Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton
Week of August 8, 2022
Day Shift
Rated R for language, strong violence and gore
Rotten Tomatoes Score: None Yet
Streaming on Netflix
Jamie Foxx is just your mild-mannered blue-collar worker pretending to be a pool guy while his real job is focused on finding and exterminating vampires for cash. When his ex-wife puts pressure on him financially, he attempts to rejoin the vampire-killers union where he is assigned Dave Franco as an observer. But when he attracts the attention from the wrong vampire, he and his family find themselves in extreme danger. Taking bits and pieces from various cult classics like Zombieland and John Wick, Day Shift strings together enough blood, gore and style to keep you engaged. And with two talented actors like Foxx and Franco, the buddy flick aspect works well enough, even though enough time is not dedicated to that dynamic. The writing isn’t as clever as it thinks it is and not nearly as funny as it tries to be, but it does have some decent action and who doesn’t love the idea of Snoop Dogg unloading on a hive of the undead. Speaking of the vampires, apparently when you become one, you turn into a weird Cirque Du Soleil contortionist because practically none of them looked normal when they battle. Ultimately, its a big-budget brainless thriller with potential that never materializes. C+
Thirteen Lives
Rated PG-13 for some strong language and unsettling images
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89%
Streaming on Amazon Prime
As I’m sure most will recount from a few years ago, twelve boys and their adult soccer coach got stuck in a cave in Thailand, leaving the deadly job of saving their lives to a team of Thai Navy Seals and a group of international cave dive rescuers. It always sounded like a movie waiting to happen and here Director Ron Howard takes on the project, leading Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell and Joel Edgerton into the dangerous waters to show the world how it all went down. Were it not for the familiar faces, you might think this was a documentary as it feels authentic and doesn’t come across as Hollywood at all. The performances from the three leads are excellent as you would expect and the rest of the cast is as good as you can get given the lack of experience on set. The film is appropriately paced even when it gets down in the minutiae, helping you relive the danger and understand the tough choices that had to be made to rescue the kids, as well as comprehend the repercussions that could happen should anything go wrong. Overall, it is a really good representation of a relevant true story, handled the right way. A-
Event Horizon: 25th Anniversary Edition
Rated R
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 29%
On Disc and Paid Streaming
It’s hard to believe that this cult classic sci-fi horror film is having its 25th birthday this summer. I remember being both thrilled and very freaked out and what I considered to be one of the scariest movies I had ever seen. The story follows a small group of space explorers who attempt to find a lost ship, called the Event Horizon. But upon locating the vessel, things start to go horribly wrong. While I had fond memories of this film that came out when I was half my current age, I just can’t seem to appreciate those same qualities today. There are two great moments in the film and a lot of junk. First, the moment when Sam Neill tries to explain wormholes is an iconic moment that was even copied and quoted in the latest Thor outing. Then there’s the found video that is still pretty terrifying but short-lived. Everything else is just mediocre, including the acting by the stellar cast. The movie tries so hard to be The Shining in space. But unlike The Shining, this thriller just doesn’t hold up. C+