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Film reviews

Borderlands Review

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I loved the Borderlands video game franchise. I had anticipated that the writer and director would bring in some galore of expertise. That filmmaker is Eli Roth. When Borderlands had a PG-13 film rating, my gut started to warn me there might be floppyness. The mediocrity holds. Borderlands is a tragedy. Mind of Roth does not have the creativity for in-depth tragedies or stellar violence. There is a limited amount of that in  Borderlands. That leaves the writing on the wall of this dreadful adaptation from the video game franchise. It is an adaptation where the writing and pacing do not correlate for forms of invigoration. It is one of those flicks where tolerance will be necessary.

The film gears on Lilith (played by Cate Blanchett). Lilith is a bounty hunter. Lilith has a dreadful past. She finds her way back to her home planet Pandora. For those who have played video games, it is clear how the planet Pandora would be. Lilith is on a mission to find the daughter of Atlas. Atlas is the hierarchy as an S.O.B. Lilith finds this task complex without assistance. Lilith assembles of a team. They are all cocky. Her team consists of Roland (a mercenary played by Kevin Hart), Tiny Tina (an adolescent demolitionist played by Ariana Greenblatt), Krieg (Tina’s sidekick and played by Florian Munteanu), Tannis (a quirky scientist played by Jamie Lee Curtis), and Claptrap (an egotistical robot and played by Jack Black). All these characters are fit for their bonker roles, but that cannot save the audience from the dreadfulness of the outline itself.

It is an adaptation that fails to see concepts all the way through. It tries to be in its direction for humor and escapism (from the mind of Roth), and it is muddy. With an adaptation like this one, I thought it would seem more interactive. I expected there to be more open-world roaming moments (to feel like the video game itself). This one tries to stay in its lane and care about the mishaps of humor with Hart, Black, and the rest of the poor film in and of itself. There is no seriousness to the hero vibes of Borderlands. There is only frustration.

Pacing is a trainwreck in Borderlands. There is a saying that goes, “She seems deranged.” Instead, it should be “This dynamic is deranged.” Borderlands is a band of misfits that keep making the boredom feel worse. Its setting is a low-grade Mad Max environment meeting a massive roadblock of inconsistency. Borderlands does not know its elements for an enthralling adaptation.

The obliviousness of characterizations works for the atmosphere of Borderlands. The characters are the added fixation to the plot. They deserve much better. Borderlands is not action-packed, and it is not exhilarating. Borderlands only relies on humor (which keeps it dry). The opening makes its audience think of the video game franchise. The rest of the film goes in its wrecking way. It continues to be full of cliches. Regardless, there is no justice of achievement in Borderlands. One out of four stars.

Film reviews

Kill Review

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It is an astonishing thriller that holds no limits of mayhem. It is a ride where heads will spin. Every aspect of Kill left me breathless. Written and directed by Nikhil Nagesh Bhat, Kill is not one’s typical heist movie. It has moving parts that all come together. It throws fuel to the fire repeatedly and proactively. That is because of its setup of hostages, good guys, bad guys, and a train that is not stopping. Who will make it out alive? Both the good and the bad give everything they have in a train that is a death match for survival.

The film gears on Amrit (played by Lakshya). He is in love with Tulika (played by Tanya Maniktala). Tulika is forced (by her family) to marry a different man. Amrit has a plan to stop this engagement. Amrit joins her on a train heading to New Delhi. However, the halting engagement becomes the least important. Once the train starts to move, it becomes compromised by a gang that is extremely dangerous and lethal. The enemy (behind the criminal operation) is Fani (played by Raghav Juyal). Fani is ruthless and one who terrorizes his feelings of power and authority. Amrit is a trained soldier. When Amrit is in rage mode, he can do lots of damage.

Once people’s lives are on the line, there is more to the moving parts. It is all calculated. The criminals have their eyes on Baldeo (played by Harsh Chhaya). Baldeo is a man of wealth. Fani sees him as one for ransom. The train is a Tetris game. The train has cars in patterns where the ones with Fani are on different ends of the train, and so are the ones with Amrit. The passengers see how life-threatening the conflict is. Everyone does what they can to fight or survive. Once Amrit and Fani do some damage, it is instant death.

The thrilling /vibrations of the film had my heart pulsing. The eyes and rage of Amrit bring that feeling of fear. Amrit’s “fear” evolves into recklessness. It is done right! The film feels like The Raid (2011) meets The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009). That is because hostages are in a tango with massive and never-ending combat. All of which are insane and pushed to the limits. It does with context. The continuity of survival and power keeps getting tested. This aspect begins when the train continues towards dangerous territory. “Dangerous territory” is in all of Kill.

There is a moment where one says, “Think like Ali.” The reference is to the boxer Muhammad Ali. At this moment, one of the groups is trying to find the attitude to fight and continue. Those three words serve as an enticing purpose of the brilliance of Kill. Ali always had hard punches no matter what match, as does Kill.

All the mayhem had me thinking about previous films surrounding India. I thought about the worldwide sensation RRR and Monkey Man. Both of which had stylized mayhem with a structured storyline to keep rising. Kill rises to the depths as well. With similarities (to both films), Kill is the next level of international and cultural suspense. The aspect of battling for connection, importance, family, power, and beliefs is all part of the landscape of the war on board the train. A question kept flowing through my head with Kill. Who is the target if the deadly mission is a success? The mayhem juggles made my head go in circles of stimulation.

With all the factors of lives being on the line and a mission obscured (by Fani and his gang), the train is the conflict. Since it cannot stop, the only way to survive is to keep fighting (until the train reaches its destination). Who will win? Amrit or Fani? Do not miss this one-of-a-kind thriller where the velocity and magnitude of high-octane combat do not stop! It is astonishing and spellbinding. These films are rare to come by. My rating falls at four out of four stars for Kill.

Film reviews

The Strangers: Chapter 1 Review

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Why would there be the title The Strangers: Chapter 1? There were The Strangers, directed by Bryan Bertino, and The Strangers: Prey at Night, directed by Johannes Roberts. Bertino’s making of The Strangers remains the best one to this day. The Strangers: Prey at Night already takes the idea from the original and is mediocre. The Strangers: Chapter 1 is even more of a mess. It is a complete repeat of Bertino’s direction with some shifts. The “shifts” are drastic. The franchise finds its roots in silliness.

Bertino made use of his limited budget with his direction of The Strangers with his limited budget. He was also the original creator and writer. He had a mind to shock his audience. The Strangers: Chapter 1 is scares beyond the limits of predictability.

The film takes place around Oregon. A couple is going on a getaway. They are Maya (played by Madelaine Petsch) and Ryan (played by Froy Gutierrez). Their vehicle breaks down. They find themselves staying in a rented cabin in a remote forest. There are shady characters around the cabin. A night of romance becomes a night of a nightmare. It all starts with someone coming to the cabin and asking for someone who is not home. After that, three masked killers are on to Maya and Ryan. One is wearing a scarecrow mask, another is wearing a doll face mask, and the third is wearing a pin-up mask. 

As I have said before, it is a repeating feature. Poorly captured. I kept thinking back to moments from Bertino’s version. I would ask myself what direction is this trying to satisfy. In reality, it does not “satisfy” anything. It only fails to keep finding its roots in a drastic horror film. 

In its entirety, there is no clear line to finding the good in The Strangers: Chapter 1. Its writing and directions pick itself to fall in despair. The vibe of creating a horrific sophistication is one where “vibe” flaws. It does with a lack of structure in building the moving parts. In the moments when Ryan and Maya try to find their means of survival, there is no feeling of captivation. There are thoughts for its audience on how it is ripping off the original project of Bertino.

Is there a cabin in a forest? Yes. Does it start with someone knocking on the door? Yes. Do Ryan and Maya do all they can to fight back? Yes. Would it be better to revisit The Strangers from 2008? Absolutely. If the audience plans to watch this version, they should refresh their memory from the realism of the one from 2008. That one still had shaky moments that are hard to dismiss. 

The Strangers: Chapter 1 may be entertaining if people get a kick of horror. If fans have The Strangers from 2008 and then The Strangers: Prey at Night in 2018, The Strangers: Chapter 1 may be an easy pass. It is very hit-or-miss. There are no new gems to create something more terrorizing than the previous two in The Strangers: Chapter 1. There are moments to pick up on. That is all because of its goal to try and seem more appealing and start from the beginning. It does not accomplish anything of a revelation. One-and-a-half out of four stars.