David R. Walker

Posts Tagged ‘Daisy Edgar-Jones’

Twisters

Director: Lee Isaac Chung

Cast: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos, Glen Powell, Brandon Perea, Maura Tierney, Daryl McCormack, David Corenswet, Harry Haddon-Paton, Kiernan Shipka

Running Time: 2 hours and 2 minutes

Film Rating: 7 out of 10

Minari director Lee Isaac Chung takes on a big budget blockbuster with the 2024 remake of the 1996 film Twisters with Helen Hunt and the late Bill Paxton.

The 21^st century version has a host of hot young stars including Daisy Edgar-Jones (Where the Crawdads Sing) as Kate Carter a meteorologist and Oklahoma storm chaser, Glen Powell (Top Gun: Maverick, Hitman) as the all American macho guy Tyler who is basically a hillbilly with a YouTube channel, Antony Ramos as Kate’s friend and suspected love interest Javi along with David Corenswet as Javi’s suspicious business partner.

With the exception of a brief scene in New York, most of Twisters takes place in Tornado alley in Oklahoma in the mid-west, with expansive fields and dangerous tornados that can crush a village in seconds.

Five years after Kate experiences a dreadful tragedy, Javi visits her in New York and begs her to return to Oklahoma for the Tornado season as she is a great storm spotter.

Kate relents and returns with him to the Mid-West where she meets a whole motley crew of storm chasers including the brash and boisterous Tyler, perfectly played with loads of Southern Charm by Glen Powell, whose ability as a leading man is proving exceptional in the 2024 film year with leads in Anyone But You and Richard Linklater’s film Hit Man.

Tyler has to contend with a prickly Kate, wonderfully played by a blonde haired Daisy Edgar-Jones as she deals with her past trauma, her ability to chase storms and her abrupt mother, a scene stealer by Golden Globe winner Maura Tierney (The Affair) who encourages Tyler to chase after her love lost daughter.

Speaking of love, it is a great pity that director Lee Isaac Chung did not focus more on the romance between Kate and Tyler.

Instead of sexualising his main characters, both of whom are gorgeous eye-candy, they just become a crazy couple trying to survive one tornado after another, a brutal force of nature that destroys with a vengeance rodeo shows, cinemas and whole villages. Oklahoma just gets ripped to shreds while the only character that has an interesting development is Javi as he fights off corporate greed to try and save Middle America.

As tornados destroy everything, Twisters doesn’t develop beyond the action sequences and the film just presents a series of characters caught in a bizarre world of dangerous storm chasing without any cathartic release. Audiences should look out for actor David Corenswet in Twisters, the tall handsome dude who has been cast as the new Superman in the DC Comics film coming out in 2025.

Besides the tornado wranglers, Twisters doesn’t offer anything more than a series of action sequences involving an angry mother nature while the characters drift helplessly in a storm.

Twisters is a great popcorn film but director Lee Isaac Chung should stick to family dramas and not be asked to direct Hollywood blockbuster films that need a huge box office return.

Twisters gets a film rating of 7 out of 10, saved by some awesome visual effects but doesn’t really develop into a gripping narrative. Recommended viewing if you love disaster films.

Where the Crawdads Sing

Director: Olivia Newman

Cast: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Harris Dickinson, Taylor John Smith, David Strathairn, Logan Macrae, Garrett Dillahunt, Jojo Regina

Film Rating: 8 out of 10

Running Time: 2 hours and 5 minutes

Based upon the bestselling 2018 novel by Delia Owens, the film adaptation of Where the Crawdads Sing is a handsome and beautiful production using nature as its yardstick, with slick direction by Olivia Newman and a sparkling musical score by Mychael Danna. At the centre of Where The Crawdads Sing is the mystery of the murder of Chase Andrews, a wealthy young man from North Carolina who gets involved in the beautiful yet illusive Marsh Girl, Kya Clark wonderfully played by British star Daisy Edgar-Jones.

Chase Andrews is found dead in the Carolina Marsh and Kya Clark is the only suspect. But who is the Marsh Girl?

Kya Clark was abandoned by her siblings and mother at a young age in the marshes where she lived with her abusive father Pa played by Garrett Dillahunt and then soon her father abandons her leaving Kya alone to fend for herself. Having grown up in the marshes and being intimately attuned to nature, Kya develops a talent for naturalist drawings of all the creatures in the marshes and she also develops a crush on the nearest neighbour Tate Walker played by Taylor John Smith who treats Kya with respect and compassion even though he is unsure how to date her initially.

After Tate Walker fails to keep a promise on Independence Day, Kya drifts into the nasty and privileged world of the brutal but dashing Chase Andrews expertly played by Harris Dickinson (The King’s Man, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil).

While trying to pursue a career as a nature illustrator to fund her purchase of the land and house that she is living in, Kya gets embroiled in an affair with Chase Andrews who proves not to be the man of her dreams, despite his charm and confidence.

After Chase’s body is found, Kya is arrested and luckily legal aid comes to assist her in the form of a benevolent lawyer Tom Milton played by Oscar nominee David Strathairn (Good Night and Good Luck).

Set in the 1960’s in North Carolina, Where the Crawdads Sing is an engaging story about a mysterious marsh girl, her hidden talents and her ability to fend for herself when local gossip is used as a weapon of exclusion because she is different, and not socialized into the urban community.

Covering themes of illiteracy, exclusion, abuse and hidden talents, Where the Crawdads Sing is a fascinating story about a mysterious girl who rises above all the ridicule to survive in a hostile world. Her only safe place is the Carolina Marshes where secrets and betrayals are buried.

Beautifully directed by Olivia Newman, Where the Crawdads Sing is highly recommended viewing especially for those that have read the book and gets a film rating of 8 out of 10.