Mandaris

I love a good beat 'em up movie. Seeing the protagonist face off against dozens of indistinguist minions as they make their way to their objective. I feel that this movie does a great job of establishing the story and characters and then getting out of the way to let the action happen.

I was hooked on this movie from the moment I saw the trailer. I was so excited that I created a reminder to check if the film would be available to stream in a couple months from this writing. I remember showing everyone in my family the trailer just for them to shrug and ask if I would like to watch Bridgerton instead.

That’s ok, I’ll just watch it on my own. I started watching it and I was treated to 90 minutes of punches, kicks, and slap(stick)! If you liked movies such as Boy Kills World (2024) or Boss Level (2021), I think you might like this one as well.

Overview

A woman answers a help wanted ad to be a housekeeper in a mysterious New York City high-rise, unaware that she is entering a community that has seen a number of disappearances over the years and may be under the grip of a Satanic cult.

Not exactly spectacular or amazing, but entertaining enough that I felt good watching it. I heard on a podcast that this probably would not have been made without Nick Cage, and I agree but for large parts of this show it's the other actors who really drove me to watch it.

I have been excited to see this for months. I had blocked out time on the calendar, allotted money from my fun fund, told everyone not to bother me for the duration, and even went to bed early a couple nights before so that I was well rested.

In the end, I’m treated to a decent TV show.

I doubt we’re going to see a second season.

The show wants to be a lighthearted adventure featuring “The Spider” living in a 1920ish America and we get to see aspect of it talking about people recovering from World War I and prohibition. It shows a little bit of the racism, police corruption and brutality, and the dehumanization of the poor and powerless. At first, I was annoyed because it felt like it was only there to service different plot points, but, I -after reflecting on it- appreciate that they included it.

Back to the characters, I believe that Nick Cage works well with Lamorne Morris and Karen Rodriguez to establish the heart and reason you should care about the plot. The interactions between them come off as natural and you get a feeling that they really know each other. The rest of the interactions can be inconsistent. The work with Li Jun Li sometimes comes off as awkward as if they are just saying their lines to one another. It’s not just the age difference, it’s the lack of chemistry between them. I lost track of the amount of time Jack Huston’s character says that he’s not going to tell his boss/daddy that he’s being lied to.

Again, the show has it’s flaws.

All of which, I’ll forgive because of episode six.

That’s when we get Classic Nick Cage.

I’ll leave it at that.

Overview

Ben Reilly, an aging and down on his luck private investigator in 1930s New York, is forced to grapple with his past life as the city's one and only superhero.