writer was unable to make the best out of the subject matter. Someone else, someone like Martin McDonagh, would have made a hell of a difference.

DAILY CALL SHEET: SEPTEMBER 29, 2018

Chariots of the Gods (1970) If ancient aliens did visit Earth, they would surely be bummed the result was this snoozefest of a "documentary." TIL: Oddly enough, a 2015 study showed Catholics and ‘nones’ to be the two groups most optimistic about discovering extraterrestrial life.

Your daily dose of culture courtesy of The Deadly Spawn (1983) - "Never open a can of worms unless you plan to go fishing." - John C. Maxwell

Sierra Burgess Is a Loser (2018)

I saw the trailer to Sierra Burgess Is a Loser about a week ago and it seemed kinda interesting so I decided to check it out. A couple of things I should have kept in mind though. First, it's a teen rom-com. Second, it's a teen movie from Netflix and we all know how To All the Boys I've Loved Before turned out.

Sierra Burgess (Shannon Purser) is smart and witty but she is also "ugly" and unpopular which is why Veronica (Kristine Froseth), the most popular girl in school, makes her mission to make her life miserable. When Jamey (Noah Centineo), a sweet football player, asks Veronica for her number, she gives him Sierra's instead. The two begins to text, but Sierra soon realises Jamey believes her to be Veronica so she asks Veronica to help her. In return, Sierra will teach Veronica how to be smart as she was dumped by her college boyfriend (Will Peltz) for being dumb.

The plot is so plain and bland, a kid could come up with it. A kid from another decade though as the only reason this whole thing happens is that none of these teens has WhatsApp --or another app like it. My parents have it, even a 60+-year-old man I know has it; how is it possible that high school kids don't? It makes sense though as everything about the story is ridiculous, not to mention how infuriating the ending is.

Which brings me to the film's main topic, catfishing. I appreciate that the filmmakers decided to address such a theme in a teen movie, I really do. What I do not appreciate though is the message they sent with Sierra Burgess Is a Loser, a message saying that it's okay to lie and manipulate others, you're get your way in the end anyway --not only Sierra gets herself a new friend and she even gets the boy.

As if that wasn't enough, the film also has one of the least likeable --more like one of the most unlikable-- leads ever. Sierra Burger is not a loser, she is a selfish, untitled and mean bitch. She doesn't give a damn about anyone other than herself. She doesn't take any responsibility, if anything she tries to find someone to blame for every single thing that's wrong with her. She doesn't catfish Jamey accidentally, she does it on purpose, and she doesn't even feel guilty about it. And what she does to Veronica after they became friends --Jamey kisses Veronica because he doesn't know Sierra is pretending to be Veronica, Sierra sees them and decides to humiliate Veronica in front of the entire school-- is horrendous.

Netflix

Veronica, that's someone you could feel sorry for. She is mean at first but, as the story "develops", we see that she is actually kind, sweet, compassionate and a true friend. She is not the best human being but she definitely deserves better than Sierra.

Another problem with Sierra Burgess Is a Loser is the lack of a proper pace. The film is so slow and boring it seems to go on for an eternity. It's not engaging, and not even the familiar cast, Shannon Purser aka Barb from Stranger Things, and the likeable Noah Centineo, can save it. By the way, how does one go from playing the most popular kid in school to playing a loser? Also, when exactly football player became synonymous with loser?

DAILY CALL SHEET: SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

Future-Kill (1985) Frat boys in clothes from Chess King battle splatter-punk mutants. Nowhere near as cool as it sounds. TIL: In 1889, Catholic students founded Phi Kappa because other fraternities wouldn't accept stinking Papists. Phi Kappa Theta is still going strong today.

Your daily dose of culture courtesy of The Awakening (1980) - "A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle." - Benjamin Franklin

And finally, this week for Aleteia, I'm tracking down some of the Vatican's recommended "important" films which are currently streaming. Sadly, there’s not as many available as you might think.

WRITTEN REVIEW: Cold Skin

By CORY CARR

First, Guillermo DelToro touched our hearts with a story about a woman who falls in love with a fish. But now, in a what lays rooted in Lovecraft lore, Xavier Gen tells a story that explores a man, and HIS love for a fish. Well, when you boil Cold Skin down that's what you're left with, but it has more going for than some sappy interspecies love story.

Based on the book of the same title by Albert Sanches Pinol, Cold Skin is influenced by the H.P. Lovecraft tale The Shadow Over Innsmouth, about a small fishing village who discover a race of fish like humanoids living just of the coast. Once times get tough, they reach out the the race for help in sustaining themselves. This effort evolves into cult ritual and human sacrifice to appease the sea creatures, who have also begun mating with the local townspeople.

With that in mind, Cold Skin deviates from Lovecraft's tale with David Oakes' unnamed character who has enlisted to be sent away to record meteorological data on a remote island in the Antarctic Circle. This all takes place in 1914, during the Great War, which our narrator is trying to avoid, in a time when the sun never set on the British flag. This task will keep him stranded at the edge of the world for one year with the only human contact being Gruner, a grizzled son of an ol' salt for a lighthouse operator at the other end of the island.


Upon arriving, our Friend learns that the man he is to relieve has mysteriously gone missing and is presumed dead. He starts to piece it together that this island isn't quite what it seems when he observes how Gruner has fortified his lighthouse to repel an attack. But from who? And why? This British outpost is so remote, it is far removed from the unfolding World War, but has offered up a new war that our Friend is also reluctant to fight.

Speaking of fights, it isn't long before our Friend is attacked in the night be a group of mer-men warriors who burn his new home to the ground, for reasons that aren't yet apparent to him. After surviving the evening, he reaches out to Gruner for help and for answers. And after making his way across the island to Gruner's lighthouse fortification, it is revealed that Gruner is holding a beautiful young mer-lady captive as his sex slave companion. And with that, all of our Friend's questions have been answered. “Who the mer creatures are?”, “Why they attacked?”, and “What happened to the last meteorologist?”.

Night after night, the two men repel that attacks of the seemingly primitive mer-men. For our Friend it is to survive and for Gruner it is for extinction, as he's of the mind that these inferior creatures are there to be used or exterminated – hammering home the notion that mankind shall own dominion over the creatures of the Earth.


After months of being stranded on the island and in the middle of Gruner's war, our main character starts to learn from the sea-slave, about her culture and their history as her youthful innocence, and beauty warm his heart. Eventually he works to set her free, but not before the fighting and terror of what man is capable of weighs heavily on him, changing him forever.

Cold Skin is a nice little visitation from Lovecraft. The setting and emotions of the film are bleak and really made me feel that all of this was really happening in a part of the world that was as beautiful as it was isolated and dangerous – like the sea people themselves.

The technical elements of the film; the acting, the story, the pacing, ect - are all without fault, but I couldn't help but think there was something missing from making the film really great. The actions of Oake's character feel flat. His motivations are apparent and understandable, but as I watched it, I kept expecting him to do more. To fight Grunger head on and free Aneris (the sea woman in question). To reach out to the race of sea people to make peace and offer up an apology from Man to Mer-Man, but this never happens. And with the unfolding romance, it became something that I expected, but also felt strange considering she was just kept captive and used for sex and moments later is having sex with a new human man. Perhaps this is an underlying message about Aneris being in control and consenting... Maybe?

Beyond all that, this story was interesting to me as a commentary on the British colonization of the outside world. The old saying the the sun never sets on the Union Jack (for those who don't know) is in reference to the various territory held by the British at it's peak of power. Their influence was global. Spending the time and money to maintain two men on an island – of little to no importance - in the middle of nowhere at all times is is a display of power and bureaucratic decision making that only a first world power will make.

Furthermore, Grunger's attitude toward the Lovecraftian beings is something that is historically shared by world powers. The unsophisticated and uncivilized are there to be conquered, put to work, exported and exploited. This is something seen time and time again in life and in art. It's what's at the heart of stories like The Creature From the Black Lagoon - another sea creature love story.

But enough of that. Cold Skin is a great addition into the Cthulhu mythos, but as a film standing on it's own merits, it's just pretty good.

Cold Skin was adapted by Jesús Olmo (20 Days Later) and Eron Sheean who has also worked together with director Xavier Gen on The Divide, about a group of people surviving the days following a nuclear attack.

Made available on various VOD platforms by Samuel Goldwyn Films earlier this month (DVD & BLU-RAY soon), and also the film made an appearance at this years Fantasia Festival. Cold Skin might offer a better pay-off to you who follow the Elder Things but it's also worth checking out by the average cinephile.

CORY CARR Reviewer | Producer & Editor | Resident Conspiracy Theorist A blue collar dude with facial hair that would make his Norse ancestors proud. He is a collector of comic books, retro video games, and obscure relics from the VHS era. "COLD SKIN" ★ ★ ★

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

Han Solo is my one of my favourite characters in the Star Wars universe. I mean, he is a charismatic space cowboy with balls, how can you not love him? Even Leia eventually falls for him. And yet I decided to pass Solo: A Star Wars Story. I just didn't have a very good feeling about it, and, eventually, reviews proved me right. Now that it's on DVD, I decided to give it a chance. 

The film opens with Han (Alden Ehrenreich) as he escapes the planet of Corellia but vows to return for Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke), the woman he loved and was forced to leave behind. After that, Han meets his future co-pilot Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), encounters Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover), wins the Millenium Falcon and gets involved in a series of dangerous adventures.

In terms of plot, Solo: A Star Wars Story is absolutely terrible, lazy at its best. Basically, all the writers did was to take some of the elements of Solo's past, like how he met Chewbacca, how he won the Falcon, how he got his name --by the way, the scene where we learn about Solo's last name is almost identical to the one in The Godfather: Part II when Robert De Niro's Vito arrives in America-- and what happened with the Kessel run, and called it a day. Actually, they also added a heist plot that has so many twists and turns and double-crosses, you lose any interest in guessing who's gonna betray who next. It's not a big deal though as at that point you already have probably lost any interest in the story.

The characters also are the result of lazy writing. They are pretty shallow, the development is almost non-existent. The good guys, it's really hard if not impossible to care about any of them --I felt sorry for Han, Chewbacca and Lando, those from the original trilogy though as they ended up in this mess of a film. As for the villains, Dryden Vos feels utterly pointless, Enfys Nest is barely in the film, and Darth Maul, why on earth did the filmmakers feel like he needed to be in this? Also, the whole film is about smuggling and yet there is no mention of Boba Fett or Jabba the Hut. What the hell, people?!

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

A combination of bad writing, bad direction and bad casting, the performances too are a disappointment. Alden Ehrenreich is no Harrison Ford. He lacks charisma and as a result, the character is annoying and quite unlikeable. Solo is arrogant and cocky, after all, and if you don't have charisma, the character could only work as someone we are supposed to despise. Donald Glover does a fine impression of Lando but he looks so bored throughout the film. Emilia Clarke is nothing short of terrible. Paul Bettany and Woody Harrelson, well, Ron Howard was able to make them look like amateurs.

Solo: A Star Wars Story also fails at being funny. Most of the comedy feels forced or inappropriate, and the jokes and puns are cheap and fall flat most of the time.

Yes, it does have some positive aspects too. The special effects aren't bad and the action sequences are pretty good --some are bland and repetitive though. But let's be honest, these few qualities alone aren't enough to make a great Star Wars movie.

DAILY CALL SHEET: SEPTEMBER 27, 2018

The Burrowers (2008) Wouldn't The Searchers have been better with underground monsters? Okay, probably not, but this wild Western isn't bad though. TIL: The West was "wild" mostly because religion was missing Once the missionaries showed up, the settlers became much more settled.

Your daily dose of culture courtesy of Swamp Women (1956) - "A heart can no more be forced to love than a stomach can be forced to digest food by persuasion." - Alfred Nobel

Quanto basta (2018)

When it comes to Italian cinema, we are submerged with trailers and promotion of idiotic comedies, basically the same movie over and over again, as they, unfortunately, happen to be the movies my fellow countrymen pay to see. There are movies, I never even hear of, and Quanto basta is one of those. And if it wasn't for a friend of mine, I would have never known about its existence. 

The film follows Arturo (Vinicio Marchioni), a talented chef who has fallen into disgrace because of his bad temper. Convicted of assault, he is sentenced to social work in a center for autism. Once there, he meets Guido (Luigi Fedele), a young man with Asperger's syndrome who has a great passion for cooking. When Guido enters a cooking competition and asks Arturo to be his mentor, they both embark on a journey of personal growth. 

The story is very simple, it has the clichés of the genre, it feels unfocused at times, and plays out in a very predictable way, and yet I didn't really care as it is a feel-good story that highlights the importance of simplicity, in food but mostly in life --as Arturo says in the film, the world needs more a perfect spaghetti al pomodoro than it needs chocolate branzino.

What Quanto basta does best though is dealing with a delicate topic such as Asperger's syndrome in the most respectful and honest of the ways as it doesn't shy away from showing the daily struggles of someone dealing with this illness, it doesn't make fun of it, as I was expecting, and shows that Aspies are still people and we should treat them as such.

The friendship that develops between Arturo and Guido is clichéd, but it's nevertheless heartwarming and feels genuine. Arturo never feels pity for Guido; there are no filters between them as Arturo treats him exactly as he would treat a "normal" person.

Notorious Pictures

The unknown cast (at least it's unknown to me) does a pretty good job. Vinicio Marchioni gives a believable performance as Arturo, the cynical and surly chef who learns from Guido more than he would have ever thought. The standout though easily is Luigi Fedele. His performance as Guido is fantastic.

There's something about Quanto basta that didn't work for me though. It is the comedy. Unfortunately, most of the jokes and gags fell flat and I chuckled only a few times.

Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell Movie Review

Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell (2018)

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Written by: John Whelpley
Directed by: Don Michael Paul
Starring: Jamie Kennedy, Michael Gross, Tanya van Graan, Jamie-Lee Money
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer

Plot
Burt Gummer, dying from Graboid poison, and his son Travis face a new batch of Graboids at a remote research station in Canada's Nunavut Territory, to save Burt's life.

Verdict
This is bad. From low production values, to lack of development, to the ridiculous dialog. It's often quotable just for how ridiculous the lines sound. How do you come up with such gibberish. This was direct to video and it shows. For most of the movie, aside from the dialog, I was bored. There is a complete lack of tension, stakes, and anything interesting.
Skip it.

Review
In a world where giant worms roam the Earth, one man is called to the sandy beaches of Canada to crush the worms once and for all

I had no idea this franchise was still going. I didn't know there were any sequels after the first movie.

In the  first scene I wondered if the snow was really a sand dune. it looks like a sand dune and the image saturation has been reduced to look white like snow. Is this a joke or earnest? I went to wikipedia, apparently they were going to film in Bulgaria, but there was a blizzard and too much snow so they went to the next best location, South Africa.
In the first scene we get noticeable CGI, sand as snow, made up science, and death. Game on.

Michael Gross plays Burt Gummer.

Burt is at odds with the taxman. I don't know why. This is so over dramatic. I don't know why movies like this even try to force a story. I want to see 90 minutes of giant sand worm attacks, each more ridiculous than the last.
Why does this let any of these actors speak? It's a almost a parody level of dialog. On one hand I'm amazed someone came up with this dialog, but i still don't know if this movie is supposed to be a comedy or action. I never figured it out. Michael Gross is giving it his all while Jamie Kennedy phones it in.

At the science lab there is no snow or winter clothes. There's an Arctic heat wave apparently. We do get the funniest scene of the movie when Burt Gummer tells obvious cannon fodder Dr. Ferezze to follow him and do exactly as he does. This leads to a synchronized dance sequence as Burt suffers from the effects of poison, clutching his stomach and stumbling as the Dr. follows every move exactly.

The major pacing problem is that there is no tension. Burt has a broken seismic detector that could have been when worms are close just to create a mood. This movie has no mood at all.
There are plenty of contrived scenes. Sometimes the worms kill, sometimes they don't.

My big issue with this is the simple fact that  giant worms tunnel underground. We see dirt flying when people are being chased, but after the fact the ground is back to normal. There should be large tunnels underground as these are large worms. It would make just walking around outside a lot more dangerous. Characters could fall into the holes to increase the stakes.

Jamie Kennedy plays Travis.

Towards the end this gets slightly comedic as they must recover an antidote for Burt from a live worm. Travis climbs into the mouth of a worm. The movie is frequently close to being a comedy but always stops short. I wish it were sillier. Much of the dialog sets up a joke that never comes. I was bored for long stretches of this. The ending is lacking, but so was the movie.

Thoroughbreds Movie Review

Thoroughbreds (2017)

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Written by: Cory Finley
Directed by: Cory Finley
Starring: Olivia Cooke, Anya Taylor-Joy, Anton Yelchin, Paul Sparks
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
Childhood friends Lily and Amanda reconnect in suburban Connecticut after years of growing apart. Together they have a plan to solve both of their problems-no matter what the cost.

Verdict
This is a twisted tale of deception and murder that's all the more horrifying as the potential criminals are teenage girls. I began to wonder if both of these girls are sociopaths, and they very well might be. The plans they hatch are devious and cunning. This is a well made movie, though I wish the conclusion had a bit more punch.
It depends.

Review
Lily is now a polished, upper-class teenager at a fancy boarding school; Amanda has become an outcast. Though they seem at odds, the pair bond over Lily's contempt for her oppressive stepfather, and they begin to bring out one another's most destructive tendencies.

Amanda claims to have no feelings, and I wondered if that was a put on. Could it be teenage melodrama? She may be a sociopath as she killed her horse. While the horse needed to be put out of its misery, Amanda took to an unusual method.

The step father comes off as a bit weird in the first scene. I wasn't sure if the the movie was trying to make him controlling or imply he was leering at Lily's friend. It could be both. Amanda plants the idea of murder which Lily quickly rejects. Continued abuses cause her to reconsider. The step father turns out to be a real piece of work. As the audience, we feel absolutely no sympathy for him. He's clearly a villain.

Anton Yelchin plays a local criminal coerced into a crime.

Lily seems to be just as cold blooded as Amanda. The trick a local criminal into helping them.
This has plenty of dead pan lines, and being high schoolers plotting murder is quite the juxtaposition. They have a good plan. While it doesn't work out the conclusion is intriguing. Which girl is the more sociopathic? It's hard to say.

DAILY CALL SHEET: SEPTEMBER 26, 2018

Hellbound (1994) How in the name of all that's holy do you go wrong with Chuck Norris vs. The Devil? Sigh. You make Hellbound, that's how. TIL: Actually, to defeat Satan, what you have to do is avoid sin. But, hey, go ahead and roundhouse kick him if it makes you feel better.

Your daily dose of culture courtesy of The Bad News Bears (1976) - “Baseball is like church. Many attend, few understand.” - Leo Durocher