Trashtacular

Well, folks, grab your popcorn — or maybe just a gigantic bottle of aspirin — because we’re diving headfirst into the cinematic disaster known as WarGames: The Dead Code. Directed by Stuart Gillard, this 2008 sequel to the beloved 1983 classic attempts to rekindle the magic of hacking and Cold War paranoia with a plot so convoluted it could make a pretzel jealous. If you thought the original had some stretches of plausibility, then buckle up for this joyride — or should I say, slog — through the convoluted world of government surveillance, high school shenanigans, and “advanced” artificial intelligence. Spoiler alert: the only thing advanced here is my dislike for this film.

Tyler Perry's latest offering, Duplicity, recently arrived on Amazon Prime Video, and I must admit, while it attempts to explore critical themes of justice and police violence, I found the film to be a disappointing exercise rather than a compelling mystery thriller. With a runtime pushing almost two hours, it seems to weave a complex narrative but ultimately reveals a collection of tired tropes. The setup presents an intriguing premise, but what unfolded felt tedious and far from engaging.

In a universe not so far away, a film titled "Flight Risk" has landed—or more appropriately, crash-landed—straight onto streaming platforms, helmed by a name once synonymous with epic storytelling, Mel Gibson. Prepare yourselves, for this is not "Braveheart," nor is it a movie that wrestles with deep philosophical themes. Instead, it is a whirlwind, turbulence-riddled escapade of bewildering decisions and a plethora of questionable accents. Central to this cinematic odyssey is a pilot of questionable credentials—wink, wink—and a handcuffed accountant. Hats off to the daring filmmakers who decided the vast Alaskan wilderness would be best portrayed from inside one small cabin for 90% of the runtime.

The Platform (El Hoyo) graced us with a bleak and dystopian delight back in 2019. It served up brutal social commentary alongside prison horrors.