RUNNING MAN // A FILM REVIEW OF "MOST DANGEROUS GAME"

BY MATEO MORENO

The new streaming app Quibi, created by Jeffrey Katzenberg, has officially launched, and the platform is offering a 90-day free trial through the end of the month. Prefect timing for all of us (re: nearly everyone) who's stuck at home. Each program, and they have movies, TV shows and reality television so far, offer each "episode" in 10-minute small bites, which are released one at a time daily on weekdays. One of the starry new offerings is the running man thriller MOST DANGEROUS GAME starring Liam Hemsworth and Christoph Waltz.

This high octane thriller starts off without any set-up. We meet Dodge (Hemsworth), our main protagonist as he is meeting with a business man by the name of Miles Sellers (Waltz) who runs "The Tiro Fund." Dodge is hoping that Sellers can help him out with a loan, as he is badly in need of money, with a baby on the way and Cancer treatment eating away at him. However, Sellers isn't interested in giving a loan. What he is interested in is Dodge participating in a game. The most dangerous kind of game, in fact, where he himself would be hunted by rich people who enjoy that kind of thrill. It would take place over the course of 24 hours and should he survive, he'll have more money than he could even dream of. In fact, each hour he survives, more money will automatically be wired into his account. Should he not survive the 24 hours and a hunter catches up with him, they would actual kill him and the game would be over. At first, Dodge rejects the request outright, saying he'll go to the cops. However, Dodge is a desperate man and in the end, he agrees to the insane request.

Since this is on Quibi, I've only seen the first few chapters and can't fully review the film in its entirety. But from all of the offerings I've seen on the new streamer, THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME is one of the strongest, anchored by the magnetic Chritoph Waltz and a very game Hemsworth. The game has just begun where I'm at so far, but I'm definitely invested and drawn in by the stylish directing of Abraham and the literal "thrill of the chase." This kind of show seems perfect for 10-minute episodes, drawing your excitement just enough to draw you into the next chapter. This is a new way to experience a thrill ride like this, and I'm completely game for it.

GRADE: B+

WRITTEN BY Nick Santora, Josh Harmon, Scott Elder, DIRECTED BY Phil Abraham STARRING Liam Hemsworth, Christoph Waltz, Sarah Gadon, Zach Cherry. NOW AVAILABLE TO STREAM ON Quibi

MIRROR, MIRROR // A FILM REVIEW OF "ENEMY"

BY MATEO MORENO

Director Denis Villeneuve’s recent film Prisoners brought new light not only to a well worn genre of revenge films, but to actor Jake Gyllenhaal as well.  Villeneuve managed to guide Gyllenhaal to a performance that we had never seen from him: a darker, layered, twisted take on a gritty Detective who has always solved the case.  The duo has now re-teamed for yet another twisted dark tale, an adaptation of José Saramago’s trippy novel ENEMY.  Gyllenhaal plays Adam Bell, a history professor in Toronto.  He seems to be sleepwalking through life, giving lectures that seem uninspired and mundane, going home to have unpassionate sex with his girlfriend (played by Sarah Gadon) who immediately leaves afterwards.  Life is dull and ordinary for Bell until during lunch one day a coworker tells him about a movie he saw recently.  He recommends it to Bell and so he picks up the DVD and watches it.  Suddenly he spots someone: the bellhop, played by an actor who looks exactly like him.  He soon becomes obsessed with finding him and when he does, the story begins to twist and turn in unsettling ways (Gyllenhaal also plays the actor he tracks down).

Villeneuve works from a twisty and crafty script he co-authored with Javier Gullón to great effect.  The film slinks and eerily shifts along with two great, dark performances by Gyllenhaal.  Over and over, the film makes you ask: who are the two people?  Are they twins?  Is one imaginary?  Is this all in his head?  Or perhaps something all together stranger?  Everyone is game for the weirdness, especially Gyllenhaal who turns in performances that are both layered and very different.  Mélanie Laurent also impresses as the actor’s very pregnant wife who doesn’t quite trust her own husband and is drawn to knowing more about this mysterious man who looks just like her husband.  Even if you don’t follow all of it (and you probably won’t), Enemy will keep you hooked right up the very last WTF moment in the end.  No spoilers here, but it’s a final shot that both confuses, entertainns, and stumps the hell out of you.  It is a true head scratcher in every single way.

MATEO’S GRADE: A-

Directed by: Denis Villeneuve Screenplay by: Denis Villeneuve, Javier Gullón Based on the novel by: José Saramago Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Mélanie Laurent, Sarah Gadon Rated R: Adult Language, Sexual Situations, Violence, Nudity

BOTTOM LINE: In true David Cronenberg and David Lynch fashion, Enemy dazzles you and keep you from ever truly knowing what's going on.  A facinating feature.