Alice, Darling

2023 Lionsgate

Rated: R

Length: 1 hr 29min

Drama ~ Thriller

Starring: Anna Kendrick, Kaniehtiio Horn, Charlie Carrick, and Wunmi Mosaku.

“I know this sounds crazy, but sometimes it feels like he can read my mind and there’s nowhere left that I can actually be alone.”

Anna Kendrick stars as Alice who is in a relationship with her boyfriend Simon (Charlie Carrick). He seems to be very controlling, leaving very little room in her life for her own thoughts, anyone or anything else. As she is trying to enjoy a girl’s night out with her two friends Sophie (Wunmi Mosaku) and Tess (Kaniehtiio Horn), Simon is constantly texting Alice. When Alice goes to the bathroom he texts and demands a pic of her breasts, something to look forward to when she finally gets home. Sophie and Tess tell Alice that they want to go away for a week to Sophie’s family house by the lake to celebrate Tess’s 40th birthday together, a girl’s only vacation.

Alice reluctantly agrees knowing that Simon won’t approve or allow her to go away without him, so she lies and says she must go away for work. The girls head out together and drive to Tess’s family lake house. Over the course of the next several days it becomes painfully obvious to Tess and Sophie that there is something different about Alice. That there is something deeply troubling her, and start to ask about Simon. At first their insistence leads to quarrels and heated arguments, and Alice threatens to leave. Eventually they get through to Alice and try to make her realize that she is in a very toxic controlling relationship.

But only after they staged their own little intervention and hid Alice’s phone. In doing so they cut Simon off from controlling her through the phone and Alice starts to think for herself. But Simon digs through her emails and finds out the truth about where Alice is and decides to show up at the lake house. Sophie and Tess are less than pleased and things get very tense as Simon tries to re-assert dominance over Alice. He convinces her that they must leave in the morning and get back home to their lives. Sophie and Tess have their own idea about that and the next morning turns into a showdown.

From the very beginning you know that there is something deeply troubling Alice. She looks very nervous and is constantly pulling her hair. It is subtle but starts to grow as you realize that Simon is very controlling. There are flashbacks to moments in Alice’s relationship with Simon where he is very disparaging towards her. Criticizing her every thought and action, slowly gaining control of her very psyche through humiliation. I kept waiting for the scenes of physical violence due to the tenseness in the scenes, but in the end you realize it is purely psychological and emotional abuse.

Narcissist is as Narcissist does. Belittling, humiliating, making you seem flawed so they can feel better about themselves. The only way they can feel superior to another human being because they themselves are incredibly flawed and broken inside. Their inferiority complex runs so deep that the only way to compensate is to make you feel or appear to be less than. Run Forrest Run! Easier said than done. That is the point of the movie. And I think the movie, Anna Kendrick, Kaniehtiio Horn, Charlie Carrick, Wunmi Mosaku and the director Mary Nighy (In her Directorial Debut) did a good job of driving that point home.

I think the movie made a good point about getting help. If you are in a troubled relationship, reach out to your friends, let them know what is going on like Alice did. Hopefully your friends will be like Sophie and Tess, stepping in to say ,”No, that’s not normal or alright.” There is a subplot in the movie about a missing girl. I think it is pure genius, it is a metaphor for Alice in her relationship with Simon. Alice is lost and is slowly dying in her relationship.

It is not for everyone but I liked it and think it is definitely worth a watch.

Two Thumbs Up!

Anna Kendrick (“Alice”) in ALICE DARLING
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate

ALICE DARLING Movie Poster Courtesy of Lionsgate

Above Suspicion

2021 Lionsgate

Rated: R

Length: 1 hr 44min

Action ~ Crime ~ Thriller ~ True Story

Directed by: Phillip Noyce

Starring: Emilia Clarke, Jack Huston, Sophie Lowe, Austin Hébert, Karl Glusman, Chris Mulkey, Omar Miller, Kevin Dunn, Thora Birch and Johnny Knoxville.

“That’s the way the devil comes. He don’t come to you as evil. He don’t come to you on fire. He comes as everything you ever wanted. He comes to you as you.”

Emilia Clarke stars as Susan Smith, a divorced mother still living with her ex-husband in Harlan County, Kentucky. Her ex husband Cash (Johnny Knoxville) is a drug dealer and they are both addicted to drugs. Economically there are not many options in town and Susan and Cash survive on welfare checks and drug money. For the sake of their children and economic reasons they live in the same trailer just outside of town, where they also throw parties and sell drugs.

Jack Huston stars as FBI Agent Mark Putnam. Mark has just moved to town with his wife and new baby to investigate a series of bank robberies. The suspect Joe B is currently residing with Susan and Cash along with his girlfriend in the trailer. As Mark investigates the trail of Joe B, it leads him to Cash and Susan. He attempts to convince Cash to cooperate and become an informant but soon realizes that he has a better chance of getting Susan to co-operate.

Susan willingly becomes his informant, already infatuated with this new dark haired stranger in her life. She sees Mark as a way out of the dead end existence she is living and the two quickly become romantically involved. Their relationship becomes very entangled and dangerous for Mark who realizes he is putting his Marriage and career at great risk. He tries to break it off with Susan but she refuses to let go. Mark eventually puts in a transfer request for a different field office and moves his family to Florida.

The movie follows the story of Mark and Susan and their tumultuous affair and horrific ending. After returning to Pikesville, Kentucky to wrap up a case, Mark tries to talk to Susan one last time about letting go. They go for a ride out to the mountain and Susan becomes very agitated and violent at Mark’s insistence that the baby she says she’s carrying is not his. A violent fight ensues and Mark strangles Susan, drops her body in the woods and goes back to Florida.

Over the course of the following year Mark Putnam can’t escape his guilt and remorse and confesses to the crime of killing Susan Smith. Mark was sentenced to 16 years in prison, served ten, and is now re-married and living in Georgia. He was the first FBI Agent to ever be convicted of Murder.

I love the True Story movies and this is one hell of a story. Adultery, jealousy and a crime of passion. I am not familiar with Emilia Clarke but I love her in this. Jack Huston is also very good in this role. Johnny Knoxville does an outstanding job as the drug dealer Cash. I have watched this movie three times now and I would watch it again. It is a great story and movie, but I think that Emilia Clarke’s performance as Susan Smith is absolutely riveting and is what really keeps me coming back.

Highly Recommended!

Two Thumbs Up!

Emilia Clarke (“Susan Smith”) in ABOVE SUSPICION
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate

Jack Huston (“Mark”) in ABOVE SUSPICION
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate

ABOVE SUSPICION Movie Poster
Courtesy of Lionsgate

Operation Fortune: Ruse De Guerre

2023 Lionsgate

Rated: R

Length: 1hr 54 min

Action ~ Comedy ~ Thriller

Directed by: Guy Ritchie

Starring: Jason Statham, Aubrey Plaza, Josh Hartnett, Cary Elwes, Bugzy Malone and Hugh Grant.

“Our secure facility in Johannesburg was ambushed and some well guarded cargo is missing. I need you to retrieve it, find out who the seller is, who the buyer is and what it is. I need this to be an unorthodox mission, Ruse De Guerre, led by your main man Orson Fortune.”

Nathan Jasmine (Cary Elwes), a private spy contractor, is hired by the British Government to retrieve stolen merchandise known only as “The Handle”. He assembles a team led by his main spy Orson Fortune (Jason Statham), Sarah Fidel (Aubrey Plaza), newly acquired from Nathan’s competition and JJ Davies(Bugzy Malone). The team flies to Madrid to intercept the courier carrying a hard drive with the data from “The Handle”.

They quickly realize that there is another contractor’s team led by Mike, Nathan’s competition in the spy business, after the same courier. They manage to get the drive and copy the contents, before Mike gets the hard drive from them, and discovers that the arms dealer Greg Simmonds (Hugh Grant) has “The Handle” and plans to auction it off to the highest bidder.

Sarah is an expert hacker and digs up dirt on Greg Simmonds’ favorite actor, Danny Francesco (Josh Hartnett) and blackmails him into going to a fundraiser hosted by Greg aboard his yacht in Cannes France. Sarah poses as Danny’s girlfriend and Orson as his Manager in a ruse to get closer to Gregg to ascertain the whereabouts of “The Handle” and who the buyers are.

Which is where the action really starts. It is the same spy story plot of, bad guy stole the goods and unless we get it back the world is in peril, retrieve at whatever cost. There is lots of action, fighting, killing, guns, knives, missiles, car chases, helicopters and backstabbing amongst everyone trying to get their hands on “The Handle”. There is a lot of witty banter between Jason Statham and Aubrey Plaza, Jason and Bugsy Malone, Josh Hartnett and Hugh Grant.

I really like Hugh Grant in this role, similar to his role in The Gentlemen, another Guy Ritchie Movie. Bugzy Malone was in that as well, have to re-watch that. It also reminds me of another guy Ritchie movie, The Man From U.N.C.L.E, another good spy caper film I really like. I like Aubrey Plaza in this, thought she and Jason had good chemistry. I’m not familiar with her but see that she is in Emily The Criminal. Have to watch that one tonight! And I am a big Jason Statham fan, he can’t hardly do any wrong as far as I am concerned.

Clichéd story but with a twist. I liked it.

Good Clean Fun, this one.

Two Thumbs Up!

Hunter Killer

2018 Lionsgate

Rated: R

Length: 2 hrs 1min

Action ~ Thriller

Directed By: Donovan Marsh

Starring: Gerard Butler, Gary Oldman, Common, and Linda Cardellini.

“Did we just start a war?….No, but we might have sailed into one.”

Gerard Butler stars as Captain Joe Glass who is tasked with taking charge of the Hunter Killer class U.S. Submarine USS Arkansas. A Hunter killer Class submarine is outfitted to hunt and destroy another submarine, a Boomer is a nuclear armed Submarine. Another US sub The Tampa Bay has gone missing in The Berents Sea and Captain Glass’s mission is to quickly investigate.

The Arkansas quickly embarks and finds The Tampa Bay on the bottom of the ocean floor. They quickly discover another Russian sub sunk on the bottom as well. And that’s when the excitement really starts. They are quickly engaged in a battle for survival as another unknown vessel tries to destroy them. Throw in a group of Navy Seals tasked with secretly going into Russia and a potential Russian Military coup and you’ve got yourself one hell of a thriller.

Hunter Killer is an old-school submarine action movie where Gerard Butler plays a straight-ahead, no-frills sub captain who feels like a regular guy put in charge of a high‑stakes mission. Gary Oldman is electric as the fired‑up Pentagon boss, shouting through the big strategy scenes, while Common plays the cool, steady admiral trying to keep everyone level. Butler, Oldman, and Common together gives the movie enough star power and energy to make it a solid, turn-your-brain-off action watch for a Streaming Movie Night.

This is an edge of your seat action thriller I thoroughly enjoyed.

Go Navy!

Highly recommended!

Two Thumbs up!