Movie Review - Violent Night

Director: Tommy Wirkola
Genre: Action/ Crime/ Comedy
Runtime: 112 minutes
Year: 2022
Starring: David Harbour, John Leguizamo, Bevery D’Angelo, Alex Hassell, Alexis Louder, Cam Gigandet, Edi Patterson, Leah Brady, Alexander Elliot
 
I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2022 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 50: A MOVIE SET IN WINTER
 
Description: When a group of mercenaries attack the estate of a wealthy family, Santa Claus (David Harbour) must step in to save the day (and Christmas)

Review: Father Christmas has lost his faith in ever more consuming humanity and as a result he is a bitter man now. Alas, it is Christmas Eve and duty calls. Cynical and under the influence of alcohol, he goes from house to house to delivering mainly computer games to spoiled children. His already rotten evening turns into a violent one when he calls on a giant mansion where a wealthy family has been taken hostage by a team of mercenaries. He inadvertently gets caught up in the commotion, but when he discovers that a young Trudy is in danger, he decides to join the fray

The story that follows can be describer as a cross between “Die Hard” and “Home Alone”, with Santa Claus and a lot more violence and gore. “Violent Night” is a dark and fun action comedy that relies mostly on its over the top violent fight scenes. The role of Santa Claus is tailor-made for David Harbour. And it’s great to see in how many creative ways he uses Christmas items as weapons to kill people. For me the highlight was the scene in the shed, with a perfect Christmas song playing along.

It feels absurd to see the beloved and cheerful Santa Claus so mercifully killing people, but trust me, it works. It’s not the formula of “so bad it’s good”, because this film is by no means bad. If you can appreciate it for what it is and just don’t take it too seriously, you will have a great time. It does loses its power a bit when you are following the family, because none of these characters are either interesting or likeable. Only the little girl Trudy is one that steals your heart. And even though it’s an action film, the moments between Santa and Trudy are heartwarming. If you can’t handle extreme violence, you should skip it, because the film is called “Violent Night” for a reason. No sugar sweet Christmas romances for me (okay, only “Love, Actually”), this is the type of Christmas movie I prefer.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

10s Movie Review - Easy A

Director: Will Gluck
Genre: Comedy/ Romance
Runtime: 92 minutes
Year: 2010
Starring: Emma Stone, Penn Badgley, Amanda Bynes, Dan Byrd, Thomas Haden Church, Patricia Clarkson, Stanley Tucci, Cam Gigandet, Lisa Kudrow, Malcolm McDowell, Fred Armisen

Description: A clean-ct high school student relies on the school’s rumor mill to advance her social and financial standing.

Review: High School student Olive is a wallflower and is pretty much invisible. Her best friend Rihannon gets more attention after she told everyone she had sex. Olive thinks it wouldn’t harm anyone if she starts a rumor herself, about losing her virginity. This rumor spreads faster than she could have ever imagined.
The story doesn’t sound all that special, but it’s the execution of this story that is almost brilliant. And Emma Stone is fabulous in “Easy A”. This is the movie that introduced me to her and I have been a major fan ever since. Her portrayal of Olive is just great and she is actually one of my favorite female movie characters. Her parents, played by Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson, are great too. They are so funny, I love them in this film. And Amanda Bynes, as Jesus freak Marianne, is really funny as well.
I’m not a fan of romantic comedies, but when there is more com then rom, I tend to like them more. “Easy A” is one of those films, I love this movie! “Easy A” gets an A+!

Rating: 5/ 5

10s Movie Review - The Experiment

Director: Paul Scheuring
Genre: Drama/ Thriller
Runtime: 96 minutes
Year: 2010
Starring: Adrien Brody, Forest Whitaker, Cam Gigandet, Clifton Collins Jr., Ethan Cohn, Fisher Stevens, Travis Fimmel, David Banner, Jason Lew, Damien Leake, Maggie Grace

Description: 26 men are chosen to participate in the roles of guards and prisoners in a psychological study that ultimately spirals out of control.

Review: The Stanford Prison Experiment was a psychological research that took place in August 1971. The research was led by Philip Zimbardo, psychologist and professor at Stanford University. Zimbardo wanted to investigate to what extent character traits influences the interaction between prisoners and guards. Zimbardo himself played the role of director. The ‘guards’ were given clothes that matched their status, as well as a police bat they were allowed to use. The ‘prisoners’ were given prison clothes and ankle cuffs, and their names were replaced by numbers.  
There were all kinds of rules the prisoners had to follow, the guards were allowed to use disciplinary measures, as long as they did not become violent. The test subjects were much more absorbed in their roles than Zimbardo expected, and a large number of guards showed sadistic traits. Even Zimbardo got carried away in his role as prison warden.
“The Experiment” remains partly faithful to the original experiment, and emphasizes the power and sadism the guards displayed. The main roles are played by Adrien Brody and Forest Whitaker. Brody is a pacifist who, as a prisoner, is forced to revise his pacifist ideas and Whitaker plays an apparently gentle man who soon turns out to be loving the power he gets.
The shaving of a rebellious prisoner “The Experiment”, just like “Das Experiment”, is based on the book Black Box by German writer Mario Giordano, but the effect is totally different. Hirschbiegel’s film is sibtly constructed, with a lot of attention for character development. The American film adaptation of Paul Scheuring looks more like an episode of “Prison Break”, and that’s not totally strange, since Scheuring is the big man behind the TV series. From the beginning “The Experiment” comes across as rather raw, and the film also goes beyond the original experiment. Personally I think this is a weakness, because Zimbardo’s experiment is interesting enough even without excessive violence.
Although the effect of the story is disappointing, the acting is good, especially Whitaker is sublime. Unfortunately, the script limits the actors in their possibilities and some characters are not given enough attention. For example, the romantic subplot is only partially worked out in the film, making the role of Maggie Grace irrelevant.
I wasn’t impressed by “The Experiment”.

Rating: 2,5/ 5

 

Movie Review - Dangerous Lies

Director: Michael M. Scott
Genre: Drama/ Thriller/ Mystery
Runtime: 96 minutes
Year: 2020
Starring: Camila Mendes, Jessie T. Usher, Elliott Gould, Sasha Alexander, Cam Gigandet, Jamie Chung

Description: When a wealthy elderly man (Elliott Gould) dies and unexpectedly leaves his estate to his new caregiver (Camila Mendes), she’s drawn into a web of deception and murder. If she’s going to survive, she’ll have to question everyone’s motives, even the people she loves.

Review: A young couple tries to keep their head above water financially, when they are dealing with unemployment and college debt. When they suddenly inherit the fortune of a wealthy man, these problems seem to be history for Katie and Adam. But this is only the beginning of much more misery. Greed and murder lurk at every corner and nobody can be trusted.
After a strong opening, the film looses its path. “Dangerous Lies” never manages to get pass superficiality. And it seems like the leading couple was only cast for their looks, because their acting is terrible. But who can blame them, with the dialogues they have to work with. They sound like they were stolen from a soap opera that didn’t air.
The plot is such a mess, with nonsensical plot twists that follow each other in a fast tempo. The film lack tension and is overall very dull, which is pretty bad for a thriller.
The film looks good with the beautiful settings, but is completely meaningless and superficial.

Rating: 1,5 / 5