He Can Only Find Her With REMINISCENCE

 

Jeri Jacquin

Currently in theatres and on HBO/Max from writer/director Lisa Joy and Warner Bros. Pictures is the story of our world through REMINISCENCE.

Nick Bannister (Hugh Jackman) is living in a world now surrounded by water, rebellion and the have nots. During the day it seems quiet, and the nighttime is when everything comes alive. His business is investigating but also allowing people to revisit the past using a hologram program and the help of partner Watts (Thandie Newton).

At closing time, Nick is about to be thunderstruck when the beautiful Mae (Rebecca Ferguson) walks in with a request. She can not seem to find her keys and while in the program, Nick sees into her life. Starting a relationship that is filled with everything he never thought possible, devastation follows when Mae disappears.

Devastated, he uses his own program to try and understand if there are clues to where she has gone. Watts, trying to snap him out of it, reminds him that they need to get to the local police station to help a case. In the tank is Cyrus Booth (Cliff Curtis), during questioning Nick sees Mae.

Now he must come to terms with the mystery of who Mae truly is, those that have been part of her life, the connection with the Sylvan family and following the trail of murder.

Jackman as Nick is a love-struck detective that uses the mind technology to trace where Mae would have gone. Instead, he finds the life of bad guys and bad choices realizing that the only truth lies in the end. Jackman does his usual stellar job giving us a hardy performance with intensity and a broken heart.

Ferguson as Mae is a femme fatale songstress who sends Nick on a chase of love and pain. Is she really who she seems to be? That is the question and Ferguson is not giving up any answers to the very end.

Newton as Watts has worked with Nick for years and sees the path of destruction he is going on. They butt heads over the investigation and the choices Nick is making, and Newton makes sure her character is strong and no-nonsense.

Curtis as Booth looks as dastardly as they come, and he knows more than he ever plans to share. Locked inside his mind are a good portion of what has been happening all along and he is not going to give it up easily. Curtis has the remarkable ability to play both a good guy and a bad guy in equal measure because he does it so dang well.

Other cast include Natalie Martinez as Avery Castillo, Marina de Tavira as Swati Sylvan, Daniel Wu as Saint Joe, Mojean Aria as Sebastian Sylvan, Giovannie Cruz as Cindy, Brett Cullen as Walter Sylvan, Angela Saratyan as Elsa Carine, Javier Molina as Hank, Sam Medina as Falks, Norio Nishimura as Harris, Nico Parker as Zoe and Roxton Garcia as Freddie.

Warner Brothers is home to one of the most successful collections of brands in the world and stands at the forefront of every aspect of the entertainment industry from feature film, television and home entertainments with worldwide distribution to DVD and Bluray, animation, comic books, videogames and broadcasting. For more please visit www.warnerbros.com.

Although enjoying the film, I could not help but think that the story is a mixture of other stories and genres (WATERWORLD, INCEPTION, ALTERED STATES, a tad MEMENTO and all black and white P.I. films I have ever watched etc.). The backstory of the new ‘water world’ seems to be a story all its own and gave me more questions than answers.

Jackman, Newton and Ferguson carry their part of the film very well. I enjoyed their performances as Jackman takes us on the noir mystery thriller set in a future world. Director Joy was co-creator and executive producer of the HBO series Westworld.  Also, she might have gotten a few pointers from brother-in-law Christopher Nolan but for her first project, it is all about the mystery indeed.

So enjoy in a theatre or enjoy at home – just enjoy the mystery and discover REMINISCENCE.

In the end – don’t look back!

 

DOCTOR SLEEP Will Allow you Anything but Sleep!

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to theatres this week from director Mike Flanagan and Warner Bros. Pictures based on the novel by Stephen King is DOCTOR SLEEP.

Danny Torrance and mother Wendy escaped the nightmare in 1980 to living in Florida. He has managed to learn from Dick Hallorann (Carl Lumbly) how to lock up the horror of the Overlook Hotel. Now in 2011, Dan (Ewan McGregor) deals with past trauma by bathing in any bottle of alcohol he can get his hands on. After an incident with a one night stand, Dan hops a bus landing in a small town greeted by Billy Freeman (Cliff Curtis).

Not only does Billy help get Dan settled but helps find him a job at a hospice. Not expecting to stay long he finds that after sobriety and a feeling of peace, he can stay a while. He also earns the name Doctor Sleep for the ability to comfort patients into their time to pass. In his room on the wall he starts receiving friendly message of greetings from young Abra (Kyliegh Curran)who also has The Shining.

A group called True Knot is led by Rosie the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson) but they are not friendly. What they are is a group of feeders who take those who shine and steal the steam they produce in their dying moments of fear. Finding it harder and harder to get kids that produce the steam they need to stay ageless, their supply grows slim. When the group led by lover Crow Daddy (Zahn McClarnon) kidnaps a young boy, Abra connects to him and sees everything as it happens.

Reaching out to Dan, he tells her to stay away from the group and close herself off to them. But Abra isn't about to let Rosie get away with it. Connecting in a way she never has, Rosie realizes that this young girl produces an unprecedented amount of steam. In a second attempt to connect, Abra gives Rosie something to remember but sets off an anger that will not be tamed.

Now Danny knows he has to help Abra to stay alive at all costs. He knows there is one place that Rosie won't see coming. He has to take the young Abra as well so that they can work together to stop what Rosie has planned for them both. Of course it also means that Dan must come face to face with the very ghosts who took his father and tried to end his life.

The Overlook isn't finished quite yet!

McGregor as the older Danny Torrance does an excellent job of showing the trauma caused by what happened at the now defunct and dilapidated hotel. Drinking and engaging in behaviors that could kill him just as easily as the woman in the bathtub, he manages to dry out and find another way to deal with his past. Being a comfort to those in the last stages of life give him a place in the world. Even his chalkboard friendship with Agra gives him a smile or two every day. When everything starts to take an insane turn that he clearly recognizes, he could easily walk away but there is something inside him that now refuses to let any creature win. I appreciated his performance.

Curran as Abra is such an amazing young lady. Her first experience with True Knot is traumatic and beyond belief to see on the screen (yes, that's my warning), but while trying to track down the group she discovers powers she never knew she had. I love the scenes where she gets in the face of those trying to do her harm and stands up for herself several times. The scenes between Curran and McGregor are also intense and endearing at the same time.

Ferguson as Rosie the Hat is completely and utterly terrifying. It is not just in what she is capable of doing but the sly smile why she says and does things. Personally I was captivated by her performance and can honestly say that how her character ends up is equally as utterly terrifying. It is an ingenious performance and I can honestly say that maybe King should consider writing a story just based on Rosie because she talks about living through the ages (very vampirish) and what has been seen. That could make for another frightful tale!

Lumbly as Hallorann is a face that brings comfort in the mix of all the terror. He knows how to help Danny and you can feel the connection between the characters even in adulthood. Curtis as Billy is a man who sees something in Dan that says 'help me' and doesn't hesitate to do just that. Even when Dan comes to him with a story that most would consider insane, he is by Dan's side.

McClarnon as Crow Daddy believes in everything Rosie does and usually does not question her. But when the problem of having steam arises, he lets her know that the group is suffering. He will do whatever she asks but best be sure he has just as much of an evil side as Rosie does.

Couple of shout outs - Jacob Tremblay as Bradley Trevor is a young actor who does a scene that will stay in my head for longer than I'd ever like it to. Also Danny Lloyd as a spectator at the ball game, just study that face and see if you recognize who he is. 

Other cast include Emily Alyn Lind as Snakebite Andi, Carel Struycken as Grandpa Flick, Robert Longstreet as Barry the Chunk, Catherine Parker as Silent Sarey, Met Clark as Short Eddie, Selena Anduze as Apron Annie, Jocelin Donahue as Lucy Stone, Alex Essoe as Wendy, Zackary Momoh as Dave Stone, Henry Thomas as Lloyd the Bartender, Bruce Greenwood as Dr. John Dalton.

DOCTOR SLEEP is going to be a complicated review because there is so much I liked and a few things that disappointed me and I'll do my best to make sure I don't give anything away. I like the storyline about where Dan is now in his life because most of us would have thought that what happened at the Overlook Hotel would screw up anyone's head. The torture of what he can't get away from is clear and when he discovers a way to deal with it, it's like a wave of hope washes over McGregor's portrayal of him, at least for a while.

There is so much darkness in the film coming from the True Knot but it leads Dan and Abra to working together and that's something the young Danny didn't have. Abra is so powerful but she doesn't hide from it as Danny did by using Tony. The young girl jumps in and makes her presence known and although it puts her life in danger, she walk away.

Once in the Overlook I felt like I was 'home' if you know what I mean. The layout is insanely (wow, that's a word to describe it right?) memorable down to the 60s patterned orange carpet. The bathtub room, the bar, the room where Jack Torrance typed 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy', the elevators - it's all there and tattered. That's when I immersed myself in the story because I wanted one - thing - to - happen. It sort of did. Now, if I may, there is a scene between Ewan McGregor and Bruce Greenwood, look for it and jaw drop!

Now, for a few questions I have, with all of the technology and all of the CGI available, why wasn't it used? It isn't as if the director needed to recreate the wheel, just upgrade the wheels that are already there! I know, I know I'm being so vague but trust me when I say you'll ask yourself the same questions within the first five minutes. I wanted a bit of the original.

All of that vaguely being said I don't think THE SHINING fans will be hugely disappointed, in fact it don't think it will take long before Dan and Abra are embraced as much as Danny and Wendy once were. The terror these two characters must endure had to eventually happen because even Dan and Abra know that they can't live their lives hiding from ever supernatural entity that wants them for their gifts and it's time to fight back.

In the end - the world will shine again!

THE GREATEST SHOWMAN is Even Greater on Bluray!

Jeri Jacquin

This week on Bluray/DVD and Digital from writers Jenny Bicks and Bill Condon along with director Michael Gracey and 20^th Century Fox Home Entertainment comes THE GREATEST SHOWMAN.

P.T. Barnum (Hugh Jackman) has promised the lovely Charity (Michelle Williams) that he will give her a wonderful life. Spending the first few years together struggling, Barnum has two more lovely reasons to succeed in daughters Caroline (Austyn Johnson) and Helen (Cameron Seely).

That’s when he decides to start his own circus business and invites the bearded woman Lettie (Keala Settle), Tom Thumb (Sam Humphrey), Anne Wheeler (Zendaya) and W.D. Wheeler (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) among others to join in his vision of the unusual in entertainment. He also brings Phillip Carlyle (Zac Efron) to learn and help manage the business and immediately he is taken with Anne.

While on a trip to Europe, Barnum and the troop meets the famous Jenny Lind (Rebecca Ferguson). He knows that this is a pure act that will show the nay-sayers like journalist James Bennett (Paul Sparks). Taking Jenny on the road means being away from his family and leaving the show in the care of Phillip.

When Jenny abruptly stops the show, Barnum returns to see what a vengeful crowd can do to his dream. The dream begins to unravel when he discovers that those who helped bring the circus to life are the same people who will see it rise from the ashes.

Never forget who you really are!

Jackman as Barnum does what he does best – embrace a character, make it larger than life and do it while singing and dancing. There are complexities in being a big dreamer who embraces things that are different. That also means dealing with people who clearly are afraid of those differences and getting a little lost along the way to the top.

Williams as Charity always believed that her husband would succeed and at the same time was never unhappy with their life. She is absolutely lovely in this role and patient with a man who sees everything larger than life. Ferguson as Jenny is a woman who is swept up in the romance of becoming world renowned at the hands of Barnum. Being beautiful with a voice doesn’t stop pain from dropping a curtain.

Efron as Carlyle gets wrapped up in everything that Barnum wants in entertainment. He is also working against people who have nothing better to do than ruin a good time for all. It doesn’t stop him from making it work and finding love with the lovely Anne. Zendaya as Anne finds a family in the circus and even when confronted for being different, she knows who truly loves her.

Settle as Lettie is a powerful presence and her voice just rocks this film to its core. Her character also focuses on keeping the family together and never letting anyone say they are not amazing human beings. Humphrey as Tom Thumb is sweet and hilarious at the same time.

Other amazing cast includes Eric Anderson as Mr. O’Malley, Ellis Rubin as the young Barnum, Skylar Dunn as the young Charity, Daniel Everidge as Lord of Leeds, Radu Spinghel as O’Clancy, Will Swenson as Philo Barnum, Timothy Hughes as the Strong Man, Linda Larson as Mrs. Stratton, Byron Jennings as Mr. Carlyle, Betsy Aidem as Mrs. Carlyle and Gayle Rankin as Queen Victoria.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment brings award-winning global product and new entertainment to DVD, Bluray, and Digital HD. There amazing collection offers fans an opportunity to expand their own home libraries with the best films. To discover what other titles they have please visit www.fox.com.

The Bluray/DVD and Digital experience includes over two hours of Special Features with a Sing Along, The Family Behind THE GREATEST SHOWMAN, The Songs, The Spectacle, Music Machine with Sing Along and so much more!

THE GREATEST SHOWMAN was nominated for an Academy Award this past season and won a Golden Globe for Best Original Song “This is Me”, winner of the Heartland Film Truly Moving Picture Award, winner of Favorite Movie Actress for Zendaya from the Kids’ Choice Awards and eighteen other nominations ranging from Best Performances and Best Song to Best Music and Best Costuming.

This is the reason why musicals will never die! A combination of great story telling, spectacular eye candy, songs that stick and a cast that melts together in such a way that the tale embraces the heart.

It must be said that the films costuming, cinematography and set designs are absolutely stunning to see. Colorful, beautiful and dramatic the film in striking adding depth that engrains itself in the tale being told. I absolutely loved the dresses with the detail and flow that would make any woman feel regal and gorgeous.

If you are fond of Friday night movies at home then THE GREATEST SHOWMAN needs to happen!

In the end – this is where the impossible comes true!

LIFE Brings Creepy into Space!

Jeri Jacquin

Swirling through space this week from director Daniel Espinosa and Columbia Pictures is a film that teaches us to leave well enough alone and enjoy LIFE!

On a space station high above Earth are six astronauts waiting for a special delivery to prove there is life on Mars. Rory Adams (Ryan Reynolds), Ekaterina Golovkina (Olga Dihovichnaya), Hugh Derry (Ariyon Bakare), Sho Murakami (Hiroyuki Sanada) and David Jordan (Jake Gyllenhaal) are led by Miranda North (Rebecca Ferguson) are the astronauts on board.

When Hugh begins experiments on the samples there is almost an immediate as life grows. Sharing the news with the world, a local school wins the honor of naming the single-cell organism Calvin.

As quickly as Calvin grows, they crew panics when it becomes clear that something is wrong with the life form. Reviving it is the beginning of what becomes a race for survival between the humans on board and the life form that is growing and becoming smarter.

They must keep the creature from getting to Earth at all costs – even if the cost is their lives!

Gyllenhaal as David is a man clearly meant to live in space. Not in a hurry to return to Earth, he keeps his head when everything begins to go wrong. Gyllenhaal has this unique ability to look calm even when his character is anything but. I enjoyed ever moment of his performance but then again I have been pretty thrilled with his work these past years.

Reynolds as Rory brings a sense of sarcasm and quick lines to this character. Of course it isn’t a stretch for Reynolds to do that as he has made a fantastic career out of doing just that. But when it’s time to be intense, he can bring it with a fierceness that you won’t soon forget.

Sanada as Sho is on board while his wife is waiting to have their child. He cares about every member of the crew and yet wonders if he will ever see home again. I am actually pretty thrilled that Sanada is in the film, he is an actor that deserves a lot of attention.

Bakare as Hugh is totally infatuated with Calvin but then again that’s it is his job to be. Finding life in the space station a freeing experience, he becomes a little obsessed with the creature. Dihovichnaya as Ekaterina is smart and fast when it comes to understanding how the creature begins to think.

Ferguson as Miranda is the woman-in-charge and that means there are decisions to be made. Of course at the same time righteous fear takes over the space stations and there are moments where I question what the heck she is thinking but that’s what brings the mystery.

Other cast include Elizabeth Vargas as 20/20 Anchor, Camiel Warren-Taylor as Dominique and Naoko Mori as Kazumi.

TUBS OF POPCORN: I give LIFE four tubs of popcorn out of five. Of course the film has bits that remind me of other space-alien films and there are parts that are fairly predictable. That being said, none of that deterred me from having a great time.

There are jumps, jaw drops, moments of ‘awwwwwwwdamn’, tension and it all happens in a small space - relatively speaking. The film is very in your face but that makes sense since there isn’t anything else to distract from the story and nothing for the actors to hide behind. Instead it’s straight on performance and fans of this genre of film are going to have a great time.

Director Espinosa has actually made several films that I enjoy with EASY MONEY in 2010 and Tom Hardy in CHILD 44 in 2015. He has worked with Reynolds before along with Denzel Washington in the 2012 film SAFE HOUSE. So he is batting 4-4 with me!

In the end – be careful what you search for!