MOVIE REVIEW: 40 ACRES

 

Surviving on an isolated farm after a series of plagues and wars, a former soldier and her family make one last stand against a vicious militia that wants to take their land.

Director: R. T. Thorne 

Cast: Danielle Deadwyler, Kataem O'Connor, Jaeda LeBlanc, Michael Greyeyes, Milcania Diaz-Rojas, Leenah Robinson

Release Date: July 2, 2025 US/August 1, 2025 UK

Genre: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Rated R for strong bloody violent content and language.

Runtime: 1h 53m

Review:

R.T. Thorne's debut film, 40 Acres, is a lean mean apocalyptic thriller that delivers impressive action along with plenty of thematic allegory, powered by a steely turn from Danielle Deadwyler.  Initially, there's a sense of familiarity to the proceeding with portions of it echoing the bleakness of 2009's The Road.  The family unit here though is a seasoned team ready to defend their land at a second’s moment thanks to the leadership of Danielle Deadwyler's tough as nails Hailey Freeman and Michael Greyeyes Galen's both of whom were former soldiers before becoming a couple after the end of the world.  Their relationship is a steady balance of carrots and stick as they prepare their kids to survive in this brutal landscape.  They are both overprotective to a fault but it’s all a means to an end to give their offspring the best chance to endure in the future.  Deadwyler's hardened stare barely breaks throughout as she serves as a stoic taskmaster for the adopted family.  Greyeyes provides a bit more tenderness as a counterbalance to her with book loads of history shared via unspoken looks which gives their relationship an air of realism.  The film allows us plenty of time to get to know each of the younger family members with Kataem O'Connor and Leenah Robinson getting the most screentime.  O'Connor is solid as the eldest teenage son, full of angst and ready to rebel by exploring beyond the limits imposed by his parents.  He brings the right amount of resentment for his mother which is revealed to extend further into the past.  On the other side of the coin, Leenah Robinson and Michael Greyeyes have a much more congenial, loving daughter/father relationship with some of their interchanges providing some much-needed moments of warmth.  The film methodically establishes the setting and characters before building to its more action heavy finale which boasts a series of well-constructed action sequences highlighted by a moment in a darkened house that's sure to leave an impression.  Once it's all said and done, 40 Acres brings together its themes of family, legacy and perseverance in an impressive manner especially since it’s packaged in such a familiar package.  

B+

MOVIE REVIEW: FIRESTARTER

 

A couple desperately try to hide their daughter, Charlie, from a shadowy federal agency that wants to harness her unprecedented gift for turning fire into a weapon of mass destruction. Her father taught her how to defuse her power, but as Charlie turns 11, the fire becomes harder and harder to control. When a mysterious operative finally finds the family, he tries to seize Charlie once and for all -- but she has other plans.

Director: Keith Thomas

Cast: Zac Efron, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Sydney Lemmon, Kurtwood Smith, John Beasley, Michael Greyeyes, Gloria Reuben

Release Date: May 13, 2022

Genre: Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Rated R for violent content

Runtime: 1h 34m

Review:

Firestarter is the kind of remake that never makes it clear why it exist or is even necessary.  Keith Thomas directs the film with a blasé inertness that drains the entire proceedings of any sort of engaging energy or drama much less anything that resembles actual horror.  There's nary a trace of tension or visceral excitement for the film's mercifully short runtime as the cast goes through the motions with a uninspired script that's as generic as they come.  Zac Efron seems disinterested from the moment he shows up on screen, as if he'd be anywhere else but there.  Ryan Kiera Armstrong tries her best to exude a unnatural menace in her role as the titular Firestarter only occasionally succeeding.  Michael Greyeyes and Gloria Reuben play the primary villains with neither coming off as scary or threatening due to a silly script that doesn't give them anything to work with.  The lone bright spot in the entire affair is the film's distinctive score which was done by horror legend John Carpenter.  The score makes you think of far better 80s films and leaves you wishing Carpenter had come out of retirement and just directed this remake himself. 

D-