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

90s Movie Review - Heat

Director: Michael Mann
Genre: Drama/ Crime
Runtime: 171 minutes
Year: 1995
Starring: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore, Amy Brenneman, Ashley Judd, Mykelti Williamson, Ted Levine, Dennis Haysbert, William Fichtner, Natalie Portman

Description: A group of professional bank robbers start to feel the heat from police when they unknowingly leave a clue at their latest heist.

Review: “Heat” is directed by Michael Mann and stars Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. The film has a good mix of action, crime, tension, romance and drama.
The title “Heat” refers to the heat you feel when the cops are just around the corner. Neil McCauley’s (Robert De Niro) life motto is that you should live a life that you can leave behind in 30 seconds. The heat comes from Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino), a detective who spends his days tracking down thugs.
When you see a professional at work in a movie, you easily sympathize that character. Even if it’s an unscrupulous serial killer, if he’s good at what he does and you see it through his eyes. In “Heat” they use this. McCauley and his gang and Hanna are all very good at what they do. Add the natural charisma both actors have and it’s really hard to pick a side in this cat and mouse game.
Besides the well-known elements in a gangster movie, director Mann shows us a different side of the leading characters. Workaholic Vincent Hanna is in a relationship that won’t work, because he’s never home and he has a stepdaughter with psychological problems. Neil McCauley falls in love with a woman, but can’t tell her the truth about how he makes a living. Chris Shiherlis (Val Kilmer)  is a gambling addict and the woman he loves (Ashley Judd) is cheating on him.  
The original story and the fabulous performances make “Heat” a breathtaking action thriller, one of the best in the genre.

Rating: 5/ 5

 

Movie Reviews - 12 Strong

Director: Nicolai Fuglsig
Genre: Drama/ Action
Runtime: 129 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Michael Shannon, Michael Peña, Rob Riggle, William Fichtner, Elsa Pataky

Description: We follow the first Special Forces team deployed to Afghanistan after 9/11; under the leadership of a new captain (Chris Hemsworth), the team must work with an Afghan warlord to take down the Taliban.

Review: Twelve soldiers, riding horses and carrying machine guns. They take on tanks and rocket launchers. It looks like fiction, but it’s based on a true story. Based on the book “Horse Soldiers”, it tells the story of a special mission: a small American team of soldiers infiltrates Afghanistan to start an attack on the Taliban, right after 9/11.
Chris Hemsworth convinces as the ambitious and optimistic soldier Mitch Nelson. While America is mourning the tragic attack on the WTC, Nelson is stuck behind a desk and feels he needs to do something. What follows is an unbelievable story of a team of twelve soldiers fighting against the Taliban. Nelson has to work with general Dostum in Afghanistan. He is realistic, cynical and a completely different soldier. The bond between Nelson and Dostum is very interesting to watch. But the focus is on the spectacle. Which is a bit of a shame.
Most of the film is action. Good looking action and sometimes very spectacular. But nothing looks very artistic and it all looks like a compilations of dusty sand clouds and explosions.
Besides Hemsworth, there is the always strong and solid Michael Shannon. Who wasn’t given a lot to do, but he stands his ground. It’s an amazing true story, but director Nicolai Fuglsig played it safe and sometimes it feels predictable.

Rating: 3/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 1: The Lone Ranger

Director: Gore Verbinski

Genre: Action/ Adventure

Runtime: 149 minutes

Year: 2013

Starring: Armie Hammer, Johnny Depp, William Fichtner, Tom Wilkinson, Ruth Wilson, James Badge Dale, Barry Pepper, Helena Bonham Carter

Description: Native American warrior Tonto (Johnny Depp) recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid (Armie Hammer), a man of the law, into a legend of justice.

Review: Johnny Depp and Jerry Bruckheimer wanted to do another epic film, after the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise. Something that would speak to both young and old. The popular radio show “The Lone Ranger” caught their attention. Later the show was turned into a television series, but a movie adaptation hadn’t been made yet. Bruckheimer and Depp hoped that with some of the Pirates magic and a big budget they would succeed. Well, they didn’t.

The old Indian Tonto tells the story of John Reid and how they met. When Reid’s brother is killed by bad guy Butch Cavendish, Reid wants revenge. He doesn’t want to kill Cavendish, because that’s not like Reid, but he wants justice. Tonto advices him to wear a Zorro like mask and together with his white cowboy hat his costume is complete and he starts working as the Lone Ranger.

Gore Verbinski made a somewhat confusing film. On one hand it looks like a kids film. The scenes with Tonto are humorous and sometimes like a silent film. Depp manages to create a quirky character, like he did with Jack Sparrow. But sometimes Verbinski choses to leave out the comedy completely and the film turns into this serious western.

Sadly they choose “The Lone Ranger” to be so serious at times and the film is very long too. The action sequences do look great from time to time, like the train scene in the first half hour. The film should be either an adventurous film with humor or a serious western. Now, the film doesn’t really find its direction.

Rating: 2/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 87: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Director: Jonathan Liebesman

Genre: Action/ Adventure/ Comedy/ Fantasy/ Science Fiction

Runtime: 101 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: Megan Fox, Will Arnett, William Fichtner, Alan Ritchson, Noel Fisher, Pete Plszek, Johnny Knoxville, Jeremy Howard, Danny Woodburn, Tony Shalhoub, Tohuru Masamune, Whoopi Goldberg, Minae Noji, Abby Elliot, Madison Mason

Description: When a kingpin threatens New York City, a group of mutated turtle warriors must emerge from the shadows to protect their home.

Review: It started out as a parody, but the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turles became extremely popular in the 90s. Comics, a TV show, toys and their own movie.

The announcement of a new Michael Bay produced movie was received skeptical. It appeared that the turtles weren’t mutated turtles, but aliens. This was just a rumor, because the story stayed very close to the original. Although there are some adjustments here and there.

In “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” the turtles aren’t portrayed by professional fighters in costumes, but they are full CGI creations. But before we get to see them, we meet reporter April O’Neill, assisted by her cameraman Vernon. Wanting more excitement, April digs deeper into the whereabouts of the infamous Foot Clan, led by the evil Shredder. During her investigation, she discovers the turtles and their master Splinter.

The opening prologue is really impressive, in comic book style. The individual characters stay close to how they were intended: nerdy Donatello, leader Leonardo, joker Michelangelo and rebel Raphael. And they look pretty good, but there is a CGI overkill. Shredder looks different, more like he should be in one of the “Transformers” movies. And Splinter lost its original look as well. The story also feels uninspiring, but there is only a few directions you can go into with four giant turtles. But the budget was obviously spend on the action sequences. The movie also has lots of humor. I caught myself laughing a couple of times, because it really felt like the old cartoons again.

Megan Fox is great eye candy, but she hasn’t improved her acting since the “Transformers”. Will Arnett doesn’t really get a lot to do. His comedic talent was a little lost.

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” is entertaining, but not very good. If you are familiar with the cartoon from the 90s, you’re not completely satisfied, because it could have been a lot better. But it could also be a lot worse. It’s not as bad as I expected it to be.

Rating: 2,5/ 5