Snipers, love and secrets in ‘The Gorge'
Levi has been a private contractor for the military since being psychologically deemed unfit for service by the Marines. (Sigourney Weaver plays the cryptic woman who hires him.) Drasa is Lithuanian. Each operates in the murky quasi-official world of covert military operations. All they know is that they're to be at this ultra-classified post for a year, part of an annual rotation. Their main job is to shoot anything that comes out of the chasm below. What's inside? The guy Levi is replacing thinks it could a portal to hell. 'The Gorge,' directed by Scott Derrickson ('Doctor Strange,' 'The Black Phone') from a script by Zach Dean ('The Tomorrow War,' 'Fast X'), unpeels these mysteries in a film that, if it wanted to, could be a very atmospheric post-Cold War parable, a kind of kaijuin- the-ground thriller, about deep-buried military secrets.
That may be the backdrop, but 'The Gorge' wants to be something else, too. It wants to be a love story. Taking after the hybrid DNA horrors that emerge from below, 'The Gorge' mixes rom-com with sci-fi, with mostly ridiculous results. This is the rare movie to boast both horse-riding tree-zombies (that's what I said) and so, so many T.S. Eliot references. There is good preposterous and bad preposterous. 'The Gorge' - which I'm happy to report features the line 'The gorge is exposed!' - may find some believers on both sides of that gulf. The production quality is well above the grade of its script, with cinematography by Dan Laustsen (Guillermo del Toro's regular DP) and a score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (coming off their incredible 2024 of 'Challengers' and 'Queer' ).
Mash-up
But the tonal swings, not to mention the gloss that covers the whole enterprise, make 'The Gorge' an intriguing but empty genre mash-up and streaming-only exercise. Like would-be lovers who spy each other across balconies, Drasa and Levi find their gazes trained more on each other than the evil that lurks below. It begins with a sign that could be called a tad cutesy for an elite sniper ('What's your name?').
As the months go by, their interactions advance to dancing and even, with the help of some repelling rope, a dinner date. You could at this point be asking yourself a few questions. If some version of hell was pried open, would we, perhaps, want more than two guards? But if we're going with two, how likely is it, with ghoulish things sporadically climbing up from the abyss, that they would soon begin a 'Love, Actually'-style courtship of holding up signs for each other? These aren't quibbles that 'The Gorge' has any time for, though.
Though the movie's flow is choppy and occasionally distracted by overly showy camera moves, it zips along and soon enough the two of them are shooting at what you could only call skull spiders. Questionable as the romantic turn is, Taylor-Joy and Teller have convincing chemistry. Plus 'The Queen's Gambit' fans can rejoice at the chance to again see Taylor-Joy play chess, albeit in a slightly different context. Once we get a decent view of the creatures they're charged with keeping under control, they appear half tree root, half human, like demon Groots. 'The Gorge' is better before our main characters are no longer poised at the mouth of hell but running through the gorge floor. One minute, they're swaying to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the next they're being swallowed by an adhesive root system. 'The Gorge' is pretty superficial stuff, but perhaps we can await its even shallower sequel, 'The Gully.' 'The Gorge,' an Apple Studios release, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association for intense sequences of violence and action, brief strong language, some suggestive material and thematic elements. Running time: 127 minutes. One and a half stars out of four.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab Times
2 days ago
- Arab Times
Flight delay sparks jazz performance by Dave Koz, goes viral
LOS ANGELES, Aug 20, (AP): Passengers on a flight from St. Louis to Seattle got an unexpected pick-me-up when jazz saxophonist Dave Koz and bandmates held an impromptu jam session in the aisle while the plane was stuck on the tarmac hundreds of miles from their final destination. It happened Aug. 11, when Koz and fellow musicians on the Dave Koz & Friends Summer Horns Tour were headed to Seattle for two days of shows. What was supposed to be a direct flight was beset by delays, including having to divert to Boise, Idaho, after flight crew members timed out and needed to be relieved, and the plane encountered a mechanical issue, Koz said Tuesday. This wasn't the first delay the band experienced since its tour started around mid-July, and it even had to cancel two shows because of travel-related issues, Koz said. But the delay last week was particularly deflating, not just for the musicians but for everyone on the plane. "You could just feel the energy. Everybody was so frustrated,' Koz said. A flight attendant who saw the musicians bring their instruments on board asked if they'd be willing to play a song while they were stuck in Boise. A video of them performing Stevie Wonder's "You Haven't Done Nothin'' - the closer to their show - went viral on social media. It shows Koz and fellow saxophone player Marcus Anderson grooving in the aisle with other horn players behind them, and Jeff Bradshaw on trombone getting creative to play the large instrument between seats. Passengers are seen smiling and swaying in their seats, with some recording the performance on their phones. Anderson said it felt good to lift spirits, though Koz admitted being nervous that some passengers might not like "horns playing in people's ears.' Anderson likened the feeling afterward to that of a great workout at the gym. The musicians never thought about the possibility of going viral, he said. "It was just doing something good for the people.' They performed just the one song, but they knew that was enough. "It just was right, and it brought everybody together in a way that was very special,' Koz said. "I'll remember that moment for the rest of my life.'
Arab Times
2 days ago
- Arab Times
Tamar Braxton says she 'almost died' in a weekend accident
LOS ANGELES, Aug 20, (AP): Singer, actor, and reality TV star Tamar Braxton said Tuesday that she "almost died' in a weekend accident that she doesn't remember. "I was found in a pool of blood from my friend with a face injury,' Braxton wrote in an Instagram post. "I fractured my nose, lost some teeth, and mobility." She added, "I don't even know what happened to me.' Braxton, 48, earlier in the day had posted "Thank you God for waking me up today,' in an Instagram story. She said she was getting calls after and was struggling to talk, so she shared what had happened to her. The post also said, "the way I look at life now is totally different. As my health is on the mend, my mental journey begins… pray for me for real.' An email to Braxton's manager seeking more details was not immediately answered. Braxton was part of a singing group with her sisters, including Toni Braxton, who went on to a major solo career. They and other family members appeared on the reality series "Braxton Family Values' starting in 2011, and Tamar Braxton has since appeared in spin-offs and other reality shows. As an actor, her recent credits include the TV series "Kingdom Business.' And she has spent much of the year on a solo singing tour.
Arab Times
4 days ago
- Arab Times
Terence Stamp, famed for his role as 'Superman' villain General Zod, dies at 87
LONDON, Aug 18, (AP): Terence Stamp, the British actor who often played the role of a complex villain, including that of General Zod in the early Superman films, has died. He was 87. His death on Sunday was disclosed in a death notice published online, prompting a wave of tributes from an array of fans and those close to him within the industry, including the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, or BAFTA. The London-born Stamp started his film career with 1962's seafaring "Billy Budd,' for which he earned Oscar and BAFTA award nominations. His six decades in the business were peppered with highlights, including his touching portrayal of the transsexual Bernadette in 1994's "The Adventure of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert," the second of his two BAFTA nominations. But it will be his portrayal of the bearded Zod in 1978's "Superman' and its sequel, "Superman II' two years later, that most people associate with Stamp. As the Kryptonian arch enemy to Christopher Reeve's Man of Steel, Stamp introduced a darker, charming, and vulnerable - more human - element to the franchise, one that's been replicated in countless superhero movies ever since. Edgar Wright, who directed Stamp in his final feature film, 2021's "Last Night in Soho,' remembered the actor in an Instagram post as "kind, funny, and endlessly fascinating.' "The closer the camera moved, the more hypnotic his presence became. In close-up, his unblinking gaze locked in so powerfully that the effect was extraordinary. Terence was a true movie star: the camera loved him, and he loved it right back,' Wright said. Bill Duke, who starred with Stamp in director Steven Soderbergh's 1999 crime drama "The Limey,' said he was "deeply saddened' to hear of his death. "He brought a rare intensity to the screen, but off-screen he carried himself with warmth, grace, and generosity,' he said on Facebook. Stamp started his acting career on stage in the late 1950s, where he acted in repertory theatre and met Michael Caine, who was five years older than himself. The pair lived together in a flat in central London while looking for their big break. He got his break with "Billy Budd' and Stamp embarked on a career that would see him in the early 1960s be part of the "angry young men' movement that was introducing an element of social realism into British moviemaking. That was perhaps most notable in the 1965 adaptation of John Fowles' creepy debut novel "The Collector,' where he played the awkward and lonely Freddie Clegg, who kidnapped Samantha Eggar's Miranda Grey in a warped attempt to win her love. It was a performance that would earn the young Stamp, fresh off his Oscar nomination, the best actor award at that year's Cannes Film Festival. While part of that 1960s British movement, Stamp learned from some of the most seasoned actors from the classical era, including Laurence Olivier. "I worked with Olivier briefly on my second movie (1962's "Term of Trial"),' Stamp recalled in an interview with the AP in 2013. "And he said to me, 'You should always study your voice.'' Stamp then segued into a spot-on Olivier impersonation, continuing, "'Because, as you get older, your looks go, but your voice will become empowered.'' His career took a bit of a hiatus from the late 1960s after he missed out on the role of James Bond to replace Sean Connery, that included a years-long stint in India and which saw him embrace a more holistic approach to his self. It was the unexpected role of General Zod that brought him back to the limelight. He played John Tunstall in 1988's "Young Guns,' the Galactic Republic leader in 1999's "Star Wars' prequel "The Phantom Menace,' appeared in the comedies "Yes Man' and "Get Smart' in 2008 and delivered voice performances in the video games "Halo 3' and "The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.' Born in London's East End on July 22, 1938, Stamp lived a colorful life, particularly during the 1960s when he had a string of romances, including with actress Julie Christie and model Jean Shrimpton. He married 29-year-old Elizabeth O'Rourke in 2002 at the age of 64, but the couple divorced six years later. Stamp did not have any children. Stamp retained his looks as the years ticked by, his natural handsomeness hardened by a more grizzled look. He generally sought to keep his standards high - to a point.
