Displaying items by tag: Pete Davidson

THE HOME

US, 2025, 95 minutes, Colour.

Pete Davidson, John Glover, Ethan Phillips, Bruce Altman.

Directed by James DeMonaco.

In 2023, John Lithgow and Geoffrey Rush, starring in a New Zealand film, The Rule of Jenny Pen, showed how there was potential for a horror film set in an aged care home. Here is another aged care horror film.

Writer-directors, James DeMonaco, created a very successful franchise, The Purge, for both film and television. There was a kind of mad lawlessness about the series, society creating a time when killing laws were suspended and murderous characters went on violent sprees. This time, with Home, there are again murderous characters on violent sprees, but very much confined to the remote Aged Care home.

The film opens with a boy in foster care, Max, loving foster parents, sadly overwhelmed with the disappearance of his older brother. The older Max is a loner, troublemaker, rather stylish painter of graffiti on a large scale. In court, he is sentenced to community service at the Home. Some audiences may be put off because Max is played by comedian, Pete Davidson, who is something of an acquired taste. He definitely brings a mixture of offputting and sympathy as well as menace to his performance.

There is someone sinister-looking from an upstairs window when he arrives, but he is given caretaking tasks, the authorities seem friendly enough, so do some of the older residents.

But, and there is always a but… Upstairs on the fourth floor are some very decrepit in health old people, just surviving. Max was not supposed to go in there, and another but…

Meanwhile, despite our suspicions and his, there is a genial resident doctors, one of the residents takes a strong shine to Max, friendly, and there is an eccentric joker, performer, played by John Glover.

So, where is this going? Going downhill for Max and his morale, his physical safety, his becoming the victim of a belief in a gleefully malicious conspiracy. So, off the audience goes on an emotional horror rampage, Max the victim, revelations about the aged care residents, their close-knit community, their worship of a kind of earth deity and its ritual and savage consequences. A lot of violent comeuppances as we expect. And, depending on the box office response (American critics very negative), there are openings left, of course, for a sequel.

1. The quiet title, but raising expectations? The visuals of the home, the buildings, the grounds, the rooms, the corridors, the sinister fourth floor? The musical score?
2. The work of the director, The Purge franchise, film and television? Expert in horror? Yet in basically credible locations and situations?
3. The introduction to Max, drawing, bond with Luke, the foster parents? Luke going off to college, Max and his loneliness?
4. Max, adult, appearance, clothes, the extensive graffiti? The police? The foster parents? Avoiding prison, community service, going to the home, superintendent? Memories of Luke and his death? The effect on him, nervy? Settled?
5. Welcome to the home, the authorities, Max and his duties, the demands, emptying rubbish, the woman bleeding in the pool, his room, disturbed sleep in nightmares?
6. The staff at the home, especially the welcome from Dr Serbian, genial, the encounter with Norma, her friendship, conversations? The other authorities? The residents, Lou, genial, Acting? The others, their age? Max and his seeing the mask woman and the sexual encounter, then in his dreams?
7. The face at the window, when he arrived, the fourth floor, his breaking the law, the elderly in their wheelchairs, television and the commentary about oil, desperate? The attack? The rescue, his being reprimanded?
8. Lou, jovial, explanations, theatre? The joke for him to clean the excrement – and the welcome for the party?
9. Thelma, erratic, her death, impaled? The reaction of the doctors?
10. Max, upset, his leaving, going to his foster parents, their being nice, the quote about the heart and the link to Thelma? The two girls fostered, leading him to the attic, the room, the discovery of the photo albums, the past, the same photo of groups, Luke is a victim? His taking the photo, emotion?
11. Max, his return to the home, the realisation that it was Luke upstairs, that he was not attacking, but embracing, the call for help? Max, the drugs? His being held prisoner?
12. The explanation, the cups, the statue, Dea and the nature worship? The science, draining the spirit of the victims, the close-ups of action of the eyes? Making the residents of the home ageless, the reality of their long ages, the transformations? Hedonism, sexuality, performance? Lou and his leadership? Dr Serbiann?
13. Max on the fourth floor, with Luke, his sharing and draining the life energy, preparing for the confrontation with all of the home?
14. Vengeance unleashed, the horror film visuals, close-up of violence and mayhem? The destroying of all the residents?
15. The bond between Max and Lucas?
16. An allegory of privilege society preying on those less well off, community parasites, revolt against them, anger and destruction?

DOG MAN

US, 2025, 89 minutes, Colour.

Voices of: Pete Davidson, Lil Rel Howery, Isla Fisher, Billy Boyd, Peter Hastings, Lucas Hopkins Calderon, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Root.

Directed by Peter Hastings.

Since 2016, there have been at least 13, books about Dog Man, written by Dav Pilkey, who also wrote the Captain Underpants series (one of which was filmed).

This is an animation film, with quite a high-powered voice cast, directed by Peter Hastings who also provides the sounds for Dog Man, which is very much geared to a younger audience. With the strange story of Dog Man and his origins, as we watch the film, we will be wondering who is the target audience. A quick enquiry on Google offers some informative help: The series features a half-dog, half-human police officer who fights crime and saves the day in the city. Written in a graphic novel format with comic-style illustrations and speech bubbles, these books are popular with children aged 6-9.

So, there is the answer. Perhaps too much action for the under 6s, perhaps not enough sophistication for the 10s and overs – and, probably a warning that parents and grandparents, unless they are kindly and an demanding, probably will not enjoy the antics so much.

As indicated, the premise seems quite improbable, the officer and his pet dog, Greg, are severely hurt in an accident, the man surviving only by having the transplant of Greg’s head onto his body! He is expected to go into action against the villainous cat, Petey, who wants to eliminate all do-gooders, has his own laboratory and assistant to create menacing machines, but also a little clone cat, Little Petey.

So, a villain, a little cat seeking affection, dog man in action, hounded by the chief of police, and all kinds of chases and mayhem. However, rather a surprise, a cantankerous fish starts to exercise power and menace over all of them (voiced by Ricky Gervais, in villainous English) which leads them to an alliance of Petey  and Dog Man.

So, there we are, possibly for excitable 6 to 9s, probably not so much for the rest of us.

I WANT YOU BACK

US, 2022, 116 minutes, Colour.

Charlie Day, Jenny Slate, Scott Eastwood, Gina Rodriguez, Manny Jacinto, Clark Backo, Pete Davidson, Jamie Gertz.

Directed by Jason Orley.

This twist on romantic comedies is more enjoyable than it might sound. The characters are well developed, especially the central characters of Peter and Emma, played by Charlie dealing with his continual patter style, Emma by Jenny Slate, seemingly ditzy but having more depth.

The film opens with two breakups and the consequences for those abandoned. Peter and Emma work in the same building, and weeping in the same stairwell, share their stories, make the plan that each will breakup the new relationship with their former partners.

Emma, this is going to a theatrical group, working with children, putting on a musical, her helping, singing a song, getting the attention of the director – and, her ultimate tactic, suggesting a threesome which he is enthusiastic about but which Peter’s former partner disapproves of. She decides to take Peter back.

On the other hand, Peter befriends Noah, Scott Eastwood, going to the gym, developing a friendship, a kind of romance, meeting the owner of the pie shop, Clark back oh, and failing to break up this romance when Noah proposes and is accepted.

How to bring this all 20 and? Both are invited to Noah’s wedding, the awkwardness, the interactions, Emma upset, Peter awkward, but the finale, nicely on a plane home, a situation I have discussed about true love and who helps a fellow passenger to oxygen, helping themselves first or helping the one-day Love first. And this is the nice ending for Peter and Emma.

1. Romantic comedy with a difference, romances, breaking up romances?
2. The title? Peter and Emma? The scenes of the breakup, Peter at the party, the children, clowning, and and her declaration, six years, wanting to be an actress, the separation? Emma, chatting and eating, no way and his breaking with her, her reaction?
3. The two working in the same building, Emma and the orthodontist, weeping? Peter, the board, care for the elderly, saving money and conditions, his reaction, the two in the stairwell, meeting, sharing, the meeting, the decision to undermine the new partnerships?
4. Emma, her going to the theatre, the encounter with Logan, meeting And, Little of horrors, her helping, singing the song for Audrey? Logan and the attraction? The young boy, surly, his work, clashing with Emma, her talking, being straight with him, the good interaction, her further helping him, the future? The episode of the invitation for the threesome, Emma, bold, Logan wanting it, And and her reaction, walking out?
5. Peter, going to the gym, the help from Noah, their friendship, and the gym, sharing? No meeting Jenny and her work with the pies? Buildup of the bromance? Going to the party, the underage girls, the dancing, the pool, Peter leaping into the pool, the father coming home, there are escape?
6. Peter and Emma and their meeting, comparing notes? Emma and her achievement, Peter and his haste, going to And, the seeming reconciliation?
7. Peter invited to the wedding, Noah inviting Emma, on the boat, the tensions, the eventual revelation of the truth, Noah and his punching out Peter? Emma and her upset? The breaking of their friendship?
8. The return flight, sitting marriage other, the previous conversation about helping with the oxygen, helping someone loved before oneself, and this happening on the flight home? The happy ending?