Category Archives: Action/Thriller

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Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Like It, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

A Cure for Wellness (2017) Movie Review

The first note I wrote down about A Cure for Wellness, which I wrote after the film’s opening scene, was as follows:

“Is A Cure For Wellness a masterfully shot slog?”

This notion came out of how the trailer clips and first scene of the film is shot and that I knew how long the film was going to be (this was, I should mention, my second film of the day). So my assumption going in was that this film was going to be a struggle between patience and style.

Is the film a well-shot slog? Well…yeah.

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Rising white collar man (Dane DeHaan), referred to throughout the film only by his surname of Lockhart, takes hold of that next rung of the corporate ladder, and as a result is thrown into a legally questionable Continue reading A Cure for Wellness (2017) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Leave it, Quickie Reviews (<400 Words), Sci-Fi/Fantasy

The Great Wall (2017) Movie Review

A pack of mercenaries on horseback take refuge in a cave and are attacked by a mysterious creature. Taking the creature’s severed claw, the two survivors of the attack (Matt Damon and Pedro Pascal) travel to a nearby kingdom on the Great Wall, where they are captured and pulled into a war.

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In terms of effects work, the inaugural action set piece that establishes the film’s war of monster versus man is Continue reading The Great Wall (2017) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Love It

John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017) Movie Review

John Wick (Keanu Reeves), essentially the omnipotent god of this film universe whose nickname is appropriately “The Boogeyman,” just wants his car back. That’s all. Is it really so hard to give John Wick his car back? He’s really been through a lot. Cut him some slack.

Once he gets his car back, a movie happens.

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John Wick 2 might be one of the Continue reading John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Horror, Love It

Get Out (2017) Movie Review

The opening to Get Out, the new thriller from Key & Peele‘s Jordan Peele, plays out in a single, meandering take that is gorgeously composed. The single shot depicts a man (Lakeith Stanfield) being plucked off of a suburban street in the middle of the night.

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This cold open pivots to an idyllic, happy young couple, Chris and Rose (Daniel Kaluuya and Allison Williams), packing for a weekend at Rose’s parents’ house. This retreat to the woods, however, promises to be far more Continue reading Get Out (2017) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Drama, Love It

The Handmaiden (2016) Movie Review

Director Chan-wook Park is not afraid to push buttons. He’s not afraid to be different. Not afraid to indulge.

The Handmaiden may be Chan-wook Park’s most button-pushing, different, indulgent film to date.

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In 1930s Korea, a woman named Sook-hee (Tae-ri Kim) is hired to be the handmaiden of a wealthy Japanese heiress Lady Hideko (Min-hee Kim). But nothing is what meets the eye. Nothing. Sook-hee is Continue reading The Handmaiden (2016) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Horror, Like It, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Split (2017) Movie Review

The cold open to M. Night Shyamalan’s new venture, Split, features an intriguing mix of directorial choices. There is a Hitchcockian motivated mobile POV, one that starts as an innocent track. There are motivated pans and tilts that follow our protagonist Casey’s (Anya Taylor-Joy) increasingly cautious gazes. There is a sense of impending dread with each edit.

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This opening kidnapping was shown in almost its entirety in Split‘s trailer, which presents the premise of a man with multiple personalities (James McAvoy) who steals away three teenage girls (Haley Lu Richardson, Jessica Sula, and Taylor-Joy). Ignore the ridiculous notion that Continue reading Split (2017) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Never Say Never Again (1983) Movie Review

A little over a year ago, I went on a journey through the entirety of the James Bond franchise, reviewing each film in my James Bond Retrospective.

The one film I neglected to review was the unofficial, non-Eon Productions James Bond film from 1983: Never Say Never Again.

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There are a few reasons why I never reviewed this film. First off, I was recruited through my reviews to edit and contribute to a James Bond website via Fansided. With this and reviewing over 20 Bond films in the course of two months, I succumbed to Continue reading Never Say Never Again (1983) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Drama, Long Reviews (>400 Words), Love It

Nocturnal Animals (2016) Movie Review

Susan (Amy Adams), an art gallery owner, receives a novel manuscript from her ex-husband Edward (Jake Gyllenhaal). The twisted work, a thriller involving characters not dissimilar to Susan and Edward, proves to be an added hindrance to Susan’s already strained life, a life of lavish emptiness and a philandering new husband (Armie Hammer). As she progresses through the novel, she begins an introspection into her own life that could prove to change her.

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Director Tom Ford, a fashion designer by trade, brings his talents to this film, and his touch becomes clear on the Continue reading Nocturnal Animals (2016) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Like It, Long Reviews (>400 Words), Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) Movie Review

Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), a researcher of magical creatures, travels from Britain to New York in this Harry Potter expanded universe film. When one of his creatures escapes his person at a bank in a delightful opening set piece, Scamander gets apprehended by the equivalent of a magic police officer (Katherine Waterston) and a Nomag (aka a Muggle) gets away with Scamander’s briefcase full of creatures.

This all set in a 1920s period piece landscape including a dangerous wizard criminal, a conspiratorial anti-witch Muggle, and a looming dark presence.

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David Yates returns to direct this Rowling-verse film (Yates directed the final four Potter films). Beasts has a similar feel to the Potter films in their warmer moments, although the film doesn’t Continue reading Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Like It, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Doctor Strange (2016) Movie Review

Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), a cocksure neurosurgeon with the mind of a savant, becomes victim to a (rather excessive) car wreck. His hands smashed through the windshield and succumbing to massive nerve damage, he may never practice surgery again. Wonderful parallel shots show his fall from grace in a shot structure that seems almost too elegant for a Marvel film.

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When a physical recovery becomes impossible for him, Strange seeks Continue reading Doctor Strange (2016) Movie Review →