MOVIE REVIEW: BOY KILLS WORLD

 

Boy is a mayhem machine who's been training to assassinate the bloodthirsty Hilda Van Der Koy and avenge his family's murder. Guided by his sister's mischievous spirit, Boy uncovers one stunning revelation after another as he barrels toward Hilda.

Director: Moritz Mohr

Cast: Bill Skarsgard, Jessica Rothe, Michelle Dockery, Famke Janssen, Sharlto Copley, Brett Gelman, Isaiah Mustafa, Andrew Koji

Release Date: April 26, 2024

Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller

Rated R for strong bloody violence and gore throughout, language, some drug use and sexual references

Runtime: 1h 51m

Review:

Moritz Mohr's manic Boy Kills World is heavy on blood splatter style but equally light on story that makes for an uneven experience overall.  Mohr has the scaffolding of a story set up and his film does a quick bit of world building in its opening act before quickly moving to what he's more interested in, a series of fun but increasingly gory action sequences.  To his credit, the majority of those sequences work with a kinetic energy that seeps through the screen by way of aggressively choreographed fights, one involving a cheese grater is sure to make a lot of people winch more than a few times.  There's plenty of style on display throughout but the script is so haphazardly slapped together it hard to get too engaged in any of the characters or the storyline since it all feels like an afterthought.  A few twist and turns in the final act would have worked far better if there'd been just a bit more energy spent on fleshing out the characters and dystopian world presented. The cast makes the most of it, managing to bring a tangible sense of energy to the screen in spite of the thinly written characters.  Bill Skarsgard gets as much traction as humanly possible from his mute character by bringing an impressive physicality to role while managing to play the film's dark humor especially when he's reacting to his internal monologue provided by H. Jon Benjamin.  Skarsgard has some solid chemistry with Quinn Copeland and Andrew Koji throughout the film but neither is taken full advantage of with each coming on and off the screening far too quickly.  Sharlto Copley and Brett Gelman are both having a ball hamming it up every time they're onscreen with Copley being criminally underutilized.  Michelle Dockery and Famke Janssen do their best with underwritten characters who barely have a chance to register even though one of them is supposed to be the big bad of the whole story.  Jessica Rothe's character suffers a similar fate as there's far more time spent on the character's look than anything else.  It’s a credit to Rothe that she's able to get as much mileage as she does out of her helmeted character but you just wish she'd had a better chance to shine.  Boy Kills World manages the rare feat of being simultaneously undercooked and overly long which saps the film of the over the top zaniness energy it starts with leaving it a missed opportunity at making something truly memorable.    

C

MOVIE REVIEW: BULLET TRAIN

 

Ladybug is an unlucky assassin who's determined to do his job peacefully after one too many gigs has gone off the rails.

Director: David Leitch

Cast: Brad Pitt, Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, Benito A Martínez Ocasio, Sandra Bullock

Release Date: August 5, 2022

Genre: Action, Thriller

Rated R for strong and bloody violence, pervasive language, and brief sexuality.

Runtime: 2h 6m

Review:

Bullet Train doesn't deliver much in terms of story or characterization, instead it relies on spurts of hyper stylized violence and its cast endless charisma.   David Leitch's film is choppier than his last two film, Deadpool 2 and Atomic Blonde, making the lulls in between the action set pieces much more noticeable and jarring.  When those action set pieces kick in though they do offer some colorful and gleefully violent choreography that gives the film a boost of adrenaline.  The biggest issue being that the remainder of the film's story and character backgrounds are told via flashy slow motion flashbacks with nearly every single character in the large ensemble getting a vignette.  The majority of the character's themselves are incredibly thin with a handful popping up and off the screen with little more than a few lines of dialogue.  The saving grace of it all is the cast who are clearly having a ball hamming it throughout the film's runtime.  Brad Pitt leads the group giving a light, but fun turn as an operative who's looking for deeper meaning in his overly lethal life.  Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Brian Tyree Henry prove to be standouts together with each of them bouncing dialogue off each other with incredible ease.  They provide the most consistent and energetic characters making their time on screen some of the film's highpoints.  Joey King looks the part but doesn't really add much to her character outside of what's written onscreen even though we're lead to believe she's smarter than nearly everyone.  Hiroyuki Sanada and Michael Shannon have small supporting roles with both punching well under their class but providing the film some credibility even though Shannon is sporting a ridiculously impressive wig and accent.  Bullet Train is the type of film that would have been more effective in a smaller package since it never earns it's two hour runtime and starts to sag noticeably in its final act.  It's still a fairly fun throwback of sorts to those late 90's early 2000 Pulp Fiction knock offs like 2 Days In The Valley, Go or Smoking Aces with a dash of John Woo for good measure.     

C+

MOVIE REVIEW: SNAKE EYES: G.I. JOE ORIGINS

 

An ancient Japanese clan called the Arashikage welcomes tenacious loner Snake Eyes after he saves the life of their heir apparent. Upon arrival in Japan, the Arashikage teach him the ways of the ninja warrior while also providing him something he's been longing for: a home. However, when secrets from Snake Eyes' past are revealed, his honor and allegiance get tested -- even if that means losing the trust of those closest to him.

Director: Robert Schwentke

Cast: Henry Golding, Andrew Koji, Úrsula Corberó, Samara Weaving, Iko Uwais

Release Date: July 14, 2021

Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence and brief strong language

Runtime: 2 h 1 min

Review:

Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins is a busy film serving as an origin story and franchise starter.  The fact that its serving multiple masters should be a recipe for disaster but Robert Schwentke’s still manages to deliver some enjoyable ninja action.  Schwentke’s film harkens back to cult 80’s ninja films like American Ninja with a glossy exterior.  The action sequences are well staged with a keen visual outside of some questionable overuse of shaky came.  The choreography of them is top notch and those sequences are the high points of the film.   Henry Golding and Andrew Koji make for an intriguing duo onscreen and their relationship drives the entire film.  Golding possess leading man charisma but you get the sense he could have used a tad bit more depth to make him more interesting than his counter part.  Andrew Koji performance and character is terribly intriguing as he plays him with a silent intensity that always makes him the most interesting character on screen.  Some fun supporting turns from Úrsula Corberó, Samara Weaving & Iko Uwais add some strong female punch to the proceedings with the latter two there to set up the larger G.I. Joe universe.  The film’s biggest issue is its script that doesn’t take advantage of its cast.  Everything plays out in a perfunctory manner while it checks certain boxes since its primary goal was to put pieces in place for future installments.  Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins ends up being forgettable fluff that might have excelled had it possessed some tighter scripting and direction.

C+