There are certain filmmakers who are working today that when I hear about them working on a film I can’t help but get excited. Guys like Quentin Tarantino and Ridley Scott are a bit obvious, but for good reason. With the new wave of filmmakers a couple who come to mind are the Safdie brothers (Good Times and Uncut Gems), S. Craig Zahler (Bone Tomahawk, and Brawl in Cell Block 99), Gareth Evans (The Raid films), and then there is Jeremy Saulnier, who has previously knocked my knickers off with Blue Ruin and Green Room. Saulnier is one of those rare talents who knows how to capture the darkness in his characters and takes them to edge and puts them through some pretty hellish kinds of situations, but he manages to keep it all in the realm of reality where we as a viewer can feel everything we are watching could really happen. The way he depicts violence in his films is one aspect that makes it feel so real. He’s unflinching with bones breaking, stab wounds, or shootouts. This rawness he gives his films, and then there is the grittiness to the way he shoots his films. It can be a beautiful backdrop even inside a dying small town, but he’s able to slip in the grime of the characters or create an atmosphere where it feels as though violence can erupt at any moment. So when I first heard about Rebel Ridge, you bet I was excited, though I’ll admit I was disappointed it wasn’t getting a theatrical release and instead it was going straight to Netflix. Was it worth the wait?

I should also mention that the wait for this film was a long one. It was expected to start production in 2020, but because of COVID restrictions it got delayed to 2021. When I originally heard about the film it was going to have John Boyega in the lead role. Now I’ve been a fan of Boyega since I saw him in Attack the Block, so this was casting I was excited about, but then suddenly the film shut down and Boyega had left the film. Normally this kind of thing would kill a film production, but as it would turn out I feel it was a blessing in disguise, because the replacement was a relatively unknown, Aaron Pierre, to play the lead.  Aaron Pierre is what makes this film, and if he doesn’t become a star after this, that is a damn shame.

Every year there are a few gems that come along that surprise me. Last year, for instance, Perfect Days and Past Lives were a couple of my favorite films from last year. Now we still haven’t even entered award season, and there have been a few films I feel have been pretty great. Furiosa is one, and then there is Love Lies Bleeding, the violent sexual thriller from A24 I just didn’t see coming. I’ve heard some buzz on this one, but to be honest, having Kristen Stewart in it kind of turned me off. Sure, I liked her as the kid in Panic Room, but since then aside from Adventureland and American Ultra I just haven’t been that impressed. But with awards season coming up, I felt I needed to give this film a shot. Worst case scenario it’s at least less than two hours, so no big loss … Now that I’ve seen it, man, I’m kicking myself for waiting so long to see this. Love Lies Bleeding is this unexpected gift that as it continues to play it takes you on this unexpected journey through love and extreme violence that kind of feels like what would happen if the Coen brothers had a cinematic love child with David Cronenberg. Yes, it is that cool, queer, and weird all at once.

It is 1989, and Lou (Kristen Stewart) runs a gym in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico. Lou’s introduction isn’t a pretty one. It has her with her hand stuck in a toilet as she’s trying to unclog it. By the end of the film you’ll realize just how much of a visual metaphor this really is for the character, because throughout the film she is the one stuck trying to clean up everyone’s mess. Whether it is an abusive relationship, a girlfriend’s instability, or her father’s life of crime, Lou gets involved, and things just get really messy.

“The juice is loose.”

Michael Keaton is on quite the reunion tour of reprising his old roles, and for most actors stepping back into the role isn’t always easy. However, for Keaton, it is as if no time has passed whatsoever. Over thirty years since portraying this iconic role, Keaton returns as Beetlejuice, the trickster spirit who attempted to manipulate a marriage to Winona Ryder’s Lydia Deetz in order to gain a permanent foothold in the living world. Keaton isn’t the only one who returns in this well done addition to the ongoing trend of continuation series; Ryder returns as Lydia Deetz, Catherine O’Hara is back as Delia Deetz, Lydia’s stepmom, and most notably Tim Buron is back in the director’s seat for the sequel. Burton’s return is most pivotal addition in my opinion, as the first film was full of his unique style that would be impossible for another director to emulate. Also joining the franchise are Justin Theroux, Monia Bellucci, Danny Devito, albeit too briefly, and most appreciatively, Jenna Ortega, who previously and actively collaborates with Burton on the Netflix Series Wednesday, whose upcoming season I am anxiously awaiting.

In 1989 John Woo released The Killer, and it became an instant classic in Hong Kong cinema. The Killer and Hard Boiled were my introduction to John Woo and his Gun Fu cinema. The way he choreographed his shootouts it was like watching this beautiful bullet-fueled ballet and typically always shot in slow motion. When he came to the US, John Woo was able to find some success in the action genre, delivering hits like Broken Arrow and Face/Off. His career has kind of cooled off, and when they announced that Woo was going to be remaking The Killer, I’ll admit I hated the idea. It’s a movie I don’t feel can really be improved, but with Woo involved, I was still willing to give the film a chance. My concerns were pretty much confirmed when I heard about the casting and I saw this was going to be a straight-to-streaming release. Let me be very blunt; the 1989 version of The Killer is top-tier action, and it is a film that I feel just can’t easily be replicated, nor should it be. Unfortunately Hollywood just wants to reboot and remake everything … Now, bringing back John Woo to helm this film is just about the only thing I feel Universal got right, but at the same time I feel they just didn’t understand what they were doing with this property. This isn’t a film that should be just made for streaming; this is a film that deserves a little reverence. This should have been treated like a tent-pole release with a huge budget and A-list stars, because this could have been something special, but instead we got this forgettable film that has moments of fun, but mostly it falls flat.

The story is relatively simple. Zee (Nathalie Emmanuel) is an assassin hired to eliminate a room filled with targets, and in the process of completing her mission she ends up blinding Jenn (Diana Silvers), a singer. In a moment of pity, she lets the singer live, and this proves to be problematic decision for Zee, since no one was meant to survive. Finn (Sam Worthington) is Zee’s handler and was hired by a crime boss who’s had a large shipment of heroin stolen from him. The men Zee was hired to kill were apparently part of this large drug heist which was valued at $350 million. Then there is Inspector Sey (Omar Sy), who has recently killed a criminal who was connected to the drug heist, and this criminal also has ties to a Saudi prince. Sey discovers his case is connected to Zee, and the two have to reluctantly join forces so they can stay alive and solve his case.

Ever since I saw the Demon House documentary in 2018 I’ve kind of been obsessed with this story. It is one of the best documented stories of the paranormal out there with a number of witnesses, many of whom are government officials, and people who you would consider reliable. It was inevitable that a film would be done about this house, and it seems Lee Daniels (Precious and The Butler) is the guy who got the job. This story is one that took a while to bring to the screen, and what kind of blows my mind when it comes to bringing these “true stories” to life is that they find these fascinating stories and then decide to just change things and make them more “Hollywood”, and for the most part that is never a decision that improves the story (like was it necessary to change the location from Indiana to Pennsylvania?). So I’m going to just say that if you want the “true” story, check out the documentary. It is at least a nice companion to the film … As for my review of the film, I’m just going to focus as much as I can on the film and ignore the true story.

Ebony (Andra Day) is a single mother trying to raise her three kids while also trying to help out her mother, Alberta (Glenn Close), who is going through chemo treatments. Ebony is dealing with a drinking problem and some abuse towards her children and has Cynthia (Mo’Nique), a DCS officer, looking in on her. The first half of this film for the most part is about the family dynamic, their struggles to get along under the same roof and deal with their finances. Ebony is far from a likeable character. It is clear her intentions are good, but she is on the brink of falling apart … and then the paranormal stuff kicks in.