Dramas/Thrillers, the lifeblood of the very world of entertainment. It's within this genre that one finds some of the darkest tales, plunging into the fathoms of imagination that most dread to step into. Yet, this genre sometimes gets a little too broad in spectrum, and tends to go to extremes that leaves the plots a little grandiose and run of the mill. Hi Robbie K back with another review on the latest movie to hit the silver screen, hoping to shed some light and help you pick your movie poison. I take a look at:
Movie: The Intruder (2019)
Director: Deon Taylor Writer: David Loughery Stars: Meagan Good, Dennis Quaid, Michael Ealy
LIKES:
Soundtrack Good Acting Creepy Character Development Beautiful Setting in many ways Decent Evolution of Suspense Character Centric Story:
Summary:
The soundtrack might be a rough way to open the review, but The Intruder is all about bringing cultures to the tale and part of that is music. A fantastic selection of modern-day styles that represent the culture, the movie integrates the tracks into key scenes that sort of add ambience to the typical genre shots (making love and driving cars). This added layer though is only a glazing to the acting that brings the characters to life on hand. Meagan Good is well good at her work taking a common role and in some ways refreshing it to make it interesting, engaging and compassionate that you feel for the character. Michael Ealy dives a little more into the extreme role of hotheaded decisions and emotional moments that makes fans love the genre. Yet it's Dennis Quaid who I think gets the nod for his performance in this movie. His character is creepy, and he executes all the mannerisms and delivery needed to craft a thriller villain. The smile that shows innocence yet insanity, the subtle laughs that get under your skin as they denote the edge about to be reached, and even more the temper that comes when these people do not get their way. It's fantastic development that greatly spans the movie, taking months to achieve instead of days and seeing that evolution. That is the making of a good casting for this genre for me. But the characters need a setting to play in and The Intruder's playground is one that is both aesthetically beautiful and haunting at the same time. Again representing the themes of old vs. new, the house known as Foxglove holds stunning engineering work that ropes the modern society in, primarily for stunning view, gorgeous décor, and the atmosphere it brings. Yet, the open floors, beautiful antiquated halls, and the multilevel house offers many shadows, sounds and ambiguity to get the tension going and drop the comfort level way down. In utilizing the characters, spreading the development over the story and utilizing such a playground, the Intruder is able to make an engaging level of suspense that keeps you into the series, much like a mini-series does. Throw in the focus on characters and not scares, and again you begin to see a tale that finds its pace and keeps you interested in characters who extend past the one-dimensional outlook these characters often have.
DISLIKES:
Predictable Trailers ruin much So Much More Potential Some Character balancing Not the Most Intense ending Still Idiotic Decisions
SUMMARY: Despite the good this movie accomplished, it still falls victim to some of the trademarks that come with the Soap Opera like approach. It's predictable, with many of the "surprising" components deduced a mile away based on the cliché plot points they love to tell. In regards to this movie, the two trailers I have seen give away much of the film and in seeing that you can piece together much of what will happen way before you get to the scene. This predictability is a shame because the potential they were building was set to be a potential memorable moment in the drama/thriller history, primarily in some more tactics Quaid's character could do and in the climactic chase to be had. But again this movie failed to deliver on that promise by sort of short sighting the ending. Instead of thrilling games of survival in the very house they chose, the last bout is a bit more boasting and brutish combat that ends rather quickly and unimpressively. That simplicity is emotionally fulfilling in the sense of justice, but given how they were building on two of the characters, I had hoped for a little more fulfillment in this final scene. The other component that would have been nice, as agreed by at least two of my audience members comments, the smart characters we were seeing were quite idiotic in their approach. Despite all the things available at their hands, the "stress" of the moment appeared to have robbed them of their brains to achieve the goal they were looking for. It won't bother many, but for this reviewer it takes away from the character work they had done in this story.
The VERDICT:
Better than I had anticipated, the Intruder manages to turn back the drama/thriller to an age of character focus instead of scares. Quaid in particular manages to take a simple role and craft it into a villain that you get hooked on watching, while his "prey" are characters with more dimensions and personality proving they aren't just meant for knife and ax fodder. Utilizing the setting and characters well, it's the drama that comes closer to balance than many of the films I review. Yet, the full potential of the characters was not quite reached for this reviewer, falling victim to predictable plots, time restraints, and an ending that again is cliché and more attuned to those wanting to lead with their hearts than heads. Still all in all, it's a movie that at least shows potential for future movies of this category to have a chance at story telling. Worth a trip to the theater? My opinion is no, as this is still a Lifetime film pumped up on budget, but check it out at home viewing.
My scores: Drama/Horror/Mystery: 7.0 Movie Overall: 6.0
Movie: The Intruder (2019)
Director: Deon Taylor Writer: David Loughery Stars: Meagan Good, Dennis Quaid, Michael Ealy
LIKES:
Soundtrack Good Acting Creepy Character Development Beautiful Setting in many ways Decent Evolution of Suspense Character Centric Story:
Summary:
The soundtrack might be a rough way to open the review, but The Intruder is all about bringing cultures to the tale and part of that is music. A fantastic selection of modern-day styles that represent the culture, the movie integrates the tracks into key scenes that sort of add ambience to the typical genre shots (making love and driving cars). This added layer though is only a glazing to the acting that brings the characters to life on hand. Meagan Good is well good at her work taking a common role and in some ways refreshing it to make it interesting, engaging and compassionate that you feel for the character. Michael Ealy dives a little more into the extreme role of hotheaded decisions and emotional moments that makes fans love the genre. Yet it's Dennis Quaid who I think gets the nod for his performance in this movie. His character is creepy, and he executes all the mannerisms and delivery needed to craft a thriller villain. The smile that shows innocence yet insanity, the subtle laughs that get under your skin as they denote the edge about to be reached, and even more the temper that comes when these people do not get their way. It's fantastic development that greatly spans the movie, taking months to achieve instead of days and seeing that evolution. That is the making of a good casting for this genre for me. But the characters need a setting to play in and The Intruder's playground is one that is both aesthetically beautiful and haunting at the same time. Again representing the themes of old vs. new, the house known as Foxglove holds stunning engineering work that ropes the modern society in, primarily for stunning view, gorgeous décor, and the atmosphere it brings. Yet, the open floors, beautiful antiquated halls, and the multilevel house offers many shadows, sounds and ambiguity to get the tension going and drop the comfort level way down. In utilizing the characters, spreading the development over the story and utilizing such a playground, the Intruder is able to make an engaging level of suspense that keeps you into the series, much like a mini-series does. Throw in the focus on characters and not scares, and again you begin to see a tale that finds its pace and keeps you interested in characters who extend past the one-dimensional outlook these characters often have.
DISLIKES:
Predictable Trailers ruin much So Much More Potential Some Character balancing Not the Most Intense ending Still Idiotic Decisions
SUMMARY: Despite the good this movie accomplished, it still falls victim to some of the trademarks that come with the Soap Opera like approach. It's predictable, with many of the "surprising" components deduced a mile away based on the cliché plot points they love to tell. In regards to this movie, the two trailers I have seen give away much of the film and in seeing that you can piece together much of what will happen way before you get to the scene. This predictability is a shame because the potential they were building was set to be a potential memorable moment in the drama/thriller history, primarily in some more tactics Quaid's character could do and in the climactic chase to be had. But again this movie failed to deliver on that promise by sort of short sighting the ending. Instead of thrilling games of survival in the very house they chose, the last bout is a bit more boasting and brutish combat that ends rather quickly and unimpressively. That simplicity is emotionally fulfilling in the sense of justice, but given how they were building on two of the characters, I had hoped for a little more fulfillment in this final scene. The other component that would have been nice, as agreed by at least two of my audience members comments, the smart characters we were seeing were quite idiotic in their approach. Despite all the things available at their hands, the "stress" of the moment appeared to have robbed them of their brains to achieve the goal they were looking for. It won't bother many, but for this reviewer it takes away from the character work they had done in this story.
The VERDICT:
Better than I had anticipated, the Intruder manages to turn back the drama/thriller to an age of character focus instead of scares. Quaid in particular manages to take a simple role and craft it into a villain that you get hooked on watching, while his "prey" are characters with more dimensions and personality proving they aren't just meant for knife and ax fodder. Utilizing the setting and characters well, it's the drama that comes closer to balance than many of the films I review. Yet, the full potential of the characters was not quite reached for this reviewer, falling victim to predictable plots, time restraints, and an ending that again is cliché and more attuned to those wanting to lead with their hearts than heads. Still all in all, it's a movie that at least shows potential for future movies of this category to have a chance at story telling. Worth a trip to the theater? My opinion is no, as this is still a Lifetime film pumped up on budget, but check it out at home viewing.
My scores: Drama/Horror/Mystery: 7.0 Movie Overall: 6.0