DAMIEN RILEY, world musician and performer

Blog

  • House on Willow Street (2016)

    House on Willow Street (2016)
    From a House on Willow Street (original title)
    Unrated | 1h 30min | Action, Horror | 24 March 2017 (USA)

    After a young woman is kidnapped, her captors soon come to realize that in fact they may be the ones in danger and this young woman has a dark secret inside her.
    Director: Alastair Orr
    Writers: Catherine Blackman, Jonathan Jordaan | 1 more credit »
    Stars: Sharni Vinson, Carlyn Burchell, Steven John Ward

    Director Alistair Orr did a decent job with this horror flick. He looks young in his IMDB photo so I am sure he will improve. As it was, I felt like I was watching a predictable made-for-tv type horror film. The actors are also new to the craft. The lead does a good job but the whole thing is just uninteresting. It doesn’t make me feel for these people. It is kind of interesting that they are robbers. Of course, we shouldn’t care for robbers. BUT, the problem is when they get into the satanic demonic stuff. A priest has no power over a demon? Hmmm. OK.

    There’s no big takeaway here. You walk away from this the same way you go in. It’s a robbery gone bad and the reason it fumbled was because the house was filled with demons. Not much here innovative or new. For that reason, I give it a

    5/10

  • Say Anything

    Almost every movie can be defined as a mythic journey, even a teen love story like “Say Anything.” John Cusack is in love with a rich girl and he barely has enough money for the gas in his car. The movie becomes a journey from “dork” status to royalty when he finally wins her over.

    Say Anything
    Cast

    John Cusack, Ione Skye, John Mahoney

    Directed by

    Cameron Crowe

    Written by

    Cameron Crowe

    Other Info

    Comedy, Drama, Romance
    Rated PG-13
    100min
    Riley’s Rating:

    These are some really funny bits in this film. One I really like is when his friend is  playing 100 songs she has written for her unrequited boyfriend “Joe.” At one point she is in a bedroom at a party when people are drinking beer and listening to her sing these “odes to Joe.” One song lyric she sings is simply, “Joe lies … When he cries.” Please make sure you don’t leave the room and miss that scene.

    Anyone who wasn’t sure what to do with their life after high school will certainly relate. John Cusack is the poor dude caught up in his passion for kickboxing. He gets caught up with a rich, smart girl: Diane Court. He tries to woo her but just for a date much to Diane’s father’s disapproval. It’s a common story but this one gives hope to the poor guy, this underdog.

    What ensues in “Say Anything” is a heroic journey. John Cusack starts out a bit of a simpleton but ends up the victor. He wins the hand of the suburban maiden, played by Ione Skye. Many “best of” lists on the internet rank “Say Anything” near the top. It’s a lie story and a comedy about graduating seniors but the entertainment value is certainly suited to about age 14-?

  • Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope

    So much has been written about this film. It brought science fiction to mainstream consciousness like no other film before it. When I saw in the theater in 1977, I was 8 years old and immediately a fan.

    Star Wars Episode IV “A New Hope” (1977)
    Cast

    Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford

    Directed by

    George Lucas

    Written by

    George Lucas

    Other Info

    Rated PG
    sci fi, action, adventure
    83 min

    The film takes us along the path of a young Luke Skywalker. Luke has humble beginnings but once destiny meets him in the form of Obi Wan Kenobi, his fate to fight against the Empire is sealed. I liken Luke’s path to that of anyone venturing forth in her/his life. There are obstacles and dangers that threaten to take him out  of the game: Sandpeople, Stormtroopers, even Darth Vader himself. By the way, I don’t Elise that director George Lucas had pre planned to make Vader Luke’s father. There is no evidence of this until the second movie. I think the film did highly well so Lucas wrote a second one, and so on. 

    Once Luke’s journey is laid out for him, he meets up with a set of misfits like himself: Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), Chewbacca (a creature), and of course, his mentor in the ways of a religion called “The Force,” Obi Wan Kenobi (Alec Guiness). They are all reckless and endearing characters. This film was released in the late 70’s when movies and tv shows about “real people” we’re ring released. Lucas makes his characters real and so we feel like we are on this adventure with them. That’s a major reason this film is embraced by so man people worldwide.

    I must say a word about the music. Both George Lucas and Steven Spielberg enlist the magic of composer John Williams in their movies. This is vital to their success. Williams has the ability to create hypnotic and dynamic music to support the storytelling of Star Wars. It is possible, if you know the film well, to listen to the orchestral soundtrack and know without video or dialog what part of the movie it’s from. The music is as integral as the script.

    There have been many movies made since 1977 that are part of the “bigger story” Lucas says. None, I might argue, recreates the 79’s Everyman tone of Star Wars. I have seen “Star Wars IV A New Hope” 50 times or more and would happily watch it again. I don’t have the same hunger to see “The Empire Strikes Back” or “Return of the Jedi.” Everything is deruvative and nothing can touch the genius of the first movie. “Star Wars Episode IV – A New Hope” is in my top 5 favorite films of all time.

  • Robin Hood (1973)

    I chose to review this nearly-classic animated Disney film because it’s truly a great film that should be remembered as such.

    Robin Hood (1973)
    Cast

    Roger Miller, Peter Ustinov, Terry-Thomas

    Directed by

    Wolfgang Reitherman

    Written by

    Larry Clemmons

    Other Info

    Rated G
    Animation, Adventure, Comedy
    83 min

    It may have disappeared temporarily into the annals of rentals and downloads but it stands up and even towers over the best that newer decades of animation have to offer. No one can say this one is boring. Not only does Disney’s “Robin Hood” has some of the most hummable songs is all of musical theater, the actors voices in the film make it an adventure even a young boy would treasure. These are just 2 of its accolades.

    How do I know this film is amazing? Well, somehow even before VHS, I happened to see this film multiple times as a boy. Songs like “Ooodelolly,” and “Love” stuck in my head before making me a lifetime fan.

    Maid Marion and Robin Hood develop a love relationship that is like no other Disney love. They would do anything for each other.

    Other characters have huge personalities as shown through voice. One that springs to memory is Friar Tuck when the Sherrif of Nottingham tries to take the last farthing from the church box. You almost hurt for the Sherif as he gets clobbered with a club over and over again.

    The age-old story of Robin Hood robbing the rich and giving it to the poor is debated. Still, this Disney animated film gives us love and chivalry to believe in.

  • Empire of the Sun

    Wealth set against a background of poverty is an excellent canvas for a coming of age movie. Our protagonist, Jim, loses his parents, their money and his “way.” What follows from there is a magical journey of fighting, surviving, and ultimately surrendering. The transformation teaches us something about our own lives.

    eots-poster

    Empire of the Sun (1987)
    Cast

    Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson

    Directed by

    Steven Spielberg

    Written by

    J.G. Ballard (novel), Tom Stoppard (screenplay)

    Other Info

    Drama, History, War
    Rated PG
    2h 33min

    Spielberg made this film true to the time and to the international conflict of that time. Still, it’s a universal coming-of-age journey. Jim is the young English boy who is living in Shanghai, China in the lap of luxury. His parents pay a servant to look after him and feed him since they are often gone. We hear a little from the father about the situation and the mother is close-lipped. When WWII begins, tables are turned on Jim. The whites are being forced out of Shanghai after Pearl Harbor set the war in motion.

    From there the movie starts speeding up. It becomes the journey of young Jim and there are many hurdles along the way. John Malkovich is a street savvy white man who sort of takes Jim in. This adds a compelling acting set to an already alluring introduction.

    Jim is verifiably bratty. In the early scenes he bosses his nanny around and reminds here that she “must do what [he] says.” When the reversal of fortune occurs, he tries ordering her around again and she surprises him with an act of disrespect. He is blown away.

    The separation from his parents and the complete lack of money brings Jim to his knees. With a sullen, oil stained face, we staggers around looking for his parents. HE reveals what a spoiled kid he is through these scenes. He even tries to surrender at one point but the soldiers just laugh at him.

    My word to the wise: This film is about Jim’s journey. It’s an everyman journey to be sure. I feel Spielberg used his common approach which is using metaphor to illustrate the human journey we are all on. It could be a war zone in China or a backyard with an alien in it. There are always personal human conclusions to draw from his film. Yes, Jim is a brat, we are meant to hate him in the beginning. But is he so different from us? As you watch this movie, ask yourself if you could have been the same way without the same advantages we have. This is not a movie you merely watch, you feel it. Jim undergoes a telling transformation. In fact, there is a lot being taught to us my Steven Spielberg Because it’s an artful film that speaks eloquently to the human condition, I highly recommend it to you.

  • Toni Erdmann (2016)

    Atypical father/daughter adult relationship. Sure had me laughing. Here’s my written review of Toni Erdmann (2016) http://www.rileyonfilm.com/toni-erdmann-2016/