DAILY CALL SHEET: MARCH 24, 2018

Rats: Night of Terror (1984) Nomadic gang holes up in abandoned building in post-apocalyptic 2015. At night, the mutant rats come. More madness from Bruno Mattei with a great twist ending. TIL: Turns out rats can sniff out land mines. Maybe that's why God made the filthy things.

Your daily dose of culture courtesy of Fangs (1974) - "Fly from bad companions as from the bite of a poisonous snake." - St. John Bosco

Irreplaceable You (2018)

When it comes to series, Netflix does so damn good (most of the series I still watch indeed are Netflix originals). When it comes to movies, however, it's different. There are some pretty good ones (Okja and The Meyerowitz Stories New and Selected, to mention a few) and some awful (Bright) and/or disappointing (The Cloverfield Paradox). Irreplaceable You isn't one of the first, but fortunately, it isn't one of the latter either. It's just another average romantic film. 

Abbie (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) and Sam (Michiel Huisman) have been together since she bit him on a childhood trip to the aquarium. When Abbie gets pregnant, they make their engagement official and start planning the wedding, but it turns out Abbie isn't pregnant, she instead has three masses in her pelvis and is later diagnosed with terminal cancer. As a way of coping, Abbie beings a search for a woman to take care of Sam when she is gone. 

Though dying people planning ahead isn't new to movies --just think of the tremendously moving P.S. I Love You--, the plot feels unique and fresh and, even though you already know how it's going to end, it's quite interesting and throughout engaging. That being said, it also has all the romantic film clichés one can think of and there's way too much going on.

The real problem though is that director Stephanie Laing probably wasn't sure about what kind of movie to make. As a result, the tone is all wrong. For half of its running time, Irreplaceable You feels like an upbeat romantic comedy. She is dying but it doesn't feel like it. Then the film shifts to a more serious, dramatic tone which is the one the story needs, but the transition isn't handled well at all and it all feels so awkward and weird.

Netflix

The characters aren't that good either, especially Sam who is not even a character. We know absolutely nothing about him and therefore it's impossible to care about him, and there's nothing Michiel Huisman can do to change that. Gugu Mbatha-Raw, on the other hand, for the second time this year shows off her acting abilities playing a rather thin character amazingly: she delivers all of Abbie's emotions very well and makes you care about the character. 

The supporting characters are pretty much pointless and one-dimensional. They are probably in the film because it would have been too much work making a movie with only two people. That said, they each have their own thing and you remember that. It's a whole different story with Myron, one of the terminally ill people Abbie meets at a support group, and once again the credits go to the actor playing him, Christopher Walken whose bittersweet irony is the only effective humour in the film.

Emotionally speaking, Irreplaceable You isn't as powerful as P.S. I Love You or The Fault in Our Stars or A Walk to Remember, but it still is touching. 

I, Tonya Movie Review

I, Tonya (2017)

Rent I, Tonya on Amazon Video
Written by: Steven Rogers
Directed by: Craig Gillespie
Starring: Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney, Bobby Cannavale
Rated: R
Watch the trailer 

Plot
A look at the life and doomed career of ice skater Tonya Harding and her connection to one of the most infamous sports scandals in American history, the assault on rival Nancy Kerrigan before the 1994 Winter Olympics.

Verdict
It's a self aware movie that breaks the fourth wall just to remind us how ridiculous this true story is. This is always entertaining full of big characters like Tonya, her mom, and self proclaimed international spy Shawn. Tonya is the anchor to the story and it's easy to like her, from her rough upbringing to the desire of revolutionizing figure skating. It really gives her the benefit of the doubt on the assault, though it doesn't completely absolve her.
Watch it.

Review
Tonya was a talented skater and her mom pushed he way too hard. Tonya's mom is a handful, the type of pushy, self centered person that could make the Pope curse. Her mom went out of her way to push and antagonize her. Did this contribute to Harding's do anything to win mentality? That is, assuming she was involved.Tonya had a rough time, going from her mom to her boyfriend Jeff who was physically abusive.

Tonya was a different type of skater, looked down upon from the skating establishment as white trash while trying to upend the posh sport with ZZ Top instead of classical music. You sympathize for her. She's facing an uphill battle, trying to chase her passion while doing it her way. She's been groomed to do it her by her mom who never failed to subvert a rule. I wondered how innocent this was going to portray her. Her background isn't an excuse, but it is a contributor. There are a lot of "It's not my fault." claims from tonya throughout the movie. We hear that before a montage of partying and lack of practice.
Tonya's likable, and if she weren't there wouldn't be much in this film. It gives us just enough to doubt.

The characters break the fourth wall a few times, the best sequence when her trainer looks at the camera and states the Rocky-esque montage we're watching actually happened. I've seen montages like that and it comes off as trite. When we're told it actually happened, it takes the montage to a new level. She put in the work.
The fourth wall breaking with documentary style inserts is a bit like The Big Short, though not as excessive or condescending.

The movie portrays the assault as a mix up orchestrated by her boyfriend and his incredibly dumb friend Shawn. Threatening letters turned into an assault. Shawn maintains he's an international spy despite living in his mom's basement. He ends up getting them caught because he can't stop bragging about the assault to everyone he meets. It's such an absurd story that I wouldn't believe it if it wasn't true.

DAILY CALL SHEET: MARCH 23, 2018

The Severed Arm (1973) Five guys trapped in a cave draw straws; the loser forfeits an arm for food. After their rescue, someone starts taking a hand for a hand, so to speak. TIL: In reality, an 'eye for an eye' was the start of a system of justice in place of excessive vengeance.

Your daily dose of culture courtesy of The Mansion of Madness (1973) - "The torture of a bad conscience is the hell of a living soul" - John Calvin

And just to show we’re not above pandering to the “Awwww” crowd, here’s a little something from the archives for National Puppy Day. It’s our old review of DEVIL DOG: THE HOUND OF HELL.

DISAGREE AND DIE-HARDER: Another 50 Best Films of All Time - Part 1

To celebrate Slaughter Film's 300th podcast, Forest has taken on the painstaking task of chronicling ANOTHER 50 of the very best film of all time!

CONTINUE READING

Stronger (2017)

In spite of the good, if not great things I've read over the past few months about Stronger, I didn't have very high expectations. Why? This movie is signed David Gordon Green who is responsible for such movies as Pineapple Express and The Sitter, so I wasn't sure how good he'd do a dramatic biopic. Turns out my fears were founded. 

The film tells the story of Jeff Bauman (Jake Gyllenhaal), the man who lost both of his legs in the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing (I can't believe it's almost been 5 years since it happened, I remember it as if it happened yesterday). 

As expected, the film keeps the tragedy in the background and focuses on Jeff Bauman's struggles to get back on his feet and to come to terms with his new life and its challenges. And it's a very interesting story, no matter how predictable it gets. Not to mention how inspirational is the story of a normal guy who becomes a hero for his country after a tragic event hit him. 

But Green's film has one huge problem. Actually, let's make it two, it's quite boring (I often found myself checking the time) and bland. Maybe it's because I'm not American, I don't know, but I found this movie emotionally sterile, basically. The only moment of the film that had an emotional impact on me was seeing Jeff and his wife's photos before the credits.

Lionsgate, Roadside Attractions

Luckily, Stronger has some redeeming qualities, one of those being Jake Gyllenhaal's terrific performance which was, for some reason unknown to mankind, snubbed at the Golden Globes. He once again fully immerses himself in the role which gives this biography that authenticity many biopics lack of. His portrayal of Jeff is excellent as he delivers the man's frustration, anger and pain, both physical and emotional, beautifully. 

And the supporting cast is good too, especially Tatiana Malsany who plays Erin Hurley, Jeff's girlfriend, and has a wonderful chemistry with Gyllenhaal which is key here since their relationship is the heart of the movie. Also great is Miranda Richardson who plays Patty Bauman, Jeff's heavy drinking mother who praises her son but ignores completely was he's going through.

 

Troy: Fall of a City Netflix Series Trailer

Troy: Fall of a City (2018)
Season 1 - 8 episodes (2018)

Troy: Fall of a City debuts April 6

An epic tale of love, revenge, and intrigue centered around the events of the Trojan War and the affair between Paris and Helen. The story is told from the perspective of the Trojan royal family at the heart of the siege.
By the writer of The Night Manager (my review), David Farr, Kae Kazim (Black Sails, Hotel Rwanda, Pirates of the Caribbean) will play Zeus.