The Hybrids Family (2015)

The Hybrids Family: Directed by Tony Randel. With Paul Sorvino, Carolyn Hennesy, Mojean Aria, Philip Willingham. A movie about a dysfunctional family of vampires and witches, it is mostly focused on the two children who are hybrids.

“FACE/OFF u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Panavision)u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSound formats: Dolby Digital / DTSu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis magnificent thriller represents director John Woou0026#39;s triumphant return to the kind of hyperkinetic, emotionally charged film-making which made him such a hot property in the first place. Following the artistic bankruptcy of his first two Hollywood projects, this one is a marriage of high-octane movie-making and mind-twisting narrative complexities. Itu0026#39;s also one of the few American action movies which manages to strike a balance between crowd-pleasing set-pieces and domestic interludes, and renders them equally important. John Travolta and Nicolas Cage are perfectly matched as hero/villain (and vice versa!), whilst heavyweight theatre actress Joan Allen provides the narrative with much of its dramatic backbone in the role of Travoltau0026#39;s wife (the scene in which she is first confronted with her husband in Cageu0026#39;s body is almost identical to a similar scene in Terence Fisheru0026#39;s FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED [1969]). u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTechnically, the film is a blast, and Woo stages the action highlights with a visual grace and dexterity that is often breathtaking to behold. The climactic speedboat battle is probably the finest set-piece of Woou0026#39;s career to date, and the script is overflowing with visual and thematic ironies that underscore the action highlights. In fact, the production has arguably more dramatic resonance than any other Hollywood blockbuster of the 1990s, but the dictates of American commercialism mean that Woo is only able to skate over the emotional surface of his characters and their moral dilemmas. The two main protagonists are much too cold and heartless to fully engage the audienceu0026#39;s sympathies, and thereu0026#39;s nothing here that matches the scorching human drama of, say, BULLET IN THE HEAD (1990). But for all that, FACE/OFF dares to go deeper than your average Hollywood action picture. Itu0026#39;s clever, witty and thrilling, and it manages to accomplish the difficult task of feeding the brain whilst entertaining the eye.”