Movie Review - Mr. Harrigan's Phone

Director: John Lee Hancock
Genre: Thriller/ Drama/ Horror/ Mystery
Runtime: 105 minutes
Year: 2022
Starring: Jaeden Martell, Donald Sutherland, Joe Tippett, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Peggy J. Scott,  
 
I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2022 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 43: A MOVIE BASED ON A BOOK
 
Description: When Mr. Harrigan (Donald Sutherland) dies, Craig (Jaeden Martell), the teen who befriended and did odd jobs for him, puts his smart phone in his pocket before burial. When the lonely Craig sends his friend a message, he is shocked to get a return text.

Review: The number of film adaptations of Stephen King stories is at least as vast as the literary canon of the great master himself. New to the list is the Netflix film “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone”.

Craig befriends the old billionaire Mr. Harrigan where at a young age, he reads literature to the old man, because his eyes are deteriorating. He does this over a period of five years and we see him grow up from a young boy to a teenager. A special bond develops between the two. Craig gets an iPhone from his father and later buys one for his old friend. When one day Mr. Harrigan dies, Craig puts Harrigan’s phone in his suit at the funeral, to be buried with him. When Craig is feeling lonely, he decides to leave a voicemail message for Mr. Harrigan, telling him how much he misses him. But he gets a text message back from him and strange things start to happen.

The reason the two have such a good bond is because they both lost their mother at a young age. Craig likes being with him because he is not well-liked at school and is more concerned with getting rid of the bullies. The wise old man recognizes this and teaches him wise life lessons.

For the people afraid of horror: you can watch this. It is not horror. It’s at most a mystery thriller, with drama elements. The focus is on the bond between the two main characters. What is their connection. How is it that Craig still gets messages on his phone when the man has died. And what about the wishes he expresses on Harrigan’s voicemails and their outcomes?

Donald Sutherland, who plays the titular Mr. Harrigan, doesn’t have a big role, but plays it convincingly. Wise and sly but also fragile. Jaeden Martell, who was also in “It”, another film based on a Stephen King book, and  holds his own against the veteran. Martell portrays a believable, insecure teenager.  

“Mr. Harrigan’s Phone” is a film I enjoyed, not one of the best Stephen King adaptations, but definitely not in the worst category either.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

Movie Review - Metal Lords

Director: Peter Sollett

Genre: Comedy

Runtime: 97 minutes

Year: 2022

Starring: Jaeden Martell, Adrian Greensmith, Isis Hainsworth, Brett Gelman, Joe Manganiello

Description: Two friends (Jaeden Martell, Adrian Greensmith) try to form a heavy metal band with a cellist (Isis Hainsworth) for a Battle of the Bands.

Review: Teenagers Kevin and Hunter want only one thing: to make metal music. And then they’ll be cool. The premise of “Metal Lords” is dead simple. In the run-up to the music competition “The Battle of the Bands”, the two friends practice, have implausible adventures and there is love involved. Exactly as predictable and bland as you expect from a high school movie.

“Metal Lords” is an ode to ‘nerds’, just like in “American Pie” and “Superbad”, a spectacle of hormones, discomfort and brotherhood. Kevin and Hunter play Dungeons and Dragons, hold audition where no one shows up and  they do everything to make their metal band a success.

It’s an amusing film, yet there is a real chemistry missing between the two leads. You never believe nor do you understand their friendship. Hunter is actually a very unlikeable and annoying character and wants everything to go his way. Kevin on the other hand is a very sweet character and somehow he keeps taking Hunter’s crap for a very long time. He isn’t even as much into metal music as Hunter is, but learns to love it because he loves playing music. The connection between Kevin and Emily is much more fun to watch, and more believable.

Somehow, this movie doesn’t really avoid stereotypes either. Metal music fans are stereotypical pictured as devil worshippers and loud people, which is how Hunter is portrayed. When in real life, a lot of metal fans are very introverted people with deep and meaningful thoughts. Hunter even thinks it’s ridiculous when Kevin suggest to add a cellist to the band. There are many symphonic metal bands and many metal fans have an affinity with classical music.

“Metal Lords” is okay, but not innovative. They just added the metal music element to a standard high school flick. Fun for one viewing.

Rating: 2,5/ 5

10s Movie Review - Aloha

Director: Cameron Crowe
Genre: Drama/ Romance/ Comedy
Runtime: 105 minutes
Year: 2015
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, John Krasinski, Bill Murray, Danny McBride, Alec Baldwin, Bill Camp, Jaeden Martell

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2020 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 21: A MOVIE WITH YOUR FAVORITE ACTRESS

Description: A celebrated military contractor (Bradley Cooper) returns to the site of his greatest career triumphs and reconnects with a long-ago love (Rachel McAdams) while unexpectedly falling for the hard-charging Air Force watch-dog (Emma Stone) assigned to him.

Review: Cameron Crowe directed movies like “Jerry Maguire” and “Almost Famous”, which were both great successes. He got together a fabulous cast for “Aloha”, including Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, Bill Murray, John Krasinski and Danny McBride. But this film proofs that a strong cast doesn’t necessarily make a great movie.
Brian Gilcrest used to be a much celebrated fighter pilot and astronomer, but after an incident in Kabul he can’t work in the field anymore. He now uses his expertise while working at Global One, a private company lead by billionaire Carson Welch, who wants to help the America army. Welch wants the entire world to have free access to the internet and Gilcrest is send to Hawaii, to get the blessing from an officious king. Together with his liaison Captain Allison Ng he has to make sure the natives aren’t going to be any trouble. And then there is Gilcrest’s ex Tracy, now married to another pilot Woody and mother of two kids. It’s clear their relationship didn’t end well, but there is also something between Gilcrest and Allison.
It's not really clear what the movie is trying to tell you. What is clear is the lack of knowledge of the Hawaiian culture.
The cast is fine, it does what it needs to do. But with such a big group of names, you except more. Bradley Cooper isn’t challenged enough in his role and Emma Stone has been better. Rachel McAdams does fit her role and her role is convincing enough. John Krasinksi can do much more than this and Bill Murray was probably just added to draw attention. He doesn’t get that much to do.
“Aloha” is not a terrible movie, but the film lacks logic and meaning. It sometimes even drags. And such a talented group of actors deserved a better script.

Rating: 2,5 / 5

Movie Reviews - Knives Out

Director: Rian Johnson
Genre: Crime/ Comedy
Runtime: 130 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Christopher Plummer, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, Frank Oz

Description: A detective investigates the death of a patriarch of an eccentric, combative family.

Review: An old-fashioned murder mystery of Agatha Christie-like allure. That's what filmmaker Rian Johnson advocated when he took care of the story and direction for “Knives Out”. The director of “Brick” and “The Last Jedi” has stuffed all the standard elements of the genre into this classic whodunit: an immense mansion, a rich family full of intrigues, only striking characters and of course the murder of an authoritative man. As one of the characters makes clear, it looks like a lifelike game of Clue. So: who killed Harlan Thrombey with the knife in the study?
Successful thriller author and multimillionaire Thrombey had just called the family together before his death in order to tighten the ties again. Because it's hatred and envy within the family ranks. And with all those fights and conspiracies, the motives immediately come to the surface. His daughter-in-law made money back because of the study costs of granddaughter Megan, whom she cashed twice. Son-in-law Richard cheated with Thrombey's knowledge. A grandson (who by the way has the first name Ransom) was in turn disinherited and Thrombey's youngest son worked for the company. And then there is the South American nurse who may have tampered with medication.
One by one, Johnson will take care of the suspects. He does this with a series of interviews with a very special spectator. Private detective Benoit Blanc, a fantastically smooth role for Daniel Craig, who sounds like Francis Underwood's brother because of his southern American accent, has more than earned his spurs in a number of high-profile cases. Initially he is only used as an observer, but he always makes his presence known to potential suspects in an irritating way by pressing a piano key. It doesn't take long before Blanc completely takes over the murder investigation, although he leaves the detective under the illusion that it isn't so.
Knives Out is indebted to the genre that made Christie great and is therefore a tribute to the work of the highly productive British thriller author. There are studies that have shown that Christie suddenly built up her sentences in such a way that it is impossible to stop reading. Johnson's thriller may not have this hypnotic effect, but it is full of intriguing characters who all have their reasons to get rid of the pater familias. As it should be. It also helps a lot that next to Craig, famous faces like those of Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Chris Evans, Michael Shannon, Christopher Plummer and Toni Collette make their appearance. But Craig is the one who owns this movie. It’s a very tongue-in-cheek performance, over-exaggerated, but therefor delightful to watch.
Knives Out is, with its beautiful scenery and camera work, above all a tribute to the classic murder genre, in which nothing and nobody is what it seems. It's a wonderful puzzle and therefore an escape from the daily grind. The ensemble cast is a pleasure to watch, because it must be wonderful to get absorbed in the dysfunctional family dynamics at a crime scene full of secret corners, spaces and doors.

Rating: 5/ 5

Movie Reviews - It Chapter Two

Director: Andy Muschietti
Genre: Horror
Runtime: 169 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Andy Bean, Bill Skarsgård, Jaeden Martell, Wyatt Oleff, Jack Dylan Grazer, Finn Wolfhard, Sophia Lillis, Chosen Jacobs, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Teach Grant, Nicholas Hamiltoon, Javier Botet, Xavier Dolan, Taylor Frey, Molly Atkinson

Description: Twenty-seven years after their first encounter with the terrifying Pennywise, the Losers Club have grown up and moved away, until a devastating phone call brings them back.

Review: Twenty-seven years ago, the Losers Club took an oath: if It returns, they will return to Derry and kill It. Most have buried their younger years and all the terrifying happenings, but a phone call from the only one that stayed in Derry brings it all back to them. Only together they can beat It.
Director Andy Muschietti managed to surprise everyone with his version of “It”. It was a stylish coming-of-ages story with jump scares. The movie, based on a novel by Stephen King, wasn’t gruesome horror but it was very well crafted. In “It Chapter Two”, we move on with the story. Mike is the only Loser that stayed in Derry and he definitely didn’t forget about Pennywise. After the brutal murder of one of the citizens, he is sure It returned and he contacts every member of the group in ask to return.
Th first film was a success partially because of the young cast and their recognizable stories and fears. Everyone feels like an outsider at times and together they could face their fears. In “It Chapter Two” that feeling of being connected is strong present again, because when they see each other after so many years it feels like the old days. The resemblance with their younger versions are uncanning and each of them was perfectly cast for the role. Especially Bill Hader as adult Richie, who is the best part of the film.
Their chemistry is here also very strong. Sadly a big chunk of the film is each of them going on a quest on their own. That’s the only negative thing I have to say about the film. Because the film and story are strongest when the group is together. That group dynamic is very important and works well.
The film has some really big jump scares and it has more blood and gore than the first film. But it still shows that Muschietti has love for the craft and for this story. Because the film looks stunning.
Like in most cases, “It Chapter Two” isn’t as good as its predecessor, but it still a really strong film.

Rating: 4/ 5