Up first this week is Relay which stars Riz Ahmed, Lily James and Sam Worthington. For 95% of the movie I was really digging it. It’s a taut thriller with solid performances from Ahmed and James and then it decides to have an absolutely unnecessary twist that ruins it. James finds herself in trouble after taking some paperwork that makes her former company look bad. She hires Ahmed to be her go between to deal with the company and get them to leave her alone after she returns the files. Worthington is the company man with a team that keeps an eye on her and stalks her. Ahmed uses the relay communication system for deaf people to communicate and not be tracked. The lead performances hold your attention and you watch to see how it all ends. Then they add in a twist and man I was disappointed. I’m not sure how I would have ended it, but I wouldn’t have done that. I think Riz Ahmed is an underrated actor and Lily James is always solid, but that reveal completely took me out of the film.
Second we have the latest version of Smurfs. I grew up watching The Smurfs in the 1980s and had the toys and everything else, but there have been many adaptations since then. Rihanna voices Smurfette along with James Corden, Nick Offerman, Natasha Lyonne, Nick Kroll, Jimmy Kimmel, Octavia Spencer, Kurt Russell, John Goodman and more. It is directed by Chris Miller of The Lego Movie fame. I wish it was as good as those movies, but I’m also not the target audience for it. The movie was a box office disappointment and I see why. There is way too much going on and there are way too many new characters. As someone who grew up on the animated series, I don’t even know who half the characters are or why they tried to expand the Smurfs universe. Gargamel has a brother, Papa Smurf has a brother, there are other types of creatures. Maybe if your kids aren’t familiar with previous adaptations they will like it, but classic fans won’t know half of these characters. The animation is beautiful and kids will love the colors, but they definitely expected this to create a Minions/Despicable Me franchise and it won’t. I’m a grown man and will watch every Minions movie, but this isn’t something I’d watch again despite the voice cast. Maybe the under 8 crowd will be into it, but parents probably won’t be enjoying watching it with them especially those who grew up on the original or even the previous live-action/animated films.
Third we have Samurai Fury. This is a pretty fun Asian period flick with tons of violence and great costuming and set design. As famine sweeps the region and no one in power is doing anything about it, a wanderer takes a young man under his wings and they team up to rid the area of debt and bring the villages together. The training sequence is great and there is a ton of action, but that third act action set piece is just fantastic. There are hundreds of people fighting with swords, knives, martial arts, ladders and so much more. The third act climax is worth the price of admission alone. It’s a pretty classic storyline with the types of characters we’ve seen before, but the action makes it very watchable. The younger actor is someone I’ll have my eye on and everyone in the cast is very good. If you love Asian period action flicks you’ll really like this one. The backdrops are beautiful or dark when it needs to be dark. The costuming is top-notch as is the set design. But the film works and strives on its action. I definitely recommend this one.
John Carpenter’s In The Mouth Of Madness gets a Limited Edition 4K release this week. I probably haven’t seen it in 20 years and having watched this new 4K, I still don’t know if I understand it. That being said, I also kind of like it. A Lovecraft inspired story that could easily be a Stephen King story (and even references King) I don’t know if the movie has ever made a lick of sense to me. But you watch it for Sam Neill’s fantastic performance and the small town New Hampshire backdrop. Neill plays a man hired to investigate the disappearance of beloved author Sutter Cane. His fans are going crazy so Neill and Cane’s editor find themselves in New Hampshire in a small town that should only exist in the world of Cane’s novels. The people of the town are all Cane characters come to life and Neill and the editor have to figure out what’s going on. The “real” world around them is falling apart and Neill can’t figure out if he’s in his reality or elsewhere. I have no idea if other people understand it either, but it has a cult following as does most of Carpenter’s films. Even Neill sitting in the cinema towards the end of the movie has become a popular GIF. All that being said, as a Carpenter fan it’s one I’ve always wanted in my collection and the 4K looks fantastic especially small town New Hampshire. Add in great music by Carpenter and it sounds just as good. The 4K also comes with multiple commentaries, interviews, behind-the-scenes and more bonus features.
Also getting a Limited Edition 4K is Abel Ferrara’s Ms. 45. Another of Ferrara’s revenge thrillers, Ms. 45 is carried by a fantastic performance from Zoe Lund. She plays a mute seamstress who is raped twice in the same day. After killing her second rapist, she gets his gun and sets out to get revenge on the bad guys of New York. Her boss and co-workers aren’t sure what is wrong with her and she’s constantly being stalked by her nosy neighbor but the mute woman is dropping bodies with the .45. Fans of The Driller Killer and other Ferrara films will enjoy this if they aren’t familiar with it. I’m sure it has a cult following as do most of his films. Lund is very strong in her performance and her nun Halloween party costume is pretty iconic as well. The 4K comes with commentary, multiple interviews, featurettes and more.
The Nerds Templar 