Indie Gems: Private Life

I can give you this gift

Rachel (Kathryn Hahn) is an author who has been undergoing fertility treatments with her husband, Richard. (Paul Giamatti) Like many going through that, it's taking its toll and the outcome doesn't look good. It puts a lot of stress on their relationship. Then Richard's niece Sadie (Kayli Carter) comes into the picture. She's recently dropped out of college and she's not related to Richard by blood (she's his step sister's daughter) so she offers to be their surrogate. 

Kathryn Hahn has been turning in solid comedy work for years, but she's rarely mentioned with it comes to some of the dramatic things she's done. She was great in Afternoon Delight, which this does slightly remind me of, but she turns in her career best here. 

This film perfectly balances sweet and sad. It's hard watching anyone go through fertility, even more so when a marriage ends up on the rocks and families fight during it. But Carter's Sadie is such a bright spot in all of this mess. She's perfectly likable. The three leads all have great chemistry.

It does tend to fall into that stereotypical boho territory. Sadie's not a love interest so she can't be a manic pixie dream girl but she kind of has a few of those attributes. That didn't bother me personally, I tend to like movies that use that trope, but I know it's not for everyone. Though I really urge everyone to check out this, especially for Hahn who if there's any good in the world will at least get close to an Oscar nom for this. 

Grade: B+

Watched on: Netflix

Memorable Quote: "If the pipe gets clogged, you don't get Mountain Dew. You just get seltzer." - Dr. Dordick (Denis O'Hare)

Indie Gems: Marrowbone

Secrets

After their mother dies, four siblings, Jack (George MacKay) Billy (Charlie Heaton) Jane (Mia Goth) and Sam (Matthew Stagg) hide that fact from anyone in fear of getting split up. All they need to do is wait for Jack to turn 21 in six months. But the reason for these kids living in this particular house is quite sinister, and now something may be haunting them.

My immediate thought after finishing this was that whoever wrote it had to have balls the size of church bells to pass something like this off. Then I saw it was Sergio G. Sánchez, the same guy who wrote The Orphanage and I realized that made sense. 

Marrowbone builds dread very well. It reminded me a bit of The Conjuring in a sense. You're on the edge of your seat as Sam goes into a room that's off limits or as tension builds during a game. It get the creep factor down. Unfortunately this film has a lot going on. In a way it's a damn mess....but it works? Something awful happened to these children at one point, but the film goes about revealing this in the most convoluted way possible. It ended up being a really interesting concept, but I think they could've went about it a different way. 

The actors in this film are wonderful. MacKay, Heaton, Goth, and Anya Taylor-Joy who plays their friend Allie I was all familiar with and they didn't disappoint. MacKay does a lot of the heavy lifting here.

This film is far from prefect. It throws too many things at you but it made for a good evening watch on a chilly October night.

Grade: B-

Watched on: Netflix DVD

Memorable Quote: "She loves him, she'll understand." - Jane (Mia Goth)

Indie Gems: Leave No Trace

Into the wild.

Will (Ben Foster) is a war veteran who is living off the grid in a national park with his young daughter, Tom. (Thomasin McKenzie) When they're found by social services and placed into a home, Will struggles with being a part of society whereas Tom gets a taste of something she's missing.

I hate that I missed this in theaters. My city was one of the lucky 361 theaters this was released in, and they got rid of it after about a week and a half. It was easily worth my money.

You all know how much I love Ben Foster. He's an incredible actor and it's no surprise that he's amazing here too. We don't learn much about Will and what happened to him in the past, but his face says it all. It's not pretty, he needs help, but doesn't want it. Even if it's effecting his daughter. It's McKenzie that carries this movie. Tom loves her father but she's so curious about everything around her. Like Foster, she gives a very quiet performance. (And I never would've guessed she was a native of New Zealand, her American accent is flawless)

Like the performances, this is a quiet film in general but it's tonally perfect. A film like this doesn't need a lot of dialogue. Our character's actions say it all. Because of that, the film does feel a little longer than it really is, but it's never boring and always beautiful.

Grade: B+

Watched on: Netflix DVD

Memorable quote: "What's wrong with you isn't what's wrong with me." - Tom (Thomasin McKenzie)

Indie Gems: Columbus

I'm fine here.

Casey (Haley Lu Richardson) feels like she can't leave her home town of Columbus, Indiana. Her mother is a recovering addict, whom Casey looks after. She graduated a year ago, but didn't go to college. She loves architecture and spends her time working at a library. Jin (John Cho) is a Korean American who comes to Columbus when his father falls into a coma. He meets Casey and tries to encourage her to think of her own dreams for once.

If you haven't seen this film, and have only read reviews or watched trailers, you've probably noticed most are from Jin's perspective. Jin is struggling with his father's condition and goes to Columbus, but really, this is Casey's story. She has the most screen time, and we learn the most about her through her daily routine and her conversations with Jin.

Jin and Casey easily have one of the best platonic relationships I've seen on screen in a long time. Another film may have had them have an attraction or an affair despite the 20 year age difference between the actors, but this film never goes in that direction and I appreciate it even more for that. Though the age difference they hint at between John Cho and Parker Posey's character is kind of annoying considering they're fairly close in age.

Haley Lu Richardson has such a presence. This is the best performance I've ever seen from her and to be honest, had this been a bigger movie, she would've been in that Oscar discussion. She's tremendous in her restraint and you can see so many emotions in her eyes. John Cho is always reliable as well, even though he doesn't get nearly enough meatiness that Richardson does. 

This is another film that's slower in pace, and it does check a lot of those stereotypical indie film boxes. (which I love, no shame) I can't help but adore movies like this. It reminds me of Dreamland and Chumscrubber, and so many other films where the lead character has to do a lot of internal soul searching while at the crux of a big life change. It's just my kind of film.

Grade: A

Watched on: Hulu

Memorable Quote: "It's like I've been transported somewhere else." - Casey (Haley Lu Richardson)

Indie Gems: The Tribes of Palos Verdes

We're going to start fresh. 

Medina (Maika Monroe) has just moved to Palos Verdes with her family. Her father, (Justin Kirk) is a doctor who has just accepted a new job. When he ends up leaving the family and sending his wife, Sandy (Jennifer Garner) into a tailspin, Medina and her twin brother Jim (Cody Fern) find themselves dealing with Sandy's mental illness while Medina attempts to surf all her troubles away.

This is a very quiet film, but what caught my eye was Jennifer Garner. I sometimes forget that she was once a highly capable actress on Alias. All I associate her with now are these mom roles in family films, and it was nice seeing her tackle a role like this. Sandy is complicated, while they don't flat out name her illness she's pretty clearly bipolar and goes through extreme highs and lows, and Garner plays her very convincingly. It was hard watching her two teenager children struggle to deal with that on top of being horribly manipulated by their father. 

Maika Monroe is an easy protagonist to follow, as she was in It Follows. There's just something interesting about the actress.  This film packs a ton of baggage but isn't very showy. It has a slower pace, which does make it feel a bit too long in places, but it fits with the tone of laid back Palos Verdes.

Now with Peppermint in theaters, which I haven't seen, I hope this is a return of more diverse roles for Garner. 

Grade: B

Watched on: Netflix DVD

Memorable Quote: "...are you serious?" - Medina (Maika Monroe)

Indie Gems: Band Aid

Musical Marriage Counseling

Anna (Zoe Lister-Jones) and Ben (Adam Polly) are a married couple that can't stop bickering. To channel this, they decide to start a band with their eccentric neighbor, Dave (Fred Armison) where all their songs are their fights. 

On top of starring, Zoe Lister-Jones wrote and directed this. The plot itself is very clever and the little details she put into it were wonderful. When Anna and Ben are having a good spell, their clothes (and in some cases, lack of) reflect that.  She took on a lot and it paid off.

She and Polly are one of the most believable couples I've seen in a film in quite some time. Their fights were relatable and every married person, myself included has had a few. Listening to them sing it out was fun, and a little heartbreaking one you finally hit that emotional rock bottom you know is coming. 

I've had a few people recommend the show Life in Pieces to me, which Lister-Jones stars in (and a few of her costars such as Colin Hanks makes cameos here) after seeing everything she brought to the table here, I think I may finally check it out. 

Grade: B

Watched on: Netflix DVD

Memorable Quote: "I just like to sit on a toilet and let my butt hole be free. Makes me more productive." - Ben (Adam Polly)

Indie Gems: You Were Never Really Here

It's not a dream

Joe (Joaquin Phoenix) is a veteran of the Gulf War who makes his living now as a hitman. He's traumatized not only from the war but from past experiences. He takes care of his elderly mother and wanders from job to job in an almost dream like haze. When he's tasked with finding the young daughter (Ekaterina Samsonov) of a senator that hasn't returned home, things escalate. 

I was a huge fan of director Lynne Ramsay's last film, We Need To Talk About Kevin and I've been looking forward to this ever since it was a huge hit at Cannes. Since it never came near me in theaters, I had to wait for the DVD, but it was certainly worth that long wait.

The film is very dreamlike. Despite being centered around violence Ramsay doesn't show a lot of it. Most of the time the scene cuts to the aftermath of Joe's jobs and it works. It makes this more than just another hired gun film.

Phoenix is phenomenal. I'm hoping Oscar voters don't forget this because he'd surely get a nomination had this had a fall release date. He's so good that unfortunately the rest of the cast doesn't make nearly as good of an impression. He outshone them all.

My biggest complaint is that this film went by so quickly. At 1 hour 29 minutes it completely flew, and I wanted to spend a little more time with Joe. 

Grade: B

Watched on: Netflix DVD

Memorable Quote: "Joe, wake up. It's a beautiful day." - Nina (Ekaterina Samsonov)

Indie Gems: Permanent

Middle school is hell. 

Aurelie (Kira McLean) is about to attend a new school and wants to get a perm. Her parents, Jeanne (Patricia Arquette) and Jim (Rainn Wilson) are tight on cash so she goes to a hair school and it goes horribly wrong. On top of Jim fretting about med school and Jeanne being kind of a spaz, Aurelie is at an awkward spot in life.

Whenever I rent an independent film from Netflix, I always make sure to watch the trailers. They usually have something that never got on my radar and Permanent is one of those films. 

The best way to describe it is "cute." It's nothing mind blowing. It falls victim to one of the most annoying tropes out there - over the top bullying - but McLean, Arquette and Wilson have wonderful chemistry and watching their family antics was a decent way to spend the evening.

I don't think you need to rush out to see this, but if it ever streams on Netflix or another platform, give it a go. 

Grade: C+

Watched on: Netflix DVD

Memorable Quote: "If you try to please all the dipshits of the world you'll be in an elevator going straight down." - Jim (Rainn Wilson)

Indie Gems: The Insult

I'm sorry.

Tony (Adel Karam) is a Christian in Beruit who gets into a row with a contractor and Palestinian refugee, Yasser. (Kamel El Basha) When Yasser insults him, Tony takes him to court and the complicated case blows way out of proportion. 

I'm quite ignorant of the conflicts between Palestinian and Lebanon. All of that was new to me and that's one of the things I love about foreign films. You learn new things, even though this is a fictional account.

Karam and El Basha were both wonderful in their roles. You find it easy to be on Yasser's side given the circumstances but Tony isn't a character that you can exactly hate either. They've all gone through things, and had they not been in that fight, or had those prejudices, they would likely get along.

I love courtroom dramas and this one did not disappoint. It's very worthy of the Oscar nomination it received this year. If I had one complaint, I thought the use of flashbacks was kind of sloppy. I'm sure they were going for a disjointed fever dream type presentation but it just felt very jarring with the rest of the film.

Grade: A-

Watched on: Netflix DVD

Memorable Quote: "Let your daughter speak." - Judge Colette Mansour (Julia Kassar)

Indie Gems: The Death of Stalin

Who's going to replace him?

When dictator Joseph Stalin (Adrian McLoughlin) passes away, his cabinet members  (including Steve Buscemi and Jeffrey Tambor) scramble to replace him amid chaos, arguments, and his pestering children. (Andrea Riseborough and Rupert Friend)

My theater had this film for about a week this past winter and I wasn't able to see it. It's yet to hit Netflix either, so I was pleased when this was a choice on a recent flight I took.

The first thing I need to do is publicly apologize to Rupert Friend for referring to him as "poor man's Orlando Bloom" for years. He was hysterical in this movie. I laughed so loud at one point people turned and looked at me. (whoops) His character is just so over the top and ridiculous. It's glorious.

I really liked the cast in general. Of course this film doesn't take itself seriously at all so everyone is speaking in their normal accents and it absolutely works. It kind of loses direction in a few places and a few jokes don't land, but it always gets back on course. This is one of the better dark comedies I've seen in ages.

Grade: B

Watched on: Delta Studios

Memorable Quote: "Sit the fuck down. Don't worry, no one is getting murdered." - Andreyev (Paddy Considine)

Indie Gems: In The Fade

Justice

Look at this! Another Indie Gem. Because my ass is too lazy to go see something new at the theater and instead went and saw Infinity War for the third time. 

Katja's (Diane Kruger) husband and young son are killed in a bombing. When the neo-nazi's responsible are put on trial, it ends up not being as simple as she expected.

Germany's submission to last year's Academy Awards didn't disappoint. I'm still making my way through last year's foreign releases. The Insult is up next. I wasn't sure about this going in because of my feelings towards Diane Kruger but she was excellent in this role. I believed her grief and her self medicating. Another actor that really stood out was Denis Moschitto, who played Katja's lawyer Danilo. He was a lovely addition and I hope to see more of this actor.

The way this film is shot is interesting. It's told in three different acts, and each act looks different. It starts gritty, then becomes more polished when they enter the courtroom scenes. The final act almost has an ethereal look about it. The middle act was my favorite as I end to enjoy those type of films. Even though I wanted to punch the defense attorney in the face.

In The Fade clocks in at 1 hour 46 minutes but feels much shorter. The pacing is very to the point, but doesn't move too fast where we don't get the chance to examine how Katja feels.

Grade: A-

Watched on: Netflix DVD

Memorable Quote: "Fuck off" - Katja (Diane Kruger)

Indie Gems: Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool

Just love.

This might not be the least heard gem I've done in a while. It was nominated for a few BAFTAs. But the release this film got in the states was pathetic. This should've been an Oscar contender. More on that in a bit.

Peter Turner (Jamie Bell) is a struggling actor when he meets former screen legend Gloria Grahame. (Annette Bening) despite their age difference, they form a relationship that lasts several years and comes to a close as Gloria seeks out Peter again while dealing with a terminal illness.

Bening and Bell are both so good in this film that it's an absolute joke that they were robbed of Oscar nominations. They had amazing chemistry and I loved their scenes together. I almost wish this movie was three hours long so I could continue to see them together. I haven't read the source material, nor am I even that familiar with Grahame as an actress, but now I want to be.

While it's Bening and Bell's show, the supporting cast works nicely as well. Especially Julie Walters as Peter's mother. The film also makes great use out of it's small budget. You can tell a few scenery shots are up against a green screen but they don't look awful and it's the acting and the way this film deals with aging that makes it stand out. 

I wish this film had been a bigger hit over here. I wish I had seen it last year as well because it would've easily made my top 10 list. 

Grade: A+

Watched on: Netflix DVD

Memorable Quote: "How do I look?" - Gloria Grahame (Annette Bening)

Indie Gems: Patti Cake$

Bow down

Patti (Danielle Macdonald) is an aspiring rapper who is seemingly stuck in her hometown in New Jersey. She's not taken seriously, especially when her mother is a fairly well known local singer herself. She's also ridiculed for things like her weight and social status. At a show, Patti and her best friend Jheri (Siddharth Dhananjay) meet a performer/producer named Basterd the AntiChrist (Mamoudou Athie) and the unlikely trio comes together to form a group and chase their dreams. 

I first heard of this film when it was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award, but I hadn't seen many reviews of it. So when it was an option for an in flight movie, I wanted to give it a chance. 

I absolutely love the three leads in this. Macdonald, Dhananjay and Athie have fantastic chemistry together and are completely immersed in their roles. Even if the film follows a pretty typical formula these three are so different from what I'm used to seeing that I didn't care. Macdonald impressed me back when I saw her in Every Secret Thing, but she blows it out of the water here. 

For as much as the aspiring musician thing has been done, this film excels when it deals with the relationships between the characters. They're very complex and never feel like caricatures. It makes for an inspiring watch.

Recommended: Yes

Grade: B

Memorable Quote: "You got this. You're a boss bitch." - Patti (Danielle Macdonald)

Indie Gems: BPM (Beats Per Minute)

I want you to live.

Members of the French advocacy group ACT UP Paris are struggling with getting their leaders to acknowledge the AIDS crisis in 1990. Our main view point is a young HIV positive man, Sean (Nahuel Pérez Biscayart) who finds a new relationship with Nathan (Arnaud Valois) a new recruit.

This is yet another movie that gets the AIDS crisis better than Philadelphia does. I know it's a weird way to start a review but I keep thinking back to my February Blind Spot and I still can't believe how the Academy embraced something that played it so safe. The extraordinary thing about BPM is that a number of the scenes take place in a classroom where the group meets. They just debate and talk out their issues, and it's fascinating. A film that relies so heavily on scenes like that already has an up hill battle with keeping everyone's attention and this film tackles it perfectly. I could've sat it on these meetings all day. 

Biscayart and Valois have excellent chemistry together, and Adèle Haenel who was in another French film I love, Water Lilies also has a big role. The cinematography in this is gorgeous as well. Not only is there a stunning shot of the Parisian skyline (you'll know it when you see it) but even the way they shot their protests and marches was beautiful. They made it feel like you were really there with them.

If there's one place BPM struggles, it's towards the end. Obviously, the film is going to get heavy but I just didn't think the last 20 minutes or so was as engaging as the rest of the film. There was a stark contrast between the two parts. 

I wish this would've been on the Best Foreign Film ballot at the Oscars this year. It certainly deserved to be.

Grade: A-

Watched on: Netflix DVD

Memorable Quote: "You gave it up? For five years?" - Sean (Nahuel Pérez Biscayart) 

Indie Gems: To The Bone

Calorie Asperger's

Ellen (Lily Collins) is a young artist struggling with anorexia. Not only is she killing herself, she's killing her relationship with her family. A last ditch effort by her step mother, Susan. (Carrie Preston) sends her to live in a group home run by Dr. Beckham (Keanu Reeves)

This film got a lot of flak for the way it portrays eating disorders when it first came out. Like any time a mental illness is shown in film, there's the realism vs exploitation debate. I actually appreciated the care they took in showing all of this. Eating disorders on screen for me are shitty Lifetime movies where the bulimic girl for some reason hides jars of vomit in her closet. (because that's logical) No such foolishness goes on in To The Bone. The few "tricks" they show the girls doing to avoid food are not out there and they do not for one second shy away from how devastating these illnesses are.

Collins is really proving herself to be a capable actress. I liked her a lot here. This material was clearly close to her heart. The entire cast work really well together and there are some gorgeous shots in this movie. I can buy Reeves as the cool doctor. And this film does something that I always appreciate in film, and that's portraying the step parents as helpful. That gets overlooked so much.

Grade: A-

Watched on: Netflix Instant

Memorable Quote: "People say they love you. But what they mean is they love how loving you makes them feel about themselves." - Ellen (Lily Collins)

Indie Gems: Shattered Glass

Just a little reach..

Stephen Glass (Hayden Christensen) is a hot shot journalist at The New Republic. He always finds the craziest, most out there stories. The only problem is, he's fabricating a bunch of them. And a rival journalist, Adam Penengberg (Steve Zahn) starts asking questions about his latest story, it puts a lot of pressure on his new editor Chuck. (Peter Sarsgaard)

I've been meaning to watch this movie for years. It always escaped me, but now it's available on HBO Go so I, well....gave it a go.

I'm glad I did. I love journalism movies and this one is fast paced and interesting as it should be. Sometimes it's hard to watch Christensen after being subjected to him in Star Wars, but like he did in Life as a House, he gives a good performance here. Stephen is not likable at all, but you can understand why others might gravitate towards him. The real star here is Peter Sarsgaard who add so much nuance to his character. He's immediately painted as the bad guy when he really isn't.

The only thing I wish the film did differently was follow the aftermath a little more. That almost seems to be the theme with me lately. I just finished watching American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace and felt the same way. They take us through the deed, but sometimes a few extra minutes on top of those ending title cards would've helped.

Grade: A

Watched on: HBO Go

Memorable Quote: "Why would a big tech company only have one phone line?" - Adam (Steve Zahn)

Indie Gems: Antiviral

Got needles?

Syd March (Caleb Landry Jones) works in a facility that harvests celebrity illnesses so they can inject their rabid fans for top dollar. Want your favorite actor's herpes? There's a place for you! Of course, Syd can't play it straight and attempts to sell illnesses to shady side dealers by injecting himself before he leaves work for the day. This all backfires when he injects himself with a disease that kills their top client, Hannah Geist. (Sarah Gadon)

Does anyone play shady white trash like Jones? I don't think so. He's perfect for this roll. Syd is a sleazeball but one you end up caring about despite the level of fucked up-ness that is his day to day life. 

Director Brandon Cronenberg definitely shares a few of his father's traits. This film isn't over the top gory but the amount of needles you see going into skin is very unsettling. And this is coming from someone who has never been bothered by needles. Unfortunately even with this great idea, it feels like they didn't know where he wanted to go with the 3rd act.

I love when horror movies get creative like this but I felt like this just didn't come together the way it could've. The synopsis describes this as a satire but I didn't feel that at all while watching. I wanted more, but it's not to say that what I got was bad. I just think he had more potential. Still, I can't not recommend it. It's very different.

Grade: C+

Watched on: Netflix DVD

Memorable Quote: "Almost...perfect." - Syd March (Caleb Landry Jones)

Indie Gems: We Don't Belong Here

Ground yourself.

Nancy Green (Catherine Keener) is no stranger to mental illness. Not only does she show signs of it, so do 3/4 of her children. Madeline (Annie Starke) is the well adjusted one. Elisa (Riley Keough) is estranged from her mother and has gone on to become a famous singer. The only daughter still living at home, Lily (Kaitlyn Denver) whose not taking her meds. When her only son Max (Anton Yelchin) goes missing, Nancy begins to re-evaluate her life. 

There's no way around this, We Don't Belong Here is technically not a good movie. The dialogue is full of platitudes. It feels like it was hacked apart in the editing room and the side stories don't mesh well. But despite that, I enjoyed watching this.

I always feel like I'm drawn to stories where the main character feels uncomfortable. I don't know why, but that describes Lily well. Her therapist says she's bipolar, but she doesn't want to be on medication. She's the one sibling linking Max and Elisa back to the family, and Denver is a great actress. I think she carries this film well. The acting across the board is excellent, Anton was heart breaking, Riley (and Kaitlyn) both have lovely singing voices that I didn't know about. And Maya Rudolph and Molly Shannon even show up too.

I just wish this film was better. I feel like director Peer Pedersen chose to shoot this like a music video instead of focusing on the core plot. Because of that, we drift from scene to scene, then abruptly cut away. Then an elaborate dream sequence throws everything out of whack for a minute. I really did like this movie, it kept my interest, but I can't ignore the editing here. It just didn't work.

And ugh, I miss Anton. 

Grade: C+

Watched on: Netflix DVD

Memorable quote: "I love you, so I'll take you home." - Elisa (Riley Keough)

Indie Gems: Una

I need answers, but I don't know the question.

When Una (Rooney Mara) was 13, she ran off with her adult neighbor, Ray. (Ben Mendelsohn) After their relationship turned sexual, he abandoned her, then spent a short amount of time in prison for what he had done. He got a new name, a new job, and a new life. Una didn't. And 15 years later she still has questions and feelings and she finally gets to a point where she tracks him down and confronts him.

Una brings in an interesting and little talked about voice to the sexual abuse conversation. What happens when the victim still has feelings for their abuser? What happens when they aren't allowed to move on? And how should we look at those abusers after they have been "rehabilitated?" We all want to think that Una went to therapy, came to terms with what happened to hear and was allowed to move on, but she wasn't. Her parents kept her in the same town, and the same house. Like she says to Ray at one point in the film "You got to change your name. I had to keep mine." It's so unfair for her to still be in this position. Una herself doesn't seem to know what exactly she wants from Ray. An apology or an acknowledgement of her feelings. That felt very real to me. She just wanted to talk to him about what happened. There's a flashback of his trial earlier on where she asks the police officer to give him a message from her. Now she's living out her message.

Mara is excellent here. Una is understandably very melancholy and Mara plays those types of characters well. She also tackles an English accent well. I felt like she was actually from England. She didn't put on the "Nowhere, United Kingdom" accent that many do. Mendelsohn has a hard job as well. He has to humanize a sexual predator and make us wonder if he really did feel terrible for what he had did and moved on from it. Riz Ahmed also has a supporting role as Scott, Ray's coworker whom Una meets, which was a surprise to me. I didn't realize he was in this. I had only heard of this movie after Alex talked about how much he loves Mara's performance in it. 

The film is based on a play called Blackbird, and you can tell by the set pieces it wasn't originally intended for cinema. I think the director did a great job of making it more cinematic by including flashbacks of Una when she was younger with Ray. And he does it without actually showing any sexual acts, which I was thankful for. The film does flounder towards the end. Like its not sure what to do with itself. Or maybe that was intended. Where do you go from there?

Grade: A-

Watched on: Netflix DVD

Memorable Quote: "Does she know?" - Una (Rooney Mara)

Indie Gems: Mayhem

I feel great!

Derek Cho (Steven Yeun) is a normal guy just trying to climb his way up the corporate ladder at a law firm. When he's unjustly fired for something he didn't screw up, his firing is cut short when his building is quarantined due to a virus currently spreading around the world that causes extreme emotions. The virus runs its course in 8 hours, so he decides to use this to his advantage to try to get to the top floor to plead his case...all while possibly beating up and murdering a few people along the way. He teams up with Melanie (Samara Weaving) a woman trying to reverse the foreclosure on her house. She needs to get to the top too.)

It's unfortunate that this film came out in the same year as another office massacre - The Belko Experiment. Belko's plot is more put together, but that's not to discredit Mayhem at all. Thin plot aside, this was a lot of fun. 

I love Steven Yeun, he was one of my favorite actors on The Walking Dead so I will watch him in anything. He doesn't disappoint here. He fights, fucks, and curses his way through this. I never got tired of watching it. Weaving, who I saw earlier this year in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri has great chemistry with Yeun. She clearly had a lot of fun with this role.

At times it's hard to follow the corporate point of this film that doesn't have to do with Derek. The suits consistently talk about accounts and things they've done that all seem quite forced, but that's not the important part. The film itself is aware of that too and just continues its bloody party.

Grade: B

Watched on: Netflix DVD

Memorable Quote: "Move aside, pussies." - Melanie (Samara Weaving)