Category: Indie

“Nefarious”

7.2

Thank (insert deity here) Christians finally figured out how to make good movies to deliver their messages. We’ve come a long way since the days of “God’s not Dead.” The key to delivering messages is in the delivery, and that comes down to making subjects palatable and subtextual, instead of attacking the audience with the subtlety of actually being thumped with a Bible.

Above all else, this was a really solid crime/horror thriller. The two main actors deliver powerhouse performances in what amounts to a one room play, with a few surrounding shots to support the narrative and round out the runtime. The Glenn Beck interview at the end was a bit unnecessary to drive the points home, but it’s understandable in the big picture. All in all, a solid addition to this year’s horror film lineup.

Moral of the story… probably not the best idea to straight up invite a demon into your soul. Just a thought from your friendly neighborhood movie reviewer.

“Rare Objects”

7.1

Kintsugi in film form. Broken people helping fellow broken people. The best of humanity on display.

Alan Cumming and Julia Mayorga kill it in their respective roles, while Katie Homes’s performance pushes it over the top. A study in grief, damage, recovery, and resilience. Wrapped in a wonderful sense of, well, wonder.

“A Good Person”

8.6

Broken people hurting, but also helping fellow broken people. The best and worst of humanity, and the sometimes close proximity of the two in our lives as we cross paths. A brilliant study in grief, redemption, addiction, and perseverance. Morgan Freeman kicks ass, as expected, but damn… Florence Pugh is a powerhouse on the big screen!

Make sure to have a box of tissues at the ready, and fair warning, they get into some deep shit here. It’s not for the faint of heart or those who are not in the best place emotionally to see depictions of attempted suicide, blacking out, or sexual assault.

“Inside”

6.1

It’s a cinematographic representation of the frog in the boiling water. If that frog was also tapping his watch and asking for this whole thing to hurry up and be done with. It felt every second of its hour and forty five minute runtime. Willem Dafoe does his damndest to save this thing, and does cement himself as the master of “slowly slipping into madness” guy, but even he can’t save this from itself. Art heist gone wrong movie turns into silver screen serpent eating its own tail in search of a deeper meaning.

“The Tutor”

6.2

So… it’s a Hitchcock ripoff… kind of. A valiant effort. The ending shot was straight out of “Psycho.”

The twists you can see coming from a mile away. Overall, it frustrated me. It wasn’t that it was poorly executed in a technical sense. The shots are beautiful and there is some good tension building. And holy shit is Noah Schnapp creepy. But the story was too predictable for it to have its fullest impact. So, a few bright spots, but overall letdown.