Director: David Ayer
Starring: Brad Pitt, Uber & J.K. Simmons 
Rated: PG-13 (language and peril) 
Runtime: 1 hour & 41 minutes

 
Screenwriter Cameron Alexander and director David Ayer make a crucial decision in the opening scene of their survival thriller, “Heart of the Beast.” They immediately tell us, as viewers, “the dog isn’t going to die.” This allows us to relax. After all, there's a reason for an entire website called Does the Dog Die? People just don’t want to see it, and we dog lovers will intentionally avoid movies if we believe the dog is going to die.
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The decision to show us a glimpse into the near future calms us down, but there won’t be much calm to be had, even with the realization that the dog won’t be dying over the next hour and 40 minutes, because Odin, the retired combat German Shepherd, and James (Brad Pitt), a retired Special Forces veteran, are going to face Hell after a heart attack leads to James crashing his seaplane in the middle of nowhere in the vast Alaskan wilderness.

This movie is pretty much Pitt and the dog (though there is a great almost cameo from J.K. Simmons), but it’s never boring. It begins with James and Odin having a vacation of sorts- more of a getting away from the world- before the crash begins their harrowing journey back to civilization.

It might have been easier on these two warriors had the plane crash actually killed them, because everything in the Alaskan wilderness is out to kill you: the terrain, the weather, rapids, Grizzly bears and wolves. In fact, there was almost one too many obstacles for James and Odin to clear, in an “are you kidding me?” type way, but the story works for me because I’m a dog lover and the bond between a human and a dog – even if my lazy mutts and I will never be literal warriors – will keep me on the edge of my seat.

Pitt, at 62, seems like he might be going through a Tom Cruise-esque point in his career where everything he does has a bit of machismo to it – though his recently retired Special Forces vet is more believable than him playing a Formula 1 driver old enough to be the father of the rest of the drivers. “F1” somehow got a Best Picture nomination; this film won’t, but I enjoyed “Heart of the Beast” more – again, probably the dog, but Pitt does a good job as a man of few words who loves his dog more than anything else life has to offer.

Uber, the German Shepherd playing Odin, is about the cutest pup actor you’ll ever see. 

Despite the opening where you know the dog survives, you’ll still be scared at moments, and you’ll definitely cry if you have any feelings at all. “Heart of the Beast” is a rare kind of movie: both heartwarming and heartbreaking, with both feelings occasionally coming at the same time.

If there are any faults with the film – other than how many things these two can survive, potentially overwhelming some - it’s that we don’t necessarily get inside James's head, but I don’t think it’s needed. It isn’t a character study. It’s a film about a man and his best friend. 

“The Uprising” is Paul Greengrass’ Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Robin of Locksley Rises.’ 
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You may read that and think of it only as a bit, but Thomasin McKenzie literally says the line, “When Johnny Boy raised me from darkness,” as if she were trapped in those caves right alongside Jamie Bell’s John “Bane” Ball. 

Equally mystifying is how, despite Walt Disney’s 1973 animated classic still being one of my all-time favorites, it is crazy that they keep making live-action remakes of this property after already giving up on Aladdin. I kid, but we’ve arguably had just as many takes on Robin Hood in the past 20 years as we’ve had Batman movies. 

There’s something about how God governed the whole of societal structure at this time and, furthermore, how belief in this figure was such a guiding light for people’s lives that they’d endure being grossly mistreated for the sake of truth and light. Unfortunately, Greengrass’ screenplay never quite cracks the proceedings of this familiar tale with such thematic decisions.

Andrew Garfield is never not effective, his “Ploughman” utilizing the actor’s strong, silent charisma to make us believe in his power to lead a revolution, yet aside from the trailer moments, it almost feels as if the actor was most concerned with how accurately weathered he appeared more than anything else. 
It is incredible … the amount of power we allow a piece of paper to have over us.

I was surprised how quickly this ended when it just began to feel like it'd found its groove, but as long as you don’t take “Onslaught” too seriously, the fact it doesn't amount to much won't override the fun to be had or even the potential many of its influences allude to. A key example is that every word Dan Stevens' mad scientist Hans Kammler speaks (“Progress does not crawl on its belly like the worm.”) feels like utter nonsense, and given Stevens delivers it in his most serious and dramatic tone, it makes this incredibly funny even as the arc we might have hoped for from his character is cut short; much like every other aspect of the film. 
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Matthew Pusti's score does a nice job of using the sounds that made its inspirations' hallmarks without simply iterating on them. If stunt casting was a category, this and ‘Camp Miasma’ would be in a dead heat for first given the utilization of Reginald VelJohnson and Michael Biehn here, while Adria Arjona does an equally nice job of taking up the Ellen Ripley/Sarah Connor mantle that Adam Wingard and co-writer Simon Barrett place at the center of the film; Eric Wareheim lowkey stealing every scene he’s in to boot. A strong child performance from Blake Kennedy only adds credibility to the emotional heft of the conflict, as does the genuinely disturbing gas station sequence in which a mass shooting is enacted, adding an unexpected weight to the executions Wingard previously made viewers believe would all be in good genre fun. Though it's clear Wingard and Barrett have some strong opinions, none are given enough time or space to suggest “Onslaught” has more on its mind than homage.

Director: Susanne Bier
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman & Lee Pace
Rated: PG-13 (some violent content, suggestive material and language)
Runtime: 2 hours & 10 minutes

 
Like its predecessor, “Practical Magic 2” is a perfectly competent and comfortable Hallmark Halloween movie. Sandra Bullock’s Sally narrates as if she’s catching up with old friends via an annual Christmas card … and that’s undoubtedly exactly what the target audience wants. Oversimplified and conveniently plotted, the dynamic between Sally and Nicole Kidman’s Gillian hasn’t changed much over the undetermined amount of time that has passed in the world of the Owens sisters, even though it’s been 28 years since the first film's release. Sally doesn’t embrace who she is in a frustrating fashion, while Gillian is an incessant flower child, and though director Susanne Bier (who has worked with both Bullock and Kidman on separate projects in the past) treads much of the same ground as Griffin Dunne‘s original (yes, that Griffin Dunne), this new film is at least more focused in its narrative objective. 

​We could talk about how Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing are underutilized or how only one of Sally’s daughters - now played by Joey King and Maisie Williams - is utilized appropriately while the others are relegated to babysitting Blue Beetle (ironic, huh?), we could talk about how bland the digital photography looks despite being shot by Simon Duggan, or we could even talk about how Solly McLeod seems to be doing his best Chris Hemsworth impression, but again - none of that really factors into the reason for the film’s existence. This sequel exists because Bullock is one of the last remaining stars who can still garner worthwhile box office results, no disrespect to Kidman. Pair genuine star power with a known IP, and it’s a little surprising this is only the second ‘Practical Magic’ film that’s been made.

That said, there is a moment that occurs when Bullock’s Sally is meant to follow Lee Pace’s mysterious Ian Wright out of a gate, with him directing her which way to follow as he leads. Rather than play this simple interaction straight, Bullock has Sally follow her instincts in the opposite direction before realizing she’s going the wrong way, looping back around as she comically clarifies her confusion. It’s a small moment, but it’s the kind that continues to endear Bullock to audiences all these 30 years later, and if you can get a handful of those kinds of moments in your Sandra Bullock movie, you have everything you need. This happens again when Sally goes to jump over a fallen tree trunk and immediately fails, only to quickly crawl underneath. It happens again when Pace is sandwiched in between Bullock and Kidman, and even he can’t seem to fight back a laugh at just how winning Sandy, and therefore Sally, truly is - each of these moments conjuring just enough magic to maintain that familiar and soothing feeling of catching up with an old friend. 

It’s genuinely impressive and kind of crazy just how long and just how steadily Jason Statham has worked while maintaining the same register. Sly, Arnold, and especially The Rock have all had careers that ebbed and flowed and took on different eras, whereas Statham has largely existed in the same zone for going on 25 years now. We like a man whose brand of justice and vengeance is simple, and Statham has consistently embodied the slightly oxymoronic but now trademarked virtuous violence that better suits a January or August release than anyone else.

​Truth be told, “Mutiny” is exactly what we want and expect from the nearly 60-year-old action star, yet director Jean-François Richet's “Die Hard on a Boat” is clearly putting in minimal effort to clear a low bar come the climactic fight scene, and it really shows. It’s a half hour before Statham is throwing punches when there is no reason the film shouldn’t open with a flashback to Statham’s Cole Reed saving the life of Ramon Tikaram‘a Tibu, his present-day employer and the CEO of a cargo shipping company, who later talks of Cole being like family because he once saved his life. Unacceptable. A movie like “Mutiny” should wallop the audience with an inventive action sequence every 20 minutes, challenging its hero at every turn, yet Statham is seemingly so good at his job he rarely encounters an obstacle he doesn’t immediately have an answer for.

“Mutiny” might have also benefited from a more intimidating baddie than Roland Møller‘s crooked Captain - the script not giving him much to play with and Møller‘s portrayal adding little to the terror he’s meant to inflict - but hey, at least they seemed to film the majority of this on an actual shipping freight in actual locations. Take the wins where we can, I guess, even if “Mutiny” will end up on the lower rung of Statham’s legacy catalogue alongside the likes of “The Mechanic” and “Wrath of Man” than those that exercise innovation within their genre limitations à la “The Beekeeper” or “Homefront.” Steady is the hand.

Ridley Scott can’t help but make something compelling, no matter the material he’s given or how quickly he tries to capture it. Toeing the line between a post-apocalyptic drama and a cologne campaign shot in the mountainous regions of Abruzzo, “The Dog Stars” isn’t necessarily dog shit in any shape or form, but it lacks shape and form, not to mention intention, making the components - each valid in their intrigue - lack of integration disappointing. 

Said lack of cohesion, and as a result, investment in the story, was evident as my mind wandered during the screening to thoughts of how badass a team-up between Josh Brolin’s character Bangley and Ralph Fiennes’ Dr. Ian Kelson would be, wondering how Sam Spruell feels knowing the exact reasons he is cast in certain parts and trying to find details throughout that might lend themselves to a better title. Roaches? Grand Junction? Hell, “Hig & Cima” might have been better despite sounding like a Tuesdays at 7 Central CBS sitcom. 

Guy Pearce is still undefeated, and if you’d like to see what he can really do in a society-in-decline dystopian drama, go look up David Michôd's 2014 flick, “The Rover”(it’s on HBO Max now). All the intention and specificity of such a world, lacking in “The Dog Stars,” can be found there.

Overstuffed and underdeveloped, director Na Hong-jin‘s hybrid of countless movies you’ve seen before begins so audaciously it’s impossible not to be swept off your feet in some regard. Used more as a character technique than a narrative one, we’re dropped in media res in a place called Hope Harbor where neither the town nor any of its infrastructure - including the public servants - seem to operate in any traditional sense. Ideas around surveillance, fate and/or luck and the ineptitude of man float in and out of what little story can be pieced together, but nothing about the film's construction feels natural.
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It’s nearly an hour into “Hope” before we get a glimpse of the so-called “freaking huge monster,” and when it does fully reveal itself, it is so comical one wonders if it is intentionally so, even as the brutality of the violence remains in line with and is depicted as intensely as it was before the creature emerged from the shadows. Half an hour later, editing choices become apparent that do the pacing a disservice when, from an outside perspective, simply structuring scenes differently would have allowed for more weight to what is essentially (and ultimately little more than) a barrage of action sequences. 

Not that I’m averse to impressively staged action sequences (Na Hong-jin should replace Louis Leterrier on “Fast Forever” NOW), as the climactic chase sequence contains some of the most insane and visceral action moviemaking we’ve encountered in some time, but for a film whose action has so clearly been poured over in detail in order to craft moments audiences have never seen before, everything else in the movie feels like it was made up along the way; the drastic swings in tone from one moment to the next only emphasize this feeling of improvisation.