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The Pale Blue Eye 2022 ★★★
A pretty much by the numbers detective flick in the same style as a few good men. Entertaining, but nothing really great. Bale is solid as usual, but Gillian Anderson overdoes her posh British accent. Other actors were not too memorable.
The final reveal was kind of well done and I did like the inside joke about Poe writing a poem about Landor. Which, in fact, is true.
In cinema terms, it is the definition of a matinee. A perfect fit for a subscription, but don't pay extra to rent this one.
Halloween Kills 2021 ★★½
This may not have been overwhelmingly great, but it's certainly not as bad as some other reviews claim it to be.
It's one of the okay-ish Halloween-sequels. It moves along at a good pace. The tension is solid and Michael coming out of the burning house does make for an impressive shot. The subplot of Tommy Doyle and Lonnie wanting to kill Michael added some good characters as well. Also a shoutout to the writers for adding Big John and Little John.
And the kills? Well, I used to associate Michael with the typical Scream-like stabby fun time. So seeing him pierce eyeballs was cool and the fluorescent lamp kill was a nice change from the norm.
So is it all positive? Far from it. The overly dramatic dialogue felt forced and the harping on the evil dies tonight even downright laughable. I get the idea that a Halloween-movie needs trick or treaters, but the subplot with the annoying kids could be skipped or given a more satisfying conclusion where they all get what's coming to them. The lynchmob subplot could serve a purpose, if it had not been for its ridiculous conclusion. Not to mention the bar scene with Tommy the buzzkill.
Because after all, we are (supposed to be) in a trilogy and how do we set up part 3 without any kind of bollocks? Come on screenwriter, bring an idea. That cocaine is not going to snort itself. Let's not and say we did. Great idea, man.
Velvet Buzzsaw 2019 ★★★
It's always fun to see Jake Gyllenhaal in a movie. He's one of those actors who deliver a solid performance in pretty much everything they're in. And most of the stuff he's been in is pretty good too.
This one? Hmm, on a lot of levels somewhere in betweenish.
As a horror, it's somewhere in betweenish. It's not really all that scary, but it has a few good moments. Specifically towards the end, with the paint crawling up on Antonia or when Gyllenhaal's character snuffs it.
The story where the art kills anyone making money from it? In betweenish. I like the idea. Not saying it's overly original. I remember at least one X-Files episode that ventured into this territory. And now that I think of it, there are probably episodes of the Friday the 13th tv series (you know, the one with the antique shop with the cursed objects) that did so too. As a premise to poke fun at the pretentious, shallow art (dealers) world? Where it's sometimes just as much dog eat dog as in most other sectors? Meh, why not? Triangle of sadness tried something similar and at least here the satire worked better on me. In betweenish.
Is it because of the cast? Maybe. As mentioned before, Gyllenhaal is good in all his roles and here, he's great as the snooty art critic Morf. In my opinion, he had the most interesting character arc, going from snooty and confident to hurt and desperate. Other good performances from the girl playing the art dealer Morf falls for and the young man as the up and coming artist Damrish.
It was good seeing Rene Russo again too (it's been a while since I've seen her in anything) and she fits the part as the tough as nails art house owner with the punk rock past. She can be charming when she wants to be, but the claws can come out just as easily and efficiently. Also, can I say that Toni Colette is underrated? She already was great in Hereditary, but she also makes the most out of the character she has her. Good stuff. And what's left to about Malkovic? The role of the seasoned artist with creative struggles fits him like a glove. No surprise there, we know what he can do with this material.
Pret à porter for Netflix, Tubi and other streaming portals. Maybe a tad too pedestrian for people who expect more genuine scares from their horror.
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