MOVIE REVIEW: THE BLACK PHONE

 

Finney Shaw is a shy but clever 13-year-old boy who's being held in a soundproof basement by a sadistic, masked killer. When a disconnected phone on the wall starts to ring, he soon discovers that he can hear the voices of the murderer's previous victims -- and they are dead set on making sure that what happened to them doesn't happen to Finney.

Director: Scott Derrickson

Cast: Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies, James Ransone, Ethan Hawke

Release Date: June 24, 2022

Genre: Horror 

Rated R for violence, bloody images, language and some drug use

Runtime: 1h 43m

Review:

Scott Derrickson's The Black Phone is a solid throwback of a thriller which makes efficient use of it's setting and cast.  Derrickson's film uses it's 70's setting to great effect while avoiding the usual nostalgia overload may productions like to wallow end.  There is a certain authenticity to the way he shoots his film resulting in some striking and memorable visuals.  The story, based on Joe Hill's short story, is simple and fairly straightforward making for lean storytelling which keeps all the action laser focused.  This all wouldn't matter if the younger cast members weren't up for the task.  Thankfully, Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw are more than up for the task.  Thames has the kind of authenticity and naturalism that's hard to find in most younger actors.  He's able to carry the film ably with relative ease which does wonders for the film.  Madeleine McGraw steals every scene she in and is ultimately the beating heart of the entire film.  Ethan Hawke makes for an intriguing villain by giving him a tangible sense of unpredictability and ferocity.  His character's appearances are unnerving but the film doesn't provide much depth to him making him a cypher.  A more fleshed out character would have made him a more memorable film villain.  As is, The Black Phone is the kind of easily enjoyable thriller that sets out to provide some classic scares in a tight bit of filmmaking.  

B

MOVIE REVIEW: ELVIS

 

From his rise to fame to his unprecedented superstardom, rock 'n' roll icon Elvis Presley maintains a complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker, over the course of 20 years. Central to Presley's journey and happiness is one of the most influential people in his life -- Priscilla.

Director: Baz Luhrmann

Cast: Austin Butler, Tom Hanks, Helen Thomson, Richard Roxburgh, Olivia DeJonge, Luke Bracey, Natasha Bassett, David Wenham, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Xavier Samuel, and Kodi Smit-McPhee

Release Date: June 24, 2022

Genre: Biography, Drama, Music

Rated PG-13 for substance abuse, strong language, suggestive material and smoking

Runtime: 2h 39m

Review:

Baz Luhrmann's Elvis is a frenetic carnival ride of a biopic that shakes up the formula enough to make the genre feel fresh.  Luhrmann's garish style is perfectly suited for Elvis, something that shines through during the film's energetic and meticulously crafted stage sequences.  These moments pulsate with an engaging sense of verve that's hard to resist.  The opening introduction is masterfully played as Luhrmann slowly reveals the fresh faced star in the form of an electric Austin Butler.  Butler simply dissolves into the role, capturing the soulfulness and playfulness of his real life counter part.  Its a fascinating turn for multiple reasons especially since Elvis' persona has been parodied and mimicked excessively by now but he manages to play him with a tangible sense of humanity in the film's quieter moments.  The film uses Colonel Tom Parker deathbed memories as the film’s framing device but it keeps the audience at arm’s length from Elvis’ state of mind especially in his later days which seems like a missed opportunity.  Tom Hanks, under heavy make up, plays Parker like a carnival conman opportunist who latches onto Elvis.  Its a solid performance but you get the sense that Hanks is limited by the prosthetics and cartoonish accent leaving the character as more of a caricature than a fully formed person.  That being said, Hanks and Butler do share some strong sequences together where the script lays bare how the conman kept his grips on the star.  Baz Luhrmann and Jeremy Doner penned the script and its less interested with factual accuracy than it is in capturing those singular moments in his life.  It smartly engages on the issues of musical appropriation never shying away from pointing out where Elvis' inspiration came from.  It would have been easy to gloss over that and focus solely on the spectacle which Luhrmann still does in spades.  There is a sense that Baz cares deeply about his central subject even though he still can't help himself and over indulge in his showmanship, particularly in the final act where attrition starts to dull the effect, but he still manages to deliver a Elvis biopic that will leave plenty of people happy.

A-

MOVIE REVIEW: LIGHTYEAR

 

Buzz Lightyear embarks on an intergalactic adventure with a group of ambitious recruits and his robot companion.

Director: Angus MacLane

Cast: Chris Evans, Keke Palmer, Peter Sohn, Taika Waititi, Dale Soules, Uzo Aduba, Mary McDonald-Lewis, Efren Ramirez, Isiah Whitlock Jr.

Release Date: June 17, 2022

Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure, Drama, Family, Sci-Fi

Rated PG for action/peril

Runtime: 1h 40m

Review:

If we are being honest there is no good reason for a Lightyear film to exist outside of cashing in on a well known property.  We're told with a quick line of text to open the film that this is the movie that makes Andy want the Buzz action figure in the original Toy Story.  Outside of that bit of crossbreeding, director Angus MacLane goes about delivering a visually impressive sci-fi origin story that pays homage to classic films like Star War, Trek with bits of Aliens and 2001 sprinkled in for good measure.  MacLane keeps the action moving at a steady pace while managing to deliver an emotional montage that echoes the opening sequence from Pixar's Up.  On its surface the script plays like a light fairly straightforward sci-fi adventure at first but it reveals a deeper emotional core as the story moves on even if not as revelatory as some of Pixar's other films.  Chris Evans voice work leads the film even if it takes a minute to get used to him voicing the role.  Evans finds a tenor in his voice that echoes Tim Allen voicework but with enough of that Captain America sound to make it his own. It’s a fun performance played a bit more seriously which fits in with the movie.  The supporting cast of Keke Palmer, Peter Sohn, Taika Waititi, Dale Soules and Uzo Aduba all deliver solid performances even if the characters are slightly underwritten to the point where they don't make the impression they should.  The real standout is Peter Sohn who voices Sox, Buzz's robotic cat assistant, who manages to bring an engaging but fun voice to his character.  Sohn's character gets some of the best comedic moments in the film and will probably be the most memorable of supporting cast.  Lightyear is a crowd-pleasing film that delivers enough fun Toy Story Easter Eggs to keep longtime fans happy and enough action to keep younger kids entertained even if it's not in the top tier of Pixar's catalogue.

B+

MOVIE REVIEW: JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION

 

The future of mankind hangs in the balance as humans and dinosaurs coexist following the destruction of Isla Nublar.

Director: Colin Trevorrow

Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill, BD Wong, Omar Sy, Isabella Sermon, Justice Smith, Daniella Pineda, DeWanda Wise, Mamoudou Athie, Campbell Scott, Scott Haze, Dichen Lachman

Release Date: June 9, 2022

Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action, some violence and language

Runtime: 2h 26m

Review:

Jurassic World: Dominion, supposedly the final entry in the franchise, is a bloated, tired exercise in soulless blockbuster filmmaking.  Colin Trevorrow's film is shockingly inert even as it traverses multiple continents before its first action set piece begins.  Those sequences, even those that borrow familiar beats from previous films, are the high points as Trevorrow really digs into 50s era monster B movies.  Swarms of oversized locusts and a tunnel chase with well timed scares provide the few bits of fresh energy in terms of action.  Even the regurgitated bits are fun in a comfort food sort of way but the film's script is shockingly lazy.  The overall plot combines the new trilogy and legacy character together by sheer coincidence as opposed to something grander. Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neill are the main draw here, returning to their legendary roles with mixed results.  They do their best to channel the energy of the original but with a decidedly weaker script.  Goldblum natural energy leaves him faring the best with the least amount of screen time.  Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard aren't asked to do much other than look steely or terrified depending on the situation.  Newcomers to the series, Mamoudou Athie and DeWanda Wise are both intriguing performers that  make for welcome additions to the series but each character is so terribly underwritten that they serve as little more than plot devices. Campbell Scott serves as the primary tech villain in this entry but making him look like Apple CEO Tim Cook doesn't really make for the most menacing adversary.  Jurassic World: Dominion is a paint by the numbers entry that fails to wrap up the series in a satisfying way as it fails to recapture the magic that made the original so special. 

C-