Monthly Archives: November 2020

A CALL TO SPY (2020) – World War II Drama Tells Intriguing True Story of British Women Spies

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A CALL TO SPY (2020) is a polished and sophisticated movie that tells the intriguing true story of British women spies putting their lives on the line in Nazi occupied France during World War II.

It calls to mind other recent gems about Britain’s World War II war effort, films like DARKEST HOUR (2017), DUNKIRK (2017), and THEIR FINEST (2016). While not quite as good as these movies, A CALL TO SPY nonetheless has a lot to offer for fans of World War II period pieces and stories about strong women.

I loved it.

British spies are dying left and right, and it seems their efforts are being thwarted by the Nazis at every turn. Exasperated, agency head Maurice Buckmaster (Linus Roache) finally listens to his secretary and unofficial right hand person Vera Atkins (Stana Katic) and approaches Churchill seeking permission to train female spies, the thinking being they will be far less likely to be suspected than their male counterparts. To Buckmaster’s surprise, Churchill gives the idea the green light.

And so Vera goes about the business of recruiting, and two of her most notable recruits include Virginia Hall (Sarah Megan Thomas) and Noor Inayat Khan (Radhika Apte). Noor is of Indian descent and is a Muslim pacifist, and she becomes one of the fastest senders of coded messages over the airwaves, an indispensable job known as the wireless operator, or as they are referred to in the movie, “the wireless.”

Virginia Hall is an American who spent time in France and wants nothing more to return there and beat back the Nazis. Her efforts to join the war effort have been thwarted because a hunting accident left her with a wooden leg. While Maurice Buckmaster rolls his eyes in frustration, Vera assures him of her choice, pointing out that her wooden leg will make her a least likely suspect to be a British spy.

The movie then follows these two women’s stories as they infiltrate Nazi occupied France. Virginia Hall emerges as the main character and most of the story revolves around her, as she exceeds expectations and becomes one of the most effective spies Britain has on the ground.

A CALL TO SPY really belongs to Sarah Megan Thomas. Not only does she play Virginia Hall, but she also wrote the screenplay. As Virginia Hall, Thomas delivers a noteworthy performance that carries the movie. She makes Virginia spirited, determined, and fearless, and ultimately the go-to spy on the ground. She becomes indispensable, and the film really hits its stride when the frustrated Nazis learn her identity and pull out all stops to hunt her down, and she has to use her smarts and gumption to get herself out of France.

Thomas’ screenplay is also excellent. Not only does it effortlessly tell these women’s stories and show how invaluable they were to the war effort, it also fleshes out all of the characters, even the supporting ones, and tells for the most part a riveting story. The one area where it’s not as strong is its third act, as after the climax of Virginia’s escape attempts from the Nazis, the film quietly makes its way towards its conclusion.

Radhika Apte is solid as pacifist Noor Inayat Khan, but the character clearly plays second fiddle to Virginia Hall here, mostly because of their ultimate fates while in France.

I enjoyed Stana Katic as Vera Atkins. She too is a determined character, as fearless as Virginia, only working from behind the scenes.Vera also has to operate in the shadows of the men around her, and not only that, but she is Jewish, and even in Britain, that fact poses problems for her. Katic is very good in the role.

Likewise, Linus Roache makes good as the stately and very weary Maurice Buckmaster. Roache captures the weight on Buckmaster’s shoulders and the pain of knowing, as he says it, that they’re trying their best but realize their best isn’t enough, as their spies continue to be discovered and executed.

There are also a couple of notable supporting performances as well. Rossif Sutherland, the son of Donald Sutherland, is quite effective as one of Virginia’s contacts, Dr. Chevain. They share a natural chemistry together, and Sutherland makes Chevain an empathic character.

Andrew Richardson plays another contact, Alfonse, a man who is much more active in the sabotage scene, and the sequence where he, Virginia, and others attempt to blow up a train is one of the more exciting moments in the movie. Richardson is memorable in the role.

A CALL TO SPY was directed by Lydia Dean Pilcher, and she gives this one a cinematic feel. She captures the look of the time, and the place, and there are also a lot of cinematic visuals here, from Nazi occupied streets and sad worn faces of dominated locals, to nighttime shots of spying and espionage.

That being said, A CALL TO SPY is a quiet piece with the emphasis more on drama than action, the type of movie which would play at your local arthouse theater rather than the multiplex.

…..A quick aside. Movie theaters. Hmm. Remember them? How fast things change!…..

It still works though, and works well. It tells a powerful story and is full of fleshed out three dimensional characters.

And since Sarah Megan Thomas wrote the screenplay and stars as Virginia Hall, and excels at both, A CALL TO SPY really belongs to her. She’s a talent to keep an eye on.

I for one am really looking forward to her next project.

—END—

MY OCTOPUS TEACHER (2020) – Amazing Documentary Tells Unbelievably Moving Story

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Fascinating and moving.

Those two words come to mind when describing MY OCTOPUS TEACHER (2020), a new Netflix original documentary that tells one of the most amazing stories I’ve ever seen, a story about the relationship between a man and an octopus that had it not been true or documented on film, I probably wouldn’t have believed it.

MY OCTOPUS TEACHER is a documentary by Craig Foster, who says at the beginning of the movie that he had just burned himself out with his work and decided he needed to get away from it all, and so he goes to a remote part of the ocean off the coast of South Africa and begins to dive there in order to seek some solitude.

What he finds there in the underground forest fascinates him, so much so that eventually he decides to bring his camera and return to the work that excited him, filming. And it’s there where he first encounters this octopus, which also fascinates him. He gets the crazy idea of going back every day in search of this octopus in order to chronicle its life.

What happens next surprises him, as the octopus develops a sense of comfort with him, and the next thing he knows, it is reaching out for him, touching him, and suddenly he becomes a part of this octopus’ world, seeing and learning things he never expected would be possible for a human to learn.

MY OCTOPUS TEACHER is an absolutely amazing movie. The story is remarkable and inspiring, and it’s also inredibly emotional, because of the bond Foster develops with the creature. Its life is constantly threatened by the sharks there, and it only lives about a year anyway.

In that year, what Foster learns is nothing short of astounding. Seeing this octopus approach him, touch him, seemingly hugging him, is awe-inspiring. Foster also witnesses the octopus hunting, losing an arm to a shark, only to grow it back again, and in another wonderful sequence, watching it play with a school of fish.

Foster is constantly astounded by the octopus’ intelligence, and he says it’s on par with a dog’s or a cat’s, and it’s not supposed to be that way for a mollusk. And it is incredbily intelligent. The way it escapes from a shark is extraordinary!

It also possesses the ability to blend in with its surroundings, to change its color and shape, and it even walks along the ocean surface, as well as on land when it flees from a shark! It’s right out of a science fiction movie, except it’s not fiction.

The underwater photography is brilliant. Even without the story it tells, the photography alone in MY OCTOPUS TEACHER is worth watching.

But it does tell a story, and that story is phenomenal. The connection between Foster and the octopus is a perfect love story. He kinda falls in love with this creature, as evident by the emotion he shows when he discusses its ultimate fate. Foster discovers a wild creature, and with his calm, silent observation and understanding, he invites the octopus to approach him, and it does, inviting him into a world and a relationshop few humans have ever seen or had.

MY OCTOPUS TEACHER is an outstanding movie, a must-see doctumentary not only because of the underwater world it reveals, but because of it’s powerful message of the relationship between two unlike creatures, a relationship that happens because these two creatures had the patience to approach each other with calm which allowed them to understand and appreciate each other.

If only humans could do the same.

—END—

ANTEBELLUM (2020) – Horror Drama Thought-Provoking and Disturbing In Spite of Questionable Twist

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ANTEBELLUM (2020), a new movie written and directed by Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz, and starring singer/songwriter/actress Janelle Monae [HIDDEN FIGURES (2016) and MOONLIGHT (2016)], is a powerful hybrid drama/horror movie that while not always successful remains disturbing throughout.

In fact, the first third of this movie is as unsettling an opening to a movie as I’ve seen in a while.

ANTEBELLUM begins at a southern plantation during the years of the Civil War, and it’s run by a very sadistic group of Confederate soldiers. Slaves are shot, branded, not allowed to speak without permission, and the women are regularly offered to the soldiers for sexual pleasure.

Eden (Janelle Monae) is for reasons unknown the slave who others turn to for leadership, but she resists, urging those around her to be patient for the right time. The last time she attempted an escape, people were killed, and the sadistic Senator Denton (Eric Lange) who runs the plantation branded Eden when she wouldn’t say her name. Denton has a thing for Eden and keeps her as his personal slave.

The day to day operations at the plantation are run by Captain Jasper (Jack Huston) who is exceedingly cruel.

As I said, the first third of this movie is as unpleasant at it can get and is not easy to sit through.

Then, one night, as Eden lies in bed, she hears a cell phone ringing, and when she opens her eyes she’s in the here and now in 2020 and her name is Veronica and she is a successful author with a loving husband and a cute young daughter.

Whaaaat???

What, indeed!

The film switches gears here, big time, and the audience of course is wondering, how is this going to tie in to what we saw earlier?

Rest assured, things do tie in, but it’s in a reveal that isn’t entirely successful. For starters, it reminded me an awful lot of the twist in the ill-fated THE VILLAGE (2004). It wasn’t quite as jarring as that one, but it will raise a few eyebrows, that’s for sure!

Writer/directors Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz have constructed a story that for the most part works but doesn’t entirely. The first third of the tale, which takes place on the plantation, is heavy and disturbing. When things switch to 2020, the tone shifts, and Gabourey Sidibe and Lily Cowles liven things up with some comedic relief as Veronica’s girlfriends Dawn and Sarah. Their night on the town is a real hoot. And it’s during these sequences that there’s a sinister undercurrent, as the audience knows that at some point this is going to connect to the horrors seen in the opening of the movie.

While both these sections of the film work, they are not without their problems, as the pacing remains methodical, the emotions charged but not off the charts, the tension present, but not riveting.

And then the third act comes along. The twist is huge, and while it didn’t ruin the movie for me, it’s a challenge to accept. That being said, a lot of things have happened during the last four years that I though would never happen, and so I’m inclined to view this twist with less incredulity than I would have prior to 2016.

And if you can get past the twist, the third act is very good. It’s satisfying to watch Eden fight back after suffering thoughout all the horrors of the first act of this movie. I thought the ending was very satisfying.

The cast is very good. Janelle Monae is excellent as Eden/Veronica. I think I still prefer her performance in HIDDEN FIGURES to this one, but she still packs a wallop here. And her climactic struggle with the main female baddie Elizabeth (Jena Malone) is one of the best scenes in the movie.

Speaking of Malone, she’s cold and proper as Elizabeth, the southern belle who runs the plantation. She also gets one of the better lines in the movie when, after Eden has disposed of most of the male soldiers in her way, Elizabeth steps forward and declares that as always is the case, it takes a woman to pick things up after a man has made a mess of them.

Jack Huston, the grandson of John Huston, and nephew of Angelica Huston and Danny Huston, is annoyingly cruel as Captain Jasper. I’d say he’s the best villain in the film, except Eric Lange is just as good as the depraved Denton.

And as I said, Gabourey Sidibe and Lily Cowles are enjoyable as Veronica’s friends Dawn and Sarah.

The film also has a powerfully haunting music score by Roman GianArthur Irvin and Nate “Rocket” Wonder.

The other thing I liked about ANTEBELLUM is it contains some powerful cinematic images. The scene where the Confederate soldiers chant “blood and soil” was chilling, reminiscent of the real life scene in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017.

There’s also a scene featuring a statue of Robert E. Lee, and some potent images involving fire.

All in all, I liked ANTEBELLUM a lot. Not quite as good as GET OUT (2017), but certainly a horror/drama worth checking out. Some may not be able to get past the twist, but if you can, and I did, there’s a lot to like about this thought-provoking and very disturbing movie.

—END—

IN THE SPOOKLIGHT: BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES (1970)

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As a kid, I favored BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES (1970), the second film in the original PLANET OF THE APES series, and it was clearly my favorite of the five APES movies.

I appreciated its fast pace, its frequent action scenes, and its incredibly exciting ending. However, over the years, my opinion on this one has changed, and I don’t hold it in as high regard as I once did.

But wait! A review of BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES, a science fiction movie, in a column on horror movies? Well, I….as do most of you…have a broad definition of horror, and a film in which the entire world is blown to bits by a doomsday nuclear bomb, well, that’s horrific enough for me!

This first sequel to the original PLANET OF THE APES (1968) was originally going to follow the further adventures of astronaut George Taylor (Charlton Heston), but Heston wasn’t interested in the project, as by rule, he said he simply didn’t make sequels. However, he eventually agreed to reprise his role as long as it was brief (he made himself available for two weeks) and that they killed off the character. He also donated his salary for this one to charity.

And so the plot instead follows a second astronaut who crash lands on the planet, Brent (James Franciscus). While Fransciscus is very good in the lead role, the plot point of a second astronaut crash landing on Earth in the future at the same point in time as Taylor, I’ve always found difficult to swallow.

Anyway, Brent soon meets up with the mute Nova (Linda Harrison), who leads him back to Ape City where he meets Zira (Kim Hunter) and Cornelius (David Watson) who help him with his search to find Taylor. Meanwhile, the apes are being led by the militant General Ursus (James Gregory) who is intent on leading the apes into war against a mysterious unknown enemy lurking in the forbidden zone. Minister of Science Dr. Zaius (Maurice Evans) while not on board with Ursus’ militant methods, agrees the enemy in the forbidden zone must be confronted, as he believes it to be the tribe of dangerous humans from which Taylor had emerged.

Of course, Brent’s search for Taylor also leads him to the forbidden zone into the bizarre world lurking beneath the planet of the apes, where he engages in a direct confrontation with the inhabitants living there, setting up the stage for an all out action-packed conclusion as the apes attack the city just as Brent finds Taylor.

BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES has a lot of things going for it. Unfortunately, it has just as many things working against it.

For the most part, its story is a good one, as the screenplay by Paul Dehn, who would go on to write the rest of the movies in the APES series, is solid and tells an exciting tale as it follows Brent’s attempts to stay one step ahead of the apes as he searches for Taylor. And the social commentary also works, as we witness chimpanzees protesting against the militant gorillas, scenes which at the time mirrored the protests against the Vietnam war. Of course, here in 2020, the protests still have relevance.

However, as good as the script is, the screenplay for the first movie was written by Oscar winning screenwriter Michael Wilson and Rod Serling. There’s simply no comparison.

The original film has one of the most memorable and iconic endings of any science fiction movie… heck, any movie period!… ever! It seems this was inside the heads of the makers of the sequel, as they seemed to want to one-up the original ending and came up with the shocker of blowing up the world and killing everyone off.

As much as I used to like this ending, today it’s my least favorite part of the movie. It just doesn’t fit with the thought-provoking feel of the original film, and sadly sets the stage for the rest of the series which seemed intent on containing dark, violent, and tragic endings.

The budget for BENEAT THE PLANET OF THE APES was half the budget of the original film, and it shows. Most of the apes in the background in this one wear masks rather than John Chambers’ Oscar-winning make-up, used here for only the major ape characters.

Still, director Ted Post makes the most of what he had, and this one remains fast-paced and exciting throughout. It just doesn’t possess the same awe and otherworldly feel as the first film did.

James Franciscus is very good as Brent, although strangely he seems to be doing his best Charlton Heston impersonation. Evidently, Franciscus was very serious on set and hoped this film would be a major breakout role for him, which ultimately it was not. There are also stories of Fransciscus and Charlton Heston being very competitive during the shoot, and supposedly there was some genuine antagonism during their famous fight scene.

Kim Hunter returns as Zira, but her screen time is greatly reduced here in the sequel. Also, Roddy McDowall was unable to return as Cornelius in this movie, since he was committed to another project, and he is sorely missed here. David Watson plays Cornelius, and he’s simply nowhere near as good as McDowall.

Maurice Evans does get lots of screen time as Dr. Zaius, and James Gregory delivers a scene-stealing performance as General Ursus.

Linda Harrison also gets more screen time as the mute Nova, and her death, shot dead by a gorilla, marks the point in the movie where for me it all begins to unravel and go downhill.

Charlton Heston is fine once again as Taylor, but he is not in this one much at all, since he wasn’t interested in the project.

BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES does contain one of my all-time favorite lines in the series, as uttered by Ursus: “The only good human, is a dead human!”

And with its doomsday conclusion, BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES should have ended the series, but thanks to the imaginative minds of writers, there emerged a third film in the series, ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES (1971).

But that’s a story for another column.

—END—

Books by Michael Arruda:

DARK CORNERS, Michael Arruda’s second short story collection, contains ten tales of horror, six reprints and four stories original to this collection.

Dark Corners cover (1)

Waiting for you in Dark Corners are tales of vampires, monsters, werewolves, demonic circus animals, and eternal darkness. Be prepared to be both frightened and entertained. You never know what you will find lurking in dark corners.

Ebook: $3.99. Available at http://www.crossroadspress.com and at Amazon.com.  Print on demand version available at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1949914437.

TIME FRAME,  science fiction novel by Michael Arruda.  

How far would you go to save your family? Would you change the course of time? That’s the decision facing Adam Cabral in this mind-bending science fiction adventure by Michael Arruda.

Ebook version:  $2.99. Available at http://www.crossroadpress.com. Print version:  $18.00. Includes postage! Email your order request to mjarruda33@gmail.com. Also available at Amazon.com.

IN THE SPOOKLIGHT, movie review collection by Michael Arruda.

InTheSpooklight_NewText

Michael Arruda reviews horror movies throughout history, from the silent classics of the 1920s, Universal horror from the 1930s-40s, Hammer Films of the 1950s-70s, all the way through the instant classics of today. If you like to read about horror movies, this is the book for you!

 Ebook version:  $4.99.  Available at http://www.crossroadpress.com.  Print version:  $18.00.  Includes postage. Email your order request to mjarruda33@gmail.com. Also available at Amazon.com.

FOR THE LOVE OF HORROR, first short story collection by Michael Arruda.  

For_the_love_of_Horror- original cover

Print cover

For the Love of Horror cover (3)

Ebook cover

Michael Arruda’s first short story collection, featuring a wraparound story which links all the tales together, asks the question: can you have a relationship when your partner is surrounded by the supernatural? If you thought normal relationships were difficult, wait to you read about what the folks in these stories have to deal with. For the love of horror!

 Ebook version:  $4.99.  Available at http://www.crossroadpress.com. Print version:  $18.00.  Includes postage. Email your order request to mjarruda33@gmail.com. Also available at Amazon.com.  

ALONE (2020) – Decent Thriller Could Use More Thrills

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alone

ALONE (2020) is a straightforward thriller about a recently widowed young woman Jessica (Jules Willcox) who finds herself stalked by a strange man (Marc Menchaca). The film’s no frills style keeps things simple, but it also keeps things rather tame.

It’s been six months since Jessica’s husband died, and so she decides it’s time to move on. She packs up her stuff in a U-Haul trailer and hits the road, choosing to do so alone without the help of her parents. It’s on the road where she encounters an annoying car, driving slowly in front of her, which then speeds up as she tries to pass it, nearly getting her killed.

Later, while parked, she spies the same car, and the driver, a man who immediately unsettles her, approaches and offers his apology, citing a lame excuse that he was on his phone and not paying attention to his speed. If this isn’t creepy enough, she sees him again stopped ahead in the middle of the road, his car having broken down. He asks for her assistance, but she wants no part of him. But it’s too late, as this guy is truly as dangerous as she fears him to be, and he has his sights set on her.

ALONE is an okay thriller. Its story is certainly compelling, and I liked the two leads, but it never really became all that exciting for me. I found most of the movie quiet and dull. Tbe best part is the ending, a violent and very physical confrontation between Jessica and her assailant in the mud. This scene gets down and dirty, literally, and is really the one point in the movie where emotions let loose, and we really get to see Jessica draw from her rage and hurt within and let it all out in a brutal fight for her life. It’s the best sequence in the movie.

Jules Willcox is fine as Jessica, a woman who’s still deeply hurt over the loss of her husband and grieving. In fact, she feels alone from the get-go, which is pretty much the theme of this one. The title ALONE refers more to Jessica’s state of mind than a plot point of fighting off an attacker solo.

Marc Menchaca is nice and creepy as the strange man Jessica encounters on the road. He’s convincing as a twisted serial killer who preys on young women, or at least that’s the implication. The film doesn’t delve into his background at all. We know this isn’t the first time he’s done this, and we know that his intentions are murderous. However, for a guy who’s done this before, he struggles with Jessica, as she doesn’t have to work too hard to turn the tables on him, which was a weakness in the story. He’s not the most successful serial killer. But Menchaca is successful at making the character unnerving.

Director John Hyams keeps this one low-key throughout. The direction is as clean and crisp as the northwestern countryside Jessica drives through. There’s nothing gratuitous about this one. It gets in, tells its story, and gets out. The problem is that even at a brief 98 minutes running time, it wasn’t enough to really hold my interest.

The screenplay by Mattias Olsson is just as efficient, with little characterization. I didn’t need to know more about the creepy predator, and so that was fine with me, but I could have learned more about Jessica. We know that she’s grieving, that her husband committed suicide, but other than that, pretty much nothing else is shared. It keeps the story from being more engrossing.

And there just aren’t a whole lot of scenes of suspense other than the general feeling of anxiety knowing that Jessica is being stalked by a dangerous man. While that in itself is upsetting of course, it doesn’t translate into effective movie making on its own. This one could have used something more.

ALONE is a decent thriller that works best as a dark drama because while it features two solid characters and a straightforward lean story it lacks the all important thrills needed to make this kind of movie truly frightening.

—END—

 

 

 

 

THE OUTPOST (2020) – Story of U.S. Soldiers Battling Taliban Solid Yet Unremarkable

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If you like war movies without fanfare that simply focus on the intense horrors of war, then THE OUTPOST (2020) may be the movie for you.

Directed by Rod Lurie with a screenplay by Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson, based on the book The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor by Jake Tapper, THE OUTPOST tells the story of a small group of U. S. soldiers encamped in an outpost in Afghanistan which is so poorly located it isn’t funny. Surrounded completely by immense mountains, the soldiers are constantly at the mercy of the hundreds of Taliban soldiers in the mountains who fire on them daily in the hope of some day overtaking the camp.

As such, the soldiers understand that while on paper their mission is to mingle with the locals in order to win their hearts and minds, their real mission is simply to survive. And that’s really what THE OUTPOST is all about: survival.

There really isn’t a strong narrative or deep character development. The plot of THE OUTPOST simply follows the soldiers inside Camp Keating where they engage in daily banter until they are fired upon and are forced to defend themselves, trying their best not to die.

As such, the bulk of this film is not all that enjoyable because you don’t really get to know any of the characters and there’s not much of a story. What you do get is an appreciation for the stress and anxiety these soldiers go through on a daily basis. One reason a film like 1917 (2019) worked better is it chose to focus on two main characters throughout the movie and audiences saw the larger story through their eyes. That doesn’t really happen here in THE OUTPOST.

However, the film held my interest long enough to get me to the climactic battle when the Taliban finally descend upon the camp in an all out attack. This final battle is by far the best part of the movie and lifts this one to worthwhile viewing status. It’s extremely cinematic.

The sound editing and mixing throughout THE OUTPOST is impressive, and no more so during the climactic sequence. It sounded like missiles were flying through my living room!

If there is a main character in THE OUTPOST, it’s SSG Clint Romesha (Scott Eastwood), as he is in this film throughout. You don’t really learn all that much about him though, and he doesn’t really shine until the climax. As such, Eastwood, who’s Clint Eastwood’s son, is fine throughout but isn’t asked to do a whole lot until the final reel.

Perhaps this movie should have been entitled SON OF THE OUTPOST. See, in addition to Scott Eastwood, the cast also includes Milo Gibson, Mel Gibson’s son— James Jagger, Mick Jagger’s son— Will Attenborough, Richard Attenborough’s grandson— and Scott Alda Coffey, grandson of Alan Alda. Wow!

The one other character who comes close to being a main one is SPC Ty Carter (Caleb Landry Jones), a rather unhinged character who like Eastwood’s Clint Romesha, doesn’t really do a whole lot until the final battle. Caleb Landry Jones is a talented actor who has enjoyed some memorable roles in such films as THE LAST EXORCISM (2010) and GET OUT (2017). He’s very good here as well, especially in the film’s climax.

Orlando Bloom has a small role as a commanding officer who dies early on. The commanding officers at Camp Keating don’t fare so well. Their survival rate is nil, it seems.

Director Rod Lurie does an excellent job capturing the insane anxiety felt by everyone at the camp, and also does an awesome job with the film’s explosive conclusion.

The screenplay by Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson, based on true events, does the same, but falters with a lack of any kind of character development or plot pacing. The characters all have names but we know little about them, and other than their constant need to defend themselves against the surrounding Taliban soldiers, there’s nothing else driving the story forward. This may be the point, but it makes for labored viewing. The film runs for two hours and really doesn’t hit its stride until 90 minutes in.

Still, it successfully shows the viewer how horrifying and hellish soldiering can be.

I liked THE OUTPOST. For two thirds of the film it felt like a documentary, and then it stepped up its game with an intense conclusion that is second to none. I just wish it had done a better job developing its characters so that we had more reason to care for them other than the obvious one, that they were soldiers doing their jobs and making the ultimate sacrifice. So, you definitely care for these guys. You just don’t know them.

A more personal emotion connection to these men would have made the ending all the more powerful.

As it stands, THE OUTPOST is solid viewing, a sincere yet unremarkable take on soldiers at war.

—END—

Picture of the Day: Sean Connery

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In memory of Sean Connery, who passed away on October 31, 2020, at the age of 90, here’s a look in pictures at his James Bond performances:

DR. NO (1962)
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (1963)
GOLDFINGER (1964)
THUNDERBALL (1965)
YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (1967)
DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (1971)
NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN (1983)

I love words, but sometimes pictures say it better.

Sean Connery August 25, 1930 – October 31, 2020.

Thank you Sean Connery. As Bond, you left your villains shaken, and your audiences stirred. You live more than twice. Like diamonds, you are forever….

As always, thanks for reading!

—Michael

Books by Michael Arruda:

DARK CORNERS, Michael Arruda’s second short story collection, contains ten tales of horror, six reprints and four stories original to this collection.

Dark Corners cover (1)

Waiting for you in Dark Corners are tales of vampires, monsters, werewolves, demonic circus animals, and eternal darkness. Be prepared to be both frightened and entertained. You never know what you will find lurking in dark corners.

Ebook: $3.99. Available at http://www.crossroadspress.com and at Amazon.com.  Print on demand version available at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1949914437.

TIME FRAME,  science fiction novel by Michael Arruda.  

How far would you go to save your family? Would you change the course of time? That’s the decision facing Adam Cabral in this mind-bending science fiction adventure by Michael Arruda.

Ebook version:  $2.99. Available at http://www.crossroadpress.com. Print version:  $18.00. Includes postage! Email your order request to mjarruda33@gmail.com. Also available at Amazon.com.

IN THE SPOOKLIGHT, movie review collection by Michael Arruda.

InTheSpooklight_NewText

Michael Arruda reviews horror movies throughout history, from the silent classics of the 1920s, Universal horror from the 1930s-40s, Hammer Films of the 1950s-70s, all the way through the instant classics of today. If you like to read about horror movies, this is the book for you!

 Ebook version:  $4.99.  Available at http://www.crossroadpress.com.  Print version:  $18.00.  Includes postage. Email your order request to mjarruda33@gmail.com. Also available at Amazon.com.

FOR THE LOVE OF HORROR, first short story collection by Michael Arruda.  

For_the_love_of_Horror- original cover
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Michael Arruda’s first short story collection, featuring a wraparound story which links all the tales together, asks the question: can you have a relationship when your partner is surrounded by the supernatural? If you thought normal relationships were difficult, wait to you read about what the folks in these stories have to deal with. For the love of horror!

 Ebook version:  $4.99.  Available at http://www.crossroadpress.com. Print version:  $18.00.  Includes postage. Email your order request to mjarruda33@gmail.com. Also available at Amazon.com.  

HIS HOUSE (2020) – Refreshing Take on Haunted House Tale

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His House

Sometimes a film’s premise makes all the difference.

And here with HIS HOUSE (2020), a new horror movie now available on Netflix, the plot point of a refugee couple from the Sudan trying to make their way in their new home in England, only to find that it’s haunted, gives this one an edge.

It doesn’t quite lift this one on its own, but for the most part, HIS HOUSE is a decent horror movie worth checking out.

Bol (Sope Dirisu) and Rial (Wunmi Mosaku) survive a harrowing boat journey from the Sudan, seeking asylum in England. However, their daughter does not, as she drowns during a violent storm. While Bol and Rial mourn the loss of their daughter, they are set up in a home in a small English town, but they have to follow certain rules or else they will be deported back to the Sudan where violent tribal clashes would jeopardize their lives. One of the rules is they must stay in their home, as they are not allowed to move somewhere else.

While the house is an obvious slum, for Bol and Rial, they are happy to take it. However, soon after they move in, they realize that they are not the only ones there, as a sinister presence makes itself known, a presence that speaks to them about giving them their daughter back, but at a price and a sacrifice that is horrifying to accept.

As I said, the premise of HIS HOUSE helps this one a lot. The story of immigrants fighting to survive in a new nation speaks to current events, and the brutal tale of the Sudan exposes horrors even before the supernatural elements arrive.

I enjoyed the script by director Remi Weekes, based on a story by Felicity Evans and Toby Venables. The story speaks to the difficulties of trying to rebuild one’s life after devastating loss. And the revelation near the film’s end only makes this story all the more tragic.

The supernatural stuff works as well. While I wouldn’t call this one outright scary, it is very creepy, and there are some winc-inducing scenes toward the end.

I liked HIS HOUSE for the most part, although I thought the pacing was rather slow.

Both Sope Dirisu as Bol and Wunmi Mosaku as Rial are very good in their roles. They make for a convincing couple. And Matt Smith delivers a smart performance as their caseworker Mark who can’t help feeling empathy towards them.

Javier Botet plays the witch here, and he’s rather creepy. Botet has had lots of experience playing similar monster roles in SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK (2019), SLENDER MAN (2018), and INSIDIOUS: THE LAST KEY (2018), to name just a few.

HIS HOUSE didn’t knock my socks off, but it did creep me out for most of its 90 minutes, and I enjoyed it’s refreshing take on the haunted house trope.

You might want to visit.

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REBECCA (2020) – Latest Version of Daphne Du Maurier’s Novel Better Suited for Lifetime Than Netflix

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rebecca 2020

REBECCA (2020), the new Netflix movie based on the novel by Daphne Du Maurier, is an elegant production billed as a mystery/romance. The emphasis here is clearly on the romance, and as such, it comes off more as a Lifetime movie than a Netflix one.

Du Maurier’s novel was filmed before in 1940, and was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starred Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine. That version of REBECCA received ten Academy Award nominations and won two of them, including Best Picture. Hitchcock, of course, didn’t win for Best Director, as strangely, he never won an Oscar.

This new version of REBECCA I expect will not be receiving these kinds of nominations.

In REBECCA, a young woman (Lily James) meets the dashing Maxim de Winter (Armie Hammer). A romance follows, and de Winter asks her to marry him, and she does. They return to his massive estate, Manderley, on the English coast, and there, she discovers that he is not quite over the mysterious death of his previous wife, Rebecca, as her spirit seems to pervade over the entire household, including the head housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers (Kristin Scott Thomas) who also seems obsessed with the late Rebecca.

Caught in a situation in which she feels woefully unprepared to deal with, the new Mrs. de Winter attempts to save her marriage by learning the truth about Rebecca’s mysterious death, and her husband’s involvement in it.

Again, this new version of REBECCA plays up the romance, and the mystery of what happened to Rebecca, while it sounds intriguing in a review, hardly has much of an impact in the movie. In short, while I enjoyed the two main performances by Lily James and Armie Hammer, and appreciated the handsome photography, I found this one at the end of the day to be terribly boring. And for a film that runs for a full two hours, that’s a long time to be bored.

Director Ben Wheatley struggles mightily with the pacing here, and the film never becomes an exercise in the unraveling of a mystery like it should. Even the elegant photography is just so-so. While the film looks good, it doesn’t look special, and that’s one of my biggest knocks against this new version of REBECCA. It’s not cinematic. It plays like a TV movie, and I couldn’t imagine seeing this on the big screen. It’s just sort of there.

Jane Goldman, Joe Shrapnel, and Ana Waterhouse wrote the screenplay, based on Du Maurier’s novel, and it does a nice job establishing the character of Mrs. de Winter, who as in the novel, is not given a name, to emphasize the influence and power of Rebecca, who is referred to by name repeatedly. And there are some attempts to tie her plight into modern day women’s issues, but not enough to make this story speak directly to 2020 audiences. And the rest of the story is pretty blah.

Jane Goldman has some pretty impressive writing credits, as she worked on the screenplays for such films as KICK-ASS (2010), X-MEN: FIRST CLASS (2011), and THE WOMAN IN BLACK (2012), all very good movies. The screenplay here for REBECCA is far inferior to those other films.

Lily James gives the best performance in the movie in the lead role as Mrs. de Winter. She successfully captures the audience’s sympathy, and you want to go along with her as she tries to learn what happened to Rebecca. James was equally as good in DARKEST HOUR (2017), in which she shared lots of screen time with Gary Oldman’s Winston Churchill. She was also memorable in a smaller role in BABY DRIVER (2017).

Armie Hammer acquits himself well as Maxim de Winter, but at the end of the day, his main job in this movie seems to be to look good. We don’t really get much insight into his tortured soul or how he truly feels about Rebecca. While Hammer has enjoyed some high profile roles, like the Lone Ranger in the flawed THE LONE RANGER (2013), and as Illya in THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. (2015), I enjoyed him more in HOTEL MUMBAI (2018) and in a supporting role as Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s husband Martin in ON THE BASIS OF SEX (2018).

Kristin Scott Thomas plays the cold Mrs. Danvers to the hilt, and she’s sufficiently icy throughout. Like Lily James, she also co-starred in DARKEST HOUR, as she played Churchill’s wife Clemmie.

I had higher expectations for this new version of REBECCA. For starters, I’d hoped it would speak to modern day audiences the way Greta Gerwig’s LITTLE WOMEN (2019) did. It did not.

I also hoped it would be an intriguing mystery. It wasn’t.

Instead, it was pretty much a basic romance with a secret lurking in the shadows which never comes to light enough to truly impact the story.

As a result, REBECCA remains substandard fare. If you love romances, you’ll enjoy it. For the rest of us, you’d be better off seeking out the 1940 Hitchcock version. That one, after all, was the Best Picture of the year.

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