Review by Cole Groth

Every year, America is plagued with dozens of cheap action flicks with a C-list, or previously A-List, actor trudging along for a paycheck. For a good reason, Bruce Willis and Nicholas Cage have tarnished their reputations by appearing in these films. Typically, these directionless films offer little to say or have no heart. While The System bolsters some cheap action and a series of one-note characters, it manages to have a decent message and a solid emotional punch, making it an unusually brilliant film in what would otherwise be bargain bin material.
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The System follows a former Marine and father-turned-criminal, Terry Savage (Tyrese Gibson), a man who gets caught up in a drug bust and is forced to go undercover in prison, revealing the dark world of the private prison system. As he gets further into his sentence, he gets involved in an underground fighting ring, which is enabled by the regulation-less nature of private prisons. The writer/director, Dallas Jackson’s script, makes sure to spotlight the corruption that goes on within these prisons, and it works rather well. Jackson’s decision to film inside a real jail adds to a sense of realism that’s very important in a film like this. There’s not much subtlety to be found within the 97-minute runtime, but sometimes messages like these don’t need to be very subtle.

The main draw for audiences is the action. In the walls of the plain-looking prison lies a dungeon where the inmates meet and bet on a simple fighting match between various prisoners and guards. It’s well-choreographed for the most part and is wildly fun at times, in part to Derrick Hodge’s thumping score and David Conk’s choreography. Each fight is hosted by Joker (Lil Yachty), a deranged man with this Mad Max energy in the way he loves violence. Each punch looks pretty good, but some very bad foley choices undermine the realism. A simple punch will be followed up with a crunch that sounds like somebody’s ribs have just exploded. It’s easy to overlook these poor stylistic choices in the grand scheme of things, but they’re noticeable moments of weak filmmaking. The simple fight sequences are rather well done, but the large-scale, much deadlier action scenes are sloppy and uninteresting. There are far too many films that want extreme action for the sake of entertainment, but it doesn’t make the film that much better.

Terry is fighting for his freedom to see his daughter again, making him a fascinating character to follow. However, Tyrese Gibson’s performance, like other actors, isn’t able to do justice to these theoretically complex characters. Terrence Howard’s performance as a prison veteran is one of the best, but he’s not explored enough to be a fully-fleshed out supporting character. Warden Lucas (Jeremy Piven) suffers from the same problem. He’s not given enough of a story and is a wildly evil man with no real motivations. Piven’s performance accurately reflects the evils of a total psychopath. Still, there’s a missing link drawn by the film’s end because he’s given just enough character development to feel frustratingly undeveloped by the end. Some other characters round out the cast, and they all feel too dull to discuss thoroughly.

There’s a fine line to be drawn between a complex social issue drama and an over-the-top action film, and The System walks this line like a drunkard convincing a cop that they’re sober. It’s sometimes an experience that feels amateur all around, but it has a lot going on that’s impressive. The cinematography is fine, and the editing is fine, but it could be a lot better. One of the best parts about this film was the pacing. It’s a fast, fun, action-driven film with a solid emotional undertone. It importantly focuses on how private prisons are a form of modern slavery and might also satisfy your craving for adrenaline-pumping action.

The System hits theaters on October 28 and VOD on November 4.

Rating: 3/5

Review by Tatiana Miranda

Julia Murat's award-winning film Rule 34 begins with a bang, quite literally. The film derives its name from the online concept that if something exists, there is bound to be a porn version of it. While it's less commentary on the rule itself, the film does play with the duality of situations as they exist in real life and within sexual scenarios. Rule 34, like its namesake, does not hold back in terms of blatant eroticism, opening immediately with shots of cam-girl Simone as she performs for her online audience. It's shocking, and before you know it, it's over, with Simone dressing for her first day of college. 

With the shut of her laptop, she announces that now that she is starting college, she is done with pornography, instead choosing to focus on becoming a public defender for domestic abuse cases. Simone's story is told through vignettes as she attends classes and spends time with her peers, including the occasional video chat with her long-term and similarly sexually liberated friend. Slowly though, through her meetings with physical abuse victims and injuries gained from kickboxing, Simone gains a penchant for pain. ​

In her polyamorous relationship with Coyote and Lucia, she explores this aspect of her sexuality through BDSM and consensual non-consensual scenarios. After a scene between Simone and Lucia reminiscent of the abuse cases Simone is dealing with, she realizes that her fantasies must go beyond her partners to be fulfilled. With a return to her cam-girl ways, Simone goes off the deep end, sharply contrasting her experiences with asphyxiation and sadomasochism with the depictions of domestic abuse that she is meant to condemn. 

Review by Dan Skip Allen

Guillermo Del Toro is a filmmaker who likes to create weird and out-of-the-ordinary types of characters and stories. His early work --Chronos, The Devil's Backbone, and Pan's Labyrinth — are prime examples of this style. His last film Nightmare Alley, was a little more straightforward, though. He gets back to the weird and out-of-the-ordinary stories and characters with the help of some relatively known directors, actors, and writers who have a similar sense of taste in storytelling as Del Toro does in Cabinet of Curiosities.

Cabinet of Curiosities is an anthology series produced and hosted by Guillermo Del Toro. It features eight episodes from various directors, each with a distinct eye for the macabre, including Ana Lily Amirpour, Jennifer Kent, and Cathrine Hardwicke. They all happen to be female directors. This series is similar to The Twilight Zone or Alfred Hitchcock Presents, albeit to another level. It is a bloody, gruesome show that goes beyond the boundaries of what can be seen on television or, in this case, streaming.

The best episode of the series is "The Murmuring," about a couple of bird watchers, Edgar and his wife (Andrew Lincoln, Essie Davis). They go to a secluded island to study birds but get more than they bargained for involving the previous residents of a house they are staying at on the island. This is episode eight, and I thought the direction by Jennifer Kent and the look and feel of the episode was good. The story is based on an original concept by Guillermo Del Toro and has some nice suspenseful moments. 

"Dreams in the Witch House" has many moving parts, but like "The Murmuring," it has an underlying story that keeps the viewer in suspense. This one has some cool visual effects and creepy cinematography. Catherine Hardwick kept the story by Mika Watkins, based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft, moving nicely. There weren't a lot of slow moments. The acting by all, including Rupert Grint (the Harry Potter franchise) and Ismael Cruz Cordova (The Rings of Power), was very good. 

And "The Outside," directed by Ana Lily Amirpour and starring Kate Micucci, Martin Starr, and Dan Stevens, was a very interesting episode. It really uncovered a thing in this country and the world that has been going on for a while: how beauty is only skin deep, but people, especially women, are so concerned by it.

The worst of the eight episodes was "The Viewing," directed by Panos Cosmatos, not because of the episode's look but how it ended. It started interesting, the setting was beautiful and fascinating, and the cast was very good, but the ending wasn't there. Cosmatos and Aaron Stewart Ahn just dropped the ball on the ending of this episode. 

Another episode with a bad ending was "Graveyard Rats," directed by Vincenzo Natali. The main character, played by David Hewlett, was engaging, and his plight was interesting to follow along with. The claustrophobia was pretty scary at times, and the rats were a bit creepy. It just didn't feel like it ended right.

"Lot 36," directed by Guillermo Navarro and starring Tim Blake Nelson, isn't anything special. I liked the performance by Nelson as this shady storage lot dealer and treasure hunter. I always like seeing him in films and television shows. It has some cool visual effects and a fascinating story based on a short story by Henry Kuttner. 

Another episode called The Autopsy was bizarre, but it starred Academy Award winner F. Murray Abraham. It's a pleasant surprise to see him in things these days. He's not in a lot of films or television shows anymore. The direction by David Prior was a bit disjointed, though. I just couldn't get a good feel for this episode. 

"Pickman's Model" was one as I was watching it I had high hopes for. The cast, including Ben Barnes and Chrispin Glover, was pretty good in it, but the idea behind the story was the real aspect I liked. The director Keith Thomas, adapting another H.P. Lovecraft short story, did a good job showing the creepiness of the world he was setting up. It just didn't come all the way home for me.

Guillermo Del Toro has created a great series of creepy, weird tales of suspense and terror. He has assembled a great group of directors with unique storytelling styles. The cast in the episodes was very good as well. Actors like Nelson, Abraham, and Kate Micucci did an excellent job in their various episodes. This series captured the feel of classic shows like The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents but added in Del Toro's signature flare for the dramatic and odd spine-tingling terror he is known for. These creators channeled him and his ideas of what is scary and creepy. The audience watching should be afraid while viewing these episodes. It is one of the best things I've seen this Halloween season.
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Guillermo Del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities streams on Netflix beginning October 25, with new episodes airing daily through October 28.

Rating: 4/5

Review by Sean Boelman

The White Lotus took everyone by storm so much that HBO decided it would no longer be a miniseries, but an anthology series with more seasons taking place at different resorts around the world. The second season of the show may not live up to the strangely compelling heights of the first outing, but it still offers some very funny moments.

This season follows the guests of a picturesque resort in Italy in the week leading up to a tragedy. It follows the same basic premise of the first season — just changes the location to another one of the White Lotus brand of resorts, allowing for more of the same hijinks that fans came to love.

The visuals of the series are also just as strong as they were the first time around, this time trading the tropical Hawaii setting for the gorgeous coast of Italy. It’s almost ironic that the series is shot so gorgeously that it will make you want to take a vacation to Italy immediately, because it is satirizing the people who do just that.

There’s definitely some very witty commentary here about the wealthy and the lives of exuberance they live. However, whereas the first season felt like it had an uncanny understanding of the people it pointed a magnifying glass on, this season feels like it is merely dealing in archetypes.

What this season is missing that the first season excelled in was a compelling cast of characters. While the characters in the first season weren’t exactly likable for the most part, they were at least interesting. Here, the characters are all to some extent whiny, annoying, or depraved, and it’s hard to find anyone to latch onto.

The only returning main cast member is Jennifer Coolidge, whose performance was a hilarious fan-favorite in the first season, but she is given disappointingly little to do here comedically. This would have been forgivable had her arc been more interesting, but she has a pretty standard “bored housewife” storyline with only a few twists.

Of the new ensemble, F. Murray Abraham is the clear highlight, proving that he is still one of the greatest actors alive today. He has the most charisma out of anyone in the cast, and that allows him to get the most natural laughs. There are plenty more recognizable faces, from Theo James to Michael Imperioli and more, but they all feel wasted in a series that doesn’t understand their talents.

This new season of The White Lotus pales in comparison to the brilliance of the first season, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t still entertaining. Ultimately, it feels as if it was too rushed into production to ensure it came out while the first season was still popular, making it much less effective.

The White Lotus debuts on HBO on October 30 at 10pm ET/PT.

​Rating: 3.5/5

Review by Adam Donato