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Film reviews

Weapons Review

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For the first time in quite a while, I felt scared. My gut was wrenching, and I jumped from my seat many times. Writer and director Zach Cregger brings in believable scares along with rapid twists and angles that are mortifying. Weapons is a circus ride of terror that is a mystery full of hidden truths. A lot can go wrong in a small town, but when children continue to go missing and weird things happen, no one is safe. There are a whole of unanswered questions and plenty of frights lying within Weapons.

The film takes place in a small-town setting, and the first person of interest is a schoolteacher named Justine Grandy (Julia Garner). Her class is the one from which children go missing.  There is a police officer named Paul (Alden Ehrenreich) who is involved in many strange scenarios. There is also Anthony (Austin Abrams) an adult junkie adult always looking for drugs. There is also Archer Graff (Josh Brolin) who is looking for answers in the search for the missing children. While Justine builds a strange reputation, the town begins to have one itself. This is in part because there is only one kid standing named Alex Lilly (Cary Christopher). Alex’s grandma is Gladys Lilly (Amy Madigan). Why is Alex the only kid that has not disappeared? Why did the other kids disappear? What is the strange force that lingers in this town?

The writing of the film is boiling over with scares that roll their way down the aisle quite unexpectedly. Based on Cregger’s direction, my skin was crawling. However, even though there are many moments of flash frights, his incorporation of laughing moments combined with those that were creepy boggled my mind and made me crave more. I especially appreciated thedynamic where there is someone who seems easy to blame, but then the truth comes out in the most unexpected ways.

It is one of those thrillers that truly give fans of terror exactly what they come to the movies looking for. Cregger nails it in just the right way! By creating a foundation of hatred among a community but then looping in the bigger picture in small increments, he creates a pattern of shock value that tests the boundaries of his audience. Weapons is in a league of its own because of the way it rapidly boggles the brain. Overall, it is a unique film which spirals at moments that feel like a zombie thriller with more to offer. The story being based upon a community having terrors caused by an unknown secret works.

 I found Weapons to be one of the most fun summer’s end horror flicks with notes of comedy. A lot of its appeal is due to how karma related to choices leads to mortifying scenarios. The film is a real gem. Weapons is not a masterpiece, but the film effectively tests the waters. What happened to the missing children? Why does only the scene remain? Who is to blame? Find out in Weapons. Three-and-a-half out of four stars.

 

Film reviews

F1: The Movie Review

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There is a blasting that makes the heart pulse. The start of F1: The Movie sounds like the engines revving up for a race to begin. Only it is not one race, it is multiple races. There is competition that spirals with resilience in F1: The Movie which makes it exhilarating. Director Joseph Kosinski has not lost his touch for sound quality. Given that I’ve experienced these events in real life, F1: The Movie had me sold not only due to the plot, but also due to the way it incorporates politics and collaboration. Teamwork thrives in a spellbinding fashion in F1: The Movie.

The film’s focus is on Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt), a driver who has won many kinds of races. However, he stopped racing in Formula One at one point in his life. His friend, mentor, and colleague recruits him to race in Formula One again. That man is Ruben (Javier Bardem). For Sonny, the race is about politics and feeding his ego. But for his new team, Formula One is a race in new territory that is more uncharted than he expects.

The story is all about Sonny learning the new course that has been put in front of him. F1: The Movie brings in the different components of training. Sonny has a teammate named Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris) who is a young rookie building a name for himself and trying to develop his own audience. The competitiveness of the races is heated and grows rapidly. The dynamics between Sonny and Joshua are complex as racers who strive for success and do not want to share their growth or their wins with each other. 

The races are where the true colors and competitive side of the racers shine in F1: The Movie. The different outcomes of the many races create an interesting trail which keeps the audience curious as each race carries a new result. The loud volume of the film also adds to the impact. The political dynamics make their way to the track repeatedly in F1: The Movie. The uncharted territory tests the skills of the drivers and leads to some unexpected results. The film’s continuity shows the characters’egos. The brewing rivalry helps the audience feel the engines as they get faster and louder as does the anger which adds fuel to this sport.

Throughout the races and the various outcomes, the dynamics of the story remain faithful. Pitt, Bardem, and Pearce alternatively encourage each other and resent each other. The director effectively portrays the many mixed feelings which are displayed prominently in F1: The Movie. The thrill of winning and the harshness of sharing a championship creates the ivory towel feeling in F1: The Movie. The frustration shown in the characterization of Pitt’s performance paints an important picture. The fact that it takes much repetition to learn the steps when driving a new vehicle along with the attention of the press, expectations of the fans, and the excitement of the races…all heat up and accelerate to full speed in this film. Three-and-a-half out of four stars.

 

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.