Search the IR archives
IR Film Review: TRANSFORMERS - RISE OF THE BEASTS [Paramount]
The movement of a film like "Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts" depends on context for the story and how it reflects in the lexicon. This entry does a smart move at its inset, setting up what is to come and the basis of the story before the audience ever gets to the main characters.
IR Film Review: FAST X [Universal]
The propellant of a "Fast" movie has increased in structure but unraveled in many ways in story. It has becomes at times, vignettes of its past mythology slowing down just once in a while for patriarch Vin Diesel to wax about family. However the bombast, despite a lack of reality, still can play for fun demolition.
IR Film Review: HYPNOTIC [Ketchup]
The context of "Hypnotic", the newest film from Robert Rodriguez, uses the aspect of perspective and perception as a progression tool of control. Using Ben Affleck as the lead brings the actor back to his roots. While many have spoke to "Inception" as a benchmark for this film, it actually leans more to "Paycheck", a film Affleck made in the early aughts with John Woo.
IR Film Review: GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 [Marvel/Disney]
The concept of evolution and circular motion is an interesting motif but also the context of loss and how it creates impact. At certain points in its multi-film progression, "Guardians" has been able to create these feelings in certain moments but it sometimes ebbs and flows. With "Vol. 3" there is an interesting throughline but the ultimately the heartstrings that originally might have been there, don't tug as hard as they might have.
IR Film Review: EVIL DEAD RISE [New Line/Warner Bros]
Finding an interesting entry point for "Evil Dead Rise" helps if there is a perfunctory understanding of the world, both in the essence of the Bruce Campbell -led structure and the more dark horror elements of some of the later adaptations. Producer Rob Tappert and Exec Producer Sam Raimi know that reinterpretation in certain ways helps to make any entry its own.
IR Film Review: CHEVALIER [Searchlight]
The context of "Chevalier" reflects in a concept of acceptance versus social justice and how perspective and perception both leads and deceives. After an interesting turn in "Cyrano" last year, Kelvin Harrison Jr. comes to the forefront as the lead character here showing both the depth, conflict (and artifice at times) that the character requires.
IR Film Review: THE TANK [Well Go USA]
The aspect of remote horror combined with mythology can sometimes be played to good effect but only specifically if it has a reveal with a texture of exposition. With "The Tank" directed by Scott Walker, the basis of what transpires has the realm of creature feature but with a small amount more, there would have been a much bigger world for it to inhabit.
IR Film Review: THE POPE’S EXORCIST [Screen Gems]
The context of an exorcism movie always paints back to the initial vision of "The Exorcist" which has its own mythology. The reason "The Pope's Exorcist" works on many levels is because it takes the existing history of the church and of Europe into the equation anchored by a solid and engaging performance by Russell Crowe.
IR Film Review: RENFIELD [Universal]
The modern connotation of "Dracula" is bathed in mythos but ultimately the reference is correlated to Vlad The Impaler. With "Renfield", the texture is more integrated into the self help wokeness that would never even have entered the lexicon years ago.