Tag Archives: Zoe Kravitz

Blink Twice

Blink Twice. No spoilers. Just a few hints.

A rich guy Slater King (Channing Tatum) has a private island and likes to throw extravagant days-long events there. Unlike at Jeffrey Epstein’s place, all the guests here appear to be adults. But as Epstein famously did, King casts his net wide with his invitations.

Among the invitees are characters played by Geena Davis, Christian Slater, Haley Joel Osment and Kyle Maclachlan, among others.

Tatum’s co-star Naomi Ackie as Frida does the movie’s heavy lifting, moving the story along and maintaining the mystery. First time director Zoe Kravitz (who also co-wrote the movie) took a big leap of faith in casting the less-than-well-known Ackie in the lead role. Lucky for both women, Ackie does good work in what could be a star-making turn.

As is revealed in the trailer, all guests have to give up their phones. Even if they could get a signal, it is preferred that guests not take pics. (Christian Slater’s character Vic snaps lots of Polaroid photos.) The island getaway consists mainly of eating, drinking, drugs and pool time. While sexual tension simmers, it doesn’t appear to go far. The guests seem to have fun mainly by teasing one another, sharing booze and blunts and outrageous meals.

Google says: “‘Blinking twice’ implies that someone can’t believe what they’re seeing, so they blink again to make sure they’re not imagining it.” And in the drug and drink addled minds of the participants in Slater King’s island party, what’s real and what’s imagined is sometimes blurred.

Zoe Kravitz has crafted a suspenseful tale but my guess is that since she’s a rookie helmer, the studio had “final cut.” Blink Twice feels as if much more movie was shot but, as often happens, was trimmed here and there to speed things up. Should there have been more mystery? More exposition? More resolution? Or… was the film’s hour and forty minutes run time just about right? “Always leave ‘em wanting more” is a timeless showbiz adage and maybe it applies here.

The opening shot of Blink Twice has Frida doom scrolling through social media posts until she gets to a Slater King video. Here’s hoping that the folks who see Blink Twice and then jump onto TikTok, Instagram, X, Facebook, etc. will respect the folks who made the movie AND the folks who will see it in the next few weeks and think twice about sharing any spoilers. If you are a social media user, be careful where you click.

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After Earth

After Earth is a decent but perfunctory sci-fi movie. It does not break any new ground. There’s no urgent reason to see it now, unless you adore Will Smith (as many fans do).

When you see “Directed by M. Night Shaymalan” at the beginning, you may wonder if there will be trickery or red herrings or left field surprises. The answer is no. You can pretty much see the plot resolution of After Earth coming right down Lindbergh (or other major artery near your respective theater).

The movie is a showcase for Will Smith’s son, Jaden, who plays Kitai Raige. The 14-year-old is a passable actor, but likely would not have been cast in the role were his dad not the main star, producer and story source.

Set in the distant future, a thousand years after Earth has been abandoned, following wars, destruction, etc., Kitai’s home planet is Nova Prime. As befits the sci-fi future, there’s plenty of cool, but stark, architecture. The military uniforms are awesome.

Will Smith stars as Cypher Raige, a military man who’s been away from home too long. He’s similar to Robert Duvall in The Great Santini. Great military man, not so great family man. But Cypher’s ready to retire and hang with the fam… after one last mission.

Cypher takes his son on the mission. And when asteroids damage the spacecraft, an emergency landing occurs on… good ol’ planet Earth! And, for a planet that was left behind because it was uninhabitable, it looks pretty darn good! Oh, there are pesky predators who’d kill you in a second, but the forests appear verdant and the streams and rivers clean.

After the crash landing, Dad is badly hurt and can’t walk. And the device that sends a signal back to Nova Prime is damaged. But there’s another one in the tail section of the craft, a few miles away. So the young and callow Kitai takes off on a journey to find it. Will he make it?

Other than Smith and son, the most notable cast member is Zoe Kravitz, another celeb spawn. The daughter of Lennie Kravitz and Lisa Bonet plays Kitai’s sister. Sophie Okenado is Mrs. Raige.

After Earth is a standard, run-of-the-mill sci-fi flick. It’s not awful, but there’s really nothing here to get jiggy about.

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