Riot's busy week at the movies.

Riot’s Rapid Reviews: A Black, Death-Locked, Working Bag of a Minecraft Man.

It was a busy week of cinema for ol’ Riot and I somehow didn’t manage to see everything that I wanted to. The good news is, it was an above average run of titles. The theme this week seemed to be entertainment over story. As with previous rapid fires, I’ll start with the worst and work towards the best, so let’s have some fun along the way!

A Working Man: A great thing about a Jason Statham action flick is that you pretty much know exactly what you’re getting into before the previews finish rolling (and lately, it’s been an obnoxious amount of time; seven previews is…way…too…much!!!). Statham has the market cornered on the former military/special ops/special agent turned…working man (get it?) who inevitably gets called out of retirement because someone he’s close to is wronged. I really enjoyed Statham’s previous outing in The Beekeeper, so my expectations were maybe a little higher this time around than they should have been. While I got a solid amount of all the elements I tend to eat up in his films, A Working Man narratively bit off way more than it could chew. The plot lines, which work properly when made as simple as possible, ended up getting convoluted, confusing and unbelievable. “Riot, it’s not meant to be believable!” Yeah, I get that, but I always thought that the grounded elements of his previous movies (like The Transporter, my personal favorite) were what made them so enjoyable. A Working Man, combined with its over-the-top dramatic soundtrack, seemed to be trying to establish the character as a new John Rambo, but it simply didn’t work. They got too far off the rails with the sheer amount of disposable bad guys and didn’t do enough to establish the emotional connection with the good guys (David Harbour and Michael Pena were kind of wasted here). But, did we get some fantastic hand-to-hand combat scenes? Yup. How about wicked explosions, gnarly gunfights and enough kills to surpass fingers and toes? Absolutely! Everyone should love watching human traffickers get their comeuppance and maybe if the creators/writers had tightened up their plotlines to focus on that, it would have garnered a higher rating. Regardless, I had a decent enough time and am curious/interested if the creators might be able to build their new Rambo.

Riot’s Rating: 6.8/10: A Working Man had a decent enough weekend to knock Disney’s Snow White out of the #1 spot (pretty easy task IMO) but I’d bet this will be available to stream soon. I don’t think it’s a waste to see it in the theater though (just don’t see it in Dolby at AMC, my ears are still recovering…ouch).

Black Bag: The creators of Black Bag, likely limited in their budget, didn’t do themselves any favors in their marketing campaign (a theme that will continue from this week). I wasn’t exposed to the trailer anywhere else than in the actual theater and when I was, the trailers didn’t give out a whole lot to cultivate mystique. Considering it’s a spy drama/thriller, you can imagine why this would be a problem. Turns out, the promise of Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett sharing the lead was enough to garner a visit from Riot. I’m a sucker for a solid one-shot, so Black Bag immediately grabbed some points by opening with a really cool (if uneventful) “oner.” From there, the audience never really gets time to rest, being led through an unending sequence of dry, manipulative, and sociopathic dialogue (it begs the question why society has any faith whatsoever in their intelligence agencies TBH). Overall, the events of the story are really pretty dull and while it helps to somewhat keep the audience on track with the passage of time, Black Bag resurrects those titles cards I’ve come to dislike so much. The cinematography was dark and mysterious, which helped maintain the tension that’s characteristic of spy thrillers, but the insistence of keeping a specific lens on the camera made all of the lighting sources (day or night) into a hazy aura, reminiscent of what you see during a bad migraine. Obviously, I didn’t like the choice, but I enjoyed the overall look regardless. Even though Black Bag fumbles quite a bit at the finish line (by answering the “who dunnit” too soon) the film is absolutely carried by the robust performances from its characters (Pierce Brosnan, Tom Burke, Marisa Abela, Rege-Jean Page, and Naomie Harris were all fantastic). The scenery was incredible and the soundtrack subtly kept the tension on a knife’s edge. The movie took a unique perspective on espionage and I like the idea of married spies being forced to prioritize their marriage over their job (one of the reasons I love Mr. and Mrs. Smith). I think the film would have benefitted by some additions to the action but keeping things on the psychological manipulation side was a fine enough choice.

Riot’s Rating: 7.5/10: The original content is a big draw to this film, but the acting is by far the star of this show.

A Minecraft Movie: Even though I’ve never played the game, I know/have heard enough about what an enormous sensation Minecraft is and has been. I’d argue that it’s pretty rare for a video game to be relevant and interesting to multiple generations of players while simultaneously maintaining a player base for sixteen years. That’s not even mentioning how many people might pick up a copy after watching this film. The idea of A Minecraft Movie generated a lot of talk about how a cohesive story could even be built around its content and I’ll admit, when the preview/teaser released, I wasn’t very confident that this studio knew what it was doing. But whether or not I thought the movie would be good wasn’t going to keep me away from something that has become such an enormous staple in the gaming industry. I’m happy to report that A Minecraft Movie is a joyous, quirky, silly and abundantly fun little adventure. While I don’t enjoy the distractions kids typically bring to the theater, when it comes to films specifically made for them, I’m always happy to see the theater filled with children. It affirms the moments that reach them, eliciting excitement and belly laughs from the elements that should be directed to them. This one certainly had them guffawing in their seats and had more than a few moments that tickled the funny bones of their parents as well. Jack Black was in his element (arguably too much in it) with his role as Steve, reminiscent of a Jim Carrey performance had this film been made in the nineties or the ‘oughts. Jason Momoa was hilariously over-the-top as the arrested development gamer, somehow finding a way to match (if not exceed) Black’s energy in key moments of the film. The story benefitted from strong performances from its younger talent (Sebastian Hansen and Emma Myers) and a similarly wacky showing from Danielle Brooks. The quality of the animation was so much stronger than I would have expected and there was some incredible set design that helped immerse the audience into the world of Minecraft. Bolstered by some decent voice acting, the visual and comedic spectacle that is A Minecraft Movie helps grind down the edges of some terrible plot holes and story issues and is sure to entertain any child, whether or not they are familiar with the game.

Riot’s Rating: 7.6/10: Full transparency, this was a one and done movie for me because the over-the-top antics of the characters was a little tough for me to get through. This movie is a 100% cash grab and it's working, can't really blame them for that. But the joy and excitement from the kids is plenty reason to bump up this rating to a higher score than I might normally put down.

Locked: If you read that title and thought to yourself, “What the h*** is Locked?” just know that you are not alone. Considering there was anywhere from seven to nine studio logos that opened up the film, I’m guessing this was a difficult one to get off the ground and its lack of marketing/word of mouth exemplifies its “passion project” nature. Character development wise, the audience is only given access to three characters, but considering the nature of the story, that was certainly the right decision. Here’s a plot summary: “A small time, former criminal, down on his luck and trying to turn his life around, breaks into an SUV in a desperate attempt to come up in the world. What he doesn’t know is that the SUV is an elaborate trap and his act of petty theft turns into a life or death situation where his captor is the actual man behind the wheel.” My frequent visits to the theater are the only thing that put this film on my radar and like other films I’ve reviewed before, the prospect of seeing a single actor (Anthony Hopkins) go to work was enough to get me to my seat (I could listen to that dude read a cereal box). As far as I’m concerned, I think this is one of the must-see films of the young year. While my recent theatrical relationship with Bill Skarsgard (Eddie Barrish) has been complicated, he puts on a fantastic show with this one. His performance is grounded and gritty, fully encapsulating the plight of a guy at war with his inner impulsivity. Anthony Hopkins (William), spending the majority of the film speaking to Skarsgard through the SUV’s speaker system, brilliantly puts on the kind of acting clinic you reliably expect of him. Locked’s biggest issues lie in the way it toys with believability, especially when it comes to the limits of Eddie’s body and how the lack of sustenance associated with being trapped inside a car for a week would (realistically) never allow him to survive. But the back and forth dialogue between Skarsgard and Hopkins is so good, you forget about the blurring of reality. Personally, I wish the writers had chosen to dive deeper into the theme of crime, justice, and vigilantism. Every time the conversation got past the surface level, the events shifted or the day changed on the calendar (more title cards, gross). But there was plenty of thought-provoking elements to go around and the climax of the story was satisfying, consistent to what we know about the two men. Locked was pure entertainment as I saw it and I wouldn’t let its flaws (or lack of quality marketing) keep you from checking it out.

Riot’s Rating: 8.5/10: Claustrophobics beware, some of these scenes were a bit triggering even for me, but this film is a fantastic and wild ride.

Death of a Unicorn: Here at the end, we have a film that I had quite literally zero expectations for. Truthfully, this may have benefitted my viewing because I think Death of a Unicorn escapes a lot of the definitions/classifications that I could come up with. The premise alone is pretty bats*** crazy, where the audience is asked to wonder what would happen if humans accidentally kill a unicorn, experiment with the magical properties of its body, then deal with the murderous wrath of its family. The film benefitted from a solid cast of established actors (Paul Rudd, Tea Leoni, Richard Grant) and in-high-demand talent (Jenna Ortega, Will Poulter). I had forgotten how much I enjoyed Leoni as an actress, who was a perfect casting for the melodramatic and overly pampered CEO’s wife. Considering its comedic nature, I thought Rudd would take the lead here but I found myself laughing at the bumbling, spoiled to death antics of Poulter the most. He handled the majority of hilarious one-liners and was somehow able to make his character simultaneously endearing and deplorable all at the same time. The camerawork in the film seemed unconventional but perfect for the moment/style and the shooting was greatly benefitted by the beautiful scenery and set work. As funny as the film was, the laughs were equally matched by the horror/gore elements, presenting a slew of brutal death scenes that stopped short of the line for being too gross (although one scene involving a pool table and disembowelment miiiight have been a touch too much; it was still my favorite death though). The movie as a narrative unit leaves something to be desired unfortunately and the various plot holes and lulls in competent decision making on behalf of the human victims was a touch on the unbelievable side. The theme, humanity toying around with forces it doesn’t understand for the sake of capital gains, I think could have been fleshed out a little more than just an Arthur Fleck, “You get what you f***ing deserve!” That being said, with the theme being entertainment like I mentioned in the intro, I was enthralled by this movie. It was hyper reminiscent of the suspense-ridden feeling I got watching the original Jurassic Park, except with the fear being undercut by bonkers humor. It’s one of the best times I’ve had in a theater in a while and I hope more people will see it.

Riot’s Rating: 9.1/10: This is definitely a switch-the-brain off kind of film, ignore the deus ex machina, sit back and enjoy.