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This film has been praised for its witty writing, but its current low IMDb rating undersells it. Here’s why.",[32,39,40],{},"I watched Good Boy, A.K.A. Heel by Jan Komasa (not to be confused with the 2025 supernatural horror) with mixed feelings. I didn’t know any of its actors (Yes, I have been living under a rock), nor was I aware of its premise. However, it grabbed my attention from the very start and kept me at the edge of my seat to the very end.",[32,42,43],{},"Although thrillers and horror are completely different genres, a thriller with horror elements that we see in unlikely places is much more powerful. For instance, a monster in a dark basement would not creep me out more than the creepy boss who is silently preying on their employees. Like so, how this movie tackled drug addiction and the way negligence could turn good human beings into insensitive monsters is perfect. For instance, when a child’s parents don’t give them enough attention, a child can turn to addiction and seek refuge.",[32,45,46],{},"Good Boy shows how a bizarre family takes on the responsibility of rehabilitating an addict in a humorous and unorthodox manner, even though it gets the job done. Ironically, it might be insinuating a larger picture of the governing bodies’ shortcomings in addressing the real problems in society. The plot seems to subtly indicate that if they allocate more resources towards dire social issues like addiction or maybe its root cause, already good humans tainted by mistakes could actually be saved.",[32,48,49],{},"The film also explores how a child’s upbringing could affect their future. Although the film’s solution to this worldwide epidemic is laughable, the writers have cleverly turned the kidnappers’ presence into something comforting while making the victim’s plight feel necessary and the outside world seem dangerously poisoned. Elaborating on this theme, the film seems to explore more about the new problems we face as a society, such as social media overconsumption, cyberbullying, drug addiction, etc. In the 70s, there was an uncontrollable surge in kidnappings and killings of hitchhikers and a booming market for serial killers, but in the 2020s, the problems are different. One might also wonder whether this new era is a colossal monster in itself, compared to a dysfunctional family that attempts to right society's wrongs. After all, not all heroes wear capes.",[32,51,52],{},"But it’s obvious that these issues are nuanced and need nuanced solutions as well, so everything depicted here in the film should be taken into account with its genre in mind, i.e., a black comedy thriller. Should a child be punished so harshly for puffing a cigarette by forcing them to drag a whole lot? Probably not, but should there be any consequences attached to your actions? Certainly yes.",[32,54,55],{},"In terms of the characters, Tommy’s character development in particular is also worth mentioning. His acting is unbelievably convincing, to the point that at the end I forgot if it was the same actor, Anson Boon.",[32,57,58],{},"The ending is even satisfying and cathartic. The film doesn’t rush; it takes its time and brilliantly brings the story to its climax and then comes full circle.",[32,60,61],{},"Good Boy needs to be rated even higher. Compared to massive, not to mention stale, Hollywood productions, these types of films, rich in their writing, acting, and directing, should be praised even more. Good Boy is truly an underdog that can inspire the future of films. 8\u002F10.",{"title":63,"searchDepth":64,"depth":64,"links":65},"",2,[],[67,68,69,70],"movies","reviews","mystery-&-thriller","polish","2026-05-30","Good Boy A.K.A. Heel is a black comedy thriller by Jan Komasa that deserves far more attention. It is funny but serious underneath; here’s why.","md",null,"\u002Fmedia\u002Fgood-boy-review-banner.webp",{},true,"Screen & Story","\u002Fblog\u002Fscreen-and-story\u002Fgood-boy-movie-2026-review",{"title":23,"description":72},"[object Object]","good-boy-2026-movie-review","blog\u002Fscreen-and-story\u002Fgood-boy-movie-2026-review","EP3kjT5vRAIy6Aoeln26zVyd3X-I-x2V-ZmvN1mSroQ",[86],{"id":87,"title":88,"author":24,"body":89,"categories":117,"created_at":120,"description":93,"draft":6,"extension":73,"head":74,"image":121,"image_alt":74,"meta":122,"navigation":77,"ogImage":74,"page":78,"path":123,"robots":74,"schemaOrg":74,"seo":124,"sitemap":81,"slug":125,"stem":126,"updated_at":74,"__hash__":127},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fscreen-and-story\u002Fthe-bluff-movie-a-curry-without-salt.md","The Bluff Movie: A Curry Without Salt",{"type":26,"value":90,"toc":115},[91,94,97,100,103,106,109,112],[32,92,93],{},"Had Karl Urban not appeared in some cool movies before, I would never have thought of watching The Bluff. Also, it was at number 3 on Amazon Prime in Germany, so I thought, what the hell.",[32,95,96],{},"Then I quickly realized that this swashbuckler action thriller is just a rinse-and-repeat, a very, I mean a very predictable story. Even though the narrative is set in the 1800s, the post-production crew may have done a couple of convincing CGI jobs and called it a day. The whole movie seems unfinished; it looks too modern and feels fake.",[32,98,99],{},"Needless to say, movies nowadays don’t exude the passion, emotion, or SFX quality that we once witnessed back in the day, and most contemporary movies are reduced to being heavily CGI-packed. However, it doesn’t hurt to try a little bit harder to make the film look credible.",[32,101,102],{},"There’s no life, depth, or whatever that we, the audience, could cling to. I did not care about the characters or their future because their backstories weren’t given much weight. The actor who plays Isaac is certainly just happy to be there as a rookie. The whole movie is bland like a curry made without salt.",[32,104,105],{},"The music, I would say, reminded me of Assassin's Creed Black Flag a lot. Perhaps my mind plays tricks on me. (I’m getting old.) But I later found out that the music of this movie was composed by the same composer, Henry Jackman, who created music for Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. Maybe that’s why it sounded kind of similar?",[32,107,108],{},"I just can’t put my finger on it; it’s difficult to believe Priyanka Chopra as an action hero. Perhaps it’s because of the Bollywood effect. I just can’t see past all her dance numbers and the times she acted as a pretty heroine in Bollywood. She is a phenomenal actress with great versatility; no one's denying that. Even in some Bollywood movies, she has given her all. It must be acknowledged that even in The Bluff, you can tell that she has trained a lot, she fights well, and she is, of course, convincing. But, as I said, I just can’t take her seriously. It’s just unfortunate what Bollywood does to many talented actors. With Bollywood’s naive stories and plotlines, I feel like most actors are robbed of their potential. On the other hand, Chopra is probably lucky since others may have had it worse.",[32,110,111],{},"Finally, is it a bad movie? No, because you can watch it without any complaints. Did I waste my time watching it? No, because I could watch it even while washing dishes. Be that as it may, it is a flavorless movie, and frankly, nothing would change even if you missed several scenes. It is for those who desire to expend less mental effort and seek movies that demand minimal emotional investment.",[32,113,114],{},"Were they really bluffing, hinting at an attempt to give us a better movie with this? I think so.",{"title":63,"searchDepth":64,"depth":64,"links":116},[],[67,68,118,119],"amazon-prime","karl-urban","2026-03-10","\u002Fmedia\u002Fthe-bluff-movie-review.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fscreen-and-story\u002Fthe-bluff-movie-a-curry-without-salt",{"title":88,"description":93},"the-bluff-movie-review","blog\u002Fscreen-and-story\u002Fthe-bluff-movie-a-curry-without-salt","kwicXPGPtqGxjRmYNnhQWEeM0boN8rNVYL9ZKCeaT0I",{"body":129},{"type":26,"value":130,"toc":147},[131,133,135,137,139,141,143,145],[32,132,93],{},[32,134,96],{},[32,136,99],{},[32,138,102],{},[32,140,105],{},[32,142,108],{},[32,144,111],{},[32,146,114],{},{"title":63,"searchDepth":64,"depth":64,"links":148},[],{"left":4,"top":4,"width":150,"height":150,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":151},256,"\u003Cpath fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"m221.66 133.66l-72 72a8 8 0 0 1-11.32-11.32L196.69 136H40a8 8 0 0 1 0-16h156.69l-58.35-58.34a8 8 0 0 1 11.32-11.32l72 72a8 8 0 0 1 0 11.32\"\u002F>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":150,"height":150,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":153},"\u003Cpath fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M208 32h-24v-8a8 8 0 0 0-16 0v8H88v-8a8 8 0 0 0-16 0v8H48a16 16 0 0 0-16 16v160a16 16 0 0 0 16 16h160a16 16 0 0 0 16-16V48a16 16 0 0 0-16-16M72 48v8a8 8 0 0 0 16 0v-8h80v8a8 8 0 0 0 16 0v-8h24v32H48V48Zm136 160H48V96h160z\"\u002F>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":150,"height":150,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":155},"\u003Cpath fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M224 48H32a8 8 0 0 0-8 8v136a16 16 0 0 0 16 16h176a16 16 0 0 0 16-16V56a8 8 0 0 0-8-8m-20.57 16L128 133.15L52.57 64ZM216 192H40V74.19l82.59 75.71a8 8 0 0 0 10.82 0L216 74.19z\"\u002F>",1780171150765]