When I got into movies, I was your stereotypical nerd who wanted to see all the best-rated movies of all time, mainly those in the IMDb’s top 250. Naturally, I noticed this film and knew I had to watch it, so when I did about 15 or so years ago, I was stunned. I remember feeling tense as fuck, I remember admiring this film, and I also knew when I would eventually start collecting physical discs, The Wages of Fear (or Le salaire de la peur in original) must be part of my collection. And when I rewatched it for The Wasteland Retrospective (a podcast I appear on once a month with Shane Conto), I was amazed by how much I didn’t remember, but also how perfect this movie was.

This movie starts with an hour where “nothing happens”. Except for the fact that everything happens, and this is where the groundwork gets set up for this entire film. And that kind of setup I miss in most movies nowadays because this film takes its time to tell and show us everything. How dead and uneventful this city is, how poor everyone in it is, but most importantly, we get introduced to our protagonists, and more importantly, because of this long introduction, we somewhat understand them by the time we go into “action”. Yes, I didn’t remember that first hour, but I can’t imagine it not being there. And even if you wanted to shorten it, that would remove all the impact of the tense scenes later on because this movie does an excellent job of you getting invested in these flawed characters. If you aren’t invested, by the time they are behind the wheel of those two potential death machines, you will not enjoy this movie.

That was another great thing I appreciated about The Wages of Fear – the characters are (mostly) flawed. I feel like if they made a film like this one nowadays, they would all be the same person – rough on the outside, but on the inside, they have a heart of gold when it counts. No, most of these characters are not that. And yet, you can somehow understand them, as this movie makes it clear that each of them has gone through some stuff (mostly World War II), hence the reason why they ended up in the town where nothing happens.

Where this movie excels the most is, of course, the tension. The story is about hiring four random guys to drive two trucks full of nitroglycerine that can explode at any moment because it’s better than going through the unions (as said by the businessman in the movie: “Because those bums don’t have any union, nor any families. And if they blow up, nobody’ll come around bothering me for any contribution.“). What always fascinates me is how, in a movie that’s now 70+ years old, the themes are as relevant today as they were back then. A big company trying to bypass unions and potentially kill their workers…? That could never happen today, right…? Anyway, this film has three intense set pieces where you will be on the edge of your seat. You can feel every bump, every dangerous turn, and it’s still, 70 years later, one of the tensest movies I have ever seen.

What makes it effective is, again, all the setup in the first hour and then you have the directing, like shooting on locations (as it was custom at the time) where you can see everything wrong with their road. Sometimes, it’s too bumpy; other times, the turn seems impossible. There is always something that makes this ride thrilling and unforgettable. Every time something goes wrong, and they have to “troubleshoot” their way forward, you root for them, and it gets tense. There are a few moments of levity, where you can breathe for a bit, only for something else to happen entirely. All I will say is that it’s great to employ the “show, don’t tell” technique, but in this instance, you could call it “show and then show the audience the aftermath”. Never in the history of cinema was the shot of tobacco getting swiftly blown away from the cigarette paper more meaningful and chilling than here.

It was during this rewatch that I realised how this film could be viewed as a sort of purgatory for all our protagonists. The last 20 minutes, when they have to cross an oil leak and go through that with no time to clean themselves, just go, because they need to be at their destination as soon as possible and they also want this journey to end, is phenomenal. When our “heroes” finally reach the end and you see the contrast of fire and them, it clicked for me how one of the ways to “read” this movie is this was their purgatory, but they didn’t redeem themselves and ended up in hell. That’s when everything clicked for me why they must have been mostly flawed characters, as this was more than a journey. The money they were supposed to get for this dangerous task was enough to last them for most of their life, but is it worth it if you lose your soul or potentially your life in the process? That is what made The Wages of Fear so excellent on this rewatch for me because I only remembered the tense scenes. But when I re-discovered everything around that, I recognised how magnificent this movie was, and the fact it still plays just as well today as it did back in 1953 is either a miracle or proof of how talented Henri-Georges Clouzot was.

Overall, The Wages of Fear is an excellent movie. If you have never seen it, do yourself a favour and watch it. If you have a BluRay player, there is a beautifully restored copy available that makes this movie pop. It’s one of the tensest movies you will ever see, one of the most beautiful movies you will see, and this rewatch confirmed this movie must be in my TOP 10/15 movies. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to write this is one of the best movies I have ever seen.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

If you are a movie person and like the zombie genre, it’s almost impossible not to know this title. It seemed like, ever since this movie came out, word of mouth spread like wildfire as many were praising Train to Busan as one of the best zombie movies ever made. Naturally, I was curious, and when I saw a Blu-Ray for a reasonable price, I knew I had to get it to finally watch it for myself. The result didn’t surprise me, but it still delivered everything I hoped for and then some.

This movie understands how to hook you in by focusing on several protagonists while everyone else is just a side character. As every great film does, it grounds itself in reality (here, it’s the father/daughter relationship), and everything else is “extra”. It’s the new reality our heroes must adapt to extremely fast; otherwise, they turn into zombies. One thing I appreciated was how quick the turn takes. In many other movies, people get bitten, they die, and after some time, they come back hungry for your brains. In Train to Busan, they don’t even have time to die; they effectively transform in front of our eyes into fast zombies that can’t be stopped.

That’s right, we are dealing with the “fast ones” in this movie, and the way those crowd zombie scenes are done, alongside the decent CGI, makes it terrifying. You feel like there is no way to stop them because they roll over everything and everyone who finds themselves in front of them. What also makes this film a bit unique is that it (mostly) takes place on a train. I know, shocker, right? Who would’ve thought with a title like Train to Busan? But that claustrophobic feeling, combined with the sheer violence, ferocity and the amount of zombies, worked. There are scenes when our heroes notice one weakness these zombies have (I won’t spoil anything) and have to go past them, and it is as tense of a scene as any I have seen in ages.

I must also acknowledge, as the title of this review says, that this movie doesn’t do anything “groundbreaking”. If you have seen a few zombie films and played some video games “featuring” zombies, nothing in this movie will surprise you. But it’s the way this movie plays those “hits” and how it makes you care about our main protagonist, combined with that powerful ending, where I realised that I didn’t mind. This movie is a brilliant example of how fans aren’t asking filmmakers to reinvent cinema every time they make a film. But if you put your spin on an idea (or, in this case, ideas), ground it with some realism and make us care about the protagonists, we are there. Well, at least I am, and I can honestly say I have enjoyed this film.

What also plays into this movie’s hand is that it came from South Korea. Although now I hope the country is getting more recognition (due to Parasite (2019), my review here, making Oscar history), I still believe it’s not enough because everything from the past almost two decades I have had the pleasure of seeing from South Korea was great to excellent. I would go as far as to say that if you have never seen a movie from there and are a horror movie fan, Train to Busan is an excellent movie to start with. It almost encapsulates everything I love about films from there. They always care about the protagonists first and build the story around them. I know that seems obvious but think about it like this. How many times have you seen a Hollywood movie with underdeveloped protagonists? Or someone you should be rooting for, and you are not? On top of that, they know how to shoot big movies and small movies, with CGI but not too much… Honestly, Hollywood should be paying closer attention to movies coming from here because there is variety, passion and excellence that, many times, can overshadow the biggest US blockbusters.

Overall, Train to Busan truly is one of the best zombie movies ever made and a brilliant addition to the zombie genre. The movie sets everything up just enough for you to care, then throws you into the action and doesn’t let go until the very end. Although you will see where everything is headed and how/when each character will die, you will still have fun with this film because it is just so well done. This film is a must-see for any horror movie fans.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

Ever since the first trailer, this looked fun. David Leitch (ex-stuntman turned director) continues to establish himself as the guy who will make fun action movies with a bit of twist and is mostly succeeding. His film before The Fall Guy, Bullet Train (2022, my review here), was one of my favourites of 2022 (which was a great year for movies), and although The Fall Guy never reached those heights on my first viewing, I can’t wait to see it again.

First and foremost, this film is an open love letter to action movies and, most importantly, stunt people working on them. You could feel this comes from a guy who knows this industry well and has years of experience under his belt. Everything rings true from the stunt perspective, at least from the stories and interviews I have seen and heard. Yes, this is an action comedy, so you will mostly laugh; nevertheless, The Fall Guy shows you the nitty-gritty of all the action, from the planning to the numerous takes and how this is a job that takes a special kind of person who needs to be very versatile, fit and ready for anything that gets thrown their way. We see how much pain Ryan Gosling‘s character goes through, although we see it through a comedic lens.

What I appreciated the most is that it’s not too “inside baseball”. Yes, as with many “movies about making movies”, the more you know about this industry, the more little things you catch, but this movie never goes too much into it. It is more focused on the mystery of the main actor (portrayed by Aaron Taylor-Johnson) disappearing and Gosling being “hired” to not only take his place in the film but find him as well. We also have the romantic subplot regarding Gosling and Emily Blunt, and that gets intertwined during the making of this epic space movie that is definitely not Dune.

Let’s be honest, if you have ever seen a movie, the central piece of this film, aka “mystery”, isn’t really a mystery, as you could tell from miles away what is happening. Sure, maybe you don’t get all the details right, but you know the general gist, who is involved, and all that jazz. But I didn’t mind that, as for the majority of this movie, it’s fun to be in this world and with these characters. Both Ryan and Emily are excellent actors, and in this film, they can lean more into their comedic chops, and they both worked for me. The beginning and the batshit insane ending worked wonderfully.

It is the middle part of this film I had issues with. And by “issues”, I mean mainly pacing. The movie starts strong, and then it comes to a halt for some time. Don’t get me wrong, something is always happening on the screen, and I wasn’t ever “bored”, but in the second act of this film, you can feel the runtime more than you should have. It almost felt like Leitch had a problem “killing its darlings” in the assembly and didn’t cut out enough. There were a couple of scenes that ran for several minutes too long. You know how modern movies do one joke three or four times, and only then do we move on? That’s how most of the second act felt for most of those scenes; they seemed to go on for a bit too long. There is an excellent 100-minute movie hidden in this 126-minute film, and had we just shortened a few scenes (mainly in the second act), I would have had a blast.

The way the movie is now, I still enjoyed my time because the passion is palpable. This movie shines a light on people who are still, for the most part, ignored and not recognised enough. There’s the endless debate about why there are no Oscars for “Best Stunt” or “Best Stunt Performer”, and the main argument against it (from the industry) is they don’t want to push stunt people to do something dangerous to try and outdo each other, just so they can get that Oscar next year. And as much as I would love for stunts to get the recognition they badly need, I think that is a valid point. Does that mean we shouldn’t change anything? No, it just means we need to reconsider this issue; maybe don’t nominate specific people, but rather have “Best Stunts” for the ensemble cast…? Maybe that’s one way to do it, maybe not. Back to The Fall Guy – the passion is there, and I can’t fault it on a technical level either. Regarding the stunt work, there is no discussion, as some of the things you see in this are insane. I wonder how well this film will play on repeat viewings, for as it stands, I wanted to love this movie so much. After all, it has so much going for it. And I “just” liked it.

Overall, The Fall Guy is an action love ode to stunts, stunt performers and, via that lens, movies themselves. It has a very likeable leading duo, a couple of stunning stunt sequences (like that 8.5 car roll that actually is a world record, by the way) and intriguing enough mystery. The film’s only issue is the second act, where you get reminded that “less is more”. But other than that, The Fall Guy is worth seeing in the cinemas, if you can.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

I will be honest; I lost any interest in this franchise a long time ago. And even when the studio tried to do something new and “fresh” with Spiral (2021), I thought it was okay but nothing to write home about. So, imagine my surprise when Saw X came out in late 2023 and was getting positive reviews, many calling it the best Saw film since Saw II (2005), and some went as far as to say the best since the original Saw (2004)! Needless to say, my expectations were slightly higher, and I knew I wanted to see this, so when it came to streaming, my night was sorted. The result just shows how often less is more.

The biggest problem with this franchise was that it became a parody of itself to the point many were calling it “torture porn”. Each new movie tried to top the previous one with more gruesome traps that can spill the most blood, and given they killed off their main protagonist, who is also an antagonist, in Saw III (2006), they had to get messy and needlessly convoluted with each new story too, trying desperately hard to tie him with this franchise when he was supposed to be dead. It was just a series of bad decisions pilling on top of each other until that house of cards collapsed, and nobody cared about this franchise. That was until this movie came out and seemingly revived the franchise by positioning itself between Saw and Saw II while giving Tobin Bell the lead role for the first time in this franchise. I am not sure whether I have learned anything new about his character per se; however, we see more of him and his dynamic with Shawnee Smith (Amanda), and I liked that aspect.

I thought the idea to make this more drama rather than “let’s see how we can brutalise the next batch of humans” also worked. At this point, I don’t think there is anything this franchise can do but gross me out, so I liked that there were fewer traps, and we focused on John’s journey and his revenge on people who scammed him. Don’t get me wrong, there are some brutal traps we get to expect and love (?) from this franchise; however, if that is all you look for in your Saw film, you will be disappointed. Besides one dream sequence where John imagines a trap, it takes a while for this movie to do what we signed up for. For the first half of this movie, we focus on John, his battle with cancer, and his latching onto this new hope these scammers give him, only for him to realise he was scammed, and that is when he goes back to being Jigsaw again.

I was enjoying this movie until the last act. I will try to talk about it without spoilers, so I ask for forgiveness if some of what I am about to write is too vague. My first and biggest issue is the “big twist” this franchise became known for. I would still argue we haven’t had a better twist since the original film, and I am talking about all the films, not just horror movies. I tried to think of whether we have had a movie twist so mindblowing and iconic since 2004, and honestly, I came up short. Some movies came close, but I still remember how blown away I was by that ending of the first Saw movie. Back to Saw X, because this franchise taught you well, you can see this twist coming from a mile away. On top of that, if you remember that this movie takes place in the past, you understand neither of our protagonists is in any real danger because they must survive. But even if I tried to move past that, it seemed a bit more convoluted than necessary, with a few things John couldn’t plan for, no matter how smart he was.

My second problem is a tinier one because it is a bit more complex. It is not really a problem, as logically, it fits with Jigsaw’s philosophy. But narratively, it pissed me off. Thinking about it, I can’t talk around it without twisting myself in knots; so I will spoil this part a bit, so…

BEWARE, SPOILERS ARE COMING!!!

This movie has a phenomenal villain in Synnøve Macody Lund. The more this movie progresses, the more you realise how truly evil and despicable she is, and you love to hate her. That is what makes it all the more painful to see her survive. I was looking forward to seeing her die for everything she’s done wrong, only for her to prevail. Part of me hoped that the final trap would be impossible to survive, but when she survived, I realised that it would go against the logic of not just this film but the entire franchise. Well, at least the better sequels. The twisted logic has always been that nobody is beyond redemption, and all traps should be survivable if you sacrifice enough. And she did. So even though I couldn’t fault the movie’s logic for her surviving, part of me was furious that she did, and that is what made her a great villain. This complaint is, admittedly, a lesser one, but I still thought it was worth pointing out.

But other than these two things, I had a good time with Saw X. This movie is (as the title suggests) the tenth movie in this franchise and had no right to be as good as it was. Luckily, the people behind this film decided to take a step back from all the nonsense of “we need to out-torture the previous movie” and grounded this sequel. For the majority of Saw X, we are in one singular location. And when we aren’t there, there is no blood, traps or horror stuff happening, but I was invested in this story because finally, we got to see Tobin Bell take the lead (legend he is), and they gave him an awesome opponent to go up against. I know we are getting Saw XI (2025), and I can only hope the people behind this film will remember what made this one so good and won’t lose themselves (again). However, I don’t know where and whether they can take this further, especially if they want to keep John Kramer around. Let’s hope the history won’t repeat itself and all the lessons have been learned already.

Overall, Saw X is probably the most unique Saw sequel we have gotten up until now. It scaled everything back without seeming cheap, built the world with characters we recognised in a timeline that made sense and gave us a group of (mostly) unlikeable people, so when they would eventually lose the game, we wouldn’t be too sad about that. On top of that, we’ve gotten probably the strongest villain ever. I will agree with the majority here and say this is the best Saw film since Saw II. If you are like me and haven’t enjoyed any of these movies in a while, give this one a chance.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

I think the biggest enemy of Joy Ride was the trailers that were trying so hard to sell this movie as “What if Road Trip but with Asians”. Is Joy Ride that? Sure, but there is so much more to it, and the trailers never showed that side. On one side, I respect it because at least there was some surprise left for me to experience, but on the other hand, it made this movie seem quite generic. Although it couldn’t escape from some generic twists and turns, I liked it much more than I thought I would.

When this movie started, I was getting ready to see yet another comedy, where the jokes are either “WE ARE SHOUTING THE PUNCHLINE, YOU BETTER LAUGH!” or “Look, women/black people/Asian people/<insert your underrepresented group here> can be nasty and risqué too!” Lately, when people mention comedy, these are the movies we seem to be getting, and I am not saying there aren’t some that have been good, but some variety would be nice. By variety, I mean it would be cool to get more stories and make them comedies rather than go with the generic road trip formula mixed in with shouting. For some of it, this movie is that, but it’s much easier to tolerate it due to its cast.

This is where I must shout out all four protagonists. Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu and Sabrina Wu have all been great. They all had their moment to shine, complemented each other well, and their overall chemistry felt real. They didn’t click straight away because they weren’t supposed to be friends instantly, but, in the end, you could see them becoming friends. Also, Joy Ride is a perfect example of an ensemble movie. I usually highlight one actor or actress that stood out; however, I can’t choose just one character in this movie. They all contributed to my enjoyment of this film, and more importantly, they understood their assignment. Their characters never felt too samey. That is one of the biggest issues I have had with modern comedies lately – when everyone wants to have all the jokes, making all characters feel identical. This movie avoids it well by giving us four unique people who play to their strengths throughout it.

When this movie grabbed my attention was in the second half. Because the first half is fine, and I chuckled a few times, but again, there were many “Hey, I have seen this scene before!” generic situations, as with most comedies. However, the second half surprised me because their being “stranded” in China was never a big deal, the way the trailers seemed to imply. Every time something happened to them, the movie resolved it a few minutes later, so this was my first surprise, given I expected a comedy about four almost friends being stuck in China.

The real turn came with Audrey’s character searching for her mum and how that storyline went. Again, we have seen that main payoff before, but some things before that surprised me. The scene where her search culminates is done very well without giving anything away. I was also surprised how the movie suddenly became a bit more original, for example, Audrey’s job and Kat’s (Stephanie Hsu) career… Now, I am not saying this movie strays away completely, and you will be shocked with the ending, no. It’s a comedy, after all, so of course there is a happy ending. What I am trying to say is that the path towards it is thorny, and the movie decided to accept the consequences and deal with them rather than the “the hero makes a moving speech and saves her job/project/family” scene we have come to expect from modern comedies.

The identity plotline added the much-needed gravitas to this otherwise unhinged film, and the best part was it never felt wrong or forced. Whether it was about Audrey looking for her mum and then having to accept that she knew much less than she thought or the movie’s view of how it is growing up in the USA and being different, those were the layers I appreciated and enjoyed the most. For her feature debut, Adele Lim (the director and co-writer of the film) did a great job bringing everything and everyone together. I hope she gets another shot at directing, given this movie absolutely bombed in the theatres. I would blame that on the marketing and mainly the people/company behind those generic trailers that failed to communicate what made this movie unique rather than any performers or the people behind the camera.

Overall, Joy Ride was a fun ride indeed. Although the movie couldn’t avoid some generic pitfalls, it eventually managed to make its mark and landed the finale. I think it will be a great movie to rewatch because of the four main protagonists and their chemistry. Also, more movies should have a five minute scene featuring Daniel Dae Kim; I wish he would be in more movies. The moment he showed up, I knew he would deliver, and he did and then disappeared. If you are looking for a raunchy fun with some genuine heart, Joy Ride may be for you.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

This movie is all kinds of weird. I will put aside my Czech bias of this movie, based on a Czech novel (Spaceman of Bohemia), and the fact this movie contains only some tiny Czech Easter eggs, but the main roles are an American man and an English lady with no attempt to do any accent is a choice… But again, let’s put that aside. Spaceman’s biggest problem is that we now have seen movies “just like this” (like the already mentioned Ad Astra (2019, my review here)) but done better. I am not just talking about the technical side; I am talking about the themes this movie tries to explore, and I don’t think they all land.

Let’s get something clear – Adam Sandler did a good job. I won’t hold the fact he isn’t Brad Pitt against him because I don’t think he did a bad job. The same goes for anyone else, especially Carey Mulligan, who uplifts what, otherwise, could have been a thankless job. I don’t think this will come as a shock to anyone, but I think she is the best actor in this movie, closely seconded by Sandler. The only reason Paul Dano isn’t any higher for me is the fact that we only hear him, but I won’t lie; you will remember his role. Sure, he is doing “just voice-acting”, but that’s a good reminder of how important voice-acting is and if done properly, it can move you, even if you never see the actor.

Where this movie lost me a bit was the split between Earth and Sandler’s space mission. Instead of those two storylines complementing each other, they almost seem to disturb the flow of Spaceman. Every time it gets interesting in space, we go back to Earth. That applies vice-versa every time something happened down there, on the Earth that I liked, we would go back to space. I can’t precisely put my finger on it, but despite those storylines being linked, they seemed disjointed. This is, for example, where Ad Astra understood what it must do and focused the majority of the film on Brad Pitt’s character and the loneliness of space.

Because Spaceman covers (or wants to cover) many of the same themes, from loneliness to realisation about humanity and how you might try to improve yourself as human to the people you care about the most, the themes are there. However, they never hit me as much as they should have. Spaceman wants to be this space drama about many complex things, but when the movie finished, I was… unmoved. I can’t say I was bored per se, and this isn’t a bad movie by any means, but it just felt a bit hollow and disjointed, and even incorporating the Rusalka myth, I wasn’t sure whether that symbolism did anything for this movie.

And this is where my Czech bias I put aside comes back, just for this paragraph or two. It’s weird to see some Czech actors but not in any major roles. It’s fascinating that studio people want to adapt this Czech book but then seem to do the bare minimum. Yeah, it was shot in Czech Republic. Yes, there are some Czech actors in mostly tiny roles and some Easter eggs (cukroví, aka Xmas Sweets Sandler has with him, CzechConnect etc.) But this Czech element ultimately doesn’t add anything to it. It’s still Sandler talking in his voice, the same for the other actors. Yes, they have Czech names, but they never explain why this “Czech” spaceman doesn’t have Czech accent. And it’s not just about the accents; Czechs have a unique attitude towards everything. We have a way we talk, we make jokes about everything, and this movie got… none of it. The best way I can describe it is that it lacked any “attitude”. Like this film felt empty when it shouldn’t.

I have not read the book this movie is based on, so I don’t know how that “Czech” aspect is portrayed in the book. But judging by the movie, I was hoping that the fact the setting and people in it should be Czech would play bigger part in it and at the end, it didn’t. You can literally rename all the characters in this movie, change Rusalka to some other folk tale and completely remove some of those Czech Easter eggs in post-production, and this becomes another Hollywood space movie. And it’s just an ok one on top of it.

Overall, Spaceman is one of those most “it’s a movie” movies I have ever seen. What I mean is this film goes for many things and themes, and some land, whilst others do not. The actors are all capable, and nobody is truly bad, but I can’t shake the feeling I will forget this movie’s existence in couple of months, because it ultimately makes little to no impact. Everything is competently made, there is nothing major to critique, but Spaceman feels disjointed and makes you wanting more. The only thing that had for it was that Czech angle, and trust me when I tell you that adds nothing to this story. That is what makes Spaceman feel like one of the most average films you will ever see. The CGI is fine, the performances are good, the rest you will forget. In a world full of great movies exploring this topic, you can probably skip this one and watch something like Ad Astra instead.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke