Category Archives: Thriller
Thriller
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
I SIMPLY SAID, “HOW ARE YOU doing,” then spent the next ten minutes cringing. Looking for a housewarming gift, I went to the nearby shopping mall. I knew there were a couple of stores that could serve my purpose. While walking to the store after finding a nearby parking spot, I crossed paths with a former co-worker. What had caught my eye first was seeing a woman walking towards me with a black eye patch over one of her eyes. I then realized we used to work together. Part of me wanted to ask what happened but I did not want to make her uncomfortable; so, I just said “Hi, it is so good to see you.” She replied in kind and then I said those four fateful words, “How are you doing?” and she pointed to the eye patch and asked me how I liked her new accessory. Before I could think of something to say, she began telling me what happened to her. She had woken up one morning and saw a halo around everything she was seeing around her. She knew that was a warning sign for a detached retina, so called the eye doctor immediately and they rushed her that day for an appointment. I stood there listening to every procedure the doctor had to do on her eyeball to correct her situation. From numbing this to removing that, with detailed descriptions of all the instruments being used, I was close to being nauseous. I have a thing about eyes. It was more information than I ever needed to know. I AM ALL FOR A GOOD story but sometimes people, like the co-worker I mentioned, share more information that people may not need to hear. On the other hand, I recently saw my neighbor at the grocery store. He is a recent widower. Going up to him, I asked how he was doing. He explained he was teaching himself how to cook. I offered my help, though I am a novice. He said he wanted to make one of his wife’s favorite dinner meals. He shared with me his memory of his first time eating it while they were dating. By listening to him, I found out they had been married for 50 years. They met in high school and through those years they dated on and off on a casual basis. When they discovered they were accepted at the same university, their dating became serious. It was such a beautiful story; I teared up and was grateful he shared it with me. So, you see, sometimes hearing about the background to a story is an added plus. Unfortunately, we cannot pick and choose which stories we want to hear. For this prequel, I still am not sure if I needed to know all about it. YEARS BEFORE HE WOULD BECOME THE president of Panem, a young Coriolanus Snow, played by Tom Blyth (Scott and Sid, Billy the Kid-TV) was smitten by a young tribute from District 12. With Rachel Zegler (West Side Story, Shazam! Fury of the Gods) as Lucy Gray Baird, Viola Davis (The Woman King, The Unforlivable) as Dr. Volumnia Gaul, Fionnula Flanagan (Sight, The Others) as Grandma’am, and Hunter Schafer (Cuckoo, Euphoria-TV) as Tigris; this action, adventure, dramatic thriller left me with mixed feelings. There were some exciting scenes, but there were some that went flat. I enjoyed the sets and costumes, especially Viola Davis’s character which she made a real force on screen. From what I remember about the previous films, this one’s script lacked emotional punch and excitement. I do not want to say it is because they did not have Jennifer Lawrence, but I will say it was a combination of the cast and directing that created bland scenes. I also was not that thrilled with how the story turned out. I do not believe one needs to see the other movies to watch this one. Because this science fiction film is already becoming forgettable to me, I do not think there is a strong need to know the pre-story to the Hunger Games saga.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Trigger Warning
IT HAD BEEN A LONG TIME since I had been back in my old neighborhood. A friend wanted to see where I had grown up, so we took a drive to the north side of the city, where I was born. Our first stop was the apartment building where my family had lived. As I drove up to it, the building looked cleaner than I had remembered it. The windows were new with brown vinyl molding around them. How I remembered the old windows, where we would have to slide the screens off before winter and replace them with a storm winter window to keep the frigid cold out of our apartment. I noticed the front doors had metal boxes with the doorbells on them. When I lived there the doorbells were inside the lobby. On one of the front doors there was a for sale sign. I was stunned to the point I had to pull over and run out to see what was for sale. It turned out the apartments were converted to condominiums. And the price was a bigger surprise. I had to drive around the alley to see the back of the building and was confronted with another major surprise. What used to be the basement where we had storage lockers, washers and dryers was now indoor parking spots. The third surprise was seeing the back porches and stairways were all enclosed now. Wow, no more talking to the neighbors sitting out on their porches. AFTER I GOT OVER THE INITIAL shock of seeing the changes in my childhood home, I drove us around the neighborhood to show my friend places that held special memories for me. Passing first my high school, it looked close to the same except all the doors were now metal security doors and every classroom had a window unit air conditioner. There still was the asphalt baseball diamond with blades of grass spearing out of its cracks. As we continued to drive around, with me pointing out various places that had meaning to me, we wound up at the commercial street where we did most of our shopping. The area was unrecognizable to me. Gone was our grocery store, pharmacy, my favorite fast-food restaurant, and the clothing store where I got my very first suit. I could not get over the difference; there were various small, independent shops with handmade signs in various languages. I remembered a pristine-looking street but what I saw now was loose newspaper pages, empty cans and wrappers scattered about. I found it sad and tired looking, nothing that I remembered from when I was growing up. My memories painted a prettier picture, which led me to believe the main character in this action, crime thriller was experiencing the same thing when she returned home. RETURNING HOME AFTER HER FATHER HAD died in a tragic accident, a special forces commando riles up a violent gang when she starts looking for answers to the questions, she has about the circumstances involved around her father’s death. With Jessica Alba (Fantastic Four franchise, Sin City) as Parker, Mark Webber (Flesh and Blood, The End of Love) as Jesse, Anthony Michael Hall (War Machine, Live by Night) as Ezekiel, Alejandro De Hoyos (The Contractor, The Man from Toronto) as Harry and Tone Bell (Sylvie’s Love, The Weekend) as Spider; this film served my purpose. After being on vacation for a few weeks, I was looking for a short mindless diversion to all the built-up work that accumulated while I was away. That is the only positive thing I can say about this movie. Both the story and script were a cheap knock-off of other films from this genre that were done better. Nothing felt connected to me; the acting, the characters and scenes all seemed as if the cast and crew just wanted to get the picture done quickly. Plus, it was predictable. The only reason to see this film is if you have time to waste with nothing else to do.
1 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: One More Shot
I THOUGHT THE ADVERTISEMENTS FOR THE exhibit were slick and eye-popping. Besides print ads there were thirty second television ads that showed a stately grand staircase followed by an old photograph of the historic structure. There was a dark Grecian cherub perched on the top of the bottom newel post of the staircase, like a greeter welcoming guests to walk up the steps. One of the print ads had a photo layout of various one hundred plus years old objects that were recovered; they ranged from ceramics to furniture to utensils to decorative art. The thing that I found to be the oddest was the exhibit was being held in an abandoned department store, in the middle of a suburban shopping center. I would have thought something of this magnitude would have been held at a museum or cultural center, not a retail store. Were objects going to be used to fill up the store’s empty shelves? Were they going to incorporate the mannequins into the exhibit; it all seemed odd to me. Nonetheless, I did want to see this, if for nothing else, for historical value. The event that happened over a century ago led to the creation of this traveling exhibit and I wanted to experience it. DRIVING INTO THE SHOPPING CENTER, WE were directed by signs to the front entrance. As we drove around the empty department store, I noticed all the entrances had some type of black material covering them with locked gates across the front. Maybe I have seen too many horror films, but I wondered how creepy it would be to walk around an abandoned store. Would there be clothes racks scattered about with hangers littering the floor? I got the answer once we walked through the designated entrance. There were temporary walls, painted in a dark blue color, set up with track and spot lighting hanging from the ceiling. Once past the ticket counter we entered a large room without a ceiling, except for the high corrugated metal ceiling of the store, where there were glass display cases spread out through the space, each individually lit from the inside. In the first case, I saw ancient, printed tickets and brochures. The next case had artifacts but the little plaques underneath them stated they were reproductions. The further I went through the exhibit the more I realized many of the items on display were not original or if they were, more than likely they came from the same manufacturer but from a different venue. It was disappointing and no where in the advertisements was this mentioned. I do not want to say I felt cheated, but I could have stayed home and seen photographs and videos of the original stuff. I had a similar reaction to watching this action thriller; I could have watched an earlier film in this genre that was better and more original. A NAVY SEAL’S PLANS TO ACCOMPANY a terrorist suspect to Washington D.C. get derailed when the airport is attacked by mercenaries who have their own reasons for capturing the suspect. With Scott Adkins (Day Shift, John Wicks: Chapter 4) as Jake Harris, Michael Jai White (Blood and Bone, Black Dynamite) as Robert Jackson, Alexis Knapp (Pitch Perfect franchise, Project X) as Jennifer Lomax, Tom Berenger (Platoon, the Big Chill) as Mike Marshall and Waleed Elgad (Four Lions, Mosul) as Amin Mansur; this action thriller lacked creativity and originality. The script was predictable with rudimentary dialog, which made the acting look worse than it may have been. I thought the whole look of the picture came across as low budget quality. And I was surprised to find out this movie was a sequel. I had no idea and do not know if my views would have been any different if I had seen the previous film first. The only positive thing I could see was how the director tried to make the film look like it was one continuous shoot; but outside of that, I thought this picture was a basic no-frills package.
1 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Monkey Man
THERE IS NOTHING WRONG ABOUT PRETENDING to be someone else to help you overcome a situation you have found yourself in. I have done this in my past, more during my school years. My results were mixed; I succeeded sometimes but then others, it did not do me any good. Also, some of my pretending was based more on a fantasy level, which rarely offered any help. I remember one of my earliest memories of being in a situation where I felt threatened and pretending to be Superman. It was not about his strength I wanted the most, it was the ability to fly away. In the end neither one helped me, and I wound up running away as fast as possible. After I knew I was safe, I still wanted to have the ability to fly, so I could fly over the bully and drop a rock on his head. There were other times during those formative years where I pretended, I was a renowned artist, designing the best dioramas for my school projects. Because I had a relative who was a sales representative for an art supply company, I had the latest assortment of wild colors to use to highlight my art assignments; so, pretending to be an artist was easy. PAST THE SCHOOL YEARS, THERE HAVE been times where I pretended or saw myself being something I was not. After going with a friend to an aerobics class, I fell in love with the idea of working out to music. I used to pretend I was both a choreographer and dancer; playing over and over in my mind the moves I would incorporate in my future classes. I would stay in my room, working and producing different combinations of moves to see how my body felt from doing them, all the time listening to the music to make sure it was perfect to inspire participants to want to move in class. Once I had my music and moves picked out, the next thing I envisioned myself to be was one of those instructors that could be seen on television or at fitness conventions. When I first started teaching, I always had a case of nerves and kept thinking in my mind that I was a failure and a phony. I always walked into the class with this fear that someone would call me out as a fraud. By pretending I was a popular fitness spokesperson, I was able to walk to the front of the class and take the members on a musical journey of exercising their body and heart. This is one of the reasons I understood what the main character was trying to do in this action thriller. AFTER YEARS OF CARRYING RAGE OVER his mother’s death, a young man turns himself into someone who can seek vengeance on those that deserve it. With Dev Patel (The Green Knight, The Wedding Guest) as Kid, Sharlto Copley (District 9, Hardcore Henry) as Tiger, Pitobash (Million Dollar Arm, yesterday’s Past) as Alphonso, Sikandar Kher (Milan Talkies; Monica, O My Darling) as Rana and Sobhita Dhulipala (Major, Made in Heaven-TV) as Sita; this film is filled with blood and violence. Overall, it falls into the middle of the seeking revenge genre; however, with Dev who is also credited with the writing and directing of this film’s story, I was impressed with his debut. I thought the connection to his country’s lore made for an interesting interpretation. The action and fight scenes were nearly as good as other over the top sequences one would see in films like the John Wick franchise. I did, however, think the story started out slow and for most of the movie, I did not feel totally connected to any of the characters except for Dev’s role. Also, the flashback sequences that were used to tell the story felt disruptive to me, at times. Despite these things, this picture is entertaining and hope Dev thinks about making this character wish for something more.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Road House
MY COMPASSION AND SUPPORT FOR THE underdog was rooted in me since I realized I was lower down on the pecking order. Having stood by myself many times as the lone student left to be picked for a team, and with the years of being abused and made the butt of jokes, my immediate tendencies are to root for the unappreciated underdog. A story I completely forgot about was retold to me at a recent school reunion by a friend of mine from elementary school. There was going to be a school dance and though he wanted to go, he did not know how to dance. Without hesitation, I said I would teach him and started showing him a couple of dance steps. He soon gained confidence after a brief time and excitedly attended the dance. Something similar took place at my after-school job, where I worked in a warehouse filling and shipping orders. A new employee started a few weeks after me. After the training period was over, he was expected to keep up with the rest of the team. Unfortunately, he was slower than the rest and the manager would signal him out in front of all of us. I felt bad for him; he was a nice guy who was struggling. When the manager would go out for lunch, I started helping by showing him a faster way to pack up orders. It was not too long before the manager no longer picked on him which was a relief for all of us. I THOUGHT THINGS WOULD CHANGE AFTER college when I entered the business world, but it turned out not to be the case. Every job I had always had a scenario where the “bad” person came out on top. By bad, I mean sneaky, selfish, envious, devious, to name a few. There was one salesperson who treated the lower-level employees with disrespect. Always dressed in the finest suits, driving expensive cars, he would shove part of his work onto others to do for him. One got the sense he felt it was beneath him to pack his sample run for shipment to his customers. He was paid on commission and had some large accounts which inflated his paycheck. Every other salesperson did their own sample shipments except for him. And he was one of the highest paid salespeople in the company. I found him annoying, so never helped him. Instead, I would help the other sales staff. I just felt he was taking advantage of less fortunate people and I wanted to do my part to help the others. This mentality I have is what made me root for the main character in this remake of an action thriller. AN EX-UFC FIGHTER, NEEDING FUNDS, RELUNCTANTLY takes a job as a bouncer at a long-standing establishment in the Florida Keys. Figuring it would be a simple gig, the ex-fighter soon realizes something is not right about the area. With Jake Gyllenhaal (Ambulance, The Guilty) as Dalton, Daniela Melchior (The Suicide Club, Fast X) as Ellie, relative newcomer and fighter Conor McGregor as Knox, Billy Magnussen (Into the Woods, Game Night) as Ben Brandt and Jessica Williams (Booksmart, Fantastic Beasts franchise) as Frankie; this updated version had a few changes in it, which were fine by me. I thought the fight scenes were insane and am impressed with Jake’s transformation. The script had some holes in it since the story at times made no sense. But I did not care, realizing this is more of a popcorn movie, where you just sit back, do not think, and watch what unfolds. As mentioned earlier, I loved the underdog aspect and found Jake’s character endearing. There is not much more to say about it; it is a straightforward good vs evil plot, which has fine execution of its story. There were scenes of blood and violence and an extra scene during the ending credits.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Civil War
WHEN I WAS A SMALL KID, playing with my friends in the neighborhood, one day we came up with the idea we would form a pact. We decided to become blood brothers. Where that came from, I had no idea but agreed to the ritual that all of us were to do. Each of us was to prick our fingers with a pin, to draw a drop of blood, then press our finger together with someone else’s finger that had a drop of blood on it. All of us went through the procedure until we each formed that bond that meant we were brothers for life. Looking back on that day, I am amazed I did it with no regrets. Not that the sight of my own blood was a major concern but seeing other people’s blood was something I was not fond of, more so today. As some of you may remember, I am not a fan of slasher, horror films where there is violent bloody acts and gore. The ones where it is based more on fantasy like Freddy Krueger, I can actually manage better than the more realistic stories like hospital operating rooms or domestic violence. For some peculiar reason, I can barely listen to people talk about their medical maladies and the procedures they had to endure. I have told everyone I know if I ever need to go into a hospital, I need to be sedated throughout the duration of my stay. I do not want to see, feel, or hear anything. FOR THOSE WHOSE CAREERS INVOLVE SEEING wounds, blood, or breaks, I have the utmost admiration for them. They have a different mindset that allows them to look at blood as if it were some exotic wines flowing out of the wound. A doctor friend of mine accidentally cut himself and gave himself stitches to close the wound. There is no way I could have done that on myself, let alone anyone else. Several friends of mine are in the medical field, and each of them does not bat an eye to anything that looks gory or bloody. Honestly, I admire butchers because of the same reasons. The idea of standing there and having to cut apart this once live animal is something I am not equipped to manage. I prefer my meals not to resemble any animal part. My initial plan for going to college was to become a veterinarian; but when it came down to seeing the inflictions on animals I could not continue. That is why I switched to journalism and photography. It was the glamour of it that attracted me, not the horror and sadness one can see sometimes like what was depicted in this action thriller. BEFORE THE COUNTRY FALLS INTO COMPLETE chaos, a small band of photojournalists try to make their way to interview the President of the United States. The trip was not as easy as they planned. With Kirsten Dunst (The Power of the Dog, The Beguiled) as Lee, Wagner Moura (Elite Squad franchise, The Gray Man) as Joel, Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla, On the Basis of Sex) as Jessie, Nick Offerman (Dumb Money, The Great North-TV) as the President and Jefferson White (God’s Country, Yellowstone-TV) as Dave; there was a steady stream of tension throughout this movie. What accentuated it was the fact we live in a divisive climate presently. I thought the acting was excellent and felt because the public has already seen acts of hatred and violence in this country, the story did not seem to be farfetched. However, there were a few scenes that rang false for me, though that may be because of my ignorance when it comes to the ways photojournalists operate. Sadly, the last part of the film was a letdown for me; I was expecting something more out of it. I will say based on what I saw in this picture, I made the correct choice of not pursuing my career in photojournalism. There were several scenes that had blood and violence in them.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Beekeeper
SOMETIME IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, I CANNOT remember the year, I learned even when you are in the right, you do not always win. We were playing the game of tag in the school playground during recess. All of us were running around to avoid getting tagged. At some point I could not spot the tagger. Right then, he jumped out behind a group of girls and pushed me while yelling, “Tag, you are it!” As I started to fall, I instinctively extended my arms out to break the fall. However, by doing so, I accidentally scratched a girl’s arm as I fell. She ran and told a teacher, and I got in trouble. I tried explaining my side of the story to the assistant principal but could see she had already made up her mind and did not care what I had to say. I was not allowed to go out for recess the rest of the week as punishment. I was angry about it because it was not my fault; it was not like I was trying to scratch her on purpose. The boy who pushed me never got in trouble. It was on that day I learned something that I have seen from time to time: Not all “bad” people get punished for their deeds. AT ONE OF MY EARLIER JOBS, I had a boss who was a horrible man. It was several months in my position before I decided he had a “Napoleon” complex, also known as short man syndrome. He was aggressive and domineering, treated all his employees as if they were his personal butlers and/or slaves. I will never forget the time he took his hairbrush out of his drawer and handed it to an employee, telling them to clean it. The employee hesitated for moment, I think out of shock; but my boss noticed and yelled at them to stop dawdling. I realized right then that I had it easier because he would toss me the keys to his car and tell me to take it to the carwash. I had no issue doing it, but I did not know what I would do if I had to clean his hairbrush. In my position and being observant, I was convinced he was stealing from the company. Some customers came in and paid cash for their orders. My boss always worked with those individuals. Because one of the items sold was not a stock item, I remembered it but never saw the receipt for the sale. After some digging for the next couple of weeks, I realized that my boss was making the sales but pocketing the cash. From my time there, he never got caught and because I was still in school, I felt no one would listen to me, the newest employee. It proved to me again that bad people do not always suffer the consequences of their actions. With my mind set on this way of thinking, you will understand why I had such an enjoyable time watching this action thriller. A MAN WITH A MYSTERIOUS PAST sets out on a mission of vengeance after he sees what happens to the nicest woman he ever met. With Jason Statham (The Meg franchise, Wrath of Man) as Adam Clay, Emmy Raver-Lampman (Blacklight, Central Park-TV) as Agent Verona Parker, Bobby Naderi (Bright, Under the Shadow) as Agent Matt Wiley, Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games franchise, Five Nights at Freddy’s) as Derek Danforth and Jeremy Irons (The Flash, Assassin’s Creed) as Wallace Westwyld; if you are a fan of the John Wick franchise then you will enjoy this movie. The script is perfectly suited for Jason’s acting abilities, with a touch of humor and brutality. There were multiple scenes of heavy violence and blood. Despite the illogical and farfetched scenes, I still enjoyed all the thrills and non-stop action. This is one of those pictures where you sit back and do not put a lot of thought into what is taking place; just sit and go with the story. I will say I was surprised with the way the story turned out, finding it interesting for this type of genre. And especially for me, I enjoyed the lesson being taught. Check your brain at the door if you plan to see this killer of a movie.
2 ¾ stars
Flash Movie Review: The Killer
THROUGH THE YEARS, THE TALENT I saw in employees went from one extreme to the other, from crazy to amazing and everything in between. I recently told you about the switchboard operator who dropped acid. Believe me, she was just one of many characters I used to work with at my various jobs. At one place, I sat across a fellow employee who was obsessed with keeping their workspace perfectly clean. I mean to the point they would spray half a can of sanitizer all over their desk after removing everything off it. This meant they were disconnecting their phone and computer every day for this deep cleaning. The amount of sanitizer that they sprayed was so thick that you could see a cloud of it forming above them as they began to wipe everything down. Another employee at the same company threw off our supply budget because of the amount of paper towels she went through each day, washing her hands, face, and meal utensils that she kept individually wrapped in a plastic storage bag. It was obvious to me that both these individuals had OCD issues. I could at least understand where they came from with their daily rituals. But what can you say about the new employee who on their first day of work, kept leaving their training to ask a fellow employee if they could go out for lunch sometime. It was a form of harassment that the person had the power to correct but chose not to do so. The Human Resources department terminated their position. ONE OF MY MAIN GOALS AT my various jobs was to avoid conflict. I cannot manage drama, both at home and at the office. From the different companies I have worked at, I usually will study those employees who display vast knowledge and skills in their line of work. Though it is a cliché, I want to learn from the best. There was an employee at one company who not only had the knowledge for what their job required, but they also had the temperament. It was fascinating watching this person in a meeting because when asked to explain something, they would be able to communicate it in easy terms for the rest of us to understand. Their knowledge of the inner workings of the company was vast; they were like the resource center for the employees. I have to say it was impressive to see someone so skilled at their job. If my occupation were in the same field (gratefully not) as the main character in this action, crime film he would be someone I would watch and study. WHEN AN ASSASSIN MISSES HIS INTENDED target, not only was his reputation put in jeopardy but his life as well. With Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs, The Light Between Oceans) as The Killer, Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton, Three Thousand Years of Longing) as The Expert, Charles Parnell (A Million Little Pieces, The Last Ship-TV) as The Lawyer-Hodges, Arliss Howard (The Time Traveler’s Wife, Full Metal Jacket) as The Client-Claybourne and Kerry O’Malley (Cowboy Drifter, 1923-TV) as Dolores; this adventure movie was an interesting study. I thought Michael was perfect in the role. At first, I felt lost watching this picture; I was not sure where it was going. However, as the scenes unfolded, I started to appreciate the work being done in creating a sense of tension, dread, drama, along with an unbelievable, intense fight scene. If only the writers could have started adding these things in earlier, it would have made this a better viewing experience. Though this film will not win any awards, it was an interesting inside look at the mind of an assassin.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Locked In
I KNEW HIM BEFORE AND AFTER. We were acquaintances; he was a friend of a friend of mine. He had few filters, so he shared more information about his life than most people cared to hear. However, because he was fun and engaging, many folks just went along with whatever he was saying. I am not a mind reader or psychic, but after hearing about several of his dating exploits, I had a sense he was not as interested in the person as he was in what they did for a living. The more time I spent with him socially, the more I felt I was correct about my feelings. He was looking for someone with a large bank account who could take care of him. It was not my place to judge him; if there was someone out there who wanted to take care of him, then I had no issues with it. When he talked about a recent date he was on, he did not mention some key words like fun, enjoyed, kind. He would make mention of their fancy watch or expensive car or large residence. For me, these were not important things that I cared about when dating a person. These types of comments were mentioned over and over during his “before” years. THE “AFTER” YEARS WERE THE ONES where he found what he was looking for in a date and they settled down to form a couple. The person he found came from money, something about a family company in business for a few generations. If you care to know; yes, they had an expensive watch, a fancy car and a huge home. They had traveled all over the world and as far as I could tell they loved him. My friend’s friend started coming to our social events dressed in the latest fashions, talked about the places the two of them traveled, flying to New York City for the weekend to see a Broadway show, the expensive restaurants they had visited; you get the idea. This is why I refer to him as “before and after” because there was such a drastic change in him once he found and dated someone who could provide him with all the things he had been searching for. I could not tell you if love was involved on his part; I have only heard him express his love for inanimate objects. Through my life experiences, I have never met anyone else like him except possibly one of the main characters in this dramatic, mystery thriller. LINA, PLAYED BY ROSE WILLIAMS (MRS. Harris Goes to Paris, A Quiet Passion), was grateful for the kindness her mother’s friend showed her by taking her in after her mother’s death. The kindness began to wear thin once Lina found the woman’s son attractive. With Famke Janssen (X-Men franchise, Redeeming Love) as Katherine, Alex Hassell (The Tragedy of Macbeth, Violent Night) as Doctor Lawrence, Finn Cole (F9: The Fast Sage, Peaky Blinders-TV) as Jamie and Anna Friel (Limitless, Land of the Lost) as Nurse Mackenzie; this film had the trappings of a good suspense story, but the script kept getting in the way. The characters were never fully developed, and the dialog lacked authenticity. I was drawn by the scenes with Nurse Mackenzie, but there were not enough of those good scenes to make up for poorly done ones. The twists and turns offered seemed more done to provide a shock value than giving them some added weight to make sense. I enjoyed the look of the movie and the settings, but again, I did not feel a connection to the characters. This film was more like a jigsaw puzzle, where the writers took bits and pieces of other films and recreated them for this one without giving much thought to the fact, they made no sense.
1 ¾ stars
moviejoltz 