Movie Review - Blink Twice

Director: Zoë Kravitz
Genre: Thriller/ Mystery/ Horror
Runtime: 102 minutes
Year: 2024
Starring: Naomi Ackie, Alia Shawkat, Channing Tatum, Christian Slater, Haley Joel Osment, Simon Rex, Adria Arjona, Geena Davis, Kyle MacLachlan
 
Description: When tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum) meets cocktail waitress Frida (Naomi Ackie) at his fundraiser gala, he invites her to join him and his friends on a dream vacation on his private island. As strange things start to happen, Frida questions her reality.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2024 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 49: A DIRECTORIAL DEBUT
 
Review: If you like a mysterious horror/ thriller with some female rage, Zoë Kravitz got you covered. In her directorial debut everything seems normal, but you know something is fundamentally wrong. Lots of red flag, but not sure why. It’s best to know as little as possible going in, because it will leave you gasping for air at the end.

Frida, a waitress at a gala hosted by Slater King (mocking Elon Musk, maybe?), can’t take her eyes of this charismatic man. She knows he has a dark side, as he went into therapy after an unspecified incident and apologized a thousand times. But Frida is ambitious and quite willing to get to know him. Fortunately, Slater also has an eye for her and, after some hesitation, he invites Frida and her best friend Jess to accompany him and his entourage to a Mexican island he just bought.

On site, Slater has all cell phones confiscated. A week of crazy fun begins. The guest enjoy the weather, the finest mansion with luxury chalets, a large pool, tasty dishes and champagne and drugs galore. Frida’s happiness is unstoppable, although she senses that another female invitee is jealous of Slater’s attention for her. This seems like a spring-break version for adults, but somewhere also the salutation of an impending plot from a mystery novel.

Kravitz takes her time. In doing so, she’s taking a risk, because except for Slater’s dark past and the confiscated phones, for a long time there’s no trouble. But little bizarre details nevertheless create this ominous tension and you are certain something is bad will happen. And you will never predict what it is.

“Blink Twice” is exciting, has occasional dark humor, has some satire to it, criticizes society very subtly and is really original. Nothing but praise for Zoë Kravits, who really succeeds with her first directing job. Same goes for Naomi Ackie, who carries the film on her strong shoulders. Her performance will hopefully launch her to the A-list in Hollywood. Channing Tatum, the all American boy, surprises in a role that is atypical for him,

Most of the other actors don’t stand out much, their characters are drawn very superficial. But it didn’t bother me, because in the and most do have a purpose in the film.
When the film starts, you have a feeling that something is wrong, but you can never predict the direction this film is heading. Such a good film, that will especially please female horror/ thriller fans.

Rating: 5/ 5

Movie Review - Inside Out 2

Director: Kelsey Mann
Genre: Family/ Animation/ Drama/ Comedy
Runtime: 96 minutes
Year: 2024
Starring: Amy Poehler, Maya Hawke, Phyllis Smith, Liza Lapira, Tony Hale, Lewis Black, Kensington Tallman, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan. Paul Walter Hauser, Yvette Nicole Brown, Ayo Edebiri,
 
Description: Riley is entering puberty and experience brand new, more complex emotions as a result. As Riley tries to adapt to her teenage years, her old emotions try to adapt to the possibility of being replaced.

Review: As a child, life is simple. A child’s emotions are still basic, but it’s a whole different story once puberty hits them. Snapping at parents, wanting to belong, getting bored and, above all, a lot more worries come along. So too for Riley, the happy-go-lucky girl who managed to embrace her sadness in the first film to become more balanced. Riley is now thirteen and that balance is in danger of disappearing completely to a host of new emotions affecting her life.

“Inside Out” was an outright hit where the various emotions of human beings were explained extremely well and in depth in a fun and colorful format. Nine years on, the second installment is released with an attempt to bring Disney out of its slump (they haven’t released the best films lately). In this, the emotions in Riley’s head succeed all too well. And again has much emotional depth.

Its greatest strength lies in the recognizability of the story and the accompanying emotions. Where we already dealt with Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust, we are now introduced to Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment and Ennui.

Amy Poehler is still as infectiously cheerful and determined as in the first film. She is the perfect Joy. But Maya Hawke as Anxiety is the big surprise in “Inside Out 2”. She perfectly manages to combine the hustle, anxiety, stress, panic and urge to control that fits the emotion. She delivers her dialogue with great energy and you can feel the emotion in every scene she is in.

All the emotions are incredibly well played. The interactions unfold with great humor and the jokes hit the mark. One of the other new emotions is Ennui (boredom), only with a small role, but makes to most of the scarce moments it is in.

With “Inside Out 2”, Disney seems to put its core values first again by creating a humanly relatable story in a warm and cheerful setting. The complicated emotions are perfectly laid out and made understandable. A great sequel.

Rating: 5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 89: Inside Out

Director: Pete Docter, Ronaldo Del Carmen

Genre: Animation/ Comedy/ Family/ Drama/ Fantasy

Runtime: 95 minutes

Year: 2015

Starring: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Richard Kind, Bill Hader, Mindy Kaling, Lewis Black, Kaitlyn Dias, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan, John Ratzenberger, Frank Oz, Bobby Moynihan

Description: After young Riley is uprooted from her Midwest life and moved to San Francisco, her emotions - Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness - conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house, and school.

Review: Ideas for an original film are often easier than you might think. The creative minds of Pixar used director Pete Docter’s childhood experiences for “Inside Out”. When he was a kid, his family moved to Denmark for work. Pete’s sister had no trouble adapting to the situation, but Pete himself didn’t feel at home right away. Years later Pete saw the same with his daughter, who was on the edge of puberty at the time. The idea for “Inside Out” was born and he started to fantasize about what went on in the human mind and how certain emotions happen.

Like in “Up”, Docter manages to grab the audience from the first moment, with emotion. We see a baby being born and we see her first emotions: Joy and Sadness. The girl is Riley and we see her grow up in Minnesota. Together with Joy and Sadness, there is also Fear, Disgust and Anger. They rule Riley’s emotions. When Riley is eleven, her family moves to San Fransisco. A new city, a new house, a new school; Riley and her emotions have a lot they struggle with.

Rats that can cook, roots falling in love, toys coming to life; where does ixar get all those original ideas? “Inside Out” fits this perfectly. The coming of age story has been done so many times before, but never this original.

“Inside Out” has a lot of funny moments, but also manages to touch us. Not only with the opening scene. In fact, you will feel every emotion while watching the film. As always, the movie looks fantastic. It takes you on an emotional rollercoaster.

Pixar did it again. It made an animation that doesn’t only entertain you, but also manages to touch you and it will stay in your memory. Great piece of cinema for the whole family.

Rating: 5/ 5