No Exit

7.5

In this Hulu film based on the book by Taylor Adams, Darby (played by Havana Rose Liu) has to stop at a visitor's center containing four other drivers, in order to wait out a blizzard. While there, she stumbles across something she wasn't supposed to see that puts her in jeopardy. 

I can't say this treads new ground in the world of thrillers, but it is a very solid entry. The suspense is tight with a solid sense of mystery to it. Action and violence are solid, and might take you by surprise. The setting is solid; there isn't a lot to the small visitor center, but it looks nice and feels like a visitor's center. Music is solid, really fits the mood. The cast is solid across the board, including 24's Dennis Haysbert, he of the commanding voice. So in summation, solid, solid, solid, solid. Also, solid.     

Recommended. This is a compelling thriller. 

Studio 666

6/10

In this horror comedy starring the Foo Fighters and from an original story by frontman Dave Grohl, the band go to a mansion with, surprise, surprise, a dark history to work on their new album.  

This feels like a passion project from Grohl & co. The majority of them aren't great actors (especially Pat Smear) but they do bring a genuine enthusiasm to their roles and felt like they were trying their best. It does help that the lead is Grohl, who is the best actor of the group and his comic delivery ain't half bad.  

Humor-wise there are some genuinely funny parts. However, the jokes are pretty hit-and-miss. A lot of the good material is in the first half. 

Horror-wise, I was pleased with the violence and visuals. This obviously didn't have a high budget, but I wouldn't call it low, low either. Things don't look perfect, but I think you'll be satisfied with the ambition and amount of effects. Gore hounds will love the violence. If you like straight-up horror iconography and none of that artsy atmospheric or keep-it-vague-and-to-the-imagination stuff, then this is up your alley. There are some pretty nice supernatural visuals here; really feels like 80's album cover art sometimes.

Unfortunately, this movie feels a little amateurish. A lot of stuff feels directionless. The final act just goes on and on. Some of the editing and camera work  could've been better, which is weird considering that director BJ McDonnell has a long history as a camera operator, but I guess camera work's not the same as editing shots.

I wouldn't call this a must-see or must-avoid. A lot of people will probably get bored by this. But, Foo Fighter and gore and horror comedy fans may get more fun out of this than others. 

Cat Burglar

6/10

In this interactive short Netflix cartoon, Rowdy (voiced by James Adomian), a burglar who is also a cat, tries to steal a painting from a museum protected by guard dog, as in a guard who is also a dog, Peanut (Alan Lee).

To it's credit, Cat Burglar really does serve as a tribute to classic Warner Bros./Tom and Jerry slapstick. I especially like the background work and the addition of slight film defects to enhance the old school feeling. There is some pretty solid physical and visual humor. But as a whole, Cat Burglar really doesn't leave that much of an impression or maintain much interest. Doesn't help that due to the interactive portion, you help the bad guy. Peanut is likable, and I feel bad acting against him the way this cartoon does.

Also, not sure of who the audience is supposed to be. This is technically TV-14, but the traditional cartoon violence doesn't feel that objectionable. 

But, I guessing you're curious about the interactive part, so without further ado let's get to that. This isn't a choose-your-own adventure style interactive show where you choose the characters' actions. Rather, when Rowdy attempts an action, you have to answer three either-or-questions. You get a single one wrong, then Rowdy dies. Frustratingly, you still have to answer the second or third questions even though you've already failed. Rowdy only gets three lives, then you have to start over. However, starting over isn't as bad as it sounds. You don't have to rewatch the intro, and segments are shortened. Plus, you're just not going through the same bits every time. There are multiple scenarios that could pop up, keeping things fresh. Still, the new content doesn't completely validate the trivia sections. They are just too quick. Admittedly, a lot of the trivia isn't too hard, so the time limit makes sense for creating a challenge. Still, having to make a choice so quickly isn't much fun. I especially think that younger viewers would have trouble.   

It's an interesting diversion, but not much else. Check it out if you're curious, but you don't need to see this.  

The Legend of Vox Machina- Season 1

7/10

Based on the first campaign played in Critical Role, a web series where predominantly voice actors play D&D, The Legend of Vox Machina follows a lively group of adventurers.  

Probably thanks to this being based on an existing story, the characters all feel well-defined right out of the gate, and the voice actors, who I believe mostly return from CR, are well acquainted with their roles. The world here feels alive and thought out. The humor, often R-rated, works well enough. Plenty of action; the fantasy scenario provides the writers with a lot of creative ideas. If you like/dislike graphic violence then be prepared for this getting pretty bloody.

The show does feel bipolar. On one hand we got the comedy half and the likable band of misfits, but most of the threats they face are played SUPER serious. The villains kinda feel like they were ripped out of Castlevania in terms of how straight and sadistic they're played. Though the they do have distinct personalities, the foes suffer from from being too similar in type: They're all straight up "immediately go to the most savage extreme just cuz'" evil with very little dimension to them. The writing feels like it's trying too hard for the dramatic/dark parts. However, the story is thought out. I became engrossed in what was happening and the finale was satisfying.

The animation is impressive. Action scenes are well choreographed, and all the backgrounds look really good.

Recommended, provided you're okay with a show leaning really mature. Though I hope the writers lighten up a little when it comes to the threats/villains next season, overall the The Legend of Vox Machina is interesting with a strong main cast.

The Wonderful Winter of Mickey Mouse

8/10

This comedy special from Disney+'s show The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse features three Mickey Mouse stories involving winter. 

This special keeps the elements that made the short cartoons from WWoMM and its predecessor Mickey Mouse (show name, not the character) so entertaining, possessing a a 30's/40's throwback feel with clever visual humor and straight-up creativity. The cartoons here effortlessly mesh whimsy, slapstick, weird, smart jokers and the occasional refreshingly dark bits. There's a little something for everyone to like here. Well, maybe not everyone. If you're just not a big fan of old school cartoon physical comedy, you might be bored by this, because that's the most of what the special is. The animation is top-notch in terms of fluidity and physicality of characters. 

Segment breakdowns:

First segment- 7/10: Mickey (voiced by Chris Diamantopoulos) causes chaos when working at a factory in the clouds. Creative slapstick and I liked the whimsical old-fashioned fantasy design of the cloud world, but it quite isn't as substantive or memorable as the other two entries.

Second segment- 8/10: Mickey, Goofy (Bill Farmer), and Donald Duck (Tony Anselmo) stay at a cabin in the mountains and things soon go awry. The best one. It's the old school MG&D-face-trouble routine (such as the classic cartoon shorts where they were firefighters or fought ghosts), but it feels fresh as most of the bits are pretty funny and the situation keeps getting more and more absurd  

Third segment- 8/10: Mickey and Minnie's skating routine keeps getting interrupted by Goofy's ill-fated attempts at ice-fishing. Again, we got a worn out cartoon premise: a character's activities keeps getting interrupted. And again, they manage to keep it fresh. A lot more humor is wrung out of ice skating than you'd expect. Mickey as a character gets his best moments here. I can't deemphasize how good Diamantopoulos is at making Mickey sound funny.

Recommended. You and your kids should probably have a fun time with this.

Uncharted

7.5/10

In this film based on the popular video game series, legendary treasure/antiquities aficionado Nathan Drake (played by Spider-Man's Tom Holland) is recruited by treasure hunter Sully Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg) to search for gold that had been in the possession of Ferdinand Magellan and his crew.    

Is this movie able to completely replicate the feel of the Uncharted games? No. It can't quite capture the majestic appearance of the games nor the storylines or dialogue. The biggest issues are that there are too many scenes of the three main characters talking to each other and too much reliance on no one be able to trust each other (a lot of times the mistrust doesn't even feel earned). Sully and Nathan spend a lot of time together, yet the evolution of their relationship feels only 85% natural. It mostly work, but it feels like it needed some touch up.

That all having been said, the movie may not be as good as the games, but it doesn't dishonor it. This really does feel like an Uncharted film and that the creators were truly trying to replicate the feel of the games, producing a work that feels a lot more faithful than other video game adaptations out there. The best parts of this are definitely the ancient puzzle-solving or action scenes. They look nice, are a lot of fun, and have that sense of epicness to them. A couple of the action scenes in particular, really stand out.

Nate and Sully work well enough as characters and with each other. Admittedly, fans of the games may be annoyed that this is sort of a reboot/prequel, which makes the two main leads younger and that this doesn't feature Nate's love interest Elena Fisher as she's not on the scene yet. Also, the chronology is tinkered with a smidge. Yet, the movie manages to make changes without crossing the line, and Nate and Sully still feel enough like Nate and Sully albeit not totally like Nate and Sully.

Recommended. This is not a perfect Uncharted or treasure hunting adventure movie, but it's sill pretty entertaining.

Death on the Nile

 

8/10

In Death on the Nile, based on Agatha Christie's book of the same name, Hercule Poirot (played by director Kenneth Branagh) solves a murder upon a ship sailing the Nile containing the members of a wedding party. 

Though I wouldn't say this had as many stand out moments as its predecessor Murder on the Orient Express, this is the better structured film. I think Branagh learned from the last film feeling a little rushed, which was natural considering that that film had a wider cast of suspects to cover. Death on the Nile does a good job of defining the characters and placing all the pieces for this mystery. The buildup to the murder might be a bit slow for some. Admittedly, a lot of that is people lounging about and engaging in white, rich people activities. Things pickup when the actual investigating starts. Also, like the last film but even more, the dialogue may not be to everyone's taste. People are too quick to describe everything about themselves, especially their problems, like they were in a play of earlier years.

This is definitely darker than MotOE; a lot of mining of human emotion. The strongest part of this isn't the main mystery, but actually Poirot himself. There is a lot more of his backstory here and what makes him tick.  

What I like about this movie is that it manages the fine line between being modern and changing some things while maintaining the basic structure and story of the original work. One major change is that Poirot's friend Bouc (Tom Bateman) from the last film returns here. I honestly don't mind the addition. He makes a fine associate to Poirot. The script does a good job of having him be a humorous layabout, but making it believable that he also has a serious side when things go deadly.

Great cast, maybe not quite as many household names, but there's still some big/veteran players. Especially effective are Annette Bening as Bouc's sharp-tongued mother and Sophie Okonedo as a quick-tongued songstress. The most surprising role is that of comedian Russell Brand, known for his specific outgoing personality, as a doctor. Taking over MotOE's Josh Gad slot as traditional comic actor who wants to prove he has chops, Brand plays it completely straight, and I didn't even recognize him as first. I can't say he has the strongest character in this, but he really gave it his all with becoming the character.      

Branagh brings the same visual panache he did in the last film, bringing some pretty majestic or interesting shots. The whole thing is retro fashion porn. There a couple of shots that didn't work for me, but I credit the director for at least taking a chance.

Recommended. Liked the first one a little more, but this is a solidly made film that has a real cinematic feel to it.