Tribeca Film Festival 2022 review: ‘VENGEANCE’ is an impressive directorial debut.

VENGEANCE

If you haven’t checked in on B.J. Novak since The Office, you’ll be surprised by the pitch-black tone of his directorial film debut, Vengeance. There are great laughs aplenty here, but the film presents an overall bleak view of humanity as it relates to our ability to connect and communicate. This is a stellar premier film.

Novak pulls triple duty as the film’s writer, director, and star. He brings the perfect mix of smug arrogance and bewildered empathy to Ben Manalowitz, a New York writer (and aspiring podcaster) who is coasting through every moment. Ben’s catchphrase is “100 percent”, but the audience quickly comes to see that Ben isn’t really giving 100 percent to anything. His life is all surface, no depth. He believes he’s having deep conversations about his work and the meaning of society, but he’s looking at his phone the whole time. His relationships are nothing but informal hookups.

Then Ben gets a fateful call from West Texas – his former girlfriend (well, they had hooked up a few times), Abilene Shaw, has died of a drug overdose. Abilene’s family are under the impression that she and Ben were a real couple, and invite him to the funeral. Ben shows up in West Texas out of pity, but quickly decides to stay for more selfish reasons: Abilene’s family suspects foul play, and Ben can’t turn down a chance to tackle the “holy grail” of podcasting: a dead white girl. Ben’s editor mails him some fancy podcasting equipment faster than you can say “true crime”, and he’s off to discover the truth about Abilene (and hopefully make himself famous in the process.)

I’m still in awe of this supporting cast. Boyd Holbrook somehow manages to balance sincerity and absurdity as Ty, Abilene’s revenge-crazed brother. Could this be Ashton Kutcher’s best work since Dude, Where’s My Car? (don’t get it twisted, I mean that as a sincere compliment!) Kutcher’s Quintin Sellers is complex and layered. As a small-town record producer, Quintin is equally opportunistic and charismatic. Quintin provides a twisted country-fried contrast to Novak’s Ben, and their few scenes together are some of the strongest of the film. The female characters are unfortunately more thinly written, and mostly function to help us better understand the men.

A film like this doesn’t work without a rock-solid script, and this one delivers. Good comedy writing ensures that the pace of the film is maintained; great comedy writing is concerned with showing us deeper truths about character that may produce a smile, but also a sting. The soundtrack is also self-aware – I’ve never laughed so hard at a Lana Del Rey song.

Vengeance is a dual threat – a legitimately funny comedy that also lands sincere dramatic moments. It left me excited for whatever Novak has coming next (hopefully a podcast.)


DIRECTOR
B.J. Novak
PRODUCER
Jason Blum, Adam Hendricks, Greg Gilreath
SCREENWRITER
B.J. Novak
CINEMATOGRAPHER
Lyn Moncrief
EDITOR
Andy Canny, Hilda Rasula, Plummy Tucker
CAST
B.J. Novak, Issa Rae, Ashton Kutcher, Boyd Holbrook, J. Smith-Cameron, Dove Cameron, Isabella Amara


Review: ‘Logan’- A masterful send off to Hugh Jackman in his iconic role

Hugh Jackman takes his final bow as the iconic Wolverine in Logan, a thoughtful tale of redemption and regret thru the eyes of the only man to ever play the role. Director James Mangold (The Wolverine) returns to bring the final act to a close opting for a more dramatic tone than full on action film like previous films in the X-Men franchise. Logan is the perfect send off to both actor and character and a love letter to all who have endured the good and the very bad of this characters cinematic arc. The long journey of the Wolverine concludes.

Tired and weary, Logan (Hugh Jackman) finds himself among the last mutants standing in a world that’s long forgotten his kind. Opting to blend in to society and live out his days, Logan keeps to a quiet life, driving a limo and acting as a caretaker for friend and mentor Charles Xavier (Sir Patrick Stewart) for whom age has taken a huge toll. He is aided in this task by Caliban (Stephen Merchant), a mutant who can sense and track other mutants, but is running from a past he would soon forget.

Logan is approached by a young Mexican nurse looking for the Wolverine to help her protect her daughter Laura (Dafne Keen from a secret experiment called Transigen. Pierce (Boyd Holbrook), is the leader of the Reavers, a team set to find escaped patients from the Transgien project who have set their sights on finding Laura at all costs. Reluctant and unwilling to upend his life, Logan opts to decline the offer until he becomes faced with the stark reality that helping this young girl get to her destination is more vital than he anticipated. Aided by Charles Xavier, the three set their sights on North Dakota and “Eden”, a safe haven for mutants, but Transigen has plans of its own to unleash a new and improved version of their experiments that will test the aging Logan to his limits and beyond.

Seventeen years is a long time for anyone to play the same role, but Hugh Jackman has cherished his experience and has been so caring of the character that seeing him for the last time feels like a family member moving across the globe. Jackman pours his heart and soul into this movie and turns in the best performance of his X-Men career. Patrick Stewart is equally as outstanding as the aging Charles Xavier. The relationship between the two characters has grown from a student to teacher to father to son and the two actors chemistry is cemented into these performances. Newcomer Dafne Keen is brilliant in her first starring role and acts as the catalyst to the emotional journey that Logan embarks on in this film. To watch her rage from an outsiders view allows Logan to see himself and offers a rare opportunity to help steer this child down a different path than him. Their onscreen relationship is a beautiful nod to the pull that Logan has from the animal he’s become and the life he so sorely wishes never eluded him.

Overall, Logan is an outstanding film and a must see for all X-Men lovers and film lovers alike. It’s an emotional journey for both audience and actor and one we won’t soon forget. Thank you Hugh for your Wolverine, there will never be another who could match yours.

Stars:

4 out of 5

After Credit Scene?

No

Trailer:

The final trailer for ‘LOGAN’ is here

20th Century Fox has released the final trailer for the upcoming film LOGAN and we have it for you below!

In the near future, a weary Logan cares for an ailing Professor X in a hideout on the Mexican border. But Logan’s attempts to hide from the world and his legacy are up-ended when a young mutant arrives, being pursued by dark forces.

The film stars Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Richard E. Grant, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, and introducing Dafne Keen.

LOGAN hits theaters everywhere on March 3, 2017!

Official Channels

SITE: http://logan.movie

INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/wponx/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/TheWolverineMovie/

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/WolverineMovie

HASHTAG: #Logan

The Trailer for ‘Morgan’ Starring Kate Mara is Here

Morgan

20th Century Fox has released the teaser trailer for the upcoming thriller Morgan directed by Luke Scott and we have it for you below!

A corporate troubleshooter (Kate Mara) is sent to a remote, top-secret location, where she is to investigate and evaluate a terrifying accident. She learns the event was triggered by a seemingly innocent “human,” who presents a mystery of both infinite promise and incalculable danger.

The movie also stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Toby Jones, Rose Leslie, Boyd Holbrook, Michelle Yeoh, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Paul Giamatti.

Morgan is coming soon

Netflix Release Teaser Trailer and Premiere Date for Narcos

NarcosBanner

Netflix announced today that its anticipated crime drama television series debut on August 28th, 2015 on the streaming network.The announcement was made this morning with a teaser video, which we have for you below.

The series was announced in April 2014 as part of a partnership between Netflix and Gaumont International Television. The series will be written by Chris Brancato and directed by Jose Padilha (Elite Squad). It will be based on the true-life story of the growth and spread of cocaine drug cartels across the globe and attendant efforts of law enforcement to meet them head on in brutal, bloody conflict. It will center around the notorious Colombian cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar (Moura) and Javier Pena (Pascal), a Mexican DEA agent sent to Colombia on a U.S. mission to capture and ultimately kill him. 

The show stars Wagner Moura as Pablo Escobar and Pedro Pascal as Javier Pena along with Manolo Cardona as Eduardo Mendoza and Boyd Holbrook as Steve Murphy.

 

All 10 episodes of “Narcos” will premiere on Friday, August 28 at 12:01 am EST