Cindy Prascik's Review of Renfield

My dear reader(s), this weekend I had the opportunity to catch up with the Dracula-adjacent movie Renfield.

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.

The eternal sidekick embarks on a journey of self-improvement, putting him at odds with his dark master.

Renfield is a solid horror comedy that's heavy on gore and fairly light on lore. Laughs take the lead, with a beautifully over-the-top Nicolas Cage camping it up as the immortal Angel of Death, and Nicholas Hoult as his downtrodden sidekick. Awkwafina nearly steals the show as an incorruptible police officer whose own quest for vengeance intersects with Renfield's mission. The original premise is its own reward here, but the movie also benefits from nice special effects, well placed humor, and an efficient runtime.

Renfield clocks in at 93 minutes and is rated R for "bloody violence, some gore, language throughout, and some drug use."

If you can stomach a lot (a LOT) of blood and you're in the mood for a new take on an old tale, Renfield is the flick for you. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Renfield gets eight.

Renfield is now streaming on Peacock.

Until next time...

MOVIE REVIEW: RENFIELD

 

Renfield, the tortured aide to his narcissistic boss, Dracula, is forced to procure his master's prey and do his every bidding. However, after centuries of servitude, he's ready to see if there's a life outside the shadow of the Prince of Darkness.

Director: Chris McKay

Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Nicolas Cage, Awkwafina, Ben Schwartz, Adrian Martinez, Shohreh Aghdashloo

Release Date: April 14, 2023

Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Horror

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

Runtime: 1h 33m

Review:

Chris McKay's Renfield is a goofy and bloody romp that plays like a weird mash up of John Wick by way of Tim Burton.  The film has an undeniably cartoonish charm that makes it easy to enjoy from the start.  McKay film has a kinetic sort of energy with flourishes of style highlighted early on with a clever use of classic Dracula footage used to give the Cliff's Notes version of Renfied's backstory.  Nicholas Hoult as the titular star is a likable lead as the sad sack that's been in a toxic relationship for centuries.  Hoult's performance is endearing enough to make you care about his predicament which also keeps him from being totally out shone by Nicolas Cage's performance as Dracula.  Cage is entirely in his element in this role as he's given free reign to do whatever outlandish thing he wants to do.  It’s a crazy mixture of just about every iteration of the character condensed into a singular, hilarious performance.  The film works best when it focuses on Cage and Hoult's characters and the gonzo action sequences peppered throughout.  It hits some speedbumps when it falls back on its rather thin plot and romantic subplot.  Awkwafina brings a certain sort of energy which works in small bits, and it would have been more effective if the script had just cut the romantic overtones especially since she and Hoult just don't have that sort of chemistry together.  Ultimately, it keeps Renfield from maintaining its comedic energy consistently enough to make it truly memorable.

B-

MOVIE REVIEW: MUSIC

Zu is newly sober when she receives news that she is to become the sole guardian of her half-sister named Music, a young girl on the autism spectrum. The film explores two of Sia's favourite themes finding your voice and creating family.

Director: Sia

Cast: Kate Hudson, Maddie Ziegler, Leslie Odom Jr., Héctor Elizondo, Ben Schwartz, Beto Calvillo

Release Date: February 10, 2021

Genre: Drama, Musical

Rated PG-13 for thematic content, drug material, brief violence and strong language

Runtime: 1 h 47 min

Review:

Sia’s directorial debut has garnered a massive amount of press before its release mainly for all the wrong reasons.  Sia’s intentions and heart seem to be in the right place but the finished product falls into a strange hybrid of a visual album and an autistic melodrama.  The musical numbers are very much on brand with Sia’s previous works and performances.  They are candy colored fantasy’s that pop right off the screen with booming vocals that’s sure to please fans of the singer.  The drama portion is anchored by strong performances from Kate Hudson and Leslie Odom Jr. who elevate the script which feels like a relic from the past.  It unapologetically pulls on every heartstring possible which makes film’s like 1985’s Mask or 1976’s The Boy in the Bubble seem subtle by comparison.  Maddie Ziegler casting as the titular Music has caused the biggest uproar since she’s a neurotypical actress playing an autistic character.  The issue is ultimately a bigger issue that needs to be addressed but in terms of this film, Ziegler’s performance is decidedly broad and overstated.  Music is ultimately the type of vanity project that’s probably suffered from being created in a bubble which resulted in tunnel vision to its detriment.

C

MOVIE REVIEW: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG

The world needed a hero -- it got a hedgehog. Powered with incredible speed, Sonic embraces his new home on Earth -- until he accidentally knocks out the power grid, sparking the attention of uncool evil genius Dr. Robotnik. Now, it's supervillain vs. supersonic in an all-out race across the globe to stop Robotnik from using Sonic's unique power to achieve world domination.

Director: Jeff Fowler

Cast:  Ben Schwartz (voice), Jim Carrey, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Natasha Rothwell, Adam Pally, Neal McDonough

Release Date: February 4, 2020

Genres: Comedy/Family

Rated PG for action, some violence, rude humor and brief mild language.

Runtime: 1h 39 min 

Review:

Sonic the Hedgehog is one of those family film's that's not just inoffensive but it does so aggressively.  That's not to say it's a bad film because it's not but it's so light and inconsequential that's it's liable to float away at any moment.  Jeff Fowler does pull an impressive magic trick, delivering a video game adaptation that actually works even though the game itself is incredibly light on plot to begin with.  The script is fun but safe all around with Ben Schwartz delivering a likable turn as the titular animated hedgehog.  Sonic isn't annoying for the majority of the film, instead the script treats him like an over caffeinated toddler.  James Mardsen gets straight man duty to Schwartz animated character and he does what he can with the role.  The real star of the show though has to be Jim Carrey who rediscovers his 90s comedic energy.  His Dr. Robotnik is like a long lost In Living Color character from Carrey's formative days.  Its a treat for the audience and you can tell he's having a ball really going all out again.  The film as a whole is perfect for the kids even though the adults might feel it start to drag near the end even with it's brisk runtime.

B-

Cindy Prascik's Review of An Actor Prepares

Dearest Blog: Thanks to a slow weekend at the cinema, yesterday I had the opportunity to catch up with Jack Huston's latest picture, An Actor Prepares, via XFinity On Demand.

 

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers...if you've seen one, which I sure as heck didn't around here.

 

Declared too ill to fly from LA to New York for his "favorite" child's wedding, an aging, self-absorbed actor sets out on a cross-country road trip with his estranged son.

 

The burning questions:

 

1.) Will this film be as pretentious as its name? 

 

2.) Has Jack Huston finally found another vehicle worthy of his exceptional talent? (Been a long dry spell since Boardwalk Empire.)

 

Unfortunately, the answers are yes and no, respectively.

 

An Actor Prepares suffers a terminal case of Pilot Syndrome. You know, that very first episode of a television series, where every aspect of every character is super-sized to bring viewers up to speed as quickly as possible? Comic-book movies devote entire films to back story with their origins stories. Well-crafted movies educate with subtext so skillful as to be unnoticeable. This movie bangs you over the head again and again for the duration. The main characters not being very likable anyway, the exaggeration quickly grows old. Jeremy Irons has a gleeful ol' time as a self-centered thespian whose charisma fools all but those closest to him. For the first half of the movie, he almost fools the viewer as well, his escapades seeming hilarious to anyone not in the path of the fallout. As the obviously-NOT-favorite child, Huston does a terrific job of conveying the weariness that comes from surviving in the direct orbit of such a person, forever painted the bad guy, the buzz-kill, the wet blanket. The character is uptight and a little whiny, but layer on a troubled relationship and a failing career, and I didn't have a hard time forgiving him for it. (Your own ability to do so may rely solely on your position within your own family's pecking order.) An Actor Prepares is handicapped by poorly-written dialogue that is frequently crass just for the sake of it. "Deeper" moments are scored by dreadful emo songs as the film trudges to a predictable finale. The big screen dodged a bullet by sending this one straight to download.

 

An Actor Prepares clocks in at 97 minutes. The movie is unrated, but features adult situations, adult language, some nudity, and drug use.

 

An Actor Prepares is a slog that proves unworthy of its talented cast. 

 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, An Actor Prepares gets four and a half.

 

Until next time...

Cindy Prascik’s Reviews of Byzantium / Coffee Town

Dearest Blog, being from a small town, my cinema choices are generally limited to whatever blockbusters are showing at the local multiplex.

However, my cable company has, of late, started making smaller films available via pay-per-view during their theatrical runs, an offer I can't refuse!

This week I was fortunate to see two indie flicks: Byzantium and Coffee Town.

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the...wait, who am I kidding? I've never seen a trailer for either of these. Let's leave it with "I'll try to keep this as spoiler-free as possible."

First up, I utilized a nice midweek day off to catch the thriller Byzantium.

Two mysterious women, on the run for their lives and harboring a dark secret, take up residence in a British coastal town.

I don't think it's giving too much away to state up front that Byzantium is a vampire movie. Even knowing next to nothing about it, I knew that.

There is a bit of build up, but it's not a secret the film attempts to keep for long. With its foundation of these two women in hiding and making a living however they can, Byzantium feels more grounded than your average supernatural thriller, and solid performances by stars Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan accentuate the movie's tense, gritty atmosphere. Though Ronan and her male counterpart, played by Caleb Landry Jones, are both very young, thankfully there is no Twilightey feel to this movie; it's written and played well enough to be taken seriously. The film doesn't look quite as goth as I expected (again, admitting I knew little about it beforehand), but it sustains a cool, dark vibe throughout and builds to an ending I did not anticipate. For horror fans, I'd call the gore-level moderate, with much of the carnage implied rather than shown.

It's also worth noting that the always smokin' Arterton has dialed up the hotness to eleven for this picture.

Byzantium clocks in at 118 minutes and is rated R for "bloody violence, sexual content, and language."

As a longtime fan of vampires and vampire movies, I'm waiting for a new one to come along that's good enough (and popular enough) that
people stop thinking "Edward Cullen" when someone says "fangs." Byzantium isn't quite that, but it's a good step in the right direction.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Byzantium gets six and a half.

Last night, we found ourselves at loose ends (meaning all the Harry Potter movies that were on had ended by 9:30), so we took advantage of another XFinity On Demand offering, Coffee Town.

Much to the dismay of the store manager, a webmaster uses a local coffee shop (and its free wi-fi) as his office. When he discovers the shop is to be converted to a trendy bistro, he conspires with his friends to derail the plan...and perhaps bag his dream girl in the process.

As regular reader(s) will know, I'm not much for comedy, and I'm far too used to being let down by comedies. I'm happy to report Coffee Town is a pleasant surprise.

Much of Coffee Town's humor is so very wrong that I can't count the times we gave each other the, "Did they really just say/do that??" look. A good bit of it is flat-out gross, too, but none of that will bother Glen Howerton's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia fanbase. Howerton is good in the leading role, and his supporting cast is funny and entertaining, particularly Steve Little, who kept me laughing despite the fact I really wanted to slap him most of the time. The premise may sound thin, but the story is curiously interesting and we were engaged from start to finish.

Coffee Town runs a quick 87 minutes and is unrated.

Coffee Town provides consistent (and consistently inappropriate) laughs, with an good story and solid comedic performances all 'round.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Coffee Town gets seven.

So, dear Blog, that's all the news that's fit to print for now. Next weekend is The World's End, and I'll thank you, dear reader(s), for keeping a good thought that it actually plays here. If it does not, I cannot be responsible for my actions.

Until next time...




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