Movie review: Gypsy

 

 Restless with her suburban mom married life, therapist Jean becomes immersed in her patient's lives and an ex-girlfriend of one patient in particular.

Naomi Watts (Jean), Billy Crudup (Michael), Sophie Cookson (Sidney), Karl Glusman (Sam), Poorna Jagannathan (Larin), Brooke Bloom (Rebecca), Lucy Boynton (Allison), Melanie Liburd (Alexis), Brenda Vaccaro (Claire).

Gypsy begins innocently enough, but it doesn't last long. Jean, who has a seemingly wonderful life as a New York city therapist, is bored. And to fill her boredom she becomes immersed in her client's lives. But, that's isn't enough, so she decides to pursue a client's ex-girlfriend romantically. The result is a train wreck of a life barely held together, all of Jean's own doing. The series almost feels like a How-To instructional for messing up your professional and personal life beyond repair.

Acting was decent with Watts doing a pretty good job and quite possibly being the only reason for good reviews of the series. Crudup played well with Watts and others, and delivered a good performance. Cookson was also pretty good with nice emotion. Liburd was enjoyable but felt a bit out of place at times while the remainder of the cast was solid.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds are nicely done with a realistic and authentic feel. Action scenes, such as they were, are mild. Dialogue was interesting, if hard to swallow when Jean is in full self-destruct mode. Sound and soundtrack are fitting.

If you enjoy a messed up train-wreck of a drama, this one is for you. If you want to know how to ruin your life, check it out. If you would rather your drama be more realistic, move along.

With plenty of sexuality, some drug use, and mild nudity, this should be fine for older, mature teens and above.

Released: 2017
Reviewed: 11.1.17
Star rating: 2 out of 5
Genre: Drama, TV Drama, TV Series, Thriller

copyright ©2017 Dave Riedel

Movie review: Crash (1996)

 

 Following a near-fatal auto accident, TV director James becomes fixated on the eroticism of cars and crashes. Finding an underground sub-culture focused on car crashes, James attempts to use that energy to rejuvenate intimacy with his wife.

James Spader (James), Holly Hunter (Helen), Elias Koteas (Vaughan), Deborah Unger (Catherine), Rosanna Arquette (Gabrielle), Peter MacNeill (Colin).

Crash begins nicely with some unusual intimacy that sets the tone for the rest of the film, followed immediately by the car crash that nearly kills James and in the other car involved, Helen. As James becomes immersed in the auto-accident subculture, the eroticism quickly bleeds into other aspects of his life. The remainder of the film is an unusual exploration of auto-eroticism in a couple of different ways with an ending that is almost as unusual as the film itself.

Acting was pretty good with Spader doing a decent job of conveying his physical hunger and obsession. Koteas was wonderful delivering strong energy at times, and being appropriately disturbing in other scenes. Hunter was solid and enjoyable, though she often feels detached. Speaking of detached, Unger may look good but her lack of energy and emotion, particularly around intimacy, is almost disturbing. The remainder of the cast was enjoyable.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds were good with a bit of a rough feel that added nicely to the film. Action scenes were enjoyable, fairly graphic, and fit the film nicely. Dialogue was good but could have added a touch more depth. Sound and soundtrack are well done.

Overall Crash is an unusual erotic thriller mixing the destruction of auto accidents with intimacy. Sadly the intimacy seems to be the focus, resulting in a series of somewhat disjointed encounters and a focus on auto-accidents as a stimulant that is never fully explored.

With plenty of sexuality, nudity, some violence, gore, and disturbing scenes of car crashes and accident victims, save this one for adults and above. Note: the disc had options for NC-17 and R-rated viewing.

Released: 1996
Reviewed: 10.30.17
Star rating: 3 out of 5
Genre: Erotic Thrillers, Psychological Thrillers, Drama, Thriller

copyright ©2017 Dave Riedel

Movie review: Little Evil

 

 Gary has married Samantha, the woman of his dreams. As their new life begins Gary realizes being a stepdad is hard, but even harder when his six-year-old stepson Lucas may literally be the Antichrist.

Evangeline Lilly (Samantha), Adam Scott (Gary), Sally Field (Miss Shaylock), Clancy Brown (Rev. Gospel), Kyle Bornheimer (Victor), Owen Atlas (Lucas), Bridget Everett (AL), Tyler Labine (Karl), Donald Faison (Larry).

Little Evil jumps right into the disturbing behavior of Lucas and plot setup. That out of the way, character introductions commence as the storyline develops some depth. Along the way there is some amusing comedy and over-the-top acting that keeps things light and interesting. The film finally finishes with the Happy Ever After ending we all expected.

Acting was decent with Scott doing a decent job in a lead role. Atlas was enjoyable and did well in his role, as did Lilly. Everett was absolutely hysterical and sold it completely. Field, Brown, and the remainder of the supporting cast was solid and enjoyable.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds were good with nice detail and fit. Action scenes were mild and CGI was good if appropriately overdone at times. Dialogue was funny and fitting. Sound and soundtrack were good.

Overall Little Evil is an amusing and light comedy with bits of horror, dark comedy, and satire thrown in for fun. Younger viewers should enjoy this one. Adults may find the humor a bit immature for their tastes.

With some mild sexuality, light violence, foul language, and disturbing scenes, this should be fine for older teens and above.

Released: 2017
Reviewed: 10.27.17
Star rating: 2 out of 5
Genre: Comedy, Dark Comedy, Horror, Satire

copyright ©2017 Dave Riedel

Movie review: Alien Arrival

 

 When a mercenary on a rescue mission becomes stranded on a deserted moon he also discover a new life form that will threaten his survival.

Dan Mor (Kye), Aleisha Rose (Hollis), Christopher Kirby(Oleander), Shaun Micallef (Reef), Mark Redpath (Hatch), Jak Wyld (Prison Commander), Akira Bradley (Prison Guard).

Alien Arrival, also known as Arrowhead, begins with some introductions and backstory before launching into the main plot. Or, maybe I should say main plots. The film repeatedly introduces plot points it never follows, leaving the film feeling very disjointed and somewhat without direction. The promise of aliens kept me watching, and they eventually showed up, and were as disappointing as the random storyline.

Acting was mediocre with most of the cast feeling unpracticed and less than fully engaged. Energy delivery was mismatched in many scenes.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds were okay with reasonable detail and technical work. Special effects were hit and miss as well with some being well done and others feeling about as low budget as you can get. Dialogue was dry and somewhat lifeless. Sound and soundtrack were tepid.

Overall Alien Arrival is a mediocre alien flick which seems to want to focus on the drama and action but misses both marks. Fans of lower budget alien adventure flicks may enjoy this one.

With some violence and aliens this should be fine for older teens and above.

Released: 2016
Reviewed: 10.26.17
Star rating: 1 out of 5
Genre: Australian Films, Aliens, Sci-Fi Adventure, Action & Adventure, Drama

copyright ©2017 Dave Riedel

Movie review: The Bad Batch

 

Banished to a desert wasteland in a futuristic dystopia, Arlen finds love amongst the cannibals when one muscled monster decides to play with his food.

Suki Waterhouse (Arlen), Jason Momoa (Miami Man), Jayda Fink (Honey), Keanu Reeves (The Dream), Jim Carrey (The Hermit), Yolonda Ross (Maria), Giovanni Ribisi (The Screamer), Aye Hasegawa (Mousey).

The Bad Batch begins with Arlen's story and her banishment to the desert wasteland. From there her story turns into one of survival in a strange, twisted world that doesn't make much sense. Somehow she finds romance with a cannibal who was originally viewing her as food.

Acting was unusual with Reeves, Carrey, and Ribisi each going wild with strange out of character roles that they also handled pretty well. Waterhouse was mildly entertaining, as was Momoa, Ross, and the remainder of the cast.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds were fitting if sparse. Action scenes were mild but okay. Dialogue was choppy and thin. Sound and soundtrack felt low-budget.

It took three attempts at watching this one to finally make it through to the end. There just isn't a lot here to hold audience interest. The plot is meandering and strange, as are the characters. Those who enjoy dystopian films into which they can project some kind of value and higher meaning should enjoy this one.

With some mild nudity, violence and gore, and some foul language, this should be fine for older teens and above.

Released: 2016
Reviewed: 10.26.17
Star rating: 1 out of 5
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Indie Drama, Indie Thrillers, Romance

copyright ©2017 Dave Riedel