Post by Dracula on Aug 30, 2022 19:41:37 GMT -5
Spiderhead(8/13/2022)
It’s really amazing how much I like Chris Hemsworth in the Thor movies compared to how much I dislike him in everything else. The guy is to pretty to convincingly play tough and grizzled and to buff to really convincingly play an egghead, which is a big part of why he’s rather unsuited to his latest film Spiderhead. In the film he plays a sort of mad scientist who’s been allowed to use a special prison to test out a mind control pharmaceutical on the prisoners. That could easily be the basis for a lurid exploitation B-movie but this movie shoots more for the tone of science fiction cautionary tale along the lines of “Black Mirror,” which I’m not entirely sure really fits it. The film has this ultramodern aesthetic but the science fiction themes it explores are not terribly cutting edge. In fact if you had told me it was based on some Harlan Ellison short story from the 70s, when testing drugs on unsuspecting participants was a hot topic, I would have believed you. In fact I do find it kind of amusing that so many Netflix projects seem to be inspired by MKUltra. Anyway, the film was directed by Top Gun: Maverick “auteur” Joseph Kosinski and is a good reminder of how much of a mediocre talent he is when not somehow given access to a fleet of military aircraft. There are some aspects of the film which aren’t too bad; it’s got a nice soundtrack and the base story is at least good enough to keep your attention, but it definitely feels like a movie that was made knowing it would end up being dumped on streaming and largely aspires to mediocrity.
**1/2 out of Five
It’s really amazing how much I like Chris Hemsworth in the Thor movies compared to how much I dislike him in everything else. The guy is to pretty to convincingly play tough and grizzled and to buff to really convincingly play an egghead, which is a big part of why he’s rather unsuited to his latest film Spiderhead. In the film he plays a sort of mad scientist who’s been allowed to use a special prison to test out a mind control pharmaceutical on the prisoners. That could easily be the basis for a lurid exploitation B-movie but this movie shoots more for the tone of science fiction cautionary tale along the lines of “Black Mirror,” which I’m not entirely sure really fits it. The film has this ultramodern aesthetic but the science fiction themes it explores are not terribly cutting edge. In fact if you had told me it was based on some Harlan Ellison short story from the 70s, when testing drugs on unsuspecting participants was a hot topic, I would have believed you. In fact I do find it kind of amusing that so many Netflix projects seem to be inspired by MKUltra. Anyway, the film was directed by Top Gun: Maverick “auteur” Joseph Kosinski and is a good reminder of how much of a mediocre talent he is when not somehow given access to a fleet of military aircraft. There are some aspects of the film which aren’t too bad; it’s got a nice soundtrack and the base story is at least good enough to keep your attention, but it definitely feels like a movie that was made knowing it would end up being dumped on streaming and largely aspires to mediocrity.
**1/2 out of Five
