Tag: Julia Stiles

Orphan: First Kill

Rated: MA15+Orphan: First Kill

Directed by: William Brent Bell

Screenplay by: David Coggeshall

Story by: David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Alex Mace

Based on Characters Created by: Alex Mace

Produced by: Alex Mace, Hal Sadoff, Ethan Erwin, James Tomlinson

Starring: Isabelle Fuhrman, Rossif Sutherland, Hiro Kanagawa, Matthew Finlan and Julia Stiles.

‘Welcome home, Esther.’

The prequel to, Orphan (2009), Orphan: First Kill takes the story back to Esther’s (Isabelle Fuhrman) origins, back to Estonia 2007.

But back in 2007, Esther isn’t, ‘Esther’.  She’s Leena.

Incredibly, Isabelle Furhman has returned in the same role and yes, is believable.

Many in the audience will know of Esther’s disorder, hypopituitarism where she’s essentially an in-proportion dwarf making her look like a child even though she’s an adult woman in her 30s.

As do the psychiatrists in the film, treating her in the Saarne Institute.

Opening with the same emotionless bloody violence that Esther is capable of, there’s no surprise or hiding who she really is, so the prequal is layered differently.

I wasn’t sure what concept returning story writer, Alex Mace along with original screenwriter, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick was going to come up with after the big reveal was already known – that the innocent 10-year-old girl Esther is in fact a psychotic, manipulating, murdering, adult woman.  But Mace and Johnson-McGoldrick have teamed up with new screenwriter, David Coggeshall and director, William Brent Bell (Separation, (2021), The Devil Inside (2012), The Boy (2016)) to create something, dare I say, playful.

Here, Esther manipulates her way into a wealthy American family, The Albrights.

Their family came over on the Mayflower and built this country.  They ‘mean something.’

Esther finds another man to fall in love with (Allen, (Rossif Sutherland)) while hating her new, ‘mummy,’ (Julia Stiles as Tricia is fantastic in this role) while her older brother, Gunnar (Matthew Finlan) remains suspicious of his returned little sister.

Let the manipulation and killing begin.

I was bracing for a bit boring and more of the same, but as the film progresses, I was drawn in and ended up having a lot of fun watching this new perspective of Esther.  Fun.  In a good way.

Prequel Orphan was better than expected and that’s all I’m going to give away, except to say, gotta like a wry sense of humour in a horror movie.

Hustlers

Rated: MA15+Hustlers

Written and Directed by: Lorene Scarfaria

Inspired by the Article Published in New York Magazine, “The Hustlers at Scores”, Written by, Jessica Pressler

Produced by: Jennifer Lopez, Benny Medina, Will Ferrell, Adam McKay

Executive Producers: Robert Simonds, Adam Fogelson, Megan Ellison, Alex Brown, Pamela Thur

Starring: Constance Wu, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Stiles, Keke Palmer, Lili Reinhart, Mercedes Ruehl, Cardi B, Lizzo, Mette Towley, Madeline Brewer and Trace Lysette.

Destiny (Costance Wu) – definitely a stripper name – is the new girl.

She’s followed the green brick road, all the way to the city.

She’s got some moves, but nothing like Ramona (Jennifer Lopez) who has Wall Street guys throwing fists full of cash on to the stage as she performs moves like the carousel, fireman, front hook, ankle-hook, and stag (It has to be noted Jennifer Lopez had to train for six months to be able to pull-off the pole dancing moves in this film which says something about the athleticism required to be a good stripper…).

Destiny could learn a thing or two from Ramona.

And literally taking Destiny under the cover of her fur jacket, together they make a bodacious, money-making partnership – until the dreaded financial crash on September 29, 2008.

When all the money disappears, the girls have gotta get creative.  Cut a few corners.

They gotta hustle those Wall Street guys, clean out their bank accounts by any means possible; and then, keep them coming back.

It’s a fun ride watching these guys get fleeced.  But also a little sickening, demonstrated by youngest member of the crew, Annabelle and her puking whenever things get real, or even just a little stressful.

It’s a world of hustle or be hustled.  A world based on the true story written by Jessica Pressler, in her article, “The Hustlers at Scores”.

We see the reality of stripping, the behind the curtain in the dressing room moments where being sexy for a living doesn’t necessarily mean there’s always sex – one stripper admitting she hasn’t had sex for two years, while another introduces the girls to her new boyfriend, a pink vibrator.

And sure it’s about the money, about the shopping, but also about Destiny not wanting to rely on anyone and wanting to look after her Grandmother.  And Ramona wanting to look after her daughter, to give her everything – she even admits that motherhood is a mental illness that will make you do anything for your child.

It’s all anyone wants.

And in America, where those who hustle get rewarded, where banks who rip off the little people get let off because they’re too big to fall – stripping, stealing, hustling sure beats making minimum wage.

Director and writer Lorene Scarfaria doesn’t let the whole stripper thing get in the way of a good drama or try too hard with the sexy stuff.  It’s more about the tongue-in-cheek humour and friendship between Destiny and Ramona and following a path to get what you want not realising how dark that path is.  It’s survival.  It’s all dark.

Subscribe to GoMovieReviews
Enter your email address for notification of new reviews - it's free!

 

Subscribe!