I have seen many terrible game movies,like battleship or Doom so i have always been hesitant of these type of movies. When I heard that they made n Uno movie, I thought the production company Rooster teeth had jumped the shark on their film business, ad this was only their second feature film. But i was surprised that a nearly 3-hour long movie about a card game of Uno was one of the funniest and most enthralling films I've seen in 2016. The plot is so simple its like their isn't a plot. the film takes place in the production company's video game unit (i forgot what it's called, I think it's like trophy hunters or challenge finders or something like that) and 4 of their workers (Geoff, Gavin, Jeremy and Ryan) decide to record a game of UNO. Thinking it should take a short time, they all discuss what they will do after, maybe record another game, maybe watch the election going on, maybe just get something to eat.However, after a rule of 0 and 7 enters the play, the 500 point game spirals out of control to complete madness. The entire cast of the movie was excellent. I think the performance by newcomer Ryan Haywood should be up for best supporting and Geoff Lazer Ramsey is easily the best lead of the year. Gavin Free also did very good at portraying the dread that everyone was feeling, a performance so good it felt real. Rounding out the cast is Jack "dillhole" Patillo and Jeremy Dooley, and that's it. The film is a bottle movie, taking place only in the Goal Getters office. The direction was clear and crisp. And the dialogue felt so loose and unscripted. the characters flubbed and made mistakes and references things unknown to the audience because that's what feels real. and when the game turns from fun to torture, the way each character reacts and feels is so good, its almost like the director made the actors actually go through all this pain.The film as you can see, has a lot of inspiration from Sidney Lumet's 50s masterpiece 12 angry men. The small cast, they single location, the small task that takes way to long and cause a large variety of emotions. Hell, Jeremy's character constantly references the movie Casablanca by saying "here's looking at you kid", and that movie is also black and white, so that's a connection, I guess. The length of the movie might be a turn off to most. At 2 hours and 45 minutes, the film takes its time. it actually becomes painful for the viewer which was one of my favorite aspects. Only a few filmmakers like Andrei Tarkovsky or Ingmar Bergman can make you feel like that to a movie
That being said, i did have a couple of nitpicks. Not to spoil anything , but half way through the movie one of the characters disappears and is replaced by another character. while it might be a jarring change, i found it to work to add to the dread everyone felt, but it could have been done smoother.
UNO: the movie has skyrocketed to the to of my favorites of the year. I recommend you see this before award season because you will definitely be a top contender next to Arrival, La LA Land and Moonlight. UNO the movie is a nearly 3 hour long trip of a movie, and I loved every second. A+
That being said, i did have a couple of nitpicks. Not to spoil anything , but half way through the movie one of the characters disappears and is replaced by another character. while it might be a jarring change, i found it to work to add to the dread everyone felt, but it could have been done smoother.
UNO: the movie has skyrocketed to the to of my favorites of the year. I recommend you see this before award season because you will definitely be a top contender next to Arrival, La LA Land and Moonlight. UNO the movie is a nearly 3 hour long trip of a movie, and I loved every second. A+