Plot: What’s it about?
When it comes to talent, it’s generally inherent. Case in point, Zoë Kravitz has been on the radar for quite some time and noted for her work in films like X-Men: First Class, Big Little Lies and The Batman (just to name a few). I often wonder what makes an actor want to reverse the roles and direct, but more often than not it’s a good thing. After all, Clint Eastwood, Robert Redford and Kevin Costner have all won Academy Awards for their work as directors – isn’t it about time we get a woman involved? Well the wait is over and now we’ve got her in her directorial debut. She also co-wrote the film. I mean, when you’ve got talent – you’ve got talent.
Frida (Naomi Ackie) is a cocktail waitress who’s feeling somewhat…invisible. After she works an event for a tech billionaire, Slater King (Channing Tatum), she and her best friend Jess (Alia Shawkat) are invited to spend a few days at his resort which happens to reside on his own personal island (because…why not?). While there she meets his “friends” in Cody (Simon Rex), Tom (Haley Joel Osment) and Vic (Christian Slater). There’s also a bevy of female guests which includes a reality TV star – Sarah (Adria Arjona). There’s gluttony to be had. Gourmet food is consumed, drugs are plentiful and alcohol is everywhere. Jess seems to find it a bit odd that they’re wearing identical outfits, but she quickly lets it go chalking it up to a “rich thing.” A few things happen and Frida starts to become suspicious of Slater…
To tell much more would be to ruin the surprise and, well, I won’t do that. Suffice it to say that this is a great cast. And I have to say that there are some faces I haven’t seen in a while, namely Christian Slater, Simon Rex and Geena Davis. Yes, Geena Davis. The cast aside, this is also a fun movie to watch. It’s odd. But in a good way. And I have to say that after having recently watched 21 Jump Street and its sequel, Tatum does some of his best dramatic work here. There’s more to him than meets the eye and he’s proven that he can do action (White House Down), romance (Dear John) and everything in between. It’s a great directorial debut for Kravitz. She’ll be around for a while.
Video: How’s it look?
The 2.39:1 AVC HD encode is what we’d expect from a day and date release from Warner. And it runs the gamut of the spectrum from bright, blue skies and crystal clear swimming pool water to the night. And the image is never challenged. We’ve come so far in what we expect from films and television shows, it’s hard to imagine if one emerges in anything but stellar quality. Flesh tones are spot on (and there’s a LOT of flesh in this movie), detail is impeccable and colors are bold and bright. In short, it’s a great-looking image and what we’ve come to expect.
Audio: How’s it sound?
In the days where a Dolby Atmos soundtrack is nearly the standard, we find a still rather robust DTS HD Master Audio mix that checks all the boxes. Crisp and clean vocals, a surprisingly active surround track (I’ll leave the details out so as not to spoil) and an active front stage. I really want to say more, but this one isn’t particularly memorable, but it more than serves its purpose.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc contains no supplemental material.
The Bottom Line
Actors turned directors are a bit hit and miss, but Zoë Kravitz clearly has an eye for work both in front of and behind the camera. Blink Twice is an odd film, to be sure, but there was something about it that really stuck with me. Couple that with some faces we haven’t seen in a while and, well, this is one to check out.
