Marmalade

If you have grown up in a hard working family like i did back in the 80´s, you learned that nothing is for free in this world. If you wanted something when you entered your teen years you save the money you got during summer jobs. Of course me and my sister got some things for our birthdays, during Christmas and sometimes from our grandparents. But we did have to work extra just to have some extra money on our accounts just in case we needed new clothes, wanted to go to the cinema with friends or do other things. I think it was a good thing we were brought up this way in my family, especially since my grandfather always said:- Work hard, do right for yourself and it will pay off. He was right because my former bosses in the past were always happy with what a hard worker i was. I think it is good to teach children that do what is right in society. Even if you will face many difficult challenges in life, always do the best you can to make the best of the situation. What if you come from an ordinary day job with just an ordinary paycheck but wanted to live a completely different life by robbing a bank? That´s exactly what happened in the very funny heist comedy Masterminds from director Jared Hess ( director of Napoleon Dynamite ). This film tells the story of security guard David Scott Ghantt ( Zach Galifianakis ) who loves his job and especially enjoy spending time with his coworker and friend Kelly Campbell ( Kristen Wiig ). When Kelly is fired at the company Loomis Fargo & Company where they both work, she is introduced to an idea by criminal Steve Eugene Chambers ( Owen Wilson ) to make a robbery of Loomis Fargo & Company. They want David to be the main robber to actually fix the heist, making sure they get as much cash as possible. The robbery is done but every detail may not have gone as they planned. Masterminds is definetely the funniest heist comedy with so many crazy characters and everything is done on a over the top level of insane acting. Comedians such as Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, Kate McKinnon and Jason Sudeikis are all delivering funny dialogue with their crazy characters. If you want to watch a really funny comedy you simply have to see Masterminds, also know this is actually based on a real robbery that happened back in 1997. We get a lot of heist films released every year where most films are either action films or thrillers. But early this year i saw trailer for a heist film called Marmalade that looked quite different from most heist films. I finally sat down to watch Marmalade qurious if this film would be as different as the trailer made the film look.

In a small town, Baron ( Joe Keery ) is incarcerated after getting caught after a heist with his girlfriend Marmalade ( Camila Morrone ). While sitting in jail he meets his jail mate criminal Otis ( Aldis Hodge ) who he tell his whole story to. Baron even promise Otis 250.000 U.S. dollars if he helps him out and he will make sure he get the money where Marmalade will hid the money. The question is will there be any way Baron can get out or have he runned out of luck?

Marmalade have a very interesting approach when it comes to the heist genre. You have two very different characters that unite, where one of them have clearly been a criminal for a long time and the other character just wants to take care of his sick mother. This gives Marmalade a chance to tell the story from especially two people´s lives and how they ended up working together. One thing i especially appreciate about this film is the colorful personality of Marmalade played by actress Camila Morrone. At first she might seem like the colorful cute girl a lot of men would be attracted to, but once you get to see the real her dealing with mental problems you understand this is a young woman who clearly needs help. I do like the portait though from Camilla as she understood this film needed a colorful personality to make this film stand out in the heist genre. Not only that she also manage to capture the personality of a person who is struggling with mental health and that i have to say proves Camila must have worked hard to find a realistic balance in her performance. Speaking about character male actor Joe Keery ( mostly known for Netflix TV series Stranger Things ) as the shy man Baron deliver a character i think a lot of men can recognize themselves with. How it is to fall in love with a woman and you really want to believe she is the one you have always dreamed of. That´s one part of the story where you really feel bad for Baron because he really care for Marmalade where she only cares about the money basically. So how does this film work outside this strange relationship? There are some charming scenes mixed with very bizarre moments and i do like the combination, you never really know what Marmalade will do in this small town. The planning of the robbery scenes are actually charming as strange as it might sound. You also begin to wonder if she really does have some kind of feelings for Baron? Maybe it is because you enjoy these characters working together that brings something magical to the table. There is actually a surprise twist that i did not expect when it comes to a character called Otis ( played well by actor Aldis Hodge ), i won´t reveal it but it definetely took me by surprise. The heist itself is nothing special or interesting so it is basically the characters that makes this film unique. As a romantic heist film i have to say Marmalade manage to do enough to make the audience intrigued. If you want to see something different in the heist genre i would recommend Marmalade for sure. It is nice to see that director Keir O´Donnell tried to give this genre new life and i think he did a good job. Would anyone like some marmalade on their toast? Don´t mind if i do, i believe i might need the energy that the character Marmalade delivers in this film.

Rating: DDD

Supersex

I remember when i was 14 years old in 1991 we got the TV channel known as TV 1000 as our biggest TV channel yet. We could watch a lot of movies in all categories such as action, drama, horror, thrillers and much more, in a completely different way we have ever done before. But the most exciting thing about TV 1000 at that time was at midnight when a show called Tusen Och En Natt with host Ylva Maria Thompson. This show would show an adult movie with famous adult film stars such as Ron Jeremy, Peter North, Ed Powers, Traci Lords, Seka, Cicciolina and many more. I used to record a lot of different adult films on VHS that even my father´s male friends in construction work used to ask if i could record adult films to them as well. So in the 90´s i did watch a lot of porn, i even visited adult video stores as well. But this was when i was about 16 years old so this would have been in 1993. Either way let´s move forward to the year of 1996 and i clearly remember my class mates hearing i had a big porn film collection. One of the female classmates named Linda asked if she could borrow some Buttman films and of course she could. The funny thing was she told me later she watched some of these films together with her female cousin and....her own father. That was a bit bizarre for me but i didn´t say anything about it. She seemed to enjoy the Buttman films so im happy i could give her a chance to see his film. Another class mate of mine named Håkan was a bass player in a local metal band, and i remember at the school café one day he told me:- Daniel do you know what the most beautiful thing in the world to see? That is seeing Rocco taking a woman from behind. I remember looking at him laughing and said:- Uhhm ok Håkan, if you say so. I actually had several of Rocco Siffredi´s films on VHS back in the 90´s so i was very familiar with this Italian adult star. He was very well known for his big penis and seemed to be a very wild man in bed. Even though i don´t watch adult films these days as i used to in the 90´s and early 2000´s, i still remember some of the classic films for certain reasons. Last year i heard a Netflix series was coming telling the story of Rocco Siffredi and of course i was excited. It was finally time for a TV series to talk about the adult film industry in the 90´s in a TV series called Supersex. I finally sat down to watch all 7 episodes and the question is, does this TV series deliver based on the life of Rocco Siffredi or is this not as good as it should have been?

Paris, France in 2004. Legendary adult star Rocco Siffredi announce that he is quitting the adult industry after so many years in the industry. He feel he needs to walk away since his personal life is falling apart as he looks back into his past. Supersex is the loosely based story of Rocco Siffredi+´s incredible adult film career but also his rough childhood, how certain things in the past shaped him to become the star he is today.

One of the most important details when you are making a TV series based on a very famous celebrity is that you capture the right tone of this famous person, how they became the star and why people love them. In the case of Supersex i do feel that they really tried to tell the story of Rocco Siffredi in a way that captured his personality, but also the hard times he had to go through. Just because you are an adult star and makes lots of money doesn´t mean you have everything in life to make you happy, and you can tell Rocco did experience some rough personal events in his life. It may sound like a dream sleeping with several thousands of women, but does that guarantee hapinnes? We follow different parts of his life in flashbacks and it is especially interesting knowing his first sexual crush was a woman named Lucia, a woman who was too old for him at the time in the 70´s but was the most erotic woman he have ever seen. I think a lot of men worldwide can relate to this, we all had that special woman who filled us with lusts at some point in our youth. One detail i had no idea about was that one of his brothers was brain damaged and needed help with everything, that must have been difficult for him as well as his family. Luckily especially his mother took good care of him while Rocco learned that life is not always fair. Tragically his brother passed away as a child, he could not be saved. Even though there are other dramatic events they never make this TV series too soft and too dramatic. We do get some hot sex scenes and undressed girls as well as we follow his career. Lead actor Alessandro Borghi as Rocco Siffredi manage to balance both serious acting and the adult star personality, i especially think he does his best scenes when he is struggling with personal issues. The rest of the cast does a great job as well, especially child actor Marco Fiore as Rocco as a child. One issue would be that i feel they could have shown the darker sides of Rocco´s personality more, where he loose control of his sex addiction. We get some glimpses of that but not as dark as i was hoping they would show. I would still say that Supersex gives us a glimpse not only the adult world but also sexuality in general through the eyes of Rocco´s wild sexual life. All 3 directors of these 7 episodes have done a great job putting this TV series together and i had a good time with Supersex. If you love sex and adult films then this is definetely for you, definetely worth a watch on Netflix. Excuse me for a moment, im just heading over to the nearest swinger club. I heard they need a kettle of boiled water for their tea party.

Rating: DDD

Spaceman

It is very easy to think about certain films where you know a certain actor is famous for. It doesn´t matter if she or he have done a lot of different films, their biggest box office successes will always follow their career. That doesn´t have to be a bad thing though because i am sure they might actually appreciate their fan base, and still being able to try different genres and develope their acting abilities. One of the actors that comes to my mind who have clearly proved he can try a completely different path is the actor known as Adam Sandler. Most people know him from classics such as Happy Gillmore, The Waterboy, The Wedding Singer, Big Daddy and many more titles when it comes to comedies. For a while in the 90´s and the early 2000´s it seemed that Adam Sandler would never stop making comedies because they helped his career to become a Hollywood star. But then something happened in the year of 2002 and he suddenly made a serious film called Punch-Drunk Love from director Paul Thomas Andersson ( director of the 90´s classic Boogie Nights ). At the time it was a box office bomb but most of the film critics really enjoyed this film and praised it. i think one of the issues at this time in Adam Sandler´s career it was very difficult for him to do a completely different film than he usually did. It turned out that he had to return to comedy form again with the 2003 comedy Anger Management. I actally enjoy this film where he played together with legendary actor Jack Nicholson. It would only take a couple of years until he made one of my personal favourite films in career simply called Reign Over me from director Mike Bender. In this film from 2007 we find Adam Sandler playing the character Charlie Fineman who lost both his wife and daughter at September 11, 2001 when the Twin Towers collapsed. 5 years later Charlie is withdrawn and keep to himself. When he runs into his former college roomate Alan Johnson ( Don Cheadle ), Alan his shocked to see just how far his old friend have fallen. You might think just because Alan have everything such as a beautiful wife, children and is a successfull dentist. But he also struggle with personal problems. So meeting Charlie helps him finding his way back to his friend. Reign Over Me is a must see powerful drama film that deals with trauma, mental health and dealing with your past. Check this film out on streaming or on physical media. Netflix have produced several films with Adam Sandler over a number of years and i really enjoyed his film Uncut Gems. So here we are with another Netflix film with Adam Sandler doing another drama film but this one takes place in space. This film is also directed by Johan Renck ( used to be known as artist Stakka Bo in the 90´s and i actually still own 2 of his albums ) who directed the really good miniseries Chernobyl. With a great lead actor and a talented director is Spaceman just as good as we would hoping it would be, or is this nowhere near as good as it could have been?

Czech astrounaut Jakub Procházka ( Adam Sandler ) is six months into a space mission to investigate a mysterious cloud of dust and particles, called Chopra, lying beyond Jupiter. jakob struggles with loneliness and misses his wife, Lenka ( Carrey Mulligan ), who has recently stopped talking with him after he left her and their unborn daughter to go on the mission. Lenka sends him a message telling him that she wants to leave him, but Commissioner Tuma ( Isabella Rossellini ), Jakub´s commanding officer, prevents it from reaching to him, to prevent Jakub´s mental state from worsening. Days later, still without news from Lenka, Jakub finds a spider-like creature with telepathic abilities inside a compartment of the ship. The creature, who Jakub names Hanus, is about to change Jakub´s life completely.

If you are a fan of the comedies of Adam Sandler and don´t like his more serious films, you are not going to enjoy Spaceman. However, if you are a fan of his more serious films i definetely feel that you will most likely enjoy this film. Spaceman is a very deep film in many ways bringing up some very serious subjects regarding life in general. This film also brings up how it is too handle loneliness and isolation, and how to handle your own personal struggles in life. When we meet the spider that he names Hanus this film take a comletely different turn and in a strange way becomes like a friendship between this spider and this austronaut. It may sound like someone is having an LSD trip up in space but there are no drugs involved here. In a way you could say that Spaceman is one of those films that doesn´t care about what´s trending or try to fit into a specific genre, this film definetely goes in several different directions without loosing the thread. I know some people have mentioned in other reviews that this film reminded them by the classic 1972 sci fi film Solaris or that this film at least feel inspired by legendary director Andrei Tarkovsky. I have actually not seen this film so i can only talk about Spaceman in general from my own experience. I have always been a fan of odd films and i have to say this should be seen as one, considering that i can not really compare this film to anything i have seen this year so far. And that has to be seen as something positive since we need films that takes chances instead of using the safety card. Spaceman looks good both inside the spacecraft and the space scenes themselves and i feel that director Johan Renck deliver a professional crafted film. The spider looks really good given very deep dialogue scenes and im impressed how well they pulled this off. Adam Sandler deliver another solid dramatic performance and this is where is proves once again why he should be making more drama films than comedies. Anything negative to say? If you are no fan of a lot of dialogue scenes i have a feeling Spaceman will not make you interested. I do find this film interesting even though some scenes do include some heavy dialogue. In general i would say Spaceman is a film for you who want to experience something different and intelligent as well. Is this a recommendation from me? I would say yes, i do feel Spaceman is a film we need in a world filled with prequels and sequels. Finally something original for once and i enjoyed my time with this film.

Rating: DDD

I.S.S.

I remember one time when i was on a couple of days trip with school back in the early 90´s to the Swedish captial city Stockholm. We were there to check out museums that were connected both to our science class as well as history. I especially rememember when we visited The National Museum Of Science And Tecnhnology, simply because they had a very interesting exhibition that was connected to the work of NASA and their space journeys. If i remember correctly this was in the late spring of 1992 right before our summer break started, so it was a perfect way to do a visit like this to Stockholm. I remember at this exhibition you could learn more about what NASA have done in the past and why it is important for us to explore space. This was probably the museum i enjoyed most of the ones we visited because i was always fascinated about space. I used to read books about different planets as a kid at our local library and look at photos of how each of the planets looked like. It was during the 90´s i really got into sci fi films and saw a lot of different sci fi categories, everything from sci fi horror to sci fi action, and even some really good sci fi dramas as well. To be honest there are some really good sci fi movie recommendations i could give you from the past, but let´s take this moment and talk about a really good sci fi film from 2013 that really impressed both the audience and movie critics. And that is the film Gravity from director Alfonso Cuarón ( who also directed the very powerful dystopian thriller Children Of Men, a must see ) which is a sci fi thriller taking place out in space at the Space Shuttle Explorer, commanded by veteran austronaut Matthew Kowalski ( George Clooney 9 working together with medical engineer Dr. Ryan Stone ( Sandra Bullock ). Suddenly a space debris strikes the Explorer and Hubble, tearing Dr. Stone from the shuttle and leaving her tumble through space. Gravity is a really well made sci fi thriller with some really incredible beautiful space scenes, but this film does have some very intensive moments as well. How do you handle yourself in a crisis situation out in space? When everything goes wrong how do you fix it before you run out of options? This is a must see if you enjoy sci fi films on streaming or on physical media as well. Last year i hear about a space film called I.S.S. that was coming out and i did see the trailer. It definetely looked like a film that i would be interested in so i decided to check it out. Is it possible I.S.S. is a film that will definetely be appreciated by fans of this genre or is this a film that will most likely forgotten like the terrible sci fi action horror film After Earth with Will Smith?

Out in space an International Space Station with American austronauts and Russian austronauts joining to team up to collaborate, are suddenly forced to turn against each other when a war between Russia and USA begins on Earth. Who will surive and will everyone agree turning against each other?

The idea behind this film when we find out there is a war between USA and Russia on Earth makes the plot quite interesting for this space crew. How do you handle the situation when you know your family could be dead on planet Earth when you can´t contact your own family members since this space crew have both Russian austronauts and American austronauts on board the space craft? I can´t really say i have seen a similar sci fi film as i can remember from the past and that actually makes I.S.S. stand out from most ordinary sci fi releases. And what do you do when you are ordered to take out the other side of the austronaut team, do you really have the guts to do that? I understand that this film have had som critisim over the look of the space craft and if it is realistic or not. I personally have no idea since i have never seen the inside myself or knows how it works, so i am just choosing to talk about the film itself. For the most part i feel that this film manage to do what it sets out to do, tell a story how people from 2 different countries are supposed to work together but are forced to do the unthinkable. Even if i feel this film could have been more intensive and probably more psychological i do feel that this film have some important things to say regarding how important it is to help each other than hating for one specific reason. The cast is a very mixed bag honestly, you have at least 2 characters that are ok acting wise and i especially enjoy actress Masha Maskova as the character Weronika. She is the one who actually put most effort into her character and deliver the stronger dialogue scenes. Any issues with I.S.S. ? I would say that there are some scenes who feel a bit too long with just dialogue, that may not have helped the film become more interesting but feels more like filler material. I will also say that if you don´t like slow burn films where not a lot of things happens, then this is definetely not for you. Somehow i feel that i still find I.S.S. interesting and fascinating for what this film was trying to do. Even if there are flaws i still feel director Gabriela Coperthwait have made a good looking film and tell a different sci fi story than we are used to see. If you are a sci fi fan give I.S.S. a chance at least, no matter if you watch it on streaming, VOD or physical media. Who knows you might actually find yourself appreciate this film for trying to attempt a different kind of story telling in space. I personally recommend I.S.S. especially if you are interested in space.

Rating: DDD

Mayhem

When it comes to French movies i have a bit of mixed feelings regdarding French cinema releases. There are some French films that are really good that caught my attention from start to finish such as the 2016 brillant drama film It´s Only The End Of The World from director Xavier Dolan, while there are some French films that are just ok but look too much similar to other French drama films. I have seen quite a lot of French drama films regarding the countryside, wine gardens, different cheese flavors and of course all the romance that comes along with this combination. But the one genre where i feel that France have done really well is actually in the horror genre and especially during the late 2000´s. For a couple of years straight there we had some really good horror releases such as the 2008 French horror film Martyrs or the 2007 disturbing French horror Inside. Both of these French horror films are a must see, even if you are not a big fan of foreign films you might actually enjoy at least one of them. But it was in the year of 2007 when director Xavier Gens released his directorial full feature debut film known as Frontiére(s). A quite interesting and different horror film from the ordinary releases where it takes place during a violent aftermath of a political election. A gang of Muslim Arab youths are split up while trying to pull of robbery. What they don´t know is the family that welcome them into their family-run inn are not as friendly as them may seem. Frontiére(s) may have some problems on a technical level with some shaky camera moves but the film does look good otherwise and the horror scenes are actually well made. A film worth picking up if you are interested in foreign horror films. Speaking of director Xavier Gens i saw the trailer of his latest film Mayhem late last year, The trailer looked great and it seemed to be a film in my taste. Is the film Mayhem a action feast for us who loves a lot of violence or is it just as bad as Ronan Keating´s third solo album Turn It On released in 2003?

After being released from prison and is able to start a new life, Sam ( Nassim Lyes ) moves to Thailand where he starts a family with his girlfriend Mia ( Loryn Nounay ). Mia dreams of having their own restaurant on a beach area and they hope to settle a deal for the land where they want the restaurant to be. Their request is denied because it would cost much more than they can afford, and Sam have no other option than try to get the money they need. Only one way to get money quickly and that is through drug smuggling. When the operation goes wrong the criminals kidnap his daughter and kill his girlfriend. Sam manage to survive with only one thing on his mind, he will get his daughter back.

Imagine if you combined the Liam Neesan classic Taken and combined it with the martial arts action classic The Raid while having the plot moved to Thailand, you pretty much have Mayhem served on a plate. There are of course big differences between these films but i think you might understand what kind of film Mayhem is and what kind of audience would appreciate it best. Let me put it this way, this is the kind of action film that doesn´t care about what´s trending on social media or how a film should look like in 2024. This is pure old school martial arts action just like we used to get in the 80´s and 90´s with some extremely violent martial arts scenes. Not as violent as The Raid but still violent enough to please fans of this genre. There is even a dramatic story bound into the plot and guess what, it´s actually not that bad at all. I think the dramatic tone is done well in Mayhem without being too melodramatic. I also think the story surrounding the main character Sam played by actor Nassim Lyes is a man a lot of fathers worldwide can recognize themselves in, especially if their daughter is a victim of a crime. What would you do if your daughter were kidnapped by human trafficking criminals and how far are you willing to go to bring her back? Not only do we find a classic revenge story in Mayhem but we also see the tragedy of human trafficking that´s happening everyday in Bangkok. Even if you only see certain scenes of young girls being sold it is still a horrible reminder of how girls are being sexually molested everyday. The biggest strength of Mayhem is without a doubt the action scenes, especially when the martial art scenes kicks in with extreme brutality. Lead actor Nassim Lyes is incredibly good physical shape and he knows how to fight, and that comes off well on the big screen. Anything negative that comes to my mind? Perhaps that some of the thai actors were not that good when it comes to delivering dramatic dialogue. Other than that i can´t say anything bad regarding Mayhem because this is a great martial arts action film that will especially be appreciated by fans of The Raid films. Director Xavier Gans does not only deliver his best looking film so far but he clearly shows that he knows how to make effective action films. What are you waiting for? Pick up a physical copy of Mayhem today and i promise you are going to have a good time.

Rating: DDD

The Curse Of The Clown Motel

Whenever i think about a motel i immediately think about a highway motel standing out in the middle of nowhere. No shopping malls around or any restaurants near by, just a dusty highway with an old man running the motel. Of course i am sure there are other images of motels that many other people have but this is my own image of what a motel could look like. I have said in the past that if i ever visit America i should try staying at a motel outside a larger city, just to try it out and see the surroundings of nature. Some positive details may be you get a simple room with everything that you need, just an old fashioned bed with a basic bathroom. Most important of all is you have to have a TV of course so you can at least enjoy some American TV channels. If they have a water boiler in there as well it´s even better, so you can make a cup of instant coffee. Speaking of motels there are a lot of films in Hollywood who brought up the subject of motels. Of course most people would think instantly about Alfred Hitchcock´s classic Psycho, but there are films that i feel we don´t hear much about that are actually worth a watch. How many of you might have seen a film called Vacancy from director Nimród Antal ( director of the great 2010 action horror film Predators ) ?. It is a 2007 horror thriller released back in 2007 that actually takes place at a motel where a married couple played by actors Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale discover that their room have hidden video cameras. At first they don´t understand why anyone would do this to their staying guests until the truth finally comes out. Vacancy may not have been original in any way but i do appreciate that this film focused on making almost an old school horror film without CGI and using a basic story that actually worked. And the motel itself have a very important part of the story, and i do feel the location is used well to capture the atmosphere of a deserted road while turning into a home invasion film. Vacancy is definetely worth a watch on streaming or physical media if you enjoy simple but effective horror films. Speaking of motels i heard last year about a horror film coming out called The Curse Of The Clown Motel, not knowing much about the plot i just saw the film have horror actor Tobin Bell ( the well known actor from the Saw franchise ) and 90´s action star Richard Grieco from the classic 90´s film If Looks Could Kill starring in this film. Is this a indepenent horror highlight that should be seen or is The Curse Of The Clown Hotel a dull horror experience from start to finish?

Native American Alma ( Juliana Destefano ) travel back home to help her family get their Native American heritage recognized, all she finds is the World-Famous Clown Motel run by Mr. Wilson ( Tobin Bell ) that has been erected on their land.

The first thing that comes to my mind regarding the film The Curse Of The Clown Motel is that this is actually a great title for a horror film. The title of this film may sound a bit silly but still manage to say enough to make you interested in the film itself. I was actually curious to see what kind of horror film this would be since this was supposed to be a film connected to a motel with clowns. Unfortunately i have to say i am disappointed. With such a great premise for a horror film with a motel full of clowns in all sizes this could have been a great slasher film with murdering clowns, or perhaps a demonic clown on a rampage killing motel visitors. Instead we get a very slow horror film that takes itself way too seriously, and have way too many dialogue scenes that feels more like a way to fill in scenes just to get the playtime of the film to get closer to 90 minutes. If you are going to make a horror film especially focused on a motel you could have made an attempt to make the location interesting like they did in Vacancy that i mentioned earlier. In that film they knew how to build up tensions by using different locations inside the motel with effective horror scenes. We do get different locations in the Clown Motel as well but most of those scenes are neither interesting or feels necessary. One of the most positive surprises of this film is actually actor Richard Grieco ( Attack Of The Unknown ) as the character Stewart. Even if he doesn´t have a lot of screen time he comes across as one of the most interesting characters of The Curse Of The Clown Hotel. Actress Juliana Destefano as Alma do have some good scenes to be pleased about. Of course actor Tobin Bell knows how to put on a performance that only he can do, but i wish he could have done more with his character. At the end of the day The Curse Of The Clown Motel have some interesting ideas but choose to do nothing interesting with the plot of the motel. Directors Asif Akbar and Lance Kawas seems to have chosen a simple path with this film, not even trying to make this film scary at all. The Curse Of The Clown Motel will most likely dust on the 1 dollar store shelves in the future.

Rating: DD

The Beekeeper

When my grandfather was alive i used to spend a lot of summers out in his summer cabin, he had a neighbor not far away who would sell home made honey. This was honey that his neighbor produced through his own honeycromb. So instead of buying honey from a super market my grandfather used to get fresh honey locally produced. I remember we tried some great ice cream topping it with the honey while having fresh brewed coffee on his porch. Those were good days and i still remember the glass jars that he used to keep the honey in, just in case he would need the honey for other things than just topping ice cream. From what i understand a lot of people are worried about the decline of living bees worldwide. As most of us know bees are a very important part of the eco system who help wild trees and wild flowers so we need to make sure bees survive. Luckily there are great non-profit organizations such as Save The Bees USA who work hard to make sure that all bee species will be able to survive into the future. They also educate children to learn about bees and why they are so important. If you want to find out more just google Save The Bees USA and you will see their official homepage with all information on what they do and how you can help them. Speaking of bees there is especially one classic horror film that i especially remember from the 70´s that i used to watch many times on VHS. And that is the 1978 horror film The Swarm from director Irwin Allen ( director of the 1961 sci fi disaster classic Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea ). The Swarm tells the story of scientist Dr. Bradford Crane ( Michael Caine ) who discover that African killer bees are the cause of chaos that broke out in Texas, at a United States Air Force ICBM commander bunker. After this horrible attack Dr. Crane is worried that these African killer bees will attack civilians as well and warn everyone. The Swarm is a classic natural horror film in true 70´s horror style where actors such as Michael Caine ( Get Carter ), Katherine Ross ( from the 1975 classic The Stepford Wives ), Richard Widmark ( from the 1974 classic Murder On The Orient Express ) and many more legenday actors are included in this film. I highly recommend you pick up The Swarm on DVD or blu ray if you enjoy 70´s horror films. Speaking of bees in film i was suprised lat year when i heard action star Jason Statham was coming out with a new film in 2024 where he plays a beekeeper. You might think this is a drama film about bees but it seemed to be an action film in true classic Statham style. Directed by David Ayes who gave us the 2016 superhero action film Suicide Squad ( which i enjoyed but had issues with Jared Leto´s performance as The Joker ). I did watch The Beekeeper in cinema and the question is, does Statham still manage to do solid action films or is he running out of good ideas with his latest attempt to please his audience?

Retired schoolteacher Eloise Parker ( Phylicia Rashad ) lives by herself in a house out in Massachusetts, but she has a tenant in her barn, Adam Clay ( Jason Staham ), who is living a quiet life as a beekeeper. Eloise falls for a phishing scam and is robbed of over 2 Million U.S. dollars, the majority which belongs to a charity organization she manages. Devestated over all that happened, Eloise decides to take her own life. Adam find her inside the house and is seen by Eloise daughter FBI agent Veronika Parker ( Emmy Raver-Lampman ) as she arrest him. Veronika find out that Adam have no traces of gun powder on him and have nothing to do with Eloise´s suicide. However, Adam is not only a beekeeper but belong to a secret group known as the Beekeepers. He sets out to find everyone responsible and make sure they regret it.

To be honest i did not have really high expectations about The Beekeeper just in case i would be disappointed being a true Jason Statham fan. But this is honestly one of his better action films in recent years and i am so happy to see that he is able to deliver solid action films. The Beekeeper may sound like a pretty boring idea on paper, but don´t judge this film by the movie poster it is more entertaining than you might expect. To see Jason Statham do a different kind of character is actually a great idea, since he seems to be able to try more dramatic roles as well. Does this mean The Beekeeper have dramatic scenes? At least in the early beginning where we see his character Adam Clay living as a tenant in a barn where he works hard to produce honey. After the more dramatic opening scenes the film switches over to true classic Statham action and we are right back to where he belongs. The violence is of course really over the top with lots of fighting, the sound effects are really good during these fights and the quick dialogue works well even if some of dialogue scenes are a bit cheesy. I think in an action film like this you can´t take everything too seriously and just have a good time instead. Statham is known for looking a bit stiff with his facial expressions but it is when he actually goes into his character where the magic begins. Even if he knows how to punch people he knows how to act as well when some scenes need to be more dramatic. We have to talk about actress Emmy-Raver Lampman ( from the Netflix TV series The Umbrella Academy ) as the character Agent Verona Parker and i know some people are very divided about her character. I personally enjoyed her tough attitude and i feel she fit in well with the story. So any issues i have with The Beekeeper? Honestly not really since i actually had a good time with this film. Is it a bit over the top in some fighting scenes? Sure, but i honestly don´t care i just want to be entertained while watching a Statham film. Director David Ayes knows how to make fun action scenes and he proves that clearly in The Beekeeper by letting Statham go all in with extreme violence. The Beekeeper may not win a new audience unless they like Statham as an actor but if you are a fan i guarantee you will enjoy yourself. Who knew kicking ass and helping bees would be a great combination? The Beekeeper proves that this combination actually works.

Rating: DDD