Movies, back at it
"The Lookalike"
starring: Justin Long, Jerry O'Connell, John Corbett, Scottie Thompson, Gillian Jacobs, Steven Bauer, John Savage, Felisha Terrell, Gina Gershon
written by: Michele Davis-Grey
directed by: Richard Gray
I didn't even know I was watching the second film by Richard Gray (the first one being the film "Mine Game" which I review below, as well, because this film is very different from his debut. It reminded me very much of similar film noirs like "Powder Blue" and the like. Here it has actress Gillian Jacobs playing dual roles as twins.
Club owner and drug dealer Joe Mulligan is ready to quit the life and cash in on his fame as a former basketball star. Joe (Jerry O'Connell) plans to start his own cooking show and desperately needs $200 thousand to get the ball rolling. When beautiful Mila (Scottie Thompson) walks into his club and his life, Joe and she find they're instantly attracted to one another and this gives Joe real hope for his future. Bobby and Frank, Joe's former drug suppliers, need a girl to pretend she's someone else for the evening, but they only have 24 hours to find this lookalike. With the promise of enough money to fix everyone's many financial problems, Joe and his younger brother Holt (Justin Long), think they might have found the perfect candidate in the shape of Lacey (Gillian Jacobs), one of Joe's old drug customers. Needless to say, nothing goes according to plan, thanks to some clever twists, and more double-crosses than Henry Hill could shake a stick at.
There is a lot going on and many arcs and twists and turns throughout the story, enough to keep your mind busy and guessing what will happen next. A film with a large cast has advantages and disadvantages. The goal of any film should always be caring about the characters and if there's too many, you have a hard time deciding who deserves your attention and empathy. It's also important that each actor plays well off others. Thankfully, this film has some good acting (yes, even Jerry O'Connell pulls off a good role), albeit some characters are characitures, but it's like the actors know that and play accordingly. Mila (played by Scottie Thompson) is the most interesting character, as a deaf woman with an artificial leg, who is also terminally ill.
Although it is a busy film, the story plays out well and you can follow everyone on the journey as it comes together.
......................................................................................................
"Mine Games"
starring: Joseph Cross, Briana Evigan, Rafi Gavron, Julianna Guill, Alex Meraz, Ethan Peck, Rebecca DeCosta, Lindsay Lamb
written by: Richard Gray
directed by: Michele Davis-Gray
The premise; a group of young adults decide to meet some friends at a cabin in the woods (I know). On the way they almost splatter someone on the road, causing them to veer wildly and break the fuel-line. They now have to walk and after arriving find a note, but not their friends, so after fixing the generator the group settle in for the night and start to party. They go out exploring the next day and discover an old creepy mine but after returning back to the cabin, Lex realizes he's dropped his wallet and returns with TJ, where they discover their own dead bodies in a storage room within the mine. Rose starts seeing her friends as rotting corpses but because the car isn't working they can't leave unless they walk and Rose is in no fit state to travel. They return to the mine and make even more discoveries that terrify them all.
All the filmmaker's influences and cards are all on the table and very transparent with this film. This is a combination of horror movies that have come before it (re: I Know What You Did Last Summer, Saw films, Insidious, etc.) which makes sense as the screenwriter worked on a few horror scripts prior to this film. The script is so weak, though, making the story weak and the characters unbelievable and unconvincing as people, which is a big no-no. The film sort of falls apart rather quickly into a predictable mess of a horror film.
I've seen better.
......................................................................................................
"The Outcasts"
starring: Victoria Justice, Eden Sher, Ashley Rickards, Avan Jogia, Claudia Lee, Katie Chang, Peyton List, Will Peltz, Daniel Eric Gold, Ted McGinley, Frank Whaley
written by: Dominique Ferrari and Suzanne Wrubel
directed by: Peter Hutchings
Here's a film that seems to have taken a course in all other high school teen films (re: The Breakfast Club, Can't Hardly Wait, She's All That, etc.) and scribbled down notes of all the good and bad things about each movie, thrown the notes in a blender and created an indie film with lesser known actors and actresses, allowed them to remain typecast as characters they're known for playing and not really seeing them stretch themselves out of their comfort zone. I've liked Victoria Justice as a young actress in other indie films I've seen her in. She has potential break-out star power, when given the right material. Unfortunately, when the script has its characters speaking and acting older than they are supposed to be, that's a strong fail, in my book (re: Dawson's Creek).
Mindy (Eden Sher playing another version of her character on the show "The Middle") and Jodi (Victoria Justice) are not cool, but they do just like being themselves. Now in their senior year of high school, they are fed up with being bullied by the popular kids. They attempt a truce and then move on to overthrowing the social hierarchy of the school – their insane knowledge of sociology in historical contexts comes in handy. Mindy and her band of “outcasts” also loves off-beat pop-culture references. After a sentence from Karl Marx they’ll throw in references to Firefly, Dr. Who, and a whole analogy relating Star Wars to the dynamics of high school friendships.
The frustrating aspect of this movie is that it just gets worse. I have no problems with people like Sue and Jodi getting what they want – they’ve worked hard and they are smart. Maybe they did just memorize a sociology textbook (but probably not). They band together fellow outcasts and a few of them weren’t just there as jokes. Katie Chang as Claire was a sweet and genuinely thoughtful girl, but that meant she didn’t get much screen time. Jazmyn Richardson had one good line, “I’m not angry because I’m black, I’m angry because I pay attention.” Ashley Rickards as Virginia was a brilliantly crafted character she was hilarious, and independent, and also smart and conniving. She most likely did just memorize a sociology textbook, and the most likely to help connect the audience.
I would skip this one and watch the way better films that have come out prior to this one. This one is just pretending to be those films, and it's not even good at pretending.
........................................................................................................
"A Sort of Homecoming"
starring: Michelle Clunie, Neal Kodinsky, Lance E. Nichols, Jacqueline Fleming, Kathleen Wilhoite, Laura Marano, Parker Mack, Kelvin Harrison, Katherine McNamara
written by: Lynn Reed
directed by: Maria Burton
If you look at the poster, this is an indie film that has gotten a lot of recognition and awards. It's a small, quiet, and nicely paced film that tells a succinct story about coming-of-age.
Amy (Michelle Clunie, television's Teen Wolf) is a New York-based television executive whose life is unexpectedly thrown a curveball when her former high school debate coach, Annie (Kathleen Wilhoite), summons her back to her hometown via a previously undisclosed yet binding agreement of sorts. It's clear early on in A Sort of Homecoming that Amy has conflicted feelings about her time back on the St. Delphine Debate Team, feelings that are bound to surface once she returns to town. Much of A Sort of Homecoming is set back in those 80's days of Amy's high school debate alongside her debate partner, Nick (Parker Mack, The Darkness), as they head off to a debate camp to hone their skills and struggle to balance efforts to maintain their school's five straight state championships, attracting top notch scholarships, managing their own personal lives and somehow maintaining their sanity through it all.
Amy's story unfolds in flashbacks as we learn about her through her last few years of high school when she was competing on a nationally-recognized debate team at the same school she is now the debate coach of.
This is a decent indie film about relationships, forgiveness, and the wisdom you gain through living your life.
starring: Justin Long, Jerry O'Connell, John Corbett, Scottie Thompson, Gillian Jacobs, Steven Bauer, John Savage, Felisha Terrell, Gina Gershon
written by: Michele Davis-Grey
directed by: Richard Gray
I didn't even know I was watching the second film by Richard Gray (the first one being the film "Mine Game" which I review below, as well, because this film is very different from his debut. It reminded me very much of similar film noirs like "Powder Blue" and the like. Here it has actress Gillian Jacobs playing dual roles as twins.
Club owner and drug dealer Joe Mulligan is ready to quit the life and cash in on his fame as a former basketball star. Joe (Jerry O'Connell) plans to start his own cooking show and desperately needs $200 thousand to get the ball rolling. When beautiful Mila (Scottie Thompson) walks into his club and his life, Joe and she find they're instantly attracted to one another and this gives Joe real hope for his future. Bobby and Frank, Joe's former drug suppliers, need a girl to pretend she's someone else for the evening, but they only have 24 hours to find this lookalike. With the promise of enough money to fix everyone's many financial problems, Joe and his younger brother Holt (Justin Long), think they might have found the perfect candidate in the shape of Lacey (Gillian Jacobs), one of Joe's old drug customers. Needless to say, nothing goes according to plan, thanks to some clever twists, and more double-crosses than Henry Hill could shake a stick at.
There is a lot going on and many arcs and twists and turns throughout the story, enough to keep your mind busy and guessing what will happen next. A film with a large cast has advantages and disadvantages. The goal of any film should always be caring about the characters and if there's too many, you have a hard time deciding who deserves your attention and empathy. It's also important that each actor plays well off others. Thankfully, this film has some good acting (yes, even Jerry O'Connell pulls off a good role), albeit some characters are characitures, but it's like the actors know that and play accordingly. Mila (played by Scottie Thompson) is the most interesting character, as a deaf woman with an artificial leg, who is also terminally ill.
Although it is a busy film, the story plays out well and you can follow everyone on the journey as it comes together.
......................................................................................................
"Mine Games"
starring: Joseph Cross, Briana Evigan, Rafi Gavron, Julianna Guill, Alex Meraz, Ethan Peck, Rebecca DeCosta, Lindsay Lamb
written by: Richard Gray
directed by: Michele Davis-Gray
The premise; a group of young adults decide to meet some friends at a cabin in the woods (I know). On the way they almost splatter someone on the road, causing them to veer wildly and break the fuel-line. They now have to walk and after arriving find a note, but not their friends, so after fixing the generator the group settle in for the night and start to party. They go out exploring the next day and discover an old creepy mine but after returning back to the cabin, Lex realizes he's dropped his wallet and returns with TJ, where they discover their own dead bodies in a storage room within the mine. Rose starts seeing her friends as rotting corpses but because the car isn't working they can't leave unless they walk and Rose is in no fit state to travel. They return to the mine and make even more discoveries that terrify them all.
All the filmmaker's influences and cards are all on the table and very transparent with this film. This is a combination of horror movies that have come before it (re: I Know What You Did Last Summer, Saw films, Insidious, etc.) which makes sense as the screenwriter worked on a few horror scripts prior to this film. The script is so weak, though, making the story weak and the characters unbelievable and unconvincing as people, which is a big no-no. The film sort of falls apart rather quickly into a predictable mess of a horror film.
I've seen better.
......................................................................................................
"The Outcasts"
starring: Victoria Justice, Eden Sher, Ashley Rickards, Avan Jogia, Claudia Lee, Katie Chang, Peyton List, Will Peltz, Daniel Eric Gold, Ted McGinley, Frank Whaley
written by: Dominique Ferrari and Suzanne Wrubel
directed by: Peter Hutchings
Here's a film that seems to have taken a course in all other high school teen films (re: The Breakfast Club, Can't Hardly Wait, She's All That, etc.) and scribbled down notes of all the good and bad things about each movie, thrown the notes in a blender and created an indie film with lesser known actors and actresses, allowed them to remain typecast as characters they're known for playing and not really seeing them stretch themselves out of their comfort zone. I've liked Victoria Justice as a young actress in other indie films I've seen her in. She has potential break-out star power, when given the right material. Unfortunately, when the script has its characters speaking and acting older than they are supposed to be, that's a strong fail, in my book (re: Dawson's Creek).
Mindy (Eden Sher playing another version of her character on the show "The Middle") and Jodi (Victoria Justice) are not cool, but they do just like being themselves. Now in their senior year of high school, they are fed up with being bullied by the popular kids. They attempt a truce and then move on to overthrowing the social hierarchy of the school – their insane knowledge of sociology in historical contexts comes in handy. Mindy and her band of “outcasts” also loves off-beat pop-culture references. After a sentence from Karl Marx they’ll throw in references to Firefly, Dr. Who, and a whole analogy relating Star Wars to the dynamics of high school friendships.
The frustrating aspect of this movie is that it just gets worse. I have no problems with people like Sue and Jodi getting what they want – they’ve worked hard and they are smart. Maybe they did just memorize a sociology textbook (but probably not). They band together fellow outcasts and a few of them weren’t just there as jokes. Katie Chang as Claire was a sweet and genuinely thoughtful girl, but that meant she didn’t get much screen time. Jazmyn Richardson had one good line, “I’m not angry because I’m black, I’m angry because I pay attention.” Ashley Rickards as Virginia was a brilliantly crafted character she was hilarious, and independent, and also smart and conniving. She most likely did just memorize a sociology textbook, and the most likely to help connect the audience.
I would skip this one and watch the way better films that have come out prior to this one. This one is just pretending to be those films, and it's not even good at pretending.
........................................................................................................
"A Sort of Homecoming"
starring: Michelle Clunie, Neal Kodinsky, Lance E. Nichols, Jacqueline Fleming, Kathleen Wilhoite, Laura Marano, Parker Mack, Kelvin Harrison, Katherine McNamara
written by: Lynn Reed
directed by: Maria Burton
If you look at the poster, this is an indie film that has gotten a lot of recognition and awards. It's a small, quiet, and nicely paced film that tells a succinct story about coming-of-age.
Amy (Michelle Clunie, television's Teen Wolf) is a New York-based television executive whose life is unexpectedly thrown a curveball when her former high school debate coach, Annie (Kathleen Wilhoite), summons her back to her hometown via a previously undisclosed yet binding agreement of sorts. It's clear early on in A Sort of Homecoming that Amy has conflicted feelings about her time back on the St. Delphine Debate Team, feelings that are bound to surface once she returns to town. Much of A Sort of Homecoming is set back in those 80's days of Amy's high school debate alongside her debate partner, Nick (Parker Mack, The Darkness), as they head off to a debate camp to hone their skills and struggle to balance efforts to maintain their school's five straight state championships, attracting top notch scholarships, managing their own personal lives and somehow maintaining their sanity through it all.
Amy's story unfolds in flashbacks as we learn about her through her last few years of high school when she was competing on a nationally-recognized debate team at the same school she is now the debate coach of.
This is a decent indie film about relationships, forgiveness, and the wisdom you gain through living your life.
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