Dark Skies (2013)

 

Upon watching this film I learned that certain species of aliens are called greys which is apparently a real term and the premise of this film is that they’ve always been among us.

There are those who believe strongly in the existence of aliens, yet most horror films focus on ghosts or possessions. Needless to say making a horror film where the source of the scares comes from aliens is an interesting premise. I’m not saying that an alien horror film has never been done before, but because it’s not done often, there are a lot of interesting and refreshing ways to bring in the scares.

Unfortunately this film doesn’t quite succeed in doing that. The film is set in an unremarkable suburb of the US and only one family is tormented by the extraterrestrial visitors.

The family is struggling despite initial appearances. Daniel (Josh Hamilton) is between jobs and seems to be the only one aware how behind they are on their mortgage payment, Lacy (Keri Russel) is a realtor who is struggling to sell an outdated house, and older son Jesse (Dakota Goyo) has started to hang out with an older, troublesome boy.

Things only start to get worse when younger son Sammy (Kaden Rockett) starts to experience unexplained phenomena. The family will find a mess in the middle of the night, he’ll black out and start doing things without realizing he’s doing them. The alarms in the house will go off with no signs of break ins and dogs will bark while all this is happening.

Little by little the rest of the family starts experiencing things, too. Lacy also blacks out and doesn’t remember what happened during a six hour block of time. Daniel has found a strange rash behind his ear and three different flocks of birds crash into their house at the same time.

The film thankfully doesn’t rely completely on jump scares. The director tries to build tension and suspense, but ultimately the true scares come from the few jump scares. The initial glimpses of the aliens are creepy. As a horror film though it’s just not scary. The performances from the entire family are great though.

The actors do truly make you believe they are experiencing the things they are. The teen characters are horribly written though and it’s clear the writer thinks that that’s how real teenagers talk. The film has an interesting premise, but ultimately falls flat. It did pass the time, though so in terms of mindless entertainment it does its job. 

Goldie (2019)

 

“Goldie” stars Slick Woods as the titular character who is trying to make her dreams come true while trying to keep her youngster sisters safe. It’s a heartbreaking film full of hard truths and the disillusionment that can come with your dreams. The film is full of bright colors that perfectly contrast the darker tones of New York City. 

Goldie is an eighteen year old who dreams of dancing in a music video. She lives in a shelter with her mom Carol (Marsha Stephanie Blake), her two younger sisters (Jazmyn C Dorsey and Alanna Renee Tyler-Tompkins) and her mom’s boyfriend (Danny Hoch). Goldie likes to think she is ready to face the world, but like most teens she isn’t. Goldie is fierce and strong and loves her sisters deeply.

Her life isn’t ideal, but things get worse when her mom is arrested for selling drugs and she and her sisters take to the streets before child services can take them. Goldie begins searching for ways to make money while looking for places she and her sisters can stay. The money is to be spent on a yellow fur coat for the music video of an artist named Tiny (A$AP Ferg) which is going to be her big break. You frequently see Goldie in her full music video attire in glamorous flashes throughout the film.

The fur coat is expensive and Goldie begins selling her mother’s prescription pills in order to raise the cash she needs to buy it. Along the way Goldie turns to her former teacher Janet (Edwina Findley Dickerson), her former coworker Eli (George Sample III), her father Richard (Gbenga Akinnagbe) and her on/off boyfriend José (Jose Rodriguez) for help. Most of them tell her to seek child services, but determined to keep her sisters by her side she refuses most of the help offered to her especially since the music video will allow her to start a new life with them.

Everything from the technical aspects to the performances are done beautifully. Slick Woods is great balancing Goldie’s naïveté with strength. Goldie doesn’t have a solid plan to move her and her sisters forward, but you want her to succeed despite it all. She’s tough and not someone to be messed with, but there’s a charm and vulnerability to Goldie making her memorable.

A Whisker Away (2020)

 

This was an odd film to say the least. To be honest, I’m not quite sure how I feel about it. The plot revolves around a young girl who gains the ability to turn into a cat. She then proceeds to use that power to grow closer to her crush. It is a coming of age story and while the characters’ ages can partly explain their behavior there were some things I couldn’t get behind.

Miyo (Mirai Shida) is an odd girl given the nickname Muge by her classmates. She doesn’t have many friends and is more of an outsider. She has an obnoxiously huge crush on Hinode (Natsuki Hanae). She greets him each morning by bumping butts with him. He ignores her, but any word muttered in her direction causes her to swoon.

As I said, obnoxious to the point of it being unhealthy. Her home life is not much better off. The film begins in flashbacks that happen fast almost confusingly. Her father has recently remarried and the mom who abandoned her now wants a relationship with her. It’s understandingly a lot for a middle school girl to deal with.

It turns out that Miyo meets a mask seller who sells her a cat mask. When she puts on the mask, she turns into a cat allowing her to visit Hinode any time he wants. Hinode adopts Miyo and calls her Taro. He relies on this cat to get him through the difficulties he’s facing at home.

It’s kind of awkward to see a cat deriving so much pleasure from the human boy giving her so much love and attention. That’s my main problem with the film: Miyo has an unhealthy obsession with Hinode and it’s hard to root for them to end up together. It’s a shame because seeing Miyo and Hinode deal with their respective home lives is much more interesting and had they relied on each other to cope without the use of cat transformation, I wouldn’t feel so mixed about the film.

As things get more and more difficult, Miyo loses her human face causing her to eventually become a cat permanently. Unable to turn back into a human after the mask seller takes her face with him, Miyo sees first hand how much her classmates and family care for her.

The animation is unsurprisingly beautiful. Miyo as Taro the cat is just about the cutest little thing. The film culminates in a trip to cat island so that Miyo can try and regain her face.

The message of the film (ignoring the unhealthy obsession) is a good one. It’s a good reminder that no matter how bad things get, you are surrounded by people who love you. Running away from your problems can be tempting, but facing them head on is always the best solution.

An Evening with Beverly Luff Lin (2018)

 

Underdogs (2013)

 

“Underdogs” is a cute Argentinian animated film directed by Juan Jose Campanella. The film is full of silly humor and was actually an enjoyable watch.

“Underdogs” opens with apes at the beginning of time discovering soccer. It’s a silly moment that doesn’t tie into the rest of the film, but it’s all in good fun.

The animation is actually quite good with the colors being rich and gorgeous and the plot itself is nothing original. After the cold opening we are introduced to Jake and his family with Jake telling his son a story to try and motivate him to stay on the soccer team. As a young man, Jake had to face his bully and huge soccer star Ace in order to save his town. Ace has recently bought the town and is planning to build the biggest arena and shopping center. Jake doesn’t stand a chance, but his foosball players come to life giving him a glimmer of hope.

The foosball players themselves are the best animated things found in the film. They are full of personality and voiced by some great actors including Eugenio Derbez and John Leguizamo.

The film is silly, but genuinely funny filled with over the top moments. Ace adds to the laughs with his obnoxious personality and glimpse into is egotistical home. All around it’s good fun.

With the funny moments, bright and colorful animation it’s worth a watch especially for the little ones.

Da 5 Bloods (2020)

 

Da 5 Bloods is streaming on Netflix.

Da 5 Bloods brings an interesting perspective of the Vietnam war as it is remembered and told from the point of view of four Black Vietnam war veterans. It is directed by Spike Lee so of course the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement occurring at the same time are used to tie into current political events. 

Da 5 Bloods are Paul (Delroy Lindo), Otis (Clarke Peters), Melvin (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) and Eddie (Norm Lewis). They reunite for the first time since the war in Ho Chi Minh to bring home the remains of the fifth blood Stormin’ Norman (Chadwick Boseman) and the treasure that is buried close to him.

There are glimpses into how the Vietnamese are still affected by the war years later, but the main focus are the veterans. There could have been more commentary about this, but at least it’s not a glorification of the events. 

Da 5 Bloods is masterful. The main story line is the most interesting and engaging as it is and I think would have worked fine without the need to bring Jean Reno in to up the ante.

The lead performance by Delroy Lindo is incredible. He is not a character that is easy to like and yet you understand exactly what has brought him to this place from guilt he has never worked past to the frustration of fighting for a country that still hasn’t treated him as an equal. The film opens and closes with speeches from the Civil Rights Movements and news footage and photos are interwoven throughout the film tying past struggles to present struggles. 

Lee uses these struggles to also show how it can affect familial relationships. We see one paternal relationship through Otis. He meets up with a Vietnamese woman named Tiên (Lê Y Lan) whom he had a relationship with during the war and realizes he fathered a daughter with her named Michon (Sandy Hmong Pham) and she has grown up facing unspeakable racism in her home country.

The father/son relationship that is the focus of the film though is that between Paul and his son David (Jonathan Majors) who shows up unexpectedly to Vietnam wanting a share of the treasure for himself.

Marvin Gaye serves as the soundtrack for the film as we follow the Bloods into the Vietnamese jungle in their search. The film occasionally flashes back to the Vietnam war and the experiences the Bloods face whether they are bonding with each other or seeing the horrors of war as they fight for their lives.

What I loved about the flashbacks is that the same actors play their character tying in the recurring theme of the past affecting the present. Paul’s PTSD is difficult to watch and eventually it leads him down a heartbreaking spiral that leads him to break off from his son and his friends hurting most of them in the process. The ending isn’t a happy one, but it’s not entirely sad either.

The Fight (2020)

 

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