"You're going to regret that."

Did you know that those windup monkeys that clash the cymbals are called jolly monkeys? I did not .. .that was until I came across a low-budget slasher film called The Jolly Monkey. It's the feature film debut of writer/director Ryan Ebert. The film was obviously put together fast to capitalize on Stephen King and Osgood Perkins' The Monkey, which hit theatres early this year. It doesn't really share anything other than having a monkey in the title. Put together fast, it was. They shot this film in six days with a budget somewhere just under a hundred grand. I found the film also takes a little bit from last year's Imaginary by Jeff Ladlow. You really have many of the same story beats but with much less money than either of the other two films. That's going to be a problem. Let me tell you about it.

"The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests. The son of man hath nowhere to lay his head." I couldn't remember if it was from Luke or John, but it looked like I'd just joined a very exclusive club. It was Matthew, and reading the rest of the chapter before I fell asleep helped me get over the feeling I had when I watched almost everything I own go up in smoke. I tried to drown the rest of my thoughts in beer; that never really works. And the alcohol in my blood didn't make an August night in Boston any cooler. Actually I was being urban-renewed out of my office. I had to move uptown. Of course, uptown for me is still downtown for most people. My new place was at 357 Mass Avenue over a cheap cigar store and a florist specializing in day-old flowers at an office that used to belong to Madam Martino, a psychic."

If that psychic had still been in business, I wonder if she could have predicted the life of television icon Robert Urich.

"I'm telling you, it's empty nest syndrome. First Jess leaves for California. Then Torres volunteers to go deep under cover. And now McGee is applying for the Deputy Director position. Poor Parker. The man is alone." 

Mark Harmon as Gibbs was the soul of the NCIS franchise. When he finally called it quits after nearly 20 years, I have to admit I wasn't sure how much longer the show could go on. I mean, there has to be a reason for this kind of longevity. All of the spin-offs have now come and gone. NCIS: Hawaii has now ended.  NCIS: New Orleans shuttered its doors three years ago now after a mere seven years. The longest-running of the spin-offs was L.A., but even they have gone now after only 10 years.

“I read somewhere, thou shalt not steal. I think it was in the Bible, "Thou shalt not steal." That's not complicated, is it? But, if you do have a problem with that, you can always take it up with God, or Karl Marx, or the Kardashians, or anyone.”

Unfortunately, even Anthony Hopkins wasn’t enough to elevate this film beyond just an OK watching experience. A remake of a remake, Locked stars Hopkins as well as Bill Skarsgard, who I am convinced struggles with picking good movies to become attached to. Not saying that this is a shining example of those difficulties, but I doubt it will do anything to further his reputation in the industry. The film is a remake of the Argentine film 4x4 (2019), which was previously remade in Brazil as A Jaula (2022). Despite not being in the same room for the bulk of the film, I will say that the two played off one another quite well, which I attributed to both actors having significant stage presence. That aside, the film drew too many parallels to another psychological thriller franchise starring an enigmatic actor whose character had penchant for entrapping individuals who needed to learn a lesson.

"My dad used to say, wherever you go, there you are. I guess he was right. No matter how hard you try, or in my case, how far you go, you can't leave it all behind. There is no such thing as a clean slate. They're always there. They're always with you, the stories you've told. Hell, even worse, the ones you never could. This is a story I never tell."

Mark Harmon as Gibbs was the soul of the NCIS franchise. When he finally called it quits after nearly 20 years, I have to admit I wasn't sure how much longer the show could go on. I mean, there has to be a reason for this kind of longevity. All of the spin-offs have now come and gone. NCIS: Hawaii has now ended.  NCIS: New Orleans shuttered its doors years ago after a mere seven years. The longest-running of the spin-offs was L.A., but even they have gone now after only 10 years. I say only 10 years. For most shows a 10-year run is rarefied air.

"I can see the future. It's full of pals helping pals, and being a boss. I'm on the edge of life, and the view is gorgeous." 

Andrew DeYoung has actually been around for quite a little while. He's been directing television episodes a short features since around 2008. And so into every working director a feature film must eventually fall. For Andrew DeYoung it turns out to be the self-written feature film for A24, Friendship. He took a pretty safe route, choosing to work with an actor who has shown a pretty similar shade of dark comedy as Tim Robinson, who plays the lead and very tragic figure. If you've seen episodes of The Office, there's a lot of that kind of humor here. Of course it goes off the rails quite beyond anything you might have seen from the show or Tim Robinson.