It is All About HIM

 

Jeri Jacquin

Currently on 4K Ultra HD, Bluray and streaming from director Justin Tipping, Monkeypaw Productions and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is a story all about HIM.

Cameron ‘Cam’ Cade (Tyriq Withers) has grown up believing in his favorite team the San Antonio Saviors watching his idol Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans) along with his father. While watching a game, the young boy sees White become injured only to be consoled by his father about sacrificing for the game. Years later, it is Cam who is becoming the rising football star with his family cheering him on. Like White, it takes only a moment before Cam suffers a serious head injury.

Agent Tom (Tim Heidecker) suggests that he still try to get the quarterback position with the Saviors but Cam is furious at the notion. That’s when he learns that White might be retiring and wants to train with Cam for a bit to see if the young man might be his successor on the field. There isn’t a moment to sit back and take in the desert surroundings as White puts Cam through drills that would make any other coach horrified, yet, he continues. Cam also received boosters but it doesn’t help with the hallucinations he is experiencing. White’s wife Elsie (Julia Fox) tries to explain her husband’s unique training with a charm that causes problems.

It all comes to a head as Cam begins to understand what is happening and there is only one way to make it stop – and it isn’t with a football.

Withers as Cam is a young man who was raised to love the game and even more the San Antonio Saviors. Watching with his father, that dream could have turned bad after White’s accident but his father keeps him looking forward. Well on his way to being that star, it is a head injury that begins to bring things into a world that is disturbing on many levels. Yet, Cam wants it all so badly he endures everything that is thrown at him – until he doesn’t. Withers gives us the performance of a strong-minded young man going through some very strange happenings. It is definitely a trip from start to finish.

Wayans as White is a man who has tasted the good life that sports has offered him and perhaps his time has come but perhaps not. Putting Cam through every twisted test possible, Wayans isn’t portraying comedy here but instead a very focused and powerful character. It is clear that he is afraid of nothing and, even more, nothing shocks him at all. This is quite a different role for Wayans but he clearly doesn’t hesitate to grab onto it and take the viewer on a ride.

Fox as Elise is not just the wife of a player but a social media person in her own right. She is there to support her husband of course, but she also seems to have an agenda of her own that puts Cam in danger. I love the flippant attitude of Fox’s character but it all slowly becomes clear as to what her role is in the craziness.

Other cast include Maurice Greene as Malek, Don Benjamin as Cam Sr., Heather Harris as Jasmine, Norman Towns as Willis, Gigi Erneta as Ayn, Chase Garland as Ced, Guapdad 4000 as Murph, Tierra Whack as Adrienne, Gerone McKinley as Drew, Indira Wilson as Yvette, Naomi Grossman as Marjorie and Jim Jefferies as Marco.

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has just added an amazing film to their library and making it available for us to all experience and re-experience in our own home theaters. There are films of every genre available from scary to drama to family films. For more of what they have to offer please visit www.uphe.com.

MOVIES ANYWHERE gives viewers the ability to download the Movies Anywhere App. With that you can view films by downloading or streaming to your favorite device using a Digital Code. For more information on Movies Anywhere please visit www.MoviesAnywhere.com.

Bonus Features include Alternate Ending: Zay’s Nightmare, Deleted End Credits Scene, Deleted Scenes, Becoming Them, The Sport of Filmmaking, Anatomy of a Scene, Hymns of a G.O.A.T. and Feature Commentary with Director/Co-Writer Justin Tipping.

HIM is definitely a film that has a twisted, mind-bending feel to it. It took me a minute to realize what other film made me think this way and it is the 1999 Stanley Kubrick film EYES WIDE SHUT. Co-writer and Director Tipping takes us down a rabbit hole but is it a rabbit hole? Can you believe everything you are seeing? Who do you trust of the people you should be able to trust! No one should be surprised that the film is under the Jordan Peele umbrella as he serves as the producer.

What this film does is bring ‘sports horror’ into a genre that always needs shaking up now and then. Those two words go well together considering how the injuries that happen in football can sometimes be horrifying. Once Cam is hurt, the pressure is on to continue and it comes from all sides – in this case his own agent. Tipping and Peele take the ball (yes, a pun) and run with it in this story of what one man will do to keep his dream alive and it isn’t the normal paved road.

This is a film that is going to bring about a lot of jaw drops because of the literal trip it is from start to finish. Know that going in because that’s what makes HIM so fascinating to watch and by the end there are conversations that will be had about the pressures on players and dreams that can go up in smoke. You’ll never look at a hit on the field the same way again.

In the end – greatness demands sacrifice!

He is MONKEY MAN

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to theatres from writer/director Dev Patel, Monkeypaw Productions and Universal Pictures is the story of standing up against evil with MONKEY MAN.

Kid (Dev Patel) is a man who makes a living out of illegal fights run by Tiger (Sharlto Copley). Hiding his face, he uses a monkey mask using the fighter-name of Monkey Man. Long ago, his mother Neela (Adithi Kalkunte) told him of the legend of Hanuman.

What he wants more than anything, is to find those responsible for his childhood flashbacks. Corrupt individuals in the country are using the country to squeeze land from the poor. Rana Singh (Sikandar Kher), the chief of police in Yatana and a world-wide guru Baba Shakti (Makarand Deshpande) and the two biggest corruptors with their high life living through drugs and using women.

Following Queenie (Ashwini Kalsekar), the Kid sets up a way to get a job in the kitchen but works his way up to the penthouse exclusive club where he sees the beautiful Sita (Sobhita Dhulipala). Quickly he rises up into the VIP tower where Rana is a regular and makes his move. Unfortunately, the chase is on as all law enforcement go after the Kid.

Wounded and in the river, he is found by Alpha (Vipin Sharma) and a whole new world opens up to him. Becoming stronger, he takes on the task of saving those the rich and corrupt don’t see and continually hurt. They don’t seem him coming!

Patel as Kid is a man with a truck load of demons that he cannot seem to shake. Feeling the need to get vengeance, he is willing to put himself in harm’s way to find the man responsible. That being said, this character is also quick and knows how to get around. Patel gives his character a quiet nature as he spends more time observing those he wants to bring down. His fighting skills are pretty creative as well.

Kher as Rana is a man who doesn’t care about those he hurts and doesn’t feel the pinch of being held accountable. He is devoted to Baba Shakti but also enjoys the benefits of such devotion in the cruelest ways. Deshpande as Shakti is trying to convince the world that he knows the right path if they only follow him. He also knows that someone is trying to ruin everything and that has him on edge.

Sharma as Alpha is a gentle person who understands what the Kid is going through. Wanting to help, the group helps the Kid not only heal, but understand a new way of looking at things. When it comes time to take on Rana, Alpha and his people don’t mind helping in the slightest.

Copley as Tiger runs the fighting ring and doesn’t know yet what Monkey Man is capable of. It’s nice to see Copley again because he does so make an awesome bad guy. Kalkunte as Neela is a story within a story and explains why the Kid has issues. Kalsekar as Queenie is running things from the basement and she runs a tight ship.

Other cast include Pitobash as Alphonso, Zakir Hussain as Tabla Maestro, and Jatin Malik as the young kid.

Seems Patel decided to create his own world by not only writing, directing and starring in MONKEY MAN, but also added screenplay and producing at well. Patel says, “I think the action genre has sometimes been abused by the system. I wanted to give it real soul, real trauma, real pain and I wanted to infuse it with a little bit of culture.”

Let’s get to it, yes, there are several movie resemblances here from JOHN WICK, ROCKY, TAKEN (with a certain set of skills) and DUNE just to name a few. There is certainly nothing wrong with it because what Patel does is tell his story all the way through. You will figure it all out for yourself and enjoy it all the same. From start to finish this is a film that revves a person up, then lets us take a break and then revves us up again.

It is a two-hour ride that is going to make Patel the new world-wide action hero. Bringing in his own culture is actually quite beautiful as the stories reach a world-wide audience allowing them to understand the culture. The cinematography is equally as stunning whether it is the flashbacks or the constant action, both will keep your attention.

Let’s not forget the fight sequences which are insanely good with a few surprises here and there. From the ring to the streets and up to the VIP club, the action is swift, intense and does not leave anything to chance or the imagination. Well done!

Gather up the action-hero gang for a thrill ride that is courtesy of MONKEY MAN.

In the end – one small ember can burn down everything!

NOPE

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to theatres this Friday from writer/director Jordan Peele, Monkeypaw Productions and Universal Pictures is the big NOPE.

The Haywood family has a history with horses that dates back farther than anyone knew. Training horses for television and films, patriarch Otis Haywood Sr. (Keith David) keeps the isolated ranch running. That is until something unusual happens to change the dynamic of the family.

Son OJ Haywood (Daniel Kaluuya) is working hard to keep the farm going as well with the sometimes help of sister Emerald (Keke Palmer). While in the middle of their usual brother and sister banter, OJ notices something in the sky that is odd. Using their outdated ranch cameras to see it, Emerald has a big idea.

Down the road is Ricky ‘Jupe’ Park (Steven Yeun), once child star who met with some strangeness of his own and now runs a desert theme park. OJ sometimes has to sell a horse or two to get buy and Jupe is accommodating with his latest acquisition of Lucky.

When Emerald gets a big idea, she calls Antlers Holst (Michael Wincott), a renowned camera man to see if he would be interested in getting ‘the shot’.  When that does not really pan out, OJ and Emerald turn to Angel Torres (Brandon Pera) to update their cameras and get them set up. That’s when Angel realizes there is something going on at this ranch.

When an afternoon performance as Jupe’s place turns bizarre and the story breaks on the news, Antlers realizes that Emerald might be right. OJ, Emerald and Angel, after a night of horror, begin to understand what they are fighting and what it will take to win and want to get it all on film.

Kalyyua as OJ is more the quiet of the brother-sister duo. He speaks when he needs to and is the observant one. Putting the pieces together is what he is good at which can be difficult when working with a squirrely sister and a chatty tech guy. Kalyyua gives a straight up performance yet Peele knew he could since his role in the 2017 film GET OUT.

Palmer is the mouthy out of control sister Emerald that always has something to say but most of it is just rolls out irritatingly. Kalyyua’s OJ knows he can not expect anything in the way of help with work or even keeping the ranch running because she has wild ideas yet none of them are in play. This is a different role for Palmer and she gets it done.

Pera as Angel is bored with his life as a Fry’s tech and finds what is going on with the Haywood’s so interesting and worth returning again and again. When he sees what is out on the ranch, he wants to help even though his courage is a little out of whack.

Wincott as Antlers is that craggy voiced, self-indulgent photographer who wants the ultimate on film and the rest of it is all boring. Realizing what is happening at the Haywood ranch, he might have found something less boring!

Yeun as Jupe has his own creepy story to tell about being a child star which fascinates Emerald. He is working equally as hard to keep his little theme park going and will do whatever it takes to keep the doors open – its that ‘anything’ that is the problem.

Other cast include Wrenn Schmidt as Amber Park, Donna Mills as Bonnie Clayton, Barbie Ferreira as Nessie, Oz Perkins as Fynn Bachman, Devon Graye as Ryder Muybridge, Jacob Kim as Young Ricky, Sophia Coto as Mary Jo Elliott, Terry Notary as Gordy, Andrew Patrick as Tom Bogan, Eddie Jemison as Buster and Jennifer Lafleur as Phyllis.

So, (taking a deep breath), I know I am supposed to just rave about this film because its Jordan Peele but all I can say is ‘meh’. There are moments I give a nod to but after two hours and fifteen minutes I just wanted to get out of my seat. The problem with saying more is that I do not want to give anything away in case it is someone else’s’ cup of tea.

The plot had the potential to be so creative but it gets bogged down with other stuff that felt more like a lecture than an enjoyable time at the movies. The twists and turns just irritated me and all I could scream in my head is ‘why…Why…WHY?’

Seriously, this could have been so much fun for a summer film and I’m sure it will make a lot of money because, and let’s be honest, the push is insane. That’s what you do when there is not a lot coming down the pipeline. I feel like this is the director’s having hit a speed bump, or as I like to call it an M. Knight Shyamalan moment. Meaning Shyamalan hit a speed bump with THE HAPPENING and THE LAST AIRBENDER and he came back swinging.

Did I want to like it? Of course! I enjoyed GET OUT and US so what this tells me is that Peele has stories to tell and is able to tell them but with NOPE he should have really thought out more. If I am spending more time hearing people say ‘I don’t get this mess at all’ or ‘that’s two hours of my life I’ll never get back’, then I feel less crazy about how I am feeling about it.

Honestly, my opinion probably does not make sense but that’s what happens when trying not to tell more of the story without ruining it. Oh well. Perhaps I will give it time for people to see and THEN we can talk detail and why I ended up laughing at certain scenes.

In the end – it is all about the nope!