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Film reviews

Slingshot Review

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The title seems to be over-viewed as space peril. It has the odyssey and landscape of a vast setting to the moon. There is a sense of frustration and disconnect many miles away from home. Slingshot has all the legitimate innards for its plot of a mission. Sadly, it does not know how to pull off (its plot) cinematically. Directed by Mikael Hafstrom, the approach to mental conflicts (taking place in space) tries to be the moving part of a critical mission on a spacecraft. It comes around as compelling, but then it hovers to be shaky.

The film focuses on three astronauts: John (played by Casey Affleck), Captain Franks (played by Laurence Fishburne), and Nash (played by Tomer Capone). They are making their way to Saturn’s moon, Titan. The spacecraft has conflicts and underlying technical glitches. John and Nash question the mission’s continuation. However, with Captain Franks in charge, he insists they have no choice. He keeps pushing like it is required to complete what they started. The spacecraft continues to mess with the heads of the astronauts. John is the astronaut of purpose in Slingshot.

The film is a blur with its focus on John. He continually thinks about what home is. The woman he loves is Zoe (played by Emily Beecham). As John is tolerating turmoil on board, Zoe keeps floating in his mind. When that happens, the personal conflicts between Captain Franks and Nash keep deteriorating. The mental state of John and his vulnerability are the compelling factors in Slingshot.

Its writing has the sense of reconnection waiting to happen. It does a stellar job of shifting the moments of happiness, sadness, and hopelessness (through John’s thoughts). What is the film’s focus for John? Is it to get back home to Zoe? Is it for him to take his chances with reaching Titan? There are many vivid thoughts (out-of-focus) about John’s backstory.

As Slingshot has the continuity to seem that being in a spacecraft is the norm, it tries to rush its severe conflicts. Those are the ones with Nash and Captain Franks. The thought of making it home keeps falling to the lowest priority for Captain Franks. That messes with the mental states of John and Nash. However, it is redundant. The repeated use of the astronauts going to a coffin mode of hibernation frequently leads them to the same mediocre situation. That “mediocre situation” is at the standstill of their spacecraft in disagreement with their leader (Captain Franks).

With all these bizarre moving parts, Slingshotseems to try to grasp its feel as psychological. It does not know how to correlate its Tetris mode with a poorly written screenplay. The spacecraft, the world of outer space, and the environment are all wonderful. The characterization of focus is where the brakes hit a pause. The common ground of love (in the eyes of John) continues to be unclear in Slingshot. The reliance on boredom and agitation (in space) seems to take over to fill in the voids of dramatic depth. I still felt there were empty slots with no fulfillment. I rate it two out of four stars for Slingshot.

Film reviews

The Front Room Review

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Brandy Norwood (left) and Andrew Burnap (right) in The Front Room

The subject of being included in a family takes a clever turn in this unique classic. Directed by Max and Sam Eggers, The Front Room is a dark comedy that offers unexpected gems hidden below the surface. The writing of the film has plenty of twisted humor. It leaves the audience wondering how much tolerance there is for the situation. Brandy Norwood makes her return to a one-of-a-kind dark comedy. The Front Room will leave its viewers gasping with laughs and shocks. This is by far one of the craziest and most massive achievements I have seen from the Eggers’ brothers.

The film gears on Belinda (Norwood) and Norman (played by Andrew Burnap). They are a couple waiting for the arrival of their newborn baby. Their lives as a growing family begin to get more complicated. Norman’s stepmother Solange (played by Kathryn Hunter) moves in with them. She is rude, belittling, condescending, and obnoxious. Hunter plays the role of an old naggy woman extremely well.  Solange has no filter and is machine of negative words. As Belinda is trying to tolerate Solange, their home begins to hit all sorts of plateaus due to the aggravation that Solange causes daily. She constantly talks about respect and uses that as the reason she frequently puts Belinda and Norman down. She is also a religious fanatic. With Belinda and Norman awaiting their first-born child, how much of her abuse and unexpected, dramatic episodes can they tolerate? Solange is wicked and acts like a queen witch in their home which once belonged to her.

Given the frequent and repeated terror caused by Solange, The Front Room never stops exploring what reality would be like if people were in the same situation as Belinda and Norman. The film is a cinematic jolt of dynamic adrenaline. The sense of entitlement is on full display in the ongoing disagreements throughout The Front Room. The witch goes full throttle and her persistent effort to do everything she can to make Belinda lose her mind makes The Front Room a cohesive journey of bashing heads.

Audiences will get angry at Solange. They will feel her wrath. They will also feel the frustration of Belinda as she keeps struggling to put up with the bipolar patterns of Solange. Norman feels like he cannot do much, since Solange is his stepmom. It is clear, however, that he does not like her much. It is a situation where there are two against one, but Solange is very strong with her words and quirkiness which are enough to mentally burn Belinda and Norman out. The question is how their newborn will be raised around Solange and her intense personality and weird religious notions. The writing and continuity of disturbing cycles is at a championship level in The Front Room. The question is, can everyone just get along? Find out in The Front Room. It is a cinematic gem where the comedy lies within the cycle of tolerance. Four out of four stars.

Film reviews

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Review

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The jams of amazement and creativity are still full of chills and haunting nostalgia. Director Tim Burton knows his audience. He knows where to find the twists, the turns, and the genius in unconventional moments. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice thrives with cleverness. Over three decades later, a beat is still not missed in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. There is more that goes awry as adventure abounds in the world of Burton.

The film begins with the focus on Lydia Deetz (played by Winona Ryder), who I admire in this daring role. Lydia’s life has turned to having her TV series of paranormal activities. She is trying to dismiss that Beetlejuice (played by Michael Keaton) was part of her life. The dynamics of the characters offer more quirks and added value in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Lydia’s daughter is Astrid (played by Jenna Ortega). Lydia feels her life is a blur of nonsense. With Delia Deetz (played by Catherine O’Hara) still in the picture, Astrid feels her life is a joke until things change. Lydia decides she is going to marry her assistant Rory (played by Justin Theroux) on Halloween night? How much more of a headache can the various aspects of Astrid’s life be?

Beetlejuice is still around. The film does a stellar job at keeping its audience in motion with the many revolving layers of creepy darkness. Keaton delivers that grizzly, demonic, yet hysterical voice with all the excitement that fans crave. Keaton never misses the beat as Beetlejuice wants to be back in Lydia’s life despite her being opposed to the idea. With Astrid going into the portal of the Afterlife, all bets are off. Lydia must rely on Beetlejuice to help save Astrid’s life.

Burton keeps the characters on creative and jaw-dropping adventures. Interesting characters include the monster with the small head, Bob Shrinker (played by Nick Kellington), the fake detective, Wolf Jackson (played by Willem Dafoe), and one of the wicked ladies of the past, Delores (played by Monica Bellucci). Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a continuation where spellbinding terror abounds. Keaton playing a guitar singing “I’ll be Right Here Waiting for You,” (by Richard Marx) showcases a unique way of connecting characters three decades in the making.

The Afterlife is the door into Burton’s visual and innovative world of a haunting emporium. Once the door of the Afterlife opens, there is instrumental formality because the Afterlife brings in an interactive storyline which proves magical. There are moving body parts, floating eyeballs, and shrunken heads—an enchanting array of Burton galore! The writing and lighting have not lost touch. Keaton and Ryder fulfill their destiny. What started back in 1988 finds a path to being reborn.

Is Lydia going to marry Rory? Is the Afterlife going to introduce and shift dynamics? What does Astrid want? Is there some good in the heart of Beetlejuice? Burton fills in connecting moments of what is love and lost. He is keen on bringing empathetic light into his writing and characterizations. There is a lot of that value in this film due to a new breed of peril combined with slightly over-the-top cheesiness. Still, the film delivers by staying on track and highlighting the gifts of Burton. Three-and-a-half out of four stars for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.