After twenty-five years, Silva rides a horse across the desert to visit his friend Sheriff Jake; they celebrate the meeting, but the next morning Jake tells him that reason for his trip is not to go down the memory lane of their friendship.
Strange Way Of Life is a short film directed by Pedro Almodóvar (director of Parallel Mothers, The Skin I Live In and many others). Typically I don’t really review short films, but between Almodóvar being in the director’s chair plus Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal being in the leading roles I decided to watch and talk a little bit about this one (although there isn’t a whole lot to say unfortunately)
Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal are both quite fantastic here and work incredibly well together on screen, the short itself is shot beautifully and does give a bit of a throwback to the classic western genre which is also welcomed. The many captivating shots and oozing with style is enough for the viewer to explore every shot of the short, there’s a lot of beautiful moments that really shine here as well as some great character moments between Pascal and Hawke.
The story being told here is quite interesting it’s just a shame that a lot of the potential was missed, the short is 31 minutes long and I don’t think it was enough to really paint the full picture. There’s aspects of the story and characters that are left underdeveloped and the short sort of abruptly ends, had the short been a full length feature or longer I definitely think it would have fixed a lot of the issues that were shown here.
Despite it’s flaws however I do think it’s a decent short that’s visually strong with some really solid performances.
Strange Way Of Life is available on VOD Platforms.
Set five years after the Civil War, this Western drama follows former Buffalo Soldier Moses “Mo” Washington (Letitia Wright) as she travels west to lay claim on a gold mine bequeathed by her late slaveowner father. It is a mean, dangerous world, so Mo travels into the deep frontier disguised as a man. After her stagecoach is ambushed, she is tasked with holding a dangerous outlaw captive and must survive the day when the bandit’s gang tries to free him.
Not a whole lot to say about Surrounded as it doesn’t really do anything very special, but it also does a decent amount of good.
Anthony Mandler who previously directed Monster (2018) is in the director’s chair and while Monster I found to be not very good at all, I definitely think Mandler has since improved with his directing. He’s mostly a music video director which is completely fine, but as I said in my review for Monster there’s a huge difference from directing a music video and movie. With that said I definitely think the direction is far better this time around even if the last half of Surrounded falls apart.
Letitia Wright is quite great here, she gives a very well acted performance that’s straight to the point and does a pretty good job of giving her character development even when the script didn’t really want to do that. Jamie Bell is quite great as well, the interactions between Bell and Wright are strong, investing and down to earth at times which I found a bit surprising. Finally there’s Michael K. Williams who if you didn’t know sadly passed away in 2021, according to IMDb Surrounded is his last film performance (his very last performance being a TV series called Vital Signs which is completed apparently.) Williams gives a very strong performance here and like Wright and Bell gives a very grounded and powerful performance that really strikes the viewer.
The filming is quite great and it combines well with the location, what’s ultimately lacking is the script that really doesn’t have a whole lot of character development and the last half of the movie really doesn’t know what it wants to be. It definitely comes off as little rushed and messily put together towards the end. However I will say the majority of the movie is quite great we get to see some strong interactions between the characters and their conversations, even if the script isn’t always great and could have been so much better. It’s still quite interesting in it’s own right.
Retired gunslinger Colton Briggs faces the consequences of his past when the son of a man he murdered arrives to take his revenge. Briggs must take up arms once more after his wife is killed, and is joined by his young daughter.
I’m not the biggest on the western genre but every once and while there’s a few that look like they could be a bit interesting, what mainly drew me to The Old Way was mostly Nicolas Cage but does he save this movie?
There is honestly not a whole lot to talk about here with The Old Way, outside of Nicolas Cage and Ryan Kiera Armstrong who give some really solid performances and actually have a strong father and daughter bond that’s genuinely sweet. This is just your very typical revenge western story that does not bring anything new to the table, the rest of the cast aren’t strong enough to standout and the writing is way too generic for it’s own good. The movie has some interesting ideas but doesn’t do a whole lot with them, they are presented, explored for about 10 minutes and then quickly abandoned. It’s serviceable when it comes to being a revenge western everything that you expect is here but those looking for something bigger are going to be disappointed.
Overall The Old Way isn’t horrible there’s parts here that do work well but those aren’t enough to save the movie from being overall forgettable.
Diana, a prostitute who was blinded by a serial killer in a botched attack, takes in a young Chinese boy named Chin, abruptly altering both of their lives forever.
Dark Glasses is Dario Argento’s first film since Dracula 3D (2012) and is yet again another one of his weaker films. Dark Glasses isn’t necessarily bad as it is just very very dull. There’s some ideas here that work and it’s actually decently crafted when it comes to filmmaking, the rest of the movie mainly the script is incredibly lacking and is essentially a very watered down Argento film, the opening is definitely decent and is very promising but everything after that is a mixed bag.
Dark Glasses is available on Shudder.
5/10 C
Veteran bounty hunter Max Borlund heads deep into Mexican territory to find and return Rachel Kidd, the wife of a wealthy businessman. After learning she actually fled from the abusive marriage, Max faces a choice: finish the job he’s been hired to do, or stand aside while ruthless mercenary outlaws and his longtime rival close in on a town that’s been his temporary sanctuary.
I really don’t know what to exactly say here, Dead For A Dollar is terribly put together western revenge movie that is the very definition of predictable. Outside of the cast who tries their hardest with such a dull script there really isn’t anything here that’s any different from other revenge western films, the script is just begging for some sort of substance but instead gets a very traditntal revenge plot that doesn’t do anything in the way of development or character moments. Willem Dafoe is by far the standout but even he is restricted to how much of his talent he can really put in, due to the script giving very little to work with.
Dead For A Dollar is available on all VOD platforms.
3/10 D-
Olivia is a teen struggling with a recent loss of a friend. After getting deferred from her dream school, she spirals out of control and launches a social media-fueled rampage against those who stand in the way of her success.
Madelaine Petsch and Chloe Bailey are both great here and completely hold this movie together from falling apart, however a lot of this movie really boils down to a PSA about bullying and why using your friend who died Facebook account to get back at people is not a good thing. There’s some fine enough moments here mostly because the atmosphere does have a few thrilling moments, but the movie really tries to shoehorn some psychological thriller elements that come off as goofy mainly due to them not fitting into the story being told. There’s been high school movies that have done a far better job of telling this exact type of story before and there will be plenty more in the future. So Jane really just comes off as something where after you finish watching it you will quickly forget about it.
Jane is available on Creator+
5/10 C
A New England realtor ignites long-buried emotions and family secrets when she rekindles a romance with her old high school flame.
The Good House has a really strong performance from Sigourney Weaver and there’s a few touching moments that have heart, however what seriously kills this movie is the many tonal shifts, often times it treats subjects such as alcoholism as some cute moments and then other times it treats it as a serious subject. It’s very baffling to say the least, there’s also some strange fourth wall jokes here that completely don’t fit into the story the movie is trying to tell. Outside of that it’s a very typical adult romance movie that really doesn’t have anything going for it outside of Sigourney Weaver. The rest of the cast are fine and the family elements aren’t too bad here, but this definitely needed a huge rewrite.
A frontier woman fights for her life against a ruthless gang of outlaws on the plains of Montana.
Terror On The Prairie is another movie from The Daily Wire which earlier this year released Shut In, which I reviewed and to sum it up it’s the most nothing special about thriller you could watch. Terror On The Prairie is a step up from Shut In but that’s not saying much, the biggest problem with this movie is that it’s very soulless. The acting is all around pretty okay, but what bogs It down is the direction and writing. There’s no style to it at all they took what could have been an interesting setting to mix with the atmosphere and somehow made it very dull and forgettable, when you mix that with the script that is very bare bones and doesn’t say anything outside of a lot of western movie cliches. You get a movie that really doesn’t know what it wants to be, it most certainly doesn’t feel like a thriller as a lot of the scenes that are supposed to be suspenseful are very empty. Which again is mainly due to the direction being incredibly lifeless, the lack of a soundtrack while trying to be suspenseful also does not work here at all. In some other movies this actually works quite well but the difference is those movies have a far better directing style, while this movie doesn’t. Overall Terror On The Prairie much like Shut In does not have a whole to it, it’s a very unremarkable movie that’s added to the genre.
Two estranged siblings return home to the sprawling ranch they once knew and loved in order to care for their ailing father.
Montana Story is a film I wanted to like a lot more than I did, but from what’s presented it’s a very decent movie. For starters Haley Lu Richardson and Owen Teague are both fantastic in the leading roles, they have great chemistry between one another most of the heavy lifting comes from Richardson who’s always a powerhouse whenever she’s on screen in anything she’s in. The 35mm camera combined with the setting is beautiful and really captures a calming atmosphere that brings the viewer into the film, what hurts the movie a bit is mostly how the film wraps up. There’s definitely some powerful moments in there but it seemed like the movie was building up to something bigger and sort of just dumped it all in a very short span, plus the pacing is way too slow a lot of the time that could definitely take you out of the film. However Montana Story is a very well made film that I do recommend checking out.
A domineering rancher responds with mocking cruelty when his brother brings home a new wife and her son, until the unexpected comes to pass.
The Power Of The Dog is another showcase of just incredible Jane Campion as a filmmaker, this is her first film in 12 years and the long wait was most definitely worth it. Benedict Cumberbatch has been in quite a few films this year but his performance in The Power Of The Dog has the most strength to it, he plays a character who has dealt with pain, there’s also agony and a lot of other emotions that help build his character. It’s a very interesting character study of him and he has this journey about his emotions. Kristen Dunst and Kodi Smit-McPhee are both fantastic, they each bring something truly special to the film, Dunst giving a very raw and classic western type feel performance that feels like it’s out of the classic black and white film era. And McPhee giving a performance that follows Cumberbatch’s character that is just as interesting and as powerful. The film itself has a old soul to it, it feels like it’s straight out of the classic film era with some darker twists, the style the film went for which was being violent without being violent was done in such a unique and interesting way. The film shows that violence can come in many different forms, most of it here is done psychologically which fits the film quite well. The cinematography compliments the whole theme as well with beautiful shots and a dark atmosphere that brings a ton suspense and mystery to the film. Jane Campion’s direction is brilliant she really hits it out of the park when it comes to bringing a sense of rawness to the film, she also makes every character as interesting as possible. Giving them a ton of development, with monologues, quiet scenes and heavy hitting moments that really capture the important parts of character development in film. Overall The Power Of The Dog is one of the best films of the year, it’s a slow burn with several haunting elements that gives the film a lot of power. It most definitely won’t be for everyone but if you do watch it be sure to go into the film knowing as little as possible!
When an outlaw discovers his enemy is being released from prison, he reunites his gang to seek revenge.
I’m not normally huge on Westerns but I really have to say The Harder They Fall takes the western genre and does something completely different with it. The Harder They Fall is mostly for the fantastic cast and rightfully so, because everyone involved does such a fantastic job with the roles they are given. Each of the cast brought something to the film Idris Elba, Jonathan Majors, Regina King, Zazie Beetz, LaKeith Stanfield and Delroy Lindo in particularly are very strong and show a range of emotions. The filming combined with the editing is absolutely beautiful, this is one of the things The Harder They Fall does differently than a lot of westerns…it’s fast paced as well as being stylish. It has a unique style to it that gives the film a ton of energy, a lot of westerns tend to be very slow but that’s not the case here. The Harder They Fall is also 2 hours and 19 minutes long but does not feel like that at all, mostly due to how interesting the story is combined with the editing that makes it go by quickly, overall The Harder They Fall is a excellent film, I highly recommend giving this one a go!
A onetime rodeo star and washed-up horse breeder, in 1978, takes a job from an ex-boss to bring the man’s young son home and away from his alcoholic mum. Crossing rural Mexico on their back way to Texas, the unlikely pair faces an unexpectedly challenging journey, during which the world-weary horseman may find his own sense of redemption through teaching the boy what it means to be a good man.
First things first I respect Clint Eastwood in terms of filmmaking he’s 91 years old and still acting and directing! With that said Cry Macho is a very traditional Eastwood film with honestly not a whole lot to comment on. The acting is overall pretty strong particularly from Fernanda Urrejola, Eastwood is definitely not bad here he’s just done far better in other films. The filming is actually what I was scared about going into this movie, from the trailer it really looked cheaply made with very little style to it. Luckily that’s not the case here, Cry Macho has some great filming during certain moments that stand out quite well. Honestly what hurts Cry Macho the most is that it’s a lot like the other westerns Eastwood was in years ago, it doesn’t build a special identity for itself, however it does feel like a throwback film to the western film era so maybe that was the intention. If you are a fan of Clint Eastwood you will definitely like this one, it’s not one of his crowning achievements but it’s solid enough for a recommendation.
Cry Macho is now available in Theaters and on HBO Max!
A notorious criminal must break an evil curse in order to rescue an abducted girl who has mysteriously disappeared.
Prisoners Of The Ghostland was a no brainer for me to see at Sundance, I heard so much about it and it’s been on my radar for quite a long time now. I’m happy to say that Prisoners Of The Ghostland is the definition of a bizarre film and I mean that in the best way possible. Nicholas Cage has a ton of moments that are just flat out incredible, everything you want in a Nicholas Cage film is here. The film itself is a huge blend of several genres such as action, western, fantasy, sci-fi and what the film manages to do with those genres is create something truly unique. Nicholas Cage gives a fantastic performance as well as Sofia about Ella, both of them really shine here and commit to the roles they are in. What surprised me the most here is how incredible the cinematography and the costume design are, both of them really add a whole lot to the film and really set the theme and tone throughout the film. The writing is overall pretty great, the cinematography really tells the story here along with the costumes. Which is kind of interesting but the costumes really did tell the story, lastly it’s just a blast of a film. It’s so much fun while being really great. Overall Prisoners Of The Ghostland is some of the most fun I’ve had so far this year, any Nicholas Cage fan will love this! I definitely recommend watching this one when it comes out!
Jerome Reviews... 