Review by Camden Ferrell

​Bad Trip was set to have its world premiere last year at the 2020 SXSW Film Festival. However, as the state of the world abruptly changed, the movie was delayed to the following year. Director Kitao Sakurai and comedian Eric Andre collaborated once again on their newest film. Even if the jokes can become repetitive, this film is a hilariously cringeworthy and energetic road trip comedy that makes the most of its hidden camera pranks.
 
Chris is a slacker who by chance runs into his high school crush, Maria. Him and his friend, Bud, decide to take a road trip to New York to see her. They embark on their trip in Bud’s sister’s car while she is in prison. The story is extremely simple, and this allows the movie to incorporate many real-life pranks that work in context of the film.
 
The biggest strength of the film is its hidden camera pranks that make up a significant portion of the film. The screenplay by Andre, Sakurai, and Dan Curry does a mostly decent job of incorporating the pranks into the story. There are some hidden camera moments that don’t blend well into the story, but this is usually compensated by the fact that said moments are consistently enjoyable.
 
Andre leads the film as Chris, and Lil Rel Howery co-stars as Bud. Andre once again brings the charismatic and chaotic energy for which he is known. He brings a lot of life to the film, and he handles the hidden camera aspects of the film fairly well and does a great job of playing off of the real-life people who don’t realize they’re in a movie. Howery brings his signature charm to his role, and he has some great chemistry with Andre. The film also co-stars Tiffany Haddish as Trina, Bud’s sister who just broke out of prison. Her role is funny at times, but her performance can sometimes fall flat, especially during the hidden camera pranks.

Much like Andre’s acclaimed T.V. show, this movie succeeds in being cringe-inducing. These pranks put the characters in embarrassing and uncomfortable positions that will simultaneously make you crack up and make your skin crawl. Andre plays off the goofiness of these moments very well and convincingly sells otherwise unbelievable situations to an unsuspecting crowd. He consistently shocks, frustrates, and grosses out random bystanders throughout the film.
 
While the pranks are fun, they don’t have too much variety. This can lead to some bits feeling less effective in comparison to the rest of the film. Unlike the Borat films, this movie can sometimes lack the developed narrative to create some truly unique hidden camera moments. The humor in this movie isn’t clever or well thought out, so while it’s bound to make you laugh, it always feels superficial.
 
Thankfully, at under ninety minutes, this is a fast-paced comedy that never overstays its welcome. It’s a lot of fun, especially to view with a large group, and there are plenty of hilarious surprises throughout the keep you on edge. It may very well cause some secondhand embarrassment, but it’s an enjoyably chaotic film from start to finish.
 
Bad Trip sees Eric Andre once again pranking people with skill and charisma. It may miss the mark at times, but thanks to some outrageous pranks and great chemistry, this is a buddy comedy that is a sure to be a crowd-pleaser upon release.
 
Bad Trip will be available on Netflix March 26.
 
Rating: 3.5/5

Review by Dan Skip Allen

World War II is full of tragic, fascinating, and incredible true stories. Some stories are too good to believe. A lot of movies have been made about all of these stories in recent months and years. The Good Traitor tells an unheard-of story about this tragic war.

On April 9th, 1940 the lives of the Danish people were changed forever when their country was invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany. While that was going on in Europe, Henrick Kauffman (Ulrich Thomsen) — the Ambassador to Denmark in The United States — tried to broker deals to defeat the Germans and save his country while also dealing with drama on the homefront.

This story was a fascinating one because I had never heard of it before. It's great to see films about these stories that are so pivotal in the overall scheme of things during World War II but have never been brought to film before. The film looked like it took place in the 1940s. Danish director Christina Rosendahl uses some neat camera tricks and older filmmaking styles to make the film feel older and grainier. Her style stands out even though it's a period piece set in the 1940s. Watching all the things she does with the camera was almost as great as watching this fascinating story unfold before my eyes.

Along with Thomsen, the cast is full of character actors that play a vital role in making this film come to life. The cast includes Burn Gorman as Berle, an American government official, Denise Gough as Charlotte, Kauffman's wife, Zoe Tapper as Zilla, Charlotte's sister, Mikkel Folsgaard as Povil Bang-Jenson a Danish embassy employee, and Esben Delgaard Anderson as another Danish embassy employee with an agenda of his own. Every actor performs their roles adequately to give the film a very important feel to it. They were all very good in their respective roles.

As if taking over Denmark by the Germans and trying to rally the allies to help his country weren't enough, Kauffman also had some other problems on his hands. A couple of subplots involving some espionage and some personal issues between the two sisters were a bonus to this script by Christina Rosendahl, Dunja Fry Jensen, and Kristian Bang Foss. These subplots were perfectly mixed in to break up the main story. That story could have become monotonous without the other two subplots.

Everything made the 155 minute run time perfect. The film didn't seem to drag. The subplots helped with that without muddling the main story. There was also some archival footage and the film was half and half subtitles and English for those who aren't fans of reading a movie. The subtitled portion didn't take up that much time of the film. The archival footage was effective in showing some of the real events to the viewer to make people realize how realistic this story and film are. Rosendahl did a great job with these aspects of the film.

Overall this film had very good acting by all involved, a serviceable script and story, and some very interesting camera tricks to make the film look a little different yet period-centric to the time. It is always good to see films about stories that were not known before. That's the magic of film: the discovery of new voices and new ideas are always welcomed because so many things have been rehashed in the past.

​The Good Traitor hits VOD on March 26.

Rating: 3.5/5

Review by Sean Boelman

The great thing about watching documentaries at film festivals is that you get to see some about topics you wouldn’t expect to make for great entertainment. Lily Topples the World is one such movie, as filmmaker Jeremy Workman took a story that doesn’t seem like it would be all that compelling and made something legitimately moving out of it.

The film tells the story of domino artist and YouTube star Lily Hevesh as she tries to navigate the world of professional domino toppling as the only woman in the movie. There are elements of an underdog story here, along with the behind-the-scenes art documentary stuff that one would expect, and the result makes the audience appreciate Hevesh’s work in an even deeper way than they probably did before.

For the most part, the film follows Hevesh around as she goes about her different gigs, making domino art for advertisements, collaborations, and other outlets (even including one piece for The Tonight Show). However, Workman also wants to make sure that the audience sees her humility, exploring aspects of her family life and time at college.

There is undeniably something inspiring about this story and getting to see someone like Hevesh who has made a successful path for herself. She has gotten to take her passion and make a career out of it, which is admirable as heck, and will hopefully inspire future generations to continue to chase what they love.

At an hour and thirty minutes in length, the movie does start to get a bit derivative after a certain point, watching Hevesh carefully place dominos into patterns to make them fall in a spectacular way. However, there is another story that comes up later in the film about Hevesh creating her own line of dominos, and this is fascinating but underdeveloped.

Perhaps the biggest highlight of this movie is getting to see footage of Hevesh’s creations. The things she is able to make out of these pieces are astounding, and it’s totally understandable why she has gained such a following for these videos. Audiences will certainly be left wanting to check out more of what she has done.

Apart from the magnificent domino art footage, this is a mostly traditional documentary. Workman does a good job of positioning the camera during the fly-on-the-wall footage so that we can see Hevesh working in a way that also allows us to see the beauty of her work, but he doesn’t subvert expectations in terms of what he shows.

Lily Topples the World is a compelling documentary, and while there are some parts that are a bit redundant, the story is good enough to hold the audience’s attention. It comes as no surprise that this moving tale won the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary Feature at SXSW.

Lily Topples the World screened as a part of the online edition of the 2021 SXSW Film Festival, which ran March 16-20.

Rating: 3.5/5

Review by Sean Boelman

Winner of the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature at this year’s SXSW, Megan Park’s drama The Fallout really wants to be something special, but instead ends up feeling cheap and ineffective. Although the performances are strong, the script fumbles its weighty themes in a way that is consistently frustrating.

The film tells the story of a teenager who, after experiencing a tragedy at school, struggles to cope with the emotional fallout, causing changes to her relationships and psyche. This is a case of a movie that clearly has the best of intentions but ends up defeating itself with lackluster and misguided execution.

There is a fundamental issue with this film, and it is that it seems to care less about the trauma that the protagonist is experiencing and more about the way in which she is acting out because of it. Although there is something to be said about how victims tend to hide away their trauma and put up a facade, this movie doesn’t portray the character much differently than a normal angsty teen.

The film also does a disservice to its supporting characters. There is one character who becomes socially active as a result of his experiences, but for the most part, this is a very one-track depiction of grief and trauma. It fails to explore the differing ways in which people struggle to understand their emotions after a tragedy such as this.

Thankfully, Park is mostly very sensitive about the way in which she approaches the topic itself. The scene in which the tragedy occurs is short and done in a way that is harrowing without showing too much. Unlike a lot of other movies that have been about school violence, this one didn’t come across as exploitative or opportunist.

There is one highlight in the film, and it is the lead actress, Jenna Ortega. She brings a lot of emotion to a character that isn’t particularly subtle in the way it is written, still managing to make her feel real despite some of the exaggerated qualities. And in the supporting cast, Shailene Woodley and John Ortiz both do a good job, although their roles are quite small.

On a technical level, the movie shows its small budget, but it can’t be faulted too much for that. However, the lo-fi qualities of the film don’t come together well with the script that is oftentimes a bit heavy-handed, resulting in a feel that is often less than satisfying. A few great scenes aside, the movie feels like a heavily independent production in the worst ways.

The Fallout seems like the type of film that won its honor based on the merit of what it wanted to be rather than what it is. There are definitely some glimpses of greatness in here, but it takes wading through a lot of mediocrity to get there.

The Fallout screened as a part of the online edition of the 2021 SXSW Film Festival, which ran March 16-20.

Rating: 2/5

Review by Sean Boelman

There are two sides to the festival midnight movie category: campy and fun or disturbing and messed up. Jaco Bouwer’s eco-horror film Gaia falls firmly into the latter, a truly creepy movie that will leave audiences shaken to their core thanks to its brilliantly-crafted suspense and harrowing (if disorganized) messages.

The film follows a park ranger who gets stranded in the wilderness along with two survivalists, soon discovering that there is something terrifying lurking in the forest. Offering shades of The Last of Us and Annihilation, this movie may not have the emotional stakes of either of those, but has plenty of horrific imagery to make it stick in the viewer’s mind.

At first, the film seems like it is going to be a bit of a slow burn, but once things start to go down, it becomes really overwhelming. There is a lot happening at once, and while it can be difficult to follow at times, there is no denying that it’s scary, and there are many layers to dissect and explore upon rewatch.

If the movie does suffer from one thing, it is that it has too much to say. On one hand, the film seems to be about how we as humans interact with the environment. But on the other, it is an exploration of knowledge and how our evolution as a society over the years has led to our survival. These sometimes conflicting themes don’t always mesh together in the most satisfying way.

Additionally, the character development isn’t one of the movie’s strong suits. There are three main characters and one supporting player, and while it’s clear who the audience is supposed to identify with, there isn’t a whole lot of depth to the arcs. Everyone is pretty much filling an archetype, and while this plays to the message, it doesn’t help with the potential emotional distancing.

The standout in the cast is Carel Nel, who gives a superbly menacing turn as the father in the duo of survivalists. It’s a performance that dials into the viewer’s understanding of that type of character without fully embracing it, resulting in a genuinely creepy effect. Monique Rockman is also very good in her role, especially in the second half, in which she is given more to do.

It is on a visual level that the film is most successful. Bouwer takes advantage of his woodsy setting to create an atmosphere that is thoroughly eerie. The gore in the movie isn’t excessive, but when it comes, it’s brutal. And the creature design is magnificent, bringing an expansive quality to the movie.

Gaia is probably this year’s biggest success in the Midnighters category at the SXSW Film Festival, and art house horror audiences will absolutely eat it up. There is always a need for smart and disturbing genre pictures, and this fills that void.

Gaia screened as a part of the online edition of the 2021 SXSW Film Festival, which ran March 16-20.

Rating: 4/5