"Cleaner"

What would a former soldier-turned-window cleaner, trapped on a skyscraper cradle, do when witnessing murderous terrorists holding hundreds of people hostage inside the building?

That's the simple premise of "Cleaner," led by Daisy Ridley ("Murder on the Orient Express") and Clive Owen ("The American").  Ridley carries the picture "Die Hard" style, while Owen is obtusely wasted in his role.  

A band of environmental extremists is doing a hostile takeover of an energy company gala celebrating its success, while camouflaging its dark dealings and darker life-changing consequences.  The eco-terrorists are forcing out crime confessions of the frightened key players and broadcasting them out to the world.  There's infighting among who's in charge of the operations, and it's a ruthless numbers game when it comes to who's left alive or end up dead and how and the total body counts.  

Not only is Joey's life hanging in the balance - literally in the air - she has to find a way to alert the authorities with no means of communication, convince the authorities she's not one of the bad guys, get inside the building from the sides of the skyscraper, fight off said bad guys and survive, and save the explosive-strapped hostages.  

It's a straightforward story, although not without a kink or two or suspension of disbelief.  An initial confrontation between Joey and the terrorist group's leader would have more an impact with a buildup story.  Soap, fire, gun and grenade are deployed, along with hide-and-seek, hand-to-hand combat.  

I received a screener link over a week ago and watched the movie through my small laptop screen with a relatively weak sound (even with the volume turned all the way up).  It would be a stronger viewing experience seeing it at the theater or even with a large television screen and strong sound.  

"Cleaner" is a generic action thriller executed well with edge-of-your seat and do or die moments.  

2025: Year of Blockbusters

This year will be the year of blockbusters!  Check out the top 25 most anticipated movies in 2025 - filled with spies and superheroes, adventures and thrills, mystery and magic.  

List & synopsis: https://screenrant.com/most-anticipated-movies-2025/

Trailers compilation:

"Paddington in Peru"

Breathtaking scenery (real-life, lush Machu Picchu)   Cute, sweet, poignant, delightful...  Fun family misadventures , Indiana Jones-like , filled with mystery and intrigue., tracing back to the origin of Paddington.  If you haven't seen Paddington  movies (2014 & 2017), highly recommended to stream.  Very British, one of the best series of all time!  Gentle and good-natured, endearingly hilarious.  The 2017 one is a riotous Mission Impossible heist  (starring nefarious Hugh Grant).

"Companion"

A remote lakehouse getaway gone wrong.  

If you've only seen the first trailer of “Companion” a few months ago and not the second one that was released about a week ago, as well as reading the description of the movie, be forewarned that this review assumes you know the first major twist shown early on publicly in the latter. 

I did see the description and second trailer prior to seeing the movie, and it didn't take away my viewing experience, as there are multiple, unpredictable twists, but your mileage may vary.  Because this particular reveal is integral to the story, it's not possible to write a review without it.  Turn back now or forever hold your peace...

“Companion” begins with a supermarket meet-cute.  Girl (Sophie Thatcher, “Heretic”) meets boy (Jack Quaid) in a supermarket aisle.  Iris and Josh fall in love at first sight, and next thing we know, they're in a relationship and driving to a remote lakehouse for a getaway, at the invite of Josh's friend, Kat (Megan Sun).  

The luxury lakehouse belongs to Kat's wealthy boyfriend, Sergey (Rupert Friend).  Joining the quartet are their mutual friend, Eli (Harvey Guillen) and his longtime boyfriend, Patrick (Lukas Gage).  Kat knows where she stands, as a mistress to a magnate who may not be on the up and up.  

Iris has met Kat prior to the trip and could sense that Kat doesn't really like her, although she couldn't put her finger on it. Sergey also makes a few off comments, which adds to Iris' uneasiness, but she keeps her smile on to keep Josh happy.  Kat admits that she's a bit insecure around the porcelain-pretty Iris, even though Iris thinks of Kat highly.  

After a violent confrontation between Sergey and Iris, a blood-soaked Iris freaks out Josh, Kat, Eli and Patrick, and they have to decide what to do next.  This is when Iris realizes that something is terribly wrong.  Iris startlingly finds out that she is a robot, a humanoid owned by Josh to be his companion, functioning like a human girlfriend.  

Once a love link is established, Iris is programmed to be devoted to Josh's every need, want and desire.  Her memories about her life have been implanted.  Bewildered, Iris doesn't believe Josh at first, until Josh shows how he can control Iris through an app on his  phone.  Her eye color, voice, language, intelligence and aggression level.  

Thatcher brings humanity home here, displaying Iris' palpable and deep emotions that look and feel real.  Hurt, pain, anger, sadness, crushed.  Quaid shifts seamlessly from a dorky guy-next-door to misogynistic manipulator, who will cold-bloodedly stop at nothing and no one to keep his destructive secrets.  

Knowing that Iris has consciousness, you think you might be able to predict what happens next, as Iris tries to gain control to outmaneuver Josh's power over her.  You' d be wrong.  The surprises and shocks keep coming; from why they are really at the lakehouse to the discombobulated dynamics among the friends, which lead to a bloody spiral out of control. 

Now that we live in the age of artificial intelligence, it doesn't seem to be a distant science fiction to ponder what if androids gain self-awareness and existential identity, and evolve to the point that they independently gain a mind of their own and feel real emotions like human beings.  

Topsy-turvy chain of events unfold with an unhinged edge and dark comedic tone, which make the movie enjoyable to watch, despite the macabre nature.  The twists are well-constructed and unexpected.  

Think about mystery thrillers that shocked you. “Oldboy,” “The Gift,” “Ex-Machina,” “Don't Worry Darling," and last year's “Blink Twice” and “Strange Darling." Prepare to go on a wickedly wild ride with “Companion.”