MOVIE REVIEW: BLINK TWICE

When tech billionaire Slater King meets cocktail waitress Frida at his fundraising gala, he invites her to join him and his friends for a dream vacation on his private island. Wild nights soon blend into sun-soaked days, but when strange things start to happen, Frida must uncover the truth if she hopes to make it out alive.

Director: Zoë Kravitz

Cast: Naomi Ackie, Channing Tatum, Christian Slater, Simon Rex, Adria Arjona, Haley Joel Osment, Kyle MacLachlan, Geena Davis, Alia Shawkat

Release Date: August 23, 2024

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Rated R for strong violent content, sexual assault, drug use and language throughout, and some sexual references.

Runtime: 1h 42m

Review:

Zoë Kravitz's directorial debut, Blink Twice, displays some talent behind the camera, especially with its devilishly well-crafted first half before stumbling into an overly didactic and predictable back half that ditches any semblance of subtly.  Kravitz does strong work in those early sequences with well constructed shots and a wonderful use of sound to create a creeping sense of dread.  Its visually impactful enough to leave a noticeable impression especially as events become more fractured and discombobulating.  Its an impressive high wire act but once the story starts to falter the effect wears off quickly as the oh so obvious reveals come to head.  There is, at least, some dark humor in the film's back half as the revelations causes logic to fly out of the window and the characters scramble for survival.  Naomi Ackie is engaging enough for the majority of the film even if her character plays basic tropes we've seen multiple times before.  The film would have been better served if it had spent more screen time with Ackie and Alia Shawkat's characters to give the characters more depth and their plight more impactful. Channing Tatum delivers a strong turn as the charming tech billionaire.  Tatum is understated which keeps his character from falling into some of the tech bro pitfalls which makes it easy to understand why Ackie's Frida is so enraptured.  Unfortunately, much like Frida, there's very little depth to him leaving him as more of a type than a fully realized character.  The supporting cast is populated with familiar faces but aren't given much to work with outside of most basic stereotypes across the board.  Adria Arjona injects a bit of energy in the finale which makes you wish she'd been given more prominence early on.  It all makes Blink Twice feel like a missed opportunity especially on a thematic level since it could have been a more interesting and meaningful version of this story there. 

C+

MOVIE REVIEW: TUSK

An irreverent American podcaster interviews a Canadian adventurer whose wild tale of survival at sea masks sinister intentions in this twisted horror comedy from writer/director Kevin Smith (Clerks, Red State). Wallace (Justin Long) and Teddy (Haley Joel Osment) are the wisecracking co-hosts of "The Not-See Party", a popular podcast focused on bizarre viral videos and humorous interviews with the internet-famous. When Wallace ventures to Canada for an interview that falls through at the last minute, he stops at a local bar for a drink and finds a flyer posted by an old adventurer (Michael Parks) who seeks to share his stories with anyone who will listen.  Meanwhile, as Teddy and Wallace's girlfriend venture north to investigate his sudden disappearance, the old man subjects his terrified guest to a bizarre medical procedure that will transform more than just his perception of one of the sea's most majestic creatures. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Kevin Smith

Cast: Justin Long, Haley Joel Osment, Michael Parks, Genesis Rodriguez

Release Date: Sep 19, 2014

Rated R for Sexual Content, Language, Gore and Some Disturbing Violence

Runtime: 1 hr. 41 min.

Genres: Horror

Review:

Kevin Smith is a hit or miss director for me.  Even his earlier films like Clerks, Mall Rats or Chasing Amy never really connected with me, I found them amusing but never found out what made Smith a name director.  Dogma is probably my favorite film from Smith with his recent foray into horror, Red State, being his worse film.  So I was a bit ambivalent when I heard about his 2^nd horror film, Tusk, but I was rather intrigued by the insane concept.  The film is rather odd but surprisingly straightforward as well.  Some have compared it to the Human Centipede which I think is more than a bit off because it’s kind of its own creature, pun intended.  The best thing about Tusk is that it’s actually funny.  Smith skewers plenty of classic horror tropes, showcasing how ridiculous some of the situations are by taking it to the most extreme degree.  The cast is rather impressive, including a surprise appearance by a well known actor.  Justin Long is appropriately douchey so when karma comes his way, you don’t feel an ounce of sympathy.  Michael Parks is clearly having a great time in a very nutty role.  Genesis Rodriguez and Haley Joel Osment are noteworthy in their ability to play it straight while Smith shoots varying levels of insanity at them.  Tusk is definitely Kevin Smith’s weirdest film but it’s also one of his better efforts as well.

B+