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Friday, October 28, 2022
Review: Idris Elba and the Lion Be Beastin' in "BEAST"
TRASH IN MY EYE No. 65 of 2022 (No. 1877) by Leroy Douresseaux
Beast (2022)
Running time: 93 minutes (1 hour, 33 minutes)
MPA – R for violent content, bloody images and some language
DIRECTOR: Baltasar Kormakur
WRITERS: Ryan Engle; from a story by Jaime Primak Sullivan
PRODUCERS: Baltasar Kormaku, James Lopez, and Will Packer
CINEMATOGRAPHERS: Philippe Rousselot and Baltasar Breki (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Jay Rabinowitz
COMPOSER: Steven Price
THRILLER
Starring: Idris Elba, Iyana Halley, Leah Sava Jeffries, and Sharlto Copley
Beast is a 2022 wildlife thriller film from director Baltasar Kormakur. The film focuses on a widowed father and his two teenage daughters who must fight for survival after they are attacked and stalked by a rogue lion.
Beast opens in South Africa. Recently widowed Dr. Nathaniel “Nate” Samuels (Idris Elba) and his teenage daughters, Meredith “Mare” Samuels (Iyana Halley) and Norah Samuels (Leah Sava Jeffries), travel to South Africa for a vacation. They arrive at the Mopani Reserve where Nate reunites with his old friend and dear family friend, Martin Battles (Sharlto Copley), a biologist and manager of the Mopani Reserve.
Nate was recently widowed when his wife, Amahle, died of cancer, and he is somewhat estranged from his daughters. Mare is argumentative and rebellious, and Norah is sensitive. Both girls are bitter about the separation of their father and late mother prior to the latter's death. Nate hopes that this trip will help him to reconnect with his daughters.
On the second day of the trip, Martin takes the Samuels to the reserve's restricted areas. Along the way, they encounter an injured man that has apparently been mauled by a lion. That same lion attacks again, and suddenly, Nate and his daughters are trapped in their vehicle. Stranded in a remote area inside a damaged vehicle, Nate must find a way to save himself and his daughters from a bloodthirsty rogue lion that does not stop stalking its prey until it they are dead.
First, I wish that I'd seen Beast on a movie theater screen. Secondly, the mini-melodrama between Nate and his daughters did not interest me. I found Mare and Norah to be often irritating, and more than once, they made their plight against the lion worse. Beside that subplot, the film is well written. There are certainly enough death-defying moments to keep the viewer's attention on the film.
Still, Beast is very well directed and edited. As soon as Martin, Nate, Mare and Norah leave Martin's home, director Baltasar Kormakur begins turning up the heat. Before Beast becomes a full-on survival thriller, Kormakur makes it a riveting suspense thriller as the story moves about the reserve, visiting a local pride and moving on to a small village. That's where the movie explodes, and the rest of the way, Beast is a gripping, edge-of-your-seat thriller. Honestly, I feel like the film mesmerized me, and I certainly didn't think that I would end up liking it as much as I did … and still do. I can see myself watching it again.
In addition to having a great monster – the rogue lion, Beast also has a great actor and true movie star, Idris Elba, as its lead. Elba has that kind of big screen magic that can make the viewer want to vicariously experience a movie through him. I certainly found myself following his every step, living through the obstacles and threats to Nate Samuels' very life. Elba also convincingly plays a medical doctor and a loving and patient father, especially to two stubborn daughters. So Beast has a lion of an actor and movie star to go along with its killer super-lion. Both will make you feel as if you need to catch your breath, dear readers.
7 of 10
A-
★★★½ out of 4 stars
Friday, October 28, 2022
The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site or blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
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Sunday, September 11, 2022
Review: In "THE BLACK PHONE," the Children Answer the Call
TRASH IN MY EYE No. 52 of 2022 (No. 1864) by Leroy Douresseaux
The Black Phone (2022)
Running time: 103 minutes (1 hour, 43 minutes)
MPA – R for violence, bloody images, language and some drug use
DIRECTOR: Scott Derrickson
WRITERS: Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill (based on the short story “The Black Phone” by Joe Hill)
PRODUCERS: Jason Blum, Scott Derrickson, and C. Robert Cargill
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Brett Jutkiewicz (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Frédéric Thoraval
COMPOSER: Mark Korven
HORROR/CRIME/MYSTERY/THRILLER
Starring: Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies, E. Roger Mitchell, Troy Rudeseal, James Ransone, Miguel Cazarez Mora, Rebecca Clarke, Tristan Pravong, Brady Hepner, Jacob Moran, Banks Repeta, and Ethan Hawke
The Black Phone is a 2022 supernatural horror, mystery,and crime thriller from director Scott Derrickson. The film is based on the short story, “The Black Phone,” from author Joe Hill. The story was first published in the The 3rd Alternative No. 39, the Autumn 2004 issue of the former British horror magazine. The Black Phone the movie focuses on a teen boy who is abducted by a child killer and imprisoned in a basement where he starts receiving phone calls from a disconnected phone.
The Black Phone opens in North Denver, 1978. A presumed serial killer, nicknamed “The Grabber” (Ethan Hawke), has been prowling the streets of a particular Denver suburb and abducting teenage boys. Shortly after the film begins, a boy named Bruce Yamada (Tristan Pravong) disappears and is presumed a victim of The Grabber.
Teen Finney Blake (Mason Thames) lives in this North Denver suburb with his younger sister, Gwen Blake (Madeleine McGraw), and their abusive, alcoholic, widowed father, Terrence Blake (Jeremy Davies). At school, Finney is frequently bullied and harassed, but he has struck up a friendship with a classmate, Robin Arellano ( Miguel Cazarez Mora), who fends off the bullies. Then, the Grabber gets Robin.
Meanwhile, Gwen, who has psychic dreams like her late mother, dreams of a masked man who drives a van and kidnaps Bruce, leaving black balloons in his wake. Then, Finney has a violent encounter with the Grabber. Finney awakens in a soundproofed basement where the Grabber has imprisoned him. On the rear wall is a black rotary phone that the Grabber says does not work. The black phone is supposedly disconnected, but later, the phone rings. When Finney answers it, he here's a familiar voice – a voice of one of the Grabber's victims. Now, Finney must rely on the instructions of ghosts, his own shaky bravery, and (unknown to him) the dreams of Gwen if he is going to survive the murderous plans of a maniac.
I have not read the short story, author Joe Hill's “The Black Phone,” upon which this film is based. [I have read Hill's 2013 novel, NOS4A2, and his 2019 short story and novelettes collection, Full Throttle.] Not reading the short story did not stop me from enjoying The Black Phone the movie, for the most part.
It takes a bit to really get into the nonsensical scenario: a guy drives around in a pitch black van, snatching kids in the middle of the day, practically right out in the street, and no one sees a thing. However, co-writer/director Scott Derrickson and co-writer C. Robert Cargill thrive on generating scares out of ridiculous scenarios, such as in their 2012 creepy horror film, Sinister. Truthfully, horror films should not necessarily make sense; whether the film is driven by a killer, demonic possession, or haunting, horror films are a fantastic scenario. Scary movies should not be logical or perhaps, be somewhat illogical. Still, until the Grabber grabs Finney, I was not invested in the film, although I was already feeling some fear.
That said, the children are the stars of this film, especially the siblings, Finney and Gwen Blake. Finney tries to find answers in the mysterious phone calls he receives on the disconnected black phone. Gwen battles her own doubts even as she deals with an abusive father who is afraid of what will become of her and her abilities, to say nothing of the two police detectives who must come around to believing her visions.
The Black Phone is one of those times when both a boy and a girl come of age and undergo the heroic journey at the same time in the same movie. That makes the struggle and victory all the more satisfying. Mason Thames as Finney and Madeleine McGraw as Gwen are convincing as both the heroes and as the sensible ones. They make The Black Phone's last act visceral and invigorating, and dear readers, you will vicariously fear for your life, which makes the resolution so, so satisfying. It is rare that I cheer the end of a horror movie, but I did it for The Black Phone.
7 of 10
A-
★★★½ out of 4 stars
Saturday, September 10, 2022
The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.
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Amazon wants me to inform you that the affiliate link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the affiliate link below AND buy something(s).