New Movie Reviews---Locked, Wolf Man, LifeLine, American Dreamer & Dog Man

 In the movie, Locked we have Eddie Barrish(Bill Skarsgard--It series/John Wick 4), a thief who comes across an SUV in a parking lot in an undisclosed city. We first followed him around town, which I later discovered was in Vancouver, BC, Canada. As he is walking along Hastings Street, he has a hoodie over his head, maybe so people don't realize who he is? Most of the shots are from across the street, to not draw attention to him, I think.

When he gets into the car, he is automatically "Locked" in the vehicle. William(Anthony Hopkins, Silence of the Lambs) is the car owner, who is frustrated by the constant theft of his luxury vehicle, so he has a few modifications to ensure that he can torment the next thief. Eddie is his guinea pig, we only hear William through the speakers in the car when he calls and lets Eddie know what he plans on doing with him.

We are along for the ride, and I will be honest I didn't know how well this would work over its 90-minute run time. But Bill Skarsgard is quite good as Eddie, having only his performance to keep the story moving and the always captivating Anthony Hopkins.

It's like a radio play, with a very captive audience of one, along with this viewer. I was interested in where it was going and what was going to happen next.

When Eddie tries to shoot out the glass the bullet flies back and impales him in the leg, he tries many ways to escape but William has him barricaded in the car, it's even soundproof, so people outside the vehicle can not hear Eddie's screams for help, a nightmare on four wheels.

Now this is not groundbreaking cinema, or tense either, however, as a story point and some good performances by both actors, Hopkins solely relied on the performance of his voice, until much later in the film. Which I must say ends with a satisfying finish that I did not see coming.

So when does a movie that is titled Wolf Man, not really a werewolf movie? But rather a disease that makes people grow lots of hair and seem to be shapeshifting(poorly).

Blumehouse is terrible with its "horror" movies, and this is another one to add to the list. Trust me I went into the film wanting to like it because I really enjoy a good werewolf or vampire movie. An American Werewolf in London & Fright Night(1985) are two of my favorite horror movies of all time. At the beginning of the film, they are being escorted by a local to their new home, they have an accident and they end up on their side in a tree(a half-ton rental truck). The "beast", "animal", whatever they want us to call it, shows up. 

The family, along with their daughter make it out and head to the house, but wait, dad wants to get a picture of the daughter before they keep running, the creature is close and howls. They continue to run, & he's picked her up. They get to the house and he unlocks then opens the barred screen door, then the wood door, they all run in and lock it. Whew, they made it!

In another scene later in the film, they are running from the creature and they all end up on a very well-constructed greenhouse, that can hold two adults and a child, I never would have imagined.

There is no tension, the acting is about as stiff and dull as I have seen this year, also, there is no chemistry between the main characters, and they're married in the story. I was sent a 4K of the film to review, I was going to focus on some of the behind-the-scenes features, but I'm not interested in seeing anything else about the film, to be honest.

In a similar approach to its story like Locked, Lifeline basically is told from the vantage point of Steven Thomas(Josh Stewart), who is working the overnight shift for the suicide hotline. There is a note at the start of the film to please seek help if you have any thoughts of suicide.

He is very interested in each caller and has a vested interest in each person's story. One call comes through and it's a few young girls playing a prank, but he realizes it quickly. Steven is going to be by himself for the night after a coworker's shift is over at 11.

In a few scenes where the building shakes as if an earthquake is happening, there is a flicker & shaking of the lights in the room. After one such event, the phone rings and he starts a conversation that will change the entire mood of the film and bring the viewer to a different place than I thought the film was going, totally unexpected and yet, like a welcome friend.

Again we have a small film that relies on the talent(s) of its actors to tell the story, simple but effective in so many ways that the bigger films often tend to miss. I was captivated and intrigued by the story and the young man that he is in conversation with on the phone has the same name as he does, his girlfriend's name is the same as his wife's. 

Coincidence, but something is going on here that this reviewer will not spoil for you, the reader. This is not a horror movie, but a film that is possibly looking back and listening to our younger selves. Sometimes the biggest answers are inside each of us, regardless of your views on many things.

With all the seriousness of the previous films, the next two are a welcome friend.

American Dreamer brings back a little bit of the character that was so successful for Peter Dinklage in The Station Agent(2003)where he inherits an old train station. Here he is a professor who comes across the sale of a house with a great offer. If he lives in it until the current owner Astrid(Shirley MacLaine)passes, he inherits the house.

However, his friend and realtor Dell(Matt Dillon) forgot to do a background check on her to see if she has any family that might be entitled to the house.

At first, as usual, there are some misunderstandings and things said to each other as they get acquainted with each other, and for Atrid to have Phil(Peter Dinklage) in her home is going to take some getting used to.

This is one of those hidden gems, kind of literally, because the film was made back in 2022, with it only being released now, three years later. At least with the PR group that sent it to me, Strike Media in the U.K.

The friendship that grows during the film is shown very well in the picture above, the two actors have quite great chemistry together, which doesn't always have to be romantic. It's just some great actors working well with each other and it really helps the film with its charm. Everyone else in the film is equally as good, Danny Glover is also in the film.

I was sent a Blu-Ray copy of the film Dog Man, with the slipcover & paperwork for the release of the film today.

This is the most fun I have had since watching The Bad Guys, lots of sarcasm to keep us sarcastic people happy. Having not read the books, as they are geared for children and mine are both grown, I knew nothing about the story.

In the world of today that is turning such great children's classics like Winnie The Pooh & Mickey Mouse into slasher films--copyrights expired--this was a nice return to some of the innocence experienced during the times of reading the stories or watching the films.

When a police officer and his trusted dog partner are called to defuse a bomb, tragedy strikes as they cut the wrong wire. The two are sent to the hospital where they are badly injured, and the dog's head is put on the man's body, which could have turned it into a dark movie.

In any dog story, there has to be a cat, it wouldn't seem right not to. Petey The Cat is more than just your typical house cat, he wants to take over the world, Pinky & The Brain style.    The hilarity starts now, one of the funniest lines that made me laugh out loud was when  Sarah Hatoff(Isla Fisher) asks "How evil can one cat be?" to which Petey(Pete Davidson) says "pretty evil" haha(evil laughter)

The laughs keep coming in this non-stop fun fest, scenes between the chief of police and Dog Man are hilarious, especially in his office with a piece of paper he crushes up and throws in the garbage can. My sides were sore from the laughter throughout the film.

In his pursuit to take over the world Petey The Cat creates a likeness of himself, which kind of backfires when it doesn't have the same characteristics as he does, so he finds some true evil in a fish called Flippy The Fish(Ricky Gervais). 

The work on the film and the animation add to the overly colorful characters and the continued action and adventure that await the viewer.