The Platform 2 (2024)

 

 

Streaming Service: Netflix 

Movie Name/Year: The Platform 2 (2024)

Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Length: 1h 39min

Rating: TV-MA

Director: Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia

Writers: Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia, Pedro Rivero, David Desola, Egoitz Moreno

Actors: Milena Smit, Hovik Keuchkerian, Natalia Tena, Óscar Jaenada, Ivan Massagué, Zorion Eguileor, Bastien Ughetto, Armando Buika, Pedro Bachura, Antonia San Juan, Alexandra Masangkay, Emilio Buale, Albert Pla, Gorka Zufiaurre, Ken Appledorn, Hoji Fortuna, Mariamu Toure, Sesinou Henriette, Patty Bonet, Tadashi Ito

 

Metacritic Blurb: As a mysterious leader imposes their rule in the Platform, a new resident becomes embroiled in the battle against this controversial method to fight the brutal feeding system. But when eating from the wrong plate becomes a death sentence, how far would you be willing to go to save your life?

 

 

Selina’s Point of View:

What do I think of The Platform 2? I think my back is killing me.

 

I didn’t move a muscle during the entire film. I’ll be honest, I’m not even sure I was breathing. It had the same achingly impressive suspense that The Platform (2019) did. In fact, it was completely up to the level of the original film. For a sequel to do that is impressive.

 

The social commentary was also on point. It shined a light on how a law that looks good on paper could be seen as unfair. It also showed how bad enforcement of a law could be just as detrimental as if it did not exist in the first place. It was superbly done.

 

 

I didn’t remember much about the first film. After all, it was from the pre-COVID era and the whole world changed shortly after. Never-the-less, I remembered enough to be shocked when I realized it was a prequel. It’s possible I knew that from the trailers, but it’s been long enough that it completely slipped my mind. I was expecting a more sequel-esk plot. That little twist was interesting. It really brought out the differences between the loyalists and the barbarians.

 

There’s also a short scene after the start of the credits that ties everything together in a way I never expected. I’m still a little confused by it, but not in a bad way.

 

I loved The Platform 2. I’ll follow the story as far as they want to take it.

 

 

Cat’s Point of View:

The Platform (2019) may not have been one of my favorite movies, but it certainly stuck with me after we watched it for review in April 2020. I suppose you could say that it was on our “Pandemic Watch List,” even though it was at the very beginning and before things really got wonky. In my review, I pondered whether or not Netflix would revisit the story and provide a sequel. Now I have my answer – even if it wasn't all that I was hoping for.

 

I'll clarify that statement a little.

 

I noted that I wasn't just interested in revisiting the concept, but instead was hoping to learn more about the world or time period that brought about “the pit” and the human social experiment that went with it. Alas, that was not what happened.

 

My mild disappointment aside, that didn't really impact my viewing experience for this sequel. When I watched the trailers, it was clear that The Platform 2 was going to be approaching the story a little differently. Initially, I wasn't even sure if it was going to be tied to the original film. During my watch-through, however, it clicked that I'd seen one of the characters before. By the end, the connections became more clear. Some of the ties that bind the 2 films are more overt, but there's also a more subtle thread that weaves them together – both explanations of which would be spoilers.

 

 

The Platform 2 doesn't have as much mystery as the first film, because we know how the titular platform system works by the time we reach this second experience. (If you haven't watched the first movie, this may all just be more confusing. I'd recommend watching in order.) There's definitely more brutality and shock-value here than examined in the first installment.

 

This story was clearly another slap-in-the-face social commentary. There were a few Uncanny Valley moments that were a little disturbing, but the take on how the extreme enforcement of laws without examination of mitigating circumstances allowing flexibility was clear. It also gives us a hard look at the dark side of those with the power to act on a savior complex and fanatical zealots.

 

I'd have to say that out of the 2 films, the first had more impact. It's even worked its way into culinary arts pop culture. Network television has a reality cooking competition show with Gordon Ramsay (MasterChef USA, Kitchen Nightmares, Hell's Kitchen) called Next Level Chef (2022-). It features the central platform of food that travels through 3 levels, giving chefs on the top first pick and those on the bottom are stuck with whatever's left. (Let me tell you, I cackled when I saw the first preview ad for that show because I instantly recognized where they got the idea.) While I really enjoy the cooking show, and in hindsight I would give The Platform a higher rating, I can't say the same for this sequel.

 

That doesn't take away from the fact that this new film was just as expertly put together and well-executed as the first. It does have its strengths, and I was on the edge of my seat throughout.

 

The Platform 2 went to some really bizarre places and just ultimately left me feeling unsatisfied and unsettled. At the same time, if they decide to turn this into a trilogy, I'd still watch in hopes of learning more about the lore of the twisted Pit and any further connections between those trapped in it.

 

 

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 35%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 25%

Metascore – 45%

Metacritic User Score – 4.2/10

IMDB Score – 4.9/10

 

Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 5/5

Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 3.5/5

 

Movie Trailer:

Barbie (2023)

Streaming Service: Max
Movie Name/Year: Barbie (2023)
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
Length: 1h 54min
Rating: PG-13
Director: Greta Gerwig
Writer: Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach
Actors: Margot Robbie, Issa Rae, Kate McKinnon, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Mackey, Hari Nef, Sharon Rooney, Ana Cruz Kayne, Dua Lipa, Ritu Arya, Nicola Coughlan, Emerald Fennell, Ryan Gosling, Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Ncuti Gatwa, Scott Evans, John Cena, Michael Cera, America Ferrara, Ariana Greenblatt, Helen Mirran, Will Ferrell
 
Blurb from IMDb: Barbie and Ken are having the time of their lives in the colorful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when they get a chance to go to the real world, they soon discover the joys and perils of living among humans.
 

Selina’s Point of View:
I was a bit confused when Barbie was marketed with a PG-13 rating. It’s such a kid-friendly concept based on a kid’s toy, after all. After watching it, I have no doubt that they made the right choice. Barbie wasn’t talking to kids. It was talking to us.
 
Fifteen minutes into the film I was having fun and getting into it, but I still thought it would be a basic, silly, comedy. I was lost in the dreamworld concocted by the creative team. Once the titular character stepped foot into the real world, however, it became very clear that Barbie was going to be the kind of movie that spoke to deeper issues than a child’s toy usually does.
 
Getting a movie like this that speaks on the issues of inequality, especially in a time when we are moving backwards, was amazing. I don’t think I blinked throughout most of it. It was an extremely intense watch, that left me sitting in silence when it was over. Even with the mounds of comedic relief piling up throughout, the weight of the lessons within it took some time to digest.
 

If you’ve heard of anything about Barbie, you’ve definitely heard about America Ferrara’s (How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming, End of Watch, Ugly Betty) speech. Where her character breaks down how it feels to be a female in our society. How overloaded it can make one feel. Hearing that was something unlike anything I’ve ever felt before when watching a movie.
 
A whole lot of Barbie made me feel seen. I thought it would be a fun film, and it was, but it wasn’t JUST that.
 
That’s part of the problem that was pointed out in the movie. It was a female run project, based on a toy aimed at little girls, filled with a cast of women… and it felt like it would be just fun. Just a popcorn flick. The depth shouldn’t have been so surprising, especially with the PG-13 rating, but it was. Yet, if it was a superhero flick with an R-rating, we wouldn’t have had any doubt that the rating was earned in some way.
 
Barbie makes you look for the problems woven into our society, but also within. It deserves every single drop of praise it’s gotten.
 

Cat’s Point of View:
The first trailer for Barbie had me hooked. Right out of the gate, it was clear that this wasn’t going to be the movie everyone was expecting when it was announced that the iconic Mattel toy of so many childhoods was getting a full-length live-action movie. (I mean, really, who didn’t do a double-take at that announcement. Barbie was getting a real movie treatment that wasn’t some silly animation or something cutesy that would appear on a kids’ network.)
 
I went with a group to the theater, and my daughter and I giggled at the giant pink toy boxes people were waiting in line to take their pictures inside, as if they were a life-size Barbie doll too. It was a whole thing. We might actually have done so, but the lines of pink-clad people were just too long, and we didn’t have that kind of time.
 
Barbie blew me away. It defied all my expectations and gave us a really deep thought-provoking story. Sure, there was still a lot of silliness – but if there wasn’t, it really wouldn’t have been a movie about toys come to life. There was so much nostalgia steeped into every Barbie-land set piece and individual Barbies and Kens, too. I was going through a mental checklist at some points trying to figure out which themed Barbies were represented on screen. This was quite the roller-coaster from giggles to misty eyes.
 
This cast was ludicrously stacked with talent. Everyone wanted to get in on this girl-power movie. You could have a mini game based around picking out who was playing who. I’m still just noticing people that were in this film. I hadn’t realized ‘til just last week that Ncuti Gatwa (A Midsummer Night's Dream, Sex Education, Doctor Who) played one of the Kens. 
 

I nearly had a spit-take because of Weird Barbie, played by Kate McKinnon (The Spy Who Dumped Me, Bombshell, DC League of Super Pets). I think most of us that had Barbies inevitably had one doll that ended up like her. (I gave Malibu Barbie a mullet because for the longest time I didn’t have a Ken, so I’m guilty as charged, too.) McKinnon was perfect for that role, and I couldn’t envision anyone else with that part. That, of course, brings me to Margot Robbie (Neighbours, Amsterdam, Babylon). This film simply wouldn’t have worked on any level without her at the helm. Equally, I struggle to envision anyone other than Ryan Gosling (The Nice Guys, First Man, The Gray Man) as the lead Ken. (The behind-the-scenes story of why he eventually accepted the role is actually really funny and sweet, too.)
 
All the visuals were on point, and I loved how the bridge between how kids play with Barbies and the movements of the actual living figures was represented. The soundtrack was also a wild and wonderful trip from Billie Eilish’s song “What was I made for?” (which broke my heart) to Spice Girls and a Nicki Minaj collab of “Barbie World.”
 
Overall, Barbie was a feast for the eyes and had good messages, both full of feels and thought provoking. I just roll my eyes at anyone complaining that the movie was a feminist fever dream. Greta Gerwig (Nights and Weekends, Lady Bird, Little Women) is a genius. She was the perfect writer/director to take one of the most culturally significant toys ever to the big screen and create such an iconic movie that has, itself, become a cultural touchstone.
 
I would watch Barbie many times over and can only encourage any doubters to give it a chance.
 

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 88%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 83%
Metascore – 80%
Metacritic User Score – 5.1
IMDB Score – 6.9/10
 
Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 5/5
Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 5/5
 
P.S. Max also has a sign language version of Barbie.
 
Movie Trailer:

Call Her King (2023)

 

  

Streaming Service: BET+

Movie Name/Year: Call Her King (2023)

Genre: Action, Thriller

Length:  1h 39min

Rating: Unrated

Production/Distribution: Blacklight Entertainment, BET+

Director: Wes Miller

Writers: Wes Miller

Actors: Naturi Naughton, Jason Mitchell, Lance Gross, Nicholas Turturro, Johnny Messner, Tobias Truvillion, Han Soto, Barry Ratcliffe

 

IMDb Blurb: After the courthouse is hijacked by Black Caesar, brother of Sean Samuels, who has just been sentenced, Judge Jaeda King must rely on her strength and skills to find a way to end the standoff, save the hostages, and make her escape.

 

 

Selina’s Point of View:

When watching Call Her King, I think it’s important to consider the budget. It can’t really be compared to mainstream theater fare. It’s a lot more along the lines of a TV movie.

 

The start of the film was a little rough. The casual conversation between husband and wife and between the main character and her colleagues all felt a little forced. On top of that, Naturi Naughton didn’t sell me on the interactions any more than the script did. As a result, I settled in for what I thought would be a long hour and a half.

 

Once the movie picked up, however, my perception of it changed. As it turns out, Naughton is much better with the high-action scenes. It may just be that she’s better at the action stuff than anything else, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

 

Nicholas Turturro also had me laughing a lot of the time. He provided some much-needed comedic relief.

 

 

I say “much-needed” because the subject is heavy. As much as the plot lent itself to a decent action premise, it was also a very important subject. The corruption of our justice system is a huge problem. I love it when flicks take that issue and wrap it in something watchable because it forces people to acknowledge it. Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t seem to care about it until it affects them directly. Sometimes movies, books, and TV shows can help with that.

 

The low budget did lead to some issues with things like gunshot CGI. However, I think they got innovative with some of the other stuff. At one point a person is shot and the gore winds up on a window. Because the creative team for Call Her King was forced to improvise, whatever they did caused it to look terrifyingly real for a minute. As the movie went on, it became easier to ignore any other CGI issues.

 

The script was my least favorite part of the flick. The dialogue specifically. A lot of it just didn’t feel natural. The cooler parts that you see in the trailer feel like they were added specifically for use in the trailer. I think it would have benefited the film to just leave them out entirely.

 

Call Her King had a lot of ups and downs. That said, it was worthy of a watch.

 

 

Cat’s Point of View:

Call Her King initially was a little intriguing to me. The trailer seemed to promise a decent amateur action movie. While I wouldn’t say that was inaccurate, it wasn’t exactly what I hoped it would be. 

I admire the message that was explored within the dramatic moments of Call Her King, but I just had a hard time buying most of everything else. I was cringing more often than I wasn’t. There were plot points that just didn’t feel supported.

Then there was the shaky-cam. Sure, it wasn’t as bad as some found-footage movies, but even straight non-action shots had a lot of bobble to them. I just had a recent health circumstance that involved some mild vertigo. The screen-jitters didn’t do me any favors. 

It’s entirely possible that I’m just slightly cranky from being exhausted at the moment, but Call Her King did very little for me as an action fan. I spent far too much time pondering the fact the bailiff looked like he could be Geraldo Rivera’s (A Miracle in Spanish Harlem, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Sharknado 5: Global Swarming) brother. (He isn’t.)

 

The fight choreography was basic and OK, the blood effects were iffy, and there were some sound quality issues where it was clear there was a voiceover happening rather than something that happened live in the shot I was watching. 

Normally I find it easier to look over these earmarks of a smaller-budget movie and give them the benefit of the doubt like The Little Engine that Could. Alas, today, those small details pulled me out of the story and had me slightly bored with the overall experience. 

If you’re catching Call Her King in rotation on the BET network, and this is your type of movie - I certainly wouldn’t call for changing the channel. However, if you’re looking for a quality action movie (even one with social justice themes), this may not be the one you’d want to settle on.

Call Her King releases for streaming on BET+ Thursday, July 6, 2023.

  

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – None

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score –None

Metascore – None

Metacritic User Score – None

IMDB Score – None

 

Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 3/5

Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 2.5/5

Trust the Dice: Parental Advisory Rating -  PG-13

 

Movie Trailer:

Hunger (2023)

 

 

Streaming Service: Netflix

Movie Name/Year: Hunger (2023) 

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Length:  2h 26min

Rating: TV-MA

Production/Distribution: Netflix, Song Sound Production

Director: Sitisiri Mongkolsiri

Writer: Kongdej Jaturanrasamee

Actors: Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying, Kenneth Won, Nopachai Chaiyanam,

Gunn Svasti Na Ayudhya, Bhumibhat Thavornsiri

 

IMDb Blurb: A woman running her family's noodle restaurant receives an invitation to join the fine-dining industry under the tutelage of an infamous chef.

 

 

Cat’s Point of View:

Hunger caught my attention while we were looking through trailers for movies releasing in April. I tend to watch a lot of culinary shows. I like a wide variety from productions such as Chopped (2007-) and MasterChef USA (2010-) to the seasonal baking competitions and the like. They tend to blend education and entertainment for me, making them some of my current favorites. 

The point I’m getting to is that the dictatorial chef in Hunger struck me as a fictionalized Thai version of Gordon Ramsay’s (Hell's Kitchen, Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted, Next Level Chef) hard-line persona. While Hunger wasn’t a comedy at all, that internal comparison I couldn’t help making with that first impression made me giggle a little and certainly whet my palate for wanting to watch this movie. 

 

I’ve seen a lot of comparisons between Hunger and The Menu (2022). While I have to agree that there’s a level of similar social commentary between the two films, it’s not quite in the same ballpark. Hunger did have an undercurrent of darkness in it, but it came from a more psychological standpoint and a look at what becomes of the choices made on the protagonist’s journey to join the ranks of top echelon chefs. Hunger explored the sacrifice of self in order to fit a mold while also taking a harsh glance at class disparity and personal moral compass. 

 

Hunger took the story to some places I didn’t expect, while playing out generally how I anticipated it would. It might be more of a thrilling and shocking experience for those not that familiar with the culinary world and the level of sacrifice its professionals make in their personal lives. 

The set pieces were well done and there were some outright gorgeous moments of cinematography. The story and cast delivered some real gut-punch moments within this solidly acted production. 

I don’t really have any negatives to offer regarding Hunger, and yet - apropos to the titular theme of the movie - somehow it still left me wanting a little more. 

 

 

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 78%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 62%

Metascore – none

Metacritic User Score – none

IMDB Score – 6.8/10

 

Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 3.5/5

Movie Trailer: