Talking Movies: Spiderhead, The Card Counter and No Time to Die [Extended]
Spling reviews Spiderhead, The Card Counter and No Time to Die with shorter variation broadcast on Talking Movies, Fine Music Radio. Listen to podcast.
TRANSCRIPT
Good morning – welcome to Talking Movies, I’m Spling…
This week, we’re talking about a sci-fi crime drama, a crime drama thriller and an espionage action adventure thriller.
Starting off with a film now on Netflix…
SPIDERHEAD
A convict volunteer at a testing facility begins questioning the reality of his emotions.
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Stars: Chris Hemsworth, Miles Teller and Jurnee Smollett
– Chris Hemsworth and Miles Teller headline a strange dark comedy drama turned thriller about an experimental drug testing penitentiary.
– Planting itself in the breezy ’80s, the fashion, cigarette brand dreams and soundtrack serve as a nostalgic throwback and soften the edges of reality.
– Sporting a curious genre mix, Spiderhead heightens the senses of its characters as well as its audience with a heady cocktail of pharmaceuticals.
– Cranking up the dosage of experimental drugs on its test subjects, the filmmakers employ a similar strategy to entrance its audience with dopamine-induced highs.
– Hemsworth is good enough but his character’s quirky persona probably would have been more resonant for an actor of Robert Downey Jr’s talents.
– Teller’s conviction grounds this outlandish film’s premise and serves as its levelheaded guide, navigating through a rather manic storytelling maze.
– Directed by Top Gun: Maverick’s Joseph Kosinski, you can understand why he was entrusted with the billion dollar sequel, able to sustain a sense of euphoria, vitality and wonder.
– Centred on a particular testing room, the administration of drugs and its primary characters, Spiderhead does become a bit repetitive.
– Yet, the mercurial genre blend, full tilt scenario and solid performances keep you emotionally invested and entertained.
– Based on a short story, you do feel the limits of the extrapolation but it’s quirky characters, nutty concept and feel good soundtrack help you push through.
It did just enough to get…
A satisfactory 6 on the splingometer!
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Moving on to a film now on Showmax…
THE CARD COUNTER
An ex-military interrogator turned gambler is haunted by the ghosts of his past.
Writer-Director: Paul Schrader
Stars: Oscar Isaac, Tiffany Haddish and Tye Sheridan
– Isaac is a brooding actor, able to summon a rich intensity to his performances, not unlike Al Pacino.
– He honours a pitch perfect casting decision with one of his most powerful and well-balanced lead performances to mimic the cinematic intensity of Schrader’s film.
– The Card Counter is tonally ambitious, experimental in its vision and while it falters, manages to pull the proverbial rabbit out of the hat on several occasions.
– Schrader is best known for writing Taxi Driver, but he’s had something of a renaissance as a writer and director with morality dramas like First Reformed.
– The Card Counter continues to wrestle with the quagmire of morality that lies in the balance for its characters, who are pushed and pulled to breaking point.
– This is a challenging film experience, which examines a man’s tormented past, trail to redemption and the forces that threaten to derail him.
– Using the perpetual night of the casino world, its lights, promises, flash and temptation, this becomes the playground for an ex-con who has seemingly made peace with his past.
– Contrasting this with unsettling scenes from Guantánamo Bay, we get a dark and sometimes twisted chronicle of a man’s quest to stave off revenge in order to reinvent himself.
– While casting comedy actor Tiffany Haddish may have been a bold and even inspired move, it doesn’t quite pay off as comfortably as anticipated.
– Together with its seesawing tone, stop-start pacing and attention-grabbing directorial decisions, The Card Counter is as strangely compelling as it is flawed.
It did just enough to get..
A satisfactory 6 on the splingometer!
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And finally a film now on Showmax…
NO TIME TO DIE
James Bond returns to active service in order to track down a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.
Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga
Stars: Daniel Craig, Ana de Armas and Rami Malek
– Daniel Craig started on a high with a gut-busting entry into the 007 franchise with Casino Royale, regarded as one of the best in the long-running series.
– Coming at a time when the Bond character needed an overhaul, the beloved series changed course with a deconstruction of its figurehead casting a steely-eyed blonde rogue.
– Now five 007 films in, No Time to Die appears to be Craig’s last outing as the influential secret agent with what appears to be yet another chapter and reinvention on the horizon, which based on the oddity of this title could very well be called Better Late Than Never.
– Following on from Spectre, this sequel finds Bond on the trail of yet another super villain whose evil machinations find him ready to unleash a targeted poison upon the world.
– Besides some personal revelations, the introduction of a new 007 and the closing out of Craig’s tenure, No Time to Die features many of the sleek action set pieces and elements that have come to characterise the series since Casino Royale.
– A cold and even grumpy Bond, Craig’s mix of intelligence and brawn made him the most realistic secret agent even if not the most charming.
– Fleabag’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge adds witticism and spunk to the dialogue, an undercurrent of silliness that recalls some of the cheesiness of earlier Bond entries even if it feels at odds with the franchise’s attempts to be taken seriously at the Academy Awards.
– While it may be a bittersweet farewell, No Time to Die moves at a good pace, elegantly interlaces sharp action set pieces, brandishes its fine cast and gives the 007 formula a few tweaks in playing to Craig’s strengths, ensuring there’s enough going on to satisfy most audiences after a long-awaited finale.
It did just enough to get..
A solid 7 on the splingometer!
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So just to wrap up…
SPIDERHEAD… a strange brew of dark comedy, full tilt performances and ’80s sci-fi daydreams power this repetitive and off-kilter thriller… A satisfactory 6!
THE CARD COUNTER… a strong lead performance, slow-boiling intensity and an unsettling moralistic quest embolden this experimental dark crime drama thriller… A satisfactory 6!
NO TIME TO DIE… a sharp cast, sleek action set pieces, a swirling plot and trademark 007 elements entertain and usher the bittersweet end of the Daniel Craig era… A solid 7!
For more movie reviews and previous Talking Movies podcasts visit splingmovies.com.
And remember, Don’t WING it, SPL!NG it!
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