Thriller

Knock Knock

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Knock Knock
  • IMDb: link

2015’s Knock Knock fits into the subgenre of male fantasy gone wrong having some similarities to 2006’s Hard Candy. The set-up, which could only occur on film, involves an architect (Keanu Reeves) being visited by two beautiful stranded bisexual nymphomaniacs (Ana de Armas and Lorenza Izzo) on the rainy night his wife (Ignacia Allamand) and children (Dan Baily and Megan Baily) have left for warmer climates. It’s not long before the the two young woman lose their clothing and begin making increasingly obvious advances to their host.

The first half-hour sets the scene with the pair working a little too hard to seduce the family man, while stealing glances letting us know more is a foot which becomes suddenly evident to Evan the morning after when the pair announce they have no plans on leaving and the mind games take darker and darker (and more ridiculous) turns.

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All the Old Knives

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: All the Old Knives
  • IMDb: link

Chris Pine and Thandiwe Newton star as spies and former lovers reunited eight years after a terrorist attack in Vienna. Still with the agency, Henry Pelham (Pine) is tasked with discovering whether or not an inside man helped the terrorists nearly a decade before with the obvious suspects being his former lover and her boss (Jonathan Pryce).  

The film from writer/director Olen Steinhauer attempts to be a slow-burning thriller revealing secrets and twists while poking at old wounds as Pine and Newton hash out past events over dinner. Never as thrilling as it should be, and with an odd choice to jump into extremely jarring close-ups at random intervals, All the Old Knives is really only worth noting for the performances of its two stars, as the plot, despite its attempt at shocking twists, is mainly just an excuse for the two to eat dinner while telling lies and variations of the truth.

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Magnum Cop

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Magnum Cop
  • IMDb: link

Rereleased on home video as part of the Alpha Video Retrograde collection with VHS-inspired art, 1978’s Magnum Cop returns to DVD. The (poorly) American dubbed version of the Italian film Poliziotto senza paura, our story centers around former cop turned private investigator Wally Spada (Maurizio Merli). After inexplicably spending the first half-hour of the film in overalls, Wally locates a missing young woman who escapes again and turns up kidnapped and held for ransom.

More shyster than great detective or action hero, Wally tells lies both large and small to enlist local help in Vienna to find the girl while uncovering a secret sex trafficking ring of school-aged prostitutes turned out by a high-class stripper (Joan Collins). The film is more notable for Collins’ nude scenes than any plot or action.

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No Exit

/ / Home Video
  • Title: No Exit
  • IMDb: link

No Exit offers your basic braindead low-budget thriller when a group of strangers find themselves stuck together at a visitors center on the side of the highway during a blizzard. Havana Rose Liu stars as a recovering addict who ditches rehab on hearing that her mother is in the hospital. What she discovers is at least one of the people snowed-in with her (Danny Ramirez, David Rysdahl, Dennis Haysbert, and Dale Dickey) isn’t who they are pretending to be.

Rather than confronting the group, our protagonist attempts to play amateur detective. This turns into another in a line of really bad life decisions which will end up getting people killed. Not all that thrilling, and burdened with some lackluster twists, No Exit doesn’t offer much beyond the bare bones of its cliched plot offering a group of characters but providing no reason for us to care about their survival.

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Last Night in Soho

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Last Night in Soho
  • IMDb: link

Writer/director Edgar Wright‘s nostalgic love letter to the 1960s is glamorous spectacle. The story involves would-be designer Ellie (Thomasin McKenzie) who, shortly after starting university in London, begins dreaming life alongside a would-be singer named Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy). The dreams start vibrant and hopeful, influencing Ellie’s actions during the day, but soon turn dark and violent before they spill into Ellie’s life even further.

Despite its lavish beauty, Last Night in Soho is a mess. If not for the great soundtrack, I’d say it would work better with the sound off as the story often gets in the way of the terrific visuals. Sadly, Ellie isn’t all that interesting as a character, nor are her struggles fitting in at college worth screen time. It’s only in the 60s when Sandie’s life takes over does the film come to life. And when the two stories crash together the film becomes a jumbled mess.

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