SYNOPSIS: In “Fight or Flight,” an adrenalized comedy thriller now playing in theatres, Josh Hartnett plays disgraced secret agent Lucas Reyes. In exile in Thailand for two years, he accepts a job escorting a cyber-terrorist named The Ghost on an international flight to the United States. “Deliver him to us alive,” says his CIA handler Katherine (“The Mandalorian’s” Katee Sackhoff), “and you get your life back.” Trouble is, there is a bounty on The Ghost’s head, and the flight is packed with assassins who want to collect. “Are you telling me that plane is full of killers?”
CAST: Josh Hartnett, Charithra Chandran, Marko Zaror, and Katee Sackhoff. Directed by James Madigan.
REVIEW: A check-your-disbelief at the Concession Stand kind of movie, “Fight or Flight” is an hour of all out action at 37,000 feet. You might wonder how the passengers—all killers of some sport—manage to smuggle weapons—everything from Uzis to chainsaws—on board. If so, this isn’t a movie for you. It’s a buy the ticket, take the ride action flick with a silly premise and a sense of fun. Nothing more, nothing less.
As familiar as the idea of one man against an army of hitpersons is, Reyes is no John Wick. Hartnett, with dyed blonde hair and perpetually hungover look, finds the sweet spot between world weariness, ruthless brutality and dark humor. The kills are fierce—champagne flute to the eye, anyone?—and nicely choreographed for the small space aboard the aircraft. It’s not as slick as “Bullet Train,” or as elegant as “John Wick,” but there’s a b-movie scrappiness to it that feels right. Especially after Reyes is hit with a dose of toad venom that changes his perspective on everything.
“Fight or Flight” is fun, high-concept nonsense fueled by brawn not brains.
SYNOPSIS: In “Rust,” a new Western now playing in theatres, an outlaw grandfather breaks his grandson out of jail after he accidentally killed a man. On the run toward Mexico, the pair are pursued by a relentless sheriff and a dogged bounty hunter.
CAST: Alec Baldwin, Patrick Scott McDermott, Josh Hopkins, Frances Fisher, and Travis Fimmel. Directed by Joel Souza.
REVIEW: If not for the tragic circumstances surrounding the making of this film, it’s unlikely much ink would be spilled on “Rust.”
Over-long, miscast and cliché riddled, it’s destined to be remembered not as a compelling horse opera, but as the film that cost cinematographer Halyna Hutchins her life.
In October 2021 the forty-two-year-old was fatally shot when a prop gun, fired by actor Alex Baldwin, was accidentally loaded with a live round. The same bullet struck director Joel Souza in the shoulder. He was treated in hospital and released the next day.
As a result, it’s difficult to view the 1882-set “Rust,” a movie whose narrative is driven by an accidental shooting and features Baldwin suggesting to his young grandson to make sure his gun is loaded, “the next time you want to kill somebody,” through any other lens than real life.
Still, I’ll give it a go.
A traditional Western that explores well-worn themes of family, redemption and the morality of violence, “Rust” plants many of the same story seeds as “Unforgiven” and “The Searchers,” but, unfortunately, they never bear fruit. Mixing morality and survival with archetypal characters (Baldwin’s loner with a past, etc.) is fine, not everything has to blaze a new trail, but to be effective, the story needs interesting characters and worldbuilding.
That’s where “Rust” suffers.
A miscast Baldwin shares chemistry with his young co-star Patrick Scott McDermott, but fails to deliver a frontier vibe. His character is more grumpy grandfather than grizzled gunslinger. “I may be long in the tooth,” he says in one of the film’s many overwritten bits of dialogue, “but no one has sawn my horns off yet.”
His take on elderly outlaw Harland Rust feels like a faint shadow of those who came before. He’s a wannabe William “Will” Munny, but unable to hold the movie’s core.
Touched by tragedy, “Rust,” despite Halyna Hutchins’s beautiful, moody cinematography, is an uncomfortable watch and overstays its welcome at 140 minutes.
NOTE: The film is dedicated to Hutchins and a portion of the film’s profits are going to her family.
On this special episode of “Maple Syrup For Your Eyes” I have an in-depth look at the movie “Blackberry,” the lessons learned from the film, about what it means to be Canadian, why we don’t celebrate our own stories and much more with the film’s stars Jay Baruchel and Matt Johnson (who also co-wrote and directed).
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to make the bed! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the antiheroes of “Thunderbolts*,” the crime caper “Another Simple Favor” and the bio pic “Being Maria.”
SYNOPSIS: In “Thunderbolts*,” the new Marvel superhero movie starring Florence Pugh and Sebastian Stan now playing in theatres, a team of mostly of reformed supervillains must confront their past deeds when they’re lured into a deadly trap by the manipulative Valentina Allegra de Fontaine.
CAST: Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Lewis Pullman, Geraldine Viswanathan, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Directed by Jake Schreier.
REVIEW: A popcorn movie that delivers big boffo action and introspective moments, “Thunderbolts* is a welcome return to form for Marvel after a rough couple of years.
Marvel has often examined ideas of responsibility within their superhuman characters, but rarely have they delved into mental health issues as they do here.
As Yelena Belova, a Black Widow assassin whose hands are stained by blood, Florence Pugh has the physicality to play the rough n’ tumble character, but it is her meditative side that makes her interesting. She can punch, kill and quip with the best of them, but in her work is tinged with an edge of loneliness and lack of purpose that are the result of her deadly, isolating work.
Handled with maturity, the examination of mental health is sensitive, especially so in the case of Bob (Lewis Pullman), who (SLIGHT SPOILER) becomes Yelena’s guide into “The Void,” a dark place where their trauma is endlessly enacted. These vividly rendered scenes of mental anguish are as vivid and suspenseful as any of the film’s battle scenes, but they also provide backstory that deepens the characters and relationships.
“Thunderbolts*” is meditative up a point, but this isn’t a Marvel movie à la Ingmar Bergman.
The character’s self-analysis fuels the gritty action as the entire misfit team—Belova, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Red Guardian (a very funny David Harbour), John Walker/U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), and Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen)—learn they are stronger together than apart.
One for all and all for one.
It’s pop psychology, but it provides a welcome entryway into exploring larger themes of psychological trauma left from a lifetime of killing and personal loss.
Is it too soon to say that “Thunderbolts*” harkens back to “classic” Marvel on the big screen? It’s back to basics, doing away with multiverses and the onerous weight of crossovers with the other films, to deliver an entertaining, relatively straight-ahead blockbuster with action, humor and heart.
SYNOPSIS: “Being Maria,” a new French language biographical film now on VOD, is the story of Maria Schneider, the young actress who found fame and trauma after starring in the controversial “Last Tango in Paris” opposite Marlon Brando.
CAST: Anamaria Vartolomei, Céleste Brunnquell, Giuseppe Maggio, Yvan Attal, Marie Gillain, Jonathan Couzinié and Matt Dillon. Directed by Jessica Palud.
REVIEW: A story of exploitation, “Being Maria” is marred by a straightforward approach to a very difficult topic.
The instigating incident happens on the set of “Last Tango in Paris,” director Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1972 erotic drama about an anonymous sexual relationship between an American man who has an affair with a much younger French woman.
During the filming of one of the film’s scenes Schneider is subjected to an unscripted, humiliating sexual act. Despite Brando’s “don’t worry, it’s just a movie” admonition, she is left emotionally unsettled.
The film becomes an international hit, drawing raves for Brando and Bertolucci. Schneider, however, is subjected to ridicule and left with a festering sense of resentment.
Based on Vanessa Schneider’s memoir “My Cousin Maria Schneider,” “Being Maria” goes on to detail the actress’s struggles with addiction, depression and suicide ideation, all resulting from the scandal generated by her on-set exploitation.
At the film’s center is Anamaria Vartolomei’s sensitive portrayal of Schneider (who passed away in 2011). As Schneider personal life falls into disarray Vartolomei allows the character an interesting sense of agency. Her take on Schneider allows the character to have hope, even when she is at her most hopeless.
It’s a portrait of a naïve nineteen-year-old, victimized by people who had power over her on set, director Bertolucci (Giuseppe Maggio) and Brando, (played convincingly by Matt Dillon) who is presented as a creative mentor.
The emotional injury caused by Brando and Bertolucci reveals itself in bits and pieces, worsening over time. Vartolomei, seen recently opposite Robert Pattinson in “Mickey 17,” always feels emotionally authentic, even when the film itself dips into a melodramatic second half.
“Being Maria” is raw, with a terrific central performance, but stops short of fully exploring the power imbalance.
I join the Bell Media Radio Network national night time show “Shane Hewitt and the Night Shift” for “Booze & Reviews!” This week I review the glamorous mystery “Another Simple Favor” and suggest cocktails to match with the movie’s Italian backjdrop!
Listen to a special excerpt from my conversation with Sean Ono Lennon HERE!
Listen to some simple cocktail flavors inspired by “Another Simple Favor” HERE!
Here’s a list of Canadian dramas more flavourful than a bag of ketchup chips. Coming up I have the story of a mystical child on a remote island off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, a journey to justice for Christopher Plummer, the tale of a young women who went from wilderness of Alberta to the wild runways of the fashion world and a young Indigenous woman guided by spirits to exact revenge against a vicious Government Agent. First stop on our dramatic journey, Nova Scotia.
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to roll a joint! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about David Cronenberg’s “The Shrouds,” the documentary “Cheech & Chong’s Last Movie” and the family fantasy “The Legend of Ochi.”
SYNOPSIS: In “Fight or Flight,” an adrenalized comedy thriller now playing in theatres, Josh Hartnett plays disgraced secret agent Lucas Reyes. In exile in Thailand for two years, he accepts a job escorting a cyber-terrorist named The Ghost on an international flight to the United States. “Deliver him to us alive,” says his CIA handler Katherine (“The Mandalorian’s” Katee Sackhoff), “and you get your life back.” Trouble is, there is a bounty on The Ghost’s head, and the flight is packed with assassins who want to collect. “Are you telling me that plane is full of killers?”
