Hank Rausch – Google

"I am only gonna say this once". "It's gonna be rough". "You have to do every thing I say". " If I find that you have (taken off your blindfold), I will hurt you". "If you (disobey), you will die". "Do you understand?" This is the first two minutes of the movie and I laughed out loud while watching, having uttered the exact warnings, many times, in the course of raising four children. This movie is quite a Rorschach test, with attributions of its meaning to racism, motherhood, and social media. But I personally think it's a paen to the lost institution of fatherhood. Fathers get short shrift in today's culture. They are largely considered a lifestyle choice. The fact remains that every single social pathology---dropping out of school, unwed pregnancy, drug use, criminality, diminished expectations--is correlated with lack of a father in a child's life. Sandra Bullock is a father, not a mother, to the children she refers to as "Boy" and "Girl". Aliens, or maybe a biological weapon attack the world, and she keeps those kids alive not by mothering them but by becoming the father to Tom's (Trevante Rhodes) maternal, ineffectual stories and anodyne assurances. I loved this movie. At its simplest it is a rollicking good horror flick, but at a deeper level it is a tribute to the importance of traditional masculine values. Even when personified by America's sweetheart, Sandra Bullock.

The aspect of this movie that struck me the most is that all three characters are right, from their point of view. Jean de Carrouges is brutish, impulsive, and loyal. From his point of view, he has no choice but to challenge Le Gris to a duel. He has already made up with him for perceived slights, but the rape of his wife leaves him no choice, in his mind. The thing that struck me the most about the rape scene is that the physical scene itself is identical in Le Gris's and Marguerite's telling, but perceived very differently. In Le Gris's mind it is consensual. The audience is steered towards feeling the most sympathy to Marguerite, certainly in accord with current sensibilities. Not so in the 14th century, what she did was neglect and irresponsibility akin to leaving an infant in a heated car, today. So all three characters are flawed and human, but not very sympathetic. It makes for great watching. There are no heroes like Scott gave us in Aliens and Gladiator, but we are living in a post-hero world.

I enjoyed this and it was a great "popcorn flick". Not sure is was wise to kill off Bond, where do we go from here? Maybe it is symbolic, there is no room in our world for a James Bond anymore, he is too macho and misogynistic for today's uber-sensitive folk. There were a few inconsistencies that were irksome. Why exactly does the Remi Malik character want fo kill the world? And why did Bond not disable the mechanism after he opened the blast doors? He had a watch that could have done it for him! The movie doesn't bear alot of reflection but it is fun.

This movie stayed on my mind long after watching it. It operates at two levels. It is a straightforward horror/ sci fi tale that is readily understood and intriguing itself. On top of that it is a commentary on the dehumanizing aspects of suburban/consumer culture. I found it thought provoking and a cut above the standard formula cinema fare. Well worth your time, if you like your thoughts provoked!

I think a prequel is much harder to cast and act than a sequel, as the audience has expectations about the characters that are harder to live up to. So that was one of the great things about this movie, the actors of Young Paulie, younger Silvio, really confirm to how you would expect. The movie feels like a 3 part episode sequence of Sopranos, focussed on Dickie et al. Worth watching, not Goodfellas, but that's a high bar!

I think this is a must-see movie for men of a certain age--old enough to have children and a career but young enough not to have squandered their time with a family in lieu of their career. Several themes in this movie but the main theme is there really is not a do-over for some things. Earl finds that all the drug money he can earn will not bring back the time he could have had with his family.i found it entertaining and thought-provoking.