The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 383: Never Back Down (2008), Djimon Hounsou, and A+ Movie Villains
You can download or stream the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker (or wherever you listen to podcasts…..we’re almost everywhere).
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Mark and Phil discuss the 2008 martial arts film Never Back Down. Directed by Jeff Wadlow, and starring Sean Faris, Amber Heard, Cam Gigandet, Evan Peters, and Djimon Hounsou, the movie focuses on what happens when you move to Florida and make enemies with an A+ movie villain. In this episode, they discuss mixed martial arts, soundtracks, and why Ryan McCarthy (Cam Gigandet) is an A+ movie villain. Enjoy!
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions (we love random questions). We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker.
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Undine (2021) – Review: Director Christian Petzold Has Crafted Another Excellent Non-Traditional Romance
Quick Thoughts – Grade – A – Undine puts a sensitive and thoughtful spin on Undine mythology. Director Christian Petzold (Phoenix – watch it) has crafted another solid film that features an award winning performance from Paula Beer (Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival).
Between Phoenix and Transit, director Christian Petzold is no stranger to complicated relationships that play out in unexpected ways. Undine is no different, as it tells the story of Undine (Paula Beers), an elemental water nymph, who lives in Berlin, and is put in a terrible situation when her boyfriend Johannes (Jacob Matschenz) breaks up with her, and then she meets a kind hearted and innocent man named Christoph (Franz Rogowski). During the breakup with Johannes, she tells him that she will have to kill him, but after meeting Christoph (who accidentally causes a fish tank to shatter), she lets Johannes off the hook, and starts a loving and likable relationship with Christoph, an underwater diver who makes money welding and fixing turbines. From there, the two have a mellow relationship that involves large catfish, trains, and red wine.
Petzold liked working with Beers and Rogowski so much on Transit, that he lied and told them he had written a movie with them in mind. Of course, he hadn’t written a script, so he knocked out Undine in six weeks, and gave Beers the hero role, and Rogowski the “love interest” role (a flip from Transit). The end result is another beautiful story of hidden identity, loss and heartbreak. The cinematography by Hans Froom (Phoenix, Transit) is solid as always, as he relies on long static shots, handheld camera work, and excellent underwater photography to give the love story varied looks. While watching Undine, it makes you wish that American films would have the confidence to linger on shots for a little too long, or let the characters be surrounded by silence.
It’s a bit difficult to write about Undine because it’s fueled by wordless moments that showcase the skills of Beers and Rogowski, who carry many quiet scenes with ease. Their chemistry is exceptional, and you can almost feel their love coming through the screen, which shouldn’t be a surprise considering the performances in Phoenix and Transit (the final moments of Phoenix still break my heart). If you can embrace the non-traditional narratiive, you will love this film.
Final thoughts – Watch Undine, then check out Phoenix, Transit and Barbara.
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You can listen to Deep Blue Sea – The Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Spotify, Tunein, Podcast Addict, Amazon, Google Podcasts, and everywhere else you listen to podcasts. Also, make sure to like our Facebook page!
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Jay and Mark discuss the 11th and final chapter on the Deep Blue Sea 3 Blu-ray. In this episode, they discuss sparks, Sweet Lou, and debate which order the characters should be ranked in the credits. Most importantly, Jay unleashes his “Deepest Bluest” list, which ranks the 50+ chapters that have been covered on the DBS podcast.
Stay tuned for more Renny Harlin and shark movie coverage! Also, let’s hope there’s an annoucement about Deep Blue Sea 4 soon.
Please make sure to rate, review and subscribe to the DBS podcast.
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The Green Knight (2021) – Review: An Impressive Medieval Fantasy That Showcases the Skills of Dev Patel
Quick Thoughts – Grade – B+ – The Green Knight is a visually beautiful spectacle that features a standout performance from Dev Patel
Directed, written, edited and produced by David Lowery (A Ghost Story, Pete’s Dragon), The Green Knight puts a stylish spin on the 14th century poem Gaiwan and the Green Knight. The A24 produced film is a sight to behold, and does a fine job expanding upon the epic poem by both adhering to the story, and changing up the ending to keep things fresh and speculative. Most importantly, the cinematography by Andrew Droz Palermo (A Ghost Story, You’re Next), and production design by Jade Healy (Pete’s Dragon, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, The Innkeepers) do an excellent job of creating a visually fresh world that feels dangerous, mystical and beautiful. It’s wild to think that The Green Knight only had a $15 million budget because it looks sumptuous and expensively dangerous. The special effects crew certainly had their hands full as almost every location is loaded with fog/smoke/mist, which adds an eerie feel to the Irish landscapes that feel like characters in their own right. Adding to the beauty of the film are the visual effects by WETA which were supervised by Kev Cahill (Gretel & Hansel – another great looking movie), and give Gaiwan’s world an otherworldly feel full of reds, blues, and neat matte paintings.
The movie focuses on the exploits of Gaiwan (Dev Patel), the son of the enchantress Morgana/Mother (Sarita Choudhury), and the nephew of King Arthur (Sean Harris), who bites off more than he can chew when he accepts the challenge of The Green Knight (Ralph Ineson), who barges into Arthur’s castle during a Christmas celebration looking to play a game. The Green Knight tells Gaiwan that if he can land a blow on him, Gaiwan will receive the knight’s axe, and one year later, Gaiwan will have to go on a quest to find The Green Knight, and accept the same blow in return. Feeling cocky, and needing to prove himself because he hasn’t accomplished any great feats, Gaiwan chops off The Green Knight’s head, and immediately regrets it when the immortal knight gets up, picks up his head, and rides away laughing.
A year flies by quickly, and Gaiwan is forced to travel alone to the Green Chapel, where presumably his head will be chopped off by The Green Knight. It would be a shame to wreck what happens next on the journey, just know that he runs across Joel Edgerton, Alicia Vikander (who has two roles in the movie), Barry Keoghan, and Erin Kellyman during his quest. What’s neat about The Green Knight is how it avoids sword fighting mayhem for more thoughtful interactions that involve headless people, gross scavengers, skeletons in cages (Willow reference!) and a fox who may or may not be friendly.
Even if you’ve read the epic poem, Lowery made sure to add changes (by working out some mother issues), to the location, and the finale, which keeps things fresh and have already led to the creation of many “ending explained” articles. Also, the $15 million budget didn’t allow Lowery to tell a full-blown medieval fantasy, which forced him and his crew to get creative. For instance, costume designer Malgosia Turzanska (You Were Never Really Here, Hell or High Water) couldn’t design period appropriate clothing, so she and Lowery got creative and found articles of clothing that were close enough, while still looking awesome.
The one thing that kept The Green Knight from receiving an A, is the focus on style over substance. It’s easy to understand all the stylish choices, but they prevent the audience from ever getting to know the characters. Sure, you have a basic understanding of who they are, but there is never a real connection.
Final Thoughts – The Green Knight is a wonderfully constructed film that’s worth a watch. Let’s hope Dev Patel is remembered come awards time.
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New MFF Final Fights Episode – Examining the Epic Final Fight in Captain America: Civil War
Mark and DJ Valentine (@TryingToBeDJV on Twitter) discuss the final fight between Captain America (Chris Evans), The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) in the 2016 film Captain America: Civil War. It’s a excellent brawl that features boot punching, bloody faces, and a sophisticated fight narrative.
Make sure to follow DJ on Twitter, and check out the Simplistic Reviews Podcast.
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Holler (2020) – Review: An Authentic and Confident Film That Features a Standout Performance From Jessica Barden
Quick Thoughts: – Grade – A – Holler tells a funny, unique, and confident coming-of-age story that feels authentic and unpredictable.
Directed and written by Nicole Riegel, Holler is an excellent coming-of-age story that focuses on a high schooler named Ruth (Jessica Barden) stuck between her life in the rural town of Jackson, Ohio, and potentially going to college, and leaving her older brother Blaze (Gus Harper) and drug-addicted mother (Pamela Adlon) behind. The best thing about Holler is that it eschews melodramatic plotlines, and doesn’t look down on the residents of Jackson. You can tell that Riegel grew up in the area because she gives the town and its surrounding areas complete authenticity, and doesn’t lean into idealized small town life, or “holy crap, this place is terrible,” vibes. Most importantly, Riegel has made a movie that doesn’t go where you’d expect, and despite some familiar situations, the movie goes to places that feel new and fresh.
The casting is spot-on too, as Barden who has been putting in solid work in movies like The Lobster, Hanna, and Mindhorn (Capoeira!), carries the film on her shoulders with an effortless ease (which must’ve been a lot of work, because she’s so good). On paper, Ruth feels familiar as she’s a smart kid who desperately needs to leave her hometown, but she’s hesitant to leave because of her family (who want her to go to college). However, she’s an entirely new creation because she takes no sh*t, is fine with thievery, and is comfortable in both scrap yards and libraries. Barden drew on her working class background to find the character, and you can tell she loves Ruth, because she plays with her smarts, resilience, and naivety.
The movie centers around Ruth and her brother Blaze being hired by Hark (Austin Amelio – watch Everybody Wants Some!!), the owner of a local scrap yard, who needs help bringing in more scrap. Their well-paying job is to strip abandoned businesses, homes or warehouses of iron, copper, steel, cables and anything else that can be sold. The job is dangerous and illegal, and they occasionally find themselves hiding from armed owners or security guards who don’t want their precious copper pipes being stolen. It’s dangerous work that really has no long-term future, but Blaze plans on making enough to catch up on late bills, and make sure Ruth can head to college. In other movies, there would be shoot-outs, foot chases, and dangerous men, however, Holler largely avoids the obvious and instead focuses heavily on the resilience of Ruth. It’s neat watching her read books that she hides in the scrap yards, or watching her find creative places to sleep to get out of the bitter Ohio winter cold. Also, the location selection is inspired, as local roller rinks (the pizza they are eating looks like roller rink pizza – it’s neat), scrap yards, and functioning plants are used to maximum effect, and add to the realness of the movie.
If you get a moment, check out this interview that Barden and Riegel did with RogerEbert.com. It’s an enlightening read, and well worth your time.
Final Thoughts – Watch Holler and appreciate the unique and confident storytelling.
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 382: The Suicide Squad (2021), Nom Noms, and Polka Dots
You can download or stream the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker (or wherever you listen to podcasts…..we’re almost everywhere).
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome!
Mark and Megan discuss the 2021 superhero film The Suicide Squad. Directed by James Gunn, and starring Idris Elba, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, and Viola Davis, the movie focuses on a new(ish) group of villains embarking on a suicide mission that finds them battling a justifiably angry kaiju. In this episode, they discuss exploding heads, hallway fights, and likable characters. Enjoy!
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions (we love random questions). We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker.
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Jolt (2021) – Review: A Disappointing Movie That Relies Too Much On Unnecessary Style
Quick Thoughts – Jolt – D – Despite featuring game performances, Jolt is let down by a script that is too focused on stylized dialogue that kills the momentum and flow. The end result is decent, but only because Kate Beckinsale, Jai Courtney, Stanley Tucci, Laverne Cox and Bobby Cannavle (the cast is stacked) commit to the insanity.
On paper, an action movie about Kate Beckinsale going on a rampage because her “boyfriend” Justin (Jai Courtney) is killed by an arms dealer, sounds fun. However, the overly-stylized camera shots, Pulp Fiction-esque dialogue, choppy editing, and stunt doubles who wear distracting wigs (it’s bad), make it an exercise in style over substance. Which is a shame because Beckinsale is an action legend, and the movie unnecessarily saddles her with super powers that come from her intermittent explosive disorder, that gives her superhuman powers of destruction. The story relies on the jolts she gives herself to curb her violent tendencies, but they are never important, or even reliable, which makes them just an element of plot that feels shoehorned in.
Jolt is the type of movie where the villains begin conversations by saying “Do you like Lobsters?” and then break into monologues about them (while smacking the lobster they are eating loudly). After they are done with their monologue, Beckinsale promptly tells them that the speech was “really boring,” which is 100% true, and it makes you wonder why you had to listen to a lobster monologue in the first place.
It’s easy to understand why cinematographer Jules O’Loughlin (The Hitman’s Bodyguard, Angel Has Fallen) loaded Jolt with upside down, spinning, and stylized shots, as the script and action are all highly stylized. However, the majority of the shots are pointlessly stylized and they mostly result in dizzying effects that do nothing for the story. Much like Snake Eyes, the action movie is let down by its action, but it doesn’t have any likable characters (you like the people in Snake Eyes), so you’re left wishing Beckinsale had a better vehicle to star in.
It also hurts that excellent actors like Laverne Cox, Stanley Tucci and Bobby Cannavale have nothing to do but spout stylized dialogue, and constantly be one step behind Beckinsale (and catch babies that are thrown at them….). All of the pieces seemed to be there for a fun film, but they weren’t cut right, so the jigsaw puzzle never fits together the way it should. The end result is an uneven action film that doesn’t know what it is.
You should check out director Tanya Wexler’s fantastic 2019 film Buffaloed instead. It’s lightyears better than Jolt, and features beautiful performances from Zoey Deutch and Jai Courtney (playing a character called Wizz), who are both wonderful and funny.
Final Thoughts: Skip Jolt, and watch Buffaloed instead.
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Deep Blue Sea – The Podcast – Episode 58: Freddy Beluga, Shark Movies, and Spin Kicks From Hell
You can listen to Deep Blue Sea – The Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Spotify, Tunein, Podcast Addict, Amazon, Google Podcasts, and everywhere else you listen to podcasts. Also, make sure to like our Facebook page!
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Jay and Mark are joined by Kevin Kulp (@KevinKulp on Twitter) to discuss the 10th chapter on the Deep Blue Sea 3 blu-ray. In this episode, they talk about spin kicks from hell, trash compactors, and Kevin’s shark movie list that you can find on Reddit (see his Twitter page for link). Enjoy!
Please make sure to rate, review and subscribe to the DBS podcast.
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Quick Thoughts – Grade – A – The Dry is a wonderful example of how to tell a whodunit in under two hours. The Australian setting, and solid performance from Eric Bana, makes this a mystery worth watching.
Based on Jane Harper’s 2016 international best seller of the same name, The Dry tells the story of what happens when Aaron Falk (Eric Bana), a Melbourne based federal agent returns to his childhood home to attend the funeral of his friend Luke, who died in a murder-suicide that involved him killing his family and then shooting himself. Like all good mysteries, the locals aren’t happy to see him, as 20 years prior, he and his dad left the town because the locals suspected he and Luke were involved in the death of their classmate Ellie (Bebe Bettencourt). His initial overnight trip is extended when Luke’s parents convince him (by using a lot of guilt) to stay around and investigate whether Luke actually killed his family. During his investigation, he teams up with local sergeant Greg Raco (Keir O’Donnell) and their quest leads them face-to-face with dozens of hostile locals who still hold a grudge against him for his supposed misdeeds. Since it’s a mystery, Aaron also meets up with his old friend Gretchen (Genevieve O’Reilly), who clearly isn’t sharing everything she knows about the current murder, or what happened 20 years ago.
What’s so great about The Dry is how it’s able to wrap up a murder mystery in two hours, and not feel like a fast-forwarded mystery condensed for time. The pacing is deliberate, yet never slow, and it’s neat watching Aaron deal with the “sins” of his past, while trying to figure out why the recent tragedy happened. All the actors put in strong work, and director Robert Connolly does a fine job of keeping the film moving while still allowing quiet moments that showcase the talents of his actors. The cinematography by Stefan Duscio (Jungle, The Invisible Man) might be the true MVP of the film as the wide shots of vast Australian terrain, and handheld work during tense situations give the movie a vice-like feeling of tension. To top everything off, the adapted script by Harry Cripps and Connolly doesn’t waste any time, but still allows The Dry to have all the time in the world to tell its mystery. It’s rare when a deliberately paced thriller feels like it’s moving at a breakneck pace, and that is really impressive.
Final Thoughts – The Dry is solid on every level, and if you are looking for a solid mystery, it doesn’t get much better.
Movies, Films & Flix 