Last Resort Films Jukebox: Mortal Kombat II

1. "I Am The Law" - Anthrax

2. "Revelation #12" - Marilyn Manson

3. "Extinct" - Moonspell

4. "Painkiller" - Judas Priest

5. "Holy Diver" - Killswitch Engage

6. "Starfuckers, Inc." - Nine Inch Nails

7. "Mortal Kombat" - Devil's Rock Contract

Now Showing: Mortal Kombat II

Mortal Kombat II
Genre: Action/Fantasy
Director: Gareth Evans
Writer: APJ & Chad Taylor
Based on the video game series
Cast: Iko Uwais, Jet Li, Ken Watanabe, Ronda Rousey, Scott Adkins, Patrick Wilson, Kate Beckinsale, Julie Estelle, Winston Duke, Jessica Henwick, Yoshi Sudarso, Zahn McClarnon

Plot: Hidden in seclusion in the Outworld, Shang Tsung (Ken Watanabe) starts to plot how he will rebound from Shao Khan’s defeat. He talks with his shadow priest advisors, who tell him of another option - albeit somewhat riskier. He can attempt to resurrect Khan’s dead wife, Queen Sindel, but in the Earthrealm instead of the Outworld. This would then justify the Outworld mixing with the Earthrealm. He tells his advisors that this is good but he has learned his lesson this time. He wants them to get in contact with the Lin Kuei - a lethal group of Outworld assassins - as he has a job for them before he can revive Sindel.

Jax (Winston Duke) sits on the sideline of a small soccer field where his young daughter, Jacqi, is playing. He gets a little too into the game and berating the referees until his wife, Vera, calms him down. He hears a sudden commotion and turns around to find a human-cyborg named Smoke heading towards him. Jax is quick to instruct his daughter's team and the parents and coaches to safety before turning to Smoke. He challenges Smoke to see what he's got. When Jax goes to punch him, Smoke vanishes into thin air. Jax comments that that's unfair. Smoke reappears from behind, punches Jax in the back of the head before reappearing in front of him and giving him an uppercut. Jax groans and gets up from the ground, asking "Is that the best you got?". This time, he wants no time while Smoke is in front of his and shoots at it with his guns. This works and momentarily stuns Smoke. Jax leaps atop a stunned Smoke and begins to repeatedly pound its face. This almost works until Smoke regains his functioning and disappears again into smoke before Jax can deal the final blow.

Jax takes an exhausted breath and is ready to make his way to his family in hiding. Again, he laments having to face someone who can turn into a puff of smoke. As he walks towards them, he begins to feel a burning sensation as smoke begins to trickle from his ears first and then his nose and eyelids. He begins a coughing fit and falls to his knees as he begins to cough up smoke. He is now in intense pain as his skin starts to burn off and smoke emirates from his pores. Amidst his agony, he tells Vera and Jacqi to look away. Once Jax's lifeless body completely collapses to the ground, the smoke coalesces into the cyborg Smoke as he walks away from the damage he as done.

Sonya Blade (Ronda Rousey) and Johnny Cage (Scott Adkins) are enjoying a romantic vacation in the Caribbean, relaxing on the beach, drinking margaritas. Suddenly they're sun is blocked by something, causing Cage to get annoyed and sit up. Before them are two cybernetic Lin Kuei assassins, Sektor and Cyrax. Sektor fires a missile from his chest. Blade and Cage hurry to their feet and dive away from the blast. Cage grabs a nearby beach umbrella and charges at Sektor, while Blade kicks Cyrax. Both assassins are sent flying back. Cyrax opens up his chest compartment and pulls out a saw blade that he throws at Blade and Cage. Cage charges at Sektor again with the umbrella, but Sektor teleports away, then reemerges under Cage and sends him flying into the air with an uppercut. Cage crashes down in the surf. Blade attempts a jump kick at Cyrax, but the cyborg grabs her by the leg and throws her towards the ocean. Sonya catches Cyrax with a cartwheel kick to the the head. She then finds a length of rope. She quickly wraps the rope around Cyrax's neck from behind and presses into Cyrax with her legs, decapitating the cybernetic assassin. Cage is still fighting Sektor in the sand. Blade comes over and tackles Sektor into the water, which begins short-circuits Sektor's cybernetics. Sektor then uses his arm console to activate a self-destruct mechanism. Blade and Cage run away from the impending explosion, diving into the water to avoid the blast. Cage, more annoyed than anything else, tells Blade that he thought they were done with all of this kind of stuff.

On Outworld, Princess Kitana (Julie Estelle), daughter of Sindel and Khan, is in the royal palace when she receives a message from her sister Jade (Jessica Henwick) to come see her. When she does, Jade informs Kitana that their father was killed at the Mortal Kombat tournament. Kitana feigns shock but this turns into real shock when smoke starts seep through her pores. Smoke is revealed to be standing behind her. Jade says that she is disappointed that Kitana would betray their father and that she will bring her before Shang Tsung - whom she tried to assassinate - for punishment.

Liu Kang is by himself training, per usual. He looks at a picture of Kung Lao, his deceased mentor. This makes Kang train even harder, with revenge on his mind. Once he finishes, he learns of the attacks on Jax, Sonya, and Johnny. Suddenly, he hears someone enter the warehouse and goes on alert. Someone looking like Sub-Zero emerges and, before he can even say anything, Kang goes to attack him. They fight throughout the warehouse until Sub-Zero is able to fend him off and tells him he does not want to fight. Liu Kang is confused. The man explains that he is Tundra (Yoshi Sudarso) - the younger brother Bi-Han, also known as Sub-Zero. After seeing his brother defeated in the tournament, he has taken up the mantle to protect their princess at all costs. That's why he needs Kang's help. Kitana was captured in a coup attempt by her half-sister Jade with the help from Shang Tsung. And who better to help him in rescuing her than the tournament's best fighter. Liu Kang is unsure at first but again looks at the picture of Kung Lao and realizes this is his chance at avenging his death. He accepts Tundra's offer.

After believing he has done the deed, Shang Tsung prepares to revive Sindel from the dead. His shadow priest do his work in the Earthrealm and the resurrection begins. In order to muster enough power to bring her into the Outworld, they feed on the souls of the billions living in Earthrealm. We see a montage of souls leaving the bodies of Earth's citizens as. We cut to see Raiden (Jet Li) for the first time - realizing what is happening and in a panic. Using his powers, he musters all he can to protect the few people he know will be helpful in his plot to reverse Shang Tsung's dastardly work. Still, seeing the loss of life in the Earthrealm is devastating. The shadow priest is in awe when he first lays eyes on the revived Sindel (Kate Beckinsale) - who is nearly glowing but is in a trance-like state.

NYPD SWAT Sgt. Kurtis Stryker (Patrick Wilson) wakes up in a hospital room. He vaguely remembers crashing his squad car. He gets out of the bed and doesn't see anyone else in the hospital. Stryker leaves the hospital and is stunned to find New York City a decimated wasteland. He finds his crashed car and gets his SWAT gear out of the trunk. Stryker finds himself the lone survivor of a city once populated by millions of people. Ignorant as to what has happened, Stryker suddenly receives a vision from Raiden, who instructs Stryker to travel west where all will be revealed to him.

Sonya and Johnny arrive in Los Angeles via yacht and find the city in ruins. They see a fire lit down the beach and head toward it, only to find a wolf howling at them. Sonya and Johnny prepare to run when suddenly the fire turns into the shape of wolf, then into the shape of a man, Nightwolf. The fiery vision of Nightwolf (Zahn McClarnon) tells them that they must head to the badlands of South Dakota to prepare to defend the Earthrealm. The fire then disappears. Johnny rolls his eyes and says that all he wants is an actual vacation, one where he doesn't have to try to save the world. Sonya gives him a playful smack and tells him to come on. Johnny says fine, but if they're going to go bumfuck South Dakota they're going to go in style. Cut to Johnny and Sonya driving a Ferrari away from Los Angeles.

Smoke and Jade bring Kitana to Shang Tsung's hideout. Shang Tsung is pleased that they managed to capture her and asks Kitana if she is excited to see her mother again. Kitana says her mother was corrupted by sorcery and killed herself. Tsung says Sindel will be back to life soon enough, finally allowing Outworld to consume Earthrealm. Jade says that the warriors from Earthrealm stopped him before, and they can stop him again. Tsung laughs, telling Kitana that it won't be long until Earthrealm is no more.

The cyborg Smoke appears before Shang Tsung, holding the primary components of his fellow cybernetic assassins: Cyrax and Sektor. Tsung appears as an apparition before the shadowy Lin Kuei council. He is furious that their cybernetic assassins have failed in their seemingly simple mission. They assure him they have upheld their end of the deal they made with Shang Tsung and banish his apparition from their chambers. Tsung holds the pieces of Cyrax and Sektor up to the chest of Smoke. The pieces of all three cyborgs begin glowing and morphing together into one new cybernetic organism. Shang Tsung dubs the new cyborg, Triborg. Tsung looks over to Jade and tells her that perhaps where three cyborgs failed, one superior cyborg can succeed.

Stryker is headed west on a police motorcycle. He notices the bike is almost out of gas, so he pulls off the road at an abandoned gas station. As he is filling up the bike's gas tank, he is surrounded by bandits. One of them sneaks up behind Styker with a large knife, but Stryker sees the man's reflection in the motorcycle's rearview mirror and hits the bandit in the side of the head with his police baton. The bandit's eyeball is knocked out of his skull as he hits the ground. Stryker grimaces in disgust until he sees several more bandits converging on him. He grabs his riot gun off the motorcycle, and fires the beanbag rounds at the bandits. He successfully hits each of the bandits, leaving them on the ground unable to move. Stryker finishes putting gas in the motorcycle and drives away from the gas station.

Liu Kang is taking a moment to meditate. He receives a vision from Nightwolf telling him that he must go ahead to Outworld with Tundra and rescue the princess. Nightwolf says that if he does this, the other Earthrealm warriors will join him when the time is right. Tundra watches Kang meditate and notices Kang's skin start to become scaly. Tundra nudges Kang awake, and Kang's skin returns to normal. Tundra asks what was going on there, but Kang simply says that he was meditating. Kang stands up and says they need to keep moving if they're going to rescue Princess Kitana and stop Shang Tsung.

Cage and Blade pull off to the side of the road next to a sign for Mount Rushmore. Cage gets out of the car and looks around. He kicks the Ferrari in frustration and demands to know where they're supposed to go. Blade notices a sound in the distance. Cage and Blade both look over toward the noise and see a motorcycle fast approaching. Blade gets out of the car and readies herself for a fight. Cage simply sits on the hood of the car and waits. When the motorcycle arrives, it is Stryker. He pulls a gun on them and demands to know who they are. Blade shows her badge, while Cage begins listing the action movies he has starred in. Stryker ignores Cage, but shows his badge to Blade, who asks what the NYPD is doing in South Dakota. Stryker says he's pretty sure there is no more NYPD, but he was told to come out here by some guy in a hat. Cage jokes that it sounds like Raiden. The trio hears the howl of a wolf, which makes them uneasy. A wolf then appears out of the shadows and growls at them. The wolf stares at each of them in the eye and then begins walking away down the road. Blade says they should follow the wolf.

Cage, Blade and Stryker follow the wolf to the base of Mount Rushmore. Stryker is quick to notice that the monument does not feature the right heads. Confused, Cage and Blade look at it and see that the heads of Washington, Roosevelt, Lincoln and Jefferson have seemingly been replaced by the heads of Shao Khan, Sindel, Kitana and Jade. They continue following the wolf to a campfire where they find Raiden waiting for them. The wolf then transforms into Nightwolf. Cage asks why Nightwolf couldn't just greet them like a person. Nightwolf says that he thought a man with Cage's resume would appreciate the theatricality of the approach. Blade asks why Mount Rushmore is different, and Raiden explains that Shang Tsung has revived the late Queen Sindel. As she gains more power, more of Earthrealm will be replaced by Outworld. Cage asks which realm they are in right now, and Raiden says that they're in both realms simultaneously, which will allow them easier access to Shang Tsung's palace. Cage asks where Liu Kang is since they don't stand a chance without him. Raiden tells them that they must continue without Kang, but that they should cross paths with him soon enough.

Raiden leads the group toward the twisted Mount Rushmore where a portal appears in front of Shao Khan's head. Raiden tells Cage, Blade and Stryker that they must continue on without him as his powers will not work in Outworld. Cage, Blade and Stryker disappear through the portal. Nightwolf asks Raiden if the three of them are going to be enough. Raiden says there are no other options, but that he will be praying that they find Liu Kang before the time is too late.

In his palace, Shang Tsung watches as Queen Sindel is finally back to life. Sindel's eyes glow white as she rises to her feet. Tsung tells Sindel that he has brought her back to life in order to merge all the realms. Kitana tries talking to Sindel, but she claims to not remember Kitana. Sindel does, however, remember that Jade is her daughter. Jade tells Sindel she is happy to see her, and that her father King Shao Kahn would be pleased she has come back to life to rule the land. Kitana continues to try to remind Sindel of who she is, but Sindel continues to be ignorant of her relation to Kitana. Shang Tsung smiles at this.

Liu Kang and Tundra make their way to Shang Tsung's palace, but once they enter the main chamber of the palace they are attacked by doubles of themselves. Kang fights his identical copy, while Tundra fights his own identical copy. Kang and his double have an even fight. Tundra generates an icicle and tosses it to Kang, who uses it to stab his double. The double then disappears into a cloud of dust. Tundra and Kang stand opposite each other with the Tundra double between them. They both run and kick the double in the head, causing the Tundra double to also disappear into a cloud of dust.

The earth shakes as Cage, Blade and Stryker walk down a road that resembles a twisted western ghost town toward Shang Tsung's palace off in the distance. A pair of glowing blue eyes watch the three walk through the deserted streets and approach the palace. They enter through the front doors where they find Tundra and Liu Kang. Blade and Cage are excited to see Kang, who introduces himself to Stryker.

With a flash of blue light, Triborg teleports in front of them. Tundra tells them that he'll take care of the robot, and urges the others to go rescue Princess Kitana and fight Shang Tsung. Tundra fires an icy blast at Triborg, who quickly teleports out of the way. Triborg reappears right behind Tundra, and kicks him across the room. Tundra covers himself in an ice armor and fires a large ice beam at Triborg. The cybernetic assassin seemingly catches the ice beam and throws it back at Tundra, freezing him in place. Triborg walks toward Tundra and grabs the frozen fighter by the throat. Triborg then activates his flamethrowers. He melts Tundra down to a puddle of slush and blood.

The Earthrealm heroes make their way up a long winding staircase to the top of a tower where they find Shang Tsung, Jade, Kitana and Queen Sindel. Liu Kang becomes angry when he sees Tsung, and briefly grows in size and his skin becomes scaly. The other humans are shocked by the sight. Blade cuts Kitana free. In a flash of blue light, Triborg appears in front of our heroes. Kang tells the others that he'll fight Tsung, leaving them to deal with cybernetic Triborg.

Triborg attacks Blade, Cage and Stryker. Triborg manages to grab Blade. Cage and Stryker try breaking her free from their grasp. Triborg then teleports to a graveyard outside of the palace, taking the three of them with him. They then fight in the graveyard.

Kang's eyes turn yellow as he charges at Tsung and tackles him out of the tower window. As Kang and Tsung fall they both begin transforming into something more monstrous. The two fall into a body of water. Kang swims his way out of the water, but is attacked by Tsung - who has transformed into a giant cobra. Tsung wraps himself around Kang, beginning to suffocate him. Kang's eyes turn yellow and his skin begins turning scaly. He then slowly and painfully transforms into a dragon.

Meanwhile, Princess Kitana faces off against her sister Jade, with their mother watching on. Jade’s primary weapon is her bo staff while her sister is equipped with sharpened metal fans. They are both experts in defense, knowing their other halves very well. Jade is able to sweep Kitana off her feet and, while Kitana is on the ground, forces her staff through her sister’s left leg. While definitely wounded, Kitana still manages to get and asks her sister for more. This lulls Jade into a false sense of security and Kitana uses her fans to cut the staff in half. With Jade’s primary weapon now defunct, Kitana gives her sister two dozen cuts all over her body. However, although she is hurt, Jade summons her mother in to take on Kitana. Kitana does not want to fight her mother as she knows she is under a trance but she also needs to survive.

While Shang Tsung’s cobra transformation was the ultimate back-up plan, Liu Kang’s dragon form is an unforeseen development. He is now double his previous height and towers over Shang Tsung. Shang Tsung tries to submerge himself in the water and escape but Liu Kang is able to track him down. Unlike last time, Shang Tsung is not able to bail out on his showdown with Tsung. With nowhere left to go, Shang Tsung attempts to bite his enemy but the dragon’s mouth is bigger and bites the head of the snake whole. He then breathes it out into a fiery ball. The rest of Shang Tsung’s body transforms into a headless body while Liu Kang also transforms back, unsure of what just happened.

Using Raiden’s guidance, Liu Kang finds the graveyard where the other Earthrealm heroes are fighting. Triborg finds itself outnumbered with the heroes surrounding the cybernetic assassin. They keep hitting Triborg, bouncing him back and forth, not allowing Triborg a chance to use one of his high-tech weapons. Finally, Stryker stabs Triborg in the chest with his police baton. Blade and Cage each grab one of Triborg's arms and rip them clean off of his body. Triborg starts the process of launching a missile, but Liu Kang grabs Triborg's head and snaps it off its shoulders. Kang then tells everyone to run. Triborg's missile explodes, with our heroes getting out of the way just in time. The heroes observe that Triborg is definitely out of commission, having exploded into countless pieces.

With Shang Tsung's defeat, Kitana finally manages to break through his sorcery while she fights her mother. She reminds Sindel of the loving queen and mother she was before she became involved with Shao Kahn. Sindel realizes that with her back from the dead, Earthrealm will cease to exist. Kitana understands what her mother must do, but asks if they can have a moment first. Sindel nods her head and gives her daughter a hug. Sindel walks to the roof of the tower and steps off the edge, falling down to the rocks and fog below.

We see Earth begin to transform back to its normal self. Greenery and life return to the previous desolation, with the souls being restored to all of those lost. Everyone understands that they must go their separate ways, especially Stryker. We see him return to New York and share an emotional reunion with his family. The city is bustling once again, which he feels relieved about. Johnny says that he doesn’t know how many more of these big battles he can take and asks if she wants to get married or something. She asks if he even has a ring and he says they go pick one if she wants. She’s down, anything to get their mind off of those assassins. Before they do, they visit Jax’s family to offer their condolences. Finally, Kitana thanks Liu Kang for his help and gives him a kiss. He is a man of honor and says that he was just doing his duty.

The film ends with Liu Kang visiting Raiden. He looks weakened from using all of his power to protect the warriors, which ultimately pay off. Liu Kang is worried but Raiden says that he will recover. Despite Raiden being an elder god, he accepts Liu Kang’s offer to share a drink in the memory of Kung Lao and the other warriors lost along the way.

Release: Bastion

Bastion
Genre: Drama
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Writer: Jimmy Ellis
Cast: Denzel Washington, Joaquin Phoenix, John Goodman, Dennis Quaid, John David Washington, James Wolk, Bruce Greenwood, Lewis Pullman, Mike Colter, Alexandra Shipp




Budget: $47,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $58,577,450
Foreign Box Office: $36,123,094
Total Profit: $12,444,488

Reaction: While we were hoping for bigger numbers out of Denzel Washington's first appearance, we can't complain too much about the profit the film managed to earn. That said, it still would've been nice to see more of a profit with a box office gross over $90 million.

"It takes way too long for Denzel's face to grace the screen, but once it does the film finally gets moving along after a slow and predictable beginning. He gives a strong performance in his LRF debut, stretching his dramatic acting muscles in a cool fashion." - Olive Carroll, Houston Chronicle

"Bastion is many things, but subtle it is not. The racism and the time periods don't feel very authentic - if the film had been a period piece, this aspect would probably have worked a lot better." - Jeremy Raren, RottenTomatoes.com

"I have mixed feelings when it comes to Bastion. It is well-plotted and well-cast, but it is often too heavy-handed in its approach to its subject matter. Obviously the performances are strong, especially from Washington and Phoenix, but then you have Goodman as the cartoonishly racist villain. At the end of the day though, the positives do outweigh the negatives." - Allen Poole, AV Club

Rated R for language and violence

Top 10 A-List LRF Debuts

Sherman J. Pearson here for another edition of Top 10. This round sees Denzel Washington finally make his Last Resort Films debut in Bastion from director Paul Thomas Anderson and writer Jimmy Ellis. This got me thinking about other the LRF debut films from other A-List stars.

Top 10 A-List LRF Debuts
10. Tom Hanks - Hiroshima
9. Jennifer Lawrence - Triangle
8. Robert Downey Jr. - Green River
7. Tom Cruise - Splinter Cell
6. Tom Hardy - Without Remorse
5. Jake Gyllenhaal - Maria
4. Matthew McConaughey - Blood Meridian
3. Bradley Cooper - Paradise Lost
2. Brad Pitt - White Jazz
1. Leonardo DiCaprio - Blackwater

Now Showing: Bastion

Bastion
Genre: Drama
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Writer: Jimmy Ellis
Cast: Denzel Washington, Joaquin Phoenix, John Goodman, Dennis Quaid, John David Washington, James Wolk, Bruce Greenwood, Lewis Pullman, Mike Colter, Alexandra Shipp

Plot: 1989 – Franklin Autry (John David Washington) is walking down a street by himself, with grocery bags in hand, he walks past a group of men, throwing out racial slurs. He pays them no mind and continues walking. A police siren is heard, and a man rolls down his window and asks where he is going. Franklin tells him that he is going home to his wife, the policeman says ok but to get home quickly, he leaves him be. Franklin walks home, with disgust and a smile on his face at the same time, he is sick of being treated different. He speaks to himself, about how he will romance his wife tonight. He arrives home and walks up the driveway, he uses a key to open the door and calls out to Margaret. He gets no answer, but hears his baby daughter’s cries, he has a surprised look on his face, he walks to the kitchen, and sees his (white) wife, and he drops the groceries and cries, lunging down to his wife, who is covered in blood. He hugs and kisses her, a gun is lying next to him, as the door is broken down. Policemen come in and see him in despair, they aim their guns at him and tell him to slowly lie on the ground. One officer, Jake Finch (James Wolk) walks up to Franklin and his wife, he shakes his head, and tears begin to well in his eyes, then he spits on Franklin, he proceeds to grab his baton out of his holster and swings at Franklin multiple times as the other officers look on. They pick him up and take him away. Jake looks and finds a briefcase, he opens it and finds a boat load of cash. He takes the briefcase for himself.

Franklin wakes up bloody and bashed in his holding cell. He gets down on both knees and prays that he does not die from the hands of the officers. An officer sits back in his seat and looks at Franklin praying, with racial slurs he tells him to get back on his metal bed, he has a visitor soon.

His visitor shows up, his lawyer, Bill Seaborn (Lewis Pullman). Bill asks to speak to his client in private. They get their own private room and the two get to speaking. It just so happens that Bill is Franklin’s neighbour. Bill knows that Franklin didn’t kill his wife, he loved her. Franklin knows this, but says for Bill to think. Franklin says, with a tense face, he knows the only way he will avoid the death penalty is if he pleads guilty. Bill tries to warn him against it, however Franklin’s made up his mind. He tells Bill to think about it properly. A black man walks into the courtroom accused of killing his white wife, they don’t need evidence, the jury will find him guilty, over and over again, no matter how many times they see this happen, they will say guilty. Bill asks if he is sure, Franklin has his head in his hands and sobs, he says that he loved her, she would not want him dead and the only way to do that is to plead guilty.

Jake Finch is at home with a glass of whiskey in hand sitting on a lounge. He grabs a photo frame and stares at it, the photo turns out to be one of Jake and his sister (Franklin’s wife), he never approved of his sister marrying a Black Man, and he didn’t even go to their wedding. He looks at the briefcase and walks out the back of his house. He puts the briefcase in a tree after taking some money out for him to keep. He thinks to himself out loud that he should make Franklin’s life a living hell.

Sitting in front of the judge is Franklin and Bill, they are asked what they plead, Bill looks at Franklin as he is distraught he whispers to him to ask if he is sure, Franklin nods. Lewis looks to the judge and says that his client pleads GUILTY! The judge looks down and shakes his head, he sentences Franklin to 40 years in prison, with good behaviour he will be out in 30. The policemen come and pick him up from his chair and put him in the back of the police car to deliver him to the prison.

Franklin enters the prison and is told to place all his things in a tub and hand it over, he does so and is given a blue jumpsuit. He is polite in thanking the man handing it over and the man scoffs. He is taken into his cell without a cellmate, they say that no-one is to be with him. The officers throw him in, lock the cell and walk away. Only a few moments later the cell door swings back open and in walks Jake with a baton in hand he closes the cell to lock himself inside as he has other officers stand guard to make sure no other prisoner sees. Franklin asks how he is here, Jake replies saying he asked for the transfer to be a guard at the prison. As Jake swings the baton he vows that he won’t let Franklin leave this prison.

Franklin wakes up and sits on his bed, the camera focuses on his face that is bruised and bloody from the beating.

March 22nd 2019 – Franklin Autry (Denzel Washington) sits on his bed face bruised and bloody, he looks out of the cell at the prison guard, he yells out to him and it turns out it is Jake Finch (John Goodman). Franklin reminds him that he is free in a month to which Jake just ignores. Jake then stands straighter as Warden Giles (Dennis Quaid) walks by and looks at Franklin, he enters his cell. He sits down opposite Franklin and tells him he knows that he is being released in a month if all goes well, Franklin knows that there will be a ‘but’ coming, Giles says that the other cells are full this is the only one free, Franklin asks him to get to the point. Giles continues and says that he is getting a new cellmate, Leyon Cendrillion. He adds that he is coming right now. The cell is opened and in comes Leyon Cendrillion (Joaquin Phoenix). Franklin tries to introduce himself but is brushed off by Leyon. Giles leaves and wishes him luck. Franklin continues trying to talk with Leyon, but Leyon continues brushing him off.

It's meal time and Franklin walks out to the cafeteria. They line up and are given their food, Franklin takes his seat with no-one around him. Leyon finds a seat on the other side of the cafeteria, to which Franklin stares and questions something in his head. A big man walks up to Franklin, and tells him that he is dead. Franklin looks up to him and says that he is not quite sure about that one. He continues talking to the big man, this starts to annoy the big man and he goes to punch Franklin. The hand is caught by Zion Washington (Mike Colter) who squeezes the man’s hand until he is on the ground seething with pain. Zion tells the big guy to never mess with Franklin again. Zion takes a seat next to Franklin. Franklin asks him how his reading is going. Zion says that thanks to Franklin he can actually read a book. Franklin gets a book out of his pocket ‘The Dreams of Ada’, he tells Zion that he has read it and it is an intriguing book, he hands it over to Zion and tells him that it is now his. Zion is welcoming to the book and thanks Franklin. Leyon is looking over at Zion and Franklin and is interested. A man walks up to Leyon and demands his food, calling him fresh meat. Leyon slides the food over and the man tries to take it but Leyon slams his head into the table, the cafeteria goes silent and they all look over at Leyon who walks back to his cell talking to himself. Franklin looks to Zion and tells him to read up, he then leaves to follow Leyon back to the cell.

Leyon is sitting on his bed talking to himself, Franklin stands at the door and asks what he did. Leyon seems to not hear him and continues speaking to himself. Franklin begins talking anyway and tells him why he is here. He says that he pleaded guilty to killing his own wife. He says that he did not do it but it was the only way to live. Leyon looks up to Franklin and paces around the cell. He says he was sitting in his living room and heard a voice in his head. He said it told him to do it. Franklin asks do what. Leyon stares at Franklin, “He told me not to say.” Franklin asks him who told him. Leyon walks to the wall and begins punching it, then turning around to Franklin and walks towards him, his voice gets deeper and says, “I did.” Franklin begins to panic a bit but tries to calm Leyon down by repeating Leyon’s name and saying that he can help. Leyon’s deeper voice says they don’t need help but his normal voice tries taking over and succeeds. Leyon apologises to Franklin and says that he killed his own wife. He stabbed her over and over until she was dead. Franklin is shocked but he is in prison. Franklin tells Leyon of his story, how he was walking home from the supermarket and he walked inside all he could hear was his baby daughter’s cries. He looked around the corner and a pool of blood surrounded his wife, so he went down to hug her and the police came in and they beat him. He says that he needed to plead guilty because the Death Penalty was still around, he would have gotten it for sure even when he was innocent. He finishes by saying that, nobody is innocent, not unless they ask for forgiveness, but everyone has done something in their life. Jake knocks on the cell and tells Franklin that he has a visitor.

Franklin walks out to the visiting room, he notices who it is visiting and gives a huge smile, and it is Bill Seaborn (Bruce Greenwood). He hugs Bill and says that it has been too long. Bill says he is sorry but he has been busy, he wishes he could visit more. Franklin understands as he knows Bill has recently gotten a grandchild. The two talk about what has been going on with each other’s lives. Franklin says he taught a young black man to read and that he has a new cellmate. Bill reassures Franklin that when he gets out if he needs a place to stay to give him a call. Jake walks over and calls Franklin a filthy animal and tells him to get back to the cell. Jake walks him back and along the way reminds Franklin about what he said 30 years ago. Jake tells him he won’t be getting out of here. Franklin says that he will see his daughter again.

Leyon is pulled out of his cell by Jake and taken to a secluded room. Jake gives him an offer, he says that Jake wants Leyon to kill Franklin, his cellmate. Jake tells him that there is a huge amount of cash at an abandoned house, he tells him the address. Leyon maniacally asks why he doesn’t just give money to a family member, Jake says his whole family are n******, especially his niece that low life scum, he says he hasn’t even wanted to talk to her. Jake tells him to do it and he will cover it up as a suicide, and he will make sure that Leyon gets out on good behaviour.

It’s time for lights out and Franklin starts praying, Leyon gives him a weird look and Franklin can feel he is being stared at. He opens one eye and asks Leyon what he wants. In his deeper voice Leyon says that he never got the whole praying thing, how can someone go there who lives believing in something with no proof. Franklin replies in saying belief is what keeps him going, what keeps him alive, the belief if getting out of prison. Leyon now in his normal voice asks if it works, the praying. Franklin says that it can. Jake knocks on the cell and yells at them to go to sleep, he abuses Franklin.

April 21st 2019 – A day before his release Franklin is walking around the prison looking for Zion, he wants to know how he went with reading ‘The Dreams of Ada’. He eventually finds Zion reading in the courtyard while other men do weights. He asks how he is going with the book and Zion replies to him saying that he has actually already read it, this is his second time through. Franklin laughs and asks if he can borrow the book so Leyon can read it, Zion hands the book over and tells Franklin to make sure Leyon will give it back. Franklin walks backwards and accidently bumps into Jake Finch, Jake whispers to him that he isn’t getting out of here. Franklin just laughs and tells Jake that he will be watching him walk out of here. Franklin heads back to the cell that he has shared with Leyon for almost a month.

When Franklin arrives at the cell he can here Leyon talking to himself fluctuating from his deep voice and normal voice. His deep voice tells him that he isn’t going to let him do it. His normal voice says that he is going to do it and that he (the deep voice) cannot stop him. He yells in a deep voice and startles himself jumping back into his bed. Franklin walks in and speaks softly to Leyon reassuring him who he is. Franklin asks Leyon what he wants to do. He tells him that all he wants to do is pray. Leyon believes that if he prays the voice will go, he calls the voice… The Devil. Franklin doesn’t know why he just doesn’t pray, Leyon explains that he is waiting for the right time to do it. Franklin hands Leyon the book and asks him if he has read it before. Leyon replies and says that he has never read anything before, he can’t read. Franklin tells him that he will teach him, for one day.

We get different scenes one after the other of Franklin teaching Leyon how to read. Leyon begins to get frustrated and his deeper voice comes out and tells Franklin to stop. Franklin doesn’t stop and tells Leyon to fight it, to fight the voice. He does so and continues reading. Franklin starts smiling and calls Leyon a natural.

The night comes and Leyon excited tells Franklin that he finished the book, Franklin thought it was quick but tells him to return it to Zion. Franklin introduces him to Zion and the two get along straight away. Leyon goes to use the toilet and Franklin tells Zion about Leyon’s split personality. Zion is a bit put back by it but Franklin tells him to just reassure Leyon of who he is. Franklin asks Zion to look after Leyon when he goes, to which Zion agrees to Franklin’s delight. Leyon returns and Franklin leaves the two alone to get to know a bit about each other. When he leaves however Leyon in his deep voice thanks him, which is a surprise to Franklin, the deep voice never liked him. He walks past Jake and Jake reminds him he will never leave this prison.

April 22nd – The Day of Franklin’s Release – Franklin arises from his sleep, Leyon is already up and staring creepily at Franklin. Franklin is a little startled by him. Leyon asks for one last favour, he wants Franklin to teach him to pray. Franklin shows him to get on his knees, close his eyes and join his hands. Leyon asks what to pray for, he tells him to pray for whatever he wants, for forgiveness. He says that at the end he needs to say Amen to sign off to God. A moment of silence ensues, and Leyon finishes by saying Amen. Franklin asks how he feels and his response is that he feels like a huge load has been taken off his back. A knock on the cell tells Franklin that it’s time to go, Leyon follows him out to say goodbye, Zion follows too.

At the last door that the prisoners can go to Franklin turns around and hugs Zion, he turns to Leyon and Leyon sticks out his hand for a shake, Franklin knocks his hand out of the way and hugs him. He turns to the door and sees Jake he waves goodbye. Unexpectedly Jake grabs a gun and pulls it on Franklin, he says that he told him he isn’t getting out. The other officers try to grab Jake to stop the gun, Zion lands a huge punch onto Jake’s chin, the gun goes off… Leyon dives in front of Franklin taking the full force of the bullet. Zion continues the beat down on Jake. Franklin turns Leyon onto his back, Leyon reaches towards him and Franklin holds his hand close to his chest. Franklin yells to get help, but Leyon tells him to be quiet. He tells him he wants to whisper something. Franklin gets closer to Leyon’s mouth, Leyon tells him that he is his greatest friend. He also tells him that he has learned of hidden money, he tells him the address. He continues telling Franklin to take it to Franklin’s daughter, give her a good life. Franklin looks him in the eyes and asks what it’s like… to die. Leyon says it feels like Freedom, and lets out his last gasp, bleeding out. Franklin stands and starts walking out of the prison, he looks over at a bloody Jake Finch and looks at him in disgust, he tells Zion to stop, that he is not worth it. He says goodbye and walks out the door.

Franklin is a free man and arrives at the address Leyon had told him, he walks to the tree out in the backyard and reaches in, he feels around and finds a briefcase, and he pulls it out and opens it to find a large amount of cash.

He approaches an old rundown house, and puts the briefcase on the verandah, placing a piece of paper on top of it. He rings the doorbell and walks away. Nia (Alexandra Shipp) walks out to the verandah with a young baby in hand, she wonders why no-one was at the door, but she sees the briefcase and the letter. A voiceover from Franklin reading the letter, is on the same time as footage of Franklin with a rope behind him, he sits on a chair and looks at a photo of his wife and daughter. He kisses the photograph and stands on the chair with a smile on his face, he places the rope around his neck and kicks the chair over. His limp body hangs as the voiceover of the letter finishes.

Breaking News

Last Resort Films has announced that like many other Hollywood movie studios, they will be starting their own streaming service. LRF NOW, the tentative name for the service, will initially debut at leasr five original films next season. Each round that does not feature an original film will spotlight a past LRF film or LRTV series on the service. The original films produced for LRF NOW will not be eligible for the Golden Reel Awards since the studio does not plan on giving them qualifying theatrical runs. Additionally, the films produced by the service will be of the low-budget variety, with a max budget of $10 million.

The studio's streaming service will debut at the start of next season with the debut film from writer Malcolm Taylor, brother of Chad Taylor, a remake of the low-budget 80s horror film Chopping Mall.

Release: Hotel California

Hotel California
Genre: Mystery/Horror
Director: Rian Johnson
Writer: Meirad Tako
Inspired by the song by the Eagles
Cast: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Mila Kunis, Tom Wilkinson




Budget: $13,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $29,873,990
Foreign Box Office: $38,212,004
Total Profit: $43,003,556

Reaction: Certainly a surprise hit for the studio. The box office numbers aren't through the roof great, but with the low production costs and strong home video and soundtrack sales the film managed to hit a much higher profit than we ever expected.

"Writer Meirad Tako and director Rian Johnson have created a very atmospheric film that will keep you engrossed not through its characters or story, but rather through the look and feel of the film." - Samuel O'Brien, Sight and Sound Magazine

"There are some interesting aspects to Hotel California, but it just never adds up to a story. It feels more like an extended music video sequence than it does an actual feature film with an actual plot or actual characters with more depth than their appearances." - Mark Rawls, Seattle Times

"As much as I hate the Eagles, I have to admit that this film inspired by one of their most frustrating songs was an interesting ride to take. Jonathan Rhys Meyers is a mixed bag in the lead role, but he doesn't have to do much else than react to his mysterious surroundings." - Janelle Arbor, Vogue

Rated R for language, graphic violence, sexuality and nudity