Fantasia Film Festival '24 Film Review - The G

Elder exploitation turned revenge takes the spotlight in Writer-director Karl R. Hearne's film The G. Legal guardian care is big business in the US. Opportunists target vulnerable seniors that seem to have no interaction with relatives. A doctor in that the scheme that declares senior unfit allowing the Guardian to go to court and take control of the their life and assets. In this case, the opportunist Rivera  (Bruce Ramsay) picked the wrong senior Ann Hunter (Dale Dickey) as his latest target. Ann is as tough as they come, born into a family that is familiar with violence. She has connections back in her home state of Texas that are still active in the crime world.

At the film's opening Ann is grumpy and mouthy as she visits the doctor for what she thinks is a regular check-up. Her Granddaughter Emma (Romane Denis)  waits for her appointment to finish showing some feistiness of her own. Once home Ann cares for her bedridden husband Chip (Greg Ellwand) the best she can. Then in the middle of the night, her court-appointed guardian appears. hustles Ann and Chip to a stark care facility that is more prison than a senior residence. Rivera moves to liquidate the couple's assets under the guise of paying for their care.   A tragic event soon after the couple's arrival brings Ann's violent roots to the foreground soon to turn the tables on her would be group of oppressors. 

Dale Dickey commits fully to the role of  72-year-old grandmother Ann Hunter. She is a full value lead performer that drives hard at everything that she does. From being a foul-mouthed chain-smoking hard drinker who got her kicked out of her sewing circle to embracing all aspects of a womanhood in a budding new relationship at the care facility. Roc Lafortune as Joseph adds a counterbalance as a resident with some outdoor privileges that quickly learns Ann's range of full-on qualities. 

Director Karl R. Herne sets the film in an unnamed Northern City in the harshness of winter a true  match to the title character's harsh exterior. The file exudes gritty goodness with a healthy dose of crime family activity sprinkled throughout the narrative. Dickey plays a role that would normally go to Liam Neeson or other older gentlemen with a particular set of skills. Here Ann Hunter has those skills and is willing to use them to protect her family in a way that will satisfy the viewer. 

*** Out of 4

The G | Karl R. Hearne | Canada | 2024 | 106 Minutes. 

Tags: Legal Guardian, Senior Care, Money,  Map, Crime Family, Sewing Circle, Buffalo. 

Well Go Entertainment Film Review - Escape

Fast, rapid quick, and relentless are a few of the words that come to mind when watching the opening sequences of the new Korean thriller Escape. An instant box hit office in its homeland, Escape tells the story of a North Korean Army Sargent  Lim- Kyu-nam (Lee Je-hoon)  in the last few days of his 10 - year mandatory military service looking to take his final opportunity to escape to the South as he will likely not have his current freedom of movement or knowledge of the mine placements in and around the demilitarized zone ever again.  Lim has been plotting his departure for a while. He was sneaking out of the barracks every night and marking the mine locations on a homemade map. One of his juniors Kim Dong-hyuk (Hong Xa-bin) knows what's up and when an impending rainfall moves up the timetable. Kim demands to go as well or will expose Lim to superiors as the strict regime vigorously encourages soldiers to do. 

Lim's initial plan is thwarted mainly because of Kim but a chance to survive is extended to Lim by an unlikely source. The notorious Field Officer Li Hyun-Sang ( Koo Kyo-hwan) a childhood acquaintance of Lim's as his dad worked as a driver for the Li family. Lim has to constantly recalculate his moves as the film progresses as different obstacles are thrown at him. He often looks to his hero refers to his  The Tenacious Explorer Amundsen author of an adventure novel that read repeatedly as a child. His other prized possession is a small radio where he listens to a ROK Radio broadcast from the south that speaks to the opportunities available in the promised land. 

Director Lee Jong-pil creates a world underpinned with a phenetic pace that will have the viewer thinking of similar adrenaline thrillers Run Lola Run  or another German film Victoria and even Ethan Hunt's need to run in the Mission Impossible films. The cinematography is sharp and crisp as well. The gun play has stylish elegance. One scene of spectacular lighting stands out as Lim and Kim attempt to stay hidden near a fence as a searchlight from a sniper tower pans to find them. The story is about two North Koreans at it centre but its audience is South Korea with a message of Making the best of the opportunities you have, not being afraid to fail, and being thankful that you do have that opportunity to fail at what you want to do. 

The ensemble cast all perform well. The cat and mouse play between Lee Je-hoon's Lim and Koo Kyo-hwan's Li at the centre. Childhood acquaintances bordering on friends pitted against each other with one needing to stop the other not because he wants to but knowing the personal consequences if he doesn't.  The film is a heart thumper that I can recommend. 

*** Out of 4

Escape| Lee Jong-pil | Korea | 2024| 94 Minutes. 

DMZ, Mines, Piano, Military Service, Map, Driver, The Tenacious Explorer Amundsen, ROK Radio, Necklace.

Well Go USA Entertainment Film Review - Ride

Grit, Family, and Desperation are the three words that repeatedly come to mind when watching Director Jake Allyn's Ride. Three generations of Championship bull riders in Stephenville Texas battle themselves and each other as they all do anything they can to raise money to get John Hawkins' (C. Thomas Howell) daughter Virginia (Zia Carlock) to a better cancer hospital. Addiction plays a major part in the proceedings. Granddad Al ( Forrie J. Smith) had a major alcohol addiction that almost ruined his bull riding career. That addiction skipped a generation to Grandson Peter played by Director Jake Allyn as at the film's opening he is released from prison having served for years for vehicular homicide causing the death of a young local girl with Virgina in the car at the time. 

John and his wife Monica (Annabeth Gish) get the news that Virginia is not coming home as expected but, an open spot is available at a leading oncology centre that will be costly with 40K needed upfront. John tells Monica he will handle it mainly by obtaining his part-time teaching pension early. He also overturns every loose asset and loan he possibly can think of to raise funds. When his early application for his pension is denied the level of desperation increases as the facility begins to show signs that they will not hold the spot for Virginia much longer. Fresh out of jail Peter has slipped back into old habits. He's hooked up with his old cellmate Tyler (Patrick Murphy) using again and promising his yet unearned winnings from a local P.B.R. contest as payment for Oxy. 

C Thomas Howell is almost unrecognizable as John Hawkins. Especially if you have not seen him for a while and still picture him from his peak days in the early eighties The Outsiders,  E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. and the underrated Red Dawn era.  He's a dad that will go to any lengths for his daughter. The director disappears into the role of Peter. He's an addict who has let himself, his family, and his community down and deeply wants to redeem himself.  Only his Granddad Al and younger sister Virgina are unconditionally in his corner. His Dad is so opposed to him that he throws a generous gesture to help out the fundraising efforts back in his face. When a final last-ditch effort is proposed by Peter to John the elder sees no other option but to take it. It's a major step outside the law that results in  even bigger one. The job of investigating the aftermath falls to Monica, who is the local Sheriff and her eager Deputy Ross Dickons (Scott Reeves) who has a thing for Monica, has never liked Peter, and doesn't care much for John.

Ride is at its' heart a story about family. Built on four pillars that span three generations who are all in very different places when this family crisis arises. Annabelle Gish is perhaps the most conflicted as  family matriarch Monica. Her eldest son just spent four years in jail where she never visited him. Her only daughter may die if she can't get into the new treatment centre and she's leading a major police investigation where she may have to pick her family over her career. Writer -Director Jake Allyn has crafted a simple straight ahead yet compelling story that I can recommend. 

***1/2 Out of Four.

Ride | Jake Allyn | U.S.A. | 2024 | 114 Minutes. 

Tags: Cancer, Bull Riding, Rodeo Clown, Addiction, Ex-Con, Robbery, Homicide, Stephenville Texas, Champion Bull Rider. Unicorn. 

Low Sky Productions / Shudder Film Review - In a Violent Nature

Writer - Director Chris Nash brings a new vision to the slasher film genre with his debut title  In A Violent Nature. The VFX specialist's film is shot from the killer Johnny (Ry Barrett) point of view.  There is little to no score. Atmospheric sound reigns instead a calming mix of whistling birds and Johnny's boots trudging over leaves, soil, gravel and branches in the forest. The other constant  is the echo of voices off in the distance getting louder as Johnny approaches. In a pivotal scene towards the end birds chirping frantically in the forest are used creatively to create an elevated level of tension . At open the camera focuses in on a pendant hanging on a rusted pipe from some long unused structure that nature has reclaimed. The owner of one of the two voices carrying on a non-descript conversation reaches out and grabs the pendant. After further silence the ground begins to rumble and out pops the behemoth that is Johnny. Once free from the soil below he begins a steady march over an extended period of no dialogue in the direction of that hand that grabbed the pendant. 

Johnny soon acquires his signature weapons. An Axe that he wields, then recovers a kin to Captain America's shield and a chain link metal rope with a hook on one end that he expertly deploys yielding brutal results. Followed by his last piece of kit a 19th century smoke helmet that he snatches from a fire lookout station. Our killer marches around the forest like an apex predator. Coming across people usually in pairs or the customary group of exuberant teens away at a cabin in the woods for the weekend.  You can almost hear him thinking as he formulates a plan of attack on the unsuspecting humans as he approaches. Then the plan is executed and people die. Three kills rank above all. One takes out a swimmer in a lake. The second snuffs out the Ranger (Reece Presley) who's linked to imprisoning him in that tomb below the rusted fire tower many years ago. The third and signature one from the film is thrust upon a seemingly random victim quietly doing her open air yoga practice. To say any more would ruin the epic nature of the act. 

Amongst the potential victims Kris (Andrea Pavolic) emerges as the foil to Johnny's rampage. She hears the back story from a fellow teens around a fire at the cabin the group is occupying. Apparently Johnny was bullied by the locals as a youth. He was tricked into climbing up the fire tower where he suffered a tragic accident, the ones involved covered it up.The pendant his mother's hanging it above his burial plot had kept Johnny in place. 

In a Violent Nature is a unique entry into the slasher film genre. There is no soundtrack present to build a sense of urgency or fear. Instead, people are going about their lives unaware of Johnny's lumbering approach. Surprise comes next, followed by fear then and the realization that they are about to die. Nash's method is simplistic yet effective resulting in a film that I can highly recommend. 

**** Out of 4.

In A Violent Nature | Chris Nash | Canada | 2024 | 94 Minutes.

Pendant, Tomb, Bullying, Fire Tower, Vengeance, Axe, Chained Hook, Forest, Teens, Cabin In the Woods, Smoke Helmet,Sawmill, Bear Trap, Gasoline, Toy Truck.