Classic Movie Review The Killers (1946)

The Killers (1946) 

Directed by Robert Siodmak 

Written by Anthony Veiller 

Starring Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien, Albert Decker 

Release Date August 30th 1946 

Published July 10th, 2023 

The Killers is both an apt and somewhat abstract title for this movie. On the one hand, the film is about two men who go to a small town to kill an ex-boxer over a debt he may or may not owe. On the other hand, the killers of the title are not central to the plot of The Killers. They put the plot in motion by murdering a seemingly random guy, but then they are mostly absent in the story until they are reintroduced late in the 3rd act. The title centers you on The Killers but the movie is more interested in the victim and how he came to be the victim. 

The movie is based on a short story by Ernest Hemingway, a short story that unfolds over the first 10 minutes of The Killers. Two men, Max (William Conrad) and Al (Charles McGraw), enter a small town diner and have a tense back and forth with the diner owner. Over the course of their terse exchange, the two men reveal why they are here. They've come to the diner on this night to kill a man known by most as 'The Swede,' also known as Ole Anderson. The Swede eats at this diner every night at this time and they intend to kill him when he arrives. 

When The Swede (Burt Lancaster) doesn't show up, the killers leave to search for him. Nick, a patron of the diner and a co-worker of The Swede rushes to warn his friend that the killers are coming. In a moment of breathtaking despair, The Swede tells Nick that there is nothing that can be done to stop this and that Nick needs to leave and never look back. Soon after, the killers arrive at The Swede's door and he accepts their arrival with a heartbreaking resolve. 

Hemingway's story ended with Nick returning to tell the diner owner what happened and when the diner owner simply nods in a cynical acceptance of what has happened, the young, idealistic Nick leaves town in disgust. The conflict is between Nick and the diner owner and their dueling perspectives. The diner owner represents an old school mindset that would prefer to ignore the encroachment of the outside world into the insular world of a small town. Nick represents the future, an idealistic notion of right and wrong, justice versus injustice.            

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media 

Movie Review Insidious The Red Door

Insidious The Red Door (2023) 

Directed by Patrick Wilson

Written by Scott Teems 

Starring Patrick Wilson, Ty Simpkins, Sinclair Daniel, Rose Byne, Lin Shaye 

Release Date July 7th, 2023 

Published July 7th, 2023 

The key to the Insidious franchise is the wildly brilliant mind of writer-director Leigh Whannell. His consistently terrifying and inventive work on each of the Insidious films, co-writing and directing the first two and providing the screenplay for Insidious The Last Key, are proof that he's one of the modern auteurs of the horror genre. Thus when I saw that he'd neither directed nor provided the screenplay for the latest Insidious movie, Insidious The Red Door, I was immediately skeptical. My skepticism peaked further when it was announced that star Patrick Wilson would be making his directorial debut with Insidious The Red Door. 

That's not intended as a negative judgment of Wilson's work before I had seen it, rather just a manifestation of my overall skepticism of an Insidious sequel without the direct influence of the franchises creator and steward. Whannell does make a cameo in Insidious The Red Door, but his presence behind the camera and the keyboard becomes notable as the film goes on. Insidious The Red Door is lacking the essential ingredients of an Insidious movie, those that Whannell's fertile, creative, and slightly disturbing mind had always provided. 

In his directorial debut, Patrick Wilson also stars in Insidious The Red Door, reprising his role as Joshua Lambert. As a child, Joshua discovered that he could travel into a nether-realm called The Further. There he would be menaced by demons who would attempt to steal his body to return themselves to the real world. Joshua's mother, played by Barbara Hershey, was able to rescue her son with the help of a psychic medium named Elise Rainer (Lin Shaye). Through Elise, Joshua was made to forget his ability to travel into The Further. 

Cut to many years later, Josh is married to Renai (Rose Byrne), and they have three kids including their oldest, Dalton (Ty Simpkins), who has been exhibiting some odd behavior. When Dalton ends up in a coma, his grandmother recognizes what is happening and is forced to confront Joshua's past. She once again calls on Elise to save her family. The solution to the problems was supposed to be once again hypnotizing Josh and also Dalton, so that they forget about The Further. Naturally, this won't be enough to keep their memories at bay for long and that's where the story of Insidious The Red Door kicks in. 

We are nearly a decade in the future from when Dalton and Joshua were hypnotized into forgetting The Further and both, father and son, are having strange dreams and fuzzy memories. For Josh, the decade since the hypnosis he's struggled with daily tasks and has become a shell of his former self. Things are so bad that he and Renai have separated and Joshua has become distant from his three kids, including Dalton who is now getting ready to leave for college. Since Joshua and Dalton rarely talk, Joshua volunteers to drive Dalton to his new college. This only serves to further the rift between father and son. 

Find my full length review at Horror.Media 

Movie Review Insidious Chapter 2

Insidious Chapter 2 (2013) 

Directed by James Wan 

Written by Leigh Whannell 

Starring Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, Leigh Whannell, Ty Simpkins 

Release Date September 13th, 2023 

Published July 8th, 2023 

The first Insidious Chapter was an impressively creepy movie for a PG-13 rated horror movie. The film achieved a solid atmosphere and via tremendous production design, makeup and practical effects, the film became a smash hit. And it deserved to be a hit, James Wan and Leigh Whannell had managed to create a wholly original horror movie at a time when franchises and familiar I.P remakes were the norm in Hollywood. It was a no-brainer that there would be an Insidious sequel but what no one could expect is how much of an improvement the sequel would be over the terrific original. 

Insidious Chapter 2 picks up in the wake of the shock death of Lin Shaye's iconic and immediately beloved, Elise Rainer. The Lamber family is now living with Lorraine Lambert (Barbara Hershey), Josh's mom, in the wake of the horrors that led to their son, Dalton (Ty Simpkins), spending a year trapped in another realm called The Further. Josh (Patrick Wilson) had managed to save his son from this other realm but, as observed by Renai (Rose Byrne), Josh did not come back the same man he was. Instead, an unsteady, often volatile Josh stalks their home, only occasionally showing off the qualities that she loves about him. 

The plot of Insidious Chapter 2 kicks into gear quickly with Lorraine realizing that her son is not the man she knows. Knowing something is very wrong, Lorraine seeks out Elise's team, Specks (Leigh Whannell) and Tucker (Angus Sampson), who are now at Elise's home. They've found a key piece of evidence that shows Josh may be trapped in The Further. With Elise gone, they need a new medium and Lorraine calls on another old friend, Carl (Steve Coulter), the man who initially connected Lorraine with Elise when Josh was a child and traveling dangerously into the further. 

Via Carl we get the backstory of the person who has been stalking Josh all his life, The Black Bride, a vicious and very dangerous serial murderer. Is the Black Bride the entity who has possessed Josh? How will they find their way into The Further to find out? And how will Elise come back to help? These questions have solid answers that build brilliantly on what you already know from Insidious Chapter 1. Watching Insidious Chapter 2 it appears quite clear that James Wan and Leigh Whannell had a plan for a sequel all along as moments from the first film provide a perfect foundation for what we get in Chapter 2. 

It's almost like a fun little game, recalling things that happened in Insidious Chapter 1 and seeing how they happened via Insidious Chapter 2. The seamless integration of the two films gives a little kick to the proceedings of Chapter 2. For me, auteurs are filmmakers for whom details matter. Meticulousness is a strong trait among our best film storytellers and James Wan, along with Leigh Whannell, are an auteurist team who care deeply about the minutia of their storytelling. They recognize the joy that can from having lore and how discovering lore can bond and audience with a story. 

The Insidious movies are thick with lore but not so dense that they become incomprehensible to new audiences. It's a delicate balance, but one that Wan and Whannell achieve via studious attention to details that audiences can choose to follow closely or simply experience on a per thrill basis. You can either actively involve yourself in Insidious or simply enjoy the horror movie ride of the Insidious films without taking note of the layered and extensive lore. For me, I love the lore, I adore the attention to detail and the care with which the filmmakers take to build a community around the Insidious films. 

I also love, love, love the work of Lin Shaye. It was clear in the original Insidious that she was the star of the movie and perhaps the biggest failure of Insidious Chapter 1 was not pivoting away from her ending in that movie. Shaye was the breakout character and the filmmakers recognized that going foward when they bring her back here in Chapter 2 and go back to her in subsequent features, minus Wan but with Whannell firmly shaping the lore. 

Find my full length review at Horror.Media 

Movie Review Past Lives

Past Lives (2023) 

Directed by Celine Song 

Written by Celine Song 

Starring Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, John Magaro 

Release Date June 30th, 2023 

Published July 3rd, 2023 

The opening scene of Past Lives catches you immediately off-guard. Our main characters are in a bar together but we are not with them. We are watching them from across the bar as we listen to characters we will never meet, talking about our main characters. These strangers speculate about who our main characters are, whose the husband, who is the lover or ex-lover, are they family members? What is their dynamic? It's the kind of conversation many of use nosy people have had about strangers in public for years. It might break with formal film construction to begin the movie from a perspective other than that of your main character but this breaking of formality is rather brilliant once you come to understand the story being told in Past Lives. 

Past Lives is the kind of movies that spark your imagination in unique ways. It leads you to conversations about it and its many, many ideas about life, love, relationships, friendships, and the dynamics of the heart and mind. It invites you to consider the role you play in the lives of others and how any meaningful interaction you've had with another person has changed you in some way, for good or for ill. It's about how the impressions you make on others matter in ways we most often overlook. It's about a gentle, thoughtful exploration of these ideas via three wonderfully complicated and warm characters. 

24 years ago in South Korea, Nora (Greta Lee) became friends with Hae Sung (Teo Yoo). They may have had more than friendly feelings for each other, but they were too young for that kind of thing. They did go on what their mother's called a 'date' but, again, too young for them to actually know what that means. In school they competed and encouraged each other. When Hae Sung finally beat Nora on a test, she cried and he offered her comfort, in the sort of rudimentary way a teenage boy might offer comfort. Their friendship is rather lovely until Nora bluntly informs her class that her family is moving to America, and she fails to prepare her best friend for this bombshell. 

He's clearly hurt by this and the two part ways almost silently, their last word being a simple and blunt 'Bye.' It takes a decade, but they do eventually reconnect. While chatting with her mother, Nora decides to search for her childhood friend on Facebook. She finds that he's been searching for her as well. This leads to a brief flirtation via Skype, hey it was a decade ago, okay? The relationship gets emotional and involved and discussions are had about seeing each other but life gets in the way. He can't travel to America because of his work, and she can't visit Korea because she's earned a chance to travel to a prestigious writer's commune. She suggests they take a break and he agrees. 

Read my full length review at Geeks.Media 

Classic Movie Review Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom

Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom (1984)

Directed by Steven Spielberg 

Written by Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz 

Starring Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, Ke Huy Quan, Amrish Puri 

Release Date May 23rd, 1984 

Published July 3rd, 2023 

Controversial opinion alert: I think Temple of Doom is the best Indiana Jones movie. Before you click away in disgust, allow me to make my case. I don't expect to convince you to agree with me. I understand this is a personal preference thing, my opinion is not more important than yours. But I want the chance to talk about the unending pleasures I find in Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom. From the opening scene to the final moments of Indiana Jones triumphing over evil, Temple of Doom is the most fun Indiana Jones adventure of them all. 

The opening set piece of Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom is incredible. It opens with a terrific musical number by Kate Capshaw, a lavish, gaudy, opening number that really sets the tone for who she is in this story, a classic screwball heroine. Our hero, Indiana Jones, is here to meet with gangsters with whom he has made a deal. Indy has secured a relic they want and in exchange, Indy is supposed to get a rare and quite large diamond. Naturally, betrayal is afoot, Indy gets poisoned and the bad guys withhold the antidote as a way of getting Indy to give back his treasure. 

The scene devolves into screwball chaos from there as the gangsters start shooting, Indy starts punching, he's chasing the vial full of cure, Willie (Capshaw), is chasing the diamond, and they both must run to get away from the many, many bullets being fired. This leads to one of my favorite action moments ever as Indy cuts loose a giant steel gong hanging from the ceiling of the nightclub. It lands and rolls off the stage and as it does, Indy hides behind it, using it as a shield from the tommy gun being endlessly fired in his direction. When Willie grabs the cure, Indy grabs her, and they both go flying through a window. 

The scene leads to a comic set piece with the two falling through numerous awnings before landing perfectly as Short Round (Ke Huy Quan) shows up with the getaway car. A chase scene ensues until Indy makes it to a plane only to reveal a terrific gag that yes, doesn't entirely make sense, but is still quite funny in presentation, especially Indy's comic grin as he thinks he's showed up the gangsters only to reveal to us the trouble he's just bought for himself. Spielberg's direction is pitch perfect, the adventure here feels like a direct lift from an Errol Flynn adventure from the 30s or 40s, and the screwball comedies of that era get wonderful homage as well. 

Much like Indiana Jones and The Raiders of the Lost Ark thrives on Spielberg and George Lucas's love of action serial movies from the era of Saturday afternoon matinees, Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom ages up for homage to Errol Flynn crossed with a classic screwball comedy with just the right touch of Hope and Crosby travel picture. All of it elevated to a level of originality by Spielberg at the height of his cinematic powers. Spielberg's talent for tone and invention is on best display in Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom as he deftly crosses comic touches with scares involving hearts being ripped out of bodies and child slaves living under the whip of a dangerous cult. 

Read my full length review at Geeks.Media 

Classic Movie Review Raiders of the Lost Ark

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 

Directed by Steven Spielberg 

Written by Lawrence Kasden 

Starring Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, John Rhys Davies, Denholm Elliott 

Release Date July 12th 1981 

Published July 2nd 1981 

It's the spirit of Indiana Jones that gets me every time I watch Raiders of the Lost Ark. The sense of wonder and excitement that Steven Spielberg brings to his direction, the choices he makes in staging acting, and the way he and Harrison Ford clearly know the vibe they are going for, it's glorious to watch. I may not have grown up on the kind of serialized adventures that George Lucas and Steven Spielberg did, but watching Raiders of the Lost Ark, I feel like I was there with them, when they were little boys, delighting in adventures that they would watch over and over again at the movie theaters of their youth. 

It's a spirit of adventure as much as it is an actual adventure that you enjoy when you watch Raiders of the Lost Ark. It's old school movie magic, a sense of wonder that permeates the screen. In trying to recreate their youth, Spielberg and Lucas invited us along, welcomed us like fellow kids into their exuberant childhood obsessions, they invited us to play with them. It's invitation to be a little kid again and watch as a charismatic hero takes center stage to perform daring stunts because it needs to be done, it' the right and just thing. 

The simple pleasures of Raiders of the Lost Ark are amplified but the wonderful intention of Raiders of the Lost Ark. It's intended to thrill you in a way that Spielberg and Lucas understand the thrill of their own childhoods. It's the purest expression of childlike wonder and nostalgia, rendered fresh and new via remarkable artistry, effects, and a movie star that feels perfectly at home amid the wonder and excitement. Harrison Ford is different from Spielberg and Lucas in a way that carries the spirit of Indiana Jones but also stands aside from it. 

Where Spielberg and Lucas are in earnest admiration of this kind of adventure, Ford's performance doesn't hold the same kind of preciousness. He's living the adventure, he's living Indiana Jones as if the character existed wholly within a real world. This is an essential part of his appeal. Had he attempted to deliver the same kind of enthusiasm and wonder that Lucas and Spielberg were bringing to the creation of Raiders of the Lost Ark, the whole thing could tip into a childish parody. Ford is very much the adult in the room, grounding the action from the perspective of someone taking all of this very seriously. 

That's because, for Indiana Jones, this is all very serious For him, it's an adventure but it is a genuinely life or death adventure. For him, there must be a sense of gravity, a sense of weight, he's providing the stakes of this story. He doesn't have time to indulge in the wonder or step back and think about being in the midst of an incredible adventure, this is life or death, and Ford brings that sense of gravity to Indiana Jones in a wonderfully tricky fashion. He must balance being the embodiment of a wondrous adventure and communicate the grave circumstances that he faces in this story all at once. 

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media 

Movie Review Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny

Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny (2023) 

Directed by James Mangold 

Written by Jez Butterworth, John Henry Butterworth, David Koepp, James Mangold 

Starring Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Boyd Holbrook 

Release Date June 30th, 2023 

Published June 29th, 2023 

The thing that bugs me about our microwaved nostalgia culture is how often I fall for that nostalgia. Take my reaction to The Flash. I did like that movie, I stand by my positive review, problematic star aside, but the reality is that my judgment was clouded by nostalgia for my childhood. Seeing Michael Keaton in the Batsuit again, playing the role that was so important to my childhood, made me very emotional. Was I emotional because the presentation was artful and meaningful? Sort of, but I can't deny how much nostalgia for my own childhood colored that reaction. 

Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny is that moment in The Flash as an entire movie and the effect didn't last nearly as long. In the first few minutes, the legendary John Williams score played and my breath caught for a moment as I was transported back in time to being a very little kid seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark for the first time. I was transported back to the even more significant impact, for me, of seeing Temple of Doom in a movie theater with my mother. That John Williams score is an emotional trigger for me and for millions of other Gen-X movie nerds. 

Then a ragged and grumpy Harrison Ford came on screen and the adventure began and my mind began trying to rationalize what I was seeing. Instead of actually enjoying the action of Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny, most of my mental energy was dedicated to convincing myself that I was enjoying this rehash of greatest hits from an aging action star and a character well past his relevance. Even as I was falling in love with Phoebe Waller Bridge, who joins the franchises as Dr. Jones' heretofore unknown Goddaughter, Helena, I could not escape the mental gymnastics I was having to perform to will myself to enjoy something familiar and formerly beloved. 

Is Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny bad? No, not really. The film is directed by James Mangold who is a perfectly solid, professional director. Jez and John Henry Butterworth are solid screenwriters with a solid track record and David Koepp, co-credited on this screenplay, is among the most successful screenwriters in Hollywood. The pieces are there to make a perfectly satisfying action movie. So why don't I like this movie? Why am I having to convince myself that this is good? It starts with a half-baked and convoluted plot that lacks the energy and invention of the first two Indiana Jones movies. 

Aside from Phoebe Waller Bridge, Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny appears tired and lurching toward adventure as opposed to the excitement and vigor of its youthful beginnings 42 years ago. The original adventures weren't bullet proof in terms of plotting but they made up for plot holes with energy, excitement and adventure. Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny however, feels obligatory and that feeling works reveal more about the poorly thought out, too many cooks in the kitchen, plot holes. Three screenwriters and director James Mangold have clearly cobbled together pieces into the whole of Dial of Destiny and the patchwork is all too clear. 

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media