The Dirties (2013)

Number Rolled: 82

Movie Name/Year: The Dirties (2013)

Tagline: We’re just here for the bad guys.

Genre: Drama, Indie

Length: 82 minutes

Rating: NR

Production Companies: Zapruder Films, XYZ Films, Kevin Smith Movie Club

Producer: Alison Arnot, Matt Johnson, Step Johnson, Matthew Miller, Evan Morgan, Jared Raab

Director: Matt Johnson

Writer: Josh Boles, Matt Johnson, Matthew Miller, Evan Morgan

Actors: Matt Johnson, Owen Williams, Padraig Singal, Ross Hill, Krista Madison, Shailene Garnett, Josh Boles, Brandon Wickens, Alen Delain, Paul Daniel Ayotte, Jordan Foster, David Matheson, Jay McCarrol, Dan Fewings, Alison Arnot

Stunt Doubles: None

Languages

Speech Available: English

Subtitles Available: English

Blurb from Netflix: Two film geeks make a movie about getting revenge on a group of bullies who target them at school. Then they decide to take things a step further.

Selina’s Point of View:

Bullying is a subject that hits very close to home for me, but this film bypassed the general stories about bullies and went a much more violent route than I took. The Dirties is a very gritty, honest look at the minds of teens on the wrong end of other student’s puberty. It’s frightening and morbid… and relatable.

Clearly, I never shot up my school. That doesn’t mean I didn’t fantasize about punching people in the face, it just means I never actually held a gun to their heads. No. My response to the bullies that latched on to me, was to stop going.

Starting in Junior High, I just… stopped.

It’s easy to judge the main characters of this story, or kids lashing out in general, but there’s one simple fact that is very clearly highlighted in this film. One person who cares. One person getting involved. One person trying to help… can be the difference between life and death.

I’m not sympathizing with school shooters. I feel like I don’t need to say anything about that because it’s obvious – that road is the wrong one. What I’m saying is that sometimes, that end result could have been prevented.

I’ve heard a lot of arguments against that thought. My favorite one is, “why didn’t they just tell one of their teachers?” Another version being: “if they’d told an adult, someone would have stepped in.” That’s not always true. When it is true, it’s not always helpful.

Let me explain.

In Junior High School, I sat next to a horrible boy in science class. I still remember his name clear as day and, over a decade later, I still hate him to the core of my being. His name was Alex.

Every day I would sit next to him in class and every day he would strike up conversation. For about a week, I took the bait. Five sentences in, he would begin saying some the most rapey things to me that you could possibly imagine. Even after I stopped taking the bait, he would continue on.

This went on for a month before I told my science teacher I wasn’t comfortable sitting next to him.

My science teacher told me to get over it. I believe his name was Mr. Katz. He was the least of my worries, though.

Since he wouldn’t listen to me, I told the next teacher I saw on any given day – my Social Studies teacher, Mr. Orlando.

I don’t know what went through Mr. Orlando’s head when I told him, in a whispered tone, the things that Alex was saying to me. I don’t know if he didn’t believe me, or if he didn’t care… but instead of doing something about it, he thought it would make an amazing lesson for the kids in class.

So he made a mock trial out of it.

Alex and I both got ‘lawyers’ (other kids in the class). We called witnesses and we testified ourselves. I can’t remember if Mr. Orlando was the judge or if one of the other kids in the class was chosen for the ‘part’. I didn’t care, but not taking part wasn’t an option. He threatened to fail me.

I was humiliated. The stupid ‘trial’ went on for about a week of classes and the majority of it is a blur at this time in my life. I still remember some things very clearly, though.

The teacher made me testify in front of the whole class. As a pre-teen, I felt incredibly uncomfortable telling ANYONE what Alex was saying to me. Hell, as an adult that has since attended a porn convention, I still feel uncomfortable. So, I didn’t say it out-loud. I said I couldn’t. The ‘lawyer’ that was acting for Alex made a big deal out of the fact that I couldn’t say any of it out loud and, by the end of the trial, I had lost.

Not only had Mr. Orlando taken something humiliating and degrading and amped it up to max, but I lost the bullshit trial and was forced to continue sitting next to Alex for the rest of that Science class. I believed every student in the school believed that I was a pervert liar. I felt incredibly alone.

And then people wondered why I started cutting class.

I started cutting class because I wanted to die while I was there. Every second that I spent in any classroom in that school made me want to kill myself. I never trusted another authority figure again.

Anne Sullivan. P.S. 238. I’m convinced that if there is a hell, that place would be it. I’m not even sure I’d categorize the Mr. Orlando bullshit as the worst of what happened to me there.

People watch films like The Dirties and they doubt that things could get that bad. They doubt that teachers could be so oblivious. They doubt that friends could stay silent instead of turning people in or getting help. I promise you that movies like this are not stretching the truth. Bullies can destroy lives, even at that age. I often wonder where I would be if things like that hadn’t happened to me back then. If the people I thought I could count on had gotten me help.

There was one person during JHS that actually tried to help me near the end… but things only really got better much later on in my life.

The Dirties didn’t sugar coat things. I think that’s incredibly important in a film like this.

It was, however, full of cringe, which I don’t really do well with, even though it drove home the point of the film. It showed the signs as other people should have seen them. It showed the downward spiral. It showed the switch from internalizing to externalizing so well that you could almost pin-point the moment when it happened.

It was a first film for many of the people involved and, keeping that in mind, it was a very good start for them. The writers and the director have a great deal of potential in them. I was particularly fond of the open ending. I’ve mentioned in the past that I really enjoy films that have an ending that allow people to debate over what happened.

Hell, I’m still arguing with my friend Kris over what happened at the end of In Bruges (2008).

I would definitely recommend this film and - if you do watch it - pay attention.

Cat’s Point of View:

I’m going to be blunt here. I hated this movie. Here’s where it gets tricky – the hate isn’t a bad thing.

Matt Johnson (Diamond Tongue, How Heavy This Hammer, Operation Avalanche), whom wrote, directed, and starred in the movie, took a serious risk here. The movie had ‘hot-button’ and ‘trigger warning’ all over it.

As a debut movie from someone fresh out of film school, it’s not too shabby. Hell, it got the attention of Kevin Smith (Cop Out, Red State, Tusk) whom became a distributor and champion of this little film that could. It was discovered after winning a film festival prize, and Smith came aboard with his Kevin Smith Movie Club project.

Smith has touted this film as something important to watch. Now that I have, I don’t see myself ever doing it again.

I remember clearly the day Columbine happened. I know where I was, and what I was doing. I was at work and on the phone with a customer when a streaming news service ticker went across my monitor describing the situation in progress. It’s one of those things you just don’t forget. It’s worrisome to me that I don’t have the same visceral memory for Sandy Hook. It makes me begin to question how desensitized I am.

There’s a real issue that this pokes at. School bullying is an age-old problem. I was bullied quite a bit when I was younger. I had a funny name, red hair, glasses, and freckles. Later, it was that I read a lot or it was my weight as eating my feelings had become just as much an escape for me as the books I disappeared into were. Sometimes it was as simple as others not willing to move beyond the stupid mistakes of youth. Music is what saved me from the spiral I could have so easily fallen into – but that’s a story for another time.

Needless to say, the issues spotlighted by this movie resonated with me – uncomfortably so. I wanted to turn it off. I felt squirmy.

I feel I must tip my hat to this movie, in spite of my abhorrence, for its boldness and the relatively smooth camera work. This was supposed to be a found-footage sort of project. It did not, however, suffer from obnoxious levels of shaky-cam. All of my squirminess came from the movie, itself – and not motion sickness.

Alas, as I generally base my score on my enjoyment of the movie – it is going to be rather low. It would really depend on the potential audience as to whether I would recommend it to others or not.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 79%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 74%

Netflix’s Prediction for Selina – 3/5

Selina’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 5/5

Netflix’s Prediction for Cat – 2/5

Cat’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 2/5

The Random Rating: R

P.S. There are some images during the beginning of the credits.

Movie Trailer:

Goon (2011)

Number Rolled: 72

Movie Name/Year: Goon (2011)

Tagline: Meet Doug, the nicest guy you’ll ever fight.

Genre: Comedy

Length: 91 minutes

Rating: R

Production Companies: No Trace Camping, Caramel Film, Don Carmody Productions, Inferno Pictures Inc.

Producer: Jay Baruchel, Theodore Bressman, Don Carmody, Jesse Chabot, Valérie d'Auteuil, Ian Dimerman, Hartley Gorenstein, David Gross, Kyle Hunter, André Rouleau, Ariel Shaffir, Jesse Shapira, Ben Silverman, Mark Slone

Director: Michael Dowse

Writer: Jay Baruchel, Evan Goldberg, Adam Frattasio, Douglas Smith

Actors: Seann William Scott, Jay Baruchel, Alison Pill, Liev Schreiber, Eugene Levy, Marc-André Grondin, Kim Coates, Nicholas Campbell, Richard Clarkin, Jonathan Cherry, Ricky Mabe, George Tchortov, Karl Graboshas, Larry Woo, Stephen Sim, Ellen David, David Paetkau, Mike Bell, Jeff Strome, Jeff Wahl

Stunt Doubles: Sean Dutiaume, Travis Kornelsen, Joey Moggach, Dan Skene, Anders Strome

Languages

Speech Available: English

Subtitles Available: English

Blurb from Netflix: When he’s seen dispatching a rude opposing hockey player in the stands, Doug Glatt is hired by a rival team… for his fighting skills.

Selina’s Point of View:

I’ve been hearing really great things about Goon for a very long time. Being a huge fan of Jay Baruchel (How to Train Your Dragon, The Art of the Steal, This is the End), I couldn’t wait to see for myself. However, I’m NOT the biggest fan Seann William Scott (Cop Out, Role Models, The Dukes of Hazzard) – which made me feel iffy about the whole thing going in.

To be fair, I’ve only seen Scott in some really stupid-ass movies. In each of those films, he’s supposed to act like a dumbass. I fell into a very easy trap because of that. When people get type-cast, it’s easy to start thinking that they take on those roles because it’s all they’re capable of. I’m ashamed to say I fell for this one. I wish I hadn’t, because – holy shit guys – Seann William Scott is a fucking ACTOR. If Scott ever sees this, I fucking apologize. You deserve way more credit than I’ve given you in the past.

I believed every single aspect of his character. So much so, that I didn’t even doubt the authenticity of the “based on a true story” aspect. He made his character simultaneously relatable and larger than life. That’s an incredibly difficult feat.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Some of the humor was super juvenile, but I still laughed. That’s what matters. It was absolutely entertaining. Not all true stories can be entertaining. I’m sure they exaggerated some aspects for the story to really stand out… but who cares?

This movie isn’t for everyone. Like I said, some of the comedy was what some would deem inappropriate. Of course, I’m completely in love with Kevin Smith (Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Clerks, Mallrats) so “juvenile” and “inappropriate” are right in my wheel-house.

Chances are, if you like Smith’s work, you’ll like this. I would definitely recommend it.

Cat’s Point of View:

When I told my husband which movie was next for the blog, he practically cackled. I’ve mentioned before how sports just isn’t entirely my thing, right? Lo and behold, we’d rolled a hockey movie.

I’ve also begun to think that, perhaps, our “wall o’ movies” has taken on a life of its own – apparently we own the blu-ray for this one and I hadn’t realized. We still watched it on Netflix, durnit!

This was not, however, a film that we were able to let our daughter watch. Aside from the inherent violent aspect of the movie, it had really the over the top explicit language and that reinforced the R rating.

On to the movie!

I’d actually been interested in this film since it first came to my attention through our rolling list. The combination of Seann William Scott (Planet 51, American Reunion, Ice Age: Continental Drift) and Liev Schreiber (Lee Daniel's The Butler, The 5th Wave, The Bleeder) was what really got my attention. What sort of sports movie would have such a goofball like Scott with Schrieber’s intensity? This one, obviously.

I tip my hat to Jay Baruchel (RoboCop, Don Peyote, Man Seeking Woman) for his involvement in penning this comedic, yet heartfelt tale of finding your place in the world.

This wasn’t exactly the role that I expected for Scott. It seems like the industry has generally type-cast him; but this movie breaks that stereotype. That’s not to say the same elements Scott’s characters are generally known for aren’t in the film – because there’s plenty of that raunchy humor. It’s just not from him. In a similar vein, Eugene Levy’s (Over the Hedge, Astro Boy, Madea's Witness Protection) character in this movie is quite far removed from his previous screen-time shared with Scott.

I liked that this movie took a comedic peek behind the scenes at one of the things that the sport of Hockey is best known for – the fighting. That said, there are other nuances woven into the story that layer in things like self-discovery and romance without diminishing the overall sports and comedic feel.

Overall, I think this movie has a great balance of its elements and I really enjoyed it more than I even initially thought. I’m actually looking forward to the sequel coming out sometime in 2017. It’s currently in post-production, so we’ll see.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 82%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 70%

Netflix’s Prediction for Selina – 4/5

Selina’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 4.5/5

Netflix’s Prediction for Cat – 4/5

Cat’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 4/5

P.S. Movie is based on a true story. During part of the credits, parts of the actual footage of what happened play.

Movie Trailer:

The Hunters (2013)

Number Rolled: 53

Movie Name/Year: The Hunters (2013)

Tagline: For centuries, a secret organization has protected the world's greatest treasures. Meet the next generation.

Genre: Family, Action/Adventure

Length: 89 minutes

Rating: PG

Production Companies: Content Media, Arc Entertainment, Raindance Entertainment, Eh-Okay Productions, The Canadian Film and Television Tax Credit, The Province of British Columbia Film Incentive

Producer: Ian Birkett, Nisha Ganatra, Janet M. Morrison, Jason Netter, Heather Puttock

Director: Nisha Ganatra

Writer: Matthew Huffman, Jeff Schechter, Joshua Williamson

Actors: Victor Garber, Michelle Forbes, Alexa PenaVega, Robbie Amell, Keenan Tracey, Kira Clavell, Darryl Quon, Eric Breker, Dan Payne, Alex Zahara, Dean McKenzie, Mark Ghanime

Blurb from Netflix: What if all mythical artifacts, from Jason’s Golden Fleece to Cinderella’s glass slippers, were real -- and protected by a secret society?

Selina’s Point of View:

When I first took note of this film, I thought it would be a watered down version of Warehouse 13 (2009-2013). Really the only thing the two had in common was the secret society dedicated to protecting relics. Instead, The Hunters was more like a PG rated version of Tomb Raider (2001), with an emphasis on family relations.

I’ll be the first to admit that the film followed a very specific recipe. If you’re playing trope bingo, every square will be filled by the end of the movie. Still, I wound up truly enjoying it.

I wasn’t fond of the actors that played the parents. Michelle Forbes (The Returned, The Killing, 24) and Dan Payne (Cabin in the Woods, Stranger in the House, Tower Prep) weren’t believable, they were stiff, and because the movie started off with them I figured the entire film would follow their lead.

I was pleasantly surprised.

Robbie Amell (ARQ, Code 8, The Tomorrow People) and Alexa PenaVega (Nashville, Spare Parts, Machete Kills) were great, but that was expected. I was really surprised, however, by how much I enjoyed Keenan Tracey’s (The Returned, Bates Motel, The 100) performance. This was my first time hearing about him and I’m looking forward to seeing more of his work in the future.

Altogether, I really enjoyed the film. I know I probably liked it more than I should have, but I don’t care. It was fun, entertaining, and easy to watch. It could easily be appealing for children without boring the hell out of their parents. The Hunters strikes that happy medium where a family might actually WANT to watch it together instead of just trying to accommodate the kids.

I’d watch it again and recommend it to any family with kids in the preteen, or young teen, ages.

Cat’s Point of View:

I have to admit that it was quite a relief to have something more light-hearted to watch this time around.

Several of the primary cast members of this film have a bit of a six-degrees connection going on through prior works. It makes for an interesting trivia hunt. I find it fascinating when that happens. One wonders if the casting was done purposefully because of such connections or if the former colleagues were assembled randomly by auditions.

That doesn’t tell you anything about the movie, though.

To sum up my reaction to this film: it was cute, well executed, and enjoyable. I just felt like I’d seen it before, for the most part. The action was good. I appreciated the fight choreography. There was a really good sense of adventure, it was clever, and I was invested in the characters. I can’t really fault any of that.

I just felt like was watching a more sophisticated version of Spy Kids (2001).

Funny enough, that’s one of the movies that Alexa PenaVega (Repo! The Genetic Opera, The Mine, The Tomorrow People) is best known for. She executed her role well, here.

Seasoned actors Victor Garber (Take Me Home, Argo, Self/less) and Michelle Forbes (True Blood, Highland Park, Powers) were a grounding force which helped anchor the plausibility of the story. If only there were more originality to it.

All in all, it was fun and a good movie to enjoy with the family. I wouldn’t have a problem watching it again or recommending it to others. I just don’t think it’s going to be at the top of anyone’s ‘must watch’ list.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – None

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 35%

Netflix’s Prediction for Selina – 2/5

Selina’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 4/5

Netflix’s Prediction for Cat – 2.5/5

Cat’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 3.5/5

P.S. Based on the graphic novel Mirror Mirror by Joshua Williamson.

Movie Trailer:

The Exorcism of Molly Hartley (2015)

Number Rolled: 42

Movie Name/Year: The Exorcism of Molly Hartley (2015)

Tagline: First you were haunted now witness the exorcism.

Genre: Horror

Length: 95 minutes

Rating: NR

Production Companies: WT Canada Productions

Producer: Justin Bursch, Mike Elliott, Greg Holstein, Kim Todd

Director: Steven R. Monroe

Writer: Matt Venne

Actors: Sarah Lind, Devon Sawa, Gina Holden, Peter MacNeill, Daina Leitold, Julia Arkos, Tom McLaren, Andrew Cecon, Jon Cor, Kate Yacula, Melissa Marie Elias

Blurb from Netflix: Molly is all grown up, and the demons who haunted her teens are gone. But now, only one fallen priest can save her from the devil himself.

Selina’s Point of View:

When we rolled this film I was unaware that it was the sequel to The Haunting of Molly Hartley (2008). Knowing the name of the other film, it’s obvious, but I hadn’t known the other film existed. Cat and I both wanted to see the sequel with knowledge of the original storyline, so we each went and watched the first one. She found a copy and I rented mine on Amazon Video.

For the first one, I have no regrets. I spent $4 on the rental and I’m absolutely fine with that. It was wonderful. It was understated but creepy. It had everything you expect from a haunting film without being a paint-by-number recipe. I was very happy with the actors, the script, and the ending.

In fact, by the ending of The Haunting of Molly Hartley, I had NO idea how they could possibly create some kind sequel.

Alas, they came up with The Exorcism of Molly Hartley.

This film absolutely ignored the ending of the first one. In fact, it ignored the entire plot of the first one. A friend suggested to me that I look at it as a stand-alone film. Even doing that it’s complete shit.

I’m normally a rabid Devon Sawa (Robin of Locksley, Idle Hands, SLC Punk) fan. I have been since 1994 when I watched Little Giants. As a hell of a tomboy that was into various sports, that movie was the greatest thing I’d ever seen up until then and Devon Sawa’s character, Junior Floyd, made it seem not so bad to be a tomboy. I feel as though my confidence growing up would have been much lower if it wasn’t for that movie. Since then, I’ve watched every single film, or TV show, with Sawa in it. Even shows where he was only in one episode, like NCIS: Los Angeles.

As a result of my loyal devotion to Sawa as an actor, I’m always caught off guard if he doesn’t perform at his best in a film. Unfortunately, I don’t think The Exorcism of Molly Hartley got his best effort. However, I don’t think his best effort would have helped the film anyway.

The production company should have stuck to the original actress that portrayed Molly, Haley Bennett (Marley & Me, The Equalizer, Hardcore Henry), and they should have stuck to the original writers and director: John Travis (The New Daughter), Rebecca Sonnenshine (Within, American Zombie, The Vampire Diaries), and Mickey Liddell (The Grey, Black Rock, Anthropoid). If they couldn’t bring back those originals, they shouldn’t have made the film.

There’s very little I hate more, where movies are concerned, than a bad sequel that shits all over a good original.

Cat’s Point of View:

I hadn’t initially realized that this movie was a sequel until I paused it momentarily to use IMDb to find an actor. It was driving me nuts that I recognized him and couldn’t remember what it was from. (It was near the beginning and I was low on caffeine and impulse control.)

Lo and behold, this film takes place six years after the end of The Haunting of Molly Hartley (2008). I hadn’t seen that before so this became a double feature for me! Unfortunately, the first movie is not on Netflix. I enjoy watching or reading a series in order, so I left Exorcism paused and watched Haunting first.

Not only did I want to understand any references that might have carried forward; but I also wanted to be able to advise whether or not the movies stood alone from one another.

You could watch the Exorcism movie without the first one without really missing a lot. There is one humorous reference at the beginning and then really the rest gets filled in for you as the plot unfolds. Casting also did a fair job in matching Sarah Lind (What Goes Up, WolfCop, Blackburn) to the look of the original Molly.

I wish I could tell you that I liked this movie more. It wasn’t horrible. It was okay. There wasn’t anything revolutionary or spellbindingly interesting about this exorcism movie that separates it from the others of the genre. The effects were decent, and I have to tip my hat to Sarah Lind for the more physical aspects of her performance.

I learned that the film was shot in an actual former psychiatric institution in Canada.  That definitely gave the film a more authentic quality for the setting. It would be interesting to hear if any of the cast have any ghost stories to share.

I hadn’t seen Devon Sawa (Creature of Darkness, Endure, Life on the Line) in anything in quite a while. His filmography indicates he’s been busy – it’s just been off my radar. I thought he did well with this role and it was nice to see a ‘grown-up’ version of him on the screen. I think I’d last seen him in Final Destination (2000).

For a bit of ‘six degrees’ on that film series; Gina Holden (The Listener, Mysterious Island, LA Apocalypse) plays the doctor in this movie but was also in Final Destination 3 (2006).

I am unable to come up with anything from this film that would make it memorable for me. If given a choice, I likely won’t be watching this movie again.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – None

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 22%

Netflix’s Prediction for Selina – 1.5/5

Selina’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 1.5/5

Netflix’s Prediction for Cat – 1.5/5

Cat’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 3/5

The Random Rating: R

Movie Trailer:

Antisocial (2013)

Number Rolled: 86

Movie Name/Year: Antisocial (2013)

Tagline: This virus kills.

Genre: Horror

Length: 89 minutes

Rating: NR

Production Companies: Black Fawn Films, Breakthrough Entertainment

Producer: Chad Archibald, Cody Calahan, Marina Cordoni, Christopher Giroux, Ira Levy, Peter Williamson

Director: Cody Calahan

Writer: Chad Archibald, Cody Calahan

Actors: Michelle Mylett, Cody Ray Thompson, Adam Christie, Ana Alic, Romaine Waite, Ry Barrett, Eithan Shalmon, Laurel Brandes, Kate Vokral, Charlie Hamilton, Colin Murphy, Kirill Belousov

Blurb from Netflix: Unbeknownst to five friends who’ve gathered for a New Year’s Eve house party, an epidemic has erupted outside, breeding chaos all over the planet.

Selina’s Point of View:

Cat and I greatly disagree about this film.

First of all, I really believe you shouldn’t watch the trailer for this film. I don’t know which trailer Cat watched, but the one I watched gave away literally everything. Hell, it nearly gave away the main plot point. It was ridiculous and I’m glad I watched it after the film or I would have been pissed.

Secondly, I really enjoyed the film.

Sure, there were some basic tropes that reminded me of the tropes that Cabin in the Woods (2012) made fun of, but they were used surprisingly well. Aside from that the main point of the film and the origin of the “zombies” was relatively unique – or at least under-utilized.

It was definitely a low budget film and the beginning was slow, but I feel like Cody Calahan (Baptized in Blood: Last Line Lady, Antisocial 2, Let Her Out) did a hell of a job with the funds he had to work with. There was some crazy CGI happening and some incredibly realistic sounds accompanying the violence that impressed me a great deal. Not everything was spot on, but when it was good… it was very good.

I enjoyed the majority of the actors, too. Michelle Mylett (Letterkenny, Antisocial 2, Weak Ends) was a wonderful choice for this film. Mylett really embodied her character and made me care.

I had an issue with Cody Ray Thompson (Warrior, Antisocial 2, Clementine). It wasn’t his acting, his acting was fine. However, where Cat watched Antisocial on Sunday morning before news of our latest Hollywood causality, I watched the film later at night. Thompson looks a LOT like Anton Yelchin (Broken Horses, Green Room, Burying the Ex) during many of the scenes.

For those of you who don’t know, Anton Yelchin passed away Sunday. He was 27 years old when a fatal traffic accident took his life. He was one of my favorite young actors. We here at Trust the Dice have always been fans of Yelchin’s. He was amazing in Fright Night (2011), he broke our hearts in Odd Thomas (2013), and he brought to life an amazing reboot of Chekov in the newer Star Trek (2009-2016) series of films. His death was sudden and terribly saddening to us.

Seeing Thompson in this film felt like someone was stabbing me in the chest. He was a fine actor, but his face just looked so much like Yelchin’s. It made me a little queasy. It wasn’t enough to ruin the film for me, and even if it had been, I’d have tried to not let it affect my score.

For those wondering, Yelchin will appear in five films that have either been completed, or were in post-production at the time of his death. In 2016 we will see him in We Don’t Belong Here, Star Trek Beyond, and Porto. In 2017 we’ll see him in Thoroughbred in what may be his final performance. I say “may be” because he has one other film, Rememory, in post-production, but there’s no concrete release date scheduled for it according to IMDB.

Cat’s Point of View:

Yesterday, my “brother” (from another mother) got married to a fabulous gal whom I think the world of. It’s been a whirlwind the last couple of days. My daughter, husband, and I were all in the wedding party. I’ll spare you my gushing about my adorable flower girl, though.

After corsets, lightsaber battles on the dance floor, and an overload of go-go-go; I was actually looking forward to sitting down this morning to unwind while watching this movie. We’re waiting to kick off Father’s Day shenanigans until after my tween regains consciousness. (She’s STILL asleep past the lunch hour, but she needs it!)

That’s probably the most interesting information that I have to share with you today. Sadly, the movie disappointed me.

I think that the concept was interesting. There was such potential for the commentary on social media culture. Alas, the execution of this film failed to even come close to hitting the mark.

I do want to commend whomever put the trailer together for this one. With a movie as lackluster as this one was, I was fully expecting the trailer to give it all away. It actually didn’t. Kudos.

That is unfortunately the last of the good things I have to say about this film. It started out very ‘meh’ for me and then just turned into ‘ugh.’ They borrowed from so many recipes that the Frankenstein’s Monster that they created was just a messy jumble of things that I’ve already seen before – and were done better elsewhere.

Though, I will leave you with a giggle (maybe). Every time I heard the character’s name, Steve; I thought of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (2009) for absolutely no reason whatsoever (other than the thought of the speech-enabled monkey shouting “STEVE!” was more interesting than this movie).

My mind goes to odd places when I’m bored.

Skip this movie and go find one of the better ones out there with a social media message. Unfriended (2014) has already hit cable movie networks.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 0%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 17%

Netflix’s Prediction for Selina – 3/5

Selina’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 3.5/5

Netflix’s Prediction for Cat – 3/5

Cat’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 1.5/5

The Random Rating: R

Movie Trailer:

Three Night Stand (2013)

Number Rolled: 74

Movie Name/Year: Three Night Stand (2013)

Tagline: Meet Carl, his wife & the love of his life.

Genre: Drama

Length: 92 minutes

Rating: NR

Production Companies: Banner House Productions, Vroom Productions

Producer: Emily Alden, Kieran Crilly, Kirk D’Amico, Pierre Even, Pat Kiely, Marie-Claude Poulin, Meaghan Rath, Matthew Shewchuk, Brian Vroom, Robert Vroom

Director: Pat Kiely

Writer: Pat Kiely

Actors: Sam Huntington, Meaghan Rath, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Reagan Pasternak, Jonathan Cherry, Anne-Marie Cadieux, Dan Beirne, Aliocha Schneider, Dan Haber, Matt Silver, James A. Woods, Darren Curtis, Marty Kiely, Melodie Simard

Blurb from Netflix: Carl’s plan to reconnect with his wife is compromised when he learns that his sexy ex-girlfriend is running the ski lodge where they are vacationing.

Selina’s Point of View:

I’ve seen a few reviews for this movie and they were overwhelmingly bad everywhere except on Rotten Tomatoes. I don't think Three Night Stand was all that great, but it wasn’t as bad in my eyes as others seemed to think.

There was definitely an issue with how the film was advertised. The trailer and the blurbs all seem to indicate that this film is more of a comedy than it is. Although it had a couple of semi-comedy moments, nothing made me laugh or even giggle. It’s about as much of a comedy as the Golden Globes tried to insist The Martian (2015) was. (It’s not.)

Three Night Stand might not have been the typical romantic drama either, but it was definitely FULLY a romantic drama. Anyone who claims it was a comedy is wrong or lying.

This genre-trap-marketing happens pretty often and it’s a terrible move. Producers need to learn that if you market to comedy fans then comedy fans will watch your drama film and hate it.

With that said, this recipe film doesn’t differentiate itself enough from the rest of the movies it resembles. Although there is some intense realism, the conflicts are all predictable and not creatively delivered. The acting was decent, but even that wasn’t enough to elevate this film to a better level.

I wouldn’t say Three Night Stand was unwatchable, but once is enough. Between the 10 minute long awkward sex scene in the beginning of the movie, the implied mother/son incest and the choppy script, I found myself cringing through the majority of the film.

Definitely not in a good way.

Cat’s Point of View:

There’s no way I can really sugar coat this. I really didn’t like this movie.

I’m not really even sure exactly what it was that drove me the most nuts about it. It simply fell flat to me, and I felt awkwardness where I probably should have found humor. I also didn’t see the correlation of the title to the film.

There was a lot of ‘ugh’ where there should have been ‘awwh.’

To be fair, I’ve got a toothache at the moment that feels like I’ve been shot in the jaw. That could possibly be coloring the movie a little harshly for me.

I don’t know, though - I just wasn’t all that entertained. If I were pain free, I can’t say that I’d like it much better. I can’t think of something more eloquent to say about it beyond: “bless their hearts, they tried.”

The one thing I liked about the film was that Sam Huntington (Superman Returns, Fanboys, Veronica Mars) and Meaghan Rath (I Me Wed, Cyberbully, Banshee) were in it. I enjoyed watching them in Being Human (2011-2014) now and again.

If there weren’t familiar faces in the movie, I probably would have cancelled full screen mode and have been counting the minutes until it was over.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 60%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 32%

Netflix’s Prediction for Selina – 1.5/5

Selina’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 2/5

Netflix’s Prediction for Cat – 1.5/5

Cat’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 1/5

The Random Rating: R

Movie Trailer:

Outcast (2014)

Number Rolled: 90

Movie Name/Year: Outcast (2014)

Tagline: Legends are born in battle.

Genre: Action & Adventure

Length: 98 minutes

Rating: NR

Production Companies: Notorious Films, 22h22, Canal+, Media Max Productions, Yunnan Film Group

Executive Producer: Mark Canton, Marc Charette, Jean-Francois Doray, Mike Gabrawy, Andrew Mann, Li Qiyan, Mark Slone

Director: Nick Powell

Writer: James Dormer

Actors: Nicolas Cage, Hayden Christensen, Fernando Chien, Anoja Dias Bolt, Bill Su Jiahang, Jike Junyi, Byron Lawson, Shi Lang, Andy On, Yifei Liu

Seeing his death near, a king names his second son his heir to the anger of his first-born. The heir needs to find a way to be named king before his older brother can get his hands on him.

Selina’s Point of View:

This movie was a complete mess. I’m not even sure where to start.

I guess I’ll start at the single most obvious mess in Outcast: accents.

I’m thinking that Hayden Christensen (American Heist, Vanishing on 7th Street, Awake) and Nicolas Cage (Rage, Joe, The Frozen Ground) were supposed to be speaking in a British accents. I don’t know what accent they were actually speaking in, but it wasn’t British. I was practically raised by my very British next door neighbor. I know the accent well. What they were speaking was some kind of mix of British, Cockney, Irish, Scottish and… dwarven maybe? Some dialect of Ewok? At one point in the beginning I had to turn on captions because I had no clue what Christensen was trying to say.

Moving on, I’ll admit that many of the settings and props used were really well done. The makeup for wounds and scars was amazing. Even my high definition screen couldn’t find flaw with some of the work done. I want to meet John L. Healy (X-Men: The Last Stand, Eragon, True Justice) and his makeup department crew and shake their hands for what I saw.

Unsung heroes, the behind-the-scene crew of any film. I should really start mentioning them more. I have a cousin that does back stage stuff. I should know better.

I digress.

Although most of the settings and props were extremely well done, there were some… flaws. I mean, as audience members we know the knives in the scene are made of rubber, but it breaks the illusion to see them flopping back and forth.

Then there were the characters. Who has a perfectly quaffed Mohawk in the 12th century during the crusades? Why did Nicolas Cage suddenly turn into a pirate? Why is everyone in the East made to seem so gullible?

The plot devices were also an issue. We all know when something is a plot device, but that’s not all it should be. Plot devices lose their usefulness if the audience can count them as they happen. They’re supposed to be as seamless as possible as they move the story along.

Despite the many, many, many flaws… I enjoyed the film. Sure, I was mostly laughing at it, not with it… but enjoyment is still enjoyment. Watch it with friends, mock the accents, and hilarity is sure to ensue.

Cat’s Point of View:

I’d seen a few clips from this movie, but not even the full trailer, prior to its random selection. I thought it looked interesting (and hey - Hayden Christensen [Jumper, Takers, Shattered Glass] looks pretty good with that Mohawk, right?!).

Both Christensen and Nicolas Cage (Trespass, The Croods, Pay the Ghost) tend to be wild cards. Some of their films are fantastic – and the others have us asking ourselves why we’re watching to begin with.

The movie was laced with beautiful scenery, packed with action, and sprinkled with emotion and drama. The stunt work here was pretty cool, and the battle scenes weren’t’ too over-the-top with gore while remaining realistic.

I bought in to Christensen’s war-weary survivor of the brutal crusades, and his personal mission to battle his inner demons. I rooted for his hope of redemption.

There were a few things that bugged me in the film. This was 12th Century in the time of the Crusades – was English really that prevalent among the common populace in China, a xenophobic society with many dialects of their own? I know they likely made that choice from a logistics standpoint to avoid subtitles, but still. Also – king instead of emperor? Maybe I’m letting little things get to me.

Overall, I still enjoyed the movie and I’d even give it a recommendation.  In the meantime, I’ll just be over here with this Peter Cetera song stuck in my head.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 6%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 20%

Netflix’s Prediction for Selina – 2.5/5

Selina’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 3/5

Netflix’s Prediction for Cat – 3/5

Cat’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 3.5/5

The Random Rating: R

Movie Trailer:

Haunter (2013)

Number Rolled: 63

Movie Name/Year: Haunter (2013)

Tagline: Are you awake?

Genre: Thriller

Length: 97 minutes

Rating: NR

Production Companies: Wild Bunch, Copperheart Entertainment, Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit, Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office, Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, Haunter Productions, Movie Central, The Movie Network

Executive Producer: Vincent Maraval, Vincenzo Natali, John Raymons, Mark Smith

Director: Vincenzo Natali

Writer: Brian King

Actors: Abigail Breslin, Peter Outerbridge, Michelle Nolden, Stephen McHattie, Peter DaCunha, Samantha Weinstein, Eleanor Zichy, David Hewlett, Sarah Manninen, Martine Campbell, David Knoll, Michelle Coburn, Tadhg McMahon, Marie Dame

Lisa is living the same day over and over again. Wake up. Eat breakfast. Do the laundry. She can’t understand why she knows it’s happening, but her family doesn’t. Eventually, the routine begins to change and she searches for a way to break free.

Selina’s Point of View:

I was very much in the mood for a horror or a thriller since I had just finished watching the season premiere of American Horror Story: Hotel (2015). How awesome was that episode, by the way? Super graphic. SUPER graphic. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.

I digress.

Haunter has a very unique storyline. I know the above description makes it seem very Groundhog Day (1993), but that’s only because the Netflix description pissed me off. It tells viewers about one of the big twists in the movie, and I don’t jive with that. We take spoilers very seriously here at Trust the Dice. I definitely don’t think they should be included in the damn blurb.

Unacceptable.

Not only did the Netflix blurb give a significant spoiler, but it hurt my enjoyment of the film. At times during the movie I remember thinking that it would be a better experience if I didn’t know what Netflix told me.

Although the spoiler killed the first half of the film for me, the rest of it was decent. It had a few of the jump scares you expect, but the underlying plot was so creepy that it didn’t seem to be relying on the jumps.

All in all, it wasn’t a bad film. I recommend that anyone interested in seeing it refrain from reading the Netflix blurb.

Cat’s Point of View:

I was hopeful when this movie came up. The teaser summary appealed to me – this didn’t sound like it was going to be your average horror/thriller.  I am pleased to share that it certainly wasn’t; and it was amazing.

Alas, there isn’t a lot I can discuss in detail, regarding the elements that I adore about this movie, without spoiling things. Though, in watching the trailer after-the-fact; I am pretty irked that they included some scenes that probably should have stayed a mystery.

Imagine a dark and twisted version of Groundhog Day (1993).

Abigail Breslin (Rango, Nim's Island, Ender's Game) had me believing in her fear, confusion, and frustration. I was entirely sucked into her situation, and even gasped when she did a few times.

I am not so sure that I won’t have a nightmare tonight with Stephen McHattie (The Timekeeper, Immortals, The Strain) in it, after this. His performance was so sinister. From his expressions to his voice, he just embodied this boogie-man he was portraying. I felt my heart race a few times.

Fans of blood and gore won’t really find that sort of thing here, but the horror abounds. I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and would gladly watch it again.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 53%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 42%

Netflix’s Prediction for Selina – 4.5/5

Selina’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 3.5/5

Netflix’s Prediction for Cat – 4.5/5

Cat’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 4.5/5

The Random Rating: PG-13

Movie Trailer: