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Film reviews

Dream Scenario Review

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Ever wonder what it is like to have the same type of dream many times? Ever wonder why a particular dream shifts or changes patterns? Would it be concerning if the same person kept showing up in a dream? One man’s presence in others dreams becomes his new spotlight and nightmare. Director and writer Kristoffer Borgli brings us on a journey that is surreal and unexpected in Dream Scenario. Nicholas Cage plays his role portraying annoyance and aggravation with passion. Dream Scenario is a world of misunderstandings in a man’s life that create a hole that is hard to climb out of. Cage has taken on roles in the past where he plays characters dealing with anxietyas in Matchstick Men (2003) and Leaving Las Vegas (1995), however here he is just a man trying to live his normal and successful life, but one coincidence keeps repeating itself totorment his life.

In Dream Scenario Cage plays Paul Matthews. Paul is a tenured professor of Biology. One who is passionate about his field of study and passionate about his students and success. His life of normalcy seems intact with his wife Janet (played by Julianne Nicholson) and their daughters Sophie (played by Lily Bird) and Hannah (played by Jessica Clement). For Matthews though,things start to change, as people begin to inform him that they keep seeing him in their dreams. It happens consistently. He is in their dreams in all kinds of patterns. Some of which are him being harmful and some of which he is just a bystander. The scenarios of the dreams featuring Paul become a phenomenon. This starts to take a toll on Paul’s life. He begins to get celebrity-type attention and receives many messages from people all over the world. Somehow, Paul just cannot stop showing up in people’s dreams. The crazy part is that he is doing nothing to promote this, it is just happening.

There is a point where Paul meets with a publisher to pitch a story about his biological studies as he wants to write a book, but he is informed that they are more interested in hi existence as an unexplained legend of being in people’s dreams. This puts Paul on edge…LIKE CRAZY! Soon it begins to damage his home life with his wife Janet, his daughters and their friends. The mental strain of knowing he is part of so many people’s dream life is just too much. It is a film where Cage is in turmoil like never before. His nightmare is an adventure of searching for answers and there is no end in sight, and it is a phenomenon.

Even with the troubles of the dreams causing underlying issues for people and Paul, the film’s direction sees some lighter sides too. A touching moment in the film takes place when Cage is imagining himself dressed in the over-sized suit as David Byrne from Talking Heads. Despite both the negative and positive vibes, the continuity of Dream Scenario lies in its creativity inexploring the wonders of the subconscious. Under the direction of Borgli, the experience of Dream Scenario has its moments where its audience will feel it is revolutionary.

With Cage in the role of a professor, there is also the risk of his tenured track being at risk, as more students and faculty have complaints about him being in their dreams. This adds another layer of complexity to the film’s already engaging plot. Theturmoil of Cage’s performance becomes invigorating based upon his frustration. He always delivers that vibe of being annoyed, angry, and frustrated all at once. At the same time, we can see the embarrassment and the anxiety in his role as one whose reputation is going down a horrid ladder.

Dream Scenario delivers with a concept that is clever and unique. It is one where brilliant ideas are hidden. The onlyconcern is with the writing and finding common ground. However, that element is part of the story, based on an existence that is out of one’s control, and that is where it is classic. Will Cage be showing up in your dreams after watching Dream Scenario? Do you want him to be in your dreams? Crazy and unforgettable outcomes are all possible factors in Dream Scenario. Three out of four stars.

Film reviews

The Marvels Review

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My anticipation for The Marvels was so-so, and it didn’t even meet up to those expectations. The introduction is a blur, the film jumps right into the conflicts, and it makes the Marvel cinematic universe feel not so much like part of a movie series, but more like a television series. The introductions and approaches in previous films in the franchise were so much more inviting. The heroes in this installment are also redundant, and there are unexplained universe entanglements. Overall it is one of the most lacking films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe thus far.

The plot of The Marvels links back to Carol Danvers a/k/a Captain Marvel (played by Brie Larson). The universe is in a flux and her powers hit a halt because her powers get mixed with two other ladies, Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau (played by Iman Vellani and Teyonah Parris). This mixup presents a serious challenge and danger to Carol in her mode as Captain Marvel. With no time to find strategies to mend the powers, the three ladies must work to be heroes together. Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson) is also back to assist.

I will give the film credit for how the three ladies interact. Captain Marvel and Monica Rambeau have brighter minds and a better sense of how to handle danger, while Kamala is still learning the ropes. The annoyance and frustration among the three could be entertaining and enjoyable at times. But it didn’t make up for the off base and out of focus writing, and the plot of the film unfolding too fast. It is one of the most rushed films I have seen in the Marvel film series. Character development is critical for a Marvel film to be strong. It also requires careful linking back to the previous Marvel films. This film was weak on both accounts.

The plus side of The Marvels is that the film is only an hour and forty-five minutes long—one of the shortest Marvel movies in a long time. It was a relief on some level with how short it was, because the ridiculousness of the film could be hard to bear.

The universe being impacted as the focus of yet another Marvel film storyline is possibly the central problem of The Marvels. They writers really need to come up with some different premises at some point. I’m sure the madness of the COVID pandemic, with the shifting of projects, didn’t help the creative process.

What is next after The Marvels? Who is the new hero will have a following? Where will the universe go? I just hope there is a trend of a storyline that can be found later in the franchise that is not so rushed and quirky like The Marvels. Two out of four stars for The Marvels.

Film reviews

Thanksgiving Review

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A holiday title with a horror vibe in November is like an extension of the Halloween season (even though the holiday has passed). Thanksgiving is a film that takes some of the real nightmares of the holidays and multiplies them by ten. Director Eli Roth is known for frequent grotesque scenes in his movies, yet with Thanksgiving he takes this to a new level. However, it is unfortunately one riddled with redundancies and inconsistencies. The film is set in Plymouth Massachusetts where the Thanksgiving holiday is a big deal for this small town. The intimate sense of community heightens the horror of what is about to take place. Although it takes place on Black Friday, it still feels like a Halloween slasher made with the bloody violence as the main form of entertainment with little story content. However, in this instance, it is not so enticing for the moviegoer. It ends up feeling more disgusting than inviting. Imagine the Scream franchise with its additional ingredients being Black Friday terrors and aftermaths. That is what the Thanksgiving experience is under the direction of Roth feels like and it is nothing more than mediocre.

Plymouth, Massachusetts is the supposed birthplace of the Thanksgiving holiday, as the first pilgrims were said to have landed and established their colony there. Ironically, now Black Friday sales are in full swing there at a store called Straight Market. The frenzy of the sale causes a riot where people end up dead or severely injured. A night of holiday shopping that turns into extreme violence as people get killed over silly items for sale. The many horrors of Black Friday spiral downhill in Thanksgiving. After the events at the Straight Market, a killer who wears a John Carver mask and is dressed as a pilgrim starts killing individuals one-by-one. Those who are killed are ones associated with the riots at the store. Teenagers are targeted and must figure out the pattern to halt the killer’s next victim. Those teens are Ryan (played by Milo Manheim), Gabby (played by Addison Rae), Jessica (played by Nell Verlaque), Evan (played by Tomaso Sanelli) and Bobby (played by Jalen Thomas Brooks). There are others involved but these individuals seem to be most important to the pattern of the killer. The town law officer is Sheriff Newton (played by Patrick Dempsey). As the slaughter continues with the masked killer in bizarre places at bizarre moments a link forms to the riot from the previous year of the Black Friday sale. A sale that went awry and stirs the pot for new terror, danger and deaths. This becomes an experience of repetitiveness of grotesqueness that is not so appealing and leaves the viewer unimpressed.

Roth is a director who likes to push the limits of violence, but more attention needs to be given to an engaging storyline over simply tossing around scenes of pure gore. The brutality of Thanksgiving is just a bore. It is not new, it is not much of an amazing experience, and it is poorly written and directed. It does perhaps give one pause to give into the urge of Black Friday shopping this holiday season. The addition of a killer to the holiday shopping spree was not scripted well to the extent that it did not lend an aura of excitement. It simply delivered graphic kills, unexpected discoveries, and continued to lack in the qualities of what a horror film should be—a eerily joyful experience. The mind of Roth has got some clever ideas, but it is focused too much on grossing his audiences out rather than inviting them into a world of amazement.

One of my least favorite films with the slasher vibe this year. With too many moments of stupidity and poor approaches, Thanksgiving is not much of a fun holiday experience. It is not funny or even astonishing, it is most unfortunately disappointing. Two out of four stars for this one.