"We're not critics. We're professional fan-girls." --- This blog is dedicated to movies and the entertainment industry. We use random selection to bring into light the best and worst of streaming films and entertainment news.
Movie Name/Year: Fantasia 2021 – Kakegurui 2: Ultimate Russian Roulette (2021) Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller Length: 119 minutes Rating: Unrated Language: Japanese Director: Tsutomu Hanabusa Actors: Minami Hamabe, Mahiro Takasugi, Ryusei Fujii Blurb from IMDb: A school appears peaceful from a distance, but a fierce gambling battle takes place once again. Yumeko Jabami is involved in the battle.
Selina’s Point of View: Once I saw the first Kakegurui (2019) I had to jump right into the sequel. Since both were available in the Fantasia Film Festival, I wasted no time. It was even better than the first one. I have to note there’s a drastic tone change between the first and second films. Although Kakegurui 2: Ultimate Russian Roulette does keep some of that over-the-top humor that anime brings to the table, it went much darker than the first. No time was wasted in letting us know that, either. We get a quick idea of how the events of Kakegurui have affected the setting, and then we’re thrown into an insane plot that never slows down.
I’ll admit, the new antagonist didn’t give off a good first impression. I thought he was a little goofy. After a few scenes with him, however, all his idiosyncrasies started to make sense and he went from goofy to disturbing. Gone was the high school-level bickering of the president and the rising threat to her dominance. In its place we got a mad man capable of anything and complete chaos. I found myself holding my breath at times. It wasn’t as unpredictable as the first, but it definitely kept me on my toes. I only have one complaint. It’s not enough to sully my love for the movie, but it’s a consideration. There was a musical scene that just felt completely out of place. It’s the only musical piece in either film and was unnecessary. It pulled me out of the story for a minute. That part would have been better if it didn’t leap frog into an unconnected genre. I had high hopes for Kakegurui 2: Ultimate Russian Roulette, and it blew past every one of them. It is an absolute must-see.
Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 5/5 Trust-the-Dice’s Parental Advisory Rating: R Movie Trailer:
Streaming Services: Netflix Movie Name/Year: Sweet Girl (2021) Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller Length: 109 minutes Rating: R Production/Distribution: ASAP Entertainment, On The Roam, Pride of Gypsies,
Netflix Director: Brian Andrew Mendoza Writers: Gregg
Hurwitz, Philip Eisner Actors: Jason Momoa, Isabela Merced,
Adria Arjona, Amy Brenneman, Brian Howe, Justin Bartha, Katy M. O'Brian, Lex
Scott Davis, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Michael Raymond-James, Nelson Franklin,
Reggie Lee Blurb from IMDb: A devastated husband vows to bring justice to the people responsible for his wife's death while protecting the only family he has left, his daughter.
Cat’s Point of View: Selina and I both listed Sweet
Girl as our #5 pick for the Top
20 Movies to Look Out For in August 2021, and for similar reasons. Between
the cast and the story the trailer alluded to, Sweet Girl seemed like a sure bet. The US Healthcare system is woefully broken. The attempts to
try and level the playing field to make healthcare more affordable have been
nerfed and undermined at every turn, so that it’s not even a good temporary
bandage for the hemorrhagic situation. It’s disgusting how these big companies
are bleeding people dry, or simply only offering the well-to-do the options for
treatment.
Now, there are some that do go out of their way to try and
help the patients that rely on their medicines. I’ve been relatively lucky with
the company that makes my MS medicine which has kept me stable for going on 7
years now. They offer copay assistance programs and help to secure grants for
medicine costs. Even with Medicare coverage, if I had to pay my 20% of the
medicine cost out-of-pocket, it would be $2,000.00 per month. I am thankful
every day for the help that I’ve received – but there are too many that aren’t
as lucky. There are too many deciding between food and shelter and lifesaving
medicine. It’s hard not to go on a bit of a rant tangent when subjects
like this come up. It’s something I can’t ignore and hits close to home for me.
Pardon my digression.
What I got out of the trailer for Sweet Girl was Jason Momoa’s (Bullet
to the Head, Frontier, See) character going on an action-filled
revenge-fueled quest to expose a Big Pharma executive for the actions that led
to the death of his wife. The pressing question here is whether or not the
movie delivered. The verdict? Sort of. Was it as good as I was expecting? I’m
still processing through that. Sweet Girl is
proving to be a bit divisive with audiences. I’ve seen critics argue that the
film tries to do too much, that it’s predictable, and that it was too long. I
can give them a couple of those points. It was on the long side for an action
movie, and there were predictable elements within the story.
At the same time, one shouldn’t expect that diving down the
Big Pharma rabbit hole would be cut and dry. I appreciated the layers within
the story, and there were some twists that I didn’t exactly see coming. Now
that the credits have rolled and I reflect on Sweet Girl, though, I can see
some of the breadcrumbs that were left along the way. I do feel that I must put my foot down and disagree with
those that were unhappy with Isabela Merced’s (Sicario: Day of the Soldado, Instant Family, Spirit Untamed)
performance. Were we watching the same movie? I thought she kicked ass and
captured the nuances of her character well. I’d have to say that while I wasn’t disappointed in Sweet Girl, it could have used a little
more polish. That being said, I generally enjoyed the experience and can only
recommend that anyone on the fence simply give it a shot and see for yourself.
Movie Name/Year: Fantasia 2021: Yakuza
Princess (2021) Genre: Thriller, Action Length: 111 minutes Rating: R Language: English Production/Distribution: Filmland International, XYZ
Films, Magnet Releasing, Magnolia Pictures, Vortex Media Director: Vicente Amorim Writer: Vicente Amorim, Danilo Beyrouth Actors: MASUMI, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Blurb from IMDb: The heiress to half of the
Yakuza crime syndicate forges an uneasy alliance with an amnesiac stranger who
believes an ancient sword binds their two fates. She must unleash war against
the other half of the syndicate who wants her dead.
Selina’s Point of View: I was
super excited to see Yakuza Princess as part of the Fantasia Film Festival
line up. Nothing offers up some pure escapism like an action thriller. This
movie is an adaptation of a graphic novel. Off the bat, I need to note that I’m
unfamiliar with the original work. I can’t speak on what the quality of Yakuza
Princess is as an adaptation. I can only judge it as a movie. How it
matches up to the graphic novel, how it represents the characters fans know… those
are aspects that can only be judged by readers of the original. That
said, I did enjoy this. There’s something
about a film drenched in blues that really brings out the fantasy of the story
for me. It feels darker and edgier. It also makes me feel more like the events
are a memory than something I’m currently watching. For me, that works. It
helps with the suspension of disbelief because I don’t need to consider things
like what year it’s taking part in. If there are any inconsistencies to the
timeline, it becomes inconsequential. That blue can
also add some serious contrast to the dark reds involved with the bloodshed in
action scenes – and there was no lack of blood involved here.
The action was
absolutely brutal. There were kills in Yakuza Princess that I have never
seen on film as graphically anywhere else. The use of the sword, and its
mythology, gave the creators a lot to work with and they didn’t let anything go
to waste. I did find the
first part of the film, not including the prologue opening, to be a bit
confusing. It helped to generate a great deal of intrigue for the most part,
but there were also a few moments where things connected so strangely that I thought
I might have missed something. I don’t think it was a huge issue, because it
all came together in the end, but it was a touch annoying at the time. The plot was
decent. There were a few relatively expected tropes, but they avoided the worst
ones. As a result, Yakuza Princess winds up feeling a bit like an origin
story. Maybe we’ll be seeing some sequels in the future. I wouldn’t hate that. MASUMI (Posse,
Run Baby Run, CheckMate) is not an actor I’m familiar with, but she was definitely
bad-ass in this flick. She felt like she fit the part well, and I can see her
getting even better in the future as she’s allowed to evolve her take on the
character. Johnathan Rhys Meyers (The 12th Man, Black Butterfly, London Town)
sold that panicked confusion one might feel in a situation where they’ve lost
their memory. Even in scenes where it wasn’t the focus, the expressions he wore
made sure it was a fact that wasn’t forgotten. Yakuza
Princess was a great
action thriller that was every bit of what I expected. If you have the ability
to see it safely in theaters, you should. It will be unleashed to cinemas in
the US, by Magnet Releasing, September 3.
Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 4/5 P.S. Short mid-credit scene Movie Trailer:
Movie Name/Year: Fantasia 2021: Glasshouse (2021) Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller Length: 94 minutes Rating: Unrated Language: English Production/Distribution: Local Motion Pictures, Crave Pictures,
Showmax, Multichoice Studios Director: Kelsey Egan Writer: Emma Lungiswa De Wet, Kelsey Egan Actors: Jessica Alexander, Hilton Pelser, Anja Taljaard, Adrienne Pearce, Brent
Vermeulen, Kitty Harris Blurb from IMDb: Confined to their
glasshouse, a family survives The Shred, a toxin that erases memory. Until the
sisters are seduced by a Stranger who shatters their peace and stirs a past
best left buried.
It was painfully
slow. From a hardcore,
film student, part-of-the-business, perspective – that wouldn’t be an issue.
From a mainstream and, in my case, neurodiverse perspective – the pace
mattered. I had trouble concentrating through it. For many movies,
that would have been the death of my enjoyment. However, because the actors
kept pulling me back in, I was able to stick with it until events ramped up and
started getting intriguing. I’m glad I stuck with it, too. It’s a film I’ll
remember fondly. I think it’s also
worth mentioning that a second watch-through of Glasshouse is almost
necessary. There are many bits and pieces of scenes that hit harder, and make
more sense, the second time around. If you opt to watch it once, you should
watch it twice. It was a brutally
beautiful story and setting. A lot of people will absolutely love it, but it
won’t be for everyone.
Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 3.5/5 Trust-the-Dice’s
Parental Advisory Rating:
R Movie Trailer:
Streaming Services: Shudder Movie Name/Year: Jakob’s Wife (2021) Genre: Horror Length: 98 minutes Rating: Unrated Production/Distribution: AMP International, Eyevox, AMP International, Front
Row Filmed Entertainment, Première TV Distribution, RLJE Films Director: Travis Stevens Writers: Kathy
Charles, Mark Steensland, Travis Stevens Actors: Barbara Crampton, Larry
Fessenden, Bonnie Aarons, Phil “C.M. Punk” Brooks, Jay DeVon Johnson, Mark
Kelly, Nyisha Bell, Omar Salazar, Robert Rusler, Sarah Lind, Angelie Simone,
Ned Yousef, Giovannie Cruz, Armani Desirae, Monica L. Henry, Skeeta Jenkins,
Kathe Newcomb Blurb from IMDb: Anne, married to a small-town Minister, feels
her life has been shrinking over the past 30 years. Encountering "The
Master" brings her a new sense of power and an appetite to live bolder.
However, the change comes with a heavy body count.
Cat’s Point of View: Jakob’s Wife
started out as a slow burn and then took a delightful turn into enjoyable
territory. My first thoughts were of confusion since the movie starts
out with a focus that drifts away from the titular character. Soon enough the
reason is clear, however. My next impression was, unfortunately, tedium. The
first chunk of Jakob’s Wife nearly
lost me. My eyes felt like they might glaze over. I couldn’t bring myself to relate to the meek and
soft-spoken pastor’s wife. I did appreciate that the potential for boldness was
just beneath the surface, though, waiting to be set free. I grabbed onto those
hints like lifelines, begging things to improve sooner rather than later.
Thankfully, Jakob’s Wife delivered
relief as the story began to pick up.
While the film is ostensibly a vampire tale, it’s not
entirely a traditional one. I can’t say I’ve seen it done exactly in this way
before. I don’t want to give any spoilers regarding this particular brand of
bloodsucker. Sadly, that keeps me from mentioning too many details about the
character of The Master, either. I quite enjoyed the surprise revelation at the
end regarding their identity and the method to their madness. I’m hoping that
same light bulb moment happens for other viewers as well. Barbara Crampton (The Lords
of Salem, We Are Still Here, Creepshow) really dug her teeth into this
part. By the end, I was able to forgive the blandness of her character in the
beginning. The difference became literally night and day. Larry Fessenden (Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever, Southbound, The
Dead Don't Die) brought subtle comedy into this genre flick while at the
same time embodying the Minister role to a T.
I couldn’t say that Jakob’s
Wife is a pure genre production, as IMDb would suggest. It’s largely a
social commentary on marriage along the lines of a drama; and stays mostly in
that lane until the horror elements creep in. While some of the gore effects were a little on the hokey
side with blood fountains galore, the effects for Jakob’s Wife were solid and predominantly practical. The big-bad
character design was really interesting as well. I enjoyed that while somewhat
following the traditional vampire recipe, they threw these new ingredients into
the mix and had that reflected in the creature effects also. When all was said and done, I found myself entertained by Jakob’s Wife and adoring the way things
ended. If you’d like to catch this new spin on a vampire tale, you
can check out this Shudder Exclusive premiering on Thursday, August 19th.
Rotten
Tomatoes Critic Score – 85% Rotten
Tomatoes Audience Score – 63% Metascore – 59% Metacritic
User Score – None IMDB
Score – 5.3/10 Trust
the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 3.5/5 Trust
the Dice: Parental Advisory Rating – R Movie Trailer:
