[image] hitman

By Elizabeth Mulloy

Comedy/Action | R | Now Streaming on Netflix

A professor moonlighting as a hit man of sorts for his city police department descends into dangerous, dubious territory when he finds himself attracted to a woman who enlists his services.

Hitmen are by and large a myth that was created by Hollywood, or at least what society thinks a hitman is. Hitmen are not the contracted killers that you would find in series such as John Wick and Hitman, but in reality, are government agents or members of the mafia/gangs. Upon realizing this revelation, the Harris County District Attorney’s office hired Gary Johnson, a professor in psychology, to play their fake hitman. Over the course of 30 years, this led Johnson to make over 70 arrests as an undercover agent. Upon stumbling on Johnson’s story in the Texas Monthly, Director Richard Linklater and Actor Glen Powell took on the task of bringing his story to the big screen. With a bit of Hollywood embellishment, they managed to make a hit.

[image] hitman2

Hit Man is a fun crowd-pleasing romp that feels like a blast from the past. From the cheesy hitman disguises to the perpetrators who hire the “hitman”, Hit Man embraces the absurdity of its real-life counterpart. But it is more than just a classic romp, it is easily one of the smartest films of the year that is not afraid to be sexy and morally complex. In the film introduction, we listen to a lecture about the psychology of the Ego, the Id, and the Superego, and how these primitive and civilized characteristics are in constant battle with one another. This little introduction introduces us to the central conflict that Gary (Glen Powell) will experience throughout the film as he begins to take on more Id characteristics of one of his hitman disguises when he meets Maddy (Adria Arjona). He transforms from an awkward and weird psychology professor to a smooth-talking, sexy “hitman” who will breach your defenses. This internal conflict adds a thought-provoking layer to a comedy about a fake hitman, that is warmly welcomed.

Glen Powell turns in a star-clinching performance as Gary Johnson. The Top Gun: Marverick breakout continues his trend of playing charismatic hot guys, but this time decides to subvert his typecast. When he is first introduced, he completely sells this awkward philosophy professor who struggles in social settings and is a victim to his own insecurities. Then as he begins to take on his hitman persona, he transforms into this confident, charming, sexy character, is perfection. Then to see him morally recon with his more conscious Ego of a psychology professor and his more primitive Id of a hitman persona is fascinating to watch. Then when he is alongside his co-star Adria Arjona, it makes for a very steamy movie. Arjona also plays an equally fascinating character. When she is first introduced, she is a shell of a woman who is in an abusive relationship and slowly transforms into a femme-fatale character. Her transformation is as fascinating as Powell's, but I do wish that she was a bit more than a femme-fatale trope.

Overall, Hit Man is a hit. From the trailer, you would believe that Hit Man is a steamy rom-com about someone getting in way over their head. Which is true, but this film is so much more than that. It is as smart and witty as it is morally thought-provoking. Richard Linklater and Glen Powell went above and beyond with their screenplay, and I can’t wait to see what these two do next. The only disappointment is that Hit Man only got a limited release instead of a full theatrical release because this would have been a box office hit.

My Rating: A-

[image] argyle

By Kimberly Swetland

Action/Comedy | PG-13 | Now streaming on AppleTV+

Right now, if you haven’t been a recent AppleTV+ subscriber they’re offering a 3-month free trial, which is worth it to catch up on all the titles that have been released while waiting for House of Dragons to air it’s next season opener later this month on Netflix (June 16th), or for history channel to premiere the first episode of Alone: Season 11 on June 13.

If you were missing Henry Cavill from Seasons 1 and 2 of The Witcher, you'll be delighted to know he stars as Aubrey Argylle, a spy crafted by a reclusive author whose books eerily mirror real-world events, however his character seems to serve as some kind of metaphorical crutch, more than anything for a writer who is living a seemingly quiet existence. As the plot of her latest novel starts to unfold in reality, a dangerous organization targets her, fearing her uncanny ability to predict their actions.

Argylle is a 2024 spy action-comedy film directed and produced by Matthew Vaughn, and written by Jason Fuchs. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O'Hara, Henry Cavill, Dua Lipa, Ariana DeBose, John Cena, and Samuel L. Jackson.

While the plot may appear shallow due to the common trope of featuring a protagonist who is also a writer, this device persists because it offers a familiar landscape for authors to navigate. Beyond mere familiarity, it provides a platform to delve into meta-narratives, probing the intricacies of authorship and the profound influence creators wield over their narratives and characters. Oh, and wait for the twist.

Some of the action sequences are a little over-the-top. The back-and-forth cuts between Argylle and the real-world character Aidan he mirrors feels almost unnecessary to the storyline, like a forced metaphor, which is later waved off as a ‘coping-mechanism.’

Bryce Dallas Howard, who plays Elly Conway, the reclusive writer has luke-warm screen chemistry with Sam Rockwell, in his role as Aidan. Catherine O’Hara in her role as Elly’s mother is solid as a lovable maternal force. She’s obviously had years of practice with Home Alone and Schitt’s Creek. They even brought Bryan Cranston from Breaking Bad as Elly’s father – this cast has so many big names. The cat, Alfie, feels like another ‘coping mechanism,’ and while on-brand with his argyle cat pack – he feels like extra ‘fluff’, unnecessary to the storyline. The backstory of her parents left much to be desired. There is an underlying quest for a ‘master file,’ which by the end of the film I’m still at a loss of what the actual plot of this was.

Samuel L. Jackson appears out of nowhere – as Samuel L. Jackson does. Queue a dramatic monologue that reveals a transformative inner truth. Then queue some heavy-handed exposition via Sam Rockwell.

After a strange series of events, a gun appears over a fireplace mantel in true Chekhov fashion. The film just devolves from there with more exposition, painfully executed twists, and a cheesy choreographed action sequence… it just continues down that same figure eight, leaning into action, and throwing away any real story. I’m left really wishing Samuel L. Jackson had a much larger role in this to some better comedic end. This film slips in and out of plot twists like a bad case of amnesia. John Cena is barely in this film, sadly. It’s worth the watch, if you don’t go into it with any huge expectations for what it initially promises.

Rating: 🍿🍿 (2/5)

[image] aggro

By Elizabeth Mulloy

Experimental Action | Not Rated | Now Playing in Select Theaters

In this sensual experimental elegy by Harmony Korine, spellbinding infrared photography evokes a dreamlike portrait of a tormented assassin.

Even after a couple of weeks of watching Harmony Korin, Aggro Dr1ft, I still have no idea what to think of it. I can’t tell if it falls into the satirical masterpiece of “it’s so bad it's good” or if it's just a really bad movie. Even the great and powerful cinephile website of Letterboxd is all over the place with ratings. But one thing is clear to me, is that Aggro Dr1ft felt like Tommy Wiseau, The Room, and I can’t tell if that is a good or a bad feeling.

Aggro Dr1ft has comedically little character development and narrative in its movie. Nothing has convinced me that our troubled assassin is the self-dubbed “world's greatest assassin”. From his dad-bod to him hyping himself up and flashing his guns everywhere, only to not pull the trigger or mess up his assassination attempt, our assassin sucks at his job. Then when our character does talk it has some of the most nonsensical dialogue you can imagine. At many points, I had no idea what the characters were saying and I was getting annoyed by the obvious ADR(audio dialogue replacement). Furthermore, when you have an antagonist who just runs around in his underwear “yelling I am going to kill you” and “I smell your fear” while thrusting his hips back and forth and waving a sword around, it is hard not to laugh either with or at the movie.

[image] drift

Outside of its nonsensical filmmaking, it does have one unique characteristic which is its cinematography. Aggro Dr1ft was shot using an infrared camera and then layered with what appears to be AI-generated graphics out of a PS1 game, which makes for a unique cinematic experience, for better or worse. However, I respect Korin for taking a leap of faith with this movie's cinematography, as no one else has done this before and this will most likely be the only time someone will shoot a motion picture like this. So the movie does have some ingenuities behind it.

Overall, I don’t know what to think of Aggro Dr1ft. I don’t know if this is a satirical masterpiece or a really bad movie, but I will leave it up to you if you dare.

Rating: ?