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Reviews
Everyone Is Doing Great (2018)
Hilarious and original
Entourage meets shameless. Lafferty and Colletti knock this one out of the park. The humor and realism makes this such an enjoyable watch. Great characters and an inside view on show business will keep you laughing the whole time. A must see!
The Last Days of American Crime (2020)
A Fantastic Pulp Noir with Great Acting
I had been waiting a long time for the film to come out and it played great. It's truly a character driven love story with some topical themes, great performances, cinematography and action scenes. I can see why the film may not be for everyone, but don't let the movie trolls scare you away from watching a very enjoyable Netflix film!
The Beach Bum (2019)
Plotless. And so much more
This film goes no where slowly. Zero character development of any substance and meandering storytelling that wanders aimless without a script of any kind to tow this trash heap along. The allure of working with Harmony Korine clearly led this star studded cast to do their worst work. Unquestionable every cast member coukd have been nominated for Razzie award. Surely they all watched this film with deep regret, other than Snoop Dog and the 250 homeless people that got huge leading roles and probably Taft Hartley into SAG. At the end of the day, the only people I really feel sorry for (other than audiences worldwide) are the financiers, who clearly thought they were getting Spring Breakers 2, and instead are praying they get a tax write off for their total loss. Watch this film only very late at night when you have insomnia, so you can quickly fall asleep and forget you even started the movie.
Abattoir (2016)
Loved this movie: Wonderful Mythology, Story and Acting
I got to see this film at several film festivals and highly recommend it! Abattoir is a very unique and special movie that I am so happy was made. Its not your run of the mill slasher horror and its not your average, generic studio film. You can tell the director wanted to make a film that gives audiences more to chew on and a real mystery to follow. The script is nearly written in prose, with passages of dialogue that hark back to the noir detective movies of the 1940s and 1950s, which I love.
The cinematography is also very special, by one of my favorite DPs who shot "Oculus," bringing forth saturated yet contrasted colors and a gorgeous color palette (it is Darren's best filmed movie).
However, its the performances that really sell it for me. Dayton Callie in the role of Jebediah Crone is masterful. His persona on screen is mesmerizing and his dialogue in this film is rich with metaphor and color. I absolutely love where he goes with his character and what we see from his character is not expected!
Jessica Lowndes playing Julia is fantastic. She brings both strength and real emotion to her character and that jumps off the screen. I love that she embraced her role not as a damsel in distress, but rather blends determination and vulnerability in her work.
Joe Anderson plays the perfect detective, with dashes of Bogart and Sinatra at the core. He has the perfect swagger, and I really enjoyed buying into his relationship with Julia.
But my favorite role is Allie, played by the amazing Lin Shaye. She always brings depth and dimension to her characters (have you seen her in "The Signal"), and in Abattoir, Lin plays Allie perfectly. Quirky, yet stern and veiled so you cant believe the twists and turns.
The movie does have a long second act, as there is lots of story and character. I can also see why if your not paying attention or are watching this film with people who are not paying attention, a lot of the nuance can be missed. But the payoff is huge and once your inside the Abattoir, the film stands apart from anything else out there in the horror, thriller, mystery genre or otherwise.
This film is also such a cool premise with an amazing ending that was even more enjoyable the second time I saw it. There were bits and pieces I caught on the second viewing, that missed the first time around. I hope you love it as much as me.