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Film reviews

Juror #2 Review

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From director Clint Eastwood comes a courthouse film of detrimental misdirection. Juror #2 is one of the most authentic and stressful films of thought. It presents a layer of underlying issues that is being tossed around repeatedly. Eastwood knows characterizations and perspectives. Eastwood’s use of directing to get the full scope of a conflict lies out all kinds of emotions. If this is Eastwood’s last film, it is both monumental and tainted. “Tainted” by the fact that its release is so limited due to his disputes with Warner Bros. That is besides the point, but to elaborate, not everyone may get the chance to see it in the theatrical format (which is how it should be seen).

The film gears on Justin Kemp (played by Nicholas Hoult). Justin a normal man with a lot to live for, he has a happy relationship with his wife Allison Crewson (played by Zoey Deutch), and they are on their way to having their first child. Justin has jury duty and finds himself taking part in a trial of murder that carries a strong following. With serving on a jury with a retired police officer, Harold (played by JK Simmons), Marcus (played by Cedric Yarbrough), Denice (played by Leslie Bibb), and more, there is a lot of moving parts. The most stressful aspect is that Justin feels he is the one who caused the crime to happen. Despite the case of having a victim of a violent past, Justin’s memories come back to him. He is on the jury of a case he may have been the cause of. With two high-end attorneys Faith Killebrew (played by Toni Collette) and Eric Resnick (played by Christ Messina), justice is a puzzle that Justin keeps trying to spin around in circles. 

The case keeps linking back to the victim as one who did a killing, but he may have not. It may have been Justin, but no one knows this for sure, and neither does Justin. The mental stressors of Juror #2 present characterizations that keep the stressors mounted—keeping calm to find justice is not an easy task. The performance of Hoult shines of guilt while also trying to find a safe way for him to return to his life without feeling such admissions of guilt. There is no easy way for that to happen.

With Hoult and Collette in a performance by Eastwood, this is the second time they play two individuals not (always) seeing eye-to-eye. Collette played the mother of Hoult in About a Boyback in 2002. In that classic, they played a mother and son not finding common ground, twenty-two years later it is a juror and an attorney trying to find the pieces of where the deceit lies. Both of which play their roles so faithfully well. The court dynamics of facts, politics, seniority, and fairness keep tumbling over each other in the context of sacrifice. “Sacrifice” is a heavy aspect from Eastwood. With being just over nine decades old, the characterizations of truth still fight hard to find the correlations. The spellbinding notion of Juror #2 is the no excuses vibe of seriousness that flows from what started the whole case. Three-and-a-half out of four stars.

Film reviews

Renfield Review

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Vampire films have always appealed to me. Over the years, I have enjoyed lilms ranging from Count Dracula (1970) to Dracula (1992) to 30 Days of Night (2007). Renfield is another vampire movie that I found joy in. The film has a certain strong vibe surrounding the subject of vampires. It does focus at times on the fictional theories about vampires, including scenarios regarding how daylight is harmful to them. Renfield is a thrill ride of terror and comedy that is filled with fantasy galore. Nicholas Hoult has played creatures in a few projects previously. He played one in X-Men: First Class (2011) and again in Warm Bodies (2013). Despite his nice-guy persona and friendly characteristics he plays roles of monsters faithfully. Nicholas Cage is an expert at portraying all sorts of tycoons, and in Renfield he is one who is bonkers. Directed by Chris McKay, Renfield is ominous because of its many horrific and entertaining surprises.

In Renfield, Hoult is Renfield. He is the sidekick to Dracula (Cage). He has served as a servant for many generations with Dracula. He decides to pursue a life outside of the harrowing slave life.  He makes his way to New Orleans to have a fresh start and try to feel like a human being. This goes quickly awry. He joins a group for emotional support to help him feel normal, and he also befriends a police officer named Rebecca played by Awkwafina.  A change of scenery and new beginning is what Renfield has hoped for. Dracula, however, finds his way to Renfield to continue to make him suffer. With many issues impacting the environment which Renfield is not accustomed to, getting away from Dracula is not as easy as he anticipated.

With Renfield being an individual who is a vampire searching for normalcy, the film is a wild ride of madness. Expect lots of comical as well as terrifying moments and many slasher thrills. It may appear to be graphic, but it involves laughter in its craziness. Renfield is a horror ride that is witty and constructive. It continues its horrific vibes and mixes it for joyful excitement.

This invigorating film is truly one-of-a-kind. There are not many vampire films on the same level of comedy as Renfield. With Hoult and Cage as the leads, it is the perfect duo for unexpected shockers. Renfield may get gruesome, but it is hysterical and fictional not repulsive. The movie hits all the right points and will cause audiences to laugh their heads off like I did.

Surrealism combined with reality is where Renfield is quite thought-provoking. It is the algorithm to achieve the enthralling aspects of a successful vampire film. When Renfield desperately says, “I need to get out of a toxic relationship,” the audience knows they are in for a treat that is likely to deliver more than they expect to handle. How dangerous is the situation for Renfield? How dangerous is Dracula? With Cage playing Dracula, there are lots of surprises that exceed expectations.

Cage and Hoult played father and son in The Weatherman (2005). Their new relationship is slave and master in Renfield. To this day their relationship leads to all kinds of extravagant adventures. Those “adventures” reach new heights in Renfield. Three stars.

Film reviews

The Menu Review

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As a foodie, The Menu spoke to me on many levels. The subjects of food operations and related quality factors appealed to my taste. With Ralph Fiennes as the lead chef, I knew I was in for a treat. Again, he displayed the demonic attitude he often possesses in his roles. Given Fiennes’ performance, I would refer to The Menu as a film where Voldemort (from Harry Potter) opened a kitchen.

The Menu is stunning in its chronological order of events. The different courses and the high-class guests are one intriguing factor of the film. The continuation of courses is another factor. The courses are not the only interesting feature, because there are some dangerous consequences that come along in the restaurant as well. Audiences are in for some surprises as they embark on this wild food adventure.

The film begins with a couple, Tyler, and Margot (Nicholas Hoult and Anya Taylor-Joy). They travel to a high-end restaurant on a deserted island. Ralph Fiennes is Chef Slovik; opinionated, creative, passionate, and evil. The tale of food begins with an array of fancy dishes. However, as the night goes on, the Slovik’s attitude starts to deteriorate. As Slovik senses rudeness from his guests, he starts to make the restaurant experience go awry. The food choices start to be low-quality, the atmosphere becomes more harrowing, and there are more horrific surprises. Tyler, Margot, and everyone else in the restaurant may be at risk for something much more shocking than they have expected. The question is whether they can leave the restaurant safely.

As the more the film progresses, Fiennes’ performance is increasingly demonic. In the film, his character takes pride in his kitchen. When he sees his guests showing no appreciation (in his own mind), then the lavish experience takes a turn for the worse. Fiennes is fabulous when he is in his egotistical mode which is why I loved The Menu. Fiennes is simply fantastic playing the chef who must have his way like an evil king.

The Menu is anxiety-provoking with layers of dark comedy. Theaudience can sense that the experience is shady. Fiennes’ acting ability torments the viewers with invigorating madness. I found the film to be spectacular and stunning in large part due to the competition for respect in the kitchen which is especially challenging to receive in The Menu.

Is the restaurant experience harrowing? How much can go wrong? Did Tyler and Margot make a mistake? The Menu has those answers. It also has more witty and unexpected surprises which make this film the wild and twisted adventure of the Thanksgiving season. Three and a half stars for The Menu.