Movies, Film, and Chili

Onslaught is a grindhouse action/horror movie, and I had no idea it was going to turn into a slasher until about five minutes in. Adam Wingard , a V/H/S alumni, writes and directs, and while the action can be pretty good at times, it's also flawed in some pretty obvious ways. The biggest problem is the plot armor given to the heroine. Why can these super soldiers hit everyone else just fine, but suddenly can't hit her? It makes some of the action feel less exciting when you know the movie is going to bend the rules to keep her alive. Adria Arjona spends the majority of the movie dressed like she's headed to Walmart, but somehow she doesn't look bad. Few people could probably pull off an outfit like that and still make it work. She does a decent job in the role, even if the character is clearly protected by the script whenever the action gets going. Dan Stevens has a great cameo, and Reginald VelJohnson brings his classic acting chops to the movie. Drew Starkey pla...

The Runner is directed by Kevin Macdonald and written by Mark Gibson , and it starts off incredibly cringe. Considering Gibson's past work, that isn't exactly surprising, but the camera work and directing choices are all over the place as well. The premise itself is already pretty unrealistic, and the movie does very little to make it believable. It also doesn't help that the pacing makes the whole thing feel much longer than it actually is. Gal Gadot's portrayal of a mother is so awful that I started wondering if she's ever actually interacted with her own children. There are moments where she runs with decent form, but then there are other times when she's running all limp-wristed, exactly as you'd expect someone who clearly isn't a runner to run. More importantly, her character is incredibly difficult to take seriously. Even though she has a kidnapped child, she still acts like she should be bossing the kidnapper around. It doesn't feel like a...

Coyote vs. Acme is directed by Dave Green , and this is easily his best work to date. Some of that credit belongs to Samy Burch , the Oscar-nominated writer whose screenplay gives the film enough personality to keep it entertaining. All that praise aside, Coyote vs. Acme is fun but ultimately nothing particularly special. The film is appropriately silly for a Looney Tunes movie, but the pacing is its biggest problem. At 103 minutes, it feels noticeably longer than it needs to be, and cutting it down to around 90 to 95 minutes would have made the movie considerably tighter. Will Forte is easily the best casting choice in the film. He fits the comedic tone perfectly and brings the right amount of energy to a movie that depends heavily on its absurdity. John Cena , on the other hand, is easily the worst casting choice. His performance is so wooden that it feels like he's barely trying, and he seems to be phoning it in throughout most of the movie. It's especially noticeable wh...

Idiots is written and directed by Macon Blair , who also has a small role in the film. The movie feels like Pineapple Express with more character development but worse pacing. There are some genuinely funny scenes that made me laugh out loud, and for a comedy, that's ultimately what it should be aiming for. Blair clearly understands how to write absurd situations and characters, but the film has several pacing problems, with scenes that could have been cut without hurting the overall story. When it works, though, the comedy lands and the character development gives the film more substance than expected. Dave Franco , known for Now You See Me and Neighbors , plays the drugged-out, lazy, down-on-his-luck type of character he has played before. He is entertaining in the role, but his character has very little development or arc throughout the story. O'Shea Jackson Jr. , known for Straight Outta Compton and Den of Thieves , gets the stronger character arc between the two and ma...

Insidious: Out of the Further is written and directed by Jacob Chase , who has made some solid shorts in the past but is making the first major motion picture of his that I've seen. There is very little to criticize about his direction, particularly when it comes to setting up scares. Chase understands how to build tension and makes especially good use of the film's more claustrophobic scenes, creating an uncomfortable atmosphere without relying entirely on cheap jump scares. The direction and horror setup are the film's strongest elements, even if the overall story doesn't quite reach the level needed for a full recommendation. Amelia Eve delivers a performance that feels reminiscent of Naomi Watts in The Ring . She channels that same exhausted and increasingly desperate energy, making her character feel convincing as the supernatural events escalate around her. The performance fits the tone of the franchise well and helps ground the film's more unsettling momen...

Mutiny is directed by Jean-François Richet , who directed Plane , and also who once again proves to be a better action director than character developer. The film's action sequences are staged effectively, but some of the quieter scenes feel strangely undercooked. I'm not sure if Richet simply ignored certain issues or chose to use the first take in order to save money, but several moments lack the polish the rest of the film displays. Writers Lindsay Michel and J.P. Davis do a good job setting up the action and giving Jason Statham's character a believable reason to find himself out on a boat, but the dialogue can be atrocious at times. The story works when it focuses on its action, but the writing becomes a noticeable weakness whenever the characters stop moving long enough to talk. Jason Statham , known for The Transporter and The Beekeeper , does exactly what audiences expect from him and does it well. He commands every scene he's in, bringing his usual physica...