Quick Reviews: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Immaculate, Road House (2024), Love Lies Bleeding, Breakdown
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
Overall enjoyable, but for everything I liked in the film there was a choice I either wasn’t fond of or an idea I felt the film could have capitalized on but didn’t. I love that the antagonist in this film was a fresh and new villain, but they arrive in the film far later than they should have. I loved that they brought back the easy-to-loathe character of Walter Peck from the original film, but having him return and not having Bill Murray’s Venkman level him with witty barbs rejects one of the best parts of the original film. I once again love McKenna Grace as Phoebe, the granddaughter of Egon, and even love the story that unfolds between her and a female ghost that had hints of a burgeoning relationship, but the way it is executed is largely uneven. That isn’t to say that every positive in the film has a mirror opposite issue; the opening sequence through Manhattan is exactly what most fans have been craving, and the commentary from the original Ghostbusters about how their days of being behind the proton pack are closing and being handed to a new generation is a logical direction and somewhat poignant. And for most fans of the franchise, this will feel almost like a live action episode of the beloved animated series. For me I enjoyed the experience in the theater but felt it was just lacking enough to be a substantial entry in the series.
5/10
Immaculate
Religious horror, despite being a genre I enjoy, can often be accused of being derivative. Particularly with Catholic religious horror, similar iconography, approach to the antagonist, and even dialogue can be similar from film to film. Which is why I was pleasantly surprised that “Immaculate”, while leaning on some of these tropes, still does quite a bit that feels different. It is also driven by a truly mesmerizing performance by Sydney Sweeney. She plays a nun committed to her faith who begins to have questions after she seemingly becomes the host of a virgin pregnancy. The role is a departure for Sweeney, who to a degree is perceived as the blonde bombshell of Hollywood at the moment, which makes the lack of vanity Sweeney has in the role even more prominent. She begins the film as a deeply chaste, innocent soul who is committed and unshaken in her Catholic faith, and Sweeney pulls it off well. She also has a deeply expressive face that really caters to the more outrageous and disturbing moments well. Some of her reactions I would even say felt like something you’d see in a German expressionism film. Parallel to that, this is a film that certainly wears any influences on its sleeve. The candlelit scenes are very well shot and the cinematography in general is clearly aspiring to provide the film with more polish than your standard early year horror yarn. The film also, despite being a supernatural thriller, keeps a lot of the horror more grounded in comparison to other films of this ilk, and arguably the movie is the better for it. There’s some dialogue that felt a little cheesy for my taste in this sort of film, and there’s some elements of the third act that I felt weakened the grounded feel of the rest of the picture, but honestly, the last 10 minutes of this in particular is a home run. Sweeney has one uncut long shot that will probably be the most talked-about aspect of this movie, and rightfully so. It’s a watchable film, with personality and some smart ideas, and arguably her performance elevates it to recommended viewing.
8/10
Road House (2024)
“Road House” is relentlessly silly and preposterous, it is drenched with hilariously cheesy dialogue, and the characters are caricatures largely dialed to over-the-top heights. In other words, it maintains most of what makes the original “Road House” so much fun. Jake Gyllenhall gets the tone of the film, and despite his Oscar-nominated pedigree, leans into the absurdity of the role and he is a lot of fun in this. He’s a bouncer at a bar once again, but this time he is a former UFC fighter who is working at a beach bar, which does give the film a different style than its predecessor. He gets the humor the film is striving for, and some of my favorite scenes are the polite, cordial approach Dalton would take after beating someone mercilessly for being rude. Gyllenhall has always been a strong actor but people sleep on his comedic chops, which have been on display in past roles and are certainly showcased here.
In all honesty the aspect of the film I found to be the weakest was Conor McGregor in his first legitimate acting role as the main physical opponent to Gyllenhall’s Dalton. Conor is clearly charismatic, funny, and can truly come across as menacing, as anyone who has seen him in UFC will probably recognize, but here he never finds the right balance of zany and frightening. While there are signs and moments in the film that hint at McGregor being able to bring the same personality he has in MMA to the silver screen, I felt he wasn’t quite able to achieve it here.
Many of the fight scenes have a cool style, but some of the slow motion choices and CGI transition shots I felt pulled the viewer out of some really energetic sequences. Overall though, as this debuted on streaming, I think it’s certainly worth a watch, as there is still plenty to find entertaining.
6/10
Love Lies Bleeding
I’m unapologetically smitten by most movies that are focused on a crime that has gone horribly wrong and the aftermath of trying to navigate the consequences of such. Even more so when these type of dramas/thrillers have a quirky edge to them or present this trope in a refreshing way. “Love Lies Bleeding” details the burgeoning lesbian romance between a gym owner (Kristen Stewart) and a dedicated bodybuilder (Katy O’Brian) and the tension that ignites when one of them is involved in a murder. Crime films are often a showcase for a wide range of emotion, and therefore it’s not uncommon to see actors really chew up the scenery in films like this. Kristen Stewart is excellent here, though her performance is more grounded and meant to anchor the film. The gem of this movie is Katy O’Brian, who is quite impressive in the role, both physically and emotionally. She looks incredible in the role, and her physique clearly required a tremendous measure of dedication, but it is her performance that really shines. She is shown as a figure driven by obsession, both in bodybuilding and in her newfound love, and her willingness to make deeply self-destructive choices as a product of that obsession is what drives most of the narrative of the film. She is clearly strong, capable, and even terrifying if you fall on the wrong side of her, but there is also never a moment where her vulnerability is not evident, and even with a climax that makes some surreal choices that did not always land for me, I stayed deeply invested in her and Stewart the entire time. As with most A24 efforts, the cinematography is lovely in the film, with most of the scenes occurring at night and helping the film to maintain a noir style that fits the story. Also, I never knew I needed Ed Harris as a crime boss in a movie, but man am I ever glad I got to see it. A24 produces far more hits than misses, and this entry certainly falls into the former category.
9/10
Breakdown
My girlfriend’s adoration for Kurt Russell (“John Carpenter’s The Thing” ranks as one of our favorite films together, a couples movie if ever there was one) led to us engaging in a binge watch of many of his titles, and this 1997 action vehicle was one I recall seeing the trailer for but never catching when it was originally released. I am very happy that we tracked it down during our Russell marathon, because it is a taut, kinetic film that breezes through its runtime. Set almost entirely in the desert, it involves Russell and his wife (Kathleen Quinlan) getting help from a local truck driver (J.T. Walsh) after their car breaks down. The wife agrees to ride with the man into town to get a tow truck, but after the husband manages to repair the issue in the vehicle himself and heads to town, she is nowhere to be seen. In this sense the movie felt a bit similar to the 1988 classic “The Vanishing”, which also revolved around a husband’s search for a missing wife in a rural town. Yet while that movie focused more on the psychological terror of the premise, this film is more focused on the suspense such a concept can generate. Further emphasizing the suspense is veteran actor JT Walsh in one of his final roles as the sinister truck driver who takes a sadistic glee in tormenting Russell, and largely seems motivated to do so for sport than anything else. The conflict between these two characters transforms this into a revenge thriller, and it has a lot of the story beats you would expect from that type of tale, but it plays it with far more of an edge than I would have expected in a 1997 film. I find it surprising that Russell doesn’t mention this film more, as his transformation from a somewhat WASPy husband stressed and concerned about his wife’s absence to a rugged everyman badass exacting vengeance on the crooks who have chosen to terrorize them is a role that is entirely up his alley. This is somewhat of an unseen gem, and if you want a quality thriller with a deeply satisfying conclusion, it is worth the investment in time.
8/10