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November 26, 2025

WAKE UP DEAD MAN – Review

Filed under: Review — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Cate Marquis @ 9:18 am
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. (L-R) Josh O’Connor and Josh Brolin in Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. Cr. John Wilson/Netflix © 2025

Enormously entertaining, WAKE UP DEAD MAN offers more than a good murder mystery, delving into the soulful with an ex-boxer priest, playing excellently by Josh O’Connor, seeking his own forgiveness and an unforgiving monsignor, played menacingly by Josh Brolin, with his own little kingdom in a Gothic church isolated in a rural upstate New York that feels straight out of “The Headless Horseman.” Rian Johnson’s third installment in his Knives Out mystery series may be his best yet, featuring his droll Southern detective Beniot Blanc, the two Joshes and a star-studded cast of supporting players including Glen Close, Andrew Scott, and more.

A murder in a church sounds wrong but in Rian Johnson’s capable hands it turns into the perfect place in a story that pits faith and love against power and evil. The Gothic setting lends itself well to the tale of long-buried secrets and hidden motives in this isolated, claustrophobic small community. But director/writer Johnson makes you wait a bit for the crime and the detective, focusing first on Josh O’Connor’s priest as he grapples with his spiritual journey, trying to put love at the forefront, and overcoming the rage that led to him killing a man in the boxing ring.

To help him in wrestling those inner spiritual demons, and to help the church to unravel the curious goings-on at a remote little parish, his bishop (an unexpectedly darkly funny Jeffrey Wright) gives the young priest his first assignment. Not to replace the mysterious long-time priest, a monsignor, at that ancient church but as to be the assistant priest, and perhaps figure out what is happening there.

Josh O’Connor’s priest starts out with a firm belief in the power of love but a more knowing eye for human failings, his own and others. He arrives at the ancient church, which looks more like it was transported whole, complete with churchyard graves, from old England than something in New England. Josh Brolin’s parish priest gives the newcomer a chilly greeting, insisting on being called monsignor, and immediately asking him to hear his confession, a scalding one that leaves the young priest staggering. The battle of the Joshes is on.

Rian Johnson spins out this tale brilliantly, crafting the characters and the mystery to draw you in, and adding plenty of humor and twists along the way. Daniel Craig’s detective arrives a bit late but from that point on, the film takes the brakes off for a wild, massively entertaining ride, while still keeping it’s good versus evil. Figuring out who is good and who is evil is part of the fun.

Reportedly, this is the last of Rian Johnson’s Knives Out mysteries, which is disappointing news if true. This mystery is the best of the series, demonstrating the elastic nature of the genre and showcasing Johnson’s considerable talent.

Of course, that is aided mightily by the wonderful cast, especially first-rate performances from Josh O’Connor, who is really having a year, and Daniel Craig, as the clever, quipping detective. Some of best moments are between these two, as the believer debates the non-believer, in dialog that is both though-provoking and entertaining. Who wants to see that kind of film-making come to an end?

WAKE UP DEAD MAN opens Wednesday, Nov. 26, in theaters.

RATING: 4 out of 4 stars

July 23, 2024

“Captain Marleau: Wind and Tides” – TV series review

Filed under: TV,TV Review — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Mark Glass @ 11:32 pm
Corinne Masiero as Capitaine Marleau. Photo Credit : Josée Dayan. Courtesy of MHzChoice

MHzChoice has already imported almost four full seasons of the light-hearted French crime series, “Captain Marleau.” This upcoming release “Captain Marleau: Wind and Tides (Entre Vents et Marees)” is the two-part, three-hour pilot that hadn’t been part of the previous packages. For newbies, Marleau (Corinne Masiero) is a Columbo-esque itinerant police detective who goes from village to village to solve their latest murder(s). She drives in looking almost homeless, and plays the fool to mask her considerable skills. She also dissembles with irreverent wisecracks, annoying the witnesses and suspects while delighting viewers, and learning more than she would with straightforward questioning. Each episode is a new crime in a new locale with a mostly different cast, so the way she flusters the local cops just meeting her provides a reliable source of humor.

For series devotees, the pilot may have more historical than entertainment value. That’s because there’s less time with Marleau on camera, and less of her sarcastic, self-effacing wit than we’re used to from the further episodes. It’s not like an origin story, since there’s virtually nothing about her past in the script. But my impression is that the writers and producers had yet to realize what a unique comic gem they had in their star. Two of the opener’s four credited writers only did this one. The slew of writers throughout the rest, including Masiero in many, mined the comedy gold within her to much better avail.

In this beginning, Marleau’s unkempt hair is darker but her overall look is the same. She rolls into a quaint fishing village during a raging conflict over its future. The mayor and her hubby are pushing for a massive overhaul of the harbor and surrounding area to create upscale tourism. The plan includes a yacht-friendly marina, resort hotel and casino. The downside is that it would also crowd out the fishermen, who had always provided the city’s economic and social foundations.

The up-graders’ plans are obstructed by the irate locals, with particular focus on two families – one rich and titled; the other working-class – whose homes are on pieces of land essential to the massive project. A seemingly pertinent murder brings Marleau to town to head the investigation. The inevitable mare’s nest of motives and suspects swirl, while we observe the machinations of the property players. There are some surprises and twists along the way. We see more of Marleau’s usual shrewdness but much less of her edgy, Doctor House-like sarcasm and disdain.

So fans should slightly downscale expectations, and newbies should know that if you kind of like what you see, the best is yet to come. This 2.5-star rating is a bit lower than what I’ve given the previously-reviewed 30-plus episodes already streaming on the MHz site, in which Marleau became my favorite French TV sleuth not named Captain Sharif (that full series also available on MHz). The only reason for that is less face time for the star than they soon learn she deserved.

“Captain Marleau: Wind and Tides (Entre Vents et Marees),” in French with English subtitles, is available streaming on MHzChoice starting Tuesday, July 23.

RATING: 2.5 out of 4 stars

Corinne Masiero as Capitaine Marleau. Photo Credit : Josée Dayan. Courtesy of MHzChoice

April 30, 2024

“Roots of Evil” – TV Series Review

Filed under: TV,TV Review — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Mark Glass @ 10:19 pm
Fahri Yardim as Larssen and Henriette Confurius as Ulrika, in the German crime series “Roots of Evil.” Courtesy of MHzChoice

German TV gives us this complex crime series, “The Roots of Evil,” (originally “Die Quellen des Bosen”) that straddles more genres than most even attempt. Set in a small community in 1993, it’s a murder mystery involving child abuse, long-buried emotional scars, arcane ritualistic symbols, political machinations (some left over from before The Wall was torn down a few years earlier), supernatural (?) elements, multiple family entanglements, and a large dose of bigotry in a product that blends standard contemporary procedurals with heavy Gothic overtones. The result is a highly bingeable production in six 45-minute episodes.

Ulrika (Henriette Confurius) is the lead detective, working with newly-arrived partner Larssen (Fahri Yardim). While hunting in the forest, Ingrid (Cloe Heinrich), a strange teenager from an even stranger family, finds the body of a young woman meticulously laid out in a tableau of bedding, covered with symbols carved into her skin. This reminds Uli of a case from 20 years earlier that may or may not have actually occurred, involving one of her childhood friends from the nearby orphanage, Christa (Angelina Hantsch). Christa has married a truly loathsome Neo-Nazi petty crook, and has a daughter Sabrina (Sonja Joanne Geller) with whom Uli’s brother Marc (Filip Schnack) is smitten, getting him caught up in the unsavory beliefs and business dealings of her step-dad and his brutish cohorts. Don’t worry. All of that turns out less soapy than how this paragraph reads.

Larssen has his own issues, trying to locate a wife and son who’d left him five years earlier for reasons that slowly unfold. The current case leads to discovery of sex trafficking, with likely connections to whatever happened two decades earlier. Beyond that, the less you know of the plot lines, the more you’ll enjoy the suspenseful proceedings, including a few surprises along the way.

Violence is sparse; displays of the essential gory bits are restrained. No sex or nudity on camera, though sexual activities provide several key plot elements. Many forms of crazy come into play from many characters, and all are well-acted. Casting is solid all around. No one is so glamorous or super-skilled that they undermine the grim, realistic-scale tone of the production. The scripts by two credited writers, based on a story by Ada Fink, maintain several elements of tension while developing a diverse array of believable character arcs.

The package ends with closure on the major issues, succeeding as a self-contained miniseries. There area few minor lingering questions, leaving possibilities to explore in a second season, if enough interest is generated. I’d welcome another round if it is meant to be.

“The Roots of Evil,” in German with English subtitles, streams on MHzChoice starting Apr. 30.

RATING: 2.5 out of 4 stars

Ulrike (Henriette Confurius) in the German crime series “Roots of Evil.” Courtesy of MHzChoice

April 24, 2013

GRACELAND — The Review

Filed under: Foreign,General News,Review,Suspense — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Travis Keune @ 5:46 pm

graceland-2013_img

Drafthouse Films does it again, scouring, quite literally, the entire planet for the very best films otherwise virtually unseen by the majority of film goers. In an ongoing effort to bring powerful, hard-hitting films closer to the forefront, GRACELAND caught the attention of savvy film enthusiasts and now has the opportunity to spread its wings amidst a larger audience. Will you be one amidst those many?

GRACELAND tells the story of a working class father, and honest and good young man named Marlon Villar, played by Arnold Reyes. Set in the Philippines, Marlon finds his world thrown into chaos when a kidnapping goes terribly wrong and he finds himself fighting for his daughter’s life. Torn between his love for his own family and the demand placed upon him by his employer, Marlon must juggle a dangerous balance between doing what’s right and doing what he must.

Written and directed by Ron Morales, a filmmaker of respectable technical talent, GRACELAND marks only his second feature film as a director. Having earned his industry chops working on more mainstream Hollywood fare, from SPIDER-MAN 3 to NICK & NORAH’S INFINITE PLAYLIST, its clear that his wide exposure to various styles and genres has allowed him to find his own much more pure artistic vision.

Marlon encounters elements all too familiar, from corruption to class segregation, all of which play into the overall arc of the film that proves not to be a sum greater than its parts, but an experience of which the parts and the sum are of equally high value. GRACELAND catches us off guard, nudging us off the curb into the filthy gutter, drags us through Marlon’s agonizing ordeal, and then just when we thing Morales is going to lift us up out of our shallow grave, instead he throws a few more shovels of dirt on our heads. Why? Because the truth is, real life is rarely about perfect happy endings. Real life is twisted, bent and jaded.

Forget about the flashy, high-action kidnapping films like TAKEN that are short on plot. GRACELAND never sacrifices its heart for a quick and easy adrenaline fix. On second thought, let me retract that statement. Instead, let me say that GRACELAND relies on masterful storytelling and a potent story with more resonant real-world issues to slowly fill the viewers veins with an adrenalized rush. As a suspenseful tale of a man desperate to save his daughter, GRACELAND matches the bar. As an emotional, intelligent case study of life in a world few of us will ever dream of actually stepping foot into, this film will knock you on your ass.

Morales maintains a close and personal vantage point, often uncomfortably so, never allowing the viewer to pull away and remind themselves “hey, this is only a movie.” Even in the films’ opening moments, Morales already has us hating a key character, while empathizing with Marlon and the nauseatingly disgusting situation he is in and must face on what seems a daily basis just to make ends meet. Its this dichotomy of Marlon’s restrained morals and the requirements of his job that give us hope that he will somehow find a way out of this mess.

GRACELAND co-stars Menggie Cobarrubias as the corrupt Congressman Changho and Dido De La Paz as the corrupt detective Ramos. Both men have their flaws, but at varying degrees and with subtly contradicting lines in the sand. Changho represents the “upper class” of the Philippines, fitting as his role takes something of a backseat to that of the detectives, who serves as a sort of intermediary between the very small upper class and the vast lower class. GRACELAND is a gritty, dirty looking film yet also manages to capture a certain untarnished beauty in the way the world looks around Marlon. Morales portrays things as they are, for better or for worse. At times, it even seems perhaps that shots may not have been authorized, perhaps even captured at great risk to the filmmakers themselves. All of this adds to the tension, builds layers upon layers onto the texture of the film. This allows the viewer to get a little dirty. We need to feel some of that to fully appreciate the cinematic environment in which the story is told.

In the end, no one character is quite what they seemed in the beginning. In the end, GRACELAND has us playing everything back in our minds, looking for explanations and justifications. In the end, the truth is that a father will do whatever he must to protect his family and damn anyone that wants to tell him what’s right and wrong in the eyes of those who haven’t walked in his shoes. However, in the end, all actions also have their consequences. GRACELAND is available on VOD/iTunes now and opens in theaters on Friday, April 26, 2013. Be sure to visit the official GRACELAND website for more information and to find a screening near you.

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars

graceland-2013_pstr

December 15, 2011

SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS – The Review

Filed under: Action,Adventure,General News,Mystery,Review — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Travis Keune @ 11:59 pm

Mystery fans rejoice, the world’s greatest detective returns in SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS, to be referred to as AGOS from here out. Guy Ritchie returns to direct the sequel to his 2009 reimagining of the eccentric, yet brilliant master sleuth. Robert Downey, Jr. (RDJ) returns as Holmes, along with Jude Law as Doctor James Watson. This film also offers the arrival of Swedish actress Noomi Rapace (from the original THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO) in a major Hollywood film, as the gypsy Madame Simza Heron.

Holmes is up to his normal shenanigans, but this time he’s obsessed with what he calls the greatest case of his career, or even of all time, in his words. The problem, however, is that Holmes is working alone. Watson is about to get married, but Holmes isn’t about to let that stand in his way, managing to unintentionally involve Doc Watson in his deadly pursuit of a genius evil mastermind by way of biting off more than he may be able to chew. Also assisting Holmes this time around, but in a smaller role and with comedic flair, is Stephen Fry (V FOR VENDETTA) as Holmes’ brother Mycroft.

AGOS sees the emergence of Professor Moriarty, played rivetingly by Jared Harris, an incredibly smart and dangerous foe to rival the wits of Holmes himself. The two engage in a battle of the minds, a sort of game to determine who is superior, but a game that has the lives of many, even world peace at stake. Moriarty’s plans are merely a business venture to him, but to Holmes this is a test of his own ability, proving to be his most challenging and deadly investigation.

For fans of the first SHERLOCK HOLMES (2009), expect more of the same from RDJ, cunning and clever, witty and ill-mannered, obnoxious and reckless. With Ritchie once again behind the helm, AGOS also maintains the use of the slow-motion, or “bullet time” effects photography that allows incredible detail during epic action sequences. As before, this technique works wonderfully for the hand to hand fights, illustrating how Holmes preconceives his every move before the fight even begins. However, as spectacular as one massive scene involving Holmes, Watson and Heron fleeing an arsenal of massive guns may be, the technique is used to a point of being stretched too thin. The result is a dampening of the initially induced awe.

Aside from the slight overuse of the slow-motion tactics, AGOS involves some truly exhilarating action sequences. Hans Zimmer’s score is nothing short of a damn good time, energetic and highly appropriate, but the pacing of the film as a whole is not quite as finely tuned as in Ritchie’s 2009 film. There’s plenty of fun to be had with this second adventure, but the 129-minute sequel feels significantly longer than the 128-minute SHERLOCK HOLMES that rebooted the franchise.

Guy Ritchie continues to prove his knack from combining comedy and action, a talent Brett Ratner could only dream to accomplish on this level. Holmes and Moriarty are something like a superhero and his arch-nemesis super villain, whose quarrel with determine the fate of the world. AGOS is as much a battle of intellects as it is a physical battle, as the two characters try and gain the tactical edge throughout the film, much like the symbolic chess match they undertake in the final act of the film.

I found myself thoroughly entertained by SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS, despite the slower pacing. Unfortunately, the only real complaint I have about the film is the ending, which feels a bit too much like a Hail Mary, last resort effort to wrap up the final battle while setting up a twist to follow. The ending is absurd as it plays out, requiring more than it’s fair share of demand on the viewer’s suspension of disbelief, even for a popcorn movie such as this. Regardless of the faltering finale, SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS is well worth seeing for the fun factor on a Friday night.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

May 11, 2009

Antonio Banderas detects a ‘Big Bang’

Filed under: Actors,Casting,Suspense — Tags: , , , , , — Travis Keune @ 6:54 am

antoniabanderasbigbang

Hannibal Pictures is developing a “neo-noir” detective story of which Tony Krantz (Otis) will be directing. The screenplay was written by Erik Jendresen (Band of Brothers). The movie will star Antonio Banderas as a private dick in Los Angeles, hired on to locate a missing stripper.

From the way the plot synopsis reads, it sounds like it will have an element of dark humor involved, a la Oliver Stone’s ‘U-Turn’. Banderas’ P.I. character follows the case’s trail into the New Mexico desert where he encounters a Russian boxer, a trail of bodies and a billionaire trying to recreate the nuclear physics equivalent to the Big Bang.

[source: Variety]

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