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Film reviews

Final Destination: Bloodlines Review

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The plot of cheating death with a background full of layers of investigation spirals ferociously in Final Destination: Bloodlines. This film is one of the most adventurous, yet predictable thrillers in this franchise. Directed by Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein who have mastered the craft of looping in family ties. I enjoyed Final Destination: Bloodlines more than I did the previous films. This time around, the focus on the objectives of XYZ adds an intriguing presence. Final Destination: Bloodlines succeeds in testing fate. 

With this being the sixth film in the franchise, I reflected on which other ones had me the most sold. The determined that I liked Final Destination, Final Destination 2, and Final Destination 5 best, because those films had tension that made audiences feel the terror at new levels. In Final Destination 3and 4, I felt there was too much redundancy due to writing which covered the other films and caused those films to feel less eerie. In Final Destination 5, however, I felt the terrors and scares went up a level again. In my book, Final Destination: Bloodlines is on the same level as and up to par with Final Destination 5.

The plot of the film begins with an individual’s nightmare. Her name is Iris Campbell (Brec Bassinger). Iris survived a horrific incident many ages before in a glass sky tower. Years later, her grand daughter, Stefanie Reyes (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) is having nightmares about her grandma’s horrific nightmare. The cycle in Stefanie’s head swirls. The moving parts make sense in her head, but it is just a matter of time before fatalities start happening out of the blue. Actions as simple as the press of a button, an item falling, or overheating temperatures are a significant reason this franchise continues to be horrifically invigorating.

My fascination is Final Destination: Bloodlines is its contextual pattern which is like karma toppling karma. When one death happens it spirals in sync with others who are close or related. This is why Stefanie is the character of importance. She is the one with visions and is trying to understand the truth behind why certain events happened. The limiting factor is the timeline to prevent tragedies. Final Destination: Bloodlines boils the pot of suspense. 

The movie is invigorating yet still a bit redundant with too much repetition and correlation with the previous films. Stefanie’s dreams have depth and purpose but are not enough to stop all of what comes falling. There is a saying in the film that goes, “Cheated death and survived.” The presence of tragedy awaiting a fatality lingers perilously in Final Destination: Bloodlines. It is one of the most built-up, psychological and spellbinding films in the franchise. Hiding behind doors or the truth is not the answer and only leads to avoidance not piecing together the puzzle. It is too late to stop what has already begun. Be ready for a ride of terror that begins thousands of stories high and then swirls in all sorts of dangerous directions. Three out of four stars for Final Destination: Bloodlines.

Film reviews

Friendship Review

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When I went into this movie knowing that it stars Paul Rudd, what instantly came to my mind was his film, I Love you, Man–primarily because of the concept of a lack of friendship. That film was a hard R comedy with many humorous moments. Friendship has both of those components, but in a darker narrative. It works to still be dark and mutually funny with its undertones. Friendship is one of the most audacious and vibrant films I have seen to date. A bipolar disorder goes to the brink of mania in Friendship.

Friendship is written and directed by Andrew DeYoung. As a director, he captures the mode of mid-life crisis hitting a plateau and then adding many levels on top of it. Friendship’s main character is Craig (played by Tim Robinson). Craig is an introvert with a normal life and family. His wife is Tami (played by Kate Mara), and his son is Steven (played by Jack Dylan Grazer). Craig realizes he has a new neighbor, Austin (Rudd). They begin a “friendship”, but then their relationship becomes competitive over success. However, it is more about Craig overcoming his introverted mode that is the key to the film’s built-up tones of humorous suspense and laughter.

The livelihood is the mix of the film’s layers of success and frustration that create patterns. Craig feels jealous easily, and Austin feels uncomfortable easily. Austin puts up a boundary, and Craig feels disconnected. When Craig gets to the lonesome stage, all bets are off when it comes to his level of maturity. “Maturity” does not exist in Friendship.  The way this is written and presented is a revelation that I found to be astonishing. That is because it keeps finding the components to topple laugh after laugh.

Friendship creates an outlook that makes its audience understand who is reaching the crazy stage. It may look like Craig at one point and then Austin at another. The times where it hits the fan for both of those scenarios are ones to thank Craig for. The wonder of fun is the instant and repeated curiosity to who will fall apart first or go into a tirade that is hard to forget. Robinson and Rudd are a duo of suburban dads, each trying to create a perfectionist personality.

Friendship continues to display how the behavior of Craig is creating a weird environment. This is where the writing continues to be captivating.  The responses are humanistic in nature.  Like Craig’s son and wife, they tend to shift off in their own direction. Craig continually tries with  them and Austin, yet his approach is quite invasive. Of course, though, it only leads to more boundaries. When that happens more disasters, including a scenario with a sewer tunnel, self-destructive behavior, and a lot more angry moments get unpacked. The many curiosities of frustration do provoke laughter with excellence in a bizarre direction  in Friendship.

 If I had to compare, I do feel that the film relates to real-life loneliness, especially in the context of Craig giving in repeatedly in order to feel some sense of satisfaction. That correlation is what stirs the pot with overlapping contingencies and where this screenplay creates the highest peak of disconnect in Friendship. Three-and-a-half out of four stars for Friendship.

 

 

 

 

Film reviews

Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning Review

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The many films in this franchise have tested boundaries and pushed limits on stunts. Through it all, the often-misdirected grandeur always succeeds and does again in This is Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning. As someone hooked on this franchise, my heart has adjusted to the pulsing moments when Tom Cruise is running, jumping, and flying. In each of the films, his performance includes a key component—the acceptance of his mission. 

Directed again by Christopher McQuarrie, who has been the director since Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation (the fifth film in the franchise). In Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning the landscape is set by many events from previous films which fuel the film’s high-octane suspense. I have always been enthralled by Cruise’s stunts in the franchise. From running on buildings and trains to hovering over planes, my adrenaline is fueled by the element of surprise. It felt like there were ten times more surprising outcomes in Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning.

The team is back, and Cruise plays Ethan Hunt who is continuing his fight from Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One. The risk of missiles set in different countries waiting to be unleashed puts many lives at stake. The enemy is Gabriel (Esai Morales). Ethan teams up once again with Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames), Grace (Hayley Atwell), and Degas (Greg Tarzan Davis). With countries at risk, Ethan has many difficult choices to make. The possibility of survival hangs in the balance in Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning. 

This is the most audacious, dramatic, and vividly stunning Mission: Impossible experience.  The missiles are hidden, so Ethan and his team must put the pieces together and know who they can trust. The film’s story spans just a matter of days, which isn’t long for Ethan to put an end to the exponential risks. Time has been of the essence since the beginning of the franchise. My head was spiraling with curiosity about the many missions that led to Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning. There have been many technological factors that have created a following over the years. The dynamic performances of Cruise, Rhames, and Pegg are the pinnacle of these movies throughout their many missions over the years.

One very invigorating aspect of the film is how much more scientific the approaches are. It is deep with the tactics—places, operations, alternatives, Plan B’s, and a flurry of other intriguing elements for its audience. “The entity” is still the biggest source of danger …even more than Gabriel, the primary enemy. Ethan’s choices and all the adventures to find the truth are like a waterfall of a treacherous nature which fills the screen with mind-blowing cinematic scenes. The film is all about what Cruise brings in his role as Ethan Hunt.

The risks of the various moving parts escalate as the time runs out in Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning. As tasks are completed, the layer of hidden truths unravels and leads to more twists and turns. At times, the stunning cinematics made me feel like I needed to wear a helmet, especially when Cruise is fighting on a plane, trying to save himself while trying to stop a threat that could destroy many around the world. Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning is unstoppable! 

As the treacherous tasks unravel, the film shifts back to the previous films, which is positive for audiences in that it provides a link to how the risks correlate to what is going on in Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning. The scenarios and choices all serve a logical purpose. The film’s suspense even proves that with the many tunnels and underwater scenarios that lead to Cruise’s incredible stunt. The cinematic ride is one for ages and is a wonderful reminder of how suspenseful this franchise has been. Three-and-half out of four stars for Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning.