MOVIE REVIEW: DAMSEL

 

A young woman agrees to marry a handsome prince -- only to discover it was all a trap. She is thrown into a cave with a fire-breathing dragon and must rely solely on her wits and will to survive.

Director: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo

Cast: Millie Bobby Brown, Ray Winstone, Nick Robinson, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Angela Bassett, Robin Wright

Release Date: March 8, 2024

Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Rated PG-13 for sequences of strong creature violence, action, and bloody images.

Runtime: 1h 47m

Review:

Damsel takes an interesting approach to the fairy tale genre by delivering something darker and more interesting even though it only skims the surface of the concept.  Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, director of the underappreciated 28 Weeks Later, directs his film with a steady hand, setting up a colorful Disney approved kingdom before revealing the story's more sinister side.  He makes solid use of stark visuals throughout which are sadly hampered by uneven F/X that fluctuate from solid to early 2000's Sci-Fi channel bad with the open sequence serving as a prime example of the bad.  It’s noticeably choppy throughout which sadly takes you out of the film at various points during its runtime.  F/X issues aside, Fresnadillo moves the film at a steady pace especially once the story moves into the dragon's lair with the focus centering on Millie Bobby Brown's character.  Brown is slowly making a career of these sort of self reliant characters and this role is right in her wheelhouse.  She's tasked with carrying the story alone for the better part of the film with her working against digital backgrounds and Shohreh Aghdashloo's excellent voice work as the dragon.  Sadly, the script never gives her anything really substantial to really sink her teeth into with only surface level characterization.  It doesn't help that the script continually stretches credibility at multiple moments, even for fantasy film, such as Princess Elodie's rather impressive rock and rope climbing skills or her ability to sneak up on a dragon just to name a few.  Brown, to her credit, does the best she can with material even though you get the feeling there's a better story in there somewhere.  Her supporting cast is made up of strong performers such as Ray Winstone, Angela Bassett and Robin Wright but the film never takes full advantage of them.  Robin Wright in particular is just begging for more screen time as the villainous queen.  It’s a consistent issue for the film since there are plenty of opportunities to make Damsel some truly special.  

C+

MOVIE REVIEW: SHADOW IN THE CLOUD

 

While travelling with top-secret documents on a B-17 Flying Fortress, a female WWII pilot encounters an evil presence on board.

Director: Roseanne Liang

Cast: Chloë Grace Moretz, Taylor John Smith, Nick Robinson, Beulah Koale, Callan Mulvey

Release Date: January 1, 2021

Genre: Action, Horror, War

Rated R for language throughout, sexual references and violence

Runtime: 1 h 23 min

Review:

There’s a clear point in Roseanne Liang gonzo Shadow in the Cloud where you’ll either check out or go all in with the nuttiness on screen.  Its first half is deliberately paced serving as a wonderful showcase for Chloë Grace Moretz talents.  She’s always been an engaging actress whose deserving of a bigger spotlight, this film isn’t nearly good enough to give her a solid boost.  The film itself is a hodgepodge of ideas mashed up into a strange B-Movie where Moretz’s character battles sexual stereotypes, gremlins, the Japanese and motherhood.   Once the film decides to go all in with it’s insanity, it’s best to throw any semblance of logic out the window because the film doesn’t care if any of what you see makes any sense.  You get the sense that in the hands of a better filmmaker there might be a better film in there somewhere.  Unfortunately Roseanne Liang, who heavily rewrote Max Landis’s original screenplay, just isn’t that talented as a filmmaker.  The 2^nd half is clunky on various levels which leaves the movie feeling more like one of the nameless direct to video movies that pepper streaming services.  At the very least, Chloë Grace Moretz makes Shadow in the Cloud far more watchable than it deserves to be.

C-