Tag: Wendy Crewson

MAYDAY (2026)

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Written & Directed By: John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein 

Cinematography: Barry Peterson 

Editor: Jamie Gross and John Lee 

Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Kenneth Branagh, Marcin Dorocinski, Maria Bakalova, David Morse, Clark Johnson, Wendy Crewson, Josh Hamilton

Lieutenant Troy Brennan takes part in a top secret surveillance mission over Soviet airspace. Things take a sharp turn, however, when he is forced to eject from his plane over the Russian wilderness. He is rescued by a paradoxical Russian native and the two begin to appreciate both their differences and commonalities.

There are some movies you finish and immediately think, “Well… that was fine.” And honestly, that’s probably the best way to describe this one.

I went into it expecting something disposable, and while it certainly isn’t reinventing the action-comedy wheel, I have to admit that I had a decent time with it. 

because this is very much a paint-by-numbers kind of movie. You’ve seen this story before. You’ve seen these characters before. You can practically see some of the plot turns coming from the next room.

But every once in a while, it has just enough personality to keep itself from becoming completely forgettable.

Ryan Reynolds is interesting here because, thankfully, this isn’t quite the Ryan Reynolds we’ve seen a million times before. He still has that familiar rhythm and personality, but instead of firing off a wisecrack every thirty seconds, a lot of his humor comes through his reactions to the increasingly ridiculous situations around him. He almost becomes the audience surrogate. The guy looking at everything happening around him and thinking, “Are we seriously doing this?” surprisingly, that works.

Kenneth Branagh, meanwhile, is doing a lot of the heavy lifting literally. He’s getting into the action himself, which is something I’m not particularly accustomed to seeing from him. At this point in his career, watching Branagh throw himself around in an action movie is kind of charming. I don’t know if he’s channeling Sean Connery, taking notes from Liam Neeson, or simply having a really good time, but the man deserves some credit. He’s surprisingly convincing.

Branagh has directed action before, of course, with films like THOR and JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT. So this isn’t exactly unfamiliar territory for him. But seeing him actually inhabit this kind of older action-hero role is one of the more entertaining aspects of the movie.

The problem is that the rest of the film doesn’t exactly rise to their level.

It feels like the kind of movie that probably explains why it ended up on streaming rather than in theaters. There’s supposedly an epic quality to the story, much of it set against Cold War-era Russia, the KGB, and all the usual ingredients for a big, muscular action thriller. Yet somehow, everything feels surprisingly muted.

The movie is set in the 1980s, which at least gives it an excuse to use Russia and the KGB as its primary villains without having to invent some overly complicated modern conspiracy. But even with that built-in atmosphere, the film rarely feels as big as it seems to think it is.

And then there’s the strange feeling that Ryan Reynolds could almost be replaced by just about anybody. He’s not bad. He’s just… there.

Considering how naturally Reynolds fits into buddy comedies, you would think this would be tailor-made for him. But the movie never quite gives him enough material to bring his usual gravitas or comedic energy. Instead, he’s mostly along for the ride.

Oddly enough, the whole thing reminded me of BEHIND ENEMY LINES, except somebody decided to make this movie more of a buddy comedy and turn down the action just a little.

maybe that’s why I didn’t hate it.

It’s familiar, but it’s not completely lifeless. It’s basic, but it occasionally has some spirit. It doesn’t offer much you haven’t seen before, but it at least tries to put a slightly different spin on a very familiar formula.

It’s perfectly watchable, occasionally fun, and elevated by a couple of performances that are more entertaining than the material itself. But once the credits roll, I’m not sure there’s much left to say other than, “Yep. That was a movie.”

Not bad. Not great. Just ok 

Grade: C

THE KID DETECTIVE (2021)

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Written & Directed By: Evan Morgan
Cinematography: Mike McLaughlin
Editor: Curt Lobb

Cast: Adam Brody, Wendy Crewson, Kaitlyn Chalmbers-Rizzato, Jonathan Whittaker, Kaleb Horn, Sarah Sutherland, Steve Gagne, Sophie Nelisse, Griffin Wardle 

A once-celebrated kid detective, now 32, continues to solve the same trivial mysteries between hangovers and bouts of self-pity. Until a naive client brings him his first ‘adult’ case, to find out who brutally murdered her boyfriend.

This is a film best to go into blind but the title kind of gives you a hint.

This film helps you breathe a breath of fresh air. As it is smart but not pretentious, at times feels more like a book adaptation than an original film. 

It is original in the best ways. It never takes itself too seriously and while being a comedy for the most part at heart it is also a general mystery. That comes across as neo-noir

The film has more of a premise you would expect in a high concept comedy where a kid detective was basically broken by one case from his teens. Still, practices detective work in the same small town. But his life is a wreck and most of his cases come from teenagers for very simple tasks.

The film also gives a chance to show what happens to children we might prop up for a special ability in their youth that is squally reserved for adults, but what happens when they get older and that isn’t impressive anymore. It’s almost more expected of you or rather basic.

Once he actually is called in on a case of murder by the deceased’s girlfriend. We learn that this picturesque small town has an underground dark side. While grounding the murder and mystery deeper the more adults he talks to. Throughout he is mostly dealing with teens and trying to justify himself to others who once believed in him and now more pity him.

It’s an excellent character-based film that while wing a neo-noir and lacks a femme fatale. It does involve a female character. Who subconsciously haunts him.

By the third act of the film. We are pushed in a direction we never saw coming that actually deepens everything. We have seen before and while the film was running well before. The last act is what really raises the film and its Stakes. We are left with an aftermath that isn’t as clean-cut and tidy as we are used to.

The film shows that Adam Brody still can impress in a lead role. He is usually Relegated to supporting roles In Comedies. Here he excels even as a sad sack he is charming and likable. He really helps keep the film together especially as he is in most of the scenes.

The direction is light and crisp not so stylized that you would expect in a film like this. Which is what makes it’s darker moments so unexpected. 

The film would make a good double feature with the Teenage detective mystery BRICK. 

Grade: B+

THE GOOD SON (1993)

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Directed By: Joseph Ruben 
Written By: Ian McEwan
Cinematography: John Lindley
Editor: George Bowers 

Cast: Macaulay Culkin, Elijah Wood, Wendy Crewson, David Morse, Daniel Hugh Kelly, Jacqueline Brookes, Quinn Culkin, Ashley Crow 

A young boy stays with his aunt and uncle and be friends with his cousin, a boy of the same age who shows increasing signs of violent and psychopathic behavior.

I remember being excited about this film when it came out. As it held the promise of Macaulay Culkin to be playing against type as an evil child. Though for some this might have been more of the same who might have seen his character in home alone as a sadistic bully himself.

I even went to see this movie in theaters twice. Sure it’s a modern update on the and seed only with boys and more of a budget and an openness that the movie didn’t offer at the time. 

He does excellent In This film. As he pretty much sets his cousin played by Elijah wood up to be his patsy. Getting him to trust him and bringing him into his little schemes and then when his cousin decides to be honest and do the good thing. Culkin’s Character beats him to it only making wood look guilty as he has more evidence to put him away.

At first, we believed that Culkin’s character might just be going through growing pain until we found out even before he got there he was up to no good. It seems that Eve. As he might try to do so later. What he craves is attention and anytime someone is a rival for his mother’s affection then Off they go 

At first, the film is played more off of thriller as including a great action sequence of a car crash on a highway and an ice skating incident gone wrong, but once it really settles in and watches, you can really see more the psychological aspects of the film being panted out 

Director Joseph Rueben offers crisp and sharp direction. That matches the chilly atmosphere the town is set in. This actually is one of his better films. Definitely one of his most popular. So you can say the films offer thrills and chills 

Something interesting that Macaulay Culkin was a child star and was killed in two movies that he starred in. Think of that anytime you swear times have changed or movies are darker and more mean-spirited than the ones in the past as far as treatment of children.

Though His performance does put him in a different lane and offers him a chance to show range, but also gives plenty of opportunity to those more annoyed by him to see Him get a comeuppance. It was just nice to see him in something different, not cookie cutter and cute 

What works for the film is that despite its high concept simpleness and stunt casting. It’s actually deeper than what you expect. As it does kind of harm back to that Spielberg era. Where kids could star in Movies and kind of create their own world and social relationships. Where adults were around but they weren’t the main focus they were more supportive.

This was the first movie I even remember seeing Elijah wood in and he is impressive in one of his first films as a full-fledged lead.

As even though this film is rated R. It also seems more made for children to enjoy or at least relate to more.

Grade: B

ROOM (2015)

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Directed By: Lenny Abrahamson
Written By: Emma Donoghue; Based on her Novel
Cinematography By: Danny Cohen
Editor: Nathan Nugent 


Cast: Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Joan Allen, Tom McCamus, Sean Bridgers, William H. Macy, Wendy Crewson, Rory O’Shea

ROOM tells the extraordinary story of Jack, a spirited 5-year-old who is looked after by his loving and devoted mother. Like any good mother, Ma dedicates herself to keeping Jack happy and safe, nurturing him with warmth and love and doing typical things like playing games and telling stories. Their life, however, is anything but typical–they are trapped–confined to a windowless, 10-by-10-foot space that Ma has euphemistically named Room. Ma has created a whole universe for Jack within Room, and she will stop at nothing to ensure that, even in this treacherous environment, Jack is able to live a complete and fulfilling life. But as Jack’s curiosity about their situation grows, and Ma’s resilience reaches its breaking point, they enact a risky plan to escape, ultimately bringing them face-to-face with what may turn out to be the scariest thing yet: the real world.

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