Film Reviews
Perdida Offers an Indelible Spin on the Hitchcock Thriller: Fantasia Fest Review
This review is part of our Fantasia Festival 2020 coverage. The Pitch: Eric (José María de Tavira) is a rich conductor living in a gorgeous modern home. So, why when we meet him is he getting fall-down drunk by himself at a dive bar? Enter Fabiana (Cristina Rodlo), the bartender on the night Eric causes a scene. Feeling curious, Fabiana brings Eric back to her place to let him sleep. When he wakes up, Eric rewards Fabiana with a pleasant afternoon date that leads to sex and a fast-tracked relationship. After practically moving into his apartment, detectives arrive with questions surrounding the last of Eric’s girlfriends. Seems one went missing not too long ago, though Eric insists it’s less nefarious. She left him. Fabiana’s not sure what to think, but then she starts hearing strange soun...
Tesla Wildly Reinvents the Biopic with an Inventive Ethan Hawke Performance: Review
This review originally ran as part of our Sundance 2020 coverage. The Pitch: By now, we all know the story of Nikola Tesla, spurned early 20th-century inventor and rival of Thomas Edison who invented alternating current, only to die penniless, his name largely lost to history until Christopher Nolan, Elon Musk, and the Fuck Yeah Science! corners of the Internet rehabilitated his unconventional genius. (Best not to mention the fact he was also a eugenicist, but that’s neither here nor there.) Now, one of America’s most under-appreciated minds has a full-throated biopic, with Ethan Hawke in the title role, charting his rags-to-riches-to-rags story. Of course, this being a Michael Almereyda joint, things get deeply weird. Welcome to Your Life: Make no mistake: Tesla ain’t your ...
Russell Crowe Taps Into His Inner Nicolas Cage for Maniac Motorist Movie Unhinged: Review
The Pitch: Ever wander on to YouTube, watch a few “Fail” videos, and suddenly find the algorithm inundating you with “Epic Fail” and “Expensive Fail” videos? YouTube sees your morbid curiosity for mayhem, and takes note. A day later, confident of where society seems to be heading, emboldened and in conjunction with your social media habits (a steady diet of Caucasian sociopaths refusing to wear masks), YouTube suggests more videos of people refusing to wear masks, getting into fistfights in grocery stores, and dash-cam footage of these folks trying to run people off the road with their cars. This genuinely happens to me all the time. In a way, the existence of Unhinged was algorithmically inevitable. Unhinged is a film particularly interested in road rage. Who are these guys? What drives a...
Peninsula Isn’t Nearly as Refined as Train to Busan: Review
The Pitch: In 2016, a near-perfect South Korean zombie flick crawled across the consciousness. Back then, Yeon Sang-ho’s Train to Busan—premised upon an extremely contagious virus turning people into man-eating monsters—reaped a whirlwind of success. When Sang-ho returned to make the sequel Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula, he couldn’t have predicted the prescient nature of his action-horror film. But amidst the resultant lockdowns and quarantines from Covid-19, the concept plays vastly different today. Following a former army captain and a small family surviving in Incheon, Peninsula combines components from I Am Legend, Mad Max, and the Fast & Furious series for a nonsensical joy ride that, while entertaining, lacks the sharpness of its predecessor. In Your Head: Peninsula opens to...
The One and Only Ivan Isn’t Nearly as Compelling as Its One and Only True Story: Review
The Pitch: Disney’s made the shift once more with The One and Only Ivan, a family adventure drama that was originally slated for theatrical release but has since moved to Disney+. Like many of their classics, this new movie is all about a group of scrappy, heroic animals banding together to go on an epic journey, replete with an A-List cast and computer effects. But does it work on the small screen? A True Story … Kind Of: The One and Only Ivan is a halfway decent live-action/CGI fable that makes a fatal mistake at the very end. Based on the children’s novel of the same name by K.A. Applegate, this film is inspired by a true story of a silverback gorilla who rose to fame as the star attraction of a circus in a suburban American mall all while tapping into his artistic abilities as a painte...
Project Power Gives Netflix Another Slick Action Rental: Review
The Pitch: In New Orleans, there’s a new drug hitting the streets — Power. Take it, and for five minutes you activate whatever latent superpower you may have. You might get super strength. You might turn invisible. You might just blow up within seconds of swallowing it. No one knows who’s… Please click the link below to read the full article. Project Power Gives Netflix Another Slick Action Rental: Review Clint Worthington You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.
Joe Keery Gets Five Stars As a Psycho Driver in Spree: Review
The Pitch: A rideshare driver (Joe Keery) attempts to conquer social media by turning his day-to-day into nightmare entertainment. He doesn’t care for your safety. He has no interest in reaching your destination. He’s not worried about a five-star rating. He only wants more followers — and nothing is off… Please click the link below to read the full article. Joe Keery Gets Five Stars As a Psycho Driver in Spree: Review Michael Roffman You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.
Seth Rogen’s An American Pickle Shines Through the Brine With Sweet and Sour Quirks: Review
What’s in the Jar? Based on Simon Rich’s 2013 New Yorker short story “Sell Out”, An American Pickle spins a tall tale about a struggling immigrant named Herschel Greenbaum (Seth Rogen), who falls into a vat of pickles in 1920 Brooklyn, only to wake up brined and still-young 100 years later.… Please click the link below to read the full article. Seth Rogen’s An American Pickle Shines Through the Brine With Sweet and Sour Quirks: Review Michael Roffman You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of In...
Beyoncé’s Black Is King Seeks to Change the Way We See Ourselves: Review
The Pitch: “I can’t breathe.” These were some of the final words uttered by George Floyd, an African American man killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as a result of police brutality. Due to the frequency of its usage by countless others during similar situations in the past, this phrase has come to be synonymous with the Black Lives Matter movement. While the self-worth and regard for the life of a person of color has continuously come into question, the healing power of art (particularly music) has always been used as remedy in times of despair. Historically, the slaves residing on various plantations would receive momentary comfort by harmonizing hymns of perseverance, hope, and religion. To this day, artists are still sought out to deliver a message that is reflective of the times through...
Shudder’s Host Brilliantly Adds Paranormal Activity to Our Pandemic: Review
The Pitch: Tired of Zoom calls? Bored of the same ol’ small talk? How about a seance to spice up your quarantine? Such is the conceit of Rob Savage’s Host. This swift, 56-minute capsule of terror follows a group of friends who tap into some paranormal activity amidst our ensuing pandemic — and, yes, we do mean ours. The whole thing was shot entirely during lockdown, and the all-too-palpable reality of Covid-19 surrounds these unfortunate souls, only it’s the last thing they need to fear. No Upcoming Meetings Today: Like Dave Franco’s The Rental, the concept here alone demands a watch of Host. This is ingenuity at its finest, and its origin story is almost as exciting as the film’s brazen execution. What started out as a Zoom prank gone viral — Savage tweeted video of himself investigating ...
The Rental Has Ruined AirBnb Forever: Review
The Pitch: Two couples in search of some impromptu R&R book a couple of nights at a dreamy, seaside rental. They don’t pack lightly, bringing all their excess baggage with them: deep-seated feelings for one another, rage issues, the whole spread. Unfortunately for them, this remote locale also happens to be the target of a stalker. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1054339" data-attachment-id="1054339" data-permalink="https://consequenceofsound.net/2020/07/film-review-the-rental/rental_ar_05-24-19_154-arw/" data-orig-file="https://consequenceofsound.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/THERENTALStill2.jpeg?quality=80" data-orig-size="1280,721" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0&qu...
The Beach House Brings Body Horror to a Pandemic: Review
The Pitch: Terror surrounds two college sweethearts looking for a little R&R at their remote, family beach house. There’s something in the water, and for Emily (Liana Liberato) and Randall (Noah Le Gros), that something may spell their end. Love That Lovecraft: Look, if you couldn’t tell from that semi-bullshit pitch, I’m trying to keep things vague for your sake. Don’t read up on The Beach House. Don’t watch the trailer for The Beach House. And, for Christ’s sake, don’t go Googling for photos of The Beach House. Like every great horror flick, the devil’s in the details, and those details are everywhere right now — mostly because this title is hot, hot, hot. Ever since it dropped at Chattanooga’s digital film festival earlier this summer, horror hounds have been praising the sleek 90-m...
