Blink Twice (2024) * * *

 

Directed by:  Zoe Kravitz

Starring:  Channing Tatum, Naomi Ackie, Haley Joel Osment, Kyle MacLachlan, Simon Rex, Liz Caribel, Adria Arjona, Geena Davis, Levon Hawke, Christian Slater

While watching Blink Twice, I found it disturbing and off-kilter, but I was never bored or disinterested.  As suspense was building, I was wondering what the hell I was watching, but my mind was engaged.  It brought about a reaction, which means it was working for me on some level.  

Blink Twice stars Channing Tatum as Slater King, a tech billionaire on a media apology tour for undisclosed abuses of power, which are likely sexual in nature.  Despite his ickiness, waitress Frida (Ackie) likes him enough to want to meet him following a party she's working in which he attends.  The seemingly kind Slater takes a shine to Frida and invites her and her friend to his island paradise along with his male friends and their female companions.   The time at the island is one big party of swimming, dinners at night, drinking, and drugs.  But, something is...off.   Slater asks Frida often whether she's having a good time, others take Polaroids, and Slater's sister and manager (Davis), acts as if this is something she is far too familiar with. 

I'll tread lightly not to reveal plot twists, but director Zoe Kravitz creates an eerie atmosphere which plays like a nightmare where parts don't fit and drug-induced visions may conceal a darker truth.  Meanwhile, we ask whether Slater is truly reformed.  He seems attentive and repentant for past indiscretions, and is gentle with Frida, but again, he is just...off.   We are used to seeing Tatum play heroes, but in Blink Twice he masterfully gives off sinister vibes in keeping with the movie he's in.  Will Blink Twice cause debate?  Sure, but then that reflects that it isn't simply a #MeToo story or a take on the movement, but something deeper.  

Alien: Romulus (2024) * *

 

Directed by:  Fede Alvarez

Starring:  Cailee Spaeny, Aileen Wu, Isabela Merced, David Johnson, Archie Renaux, Daniel Betts

Alien: Romulus takes place in the Alien universe between the original 1979 film and 1986's Aliens.  It is technically sound, but it plays like Alien for the video game crowd.  The characters use various weapons to kill the creatures only to have a seemingly infinite number more materialize.  They lurk around every corner and hang on walls and ceilings waiting for their prey.  After some are killed, more come out of the woodwork and there is no end in sight to the carnage. 

There isn't much in Alien: Romulus that we haven't seen in previous incarnations of the series that won't die, right down to the gross thing grasping onto someone's face and impregnating the poor soul.  The actors aren't given much to do except to either kill or be killed, including the "synthetic" Andy (Johnson) who is a surrogate brother to the orphaned Rain (Spaeny).  These two and a couple others board a nearby abandoned vessel as a means of escaping the mining planet on which they toil endlessly.  They discover the remains of Ash (likeness of the late Ian Holm), the cyborg from the first Alien who acts as a narrator and then a villain.  

The alien creatures remind us of spiders on steroids.  They are slimy and creepy parasites that exist only to be destroyed and then multiply.  Reproduction is not a problem for these guys.  They're never really dead, just like this franchise which should have been ended after the original film.  Everything after that is superfluous action.   In space, no one can hear you snore.  

It Ends with Us (2024) * * *

 

Directed by:  Justin Baldoni

Starring:  Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, Brendon Sklenar, Jenny Slate, Amy Morton, Hasan Minhaj, Isabela Ferrer, Alex Neustaedter

Justin Baldoni's adaptation of Colleen Hoover's novel is a story of a love triangle in which abuse is a central theme.   Lily Bloom (Lively) witnessed her father abuse her mother as a teenager.  Lily tries to deliver the eulogy at her father's funeral, but flees after realizing she can't say a kind word about him.  She moves to Boston, opens up a flower shop, and meets neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni).  The first thing she sees from him is him kicking over a chair after a frustrating day at the office.  Lily likes him, he likes her, they flirt but keep their distance, and soon wind up dating.  

It Ends with Us then flashes back to Lily's teenage years, when she met and fell in love with a homeless schoolmate who lives in an abandoned house across the street.  Atlas (Neustaedter) is a shy kid ashamed of his situation, and Lily (Ferrer) befriends him.  You gotta love the names Atlas and Ryle, straight out of a romance novel or soap opera.  Lily loses her virginity to Atlas, and soon beaten to within an inch of his life by Lily's father.  They don't see each other again until Lily takes Ryle and her mother (Morton) to a restaurant owned by Atlas.  

Atlas and Lily recognize each other instantly and fall back in love, but don't act on it especially after Ryle attempts to do to Atlas what Lily's father did to him decades ago.  Ryle seems sweet, loving, caring, and doting, until he isn't.  After an argument, Ryle seemingly strikes Lily by accident trying to remove a burning roast from the oven.  After another fight, Lily falls down the stairs.  Ryle has plausible deniability in that both looked like accidents, but it allows us and Lily a chance to see another side of this man.   Lily learns she is pregnant after the fall, and now must decide whether Ryle fits into her life anymore.  

It Ends with Us takes its time to develop Lily and the other characters.  They aren't just pretty faces.  There is depth there and more than one dimension.  Is Ryle abusive or were these just accidents?  What drives him?   Thankfully, It Ends with Us isn't abuse porn like Mommie Dearest or What's Love Got to Do with It?  These scenes are subtle, but get the point across, and makes us wonder if Ryle is beyond redemption.  It Ends with Us contains vivid performances especially from Lively, whose smile hides deeper scars, which could also be said for the other characters.  

Quiz Show (1994) * * * 1/2

 

Directed by:  Robert Redford

Starring:  Ralph Fiennes, Rob Morrow, John Turturro, Paul Scofield, Martin Scorsese, Mira Sorvino, Hank Azaria, Christopher McDonald, David Paymer

"NBC will go on, Geritol will go on, even the quiz shows will be back.  Makes me wonder what you hope to accomplish here,"  This line is stated by Geritol CEO Martin Rittenhome (Scorsese) to congressional investigator Richard Goodwin (Morrow) in a frank one-on-one conversation before Rittenhome testifies at a hearing on the rigging of Twenty-One, a popular 1950's television quiz show. 

In his brief appearance in Robert Redford's Quiz Show, Scorsese's Rittenhome is the most practical in his approach and outlook.  ("The public has a short memory, but corporations never forget,")  The entire Twenty-One scandal began when longtime champion Herb Stempel (Turturro) is told by producer Dan Enright (Paymer) to lose on purpose so the handsome, WASP Charles Van Doren (Fiennes) can become the new champion.  The sagging ratings indicated that audiences were tired of Herb and a change had to be made.  Charles, an author and professor who is in the shadow of his famous father poet Mark Van Doren (Scofield), eagerly agreed to go along with the fix and for his record-breaking run was given the questions and answers in advance.  Van Doren's winnings and fame grew, while Herb, a Brooklyn Jew, kvetched from home and tried to blackmail Enright into producing a new show for him.  When that didn't happen, Herb spilled the beans and a congressional inquiry followed. 

Charles is an affable, intelligent, well-off man who comes from a wealthy, famous family.  He yearns to make his own mark, but finds he must cheat on Twenty-One in order to do so.   He can live with that.  Goodwin meets with Charles and they strike up a friendship, which blinds Goodwin to the idea that Charles indeed was in on the fix.  Richard's wife Sandra (Sorvino) calls him the "Uncle Tom of the Jews" for his willingness to give Charles a pass while not doing the same for Herb or NBC.  Herb may be loud and grating, but that doesn't mean he's wrong.  It is here where he see one of Quiz Show's many themes:  The more attractive, handsome person who lies is more appealing than the disheveled, uncouth truth teller.  Even quiz shows were not immune to being manipulated for the sake of ratings, money, and how much product sponsors like Geritol can move based on the show's audience size. 

Redford surely understands that fixing quiz shows is a deception, but he also gives us the aftermath.  Quiz show fixing may not seem like a big deal, even Rittenhome says they could just make the questions easier because people follow the money anyway, but the idea that show business overrides everything is evident in politics, sports, and anything else you can watch.  Goodwin would probably learn in the coming years that he was able to plug in one hole of the dike, but then many others would spring a leak.  Quiz Show gets that and Redford presents it in an entertaining, challenging fashion.  

Hitch (2005) * * *

 

Directed by:  Andy Tennant

Starring:  Will Smith, Kevin James, Amber Valletta, Eva Mendes, Adam Arkin, Jeffrey Donovan

Alex Hitchens (Smith) must make a damn good living as a "date doctor", someone who, for a hefty fee I assume, guides lonely men into irresistible studs who land the women of their dreams.  He has a huge Manhattan loft which must cost a fortune in monthly rent, and dresses to the nines.  The opening credits show a montage of Hitch's success stories with his mightiest challenge: slovenly, portly accountant Albert Brennaman (James).  Albert is desperately in love with world famous model and entrepreneur Allegra Cole (Valletta) to the point that he hires Hitch to help him win her.  Hitch has his work cut out for him.  Albert is a kind, bumbling soul who knows Allegra is way out of his league, but as Hitch puts it, "You swing for the fences,"

While Hitch works with Albert to improve himself, he finds himself drawn to undercover newspaper columnist Sara (Mendes), who hears urban legends about a date doctor and tries to determine if he's real, not recognizing that Hitch, who takes her out on disastrous date after another, is the one she's after.  How could she believe Hitch would be a specialist in romance?  Their first date ended with Sara being knocked into the river and the second has Hitch going to the ER with a shellfish allergy.  Whatever advice he gives others isn't working for him.  Hitch doesn't advertise his services and works under the radar.  An expose on him would be devastating for his business.

Hitch is a gentle romantic comedy with nice people, except for the movie's quasi-villain Vance Munson (Donovan), an arrogant sleazeball who wants to hire Hitch to land a one-night stand with Sara's friend and is immediately rebuffed.  Unlike Albert, it doesn't swing for the fences.  Smith's charm carries a bulk of Hitch and James is a lovable lug with the capability of surprising Allegra and us.  I also enjoyed Valletta as Allegra, who has her own insecurities and truly takes a liking to Albert, who goes against much of Hitch's advice and succeeds anyway.  It might be time for Hitch to find a real job after this.  

Carbon Copy (1981) * * *

 

Directed by:  Michael Schultz

Starring:  George Segal, Denzel Washington, Susan Saint James, Jack Warden, Dick Martin, Paul Winfield, Tom Poston

This is a comedy you wouldn't see made now for two reasons:  One, multi-racial families are more common.  Second, Carbon Copy is a satire on race, stereotypes, and misguided assumptions about both.  Are we capable of laughing with these topics anymore?  

Carbon Copy stars George Segal as Walter Whitney, an executive at his father-in-law's company living the high life in a nice California mansion.  Walter's real last name is Wiesenthal, which he changed at the behest of his father-in-law (Warden), and he's frustrated by his wife Vivian (Saint James) who won't sleep with him and his stepdaughter's attitude towards him.  One day, a young black man named Roger (Washington) stops by his office, informing Walter that he is his son from a long-ago relationship Walter had with a black woman.  Walter ended the relationship also at the urging of his father-in-law, who tells him "the wind blows white, not black,"  Roger's mother has died, and Walter now feels responsible to take care of Roger. 

This leads to outlandish complications, including Walter being ostracized from his family and his home, losing his job, and forced to live in the ghetto with Roger while struggling to gain any meaningful employment.  Roger, however, seems to have a slight amount of bemusement about Walter's misfortune, stemming from his anger over Walter leaving his mother before he was born.  When Walter winds up in jail trying to protect his son from the police, Roger has a heart-to-heart with Walter which stems from truth.

Walter has false preconceptions about Roger which lead to some funny moments, such as assuming Roger is good at basketball because he's black (leading to a hilarious payoff at a pickup game) and also believing Roger is a high school dropout.  But Walter and Roger bond and learn to speak honestly to each other over race and their beliefs.  Segal is the natural straight man able to shoulder the difficulties which have befallen him.  Washington, with his wide, but knowing smile, is at-home and confident in his first film role, a genesis of later roles for the superstar actor.  Some may find Carbon Copy offensive strictly because it pokes fun at taboo topics which shouldn't be taboo, but I found it humorous and, in a way, reconciliatory.  

Footnote:  When I first saw this movie in the early 1980's, I suspected with no evidence that we wouldn't hear much from Denzel Washington after this movie.  I liked him and his performance, and it's obvious from Washington's career trajectory that I didn't know what the hell I was talking about.  

The Perfect Storm (2000) * * *

 

Directed by:  Wolfgang Petersen

Starring:  George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, John C. Reilly, John Hawkes, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Cherry Jones, Bob Gunton, William Fichtner, Allen Payne, Christopher McDonald, Diane Lane

The Perfect Storm is based on the true story of the fishing vessel Andrea Gail, captained by Billy Tyne (Clooney), which was lost at sea during the "Perfect Storm of 1991".  The perfect storm was a tropical storm clashing with two separate hurricanes in the Atlantic.  All three storms formed into one and late in the film we see through dazzling visual effects the damage it inflicted on Andrea Gail as well as others trapped in its grasp. 

We watch The Perfect Storm waiting for the storm to arrive.  Until then, we meet the Andrea Gail crew members at a local Gloucester, Massachusetts bar days before the boat is heading back out to sea.  There's Bobby (Walhberg), who promises his girlfriend Christina (Lane) this will be his last trip, Murph (Reilly) who is going through a sad separation with his wife, Bugsy (Hawkes), a lonely guy, along with newcomers Sully (Fichtner) and Alfred Pierre (Payne).  Sully's presence brings tension aboard since he is seeing Murph's wife, so there are obligatory fights and arguments between them. 

A Boston meteorologist (McDonald) discovers that these storms will indeed converge soon and watches the radar intently.  Tyne and his crew are aware of the dangers, but keep plugging away because they need to score a big catch of swordfish.  When they do, the freezer storing the fish breaks and Tyne decides to try to navigate through the pending storm in order to save the catch and avoid financial ruin.  As skilled a captain as Tyne is, working his way through his rough seas and tall, deadly waves is too much even for him.   

What The Perfect Storm lacks in the character department (these people are thinly drawn), it makes up for it with the spectacularly convincing storm.  We are unaware that these are visual effects.  The boat looks as if it'll be gobbled up by the monstrous ocean.  Tyne has to realize he's running a fool's errand by combating these waves, but he holds out hope, like we do, that he can win this battle.  The Perfect Storm was nominated for an Oscar for visual effects and somehow lost out to Gladiator, a poster child for early CGI and its flaws.  The lions in Gladiator were clearly phony, but the hurricanes in The Perfect Storm looked chillingly real.