THE RHYTHYM SECTION

"The outcome isn't worth it" ...when you spit in the wind... In short, a slow linear revealing mystery thriller of a survivor's revenge Warm and cold Sepia hues against navy blue tones lit with as much natural sources of lights from fluorescent bulbs the sun and dusty lamps fill out the cinematography . Countryside London to Tangiers. The technical clinical cold vs emotional trauma hot journey is the mapped out narrative. It's a Two sided coin and double edged dagger, heads or tails, live or die, eat or be eaten. Lies and truth, they both hurt...who to believe or not to. There's a lot of spoken story, so be alert. Everyone is on point. Insecure frantic bold scarey Blake Lively Forward iron pants blokey Jude Law Engineery spidery Sterling K Brown Bring full tilted tight performances. The Director Reed Morano unfolds scenes aimed to make the journey of conundrums our own personal visceral experiences. She succeeds. Every grunty twerky battle is hard earned and thrusty Expectations no doubt will be crushed in attendees hoping for a new wonder woman/marvelavenger/high gadgetry/rebooted/Amazon/Xena/Rambo/john wickJames Bourne-Bond caliber femme fatale. Only diet of hormones physical boot camp can produce this in a mini time span...so what do you get when you have willpower vengeance as the underlying strength. This film. Is this possible? Yes. Psychological abilities do work. Look to recent terrorist simple methods of box cutters. It only takes steel nerves and a unprepared target. Lincoln, Kennedy's all perished this way, n'est past? Even a pinpoint prick with deadly radiation like that guy in England, or that simple Korean deadly welcome at an airport. Bobbitt's bits cut off. Ahhhh! Now its believable. Underestimation is an assassin's best cover. For example: nobody would think a 108 lb waify woman could be an assassin. Oh, like in this film. Touche! En guard! Motivation?: A woman's stereotyped victim/prey card is played by the Cliche beat down-downtrodden females always resort to drugs and prostitution as the fulcrum to jettison them to retaliatory revenge...contra a man's world its revenge for some family member, but only drink-drugs addicted never a sex-worker. Can you see a male prostitute in this role? Yet alas sexed up-down... sexdom has always been a weapon.(ay-yi-yi, really?) So.... When will I see you again? When will our hearts beat together? R we in luv or hate? Friends or enemies? ah, the dance of love or violence: fighting or sexing is as intimately close as you can get to another human... so no doubt there will be sequels for this team. It's a simmering film and a different type of action skills required no kung foolery here spartan lean and instinctual. Its likable. And for that this vunerable thoughty thriller is a pleasant flippy changed up film to see. Once u become an assassin, U too become the hunted. A two sided coin. There's no early retirement here. Pick someone you like and make a bet.

DOOLITTLE

Polly doesn't ask for a cracker Everybody has something to contribute Fins, Feathers, Fangs, and Hooves maybe the armor but underneath is a thinking and feeling being/soul to be respected and not to be exploited by humans. Instincts and no brains. In this type of animal world, the narrative of "what does it take" to accepting personal grief when loss overwhelms. Placing your attention on he needs of others, human or animal...a critical healing shift happens when our hands and minds engage to help heal others. We forget our loss and pain in concentration on others. Selflessness. In the midst of a romantic estate in some 18th century type monarchy kingdom place, purpose, expectations, duty press up against each other causing friction and jealousy and forced friendships and the theme of this adventurous quest. The relaxed visuals of dandelion spores parachuting and salty zephyrs in natural vistas, not a fairy tale backdrop. Not to say "otherworldly fantasticalities do not occur, they do but naturalistically and not contrived. Pointedly, Robert Downey Jr downplays quirky and eccentricity. A matter-of-fact portrayal that makes the animation authentic life not a fantasy or curio. He's more "in here" than "out there". The animated animals are strong support and bring ample personalities instead of cartooning stereotypes. Here is a community. There is no superior ceo human bossing nature around. Coexistence, respect and they like each other. The Director Writer Stephen Gaghan painstakingly brings nuanced emotions and physical dynamics to flesh out each scene. It's not a bunch of zoo animals braying, clucking. It has great care. A child can be a child, asking sincere questions at the same time being silly. This is the magic touch on this screen. No question is a dumb question. And teamwork makes the dreams work. Adventurous, laughs, action that is appropriate for kids and if so inclined can bring even their parents. a smart savvy many layered film for all generations that has many life situations to strike up a conversation about. enjoy your crackers.

THE TURNING

A Thouroughbred's place and priviledge "You do your job bc, "its not my job"" In a word --Spooky kids play spook the governess. A "B Film" minted and framed in retro 1980 edges, with old school bumps, jolts, hooting owls, eerie alternative angst songs, cracking clapping thunder, misty foggy formal gardens, whispering whispers, knocks, self-locking windows/doors...sexually frustrated... You ask yourself "am I really experiencing these weirdy weird that defy physics " ; is this for real...but you can take it cuz u want to be useful in this world. Beautifully shot in chilly lavender, greygreeny tones in a stately huge east wing west wing wall paneled 18th century monolithic manor. Classic sharp contrasted lighting casting shadows. Obviously this place is haunted and supernaturally alive, by the dead and the living; It's called bratty kids and the ghosties need a spanking. It is suspenseful and psychotic and tyrannical. Let me taunt you, bebe. The acting is good. Strong deliveries by Mackenzie Davis grounded flighty empathetic skills breathe life into a hard type of role to portray, Finn Wolfhard gives his teenager the right snap of the whip smart snark and Brooke Prince broody moody happy go lucky tite...holds you to the story. The ephemeral script is on target The directing is good. --A lot of stylized lyric choices that were made by the Director Floria Sigismondi were done for vision texture for this elusive gossamer concrete fluid ride- It's an hallucinatory artsy narrative. The mysterious ending is exactly what the doctor/director ordered. Even in real life, all things don't match up, so why should a film. If you can get past that; you will like this. If you need definitivity...you won't. The paranormal finale is presented like "The Scream" painting by Norwegian Edvard Munch... in themes of what has happened, happening, will happen...or what hasn't happened Not a gory slashy and running horrory flick, Who is this for? People who don't listen to their inner voice and save themselves People who second guess themselves People who don't get out when the house says get out. People who like games. This is a B film but a good B film that gets A good B+. Finally, This is the World of the Living, clap back at everything else! FYI Leave the Dead to the Dead --the Dead left necessary things, aspects and relations/ships) here when you don't have a body you don't need food and clothes so this World is for those who only have a body... life is challenging complicated enough without dealing with the "dead realm" forget about getting involved with the dead realm do you best with the living, cherish the good memories if there are and forget everything else.

UNCUT GEMS

A house is not a home if there is no heart there.

A Horse?! A Horse! My Kingdom for a Horse!

This topclass hardcore brilliant film captures aggressive-passive humans who cross all boundaries and believe in only in their own individual power, their own individual culture, their own abilities in making brokering breaking every kind of deal there is for themselves. 

Out solely for furnishing their own world. They are full of themselves up to their ears.
And the People who surround them are their abettors.
Yes it's very ugly but to be fair, its not criminal or crooked.

The Cinematography
Serious graphic bowels of the Earth and colonoscopy
collide socially politically morally and...somberness
All frazzly as stark naked as can be...
All places that you instantly know or instantly have seen without a lot of frou-frou, so understated that its seamless 

Your house, Your job, your neighbor's house, etc. well worn recognized pathways.

The musical score opens with a rumble and rumbling, 

a Captain Nemo organ synthesizer vibrates out moody musak. 
A whole wonky woolly emotional pallet is thusly created and churns the inner regions of our stomachs and brains
Like a techno space blues mash up
vibrating throbbing twangy piped-up notes
The murmuring music lures us inside the nauseating guts of these humans.

If you love Adam Sandler Comedy, this is human tragedy comedy at its best. 

The cracked humour of  "how low can you go"  

You cant call it absurd. At least one moment in you life we were him. Negotiating something like Love Marriage Kids Money. Or your friends were him. Mom or Dad.

Locked in His Head, his spasmic breathing Sandler's bravatura skills, pulls you into his nervousness insanity risky hammering tenacious reality. 

And in his perpetual dog-paddling-peddling, this "can't-swim-man"  will drown you if you try to save him from drowning. His character is the male character to the female lead in "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" They create realities which destroy.

And yes, the Cast is terrific. You love them. You hate Them. You identify with them. Unbearable committed performances. There is nothing  romantic trustworthy, yet there is romance and trust.

The Writing brutal, raw conversations you see from afar but never heard.True life action that makes you cringe. Rough  Rough and Rougher

The directing and editing is so composed that you never get off the edge of your cliff. Masterly.
The Untouchable Team Directors  Josh and Benny Safdie get a hold of you like a shark bite.
Penetrating all your emotions.
simmering crackling explosive hair triggers
everybody pops and snaps and whimpers

 Now who is this "A++"  film for? 
Its for Filmanistas, and People who live in a competitive world.
Its not for weak tea drinkers.
It will take you to Saturn.
Everyone should go and learn, this is what happens behind the biggest deals, scenes, politics, governments... a microcosm of the macrocosm.
The Art of the Negotiators.

In a word: 

1) Don't lend money or give anything you need.
2) Don't be the monkey on your own back.
and
3) Cat and Dawg don't have same luck...aw, they really don't

UNDERWATER

Escape to the bottom of the sea Drip? is that a drip?! ...isn't there enough water in here already? This Excellence Tight A+ Escapist "B Film" is about keeping the buddy system in an event/happening no matter the operation especially when the odds are stacked against you; especially when your crew has monochromatic expertise and has no crossover hybrid skills and In disasters, man-made or natural. Cinematography every shot is a lavish mood, fantastical beautiful and foreboding and the set. The industrial walls tiled avocado green, tube-like infinity corridors with scientific thingamabobs thrusting out the jabbering ineffectual computer. It's Perfect, so convincingly perfect that a normal person would be heads up or down about living in it. Bottom of the sea-ie, Watery, Murky, Claustrophobic, florescent lights blink on and off, high pressurized clunky scuba gear... puddles moisture wet Some would call it home Some would call it a grave. Ah, Production values today are the bestest ever. With a slow droney cello strings, the music plays out Long notes in pulses of thump thump and thump and never lets up. Like a heart in an ER, fighting to live. In this timeless realm, lots of action and struggles galore, surface through out the narrative. Don't be late, the opening credits are the important setup prologue. Hang on tight, the dialogue is non-stop glub glub glub underwater panicky yammering with breathing No one can catch their breath a deep shallow stressy breath followed by another deeper shallowier gaspier breath. Are they in labour? Did they finish a 10k run? Is their house on fire? Are they snogging? Nope, no and naw. They are just scary-scared. Do they just holler! No, they just shallow breath more. There is real funny funky wide eye sarcasm - "I might live/ I might die.. " tawkie-talk strung through that's on target. That's the nice grease. The smug smucky yucks. It all twerks. The acting is what you know in a sci-fi film but Kristen Stewart and Vincent Cassel hold your eye. Is it camera work? Stewart is believable so is Cassel. Without them this would go straight to streaming. Stewart is chipping away to be a stand-alone action star. She definitely has the chops and the looks like a snappy twenty-something Clint Eastwood Dirty Harry. She needs a "Make My Day... I'll be back... Yabba-dabba-doo" indelible phrase. And She's ready for that wink-wink connect to the audience to break through the 3rd wall. Cassell brings old school 70's style, like an Old Spice old fashioned shave with a razor. He looks and behaves like He got Moby Dick 3 years ago, took a bath, cleaned up and sexed up with 80's Calvin Klein cologne. They're both good. Director William Eubank tells a clear cut progressive thriller. Brings you around and tells a complete visual story board narrative from all angles. All his shots, povs, are intimate and revelatory. We care about this crew bc they care about each other. Now Relax if you can get pass this -- No one gets put in a high tech environment without rehearsing emergency protocols. -- Then: You will enjoy this fantasy film. Films are fantasies. This is Escapade Fantasy Genre... In the moment situations...instincts driven Look at real life to see how smart people behave in an earthquake If you're a strict techy-tech, save your lunch money, stay home, and rewire your hard drive. You will call this a movie, not a film. Final thoughts My takeaways are: If you're 5 feet in the pool and If you don't know where your going, any road will take you there So leave all road kill on the road Suit up Get your drip drip on and "Look forward...and connect to the experience." Enjoy the ride