Movies, Film, and Chili

  The Strangers: Chapter 1  is either a remake or a prequel to the 2008  Bryan Bertino film The Strangers . While Bryan Bertino  still wrote the film, this time alongside Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland. Both of them are not known for horror and because of this, there were zero scares in this horror film. It had some tension but tension doesn't equate to horror. In the theater I was at, there were four laughs where it was supposed to be scary. This also might be because of B-movie director Renny Harlin who will probably go back to making B-movies from here on out. Sure The Strangers was supposed to be a trilogy but after audiences said no I doubt they'll make it to theaters. Some might argue Harlin  directed Die Hard 2 , but that was the worst Die Hard film. Madelaine Petsch does an okay job acting but her face has had too much work done and something was off about her eyes, maybe it was the cinematography but her eyes looked soulless throughout the film. I tried looking up pi

  Challengers is a tennis drama and love triangle. I knew the film was going to hit on LGBTQ themes just based on who the director was,  Luca Guadagnino . You'll know him from Call Me By Your Name. There's nothing wrong with his editing and camera choices but I would have reshot some scenes with Zendaya . Zendaya, despite the poster, is frowning pretty much the entire film. She's supposed to be a former tennis player, mother, and wife, but she acts like a spoiled brat. I don't believe the director intended her to be disliked at the beginning as the film makes her out to be the victim of circumstance and patriarchy.  Mike Faist and Josh O'Connor  play the two men in the love triangle. It's not your traditional love triangle. They have a hard time selling being attracted to her but easily sell that they're attracted to each other.  The score was distracting and the writing was erotic fantasy with a super drawn-out ending. The film doesn't understand tennis

  Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes  is the latest installment in the Apes franchise now set generations into the future. This time around they got the  Maze Runner director to step in and try to continue the series, Wes Ball.  I didn't like any of the Maze Runner films and I haven't watched the other Apes films, so I'm not invested in the series. This also makes me worried about the upcoming The Legend of Zelda film. I could see how, on paper, he looks solid as his movies have made their budget back but that doesn't mean they're good movies. The only real actor to talk about is Freya Allan  as most of the movies are a bunch of no-names and they are all poorly CG characters for 2024. You'll recognize Allan from The Witcher  as Ciri, but this time she's got brown hair. She still hasn't learned how to run on film like let's say Tom Cruise. She's gorgeous but her acting still could use some work. This is her first blockbuster and it isn't a hit

  Tarot  is a horror film based around a curse with a deck of tarot cards. The film is written and directed by Spenser Cohen and Anna Halberg . Cohen had worked with Halberg on The Expendables 4  and Cohen was probably best known for writing Moonfall . They took the formula for 90s-style horror where something supernatural happens that then persists with the main characters and picks them off one by one. This is the second Avantika film that I've seen this year. It's clear she has range and doesn't want to be pigeonholed into one category. The other film was Mean Girls  which wasn't that good but here she is allowed to have some scenes. Harriet Slater  is mostly known for TV shows but I didn't really know who she was, I had forgotten she was in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny , as I've tried to forget that movie. Adain Bradley  plays the love interest and was in the remake of Wrong Turn  but other than that he's mostly unknown. This allows the studio t

  Argylle  is a thriller about a writer whose novel has an uncanny resemblance to current world events.  Matthew Vaughn  really should have let this idea bake a bit longer. Not only that but the CG could have been paid for as it looks like it was done by a kid in a basement. His other movies have been a hit or miss for me. Kick-Ass  was great, The Kingsmen sequels were just not as entertaining. His writer, Jason Fuchs  hasn't had a hit since Wonder Woman , and I believe he got lucky on that as his other films, Pan and Ice Age: Continental Drift  are mediocre at best and garbage at worst. Dua Lipa shouldn't have been cast. She tries so hard to be sexy. Bryce Dallas Howard plays the writer but her acting and character are boring and the makeup department made her look bland probably on purpose. She was a pretty face for the  Jurassic World series, but anyone with a pretty face could have made Chris Pratt look good.  John Cena's character is supposed to be cheesy but he doesn&

  The Fall Guy  is about a stuntman who tries to rekindle his old relationship even at the cost of his own health. David Leitch  has improved his craft since directing Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw  and Deadpool 2. There weren't any glaring or subtle flaws in direction this time. It was tightly shot with no scenes seemingly unnecessary. Speaking of improving, Drew Pearce  has improved his writing since Iron Man 3  and I believe everyone who has seen both would agree. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt as he had done just the screenplay for Iron Man 3. Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt  have surprisingly a lot of chemistry. I thought surely I would keep thinking Blunt would have some hesitation doing a romantic comedy action and be able to sell it. I thought I would be thinking of how John Krasinski would feel but she was a professional. Gosling has reignited the flame of the "movie star" that many people would say has died. The supporting cast of both A