Movie Review - Hypnotic

Director: Robert Rodriguez
Genre: Thriller/ Mystery/ Action
Runtime: 93 minutes
Year: 2023
Starring: Ben Affleck, Alice Braga, William Fichtner, Dayo Okeniyi, Jeff Fahey, JD Pardo, Jackie Earle Haley
 
Description: A detective (Ben Affleck) investigates a mystery involving his missing daughter and a secret government program.

Review: Danny Rourke looked the other way for just a second when he was in the park with his daughter, and she was gone forever. Years later, he’s still not over that, but at least he wants to be able to do his job as a detective. One day a report comes in that someone will rob a bank later that day. They do, but in a very bizarre way. Danny goes to investigate and immediately stumbles upon an almost supernatural world he was unaware of.

They exist, people who can convince you that you’ve done something and immediately believe it, even if it turns out not to be true. That is the power of suggestion. Director Robert Rodriguez took this fact and turned it into fiction. In “Hypnotic”, some people posses the gift to use certain trigger words and make people see a certain reality.

It’s a good concept, but not perfectly executed. Rodriguez was clearly inspired by movies like “Inception”, “Tennant” and “Shutter Island”. How so, you need to watch it yourself. Withing the reality of “Hypnotic”, a few details don’t quite make sense. In the end everything turns out to make sense according to the rules of this film.

The film has some surprising and original twists, but the eventually keep coming and it just becomes ridiculous. Even after the credits there is another twist, this was unnecessary.
Ben Affleck is on auto-pilot here. Definitely not one of his best roles, he just does what needs to be done.

Overall, “Hypnotic” is not a bad film, but it’s not all that special. It’s one of those movies that you will forget you’ve watched at the end of the year.

Rating: 3/ 5

20s Movie Review - The New Mutants

Director: Josh Boone
Genre: Action/ Horror/ Thriller/ Drama
Runtime: 94 minutes
Year: 2020
Starring: Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, Alice Braga, Blu Hunt, Henry Zaga, Adam Beach

Description: Five young mutants, just discovering their abilities while held in a secret facility against their will, fight to escape their past and save themselves.

Review: “The New Mutants” was shelved for years. It follows five young mutants that are kept in a secret facility. They learn to deal with their powers, but soon find that dark forces are lurking and they will have to work together to survive.
If one film deserved to be peerless is was “The Ne Mutants”, which after being delayed for years, was finally brought to the audience. But alas…
First the positives. I can especially appreciate the ideas in the film. A superhero movie with a female lead, a prominent lesbian storyline and the combination of horror and action. That should all definitely be applauded. In addition, director Josh Boone got together a young, talented cast.
Where the films falls short, however, is in almost every other area. It starts with the poor script. No one feels like a real character and the story is paper-thin. It doesn’t stop there: many internal inconsistencies and the huge amount of flashbacks are hugely distracting.
The (also inconsistent) accents of the actors are also an annoying addition. The cast has capable actors, but their characters remains fairly one-dimensional. It’s definitely a missed opportunity.

Rating: 2,5/ 5

20s Movie Review - Soul

Director: Pete Doctor, Kemp Powers
Genre: Family/ Adventure/ Animation
Runtime: 100 minutes
Year: 2020
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Graham Norton, Rachel House, Alice Braga, Richard Ayoade, Phylicia Rashad, Donnell Rawlings, Questlove, Angela Bassett

Description: After landing the gig of a lifetime, A New York jazz pianist (Jamie Foxx) suddenly finds himself trapped in a strange land between Earth and the afterlife.

Review: The Disney Pixar animation film “Soul” became the ‘victim’ of the Covid pandemic. Because due to the closure of cinemas, the release schedule was turned upside down. “Soul” was released directly on the streaming platform Disney+. And you didn’t have to pay a ridiculous additional price to gain early access.
Joe is a music teacher who has dreamed of performing as a jazz musician for years. But disaster strikes when his joy at finally getting his chance on stage causes him to fall into a well. Joe ends up in a place, somewhere between Earth and the afterlife, where he manages to escape the final end just in the nick of time. He ends up in the Big One. Here he is given the task of preparing the old soul 22 to go to Earth. But Joe also sets out frantically to return to his body himself.
“Soul” deals with a heavy theme. It deals with death or rather life. Important questions that humans have wondered about for years are addressed. What is out purpose and what is the purpose of life? And what is there after death? The animators of “Soul” manage to create an excellent picture of the afterlife and the world before the final end. that something more abstract than Earthly life is animated. With colorful characters who guide Joe’s soul in his new task as mentor of the ancient soul 22.
Despite its fraught theme, “Soul” is also tremendously funny. Especially when Joe and 22 return to Earth and have a wacky adventure together. With that, “Soul” offers us a lot. There is humor and drama. One moment there are tears of laughter and the other moment it’s of sadness. This makes “Soul” not only a beautiful film, but also one of the Disney Pixar film of recent years. Not only because of the beautiful story, but also the animation and voice performances are stunning. A film that entertains and moves. But above all brings the message that life is short and you should enjoy every minute of it.

Rating: 4/ 5

10s Movie Review - Predators

Director: Nimród Antal
Genre: Action/ Thriller/ Adventure/ Science Fictions
Runtime: 107 minutes
Year: 2010
Starring: Adrien Brody, Danny Trejo, Topher Grace, Laurence Fishburne, Alice Braga, Walton Goggins, Mahershala Ali

Description: A group of elite warriors parachute into an unfamiliar jungle and are hunted by members of a merciless alien race

Review: In 1987 director John McTiernan made the manly action thriller “Predator”. Here a team of American military men, led by Arnold Schwarzenegger, were dropped in a jungle for a mission and ended up being hunted by a killing machine from outer space. There was a less successful sequel, starring Danny Glover. “Predators” is the second sequel, forgetting all the “Alien Vs. Predator” movies. “Predators” never reaches the level of its original, but much better than the second film.
In 1994 Robert Rodriguez was asked to write a sequel, but that script was set aside for fifteen years. In 2009 two new writers turned it into the script for “Predators and Rodriguez became a producer. Nimrod Antal directs, but if Rodriguez had done it himself, it would probably be even better.
Like the first film, it takes a while before we see the hunting creature. Which is a good choice, it holds the tension. They also choose a non-typical action star lead in Adrien Brody. It’s hard to follow Schwarzenegger. So by picking a star that’s not your typical action hero, makes it fresh and original. And Brody does a fine job.
The action is okay, but never special or original. And some characters are plain annoying or unnecessary. But overall, “Predators” is a good sequel and an entertaining action thriller.

Rating: 3/ 5