Dallas Fisher

    Tag: fantastic-four

    • Night Always Comes

      First things first, I’ll never relate to anything more than what Vanessa Kirby chooses to go through to protect Zach Gottsagen. He deserves peace and the world.

      After (what I thought was one of the better thrillers of 2023) Sharper, director Benjamin Caron is back with Night Always Comes. A thriller with a fitting name with even deeper meaning. Caron brings the anxiety in a way that I haven’t felt since Uncut Gems, and Vanessa Kirby is the perfect continuous vehicle to feel it through. Her on screen presence is always a welcome one and her acting at the core is certainly meant for roles like this.

      Getting to know the relationships of these characters was super important for this to work and it certainly does its job. Hitting a little too close to home for some, this movie starts off with a pretty pivotal situation that sets the whole story into motion. It immediately brought anger into my movie watching heart and hooked me into the seedy nature of the surrounding characters. It’s kind of scary how good the actors in this movie were at playing dirtbag characters. Not only was Jennifer Jason-Leigh perfect for this role, I think it’s the type of character she will inevitably fall back into for the rest of her career.

      Night Always Comes slowly slips into more and more sinister situations as the night goes on. There is a lot of risk at the characters hands, but in the end it mostly feels worth it. A ticking clock in the back of your head serves as a reminder of what is at stake and pulls this along swiftly.. The underground Portland vibes are a really nice touch to a film that doesn’t have a whole lot going on, even though it is a decent “one night” movie. The building tension doesn’t fully lead to much but I still found Kirby engaging and capable of playing the part.

      Elements of horror, fear, loss, and regret grace the screen in this solid effort that shows how tough life can be. I do wish there was more finesse to the direction and more of an expensive story as not too much will stay in my memory. I will circle back and say Zach Gottsagen is quite honestly a delight and I’m glad we got to see more of him. This makes for an easy at home watch but I can’t escape the feeling it could have used something to level it up.

      Night Always Comes is streaming on Netflix at www.netflix.com/nightalwayscomes

      6.6/10

    • The Fantastic Four: First Steps

      One small step for Marvel, one decent leap for The Fantastic Four.

      It’s getting harder to talk about middle of the road Marvel movies because, in a vacuum, this movie is entertaining from the jump. Watching these characters, in their beautiful, blue uniforms, was such a delight. It made me laugh and feel like a kid again. It has the feeling of a classic episode of TV and the concise retro vibes that suck you in, until it doesn’t.

      The First Family gets to show off what makes them a family with internal and varying outside conflicts. Their dynamics are special from a comic perspective, and I think they did pretty well at making everything real and obvious. Joseph Quinn finally stands out as The Human Torch and maybe it’s just the nature of his character, but he’s the only one that seemed to have any personality. Ebon Moss-Bachrach as The Thing was missing the gravel needed for his character, and that’s all I have on him. Sue and Reed as the priority focus felt a bit lost because like I said, it mainly worked as a one off episode, but its sights should have been a lot higher if we’re rushing forward.

      I don’t want to get into too much detail, but having to speed through everything to make sure this fit into the MCU was a major flaw. Exposition instead of a few movies to really get to know these characters makes things feel lesser and unearned. The only reason for having any pull towards anyone is just because of their presence as characters themselves.

      Marvel has a problem lately at creating new universes within itself and introducing new characters that will be forgotten about until their next Endgame. I know we’re getting most of these introduced here again soon which has my curiosity peaked, but doesn’t leave much for hope beyond the surface level. There are no real surprises, and it’s lost a lot of weight when you know the intended outcomes. The impact just isn’t there anymore.

      It more than anything feels like a comic book as much as it can. Not only because of it’s colors, but because of its dialogue and subject matter. I do wish we were able to see more of their powers in use because if you didn’t get the first few minutes of explanation or have any past knowledge, you might not know what each does on an individual level.

      I LOVED Galactus and finding out Ralph Ineson voiced him was just the cherry on top. His presence is the definition of threatening. The wavering around his powers and who or what can stop him, is tiresome, but typical as of late. Silver Surfer being introduced was almost inconsequential, yet needed for a film about the Four. I hope to see more of what Julia Garner can bring to the role.

      Without repeating myself too much, The First Steps has a fabulous throwback feel that will leave you wanting more of this universe without necessarily needing more of the bigger picture. I really wanted to like this more.

      6.6/10