film reviews, interviews, features | BRWC

Author: Matt Conway

  • Blacklight: The BRWC Review

    Blacklight: The BRWC Review

    Blacklight Synopsis: Travis Block (Liam Neeson), a shadowy government agent who specializes in removing operatives whose covers have been exposed, uncovers a deadly conspiracy within his own ranks that reaches the highest echelons of power.

    With the new year underway, it’s no surprise that the Liam Neeson action movie locomotive continues to press forward. Everyone by now knows about Neeson’s transition from sturdy character actor to relentless action star, with Neeson balancing an eclectic blend of straightfaced thrillers (The Grey and Run All Night) and campy action romps (The Commuter and Non-Stop) across the last 13 years. 

    Despite the roaring success, the star’s action movie empire is starting to run out of gas. Forgettable Redbox fodder like The Marksman and Honest Thief represented an unfortunate turn away from the high-concept projects that morphed Neeson into an action movie fixture in the first place. Heck, even Neeson himself is starting to hint at his retirement from these familiar everyman roles. Before that happens, Neeson is back on the big screen with the political conspiracy thriller Blacklight. 

    Repurposing a narrative centered around political malpractice into the action movie mold is a promising enough concept for writer/director Mark Williams (who co-wrote the screenplay with Nick May). Unfortunately for Neeson (and the audience), Blacklight represents another run-of-the-mill actioner stuck in autopilot. 

    Williams, who also crafted the pleasant yet banal Honest Thief, continues to struggle in his transition to the big screen (he’s most known as the creator of the smash streaming success Ozark). His direction discerns no distinctive traits, often relying upon cheap stylistic gimmicks and flat shot selections in a desperate attempt to conjure some momentum. Unless you consider gunshot flashes or cheaply-produced quick edits exciting, Blacklight will likely put most action fans to sleep with its played-out setpieces. The car chases are uneventful in their simplistic design, while Neeson’s hand-to-hand fights suffer from constantly hiding the obvious stunt double in his place. 

    Blacklight’s political intrigue feels equally weightless. While Honest Thief’s robber-with-a-heart-of-gold B-plot presented some charm in its low-key approach, Willaims seems way over his head in trying to convey the revolving intrigue of political corruption. Blacklight never meaningfully engages with its central conceits, utilizing its zeitgeist ideas as a vapid platform for thrills without much care. There are a few intriguing wrinkles throughout – like Travis’ OCD mannerisms representing an over dedication to his craft and a journalist trying to maneuver the industry’s crooked undertones- yet Williams either doesn’t know or doesn’t care to incorporate actual complexion into these plot threads. 

    Everything combines to make a remarkably middling endeavor. Williams lays out a predictable web of twists and turns that constantly lags one step behind the audience. Fittingly enough, Neeson’s onscreen presence seems just as unenthused as the viewers stuck watching the film. The star isn’t necessarily bad in his everyman role, but it’s the type of stern macho-man we’ve seen Neeson run his course playing. 

    Blacklight represents another disappointing step down in quality and creativity for Neeson’s action star tenure. Even as a diehard fan of disposable actioners, I think it may be time for Neeson to call it a career as a man with a “particular set of skills.”

    BLACKLIGHT opens in theaters on Friday. 

  • Moonfall: The BRWC Review

    Moonfall: The BRWC Review

    Moonfall Synopsis: The world stands on the brink of annihilation when a mysterious force knocks the moon from its orbit and sends it hurtling toward a collision course with Earth. With only weeks before impact, NASA executive Jocinda “Jo” Fowler teams up with her disgraced former partner Brian Harper and an overlooked conspiracy theorist K.C. Houseman for an impossible mission into space to save humanity.

    Aside from the occasional period piece (The Patriot and Annonymous), director Roland Emmerich’s heart lies within the carnage of big-budget B-movies. Emmerich continues to morph the tenants of disaster movies and other shlock subgenres into his vast visual framework, successfully reigniting old-school sensibilities with the 1996 classic Independence Day before following up with the equally dopey The Day After Tomorrow and 2012. 

    Emmerich doesn’t always hit that shameless guilty-pleasure itch (I’m looking at you 10,000 B.C.) – but when he does – he enriches one of cinema’s traditioned sources of uproarious entertainment in his own bombastic light. The director’s latest endeavor, Moonfall, finds audiences amidst the starry celestial sky as a sinister force sends the moon on a crash course towards earth. While mileage will vary, I found myself instantly won over by Emmerich’s endearing brand of popcorn entertainment. 

    Like past Emmerich projects, Moonfall possesses a self-aware understanding of its intentions without ever winking at the audience. Screenwriters Harald Kloser and Spenser Cohen aid the director in crafting a film that embraces implausibility at every turn. The screenplay skillfully walks a tight high-wire act of ridiculousness as the film continues to double-down on its B-movie logic, including a third-act twist that’s so out-of-this-world that it would take me a few paragraphs alone just to explain it. 

    Many will not be pleased by Moonfall’s eye for pie in the sky goofiness, yet it’s that exact cheeky energy that makes the film work so well as a piece of big-budget camp. With nearly a dozen big-budget offerings under his resume, Emmerich briskly guides audiences along from setpiece to setpiece with a cognition understanding of the tone and atmosphere he sets to accomplish. 

    The director remains an impressive craftsman in his visceral splendor, successfully conjuring moments of earth-crushing destruction and high-flying chases with a skilled balance of dread and edge-of-your-seat thrills. In a climate where shaky cam and murky CGI visuals are the norms, Emmerich’s favoring of wall-to-wall scale and bright imagery serve as welcoming avenues for blockbuster thrills. Moonfall delivers those thrills in droves, rarely halting its pace as Emmerich throws an array of exciting setpieces at the screen. 

    When the action isn’t onscreen, Emmerich’s brand of cheesy melodrama takes center stage. I’ve always found the director’s penchant for human B-plots kind of endearing. As our characters wrestle with world-ending implications, they still have to unwind the familial drama and personal struggles that inhabit their day-to-day lives. 

    The writing isn’t particularly clever or original, but it serves its exact purpose of providing a human rooting interest to ground the continual carnage. A strong core cast helps mask the inherent corniness, with Patrick Wilson and Halle Berry presenting enough sturdy presence and charming charisma to carry the unevenness. Game of Thrones star John Bradley also adds some quirky humor as an oddball scientist who cracks the truth about the falling moon. 

    For viewers who can stomach some cliches and Emmerich’s penchant for goofiness, Moonfall is an utter delight. It was oddly refreshing to see a film that’s so dopey and sincere in its big-budget pursuits. Even as his style remains critically maligned, Emmerich’s voice continues to amplify the nostalgic joys of old-school B-movies. 

    MOONFALL is now playing in theaters. 

  • The 355: The BRWC Review

    The 355: The BRWC Review

    The 355 Synopsis: CIA agent Mason “Mace” Brown (Jessica Chastain) joins forces with a rival German agent (Diane Kruger), a cutting-edge computer specialist (Lupita Nyong’o), and a Colombian psychologist ( Penélope Cruz) when a top-secret weapon falls into the hands of a group of mercenaries. Together, the four women embark on a breakneck mission to save the world while staying one step ahead of a mysterious figure who’s tracking their every move.

    Featuring an ensemble of elite actresses, The 355 continues the welcomed trend of diversifying the action genre’s macho-man masculinity. As someone who rummages through nearly every disposable actioner (including whatever garbage Bruce Willis keeps putting out on VOD), it’s been a joy to witness the genre’s continual evolution as it still successfully honors its guilty pleasure formula. 

    Jessica Chastain, Diane Kruger, Lupita Nyong’o, and Penélope Cruz are more than deserving of their own franchise, but The 355 rests far below their talents. Like a factory-assembled product destined for forgettable TV viewings, The 355 is disinterested in energizing the genre’s core tenants. 

    In his journey from producing and writing to directing, Dark Phoenix director Simon Kinberg struggles to inject much presence behind the camera. Kinberg’s film features a glossy competence streak with its wide-ranging vistas and traditional spy staples – although the general steadiness goes completely out the window when the action scenes arrive on screen. 

    Paired with an over-abundance of shaky-cam edits and flat shot selections from Cinematographer Tim Maurice-Jones, the action inspires more snores than it does thrills. Each shootout feels weightless in its lack of steaks and hard-hitting impacts. The woefully-choreographed fistfights elicit even more of an eyesore, spinning viewers in circles of disorienting frames that only work to confuse audiences. Kinberg’s flavorless vision of these elements doesn’t do the film any favors either, with the director rarely leveraging much engagement through the setpiece’s aggressively by-the-numbers design. 

    The screenplay is similarly thankless in its construction. Kinberg and Theresa Rebeck present some merits in their well-meaning attempts, particularly in a desire to give these characters room to develop between the chaotic gunfights. That said, the execution never imbues these characters with the agency they deserve. Stuck inside a narrative driven by predictable cliches, each actress is left playing a thankless amalgam defined by one or two personality traits. Attempts at unearthing textures under their action figure design fall woefully flat as neither writer conveys the nuance they desperately seek to incorporate. 

    I applaud the cast for keeping the material afloat, but I am unsure of what drew them to this material. Aside from Penélope Cruz – who sparks some humanity and personability as a psychologist thrust into a dangerous situation – no one in the cast is allowed to emanate anything past their solemnly-worn self-seriousness. Action movies have progressed past these types of emotionless heroines. I wish writers, directors, and producers would try harder to incorporate their cast’s distinct strengths rather than straddling them with thankless roles. 

    While never dreadful, The 355 is the type of disposable shlock destined to become a forgettable January footnote. By the time the film gets to its inevitable and entirely meaningless sequel tease, audiences will likely have already checked out of this generic spy effort. 

    The 355 is now playing in theaters. 

  • The King’s Man: Review

    The King’s Man: Review

    The King’s Man Synopsis: As a collection of history’s worst tyrants and criminal masterminds gather to plot a war to wipe out millions, Orlando Oxford (Ralph Fiennes) and his team of well-trained peers (Gemma Arterton as Polly and Djimon Hounsou as Shola), must race against time to stop them.

    In a climate where big brands remain king, writer/director Matthew Vaughn admirably dedicates himself to the lesser-known allures of The Kingsman franchise. Vaughn and his stylistically kinetic stamp continue to reinvent the cult Mark Millar comic series for a modern audience, borrowing influences of campy, globe-trotting espionage James Bond entries with technical aplomb. While the results garner mixed responses, I appreciate Vaughn and his team for crafting an energized, unapologetically R-rated franchise that walks its own distinct path in the Hollywood marketplace. 

    The franchise continues to grow with the prequel/spin-off, The King’s Man. Set amidst the trials and tribulations of World War I, Vaughn embraces a new time period in an attempt to expand his dramatic scope. Despite Vaughn’s spirited aspirations, The King’s Man suffers from a severe case of tonal confusion. 

    Still, I give Vaughn credit for not sticking straight to the series’ blend of shlocky, highly-stylized carnage. With the new period setting, the writer/director intelligently attempts to depict the 1910’s lingering political incompetence. Brash caricatures stand in place for storied historical figures, with Vaughn repackaging his zany energy into an occasionally sharp farce of corruption and government malpractice. It helps that Vaughn solidifies his critiques with genuine moments of weight. In a reflexive change-of-pace, some of the film’s stylized action articulates the senseless cruelty of war rather than indulging in its verbose violence. 

    All of Vaughn’s new wrinkles add a layer of intrigue to The King’s Man, but the writer/director can’t quite walk the tonal high-wire act he attempts. In an attempt to infuse dramatic undertones within his energetic espionage formula, Vaughn finds himself in a bizarre middle ground. The script’s dramatic connotations lack thematic or emotional impact, often bludgeoning its insights home without dramatic grace. Blended with a cocktail of madcap staples from the franchise, The King’s Man and its vision feels like a dissident shadow of the bright, creative spark behind its predecessors.

    With the paternal dynamic between the cocksure Eggsy and the lovably suave Harry notably absent, The King’s Man struggles to invest in its new array of characters. Ralph Fiennes and the skilled cast of character actors certainly try to imbue charisma, but the undercooked screenplay fails to develop meaningful character dynamics. The busy narrative never takes enough breathes to grow the ensemble in their roles. Slapdash attempts at an emotional bond between Oxford and his son lands with a saccharine splat on the face. Side characters render into little more than meaningless action heroes, as Vaughn never injects proper purpose into his cliched narrative elements. 

    Even an energetic third act can’t save The King’s Man from losing its distinct pulse. While well-intended, Vaughn and company struggle in their attempts to steer the franchise towards new pasture. 

    The King’s Man is now playing in theaters. 

  • West Side Story: The BRWC Review

    West Side Story: The BRWC Review

    West Side Story Synopsis: An adaptation of the 1957 musical, West Side Story explores forbidden love and the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds.

    Steven Spielberg’s career exists on its own plateau of excellence, with few craftsmen equalling his output of storied cinematic staples. From the blockbuster thrills of Jurassic Park and Minority Report to the hard-hitting pathos behind Saving Private Ryan and Lincoln, Speilberg continues to skillfully shift through genre sensibilities while still imbuing his trademark eye for sentimental magic. 

    Spielberg’s latest cinematic challenge is reimagining the 1961 revered musical West Side Story. Based on Stephen Sondheim’s 1957 musical, both films tell a tale of bigotry and misunderstanding akin to classic Shakespear. As the impoverished white gang, the Jets, and the disenfranchised Latino gang, the Sharks, battle for control of their turf amidst continual gentrification, ex-Jet Tony (Ansel Elgort) and sister of the Sharks’ leader Maria (Rachel Zegler) begin to fall in love. 

    Anyone who has read Romeo and Juliet or seen the story adapted previously likely knows where the story goes from here. However, that innate familiarity miraculously disappears under Spielberg and company’s skilled cinematic touch. West Side Story reinvigorates its root with immaculate craftsmanship and a renewed sense of purpose, injecting a much-needed modern lens into the story’s timeless tale of civil and racial divide. 

    Spielberg and his longtime Cinematographer Janusz Kaminski create a true feast for the senses behind the camera. The static imagery and traditional choreography of its predecessor exchange for a newfound visceral vitality – with each frame displaying impeccable detail and an effervescent color pallet. The new dances numbers also pop with more dynamic choreography. An emphasis on more expressive actions allows the characters to express their burdened sentiments without relying upon overly-expository dialogue. It could have been easy for the grander visual profile to feel like an example of style over substance, but the duo thankfully utilizes the techniques to heighten the emotional undertones of the narrative. 

    In his adaptation of Arthur Laurents’ stageplay, Lincoln screenwriter Tony Kushner imbues his stamp of modern touches. The addition of Rita Moreno as the sage business owner Valentina offers a reflective lens to illustrate the unfortunate pattern of racial divide, while the decision to make Anybody a transgender character adds a thoughtful depiction of modern LGBTQ inequalities. Unlike several remakes, Kushner’s new touches serve as welcomed additions that intensify timely depictions of prejudice and unwarranted bigotry. 

    While the film excels in most facets, the cast left me feeling oddly divided. Ariana DeBose expressively conveys Anita’s blend of lively joy and exasperated frustration with her broken environment. Mike Faist displays exuberance as the Jets’ wise-cracking leader with self-aware acceptance of his melancholic fate. Unfortunately, it’s the stars who fail to match the awards-worthy supporting players. Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler are stiff in their dialogue deliveries and lack the passionate chemistry to sell the film’s star-crossed lovers. 

    A few unremarkable performances can’t stop Speilberg from crafting his best feature in over a decade. West Side Story discovers dynamic new avenues to build upon its storied predecessors in an all-too-relevant musical tragedy. 

    West Side Story is now playing in theaters.