Notable Cast: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Yahya
Abdul-Mateen II, Jonathan Groff, Jessica Henwick, Neil Patrick Harris, Jada
Pinkett Smith, Priyanka Chopra, Christina Ricci, Lambert Wilson, Chad Stahelski
There’s a joke somewhere where I sarcastically connect the
term ‘reboot’ between a computer being reset to cleanse itself of running
programs and the idea that this long awaited sequel, The Matrix
Resurrections, serves as both a sequel and a reboot to the series as it
attempts to enter into its next phase of existence. It’s an easy joke to make
and I spent a stupid amount of time sitting in the theater prior to the start
of the movie trying to craft the wording and introduction to this review.
Too bad The Matrix Resurrections beat me to the
punch.
This fourth film in the series, although one might consider
it the fifth since the Wachowskis consider the spin off film, The Animatrix,
as canon in the series, knows exactly what purpose it serves. This is a film
that’s meant to recapture the delights of the original 1999 genre-bending
classic while pushing the franchise into a new age for possible new sequels and
IP creation while feeding into an audience’s nostalgia. It’s the quintessential
reboot. That’s the definition. That’s what a reboot is and does.
King Boxer, or as it may be more widely known in the
US as Five Fingers of Death, is such a seminal kung fu film in the
history of cinema that it absolutely had to be the first film featured in this
latest boxset from Arrow Video, Shawscope Vol. 1. Now I won’t review the
film in whole here, as I have said what I had to say over in an article on the
impact and strength of the film at the 36 Styles website (link below for those
interested), but I did want to make mention that it’s one hell of a way to kick
off a box set.
Not only is this the best the film has looked in release in
the US, although my Dragon Dynasty DVD certainly holds up, but it has a ton of
fantastic features worth mentioning. In particular, the Tony Rayns commentary
about the history of the Shaw Brothers studio as it led up to the release of King
Boxer - including a fantastic discussion on its director, is one of the
highlights of the entire box set.
It also features a slick little documentary about the Shaw
Brothers studio, the first of three parts, that covers a ton of ground and is a
nice feature to add to the mix. A plethora of interviews, alternative titles to
feature the US titles, and commentary by David Desser cap off the features and
all of them are worth the examination if you are cinephile - and not just ones
interested in kung fu.
As mentioned, if you want to read my full review of the
film, please visit the 36 Styles website here:
Notable Cast: Alexander Fu Sheng, Chi Kuan-Chun, Chen
Ming-Li, Wang Ching-Ping, Lu Ti, Chiang Tao, Fung Hak-On
There are an epic amount of kung fu movies that start off
with a demonstration of the martial arts that will be shown in the upcoming
film, performed in front of a starkly colored backdrop. It’s a commonplace
occurrence in many of these films, particularly from a specific time period,
that fans of the studio’s output will be familiar with.
With Disciples of Shaolin, there is a specific tone
to how the film starts in this style. The bright yellow background allows a
shirtless Alexander Fu Sheng to pop, as he runs through a series of kung fu
movements. There is no score. The sound of the metal rings on his arms clank
and jingle. His face is dour and intense. He moves to practice on a set of Shaolin
poles as a soundtrack finally sneaks in for the last portion.
This routine carries on for almost five minutes before the
film leaps into its main story, following a bullheaded and cocky young fighter,
played by Alexander Fu Sheng, as he attempts to make a name for himself on the
hard streets while befriending another mysterious fighter played by Chi
Kuan-Chun.
Notable Cast: Bian Jiang, Cai Haiting, Su Shangqing, Zhang Lei, Zhang He, Lin
Qiang, Liu Sicen, Wang Chenguang, Song Ming, Feng Sheng, Zhang Yaohan, Bai
Xuecen, Qiu Qiu
At this point and time, with the boom of the Chinese film
industry still refusing to slow down, bolstered by the emergence of new avenues
like straight-to-streaming and animation studios, it’s always good to know that
there will now be an exponential amount of Monkey King movies to flood
my viewing queue. I mean, there was already an entire industries’ worth that
has already been released, but now there are further avenues to make even
more.
Yay.
The latest is the animated feature, The Monkey King
Reborn, which is granted a very gracious US release via our friends over at
Well Go USA on both DVD and Blu Ray. It’s not the first animated feature of the
Monkey King to drop in the US, although I’d be hard pressed to find anyone that
remembers Monkey King: Hero Is Back from five or six years ago (even
with Jackie Chan voicing Wukong in the English dub). And, quite frankly, Monkey
King Reborn may not quite find its American audience either.
Notable Cast: Keri Russell, Jesse Plemons, Jeremy Thomas,
Graham Greene, Scott Haze, Rory Cochrane, Amy Madigan, Cody Davis, Sawyer
Jones, Arlo Hajdu
Back in early 2018, Guillermo del Toro made a phenomenal
speech after winning the Golden Globe for Best Director. He spoke about how his
dedication to telling stories about monsters was driven by their meaning beyond
scares and fear and how their representation of our flaws as the human race
made them incredibly provocative and meaningful.
With a speech like that, it’s not shocking that most of the
films he produces, even when wavering in quality, tend to aim for that same
layered storytelling. That’s why when it was announced he would be producing
the Scott Cooper-directed horror film, Antlers, it was hard not to get
excited. Unfortunately, a pandemic and some studio delays made sure that the
film didn’t get released until the latter part of 2021 for the Halloween
season, but strong trailers and an interesting combination between producer and
director crafted one of the most hyped films of the year.
Unsurprisingly, I suppose, audiences and critics panned the
film.
Antlers does represent an intriguing mixture of
balancing and tones underneath a film that is both perhaps too mainstream for
the A24 crowd and too vaguely layered in its offbeat artistic choices for the
mainstream crowd. It walks an achingly wound tightrope of expectations and the
results were going to disappoint at least one of the two sides of the audience
it was aiming for. However, Antlers is hardly the tragic misfire of
talents that so many of its critics and fans claimed it to be. While it does
make a variety of perplexing decisions with its material, there is such a
daunting and haunting undercurrent of its themes that deserves far more credit
than it was given.
As the film follows its main characters, led by schoolmarm
Julia and her local sheriff brother Paul, it does play itself on two levels.
The surface level is the classic “nature fighting back against the grievances
of man” where a Wendigo is unleashed upon a small town in Oregon due to the
results of over-foresting and mining. Julia, played with the now natural
ability of Keri Russell to feign confidence and capability over a traumatic
character’s past - mostly likely refined by her stint on The Americans, starts
to investigate a young boy in her class who she sees signs of domestic abuse.
It doesn’t take long to escalate as the Wendigo the young boy is trying to keep
at bay, releases its fury at people in the small community.
For this level, Antlers hammers into the formulas of
the creature feature in some interesting ways. The film avoids showing the
ravages of the incidents on the town as a whole, avoiding some of the cliches
of the townsfolk up in arms about murders or disappearances, and instead
focuses on the tale of the two main families - that of Julia and her brother
and the young boy tormented by the Wendigo. Cooper cakes the film an
atmospheric visual fog, utilizing impressive cinematography to create a
fairytale-like tonality to this story. The performances are impressive enough
between its three leads - strongly using Jesse Plemons to balance out Keri
Russell in a thematic way (more on that in a second) and benefiting from a
screen stealing performance from Jeremy Thomas as the young boy, Lucas,
which garners an uneasy relationship with film’s viewers in his blank, vaguely
sad eye acting and emaciated physical performance.
It’s ultimately an intimate film in how it approaches its
story, something that doesn’t necessarily lean on the spectacle of its monster
that people might have been expecting, and it tends to leave a lot of its
backstories and explanations vague and subtle. At times this can be
frustrating, particularly how the film leans heavily away from the Native
American roots of its creature and only brushes by those in a way that feels
like it might have been a studio note on the script, rather than a fully
realized thematic element. Yet, it’s hard for me not to buy into the larger
choices that Cooper is making for its narrative and the overall creature
feature of its surface story. It’s enough to capture my attention with some
strong visuals and entertaining horror sequences that build on the accumulating
dread of its mysteries around the Wendigo.
Yet, it’s the thematic elements and allegories that are the
reason Antlers hung with me long after its credits had rolled by. It
should be notable that the film brushes along a slew of various themes from the
previously mentioned resource mismanagement or the Native American lore, but it
also touches on a couple of key ones with the human condition like alcoholism
or addiction and the circular cycle of domestic violence. It’s in these latter
themes that Antlers thrives. The manner that it ties these thematic
ideas into the Wendigo lore and how the characters interact lifts the film
above the usual creature feature material. There’s a lot to chew on in these portions
and it’s worth noting for its layered approach to the material.
Perhaps Antlers was just a film that could not live
up to its own hype created by its strong marketing and balancing act between
cinematic approaches. At least in the public’s eye. Its allegories are layered in multiple ways and its tale of a creature is far more concerned with its themes than consistency in narrative. That’s the trick of the
film, ultimately. Its unique choices and bold topics are not necessarily in the
best balance, but it's through those choices that Antlers finds its
voice - in between the styles and in between the tones.
After grossing an insane amount of money and making it one
of the biggest box office horror franchises of all time, Sony wasn’t going to
take long to reboot the Resident Evil franchise. It’s not like Sony has
a lot of load-bearing franchises to begin with under their belt and letting
this one stay dormant for too long would be asinine.
To their benefit, this reboot of the long-running video game
series does go back to the source material roots and away from the Matrix-knock-off
action meets the inescapable silliness of Paul WS Anderson throwing random shit
at his audience. Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, while still
sporting one of the worst titles I can think of in recent history, is a
fantastic idea on paper. Go back to the horror. Go back to the much-loved
characters. Go back to the fear that the Resident Evil game series used
to launch an entire subgenre of gaming.
It’s a shame that Resident Evil - I refuse to use its
full title from this point on - is a middling effort.
Notable Cast: Andy Lau, Sean Lau, Ni Ni, Philip Keung
After the first Shock Wave blew me away (I apologize)
with its blend of tension, thrills, and weirdly effective emotional weight,
waiting for sequel, Shock Wave 2, to finally receive a release in the
United States was a bit of torture, a burning fuse that just kept burning and
never reaching its end (I apologize again). After being released in 2020 to
some decent box office numbers and word of mouth in China, the lack of interest
in releasing the internationally well-regarded sequel - with significant star power
behind and in front of the camera - didn’t bode well for its quality. Was Shock
Wave 2 just aftershocks to the big shock of its predecessor? I won’t
apologize for that joke. Nope.
Notable Cast: Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail
Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Ma
Dong-seok, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, Angelina Jolie, Bill Skarsgard, Harish
Patel
Disney and Marvel have always been very particular with how
they expand the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The introduction of mysticism was in
a wholly generic and formulaic origin film with Doctor Strange, the leap
with Thor into the cosmos happens mostly on Earth, and the introduction
of the multi-verse took two entire Avengers films to pull off. The
latter is a choice that will now seemingly dominate the entirety of the
franchise for the foreseeable future and allow for MCU to exist until mankind
burns to the ground.
For Eternals, a full-on expansion of the MCU into epic cosmos insanity, Marvel and Academy Award-winning director Chloe
Zhao attempt to ride that fine balance once again by introducing an entire new
squad of Space Avengers. They are not the Guardians, for the record, but they
do ask the hard questions to each other like “who will lead the Avengers now?”
to make sure we don’t forget the film is part of the franchise, I guess. These
Eternals have been patiently waiting on Earth to receive the call from Space
Dad, a six-eyed stone-looking red space god named Arishem, to go back home.
Naturally, not all is what it seems and the Eternals’ natural enemy,
animal-like bundles of tendrils named Deviants, arise on Earth once more as a
pending disaster looms on the horizon.
Notable Cast: Fengbin Mu, Yilin Hao, Qihang Zhao, Qiyu
Yang
The pandemic changed a lot of things in the film industry.
At this point, discussion about the box office and the explosive expansion of
streaming services are well-known discussion topics. To be fully honest, I’m a
bit tired of talking about the birth of streaming, the death of ‘cinema’, and
whether or not films that are released straight to a streaming service count as
TV movies or Movie movies. I can only get into so many fights on social media
before it ceases to be interesting. Let’s not forget though, that this change
is happening all over the world.
Case in point, The Emperor’s Sword was released to
the Chinese streaming service Youku was picked up for distribution in the US
via Well Go USA where it received its premiere on their streaming services, Hi
Yah, before receiving a full-fledged Blu Ray release. It’s not the first film
of this ilk to receive this kind of treatment and, yes, there is a cheaper look
to the film and budgetary restraints that tend to limit the film’s tonality and
approach, but The Emperor’s Sword is a much better film than expected.
Perhaps I was just craving a newer wuxia film that doesn’t bombard its audience
with bullshit CGI monsters and wanna-be Hollywood blockbuster spectacle, but
there is a simplicity and classic tone to the core of this flick that hit me
just right.
After unleashing the Daimajin on collectors with
their three-film box set only a handful of months ago, Arrow Video continues
their Daiei run with the Yokai Monsters Collection. Complete with the
original three film run of the Yokai Monster trilogy and auteur director
Takashi Miike’s love letter to those films, this collection brings together
four films that were not regularly available (if at all) to Western audiences.
Whether you’re a fan of supernatural monster flicks, strange genre-bending
slices of cinema, or Japanese film history, it’s hard to go wrong with this
boxset as a collector.
The mileage that one gets from the films included in Yokai
Monsters depends on their ability to roll with the shifting genres and a
sense of artifice within their stories. This review covers the third film in
the series, Along with Ghosts, but stay tuned for more reviews for the
rest of the series.
After bouncing through the second film of the series, Spook
Warfare, with all of its comedic elements and humorous and heartfelt yokai
monster chemistry, the third film Along with Ghosts causes some
significant whiplash. While all three films lean into the period set
horror-tinged supernatural basics, this third and last (of this original run)
of the series finds itself as the most cohesive and cinematically sound in its
storytelling. It may not feature nearly as many yokai as the previous entry -
or, quite honestly, as the first film, but it makes up for it by being a better
film.
Notable Cast: Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Matt
Smith, Diana Rigg, Michael Ajao, Terence Stamp
At this point, I'm feeling a bit out of the loop. I adored
Edgar Wright as a director in decades previous, but his last two films -
including Baby Driver and Last Night in Soho, have left me oddly
cold. I think it’s because I feel like Wright has started to write his scripts
to match visuals versus crafting visuals to fit the depths of the script. It's
a small and nuanced change in approach, but one that I feel undercuts many of
the interesting elements in his latest film, Last Night in Soho.
With his love letter to giallo and the murder mysteries of
the 1960s (some serious Mario Bava vibes here which is always a plus), Last
Night in Soho is a gorgeous piece of cinema, and its direction and editing
are impressive. The use of dream-like flow and fading with the narrative is
artfully done. If anything, Wright is definitely soaring with his visual pops,
use of mirror tricks, and creating that sense of "parallel" timelines
that evokes a sense of fantasy that slowly seeps into nightmares.
Notable Cast: Emily Bader, Roland Buck III, Dan Lippert,
Henry Ayres-Brown, Tom Nowicki, Colin Keane, Jill St. John, Alexa Shae Niziak
Paranormal Activity is back. It’s a franchise that
has always held a special place for me that was fascinatingly created almost
completely in retroactive continuity between entries. In fact, just this
October the Blood Brothers cousin podcast, No Franchise Fatigue, spent three
entire episodes digging through the films of the series. You can listen to
those episodes at the following links: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3.
Nonetheless, it’s a series that is far more interesting as a whole than people
usually give it credit for even when the quality of individual films waivers
immensely.
However, after an unmemorable and misguided “finale” to the
Katie and Kristi Meet Tobi the Demon saga of the first six entries, Paranormal
Activity was in desperate need of an injection of life. After six years,
the seventh entry, under the title Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin, has
been uploaded to the streaming service Paramount+ for our enjoyment. The latest
entry represents an interesting shift in style and an entirely new story as a
reboot of the series. It’s ultimately a mixed effort, but it does showcase the
potential of the future for the long-running series.
After spending a large portion of this October revisiting
classic found-footage horror films and series for the Blood Brothers cousin
podcast, No Franchise Fatigue, it seemed like a coincidence that Shudder’s
latest exclusive film, The Medium, would utilize the format. The 00s and
early 2010s trend of found footage horror is hardly dead, but it certainly has
taken a step back as dramatic arthouse horror and slashers have started to make
strong comebacks to dominate the genre lately.
Despite its generic title, The Medium not only
understands how to maximize the striking power of the found footage style, but
its pacing, balance, and grounded execution make it one of the most terrifying
films of the year. It’s a film that works on the surface as a slow-burning
story of possession but also manages to embed a thematic religious layering
that deepens the experience in some fascinating ways. Not only is it one of the
best of the year, but The Medium may also just be one of the best found-footage
horror films in the history of the genre.
Notable Cast: Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Tim Curry, David
Bennent, Alice Playten, Billy Barty, Cork Hubbert, Peter O’Farrell, Kiran Shah,
Annabelle Lanyon, Robert Picardo
It’s no secret that Ridley Scott is one of the most prolific
directors still working. At the age of 83, the man is releasing two films in
the final quarter of 2021 (The Last Duel and House of Gucci for
those wondering) and his career is just as diverse in subject matter as the gap
between those two films. However, while his directorial trajectory over the
decades has had its roller coaster moments of quality, his early work is
essential viewing. Genre fans, in particular, owe a great deal to the
semi-auteur director. Whether it’s Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma
& Louise, or Gladiator, Scott has produced films that have a
significant legacy to them.
Of course, then there’s Legend.
Scott’s 1985 fantasy opus, starring an up-and-coming who’s
who of young talent and featuring a truly ethereal sense of whimsy, darkness,
and adventure, was actively met with disdain or apathy at the time of its
release. It was often compared by critics and audiences to his previous film, Blade
Runner, as a film lost in technicality and missing real characters or
plots. Keep in mind that the mentioned science fiction epic was also met with
disdain and/or apathy on its release. Yet, just like that film, Legend
has garnered a vivacious cult fan base since then for all of the same reasons
it was dismissed. Enough so that Arrow Video has deemed it worthy of a luscious
new 4K restoration and collector’s edition package.
After unleashing the Daimajin on collectors with their
three-film box set only a handful of months ago, Arrow Video continue their
Daiei run with the Yokai Monsters Collection. Complete with the original
three film run of the Yokai Monster trilogy and auteur director Takashi
Miike’s love letter to those films, this collection brings together four films
that were not regularly available (if at all) to Western audiences. Whether
you’re a fan of supernatural monster flicks, strange genre-bending slices of cinema,
or Japanese film history, it’s hard to go wrong with this boxset as a
collector.
The mileage that one gets from the films included in Yokai
Monsters depends on their ability to roll with the shifting genres and a
sense of artifice within their stories. This review covers the second film in
the series, Spook Warfare, but stay tuned for more reviews for the rest
of the series.
SPOOK WARFARE (1968)
Director: Yoshiyuki Kuroda
Notable Cast: Yoshihiko Aoyama, Akane Kawasaki,
Takashi Kanda, Hideki Hanamura, Chikara Hashimoto, Hiromi Inoue, Mari Kanda,
Gen Kimura
Although the first film in the Yokai Monsters series,
100 Monsters, told its story in full, that has never stopped a franchise
from kicking forward. The first sequel, Spook Warfare, aims to take the
same basic concept, people who accidentally unleash some classic mythological
Japanese spirit monsters, and gives it a tonal and structural overhaul. The
results are fascinatingly more entertaining as a whole and it easily fulfills
the promises made with the title.
With the fifth and (possibly) final installment of the
Japanese box office juggernaut series, Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning
might be one of the boldest ways to cap off a franchise. After the successful
trilogy run previously, the series came back with what constitutes a two-part
finale. The first portion of that, Rurouni Kenshin: The Final, was only
released a handful of months prior to this one and acts as a final stamp on the
series. It gives the red-haired wandering swordsman his peace to cap off a
rather remarkable character arc that covered four films and featured some of
the best action set pieces of the series, a bombastic set of spectacle-driven
moments, and all of the characters that fans loved. It was the feather in the
cap of one of action cinema’s most balanced and effective franchises.
In the fourth film though, there are flashbacks to an origin
for the titular character, Kenshin, that are the core for this prequel. Hence
the title, Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning. Just in case there may be
those who are new to the series or simply want to know just how upfront the
filmmakers wanted to be with this entry. Yes, this fifth entry is a prequel to
the entire series and, no, it does not suffer at all from the narrative
setbacks and leaps of logic that plague so many prequels.
To be frank, The Beginning might be the most daring
in its tone, atmosphere, and artistic merits of the series. It’s an almost
fully different experience than the others, cinematically speaking, and yet is
the perfect lead-in for the story, character, and narrative build for all of
the rest. It’s incredibly well-executed and ranks up there as one of the
best.
Notable Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi
Matichak, James Jude Courtney, Nick Castle, Will Patton, Thomas Mann, Dylan Arnold,
Robert Longstreet, Anthony Michael Hall, Charles Cyphers, Kyle Richards
The revitalization of the Halloween franchise with
2018’s self-titled sequel, one that ignores every other film post the 1978
originator, is one for the history books. It reset the already over-complicated
franchise to go back to the roots but it still managed to progress the lore
forward in its own ways and inject a bit of social commentary that hit a lot of
the right buttons. Its massive success in the box office and a strong love from
the overall horror community made it ripe for reigniting one of the archetypal
slasher franchises. It wasn’t a shock that Blumhouse was quick to capitalize on
its success by announcing a sequel.
However, it was tempting fate that they would announce two
sequels to cap off the trilogy...a trilogy of four films, for the record, if
you count the 1978 original. Still, it was hard not to get expectations up
considering the strength of Halloween (2018), and a title like Halloween
Kills does sound pretty legit and stroked the excitement of my inner
teenager.
With a half-melted ghostly mask in tow, Michael Myers once
again stalks the silver screen with Halloween Kills and returning
director David Gordon Green (along with some returning writers a slew of other
filmmakers) aim to jack up the body count and set up a finale with the upcoming
Halloween Ends that will bring his portion of the franchise to an end.
The results are, in a fitting twist, incredibly problematic in their
ambitions.
After unleashing the Daimajin on collectors with
their three-film box set only a handful of months ago, Arrow Video continue
their Daiei run with the Yokai Monsters Collection. Complete with the
original three film run of the Yokai Monster trilogy and auteur director
Takashi Miike’s love letter to those films, this collection brings together
four films that were not regularly available (if at all) to Western audiences.
Whether you’re a fan of supernatural monster flicks, strange genre-bending
slices of cinema, or Japanese film history, it’s hard to go wrong with this
boxset as a collector.
The mileage that one gets from the films included in Yokai
Monsters depends on their ability to roll with the shifting genres and a
sense of artifice within their stories. This review covers the first film in
the series, 100 Monsters, but stay tuned for more reviews for the rest
of the series.
Directors: Jennifer Reeder, Chloe Okuno, Simon Barrett,
Timo Tjahjanto, Ryan Prows
Another Halloween and another horror anthology film. One
might read that sentence as a bad thing, but - hey - I’m all in on this trend.
Particularly when it’s a revival of the impressive V/H/S series that
were rocking the rails on two different horror cinema trends. The fourth film
in the series, V/H/S/94, is a hell of a return to form after the
forgettable misfire of the third film, V/H/S Viral. It’s a fun horror
mixture of stories and approaches, it features some fun new reasons for people
to be recording their stories, and there is a ton of new talent in executing
those stories. For fans of either anthologies or found-footage horror, V/H/S/94
represents some of the best of both and kicks off the October spooky season
nicely.
If you love what we do here at Blood Brothers and if you have already checked out our podcast cousin, The No Franchise Fatigue Movie Podcast, then can we recommend checking out our latest adventure over on Patreon!
The No Franchise Fatigue Movie Podcast goes further with Extended Cuts, where Blood Brothers writers Matt Reifschneider and Sean Caylor tackle film commentaries and add bonus episodes for the podcast for our Franchisee fans.
Click the link below to join now! We'll see you at at the next sequel!
No Franchise Fatigue co-hosts Sean and Matt get RELOADED for the REVOLUTIONS of our discussion on The Matrix franchise. That's right, they are talking about the "end" of one of the biggest trilogies in modern cinema. Do the guys of NFF disagree on the films? Do they suggest you take the Red Pill or the Blue Pill?
So join them as they chat about damn near everything under the sun including incredible car chases, machines who overthink drilling, how Colin Chou loads a gun, and whether or not floaty fights are real fights.
Also, Sean declares war on Neill Blomkamp. Kind of.
Credits: Hosted by Matt Reifschneider and Sean Caylor
Produced by Matt Reifschneider and Sean Caylor Edited by Sean Caylor
As a father, nothing is more terrifying than all of the
horror that can happen to my children. As vigilant as I may be in security,
safety, and instilling common sense into my children, there is always the
possibility that something truly terrible could happen regardless of my effort
or my children's diligence. The Boy Behind the Door is a realization of
these greatest fears, as two twelve-year-old boys, Bobby (Lonnie Chavis, This
is Us, Magic Camp) and Kevin (Ezra Dewey, Criminal Minds, Teachers)
are abducted for nefarious purposes somewhere in rural (redundant) South
Dakota. The ensuing game of cat and mouse is a terrifying testament to the
dangers that children face in today's world, as well as their resilience in the
face of seemingly comprehensive danger.
Get jacked in, franchisees! NFF Agents Mr. Caylor and Mr. Reifschneider hack their back after hiatus to talk about one of the most influential franchises of all time, The Matrix!
Part I of the two-part episode covers 1999's The Matrix and 2003's spin-off The Animatrix and we take a digital deep dive into why The Matrix works as a remix, who the real hero of the Matrix is, and how there needs to be anime anthologies for a lot more franchises.
So get logged in, follow the white rabbit, and bend physics with the NFF team.
Credits: Hosted by Matt Reifschneider and Sean Caylor
Produced by Matt Reifschneider and Sean Caylor Edited by Sean Caylor
Notable Cast: Annabelle Wallis, Maddie Hasson,
George Young, Michole Briana White, Jake Abel, Ray Chase
There’s intriguing divisiveness that exists around James
Wan and the popularity he has achieved with his films. The divisiveness that, in
all honesty, I am not sure I fully understand. Perhaps it's one of those
situations where individuals feel attacked because a non-mainstream genre has
suddenly had some crossover into mainstream territory and that’s offensive to
them. My love for the director, writer, and producer has certainly earned me
some ill will from very boisterous negative commentators, but quite frankly, I
find his style of modernizing classic genres and giving them his own auteur
twist is fun and refreshing.
After dropping one of the biggest box office hits ever (edit:
I just looked it up - yes, it currently resides in the top 25 globally) in Aquaman,
Wan - in all of his audacity - took his massive blank check and used it on Malignant.
Granted, Wan has always been one to go back to his mid-budget horror films in
between larger projects as a director. Not to mention, he always keeps one foot
in the door as a producer to shepherd in new talent under his guidance, but Malignant
is next level. Not only does this film deliver on the usual Wan elements -
atmosphere, supernatural aspects, and sharp visuals, but its absurd blending of
genres, mixed with a hyperkinetic build in its pacing, and a blisteringly
outlandish third act make it one of the most potent “instant cult classic”
films I’ve ever had the chance to see. Malignant is brash in its love
letter to the past but also brings such strange energy to the fold that it
slices n’ dices its way to being one of the best of the year.
Notable Cast: Alexis Louder, Gerard Butler, Frank Grillo,
Toby Huss, Ryan O’Nan
Joe Carnahan has had a prolific career in stylish action
flicks. Whether it was his debut film Smokin’ Aces or his other film in
2021 Boss Level, Carnahan is a fairly safe bet when it comes to
entertaining action films loaded with interesting choices. His latest, Copshop,
follows very closely in those steps and maybe, just maybe, perfects it. Built
on the foundations of using 1970s cop thrillers as its basis, but also as some
stylistic choices, Copshop is a romp and a half. It’s littered with
broad stroke characters painted with bullets and quick banter, a slow-burn
build to set the chessboard, and some fantastic performances. It’s a smartly
written mid-tier action thriller with some scene devouring casting that ought
to curb the craving for most genre fans. Copshop, like so many of
Carnahan’s films, is already a cult classic.
Although most of the films included have been released
previously, it’s hard not to be extremely excited for Arrow Video’s recent
release of Vengeance Trails. This four-film box set includes a fantastic
set of films for any western aficionado from some of the biggest directors and
stars of the time period. The new high-definition restorations are gorgeous,
the extras are solid as expected, and the packaging is a delight to have on a
collector’s shelf. This review is meant to cover the films included in the set
- although any previous coverage we have run at Blood Brothers will be linked
below, but if you’re a fan of those classic Italian gritty westerns, it’s hard
not to recommend Vengeance Trails upfront.
For more information about the set, please see the details
following the film reviews below.
Notable Cast: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Miku Martineau, Woody
Harrelson, Tadanobu Asano, Michiel Huisman, Jun Kunimura, Miyavi, Amelia
Crouch, Ava Caryofyllis, Kayuza Tanabe
“Death is the time for beginnings.”
Maybe I’ve said this before in one of my previous reviews,
but it’s worth noting again. At this point, it’s hard not to look at action
cinema as Pre-John Wick and Post-John Wick. While the film in
reference is in itself a love letter to the action cinema of the 80s, a vicious
combination of the untouchable heroes of Hollywood and the brutal action
excellence of Hong Kong heroic bloodshed, the combination and stylistic choices
have proven to be wildly influential since its release.
Mid-tier action films, where this style lives, has been
mostly relegated to streaming services and Netflix, in all of its domineering
power, has delivered one of the best post-John Wick flicks. Kate
rampages about in rapid-fire pacing, gorging on the Black Rain
influenced style of a neon-soaked Tokyo night and immersing a classic yakuza
war story with brash modern characters and enough action sequences to make John
Woo jealous. Kate is a film built on the shoulders of giants, but it’s
incredibly well-executed style, action, and pacing make it one of the best
bullet-riddled pieces of genre cinema of 2021.
Notable Cast: Stephen Lang, Madelyn Grace, Brendan
Sexton III, Stephanie Arcila, Rocci Williams, Bobby Schofield, Adam Young,
Fiona O’Shaughnessy, Steffan Rhodri
Ten times out of ten, I’m the kind of person that will
defend a franchise. There’s a reason that Blood Brothers is the mothership of
the No Franchise Fatigue Movie Podcast and I’m one of the co-hosts of it. I am
not the one to ever say that a sequel (or any other additional entry to a
franchise) ruins the original. No one says Halloween (1978) is a worse
film for the fact that Halloween 6 exists. With that being said, boy
howdy, do I find Don’t Breathe 2 to be a wholly perplexing sequel that
takes bold (and confusing) swings with its premise and rarely connects despite
some solid execution on a visual and atmospheric standpoint. Don’t Breathe 2
is tonally more exploitative than its predecessor and yet the film feels the
need to over-explain itself.
Notable Cast: Simu Liu, Tony Leung, Awkwafina, Meng’er
Zhang, Fala Chen, Michelle Yeoh, Yuen Wah, Florian Munteanu, Andy Le
As a fan of martial arts cinema since I was, oh I don’t
know, born, the recent obsession with the genre has been a roller coaster ride
for me. A large part of me never expected that Hollywood or the American TV
market would embrace the genre as it has in the last half of a decade. Whether
it is shows like Warrior and the reimagined Kung Fu or Hollywood blockbusters
like Snake Eyes and Raya and the Last Dragon, this latest boom is
a welcome change of pace and to see mainstream audiences cheer for and consume
one of my favorite and oft-maligned styles of filmmaking couldn’t make me
happier.
It’s not that cinematic martial arts on the screen doesn’t
go in waves, it does. Anyone old enough to remember will note that it usually
pops up every 20 years or so, with the last pop coming in the late 90s and
early 00s with the arrival of Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and The Matrix (fight
choreographer Yuen Woo Ping) in Hollywood. What makes this latest boom so
fascinating is the arrival of the latest Marvel film, their 25th of the MCU if
I’m counting properly, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
Not only is Shang-Chi a film that attempts to bring
the newest kung fu craze to the world’s biggest franchise, but it’s one that
sincerely wants to adapt - and sell, this is Disney after all - Chinese martial
arts, culture, and their cinematic history to a wider western audience. It’s a
film that often tries to rectify so many of the mistakes made by the original Shang-Chi
comic, a cringe-worthy series at best, and thrust its audience into a mystical
world of Chinese lore (made up or adapting popular elements) while retaining
that now formulaic Marvel brand. The combination is thrilling, fun, dynamic,
and most importantly heartfelt. I might be biased thanks to my love of kung fu
cinema, but this is easily the best Marvel film to date.
Notable Cast: Susan Kiger, Martin Tucker, William T.
Hicks, Jennifer Chase, Jody Kay, Andrea Savio, Helene Tryon, Hanns Manship,
Larry Sprinkle
As the boutique label wars continue to happen within the
realms of genre cinema, more and more fans clamor for the next “long lost
classic” from the slasher genre. Whether it’s Vinegar Syndrome, Severin, 88
Films, or Arrow Video, the labels are all happy to dig into the deep, dark
caverns of horror to unearth what could possibly be the next classic. These
forgotten films occasionally do reach that echelon, but more often than not,
it’s a stretch. Don’t misunderstand me, I’m happy these labels are rescuing films
from oblivion, but after watching Death Screams last night - just know
that it can be a chore to get through some of them.
Arrow Video’s track record has usually been fantastic in
finding those lost classics. They’ve unleashed The Mutilator and Blood
Rage. As of late, the label has been scraping some questionable pieces of
cinema though and a handful of their latest stuff (sans The Slayer which
is a film that I weirdly liked when no one else did) and Death Screams
can be added to that list. Although this 1982 slasher has its moments, it’s a
relatively meandering slog to work through and the overall story and characters
are undercooked in a way that’s not nearly as fun as it might have been with
more gimmicks or charisma.
With most of his career dedicated to shepherding the Gamera
franchise throughout its original run in the 1960s, 70s, and (unfortunately)
80s, it was a pleasant surprise that Arrow Video grabbed one of the few ‘other’
films that Noriaki Yuasa directed. Released the same year as Gamera Vs Viras
(see my review for that film HERE), The Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired
Witch is one of his best efforts.
For a film that regularly feeds off of the same
child-focused themes that he embedded throughout the Gamera franchise,
he utilizes a fantastical horror story to sell thematic morals and he does so
with an admirably odd and offbeat manner. There’s a child-like whimsy to much
of its approach, but the balance of its silliness, creepiness, and heartfelt
moments make it a refreshing watch that feels far more impassioned than his
later Gamera entries.
The original Candyman was a seminal part of my
childhood and my growth as a horror fan. It was a staple of our weekly video
store rentals as a family and watching it as an 8-year-old certainly elevated
my love of horror. It’s a film that makes it into my rotation on a yearly basis
and one that I still uphold as one of the iconic horror films to push the genre
forward, particularly in 1992. The first set of sequels, however, sincerely
fail to recapture so much of the original’s brilliance, although each one
certainly tries to embed their stories with their own take on social
commentary. They just lose a substantial amount of the themes and storytelling
as they move further into generic slasher territory.
The latest sequel, Candyman, following the titling
scheme of the 2018 Halloween sequel, ignores Candyman2 and 3 (Farewell
to the Flesh and Day of the Dead respectively) to go back to what
made the original one such an iconic horror film. The film is intentionally
engrossed with taking the Candyman lore, expanding it, and deepening its
engagement with the racial and social commentaries from the original and
pushing them into a new century. It’s also a film that doubles down on the
horror elements, moving further from the inherent sadness and gothic romance of
its predecessor, and kicking the supernatural slasher elements to the
forefront. The combination proves impressively buzzworthy, carrying quite the
sting, and providing an instant classic that brings the mythological ghostly
legend to the modern age.
Notable Cast: Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Joel
Edgerton, Sarita Choudhury, Sean Harris, Kate Dickie, Barry Keoghan, Erin
Kellyman, Ralph Ineson
It ain’t easy being green. Although that phrase comes from a
far different period of time and from a much different world of entertainment,
the phrase seems fitting when looking down at the CinemaScore and Rotten
Tomatoes audience reactions to The Green Knight. It’s a film that was
relatively well-received by critics (and if you’re tempted to look down -
you’ll see my own very favorable score for this one) and yet reads divisive
among audiences. The appreciation for its bold visuals rings true across the
board, but the rest… well, the rest of The Green Knight is up for
debate.
This is not an unusual place to be for film studio A24 or
director David Lowery. Both have had their fair share of critical acclaim and
audience push back through their careers. Having Lowery jump on board the A24
train is a natural progression, but it’s the choice of subject matter with The
Green Knight that is most surprising. An artistic fresh and bold take on
the classic Arthurian legend and poem, The Green Knight is both a
heightened and abrasively artsy assault on its viewer, but it’s also a slow
burn and grounded version of it that focuses on realistic character emotions.
It’s not easy being green and balancing those two often very different
approaches in one film, but The Green Knight smoothly accomplishes the
task with striking effectiveness.
Notable Cast: Jade Leung, Patrick Tam, Kristy Yang, Andrew
Yuen, Jeana Ho, Lin Min-Chen, Michael Tong, Elaine Tang, Rosanne Lui, Sharon
Luk
Nostalgia in cinema is not new. The 30-year window, where
films will often look back 30 years into the past for period settings or
cultural touchstones for current art, is real and relevant to most any time
frame. Anyone that has been partaking in the sheer amount of late 80s and now
90s focused genre cinema in the last five years can attest to its power. The
latest trailer for the upcoming Ghostbusters film uses it in all of the
worst ways possible, but I digress. I’m already off track and I’m only four
sentences into this piece.
This phenomenon is not just an American trend either. The
Fatal Raid, a love letter to the 1980s ‘girls with guns’ subgenre of Hong
Kong action cinema, reeks of a desperation to recapture the fun and flippancy
of the genre with a modern sense of style and look. It’s a film with tongue
often planted firmly in cheek, particularly with some of the secondary plot
lines, that wavers in tone and effectiveness. However, for those looking for a
fun and silly way to burn 90 minutes, The Fatal Raid is hardly a fatal
choice. It’s just not the best one, even for the genre, but with the right mindset
it suffices.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm a sucker for
strange and off-beat projects that attempt to do a lot of things. If they have
an A-budget and attempt to slam multiple genres together, then even better.
A-budget B-movies are my favorite and I refuse to just write them off even if
they miss the mark.
Reminiscence is exactly that kind of movie. Big cash
on the screen, strange combinations of genre work, and a film that regularly
punts logic to the curb for the sake of embracing an oddity or two. Even with its many, many flaws, I found myself quite enjoying the weird of it all.
Notable Cast:
Wang Baoqiang, Ni Da Hong, Du Gui-Yu, Solange Maggie, Ng Man-Tat, Yu Hai
When the initial teaser dropped for Rising Shaolin: The
Protector, a film that definitely doesn’t need such an unnecessary
subtitle, the hype became overwhelming in my soul. As a massive fan of the Jet
Li Shaolin Temple series, seeing a modern action icon like Wang Baoqiang pull
off the series of Shaolin kung fu forms in various seasonal weather was all
that I needed to justify seeing this film.
Granted, that hype was tempered by the phrase “directed by
Stanley Tong.” Just the thought that a Stanley Tong film would be a red flag
appalled the 15-year-old version of me in my heart. His early work on Super Cop
3 and Rumble in the Bronx helped guide me into Hong Kong cinema, but his recent
work - the inept lunacy of Vanguard and Kung Fu Yoga - is incredibly
disappointing. Even with a passion project like Rising Shaolin, it was
hard not to have traumatic flashbacks to his recent films.
Notable Cast: Gordon Lam, Bipin Karma, Tai Bo, Ben Yuen,
Michael Ning, Chin Siu-Ho Aaron Chow Chi-Kwan, Tony Ho, To Yin-Gor, Bitto Singh
Hartihan
“To those who keep working hard for Hong Kong cinema,
passing the flame to future generations.”
These are some of the final words that scrawl across the end
credits of Hand Rolled Cigarette, the 2020 Hong Kong crime thriller
which has quietly earned a fistful of accolades prior to its most recent
screening at the New York Asian Film Festival. For a film so indebted to
recapturing some of the gritty artistic merit of late 80s and early 90s
Hong Kong capers, it’s a resounding punctuation to the film’s punchy third act.
However, it’s a fitting one that exists as a magnetic pole to guide the themes,
style, and choices being made throughout the film.
Considering the director, Kin Long Chan, is crafting his
debut with Hand Rolled Cigarette - it’s also a statement of intent,
shepherded by an obvious love for the heavyweights of the previously mentioned
‘golden era.’ The choices laid out on the table by Chan should not surprise,
really, particularly with his past cinematic history.
Notable Cast: Strother Martin, LQ Jones, Charles Bateman,
Ahna Capri, Charles Robinson, Geri Reischl
As a cinephile dedicated to the strange corners, odd trends,
and genre aspects of the cinematic world, Satanic cult films are a subgenre
that I often visit and revisit from time to time. It’s not unusual to partake
in a few new ones a year, whether they are recently made or re-released relics
of a mostly forgotten era. Although The Brotherhood of Satan popped up
occasionally in my exploration of the genre, it was a film that never piqued my
interest enough to seek out. Especially after noticing the lukewarm reception
even from the diehard fans. The announcement that the film would be part of the
Arrow Video slate in 2021 was a bit of a shock considering its lack of stature
in the genre. It’s not that the iconic distribution label, one that has made it
a goal to uncover long lost “classics,” is above misfires. Hardly. This company
did release Blu Rays for Satan’s Blade and Microwave Massacre after
all. Yet, my expectations were relatively middling going into this oft
overlooked early 70s flick.
Consider the expectations met.
However, The Brotherhood of Satan is both a surprise
in quality and perplexingly off the mark. It falls in a strange place between
exploitation fun and artistic merit, never hitting the wild roller coaster
thrills of a film like Devil Rides Out or the artistry and smarts of a film
like The Wicker Man. It’s better than expected in its attempts at
uplifting its meandering script, but it’s also utterly bogged down by odd
structure, leaps of logic, and glacial pacing.
In a final swan song only director Benny Chan could deliver,
Raging Fire is a quintessential modern Hong Kong cinematic action
experience, powered by an incredible dual lead performance and propelled by
dynamic and explosive action set pieces.
Director: Benny Chan
Notable Cast: Donnie Yen, Nicholas Tse, Jeana Ho, Ray
Lui, Patrick Tam, Ben Lam, Chris Collins, Ken Lo, Simon Yam
During the final action sequence, an epiphany came to me.
The culminating chess game between the two leads of the film, Donnie Yen and
Nicholas Tse, erupts into a full Michael Mann street war. On one side, cops in Kevlar
vests and tactical gear. They storm the streets of Hong Kong, determined to
disrupt the burglary in progress. On the other side, sharply suited villains
armed to the teeth with automatic rifles and grenades aiming to make off with a
significant heist, and nothing - not even an army of well-armed police officers,
will stand in their way. It’s an explosive set-piece, erupting in rollicking
explosions, showers of glass, and concussive blasts of gunfire where no
character is safe and the tension has built to snarling intensity.
Black Widow promises a highly demanded espionage solo film,
but delivers a bland half-servicing Avengers formula six years too late.
Director: Cate Shortland
Notable Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, Rachel
Weisz, David Harbour, Ray Winstone
Over ten years and dozens of films later, the MCU (Marvel
Cinematic Universe) has finally unleashed its Black Widow film,
un-enticingly titled Black Widow, for the masses. Scarlett Johansson’s
Natasha Romanoff, the titular Black Widow, was introduced back in Iron Man 2
(only the second film in the MCU for those counting) and fans have been
clamoring for her solo film since. Yet, time and time again Marvel/Disney has
negated the fans and stumbled over their excuses of why they couldn’t crack the
film. Most of which sounded like tripe. However, the scientists and algorithms
have finally done it and the film is now out in theaters, it’s thrilling fans,
and it’s raking in the cash in the box office and over on Disney+.
It’s too bad that Disney and Marvel seem intent on
continually following the same patterns with the character because, once again,
Black Widow is a mishandled “could have been great” experience. One
where the character takes a back seat to her own story and Feige and company
are terrified to deviate too far from the established formula to have anything
unique to say about anything related to the character.
