A Cure For Wellness Review

3.0 Stars

 

A Cure For Wellness is a psychological thriller about a remote spa in the Swiss Alps.  Lockhart (Dane DeHaan) is an ambitious young executive who is tasked with retrieving Pembroke (Harry Groener) the CEO of their company from this spa.  When he arrives, it looks like a mix between a luxury spa and an insane asylum.  There are people doing yoga, exercising, swimming.  They are normal activities done in a creepy looking facility.  Lockhart meets a young woman, Hannah (Mia Goth) who asks if he's there to take the Cure.  He laughs and says he's on his way out.  She comments that no one ever leaves.

When Lockhart arrives, he asks to see Pembroke.  They are passively uncooperative at the "spa", but reluctantly agree to let him visit after 7pm when Pembroke's treatment is finished.  Lockhart agrees to come back and as he leaves the "spa", his driver hits a deer and their car crashes in the woods.  He awakes back at the facility and is being treated for a broken leg.  They convince Lockhart to be treated by them, and he decides to turn his retrieval mission into an investigation of the strange spa that is obviously anything but normal.

Other than that, you really don't get too much from the previews, no matter how many you watch.  But, if you're into psychological thrillers, the images that are beautifully terrifying, classically creepy, and oddly curious make you want to see A Cure For Wellness.  We saw orderlies in tight white t-shirts, white pants and white shoes conducting exercise classes and wheeling patients down long tiled corridors with flickering fluorescent lights overhead.  At one point, Lockhart is submersed in a water tank with a breathing tube and is suddenly surrounded by eels.  

 

The movie itself is hard to describe.  It's like Stanly Kubrik's Clockwork Orange mixed with Steven King's Misery mixed with the Saw movie franchise.  A Cure For Wellness was directed by Gore Verbinksi who directed three of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, the cartoon Rango, the failed Lone Ranger reboot, and The Ring.  Verbinski is quite eclectic in his directing ventures and did a great job creating this freaky nightmare that will have you cringing in your seat at times.  

 

It looked like a strange, unsettling, bizarre, crazy, awful thriller.  I gave it a 3.5 Star Prediction.  I'm going to lower the rating slightly to 3 Stars.  It wouldn't be a waste of money in the theatre, it's definitely money better spent as a rental, but most likely not one I'd own.  Mostly, it just moves along too slowly.  The movie is about 2 hours and 20 minutes long and it feels like it.  The last half hour or so, really ends the movie with a bang though.  A lot of revelation and action packed into a well-done conclusion to the movie.   So, what movie will be on my mind next? We shall see.

 

A Cure For Wellness Preview

A Cure For Wellness is a psychological thriller about a remote spa in the Swiss Alps.  Lockhart (Dane DeHaan) is an ambitious young executive who is tasked with retrieving the CEO of their company from this spa.  When he arrives, it looks like a mix between a luxury spa and an insane asylum.  There are people doing yoga, exercising, swimming.  They are normal activities done in a creepy looking facility.  Lockhart is approached by a young woman who asks if he's taken the Cure.  He laughs and says he's on his way out.  She comments that no one ever leaves.

As he leaves, he hits a deer and his car crashes in the woods.  He awakes back at the facility and is being treated for a broken leg.  They decide Lockhart would be a good candidate for the Cure, and he decides to turn his retrieval mission into an investigation of the strange spa that is obviously anything but normal.

Other than that, you really don't get too much from the previews, no matter how many you watch.  But, if you're into psychological thrillers, the images that are beautifully terrifying, classically creepy, and oddly curious make you want to see A Cure For Wellness.  We see orderlies in tight white t-shirts, white pants and white shoes conducting exercise classes and wheeling patients down long tiled corridors with flickering fluorescent lights overhead.  We see a steam room that looks like a dirty, dank bathhouse.  At one point, Lockhart is submersed in a water tank with a breathing tube and is suddenly surrounded by eels.  The Cure is a mysterious liquid administered a drop at a time from a blue bottle onto the patient's tongue.  I've wanted to watch this movie and it was just recommended to me.  It looks like a strange, unsettling, bizarre, crazy, awful thriller.  I'm giving it a 3.5 Star Prediction.  While I don't think it would be a waste of money in the theatre, it would probably be money better spent as a rental, but most likely not one I'd own.  Am I right?  We shall see.

City of Ghosts Review

City of Ghosts is a documentary independent film about ISIS terrorists in Raqqa, Syria, the citizen journalists exposing them, and the power of media used by both.  In 2014, ISIS took over Raqqa by force and recruited more soldiers to their cause by distributing CDs.  These CDs were poor in quality, looked amateur, and were not producing the results they wanted.  A group of 17 correspondents inside Raqqa filmed the actions of ISIS and transmitted their footage to another group of citizen activists outside of Raqqa who would then publish their footage online for the world to see.  ISIS caught on and stepped up their game, smartly, viciously, successfully.

For 40 years, Assad ruled Syria.  Slowly, Syrians had enough and rebelled.  A group of high school students sprayed graffiti demanding Assad leave and free Syria.  The government arrested those students, tortured them and killed them to send a message.  Their message failed and a full revolt arose, successfully toppling the regime.  Unfortunately for the Syrians, there was not a succession plan in place to set up a government to rule once Assad had been overthrown.  A militant group of Muslims named ISIS took Raqqa and they were even worse than Assad.

 

ISIS launched a three-pronged attack.  First, they attacked by force.  Then, they attacked by upping the quality of their videos used to recruit soldiers.  They utilized Hollywood style filming techniques and special effects to entice Syrians to join their "paradise".  Finally, they found out who was working against them and used intimidation to scare them off.  They would publicly execute their family members, they would post pictures of those working against them and their addresses encouraging their soldiers and followers to kill them.  They demanded that all satellites be removed and destroyed so they could be in complete control of any media entering or leaving Raqqa.  They drove around in vans detecting internet signals and killing violators.  But a few brave resisters would not be deterred realizing that either they would successfully share the truth, or they would be killed.

This is a documentary that uses actual footage of the atrocities being committed by ISIS in Syria.  These are not Hollywood actors, there are no special effects or makeup tricks.  What you see is real.  And that makes this film brutal and painful but necessary to watch.  The preview showed that you would be given front-line access to the daily terror to which Syrians are subjected, and that's what the film delivered.  It was hard to give this a typical star rating because it's not meant to entertain, it's not meant to thrill and take you to a make believe place.  Even movies that are based on actual events are a little easier to handle because they are a step removed.  They are recreations of things that happened and the viewer can take some solace knowing it's still a Hollywood movie.  I'm not often squeamish at horror films with gore and blood.  I'm more curious at how the special effects team pulled it off.  With City of Ghosts, what you see is actually happening and cannot be brushed off as a trick.  I honestly was not sure what exactly to expect.  I didn't know how much would be shown in the movie and in how much detail.  The movie is graphic, but restrained.  You do see executions. You do see children being brainwashed and threatened with no choice but to follow ISIS.  You do see the aftermath of public beheadings.  But you are spared some of the brutality as the camera will film the reactions of the Syrians who had to witness their fellow Syrians, their fellow journalists, their friends and families being killed.  But their goal is to spread the graphic truth of what is going on and their lives are at stake.  I gave City of Ghosts an anticipatory 4 Star prediction.  I am going to stand by my 4 Star Rating, even though it breaks my own rating scale because this will not be a movie I'll be owning.  I'm giving this a higher rating because I think it is an important film that we all need to see.  Not in spite of how uncomfortable it may make us, but rather because of how uncomfortable it should make us. So, what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see. 

 

 

City of Ghosts Preview

City of Ghosts is a documentary independent film about ISIS terrorists in Raqqa, Syria, the citizen journalists exposing them, and the power of media used by both.  In 2014, ISIS took over Raqqa by force and recruited more soldiers to their cause by distributing CDs.  These CDs were poor in quality, looked amateur, and were not producing the results they wanted.  A group of 17 correspondents inside Raqqa filmed the actions of ISIS and transmitted their footage to another group of citizen activists outside of Raqqa who would then publish their footage online for the world to see.  ISIS caught on and stepped up their game, smartly, viciously, successfully.

ISIS launched a three-pronged attack.  First, they attacked by force.  Then, they attacked by upping the quality of their videos used to recruit soldiers.  They utilized Hollywood style filming techniques and special effects to entice Syrians to join their "paradise".  Finally, they found out who was working against them and used intimidation to scare them off.  They would publicly execute their family members, they would post pictures of those working against them and their addresses encouraging their soldiers and followers to kill them.  But a few brave resisters would not be deterred realizing that either they would successfully share the truth, or they would be killed.

This is a documentary that uses actual footage of the atrocities being committed by ISIS in Syria.  These are not Hollywood actors, there are no special effects or makeup tricks.  What you see is real.  And that makes this film brutal and painful but necessary to watch.  The preview shows that you will be given front-line access to the daily terror to which Syrians are subjected.  It's hard to give this a typical star rating because it's not meant to entertain, it's not meant to thrill and take you to a make believe place.  Even movies that are based on actual events are a little easier to handle because they are a step removed.  They are recreations of things that happened and the viewer can take some solace knowing it's still a Hollywood movie.  I'm not often squeamish at horror films with gore and blood.  I'm more curious at how the special effects team pulled it off.  With City of Ghosts, what you see is actually happening and cannot be brushed off as a trick.  I'm honestly not sure what exactly to expect as I'm sure many of the horrible things going on cannot be shown in the preview.  I don't know how much will be shown in the movie and in how much detail.  But I can imagine as their goal is to spread the graphic truth of what is going on and their lives are at stake.  I'm giving City of Ghosts an anticipatory 4 Star prediction, breaking my own rating scale because I don't believe this will be a movie I'll be owning, though I think it will be an important film that we all need to see.  Not in spite of how uncomfortable it may make us, but rather because of how uncomfortable it should make us. Am I right?  We shall see.

Atomic Blonde Review

2.5 Stars

 

Undercover MI6 Agent Lorraine Broughton (Charlize Theron) is described as an expert in intelligence collection and hand-to-hand combat.  In Atomic Blonde, Broughton is sent on a mission to Berlin on the eve of the collapse of the Berlin Wall to take down a ruthless espionage ring that is responsible for killing her boyfriend and fellow MI6 undercover agent.  He was killed for an important document referred to as "the list" that contains compromising information about undercover agents and missions.  There, she is forced to team up with embedded station chief David Percival (James McAvoy) who is not always on the same page as far as information sharing.  Once in Berlin, the mission quickly expands from just finding "the list" to also revealing and eliminating the double agent crossing the KGB, the Royal Crown and the United States.  

Atomic Blonde is the full length feature film realization of the graphic novel titled The Coldest City.  Written in 2012 by Antony Johnston and Sam Hart, The Coldest City chronicles the adventures of a spy sent to find a list of double-agents being smuggled into the West.

An early review described Theron as "bigger and bolder than Bourne".  Many have compared her character to the first real female James Bond. I found a couple problems with those comparisons.  First, the action scenes and driving sequences in the Bourne movies were believable and flawless in their execution.  While Theron was more than able to pull off the realistic and graphic fighting scenes, the driving scenes were enhanced by a computer in post production.  And you can tell.

Second, Broughton, like the 007 Agent to which she is compared, has a love interest in the movie.  Bond is known for being quite the ladies' man with not-so-subtle innuendos and a PG to PG-13 scene of intimacy before getting back to the action and gadgets.  Broughton engages with a female French agent named Sandrine (Sofia Boutella).  This affair was not in the 2012 graphic novel, but the writers of Atomic Blonde felt it would set their spy movie apart from other ones and it would be an unexpected twist.  Their affair was graphic, intense and gratuitous.   While the Bond scene of love is titillatingly playful, the scenes in Atomic Blonde hinted at by the preview leave s little to the imagination and something that I feel works against solidifying Broughton as a viable contender to be in the same class as a Bourne or Bond character.  Though I can excuse the affair itself as being a means to and end (information gathering), it still could have been done with a PG to PG-13 ambiance about it.

All the things that are wrong about Atomic Blonde are showcased in the first 5 minutes of the film.  The MI6 Agent is killed by the KGB in an unrealistic computer enhanced car hit, the first line of the movie drops an F-bomb (the first of many), and the next scene is Broughton naked in a tub and around the bathroom.  I supposed the point of that was to show a bruised and broken Broughton; but, again, that could have done without the nudity.

Atomic Blonde looked interesting and I agree we are overdue for a female version of a Bond or Bourne, but I do think they could have done so with more attention to the plot and the action and less on the nudity and sex that didn't make the movie any better.  I went in with low expectations giving a timid 2 Star Prediction.  I will say this, as the movie progresses, it does get better for me.  The fighting scenes (and you can tell Theron is actually doing most of her own work) are quite realistic.  The story is not unique.  It's a spy movie, so the one you think is the traitor isn't, and even when you think you figured out the twist, there's another one.  It's entertaining, but not innovative or new.  Because of the fight scenes alone, I'm bumping this up to 2.5 Stars.  Still disappointing, especially when it could have been a solid 4 to 4.5 stars had it not been for the car chases with computers, the nudity and sex, and the foul language that just wasn't necessary to put Atomic Blonde in the same league with Bourne or Bond.  I think this is one to wait for on cable, but might be worth renting, but not spending the big bucks to watch in theatres.  So, what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.

 

Atomic Blonde Preview

Undercover MI6 Agent Lorraine Broughton (Charlize Theron) is described as an expert in intelligence collection and hand-to-hand combat.  In Atomic Blonde, Broughton is sent alone on a mission to Berlin on the eve of the collapse of the Berlin Wall to take down a ruthless espionage ring that is responsible for killing an undercover agent.  There, she teams up with embedded station chief David Percival (James McAvoy) to navigate her way through a deadly spy game.  

Atomic Blonde is the full length feature film realization of the graphic novel titled The Coldest City.  Written in 2012 by Antony Johnston and Sam Hart, The Coldest City chronicles the adventures of a spy sent to find a list of double-agents being smuggled into the West.

At the beginning of the preview, Broughton is briefed on her mission by a top CIA Agent (John Goodman).  She is tasked with finding out who is responsible for killing one of their agents and take down their ring.  Of course, she is told to "trust no one" which should immediately make you distrust Goodman's character right out of the gate.  An early review describes Theron as "bigger and bolder than Bourne".  Many have compared her character to the first real female James Bond.

I can already see a couple problems with those comparisons.  First, the action scenes and driving sequences in the Bourne movies were believable and flawless in their execution.  While Theron looks like she is able to pull off the fighting, the driving looks like it was enhanced by a computer in post production.  And that's just from the preview.

Second, Broughton, like the 007 Agent to which she is compared, has a love interest in the movie.  Bond is known for being quite the ladies' man with not-so-subtle innuendos and a PG to PG-13 scene of intimacy before getting back to the action and gadgets.  Broughton falls for a female French agent named Sandrine (Sofia Boutella).  This love affair was not in the 2012 graphic novel, but the writers of Atomic Blonde felt it would set their spy movie apart from other ones and it would be an unexpected twist.  Their torrid affair looks graphic, intense and gratuitous.   While the Bond scene of love is titillatingly playful, the scenes in Atomic Blonde hinted at by the preview will leave little to the imagination and something that will work against solidifying Broughton as a viable contender to be in the same class as a Bourne or Bond character.

Atomic Blonde looks interesting and I agree we are overdue for a female version of a Bond or Bourne, but I do think they could have done so with more attention to the plot and the action and less on the nudity and sex that seems to be just as big a part of the movie.  I'm not going in with huge expectations and am giving a timid 2 Star Prediction.  I think this would be one to wait for it to be on your pay cable channels, but might not even be worth renting, let alone spending the big bucks to watch in theatres.  Am I right?  We shall see.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 Review

3.5 Stars

Three years ago, the earthling Peter Quill A.K.A. Star Lord (Chris Pratt) acquired a mysterious orb that put his life in danger.  Hunted by the villain Ronan the Accuser, Quill assembled a team of intergalactic misfits who teamed up to stop Ronan and save the galaxy in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy.  Quill was accompanied by Gamora (Zoe Saldana) a green orphan from an alien world raised to be an assassin; a physical brute named Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista); Groot (Vin Diesel) who is basically a giant walking tree with limited communication skills; and Rocket (Bradley Cooper) a raccoon bounty hunter / mercenary. 

In addition to an all-star cast, wonderful animation, and a fun movie based on a not-as-popularly known Marvel comic, Guardians of the Galaxy's success was aided in no small part to Peter Quill's awesome mix tape featuring songs like Hooked on a Feeling, Spirit in the Sky, Moonage Daydream, I Want You Back, Come and Get Your Love and Ain't No Mountain High Enough, to name a few.  The team is back to save the universe once again.

Groot is back and adorable.  Though the giant tree perished in Volume 1, Rocket replanted a piece of his friend that has produced the offspring, Baby Groot for Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2. The unspoken sexual tension (ala Sam and Diane from Cheers) between Quill and Gamora is palpable, but endearing and sweet.  And, as expected, another epic soundtrack accompanied this movie, including the ending credits from David Hasselhoff.  As a child, not knowing who his father was, Quill would tell other children that the Knight Rider was his dad.  But Volume 2 answers that question for us.

We don't learn too much from the preview.  We can tell the action and animation is at least on par with Volume 1.  It was.  We saw that the humorous one-liners would be flowing plentifully.  They were.  We know all our favorite characters are back and some new ones will be introduced.  But, we don't get too much of a plot reveal from the preview.  Well, if you don't want any spoilers, here where you stop reading.  

Volume 2 opens with Ego (Kurt Russell) and Meredith (Laura Haddock) driving in 1983 with the radio blasting and Meredith singing, truly where Peter got his passion for music.  The two young lovebirds run into the woods where Ego shows her a beautiful exotic blue plant.  As he vaguely describes what it is, she says she doesn't understand what he's saying but loves the way he says it.  She can't believe she fell for a space man.

Thirty-four years later, Star-Lord and his fellow Guardians have been hired to fight off an intergalactic monster trying to steal a valuable source of power.  It's a cute seen that is pretty much Baby Groot dancing while the Guardians take down the beast.  They return to collect their prize for a successful mission: Gamora's sister Nebula (Karen Gillan).  They don't get along and Gamora is going to turn her in for the bounty on her.  They don't make it that far as their ship is attacked by the very same creatures that employed them because Rocket, couldn't resist stealing some of the valuable cargo they were tasked to protect.  They set their course for the nearest safe planet, but they were outnumbered and it looked like all hope was lost until one solo ship appeared and the pursuing armada was completely decimated in an instant.  After crashing on the planet, their savior ship appears and Ego emerges, immediately revealing himself as Peter's father.  Ego, with his companion Mantis (Pom Klementieff) convince Peter, Gamora and Drax to return to his planet for further explanation while Rocket, Baby Groot and Nebula stay behind with the damaged ship.

That's where the big reveal happens.  Ego is not a human.  He is a god.  The planet is his and he is the only inhabitant, other than the alien orphan he has with him, Mantis.  He has fathered many children throughout the galaxy, but Peter is the only one who carried his god-gene that Ego needs to take over the universe.  The epic battle ensues on many levels, but culminates on Ego's planet as the Guardians again must save the Galaxy.  I won't tell you how it all ends, I think I've revealed enough plot-spoilers at this point.

Most of the star prediction was based on Volume 1 since the preview didn't reveal much about Volume 2.  But it was a successful preview for two reasons.  First, there was just too much to reveal.  I just scratched the surface of all the plot twists and reveals that are jam-packed into this sequel.  In addition to that, there are more characters and special appearances in the film.  But, if the preview clued you in to their roles, it wouldn't have been as fun when they popped up on screen.  So kudos for keeping those nuggets to themselves.  Second, it gave you enough to make you want to come see it.  Basically, the preview said, if you liked the first one, everything you loved about it will be in the second one.  And it was all there.  It was fun, original, enjoyable and more than just a sequel.  I gave Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 a 3.5 star prediction: worth the money in the theatres, something I'd watch again, and a contender for my home collection.  I was right on and I'm sticking with my 3.5 Stars.  Fans of the comic, fans of sci-fi action movies, fans of Marvel, fans of the first movie, they will all be quite pleased with Volume 2.  So, what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.