Tag: Ana de Armas

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Movie Reviews

Deep Water

20th Century Studios, 2022

Hailing from the man who all but perfected the erotic thriller genre with films like Fatal Attraction, Indecent Proposal and 9½ Weeks, director Adrian Lyne’s return to the genre after 20 years, Deep Water, carries with it some lofty expectations. And while the star power of Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas (not to mention their real-life relationship) helps bring pedigree (and one would assume chemistry) to the project, it does little else for this unromantic, stilted drama that twists and turns in ways that may seem interesting at first but which never fail to unravel into a sloppy, disjointed mess.

Affleck plays all-around weird dude Vic Van Allen – a morally ambiguous retired millionaire thanks to the sale of a computer chip to the military – who plays at being a doting dad to daughter Trixie (Grace Jenkins) while his wife Melinda (Ana de Armas) sets tongues wagging in the neighbourhood, indulging in the company of men who aren’t her husband in a very public way. Vic doesn’t seem to mind too much, however, as he and his wife have an agreement that allows her to flirt with these men as long as she stays within the confines of her marriage. As Melinda’s actions become more and more lewd and neighbours begin to question Vic’s role in the mysterious disappearance of one of her “friends”, Vic’s mask of indifference begins to slip as jealousy rears its ugly head, prompting him down a dark path in order to put an end to his wife’s antics once and for all.

20th Century Studios, 2022

First and foremost, yes, the film would cease to exist if the couple took the obvious course of action and got a divorce. Situations like this are literally what the concept was made for but if that happened then hey, we wouldn’t have a movie. I don’t bring it up to nitpick, but rather to point out that things don’t make sense abound here and the easiest way to enjoy the film is to switch your brain off early. Yes, we’re supposed to believe that Affleck adores his wife as he so frequently reminds her, whilst giving her nothing but filthy looks the entire film. Yes, Vic spends a portion of his riches cultivating snails in a garden shed in his backyard and no one thinks anything of it, except for one smart cookie who wisely realises this as serial killer behaviour. Neither Melinda or Vic seem particularly happy to be in each other’s company and that really is the hardest aspect to ignore. It’s almost impossible to invest in anything either character is doing to spite or save the other if the central relationship is this wooden and uncaring.

The film also seems unsure of who exactly it wants us to side with as our protagonist. We spend the most amount of time with Vic, viewing Melinda’s indiscretions through a lens that seems designed to draw rage from the viewer – grinding away on strangers ten feet away from her husband and shooting him flirtatious looks while she does it – always feeling as if he is teetering on the edge of doing something terrible. When he does, it isn’t a massive relief or shock but just an event that happens. From here there are attempts to shift our view of both Melinda and Vic but they are both such rapid and significant changes to the behaviours we have seen for the last hour that the result is a complete emotional detachment entirely. You can argue both parties are wrong and deserve some sort of retribution, but the film’s real victim is their young child, who gets strangely little development or involvement in the plot, content to be used as little more than window dressing than the central pillar of the relationship that she obviously is. She also exhibits some severely unsettling behaviour for a child that somebody should look into immediately.

20th Century Studios, 2022

Admittedly there is some fun to be had in the tension of Vic stalking Melinda’s lovers, often inviting them to awkward group dinners where Affleck is free to belittle and intimidate them before the inevitable. It’s a performance strangely – and uncomfortably – similar to his Bruce Wayne and while it works to create that tense atmosphere it falls apart in the romantic element at the film’s core. For an erotic thriller, Deep Water feels strangely limp, telling us about the obsession Vic displays while never showing it. There are scenes that attempt to spice things up, sure, but they are always shot in a painfully uninteresting way or feel strangely timed – your child is asleep in the back seat, this is not the time for that Melinda. It all culminates in one of the most unintentionally hilarious final acts that offers no conclusion, raising more questions about character motivations than it answers as we fade to black.

Adrian Lyne has made some fantastic films in his storied career: Deep Water is not one of them. From the jump nothing about it makes a whole lot of sense; as character motivations constantly shift and the very premise strains credibility at every turn. Ben Affleck commits to a performance that is often bad but strangely watchable, alternating between complete psycho and a total schmuck on a dime as Ana de Armas does what she can with a terrible role. As a proof-of-concept for divorce, Deep Water is a textbook example of an extreme case for it, but as an erotic thriller, it feels strangely impotent.

20th Century Studios, 2022

Deep Water stars Ben Affleck, Ana de Armas, Grace Jenkins, Jacob Elordi, Rachel Blanchard, Tracey Letts, Dash Mihok, Kristen Connolly, Brendan Miller & Lil Real Howery – Streaming on Hulu in the US and on Prime Video in Australia now.

Rating: 4 out of 10.

4/10

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Movie Reviews

No Time to Die

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 2021

It’s hard to hear the name James Bond and not think of Daniel Craig at this point. The longest serving Bond at 15 years in the role, Craig’s entrance into the role ushered in a new era of gritty, post-Bourne action; less focused on gadgets and more focused on beating his target into submission. What really set his 007 apart from the rest was Craig’s willingness to play with the machismo of the role, creating a Bond that felt familiar in the ways he needed to while adding a vulnerability and emotional rawness that previous iterations of the character lacked. Bloated and convoluted at times, No Time to Die is nevertheless a worthy send-off to Craig’s Bond; a visceral, action filled romp that, despite a lacklustre villain, strikes a perfect balance between Bond old and new.

Following his capture of Blofeld (Christoph Waltz), Bond (Craig) has now left MI6 to start a life with psychiatrist Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux). When their travels lead them to Italy and an ambush laid by Spectre, Bond suspects Swann of a double cross, abandoning her and seeking out a life of isolation in Jamaica. After five years of this simple life, Bond is thrust back into the swing of things with the arrival of CIA operative and longtime friend Felix (Jeffrey Wright), who offers him a chance to take down Spectre once and for all. When things inevitably go awry, Bond and new 007 Nomi (Lashana Lynch) – along with usual allies Q (Ben Whishaw), M (Ralph Fiennes) and Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) – find themselves embroiled in the plot of a new villain; one with a particular link to Bond and Madeleine’s pasts: Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek).

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 2021

Where the previous film Spectre struggled to maintain a serious tone while introducing classic Bond elements – the gadgets, the smarminess – into the grounded world of Craig, new director Cary Joji Fukunaga has better luck, albeit not without its problems. It is well known now that wunderkind writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge (of Fleabag fame) was brought in late in production to punch up series scribes Neal Purvis and Robert Wade’s (along with Fukunaga) script. While we can’t be sure what her contributions were specifically, there is a good amount of humour here that feels tonally jarring compared to previous entries, particularly in regards to David Dencik’s Russian scientist, who plays like every bad joke from a Marvel film roles into one character.

For the most part however, this humour works well to emphasise the “fish out of water” scenario Bond now finds himself in. Five years removed from his time in MI6, things have continued to move forward, even if he hasn’t, and nowhere is this more evident in the brilliant back and forth pissing match between Bond and newly instated 007 Nomi. Lashana Lynch is great as the sneering new 007 who does things by the books, ripping into James about his infamous charm with women and constant consumption of alcohol, but also delivering when it comes to the action; a legitimately strong candidate for Craig’s replacement should the series go that route. Ana de Armas also shines as Paloma, a CIA operative assisting Bond over the course of a mission. Despite only being present for one scene, she absolutely steals every frame; a wide-eyed, fresh-faced newbie who is more than capable of holding her own in an electric fight scene.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 2021

If Spectre was Sam Mendes pushing the franchise into bigger and bigger set-pieces, then No Time to Die is Fukunaga bringing it back to the basics that began with Casino Royale in 2006. That means a lot more close-quarters, bone-crunchingly violent fight scenes that shake the camera with the impact of each punch. Every fight feels life-or-death in stakes, and despite Bond’s pedigree as the action hero to end all action heroes, Fukunaga dials the intensity up so high that you forget this and become completely enthralled in the chaos unfolding, always on edge that one stray bullet or punch could bring Craig’s tenure as Bond to an abrupt end. When the action does stray into larger spectacle, the camera is always focused on Bond and his positioning within it and these sequences always serve to further the story rather than existing to justify blockbuster status.

In a film this massive (clocking in at close to a whopping 3 hours) there are bound to be weak links and unfortunately for No Time to Die that comes in the form of Rami Malek’s villain Safin. Fukunaga is given the unenviable task of wrapping up five film’s worth of story and in doing so finds little time to focus on the character of Safin; a facially scarred, creepy man with a shared history with a particular interest in Madeleine Swann and a clichéd plan for world domination. Malek gets by on his trademark blank stares and an uncomfortably softly spoken voice but lacks the quiet fury of Javier Bardem’s Silva or the cunning of Mads Mikkelsen’s Le Chiffre from previous films.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 2021

Thankfully Craig more than makes up for any of the film’s shortcomings in his final outing. After the notoriously difficult shoot of Spectre, he seems rejuvenated here, relishing the chance to flesh out Bond as a human rather than through his violent work. He comes to the action scenes with the intensity you would expect but it is the more humorous elements this time around that go a long way toward showing Bond’s development over the years. After all that time as the self-serious, suave spy he is finally softening into a man that wants more from his life and who is ready to tackle that with Madeleine.

No Time to Die is an appropriately epic end to Daniel Craig’s tenure as 007; a sprawling, globe-trotting adventure with the intense action and debonair charm that you would come to expect, but with a surprisingly emotional, reflective centre that wraps things up for Craig in a cathartic, impactful way. Rami Malek might get short-changed in his role as the villainous Safin and some narrative bloat slows things down at times but the good far outweighs the bad; not even to mention the terrifically moody theme song from Billie Eilish. A bittersweet end to a fantastic run as Bond, it’s understandably hard to swallow the fact that there will be no more time spent watching Craig cheat death as the super-spy.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 2021

No Time to Die stars Daniel Craig, Rami Malek, Léa Seydoux, Lashana Lynch, Ana de Armas, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Christoph Waltz, Jeffrey Wright, Rory Kinnear, Billy Magnussen, David Dencik, Dali Benssalah & Ralph Fiennes – In cinemas now.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

8.5/10

Categories
Movie Reviews

Knives Out

Lionsgate, 2019

Old-school murder mystery tales are always a bit of fun, aren’t they? Made famous since the days of Poirot and similar grand detective tales, these Cluedo-style adventures have since become a whole genre of recognisable stereotypes and traditional storytelling. Yet despite having a generic template to follow, murder mysteries are deceptively hard to pull off in practice. The cast of suspects must be large enough to keep the audience guessing, but each character needs room to flourish unique personalities and motives. The plot and twists need to properly fool the viewer, without coming off as ridiculous or foolish themselves. Then there’s the act of nailing a smart and definitive grand finale, one that could either make or break all the events that precede it. The list reads as a minefield of challenges for any film in the genre, however it’s also a list of tropes that Knives Out deftly delivers at damn near every turn. Featuring a larger-than-life cast, expert writing and a zippy pace, it’s no mystery that Knives Out is one of the best adventures you’ll find in cinemas this year.

As expected from any entry within the genre, Knives Out wastes no time in introducing its crime, suspects and lead detective. Private investigator and ‘last gentleman detective’ Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is called to the Thrombey family mansion after a reunion evening ended in death. Blanc’s heavy southern accent is a bit jarring at first, however it’s cleverly folded into the humour of the film and Craig does an excellent job of bringing the complex key character to life. Ruling all members of the family as suspects, Blanc quickly finds his hands full with the troublesome Thrombey clan as each present their own twisted story of the night’s events. You’ll hear from the aggressive and self made Linda – played expertly by a fiery Jamie Lee Curtis – before her anxious husband Richard (Don Johnson) provides his own contradicting alibi. There’s also the case of their adult son Ransom (a scene-stealing Chris Evans), whose playboy lifestyle and abrasive attitude have all but cut him from the family completely. Each character is expertly crafted as instantly recognisable and completely unique, and we’ve yet to even scratch the surface.

Lionsgate, 2019

We have Christopher Plummer as the wealthy-yet-scorned family patriarch Harlan Thrombey, assisted by his kindhearted caretaker Marta (delivered brilliantly by a talented Ana de Armas). Harlan’s bitter son and business manager Walt (Michael Shannon) has his own agenda, and wife Donna (Riki Lindhome) is quick to fire up when the time calls. Their socially unstable son Jacob is also at the scene of the crime, with the brooding character played well by Jaeden Martell following the recent It films. Rounding out the cast is the hilarious Toni Collette as Harlan’s daughter-in-law and struggling ‘lifestyle guru’ Joni, desperately trying to put her daughter Meg (Katherine Langford) through a prestigious school. There’s quite a lot to unpack there, but know that each personality effortlessly carves out their own little niche of the film – while still managing to form a cohesive, albeit dysfunctional family when all together. As with most similar films, you’ll spend most of the runtime trying to pick the culprit yourself despite the red herrings and plot twists – of which there are many. Knives Out manages to work in some of the smartest twists the genre has seen, however it also makes some bold choices around the halfway mark in an effort to set itself apart from the rest.

Knives Out essentially has two distinct chapters – the first adhering to what audiences can expect from a traditional whodunit, and a second that attempts to spin something almost entirely unique. It would spoil far too much to dip into specifics, however it’s definitely worth noting that this shift does nothing but lift the film even higher, almost as if introducing a second mystery before you’d even put the first together. There’s also a decent shot of adrenaline in the later half, again setting Knives Out apart from films such as 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express, which generally tend to follow somewhat of a slower pace. All of these wild events are of course leading to the expected grand finale, and it’s safe to say that Knives Out has no trouble ending on a dramatic high.

Lionsgate, 2019

For such an integral part of the film, Knives Out offers up a satisfying conclusion that keeps you guessing right up until the final pieces of the puzzle fall into place. The climax is also brimming with the film’s sharp writing and dark humour, all resulting in a worthy ending to the rollercoaster of events that came before it. This is mainly thanks to writer and director Rian Johnson, who has really created something special with Knives Out. Expertly written and delivered, the film soars off the back of its huge and immensely talented ensemble cast. It’s also a tale that never takes itself too seriously, managing to inject a ton of life and humour at every possible opportunity. It’s hard to say much more without spoiling what is easily some of the most fun you’ll have at the movies this year – but just know that it is without a doubt a mystery worth solving.

Lionsgate, 2019

Knives Out stars Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Evans, Toni Collette, Ana de Armas, Christopher Plummer, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Katherine Langford & Jaeden Martell – In cinemas now.