I join “CTV News Atlantic at Six” anchor Todd Battis to talk about the success of “Alien: Romulus,” he reboot “The Crow,” the psychological thriller “Blink Twice”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I join “CTV News Toronto at Five” with host Zuraidah Alman, to talk about the reboot “The Crow,” the psychological thriller “Blink Twice” and the serial killer flick “Strange Darling.”
Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 13:54)
I join the CTV NewsChannel anchor Akshay Tandon to talk about the reboot “The Crow,” the psychological thriller “Blink Twice” and the serial killer flick “Strange Darling.”
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I joined CP24 Breakfast to have a look at new movies and television shows coming to theatres and streaming services. Today we talk about the reboot “The Crow,” the psychological thriller “Blink Twice” abd the Crave special “The Last Timbit.”
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I sit in with CKTB morning show guest host Karl Dockstader to have a look at movies in theatres and streaming including the reboot “The Crow,” the psychological thriller “Blink Twice” and the serial killer flick “Strange Darling.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
I sit in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show to talk the new movies coming to theatres and streaming including the reboot “The Crow,” the psychological thriller “Blink Twice” and the serial killer flick “Strange Darling.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to snap your fingers! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the reboot “The Crow,” the psychological thriller “Blink Twice” and the serial killer flick “Strange Darling.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: In “Blink Twice,” a psychological drama directed by Zoë Kravitz, and now playing in theatres, disgraced tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum) invites cater waiter Frida (Naomi Ackie) to join him and his friends for an idyllic get-a-way on his private island. “Are you having a good time?” he repeatedly asks her as champagne flows, and she is… until, in the blink of an eye, she has a startling revelation.
CAST: Naomi Ackie, Channing Tatum, Christian Slater, Simon Rex, Adria Arjona, Haley Joel Osment, Kyle MacLachlan, Geena Davis, Alia Shawkat. Directed by Zoë Kravitz.
REVIEW: A dark psychological thriller with elements of rage, humour and danger, “Blink Twice” is a confident, if scattered, directorial debut from Zoë Kravitz. A violent riff on “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’s” memory erasing, it asks the question, Is it best to live with only good memories, burying the bad so deeply they never resurface?
A fantasy island trip gone wrong, “Blink Twice” takes a while to get where it is going, to let the Twilight Zone-ness of the situation sink in. It’s decadent and drug fueled, set to a soundtrack of dance tunes and King’s constant query, “Are you having fun?” Nothing matters except hedonism, and soon (NO SPOILERS HERE), but not soon enough, we find out why.
At this point “Blink Twice” flicks the switch. What begans as Jordan Peele style exploration of the ultra-wealthy, of the lingering, intergenerational effects of trauma and violence against women, becomes a revenge drama tinged with horror. After a long lead up, however, the transition feels rushed as the true cruelty of the party island, and the men who run it, is revealed.
Kravitz and co-writer E.T. Feigenbaum have a lot on their minds, but more isn’t always better. From the apology tours of cancelled celebrities and sexual violence against women to the price of trauma, white patriarchal privilege and gender disparity, it touches down on a litany of hot button topics. Add to that a private island with a Jeffrey Epstein vibe and a misbehaving billionaire and you have an overload of Twitter/X trending topics. With so much happening, “Blink Twice” feels like it is hop-scotching around its themes and doesn’t add much new to the discourse of any of them.
Still, as tightly packed as the movie is—no shrinkflation here—Kravitz keeps the pace up, nimbly navigating her way through to the film’s finale with style to burn. The direction trumps the storytelling, as Kravitz knows how to stage effective scenes that will entertain the eye and, perhaps even move you toward the edge of your seat.
She is aided by strong performances from the three leads, Ackie, Tatum and “Hit Man’s” Adria Arjona. Tatum is all charm as the romantic lead (for a while anyway) before revealing his true nature in a terrific turn-around for the character.
Ackie and Arjona enjoy the best-written roles and make the most of them. As Frida, Ackie (last seen playing the title role in “Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody”) is relatable as someone who finds themself in an unimaginable situation, before tapping into a newfound iron will.
Arjona takes a role that could have been one-note—a reality show warrior with her eye on the billionaire’s affections—and makes her multi-faceted, kick-ass and very funny.
“Blink Twice” doesn’t entirely work, but as a story about the nature of memory, it is memorable enough to earn a recommendation.
I’ll be reviewing three movies this week, talking about everything from a lovelorn gothic superhero to a serial killer to a fantasy island trip gone wrong. All reviews posted on Thursday, August 22!
In “The Crow,” a reboot of the classic gothic superhero series of the same name that began in 1994, soulmates Eric Draven and Shelly Webster are brutally murdered. Given the chance to save his true love by sacrificing himself, Draven returns to seek bloody revenge against the killers, traversing the worlds of the living and the dead.
In “Blink Twice,” a psychological drama directed by Zoë Kravitz, and now playing in theatres, when tech billionaire Slater King meets cocktail waitress Frida at his fundraising gala, he invites her to join him and his friends for a dream vacation on his private island. Wild nights soon blend into sun-soaked days, but when strange things start to happen, Frida must uncover the truth if she hopes to make it out alive.
Clever and subversive, writer/director J.T. Mollner’s cat-and-mouse game is an expertly made exercise in nihilism. What begins as a standard serial killer flick—a scared woman on the run from a gun toting stalker—soon widens and deepens to become something else. To say any more would mean spoiling some plot points, so suffice to say, I gave “Strange Darling,” now playing in theatres, 4 out of 5 stars for fans of horror thrillers.
