Dirt Stupid Movies Hooooo...
Misconduct has handsome, noirish cinematography, a ridiculously high profile cast for the type of movie it is (Pacino, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Julia Stiles, and Byung Hun Lee shows up jussst long enough to thoroughly outclass actual lead of the film Josh Duhamel in terms of screen presence), and a mystery/thriller plot that's barely coherent much less sensical. Also, the performances are all over the map, even from its nominally overachieving cast (cripes Al, that's your worst accent yet). Out of all the people listed weirdly enough its the undistinguished Alice Eve that somehow manages to play a convincing character of some sort (although Hopkins is clearly at least enjoying his inconsistent character). Its schlocky, inept, leaden and somewhat compelling to watch in a train-wreck sort of fashion. But give it the casting a production values it actually deserves (2nd-tier rural High School Drama Club on a 90's Lifetime TV movie budget) and it wouldn't hold much interest.
Poor Keanu Reeves really tries awfully damn hard to stretch himself in Replicas, he's actually sorta okay in it, so is Alice Eve (again, jeez! Get a new agent) as his wife, but its a dumb movie that's trying (and falling waaaaaay short) to be a smart science fiction thriller. Its a sub Twilight Zone (the 2000's version specifically) scenario wherein a grieving scientist attempts to mad science his dead family back to life. Going through the mechanics of monitoring a clone pod and such is actually a bit of goofy fun. But for a film with nearly thirty listed producer credits, it somehow comes out undercooked. It does make Puerto Rico look awfully darn nice tho. They can use the boost.
TVC and his excellent taste in trash cinema made me take another look at Escape Room, which I ended up liking a lot more than I thought I was going to. Its the PG-13 remake of Cube I never knew I wanted. Its refreshingly light on exposition, and the scant character development is sewn throughout by the actions that they take. Its a sturdier storytelling device than it initially appears to be. So its a somewhat clever film with a dopey premise. Its no masterpiece, but its the rare studio made teenager aiming horror/thriller that doesn't disappoint. Hell, I can honestly say I enjoyed it more than the nominated-for-4-Oscars-Green Book.
