REVIEW: See For Me (2022) Stars Skyler Davenport and Jessica Parker Kennedy

Review by Jon Donnis

See For Me is a great new film that looks at how a blind person could deal with a home invasion.

Sophie (played by Skyler Davenport, who is most famous for video game voice work) is a blind former skier, who lives with her mother. For work Sophie house sits, (cat sits) luxury houses in New York.

Early on, the film gives the Sophie character extra layers, outside the obvious layer of not being able to see. (Actress Skyler Davenport is partially blind in real life), by showing that Sophie is not your innocent young girl, when you see her stealing some expensive wine with the help of a friend who guides her.

Sophies mother encourages her to download an app called "See For Me", which connects you to someone who will help you if you are in trouble as a blind person.

After arriving at a house to house sit, Sophie accidentally locks herself out, she decides to use the app for help. Sophie ends up being connected to Kelly (Jessica Parker Kennedy who you might recognise from The Flash). Kelly is a former servicewoman, so gives straightforward easy to understand instructions to help Sophie get back in the house.

With the main characters introduced, as well as an understanding of the limitations, this is where the home invasion angle starts.

Three people break in, they are after a large amount of money that is in a safe. They thought the house would be empty, so upon finding Sophie, their plans get more complicated.

What follows is a tense thriller, with Sophie getting help from Kelly, to try to get help, and then take on the burglars, with Kelly being her eyes and directing her.

There are a few semi twists pushed, will Sophie do the right thing, as well as a few things that make you think, but I won't spoil anything.

I expected a clichéd home invasion film, but was pleasantly surprised. Yes, there were a few clichéd moments, but in general the film felt original and fresh.

Any time you use a disability as the main focus of a film, you risk talking down to people with that disability, but I felt like everything was treated with respect, and Sophie was given enough layers that the being blind, wasn't what defined her character.

The Good

Well-acted, well filmed, with a simple but nicely directed story.

The Bad

The final scene of the film is very dark, while I understand that you need to even things up between characters, as a viewer some things are lost, but then I suppose that is the whole point. I think more dialog in the darker scenes would have been better.

Overall

A really good thriller. I score See For Me a solid 8/10

Review by Jon Donnis

Out Now on Amazon - https://amzn.to/3IMGosW

REVIEW: The Amityville Uprising (2022)

Review By Jon Donnis
I seem to be reviewing a lot of B movies recently, the latest one to come across my desk is The Amityville Uprising, released by Lionsgate. Not sure why Lionsgate are making and releasing B movies, they clearly don't need the small change that this film would make.

The film starts off with some terrible CGI showing a chemical blast at a military base. The general idea of the story is that this strange blast, creates a cloud of toxic acid rain. Most of the story takes place at a police station.

Now as I have mentioned before, there are Good Terrible movies and Bad Terrible movies. So where does this one fit in. Well its tough to say. The film is roughly 80 minutes long, HOWEVER, here is an awesome life hack I am going to give you right now. You can watch the entire film in 40 minutes! All you need to do is fast forward the first 40 minutes, and then start to watch from there.

I say this because the first 40 minutes is literally just people talking to each other about not very interesting things. Don't get me wrong, there is some funny one liners in there, but action wise, nothing really happens.

But the second 40 minutes of the film, it all picks up. The toxic acid rain will kill you, if it touches your skin, it will also then raise you up as a Zombie. The film is all about a few people trying to stay alive and kill zombies. Pretty standard stuff, but there are some funny one liners in there. I rarely laugh at such films, but the makers of this film realised that they had a very low budget and a crap storyline, so actually made the effort to have some funny lines, which I quite enjoyed. Throw in the fact you can see the whole film in 40 minutes, and it crosses that line into "Good Terrible".

There is also some really dumb clips from fake news broadcasts, which made me laugh, as well as a bizaree video game like feature, where upon the first time you are introduced to a character, you get a screen like below.

 

It makes no sense, but I just kinda liked it.

I also want to applaud the film makers for the ending, FINALLY we get an ending in a Zombie film that makes sense.

The Good
I enjoyed the sillyness and one liners.

The Bad
The first 40 minutes are a waste of time.

Overall
The film is stupid, but I still kinda liked it. I thought the ending was good, and the one liners made me laugh.

I score The Amityville Uprising (for a B movie), a solid 7/10

Out Now at https://amzn.to/3rdQXza

REVIEW: War of the Worlds Annihilation

Review by Jon Donnis

Streaming on Tubi TV, this is a disaster movie from the Kings of the B Movie, The Asylum.

All Asylum films are terrible, we know this, however there is good terrible, and bad terrible.

Good terrible films by The Asylum include the Sharknado franchise and The Megashark Franchise.
Bad terrible films, are pretty much everything else. Sadly, War of the Worlds Annihilation falls into the bad terrible list of films.

With that said, the film does star the one good Baldwin, in William Baldwin who plays General Skuller. 

Do I really need to even tell you what the story is? Alien invasion, robot machines, lots of dodgy dialog, terrible CGI, ridiculous gun fights, and a disappointing twist.

The Good

Some young actors, and new actors got a pay check. Good for them.

The Bad

I don't really blame the actors; they do their best with what is given to them. The story is just poor, the budget is tiny, and usually when you have these two problems, you make up for it with light hearted moments or a bit of comedy, this film has neither. 

Overall

Do not watch this rubbish. That is all

REVIEW: In the Strange Pursuit of Laura Durand (Η Αναζήτηση της Λώρα Ντουράντ)

Pre-order from Apple TV now at https://apple.co/35r8GuN

Review by Jon Donnis

In the Strange Pursuit of Laura Durand is a Greek buddy road trip film that has finally made its way to the UK, and gets a Digital Download release from 31st January'

Antonis Titsanis (played by Makis Papadimitriou) and Christos Fertakis (played by Michalis Sarantis) are two young men, down on their luck, loser type characters, no jobs, poor living conditions and really just letting life pass them by, surviving on Christos' unemployment benefits.

But from within this sad existence, they do have a common love interest. The beautiful Laura Durand, (Anna Kalaitzidou) a 1990s porn star who mysterious disappeared, one day after watching an old VHS tape and reminiscing about her career, they decide that they should solve the mystery of her disappearance and go on a mission to track her down, after they have a vision of her almost summoning them to save her.

What follows is their journey, a very weird at times journey, that mixes comedy, with drama, with full on mystery, without ever really settling on one genre.

The film even at one point goes to black and white to match the mood of the scene in a creepy old mansion, the characters heads even become enlarged and then there is a musical interlude/dance. All very weird.

At times it feels like the characters are either high on drugs, mentally ill, or part of some weird fantasy, the film cleverly never really tells you which reality is true within the confines of the film, which includes dream sequences, ghostly apparitions, and downright weird scenes. There is an element of a treasure hunt to the film, with maps and messages in a bottle, but these are never the main focus of the film, they are more like strange side effects of their journey.

The film is separated into chapters, which have various titles, a couple that come to mind are "Never Trust A Hippy" and "Memories Are Calling You To Come Back".

Do they ever find Laura Durand? Is she just a figment of their imagination? Well, I won't spoil it for you. But as with most road trip films; the journey is what is important, the detours etc, and not the destination as such.

A special shout out must be made for the soundtrack which is excellent, and at just over 90 minutes the film never really feels like it is dragging, or that a scene has been thrown in to fill time. Although this film is definitely one for the film festivals, as opposed to the mainstream, I can see it gaining cult status.

Buy the soundtrack now at https://amzn.to/33LnnIk

The Good

High quality filming and direction, the acting is believable, and although we have seen a million buddy road trip films, this one is different, which is an almost impossible achievement.

The Bad

Some of the translation from Greek to the English subtitles isn't brilliant, and I think that some of the humour in the film does not translate in general to an English audience, the nuance of the Greek language, might get lost in translation.

Overall

I benefited from speaking Greek, but I needed the subtitles too as mainland Greeks speak so fast! That said I enjoyed this film; it really is something different. 

Strong characters, a decent story, and fantastic soundtrack. 

I score In the Strange Pursuit of Laura Durand a strong 8/10

Review by Jon Donnis

In the Strange Pursuit of Laura Durand will be available on Digital Download from 31st January

Pre-order from Apple TV now at https://apple.co/35r8GuN

REVIEW: Shattered (2022) - Starring Cameron Monaghan & Lilly Krug

Review by Jon Donnis

Chris (Cameron Monaghan) is a retired tech millionaire, he wrote an app, sold it to google, and now he lives in a beautiful house with futuristic technology throughout. His wife (Sasha Luss) is divorcing him.

One late night he decides to go shopping, and meets a gorgeous blonde woman, Sky (Lilly Krug), she asks for his help in choosing some wine, her Uber cancels on her, and he ends up taking her back to his. This happens to me all the time! Really! Ok, apart from the hot blonde and I don't have a futuristic house, but the rest is spot on.

Chris and Sky start seeing each other, then one night when coming back to his car, someone is trying to break in, a scuffle ensues, and the criminal attacks Chris with a crowbar. Sky then steps in as a nurse for Chris to help him in his recovery.

From director Luis Prieto and writer David Loughery, Shattered is supposed to be your classic psychological thriller, with sex and violence thrown in. So, when Chris gets injured, and Sky starts looking after him, that is when the film starts to get going, step in John Malkovich as Ronald, who runs the residential motel that Sky lives in. A death of a roommate. Lots of twists and the film has all the ingredients to be a great psychological thriller. 

The problem is the film is quite dull to start off with, and although the film tries to be a throwback to the days of films like Basic Instinct and Fatal Attraction, the first hour just isn't very good, and by the time the film does kick into gear, it is nearly over, as it has a relatively short run time of about 90 minutes.

The acting is good, but the writing is poor, which leaves very talented actors, with a script that does not reach their level of ability.

The Good

Shattered looks great, it is filmed well, it looks professional, and the last 30 minutes are actually quite good.

The Bad

In the world of "On Demand", if you don't grab the attention of the viewer early on, you risk losing them, and they will just turn off, I fear that is what will happen with this film.

Overall

The film is ok, Sky (Lilly Krug) is great, and without spoiling anything, plays her part convincingly. I just feel like the actors deserved a better script.

I score Shattered a generous 5/10

REVIEW: The King's Daughter (2022) - Starring Pierce Brosnan and Kaya Scodelario

Review By Jon Donnis

The King's Daughter based on the book The Moon and the Sun, written by Vonda N. McIntyre, is one of those films that has seemingly been in the making forever. 

You can actually go back to 1999 when talk first started.

Fast forward to 2022 and The King's Daughter is due to be released on January 21, 2022, by Gravitas Ventures.

Since the film is not yet released, I will keep spoilers to an absolute minimum.

In somewhat of a revitalisation of his career, Pierce Brosnan stars as King Louis XIV, who after being shot, is convinced by his daughter, that for the betterment of France, he needs to become immortal, so the King sends his men off to find a mermaid, since mermaids are magical, if you sacrifice the mermaid during a solar eclipse, its life force can be transferred to the King, therefore making him immortal.

They manage to track down and capture the Mermaid pretty quickly, but then have to wait until the eclipse, so for most of the film the mermaid is kept in an underground pond of sorts.

Kaya Scodelario plays Marie-Josèphe, the Kings illegitimate daughter, who finds out about the mermaid and when she sees it, she realises they have a connection, and she befriends her.

Throw in a forced marriage to help save the Kingdom, a true love story, and a semi-CGI mermaid played by Bingbing Fan, and you have a rather impressive family fantasy film. At just under 90 minutes, it is the perfect length to hold your attention.

This is a proper old-fashioned tale, credible acting, a decent budget, a little bit of magic, likeable characters, this really does hit all the right marks for a good film.

The special effects of the mermaid are great, it pretty much stays under water for the whole film, and doesn't speak human language, seemingly communicating telepathically. I was glad they didn't go down all of the classic clichéd routes that mermaid films tend to go, and by not going down that route, it really kept the mystery and magic of the whole mermaid mythology strong.

The Good

Great acting, lovely story, perfect for the whole family.

The Bad

Nothing really, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Perhaps the lack of publicity in the US and the UK will hurt sales, I imagine if a big studio like Disney were behind this, it would be on every billboard in town.

Overall

Hard to dislike this, perfect for the whole family, I highly recommend The King's Daughter.

I score The King's Daughter a very strong 9/10

REVIEW: The Matrix Resurrections

 

I was promised a terrible woke sequel, but the bad guys are still the Communists (machines) and taking the red pill still wakes you up.

The story is cringe at times, but it's still a somewhat enjoyable action film. 

Set sixty years after the events of The Matrix Revolutions, the film follows our hero Neo, who is now living a somewhat normal life as Thomas Anderson in San Francisco as a Game Developer, and creator of The Matrix video games, (insert major cringe at this point with terrible 4th wall breaking dialog). Anderson is seeing a therapist and describes a psychosis of him believing The Matrix is real, after a while a new version of Morpheus offers him the red pill and reopens his mind to the world of the Matrix.

Neo joins a group of rebels and we have pretty much the same old story being told again.

Not only is there a new Morpheus, there is also a new Agent Smith, the problem here is that they have just recast old characters, and the original actors were so iconic in their roles, that this instantly seems alike a huge let down.

The Good

It is still the tale of good vs evil, the common man versus the elite, the special effects are incredible as you would expect.

The Bad

The film is not great, it is also not terrible

Overall

The promises of "reclaiming the red pill" narrative doesn't really materialise, the film is not overly woke, the problem is the film is just not that good. But that is because of the very high standard of the original.

I score the film a super generous 7/10 mainly as I am a huge Matrix fan. Could've and should've been better. We are literally living in a world right now that the original film fantasized about, but the film makers were too cowardly to take head on.

Review by Jon Donnis

REVIEW: Fortress - Starring Jesse Metcalfe and Bruce Willis,

Review By Jon Donnis

Fortress is the latest film to star Bruce Willis in what I can only imagine was a few days of filming. It seems that a lot of his films these days he signs on for, knowing he will complete filming of his parts in less than a week.

Apparently, Fortress is the first of a trilogy of films, with the first two films, filmed back-to-back, and the third already completed. With a relatively small budget, this does seem smart.

Fortress is directed by James Cullen Bressack and written by Alan Horsnail, and based on a story by Emile Hirsch and Randall Emmett.

Bruce Willis stars as Robert Michaels, a retired CIA agent who lives in a secret retirement village in the middle of the woods. His estranged son Paul, played by Jesse Metcalfe decides to come to the village to visit his father, straight away Paul realises things are a bit strange as the retirement village is surrounded by high security, fences and guards. Once inside he tries to convince his father to invest in his business.

Paul however has been followed by his father's old nemesis Frederick Balzary played by Chad Michael Murray, Balzary and his team of highly skilled killers launch an all-out attack on the village with the purpose of capturing Robert. But since this is a secret, high tech retirement village, there is a 70-year-old high tech bunker which everyone escapes to. The rest of the film is a battle between the good guys and the bad guys. 

A nice addition to the cast is 90210 legend Shannen Doherty who plays Gen. Barbara Dobbs.

The Good

This is more of a Jesse Metcalfe film, than it is a Bruce Willis film, and despite the low budget, a lot of the acting is of a decent quality, the action scenes are good, and the story if a bit cliche at times, is passable.

The Bad

Some of the scenes with Bruce Willis you can tell were filmed separately to the rest of the cast and then spliced in. There are also a few moments where it seems that entire scenes may have been cut, and characters move from one location to another with no real explanation.

Overall

The film is a low budget, action film, with a few decent big-name actors in it. It is never gonna set the world on fire, however it is still a decent film, with some good action scenes and even a few light hearted comedic moments.

I score Fortress a fair 7/10. I enjoyed it.

Out now in select theaters and on video on demand, released by Lionsgate Films.

REVIEW: Eternals - Starring Richard Madden, Salma Hayek & Angelina Jolie

Review By Jon Donnis

I wanted to watch Eternals when it first came out, but the bad reviews kind of put me off, so I thought I would wait until it was released for home viewing, so that I could watch it in peace.

I wish I hadn't bothered.

The film is terrible, the worst Marvel film ever released. Seriously, it is just as bad as everyone told me it would be.

The main thrust of the film is that we have a new team of Super Heroes, but we have never heard of them before, because they are supposed to just let things happen on earth and not get involved, for example when Thanos wiped out half the population in The Blip / The Snap, they just stood by and watched. Already I hate them. The film goes back and forth in the history of the characters, and in doing so shows them directly interfering with humanity making the whole point of them not interfering, which we are told early in the film, completely pointless.

Anyway, after getting rid of "The Deviants", weird alien creatures, they decide to live as humans for a few thousand years, and when The Deviants re-emerge, then The Eternals meet back up to take care of them. You see the Eternals are old, very old, God like figures, but they are not really Gods, they were created by alien, God like creatures, so really, they are synthetic life forms. The Deviants were created first by the God like aliens, as a way to destroy life on the planet, so that more intelligent life could evolve in its place. The Deviants then evolve themselves, and start killing intelligent life, so The Eternals are created to take care of The Deviants. 

The story is so convoluted and ridiculous, and full of holes, and because anyone who is not a comic book nerd, will have no idea who any of the multitude of characters are, they have to tell these deep stories about each of them.

Unlike previous Marvel films that would take one character at a time, before throwing them all into a film together, this film does the opposite and it suffers for it.

And then there are the characters themselves. This is a 100% woke tick box effort. Think of a minority, and it will be represented badly here. Never has a film shoved down your throat so many woke cliches in one go.

With all that said, Richard Madden as Ikaris is a decent character, he should have been allowed his own film, instead of just being thrown into this. Salma Hayek as the wise and spiritual leader Ajak is likeable, and Angelina Jolie as the fierce warrior Thena is also interesting. But these three are interesting in part because they are recognisable actors, so carry that gravitas with them. The rest of the characters are instantly forgettable and rather unlikeable. And in many ways The Deviants were actually helping stop the destruction of the planet, by eating people and keeping the population down!

Ever notice how the bad guys in Marvel films are always the ones saving the planet through depopulation? They are the Bill Gates of the Marvel Universe!

The Good

This is a tough one. Angelina Jolie's suit is nice.

The Bad

EVERYTHING. The fact this film has made a profit is purely down to it being a Marvel film and that having some good will with fans, but a lot of that will be lost after this film. Poor direction, uninspiring dialog, shoehorned in woke scenes, nonsensical plot points.

Overall

2 and a half hours I will never get back. The worst Marvel film ever made. Simple as that.

I score Eternals 3/10. A point for Richard Madden, Salma Hayek and Angelina Jolie, of whom I am fans of all three. But to be honest I would rather see them in Bruce Willis' next B movie than this rubbish.

REVIEW: Last Looks - Starring Mel Gibson and Charlie Hunnam

Review by Jon Donnis

Charlie Hunnam stars as disgraced former LAPD detective Charlie Waldo, Waldo starts the film living the life of a minimalist tree hugger in the woods but his quiet life comes to a sudden halt when he is convinced to work as a private eye to investigate the murder of an eccentric British TV star's wife. Mel Gibson plays said eccentric British TV star Alastair Pinch. And yes, Gibson puts on a terrible English accent throughout the film. I honestly thought that he would give up the accent and admit it was part of his TV persona, but no, he really keeps it the entire film.

The film itself is a bit of a whodunnit, the problem is the film is nearly two hours, and by the end of hour one, realising that there is still another hour to go, you might start wishing you were the one killed.

The whole film feels quite disjointed, many scenes seem to be either thrown in for the sake of it, or drag on way too long, at most this film should have been 80 minutes.

With that said, I am a fan of Mel Gibson, and him playing a snobbish, English TV star was funny, in part because of how ridiculous it was. Charlie Hunnam plays his part ok, but a bit too seriously, I think if they would have gone for a full-on comedy, this film could have worked much better.

Morena Baccarin is in the film, but nowhere near enough, how can you have Morena Baccarin in a film, then almost forget that you cast her! She is a star, and should have been front and centre in almost every scene.

Gibson has not quite entered the Bruce Willis level of low budget, different film every week, but he might end there, with that said Last Looks does have a decent cast, just not used at all right.

The film as a whole is not great, a decent story, mired by poor directing.

If you are a fan of Mel Gibson, then give this a watch, if you are a fan of Morena Baccarin, go watch the V remake.

I score Last Looks a poor 6 out of 10. Should have been much better.

REVIEW: The Commando (2022) - Starring Mickey Rourke and Michael Jai White

Review by Jon Donnis

The latest in what seems like a never-ending schedule of low budget, winter action film releases, The Commando sees Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler) and Michael Jai White (Spawn) come to blows in a classic home invasion film.

James Baker (Michael Jai White) is a DEA agent who has PTSD after a mission that went wrong and as he returns home to his family, he has to deal with all that that entails. Little does he know that the home he and his family live in just happens to be a hiding place for the ill-gotten gains of a bank robbery that happened years earlier.

Johnny, played by Rouke, finds himself at a parole hearing after being locked up for his crimes, he sweet talks his way through the hearing and manages to get released. As soon as he is out, he decides he needs to recover his money, so with his gang, they set about James Baker's house, and this is where the main action starts.

Baker's kids have found some of the money and have started spending it thinking it is a long-forgotten stash that no one will ever care about.

The film itself isn't that long, the budget is relatively low, which you can tell from some of the dodgy sound, it is almost like some scenes were filmed with no mic boom, or actors wearing microphones at all, and just the sound recording from the camera. There are a few scenes which seem thrown in just for the sake of it, and the plot overall is pretty simple.

With all that said, Michael Jai White is convincing as the PTSD suffering DEA agent, and Mickey Rourke is always an interesting person to see on screen. I did think they would give us a nice swerve right at the end, but alas my hopes were dashed.

The Good

Strong performance from Michael Jai White, some decent gore effects, and convincing fight scenes.

The Bad

Some attempts at light hearted / comedic moments fall a bit flat. And people never reloading guns is always a bit of a pet peeve of mine.

Overall

Is it an action classic? No. Is it a passable 90 minutes of low budget action sillyness? Yes. 
Is it worth your time to see it? If you are a fan of Michael Jai White then yes, why not. 

I score The Commando (2022) a generous 7/10

Rated 18 for violence, language, grunting. 

Run time: 1 hour 33 minutes. 

In selected cinemas and available to rent or buy on Apple TV, Google Play and other streaming platforms and pay TV outlets.

REVIEW: The Misfits - Starring Pierce Brosnan, Rami Jaber, Hermione Corfield, Jamie Chung, Mike d Angelo, Tim Roth, Nick Cannon and Qais Qandil

 

Review By Jon Donnis

Pierce Brosnan stars as Richard Pace, a renowned international thief, he finds himself recruited by a bunch of unconventional thieves, he is convinced to take part in an elaborate gold heist after realising his daughter is the one that created the group.

But unlike most thieves, "The Misfits" are in it for the good, think of Robin Hood and you get the idea.

The plan is to steal millions in gold bars from a secure vault hidden under a maximum security prison, the prison is owned by rogue businessman Schultz (Played by Tim Roth), and is used for funding terrorism around the world. 

When the film was released, it caused great controversy, as it is set in Qatar and the idea that they may fund terrorism might not be something they want advertised, even if it is in a film.

What follows is a pretty paint by numbers heist film, suped up cars, car chases, disguises, cons within cons, and a few explosions, and you get the idea.

Pierce Brosnan is Pierce Brosnan, he is cool, calm and collected, as he is in almost every film he makes.

Tim Roth plays his part as the evil businessman well, but again it is a part he has seemingly played endless times before. 

The rest of the cast are very generic and bland. One black guy, one Asian girl, one blond girl, etc, it is yet another "one of each" type of casting, as to not piss off any ethnic group.

The Good

I am a fan of Heist movies, and The Misfits rips pretty much all of them off, without ever really improving on any of them, but does it really need to? It ticks all the boxes, has the twists, if like me, you enjoy a good heist movie, then this is perfectly fine.

The Bad

This is a film made for an international market, as I mentioned it is very paint by numbers, tick all the boxes kind of film, you will watch it once, and forget about it.

Overall

A film no one asked for, we don't really need, but it is not terrible, it is also not great, it is just another film.

I score The Misfits a fair 5/10