DAMIEN RILEY, world musician and performer

Author: Damien Riley

  • Nine Lives

    Nine Lives is a Disney-like film that reminded me a bit of Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Since I review movies quite a bit, I pay attention to the critics. Since they were not kind to this film, I let it leave theaters. My 9-year-old daughter asked me to watch it with her tonight and I was amazed at how funny and well-made it was. This is another reminder to not trust the critics.

    ninelives_poster
    [imdblive:id(tt4383594)]

    [imdblive:title_nolink]
    Cast

    [imdblive:cast_nolink]

    Directed by

    [imdblive:directors_nolink]

    Written by

    [imdblive:writers_nolink]

    Other Info

    [imdblive:genres]
    [imdblive:certificate]
    [imdblive:date]
    [imdblive:runtime]min
    IMDB Rating: [imdblive:rating]

    The cat they got to play in this film is great. He’s very fluffy which makes you want to hug him. Unfortunately, I could never have a cat that hairy because it sheds and makes my nose itch. But this cat does great on the screen. I had feared there wouldn’t be enough cat stuff for my daughter after reading the premise of the film. I’m happy to say there is enough cat-on-screen time to satisfy the kids’ curiosity.

    Christopher Walken is great in this, though he plays nearly the same role as he plays in Adam Sandler’s Click. There are a couple of scenes where he says things that are downright spooky. They aren’t spooky like a horror movie but rather like Goosebumps spooky. Jennifer Gardner is beautiful and does a great job as the wife and mom. Kevin Spacey is hilarious as a “Trump-like” business mogul who doesn’t spend enough time with his family.

    After demonstrating to the audience he is an egomaniacal workaholic, Kevin Spacey’s character stops by a creepy cat store in a last-ditch effort to buy his daughter a cat for her birthday. The shop owner, Walken, puts a mystical spell on Spacey that later switches him into the cat’s body and vice versa. Through a course of events, the family and Spacey learn about themselves and it’s a hilarious ride as they go.

    This is not a perfect film by any means. The jokes are all canned and it needs cat jokes and cat images often to keep it palatable. My 9-year-old laughed all the way through so that says a lot for its appeal to young kids. I thought it was cute and it gave me a chance to laugh with my daughter and enjoy some funny cat scenes. They indeed are the best part of the film. I recommend this one for parents to see with their 5-12 year olds as a light bonding movie where everyone can relax and have a laugh. I think the critics were way too hard on this one.

  • Super Dark Times (2017)

    Snowy or rainy days are moody and great to stay home curled up with a coffee, hot chocolate, or beverage of your choice watching films. What I just wrote is an example of “setting” and it works powerfully in Super Dark Times. The question I will answer in this review is: “Does it work well enough?”

    This is what you see 80% of the runtime

    Not Rated | 1h 40min | Drama, Thriller | 29 September 2017 (USA)

    Teenagers Zach and Josh have been best friends their whole lives, but when a gruesome accident leads to a cover-up, the secret drives a wedge between them and propels them down a rabbit hole of escalating paranoia and violence.
    Director: Kevin Phillips
    Writers: Ben Collins (co-writer), Luke Piotrowski (co-writer)
    Stars: Owen Campbell, Charlie Tahan, Elizabeth Cappuccino

    In preparing for this review I watched and reviewed Mean Creek with Josh Peck in a surprisingly good serious role. Someone said they were similar movies. I actually think the Peck film is better because it doesn’t play tricks on you, it just “is what it is.” The third act of Super Dark Times has some plot and character issues. So much in fact that I started losing interest. I rarely lose interest in 3rd acts. The lame at best, predictable at worst ending is satisfying enough but I felt let down by this film.

    Kevin Phillips is a new director and I applaud him for the moody New England look of the film. After that, I thought all the males were substandard for the movie and they really brought it down. The females did great acting work and helped make the situations believable. Screaming, bleeding, and breaking things are really the only parts of this film that flesh out these characters. I truly enjoy mood and cinematography in a film but it should go in concert with a simple story that plays out, credits to credits rather than one that makes you work until you literally get a headache. All the cool photography in the world can’t compete with ibuprofen there. It had some good parts, and I look forward to what Kevin Phillips does in the coming years. This one didn’t do it for me.

    6/10

  • ‘True Detective’ – Season 1

    This is a really cool tv series on HBO. The executive producers are stars in the first series: Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. They are famous dudes who had a common vision. They present the “real” side of detective work, the kind that takes its toll on the cops doing it.


    [imdblive:id(tt2356777)]

    [imdblive:title_nolink]
    Cast

    [imdblive:cast_nolink]

    Directed by

    Cary Joji Fukunaga

    Written by

    [imdblive:writers_nolink]

    Other Info

    [imdblive:genres]
    [imdblive:certificate]
    [imdblive:date]
    [imdblive:runtime]min
    IMDB Rating: [imdblive:rating]

    Though it starts rather slow, once you get the idea that they’re flashing back to what has happened, the slow interviews make sense.

    Two detectives are on the prowl for a killer who is obsessed with the occult. There is a matter of leaving antlers on a naked woman who’s been killed in a sacrificial way. This image permeates the entire first season, which is the ony one I have yet seen.

    As the cops slowly deteriorate as individuals, they continue chasing down this killer, even after a decade and more go by. One detective has lost his wife and child to a murderer, another likes to cheat on his wife “for the good of his family.” He claims the job requires it since He gets so depressed from chasing murder all day. Hmm.

    The last episode is great. We finally get some closure but that doesn’t really feel like completion. I’m looking forward to watching the next season which will feature Vince Vaughn and Colin Farrell. In conclusion, I recommend this HBO show for a binge watch or otherwise because it’s really well scripted, filmed, and overall well-made. If you can get through the first three episodes and get hooked, you’ll be addicted to the end.

  • Luke Cage

    Luke Cage is the latest output from Marvel. I just started watching the early epsiodes on Netflix. The show has it all: a tough, relatable hero, villains, a few attractive love interests, and a superpower that will be hard to beat throughout the show. It may be considered different in that Cage is black but I find the immersion in his small Harlem community entertaining and enlightening. How many seasons will it power out? Time will tell.

    lukecage_poster
    [imdblive:id(tt3322314)]

    [imdblive:title_nolink]
    Cast

    [imdblive:cast_nolink]

    Written by

    [imdblive:writers_nolink]

    Other Info

    [imdblive:genres]
    [imdblive:certificate]
    [imdblive:date]
    [imdblive:runtime]min
    IMDB Rating: [imdblive:rating]

    Cage is a hangdog dishwasher trying to make ends meet with two jobs. He lives alone in a small apartment and gets chased down by the little old landlady. I think they are trying to show us a good-hearted guy, humble, and trying not to use his superpowers. He hangs out at a barbershop and gets to know “Pops,” the owner quite well. In fact, he is like a father figure to Cage. There is another surrogate son in the picture, he’s the mafia leader running an organized crime ring in the city. I have a feeling there will be a lot of friction between these two. It could perhaps resemble a Lex Luthor/Clark Kent rivalry.

    Cage’s superpower appears to simply be indestructibility. He gets stabbed and knives break, shot and bullets fly off. It doesn’t appear he has a weakness yet, I am only on e3. I find it a highly entertaining show. I recommend it for anyone who likes Marvel superheroes or thriller tv.

  • The Wailing

    A small village is the setting for this terrifying horror movie from South Korea.

    Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2 are borderline spoof films based on the Karate, Kung Fu, and Samurai films of the 50’s, 60’s. and 70’s. If you’ve seen these two films, you ay enjoy listening along as I give my reactions. If you haven’t seen them, I don’t reveal too man spoilers but I encourage my listeners to see the films I cover and then tune in after to compare notes with me.

    In my next episode (68), I am watching and commenting on the film “American Splendor” with Paul Giamatti. I hope you can watch this along with me before the next show and tune in to compare notes. It has an 81/100 score on Metacritic. Enjoy your day.

    At well over two hours, it plays with its viewers and weaves clues to a mystery revealed brilliantly in the final scenes.

    Not Rated | 2h 36min | Fantasy, Horror, Mystery | 3 June 2016 (USA)
    A stranger arrives in a little village and soon after a mysterious sickness starts spreading. A policeman is drawn into the incident and is forced to solve the mystery in order to save his daughter.
    Director: Hong-jin Na
    Writer: Hong-jin Na
    Stars: Jun Kunimura, Jung-min Hwang, Do-won Kwak

    Another Korean film from the same year, Train to Busan, offered us a father/daughter relationship that touched our hearts. Both are slightly different in their journeys and plot but it is a powerful force of fatherly love that bonds these men together with their little sweethearts. The evil force that threatens the policeman’s daughter here is shifty and hard to understand. It takes the father on a quest of love that promises to harm his physical body and perhaps his soul. Will his daughter be saved? That’s the question that keeps coming up.

    The policeman is the star of this film. There are a few scenes with his that are definitely Oscar worthy. In a horror film you sometimes need a voice of reason to identify with. But what about when that voice you’re following starts losing touch with reality? That can be a scary thing.

    Then, there is this evil force. Who is it? A ghost as the shaman says? This film is not just horror but also a mystery to be guessed at which, if you like mysteries as I do, makes it a lot of fun. This mysterious, sleepy horror mystery tale should not be spoiled. If you have not seen it and these themes interest you, I encourage you to watch it. If you have seen it, I think you’ll agree it is one of the more powerful horrors of its year (2016). I hope to connect further through a podcast outlining my thoughts on this film. Stay tuned.

    10/10

  • Lady Bird (2017)

    You may know that Lady Bird is being touted as the “best reviewed movie of the year.” You may also know it’s a coming of age tale that takes place in California …

    … and that Lady Bird is a girl graduating High School. BUT did you know that the actress playing her mother is the one who played Roseanne’s sister on TV, Jackie? Well it is and she does a hell of a job. This is a limited release and the film partly lives up to the hype. It starts out belabored and long and the acting really sucks up until about the first boyfriend time.

    After that the acting drastically improves and there are some truly touching moments. I’m writing a non-spoiler review here so I’ll leave out the wheres and whens but trust me, they are there. My eyes needed a good washing and they got it!

    There’s a ton of good here but honestly, looking back at all the hype I read about this film, I have to wonder if everyone involved in publicity for the film paid a friend or family member to write a scintillating review. It’s a great film but it isn’t scintillating.

    It’s not as quirky as Napoleon Dynamite but it feels like it would be in the same category. Having said that, the relationships are like real and sometimes they are so real, you choke back some tears. It is NOT for everyone as the ads would suggest. This film will mostly appeal to millennial girls and their grandparents. Since I’m about the age of the latter, I guess that’s why it spoke to me.

    8/10