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Film reviews

Knox Goes Away

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A film written by Gregory Poirier is likely to be thorough and in-depth. A film directed by and starring Michael Keaton is likely to be subtly serious and realistic. Knox Goes Away begins with the sound of a ticking clock which indicates that time is of the essence. In the story, a man’s success with criminal activities is about to hit a breaking point. This provides the motive to figure out a solution quickly.

Keaton plays John Knox, a man who has made a career as a contract killer. He has always remained under the radar and accomplished many detrimental missions. This all changes when he visits a doctor who informs him that he has a form of dementia and “There is no treatment.”  His dementia causes him to have various thought patterns and mood shifts. He continues his dirty work with the intent of stopping. This all hits a plateauwhen John fails at a crime job where there are many accidental deaths. On top of that, his son Miles (played by James Marsden) comes into his life and begs for his help. Miles finds himself in a difficult situation after accidentally killing a man to protect his daughter.

John was ready to stop making messes, but then his son createsthe most mind-boggling and life- threatening mess which needs to be cleaned up. John tries to retrace any aspect of the crime that could put his son in jail. He visits the crime scene, does a clean sweep, and deletes data from the security hard drives. Is John able to dispose of the evidence? With a detective named Emily (played by Suzy Nakamura) putting the pieces together, time is limited. John finds himself reaching out to his friend Xavier (played by Al Pacino) for assistance.

There are many stressors caused by the persistent dangers in this thriller. Most criminals have a strict discipline of keeping materials organized, but discipline becomes a blur in Knox Goes Away. The dementia echoes in John’s mind which is an indicator that the disease is progressing. John’s inevitable decline makes for a daring race to find answers and make things right.

Poirier’s writing is high caliber in Knox Goes Away. John’s thinking hits plateaus as he tries to navigate his evolving dementia. The crime scenes are staged by John, but his memory is weakening. The plot is an inventive puzzle. The messes and the fatalities caused by the botched crimes add to the suspense. 

There is also a calm feeling in the film which is enhanced by the playing of smooth jazz. The audience is left wondering…Can Miles keep his behavior straight? How serious is John’s dementia? The trail involves things getting worse before they get better.

The scenes featuring the detective stir the pot. Emily is bothsurreal and yet realistic. She goes deep with the evidence, the facts, the dynamics, and anything crucial to the case. She traces the events in order which proves the chaos will not go away in Knox Goes Away. The film has thrilling components that lead to a slippery slope that is as treacherous as a black-diamond run. Knox Goes Away’s writing reveals answers to a risky puzzle caused by someone with dementia who also a killer.  The perseverance in this movie is riveting and spellbinding due to the performances of Keaton, Marsden, and Pacino. Knox Goes Away also contains a backstory that is relentless and clever. Four stars.

Film reviews

They Shot the Piano Player Review

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The focus of music flows with a jazz melody in the introduction of They Shot the Piano Player. The film lays out its investigative foundation in the form of an animation docu-drama. Directed by Javier Mariscal and Fernando Trueba, the latter is the main writer of They Shot the Piano Player. The film has a direction of narration where one’s attention about jazz music is captured by abackground of interest and diversity. It is set during the Latino musical movement around the Bossa Nova style. A true period piece where the pieces flow smoothly for an articulate purpose.

This animation is one-of-a-kind as it introduces its audience to Jeff Harris (voiced by Jeff Goldblum). Jeff is a music journalist. He dives deep into the evolution of music and cultures and others that inspired how diversity in the genre began grew over the years. His writing and research shifts when he come across the story of Francisco Tenorio Junior, a Brazilian samba-jazz pianist. An artist with a lot going for him who vanished in Buenos Aires in the spring of 1976. The story is one that Jeff gets hooked on.

The film evolves into the creation of fascination when Jeff does interviews for the story. Many of the characters are the real people doing their own voices. The reality of the individuals taking part in the film adds value to the film—it heightens the lavish feel and surrealness of the many moving parts that Jeff comes across. Jeff interviews Malena Barretto (who was close with Francisco), Gilberto Gill (a musician who Franciso knew well) and many others who use their real name. The facts, the research, and the deep digging direction of the film are inspiring. Is there a form of lightness or darkness in the story of why Franciso disappeared though?

They Shot the Piano Player is animation with high quality artwork. Francisco is dead, and Jeff dives deep trying to figureout how he came to his demise. I found that the enticing factor was much of the glamour of the jazz world blended with aspiring animation. Jeff narrates each introduction to many of the moments of his research in this very moving picture. The amazing voice of Goldblum and his delivery of the facts is in tune with the investigative narrative of They Shot the Piano Player.

The focus of what the outcome might be tends to be misconstrued though as the film goes into musical history, cultural backgrounds, and continues to trace back to Francisco. This makes the film feel two-sided. Is the musical research the bigger picture or is it the death of Francisco? There is a track of too much information digging deep where the mind of its audience may feel altered or confused on some levels. Still, it maintains its breathtaking flow of the artistic and the divine. The many political vibes in the era of the Jazz movement and the international background go back and forth and the cleverness of the story is on point. Three out of four stars for They Shot the Piano Player.

Film reviews

Escape Review

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Escape takes place during a beach vacation where many of the women are beautiful. A vacation setting where parties are the main event. It quickly becomes a setting of having to be prepared for death. The film maintains an eerie continuity of direction that moves it forward. Written and directed by Howard J. Ford, Escape is one of those death-trap thrillers. This onethough, is one where it sold me for the first hour and then turned into just a blur for the last thirty-minutes. A blur of over-the-top and grotesque violence, blood-spattering, and disturbing images to keep up in attempting enticement for gore—it does not do any justice to the production.

The film centers on two girls, Karla and Tamsin. Karla is played by Sarah Alexandra Marks and Tamsin is played by Ksenia Islamova. They are two friends on a beach vacation. They make it to their resort, and within moments they are targeted by a sex trafficking organization. Jude (played by Louis James) is the one that targets the girls. The boss of the organization is Andres (played by Sean Cronin). The girls land in paradise only to later find themselves in a jail cell with other girls. Together they all must fight and figure out the captor’s routine to find a chance of fleeing for safety. With the cell being below a mansion many miles away in a desert, it is not an easy task.

The film starts out with that heavy approach of vulnerability. With the girls all talking in the cell and building up a plan they all realize they were captured in the same or similar way. The two lines of survival that spoke to me with Escape were “It’s done or die,” and “Information is key.” Those two quotes are at the core of what is to be accomplished in order to find the routes of making it out alive. The writing here is unsettling. It creates adynamic for the audience to think if the situation is real or not—these events do happen in real-life. Where is the path to fight and run? Are there any sources that can be traced?

The women use their personality and flirtatious attitude to influence the minds of the criminals guarding their cell. Once one task is achieved, the maze of violence emerges. The madness of chases and all kinds of mayhem gets more grotesqueas the storyline progresses. The film thrives primarily on a lot of stabbing and gut punching. Andres begins to lose his mind as he realizes his means of making his money is beginning to backfire, as the girls have learned his territory and methods. For Karla and Tamsin though, they are still vulnerable and limited in their options for escape.

The enticement hits a low point for this film when Escape goes down the path of relying soley on life-and-death writing. Thereis no way to flee while the criminals have control over the property which is hard to navigate. It is a Tetris of risking death in the desert. From there, it is just more extreme violence and trauma. The film tries to keep its realism of being intense, which may appeal to some, but not to me. I was left lackluster by how it was so much about the violence and chases over creating a stronger foundation of plot and providing reasons for the events that happen. Two out of four stars for Escape.