Spiderhead (2022)
Directed by Joseph Kosinski
A prisoner in a state-of-the-art penitentiary begins to question the purpose of the emotion-controlling drugs he's testing for a pharmaceutical genius.
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What critics say influenced Spiderhead
This reminded me of Alex Garland’s Ex Machina (2014), which also examined similar themes of human nature and oppression.
In the spirit of Black Mirror and Ex Machina , the fifth feature from director Joseph Kosinski ( Tron Legacy , Top Gun: Maverick ) is a contained tech-thriller brimming with ideas.
Kosinski’s camera adds sleek sterility to the world, enhancing the Ex Machina vibes with clean and simple cinematography.
His new sci-fi thriller, "Spiderhead," which drops on Netflix Friday, is a thematically thought-provoking but overly familiar addition to the genre of "Black Mirror" and "Ex Machina."
With its larger intellectual concerns and general coldness, you’d think the director was Alex Garland (”Ex Machina,” “Annihilation,” “Men”).
Having almost as much fun as Oscar Isaac did in Ex Machina , and even getting a similar dance routine, Hemsworth is the most immaculately groomed Bond villain ever, a bespectacled pharmaceutical bro who says things like, “Pressure forms diamonds,” when he’s not performing heinous experiments on his captives.
With its larger intellectual concerns and general coldness, you’d think the director was Alex Garland (”Ex Machina,” “Annihilation,” “Men”).
Ooo…. on Monday, Werner Herzog will be at the IFC Center to do a QnA after the 6pm screening of Aguirre, the Wrath of God and doing an intro for Little Dieter Needs to Fly, and doing a signing of his new book, “The Twilight World.”
“Late Night: Hong Kong Goes International” has two semi-classics from the ‘90s starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, John Woo’s Hard Target (1993) and Tsui Hark’s Knock Off (1998), co-starring Rob Schneider and featuring a fun Sparks song in the end credits.
Some of the other ongoing movies including David Lynch’s Inland Empire and Mulholland Dr. and Satoshi Kon’s Paprika and Perfect Blue continue to screen.
Some of the other ongoing movies including David Lynch’s Inland Empire and Mulholland Dr. and Satoshi Kon’s Paprika and Perfect Blue continue to screen.
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Spiderhead veers more into the realm of Alex Garland’s Ex Machina or Soderbergh’s Side Effects in terms of exploring the world of pharmaceuticals and some of the questionable experimentation that goes on behind the scenes.
Recalling Zoe Kravitz (“The Batman”) and Zazie Beetz (“Deadpool 2,” “Joker”), Smollett is a ball of fire who someone should cast as the lead in … anything.
The role feels like it was written for Jake Gyllenhaal in his weird period — his Nightcrawler and Okja era, when those good looks were distorted into leering creepiness, and the awkwardness was equal parts mesmerizing and repulsive.
The role feels like it was written for Jake Gyllenhaal in his weird period — his Nightcrawler and Okja era, when those good looks were distorted into leering creepiness, and the awkwardness was equal parts mesmerizing and repulsive.
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Teller, partnering with Kosinski for the third time (after 2017′s Only the Brave and Maverick), finds genuine torment in Jeff, who is repeatedly forced to make choices he would rather walk away from, mirroring how much he attempts to distance himself from the events that landed him in Spiderhead in the first place.
Before “Top Gun: Maverick,” director Joseph Kosinski made “TRON: Legacy,” “Oblivion” and “Only the Brave.”
Kosinski even reunites with Miles Teller, marking their third collaboration after Only the Brave (2017) and Top Gun: Maverick and includes an additional star power in the form of Chris Hemsworth.
Prior to this film, Kosinski had mostly worked on a larger scale; his projects Tron: Legacy , Oblivion , Only the Brave , and Top Gun: Maverick all use wide-screen landscapes to their advantage.
Not for lack of trying, Kosinski has proven his cache as an incredible filmmaker whose “Only The Brave” and “Tron: Legacy” have grown in stature since their release, “Spiderhead” probably won’t suffer the same fate.
In conjunction with Spiderhead opening at the Paris, the theatr is also doing a Joseph Kosinski retrospective, showing Tron: Legacy on Thursday, Oblivion on Friday, and Only the Brave on Sunday.