Riders of Justice (2020) (Subtitles)
3.20 out of 4stars
"Markus, a soldier in Afghanistan, goes home to his teenage daughter, Mathilde, when his wife dies in a tragic train accident. It seems like an accident until a mathematics geek, who was also a fellow passenger on the train, and his two colleagues show up. Then the personal investigation begins."
Excellent comedy drama action thriller mash up. Albeit, I'm not quite sure there's enough action in it to consider it an action movie per say, but I find it comforting to say that this is a movie where the action feels 100% realistic imo. As Kihei stated, there is plenty of smart quick wit that's laughter worthy throughout. That in itself would have been enough popcorn entertainment for viewer to be satisfied, but the film is full of layers and food for thought mixed in. The biggest themes by far are fate, time, grief, revenge, and family/friends. Fate is the culmination of small and large scale events, circumstances, and interpersonal actions creating the situation and existence one is currently at in an immediate and accumulated fashion. Time is invaluable for no one knows what fate brings because nothing in this world, nor tomorrow is guaranteed. Grief is something everyone deals with differently, but is unquestionably easier to deal with if you have caring people around you/a good support system. Revenge never resolves the damage or pain it's initial wrong caused and is ultimately pointless, that said, for certain types of people in a certain mindset and situation, it still can be gratifying and meaningful (if that oxymoron makes sense). And obviously, family and friends are the most important and most timeworthy things in our lives. And, I know this isn't a 1 to 1 comparison, but it reminded me a lot of Martin McDonagh's projects, which bring levity, honesty, heart, and depth to darker subject matter.
The Mist (2007) (Rewatch)
3.20 out of 4stars
"A freak storm unleashes a species of bloodthirsty creatures on a small town, where a small band of citizens hole up in a supermarket and fight for their lives."
This for me was a great horror movie that I will never forget. It's a layered horror movie with as much on it's mind as it does visibly, and it has a lot visibly/physically going on. Visually, there is a good amount of imaginative creatures with nightmarish abilities amongst other violence/touches of gore going on. Psychologically, where should I start. Fears of a primitive, unknown, religious, political, mob/tyrant, and even familial nature all are explored plentifully. And while this isn't as great as The Shawshank Redemption or The Green Mile which Darabont also did, I still think Darabont gets about the most he possibly can out of the script and adds one hell of an unforgettable gut punch of an ending to Stephen King's original story with a haunting musical piece tied to it.
City of the Dead (1960)
2.65 out of 4stars
"A young college student arrives in a sleepy Massachusetts town to research witchcraft, where a condemned witch was burned at the stake a couple hundred years ago. During her stay at an eerie inn, she discovers a startling secret about the town and its inhabitants."
A good supernatural horror film. Does an excellent job of creating an uneasy mood all around with it's talk of satanism/witchcraft, sinister set pieces/settings, creepy townfolk, and fog, lots and lots of fog. I'd categorize this movie as more uneventful/slow burn in style, but once the ending "begins" that label for this movie is undone. Without ruining any of it, the 'grand finale' ending delivers excellently.
The 355 (2022)
2.15 out of 4stars
"When a top-secret weapon falls into mercenary hands, a wild card CIA agent joins forces with three international agents on a lethal mission to retrieve it, while staying a step ahead of a mysterious woman who's tracking their every move."
Well, movie releases in theaters are kind of expected slow this last couple of weeks, so this action spy thriller was the lesser or evils/things I haven't seen to watch. Without question it has a great highly accomplished cast, but the script is no where near their quality of caliber. Expectedly it's illogical on so many levels, but the question is, was it fun and entertaining with quality action sequences? The cast definitely elevates the material, but I'd say at best it was slightly above average in action and fun caliber relative to contemporary peer films.