"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.
Streaming Service: Shudder Movie Name/Year: Sissy (2022) Genre: Horror, Comedy Length: 1h 42min Rating: Unrated Production/Distribution: Arcadia,
DEMS Entertainment, Dog Park Pictures, XYZ Films, Shudder Director: Hannah Barlow, Kane Senes Writers: Hannah Barlow, Kane Senes Actors: Aisha Dee, Yerin Ha, Lucy
Barrett, Daniel Monks, Hannah Barlow, Emily De Margheriti, Victoria Hopkins,
Alea O'Shea,Darcie Irwin-Simpson, Ryan Panizza, Adam McMahon, Shaun Martindale,
Neil Parikh, Amelia Lule, Kaley Roach, Jared Jekyll, Courtney Roach, April
Blasdall, Camille Cumpston, Shannon Lawson, Louise Barlow, Will Prenzler,
Melissa Brownlow, Toni Kolan IMDb Blurb: Teen best friends Cecilia and
Emma, after a decade run into each other. Cecilia is invited on Emma's
bachelorette weekend where she gets stuck in a remote cabin with her high
school bully with a taste for revenge.
Cat’s Point of View: Oh, how I love an Australian accent. When paired with the promise
of an interesting blend of horror-comedy and revenge, I was intrigued and
excited to see what Sissy had to
offer. What I got was a bit unexpected. Not everything was as the
trailer led me to believe. Of course, that’s sometimes a good thing. I appreciated
Sissy more the way it actually played
out than if the movie had gone in the direction I thought the trailer was
leading me.
That being said, while I did like Sissy, something in the back of my mind got squirmy and gave me an
uncomfortable feeling throughout a large portion of the film. I didn’t really
expect to have such a visceral reaction to the bullying depicted in the
production. When paired with the sense of social isolation, however, it
apparently took me back to a place in my past I don’t enjoy reliving.
Unfortunately, that put a bit of a damper on things as my reaction colored my
experience of the story. While an interesting cautionary tale regarding how perspective
and perception play in to social media content and the rush that such attention
brings, something was lacking in a way I just couldn’t put my finger on. It
could be that I didn’t feel that there was enough of the comedy that seemed to
be promised with the genre description. Had there been more of a synergy such
as with Tucker and Dale vs. Evil
(2010), perhaps, the whole experience might’ve landed differently with me.
Even though Sissy
wasn’t entirely my cup of tea, the cast did a great job of bringing the story
to life. Aisha Dee (Channel Zero, The
Nowhere Inn, The Bold Type) was practically in every scene and she had me
rooting for her character – even when I probably shouldn’t have. Considering my own emotional baggage involved with the
experience, don’t take my word as the final opinion if you’re considering
watching Sissy now that we’re on the cusp of the spooky season when slashers
reign. Sissy releases as
a Shudder Original on Thursday, September 29th.
Rotten
Tomatoes Critic Score – 98% Rotten
Tomatoes Audience Score – None Metascore – None Metacritic
User Score – None IMDB
Score – 6.7/10 Trust
the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 3/5 Trust
the Dice: Parental Advisory Rating – R
Streaming
Services: Shudder Movie
Name/Year: Boar
(2018) Genre: Adventure, Horror, Thriller Length: 96 minutes Rating: NR Production/Distribution: Slaughter FX, OZPIX Entertainment,
Universal Pictures, GatebreakR, Impact Films, Meteor Film, RLJ Entertainment, Shudder,
Signature Entertainment Director: Chris Sun Writer: Kristy Dallas, Chris Sun Actors: Bill Moseley, Nathan Jones,
John Jarratt, Steve Bisley, Ernie Dingo, Roger Ward, Hugh Sheridan, Chris
Haywood, Simone Buchanan, Madeleine Kennedy, Christie-Lee Britten, Melissa
Tkautz, Chris Bridgewater, Sean Gannon, Trudi Ross Blurb
from IMDb: In
the harsh, yet beautiful Australian outback lives a beast, an animal of
staggering size, with a ruthless, driving need for blood and destruction. It
cares for none, defends its territory with brutal force, and kills with a raw,
animalistic savagery unlike any have seen before.
Selina’s
Point of View: I want to be very
clear about something before I talk about Boar. I love creature
features. I adore anything from mainstream stuff like Jurassic Park (1993)
to campy over-the-top ‘so bad it’s good’ stuff like Big Ass Spider!
(2013) – and most stuff in between. When I do dislike any kind of creature
feature, there’s a reason for it. Now, let’s talk
about the movie of the day. I was excited for
Boar. I’ve had some good experiences with Australian films and I was up
for some rampaging giant wild pig action. I didn’t expect much from it, I was
just looking forward to some creature thrills. Still, it left me
disappointed. Quite frankly,
the plot wasn’t developed enough for Boar to take itself as seriously as
it did.
For one thing,
the audience is introduced to the ‘main characters’ early on in the movie, but
they disappear after about 10 minutes and don’t come back into the story until
half-way through. When they do finally reappear, the movie expects you to care
about them as though the whole film has been developing that field of fucks,
but it hasn’t. As happens when
you don’t tend to a field, it was barren. The script did
feel very natural in some parts, but then the writers would slip into these
tropey lines that felt out of place and made me cringe. It just wasn’t
very good. Whether you’re looking for a serious creature feature, or something
campy and fun, Shudder has better films to fill those needs. I will say this,
though. Australians have some of the best slang in the world.
Cat’s
Point of View: A month-long
binge of horror movies would be seriously lacking if we didn’t have a creature
feature mixed in. One of the
reasons I was initially interested in this movie was the premise of the
creature, itself. Why is a wild pig scary, aside from the monster size of it?
Ask any boar hunters out there – they’re no joke. Hell, wasn’t it a boar that took
out a major character in Game of Thrones (2011-2019)? (It was.) I guess
the bad guy monologue from Snatch (2000) regarding the efficacy of pig
farms for body-disposal has stuck with me, too. Wild bacon is scary if you
don’t have the stopping power. A wild hog the size of a car? That has the
potential to be terrifying. When you factor
in the cast here, it gets even better. My interest was instantly piqued seeing
horror veteran Bill Moseley (Repo! The Genetic Opera, Death House, 3 From
Hell) attached to this film. This is a slightly different role for him than
his character in Rob Zombie’s (House of 1000 Corpses, Halloween, The Lords
of Salem) Firefly clan movies. Nevertheless, it gives some extra ‘cred’
that he’s attached to the cast here. I was also
excited to see the modern-day giant and former WWE Superstar, Nathan Jones (Charlie's
Farm, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Scorpion King: Book of Souls) involved with
this production. Giant boar vs. giant man seemed like a pretty cool match up to
me. Then, of course, I was surprised and giddy to recognize Ernie Dingo (Bran
Nue Dae, Australia Day, Mystery Road) and the slice of levity that he
brought to the story. My inner 80’s nostalgia fan had to squee, considering he
was the titular character’s best friend Charlie in Crocodile Dundee II
(1988).
Regrettably, I
wish I could say that I recognized the female cast members here. I certainly
didn’t find fault with their performances, I’m just not all that familiar with
them. I am looking
forward to checking out other movies by writer/director Chris Sun (Come and
Get Me, Daddy's Little Girl, Charlie's Farm). He seems to have utilized the
same core cast members in most of his 4 films to date. The kicker to a
successful creature feature is largely determined by how the actual critter is
handled. If I’m honest, I have some mixed feelings about the effects used with
the boar here. Understandably, there wasn’t going to be any safe way to use a
real one. Some of the effects were clearly CGI and didn’t exactly fit right,
while others were spot on. The same can be said of the practical effects. There
were some close-ups of the boar that are outright horrifying, and others that
are clearly either animatronic or a guy in a suit. That took me out of the
moment in a few places. Overall, I
enjoyed Boar. I don’t know that I’d watch it again; but I do know that,
as I said, I am interested in seeing other projects by this director and I
certainly wouldn’t steer anyone away from this movie. That being said, I can’t
say that it would be my first choice for recommendations. Shudder has so many
titles to choose from that would be decidedly better. If you do decide to give
this film a shot, be sure you’re watching in the dark for maximum effect.
Rotten
Tomatoes Critic Score – 50% Rotten
Tomatoes Audience Score – 44% Metascore – None Metacritic
User Score – None IMDB
Score – 5.2/10 Trust
the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 2/5 Trust
the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 3.5/5 Trust
the Dice Parental Advisory Rating: R Movie
Trailer:
Streaming
Services: Shudder Movie
Name/Year: Nekrotronic
(2018) Genre: Action, Comedy, Horror Length: 99 minutes Rating: R Production/Distribution: Create NSW, Entertainment
One Features, Guerilla Films, Hopscotch Features, GEM Entertainment, Culture
Publishers (CP), Entertainment One, Momentum Pictures, Universal Pictures Home
Entertainment, eOne Films Spain Director: Kiah Roache-Turner Writer: Kiah Roache-Turner, Tristan
Roache-Turner Actors: Ben O’Toole, Monica
Bellucci, Caroline Ford, Tess Haubrich, Epine Bob Savea, David Wenham, Berynn
Schwerdt, Jay Gallagher, Felix Williamson, Ron Smyck, Goran D. Kleut, Jessica
Racz, Nic Westaway, Dave Beamish, James Formosa, Jonathan Formosa, Alex Jewson Blurb
from IMDb: A
man who discovers that he is part of a secret sect of magical beings who hunt
down and destroy demons in the internet.
Selina’s
Point of View: Let’s face it.
After our last movie, absolutely anything would have been an improvement. That
said, this film was more than just that, it was amazing. I remember seeing
the trailer when it came out and being intrigued. It looked like a B-movie, but
the fun kind. What I saw today exceeded those expectations. It wasn’t a
B-movie at all. It had a decent $10 million budget and it shows. A lot of the
graphics were on point, as well as the soundtrack, acting, sets, and just about
everything else. Now, I’m not saying it wasn’t campy. It was incredibly over-the-top,
but that’s what they were going for, and it works. What surprised me
the most was how well written it was. Now, I’ll admit,
that there were some very typical aspects to the script. There was one point in
the film that I guessed a line of dialogue before it was spoken. There were
also some plot tropes. Still, when the characters were talking to each other,
or reacting to circumstances, it felt organic. I want to talk
about another part of the film that impressed me, but first I need to discuss a
pet peeve I have with newer horror films. As technology has
evolved over time, horror movies seem to have tried to ignore it. For example:
everyone has a cell phone these days. Instead of addressing that in story, most
new horror flicks just default to the ‘out of service’ trope. I hate that.
Especially since it would be so simple do something with it. I mean, a 911
operator is still going to accuse you of a prank call if you ring them up about
ghosts or vampires or something. Seriously, even if you get through to someone,
who’s going to believe you watched someone get possessed? Just saying the phone
is ‘out of service’ is a cop out.
You can’t write a
script for 1960 and make it work today without adjusting it to fit the
evolutions of our world. Well, you can,
but it wouldn’t make sense. That kind of
thing really digs at me. I want newer horror films to take advantage of our
modern technology. It seems like creators see the upgrades as a hurdle when, in
reality, it has the ability to be a new source of terror. That’s one of the
reasons the plot of Nekrotronic works so well. Characters had a find a
way around modern-age technology, or find a way to handicap it. Nothing was
done for them. The script used cell phones and the internet – even augmented
reality – to tell the tale. It’s because the creators acknowledged the state of
our 2018 reality that I was able to become so immersed it. I also need to
compliment Caroline Ford (Anti-Social, Carnival Row, Free Rein) for her
acting. Everyone was great, but there was one scene where Ford was post-battle
and had blood all over her face. There was a bit of crying involved, and she went
for it. It wasn’t ugly-crying, but she was dropping tears at such a level that
she was leaving clean streaks through the blood make-up as it went on. It was
impressive. Nekrotronic was pure campy fun. It had all the
spirits, demons, and other paranormal creatures you could want for a Halloween
movie marathon – and there was a ton of comedic gold mixed in. Although it’s
not a movie for critics, this is an entertaining flick for people just looking
for something fun. It’s a Shudder exclusive,
and I think it’s worth getting the subscription for.
Cat’s
Point of View: For a little bit,
I had Nekrotronic confused with another movie. Whoops. I realized the
error of my notion as I watched the opening credits and failed to see the name
I was expecting as director. The name is really immaterial, honestly. I just
knew then that I wasn’t sure what to expect anymore. I didn’t mind, and my
gamble was paid off because Nekrotronic took me on one hell of a ride. I have an
increasingly positive opinion about Australian cinema. Nekrotronic adds
to the growing list of good movies that have come from the ‘land down under.’
Of course, there’s always the bonus of getting to listen to glorious Aussie
accents throughout the production. I digress… This movie had a
little bit of everything in it. There were huge elements of sci-fi, a generous
helping of horror, and a liberal sprinkle of comedy. It was a recipe for
delicious fun. I laughed, gasped, and had a blast watching the
demon-vanquishing escapades. I know I was
harsh on the last film’s effects, but the distance between that movie and this
one could be measured in light-years. Nekrotronic had quite a few
elements that required effects. The core supernatural essence of the story
called for some heavy-duty cgi, at that. The production got a lot of bang for
their bucks here. Nothing felt hokey, and it was seamless enough that I
believed every second of it.
This movie even
gave me a lot of warm nostalgic fuzzies, as it felt like they paid homage to
some classic 80’s horror movies such as Lifeforce (1985) and Hellraiser
(1987). There were even some heavy influences from Ghostbusters (1984).
I loved how the story drew on these elements without blatantly trying to copy
them. It made those tidbits all the more enjoyable to watch. Some moments were
even reminiscent of the zombie horror genre, and even that was done well in
setting itself apart from that popular trope. That being said, this was
definitely not a throw-back movie. It was clearly set in the current age, if
not a little further in the future. There were some great references that
cemented that for me. I really enjoyed
the cast, as well. The story gets big kudos for having strong female roles in
general, but the ladies portraying them on screen also kicked ass. Monica
Belucci (The Brothers Grimm, The Whistleblower, Mozart in the Jungle),
Caroline Ford, and Tess Haubrich (Alien: Covenant, Bleeding Steel,
Treadstone) were all solid in their roles. Of course, the main character
wasn’t a lady – but that’s ok! I was completely invested in the bumbling
intensity of Howard, played by Ben O'Toole (The Water Diviner, Hacksaw
Ridge, 12 Strong). To sum up, this
was a really well-rounded movie with a little bit of everything in it – and all
done well, in my opinion. I had a really good time watching, and barely noticed
the passage of time. I think this would be a wonderful addition to a spooky
marathon, or just for viewing in general for this Halloween season. It was
another killer edition to our Shudder Spree.
Rotten
Tomatoes Critic Score – 39% Rotten
Tomatoes Audience Score – 76% Metascore – 25/100 Metacritic
User Score – 6.8/10 IMDB
Score – 5.5/10 Trust
the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 4/5 Trust
the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 4.5/5 P.S.: There is one mid-credits scene. Movie
Trailer:
Actors: Hugo
Weaving, Angus Sampson, Leigh Whannell, Ewen Leslie, Geoff Morrell, Georgina
Haig, Noni Hazlehurst, John Noble, Nick Farnell, Marney McQueen, Dave Lawson, Chris
Pang
Stunt Doubles: Craig
Brookshaw, Reg Roordink
Blurb from Netflix:
Recruited to smuggle drugs by swallowing condoms full of heroin, a man is
detained at customs and arrested, hoping his stomach can outlast the police.
Selina’s Point of View:
I had a huge amount of trouble getting into this film.
It’s not that the story wasn’t interesting. I’m sure that
someone else would have found it enthralling, but I was just kind of grossed
out for most it.
Although the story was based on truth, I feel like whatever
changes they may have made to the main character made him unrelatable.
Yes, I
know he was meant to be a little off, but it was to the extreme that it was
actually really distracting. In fact, I didn’t find myself caring about any of
the characters.
It shouldn’t have been that difficult for me to find at
least one relatable character in a film that was based on real life.
The Mule just
turned out to not be my kind of film.
Cat’s Point of View:
I have to say; this movie was more crime and drama than
comedy. There weren’t enough laughs to balance out the darkness and cringe
factor here. Seriously – this has some The
Human Centipede: First Sequence (2009) level nastiness. I am very thankful
I didn’t try to watch this anywhere around food.
I’m a sucker for accents, so listening to all the Aussie was
interesting – but it wasn’t enough to keep me invested in the movie.
John Noble (Risen,
Elementary, Sleepy Hollow) and Hugo Weaving (The Wolfman, Cloud Atlas, Hacksaw Ridge) were the recognizable
cast members for me. Their roles weren’t outside of anything expected, given
their filmographies to date. They did well, I just didn’t see anything new or
interesting from them.
I have to give a serious nod of respect to Angus Sampson (Insidious, Blinder, Fargo) for the
physical challenges of his lead role here. While I can hope that the production
team made it as pleasant as possible for him, I’m sure that just the thought of
what his character was going through had to be nausea inducing.
I’m a bit disappointed here. The trailer built this up as
something funnier than it ended up being and I was rather looking forward to
watching this. Unfortunately, I ended up being mostly bored while trying not to
throw up. Maybe it’s funnier in Australia?
Tagline: Keep
your friends close, but don't invite them to your wedding.
Genre: Comedy,
Romance
Length: 97
minutes
Rating: NR
Production Companies:
Screen Australia, Quickfire Films, Screen NSW, Parabolic Pictures, Stable Way
Entertainment, Unthank Films, Story Bridge Films, Ingenious Broadcasting,
Auburn Entertainment
Producer: Antonia
Barnard, Dean Craig, Todd Fellman, Gary Hamilton, Josh Kesselman, Mark R.
Lindsay, Laurence Malkin, Share Stallings, James M. Vernon
Director: Stephan
Elliott
Writer: Dean
Craig
Actors: Laura
Brent, Xavier Samuel, Kris Marshall, Kevin Bishop, Tim Draxl, Elizabeth
Debicki, Olivia Newton-John, Rebel Wilson, Jonathan Biggins, Oliver Torr, Steve
Le Marquand, Alan Cinis, Kim Knuckey
Stunt Doubles: Perry
Attfield, Ingrid Kleinig, Scott Marcus, Rhys Richards, Sharelle Starr, Ben
Toyer
Blurb from Netflix:
A would-be groom sees his wedding day turn into a fiasco when his terminally
pubescent best friends, a drug dealer, and a male sheep enter the picture.
Selina’s Point of View:
This was the Australian version of the Hangover (2009) with a little more romance.
I’ll admit that there were some funny moments in A Few Best Men; I giggled here and
there. I was even emotionally touched a few times, but I don’t think there was
anything even remotely original about the film.
By fifteen minutes in, I not only knew the ending, but I
called at least six things leading up to the ending. Big things. Things that
were meant to be huge surprises.
That said, it wasn’t a terrible movie. It wasn’t painful to
sit through or anything… just a little boring. I feel like a few minor tweaks
in the plot or script could have easily turned this Hangover wannabe into something that could stand on its own.
After all, the acting wasn’t bad and some of the jokes were
decent. I just wish they’d have done one thing, just ONE thing that didn’t fit
the tropes one would expect.
Honestly, I think the writer was lazy.
If you really need some background noise, or to turn your
brain off after a hard day, then this would be fine for you. I wouldn’t watch
it if you’re looking for something to really make you roll from laughter, or
something that would blow your mind. It’s not awesome and I’d bet it won’t even
be memorable.
I suspect that in a year or two when I’m going through blog
records I’m going to come across the title of this film and stare at it blankly
until I speak to Cat and ask her what dimension we watched this in. (This is a
thing that recently happened with the film If
I Stay [2014]. I still don’t remember anything about that film.)
Cat’s Point of View:
I absolutely loved this movie.
I became intrigued with Xavier Samuel (Bait, Plush, Love & Friendship) a while back and sought out
some of his work. From Shakespearean England to facing down tsunami-stranded sharks,
he’s definitely shown that he has quite the range. Of course, this movie added
some levity. Samuel played it brilliantly.
The movie was meant to be rollicking fun rather than some
serious drama. There’s some irreverent humor - mostly spearheaded by friends
Tom, Graham, and Luke; played by Kris Marshall (The Merchant of Venice, Meant to Be, Sparks and Embers), Kevin
Bishop (Moonwalkers, The Rack Pack, Birds
Like Us), and Tim Draxl (In My Sleep,
Undocumented, A Place to Call Home) respectively.
There were a couple of pleasant surprises among the cast, as
well. Before her career really took off, at least here in the States, Rebel
Wilson (Bridesmaids, Pain & Gain, The
Brothers Grimsby) played the unsubtle sister of Brent’s character, Mia. I
really enjoyed her performance – it avoided being too far over-the-top as some
of her more recent roles have been.
Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge Olivia
Newton-John (Sordid Lives, The Wilde
Girls, Score: A Hockey Musical). Not only does some of her music grace the
soundtrack of the film, but she plays the mother-in-law to be. I adore her
character here. She captured the essence of the politician’s wife – as well as
handling the other demands of her role deftly. I can’t say more without giving
too much away!
I could probably babble on forever about this movie, but
I’ll spare you by leaving you with my firm recommendation that this film is
great for some good laughs. I’ll likely watch this one again on more than one
occasion.
Actors: Don
Bridges, Cris Cochrane, Tegan Crowley, Liza Dennis, Steven Jianai, Scott
Marcus, Sarah Ranken, Benjamin Rigby, Nicholas Stribakos
Stunt Doubles: N/A
Languages
Speech Available:
English, Spanish
Subtitles Available:
English
Blurb from Netflix:
In a post-apocalyptic world, a woman makes her way across Australia seeking
refuge from a deadly plague and those who’ve survived it.
Selina’s Point of View:
This movie was just all over the place. The characters weren’t
relatable or likable. The plot was so chaotic that they obviously couldn’t
choose one direction to go so they went all directions at once.
On top of that, the only acting I believed was for the one
character that annoyed me the absolute most.
I love zombies. I love zombie flicks. I even love B/Indie
zombie flicks. This one was… not good. Coming from me that’s saying something.
I’ve liked some weird-ass zom films in the past that others just couldn’t
stand.
Worst of all, Plague
was dreadfully boring on top of being bad.
I would absolutely not recommend this to anyone for any
reason.
Cat’s Point of View:
I’m a sucker for apocalypse movies, so the fact that this
particular film was a relatively unknown title from a shiny new director and
had a relatively unknown cast was not a daunting prospect. Given, I didn’t have
any giant expectations going in –but hey, it was set in Australia and I’m a
sucker for accents, too.
Let’s get into the nuts and bolts here.
I appreciated that they didn’t waste too much time setting
the premise. There weren’t a lot of bells and whistles here, but that was a
good thing. I think it would have detracted from the story. I know this isn’t
the most original theme, and it’s right there in with the genre recipe.
What makes this movie more entertaining was the sheer grit
of it in focusing not on the title ‘plague,’ but keeping that as setting
material that revolved around the story of people struggling with how to act
with the world turned upside-down. Where does morality and humanity factor into
survival?
I was really impressed with Tegan Crowley’s (Stranded, Chimera, Lion) performance. I
believed every second of her emotional journey. She grabbed me and yanked me
along on her rollercoaster – even through some of her situations that were a
bit triggery for me.
This was a solid offering, even though I likely wouldn’t
watch it again. I wouldn’t steer anyone away from it.
Tagline: Out here
their greatest threat is each other.
Genre: Thriller,
Sci-Fi, Horror
Length: 110
minutes
Rating: R
Production Companies:
Storm Vision Entertainment, Eclectik Vision, Storm Alley Entertainment
Producer: Sidonie
Abbene, Shane Abbess, Brian Cachia, Matthew Graham, Steven Matusko, Brett
Thornquest
Director: Shane
Abbess
Writer: Shane
Abbess, Brian Cachia
Actors: Daniel
MacPherson, Grace Huang, Luke Hemsworth, Luke Ford, Bren Foster, Dwaine
Stevenson, Harry Pavlidis, Louisa Mignone, Kevin Copeland, Richard Huggett,
Tess Haubrich, Matt Minto, Andy Rodoreda, Paul Winchester, Brendan Clearkin,
Richard Maait, Damon Manns, Dean Kyrwood, Goran D. Kleut
Blurb from Netflix:
While on a mission in space to save the sole survivor of a biological outbreak,
a search and rescue team encounters a looming threat to Earth.
Selina’s Point of View:
We’re on a bit of a roll here at Trust the Dice (no pun
intended).
In the past 2 weeks we’ve seen three phenomenal films and
only one that was meh. This movie was one of the former and, quite frankly, my
favorite of all the films we’ve seen. Not only in the past two weeks, put
possibly ever.
I have my favorite go-to films. Everyone does. Among them
are Clerks (1994), SLC Punk! (1998), Jurassic Park (1993), Who
Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Red Dawn (1984/2012),
The Princess Bride (1987), A Little Princess (1995)… I’m going to
stop here before this just becomes a ten page list of kick-ass movies.
What’s the point?
The point is that Infini
is not only going to join the ranks of my favorite films. That could mean
anything. I have a list here of 150 that grows every god-damn day. What matters
is that it’s joining the top of that list. Top 20, possibly even top 10.
I was shocked when I saw the critics’ ratings.
Looking at the score for this film on Rotten Tomatoes makes
me want to stop trusting the site altogether. Reading through the explanations
critics gave for disliking this movie leaves me baffled. The biggest complaint
I saw among the dreck was that it was inspired by other great films. That kind
of thing makes me want to throw apples at the heads of every critic on that
page.
Everyone and everything is inspired by someone or something
great that came before. Steven Spielberg, one of the most iconic directors
known, was inspired by other directors. He’s cited The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), directed by Robert Wise (Helen of Troy, The Body Snatcher, Born to
Kill), as the inspiration for two of his earliest projects. You might have
heard of them: Close Encounters of the
Third Kind (1977) and E.T. the
Extra-Terrestrial (1982). Does being inspired by another film make those two
movies any less amazing?
I’m betting the same critics that panned Infini would be the first to answer no.
I don’t think this film was disliked by the mainstream
critics because it was inspired by previous projects. I think it was disliked
because it wasn’t safe. It was definitely inspired by some of the greatest sci-fi
films: Alien (1979) and The Thing (1982) among them, but there
were some significant differences. I don’t believe Infini was a sub-par copy of those that came before. I think it
twisted the tropes enough to become a legend in its own right.
If critics weren’t assholes.
Infini was
brilliantly written by Shane Abbess (The
Osiris Child, Event Zero, Gabriel) and Brian Cachia (The Osiris Child, Sucker Punch, Californication). It was also
amazingly handled in direction by Abbess. The actors blew their various parts
out of the fucking water. Daniel MacPherson (The Osiris Child, Wild Boys, The Shannara Chronicles) delivered a
stellar performance. Some of his scenes with Luke Ford (The Osiris Child, McLeod’s Daughters, Ghost Machine) were just
unforgettably tense without losing that fantastic chemistry that the entire
cast seemed to have.
I realize that each individual review marks little more than
an opinion. That’s what I want to urge our readers to remember. You can go to
Rotten Tomatoes and read the reviews each of those critics wrote, but remember
each one was just that person’s opinion. Critics are no better than anyone
else. Some of them may have higher education, but that doesn’t make anyone more
qualified to express how they feel than the next person.
Movies are about entertainment. No one gets to tell us what
we will or won’t enjoy. That’s on us.
We here at Trust the Dice don’t like to consider ourselves
critics. We’re fangirls. We binge-watch shows. We stay up late to finish our
movies. We record old favorites on our DVRs or TiVOs. We follow our favorite
actors, writers, and directors. And, most importantly, no one can buy our
opinion. We have turned down sponsorships and we do not allow outside influence
to affect the way we feel. There are no editors or bosses breathing down our
necks to try to get us to lean one way or another on a film.
But our opinions are just that, opinions.
We’re not here to tell you what to watch. We’re here to
offer suggestions. This blog was initially developed to find those hidden gems
on Netflix that everyone scrolls by. That’s why we do everything randomly. We
get some big films in, but we also get a ton of movies that we’ve never heard
of.
In my opinion, Infini
in one of those diamonds that people might look past on Netflix because some
critic somewhere said it was inspired by Alien.
I highly recommend watching this film and deciding for
yourself.
Cat’s Point of View:
Wow.
That one word pretty much sums this movie up for me. I was
seriously impressed.
What else could I say about it? It was a brutal and horrific
thrill ride of awesome, reminiscent of elements of the Alien (1979) franchise and The
Thing (1982) scrambled together with some innovative twists.
I loved the concept of the slipstream as a new form of
long-distance travel, and really appreciate that it wasn’t presented as this
shiny foolproof thing. It’s just one of the many elements that had me fairly
giddy from a sci-fi fan’s point of view. I feel the urge to geek out over more
of such details; however, they come part and parcel with spoilers. Go watch the
movie to learn more!
There is so much that is left up to audience interpretation
as things come together. It left me hungry for more – to find out what happened
next. I would say that this had the potential to become a franchise of its own,
but I’d worry that this lightning in a bottle might be too hard to capture
again.
The cast busted their butts with this one. I didn’t have any
reservations on any of their performances – in fact, some were downright eerie.
It’s said that some of the cast didn’t leave the set once they started filming;
opting to stay there, instead, to maintain the feel of the movie’s environment
and reality. Their immersion really paid off.
I would definitely recommend this for fans of the genre –
especially sci-fi thrillers.
Tagline: If it’s
in a word. Or it’s in a look. You can’t get rid of… the Babadook.
Genre: Thriller
Length: 93
minutes
Rating: NR
Production Companies:
Screen Australia, Causeway Films, South Australian Film Corporation, Smoking
Gun Productions, Entertainment One
Producer: Pete
Best, Julie Byrne, Kristina Ceyton, Jan Chapman, Jeff Harrison, Kristian
Moliere, Jonathan Page, Michael Tear
Director: Jennifer
Kent
Writer: Jennifer
Kent
Actors: Essie
Davis, Noah Wiseman, Hayley McElhinney, Daniel Henshall, Barbara West, Benjamin
Winspear, Chloe Hurn, Tim Purcell, Hachi
Blurb from Netflix:
Sam’s frequent tantrums turn sinister when a creepy children’s book
mysteriously appears in his room, and he asks his mother, “Do you want to die?”
Selina’s Point of View:
I enjoyed The Babadook.
This film seemed to start slow, but it was really a simmering
burn that caused the thrills that came later to be more effective. It didn’t
rely on jump scares at all. I have a feeling Alfred Hitchcock would have liked The Babadook, if only on the merit of
its successful suspense.
There were some minor issues I had, but when I found out
this was Jennifer Kent’s (The New
Adventures of Black Beauty, Babe: Pig in the City, Murder Call) first time
writing or directing a full length feature film, it began to make sense.
As a first film goes, The
Babadook was extraordinary. The issues I noted had to do with the ending
and the camera angles. I recognize them now as novice mistakes, which makes
them less of an issue.
The acting was great, even from young Noah Wiseman (Funny or Die Presents, Spaghetti, The Gift).
He did have some of that over-acting, strange facial expression stuff that
child actors tend to have, but it wasn’t so bad that it pulled me out of the
story.
I might watch The
Babadook again if it happened to be on, though I wouldn’t really seek it
out for a second showing. What I do want to see is how Jennifer Kent evolves as
a director/writer. I look forward to whatever her next project might be.
Cat’s Point of View:
This movie was unsettling and disturbing on a few levels.
Something is still lingering with me, even now, the day
after I watched the film.
That, however, is one of the earmarks of a horror movie that
has done its job well, right? This one nailed it.
I woke up in the middle of the night and nearly jumped out
of my skin. (It’s a minor miracle that this happened quietly, and that I didn’t
shriek loud enough to wake the neighbors.)
I had some dark clothing draped over the handle bars of my
exercise bike at the foot of my bed; producing a “shadow creature” in
silhouette against the faint light from the windows beyond.
For me, the psychological aspect of the thrills from
suspense and subtlety digs in and lingers to haunt me better than any image
from flashy and expensive special effects. It’s one of those love-hate side
effects of a vivid imagination.
I found myself questioning reality versus madness as Essie
Davis (Charlotte's Web, Australia,
Burning Man) brought her bedraggled character to life, brilliantly.
Noah Wiseman surprised me with his performance as young
Samuel. This was his first movie role, and he knocked it out of the park. I
thought, surely, I’d see a slew of projects in his film credits – even if they
were titles only released overseas, but there are only 4 starting with The Babadook. If he chooses to continue
with acting, I see great things in his future if he can avoid the pitfalls that
tend to ensnare child actors.
This movie was highly deserving of all of its accolades
(mostly in Australia and internationally); and, frankly, should have received
more recognition here. Though, such is often the case with independent
“foreign” films.
For your bit of fun trivia; The Babadook popup book was published in a limited run. Copies were
available for $80.00; and some of them were autographed by the writer/director,
Jennifer Kent (The Well, Babe: Pig in the
City, Preservation). The book includes extra pages and tidbits that did not
appear in the movie.
Don’t be looking for a sequel, though. Kent owns the rights
and has stated for public record that she will not be revisiting this story.
This isn't a tale that needs a franchise - I think it's fabulous standing on
its own.
Affiliated Companies: Warner Bros., Marvista Entertainment
Producer: Clay
Glen, Sharyn Pancione
Director: Clay
Glen
Writer: Clay Glen
Actors: Lilly
Blacker, Nick Buckland, Chris Coleman, Alanah Gilbert, Carina Gun, Amy Handley,
Cherylee Harris, Carter Hedges, Janet Jauncey, Carmel Johnson, Julie Kay
Lamasag, Asha Lawson, Tamsyn Lewis, Dean Lukin, Elysia Markou, Emily Morris, Hapi
Murphy, Sarah Murray, David O’Brien, Nina Pearce, Chris Remkes, Ruby-Mae Taras,
Adam Tuominen, David Wilson, Aliante Youngdino
Maddy wants to be a gymnast, but she’s not nearly confident
enough to get to the next level. When her original coach retires, a younger
coach (Kate) takes her place. With a little ingenuity and a lot of team spirit,
Maddy and her team begin to see a light at the end of the tunnel.
Terrible. I know it’s supposed to be a kid’s movie and that
may be why I think it’s terrible, but I’m not sure that’s it.
It’s no surprise that I’m a little iffy about child actors.
The majority of them are trained to overact in order to hold the attention of
their child audiences. That’s fine. To be honest, I think this is the first
movie I've ever seen where the child actors under-reacted. I would have been
less bored if I had been watching grass grow.
Karate Kid is the 'chicken' of movies. Almost everything tastes like it.
The storyline was fine enough; your basic recipe for an underdog,
Karate Kid, plot. It might have even
been tolerable if the director hadn't decided to screw up the scenes in
editing.
The over-produced competition footage was like something
they had me creating on an Amiga in my middle school computer class. I get what
Clay Glen was trying to do; he was trying to add drama. In theory it might have
even sounded good. In practice, however, it wound up being ridiculous,
distracting and, all-in-all, a hot mess.
If you have kids they might like it, but if you can sit
through even the first ten minutes with them without finding an excuse to go to
the kitchen or something, you deserve a medal.
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – None
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 68%
Netflix’s Prediction for Me – 2/5
Trust-the-Dice Score – 1/5
Movie Trailer: WARNING: This is one of those annoying movie trailers that shows you the ENTIRE ending. Best not to watch it if you intend to watch the actual movie.
