Dear reader(s), pickins are a little slim as far as at-home cinema this weekend, but I managed to find a couple offerings to pass the time. On the docket: Samaritan and Ida Red.
Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.
First up: Samaritan (2022).
A young boy's obsession with a presumed-dead superhero leads to trouble.
Samaritan is a bargain basement hero tale that gives too little screen time to its "name" star (Sylvester Stallone) and too much screen time to its insufferable kid lead. There's a different standard for child actors, and the role is hardly anything to write home about, but even those allowances can't make this kid tolerable. Once you compartmentalize the annoying brat, the tale is typical good vs. evil, with Stallone laying down the law, no surprises but enjoyable enough. Set design, reminiscent of a 70s cop drama, perfectly captures the movie's gritty, ominous vibe. It's all a bit more broadly drawn than I expected — and maybe shame on me for that? — but Samaritan is otherwise a passable and forgettable straight-to-streaming flick.
Samaritan runs 102 minutes and is rated PG13 for "strong violence and strong language."
If we got a little spoiled by the quality of some films released directly to streaming during lockdown, movies like Samaritan will bring us back to Earth quickly enough. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Samaritan gets four.
Samaritan is now streaming on Prime Video.
Next on my agenda: Ida Red (2021).
A terminally-ill inmate turns to her son in a last-ditch attempt to enjoy some freedom before dying.
My dear reader(s), however many streaming offerings I may reject on a typical Saturday, there are a few things that earn an instant "yes" vote from me. Frank Grillo is one of them. Grillo is a guy I like in any movie, and a guy who mostly makes movies I like. He steals the show here as brother-in-law of the titular Ida Red (Academy Award winner Melissa Leo, taking the easy paycheck) and uncle of the film's real star, Josh Hartnett, the son on which Ida pins her hopes of freedom. The story is pretty basic cops and robbers, with family drama thrown in for good measure. It's violent, deliberately paced, and unsurprising, but I didn't hate it, and that's about the nicest thing I can say about anything these days.
Ida Red clocks in at 111 minutes and is rated R for "strong violence, language throughout, and some sexual content."
Ida Red is a predictable but entertaining thriller with a solid cast. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Ida Red gets five.
Ida Red is now streaming on the Showtime family of networks.
Until next time...
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