Werewolves Within Review

Werewolves Within

Dir: Josh Ruben

Starring: Sam Richardson, Milana Vayntrub, Sarah Burns, Michael Chernus and Catherine Curtin

Length: 1 h 37 m

 

 

Synopsis: 

After a proposed pipeline creates divisions within the small town of Beaverfield, and a snowstorm traps its residents together inside the local inn, newly arrived forest ranger Finn (Sam Richardson) and postal worker Cecily (Milana Vayntrub) must try to keep the peace and uncover the truth behind a mysterious creature that has begun terrorizing the community.

 

 

Ladies and gentlemen, not only have I discovered my Halloween costume for 2021 but I have found a video game movie that is actually a well-made film. And I’m not the only one.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the average Tomatometer for a video game movie sits at 26%. Yes, I did the math. Werewolves Within sits at a beautiful, well-deserved 82%.

Once a board game, that Ubisoft then turned into a VR video game, Werewolves Within obviously hints at an Among Us type storyline. But writer Mishna Wolff and director Josh Ruben give the audience so much more than that.

Each unique Beaverfield resident is so well casted and well-acted that as the film progresses, you too end up picking sides and creating your own theories. No one gives anything away. 

Some viewers may be able to pick the monster early on but the story is told in such a quick, fun way, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. 

Additionally, for presumably a lower budget film, the special effects and makeup are fantastic.

Is this your average werewolf film? No. But it’s comedic horror at its finest. And possibly the best made video game movie. Period.

It’s a limited release in theaters now with a streaming release set for July 2. Do yourself a favor and support your local theater to see this one.

 

Theresa's Rating
4.50 out of 5.00

F9 Review

F9

Dir: Justin Lin

Starring: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Jordana Brewster, and John Cena

2 h 15 m

 

Souped-up muscle cars, motorcycles, tanks, and even rocket-propelled space mods skid, screech, and swerve over every inch of the screen in director Justin Lin's newest Fast and Furious saga entry, now called F9. 

 

In what has become a superhero movie franchise with indestructible beings who taunt the laws of physics every time action is needed, F9 continues the adventures of Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his makeshift family unit. It's escapism cinema at its best, a mindless, messy, overindulgent feat of summer popcorn movie fare. That's the strange beauty of these films; they completely understand what they are doing and have crafted a formula that straddles a line of sincerity and silliness that works to keep the absurdity from becoming overwhelming. 

 

Dom Torreto leads a quiet life, living on the outskirts with Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and his son Brian. The family understands that their life together will constantly be threatened; their past has forged their present. Dom's past returns in the form of his forsaken brother Jakob (John Cena), who worked on a pit crew with Dom for their family racing business when they were young but now is a skilled assassin. Jakob has a plot for world destruction and domination. Dom and his crew reassemble to save the world and each other.

 

Beyond the cars and explosions, the Fast and Furious franchise has always been about family at its chaotic core. F9 handles this feature most appropriately of all the films, displaying the depths that the word "family" encompasses in this world. And Vin Diesel's character is the figurehead that the world revolves around; the compassionate father, the tough older sibling, the loving husband, Dom embraces all of these parts. 

 

F9 focuses on the familial components with returning familiar faces like Michelle Rodriguez, who returns as the always supportive love interest, Letty. Tyrese Gibson and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges provide comedic banter and amusing commentary on how the crew is invincible, not one scratch after all these dangerous scenarios. F9 plays for fan service, so there are more surprises for dedicated admirers of these films.

 

Most of the actors have played these roles for a few years already, so it's no shocker that the chemistry between the cast is achieved from the beginning moments. However, notably, Vin Diesel's Dom is given more character attention with this film than in the past. Dom's story is sorted out with flashbacks featuring a younger version of the character and introducing Dom's brother Jakob. F9 does a decent job of connecting the dots for the film's narrative arc while also providing connective tissue for the entire franchise. 

 

The narrative components have grown better regarding character composition, but the action and adventure pieces have grown duller. With so many films, each trying to outdo the previous, it's inevitable that the action setpieces would lose some of their awe-inducing moments of spectacle. Whether jumping cars off cliffs, using super-powered magnets to induce destruction, or going to space, which plays more for laughs than thrills, the gimmicks here are simply fine, not fantastic. 

 

It's hard to wonder when these films will end; I guess that depends on the demand from the committed viewers who come out for these movies. While F9 may not win any awards for its brand of storytelling, it does represent an element of why movie theaters mean so much; it's a vessel to escape from reality. 

 

Monte's Rating

2.50 out of 5.00

 

The Sparks Brothers Review

The Sparks Brothers

Dir: Edgar Wright

Starring: Ron Mael and Russell Mael

2h 15m

 

It was at my local record store that I first discovered the band Sparks. A funky combination of synth-centric keyboards, a pulsing drum beat, and the lyric "pulling rabbits out of a hat" sung with passion played on the house speakers. When I asked the clerk who was playing, they pointed towards an album cover featuring a slicked-haired, pencil mustached man holding a puppet in his hand. The music was kinetic, with a moodiness that felt suited for any variety of 1980s movie soundtrack.  

 

On the album cover (1984's Pulling Rabbits Out of a Hat) were Ron and Russell Mael, two brothers from America who formed the band Sparks in 1967. Spanning more than 50 years, through idiosyncratic rock, pop, electro, and avant-garde motifs and characterizations, the Sparks have garnered hefty cult status. They have influenced more than their fair share of artists, bands, and, in the case of the new documentary The Spark Brothers, filmmakers. 

 

Edgar Wright, the skillful director behind Shaun of the Dead and Baby Driver, among others, understands how to choreograph music to influence and engage storytelling. So Wright feels like the perfect artist to tell the tale of the Sparks Brothers. This documentary is packed with information, running 2 hours and 15 minutes. First, Wright details the brother's career with an album by album analysis, displaying the Sparks as clever musicians who have an unorthodox charm and humor and operate to the beat of their own drum. It's an energetic documentary that seldom feels as long as its running time. 

 

The documentary features a variety of interviews from artists singing the praises of the band. Musicians like Beck, Weird Al, and Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers show up, but also unexpected influenced artists like author Neil Gaiman, actor Mike Myers, and comedian Patton Oswalt make appearances to show their gratitude. Throughout the decades, the progression of their music composed a sound that always felt a few steps ahead of their counterparts. In addition, their character as rock stars, with Russell Mael crafting the atypical stoic rock star gaze and Ron Mael contrasting with his Chaplin/Hitler-inspired mustache and smirking look, displays that Sparks forged their creative path.

 

Wright emphasizes the musician's engagement with their music primarily, not necessarily why the two brothers compose their character in such unique ways. It's almost always about the music. Sparks' story isn't imbued with the typical sex and drugs that almost always define the rock & roll lifestyle, so the documentary doesn't have the traditional rise to success and eventual fall to defeat storyline. Instead, it maintains a strong emphasis on the celebration of music. 

 

Edgar Wright is the perfect collaborator to tell the story about Sparks. With his first documentary, the director interjects the film with the same energy the band brings in their music. The verve and mood are achieved through the edit, the unique and different quality is the structure of storytelling, and the love for the music is heartfeltly found in every interview and clip; a perfect match for director and band indeed. 

 

Monte's Rating

4.00 out of 5.00

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It Review

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It

Dir: Michael Chaves

Starring: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Ruairi O'Connor, Sarah Catherine Hook, Julian Hilliard, and John Noble

1 h 52 m

 

It takes less than 5 minutes for The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, the third franchise installment and eighth Conjuring Universe film, to jump full force into a vicious demonic possession scene involving a contorting young boy and a few obvious nods to The Exorcist. Fighting the forces of evil again, looking more withered and worn from their many encounters with malevolent spirits, are Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga). The loving staples of The Conjuring films find themselves in new territory with their latest case.

 

During the exorcism of young David Glatzel (Julian Hilliard), Ed and Lorraine struggle with the ferocity of the evil spirit and lose control of the situation. Ed is hurt, Lorraine is affected by a vision, and Arne Johnson (Ruairi O'Conner), the boyfriend of David's older sister Debbie (Sarah Catherine Hook), demands that the entity "take me instead." The demon abides, and the tormenting subsides; the Glatzel family believes that the exorcism worked. But slowly, Arne begins to experience strange occurrences, leading to an encounter that results in the brutal murder of his landlord. Arne, and The Warrens, take the case to the courts claiming that the incident was perpetrated under the circumstance of demonic possession.

 

The story for The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is pulled from The Warren's case files and, as all the films proclaim, is "based on a true story." However, where this film differs from the first two arrives with the composition of frights and the story's tone. The previous emphasis on the haunted house atmosphere and the case-specific scenarios that assisted in adding another level of fear surrounding the proceedings are not the focus of this film. 

 

Instead, director Michael Chaves composes a procedural, an investigation into the circumstances that brought about the real-life court case for Arne Johnson and a fictional story surrounding The Warren's ghost-hunting drama. Chaves doesn't explore the components of the court case, mainly because the actual plea of "not guilty because of demonic possession" was immediately thrown out by the presiding judge. However, the intrigue of a courtroom drama with The Warrens involved and the prevailing media hype in the early 1980s would be an exciting place to take the Conjuring Universe. 

 

The fictional pieces crafted for The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, which offer a few jump scares but are the weakest offerings of the franchise, take Ed and Lorraine into numerous locations while following the clues of a curse connected to Arne. During these moments, which feel farthest from the grounded nature of the previous films, the story finds mixed results with character dynamics and scare tactics. A relationship with a local police detective, who is working on a cold case, feels unnecessary and somewhat forced for humor. A trip to the local morgue builds some great tension and finds an avenue to connect the story from one act to the next. Everything moves along, primarily because of Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson's chemistry and commitment as Lorraine and Ed, but it's a bumpier journey than expected. 

 

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It may not reach the heights of its predecessors in regards to style, scares, and storytelling, but that doesn't mean fans of this frightening franchise won't enjoy the efforts on display. 

 

Monte's Rating

2.50 out of 5.00