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Film reviews

The Royal Hotel Review

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The title The Royal Hotel is not the meaning its audience thinks. It is an experience where it finds its uncomfortable elements. The premise is promising, the acting is stellar, but the writing falls short in its lack of continuity. The result is a messy blur of a story. Written and directed by Kitten Green, The Royal Hotelis about a vacation going awry. The film is not lacking in narrative, but it continues on a path of redundancy. It does not stir any feelings whatsoever after experiencing it and leaves the viewer flat.

The film takes place in Australia and revolves around the relationship of two best friends, Hanna (played by Julia Garner) and Liv (played by Jessica Henwick). They are backpacking around the country and enjoying their adventure. All of this changes when they find themselves in a financial debacle. This puts them in a situation where they must find temporary jobs in order to have enough money to continue on their travels. They are assigned to work at a pub behind “The Royal Hotel.” As soon as they show up, they realize the place is questionable with a negative energy. The pub is in gross disrepair with broken showers and rude patrons indulge in drunkenness daily. The two managers are Billy (played by Hugo Weaving) and Carol (played by Ursula Yovich). They deliver poor training to Hannah and Liv, but the two young women learn to deal with it initially, until things begin to change.

With their touring being on hold for Hanna and Liv, working at the pub becomes their new existence for the time being. However, the continued drunkenness of the bar’s customers is hard for them to bear. The rudest of these folks are Matty (played by Toby Wallace), Teeth (played by James Frecheville) and Dolly (played by Daniel Henshall). Dolly is the worst of them all. Their pervasive flirting and disgusting behavior become intolerable for Liv and Hanna. Liv is a risk-taker and can handle it all much better than Hanna who is more sensitive. The uncomfortable setting of the hotel and the pub has turned their dream vacation into a nightmare.

The film may be set up with good guys and bad guys, but it quickly becomes repetitive. It relies heavily on the bad behaviors of Dolly, Matty, and Teeth to make the storyline more unnerving. This dark tale has a hard time finding its purpose and quickly becomes a bore. The disasters at the bar and the crazy customers never stop. The dynamic of characters in a deserted setting where dangerous and innocent minds clash creates an unpredictable experience that really does not work.

Problems keep rising and the pub finds itself in financialturmoil. It is in an odd place, the people are always negative, and Hanna and Liv are treated poorly—all of this indicates that getting out of “The Royal Hotel” will be a treacherous path. It is not long before Hanna and Live are pressured to make choices with irreparable consequences. The longer they stay, the more vulnerable they are. They find themselves in a boxing match with the increasingly bad behavior of the drunken bar patrons.Their rage is fueled by putting up with constant abuse. But where does it find its resolution? There is too little backstory on the girls to feel for them or care about their situation. The film’s foundations are set up poorly and it jumps right to the suspensein a weak attempt to offer substance. A horrid vacation experience that does not deliver any element of the thriller it strives to be. Two out of four stars for The Royal Hotel.

Film reviews

It Lives Inside Review

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Religion and culture create a theme of terror in It Lives Inside. The title speaks for itself based on the foundation of the film’s setup. There is that eerie feeling of terror that shivers through the audience as they realize a spirit is growing. Sadly, it is not that surprising nor very innovative. It Lives Inside is based on a shared perspective of families celebrating a holiday based on their culture and the belief that their tradition keeps evil spirits out of their lives. In It Lives Inside the tradition brings the evil spirit to haunt its main character. Then, as the film progresses, there are some gems and wonders. However, it becomes a film which is about time being of the essence to fight off the spirit rather than the story working hard to be very interesting.

In It Lives Inside, the film focuses on Poorna (played by Neeru Bajwa). She is an Indian American teenager who is disconnected from the reality of her cultural identity. She struggles to practice religion with her parents in her home life. She also has had a falling out with a close friend, Tamira (played by Mohana Krishnan). As Poorna keeps distancing herself from Tamira, a demonic spirit begins to slowly arise and finds its way to Poorna. Suddenly, Tamira is missing, and the demonic spirit stays with Poorna. With the unexplained deaths of Poorna’s friends, she must find what is necessary to stop the demonic spirit from wrecking her own life.

Poorna’s loneliness is where the spirit finds its motive. The fascination of It Lives Inside is how solitude and disconnect are what target Poorna. She is disconnected from who she is as a person and questions her faith. The film’s writing lacks emphasis on the links to the terror caused by the demonic spirit. The film continues to be a bit of a trainwreck with typical horror film scares. The idea is somewhat creative and interesting, but the writing falls flat.

Poorna’s life of facing agonizing frustrations is where the film is invigorating. The fact that her relationship with her parents is in an odd place builds the haunting aspects more than the demonic spirit. Does Poorna want to be cool? Does Poorna hate her life? Is there a past scenario that leads Poorna to be more distant? Where is the logic to the demonic spirit bringing Poorna trouble? Many unanswered questions seem half-answered throughout the film. Perhaps it is because the film seems rushed.

There are many spiritual discussions and disagreements in the story. Even Poorna’s parents believe that being unfaithful is what causes the problems in her life. There may be some truth to that, but Poorna struggles to talk about the problem which is complicated. All of It Lives Inside is a disappointing drag that never finds a way to pick itself up as much as it should. This is somewhat upsetting because its plotline could have included more details, explanations, and a better understanding of why problems arise. What does arise is hatred within Poorna’s family and a demonic spirit appearing in strange fragments throughout the film. Two out of four stars for It Lives Inside.

Capsule Reviews, Film reviews, Revisited classics

Oldboy 20-year Anniversary Restoration Review

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In 2003, director Park Chan-wook brought the world Oldboy, an in-depth film full of psychological suspense and mayhem. Its presentation is rapid which is the result of a grandeur of revolutionary directing. With Oldboy restored and back in cinemas for its 20-year anniversary, audiences are in for a treatwhether they’ve seen the movie before or are experiencing it for the first time. The setting of South Korea is dark as is thestoryline in this thriller. Park Chan-wook’s faithful direction of every fragment of the film is excellent. The film focuses on a man named Dae-Su Oh (played by Choi Min-sik), who has been kidnapped and spends fifteen years being imprisoned by captors. He made a mistake which led him to be locked up for many years with no windows and fed only dumplings. Once he finds a way out, he must find the pieces to explain why he has been locked up for so long. The audience can feel the tension of Oldboy through the vast narration during Min-sik’s performance.It is said that the motto of his character, Dae-Su Oh, is, “Just get by the day quietly.” However, there comes a storm of unexpected vengeance.

The poetic art of portraying frustration is mesmerizing because of surreal directing. The storyline is spellbinding throughout Oldboy. Once Dae-Su escapes, the film is a montage of monumental revenge. It is like an orchesis of building climaxes with technological and cinematic effects. In the film it is said, “Vengeance is healthy,” but how healthy is it for Dae-Su to put together the pieces of himself which were locked up for many years? Oldboy is a masterpiece two decades later and its restoration is one that deserves appreciation. Four stars.