Tag Archives: netflix

Movie review: Army of the Dead

02 Wednesday Jun 2021

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By now Zack Snyder’s Netflix feature starring Dave Bautista is a massive streaming success which indicates that it was firmly on the pulse of the average punters celluloid palette.

You can see why as the trailer promises a jam-packed action feast billed as a cross between a comrade bank heist flick with elements of Oceans 11 (The Vegas element has a lot to do with this), with a post apocalyptic zombie infested world.
The films detailed prologue entails a zombie outbreak in the greed, glitz and glam of Las Vegas which is contained by huge storage containers that form a wall around the city.

Then we’re presented with the premise.
There’s money ripe for the picking in the vaults of the casinos and Bly Tanaka (Hiroyuki Sanada) employs Scott (Bautista) to form a crack guerilla team to infiltrate the quarantined city and retrieve the bounty. It’s a mad proposition but one Scott is willing to take up for a chance to rebuild his life and possibly reconnect with his daughter Kate (Ella Purnell), who he has become estranged with since the zombie outbreak occured.

Once the carrot has been dangled, the audience then sit back and eagerly wait for the carnage to begin. But first we must endure the Mission Impossible style formation of the team and our introduction to them and possible zombie fodder.
There’s two of Scott’s former associates, Maria Cruz (Ana de le Ruguera) and Vanderhoe (Omari Hardwick) the spiritual member of the group, helicopter pilot Marianne (Tig Notaro, who stepped into replace Chris D’Elia through CGI and green screens costing Snyder a fair packet of the production costs), German safecracker Dieter (Matthias Schweighöfer), and Chicano sharpshooter Guzman (Raúl Castillo) to name but a few.

Once the set up is established Scott’s daughter Kate, Tanaka’s associate Martin, and with the help of Lily aka The Coyote, the team sneak into the quarantined walls to carry out their mission. The catch, The Government are planning on nuking the whole city in a couple of days, so there’s no time for messing around. Plus, you know, it amplifies the tension… And of course you know that that timeline is going to shorten once said Government decide to move the nuke strike up, meaning the team have even less time to complete their task.

Here’s the thing that gets my goat though.
With such a cool premise, there’s not much substance for the audience to chew on.
Some may counter that with me, stating that it does exactly what it says on the tin. But I like my movies served a little cooked, not raw.

There is some humour on display and some strangled attempts at deep and meaningful chats along the way, but it’s missing some zing to tantalise us with.

Since watching the film there’s been some online discussions about Scott’s team stuck in a time loop purgatory, and this idea I can get behind and if there is truth to this theory, all of a sudden this film gets elevated a little in my reception of it. With rumours of a follow up film on the horizon and with Netflix’s success story to couple it, I wouldn’t be surprised if this isn’t fleshed out in some way.
I just hope that they can work on the story a little more and give the characters more to work with now that they’ve been established and give the audience a more hefty and enjoyable experience.

The Diagnosis:

Snyder provides us with another gloriously shot,  stellar CGI, packed with some cracking action.
But it is a little half baked and rests on a small thread of an idea. Yes that’s a cool thread, but needs more time and energy spent on building up the storyline and characters to allow them to stand out more.
But I guess time is the real player here. And time will tell if this story will continue and we get more from Snyder’s world or not.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie Review: Run (2021)

08 Thursday Apr 2021

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You can pretty much guarantee that when Sarah Paulson is cast in a role then that movie is gonna come packed with substance and that she will bring a certain amount of gravitas and realism to her role.
Run is no exception where Paulson plays Diana, a mother to Chloe (Kiera Allen), a homeschooled teenager cursed with serious ailments including arrhythmia, hemochromatosis, asthma, diabetes, and paralysis.
Such is her condition that Chloe is completely reliant on Diana.

Our first impressions are that Diana is a dutiful and an understandably highly protective mother, a constant aide for the constant support that Chloe needs. Even moreso when we witness the premature birth of her daughter and the fear and anxiety etched on her face not knowing if her infant will survive.

It’s also apparent that Chloe is incredibly bright kid, always eager to adhere to her schooling needs and compelled to learn more from the world about her. It’s her intuition however that leads her into a discovery that all is not as it seems. Especially with Diana.

The Prognosis:

There’s some excellent performances on display here from the two leads, Paulson and Allen, who have to do the heavy work taking up the majority of the scenes throughout.

Director Aneesh Chaganty also does a superb job to craft as much tension as he can with a fairly basic narrative.
When these moments occur in the film, they are suitablly taut but it’s the moments in-between where the film struggles to lift a little but having said that, the choice to ground the film in reality and not stretch the boundaries that is a bold one that both strengthens and supports it.

Run ends up coasting at a steady pace but fails to show any flair or inability, and seems content to ride along as an average film resting on the actors performances to entertain.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: Red Dot

12 Friday Feb 2021

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The latest original offering from streaming platform Netflix comes from the remote Swedish landscape to evoke fear into the hearts of its viewers.

Director Alain Darborg’s sophomore outing in the director’s chair for a feature film is built on a lot of potential and is strengthened by a solid cast, primarily its two leads Anastasios Soulis and Nanna Blondell who provide the heart and soul of the movie waiting to be ripped apart by the ordeal that they are subjected to.

Their characters David and Nadja hold all the promise at the beginning of the movie with David graduating into his ideal job and riding on the high, proposes to Nadja, who willingly agrees.

The road ahead soon dampens though as we are projected down the timeline to find out that the relationship is a rocky one. Nadja finds out that she is pregnant and is concerned about their prospects as parents, especially as David appears incapable of pulling his weight.
He does, however, try to rekindle their relationship by taking the pair away for a winter retreat, camping beneath the aurora borealis.

This is where their journey takes a drastic turn for the worse when they are hunted in the dead of night by a sniper, intent on killing them both.

The film has some interesting twists, turns and reveals along the way, some of it a little predictable and puts a spotlight on the misjudgements of character along the way.

The ending however is a powerful one and highlights the lengths that someone will go to for justice and righting the wrongs of the past. 

Despite some of its uniform approach to the thriller genre, Red Dot is still entertaining and keeps the upbeats up and the downbeats at a suitable low to take a breather from the action.

The Prognosis:

This Swedish horror thriller on Netflix packs plenty of promise but doesn’t quite hit its mark.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: The Platform

02 Saturday Jan 2021

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This Spanish horror flick that is currently streaming on Netflix Australia has garnered some buzz since its release early in 2020. A potential reason that it resonated so profoundly among viewers is its clear social commentary on class warfare. 

Our stage is set when the main protagonist, Goreng (Iván Massagué), awakens in a cell marked with the number 48. We soon learn primarily through his cellmate, Trimagasi (Zorion Eguileor), that they are now part of the Vertical Self-Management Centre, a vertical tower where each floor has a hole that drives straight through its centre, in which a platform of food is lowered down to feed the inmates. The purpose is that those nearest the top are provided with the highest quality food and the further down the tower you are, the less likely you will be to reap the benefits of their status.

Each inmate is either sentenced or volunteers to serve a term inside the complex and must endure the time in order to survive. There is no knowing which floor you will be placed, and even then, one only remains for a total of 30 days before being moved on to a different floor. There is only a small amount of time to eat the allocated food too, before it is passed on down to the lower levels. Naturally with such a strict and measured regime, it brings out the worst in humanity, forced to fight tooth and nail for every last scrap or morsel of food. 

Despite the desperate and the barbaric,  bloody nature on show, there is a glimmer of hope in some of the inmates, and Goreng does his level best to turn this state of affairs around and search for a chance for salvation for all.

The Prognosis:

This movie may slather on the morals with a thick wedge of conspicuousness, but the manner in which it delivers is gloriously brutal, heart-rendering and painstakingly satisfying that it deserves high praise for the bold and accessible approach that director Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia serves. 

The system may be broken, but it only takes a few to stand true and turn the table. 

A brave statement told through a dystopian lens.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: His House (2020)

18 Wednesday Nov 2020

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Is it possible that director Remi Weekes has just generated the most impactful horror film of 2020? And what’s more a debut feature film that has launched on streaming platform, Netflix.

With a refugee storyline front and centre, depicting a couple who have barely survived escaping from war-torn Sudan to settle in England. as they carry their scars in the decisions they make in order to fight for their freedom.
These choice moments wear them down both physically and mentally which is then projected into the walls of their new abode.
Are these ghosts of their past, a demonic presence, or maybe something far more sinister lurkin from the depths?

I’m a sucker for films that spend the time to create depth in their characters and here Weekes has carefully crafted a storyline with meticulous research and infusing his leads with a predicament based on real life situations to grind as much reality onto the screen, amplifying their turmoil further.
It’s this attention to detail that is even crafted through the production design and cinematography that cements the story and the sheer harrowing ordeal to the very core of humanity.
We continue to question our choices and the decisions we make through life and sometimes these fleeting moments are what haunt us the most, and we must choose to face up to them or continue to burden them upon our backs. It is these minute details and the dedication to the ground work in film making which casts Weekes with a promising career ahead of him. 

Weekes is quick to attest the success of His House to his lead performers, Sope Dirisu (Humans) as Bol and Wunmi Musaku (Lovecraft Country) as his wife, Rial.
Both of whom are beyond amazing with their performances and clearly emote every ounce of the weight that their characters embody, but I would argue that this is a result of what happens when a director allows their actors the space to breathe life into their roles and develop the profundity of their misery.
We the audience are all the better for it and shoulder the burden of every twist and turn along the way, which makes a certain reveal all the more gut-wrenching when it comes along.

The Prognosis:

For a first time running a feature length film, Weekes belies his film-making status, leading the audience to believe that he is a veteran of his craft.

The story is dark, disturbing and ultimately human.

His characters are a showcase in depth, fuelled with the emotion that his fantastic leads, Musaku and Dirisu embody in order to tell a tale that is rich and ultimately rewarding.

His House is an amazing film and has left a significant mark on this reviewers’ soul.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: Eli

30 Saturday Nov 2019

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As we fast approach the last month of 2019, I realise that there’s a fair few movies that I need to watch in order to satiate my thirst for horror. Among these was the Netflix feature Eli, starring Kelly Reilly, Lili Taylor, and Stranger Things’ Sadie Sink. 

Directed by Ciaran Foy (Citadel, Sinister 2) struggles to make a deep impact despite the strong performances from the cast, and I can’t help but feel that this is a combination of Foy’s inability to shift away out of the generic, failing to provide something memorable, and a predictable storyline that is almost too afraid to deliver anything new to the audience, more than comfortable to sit in the middle of the road.

The premise begins with the titular character played by Charlie Shotwell, as a bubble boy, cocooned from the world due to a rare disease that causes a severe reaction if he is exposed to the outside world. When provided with the opportunity to cure him of his affliction, Eli’s parents (Reilly and Max Martini) head to a specialised clinic run by Dr Isabella Horn (Taylor). When things appear to be too good to be true, it’s often the case, and there’s something dark and sinister behind the great doctor and her practice. 

As Eli starts to uncover the mystery, he unearths a secret that once exposed will change everything forever. Dare he open Pandora’s Box and who exactly is the mysterious Hayley from next door? 

Prognosis:

Medical facilities, skin diseases and dark secrets that fuel this horror feature, should be the stuff of every genre fans dreams, but instead of offering up scares Eli remains trapped in formulaic territory and seems comfortable to sit in safe territory. 

As such, it’s a mediocre affair – watchable but never truly wets the appetite of any hardened horror enthusiast.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: In The Tall Grass

13 Wednesday Nov 2019

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It’s been over 20 years since Canadian director, Vicenzo Natali left a highly impressionable mark with his directorial debut, Cube.
It’s fair to say, that since then he has never quite had the same response from his movies, but always has a visual style that he draws upon to create his vision. 

With In The Tall Grass, Natali’s sixth feature length feature (excluding the cancelled Tremors TV movie last year) it may have proven to be a step too far in translating a novella by Stephen King and Joe Hill into a 1 hour 40 min running time, as he stretches his vision across a broad canvas and in doing so, loses its appeal.

The premise is a simple one. A heavily pregnant Becky and her brother Cal are travelling to San Diego to give up her baby for adoption, when they pull up alongside a field of tall grass.
It is here that the siblings hear the voice of a young boy calling for help. As soon as they enter the mysterious void, they fall into a labyrinth of despair that calls upon their wits to fight their way out. 

Laboured with strong theology throughout, Becky and Cal must weave their way through the strange and everlasting land, but are constantly confronted by their own inner inhibitions.
Doomed to repeat their actions with slight changes, the audience is treated to an insight into how often they try alternate methods, only to be lead back to the centre of the field and a mysterious rock that feeds on energy and life. 

Accompanying them in the field is another family (a father, mother, and their son, Tobin), equally lost in their myriad of emotions and history.
They are lead by an evangelical father figure, played by the magnificent Patrick Wilson, and his hammed up rampage is a much needed pulse to project the narrative forward. 

Also introduced into the fold is Travis (Australian Harrison Gilbertson) Becky’s ex and father of the unborn child to provide some depth and dynamic interaction, as their fervour reaches fever pitch and leads the audience on a twisted, convoluted journey of redemption.

Prognosis:

Natali seems to love project his protagonists into a tangled web of fear and resolution that shows the kernel of humanity at its core.
In The Tall Grass propels this theme further, but is constantly bogged down in a merky plot that draws on and feels repetitive and predictable as it draws to its conclusion. 

Movie review: Velvet Buzzsaw

11 Monday Feb 2019

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https://youtu.be/XdAR-lK43YU

Now that the paint has dried and a few weeks has passed since Velvet Buzzsaw was unveiled on Netflix, it seems a good time as any for this Surgeon to dissect Dan Gilroy’s third movie from the director’s chair.

Gilroy’s debut, Nightcrawler was a disturbing vision of a violent, voyeuristic underbelly of US society as depicted by the media, so there was much anticipation ahead of his third outing.

Teaming up once again with stars Rene Russo and Jake Gyllenhaal, Velvet Buzzsaw promised to be another dark and twisted journey into the recesses of the art world, both of whom excel in their respective parts; Gyllenhaal as Morf Vandewalt (great name by the way), an art critic who’s mind begins to unravel as the true horror behind Arts latest discovery Vetril Dease unleashes an evil that threatens the fabrication of materialism and expression to its foundations and rip it to shreds; and respected gallery owner Rhodora Haze, who is every shadow of perfection, but has a her own demons lurking within.

Having shuffled off this mortal coil, Dease’s work is discovered by Josephina (who also works for Rhodora, and coincidentally is having an affair with Gyllenhaal’s Morf) in his apartment and seeking a chance to lift her profile, nabs the lot in search of fortune.

And therein lies the rub.

Every character it seems is in search of their own personal glorification and with each stride to ‘perfection’, they fall deeper into the labyrinth of sin and despair.
None more so than Toni Collette’s Gretchen, who gets so bitter and twisted as she distorts and manipulates her grounding in order to establish a firm footing within the Artistic community.

Interestingly though, it’s only those that feed off the creative types and promote their material in order to meet their own ends, are the ones that get popped off one by one. Some, in glorious fashion.

The artists themselves are deeply affected by Dease’s paintings but instead of utter destruction, it only empowers them to go and create again. As if to explore their own passions and free their souls to be reborn, or thrive once more. 

The only other exception is Coco (everyone’s assistant) who is basically everyone’s pawn and unfortunately is the discoverer of most of the victims.

So far so bloody fabulous. Gilroy does a stellar job at tapping into the heart of the savagery embedded in the Art world, and there are hints of Altmanesque style of direction, as he weaves a multi-layered character narrative.

Ultimately though, where Gilroy succeeded with Nightstalker with its transcendence into hell, with Velvet Buzzsaw, he seems to get lost in the vortex of disillusionment. The more Gilroy subjects his characters to the turmoil within their own psyche, the more fantastical and hyper realistic their world becomes, alienating the audience as a result.

The Diagnosis:

Velvet Buzzsaw like most works of art is subjective to the perception of its viewer or audience. Some may find it a stroke of genius that embodies the ugly psyche of the human mind; others will declare it a façade. When you lift the veil on the mania and manufactured lifestyle that the characters lead, all that’s left is circles in the sand… but then again, maybe that was Gilroy’s point.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: Bird Box

10 Sunday Feb 2019

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It’s been a couple of months now that Sandra Bullock’s Netflix vehicle was released and was strong enough among the Surgeons team to elevate it into the Top 5 horror movies of 2018, but not all of us had such a positive attraction to the film.

Until recently, Bird Box had remained on my Must Watch list and embarrassingly kept being pushed back when I found time to delve into a film. So, why did I keep doing this? What was propelling me away or not enticing me into the post-apocalyptic world where supernatural entities lead people to commit suicide?

Truth be told, I just found the concept uninteresting and perhaps too dark or deep. So every time I came to watch the film, I shied away to watch something else more upbeat or stimulating.

It doesn’t bode well to have these thoughts before watching a movie, but I still wanted to clear my mind and come into this fresh, but I was enticed by the fact that it was directed by Susanne Bier, who was behind the awesome The Night Manager.

Our first introduction to Bullock’s character, Malorie Hayes is a stern and strict one as she gives two children specific instructions of a troubled journey that lay ahead. It’s an interesting choice, as it doesn’t allow you to warm to her straight away. It does allow you to warm to her as you realize that our first window into her soul is a truly human one. As stark as it maybe it propels you through the narrative with her and Bullock’s performance on screen is one of the best I’ve seen in a long time.

In fact all the performances are significantly on point with all support acts given their chance to have “their moment” on screen, but particular nods should go out to Trevante Rhodes (The Predator), Sara Paulson (American Horror Story), John Malkovich who hams it up in a fantastically melancholic role, and Tom Hollander (Taboo).

Bird Box is also beautifully shot with cinematographer Salvatore Tottino exploiting ever inch of the canvas to project his vision.

Throw in a cracking score from the brilliant mind of Trent Reznor and you can fast see why my fellow Surgeons were chomping at the bit, especially with the split timeline narrative to provide the lead-up to the ordeal that Malorie faces in her blindfolded attempt to navigate the river to find sanctuary in a treacherous land that has been torn apart.

The narrative has to hang together on Bullock’s character and her performance, which it does… just. She weaves together a tumultuous tale of survival and eking out every possible emotion along the way, but ultimately the narrative does plod along and despite everyone’s best efforts feels strained and a fairly predictable outcome despite its best efforts to challenge your thoughts and opinions.

The Diagnosis:

Bird Box has all the ingredients to make an incredibly powerful movie with strong performances all round, especially with Bullock leading the charge. It boasts a director at her pique with a cinematographer who can tweak out the most stunning images, but like the creatures that invoke the fear, it is all fluff and no substance. Whilst the ride is enjoyable, it doesn’t leave you with any strong connection to the movie.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: Cam

28 Friday Dec 2018

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Flying somewhat under the radar this year is a psychological horror that shines a light on the little-explored world of Camgirls.

Cam’s greatest strength is it’s level of authenticity to the world and environment that it is set with writer Isa Mazzei drawing from her own experiences working in the industry.

Director Daniel Goldhaber a high school friend, who had his own fair share of experience having shot and directed some of Mazzei’s pornographic films has a firm eye that also cements the believability further.
So, not only does it feel grounded, the subject matter tackled in Cam of social media identity theft in a confronting and soul-baring industry is both topical and original, lifting this movie onto a higher pedigree.

Cam is a bit of a slow-burn that takes its time to eek out the drama as it unfolds, which requires a fair bit of patience, but the reward is there for those who stick it out for the conclusion.
This is aided further by the strength in Madeleine Brewer (Orange is the New Black) who braved the role of Alice as she plummets into despair and ruin with no help from anyone she turns to and a generally dismissive response when she tells of her plight to the officials. It makes her journey all the more harrowing and amplified the horror of her situation.

The Diagnosis:

Cam deserves your attention and casts a light on the dangers of cyber security in a world normally considered taboo.
It’s a bold and original movie in the horror genre.

  • Saul Muerte