Trap

“Trap” is 2024 thriller by M. Night Shyamalan starring Josh Hartnett (The Faculty), Ariel Donoghue (Wolf Like Me), Saleka Shyamalan, and Alison Pill (American Horror Story).

A father takes his daughter to a concert to see her favorite pop star Lady Raven. Only the whole concert is a set up to catch the serial killer dubbed The Butcher. Unfortunately, the dad is The Butcher. He must now find a way to escape the venue before he is caught.

I love M. Night, he is one of my favorite directors, and his twists are top notch. Josh Hartnett is also a great actor who hasn’t been in a lot lately, even though he did recently kill it in an episode of “Black Mirror.” Then add in the unique story line, this movie seems like a no brainer.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t live up to expectations. Most of the better scenes of when they’re in the venue, are shown in the trailers, so there isn’t a lot of suspense or build up. It does get better later on in the film, but still not enough to save it. Also, the twist in this one isn’t up to par as most. I was hoping for more out of this one being an M. Night film and with such a unique story. I give it a 6.5/10

Oppenheimer

“Oppenheimer” is a 2023 Biography/Drama about the father of the atomic bomb J. Robert Oppenheimer. It has an impressive cast starring Cillian Murphy (Peaky Blinders), Emily Blunt (A Quiet Place), Robert Downey Jr., (Iron Man), Matt Damon (Downsizing), David Krumholtz (The Santa Clause), Josh Hartnett (The Faculty), and Dylan Arnold (You).

I feel this is one of those films you’re either going to love it or hate it with zero in between. If you like nonstop action, then this movie is not for you. It’s a three-hour movie, mostly about the process in Los Alamos, the development of the bomb, then later on in Oppenheimer’s life when he was trying to keep his security clearance. So, if you don’t like history, I don’t think you’ll enjoy it. I however, loved it. The timeline wasn’t linear it jumped between the actual process of building the bomb and Oppenheimer going through a trial process for his security clearance. Even though the movie is three hours, it doesn’t feel it. The acting is phenomenal on all fronts especially from Cillian Murphy and Matt Damon. I will be shocked if they don’t at least get nominated for an Oscar for their performance of these roles. Cillian Murphy is such a great actor, and his portrayal of Oppenheimer may be his best role yet. I feel this is a must-see movie. I give it a 10/10.

Wrath of Man

‘Wrath of Man’ is 2021 action/thriller starring Jason Statham (The Transporter), Holt McCallany (Mindhunter), Josh Hartnett (30 Days of Night), Jeffrey Donovan (Burn Notice), Niamh Algar (Raised by Wolves), Babs Olusanmokun (Black Mirror), and Post Malone.

A Mafia boss’s son is killed in an armored car heist by being at the wrong place at the wrong time. The mafia boss finds out it’s an inside job, and poses as a security officer to get a job with the armored car company. He now must figure out who killed his son, and settle the score.

This movie is more of a slow burn than expected of a Statham film. There’s literally zero hand to hand combat, and doesn’t have a ton of action until about the last twenty/thirty minutes. Then there is a huge gun fight scene. I kept waiting for Jason to do his thing but it never happened, if your looking for him to beat up a bunch of people, watch ‘The Transporter’ series, because this one won’t be for you. McCallany plays a great second role to Statham, I really like him in ‘Mindhunter’, and I was happy to see him playing a big role in this film. Post Malone even has a small part in it. Though, there isn’t a lot of action and it is a bit on the slow side, the story is good and the acting is as well. It’s different than what I was expecting but it is still good. Who’s not going to like Statham and McCallany in the same movie? I give it a 7/10