Cast: Megan Fox, Michele Morrone, Madeline Zima, Matilda Firth, Andrew Whipp, Atlas Srebrev, Manal El-Feitury, Antoni Davidov
Follows a struggling father who purchases a domestic SIM to help care for his house and family, unaware she will gain awareness and turn deadly.
The film seems like it should be a bit more exploitive and dirty, but the right mix of being trashy and a B-Movie that is pure entertainment and thrills.
One would have enjoyed this film more if one didn’t dislike the lead actor Michele Morrone playing the husband, performance. The roles he has been seen in before are in Netflix‘s erotic Fifty Shades of Grey Italian knock-off 365. So while he is definitely Candy for the ladies, his performance is quite unbelievable only because looking at him he never is convincing as the faithful husband mentally Latroy though just as Megan Fox is eye Candy for the audience so is he?.
It’s an interesting sci-fi thriller with an eroticism laced through it. The film stays entertaining throughout. Though you know what will happen most of the film a satisfying time waster
The best film Megan Fox has been in, in a while. Used her perfectly as her looks seem her to seem unreal or crafted and she is believable throughout. A bit of a comeback for her.
Will admit watched this film because Madeline Zima was part of the cast and she has more of a supporting role.
The film does well in building its futuristic science fiction world to be believable and create a tight if comfortably familiar story.
A college student moonlighting as a chauffeur picks up two mysterious women for a night of party-hopping across LA. But when he uncovers their bloodthirsty intentions – and their dangerous, shadowy underworld – he must fight to stay alive.
This feels like a film that is more interested in being cool and having street credentials. Rather than being good or at least entertaining.
Even when it is good, which is rare, it feels like it wants to be stylish over everything. One of the film’s few saving Graces is that style. Not to mention a likable cast.
Which includes a familiar cast as well as two cameos for no real reason but pads the cast list with some more recognizable names.
The story tries to do modern updates and add action. While also having a dive-read cast that makes it become more urban and offers an Us Vs. Them outlook. As the vampires are usually European in lineage and caucasian. Also, the differences seem more upper crust and prejudice against others, not of their lineage.
Whereas the vampire hunters are more people of color but also made more to look like gang members. Even though they are more the heroes of the film.
The film’s story is kind of a horror movie version of the film COLLATERAL. While the film is heavy on the action at times that seems more focused on the horror aspects. The film also feels more inspired by BLADE overall but not quite as good or original as that film. Maybe trying to offer one for a new generation of sorts to claim as their own.
The villain of the film played by Alfie Allen seems more like a brat and not as dangerous. Due to us more being told how bad and dangerous he is but rarely seen. Especially as he barks orders and threatens. Rather than take any Action.
The film seems to show more strength for a character who can only come with power overall. As it plays into too many Hollywood and nightlife cliches of hipness
In the end, the film feels like a time waster with barely a point other than everyone looks good. While also planting an obligatory love story.
Directed by: Larry Charles Written By: Sacha Baron Cohen, Alec Berg, David Mandel & Jeff Schaffer Cinematography By: Lawrence Sher Editor: Greg Hayden & Eric Kissack
Cast: Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris, Ben Kingsley, Bobby Lee, Aasif Mandavi, Jason Mantzoukas, Joey Slotnick, Kevin Corrigan, Chris Elliott, Kathryn Hahn, Megan Fox, Ian Roberts, Jon Glaser, Chris Parnell, Chris Gethard, Fred Armisen, J.B. Smoove
The Republic of Wadiya is ruled by an eccentric and oppressive leader named Hafez Aladeen. Aladeen is summoned to New York to a UN assembly to address concerns about his country’s nuclear weapons program, but the trip goes awry.
It seems most of the time the only real comedy in this film is more the shocking aspects of the material. As the regular, more comic nature gags seem like they go well on paper, but physically fall flat.
The film plays like a Saturday Night Live skit character who gets their own film But struggles to fill out the premise. So that the film feels like a collection of skits tied together with a rather thin plotline. Soon the envelope is pushed so far all the outlandish details become common. You start to wonder if anything will be considered sacred.
Unfortunately when it comes to Sasha Baron Cohen who is a gifted comedic performer. His best ability that has so far been shown is his ability to stay in character while improvising around and off of real people not in on the joke, With hilarious awkward, and shocking moments. As others around him seem to drop their guard and open up themselves mostly to his questions and suggestions that have worked for him so far. While he has defined characters he also became more recognizable. So with small roles in other films the natural next plateau was to try to create feature films with characters though more scripted. Though try to feature the same type off the cuff comedy. With a certain looseness in the filmmaking leaving room for happy accidents. In this film he seems to be the only one allowed to do anything really funny, others try but are either cameos that go nowhere or just weak. So this film feels almost like a vanity project.
He is funny and a good performer, but he is also better than this material. Which only seems to only be shocking to be shocking. No real reason it can’t be funny without going to such extremes. It’s like stand-up who’s act is full of offensive and shocking scenarios. Just no real jokes or sense of humor. Though everything said is supposed to be in some type of humor. Which is a shame especially when you have a cast that is full of funny actors.
It feels like a mash-up of Different Charlie Chaplin scenarios and scenes from his films only updated badly. –It seems that Sasha Baron Cohen is the closest that we have to a modern Peter Sellers as he totally allows himself to truly be lost in character and there seems to not be any breaking and not know where one ends and where another begins. Also, his films tend to revolve not only around characters that he plays but almost exclusively around him and his character. There are other comedians and characters but most of the humor revolves around only his and others’ reactions to him.
His previous films that play more off of hidden cameras and regular people reacting to his antics are a bit more powerful as they reflect more of a social satire with a reality. This film is more sketch than anything else scripted satire that is made to look off-kilter but is obviously more formulaic. It’s a shame as the film shows peaks of comedic brilliance and some interesting ideas that are quickly dropped for more traditional comedy in the form of just trying to make the jokes way too offensive and shock humor. Which seems to be on the rise in the form of comedy instead of humorous jokes and situations. Comedies seem to be more of a barometer of how much they can get away with that is off-color. There are of course exceptions, but Comedies seem to be going the way of horror with torture porn. The more shocking and graphic it seems the better.
Like the film, it seems to be inspired by just a bit Charlie Chaplin’s THE GREAT DICTATOR it has a great speech at the end that tries to inform and send a message. It’s more didactic and not inspiring like its influence.
The film has a love story that doesn’t work nor is it really needed, but since it seems that most films today have one whether they are needed are not have one involved in the film. Why not this one?
Cut To The Chase 