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Trap (2024)

Trap

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Serial killers are a fortunate bunch.  While the job does require a commitment to planning, attention to detail and a level of perseverance that few can muster, it’s also heavily dependent upon luck.  Take The Butcher, the serial killer at the center of Trap, who somehow manages his homicidal enterprise in addition to being a devoted family man and a firefighter.  His dedication to all facets of his life is nothing short of admirable.  For starters, The Butcher’s daily schedule must be a logistical nightmare.  He must ping-pong between his home, putting out fires and attending to victims–residing at any one of his covert murder houses–without getting caught.  The Butcher may be good, but nobody’s that good.  Luck is always present to give serial killers a little helpful nudge when they’re so close to being caught.  In Trap, The Butcher is so darn lucky that he must be living the Life of Riley.

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Despicable Me 4 Mega Minions

Despicable Me 4

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Has Gru always been a government agent?  I still haven’t seen Despicable Me 1, 2 or 3, so I’m at a disadvantage when it comes to grasping the nuances of this franchise.  I did see Minions: The Rise of Gru, where a grade school-aged Gru helped the Anti Villain League (or AVL) capture bad guys of his own free will.  Given how Despicable Me 4 shows that Gru is still in kahoots with “the man”, describing him as “despicable” is such a misnomer.  He may be irritable and occasionally get into mischief, but his heart is in the right place.  With that in mind, perhaps the time has come to give these movies a more appropriate name, like Disagreeable Me?  Or Dyspeptic Me?  Cranky but Admirable Me?  If anyone at Illumination Studios is reading this, I offer up these suggestions free of charge.  Consider it a public service.

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Twisters

Twisters

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Twisters fits in the same category as Sony’s recent Jumanji movies in that it’s not a remake or reboot of the original, but is clearly inspired by it.  Aside from the title, it has few things in common with the first movie.  Like Bill Paxton’s character in Twister, Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones is a “human barometer”, able to read the weather without the help of instrumentation.  Then there is Dorthy, a suped-up trash can filled with little scientific devices intended to be sucked up into a tornado.  And it goes without saying that the movie has a number of tornadoes and related hijinks.  Otherwise, this entry in the “Twister Universe” is very much its own thing.  So why did the filmmakers decide to call it Twisters?  Studios have had a tough time lately convincing audiences to see original movies, so a touch of nostalgia goes a long way towards increasing awareness.  But another way, if the movie had been named Tornado Alley or The Tornado Wranglers I doubt it would have generated the same level of interest that it has.

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Longlegs

Longlegs

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I certainly admire Perkins’ Longlegs, a loving homage to the serial killer genre.  The movie proudly wears its influences on its sleeve, and those familiar with The Silence of the Lambs and Se7en will have fun identifying all of the ways Perkins references them in this film.  Given the movie’s incorporation of encoded messages, I would include David Fincher’s Zodiac in the mix as well.

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Inside Out 2

Inside Out 2

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Would it surprise you to know that even after writing well over two hundred reviews, I still feel anxious whenever I start a new one?  I always ask myself the same questions.  What if I don’t have anything interesting to say?  What if nobody reads it?  What if I say something dumb and lose what little credibility I have?  What if I miss my self-imposed Tuesday morning publication date?  Fortunately, after seeing Inside Out 2, I now know that all of these expressions of anxiety emanate from an orange, bug-eyed Muppet who has usurped control of my mind.

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A Quiet Place: Day One

A Quiet Place: Day One

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Here’s a trick question:  How do the aliens in the A Quiet Place franchise arrive on Earth?  The answer is…we don’t know.  In the sequel and this prequel, all we are shown is streaks of light tearing across the sky.  The assumption is that they arrive in space ships, but neither film gives us any indication of what those look like.  For a typical alien invasion movie, seeing the alien spaceship(s) is the money shot–think Independence Day, War of the Worlds and The Day the Earth Stood Still.  Amazingly, three movies into this franchise, the alien’s mode of transport is still a mystery.

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The Bikeriders

The Bikeriders

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The Bikeriders is filled with memorable scenes, and it opens with that immediately grabs our attention.  Benny (Austin Butler), a biker, is peacefully enjoying a whiskey and beer at a bar in the middle of the day.  He’s approached by two imposing men who angrily tell him to remove his colors.  After looking them over, he says with a smirk that they’d have to kill him first.  The men are happy to oblige and proceed to pummel him.  As the incredibly violent confrontation played out, I found myself asking questions.  Why did those guys want to beat up Benny just because of his jacket?  And more importantly, why does Benny invite the confrontation?

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The Watchers

The Watchers

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If you’re an American and are desperately running from your past, where should you go?  To a pet shop in Galway, Ireland, of course.  Given how essential this detail is to the entire story of The Watchers, you would think it would be addressed at some point, but no.  For a movie that is ultimately about the importance of getting the details right, The Watchers rarely bothers to do so.  While it does stop at regular intervals to deliver unwieldy gobs of exposition that explain what is happening, it never concerns itself with why.  It’s a story that insists on giving a perfectly logical explanation for everything, but doesn’t make any logical sense.

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Evil Does Not Exist

Evil Does Not Exist

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Of all the reasons people use to justify developing previously untouched land, creating a glamping site has to be right up there.  I was unfamiliar with the term before seeing Evil Does Not Exist, and after two characters explained what it meant I was appalled.  The thought of bulldozing trees and smoothing a natural landscape so that rich people can have a glamorous camping experience is silly, but I fully understood why people would pay for it.  Unlike a public camping site, glamping offers amenities and resort-style services.  There’s no need to “rough it” when you can relax in the equivalent of a hotel room nestled amongst trees.  (This begs the question as to whether an activity can even be called camping if there are no inconveniences involved.)  Second, glamping is all about exclusivity.  There’s no need to worry about camping around normal, everyday people when you can use your money to pitch your yurt next to other rich people like yourself.

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Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

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Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (or Furiosa for short), is the story of how Furiosa became the fearless driving badass that was introduced in Mad Max: Fury Road nine years ago.  In that movie, she (as portrayed by Charlize Theron) was referred to as Imperator Furiosa and was presented to us in her fully-realized form without a hint of backstory.  With her shaven head, grease-painted face and steampunk mechanical arm, she fearlessly drove across the post-apocalyptic wasteland for her boss, Immortan Joe.  Furiosa’s cool head and savvy driving skills made her highly respected within Joe’s autocratic society, which is great when the rest of the world only wants to kill and eat you.  For reasons she kept to herself, she grew tired of working for The Man and decided to drive off the Australian reservation, as it were, liberating herself and Joe’s wives in the process.  After encountering some speed bumps, she rescues Max and together they overthrow Joe’s noxious patriarchy.  In the end, Furiosa became the Citadel’s new, benevolent leader, while Max fades away.

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