One Movie Punch

Hi everyone!

Welcome back to our Indie Wednesday coverage, where we feature microbudget and independent films overlooked by most media outlets. Today's review will feature 2019's NOCTAMBULIST, a film by Johnny Daggers. Last year we featured a review of his documentary film BLOOD ON THE REEL (Episode #612), as part of Reign of Terror 2019, but it was clear he was most excited to talk about his latest film. So, over break, I gave it a second viewing, and made sure to place it on the calendar this year to feature this silent noir horror, or noirror, film. I'll even be featuring some snippets from our full interview with Johnny Daggers, available on our Patreon page in two parts, episodes P012 and P013. If you love silent films, especially German expressionist pictures, then you'll love today's film.

Before the review, we'll have a quick promo from our good friend Kolby Told Me, one of our biggest supporters for the podcast last year, as demonstrated by his near domination of the Follow Friday boards. You can find him on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @kolbytoldme. And if you take up one of his recommendations, let everyone know that Kolby Told Me!

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Here we go!

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Today's movie is NOCTAMBULIST, the silent noir horror picture written and directed by Johnny Daggers. Set in the early 1900s, Zella (Lauren Peele) is struggling with the recent death of her mother, and the inheritance expected from her passing. She begins to suspect her husband Stellan (Nicholas Nazario) is cheating on her with notorious flirt Marlene Demone (Nadia White). After being prescribed medicine to calm her nerves, she begins to lose her grip on herself, struggling to separate reality from fantasy.

No spoilers.

However, it's hard to use clips from a silent movie, so instead, I'll be interspersing segments from our interview with Johnny Daggers last year.

When I first started One Movie Punch, I wanted to use the opportunity to see a wide variety of films. I certainly have my favorites, but I also have a ton of blind spots. Some of those blind spots are from being too busy as a young parent to make it to the theaters. Some of those blind spots are still there because the content explosion has made finding unique films, and the time to watch them, much more difficult. So, I made a commitment at the time to weekly classic movie reviews, calling them Film Buff Fridays, and began taking in a wide variety of films from the past few decades, including a lot of pre-code and silent films.

You don't realize just how formative early cinema was for the stories of today. My recent review for BE NATURAL: THE UNTOLD STORY OF ALICE GUY-BLACHÉ (Episode #657) took us all the way back to the beginning, in the very late 1800s, but this eventually spread to two key centers: Hollywood and Germany. Hollywood began churning out picture after picture, mostly in the noir genre, due to its tantalizing content, which became the films I watched growing up as the late night movies on syndicated television. Germany was taking a more artistic approach, with Fritz Lang leading the way with German Expressionism on the screen, along with a host of lesser-known filmmakers. Sure, there were comedies, shorts, romances, and others, but those two genres were two of my favorites. It's the same with Johnny Daggers.

JOHNNY: "With NOCTAMBULIST, it is my first foray into German Expressionists or surrealist type films. I call it 'noirror' just because I was just like, oh, stared at the words noir and horror so much, and I'm like, yeah, you fuse them together, you know. I really wanted to make a silent that paid tribute to NOSFERATU, CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI, M, GOLEM. All these early great films, because again, being an archivist, I don't want those films to ever get lost. Grant you, you can't replicate a movie like that, although I'm thankful for a nice German review that came in on Twitter lately, that said that NOCTAMBULIST is the closest thing that you'll get in modern day to the heyday films. And that was a nice compliment. I don't know if I say that, but that really warmed my heart. Obviously, I'm working on digital, and so I really have to spend the time to kind of give it that old stylized German Expressionist look. I'm very pleased with how it turned out."

It's an unexpected change of pace for Johnny Daggers, whose filmography include SAMHAIN: NIGHT FEAST, a film about a pagan ritual that brought him to notoriety, along with CAUSTIC ZOMBIES, the follow-up that took a crack at toxic-waste driven zombie horror. He followed that up through a series of events with BLOOD ON THE REEL (Episode #612), which you can learn about in our review. Sure, Johnny Daggers is a heavily-tattooed model, who likes punk music and has made horror films, but we definitely shouldn't stereotype him, because at his core, he's an artist, who has to create, and is frankly getting sick of being pigeonholed.

JOHNNY: "And now finally, like, NOCTAMBULIST is just like the, like... I've always been influenced by early German Expressionist films. CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI, NOSFERATU. That's where I always wanted to go as a filmmaker, but I didn't... I knew that I couldn't make a film like that until I knew what the hell I was doing. Finally came time where everything fell into place with NOCTAMBULIST. It's, in my opinion, beautifully stylized. Is it perfect? No. Like I said, I don't think any indie or anybody should every say their film's perfect, but I tell you what. It's like, this is the film that I wish that I would have made all along, and I wish that nobody would have even heard of me until NOCTAMBULIST came out, because it literally was the ten-year mark, almost. And the ten thousand hours of finally learning what the hell I'm doing and to feel comfortable in being able to make a film successfully and have something that turns out. But then I wouldn't change anything for the world, because everything's a learning tool, and it makes you who you are today. You know, it was tough, being under a magnifying glass as soon as... it's tough to be examined when you still don't even know exactly what you're doing."

NOCTAMBULIST, subtitled A TALE OF REFRACTING SHADOWS, follows the story of Zella's struggle with her husband, initially set within what we can call the real world, a sequence of high-class 1920's parties, cars, and affluence, but seen through a darker lens. Rather than exemplifying the male characters of old noir films, Daggers lets the overtly misogynist spirit of the time leak into his story, especially when Stellan decides to have the doctor medicate her into submission. Once Zella goes under, we're then introduced to a second world, a dream world that delves directly into some truly amazing sequences clearly influenced by German Expressionism. We bounce back and forth between the two worlds, sometimes not sure which world we're actually in or not.

Silent film requires a lot of visual storytelling, outside of the text placards that tend to give us the jist of a much larger conversation, normally. Ironically, Daggers had to use a lot of editing to get the modern, sleek, high-resolution cameras of today to look like films from the time period, but it's a beautiful product when it's done. Especially when combined with the excellent sets, great costuming, and well-chosen music. You might think all of this would be a super-expensive proposition, but fate has a way of following the consummate artist around.

JOHNNY: "When things fall into place, they just really fall in place. And that just happened with NOCTAMBULIST. I mean, not only did I finally know my craft, I felt well enough to make a film like 'Noctambulist'. It's really funny, because I was doing a music video, for a gentlemen a couple of years back. It was right after I moved to Maryland. I usually don't do music videos, but it was a friend of a friend who was in a band, and I said, 'Yeah, I'll sign on. I'll do it. But we needed a makeup artist and a hairstylist.' And, you know, I was new to the area, didn't know anybody."

JOHNNY: "Somehow, I became connected with this wonderful lady by the name of Buffy Roman Fox, who was a hairstylist, and she was going to work on the music video. Once I had written the script for NOCTAMBULIST, I had reached out to Buffy and said, 'You know, I don't know anybody in the area. I'm working on this 1920s German Expressionist film, and I just need to be introduced to people with locations and so forth. She said, 'You know, two of my best friends, Bonnie Shipley Peele and Steve Summerland, their whole entire house is furnished with 1920s antiquities. So let me just reach out to them. You know, see if they'd be interested in helping out.' Because in the independent world, when you don't have the money, it's all about connections and networking. Most people are just happy to help for me just to be a part of a film."

JOHNNY: "So, Buffy reached out to Bonnie and Steve, then we had a meeting together, and they were super enthused about it, and this is prior to me ever going to their home. I remember one day, Buffy and I are driving out, I think maybe it was the first time to meet Bonnie and Steve, or the second time, and I said, 'Boy, you know, I really wish that I had access to like a swamp, or this murky water area with cattails and creepy trees and stuff.' And she's like, 'You're not going to believe this, but Bonnie and Steve also have that in their backyard of their house.' I'm like, really? So, their house is already completely furnished with 1920s antiquities."

JOHNNY: "The way that the movie was written, you know, I needed an early 1920s Model A. Just happened to find a guy. He's like, 'Oh yeah, I have an era-appropriate car. If you need to use it, go ahead.' And it was like, literally, like, everything fell into place. It was like the props, the locations, the cars, and just felt like I was strong enough to tell that story and film it properly. Everything just fell into place. I don't know how else to explain it other than it was serendipitous. It was like everything was meant to be with that film."

JOHNNY: "And so after I was introduced to Bonnie and Steve, that had the 1920s antiquities, and had the bog and all that stuff, I was like, 'Boy, you know what, like, I literally just canned two actresses for the lead.' And they were like, 'You know, our daughter would be perfect. She used to be an actress on "Dawson's Creek", back in the day.'"

I'm not one who believes in miracles or fate. I often think we invent the stories of our successes after we accomplish them. But I also think, as one good friend once said, that the cosmos sometimes winks at us in bizarre ways. It's hard not to think there's something bigger going on. However, I tend to trust Seneca's maxim that "luck is when preparation meets opportunity", and NOCTAMBULIST is what happens when Johnny's consistent, if sometimes difficult commitment to the craft meets a series of opportunities. NOCTAMBULIST could easily have been much worse, but instead we get a genuine film, in a new or perhaps rediscovered genre, that still manages to tread new ground. It's an intimidating proposition for any filmmaker, especially one as self-critical as Johnny.

JOHNNY: "It's kind of, I'm kind of intimidated. Not, I'm again, not saying, I would never say that anything I do is the greatest film in the world, but as far as what I've done, it's definitely the best thing that I've ever done, and I hope that I can live up to it. I don't want it to be like a one-off for me, so to speak, like, I don't want that to be, like, that's the only film I ever got right, and it was just a fluke or something."

JOHNNY: "With my next film, which I'm keeping very low-key. I'm not mentioning anything about it. Just because the script is so original, that I'm afraid that somebody might run with that idea and film it before I do. So, all that I will divulge about the film is that it's going to be in color, shot in 4K, high-def. It's going to have audio and not anything you would expect from a Johnny Daggers film. But the underlying story, if you just take a look at the story, has a very strong noir presence."

Thankfully, Johnny's going to continue making movies, and I can't wait to see where his expanding filmography takes him next.

NOCTAMBULIST is a unique film, melding noir and horror films together into a taut psychological thriller that pays homage to German Expressionism in the best ways. It has some rough parts, and may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it is a high quality, well-made film that takes risks where so many others dare not. Silent film fans, or noir fans, or German Expressionist fans owe it to themselves to check out this film. And anyone looking for something different from most of what's available today.

Rotten Tomatoes: NR

Metacritic: NR

One Movie Punch: 7.6/10

NOCTAMBULIST (2019) is not rated and is currently playing on Amazon Prime.

Hi everyone!

Welcome back for another Takeover Tuesday! We're welcoming back the BiCurean podcast to the show for their review of last year's FROZEN II, which received two Golden Globe nominations, and an untold number of Oscar nominations at the time of recording. Aicila and Erik have been two of our biggest supporters here at One Movie Punch, including their guest review during last year's Reign of Terror 2019 for IT FOLLOWS (Episode #608), where they also helped me out of one tight spot and into another. Their promo will run before the review.

Do you think you have what it takes to guest on One Movie Punch? Head over to onemoviepunch.com/takeover-tuesday and learn more about how you can guest here at One Movie Punch. We still have seven (7) slots available for aspiring and established film critics to take the reins for an episode. We'll run your promo before the review and will place it in regular rotation for the quarter. If it sounds like something interesting to you, reach out to us over social media.

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Here we go!

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AICILA: "Today's movie is FROZEN II (2019). This animated film is directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, and was written for the screen by Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, and Robert Lopez. FROZEN II starts with the city of Arendelle, at risk from unknown forces that cause the citizens to flee. Anna, Kristof, and Elsa must discover why in order to save their home and their people."

ERIK: "It's a fantastic journey into a whole lot of new cultural stuff from the original. I found it to be very, very well done, in that following the original, it doesn't have the standard tropes of a lot of Disney princess movies."

AICILA: "Yeah, that's one of the things that made me really excited to see FROZEN II, was the ways in which when I went to see the original film, I was kind of taken aback by the way that Disney almost made fun of themselves for some of their tropes around princesses and love and relationships. And, like you said, FROZEN II really carries that forward. And shows something I think that's a lot more mature."

ERIK: "Yeah, absolutely. And as with most Disney movies, it's perfectly safe. It's a good story. It's not going to wow you. There's no twists. But it's presented well and it's enjoyable to watch."

AICILA: "Well, and it's interesting cause I know that I definitely had more of a feeling of there being some feeling of a twist. I admit not a dramatic one. And yet much like in the first FROZEN movie, I really loved the way that they talk about love between family and friends as being equally valid. I feel like a lot of the older tropes are very much about like there's one kind of love that matters, which is sort of romantic love. And they certainly challenge that in the first movie. And then in this movie, I feel like they continued that, and they also brought in some questions about. And I loved the way Olaf is also maturing and yet is still kind of an innocent character."

ERIK: "Yeah, they did show a lot of growth in all of the characters from the first movie and not in unpredictable ways. It did feel like it was a continuation of the themes from the first film."

AICILA: "And then a sort of a meta comment is that there were some controversies around the first film in terms of the ways in which the Icelandic Tribes had been represented. And the director and the producers actually made an agreement with those tribes to make sure that the representation was more true to their experience."

ERIK: "Yeah, I thought they were Laplander tribes, but either way, they were northern Scandinavian tribes. And then yes, they did incorporate them and, in this movie as opposed to the first one, actually had them on staff for basically to give them pointers on what was more true in how to represent them."

AICILA: "And I feel like there was a richness to those interactions that I really appreciated. So, I'm glad they did that and actually, it was refreshing to me in some ways that it was a European tribe that was kind of stepping forward to say, 'Hey, we exist.' Cause we often hear about if from it from other countries. And we've learned to accept and understand how to support indigenous people."

ERIK: "Yeah."

AICILA: "But it was kind of nice to have a European group stepping forward as well, to say hey they're everywhere. Let's be more aware and more thoughtful.

ERIK: "Yeah. Absolutely.

AICILA: "So I loved that."

AICILA: "So we're not going to do any spoilers because this movie was released in the last 3 years and that's the rule."

ERIK: "Yes."

AICILA: "So there's things I really want to talk about that I'm not going to talk about."

ERIK: "But we would suggest that you definitely go and see it, if you've seen the first one, if you enjoyed it at all, you'll definitely enjoy the second one. And it's an interesting exploration. So without giving away any spoilers, it's definitely worth seeing."

AICILA: "Agreed."

Rotten Tomatoes: 78% (CERTIFIED FRESH)

Metacritic: 76

One Movie Punch: 8.0/10

Once again, that's FROZEN II (2019), unlikely by the time this airs, but likely to be available for rent.

Hi everyone!

We're continuing our Golden Globes coverage this week with today's review of WHERE'D YOU GO, BERNADETTE? After this month is over, we will have reviewed 30 out of 34 films nominated, including all the winners. We'll pick up the other four at some point this year, once they've hit streaming services. Also, the Oscar nominees will be announced today, so expect a flood of congratulations posts to hit social media for the films we've reviewed, and some early February catchup reviews for those we haven't.

That's why we're excited to have Ryan L. Terry back on the podcast, with his thoughts on a personal favorite of his, WHERE'D YOU GO, BERNADETTE? He was gracious enough last week to review JUDY (Episode #677), which won Renée Zellweger a Best Actress in a Drama award. Be sure to check out his previous reviews for THE GOOD LIAR (Episode #662) and I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER (Episode #614). His promo will run before the review.

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Today's movie is WHERE'D YOU GO, BERNADETTE?, directed by Richard Linklater, written by Linklater and Holly Gent, based on the book by the same name, starring Cate Blanchett, Billy Crudup, and Kristen Wiig. Former architect Bernadette Fox (Cate Blanchett) seems to have it all — a beautiful home in Seattle, a successful and loving husband, and a brilliant teenage daughter who's about to attend boarding school. When Bernadette suddenly disappears without a trace, her concerned family sets off on an exciting adventure to solve the mystery of where she might have gone.

If you loved Blanchett in her award-winning role in BLUE JASMINE, then you will love her in Richard Linklater's WHERE'D YOU GO, BERNADETTE? Once again, Blanchett takes on the demanding role of someone struggling with an inner turmoil brought on by losing one's identity. By no means is Bernadette the same character as Jasmine, but there are many similarities; however, these similarities are expressed in vastly different ways, which makes the story relatable and thought-provoking.

If you're searching for a human movie, then you have found the right one. The experience of watching this movie sticks with you long after the credits role. This is a film that I feel creative and academic persons will connect with, because often the most creative or intelligent people can experience bouts of identity crisis, mania, and depression when he or she is not in the process of creating something for the world to see. Whether that world is as small as your hometown, your network on social media, or the global stage, there is a catharsis that is experienced when crafting something new. Take away that creative outlet and you may as well remove an arm or leg. Furthermore, destroy that which one has poured his or her soul into, then you metaphorically kill that creative person. The creation is an extension of the soul of the creator. I imagine that my fellow creatives and academics will also be able to identify with Bernadette much in the same manner as did I. Linklater's film is an existential exploration of the creative genius when the very foundation of that genius is rocked off its foundation. There are many metaphorical visualizations of this concept in the film, including the catalyst that launches Bernadette into her acute downward spiral–the removal of that which was holding everything together.

While most of the characters are mostly flat, the character of Bernadette is complex, vulnerable, and quite human. Despite being an architectural genius of on the level of Frank Lloyd Wright – something that most of us cannot identify with – we identify with her because of the struggle to manage personal and professional life when we've lost our way. The title WHERE'D YOU GO, BERNADETTE? works in two ways: (1) during the second and third acts of the movie, Bernadette's family is literally searching for her, and (2) after learning the news that her masterpiece house was bought simply to be destroyed, she ceased to be herself and became a new, even more eccentric and reclusive person.

Essentially, she took on a new identity, which posits the question, "Where did she go?" The movie is a journey for Bernadette to find herself, and of course for her family to find her. Further evidence of the successful visualization of internal conflict is when Bernadette removes the blackberry bushes in full knowledge that they will make way for a landslide, even though her neighbor wants the bushes gone. Just as the blackberry bushes were the only thing keeping the hillside together, the 20-Mile House was the primary component that kept Bernadette together. When it was destroyed, so was she.

Where this movie fails is in the adaptation from novel to screen. And I am not talking about commitment to details and such. Novels are internally driven whereas movies are visually driven. Sometimes there are novels that explore inner turmoil to such a degree that it makes visualizing it for the screen difficult to achieve. Without having read the novel, I cannot comment fully on why most of the characters are flat and the much of the dialogue is vapid, but my educated guess is that the novel explores the psychology of each character to a greater extent than a movie allows for. Where this movie excels is the performance delivered by Blanchett. Whether quiet or a raving lunatic, she maintains a powerful screen presence that draws the audience in to the heart of the story. There is an unapologetic authenticity in Blanchett's performance that feels fresh and powerful. It's a command performance that should not be overlooked. Through her character of Bernadette, we witness just how complex depression, mania, and anxiety are. And not just how complex they are for the individual burdened with them, but for those around the individual.

I'm not naive to the movie's shortcomings, but there is so much that I find was delivered with excellence that it helps to make up for the mostly weak screenwriting. I believe that the character of Bernadette offers us a fascinating character to explore as she offers great opportunities for relatability. Perhaps we aren't genius architects, but many of us know what it's like to see our creations destroyed or being prohibited by internal or external forces from creating. Perhaps the story execution lacked the precision that this plot truly required to be exemplary, but there is a strong message therein coupled with Blanchett's excellent performance that makes WHERE'D YOU GO, BERNADETTE? a thought-provoking movie to watch.

Rotten Tomatoes: 48%

Metacritic: 51

IMDb: 6.5

One Movie Punch: 7.0/10

WHERE'D YOU GO, BERNADETTE? (2019) is rated PG-13 and is currently playing on VOD.

Hi everyone!

Welcome back for another week of reviews, and it's going to be an exciting week here at One Movie Punch. This week we'll continue our Golden Globes nominee and winner coverage, with four additional reviews. Ryan L. Terry will be back tomorrow with his review of WHERE'D YOU GO, BERNADETTE? BiCurean returns for Takeover Tuesday with their review of FROZEN II. And I'll be picking up THE TWO POPES this coming Saturday, along with today's review for surprise winner, MISSING LINK. We'll also have a review for Johnny Daggers' NOCTAMBULIST from last year for Indie Wednesday, another Fantastic Fest review from Andrew Campbell on Friday, and the exciting premiere of Christina Eldridge, aka Durara Reviews, with her review of WEATHERING WITH YOU from GKIDS. A super-exciting week on the main feed.

Over on Patreon today, we've posted our full interview with filmmaker Robbie Walsh. You can catch last week's review of his microbudget feature EDEN (Episode #679), then head over to patreon.com/onemoviepunch where the full interview will be publicly available for a limited time. You can also sign up to become a sponsor at any level, which will maintain access to all our exclusive content when it disappears behind the paywall. You'll also be eligible for Sponsor Sundays, where you get to force me to review a film of your choice, as long as we haven't reviewed it, with just a few exceptions. More information will be available in the promo before today's review.

Subscribe to stay current with the latest releases.

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Here we go!

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Today's movie is MISSING LINK, the Laika Entertainment animated adventure written and directed by Chris Butler. At the turn of the 19thcentury, Mr. Link (Zach Galifianakis), the last of the Sasquatch in the Western United States, recruits aspiring explorer Sir Lionel Frost (Hugh Jackman) to transport him to Shangri-La, the mythical home of the Yeti in the Himalayas. They are joined by Adelina Fortnight (Zoe Saldana), who has the map, but also pursued by rivals intent on making sure they fail in their quest.

No spoilers.

As one might imagine from someone who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s, I was a huge fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000, or MST3K. I wasn't able to watch it regularly, a combination of early bedtimes and intermittent access on our local television channels, but every episode was pure magic. The recent reboot with Jonah Ray has been equally enjoyable, although it's been tough to get through the immense number of episodes they've released. However, one of my favorites from Season 11 – The Return was for an absolutely bonkers, but sasquatch-laden environmental film called CRY WILDERNESS. And Jonah cracks a joke when they show a picture of a missing link character, labeling him Australopithecus Galifianakis. So, I guess MISSING LINK was an inevitable pairing.

I'm not actually sure how I missed seeing this film in the theaters. As you might guess, and can verify in my review for last year's THE MAN WHO KILLED HITLER AND THEN THE BIGFOOT (Episode #533), I'm a huge fan of cryptozoology, and for Bigfoot in particular. Mr. Link is voiced by Zach Galifianakis, one of my favorite comedians. It is produced by Laika and is an epic adventure set at the turn of last century, written by Chris Butler, the genius behind PARANORMAN and the story for KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS, one of my favorite films from 2016. Pretty much everything I could ever want from a film, and I missed it. Along with everyone else, apparently, because MISSING LINK bombed at the box office, but did end up taking Best Animated Feature at this year's Golden Globes, shocking pretty much everyone but those who saw the film.

Laika is one of my favorite animation houses, specializing in a combination of stop motion and CGI, starting with their breakout cult favorite, CORPSE BRIDE with Tim Burton, then following up with 2009's CORALINE, based on Neil Gaiman's story. In fact, Laika's filmography is a triumph of placing story first in such a way so that the delicate and detailed animation never has to compensate. The story for MISSING LINK is above average, melding together a bunch of awesome and intriguing ideas and characters, playing very well with emotional content and a genuine sense of comradery among the adventurers. I also love the larger lore suggested about the sasquatch/yeti/missing link that gets developed.

The real star is the animation, which is top notch, especially the amazing series of long-takes that will leave you questioning whether it is still being captured frame by frame. Stop-motion animation doesn't get nearly the credit it deserves, an art form that takes patience and precision. Every film usually includes some behind-the-scenes footage during the credits to show just how intricate the process can be. In particular, everyone should be astounded by the adventurers riding through the Indian jungle on an elephant, as I was equally astounded by some of the incredible sequences in KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS. Everything has a sense of plasticity, despite being a stop-motion picture at its core. Could this film have the same impact being 100% CGI? Perhaps, but Laika's animation and process is hardly a gimmick, specifically because of their commitment to story.

The voice work is pretty good, with Hugh Jackman, Zach Galifianakis, and Zoe Saldana handling the lion's share. Galifianakis takes the gold with a nice melding of his natural expressiveness, combined well with the character's animation, as well as the general demeanor of the character. Jackman and Saldana struggle with two relatively shallow characters, who have predictable story arcs. The rest of the cast is a combination of characters and caricatures, which may delight or anger depending on the viewer.

In fact, I really wish MISSING LINK had the same courage as KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS to really deal with complex emotions and feelings, particularly about identity and place in society. We learn pretty quickly that MISSING LINK is a journey story, both externally towards Shangri-La, and internally for each character. Whereas KUBO had a depth to the lead characters, particularly the title character, MISSING LINK feels like it's... well, missing something in most of its characters, perhaps confusing detailed characters with complex characters. I like the whole film. I even love some parts of it. In a particularly weak year for animation, MISSING LINK only barely stands out, but is still quite worth a viewing.

MISSING LINK is a fun animated adventure from Chris Butler and Laika Entertainment. Using an incredible stop-motion process, viewers are treated to a fun journey set during the turn of last century, with a relatively safe and predictable story along the way. Despite its box office troubles, everyone who enjoys animation should absolutely check out today's film.

Rotten Tomatoes: 89% (CERTIFIED FRESH)

Metacritic: 68

One Movie Punch: 8.0/10

MISSING LINK (2019) is rated PG and is currently playing on Hulu.

Hi everyone!

We're closing out the week with a doozy. Anyone who likes the Safdie Brothers knows that they can tell a hell of a story, set on the unforgiving streets of New York. In 2017, I took in their last two features, which include HEAVEN KNOWS WHAT, a heartbreaking, gutter noir look at addiction, and GOOD TIME, a pulse-pounding quest around the city starring Robert Pattinson. It was also their first collaboration with Oneohtrix Point Never, aka Daniel Lopatin, one of my favorite musicians. So, I was stupid excited to see today's film, as long as my heart could take it.

Before the review, we'll have a promo from our good friends at the Comics in Motion podcast. Every week, Dave and Chris look at a film which made its way from the comic book page to the silver screen, and sometimes even back again. They look at the lore, the rendition, and everything related, delivering a fun look at each film. You can find them on Twitter and Instagram @comicsinmotionp and on Facebook @ComicsInMotionPodcast. They were some of our biggest supporters last year, and we can't thank them enough!

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Here we go!

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Today's movie is UNCUT GEMS, the crime thriller directed by Benny and Josh Safdie, and written for the screen in collaboration with Ronald Bronstein. The film follows Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler), a jeweler in New York's diamond market, who has run out of time to payback loan shark Arno (Eric Bogosian). While waiting for the payoff of a lifetime for a rare opal snuck into the country, Howard begins making a series of high stakes bets around town looking for the biggest score of his life.

No spoilers.

However, I am going to issue a content warning for gambling addicts out there. Gambling addicts may get very uncomfortable watching this film, mostly for its incredible portrayal of the rush. If you have a gambling addiction, please seek professional help.

The Safdie Brothers like to deal with flawed characters, specifically those who live in and around New York City. Each character might be flawed in different and unique ways, but one flaw they all share in common is that they end up being the cause for their own downfall. It's clear to everyone else on screen and clear to the viewers in the seats, but never to the main characters portrayed by the Safdies.

Howard Ratner has this same flaw, a fact we could easily surmise from the trailer, but a point that is driven home when Howard is introduced, having just left one important appointment for another at his jewelry shop. Over the course of the next few scenes, we learn two very important points. First, Howard has an incredibly bad gambling problem, which is untampered despite owing a great deal of money to a loan shark. And second, this is Adam Sandler like you've never seen him before.

The real genius of UNCUT GEMS is Sandler's casting. The Safdie Brothers have managed to craft a character that fits Sandler in a way that doesn't make it feel like an Adam Sandler film. And you know what I mean by an Adam Sandler film – that particular brand of attention-seeking late-night comedy which made him famous on Saturday Night Live, made him successful in the transition to the silver screen, and exactly what is expected when producers engage Happy Madison Productions. Everyone either loves or hates these films, but that's not what we have here today.

By contrast to the typical Adam Sandler film, Howard Ratner is the Star Trek mirror universe version of Adam Sandler, right down to the goatee. He even has a much darker profession that still employs his particular set of skills: grabbing and maintaining attention. By the end of Howard's opening scenes, we're ready for a very tense journey, one not unlike Voltaire's Candide, as Ratner's sheltered and privileged life is catching up with him. Also much like Candide, Howard is constantly rationalizing and re-rationalizing his actions, based on real and perceived score and riches, in a perfect depiction of the gambling addict trapped into the gambler's fallacy.

Around Howard is a mixture of real-life and fictional characters. Kevin Garnett and The Weeknd play fictionalized versions of themselves, the former focused on acquiring the opal from Ratner, the latter being worked over for a few sales by Howard's assistant/mistress Julia (Julia Fox). Julia Fox's debut role is incredible, a role written for her by the Safdie Brothers as the film was being written and re-written over the last decade or so. LaKeith Stanfield is also great as Demany, who works as a jewelry consultant to bring in the big name clients to Howard, looking for a break into the jeweler's world. Idina Menzel plays Howard's wife, ready for a divorce, and the only one concerned about their children by all measures. There's even a host of fun cameos for Ca$h Out, Pom Klementieff, Trinidad James, Tilda Swinton, Natasha Lyonne, and Josh Ostrovsky. Howard leaves a huge, disastrous wake throughout the film, especially as the stakes climb even higher.

And it's a hell of a ride. The Safdie Brothers are the masters at maintaining tension, using a combination of long take scenes that maintain the tension, along with microphone dropping scenes that communicate a lot of information very quickly. Much like HEAVEN KNOWS WHAT and GOOD TIME, the subject matter contains a lot of explicit material, often without much warning, but always for great and useful effect. Incredible visuals are included that play with the refracted light within the gems, all driven by Daniel Lopatin's excellent electronic score. It is a top notch film, with only a few moments throughout where the film felt fatigued, which matched up with Howard's character, but not with the overall pacing. A very small complaint.

My last thought is that I sincerely hope this film begins to help redefine what is meant by an Adam Sandler film. I think we got a glimpse of what might be possible in 2017's THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES (NEW AND SELECTED), where Noah Baumbach was able to leverage Sandler's strengths in a more dramatic fashion. He's not the only independent film to take a crack at a dramatic Sandler, either. I actually wonder how many more films like this might have been possible if Paul Thomas Anderson's PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE (2002) starring Adam Sandler had turned out better. Based on his performance and framing in UNCUT GEMS, I have a feeling more filmmakers will be willing to take a shot.

UNCUT GEMS is a pulse-pounding, stress-inducing look at high stakes gambling addiction, New York's diamond market, and the lies we tell ourselves about the future to justify our present. Adam Sandler is incredible as Howard Ratner, proving he has the range outside of popular expectations, and hopefully the first of many more dramatic roles. Fans of the Safdie Brothers will definitely check out this film. Adam Sandler fans should be ready for a much darker role, dealing with mature subject material, but will definitely appreciate his work regardless. Definitely recommended for all New York street-level crime fans!

Rotten Tomatoes: 93% (CERTIFIED FRESH)

Metacritic: 89 (MUST SEE)

One Movie Punch: 9.5/10

UNCUT GEMS (2019) is rated R and is currently playing in theaters.

Hi everyone!

It's Friday, so it's time for another Fantastic Fest feature from Andrew Campbell. He'll be covering a personal favorite of his from last year today, another excellent feature from A24, but criminally overlooked this year. For a few other recent reviews from Andrew, check out SWEETHEART (Episode #670), IN FABRIC (Episode #674), and 1917 (Episode #675).

Before the review, we'll have a promo from our friends at the Pop Pour Review podcast! Every week, the PPR crew review a film, then craft a cocktail based on the movie. I don't drink myself, but I know a few people that do, and every recipe fits in surprising ways. You can find them on Twitter and Instagram @poppourreview, or by searching for Pop! Pour! Review Podcast on Facebook. Thanks for all your support last year!

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Hello film fans!

Andrew here. Back this week with one of my absolute favorite films from last year's Fantastic Fest. I have been itching to cover this one since I first strolled out of the theater. With my favorite indie distributor A24 attached, a ridiculous title and a darkly comedic gem of a story, I figured the film would drop in early 2020 and rake in a few million bucks. Instead, it was released just a few days after the festival and went on to pull in just north of 25-grand in a week-long run at just thirty theaters before being shelved. So there goes my career in film distribution. I have been waiting around ever since for it to hit a streaming service, but now that Amazon Video is letting you own it digitally for just five bucks, I knew it was time to spread the gospel.

Today's movie is THE DEATH OF DICK LONG, written by Billy Chew and directed by Daniel Scheinert. After a raucous rural Alabama night of band practice, copious amounts of weed and alcohol, and some ill-advised fireworks horseplay (most of which takes place during the opening credits), Dick's buddies Zeke & Earl (played by Michael Abbott Jr. and the hilarious Andre Hyland) drop off a grievously injured and passed-out Dick in an ER driveway and hightail it out of there. You're never gonna believe it, but Dick doesn't survive the night. The next morning, Zeke is jolted back into his normal life with his doting wife Lydia (Virginia Newcomb) and elementary-aged daughter, while dim-witted yet cocky Earl has a few less obligations. Pretending they weren't aware of Dick's demise proves much harder than anticipated as both Lydia and the sleepy local police force begin to grow suspicious.

The ensemble cast of DICK LONG is picture perfect. Even if you took out the wild mystery at the core of this film and made a straight-up relationship drama or off-beat comedy, these characters would make that film worth watching. Andre Hyland as Earl is the main standout, delivering and sometimes stumbling over his lines in such a natural way that it feels like he's either improvising or rewrote his lines in his own voice. He's an arrogant screw-up and the poster child for arrested development but remains the perfect wingman for Zeke in the lead role. Zeke continues to get by on his boyish charm even as he heads towards 40, which seems to still be working on his wife Lydia. Virginia Newcomb imbues Lydia with devastating emotion when her love for Zeke is challenged by the inevitable truth behind Dick's passing.

Roy Wood Jr. adds a little comic relief to what's mainly a dark comedy as Dr. Richter. Meanwhile, Janelle Cochrane and Sarah Baker pull off a keystone cop routine as the town sheriff and rookie officer in way over their heads. All of the actors are fully committed to the peculiar script, with characters making jokes that often belie the gravity of certain situations. Yet it always works, whether it's the three primary characters or a half-dozen others that slip in and out of the story.

Now's a good time to mention that there's a pretty big reveal at one point in the movie that you'll want to avoid. Shouldn't be too hard since no one's talking about this flick. It's not exactly an M. Night Shyamalan spoiler-ific twist, but it's pretty big. Big enough that when folks do start talking about this film (maybe Netflix will pick it up) it will quickly become known as the movie about [CENSORED] and that will either keep a bunch of people away from the movie or entice a whole bunch more to watch it.

As director Daniel Scheinert says in his very brief role as the titular Dick Long: "Hey. Y'all m*********ers wanna get weird?" Trust me, the answer is a resounding yes.

What makes THE DEATH OF DICK LONG fantastic? Like most of my favorite films, DICK LONG straddles genres. It manages to be funny without letting its characters in on the joke and never putting them down. There are some gut-wrenching emotional moments when the perspective shifts behind Zeke's eyes and Lydia speaks directly into the camera. And the core of the film is a taut thriller that takes itself completely seriously even as it ascends into the realm of the absurd. DICK LONG is many things and yet somehow more than the sum of its parts.

THE DEATH OF DICK LONG is an expertly-crafted feat of tension that delivers black comedy and a darker twist. Fans of white-knuckle crime thrillers like A SIMPLE PLAN and FARGO will love DICK LONG.

Rotten Tomatoes: 75% (CERTIFIED FRESH)

Metacritic: 69 (of course it does)

One Movie Punch: 8.8/10

THE DEATH OF DICK LONG (2019) is rated R and is available on VOD. Be sure to follow One Movie Punch on Twitter and we'll remind you when DICK LONG hits a streaming service.

I'll be back next Friday for STARFISH, a psychological sci-fi thriller about a snowbound woman facing what could be the end of the world. If you're a fan of high-concept, low-budget sci-fi, you'll want to hear about this one.

See you then.

Hi everyone!

Today's the return of Keith Lyons to the podcast, aka Philly Film Fan, who will continue covering films from the Philadelphia Film Festival here at One Movie Punch. And it just so happens that today's film not only played at the festival, but was also nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language film. He also covered another Golden Globe nominee recently, ATLANTICS (Episode #669), which you'll definitely want to check out. For a couple other reviews from Keith, check out I LOST MY BODY (Episode #646) and his guest review during Reign of Terror 2019 for SON OF FRANKENSTEIN (Episode #622), where he also gave some ghostly assistance to yours truly.

Before the review, we'll have a promo from the Top 5 from Fighting podcast. Every episode, Greg and Mike discuss a wide range of topics, and when they disagree, you know they're gonna fight about it! Always fun, but always contentious, you don't want to miss a single episode. You can find them on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @Top5forFighting. They have been some of our biggest supporters from last year. Shout out to their Marketing Angel. You know who you are!

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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 LES MISÉRABLES, the French crime film directed by Ladj Ly and written by Giordano Gederlini, Alexis Manenti, and the director. I was able to catch this at the Philadelphia Film Festival, but it also played Cannes where it shared the Jury Prize with "Bacurau" (another film I saw at PFF). So far, it's been nominated for a Golden Globe in the Foreign Language category and made the Oscar shortlist for Best International Feature, so more awards could be in its future.

No spoilers.

Okay, the first thing that you need to know about LES MISÉRABLES is that it is NOT based on the novel by Victor Hugo and it is definitely not a musical. However, the title is an obvious allusion to the famous literary work about the corrosive effects of poverty on society. Hugo's novel tells the story of a failed revolution in 19th century Paris but Ladj Ly's film takes its inspiration from the 2005 French riots. Although the film is fictional, it draws its plot from the actual events leading up to the riots: Police, responding to reports of a break-in, came upon a group of black kids who, seeing the police, scatter. Three of these kids took refuge in an electricity substation where two of them were electrocuted, causing a blackout. This incident ignited the already high tensions between the community and the police, sparking the riots. That's the TL;DR version of what happened but obviously it's a complicated situation that's outside the scope of this movie review.

LES MISÉRABLES follows Ruiz, played by Damien Bonnard, as he joins the elite Anti-Crime Brigade. Ruiz is teamed up with Chris, a white officer played by Alexis Manenti (also one of the screenwriters), and Gwada, a black officer played by Djibril Zonga. Ruiz isn't exactly new to being a police officer but he does seem a bit naive about the realities of policing a neighborhood primarily inhabited by African migrants and their descendents. Ruiz has a moral compass and a belief in the fair application of the law. But his principles are immediately called into question as he sees how Chris and Gwada do things. They are jaded veterans and think of the Anti-Crime Brigade more like an army occupying an enemy nation than an institution devoted to upholding law and civil liberties. This might be set in France but any American will recognize the conflict between a black community and the police force assigned to maintain order.

Ruiz and the Anti-Crime Brigade are on the hunt for Issa, a black kid played by Issa Perica, who is suspected of committing a rather unusual crime, which I will not spoil. Issa, who is only a child, finds himself desperate and on the run seeking protection from the two pillars of his community. But his situation is complicated by the fact that these pillars are trying to pull the community in opposite directions. The first is Salah, played by Almamy Kanouté, the owner of a kebab shop and a Muslim leader. Salah sees the destructive role that the Anti-Crime Brigade plays in his community and sees protecting Issa as his responsibility. But the other power player is a local gang leader known as "The Mayor", played by Steve Tientcheu, who has his own reasons for keeping the police at bay. This is a dangerous political situation and Issa finds himself trapped between these powerful forces.

LES MISÉRABLES is a gritty crime thriller that unfolds with heart-pounding suspense. Yet, at the same time, it manages to tell the story of a corrupt police force patrolling a neighborhood plagued by poverty and racism. It's a highly political drama about inequality that's also a fast-paced action film. It's a must-see!

Rotten Tomatoes: 84%

Metacritic: 75

One Movie Punch: 9.0/10

LES MISÉRABLES (2019) is rated R and is currently playing in selecttheaters. But it's being distributed by Amazon, so I expect that Prime members will be able to stream it soon.

This jawn was brought to you by Philly Film Fan. For more movie reviews, follow me on Twitter @PhillyFilmFan where I'm participating in the #366Movies challenge (it's going to be a big year). That's P-H-I-L-L-Y-F-I-L-M-F-A-N. Thanks for listening.

Hi everyone!

One of the commitments for One Movie Punch in Year Three is to feature more microbudget and independent features. We've started to receive screeners from a variety of small independent distributors, featuring a wide variety of films. Every Wednesday, we hope to feature an independent and/or microbudget feature, with up to two interviews per month with the filmmakers when schedules allow.

Today's review will cover Irish filmmaker Robbie Walsh's EDEN, a microbudget drama looking at homelessness in Dublin after a recent economic crash. And it doesn't get more microbudget than this film, made for just around 600 Euro in 2012, although not completed until 2016. I was lucky enough to sit down and speak with Robbie about the film, along with his film career and his brief MMA career. The full interview will be available at our Patreon page this Sunday, but you'll hear snippets of the interview throughout today's review. We'll also be playing the full trailer audio for EDEN beforehand.

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Today's movie is EDEN, the Irish microbudget drama written and directed by Robbie Walsh. Set against the dire homelessness crisis in Dublin, Ireland, EDEN follows a day in the life of Adam (Johnny Elliott), a homeless man living his life to the best of his ability. Throughout the day, he encounters a variety of Dubliners, struggling with their own problems, and a few willing to help him with his.

No spoilers.

I always get a little nervous when filmmakers tackle homelessness. I think the first film I saw that tackled homelessness was John Hughes' last film, 1991's CURLY SUE, where Bill Dancer (Jim Belushi) and his companion Curly Sue (Alisan Porter) pull scams to make enough to eat and conning a divorce lawyer into a heartwarming conclusion. The second instance was seeing another Hughes screenplay, 1991's DUTCH, when Dutch (Ed O'Neill) must transport his girlfriend's son Doyle (a very young Ethan Embry), and after losing their car, spend a night in a homeless shelter. The overall messaging in both films was positive, but making a comedy out of child homelessness and including a scene of a rich kid slumming it in a shelter cannot help but feel privileged. The same privilege sparked a more complex debate over 2014's TIME OUT OF MIND, where Richard Gere played a homeless man on the streets of New York, including some method preparation by hanging out on the street. While this kind of effort also feels privileged, because Gere knows at any time he can just catch a cab home, it was also for a drama, which at least gets us moving in the right direction.

I've seen a new wave of films about homelessness that have gotten better at capturing the real plight, at least in the United States. 2016's CARDBOARD BOXER saw Thomas Haden Church play a homeless man exploited by rich kids to participate in the atrocious phenomenon known as bum fights. It is a very difficult watch, and has its rough moments, but tackles way more than the tantalizing subject matter. 2018's LEAVE NO TRACE saw the return of Debra Granik, the genius behind WINTER'S BONE, adapting a book based on the rumored lives of a father/daughter pair living completely off the grid in Oregon. The film not only showed a different side to homelessness, with a special focus on PTSD, but also the very real strains on families living off the grid. And now, as I've recently seen in Robbie Walsh's EDEN, the situation isn't just limited to the United States.

ROBBIE: "The inspiration itself came from a few different areas. At the time, I had recently just left the military and found myself in between jobs and in between homes, essentially. And at the time, I was lucky in that I still had a lot of my military equipment, like sleeping bags and what not, and I had my car, so I had a couple of weeks, and I was too embarrassed to tell my family I didn't have a job at the time, and eventually I did and I had to come back home, which was a huge thing you find with Irish people, especially if they travel overseas. And as we were making the film, our lead actor, Johnny Elliott, fantastic actor, as we were filming, he was literally the same thing, he was between homes and a couple of the actors who would guest, small roles, and a couple of two and unders, two lines and under, you know, one of the guys was my housemate, and he moved into the house with my producer, who we were all living together. We found out he was living in a doorway in the city center in town, in Dublin, and we were like, 'Dude, what are you doing?' And he was a dear friend of my friend Philip's, and he said, 'Yo, come on, come live in the house with us.' We helped get him back on his feet. Our cameraman was in between homes. He'd just been told his rent would be going up in his apartment, and he couldn't afford it, and he was trying to find somewhere else to live. Very, very rampant. One of the girls who was living with us was struggling to pay rent to the point where she didn't have a tv or anything. There was an actress, one of the finest actresses in the country, you know, and nothing. She could barely feed her kids, like, you know? We didn't know this until we were filming, and as we were filming, they were telling, sharing the stories, and telling the stories, you know? And I was just like, 'This is going to get worse before it gets better'."

If anyone is going to talk about homelessness in cinema, it should be those folks who have actually experienced homelessness. I've been lucky enough to have always had a roof over my head, but I've known a few people who've spent some time without a home, and the experience affects each person in similar and unique ways. EDEN's cast and crew all have experienced some form of homelessness, and the authenticity shows in the storytelling and in the character's portrayals. The hardest part about portraying the homeless is to not fall back on stereotypes, even if sometimes homelessness expresses itself in similar ways.

ROBBIE: "and that's where I tried to do as much as possible was to show slow descent into Adam's situation with each interaction, and each person will reflect a stage of life where Adam has probably found himself, and he's chosen to go left or right. Literally through no fault of his own, it's just because work dried up and he couldn't afford to pay the rent."

Every character along Adam's journey feels authentic, and each serves a unique purpose. Sarah Carroll plays Claire, a mother turning to sex work to make ends meet. Kelly Blaise plays a woman jumping to conclusions about Adam. Robbie Walsh himself gets in front of the camera as a taxi driver who had previously been homeless. And in Robbie's favorite scene, Kevin O'Brien plays someone who just lost their job.

ROBBIE: "My favorite scene is the one where he sits on the park bench, and the guy sits beside him. At times, because of how Kev O'Brien plays this spoiled guy, he gets sympathy, you feel sympathy one second, then he's a sleazebag the next. And the next minute, I can see where people have done that. And then you're like, 'You know what, do you deserve it or don't you?'"

One of my favorite parts of speaking with the filmmakers for these special review episodes is that I get a chance to learn more about the process of how the film was made. I think films should be judged similar to how diving is judged at the Olympics; difficulty definitely plays into overall rating. I'm particularly interested in the constraints independent filmmakers are working under, and in the case of EDEN, just how much can be done with very little.

ROBBIE: "I filmed it in four days, because I didn't have the money, I had like 600 Euro, which works out at the time about $800, you know. When we finished filming after three days, my editor came to me, he's like, 'Robbie, you know, we need a bit more footage. We need another scene or otherwise we don't get the feature.' I was like, 'You know what, I have this great scene wrote for something else, but I think it might work. Let me see if these two guys are available.' And they were. We went down and shot the last day with just the two of them and a skeleton crew. I say a skeleton crew, it was my crew, my entire crew of four. And we got this wonderful, lovely scene that I really, really love, you know, and that... I don't know if it resonates with me but certainly my favorite scene in the film."

I can't think of many films that can be made for $800, at least not without a lot of sweat equity and team passion. Knowing this fact made my only concern about the film seem moot, a bit of shaky camera work in some scenes, particularly when Adam is playing with the producer's dog, Lily. In fact, most of EDEN was shot in 2012, but finished up later on closer to 2016, when it first debuted. It has since been screened around the world, at a few festivals, and in support of the Simon Community in Dublin, which work to fight homelessness. Back to the diving analogy for a bit, this has to be one of the highest difficulties, and as such, EDEN excels well beyond its means.

The flipside of talking with the filmmakers is that sometimes you learn things you weren't quite expecting. One of my favorite aspects of EDEN was the incredible scoring and soundtrack, mostly in the form of instrumental post-rock from an Irish musician named Andrew Mann. I was really excited to find out more about it, but wasn't quite ready for the story that followed.

ROBBIE: "So I went along, and we got talking to this American girl at it, who was going out with an Irish musician, and I'd happen to mention to him that I was looking for music for a film, and his name was Andrew Mann.

ROBBIE: "And he went and sent me all of these pieces on, and then when I gave them to the editor, my editor rang me and he was like, 'Look, we can use this piece here, this piece...' He was literally reading my mind. And the closing song is from a friend of mine, a really great band called Keywest. If you guys check them, if you want to check them out, they are a fantastic Irish band, and there's a little bit of music from Richard Geraghty, but Andrew Mann scored mostly the entire film."

ROBBIE: "Unfortunately, Andrew Mann passed away earlier this year. It was a very complicated situation, and it was by his own hands. It was literally two weeks or three weeks after the film had gotten its theatrical release. There was a lot of, a lot of personal... very public, very personal stuff that was really out in the world, and himself and the girl he was with a very long time, had kind of taken their own lives. I can't really talk much more about it because I don't know the intricacies of what happened, you know. Really nice guy. Fantastic musician."

Suicide sucks, and that's coming from someone who suffers from anxiety and depression and has had more than one bout of suicidal thoughts. It also happens at a higher rate among those in poverty and dealing with homelessness. Mental illness isn't necessarily something someone has but is a situation that can be brought about by the right circumstances. In these tough economic times, it's easy to slip into that downward spiral. For anyone out there that might be having similar thoughts, please reach out to anyone and seek professional help.

On a side note before we wrap up, Robbie Walsh was also an MMA fighter, Ireland's first MMA title holder by luck of the card. You can hear more about it in the full interview on Sunday, but what's truly inspiring is how he leveraged that experience for filmmaking.

ROBBIE: "Actually, that's how I got my money to make ACES, my short film. I had no money to make it, so I fought in a cage and got some money together and made my short film ACES. I went then to get it into Cannes, and after that, it was pretty stoked about that. It was the first short I had directed, then I went on to do some coaching in boxing. A decent MMA career but I had to hang up the gloves because I was too old, too tired, and too blind."

If "filmmaker does cage fighting to fund his craft" isn't an inspiring story, I don't know what is.

EDEN is a marvelous microbudget drama dealing with homelessness in Dublin, as seen through a day in the life of one man. Constrained by a $800 budget and a quick four day shoot, the cast and crew of EDEN manage to leverage an incredible amount of a value from a very low cost, authentically held together by great acting and an excellent score. Coming in at a tight 76 minutes, EDEN is a quick, but powerful watch recommended for anyone who advocates for the homeless, or to see how great the microbudget scene can be.

Rotten Tomatoes: NR

Metacritic: NR

One Movie Punch: 7.5/10

EDEN (2016) is not rated and is currently playing on Amazon Prime, OPPrime TV, UK Film Channel, and on VOD.

Hi everyone!

Welcome back for our first Takeover Tuesday episode of 2020, featuring the best pair of con-artist and fraud podcast investigators we know. Today, we'll be joined by Brandi Fleeks and Sunni Hepburn from the Book of Lies Podcast, who will be reviewing ROCKETMAN as part of our Golden Globes coverage. And while we're at it, be sure to check out their first Takeover Tuesday episode for THE EVIL DEAD (Episode #555), along with their guest review during Reign of Terror 2019 for 28 DAYS LATER (Episode #624). I still really appreciate their help with the podcast, and for helping One Movie Spouse solve the mystery of my disappearance. They were some of our biggest supporters last year and we look forward to working with them in the new year!

Do you think you have what it takes to guest on One Movie Punch? Head on over to onemoviepunch.com/takeover-tuesday to see how you can guest. You'll find an information sheet about the show, some guidelines for all submissions, and how to get in touch with us to guest. We currently have seven slots open in First Quarter 2020, so don't miss your chance to guest. We'll be happy to run your promo and will throw it into our regular rotation for the quarter.

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BRANDI: "Today's movie is ROCKETMAN (2019), the biographical musical film directed by Dexter Fletcher, and written for the screen by Lee Hall. It features a star-studded cast with the likes of Taron Egerton, Bryce Dallas Howard, Gemma Jones and so many others. Its executive produced by Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish also has a producer credit."

SUNNI: "This movie chronicles how Elton John went from a child piano prodigy to his skyrocketing rise to stardom and his struggle to overcome the vices we hear so many rock stars battle with. It also delights us with the vocal stylings of Taron Egerton as the leading man of the movie Elton Hercules John."

No spoilers.

BRANDI: "My first impression of the film is its similarity to ACROSS THE UNIVERSE in the way that the songs tell the story of a particular scene or scene transitions and situations. I always enjoy a musical, especially when people who I had no idea could sing bust out their vocal chops. We get to hear Taron Egerton, who sang "I'm Still Standing" in 2016's animated musical SING, take the reins and we even get a taste of Bryce Dallas Howard, Gemma Jones, and Jamie Bell's musical abilities as well."

SUNNI: "Taron Egerton and Sir Elton John worked together previously, in KINGSMEN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. I wonder if they talked about his vocal abilities at that time? Fun fact: Elton John had Justin Timberlake in mind to play him when he and David Furnish began working on the film. Tom Hardy was originally signed on to play the role of Elton John, and they were going to have him lip sync on a vocal track. He said in an interview that he's not a singer and in his words, "It's hard to open my mouth that way."

BRANDI: "If you're a fan of Elton John's music, or if you only know one or two songs like 'Benny and the Jets' or 'Tiny Dancer', you'll probably enjoy the movie. If you're not a fan of musicals, then you probably won't."

SUNNI: "ROCKETMAN (2019) is a fantastical biopic full of vivid colors, outrageously spectacular costumes, and brilliantly performed music. If you're curious about either, then you should invest two hours. At least it'll put a tune in your head."

Rotten Tomatoes: 89% (CERTIFIED FRESH)

Metacritic: 69

One Movie Punch: 8.0/10

ROCKETMAN (2019) is rated R and is currently available to rent or own on Amazon Prime, Vudu, YouTube, Apple TV, and Redbox!

Hi everyone!

Welcome back for our continuing Golden Globes coverage. By now, the awards have been announced, and everyone is chatting up a storm. Be sure to check out our congratulatory posts for all the winners we've reviewed, and the schedule for reviewing the remaining winners, if needed. We covered about seventeen of thirty-four films that were nominated this year.

As part of that coverage, we'll be welcoming back Ryan L. Terry to the podcast, with his first of two reviews this month covering Golden Globe nominees. Today, Ryan will be covering JUDY, but be sure to tune in next week for his review of WHERE'D YOU GO, BERNADETTE? And for a few reviews from Ryan last year, check out KNIFE + HEART (Episode #542), I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER (Episode #614), and THE GOOD LIAR (Episode #662). His promo will run before the review.

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Here we go!

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Today's movie is JUDY, the biopic directed by Rupert Goold and written for the screen by Tom Edge, based on the stage play by Peter Quilter, starring Renée Zellweger as Judy.

While there are many movies that focus on the rise and fall of a talent in show business, this movie skips all the glitz and glamor to paint a realistic portrait of what it is like for those whom grow up in front of the camera, controlled by those around them, just to wind up in front of booing crowds, with empty bank accounts, homeless, and in a tumultuous custody battle. Not to mention her addiction to pills that was caused by the abusive treatment at the hands of the old studio system. Although we all know the tragic ending, no mistaking it, this film is an inspirational story of redemption. Whether you are a fan of the iconic diva or not, you do not want to miss this powerful film!

While we may be familiar with the broad strokes career of the legendary entertainer, this film goes beyond the headlines and tabloids to deliver a true-life story that could ironically be titled "A Star is Born" or perhaps reborn. Ironic in that this film shows the life of a movie star after the lights have faded and the offers stop coming in, much like the movie she starred in. It's a rise and fall story of sorts, but is more precisely a fall and rise story as the movie focusses in on the last year of Judy Garland's life. If you are worried that the film ends on her death, you can be relieved that the film chooses to stop the story prior to the end of the iconic star's life. And it works incredibly well!

"For one hour, I am Judy Garland, and the rest of the time I am just like everyone else...I want what everyone wants, I just seem to have a harder time getting it." This is a paraphrased quote from the movie, but it illustrates how the actress and singer felt about her relationship with the world. The movie chronicles her inability to stay afloat financially in Los Angeles and must accept a gig in London where her personal troubles continue to follow and haunt her. Her character is so incredibly relatable because many of us have found ourselves in traps that we have stepped in and are at a loss as to how to get out. If you thought this was going to be another cliché musical biopic, then you would be mistaken. No pretense about it, this is an unapologetic look at the dark side of Hollywood in perhaps one of the greatest stories that is right up there with Norma Desmond in SUNSET BOULEVARD.

Zellweger delivers a performance for the ages in this film. It is clear that Zellweger studied Judy Garland for months in order to get into character. Her movement, speech pattern, posture, and other behaviors completely sell the audience on this audacious portrayal of such an icon. We all know Zellweger can sing, after all, she wow'd us in CHICAGO (a rare example of when the movie adaptation is better than the live show), but nothing will prepare you for the power of her singing in this movie. You will hear "The Trolley Song", "Come Rain or Come Shine", and of course, she'll bring you to tears with the encore of "Over the Rainbow" during the movie's climactic, emotionally charged, showdown.

One of the tangential components of this movie is Judy meeting up with "Friends of Judy" at the end of one of her shows. It's an emotionally moving tribute to all the gay men who've loved her over the years. This is the scene where I feel that she should've sang "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" because tonally it was similar to that scene in "Meet Me in St. Louis," but instead, she sings Get Happy.

Maybe this is an unconventional redemption story, but that quality is clearly communicated through the film. Rising up against the internal and external monsters in your life that have dragged you down so far that there is no end in sight. Whereas Judy may not have changed as dramatically as Scrooge did in "A Christmas Carol", she does change during the climax of the movie.

Rotten Tomatoes: 83% (CERTIFIED FRESH)

Metacritic: 66

iMDB: 7.1/10

One Movie Punch: 10/10

JUDY (2019) is rated PG-13 and is available on demand and Blu-ray.