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: I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY

 

Discovered by record executive Clive Davis, Whitney Houston rises from obscurity to international fame in the 1980s to become one of the greatest singers of her generation.

Director: Kasi Lemmons

Cast:  Naomi Ackie, Stanley Tucci, Ashton Sanders, Tamara Tunie, Nafessa Williams, Clarke Peters

Release Date: December 23, 2022 

Genre: Biography, Drama, Music

Rated PG-13 for Strong Drug Content, Some Strong Language, Smoking, Suggestive References

Runtime: 2h 26m

Review:

I Wanna Dance with Somebody is a competent albeit perfunctory exercise of a biopic that rushes thru major moments while delivering barebones dramatic moments.  Kasi Lemmons meticulously recreates a lion's share of Houston's most iconic moments with the film pulsating with energetic verve especially for longtime fans of the singer.  Sadly, the dramatic connective tissue never reaches those kinds of heights.  The interspersed moments showing her upbringing, career and romantic relationships fairly uninspired and rushed.  Those moments never connect, keeping the audience at a distance from Houston's motivations or drives.  As such, it's a scattering of well worn tabloid details with very little emotional depth or resonance behind it.  It's a massive misfire for the film since the cast is clearly dying for better material and do the best they can with what they have.  Naomi Ackie is solid if not transcendent as Houston.  Ackie clearly studied her movements and mannerisms in order to recreate her stage presence which is a tall order to say the least.  Its an admirable turn as she makes the most of what she's given to work with.  The supporting cast is made up of intriguing performers with the script providing hints of more interesting iterations of the characters.  However, none of them are explored properly leaving Clarke Peter and Tamara Tunie playing clichéd parental overseer/overlords.  Nafessa Williams playing Whitney's lifelong best friend seemed ripe for exploration but the film spends fairly little time on their relationship before quickly moving on and leaving her little more than a worried supportive friend at odds with Ashton Sanders' Bobby Brown who takes up a large portion of the final act.  Stanley Tucci fares the best of the bunch due to his sheer talent and playing Clive Davis who is also one of the film's producers.  The final act magnifies the film's faults as it clumsily lumbers toward Houston's tragic end. I Wanna Dance with Somebody ends up being little more than a competent but forgettable biopic that doesn't bring any sort of fresh perspective on its central subject.  

C+