Indie Gems: Frailty

-
Do you do everything your daddy says?
 
Fenton Meiks (Matthew McConaughey) is telling FBI agent Wesley Doyle (Powers  Booth) about how his father (Bill Paxton) was "asked by God" to commit murders when he was a child. The people he was killing were "demons" and he forced Fenton and his brother to help him cover it all up.
 
I had actually never heard of this film until just recently when it was on IFC. I have to say, all of the actors give fine performances, especially the young actors. (Matt O'Leary and Jeremy Sumpter) But what I like most about this film is that it actually goes there, so to speak. I don't want to spoil anything, because there's plenty of turns along the way, but Paxton (who also directs) and writer Brent Henley really do have balls the size of church bells when it came to this movie. I did not expect it to end the way it did.
 
Stay away from spoilers and watch this if you get the chance. It's definitely worth your time.
 
Grade: A
 
Memorable Quote: "Don't cry for her son, she wasn't human." Dad (Bill Paxton)

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 3, 2013 at 8:36 AM

    Isn't the cover of this DVD have Paxton holding an ax over like a tree stump in the rain or something like that? I swear I saw this all the time back in 2003 or so while walking through my local Blockbuster, you know, back before I got Netflix and actually had to leave my house to rent movies. I never rented it, but the cover always caught my eye. Then I saw McConaughey's name and decided to pass.

    I may actually have to watch this now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamMay 3, 2013 at 11:14 AM

      I'm not sure? I've never seen the DVD either, I caught it on IFC. McConaughey's name means so much more to me now than it did a few years ago. I would've skipped it too back then.

      Delete
  2. s.May 3, 2013 at 10:55 AM

    I saw this move last Halloween and I quite enjoyed it, I wouldn't rate it so highly but it was a good thriller.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamMay 3, 2013 at 11:14 AM

      I rated it high because I was just so surprised how much I liked it. Indeed, a very good thriller.

      Delete
  3. JoshMay 3, 2013 at 2:24 PM

    Woah. I've heard mostly good things, but I haven't seen such a high rating. I really need to watch this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamMay 9, 2013 at 9:16 PM

      I just really loved this. I wasn't expecting anything at all and was just pleasantly surprised.

      Delete
  4. AnonymousMay 5, 2013 at 1:03 AM

    I'd never heard of this movie before, and it sounds like something I'd enjoy. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Alex WithrowMay 7, 2013 at 1:14 PM

    Yes! I love reading praise for this film. I've always enjoyed the hell out of this movie - Paxton and Co. did solid work here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamMay 9, 2013 at 9:17 PM

      I didn't realize he had directed it either until I started writing my review. I really have more respect for Paxton's work after this.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Thanks for stopping by, let's talk movies!
(comments are moderated to reduce spam)

Popular posts from this blog

Random Ramblings: The Radio Flyer Conundrum

-
Image
Recently, I was talking to someone about who I thought were the best child actors when I was also a child.  Two that really stood out to me were Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazello, and one film those two were in together was called Radio Flyer.  Then I was reminded about the uniqueness of this film. Instead of reviewing the film, I wanted to have an open discussion about the ending. It deals with a tough issue; child abuse. What I’ve noticed is the way that the film ends is interpreted many different ways, and the filmmakers never came forward to say what was right and wrong. I’m interested in hearing everyone’s opinions on it. How did you interpret the ending? Obviously spoiler alerts will follow.. For those of you who haven’t seen the film, the basic premise is this: Two young boys, Mikey (Wood) and Bobby (Mazello) move in with their single mother and her boyfriend, who refers to himself as ‘The King’. It doesn’t take long for The King to start physically abusing ...
Read more

Indie Gems: Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

-
Image
Passionate about your profession? I had never heard of this film until it ended up on one of Jason's favorite horror movie lists around Halloween. It immediately sounded interesting to me, so of course I threw it in my Netflix queue. (and if I'm just now watching it after adding it around Halloween, you know how ridiculous my queue is) Taylor (Angela Goethals) is a journalist who, along with a film crew decides to follow around a serial killer named Leslie Vernon. (Nathan Baesel) He plans on doing the typical slasher thing - getting a bunch of drunk teens in an abandoned house and knocking them off one by one. He gets advice from a retired serial killer, Eugene (Scott Wilson) and is threatened by a man who's on to him, Doc Holloran (Robert Englund) Taylor and crew are there capturing it all. Leslie Vernon is fucking hilarious to start with, and clearly very passionate about what he does. He tells Taylor all of his secrets and can barely contain his excitemen...
Read more

My Favorite Movie Youtube Channels

-
Image
Starting around 2018, I started watching Youtube for more than just movie trailers or music videos whenever a new one dropped. Now I'm in full blown subscription mode and don't bat an eyelash at watching a Youtube video that's over an hour long. I watch Youtube for a few different categories of content, but one of them that I love most is movie/TV essays and commentary, and that's what I'm going to talk about today. Below is a list of my favorite movie related Youtube channels. Let me know if you're familiar with them too, or if you have any you'd like to recommend to me.  Double Toasted - I'm honestly surprised this channel isn't bigger. I first came across Korey and Martin when they reviewed War for the Planet of the Apes a few months before it hit theaters and I thought they were hysterical. While their full length videos stream on Twitch, they often upload their movie reviews and commentary on youtube and they're always hilarious. They've...
Read more