Review by Sean Boelman
Written, directed by, and starring Tyler Cornak, Butt Boy is a surreal new comedy-thriller that will go down in midnight movie history, for better or worse, thanks to its truly bizarre concept. However, since the film has a surprising amount of emotional grounding and some legitimately creative filmmaking, it deserves to be taken more seriously than the title would suggest.
The movie follows an alcoholic detective as he begins to suspect that his AA sponsor is involved in the disappearance of a young boy and has the power to absorb things through his rectum. Ultimately, the film is more a noir-influenced thriller than anything else, but the unabashedly weird nature of the premise gives it a welcome tongue-in-cheek spin. Perhaps the biggest issue with the movie is that the script by Cornak and Ryan Koch isn’t particularly well-paced. The introduction of the film focuses on the character who would eventually become the de facto antagonist, providing an origin story of sorts that is amusing but unnecessary. The movie arguably would’ve been more effective had the audience been left in the dark to solve the mystery alongside the detective protagonist. That said, Cornak and Koch do a solid job of building the characters in a unique and compelling way. Although there isn’t much of a mystery in the plot, there is some ambiguity in how the audience is supposed to feel about the characters. Yes, they commit some reprehensible wrongs, but they have some tragic flaws that led them to their actions.
The film undoubtedly has something to say about addiction, and while it can be difficult to approach the movie with a straight face at times, this lends it a much-needed human element. Cornak and Koch may not have anything extraordinarily insightful to say, but it has a lot more on its mind than one would expect.
Cornak also stars as the eponymous sodomite, and he does a solid job in the role. Part of what makes the film stand out is that everyone in the cast takes the movie at face-value despite the evident absurdity in the script. The result is something even funnier than if the filmmakers had simply goofed around and had fun. Tyler Rice is strong as well in a performance that channels the old-school detectives of noir classics. Also impressive is the film’s creative visuals. The movie is visibly a low-budget independent feature, but Cornak is able to use the camera effectively enough to disguise this. Among the most satisfying sequences of the films is one that takes place within the character’s intestines, and the way in which Cornak translates this to the screen is definitely unique. Butt Boy has a lot working against it to keep it from audiences, starting with its title. But that niche of midnight movie-lovers is sure to find something to love in this irresistibly idiosyncratic genre picture. Butt Boy hits VOD on April 14. Rating: 3/5
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Review by Camden Ferrell
Trolls World Tour is the animated sequel to the 2016 predecessor, and it is one of the first major theatrical releases to debut on demand while theaters are closed. While this movie hits several familiar beats, it’s a harmless and toe-tapping movie that improves upon the original.
In this movie, Poppy and Branch learn that there are other troll tribes dedicated to different genres of music. Together, they go on an adventure to stop Queen Barb of the Rock Trolls from taking over all of the other tribes. This is a fun premise that has more room to play around with its musical premise more than the original, and it’s partly why it’s a better film. Like the first film, this movie is heavily aimed at young children, and this can be seen clearly in its writing. The jokes aren’t complex or layered, but they’re funny enough on a superficial level. There are some great visual gags that will appeal to all ages, but it’s fairly formulaic for the most part. Thanks to the return of Walt Dohrn as director, the film still retains some of the comedic style and timing of the original while also trying to build onto that humor. The voice acting is pretty great throughout. Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect) does another fantastic job as Queen Poppy. She gives such a positive and infectious performance that is balanced very well with her amazing singing voice. Justin Timberlake also returns as Branch, and while his performance isn’t as great as Kendrick’s, it’s still very solid. This film features newcomers such as Rachel Bloom as Barb and Sam Rockwell as Hickory, and they both give really great performances as well.
The music in this film is what one would expect. It’s a silly jukebox musical that features many popular songs. There is some variation in genre which prevents the movie from getting repetitive, and it will more than sufficiently entertain families and young children. The more prominent role of music in this film makes it more energetic than the first, and it allows the film the avoid any significant lulls.
At the heart of this film is a not so subtle metaphor for racism and acceptance. The movie forces this theme heavily, but it is done with the best intentions. It can often feel like it doesn’t trust the capabilities of its audience, but it’s somewhat excusable considering the film’s very young target audience. It’s a completely unobjectionable message that will be great for kids even if it’s something that’s been done before. This may not entertain most adults, but it’s a harmless film that is short, fun, and very musical. It fixes a lot of the problems with the first film, but it also retains a lot of its familiarity. This sequel doesn’t do anything original or new, but fans of the first film will find lots to love in this new film. Trolls World Tour doesn’t always hit the mark, but it has enough energy and optimism to overcome its faults. Of all the new movies on demand to watch, this is easily the most family friendly even if it isn’t the best. Trolls World Tour is now available for rent on demand. Rating: 3/5 Review by Dan Skip Allen Like many other people, I was a wrestling fan as a kid. I loved watching Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior, Macho-Man Randy Savage, Sting, and Rick Flair. Their characters were bigger than life. I watched religiously for thirty years. WWF and WCW were a way to think about that world Vince McMahon created on the USA Network on Saturdays and eventually on Monday Night Raw. The Main Event is like going back in time to when I was a kid, dreaming of being a WWF/WWE Superstar. Leo (Seth Bane Carr) is an 11-year-old kid in middle school who goes through the normal middle school routine. He gets picked on by bullies at school every day. One day while on the run from them, Leo hides in a wrestling museum where he finds a musty old mask hidden in a box. He puts the mask on and soon realizes it gives him superpowers. With his newly found powers, Leo enters a wrestling competition to be the next WWE Superstar. The competition is full of WWE Superstars such as Otis (Heavy Machinery), Keith Lee (as Smooth Operator, the holder of the NXT North American Championship), and Sheamus, Mike 'The Miz' Mizanin, and Leo's childhood idle, Kofi Kingston from The New Day. Cory Graves and Rene Young from Smackdown are the announcers. Leo's newfound powers help him become popular at school and he even gets a new girlfriend, Erica (Mamona Tamada). His wrestling name is Kid Chaos and he becomes the talk of his town. Of course, the question now becomes whether or not he has become too big for his friends. The Main Event has its usual sense of teen angst and family drama as well. Leo's struggling relationship with family and his friends cause him personal trouble. He needs to decide what's most important, his life with his friends or his newfound wrestling career. Leo has tough decisions ahead. A lot of films like this have similar plot threads. Live-Action Disney films have used these types of tropes for decades. They put the main character in a position where he or she has to decide what's right or wrong in their life and who and what is most important to them. Like all those Disney films from the past, The Main Event tackles those topics perfectly.
The Main Event deals with many topics and themes we've seen a thousand times before. The thing is it doesn't get old. I found myself caring about Leo, his friends, family, and this underdog story. The subplot of his relationship with his father intrigued me as well. This is a feel-good story for today just like those Disney films were back in the day. Wrestling fan or not, The Main Event is a film anybody can get behind. Jay Karas has crafted a fun family film. Especially inspiring is the message that you can overcome the odds in life with or without superpowers. Family and friends are what matter most in life. The Main Event is now streaming on Netflix. Rating: 4/5
Review by Sean Boelman
The feature debut of writer-director Alan Yang (Master of None), Tigertail is a personal new drama rooted in the same cultural experience that Yang has been so successful at capturing in the past. Yet since it falls victim to many of the issues that typically plague feature debuts, the film is somewhat disappointing.
The movie tells the story of a Taiwanese immigrant who looks back in his older years on his decision to leave his homeland and abandon the woman he truly loved. As is the case with much of Yang’s work on Master of None, the film’s main appeal is the personal touch that it offers and the potential it has to start an important discussion about the immigrant experience. That said, the flashback structure of the movie works to undermine the story more often than not. By cutting back and forth between the character’s experiences as an immigrant and his quest to come to terms with the decision he made in the past, it is nearly impossible for the audience to form a personal connection with either portion of the storyline. Part of the film’s issue is that it can’t seem to figure out what its main arc should be. The obvious answer is that it should be focused on the character’s struggles as an immigrant, but instead, the movie seems to emphasize the romantic storyline. This results in the film playing out in a much more conventional way.
Additionally, the movie contains a subplot involving the character’s relationship with his daughter that doesn’t quite work. Unfortunately, here is where Yang’s inexperience with long-form content becomes obvious. Whereas in a series, multiple arcs are explored over the course of a season and the series as a whole, a film like this needs to wrap them all up in an hour and a half, and Yang couldn’t juggle all of the moving elements.
The actors all do a very good job in their roles, but the choppy nature of the narrative leads to many of the performers being underutilized. Tzi Ma gives an absolutely wonderful performance in his role as the older form of the protagonist, although the material he gets to work with is the more shallow of the two. It is on a technical level that Yang’s movie is most accomplished, so it will be interesting to see what Yang can do with a more cohesive script. There are a lot of absolutely gorgeous shots, particularly in those sequences set in the protagonist’s younger years in Taiwan, and the score of the film is equally impressive. Tigertail isn’t the directorial debut that fans will be hoping for from Alan Yang, but it does show that he has plenty to say as a filmmaker in his own right. If Yang’s next script is a bit more cohesive and fleshed-out, he may be a force to reckon with. Tigertail is now streaming on Netflix. Rating: 2.5/5
Review by Sean Boelman
Written and directed by Dean Craig (writer of Death at a Funeral), Love Wedding Repeat promises a romantic comedy variation on the Run Lola Run concept (itself a twist on the Groundhog Day trope). However, since Craig doesn’t take full advantage of his premise, the film ends up being little more than a pedestrian romantic comedy.
The movie takes place at a wedding as alternate versions of the event unfold, a man having to deal with his sister’s former boyfriend hoping to ruin her wedding, an angry ex-girlfriend, and the girl of his dreams. Without the film’s gimmick, it’s a pretty run-of-the-mill wedding rom-com, albeit one with relatively witty dialogue. That said, the gimmick of the movie doesn’t fully work. There is something to be found in the premise about fate and the way in which people are united by it (as communicated by an omniscient narration from Penny Ryder), but this feels like an afterthought to justify the structure more than anything else. A majority of the film’s runtime is dedicated to the first variation of the events, and while this is commonplace for most versions of this trope, there are only two real variations of any substance. The rest are relegated to a montage in the middle of the movie and an end credits sequence. These moments are enjoyable, but it would have been nice to see them in their expanded form.
Perhaps the film’s biggest weakness is its character development. Even though the characters are charming, they are very archetypal and have about as much depth as the movie’s exploration of its themes. Granted, this is an issue that goes hand-in-hand with large ensemble comedies such as this, but that doesn’t change the fact that the film’s arcs feel very shallow.
That said, the cast assembled for the movie is very impressive, and they do a very good job in their roles. Sam Claflin plays the lead in the film, and he is as charming as ever. Standouts in the supporting cast include Eleanor Tomlinson, Joel Fry, and Freida Pinto, all of whom add their own comedic touch to the movie. The only person in the cast who feels underused is Olivia Munn. On a technical level, the film is solid, the editing and cinematography doing what needs to be done in order to execute the gimmick. Props should be given to Craig for trying to do something more stylistically ambitious than the average romantic comedy, but without the script to go along with it, these attempts don’t often have much effect. Love Wedding Repeat is entertaining enough, but for the more ambitious thing that it hopes to be, it doesn’t quite deliver. Still, the charming cast makes it worth a stream in this time in which entertainment options are increasingly scarce. Love Wedding Repeat is now streaming on Netflix. Rating: 3/5
Review by Sean Boelman
The feature film debut of acclaimed photographer Estevan Oriol, LA Originals is an autobiographical documentary of sorts, and a brilliant one at that. Taking a gorgeous and entertaining look at the rise of Chicano culture and the Los Angeles hip hop scene, this is a documentary not to miss.
In the movie, Oriol takes a look at the friendship and working relationship between himself and Mister Cartoon, one of the most famous tattoo artists of all time, and how together they influenced the art scene in Los Angeles. This is a lot of material to be covered in one documentary, and it admittedly probably would have been better-fit to a miniseries, but it is some absolutely fascinating stuff. Since the film has to cover so much ground (including the history of Chicano art, a biography on both Oriol and Cartoon, and a bit about the history of hip hop) in so little time, the movie starts off at a running pace and never lets up until the credits roll. Some viewers may be overwhelmed by the amount of information and the rate at which they have to process it, but those who can go along for the ride will be both informed and entertained. Arguably the best part of the film is how it explores the friendship between Oriol and Cartoon. Since this is partially his own story, Oriol clearly has a very personal connection to the movie, and it shows. This lens through which Oriol shoots the film is unique, and ultimately, makes the story all the more effective.
Of course, some viewers will be drawn to the movie because of the stature of the subjects. Oriol and Cartoon are both hugely influential figures in the industry, and as a result, Oriol was able to score some high-profile interviewees for the film. Recognizable faces interviewed for the movie include Eminem, Snoop Dogg, and Danny Trejo, all of whom contextualize Oriol and Cartoon’s impact.
That said, the parts of the film that deal with Oriol and Cartoon’s associates who aren’t as well-known are just as effective as those that feature their celebrity clients. Oriol and Cartoon are both very active in helping people on Skid Row in Los Angeles, and the movie explores the ways in which they give back to their community, which is an important message now more than ever. On a technical level, the film is obviously very impressive thanks to Oriol’s origins as a photographer and visual artist. He brings a particular visual flair to the movie that is highly stylized and makes the film both a ton of fun to watch and gorgeous to look at. Furthermore, the soundtrack is composed of some classic hip hop hits that audiences will undoubtedly know. LA Originals may bite off a bit more than it can chew at times, but it is a thoroughly entertaining and insightful documentary. People should definitely give this one a shot if they are at all interested in the origins of Chicano culture and hip hop. LA Originals is now streaming on Netflix. Rating: 4.5/5
Review by Sean Boelman
Written and directed by Vicky Wight from the novel of the same name by Katherine Center, The Lost Husband is a new maudlin romantic drama. However, no matter how unbelievable the film may be, it’s an entirely pleasant and serviceable watch, especially for audiences who like overly sentimental movie such as this.
The film follows a woman whose husband recently passed away as she moves with her children to her estranged aunt’s goat farm, finding herself unexpectedly attracted to a charismatic farmhand. As is the case with most adaptations of romance novels, it’s an inoffensive movie that promises something a bit deeper with its premise, but never goes beyond the surface. Wight easily could have taken the material and went a bit deeper with the film’s exploration of the themes of grief and mourning, but this only takes up a small portion of the runtime. Instead, it is shoehorned in as an inciting incident, with reference to it made every once in a while to remind the audience why the characters are in this situation anyway. The character development in the movie is definitely lacking in depth, but it does meet the bare minimum to keep the viewer invested in the core romance. Although this is probably more the fault of the source material than Wight’s script, archetypes and other conveniences are taken with the characters, and as a result, the film feels pretty generic.
That said, Wight does a very good job of giving the movie some solid narrative momentum. The film has a built-in audience of people who enjoy watching melodramas (it plays out like a made-for-television drama featuring former A-list stars), and it delivers the exact brand of not-too-heavy drama that those viewers will expect.
The strong cast also makes the movie stand out among similar titles. Leslie Bibb is a compelling lead, and while she cracks under the pressure of the more demanding moments (those which require her character to grieve), she has a solid screen presence. Her chemistry with love interest Josh Duhamel is also impressive. Additionally, Wight effectively utilizes the film’s Texan shooting locations to provide a picturesque background for the movie. One likely wouldn’t think of a goat farm as an aesthetically-attractive place for a film to take place, but it works, and will likely expand the movie beyond its core audience by a bit. The Lost Husband isn’t a great film, but it’s better than most of the genre. Few people will remember watching the movie long after the credits roll, but it’s diverting entertainment for the hour and forty-five minutes it lasts. The Lost Husband hits VOD on April 10. Rating: 3/5
Review by Sean Boelman
Co-written and directed by Sonejuhi Sinha, Stray Dolls is a new crime-thriller hoping to breathe life into a worn genre. Essentially a feminist take on the Bonnie and Clyde tale, Sinha’s film has some ambitious goals, and meets some of the standards it sets for itself, but ultimately feels like it is missing something.
The movie follows two housekeepers as their petty crimes become increasingly dangerous and out of control. Admittedly, the film’s biggest issue is that it is rather predictable. The script by Sinha and Charlotte Rabate offers the promise of being more than just another crime thriller, yet it falls back on tropes a bit too often for it to stand out above the pack. Perhaps the most interesting thing that the movie has to offer is an exploration of the immigrant experience in America. Sinha and her co-writer Charlotte Rabate are obviously trying to say something about the exploitation of immigrant labor, but that subtext is largely lost in a film that often bites off more than it can chew. Part of the movie’s issue is that it is difficult to get invested in these characters, with the exception of the protagonist. Sinha and Rabate’s world is by no means welcoming, and as a result, it can be hard to feel pity for these characters. Of course, the protagonist is involved due to no fault of her own, so her arc is sufficient, but otherwise, the film lacks dynamics.
Lead actress Geetanjali Thapa lends the movie the emotional subtlety and nuance that it does have. Her performance provides a much-needed grounded feel to the film that it wouldn’t otherwise have. The supporting cast has some interesting players, but as is the case with much of the rest of the movie, they are frequently over-the-top.
Sinha does bring an undeniable visual style to the film, and that is the most exciting thing about her directorial voice. Even though the movie does fall victim to being conventional in terms of narrative, it is much less conventional in its aesthetics, and as a result, audiences will be able to stay invested in the film in some form. The pacing of the movie is also relatively strong. Unfortunately, the predictable nature of the film does lower the stakes to a certain extent, but Sinha’s strong grasp of slow-burn pacing allows the movie to move along consistently. Sinha mounts the tension to a climax that, while obvious, has a solid impact nevertheless. Stray Dolls is definitely a film that is stronger in what it hopes to do than what it is able to pull off, but there’s a lot of good here that makes it worth a watch. Sonejuhi Sinha is clearly a very talented filmmaker, and it will be exciting to see what she does next. Stray Dolls hits VOD on April 10. Rating: 3/5
Review by Sean Boelman
Written by Alan Trezza (Burying the Ex) and directed by Marc Meyers (My Friend Dahmer), We Summon the Darkness is a fun new horror movie with a satirical edge. Taking a refreshing spin on common genre tropes, Trezza and Meyers’s film is an entertaining B-movie made with genre fans in mind.
The film follows three female best friends who meet up with three aspiring musicians at a metal show and go to a country home to party, but their night of fun does not go according to plan. The first twenty or so minutes kick the movie off with a pretty conventional start, but when the film reveals what it is actually going to be, it’s actually a lot more enjoyable than it deserves to be. If there is something wrong with the movie, it is that it is way too fast-paced for its own good. Clocking in at a few over an hour and twenty minutes, the film is quick and to-the-point. However, when the movie starts throwing in the twists, the audience isn’t given enough time to feel the full impact of these revelations, and the film feels rushed as a result. Another consequence of the movie’s brief runtime is that it isn’t able to explore its themes with as much depth as one would like. Yes, it’s still plenty entertaining, and one will never get bored until the credits roll, but Trezza obviously has something interesting to say about religion with this story, and that never really comes through.
One of the most impressive things about this film is that it does a very good job (for the most part) of busting archetypes. The characters fall into a lot of traditional horror movie roles in the first act, and many of them are reversed heading into the rest of the movie. While there are still some more modern cliches utilized throughout, the film is mostly creative nonetheless.
The actors all do a decent job in their roles, especially because the movie calls for over-the-top performances all-around. Alexandra Daddario, who is not exactly known for high-quality acting, is a ton of fun to watch as the lead. She chews the scenery and fits right in. The supporting cast is also strong, led by Johnny Knoxville, Keean Johnson, and Logan Miller. On a technical level, Meyers does a very good job of bringing the film’s retro feel to life. The cinematography and production design are immersive and effective, and even though it is obvious that the filmmakers didn’t have a massive budget at their disposal, the movie benefits from having a lot of atmosphere. We Summon the Darkness may not reach the levels that it could, but it’s a ton of fun to watch regardless. It’s a B-movie horror flick that doesn’t take itself too seriously, so it’s best enjoyed as mindless entertainment. We Summon the Darkness hits VOD on April 10. Rating: 3.5/5
Review by Camden Ferrell
The Mindfulness Movement is the newest documentary from director Robert Beemer. This film also comes from executive producers Deepak Chopra and Jewel. While the methods might be valid to many, the execution is very poor and lacks the skills to reliably convey its heavy-handed message.
This movie is about the idea of mindfulness, which is described as a type of meditation based on peaceful attentiveness and presence. We see how mindfulness has affected the lives of many individuals such as Grammy-nominee Jewel as well as TV anchor and correspondent Dan Harris. This is a growing movement, and it is a form of secular meditation that might be beneficial, but the movie has a hard time of communicating its ideas effectively. From the start, it’s obvious that its execution is poor. The editing is choppy and inconsistent, and it feels like it has a difficult time finding its own rhythm. The B-roll is unimpressive, and it seems as if a lot of the footage could have come from stock photos. It doesn’t have a lot of personality or life to make it interesting. Even if its intentions are in the right place, it gets bogged down heavily by the way the film was put together.
The narration is also very forgettable. It can often be lackluster, and it doesn’t do much to spice up the film in any way. The film does rarely succeed in its subjects though. The film mostly intercuts between four stories, and each details the ways in which mindfulness has changed someone’s life. Jewel and Dan Harris are by far the most interesting subjects (not a surprise considering their line of work), and there are some emotional backstories for these people, but it still can feel underwhelming more times than not. Again, while the film’s heart is always in the right place, it can’t help but feel like their interviews are shallower than they should have been.
This documentary feels like an infomercial for most of its runtime, and it constantly feels like a sales pitch. While it’s the point of a documentary to send a message, the film tries to do so in a way that cheapens its effect. They provide some supporting evidence for mindfulness from people who have experienced it to those who have implemented it in prisons and schools, but it still lacks the ethos to form a proper argument. The film also features an “interactive” portion of the video which didn’t seem to be as effective as I had hoped. If one is interested in mindfulness, it would most likely behoove them to do their own research about the method and read about it rather than watch the documentary which probably doesn’t go in depth nearly as well. The Mindfulness Movement is consistently well-meaning, but it lacks the execution, argument, and personality to tell its story and properly relay its message. This doesn’t diminish the positive potential of the movie or the ability of mindfulness to reduce stress and anxiety, but it does diminish the film’s quality. A good documentary is ideally entertaining and educational, but this one is only a little bit of the latter. The Mindfulness Movement will be available on the film's official site on April 10. Rating: 1/5 |
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