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Film reviews

Bring Her Back Review

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This is one of those psychological rides that takes a new approach with layers of uncertainty below the core. With terror that shocks and surprises, it has treacherous backstory behind it. The sense of authenticity sparks incredibly, as Bring Her Back justifies itself to being one that will truly creep out its audiences and inevitably horrify them. It is not only the plot though, it is the fact that there is depth and pieces to put together. They are predictable, but the promising side of speculation is what makes it so engrossing.

Written and directed by Danny and Michael Philippou. These two filmmakers try to move up the ladder to new levels of excruciating and immersive scares in their continued projects. It sure notches up a few in Bring Her Back. To compare, Talk to Her correlates to Bring Her Back, but the premise has been twisted, they have added more truths and secrets in Bring Her Back. This is a guardianship scenario that is ignited with wrongdoings, and it must be stopped before it gets more out of hand. What captivates me with the Philippou duo is their forms of writing. They have a craft for creating fake or disturbing characterizations that are bound to be a lie—that is their key approach to creating their invigorating suspense in Bring Her Back.

The film centers on a brother and a sister, Andy (Billy Barratt) and Piper (Sora Wong). Their father has passed, and Andy is still too young to be a guardian to Piper, who also happens to be blind. They get paired with Laura (Sally Hawkins), a foster mom that delivers an eerie vibe. She also has another boy in the house named Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips), and he displays characteristics that are concerning. Andy begins to see the dangerous side of Laura, who has an intrusive nature and is always placing blame on him. She is doing it to turn Piper against him. After the death of their father, the pattern of the house creates a nightmare portrait for Andy. He can see it clearly, but Piper cannot due to her disability. Did Laura kill their father? Why does Laura have Oliver in concerning patterns of behavior? Why does Laura have bizarre rituals? Why is Laura encouraging abusive matters? Laura does have a motherly personality, but the writing is on the wall of the lies behind that façade.

The context of Bring Her Back presents itself as a truth that does not want to be believed. The audience will not want to believe all of what is happening, and neither do the characters themselves. The juxtaposition of terror disbelief drives forwarda unique brand of a nightmare in Bring Her Back. Many of the characteristics link to wrong choices, a lot of which are from Laura, who loops into action to create a more detrimental experience for Andy and Piper. 

 Bring Her Back delivers imagery that is hard to get out of viewers’ heads. Without giving away spoilers, I will say do not watch the film on a full stomach. It may leave some aching moments, however, it is also surreal, invigorating and inviting. Three out of four stars for Bring Her Back.

 

Film reviews

Lilo & Stitch Review

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Aloha times five! Lilo & Stitch is a joyful ride that provides fun for the whole family. Directed by Dean Fleischer Camp, I felt so much nostalgia from the animated version of this movie. The adventures of friendship and positivity to be found in moments of suspense make Lilo & Stitch feel special. To go right into the plot, the film focuses on Experiment 626 aka Stitch (voiced by Chris Sanders). Stitch is a little blue alien that has run away from Pleakley (played by Billy Magnusson) and Jumba (played byZach Galifianakis). Stitch has landed on Earth and be-friends Lilo (played by Maia Kealoha). Lilo is a young girl living alone with her sister Nani (played by Sydney Agudong). Their sibling relationship is filled with love and some complexities. Stitch and Lilo are inseparable, but can they deal with the crazy dangers that Stitch has brought to the planet?

The film is boisterous with Stitch pretending to be a dog. His infectious energy causes both kids and adults to laugh. I love this real-person adaptation because it is so authentic and true to the animated version from 2002. There are so many smiles, happy places, lots of sun, and plenty of waves. The Hawaiian setting perfectly highlights the adventures of this family. Because the detectives assume Stitch is a threat, hiding the obvious becomes more challenging. It also fuels the motives for sticking together as a family. The one spy that creates a dark brand of humor is Cobra Bubbles (played by Courtney B. Vance). Given his detective instincts, he knows there are fishy aspects going on with Stitch, Lilo, and Nani. The many ways to hide lead to lots of suspenseful moments and a sore belly from all the laughs. Lilo & Stitch is simply wonderful. 

With all the highs for Lilo connected to friendship, and Nani trying to adapt to Stitch, the theme of “Ohana” hit hard and touched me. The saying goes, “Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.” That term frequently comes to my mind thanks to Lilo & Stitch. It reminds me to remember to think about others and makes me think about my own family. For example, even though Stitch drives Nani crazy, she tolerates him because he is part of their “family.” Watching the film again filled me with memories of my younger sister who learned to surf during a beach vacation in Hawaii. While I am not a surfer, we loved watching the animated version of Lilo & Stitch when we were kids. I was reminded of her fascination with surfing and other special childhood memories while watching this new version.

I loved everything about Lilo & Stitch from the many ways it promotes happiness to the theme of doing what is right. It is an extremely well-done movie with an engaging vibe. It is an enjoyable ride of family and connection that will make hearts explode with empathy. Three-and-a-half out of four stars for Lilo & Stitch.

Film reviews

Hurry Up Tomorrow Review

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An idea that can have moments to shine and dazzle, but falls flat easily, Hurry Up Tomorrow presents a world of an artist falling into a place of darkness out of disconnect. There are a lot of lighting and cinematic moments in this film that push the limits of tolerance. The lights thriving back and forth are irresistible, although, this also makes the film seem out of place. The artist The Weeknd is the main character, and sadly, this is another mediocre project for him. After his series The Idol, the approaches of Hurry Up Tomorrow still do not do much justice to his talent.

 The Weeknd is on the road doing all kinds of tours in different cities and countries. His attitude is all over the place. It shifts a ton though when the attention of a girl comes to his mind. She is Anima (played by Jenna Ortega). The Weeknd finds himself distracted on his tour and his assistant Lee (played by Barry Keoghan) tries to encourage him to keep on going. With all the stress and turmoil boiling to a burning point, Hurry Up Tomorrow chooses to go in the direction of a strange angle.

 Hurry Up Tomorrow presents itself in a pattern where The Weeknd is the main character and story. His mind is in a boggle. The structure though is presented in a form that only finds itself to feel irritatingly over compelling. It tries to hard to grow its psychological side by repeated moments of strobe lights. That tactic is one that had my head spinning, but also my mind asking myself, how much do I have to endure? 

 It is a ride where building resilience is important. It is also one where there is no clear point. However, the connection of The Weeknd and Anima is the strong bond of Hurry Up Tomorrow.The dynamic between The Weeknd and Lee also holds things together well. The Weeknd is trying to navigate what his heart wants among all the mental clashing of his own world. Overall, though, the story just continues in the direction of boredom. As far as the visual film goes though, the cinematics are amazing. It is just the use of looping in a storyline to grasp the amazing moments that do not work.

 If I could explain this film any better, I would say that its choice to look at the stress of fame does not sell me. It fuels itself to try and have that God moment through the focus of the characterizations in The Weeknd.  It tries to be a separate idea or conjunction to feel like something that the world has not seen before, when overall, it struggles to maintain itself resulting in a weird blur.

Hurry Up Tomorrow is one of the least compelling stories I have seen. I was sold on the insomniac world it created, but on the usage of the foundation I was not. Overall, the structure quality it tries to achieve just does not fit. This is one I had to suffer through. One-and-a-half out of four stars.