One Movie Punch

Hi everyone!

We’re back today to begin some Netflix Original film cleanup. Just me today, although eternally grateful for the rescue by One Movie Spouse during yesterday’s review for “Captain Marvel” (Episode #435). Today’s film is a tight little French drama, which hasn’t been faring too well with the critics. I’ll have my review in a bit, but for a few other Netflix Originals from France, check out “Blockbuster” (Episode #026), “I Am Not An Easy Man” (Episode #110), “To Each Her Own” (Episode #199), “The Crew” (Episode #321), “Nothing to Hide” (Episode #336), “The World is Yours” (Episode #345), and “Bad Seeds” (Episode #361).

Here we go!

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Today’s movie is “Paris Is Us” (2019), the Netflix Original French drama directed by Elisabeth Vogler, and written for the screen by Rémi Bassaler, Paul Saïsset, and Souliman Schelfout. The film follows Anna (Noémie Schmidt) and her fast-paced relationship with Greg (Grégoire Isvarine), who experience an existential crisis in the face of near-deaths and terrorist threats, in the form of art house cinema.

No spoilers!

I want to start the review by discussing films for niche audiences. Two, in fact: “Paradox” (Episode #086) and “mother!” (Episode #245). The former film, a pet project from Daryl Hannah and Neil Young, has a niche audience because of its intended audience, mostly fans of either person which come with a mostly positive bias. As an aside, toxic fandom is when the intended audience develops a mostly negative bias. The latter film, Darren Aronofsky’s polarizing take on motherhood, has a niche audience for the type of film it is, an allegorical film that, frankly, requires the audience to think about more than the sequence of events on the screen. And as an aside to the previous aside, toxic criticism is when reviewers that don’t like a particular style of film bring a mostly negative bias.

“Paris Is Us” falls into that latter category of films for niche audiences. The film begins as a somewhat muddled independent relationship film, fueled by attraction and passion, then struggling over time. Anna is on auto-pilot; Greg is climbing the corporate ladder, set against modern Paris. They reminisce about their past and argue about their future, a larger metaphor for Paris as a city, but also set against that city. Their passion is Parisian nightlife. Their love represents Parisian streets. Their fights are Parisian riots. And then Greg misses a plane that crashes and kills everyone on board. Their relationship becomes turbulent, their attachment grows stronger but also more confusing, and Anna is swept into a self-reflective, depressive spiral.

The film takes a hard left in style and approach at that point. Standard independent drama fare becomes reprocessed and recut into montages of captured images, venturing into experimental art house film territory, as an elegantly dressed Anna watches her inner monologue play out before her. It’s like a visual form of slam poetry, pulling freely from the foundational metaphor and pulling in related and disparate themes that ask more questions than can be answered with the short running time. Art house film fans will appreciate the film technique and themes. Depressives will know and understand the character’s emotional struggles, but only if they appreciate the technique. And that’s a big ask for the average moviegoer, and for the average movie critic, to appreciate. But for a depressive art house film fan like myself, well, I liked it a great deal.

“Paris is Us” (2019) follows a Parisian couple as they navigate their lives against the backdrop of modern Paris. The film utilizes interesting editing techniques to transform a bare bones relationship drama into a larger metaphor for Paris, and perhaps urban life in general. Fans of art house cinema, heavy on metaphors and experimental technique, should definitely experience this film. Everyone else might want to do the same, but head in with an open mind and abandon any hope of a standard storyline.

Rotten Tomatoes: 43%

Metacritic: NR

One Movie Punch: 8.2/10

“Paris Is Us” (2019) is rated TV-MAand is currently playing on Netflix.

Hi everyone!

It’s a special review today at One Movie Punch. As the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to hurdle towards “Avengers: Endgame”, a new hero rises to somehow, someway defeat Thanos. You can check out our other reviews using #RoadToInfinityWar or the Marvel Cinematic Universe blog tag at onemoviepunch.com.

So, without further ado... today’s film is “Captain Marvel”, the anti-male feminazi hit piece and the latest politically correct inclusiveness garbage from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film follows completely the unbelievable Carol Danvers...

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One Movie Spouse: Stop right there, Skrull Scum!

Joseph: Honey, it’s me. I just changed my mind a lot about the film since...

Joseph: So, you’ve found me out. But nothing will stop me and my fellow dude-bro Skrulls from exposing our fragile male egos with our reviews. Not even you...

One Movie Spouse: Wanna bet?

One Movie Spouse: Taken care of that. Now, where..

One Movie Spouse: Ah.

One Movie Spouse: Just in time for the review! Ready, Honey?

Joseph: MY HERO!

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Today’s movie is “Captain Marvel”, the latest installment from Marvel Studios in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, and written in collaboration with Geneva Robertson-Dworet, Nicole Perlman, and Meg LeFauve. The film follows the origins of Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), caught in a war between two alien races, who discovers a power inside to become one of the most powerful heroes in the universe. Oh yeah, and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) comes along as well!

No spoilers! Spoilers are for Skrulls!

While several Marvel films contain strong females in supporting roles, “Captain Marvel” is exceptional because she is the MAIN character, and she shines in this role! Not having grown up reading the comic books, each film that is released is another great story for me as fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Seeing Captain Marvel training in martial arts and as an experimental fighter pilot, both heavily male-dominated areas, is inspiring, and watching her successes made me cheer her on even more! But watching her make discoveries about herself, and her power, is what I liked best about this badass character. As she sifted through her past, she realized she was held back by the expectations of others, and then excelled even more! 

Now, when it comes to continuity, one advantage the Marvel Cinematic Universe has as a film franchise is being able to correct the mostly white male bias of the early comic book days. The original Captain Marvel was a man, with Carol Danvers coming in as the sidekick with the moniker Ms. Marvel. It wasn’t until 2012 that she assumes the mantle in the comic books, so the movie universe is a great opportunity to bring a wider representation to the MCU, especially with a powerhouse character like Captain Marvel. We are still owed a long overdue Black Widow film, but while they correct that injustice, we can celebrate the arrival of Carol Danvers to the MCU. We can also get a lot of fun continuity with a quasi-origin story for Nick Fury (and another fan favorite from the early films), a sideline into S.H.I.E.L.D. during the 1990s, callbacks (or I guess prequels?) for a number of previously seen characters, and, of course, the ultimate setup for “Avengers: Endgame”, including must-see mid-credits and post-credits scenes. All of this makes slogging through the rough first act well worth it.

Addressing any naysayers out there about Carol Danvers being a token addition for the MCU, the film passes the Bechdel Test incredibly well. Captain Marvel never needs rescuing, because her strength and tenacity truly come from within. She isn’t “strong for a girl” but perhaps the most powerful hero in the universe. She tackles her opponents head on, and the many outdated gender norms do not define her. She is truly a strong, dynamic hero. Period. Kudos to Marvel for telling this story! What an incredible role model for young girls and boys! After this film, “Captain Marvel” tops my list of all-time favorite superheroes! I cannot wait to see this film again.

“Captain Marvel” (2018) is a long-awaited welcome to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for one of its most powerful heroes. Ditching the complications of the comic book origin stories, the writing team focuses in on Carol Danvers, and despite a rough start to the film, delivers on the smaller need for a powerful origin story, and the larger need to meet the larger challenges ahead for our heroes in “Avengers: Endgame”. And let me tell you, they better be ready. Looking at you, Thanos!

Rotten Tomatoes: 80% (CERTIFIED FRESH)

Metacritic: 64

One Movie Punch: 9.0/10

“Captain Marvel” (2019) is rated PG-13and is currently playing in Theaters.

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Joseph: Okay. Time for you to feed the cat.

One Movie Spouse: I’m not feeding the cat.

Joseph: I fed her last time.

One Movie Spouse: You’re the Cthulhu fan. YOU feed the cat. 

Joseph: She likes you more. One Movie Spouse: Do I need to see if you’re a Skrull, too?

Joseph: I’ll feed the cat.

Hi everyone!

Welcome back to another week of reviews! We’re getting caught up on Netflix Originals again this week, with reviews from yours truly, Philly Film Fan, and One Movie Spouse, along with another Fantastic Fest feature from Andrew Campbell. A nice spread of international films in the later part of the week!

Now, if you’ve been with One Movie Punch since the beginning, you know we’re big fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The universe got a little bigger this weekend with the debut of “Captain Marvel”, the last stop on the way to “Avengers: Endgame”. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for a special joint review of “Captain Marvel” from yours truly and One Movie Spouse. But for today, we’ll be re-running our review for “Avengers: Infinity War”, the film that was somehow too much and not enough. The film stands at an 85% Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a mediocre 68 at Metacritic. The film is currently streaming on Netflix, and is available  for rent and purchase at your favorite digital outlets.

And right before the review, here’s the latest and greatest promo from our friends at Two Views Movies, co-hosted by our own Garrett Wright.

Here we go!

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It’s Marvel Monday and we’re finally here! Today’s movie is “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018), the culmination of a decade of box office hits, written for the screen by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely, and directed by Anthony & Joe Russo.  The film stars our many heroes, played by everyone you know, bringing their tales together as Thanos (Josh Brolin) has a date with destiny.

Spoilers ahead.

I’m serious. Like, there’s no way to talk about this film without spoiling it. So, stop, and go see it, then come back.

I have been wondering since the first tease how Feige envisioned tackling the Infinity Gauntlet, one of the most massive crossover events in Marvel history, and especially in this particular continuity. And with a title suggesting the Infinity War saga, without a completed gauntlet, certainly made me scratch my head. However, as “Guardians of the Galaxy” brought us closer, and with last year’s suite of films suggesting any which way, I sat down in that theatre and waited for the magic to happen.

And it did happen, even if they had to tell a lot of story to get there. I mean, a LOT of story, way more than two and a half hours worth, perhaps even topping four hours of content. The Russo brothers do a great job pacing it out, going as slow as they can without shorting screen time for anyone, and letting the rising body count still have significance each step of the way. They also have the benefit of leveraging all the previous special effects budgets, creating a truly dazzling film with a very solid cast.

But that ending. Sure, it makes perfect sense that Thanos would reach his goal of eliminating half the universe, but it also makes this film feel less like the culmination of ten years of storytelling and more like an incomplete story, one we’ll have to wait quite a while to hear the rest of it. I’m in it for the long haul, and it is truly a masterfully crafted film, but it ends on a real downer, leaving this fan feeling pretty adrift, with little hope to be gained from the post-credits scene.

“Avengers: Infinity War” (2018) is a high-stakes, universe-altering superhero film that ends up in the most unlikely place for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So much comes together to craft this story and so much remains untold, the film’s one true weakness. It has the power to move hearts, and astound our senses, but it may leave a few folks feeling something between disappointment and anticipation for the wait ahead of us.

Rotten Tomatoes: 84% (CERTIFIED FRESH)

Metacritic: 68

One Movie Punch: 8.8/10

“Avengers: Infinity War” (2018) is rated PG-13 and is currently playing in theatres.

Hi everyone!

We’re closing out the week with a love fest review from Shane Hyde, who has been waiting for this movie to come out since about a second after he finished reading the manga.

Fun fact: In the comic, Alita was the name of Daisuke Ido’s cat.

Oh sure, and I guess they named the dog Indiana as well!

Anyway, be sure to check out Shane Hyde’s other reviews for “Fyre” (Episode #398), “Ánimas” (Episode #405), “Polar” (Episode #412), and “They Shall Not Grow Old” (Episode #426). And if you have any suggestions, reach out to us over social media.

Take it away, Shane!

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I'm going to preface this with; I am an absolute fan of the Gunman series. I've purchased the comics since the very early nineties when they were initially released. I've read them front to back and going into this movie I had all sorts of preconceptions that I felt were going to get utterly destroyed. And they weren't. My god. It lived up to my high expectations. But I'm here to review the movie. Not its faithfulness, or its source material. Let me take a crack at “Alita: Battle Angel”. 

And so... Kia Ora, I'm Shane Hyde and I'm recovering from my nerdgasm. 

By now you know that this is a James Cameron produced movie helmed by Robert Rodriguez, which is some sort of match made in heaven. We know their pedigrees... love them or hate them, we know them both and we know them well. Throw in some serious talent in Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connolly, Mahershala Ali, and even Rosa Salazar. It really impresses!

“Alita: Battle Angel” is also a feast for the eyes. It’s been a convincing world that’s been created in Iron City, where others worlds might feel a little underpopulated, Iron City never does. And the designs of the cyborgs and the other denizens of the place never actually fail to impress. And that goes doubly so for Alita. You could never had made this film pre-Gollum. To capture performance and make it just this real on a CGI character is simply astounding. And the detail is amazing; they get extremely close up into Alita, and you can see pores, eyes, the interaction of hair to movement and wind. This film is a technological masterpiece. 

Big eyes, small mouth - basically betrays Alita’s origins in manga, but here it is used to good effect. Somewhat alien, but kinda human... in a sense. It's all through Alita that we're able to explore what this means; humanity, and to love as a human, even though the body is hard. And that's the crux of this film, and also the source material. There's a little transhumanism thrown in, constantly striving for upgrades, to move beyond the flesh, to be the next best thing to give you the edge, but at its heart, “Alita: Battle Angel” is a story about what it means to love.

Saying “Alita: Battle Angel” is without battles is like saying “Highlander” has no sword fights. And there are battles a-plenty. Beautifully realised, slick and with Rodriguez’ eye for action that doesn't leave you wondering "what just happened?" like you were watching a  Michael Bay “Transformers” film. Definitely worth it, for the battles. Now, if I were to nitpick... the pace of the film tore past things that you wanted to explore a little closer in a little more detail. There are parts of Iron City that I want to know more about. There are things the characters do that I want to see more of. “Alita: Battle Angel” is a lean story and the world building suffers just a little bit for it.

“Alita: Battle Angel” is technically brilliant, a colourful realization of a future world that you want to know more about it, know more about what’s going on, more about the why. Alita is an exploration of humanity in a world where humanity is being eeked away. And the one nitpick, it moves a little too fast, cutting past things that pique curiosity... but that’s what we hope sequels are for.

Rotten Tomatoes: 60% (boo) Metacritic: 54 (also boo!) One Movie Punch: 8.5/10 (yay!)

“Alita: Battle Angel” is rated M and is currently showing in theatres.

Hi everyone!

Andrew’s back with another Fantastic Fest feature, and his first film from the Indian subcontinent. I know, right? I haven’t seen this one yet, myself, but for a few other Indian films from the Bollywood scene, check out “Love per Square Foot” (Episode #052), “Sometimes” (Episode #136), “Lust Stories” (Episode #168), “Brjj Mohan Amar Rahe” (Episode #220), “Rajma Chawal” (Episode #344), and “Soni” (Episode #389). And be sure to check out Andrew’s other reviews using #FantasticFest or the Fantastic Fest blog tag at onemoviepunch.com.

Take it away, Andrew!

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Hello, Film Fans!

Andrew here, back this week with a horror film that made its U.S. Premiere at the 2018 Fantastic Fest before sneaking onto Amazon Prime video back in February.

Before I get into the film, let’s have a quick chat about streaming services such as Prime. If you watch a lot of movies and are always on the hunt for the newest content, I recommend an app called JustWatch. JustWatch lets you select your streaming service platforms and creates a daily list of all the films and television programs that are added to each service that day. You can also look up a particular movie to see where it might be streaming. You’ll notice quickly that no other service keeps up with Amazon Prime in terms of the sheer volume of added content. Netflix, which has roughly a quarter of Amazon’s library, focuses on two things: “quality” and its “Netflix original films” – two universes that rarely seem to intersect. Meanwhile, Amazon Prime continues to grow its catalogue of classic and retro films, ultra-low-budget indies through its Prime Video Direct program, and an ever-growing library of foreign films; which brings us to today’s film.

Today’s movie is “Tumbbad” (2018), a mythological horror film produced in India and co-directed by Rahi Anil Barve and Adesh Prasad. The story starts in 1947 during the end of the British colonial period. “Tumbbad” tells the story of Vinayak (Sohum Shah) who grew up in remote Tumbbad 30 years earlier. As a boy, Vinayak, along with his mother and brother, serve the village lord Sarkar. And then it gets weird. Chained up in Sarkar’s mansion is Vinayak’s elderly and decaying grandmother, sequestered away from her family. After the death of Sarkar, what unfolds is a tale of greed that extends into Vinayak’s adult life as he and his family continue to feel the call of Tumbbad and the secrets lying within the crumbling and desolate estate.

No Spoilers. 

The story behind the creation of this film is an interesting one. India has the largest film industry in the world in terms of the sheer number of films produced, upwards of 1500 per year, with ticket sales of more than $2B dollars in recent years. (Incidentally, we cover all of these films in our sister podcast “Five Movie Punch – Five movies per day, every day.”)

Joseph: Stepping in here to say that One Movie Punch in no way, shape, or form has a podcast called Five Movie Punch. At least not yet...

For a film to stand out in the crowd, it takes something unique. Writer/director Barve wrote a first draft of the screenplay nearly 20 years ago at the age of 18. After years of rewrites and attempts to finance the project, the film was shot in 2012 only to be scrapped when the low-budget project did not meet the director’s expectations. He started over, filming over a period of three years up until 2015, and spent another two-plus years in post-production before its 2018 release. The cost? All in, the budget clocked in just under $2 million for a film that contains some horrifying practical effects, and very minimal but effective use of computer-generated effects at the conclusion.

Without getting into the details, what the Tumbbad mansion holds is a source of ongoing wealth that the brave and foolhardy have been able to tap into for generations. The film chugs along at a slow pace as we get to know more of Vinayak and what drives him. The story at once feels like one you’ve heard before but somehow brand new as you see it through a different cultural viewpoint. The central myth of the film is so simple and clever that it feels like something out of a religious text or ancient tome. While I enjoyed those aspects of the movie, some of the mundane moments of character development tended to drag and suck the wind out of the picture. A more patient film-watcher who can maintain focus will find the ending worth the payoff.

The setting, unique to most American audiences, and strong visuals propel this film, but perhaps it’s the limited budget that constrained just how far the director was able to go with the horror. For a film that at its heart is a cautionary tale about the perils of greed, it’s not really until the final 30 minutes that we begin to see the price of Vinayak’s sin. The film fails to create sympathetic characters, so my interest wasn’t in the fate of the characters but rather in seeing how the director would make all the creepy build-up pay off.

“Tumbbad” is an authentic horror fable out of mid-century India that does well in balancing terror with story, but suffers somewhat with its simple characters. Fans of mystical horror films with a rural backdrop such as 2015’s “The Witch”, set in colonial America, or 2016’s “The Wailing”, set in a secluded South Korean village, will enjoy this film.

Rotten Tomatoes: 89%

Metacritic: NR

One Movie Punch: 7.4/10

“Tumbbad” is not rated and is available for streaming on Amazon Prime.

Come back next week when I’ll be reviewing “The Incident”, an amazing Mexican film you should go stream on Netflix right away. If you enjoy low-budget indie films that play with the concept of time, such as “Primer” or “Timecrimes”, get ready to hear about a clever gem that you’ve probably missed.

Hi everyone!

Keith Lyons returns to help clean up the remaining nominees for Best Foreign Language picture at the Oscars and Golden Globes, this time with the German submission. Check out his other reviews in the category for “Shoplifters” (Episode #394) and “Capernaum” (Episode #416). You can also check out my love fest review for “Roma” (Episode #352). Got any suggestions? Reach out over social media and let us know!

Take it away, Keith!

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Hi, Philly Film Fan here with another review for One Movie Punch. You can follow me on Twitter @PhillyFilmFan.

Today’s movie is “Never Look Away” (2018), the film written and directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. “Never Look Away” was nominated for two Oscars this year but was thwarted in both categories by “Roma”. It was Germany’s submission for Best Foreign Language Film and Caleb Deschanel was nominated for his cinematography. This was Caleb Deschanel’s sixth Academy Award nomination, but he’s probably more famous for being the father of actresses Emily Deschanel and Zooey Deschanel. Also, his wife, Mary Jo Deschanel, was on “Twin Peaks” where she played Lara Flynn Boyle’s mom. I feel like I may have gotten off track.

Uh, no spoilers.

“Never Loom Away” is a historical drama about a fictional artist named Kurt Barnert (Tom Schilling). His story is told in three distinct segments: Kurt’s childhood in Dresden under the Nazis; Kurt’s art education in the Soviet-approved school of Socialist Realism in East Germany; and, finally, Kurt’s blossoming as an artist in Dusseldorf, West Germany. These are three drastically different times in Germany’s history but the film links them, not just through Kurt’s biography, but through reoccurring themes such as authoritarian control, the purpose of art, reproductive choice (or lack thereof), and truths that are understood but not openly acknowledged.

“Never Look Away” may be Kurt’s story, but it’s the women in his life who leave a greater impression on the viewer. Saskia Rosendahl gives a standout performance as Kurt’s aunt, Elisabeth May, an unconventional woman who is both unwilling and unable to conform to society’s standards. She would struggle in any environment but in Nazi Germany her failure to fit in puts her in a particularly dangerous position. Rosendahl finds the beauty in Elisabeth’s passion for art without compromising the character’s rough edges. In the hands of a less talented actress, Elisabeth could come off as a garden variety manic-pixie dream girl but Rosendahl reveals the depth to this character. Another really strong performance comes from Paula Beer as Ellie Seeband, Kurt’s fellow student and love interest. She first appears as a charming co-ed, primed to be seduced and won over by Kurt but, as the plot advances, things get more serious and Beer handles the more dramatic scenes with aplomb.

Okay, there’s a controversy about this film that we need to address. Although “Never Look Away” is about a fictional painter named Kurt Barnert, it is clearly based on real-life artist Gerhard Richter. And Gerhard Richter does not like this film. Before directing “Never Look Away”, Donnersmarck met with Richter to discuss the artist’s life and they wound up spending a month together. Richter claims that the two men came to an understanding that Donnersmarck would not use Richter’s name or paintings in the film. However, Richter’s name has been used to promote this film and some of his most famous works were re-created for the film by Richter’s former assistant. But the biggest concern is that Richter is accusing Donnersmarck of “abuse[ing] and grossly distort[ing] my biography”. Donnersmarck, for his part, claims that he has done nothing wrong and that the film paints Richter in a positive light.

It is difficult to know how to assess this film. I saw “Never Look Away” believing it to be fictional and found it to have a compelling story, strong performances, and a good pace that kept the over three-hour running time from feeling like a burden. However, I can’t think of anyone who can speak on this film with more authority than Gerhard Richter, and he seems to hate it. So take my opinion with a grain of salt.

Rotten Tomatoes: 75%

Metacritic: 69

One Movie Punch: 7.0/10

“Never Look Away” (2018) is rated R and is currently playing in theaters.

This jawn was brought to you by Philly Film Fan. For more movie reviews, follow me on Twitter at PhillyFilmFan where I’m participating in the #365Movies challenge. That’s P-H-I-L-L-Y-F-I-L-M-F-A-N.

Hi everyone!

Garrett Wright returns today with a review for “Paddleton”, the third and final Netflix Original movie for the week. You’ll hear his thoughts in a bit, but be sure to check out Garrett’s other reviews here at One Movie Punch for “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse” (Episode #381), “Revenger” (Episode #386), “Vice” (Episode #388), “A Star is Born” (Episode #402), and “The Old Man and the Gun” (Episode #409).

Take it away, Garrett!

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My name is Garrett Wright and I co-host Two Views Movies podcast along with my friend Carson Graff. We are a spoiler-filled podcast by two guys who love watching movies almost as much as we love arguing about them. Our weekly podcast features reviews of new releases, retro reviews of older favorites, obscure top 5 lists, and our two views of all things movies. You can find our podcast on all major platforms and at TwoViewsMovies.com where you can also find spoiler-free written reviews of the movies we watch. I’m thrilled to be the guest for today’s episode. You can follow me on Twitter at @TwoViewsGarrett and the podcast on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at the username @TwoViewsMovies

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Today’s movie is “Paddleton” (2018), the Netflix original indie drama directed by Alexandre Lehmann and co-written by Lehmann and Mark Duplass. “Paddleton” is the story of an unlikely friendship between two misfit neighbors that becomes an unexpectedly emotional journey when the younger man is diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Spoilers are in remission for today’s episode so keep on listening...

Despite being a movie centered around two middle-aged best friends Michael (Mark Duplass) and Andy (Ray Romano), Paddleton takes its cues from tales of childhood friendships. While each of the guys has a natural maturity that comes with age, they are very much juveniles at heart. They routinely play “paddleton”, a game they created which uses rackets, a ball, an oil drum, and the back of a drive-in theater screen. Dinner is often a frozen pizza cooked in the oven at one of their apartments. And they enjoy watching the same cheesy kung fu movie over and over again. Though they may be closer to retirement than adolescence in age, their lifestyles are that of the stereotypical post-high school wanderer. What each has been unable to find in love or careers, they have found in their friendship with each other.

Director Alexandre Lehmann, along with star and co-writer Mark Duplass, devote the entirety of the film’s short 89-minute runtime to the quirky friendship between Michael and Andy. Michael’s terminal illness is introduced in the first scene eliminating any potential drag in the story that would be caused by making the audience wait for what we know is coming. Though the illness is central to the story and is omnipresent, in the early stages of the film, it is treated as more of a McGuffin to move our characters beyond their mundane routine — or as the parent of a teenager would say, “to get them out of the house.” As the film unfolds, their friendship both grows and strains. Michael’s stoic determination to control his own fate creates upheaval for Andy who struggles to support, but not lose, his friend. After lulling viewers with the back-and-forth between this eccentric pair for 80 minutes, Lehmann and Duplass bring everything rushing to the forefront — the illness, fate, mortality, and friendship — in a poignant moment that hits incredibly hard in all the right ways.

“Paddleton”is carried by Mark Duplass and Ray Romano. One or both of them is in every minute of the film and with only a few other characters getting a few minutes of screen time, the entire film rests on their shoulders. Both actors prove up to the task and feel equally at home in their chummy comedic moments as their heavily dramatic ones. Romano, in particular, seems to be enjoying a career revival as a dramatic actor (with some comedic undertones) as his performance as Andy is on par with his much-lauded performance in “The Big Sick”. 

On the surface, “Paddleton” is a film we have seen before in some form. The childish adult friendship of “Step Brothers”. The strain put on that friendship by a medical illness in “50/50”. The indie-style offbeat duo in “Napoleon Dynamite”. Unlike these films though, “Paddleton” dares to go outside of its lane in order to take the story where it needs to go and the result is something brutally honest and bittersweet yet satisfying.

Rotten Tomatoes: 90% (Certified Fresh)

Metacritic: 70

One Movie Punch: 7.5/10

“Paddleton” was released via Netflix on February 22, 2019, is unrated, and is currently available to stream on Netflix.

Thanks for listening to my review here at One Movie Punch. If you like what you heard – or didn’t – reach out to me on Twitter at @TwoViewsGarrett and let me know. I’ll be back soon with more reviews on One Movie Punch, but you can always find me on the Two Views Movies podcast.

I will catch you next time.

Hi everyone! 

Here’s the second of two Netflix Original reviews from yours truly this week, this time from India. For a few other Netflix Originals from India, check out “Love per Square Foot” (Episode #052), “Sometimes” (Episode #136), “Lust Stories” (Episode #168), “Brjj Mohan Amar Rahe” (Episode #220), “Rajma Chawal” (Episode #344), and “Soni” (Episode #389).

A heads up for today’s review: this film deals with sexual assault and the lasting effects of being a rape survivor, and also looks at domestic abuse. If either of those topics will cause you trauma, take a hard pass on this review, and we’ll see you tomorrow.

Here we go! 

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Today’s movie is “Firebrand”, the Netflix Original Marathi-language Indian drama written and directed by Aruna Raje. The film follows Sunanda (Usha Jadhav), a women’s advocate attorney driven in part by her own experience as a rape survivor. As her career begins to affect her marriage to Madhav (Girish Kulkarni), she struggles to come to terms with her past while representing a woman attempting to divorce her husband.

No spoilers!

I’m going to have a hard time writing this review. Sexual and domestic assault are very serious issues, especially when women around the globe are still working towards gender equality in many societies, especially in India. The issues should be treated with respect, not flippantly or humorously, which I found was done very well for “Soni” (Episode #389), dealing with many aspects of gender discrimination and cultural chauvinism within India. The good news is that today’s film doesn’t treat either issue with a lack of respect. However, the bad news is that “Firebrand” is also a horribly produced film, with shallow characters, bad pacing, and perhaps the worst editing I’ve seen in a while, particular with a scene involving sexual assault. So, please keep in mind that criticism of the film is not criticism of the issues.

I really like the premise of “Firebrand”, along with the overall story when it focuses on Sunanda. Usha Jadhav’s performance is easily the strongest and most believable within the entire film, when the story allows for it. The story outside of Sunanda, particularly involving the domestic assault case, struggles a great deal, though. The couple is seeking a divorce for various reasons. The husband is a womanizer, often sleeping with other women. The wife is upset with the direction her life has taken, blames her husband for the autism that affects their daughter, and fakes a domestic assault to put him in jail and to win points at court. The wife is an interesting juxtaposition to Sunanda, as Sunanda is dealing with her actual past of sexual assault, and the wife is faking her current situation of domestic abuse. I also think it’s a bad juxtaposition, because it’s hard to make sure that people believe women when they speak out when you have a character faking it. And with all the new focus on exposing sexual harassment and assault in the workplace and throughout societies, it seems like a risky choice, as it tends to create a false equivalency between the two situations, and especially when the wife’s performance is categorically bad. 

I struggled a lot with the extraneous details in the film, which carried out the movie much longer than necessary, and generally took away from the focus on sexual and domestic assault. For instance, the string of cases at the beginning to establish Sunanda’s bone fides, along with her interactions with fellow attorneys, felt pretty extraneous as the film moves forward. I also found the representation of their autistic child to be a needless detail, especially when the acting was, at best, a questionable representation. And finally, there’s a technique that’s demonstrated in the film for assault survivors to write out their experiences, and read them aloud. For anyone wondering if that’s actually a thing, it is. However, it’s normally done at the end of a series of therapy sessions, and generally in session because of its triggering capabilities. It’s immensely painful to hear Jadhav recounting Sunanda’s experience over and over again throughout the film at home, especially when it leads to a thematically odd resolution for everyone involved. The film then ends with text highlighting statistics for sexual and domestic assault which feels like an afterthought by that point.

“Firebrand” (2019) is the first Marathi-language film from Netflix, exploring the effects of sexual and domestic assault in India. While it has a great premise, it also struggles very much with pacing, editing, and acting, making a well-intentioned film about serious topics almost unwatchable in parts. Fans of the Indian film scene, or folks who do not suffer trauma or triggering because of the content, may want to check out this film, but just between us, I think “Soni” does a better job with the topic.

Rotten Tomatoes: NR

Metacritic: NR

One Movie Punch: 4.7/10

“Firebrand” (2019) is rated TV-MAand is currently playing on Netflix.

Hi everyone!

Here’s the first of two Netflix Original reviews from me this week, a stylish 1970s South Korean drug kingpin film. For a few other Netflix Original South Korean films, check out “Forgotten” (Episode #062), “Steel Rain” (Episode #087), “Psychokinesis” (Episode #124), “Illang: The Wolf Brigade” (Episode #304), Garrett Wright’s review for “Revenger” (Episode #386), and last week’s review for “High Society” (Episode #421). And if you have any suggestions, reach out over social media. 

Here we go!

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Today’s movie is “The Drug King”, the South Korean historical drama written and directed by Woo Min Ho. The film follows the origins and rise to power of Lee Doo Sam (Song Kang Ho), a low-level smuggler who rises to power as a major-level crank kingpin throughout East Asia, branding his product with the seal “Made in Korea”. The film is based on the real-life story of a Busan drug smuggler, and the investigation and series of events that eventually brings him down.

No spoilers!

The illegal drug economy is one of the largest black markets in the world. While it is extremely difficult to measure and value the total market, most analysts put the value around $360 billion dollars. That’s billion with a B. “The Drug King” looks at one major drug lord who made his rise with methamphetamine, which makes up about a sixth of the global illegal drug trade, either in its purest form (crystal meth), or cut with other drugs (crank). But while I’m quite familiar with the drug trade within the United States (via a combination of movies, television, documentaries, books, and research), I’m not all that familiar with the drug trade in East Asia, outside of the action films that use drugs as a prop rather than an integrated story element. And for nothing else, this makes today’s film worth watching.

It would be easy to say that “The Drug King” follows any number of nouveau riche drug kingpin stories from the rise of the modern drug trade in the United States. If I had to do some media math (or maybe media meth?) to describe this film, it would be “Scarface” plus “Breaking Bad”, with all the rise and fall of the former, and all the drug science and intersectionality with politics of the latter. In fact, there are a few scenes that definitely feel like homages to both works, but what sets apart “The Drug King” is its grounding in a true story, and its period-perfect look at the 1970s and 1980s on the Korean peninsula. It adds a great deal of style and flair, particularly in the costumes and the music, and when it leans in this direction, the film spectacularly succeeds.

However, “The Drug King” also struggles with pacing and tone. The film loses steam after Lee Doo Sam’s rise to power, creating a muddled and long second act, which emphasizes a modern film score clashing with the period-specific pieces. We jump forward years at a time, bringing in quick scenes of contemporary political events that jeopardize Lee Doo Sam’s operation. And we also watch Lee Doo Sam quickly go from being a clean trafficker to a hopeless crank addict, trying to keep everything together, and leading towards his inevitable fall. It lacks the defiance of “Scarface”, and honestly, would make you feel sorry for the character if it wasn’t for the giant piles of money he had in his vault. So much promise, then a very difficult journey at the end, with a very abrupt ending.

“The Drug King” (2018) is a stylish, if inconsistent drug kingpin story, set within 1970s South Korea, and throughout East Asia. While it draws heavy stylistic influences from the period, it also struggles to fulfill the promises of its impressive first act. Fans of drug trade films, or fans of 1970s period pieces, should definitely check out this film.

Rotten Tomatoes: NR

Metacritic: NR

One Movie Punch: 7.4/10

“The Drug King” (2018) is rated TV-MAand is currently playing on Netflix.

Hi everyone!

Welcome back to another week of reviews, with three Netflix Originals, the the return of Garrett Wright and Keith Lyons, and two new reviews from Andrew Campbell and Shane Hyde. Be sure to check out our reviews for Oscar winners and nominees using #Oscars2019 or the Oscars 2019 blog tag at onemoviepunch.com. 

As for today, I thought with all the post-Oscars discussion that it would be worth re-running my review for one of my favorite documentaries, especially with all artworld criticism in recent films like “Velvet Buzzsaw” (Episode #407) and “High Society” (Episode #421). “Exit Through The Gift Shop” is probably the best artworld takedown made so far, and cracked open the world of street art for myself and countless others. It has a 95% Certified Fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, and an 85 Must See rating at Metacritic. You can catch it streaming on Sundance Now, or by rent/purchase at major digital outlets.

Here we go!

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Today’s movie is “Exit Through The Gift Shop”, the extremely subversive documentary by Banksy about street art and its relationship with the art world, told through the eyes of Thierry Guetta, a street art filmmaker who would later transform himself into Los Angeles’ hottest new street artist, Mr. Brainwash or MBW.

At least it might be. Anything goes with Banksy at the wheel and particularly when it comes to so-called street art. From “Kilroy Was Here” to New York City’s graffiti boom to the modern waves of street art in cities worldwide. The public art form has now recently caught the eye of the big money art world, the loose grouping of people who decide what is art and profit from its traffic. With commerce starting the process of gentrifying the subversive art form, it’s up to someone to subvert the subversion.

Enter Thierry Guetta, a supposed street art obsessive documentarian who happens to have been present during the latest wave of street art beginning with Invader’s work re-creating 8-bit icons, through spending time with the legendary Shepard Fairey, creator of the iconic Obey and Barack Obama Hope posters. And eventually, he gets to work with and document Banksy, who takes over the film after seeing an extremely bad cut of Thierry’s street art documentary, and sends him back to Los Angeles to become a street artist.

Enter Mr. Brainwash, Thierry’s new street art persona, who essentially copies every step of those who he has documented, mortgaging everything to put on a massive art show in Los Angeles known as “Life is Beautiful”. He hires other artists to create his work for him based on vague direction, and leverages two quotes from Shepard Fairey and Banksy to create a massive buzz around the show, becoming the premiere street artist, selling over a million dollars worth of art.

Now, is it real? Much like art, it depends on how you look at it, and more importantly, how much the presence of a camera affects everything. “Exit Through The Gift Shop” could be a full-on hoax, which would fall in line with Banksy’s aesthetic. But I think the film does something much more subversive... it documents how the art world is so easily swayed by hype and name recognition, and how two sentences could make anyone an overnight success, deserved or not.