Point Of No Return (1993)
Anna (2019)
Like Dandelion Dust (2009)
Shut In (2017)
The Rainmaker (1997)
A Time To Kill (1996)
What Still Remains (2018)
Awake (2021)
The Midnight Sky (2020) ///
Anna (2019) Typically skilled and glossy action cinema from Luc Besson without the benefit of originality, focusing on Sasha Luss' convoluted adventures as a Russian spy and eventual double agent. Visual tricks and blurred timelines add nothing to the feeling it's all been done better.
Like Dandelion Dust (2009) Earnest study of family dispute with an affluent couple finding life upturned when the blue-collar natural parents seek to get their son back. Nothing particularly original or stylistically engaging, performers shine within a solid narrative structure.
Shut In (2017) Naomi Watts is always persuasive and the tense atmosphere is nicely established, yet the structure is fatally schematic and twists telegraphed, as a child psychologist finds herself trapped in a winter storm. Low-key thrills never build and provide only modest intrigue.
The Rainmaker (1997) Well-balanced courtroom tale as raw Matt Demon and devious Danny De Vito join forces on a high stakes legal battle with a medical insurance company. The grungy underbelly of the legal system and a gallery of well-drawn characters adds welcome, humorous color.
A Time To Kill (1996) Skillfully made, button-pushing morality tale centers on vengeful Samuel L Jackson's court case for murdering men who raped his daughter. Bluntly impactful rather than thoughtfully nuanced, Matthew McConaughey and Sandra Bullock lead a strong, committed cast.
What Still Remains (2018) Persuasively made and performed, a strangely uninvolving story and sketchy characters add nothing original to survivalist genre. Leisurely paced, distrustful Lulu Antariksa faces subjugation in religious commune or cruel violence of a post-virus world.
Awake (2021) After a solar flare short-circuits global electronics, people are unable to sleep and fast descend into deadly hysteria. As jaundiced mother Gina Rodriguez struggles to save her children amid increasingly violent set-pieces, tension dissipates despite technical craft.
The Midnight Sky (2020) There's no denying the skill and visual precision nor the thematic resonance of a lost world, yet little transforms emotionally and the story strands its audience as much as the returning astronauts. Immaculate production values, meandering narrative rhythms.
No comments:
Post a Comment