"Strange Darling"

One night stand gone wrong.  

If your mind is still reeling from recalling “Blink Twice," prepare to squirm with “Strange Darling.”  “Blink Twice” makes you challenge reality; “Strange Darling” will make you question assumptions.  These back-to-back, gendered horror thrillers will linger longer in your mind after you leave the theater.  

A man (Kyle Gallner) and a woman (Wilia Fitzgerald) meet at a bar and decide to hook up at a hotel.  The man is simply called the Demon, and the woman the Lady.  Alcohol, cigar and cocaine are involved.  What could go wrong mixing these things and being impaired with a stranger?  Especially if that stranger may be a serial killer.  Fitzgerald is a fierce force and Gallner goes for broke.

“Strange Darling” sounds straightforward... except it's not.  The story is unfurling in six chapters, told out of order.  The opening scenes start with chapter 3, right in the middle.  A bloodied Lady is out on the run and hiding in the woods, hunted by a gun-totting Demon. Scared and screaming, she's able to narrowly escape and runs into a farmhouse in a field, occupied by an elderly couple.  

The story lurches forward a couple chapters, showing the Demon closing in on the Lady in the house,  but then it rewinds to the very beginning before everything happens, and then skipping chapters ahead to show what happens in the house.  Then it regresses and progresses again.  While this non-linear, sectioned storytelling method may look like a gimmick, surprisingly, it's electrifyingly executed that it strangely works on all levels.  

The cinematography is a darling.  Bright pops of red for blood, hair, car, scrub and shoes.  Bathed in neon-lit blue for nighttime rendezvous in the car. 

Slashing and shooting are rapid and sharp.  Violent and vicious, even innocent people fall into victims in this predator-and-prey game.  To tell more would be a disservice; going in blind is best.  

Strangely shocking and deeply deranged, “Strange Darling” sublimely subverts expectations.  The story tantalizingly turns on its bloody head and continues to tensely twist itself, keeping you guessing until the last drop.

"Blink Twice"

From 8/14/2024 press screening:

“Forgetting is a gift.”  

Would you rather forget or remember your trauma?  What if it tortures you with pain and suffering?  Would you rather live a fabulous life but it's fantasy or a life with struggles but is real?  

This thought-provoking theme has been explored before (“Don't Worry Darling,” “Shutter Island,” “Inception”), but Zoe Kravitz (“Insurgent”), in her daring directorial debut, proves that nothing is off limits.  And if you blink too often, you'll miss the clues in “Blink Twice.”  

Tech tycoon Slater King (Channing Tatum; “Fly Me to the Moon,” “Hail Caesar!”)  blitz the news with apologies for his abuse of power for non-specified wrongdoing.  He tells the word that he's sorry and in therapy, and will be taking a leave of absence, jetting off to his private island.  

Frida (Naomi Ackie), is a cocktail waitress with a crush toward Slater, despite of his transgressions.  She realizes how fortunate she is to run into and rub elbow with Slater at a glamorous gala for the King Tech Foundation.  They hit it off when Frida has a mishap at the gala.  Frida feels like floating in paradise when Slater invites her and her friend, Jess (Alia Shawkat) to join him in his private island, along with select guests.  Sarah (Adria Arjona, “Hit Man”) is one of the female guests, who later will befriend Frida.  

The tropical island is every bit of paradise.  Private and secluded, where sunny days and dark nights blend in endless vacations.  Immaculate all-white linens and flowing attires are provided, along with pleasant perfumes.  Picture-perfect pools, pretentious parties, boundless booze, copious cigars, dazzling drugs, marvelous meals, and decadent dinners with a sea of candlelights.  Frida doesn't want this to ever end – even with voluntarily confiscated cellphone and no connection to the outside world.  

Everyone's living the dream.  Or are they?  There's something off about the island.  Groundskeepers seem to be all mute, except for an elderly lady, who creepily keeps mouthing off a specific phrase to Frida, which may or may not have something do with slithering snakes.  There's also a secret cottage that is closed for guests, although Frida can't help but snoops in.  

Strange occurrences begin to happen, culminating in Jess' disappearance.  Even far stranger, no other guests remember Jess.  Frida couldn't remember how she got dirt under her fingernails. Sarah doesn't know a bruise appeared on her arm.  They seem to have memory gaps and couldn't remember events.

If the vibe felt off before, it's ominous now.  Underscored by a sinister score, spectacular turns into scary, particularly when they are cut off from the rest of the world.   As far as who, what, when, why and how, these are best left untold.  Ferocious fear and rampaging rage take over.  Plot holes aside, venomous revelations and vicious revenges are best served cold.  And the endmost vengeance is ghastly tied with a gold bow fit for a king.  

“Knives Out: Glass Onion” meets “The Menu” and “Ready or Not,” “Blink Twice” is not for the meek of heart.  Brutally disturbing; the macabre factor is off the charts.  

Devilishly twisted psychological thriller with malevolent machinations, mind-blowing mind games and merciless manipulations.  “Blink Twice” is savagely entertaining.   

FREE Movie Screening: "City of Dreams" (San Diego, CA)

FREE movie screening of "City of Dreams," if you're in the greater San Diego area:

August 27, 2024 - 7:30 p.m.

AMC Mission Valley

Get your FREE movie passes here: (have your pass ready at the door, click below)

https://gofobo.com/screenings/movie_landing/NDVXVXd1b2R1Sg%3D%3D//

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Inspired by true events, City of Dreams follows Jesús, a young Mexican boy whose dreams of becoming a soccer star are shattered when he’s trafficked across the border and sold to a sweatshop making fast fashion in downtown Los Angeles. Thrust into a world of exploitation and despair; he’s forced to adhere to the grueling work schedule dictated by El Jefe, a boss who promises freedom for those who complete their quotas. Despite Jesus’s hellish existence, he finds solace in Elena, a girl who was similarly betrayed and sold into slavery. When she goes missing and another co-worker Carlito’s is severely beaten, Jesus realizes that his only hope for freedom is to make a daring escape.

FREE Movie Screening: "It Ends with Us" (San Diego, CA)

In partnership with Sony Pictures Studios, FREE movie screening, if you're in the greater San Diego area:

August 6, 2024 - 7 p.m.

Regal Mira Mesa

Get your FREE movie passes here: (VERY limited availability; 1 pass = 2 people)

(have your pass ready at the door, click below)

Redemption code: MOVIEMAVENIEWU (case-sensitive)

https://events.sonypictures.com/screenings/unsecured/main/screeningInfo.jsf?code=MOVIEMAVENIEWU

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"It Ends with Us," the first Colleen Hoover novel adapted for the big screen, tells the compelling story of Lily Bloom (Blake Lively), a woman who overcomes a traumatic childhood to embark on a new life in Boston and chase a lifelong dream of opening her own business. A chance meeting with charming neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid (Justin Baldoni) sparks an intense connection, but as the two fall deeply in love, Lily begins to see sides of Ryle that remind her of her parents relationship. When Lilys first love, Atlas Corrigan (Brandon Sklenar), suddenly reenters her life, her relationship with Ryle is upended, and Lily realizes she must learn to rely on her own strength to make an impossible choice for her future.

Free Movie Screening: "Didi" (San Diego, CA)

In partnership with Focus Features, FREE movie screening, if you're in the greater San Diego area:

August 5, 2024 - 7 p.m.

Regal Mira Mesa

Get your FREE movie passes here: (1 pass = 2 people)

(have your pass ready at the door, click below)

Redemption code: DIDIMovieMaven (case-sensitive)

https://focusfeaturesscreenings.com/movie_landing/RElESU1vdmllTWF2ZW4%3D

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During the last month of summer before high school begins, an impressionable 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy learns what his family can’t teach him: how to skate, how to flirt, and how to love your mom.