The Covenant (2023)

The Covenant is a military drama, set in Afghanistan, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and directed by Guy Richie.

Written and directed by Guy Richie, the Covenant tells a story many men will relate to. The feeling of owing someone a debt and paying that debt back. The writing is tight and contains a lot of meaningful dialogue that I feel many military individuals and enthusiasts would appreciate. The direction has many throwbacks to other military adventures but also some of his earlier movies like Wrath of Man and The Gentlemen. It's certainly better than both as well.

Gyllenhaal is a perfect choice for this and the role itself adds to his reputation and challenges him to perform in a different way than typical. He really has done a lot of different roles now at this point since the performance is vastly different than some of his earlier work. Nightcrawler, Brokeback Mountain, and Ambulance are such diverse roles that make him under-appreciated.

I had never seen Dar Salim in another performance and was completely surprised by his performance. It is a shame he will continue to be overlooked. He was the perfect cast for the role he plays as the interpreter.

I really enjoyed The Covenant and would recommend this to most people. Result: B+

Comments

The End of Oak Street (2026)

The End of Oak Street starts with Anne Hathaway immediately establishing herself as the film's strongest performer, especially when compared to the wooden performance from Ewan McGregor . The premise of a writer struggling with an unsupportive spouse hits close to home for me. The split-focus direction from David Robert Mitchell isn't particularly new or uniquely executed. Instead, it often feels disorienting without accomplishing what I assume was the intention. Mitchell also struggles with the screenplay, as the dialogue can be atrocious at times and boring the rest of the time. This isn't his first failed attempt at writing interesting characters, which makes it understandable why he hasn't written or directed anything in eight years. Anne Hathaway is easily the best part of the film. She brings enough personality and emotional weight to keep the movie watchable despite the material surrounding her. Unfortunately, even Hathaway can't carry the entire film. Ew...

Sleepwalker (2026)

Sleepwalker is a horror thriller written and directed by Brandon Auman , who quickly reminds us why his career has primarily been in television rather than feature films. Writing for children's television can sometimes get away with simplistic dialogue and storytelling, but those weaknesses become glaring when stretched into a feature-length horror movie. The screenplay is filled with clunky dialogue and predictable horror beats, while the jump scares rarely land. Instead of creating tension, the film repeatedly left me sighing in boredom. Hayden Panettiere delivers a strong performance despite the material she's been given. It's clear that many of her lines weren't written with much care, but she does what she can to make the character feel believable. Knowing this is her final film makes the performance bittersweet, especially because she deserved a much better script to go out on. Fortunately, her performance here doesn't diminish the work she's done in bet...

Lanterns EP1 (2026)

Lanterns is one of the few television shows I've felt compelled to review because I'm a big fan of Green Lantern , particularly Kyle Rayner and John Stewart . While the story focuses somewhat more on Hal Jordan , I'm glad we get a solid actor playing John. The first episode does a good job establishing that John is still green and new to the situation, pun intended. The show has a solid foundation, although its interpretation of the Green Lantern characters isn't always what I would have preferred. Aaron Pierre immediately makes an impression as John Stewart . I had never seen him in anything before this, but his presence is undeniable, and his chemistry with Kyle Chandler is one of the show's strongest elements. Their banter is entertaining and gives the relationship some much-needed energy. John being inexperienced works well for the first episode, but I'm hoping the character develops into the confident leader he becomes in the comics. Kyle Chandler play...

Movies, Film, and Chili

Search This Blog