Update on the Chicago International Film Festival that I will be attending next month. They have announced the Opening Night selection for October 16th. It will be The Piano Lesson. I’m not sure if I’m going to be there for week 1 or week 2, but that being the opener doesn’t make me choose the first week. I’m looking forward to it, but I know it will be on Netflix in November, so I don’t need to see it in October. My objective for Chicago is to see the films that would be in the Art House theaters that don’t exist here in Detroit anymore. Films like The Brutalist if it’s there. I’m guessing they announce the Centerpiece or Closing Night films this week, and that should point me in my direction for the Festival.
This week, it’s 4 films again, and it might be the last non-Festival week I review that many in a week. I’m not even sure I post all those reviews all at once or space them out. That’s an October problem though. So, let’s get into it. On to the reviews!
I’ve said this before. On Netflix, we either get films purchased and distributed, or original films they make in house. The former of those are like Hit Man and next month’s Woman of the Hour. The latter is like Damsel and Trigger Warning. This one is in that second group, but it’s one of the better films in that collection. This was fine. It wasn’t boring, but it wasn’t particularly exciting either. It just happened. We get one or two action sequences to add some kind of action to the proceedings, but overall, it’s a character driven story. The problem is that story is so paper thin. The premise is the brother of an inmate has the bail money stolen by the sheriffs office, and he makes it his mission to get the money back. There aren’t many surprises in the film, and the overall scheme of using illegal seizures to fund the budget of the area is something you can guess pretty early in the film. With it somehow being over two hours long, it does run the risk of some people giving up on it when it slows down in the middle. Still, it was fine. No real emotion either way.
Every year, there are about three or four films that I am a contrarian on. This is one of those this year. I just didn’t feel it like so many others. The plot is simply a girl who is about to move away from her family does shrooms with her friends and sees her older self. That older version then gets her to miss her family before she moves to Toronto. There is a bigger plot line involved but I will keep that secret. It was the best part of the movie for me. I just thought the younger version of Elliott was borderline insufferable at points, and a lot of her character growth was stereotypical for me. I get that I’m not the target audience most likely, but this still could have been a lot better.
Going into this, there is a high bar to reach. This is an American remake of a Danish film from 2022. That film is thought of by some as one of the best horror films that year. Knowing that fun fact brings a question to mind: Why remake it? The general rule for remakes is you need to do something new or improve it. So, does this version do that? Short answer is yes. However, most that changes is the third act. The first 2/3 of the film has most of the same beats as the original. It was a weird feeling of seeing things and knowing what was coming. That was until the final 30 minutes hit. I won’t say how this version ends, but it is a lot different though. This wasn’t quite as good as the original, but it was pretty good itself.
I usually like these types of movies. The good version of this type is Boy Kills World, which is still in my Top 10. The Killer’s Game is such a dumber movie than that one though. The basic plot is Bautista is a hit man who is told he has 3 months to live, so he places a hit on himself. He is then told the results were mixed up and he is fine. The contract is not cancelled however. So, now he has to fight off everyone wanting the at first $2 million, which then grows to $4 million. The thought that popped in my head is this feels like string of television episodes strung together. We are introduced to I think 8 (themed) enemy teams and we watch them die one at a time. There are some interesting characters and fight sequences, but in the end, it was such a waste of a potential fun movie. Also, you cast Sofia Boutella as Bautista’s love interest, and don’t let her fight? Inexcusable.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice has back to back wins, but that should end this weekend. Transformers movies always make money, and I think having an animated entry will open it up to the kid market more than the other entries did. I don’t think it will make major money, but it should take the top spot.
- Transformers One
- Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
- Speak No Evil
- Deadpool & Wolverine
- Never Let Go
I’ve been up in the country since this past Monday, and will be here this week too, so my schedule is now tentative. I think I still have Transformers One on Thursday (at a much smaller theater than my usual AMC I go to on Thursdays). Other than that, maybe a couple streaming options. Well see.
Mitten Film Nerd 
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