For It Is Man's Number: catalina sandino moreno

Showing posts with label catalina sandino moreno. Show all posts

Sunday, 1 February 2026

Netflix And Chill: The Rip (2026)

While I knew that I would make a viewing of The Rip a priority because of it co-starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in lead roles, I was pleased to find out that it was directed and written by Joe Carnahan. Carnahan may not be working at the level that he once was, but the guy still delivers some decent entertainment.

Everything here begins with the death of Captain Jackie Velez (Lina Esco). This leads to her team being questioned, with nobody above suspicion. Things then get even trickier for the team when they're tipped off about a stash house, and soon discover that they're going to have to count and keep safe an amount of money that exceeds $20M. If ever there was a temptation for someone who wasn't hestitant to kill a police Captain, this should expose any traitors in the midst of the group.

Inspired by a true story, which was worked on by Carnahan and Michael McGrale, there's nothing here in the by-the-numbers plotting that should displease those who know what they're in for. The twists and turns are predictable, but also satisfying. The main cast members all look very capable while waving their guns around through the clouds of testosterone. Okay, there aren't really any memorable action set-pieces, but the rest of the film plays out as expected, and the story ultimately proves better for the focus on intelligence and mistrust ahead of fights and gunplay.

Damon and Affleck are a proven combo, they're the mac & cheese of millenial blockbuster stars (which I mean as a compliment, although I am sure others will use the same analogy as an insult), and they work as well as ever here. Damon is the one in charge, and the more level-headed one of the two, perhaps due to having a different view of the unfolding situation, but he's also under as much, if not more, suspicion than anyone else in the team. Steven Yeun gets a decent amount to do, Teyana Taylor continues to impress now that she seems to have been finding better roles for her talent, and Catalina Sandino Moreno is, well, there. She's fine, but not really given anything to do. Sasha Calle is very good as the young woman who has her home raided while hoping to skip and dance through some grey legal areas to avoid arrest, Kyle Chandler is a DEA agent who might return in time to help or hinder our leads in the third act, and Scott Adkins has a good time with his role, playing Affleck's brother.

The screenplay may not be stuffed with memorable dialogue, but it works for what the film wants to do. What doesn't work is the visual style (or lack of) throughout. I'm sorry to say, but cinematographer Juanmi Azpiroz presents everything in a horribly murky mix of muted blues and something akin greyscale. I assume this wasn't necessarily his choice, nor the result of his work alone, but I'm naming him as the main culprit because it's the worst aspect of the film and he should have looked through his viewfinder and convinced everyone else to do a lot better.

There are other good things about this, but they tend to be tied to the production and profit-sharing model put in place by Damon and Affleck. What's actually in the movie itself is decidedly average, all things considered. It could have been elevated by another one or two passes on the script and a few more meetings about getting the visuals improved, while keeping everything in line with the aesthetic that Carnahan wanted.

6/10

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Thursday, 24 July 2025

Ballerina (2025)

From the world of John Wick, that's what we were all sold on here. Okay, there's also the draw of Ana de Armas kicking ass while looking damn fine doing it, but this film definitely wants to please fans of Wick. Does it succeed?

After some scenes showing a girl called Eve having her childhood interrupted by the execution of her father, and then being given a home within the Ruska Roma organization, Ballerina starts to show the training and maturation of a skilled killer (De Armas). She wants revenge though, and that isn't allowed. The Director (Anjelica Huston) explains that the man who murdered her father is the head of a large group that they just tend to leave to their own devices. That doesn't satisfy Eve, however, and she soon embarks on a journey of vengeance that will only end in the death of The Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne) or her own demise. And her own demise might be facilitated by John Wick himself.

Apparently directed by Len Wiseman, but with extensive reshoots overseen by Chad Stahelski, Ballerina is a bit of a mess, but it's a hell of an entertaining one. The visual style and onscreen world-building keeps it nicely within the "Wick-verse", but writer Shay Hatten can't do enough to make anything feel truly consequential. A number of the action sequences feel shoehorned in because they needed to make the 124-minute runtime bearable (and even then, it's disappointing that one great moment isn't shown, the film making use of the aftermath for some humour and explanation of how skilled our lead now is).

The best thing that this film has going for it is De Armas, a star who still deserves a real blockbuster success built around her. She can handle the action, and also deals with the breadcrumbs of emotional baggage given to her character. Huston also does well, reprising her role from previous movies and being just as strict and severe as ever. Byrne is a decent villain, but really only powerful enough because of how many people he can mobilise and control to attack one enemy, and Ian McShane adds his usual suave greatness as the constant calm presence of Winston. Catalina Sandino Moreno is wasted, and don't even start me on the third act moment that is delivered without any care or impact, Norman Reedus also doesn't really register, and it's a sad truth to say that any time we get Keanu Reeves making a cameo just serves as a reminder of how much better the Wick movies are. Robert Maaser is an impressive henchman, particularly in the jaw-dropping moments that involve some powerful flamethrowers, and Ava McCarthy is convincingly vulnerable and sweet as Ella, a young girl who ends up in the clutches of the baddies, which gives an extra motivation to our deadly lead.

All of the action is staged well, and it's all enjoyable enough, but things only feel truly inspired in an extended third act that makes great use of an interesting setting and a whole swathe of enemy combatants to deliver the kind of unique and inventive fights that have been a hallmark of this franchise. It's also good to be invested in something that feels as if, either way, there will be a consequential resolution to everything.

I enjoyed Ballerina, despite how it may seem from what I have said here. While there are things I have misgivings about, there's a consistency in the gorgeous cinematography, the excellent score, and the choreography and composition all working to keep De Armas framed as the star that she is. I just wanted it to be a bit better, and maybe there will be a step up in quality if we ever get a sequel to this. I'll rewatch this in the meantime, but I'll only after I have rewatched the superior John Wick movies first.

7/10

Thursday, 28 December 2023

Silent Night (2023)

I can imagine the excitement that director John Woo must have felt when he was given the option to make an action film in which the lead character didn't speak. Maybe there was an earlier script draft that had some other characters speaking, maybe there wasn't, but Woo surely relished the opportunity to deliver his trademark visual flourishes with no pesky dialogue dragging things down. It's certainly a strong central idea, but it's one that cannot be maintained for the length of a feature. Nobody wanted to tell Woo that, however, which leaves us with this.

Joel Kinnaman plays Brian Godlock, a man we first see chasing after some gun-fighting gangsters. He manages to deal with some of them before being shot, and left for dead, by Playa (Harold Torres). He somehow survives though, although his voice doesn't. After time spent recovering in the hospital, Brian starts on a path of revenge. It turns out that those gun-fighting gangsters accidentally killed his son. Getting himself armed and learning techniques from online videos, Brian doesn't care if he survives his quest. He only cares about taking the life of the man who killed his son. Oh, and there are some Christmas trimmings scattered here and there, seemingly just to work with the film title, like all of the non-speaking characters.

Written by Robert Archer Lynn, someone who must have been extremely grateful to have grabbed the interest of Woo, Silent Night has infrequent moments that hint at a much better film, but it’s generally a woeful experience. The fact that the central concept won’t actually work becomes clear quite early on, leaving viewers hoping for some patented Woo action, but Woo seems to have more faith in the script than it deserves.

Although there are some action sequences, none of them really hit the dizzyingly high bar set by Woo throughout many of the previous highlights of his filmography. In fact, the gunfire is particularly weak, Woo instead doing a much better job this time around with some car-based carnage. The varying quality of the action may not be so bad if alongside some strong dramatic performances, but the cast are all hampered by the lack of standard dialogue.

Kinnaman can be a great actor in the right roles. This is not one of the right roles for him. Watching him attempt to yell out in rage with no sound coming from his voicebox is just one of many poor, occasionally laughable, moments. Kid Cudi, billed here as Scott Mescudi, is a cop who ends up drawn into the trail of violence, but his character could have been played by almost anyone. As for Torres, he is a generic villain with no real charisma or personality, basically waiting around to be confronted as the “final boss”. None of those people are treated as poorly as Catalina Sandino Moreno, who has to play the suffering wife who also chooses not to speak to her voiceless husband (for no reason other than the script requires her to, because . . . Silent Night).

Many fans of Woo may have been waiting for his return to American movie-making, but I think this just proves that he continues to do his best work in his home country. I love both of his Travolta-starring movies, and I actually don’t mind Paycheck, but it remains obvious that fans of his action and style would be better off revisiting his impressive back catalogue than awaiting any new mainstream offerings from him. Each one offers disappointingly diminishing returns.

3/10