Thriller

Relay

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Relay
  • IMDb: link

The strength of Relay is in its setup and the more technical aspects of how Riz Ahmed‘s character Ash assists his clients, those in possession of damaging documents to their company who choose to return them rather than turn whistleblower, while keeping himself at arms length and hidden in the shadows. However, the weakness to Justin Piasecki‘s script is how the story of Ash’s latest client (Lily James), who is facing harassment after stealing confidential information from her employer proving criminal negligence that could kill thousands, eventually devolves into a rote thriller (especially in the last half-hour) that flies in the face of what made everything beforehand work so well.

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Weapons

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Weapons
  • IMDb: link

It will be interesting to see if American audiences will be patient enough for the slow burn of writer/director Zach Cregger‘s Weapons which takes place one month after all but one student from an elementary classroom each leave their homes at exactly 2:17am one morning and disappear into the night. Presented in a series of vignettes highlighting different characters, some of which overlap more than others, the film digs into the trauma and fear the kids’ disappearance has caused before the movie, eventually, reveals the truth behind events. And, if you are patient enough to wait for it, Weapons delivers one of the most memorable climactic sequences in recent memory.

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She Rides Shotgun

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: She Rides Shotgun
  • IMDb: link

Adapted from the novel of the same name, She Rides Shotgun opens with Polly Huff (Ana Sophia Heger) being picked up from school not by her mother or stepfather but her biological father Nate (Taron Egerton) who was released from prison that morning. And he’s had something of a day. In a choice that pays off beautifully, we don’t learn anything before Polly does. She’s a smart enough girl to know something is wrong with Nate showing up in a hotwired car but also scared enough to not push the issue with the most dangerous man in her world.

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The In Crowd

/ / Home Video
  • Title: The In Crowd (2000)
  • IMDb: link

Throwback Tuesday takes us back to the year 2000. The 90s and early 2000s saw a glut of erotic thrillers including Wild Things, Poison Ivy, and Embrace of the Vampire. Susan Ward starred in a handful of these: Poison Ivy: The New Seduction, Wild Things 2, and The In Crowd (which did get a theatrical release after a bit of trimming got its R-rating slashed down to PG-13). Although none of these would be classified as good movies, it’s the last of these for which I remember the actress far more than her later roles Sunset Beach or Make It or Break It. And she’s really the only reason to check back in with the film 25 years later.

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Eddington

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Eddington
  • IMDb: link

Writer/director Ari Aster‘s latest is an absurdist dark comedy where the humor comes from the stupidity and poor decision-making of its characters. And, oh boy, do we get some stupid decisions from its characters. Set in the town of Eddington, New Mexico, during the COVID-19 lockdown, we’re introduced to an entire town of incredibly dumb characters all following their own agendas while shouting their opinions at each other and rarely, if ever, truly listening to another person. In some ways, Aster has brought Internet discourse to life which, while intriguing, isn’t always interesting.

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