Film 2437 - 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

Intro: We watched the previous one that only came out last year, and of course we couldn't miss this one..

Film 2437: "28 Years Later: The Bone Temple" (2026), Nia DaCosta
Watched: At the movies
Language: English
Watched with: Debbi, Niamh
Thoughts: "The Bone Temple" is a good follow-up to the previous "28 Years Later", and the quality of these two movies together is surprisingly high. I'm saying surprisingly just because it's not often that a relatively small franchise like this one gets a trilogy sequel more than 20 years after the original movie came out and still maintains such consistency in quality. Even more so considering this one and the previous outing hit theaters only 6 months apart.
Timelines aside, "The Bone Temple" focuses heavily on Ralph Fiennes' and Jack O'Connell's characters from the previous movie. The two give stellar performances, and their character journeys are both extreme and satisfying. After his Oscar nomination last year (he should have won), it looks like we're witnessing a Ralph Fiennes renaissance, and I'm all here for it.
My only criticism of this film is the level of violence displayed. I'm not a prude, and I understand this is a work of fiction, but it was tough to witness all the torture sequences, and after a while I honestly couldn't take it anymore.
The storyline between Dr. Ian Kelson (Fiennes) and Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry) is predictable at times, but it's probably the most interesting part of the story. It will be interesting to see how the zombie monster evolves after what happens to him in this second chapter.
Overall, "28 Years Later: The Bone Temple" is a good movie and an excellent sequel, well directed by Nia DaCosta ("Candyman", "The Marvels", "Hedda"). It's a pity that it didn't make enough money at the box office (the production budget was $63 million). Maybe the January release was too soon and hurt its performance, or possibly this franchise isn't strong enough to justify a trilogy so long after the original movie came out. Either way, the shooting of the third movie depended on the performance of this film, so it's unclear if this story will see its end at all. I have my fingers crossed!
P.S. As rumored before the movie came out, Cillian Murphy makes a cameo appearance at the end of the film, reprising his original role from the first "28 Days Later".
Film 2391 - 28 Years Later
Film 2437 - 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Jack O'Connell, Alfie Williams, Erin Kellyman, Chi Lewis-Parry, Emma Laird, Sam Locke, Cillian Murphy.
Box Office: $58.4 million
Worth a watch?: If you like this franchise and/or the previous movie, this is definitely worth the watch! As a standalone film, though, I'm not sure this works, as there would be a lot to unpack and catch up with if you don't know what happened before in the story.
Awards: /
Key word: Old Nick.
Trailer
#HollywoodCiak
Bengi

Film 2054 - Candyman

Intro: Altro giro, altro horror, altro regalo.

Film 2054: "Candyman" (2021) di Nia DaCosta

Visto: dal portatile
Lingua: inglese
Compagnia: nessuno

In sintesi: onestamente non sapevo nemmeno che esistesse questo franchise, quindi quando ho iniziato a vedere il film non avevo idea ci fosse una mitologia precedente rispetto a questo prodotto. "Candyman" è il sequel diretto del titolo originale del 1992 di Bernard Rose, anche se in totale esistono 4 pellicole legate al personaggio di Daniel Robitaille, il cattivone del film che appare (e uccide) nel momento in cui qualcuno pronuncia per 5 volte il suo "nome d'arte", ovvero Candyman.
Al di là della paurosa idea originale anche efficace, questo sequel odierno ha tempistiche e fattezze meno prettamente paurose e vive più di una serie di suggestioni tipiche dello stile di Jordan Peele, qui tra gli sceneggiatori. Non è necessariamente un male, anche se mi sarei aspettato un horror più tipicamente spaventoso, che una prodotto al contempo così interessato alla critica sociale (appunto più tipica della sensibilità di Peele). Insomma, una scelta meno di svago del previsto.
In generale, comunque, "Candyman" non mi ha particolarmente colpito, forse anche perché avevo determinate aspettative dettate da critiche entusiaste che avevo letto e che hanno in parte tradito il mio desiderio di recuperare un horror spaventoso nel senso più tradizionale del termine.
Cast: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Colman Domingo, Kyle Kaminsky, Vanessa Williams, Tony Todd.
Box Office: $77.4 milioni
Vale o non vale: Suggestivo e tecnicamente ben realizzato, anche se meno spaventoso nel senso più tradizionale del termine. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II è un ottimo protagonista.
Premi: /
Parola chiave: Cabrini.
Trailer
#HollywoodCiak
Bengi