DRAMA. “Urchin.” / “One of These Days.” / “Daphne.” / “Jacknife.”

“Urchin” (2025, Hulu) British drama. Mike is a homeless young man in London, struggling with addiction and poverty. A remarkable directorial debut by Harris Dickinson. (He also wrote the story.) Mr Dickinson crafted a movie that incisively navigates the vain life of a fragile man facing a dead-end. No moralizing or sermonizing. Credit as well is directed at star Frank Dillane's wickedly involved performance.



       The film received six nominations at the British Independent Film Awards 2025, including for best British independent film, and lead performance for Frank Dillane, and best directorial debut for Harris Dickinson. 🎥💻📽


“One of These Days” (2020, Plex) German-American psychological drama. A fatal endurance contest in a small Texas town. The story focuses on participants in a "Hands On" truck competition, exploring themes of desperation, poverty, and capitalism. 



        Interesting story but too many characters that makes the continuity jumbled or static. The development of plot-points is slow and this is 2-hours long. Bleak and sad, too.

       The only redeeming factor is the ensemble performance, especially Joe Cole. 🎥💻📽


“Daphne” (2017, Tubi) British drama. The life of a witty young woman living in London changes after she witnesses a stabbing. Stars Emily Beecham. 


       I watched this movie after I saw Emily Beecham in “Little Joe.” Ms Beecham's acting style is minimalist projection, cool and restrained. Same in this movie, as Daphne Vitale. 

       Director Peter Mackie Burns’ handling of Nico Mensinga's otherwise meandering script, anchored on a complex-character study, is fine–but devoid of dramatic tension and attention-grabbing excitement. But it's still worth the bother to watch Emily Beecham. 🎥💻📽


“Jacknife” (1989, Fandango) drama film. The story revolves around a Vietnam veteran struggling to deal with his past, focusing on small-scale character drama. Based on Stephen Metcalfe's 1982 play “Strange Snow.” 



       This is a decently watchable post-war or PTSD navigation movie. And all three leads (Robert De Niro, Ed Harris, and Kathy Baker) expectedly deliver fine performances. Mr Harris was nominated for a Golden Globe. 🎥💻📽


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BASED on True Story or People: “The Lost Bus.” / “The Stanford Prison Experiment.” / “Escobar: Paradise Lost.” / “Polytechnique.” / “Miss Potter.” / “Last Days.”

Image
“The Lost Bus” (2025, Apple TV+) survival drama film directed by Paul Greengrass , who co-wrote the screenplay with Brad Ingelsby .         This movie is based on a rescue detailed in a section of Lizzie Johnson's book “Paradise: One Town's Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire” about the 2018 Camp Fire , one of the most destructive wildfires in California history, which claimed 85 lives.        Mr Greengrass’ recreation of the disaster is terrifyingly authentic. It'd seem like the film's audience is actually there with the schoolchildren and their teachers and driver, inside the bus. You can almost feel the blazing fire and the searing heat.        Plus an outstanding performance by Matthew McConaughey as the driver Kevin McKee and America Ferrera as the teacher Mary Ludwig.        Recommended weekend family viewing. 🎥💻📽 “The Stanford ...
Read more

NOSFERATU (or Dracula) movies or films inspired by Bram Stoker's 1897 novel “Dracula.”

Image
<>“Nosferatu” (2024, Amazon Prime), written and directed by Robert Eggers . Production design is haunting, photography is disturbingly sinister, sound editing kneads your spine. And, of course, Nicholas Hoult (as Thomas Hutter) expectedly delivers and Lily-Rose Depp (as Ellen Hutter) is a revelation.         Meanwhile, with the prosthetics or masks, it is hard to rate the performance of Bill Skarsgård 's titular Count Orlok but Simon McBurney (as Herr Knock otherwise known as Renfield) is chillingly hilarious although a bit exaggerated, I think. But Aaron Taylor-Johnson (as Arthur Holmwood) is miscast.        Take note that Nosferatu/Count Dracula, Jonathan Harker and Lucy Harker, Abraham Van Helsing, Lucy Westenra, Renfield, John Seward, Arthur Holmwood etcetera assumed different names in this version. 🎥👍📽 <>“Nosferatu The Vampyre” (1979, Tubi), directed and written by Werner Herzog . A remake of...
Read more

“The Alto Knights.” / “The Irish Mob.”

Image
“The Alto Knights” (2025, Max) biographical crime drama. Story: In a failed assassination attempt orchestrated by his ambitious underboss, Vito Genovese , Luciano family boss Frank Costello finds himself at a crossroads. Robert De Niro both portrays Mr Genevese and Mr Costello , which can be confusing a bit because both speak like De Niro and both talk like Mafia bosses. As is though, this is not a bad movie although nothing is really new here. But a tired retelling of what we already knew or watched in so many mob cinema tropes.         Plot: In a failed assassination attempt orchestrated by his ambitious underboss, Vito Genovese , Luciano family boss Frank Costello finds himself at a crossroads. Weary of the constant bloodshed and betrayals that define his life, Costello informs Genovese of his intention to retire and cede control of the Luciano family. However, Vito, a man consumed by ambition and paranoia, refuses to believe Costello's in...
Read more