Movie Review - Reptile

Director: Grant Singer
Genre: Crime/ Mystery/ Drama
Runtime: 134 minutes
Year: 2023
Starring: Benicio Del Toro, Alicia Silverstone, Justin Timberlake, Eric Bogosian, Michael Pitt
 
Description: Tom Nicols (Benicio Del Toro) is a hardened New England detective, unflinching in his pursuit of a case where nothing is as it seems and it begins to dismantle the illusions of his own life.

Review: In every scene of “Reptile”, a subcutaneous tension brews between the characters, all linked in one mystery: the question of who killed the victim Summer with thirty-three stab wounds. Seasoned detective Tom Nichols shuffles between the various suspects for more than two hours, making only slow progress.

Summer’s gruesome death gives Tom, played excellently by Benicio Del Toro, a second chance to prove himself as a detective. After being accused of corruption in Philadelphia, he has secured a spot in the Maine police ranks through his wife’s connections, where he is warmly welcomed by the local community of cops. It is now up to him and his partner Dan Cleary to work down the short but tricky list of suspects. Is it Will Grady, Summer’s partner in business and life? The ex-husband? Or the ‘village idiot’ Eli Philips?

With “Reptile”, director Grant Singer makes the transition from music videos to feature films, with his technical ingenuity in style and atmosphere evident. Like a monotonous hum a threat always lingers in the background of the film. The editing binds all the scenes together tightly and manage to steer the viewer into weighing the suspects. Singer’s  style is very reminiscent of that of David Fincher.

“Reptile” is a slow burn, so if that’s not your thing, you can pass on this. There ate many storyline woven into this film and few developments. The investigation continues to languish and the film shifts its attention to other matters. The depiction of friendship and grief within the U.S. police force give the characters a human edge that is missing from many similar films. But with too many side paths and too little development in the plit, Singer’s signature brooding  atmosphere quickly loses its allure.

It is Benicio Del Toro in the lead role that manages to keep “Reptile” afloat throughout its long runtime. He plays the role of hardened cop subtly with little barking and hard biting. When towards the end of the film the investigation hits closer and closer to home, he hardly needs verbal play to show his inner conflict to the viewer. it is due to him that “Reptile” is more than an occasionally uninteresting puzzle to crack for the viewer, but rather a harrowing dilemma to endure for a human being.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 114: Runner Runner

Director: Brad Furman
Genre: Thriller/ Crime/ Drama
Runtime: 88 minutes
Year: 2013
Starring: Justin Timberlake, Gemma Arterton, Ben Affleck, Anthony Mackie, John Heard, Bob Gunton

Description: When a poor college student (Justin Timberlake) who cracks an online poker game goes bust, he arranges a face-to-face with the man (Ben Affleck) he thinks cheated him, a sly offshore entrepreneur.

Review: In 2011 director Brad Furman scored unexpectedly with “The Lincoln Lawyer”, a strong thriller that boosted Matthew McConaughey’s career. The follow up movie “Runner Runner” is ambitious, but misses inspiration and feels mediocre.
Richie Furst is an ambitious young student and is introduced to quick money, beautiful women and luxury. But off course he is not made for a world like that and it gets him into trouble. Richie is played by Justin Timberlake and the boss he has to face is Ben Affleck. To pay for his college Richie gets his money by gambling online. But one day, he gambles it all away and he feels like he was cheated. Richie decides to find the man behind the website, Ivan Block, who lives in Costa Rica.
The way the story goes is very farfetched and feels illogical. The movie does have a good pace at the beginning. But the movie collapses pretty quickly. The movie is filled with clichés. And the acting isn’t all that great either. Justin Timberlake is not a good actor, especially not for a leading role like this.Ben Affleck I was never a fan of and in “Runner Runner” he didn’t win me over. Gemma Arterton has the thankless job to play the woman between the two men, when she has so much more to offer as an actress. And Anthony Mackie is also underused.
With all that, “Runner Runner” is extremely predictable. You just know what’s going to happen and you don’t really care either. “Runner Runner” is a mediocre thriller, that I will forget in an instant. Forgotten!

Rating: 2/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 153: Inside Llewyn Davis

Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Genre: Drama

Runtime: 105 minutes

Year: 2013

Starring: Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Adam Driver, Justin Timberlake, John Goodman, Garrett Hedlund, F. Murray Abraham, Alex Karpovsky, Max Casella, Ricardo Cordero, Ethan Phillips, Stark Sands, Jake Ryan

Description: A week in the life of the young singer Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) as he navigates the Greenwich Village folk scene of 1961.

Review: Llewyn Davis is a homeless singer songwriter fighting for his life as a musician. In a journey from one bar to another, he meets various people that all don’t know how to deal with the desolate songwriter. The film comes to life when John Goodman, as jazz musician Roland Turner, enters the story. With his sharp observations and arrogance he manages to illustrate the clash between folk and jazz in a hilarious way.

To make this movie not a standard film about music, the Coen Brothers added some typical Coen elements. Genius dialogues, intimate songs and perfects shots. Especially an absurd studio session where Llewyn joins a satirical evocation to president Kennedy, it has a definite Coen signature on it.

Oscar Isaac us very good as Llewyn Davis and he has a surprisingly good singing voice. The movie is not perfect, but The Coen Brothers made a great film. They can make a great story with the simplest material.

Rating: 4/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 16: Trouble with the Curve

Director: Robert Lorenz
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 111 minutes
Year: 2012
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams, Justin Timberlake, John Goodman, Robert Patrick, Matthew Lillard, Bob Gunton

Description: Gus (Clint Eastwood) is a baseball scout. The team he works for thinks he should retire. He asks them to let him do one more scouting job to prove himself. His friend, Pete (John Goodman), asks Gus’ estranged daughter, Mickey (Amy Adams), if she could go with him to make sure he's okay as his eyes are failing.

Review: A good curveball is one of the best weapons a pitcher can have and it’s a real challenge for the batter. “Trouble With the Curve” centers this learning process. We follow Gus, whose life is all about baseball. As the Atlanta Braves scout he travels through the country to find new talent. Because he’s aging, Gus gets one last chance to prove himself as an old-fashioned scout. His daughter Mickey joins him, she wants to look after him because his sight isn’t that good anymore.
Clint Eastwood plays a role that he has done before: a grumpy, stubborn old man. That worked for him in “Gran Torino” and “Million Dollar Baby”, but it’s gotten a little old. I do like these Eastwood characters though and his sarcastic humor. Amy Adams’ character is just loveable, I always like it when a strong woman enters a man’s world. The chemistry between Eastwood and Adams is great, you believe them as a father and daughter. Justin Timberlake on the other hand doesn’t really add anything to the story but predictability. And John Goodman wasn’t given enough screen time, because the scenes he had with Eastwood were really good.
Although baseball isn’t really my sport, the movie did interest me. It’s not one of the best and it’s certainly not very special, but it was enjoyable to watch.

Rating: 3/ 5

Movie Battle: No Stings Attached Vs. Friends with Benefits

Both movies came out around the same time and have similar themes. Two friends decide to have casual sex, without any feelings or complications.

CAST

No Strings Attached: I adore Natalie Portman, but I’m not so much an Ashton Kutcher fan. I have to say that this isn’t Portman’s finest hour though. Kutcher does what he knows best, look pretty and shallow. I don’t recall any other actors in this film. At least the didn't leave an impression on me.

Friends with Benefits: Again I love the female lead, I think Mila Kunis is amazing. She lights up a room, or in this case the screen. I like Justin Timberlake just as much as I like sauerkraut, which means not at all. He’s just not a very good actor. He should just stick to making music. Kunis and Timberlake do have awesome chemistry. Besides, some nice supporting roles by Patricia Richardson, Richard Jenkins, Woody Harrelson and Jenna Elfman and small appearances by Andy Samberg and Emma Stone.

STORY

No Strings Attached: Not very special, but because this was the one that came out first it’s the more original one I guess. I never laughed out loud though.

Friends with Benefits: This is a bit more explicit, visually and verbally. I also believe I laughed ones or twice. Especially because of Patricia Richardson, she’s hilarious.

EFFECTS

No Strings Attached: Again, not very special. I shows both Portman and Kutcher’s best features.

Friends with Benefits: The scene with the flashmob was shot very well, I actually liked that scene. But overall, everybody could have made this movie.

WINNER

They’re both not on my favorites list, but “No Strings Attached” bored me and “Friends with Benefits”didn’t.