Hey everyone! August is known in the movie world as being a bit of a dumping ground but sometimes you can find a diamond in the rough. Today I have 3 movies to report on and one I enjoyed more than most but it's by no means a top-tier film. Sometimes you take what you can get with these releases and the good outweigh the bad in a particular offering. So here goes:
SKINCARE-
Skincare is a hard movie for me to review because I think it fulfilled its goals pretty well but it's not a film I enjoyed. On one hand it seems wrong to fault a film for scaring me but on the other it didn't provide enough catharsis or excitement for me to do anything with that feeling of unease.
This is a horror film where Elizabeth Banks plays a woman named Hope who runs a skincare brand in Los Angeles and is unsettled when a new competitor moves in next door. Immediately she starts getting threats online and in person and the tension builds as she. I think for anyone who is a public figure, even small-scale public figure, the idea of being stalked and terrorized is really scary, especially for a single woman like myself who is often alone with no protection of any kind. Skincare really monopolizes on those insecurities and I was very anxious watching things play out for Hope.
There are elements that are very predictable, but I liked the overall style of the film and it definitely captures Los Angeles and the vibes down there well. I think I would have enjoyed it more overall if Hope had gotten some vindication at the end and there was more of a satisfying payoff. As it was I was left feeling just unpleasantness with little fun to be had. I can see why it would be appealing to some. It's just not for me.
Frown Worthy
BORDERLANDS-
Borderlands is one of those movies you watch and just wonder- how? How did so much time and effort get put into something with so little story to back up that work? How could they not get the script better before spending millions on a project like this? Evidently it went through development hell and one has to wonder if the script was better at one point to attract someone like Cate Blanchett but this thing is truly a rough sit.
The thing is it's not even interesting bad. It's just bland with its visual style really the only thing to recommend it. The plot feels non-existent. I guess Cate Blanchett's Lilith is hired to find the daughter of a kingpin named Atlas, who she then finds with relative ease. Then they spend the rest of the movie hanging around the desert occasionally fighting with various mercenaries and listening to quips from a robot.
It's a tremendous cast but some of them seem there against their will (particularly Jamie Lee Curtis.) I suppose it's a blessing it is under 2 hours but that's about all I've got here. There just is no story to talk about! It unfortunately deserves to be the box office bomb that it is.
Frown Worthy
THE CROW-
I must admit until this Saturday I had never seen the 1994 cult classic film The Crow starring Brandon Lee. I should have made it a blind spot pick but it was an interesting experience to watch that film and then go to the new version literally directly afterwards. There's no question the original is the stronger film with more of a unique visual aesthetic and stronger script, but I actually enjoyed the new version as well. It isn't a homerun or anything but enough good to give it a recommendation.
This iteration of The Crow has Bill Skarsgard as Eric Draven who falls head-over-heels in love with the mysterious Shelly played by FKA Twigs. They become spiritually bonded and he promises he will find her if she ever is taken away. When they are both killed by the evil Roeg, Eric is sent on a mission to 'right the wrongs' and bring his lady love back from the darkness she's been sent to.
As you can tell the story is not the selling point of this film. The villain is super bland and the fact it is being played by Danny Huston is tiresome. He's played this same role so many times it's getting old. And even though I overall enjoyed the romance they do spend too much time on it. To the point when I'm sure the young men who this film was made for are getting anxious to get back to the action.
That said, the action is pretty entertaining. It's bloody and visceral and I had a good time watching it. Particularly a sequence at an opera house is really fun. And I think Twigs and Skarsgard had nice chemistry together, and I was invested in them as a couple.
Perhaps my newness to the original helped my feelings for this film? I'm not sure but the romance and action were well done enough with likable leads that I had a good time with it. Your mileage may vary.
Smile Worthy
So there you have it. 3 August movies! Have you seen any of these movies? What did you think of them?
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