Tag: sasha calle

THE RIP – The Review

THE RIP. (L to R) Matt Damon as Lieutenant Dane Dumars and Ben Affleck as Det Sergeant J.D. Byrne in The Rip. Cr. Warrick Page/Netflix © 2025.

By Marc Butterfield

“Are we the good guys?” – Lieutenant Dane Dumars (Matt Damon)

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have been friends since they were in elementary school, and now they’re bringing that friendship to Netflix. The duo are reteaming for the new crime thriller The Rip, from writer-director Joe Carnahan (Narc, Smokin’ Aces, Copshop, Boss Level). Also coming along for the ride are Steven Yeun, Kyle Chandler, Teyana Taylor, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Sasha Calle; the film is produced by Artists Equity, the studio-led studio that Damon and Affleck founded in 2022.

If you think you’re going to walk in and figure this one out while watching, I must say, you probably aren’t. The story has more twists and turns than a Monaco race track, and you catch on pretty quick that nothing is as it seems. The pacing is smooth, the dialogue is tight and economical, the action does NOT disappoint either. It may be a Netflix movie, but it really could have killed at the box office. I like Carnahan’s movies, and this is amongst his best. The chemistry with Affleck and Damon has not diminished with time, and the supporting cast all pull their weight with them. It’s definitely the edge-of-your seat action one wants from a crime drama, and the settings all feel like they could stand up to much bigger budget movies.

Beware: spoilers ahead, so if you don’t want to know too much, save the below for later.

THE RIP follows Damon – Lieutenant Dane Dumars – and Affleck – Detective Sergeant J.D. Byrne – as Miami cop partners who find themselves in a sticky situation after their team finds $24 million stashed away in a safehouse. Required by law to count the money before leaving the scene, the cops and their team must survive the night — and each other. Plus the team is already on edge — and under FBI investigation — after the murder of their captain, Jackie Velez (Lina Esco). 

And they find the police informant in the house, Dumars and Byrne’s first instinct is soon proven correct: The money is from the cartel.

Desi (Sasha Calle), the home’s owner, is an unwitting pawn in the organization’s game. The cartel paid Desi to place buckets of cash in the attic of her new home, inherited from her recently deceased grandmother. With plenty of funeral and medical expenses to pay, it was an offer the young woman couldn’t refuse. Partner turns on partner, bullets start flying, and the cartel is on the prowl. When threatening phone calls start coming through and the house is hit with a barrage of bullets, the team naturally blames the cartel.  But a nighttime chase quickly resolves that question. Byrne finds common cause with the cartel lookout who was communicating through the porch light. He even helps him run off the real culprits and coordinates a phone conversation with his cartel chief (Sal Lopez), who convinces Byrne and Dumars that the cartel didn’t fire a shot.

THE RIP. (L to R) Steven Yeun as Detective Mike Ro, Matt Damon as Lieutenant Dane Dumars, Writer/Director Joe Carnahan, Ben Affleck as Detective Sergeant J.D. Byrne and Kyle Chandler as DEA Agent Mateo ‘Matty’ Nix on the set of The Rip.Cr. Claire Folger/Netflix © 2025.

“The Rip came out of a deeply personal experience that my friend went through, both as a father and as head of tactical narcotics for the Miami Dade police department,” Carnahan explains. “It’s inspired in part by his life and then, by my enduring love for those classic ‘70’s cop thrillers that really valued the character and interpersonal relationships and became touchstones of that era — films like Serpico and Prince of The City and more recently, Michael Mann’s Heat.”

The viewer will discover that there are details in the movie drawn directly from officer Chris Casiano’s true story that inspired the film. The final piece of tension emerges from a procedural detail: will the rip’s final total match the count performed by the Tactical Narcotics Team? It does, to the dime: $20,650,480.

Dumars says goodbye to Desi, and reveals the truth behind his tattoos. They’re not a somber reminder of his duty, necessarily. They’re a memorial to his son. “Are we the good guys?” was the last thing his son said to him; “We are and always will be” was the last thing he said to his son.

Shot masterfully by cinematographer Juanmi Azpiroz, the film is filled with gunfights, car chases, and rooftop shootouts. This is The Rip. You won’t want to miss it.

Watch on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81915745 

4 out of 4 stars

Check Out This Brand New Look AT THE RIP Starring Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Steven Yeun, Teyana Taylor, Catalina Sandino Moreno And Kyle Chandler

THE RIP. (L to R) Steven Yeun as Detective Mike Ro, Matt Damon as Lieutenant Dane Dumars, Ben Affleck as Detective Sergeant J.D. Byrne and Kyle Chandler as DEA Agent Mateo ‘Matty’ Nix in The Rip. Cr. Claire Folger/Netflix © 2025.

Dropping on Netflix January 16 is director Joe Carnahan’s THE RIP, starring Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Steven Yeun, Teyana Taylor, Sasha Calle, Catalina Sandino Moreno & Kyle Chandler.

Upon discovering millions in cash in a derelict stash house, trust among a team of Miami cops begins to fray. As outside forces learn about the size of the seizure, everything is called into question — including who they can rely on.

Carnahan directed Narc and Copshop. Of his new film, he says, “I’ve always been a big fan of the cop film.” He also drew inspiration from the story of his “very dear friend,” a police officer in Miami, who taught Carnahan all about “rips” — a term used to describe when cops seize illegal weapons, drugs, or, as in The Rip, lots and lots of cash. Read more about the film over at TUDUM.

https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-rip-trailer-ben-affleck-matt-damon?utm_source=mediacenter

Watch on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81915745

THE RIP. (L to R) Steven Yeun as Detective Mike Ro, Matt Damon as Lieutenant Dane Dumars, Writer/Director Joe Carnahan, Ben Affleck as Detective Sergeant J.D. Byrne and Kyle Chandler as DEA Agent Mateo ‘Matty’ Nix on the set of THE RIP. Cr. Claire Folger/Netflix © 2025.

ON SWIFT HORSES – Review

One of this weekend’s big film releases is yet another cinematic ride in Doc Brown’s DeLorean to what many believe to be a simpler, more “fun” era. Of course, last week, SINNERS dispelled such notions about the oh-so segregated 1930s (and then tossed vampires into the mix). It’s appropriate that I referenced that 1985 classic, since this new film is also set in the 1950s, those “Happy Days” referred to in the classic TV show (shessh, it’s over forty years old now). Sure, it was the birthplace of great rock and roll, but for certain minorities, it was a time to be very careful to the point of hiding in the shadows. While this film also briefly touches on race, its main focus is on sexual orientation, which could also lead to harsh punishments from all sides (including the courts). Perhaps that’s why one of the characters in this tale wants to escape the repressive era by any means available, including cars, trains, and ON SWIFT HORSES.

This story begins in 1954, not long after the end of the Korean War. Muriel (Daisy Edgar-Jones) shares her family’s home in Kansas with her long-time boyfriend (he keeps proposing), soldier-on-leave Lee (Will Poulter). He’s got big plans to move West as soon as his brother joins them. Finally, his sibling, Julius (Jacob Elordi) arrives, informing them that he has been discharged from the service, offering a vague explanation. Still, Lee is stoked that he will join the couple in California. Ah, but Julius has the “wanderlust” and, after giving Muriel some “card shark” tips, he leaves before dawn. In the following months, Lee finishes his stint in the service, and the two move West where he toils in a factory where Muriel is a waitress in a diner frequented by some fellows who “play the ponies” (she listens and makes some profitable wagers without telling her now husband). Meanwhile, Julius earns a “bankroll” from midnight poker games and as a gigolo, which soon lands him in Vegas. He gets a job in an off-strip casino watching the tables from the “rafters” and alerting the pit bosses to cheating gamblers. Soon, Julius is joined in the steamy “attic” by the dark and brooding Henry (Diego Calva). Eventually, the co-workers share an apartment and become much more than roommates, having to keep their passion very, very private. Back in San Diego, Lee and Muriel finally have enough saved (she’s still hiding most of her “winnings”) to get one of the “tract” houses in a new suburban development neighborhood. But Muriel is more interested in one of the locals, a woman with a chicken business (mainly eggs), an aspiring musician named Sandra (Sasha Calle). And soon, these two become much more than neighbors. Can Muriel keep her gambling and her Lesbian affair a secret from Lee? And what will happen when Julius and Henry try to take down the other Vegas casinos? Will the old “Kansas trio” ever reunite?


This tale of forbidden secret love is almost equally split between Muriel and Julius, though she may have the more complex conflicts. As Muriel, Edgar-Jones expertly embodies the typical steadfast supportive housewife of that time, though we can catch her eyes darting about as she formulates a way to go after her compulsion (the gambling) and desires (Sandra, mainly). We feel Muriel’s yearning to break out of her destined societial role, while wanting to shield Lee. And yet, there’s that connection with Julius, played with a dark, brooding charm by Elordi. He’s a restless spirit who never wants to be tethered down, sneaking away quickly (perhaps the ‘swiftest horse”). And then he finds his own liberation by his devotion to Henry, perhaps wanting to ‘settle down” like Muriel, but having to keep his true self hidden from the world. As his brother Lee, Poulter brings great empathy to a role that could easily be a stereotypical “clueless cuckold”, but instead is a good, loyal man trying to understand the change in the two people he adores. Calva makes Henry a fiery, spirited rebel. who wants nothing more than to be alongside Julius in their romantic “bubble”. Calle, as Sandra, has much of that same smouldering persona, coupled with a snarky line delivery, and a determination not to be the fun “side fling” for Muriel. Also of note is Don Swayze as the sneering surly casino pit boss and Kat Cumming as the bombshell blonde who fans the flames of Muriel’s liberated libido.

In just his second feature film, after decades helming “prestige” TV programs, director Daniel Minahan superbly recreates the postwar West while shattering the often “rose-colored” tint of nostalgia, reminding us that the “good ole’ days” didn’t extend to everyone. Minahan gives us the bright diners and casinos, while also giving us the clandestine gay meeting spots an aura of real danger and doom, with those secret revelers always keeping an eye out for the “morality enforcers”. The dialogue is sharp and very witty in Bryce Kass’ screenplay adaptation of the novel by Shannon Pufahl, though the romance of Muriel and Sandra feels more rushed as compared to the evolving relationship of Julius and Henry. In some ways, this feels like a companion piece to BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, with the era’s repressions and hidden affairs, though the story never quite hits the heights of that ground-breaking classic. Still, the performances are solid, and the period fashions and locales are splendid (including the “yechh” chain-smoking). ON SWIFT HORSES is a very well-crafted look at a time when expressing your true self to love was the biggest gamble.

3 Out of 4

ON SWIFT HORSES is now playing in select theatres

THE FLASH – Review

As you can tell by the rising temps when you step outside, it’s really Summertime, and so it’s also superhero cinema season with a biggie speeding into the multiplexes this weekend. Oh, but hold your horses (or horsepower) we’re not diving back into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (last month we took a possibly final space spin with those Galaxy Guardians). No, Warner Brothers is showcasing another possible franchise from their spandex stable at DC (Detective Comics, though the late, great Stan Lee referred to them as the “distinguished competition” when he wasn’t jabbing them as “Brand Echh”). We visited their “cinematic Universe’ a few months ago with SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS (correction: few of you did as that sequel left a massive crater in the box office stats). Ah, but they’re hoping that this won’t be a repeat as one of DC’s most enduring heroes (not part of the Supes, Bats, or WW trinity) makes his solo big-screen debut. Really, he’s been a TV staple since 1967 (via Filmation cartoon shorts on CBS Saturday mornings), so the big screen is more than ready for the premiere “scarlet speedster” himself, THE FLASH.


it all begins in Central City where Barry Allen AKA The Flash (Ezra Miller) is having a “day”. He’s going to be late again at the forensics lab where he works because his go-to server is not at his fave coffee shop to create his high-calorie breakfast sandwich. Of course, that’s when he gets an emergency call from Alfred Pennyworth (Jeremy Irons). Batman (Ben Affleck) needs some backup in Gotham City as he’s in pursuit of some virus-stealing baddies while a big sinkhole is about to swallow a hospital. Naturally, the rest of the Justice League is AWOL, so he dashes away. Near the end of the rescue, Barry realizes that his super sprinting has broken the time barrier landing him in the Speedforce and its time arena (resembling a massive zoetrope with multiple images of past events). After talking on the phone to his dad Henry (Ron Livingston), who’s incarcerated at Iron Heights Prison before his scheduled execution for the murder of his wife, Barry’s mom Nora (Maribel Verdu), which he did not do, Barry returns to the past to revisit that fateful day of Nora’s demise when he was only nine or ten-years-old. Zipping to the present he confides in Batman who warns him of tinkering with history (that pesky “butterfly effect”). But Barry believes he can get in and out without causing a dangerous “ripple”. He goes back to that awful day, then ahead a few years and bumps into his 18-year-old self, right on the day of the accident that will give him his powers. They make it to the spot in time, but it goes awry, and “old Barry” loses his speed, while “younger Barry” gets the ‘gift”. And they’re going to need it as General Zod (Michael Shannon) and his Kryptonian army demand the other Krypton survivor. But there’s no Superman in this reality, but there is a Batman (Michael Keaton). Can the “Barry twins” enlist his help to locate that missing Man (or person) of Steel and stop the forces of Zod from claiming Earth as their new Krypton?

In the lead role, which turns into dual roles, Miller conveys the giddy joy of a youngster playing with an unexpectantly fun new “toy” (his fantastic speed). But his Barry is frustrated to be thought up as a “clean-up guy” for the JL and haunted by his family tragedies. Miller also taps into his comedic skills as he fumbles over a budding romance with an old college pal and becomes a bickering comedy team with his younger self. He’s good, but the film’s real MVP is the return of Keaton to the role that cemented him as a movie star. It’s hard to believe that it’s been over 30 years since he donned the cape and cowl. His Bruce Wayne goes from reclusive gazillionaire (shades of Howard Hughes) to the snarky mentor to the Barrys. Ah, but he reverts to that guttural growl as soon as he finally suits and becomes the grim, yet sometimes grinning, dark knight (with all those “wonderful toys”), complete with a snazzy reworking of that lush Danny Elfman 89 theme. Rounding out the quartet is the soulful Sasha Calle as Kara the true name of a familiar comics hero. Years of captivity have almost drained the spark from her dark brooding eyes, but with the help of her trio of rescuers, she proves to be a powerhouse protector. We’ve got to mention the other caped crusader as Affleck gives us a hint of what a terrific action romp his solo Batman flick would have been, alas. Livingston is a kind and supportive papa while Verdu shines as the nurturing doomed Allen matriarch. Irons makes a superb “man at the desk” as the tech overseer Alfred, while Shannon returns as the regal and menacing demigod General Zod.

Director Andy Muschetti confirms his talent for mixing action, comedy, and pathos in this epic superhero tale. Of course, much of the wit comes from the screenplay by Christina Hodson and Joby Harold (reportedly with some input from the team of John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein). which offsets the rapid-fire quips with fun pop culture nods and inspired slapstick (Barry’s gotta’ fuel up whenever he can). The new red suit looks swell, especially as it lights up right before Barry takes off (from a Greek statue-like pose). The action sequence in Gotham City is breathtaking, though the final act feels a bit too drawn out and somewhat chaotic (it seems like Zod’s army was tougher in MAN OF STEEL and not he pixel fodder in this). The effects used to depict the high-speed journey of The Flash are very imaginative (Star Wars lightspeed to the nth level), but some of the CGI used in the hospital rescue and the speed force zoetrope feels a tad off looking as though some dead-eyed denizens lumbered out of the Uncanny Valley. But the big “crashing of alternate worlds” finale is lots of geeky fun filled with insider winks and cozy nostalgia. In the DC cinema-verse, this flick is one of the high points, not quite up to the glories of WONDER WOMAN, but miles above her dreary sequel and last year’s BLACK ADAM. Though another Aquaman is being prepped, this action fantasy would be a good “capper” for the DCCU (or as some call it, the “Snyder-verse”). Those in need of a comic book hero fix should be pleased with the fun and very fast antics of THE FLASH.

3 out of 4

THE FLASH is now playing in theatres everywhere