2016 movies

Movie Review: HIGH-RISE, Starring Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller

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high-rise.jpgHIGH-RISE (UK 2015) ***
Directed by Ben Wheatley

Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller, Luke Evans, Elizabeth Moss, James Purefoy, Sienna Guillory

Review by Gilbert Seah

HIGH-RISE is a much anticipated film among cineastes. The rights for J.G. Ballard’s (best known for his novel CRASH directed by David Cronenberg) book had been snapped up by producer Jeremy Thomas for decades and a number of directors were slated to make the film, among them Nicholas Roeg. But director Ben Wheatley, British new film enfant terrible snatched the prize after directing two art-house low budget hits A FIELD IN ENGLAND and THE SIGHT-SEERS. Ballard’s book on a dystopian society set up in a 1970’s tower block (film shot in Northern Ireland) where the higher classes occupy the higher floors with better privileges such as parking spots and facilities usage like the summing pool, is a difficult one. The social strata eventually breaks down following a string of building malfunctions.

HIGH-RISE opens with a Dr. Robert Laing (Tom Hiddleston) at his high rise building flat apparently roasting and eating a dog’s leg on the balcony. The film flashes back three months earlier to the events that led to this odd state.

Dr. Lang arrives and occupies in the centre section of the building – reason not given. He meets the building’s architect, Anthony Royal (Jeremy Irons) who lives in the penthouse and various other occupants including Charlotte, Royal’s aide (Sienna Miller) and a nasty documentary-maker (Luke Evans) who ends up creating a lot of trouble including wanting to take down Royal. Wheatley’s film charts the downfall of order and the rise of anarchy in the building. Finally, the residents stay in and do not venture out to work, waging wars with each other. Wheatley has directed films with similar themes. THE SIGHTSEERS sees the volatile and violent breakdown of the relationship of a new couple while A FIELD IN ENGLAND featured a battlefield among warring factions.

The Korean film SNOWPIERCER two years back featured a similar premise. The last inhabitants on Earth are stuck on a train travelling around the Earth forever with the lower working classes at the back of the train and the richest at the front. The workers revoke and move up the front of the train.

But HIGH-RISE fails to engage the audience despite the Ballard’s difficult novel. It should be noted that Ballard used to hang around with William Burroughs whose NAKED LUNCH with Ballard’s own CRASH ended up as one of the most unlikeable/difficult films ever made. Given that Amy Jump’s script and Wheatley’s direction make little attempt in tying to make their film more coherent or engaging. When Dr. Laing first meets Chartlotte, her comment is on Laing’s body being almost a perfect specimen implying a detachment of human nature.

The rise of the building’s anarchy is also not well orchestrated. Wheatley appears more interested in the film’s sets and images than anything else. To the film’s credit, the production values look great with the film having a past future feel and a look like the old 70’s futuristic films like Joseph Losey’s MODESTY BLAISE. Whereas films like SNOWPIERCER relied on action to grab the audience’s attention, HIGH-RISE consists of a whole lot of cinematic/dramatic set-ups with too much left to the audience to decipher as to what is happening.

Hiddleston delivers a good nuanced performance appearing out of place and finally connecting with the anarchy just as his confident behaviour at the start of the film breaks down to insecurity. Still Wheatley’s film is an intriguing one and one that shows his ability to set his imprint on a story, whether it be successful or not.

 

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Movie Review: CRIMINAL, 2016. Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Costner

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criminal.jpgCRIMINAL (USA 2015) ***
Directed by Ariel Vromen

Starring: Kevin Costner, Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot, Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Oldman, Michael Pitt

Action films about the lead character with the past erased make good money at the box office. Examples are THE BOURNE IDENTITY, Liam Neeson’s UNKNOWN and last week’s recently released HARDCORE HENRY. CRIMINAL though not identical in concept, plays along the same lines with the lead character having to piece together a new identity.

Based on a script by Douglas Cook and David Weisberg, the film takes the amnesia plot up a few notches. It is an international story dealing with Americans, British, Russians and a Dutchman. The film contains countless London sights in the first 15 minutes, making audiences wonder if the London Tourist Board is subsidizing this film. There are shots of Bank Tube Station, the Thames, Albert Hall, the docklands, Big Ben and the Overground Tube to make the film look more modern.

The film opens with a chase involving CIA agent Ben Pope (Ryan Reynolds). Pope is caught half way through his assignment and killed. His brain needs to be implanted into someone else for the mission to be completed successfully. Or the world will be destroyed. It really does not matter how ridiculous the plot is as director Ariel Vromen (THE ICEMAN) has proven that he can make anything credible and exciting. So, a wanted imprisoned criminal Jericho Stewart (Kevin Costner in super-gruff mode) with zero conscience but meets the surgical criteria is implanted with Pope’s memories by Dr. Frank (Tommy Lee Jones) under command of no-nonsense British chief Quaker Wells (Gary Oldman).

For an action thriller drama, the action segments are handled efficiently, particularly the car chase involving the British police car pile up n the highway and the brief underwater scenes.

The film is aided with an impressive cast that includes no less than the new Wonder Woman, French actress Gal Gadot as Pope’s wife, Brit Oldman and Americans Costner., Jones, Reynolds and the long time unseen Michael Pitt as the Dutchman.

Though I do enjoy a bit of violence in movies, I am not one to condone it. CRIMINAL is exceptionally violent, evident in scenes like the electric torture at the film’s start, the bloodied photo of one of Jericho’s victims the brain surgery and the segment where Jericho beats a number of people up to get food and nab a van. Tools used in fights also include a hammer.

Though there is ample opportunity for the script to moralize, the script thankfully stays aways from it. Jericho is a man with no conscience, a killing machine who is given a chance to have feelings after being implanted with Pope’s memories. Once Jericho begins to feel, he is torn for example between saving one life – Pope’s daughter against sacrificing hers to save many, many more. The main villain has the purpose of creating a software wormhole i order to destroy all the governments in the world as he believes every government is corrupt and that conglomerates rule the world all for money. There is some truth in the villain’s way of thinking and the script leaves it for the audience to debate the issue in their own minds.

CRIMINAL is a good action drama, a good blend between drama and action with not too much ridiculous discontinuous action scenes as in recent films like BATMAN V SUPERMAN and HARDCORE HENRY. For this reason alone, CRIMINAL is a compelling and rather entertaining time-waster.

 

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Doctor Strange – Watch world premiere trailer

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Watch the World Premiere Trailer of DOCTOR STRANGE:

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Movie Review: FRANCOFONIA (France/Germany/Netherlands 2015) ****

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francofonia.jpgFRANCOFONIA (France/Germany/Netherlands 2015) ****
Directed by Alexandre Sukorov

Review by Gilbert Seah

Is the Louvre worth more than all of France?

Alexandre Sukorov made a name for himself directing the excellent documentary on Leningrad Museum years back, the entire exercise shot in one single take. FRANCOFONIA is a mixed documentary/re-enacted drama on the Louvre in Paris, arguably the most visited museum in the world, a museum that made Paris. And in the words of director, Sukorov who voices the film’s narrative, museums make the cities of the world.

The approach taken in this film is different as the idea of the two above mentioned films are different. What is the subject here is the restoration of the art pieces of the Louvre – especially during World War II during the German Occupation. As Germany invaded France, the government, citizens and Louvre officials all escaped south, for safety and stability. All but one, the Louvre Director Jacques Joujart who remained to prevent the treasures of the Louvre from becoming the spoils of the war and from landing in the hands of art lovers like Hitler and his consorts.

FRANCOFONIA is a complex and meditative film. It erases the barriers of time. Napoleon Buonaparte (played by Vincent Nemeth) frequently waltzes into the halls of the Louvre as the boat that transports the museum travels tosses among the strong waves of the ocean. The past and present are drawn together and at the film’s climax the two lead characters are advised of their death in the future.

Though the film delves on several issues, the main one is set in the June of 1940. German troops march into Paris. The two lead characters are Jacques Jaujard, Louvre director and German Count Franziskus Wolff Metternich (played in the film by Louis-Do de Lencquesaing and Benjamin Utzerath). It would seem that they are enemies, but it gradually becomes clear that they are not and that they have a lot in common. The period of their meeting, their confrontation and their cooperation during the Second World War to protect and preserve the treasures of the Louvre forms the bulk of FRANCOFONIA. By telling their story, Sokurov explores the relationship between art and power, and asks what art tells us about ourselves, at the very heart of one of the most devastating conflicts the world has ever known.

As Sukorov is Russian, it is only natural that he brings a Russian slant into his film. The Hermitage in Leningrad is more often than not tied in with the film’s narrative. WWII is also compared to the Russian war with the Bolsheviks. There are some chilling scenes added such as the image of a little girl lying dead on the steps of a building. As the narrative goes… no one to bury them, too tired to bury them. And if you think things cannot get any worse, a frozen child and mother on the street are the next subjects. The child is then taken, probably eaten, and the mother’s leg is missing.

Like RUSSIAN ARK, FRANCOFONIA is a profoundly beautiful film. Sukorov’s love for art is evident from the first to the last frame of his film. At the end audiences around the world will be grateful to Sukorov, who like the great two men in the film, has preserved art, in this case of the Louvre and its treasures, forever on film. Highly recommended to anyone who owns at least one painting.

The film is shot largely in Russian and French with a little English.

 

 

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Movie Review: THE BOSS. Starring Melissa McCarthy

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theboss.jpg 2016) **
Directed by Ben Falcone

Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Bell, Peter Dinklage

Review by Gilbert Seah

THE BOSS is yet another nasty male comedy in which the male is replaced by the fairer sex. Melissa McCarthy seems to have cornered this market with the nasty girls comedies like BRIDESMAIDS, TAMMY, THE HEAT and her most successful SPY. But SPY, THE HEAT and BRIDESMAIDS were directed by the talented Paul Feig whereas THE BOSS and TAMMY fare into McCarthy’s not-so-successful territory. But she does manage a few laughs though, to her credit.

Michelle Darnell is an orphan. She is returned from adoption to the orphanage just too many times. This gives the girl an incentive to become ‘someone’ and not let anybody drag her down. Orphan Darnell morphs into Melissa McCarthy, super successful female businesswoman and 47th richest (why 47th?) in the whole world. But a former business partner, Renault (Peter Dinklage) takes her down with insider trading. After serving a prison sentence, she forces herself on her former personal assistant, Claire (Kristen Bell) whose daughter Rachel (Ella Anderson) she learns to grow very fond of. Michelle ends up starting a new business from Claire’s delicious brownies recruiting Rachel’s schoolmates in the process.

THE BOSS is pure McCarthy comedy. The only character in the story providing the laughs is her character, Darnell. Everyone else, are her straight men (or women as the case may be). Non-fans of McCarthy should stay away. At least in SPY, Jason Statham generated laughs playing against type. The only character that provides a few laughs besides Darnell is the Kathy Bates, Ida Marquette character. Unfortunately, there is not enough of Bates, her character last seen riding away on her horse, Butter.

There are, noticeably no jokes in this film and in her last (SPY) that poke fun at McCarthy’s weight. In fact this point is so obvious that her costume designer has not once allowed McCarthy’s neck to be shown on screen, making McCarthy’s outfits looking a bit weird. Also noticeable is Darnell questioning her prodigy, Claire as to the length of time she had sex. Nothing is mentioned of herself.

THE BOSS does have its hilarious segments such as the girl fight between the Darnell Darlings and the Daffodil Girls or the beginning show when Darnell goes on stage strutting her stuff. The Dardell character is a foul-mouthed, obnoxious and loud person. So, it is not surprising that the film’s best moments has her pitting these qualities against a super-bitch -mother, Helen (Annie Mumolo) who becomes a rival in the brownie business.

But the bits trying to insert some action into the film like the swordfight at the end do not work well. There are a lot of comedic segments (the leg tanning; the bra adjustment/shoving) involving McCarthy spewing vulgarities non-stop. Whether these are funny depends on ones individual taste.

Still, THE BOSS is a film with a lazy script based on a tried formula – obnoxious person making good using his/her bad qualities. THE BOSS is essentially just made up of a series of skits with the loose theme, banging on McCarthy’s draw to make the movie.

 

 

 

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Watch First Trailer for ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY #rogueone

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The new Star Wars film is coming out in December starring Felicity Jones.

Watch Trailer NOW:

 

“Rogue One” will be a prequel to the events of 1977′s “Star Wars: A New Hope,” described on the official “Star Wars” website as “the story of unlikely heroes who have united to steal plans to the dreaded Death Star.”

The cast also includes Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Jiang Wen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed and Forest Whitaker.

“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” arrives in theaters Dec 16.

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BOREALIS, Movie Review. Starring: Joey King, Kevin Pollak

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borealis.jpgBOREALIS (Canada 2015) ***
Directed by Sean Garrity

Starring: Joey King, Emily Hampshire, Kevin Pollak |

Review by Gilbert Seah

BOREALIS opens with two key scenes that establishes the mood and plot line of the film. The first shows the lead character, Jonah (Jonas Chernick) losing at blackjack and having to pay a massive debt or have his legs broken. His daughter, Aurora (Joey King) is about to lose her eyesight for good. In a Hollywood movie, the lead would have to get money to pay for the operation to regain the daughter’s sight, as in for example, Stanley Donen’s parody MOVIE, MOVIE, but this is a non-commercial Canadian film.

Garrity has already awed audiences with INERTIA, LUCID and MY AWKWARD SEXUAL ADVENTURE and actor Chernick has penned LUCID as well as co-written BOREALIS. So, BOREALIS is an anticipated film for those in the know.
The father keeps the bad news from her, taking her on a road trip for two purposes – to run away form his debtors and to show her the Aurora Borealis, a beautiful sight before she loses her sight.

One of the most interesting things about this film is that it features two very annoying leads. The father, the compulsive gambler is also a compulsive liar with hardly any redeeming qualities. He has squandered away all his money and lost his daughter’s possessions including her dog to his debtors. The daughter on the other hand is a 15-year old punk, who is as annoying as any teenager can be, not listening to her father (not that he is worth listening to), and partying half the time. As the film progresses, it becomes a question of who the audience dislikes less.

Garrity’s film is strangely an anti-message film. It tells the audience, for example than gambling is ok and it sorts itself out in the end. A more disturbing message is the one about the Good Samaritan getting almost killed (or maybe killed) for helping out the father and daughter in one scene.

But one thing about Garrity’s film is for sure. It is not the predictable fare one would expect. Things can turn for the better or worse, and good guys and bad guys can get it or win, depending on the mood of the director. But for unpredictable fare, the film accomplishes an unexpected climax that works well, all things considered. Camera work is not half bad, the climax done in the dead of night with just enough light to reveal the important details.

BOREALIS is also proudly Canadian. It could have easily opted for an American setting to delver to a larger audience but it does not. It celebrates Canadian from the road trip with Canadian places to the Canadian dollars flashed out at a diner. The film was shot largely in the Province of Manitoba.

One can always finds flaws in Garrity’s film, and there are quite a few. Still, one cannot complain that the director has accomplished a well executed, mostly compelling film within a small budget. The film looks good in terms of production values.

Borealis has a premiere at the Canadian Film Festival and opens its commercial run a week later – showing that it is one of the festival’s better films. Garrity also won the Best Director Award and Joey King the Best Actress Award at the Festival.

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HELLO, MY NAME IS DORIS, Movie Review. Starring: Sally Field

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hellomynameisdoris.jpgHELLO, MY NAME IS DORIS (USA 2015) ***1/2
Directed by Michael Snowalter

Starring: Sally Field, Max Greenfield, Tyne Daly

Review by Gilbert Seah

The new showcase for two-time Oscar Winner Sally Field (NORMA RAE and PLACES IN THE HEART) places her in the ‘You really like me, you really, really like me” role of an sixty-plus data entry cubicle office worker, called Doris Miller. Begging to be loved, she falls for a much younger office worker, the new art director John Fremont (Max Greenfield). The question of whether she will get the young man to notice and fall in love with her is kept current from the start to the end of the film – a point that writer/director Michael Snowalter keeps as a delicate balancing act, and one that makes the film work.

Films about women falling for much younger men seldom work and end up disastrous. Examples are Genevieve Gilles playing a Baroness falling for younger Michael Crawford in HELLO-GOODBYE and Jean Simmons falling for the younger LEONARD WHITING in SAY HELLO TO YESTERDAY. Even when it is the other way round, with an older male and younger girl as in the Clint Eastwood directed BREEZY with William Holden and Kay Lenz, the idea fails. So, HELLO, MY NAME IS DORIS is already quite an achievement.

The film’s premise is simple enough. The film begins with Doris’s mother’s funeral. Her brother and wife wishes her to sell the house she and her mother she had cared had lived in. She declines, being a hoarder. At work, she accidentally bumps into young and gorgeous Max Fremont who ends up being the new guy in the office. She pines for him. She gets the help of her best friend’s 13-year old daughter to make friends on his Facebook account. Doris and Max hang out and Doris falls for him. Of course, the audiences is never sure of Max’s feelings for her and this is what keeps the film interesting – the audience is guessing. And right up to the very last reel.

Snowalter’s film works as both a comedy and drama. Fortunately, he keeps sentimentality at bay. Sally Field is nothing short of marvellous in the role of Doris, proving her mettle at getting both laughs and sympathy. Having won two Oscars for dramatic roles, she expectedly shines in the dramatic parts making a good balance, as in the segment she finally makes her stand against her bullying brother (Stephen Root) and wife (Wendi McLendon-Covey).

But Snowalter film plays more for comedy. The script that he co-wrote has sufficient comedic set-ups – the electronic concert party; the best friend’s Thanksgiving dinner without Doris; the inspirational seminar with guru Peter Gallagher to mention a few.

But it is Field that makes the film work, aided by really apt supporting performances from a superb supporting cast especially from Tyne Daly as her best friend, Roz. Greenfield who plays the young hunk has good chemistry with Field, supplementing Doris as the could be, could-not-be interested beau.

But mostly it is the film’s charm, credibility and humour that makes this film a cut above other films in this genre. Yes, we really, really like Doris!

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HARDCODE HENRY, Movie Review

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hardcorehenryHARDCORE HENRY (USA/Russia 2016) **
Directed by Ilya Naishuller

Starring: Sharlto Copley, Tim Roth, Haley Bennett

Review by Gilbert Seah

Ilya Naishuller’s HARDCORE HENRY, produced by Timur Bekmambetov, best known as the director of the Russian action sci-fi big production NIGHT WATCH trilogy moves along with the same pace as Timur’s films, and like them, boredom sets in pretty fast. In HARDCORE HENRY, the novelty of the gimmick film begins to wane after 15 minutes or so.

But still credit should be given to wunderkind music video wiz director Ilya Naishuller for his ingenuity and hard work in keeping his film consistent. And it is difficult work, undoubtedly.

HARDCORE HENRY is shot form the point of view of the protagonist, Hardcore Henry a half man half machine, resurrected from the dead by his British wife (Haley Bennett) for whatever reason that is never made clear, just as it is not made clear why the spouse is a Brit.

The camera acts as if placed in his eyes and as Henry moves around fighting punks, a dozen a minute, as the audience gets to see the beaten up victims, thrown around. The audience also gets to see Henry’s legs and arms and what the man would see. If Henry scales a wall, the audience has Henry’s point of view doing it. Unfortunately, because of the mishap of the past, Henry is unable to speak at the start. Also, Henry is at odds as what is gong on, and why everyone is trying to kill him, led athirst by a guy called Akan (Danila Kozlovsky). Also, a weird guy called Jimmy (Shalto Copley) keeps appearing at odd times, trying to help, or is he?

HARDCORE HENRY does have a good start though. The audience experiences Henry as his arms and legs are screwed on to him, just as he is voice activated by his wife. Suddenly the lab or hospital as the case may be is stormed by Akan. Henry and his wife are propelled out in some space module from a spaceship of some sort. It all works so amazingly, but only till then. It is 15 minutes into the movie.

One big problem of the film is the audience kept in the dark just as much as Henry is. Naishuller make no qualms that action in his film with his camera techniques are his priorities. It is therefore frustrating right up to the very end of the film where nothing is yet explained. Naishuller teases the audience too much, especially with the Jimmy character.

HARDCORE HENRY surprisingly won the Toronto International Film Festival Midnight Madness Public Award for Best Film. Obviously, Naishuller’s film caters to a different crowd than to me, as well as I would think to most critics. The film feels like a video game and it would be assumed more suitable for audiences favouring that vocation.

There must have been a reason films have never been made before from the protagonist’s point of view as in HARDCORE HENRY. A close cousin to this film would be the found footage films with shaky camera that can also be terribly annoying films to watch. The latter has taken a form of success in low budget horror films and this tactic may take off in low budget action film.

The recent MIDNIGHT SPECIAL can be described as a no-nonsense yarn while HARDCORE HENRY as a total nonsense yarn

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Midnight Special, Movie Review

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midnightspecial.jpgMIDNIGHT SPECIAL (USA 2015) **
Directed by Jeff Nichols

Starring: Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, Adam Driver

Review by Gilbert Seah

MIDNIGHT SPECIAL reunites director Jeff Nichols and actor Michael Shannon once again in a film dealing with an apocalyptic world. There is much to like and dislike about MIDNIGHT SPECIAL compared to TAKE SHELTER, but unfortunately, the former throws logic and reality to the wind. The plot and ending of MIDNIGHT SPECIAL is important to the enjoyment of the film and should not be revealed in my or any review, but it is sufficient to say that the ending should at least be a bit believable and not be totally absurd as in this case in terms of logic and possibility and also in terms of special effects. The ending is as if the special effects department was given an unlimited budge and the department spent the entire budget and more.

The film starts with a suspenseful abduction in which a man is wanted for the kidnapping of a child. It is all over the radio and the state in terms of an amber alert. Roy (Shannon) has fled a religious cult in rural Texas with his eight-year-old son Alton (Jaeden Lieberher), who possesses otherworldly powers. Roy’s accomplice and childhood friend, Lucas (Joel Edgerton sporting a very convincing Texan accent), a state trooper, helps to bring the boy to an undisclosed location on a specific date, during which a celestial and possibly world-changing event may occur.

There are a lot of points in the script (written by Nichols) that do not make sense. But of course, one can argue that a good thriller need not require good explanations as the Master of Suspense Alfred Hitchcock has proven many times in his Masterpieces. For example Richard Thornhill (Cary Grant) was hunted down by the organization in NORTH BY NORTHWEST though no reason was ever given. But MIDNIGHT SPECIAL thunders towards a needed explanation that when revealed, makes no sense whatsoever. The supporting character of Lucas could also be done way with, though character development-wise, it does bring a good perspective to the character of the lead, Roy.

But for me whose first profession is engineering, I can really annoyed when a story leaves too many unexplained loose ends. Among these are: “Why does the kid and absolutely no one else land on this planet with the same situation? How does the kid comes to obtain all the information and for what purpose? Why the purpose of ‘the rapture’ at the film’s climax as it really serves no purpose? And why does the cult get so involved with the boy?

Shannon has always been an excellent brooding actor, accomplishing a range of widely ranging characters. Here Shannon is able to conniving the audience of a troubled yet caring father. He is willing to kill anyone to save his son.

The first half of the film works better than the second half. When more is left to the audience’s imagination, the more mysterious and suspenseful the film becomes.

The performances of the actors almost save the movie. Two of supporting cast deserve mention. One is Sam Shepard playing the cult leader, Calvin Meyer and the other Adam Driver as the FBI agent Paul Sevier who ends up helping Roy and Alton. One suspects that Nichols demanded solid no-nonsense performances from his actors.

But love it or hate MIDNIGHT SPECIAL will definitely affect audiences on way or other, in an extreme just as the film is (extreme).

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