By Adann-Kennn J. Alexxandar

“Love Hurts” (Action/Comedy: 1 hour, 23 minutes)

Starring: Ke Huy Quan, Ariana DeBose, Mustafa Shakir, Cam Gigandet and Daniel Wu

Director: Jonathan Eusebio

Rated: R (Strong bloody violence and strong language)

Movie Review:

“Love Hurts” lives up to its name. Multiple people are assaulted during fights or killed in this movie that stars Academy Award recipients Ke Huy Quan and Ariana DeBose as antiheroes. It is another comical hitman movie that inspires little laughs from undeveloped characters while being heavy on action.

Marvin Gable (Quan of “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” 2022) is a ttop real-estate agent and is a former assassin for his mob boss brother Alvin ‘Knuckles’ Gable (Wu). Rose Carlisle (DeBose of “West Side Story,” 2021), Knuckles’ thought-to-be-dead former lieutenant, has returned. Marvin was supposed to kill Rose but decided to let her go out of an act of compassion and love. Rose returns to the city to avenge those who framed her, but she needs Marvin’s help. Their task will not be easy as multiple hitmen are trying to assassinate them.

“Love Hurts” has a straightforward story that never fully develops. This is because characters are not explored enough to care about them. Only two characters have an interesting chemistry here. They are poetic lovers, hitman The Raven and Marvin’s secretary Ashley, played respectively by Mustafa Shakir and Lio Tipton.

“Love Hurts” is all brawn and little brain. Despite its likable cast, difficulty exists in showing this movie some love.

Grade: C- (Ouch!)

 

“Heart Eyes” (Slasher Horror/Romantic Comedy: 1 hour, 37 minutes)

Starring: Olivia Holt, Mason Gooding and Jordana Brewster

Director: Josh Ruben

Rated: R (Strong violence and gore, strong language and some sexual content.)

Movie Review:

“Heart Eyes” appears to be  a rip-off of the “Scream” franchise. The movies share the same producers. The movie creates a good timely premise, yet it fails to hold one’s attention with a compelling execution. Sure, it entertains, yet it never reaches an apex of superior entertainment. Even more, the plot makes no sense when you consider the killers move around very quickly to have full-time jobs. However, slashers rarely make sense. This one has a stereotypical romance also, although Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding are an attractive couple.

The Heart Eyes Killer, known as HKE, has been killing couples on Valentine’s Day across the United States in several cities that include Boston, Philadelphia, and now Seattle. The killer’s latest targets include star-crossed lovers Ally McCabe (Holt) and Jason Simmons (Gooding). They are work colleagues and not a couple, but the audience can see their future coupling is all but certain. HKE targets them despite the fact they keep telling the killer that they are not a couple. Soon, they find their only option is to fight the attacker.

Throughout this movie, the question remains where are the police when a killer kills people for nearly 15 minutes in a drive-in movie theater? Real-world implications make this movie unconvincing. That is just one concept that does not make sense in this movie. “Heart Eyes” tries to be slick, but it is not smart enough to execute any form of originality.

Again, slasher movies rarely combine slasher plots with intellect, so audiences’ best expectation is just to enjoy the thrills. Director Josh Ruben (“Scare Me,” 2020) and his team impress with jump-scare fright scenes.

Grade: C+ (Entertains but does not inspire a romantic getaway on Valentine’s Day.)

 

“Bring Them Down” (Drama/Thriller: 1 hour, 46 minutes)

Starring: Christopher Abbott, Barry Keoghan and Colm Meaney

Director: Chris Andrews

Rated: R (Strong language, violent content, some grisly images and brief drug use.)

Movie Review:

Chris Andrews in his directorial debut pens an excellent screenplay of a rough Irish rural life. Told from the perspective of the two main characters, the movie slowly weaves together their perspectives of similar occurrences to create a solid conclusion.

Michael O’Shea (Abbott) is the son of an Irish shepherding family. He and his ailing father Ray (Meaney) are drawn into a conflict with rival farmer Gary (Paul Ready) and his son Jack (Keoghan). As the conflict between the families escalates, Michael is forced to confront an event from his past.

This movie is told from Michael and Jack’s perspectives. Christopher Abbott (“It Comes at Night,” 2017, and this year’s “Wolf Man”) and Oscar-nominee Barry Keoghan (“Saltburn,” 2023; “The Banshees of Inisherin,” 2022) play those two men. Thus, it is rendered twice. Each man’s account adds new elements to complete a narrative.

The cast delivers solid acting. Abbott and Keoghan deliver provocative personas. Their characters garner sympathy for their actions, even when their actions are less than honorable. Colm Meaney, Nora-Jane Noone and Paul Ready join to create a thrilling drama with a mystery embedded.

Chris Andrews configures a slow-moving narrative in “Bring Them Down.” He takes time to develop characters and the plot. Although the film noir presentation requires one’s full attention, the result is worth the wait.

Grade: B+ (They bring a thumbs-up recommendation.)

 

“I’m Still Here” (Drama/Biography: 2 hours, 17 minutes)

Starring: Fernanda Torres, Fernanda Montenegro and Selton Mello

Director: Walter Salles

Rated: PG-13 (Thematic content, strong language, drug use and nudity)

Movie Review:

An account by author Marcelo Rubens Paiva through his mother Eunice Paiva’s perspective is the basis for this engaging docudrama. “I’m Still Here” is a gripping tale. It relies on the superb acting of Fernanda Torres

A family is devastated after agents of a military dictatorship in 1971’s Brazil take their patriarch, former Congressman Rubens Paiva (Mello). He lost his political position years earlier after a Brazilian coup d’etat that overthrew President João Goulart and formed a military junta. Eunice (Torres) is forced to reinvent her life while trying to take care of her family. Simultaneously, she constantly seeks justice for her husband Rubens, an effort that transpires over 25 years.

Fernanda Torres is a marvelous actress. This movie thrives because of her excellent portrayal of Eunice Paiva. This photoplay is not her first with this tumultuous period of Brazil under a military regime. She also starred with Alan Arkin in “Four Days in September” (Director Bruno Barreto, 1997). That film and “I’m Still Here” are based on actual events. Torres brings a sense of urgency as a mother trying to protect her four daughters and son Marcelo (Guilherme Silveira).

Walter Salles is the director the award-winning drama “Central Station,” 1998, which paired the director with actress Fernanda Montenegro who stars as the older Eunice Paiva in “I’m Still Here.” She is Torres’ real-life mother.

Salles and his teams create a genuine feel for the period. The mise-en-scène is superior. They make good use of every setting to facilitate the story thanks to the cinematography by Adrian Teijido (“The Clown,” 2012). This includes the Paiva’s house, internally and externally, and inside automobiles.

Hats off to these moviemakers for creating a splendid retelling of Brazilian lawyer and activist Maria Lucrécia Eunice Facciolla Paiva’s struggles against a military dictatorship. Her dedication to her husband, family and justice is a worthy screenplay.

Grade: A- (Still a resounding chronicle of determination.)