David R. Walker

Archive for October, 2024

Venom: The Last Dance

Director: Kelly Marcel

Cast: Tom Hardy, Juno Temple, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rhys Ifans, Stephen Graham, Reid Scott, Andy Serkis

Running Time: 1 hour 49 minutes

Film Rating: 7 out of 10

Screenwriter turned director Kelly Marcel takes over the Venom franchise in the final instalment of this monster franchise, luckily getting Tom Hardy to reprise his role as San Francisco journalist Eddie Brock who literally has a monster on his back: the tap dancing, chocolate loving Venom.

Venom: The Last Dance loses the talents of Michelle Williams but the cast is gained by the addition of Emmy nominee Juno Temple (Fargo) as Dr Teddy Paine and Oscar nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) as army commander Strickland who is desperate to catch Brock along with his cheeky symbiosis, the monster Venom, while decommissioning Area 51.

Set mainly in Area 51 in Nevada, Brock after escaping a decapitation episode in Mexico flees back to America to travel to New York.

Venom: The Last Dance is modelled as a crazy road trip film with some freaky alien monsters that suddenly arrive and attack humans in Nevada.

A deadly force Knull played by Andy Serkis, creator of the symbiotes has awakened in the galaxy and needs Eddie’s symbiote’s codex to unleash hell and damnation on the decadent world of contemporary America. Soon Dr Paine and Strickland are after Eddie to catch him before these deadly monsters are unleashed.

Unlike the first two Venom films which had a distinct villain, there is no clear enemy in this film, except a vague malignant force in the universe from Venom’s home planet that wants the symbiote dead.

While the storyline is quite nostalgic and in parts quite silly, there are some delightful moments provided by BAFTA nominee and winner Rhy Ifans (Notting Hill, Not Only But Always) as the travelling hippie Martin who takes his crazy family on a road trip through Nevada in search of aliens and instead gets embroiled in a monster battle between Venom and Xenophage, a vicious head snapping creature from Venom’s home planet.

While Tom Hardy has the constant expression on his face of why did I sign up for a third movie, the rest of the cast are enthusiastic although first time director Kelly Marcel needs tips on upping the action to increase the film’s pace.

Venom The Last Dance is nostalgic, entertaining and filled with monsters and does manage to stand as a fitting end to the Venom trilogy. Audience stay until the closing credits are finished.

Humorous and horrific, Venom: The Last Dance gets a film rating of 7 out of 10 and is not the best of the films but it certainly packages the Venom storyline right up to Eddie’s intended destination. Recommended viewing for those that loved the first two films.

Aftermath

Director: Patrick Lussier

Cast: Dylan Sprouse, Mason Gooding, Megan Stott, Dichen Lachman, Kevin Chapman, Nick Apostolides, Mark Irvingsen, Shahjehan Khan, Will Lyman

Running Time: 1 hour 37 minutes

Film Rating: 7 out of 10

Los Angeles based Voltage Pictures delivers a good old fashioned American action film with no frills. A simple plot all taking place one night on the cantilever truss Tobin Bridge in Boston in the new film by Drive Angry director Patrick Lussier called Aftermath starring Dylan Sprouse as Eric Daniels a tough soldier who along with his sister Madeleine played by Megan Stott get trapped on the bridge when a crazy paramilitary private contractor group led by the delusional Captain Chaos played by Mason Gooding son of Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr (Jerry Maguire).

Aftermath is pure action as Eric Daniels overcomes any residual PTSD from his days in Afghanistan, to man up and fight captain chaos and his group of heavily armed group of mercenaries who trap civilians on the famous Tobin Bridge over the Mystic River in Boston, Massachusetts. In an effort to protect his teenage sister, Daniels teams up with the hardened Samantha, an ex-convict who spilled a bunch of military secrets linking private military contractors to incidents of mass civilian casualties.

Samantha is dutifully played by Tibetan actress Dichen Lachman who was in the brilliant series Animal Kingdom and recently seen in Jurassic World Dominion.

While the plot of Aftermath is about as murky as the moonlit Mystic River over which the bridge hangs precariously, the action is top notch with a great rescue operation in which Daniels, well played by Voltage Pictures big star Dylan Sprouse quickly starts eliminating Captain Chaos’s team, while the crazed ring leader with a death wish is hell-bent on utter destruction.

Fantastic night visuals include drone footage and an atmospheric tension on the bridge in which minor characters like Will Lyman as Kozak and Shahjehan Khan (Succession) as Ozzie assist the hero in catching and outwitting the violent and crazy villain, whose sole concern is to get online publicity as he livestreams the terrifying bridge hijacking.

Aftermath delivers in terms of entertainment and judging by a packed cinema on a rainy Sunday afternoon, this is the type of standard action fare that excels at the box office.

Director Patrick Lussier delivers as a resourceful director of an electrifying action film and Aftermath is worth seeing as an engrossing simple action film all set on a bridge with explosives. What could possibly go wrong?

Aftermath gets a film rating of 7 out of 10 and is an unpretentious action which will keep viewers you riveted. Recommended viewing.

Joker: Folie a Deux

Director: Todd Phillips

Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Harry Lawtey, Steve Coogan, Bill Smitrovich, Jacob Lofland, Zazie Beetz

Film Rating: 7 out of 10

It’s a risky endeavour for an actor to return to a role that won him an Oscar in 2020. Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix (Joker) returns to his role as the manic comedian Arthur Fleck in the highly anticipated sequel Joker: Folie a Deux directed by Todd Phillips that did such a brilliant job on the original film.

Joker: Folie a Deux is like a musical set in an insane asylum. Last time I checked the Oscar winning film One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest was not a musical.

This is where the casting of Lady Gaga as Lee Quinzel aka Harleyquin is problematic. To justify the casting of the pop star Lady Gaga in Joker: Folie a Deux, this intense film is oddly lighten by some strange musical numbers in the vein of La La Land for Lunatics.

Gaga and Phoenix almost recreate the iconic dance scene between Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in Damien Chzaelle’s La La Land, tricking the audiences into believing that this film is a light and fluffy musical, which it’s not. Lady Gaga was miscast in this film and if they had cast another more intense actress as Arthur Fleck’s romantic interest it would have been an entirely better film.

The inmates run riot in Joker: Folie a Deux and despite some solid performances by supporting cast members including Oscar nominee Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin) as the vindictive Arkham asylum guard Jackie Sullivan and Oscar nominee Catherine Keener (Capote, Being John Malkovich) as Arthur Fleck’s sympathetic lawyer Maryanne Stewart, this sequel to the original comes off as a shocking and inconclusive pastiche of violence, animation, music and anarchy.

Joaquin Phoenix holds his own naturally in a character which he made iconic with his immense talent. In this sequel, it is not Phoenix’s best performance and to return to this character would always be judged by the original version that he was so brilliant at doing. Unlike his exceptional Oscar nominated performances in The Master opposite Amy Adams or in Gladiator opposite Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix was good but not exceptional.

There are some seriously funny almost David Lynch moments in Joker: Folie a Deux especially when Arthur Fleck represents himself in a media frenzied trial in which one of the witnesses is a dwarf called Mr Puddles who sits on a copy of the yellow pages to gain height.

The French Connection inspired late 1970’s production design by Mark Freidberg for this sequel is on point and some of the scenes are superb, like the shaving scene at the beginning. Unfortunately the random musical numbers and the lack of a comprehensive narrative make Joker: Folie a Deux an insane mess, made worse by some truly bizarre musical numbers.

Todd Phillips almost pulled off a successful sequel except for the problematic casting of Lady Gaga and the absolutely shocking final scene. Note this film is not a superhero film for kids, but a seriously deranged film about incurable mental illness and social paranoia. The storyline is schizophrenic like the characters. The age restriction should be adhered to.

Joker: Folie a Deux gets a film rating of 7 out of 10 and despite its high production values, this film veers into the world of strange art house cinema which contradicts its box office expectations.

Recommended viewing for those that enjoyed the original but be warned it’s not nearly as good.

The Peasants

Director: Dorota Kobiela Welchman and Hugh Welchman

Cast: Kamila Urzędowska, Robert Gulaczyk, Mirosław Baka, Sonia Mietielica, Cezary Łukaszewicz, Andrzej Konopka, Maciej Musiał

Running Time: 1 hour and 54 minutes

Film Rating: 8 out of 10

Language: Polish with English Subtitles

Festivals: Toronto, European Film Festival

PLEASE NOTE THIS FILM IS ANIMATED.

Polish directors Dorota Kobiela Welchman and Hugh Welchman who previously brought viewers the adult animated Oscar nominated film Loving Vincent in 2017, have returned with a new film simply entitled The Peasants which takes place in a small Polish village Lipce at the beginning of the 20^th century and based on the novel by Władysław Reymont.

The gorgeous style of animation somehow amplifies the action and drama of this community story about the beautiful Jagna as she falls in love with a wealthy land owner’s son Antek.

Skilfully interwoven with polish folk songs, local gossip and conflict, The Peasants focuses on the bizarre love triangle of Jagna, a beautiful if slightly promiscuous young eligible lady who has an affair with Antek while in the process of marrying his recently widowed wealthy father Maciej Boryna. Antek is also married to Hanka. As the adulterous couple continue a scandalous relationship, the rest of the village soon discovers the ramifications of such an affair as a conflict with the landowner’s emissary soon exposes Maciej’s weakness and Jagna’s vulnerability.

Visually astounding and beautifully portrayed, The Peasants expertly uses a technique known as painted animation to tell the unbelievable story of the two lovers who defy a community and eventually ruin a family.

The directors use animation to soften the effects of such controversial themes as rape, humiliation and ostracism as they portray The Peasants as a lively yet gossip mongering group of villagers in a series of seasonal shifts depicting the gradual change in community relationships.

Interspersed with issues about land ownership, dowry negotiations and rural hardships, The Peasants has beautiful moments particularly the lavish wedding scene between Jagna and Maciej despite the controversial scandal which eventually unfolds.

Gossip becomes a weapon of exclusion in the case of Jagna who has to sacrifice her position in the village when all the secrets are revealed, exposing how little civil rights women had in rural Poland at the beginning of the 20^th century. Antek is revealed to be an angry farmer who is only after satisfying his sexual desires.

The Peasants proves to be a cinematic treat and a brilliant animated depiction of rural life in Poland incorporating all their customs, rituals and songs.

Dazzling and artfully executed, The Peasants gets a film rating of 8 out of 10. Recommended viewing for those that love quality animation and an imaginative folk tale.