Review: Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez Is Another Netflix Doc Win

It’s no secret that Netflix has been on fire it when it comes to original content these past few years. It’s said that Netflix spent over $15 billion on original content in 2019 and this year for the first time, Netflix-produced films garnered more Oscar nominations (24) than any other studio including Disney which owns nearly everything media-related in the world (take that, Mouse!). As the world’s favorite media streaming service, Netflix is hitting its stride at a time when more and more competition is trying to take a bite out of its market share.

One of the best parts of Netflix’s business model is that because they have millions of users paying a monthly fee to use their service, they have a constant stream of revenue coming in that allows them to take chances on their original content. Because of that, we are able to get content like Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez. Netflix has produced some of the most highly acclaimed true crime series of the last few years in the critically acclaimed Making a Murderer, Evil Genius and their documentary about Amanda Knox. Killer Inside fits nicely alongside these series/films.

Following the demise of once heralded New England Patriots football star Aaron Hernandez, this series tries to put together how a rising football star and role model for the Latino community could be a cold blooded killer off the field. In 2013, Hernandez was arrested initially for the murder of his fiancee’s sister’s boyfriend Odin Lloyd. Over the 3+ hour three-part series, director Geno McDermott unpacks the confounding tale of how this all happened as best as possible. McDermott and the editing team do a masterful job of tracking back and forth in Hernandez’s timeline incorporating interviews with friends, former teammates, trial footage and jailhouse phone call audio from the various people with whom Hernandez spoke while in prison. For a story that twists and turns as much as this one does, they really do a masterful job grounding the viewer and not overloading us with too much or too little information.

Many of the details of this story are very familiar, not just to football fans but to the public at large. This case was a huge deal. It was played out in public and while it wasn’t OJ Simpson-like in scale, it was still a case in the public eye for multiple years. So giving new information or drilling down on points that weren’t already well known was McDermott‘s real challenge here. He did a great job moving both forward and backward in the timeline in particular to incorporate the bombshell news that Hernandez was implicated, later indicted and tried for two additional murders.

I do appreciate that this film tried its best to tackle the why – what caused a high-profile athlete playing for the best franchise in the sport who had yet to hit his peak only being 23 years old to bafflingly murder someone from his own inner circle…and in such a stupid manner that he was so easily caught? The film visits and revisits the claims that Hernandez was gay or bisexual throughout the film with a corroborating interview with his high school quarterback, Dennis Sansoucie, that they were lovers in high school. That shame of who he really was and that should it come out it would ruin him was posited as a possible motive. McDermott interestingly knits the story of former Patriot offensive lineman Ryan O’Callaghan who came out as gay after leaving the NFL throughout the series. His tale demonstrates the weight of what being gay in the macho culture of the NFL is like and what that can do to one’s psyche. It was an interesting take and sadly a perspective that is far too uncommon.

Near the end of the film, it’s revealed that Hernandez definitely had CTE, the degenerative disorder from repeated blows to head/concussions. This, too, was listed as a possible reason. The doctor who examined his brain said it was the worst case she’d ever seen for someone his age. His family life is probed thoroughly and shows that cracks the developed after the death of his father pushed him into hanging out with the wrong crowd at the wrong time in his life. All of these things combined may have been the cause of what pushed him to do the unthinkable for someone who was legitimately on the top of his own world. It’s something that will likely never be known as the true motive died with Aaron Hernandez. The series never comes off as preachy, pushing the viewer in any specific direction as to how this all happened and why.

This is a well-made series and it has a particularly poignant end with his last recorded phone call with his fiancee Shayanna Jenkins and his then 4-year old daughter, a sad end to a life that should have been different. I will give infinite credit to McDermott for not keeping Odin Lloyd, his family and likewise Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado, the two victims of a murder for which Hernandez was ultimately acquitted, in the background. They deserved at least that.

Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez premieres today on Netflix.

Here’s the trailer:

Review: ‘A Violent Separation’

In Theaters and On-Demand May 17, 2019
Directed by: Kevin and Michael Goetz (A Scenic Route)

In a quiet midwestern town, Norman Young (Brenton Thwaites) is faced with an impossible decision; arrest his older brother Ray (Ben Robson) for murder or help him cover it up. Norman chooses family. As the ensuing investigation withers, neither of the brothers are prepared for the weight of their guilt or how that guilt will strain their loyalty to those closest to them.

Brenton Thwaites is the one thing that truly shines in this film. His emotional journey is a tad more interesting, but not by much. That is a reflection of the writing and not his abilities. He does the best he can and should be commended for it. While the cinematography is lovely, this script ends up feeling really anticlimactic and frankly pretty dull. I can see what it was trying to do but there was very little in the way of character development outside of the first 20 minutes. Even then, it was small-town cliche. Alycia Debnam-Carey is vastly underutilized and her character is overly simplistic. You knew exactly where this was going from the very beginning and the final scene between brothers was telegraphed from a mile away. The investigation (the driving force of the plot) was not very thorough which led to little to no intrigue. A Violent Separation needed more meat on the bones for my taste.

Starring: 
Brenton Thwaites (“Titans, The Giver)
Ben Robson (“Animal Kingdom,” “Vikings”)
Alycia Debnam-Carey (“Fear the Walking Dead,” “The 100”)
Claire Holt (“The Vampire Diaries,” “Pretty Little Liars”)
Ted Levine (Silence of the Lambs, “Monk”)
Francesca Eastwood (Outlaws and Angels, M.F.A.)
Gerald McRaney (“This Is Us,” “Promised Land”)
Peter Michael Goetz (Father of the Bride Part II, My Girl)

Kevin and Michael Goetz’s film explores how far we will go to protect the ones we love. Screen Media will release A VIOLENT SEPARATION in theaters and on-demand May 17, 2019.

Review: ‘The Family I Had’

The Family I Had

Release Date: December 21, 2017 at 9/8c on Investigation Discovery

Guest review from Reel Reviews Over Brews

Charity walks a fine line between love and fear of her son Paris. It’s been ten years since he killed her daughter and she is left questioning his chance at redemption and her ability to forgive. We peel back the layers to reveal a family history previously marked by intra-family violence as she embraces motherhood for a third time with a new baby boy. Widely varying accounts from family members concerning how this tragedy came about crossed with intimate family videos, diaries and other personal media render a deeply nuanced and complicated portrait of a broken family striving to overcome the unthinkable.

The Family I Had grabs your attention from the first 5 minutes and doesn’t look back. It takes a look into the lives of Charity and Paris Bennett. Paris murdered his younger sister, Ella, when he was 13 and is currently in prison for 20 years until he can be released. In the mean time, Charity has been trying to figure out why. This is the question that follows throughout the movie and every stone uncovered leads to more questions of what Paris’s motive was or even if he is really as empathetic as he seems in the interviews.

If you are a fan of crime documentaries, then this one is a must see. We don’t see a need to watch any more than once, but it’s definitely worth the initial watch. It would have been informative to hear from the psychologists working with Paris (or at least a written statement) explaining to the viewers what a sociopath diagnosis is and how what Paris was presenting to the camera (a high level of empathy and regret) is not true to that diagnosis.

By the end of The Family I Had we were wondering how Paris will actually be upon his release. Will he be true to his word? Or are Charity and her new son, Phoenix, in danger of a repeat from the past. Only time will tell.

Reel ROB Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

Post Credits Scene: No

We want to thank our friends at Reel News Daily for allowing us to do this guest review!

Review: ‘LONDON ROAD’ brings an eerie tune to the big screen.

BBC WORLDWIDE NORTH AMERICA

PRESENTS

LONDON_ROAD_poster

Based on the groundbreaking musical from London’s National Theatreimage

STARRING:

Olivia Colman, Anita Dobson, Tom Hardy

And the entire original cast from the London play

DIRECTED BY: Rufus Norris

WRITTEN BY: Alecky BlytheLondon Road Still 5

If you anything like me and millions of other curious cats across the land, you spend far too many hours watching ID channel, MSNBC news crawls, and anything resembling true crime television. Or, you might be like the other half of me. The one who grew up on musicals, studied them in school, directed them as an adult… or something of the like. Well, you smack a murder mystery grabbed directly from the headlines, set it to music, and put it on the big screen, you’ve got my attention. LONDON ROAD is based upon real life interviews with the residents of Ipswich, England in 2006, after the murders of a handful of prostitutes. Turning a small neighborhood upside down, there is a killer on the loose and everyone is on edge. When someone goes on trial, suspicion still looms large as this community tries desperately to work through the confusion and mark of death.
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Imagine if you took Sweeney Todd and combined it with Parade, then set it in today’s overly saturated news media era, that is London Road. Based upon Alecky Blythe‘s hit stage play and same original cast, the film is nothing short of haunting delight. Through clever editing director Rufus Norris and writer Blythe have created an entirely new narrative for film around the audio. Utilizing the same “lyrics” sung by multiple characters, it becomes a swirling chorus of melancholy and dark madness.

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LONDON ROAD is the perfect example that truth is stranger than fiction. The musical numbers are beautifully choreographed in the most nontraditional way, adding to suspense and interest. A nice bonus during the end credits is the actual recorded audio from the real townspeople. It’s amazing how such simple words set to hypnotic beats take on a new life and brand new meaning in and out of context. The cast is a dream, from Olivia Colman, to Tom Hardy, to Paul Thornley, there is not one misstep. I can see why the National Theatre’s run was sold out. Do not miss this opportunity to see a unique presentation of chilling brilliance.

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LONDON ROAD is a verbatim musical – which makes this a very unique and non-traditional film.

Writer Alecky Blythe used the exact words from her interviews with the of residents of Ipswich, England to create the lyrics, which were than set to an innovative score that was inspired by the dialects and intonations of these residents.

LONDON ROAD documents true events that occurred in 2006, when the town of Ipswich was shattered by the discovery of the bodies of five women. The residents of London Road had struggled for years with frequent soliciting and curb-crawling on their street. When a local resident was charged, and then convicted, of the murders, the community grappled with what it meant to be at the epicenter of this tragedy. Using their own words set to an innovative musical score, LONDON ROAD tells a moving story of ordinary people coming together during the darkest of experiences. The stage production ‘London Road’ was an immediate hit and earned five-star reviews when it premiered at the National Theatre in 2011.  It returned to the stage in 2012 for a sold-out run.

Not Rated

Runtime:  93 minutes

NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 9, 2016

Village East Cinema (181-, 189 2nd Ave, New York)

LOS ANGELES – SEPTEMBER 16, 2016

Sundance Sunset Cinema (8000 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles)

Laemmle’s Playhouse 7 (673 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena)

Liz’s Review: ‘EVERY SECRET THING’ is a twisted tale of emotional manipulation.

EVERY SECRET THING_POSTERLaura Lippman‘s best-selling novel Every Secret Thing has been brought to life by Academy Award(r) Nominated Filmmaker Amy Berg. Two 11 year old girls are convicted of kidnapping and killing a biracial infant. Released after seven years in a jeuvenile detention center, Ronnie and Alice are back in their hometown attempting to adjust to normal life as newly minted adults. Two weeks after their release, another young biracial girl goes missing from a local furniture store. Can the lead detective from the first case survive this new one? Who can you trust? Every Secret Thing puts your suspicions to the test at every turn.

Every Secret Thing (15)Utilizing flashbacks and he said/she said interrogation tactics, Berg skillfully crafts a film filled with mystery. Having not read the book, I was pleasantly surprised that the film clearly stands on it’s own. Never once did I feel cheated or left in the dark for the wrong reasons. In fact I was scratching my head, trying to figure it out right along with the detectives. I was fully engrossed with the story and structure.  Bravo, I say.

Every Secret Thing (16)Dakota Fanning plays Ronnie with a beautiful mixture of shyness and a hardened edge. Ronnie is from “The wrong side of the tracks”. Quiet and smart, her heavily rimmed eyes speak volumes as a severely damaged young woman. Danielle Macdonald gives one hell of a performance as Alice. Her eerie lack of emotional growth is startling. She walks a fine line between naivete and incredulity. Someone go cast her in something else, please?

Every Secret Thing (6)Diane Lane plays Alice’s mother, Helen. This is a woman with issues in broad daylight. Her relationship with Ronnie and Alice is beyond peculiar and most definitely off putting. Alcoholic and self loathing, she has been silently molding the girls whether she realizes it or not. This performance should garner her attention for the sheer sliminess and moral justification that comes off the screen. Elizabeth Banks play Detective Nancy Porter. Haunted by the death of the first child 7 years earlier, she is determined to figure out the truth this time around. Banks is vulnerable but tough in all the right areas.

Every Secret Thing (14) It was so refreshing to see a cast that was female dominated and extraordinarily talented. This film blows the Bechdel test out of the water. Applause to Berg, screenwriter Nicole Holofcener, and executive producer Frances McDormand for bringing Every Secret Thing to the big screen. I will say, even after seeing the film twice, (once at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival and again this week) I am still intrigued to go out and grab Lippman’s novel. At the heart of it all, this is a story about emotional abuse and it’s long term consequences. Every Little Secret will keep you guessing until the very last frame.

Synopsis: From a producer of FOXCATCHER and based on the novel by New York Times best-selling author Laura Lippman, EVERY SECRET THING is a gripping psychological thriller about the chilling consequences of the secrets we keep.

Detective Nancy Porter (Elizabeth Banks) is still haunted by her failure to save the life of a missing child from the hands of two young girls. Eight years later, another child goes missing in the same town just days after Ronnie and Alice (Dakota Fanning and newcomer Danielle Macdonald), the two girls convicted of the former crime, were released from juvenile detention. Porter and her partner (Nate Parker) must race against the clock to prevent history from repeating itself. But as they begin to investigate the girls and their families, especially Alice’s protective mother (Diane Lane), they unearth a web of secrets and deceptions that calls everything into question.

Directed by Academy Award(r) Nominated Filmmaker Amy Berg and Executive Produced by Frances McDormand.

Rated R

RT: 93 Minutes

Release: In theaters, On Demand and iTunes May 15, 2015
 
Additional VOD platforms: iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Google Play, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, AT&T, DirecTV, Dish, and more…

Tribeca Film Festival reviews: Docs that will make you face palm humanity. ‘Cartel Land’, ‘Indian Point’, and ‘Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle’

CARTEL LANDCartel Land-#1 - Autodefensa member standing guard in Michoacán, Mexico, from CARTEL LAND, a film by Matthew HeinemanFrom poverty comes desperation and opportunistic turn. The mentality of, “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em,” could not be more true in a new doc from director Matthew Heinman, Cartel Land. Mexican drug cartels are running rampant, killing innocent people in their wake, wreaking havoc on what would otherwise be hard working, peaceful folk. Infuriated by the circumstances forced up them, townspeople have taken up arms of their own and formed a group named the Autodefensa. They side step the government, who deny there is a problem at all, and capture cartel members to be handed immediately to the police. We also meet a group called the Arizona Border Recon. Mostly comprised of neo-con, anti-immigration minded men, they are able to put their politics aside to police human trafficking and cartel scouting groups. Cartel Land-#7 - Meth Lab in Michoacán, Mexico, from CARTEL LAND, a film by Matthew HeinemanThe most unprecedented footage is when the filmmakers were allowed access inside the cartels themselves. The saddest past of the doc, a lot of the present cartel members are former members of the Autodefensa. Money begets power. It remains a vicious cycle. Cartel Land gives us a real time look into the everyday struggle of the Mexican people. While constantly in true physical peril, Heinman and his crew present us with outstanding production value, balanced storytelling, and an insight to what most of us turn a blind eye to. 

8:30 PM – FRI 4/24 BOW TIE CINEMAS CHELSEA 8                  –RUSH
5:00 PM – SUN 4/26 REGAL CINEMAS BATTERY PARK 11-3   –RUSH

INDIAN POINTIndian_POint_Press_3 TribecaAs a New Yorker, post-9/11, we want to believe that we’re safer. We want to think that the heightened presence of armed guards at Grand Central means something. But, it’s the forces we don’t see that should freak us out. Did you know that just 35 miles north of Times Square is an aging nuclear power plant called Indian Point? I sure didn’t. Not scary enough for you? Alright, the government has down graded evacuation plans since the Fukushima melt down. Still no? 6% of the country’s population lives with 50 miles of the plant. You cannot outrun radiation. Indian_POint_Press_1 TribecaThe plant was built in the 1950’s and has not been sufficiently updated since. This is not a one off for the plants across the country. Old technology cannot be applied fast enough for the amount of old cores we are storing on site (encased in cement). The volatility of this waste is unbelievable. When the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, Fukushima’s waste was jostled enough to cause multiple reactor meltdown, something that the industry claims is impossible in the US. That radiation has traveled across the ocean and is now causing birth defects in California. Indian Point shows this issue from all sides; activists, journalists, plants supervisors, residents, and the former chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. This is an eye-opening doc about money Vs power.  When you get the end of the film, the information provided will downright piss you off more than you ever thought possible. Indian Point should stand as a warning for us all. Complacency is the way we power our planet is no longer an option.

6:15 PM – FRI 4/24  BOW TIE CINEMAS CHELSEA 4   – RUSH

TOM SWIFT AND HIS ELECTRIC RIFLETOM SWIFT  TribecaIn the wake of so many tragic police shootings, I posed a question to my husband, “Why don’t they just use tasers anymore?!” I recalled the infamous YouTube video “Don’t Tase Me Bro!”. Without giving much weight to the incident,  when that video went viral, I, like most Americans, brushed it off as internet fodder. What I didn’t realize was just how serious this issue actually was and continues to be. In the doc Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle we learn about the origin of the one single company that created and trains law enforcement on the proper use of Tasers. These “weapons” are meant to incapacitate a subject. Unfortunately, for brother Tom and Rick Smith, tasers also kill people. The two founded Taser International in 1993 and have sold their stun gun to almost every one of the US’ 18,250 law enforcement agencies.

The updated Taser targeting guide issued by Taser International.

The updated Taser targeting guide issued by Taser International.

Between 2001 and 2012, there were 500 taser related deaths reported in the U.S. There are no regulations on the use of tasers. In the film, we are privy to dash cam footage of 23 year old Stanley Harlan. Pulled over in front of his house, the reason still unclear, he is seen complying with officers and then suddenly, off camera, he is tasered 3 times, causing him to go into cardiac arrest. As his parents look on is sheer terror, we witness Harlan’s death. In a deposition following a string of additional deaths, the Smith brothers sit smugly testifying that they have no scientific knowledge that their product contributes to anyone’s death. Ironically, in 2009, Taser International updated their training guide to reflect what they claimed they did not believe. These gentlemen and this company know they are wrong. They know the dangers of their product, but for them, their monopoly grows in spite of the deaths.

Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle is raw and shocking. You will walk out shaking your head. All of that being said, this documentary is incredibly informative and well structured. On the surface, it may appear to be a propaganda piece, so let me assure it, it is well researched and definitely worth your time.

You can still catch Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle at the fest!

8:30 PM – SUN 4/26 SVA THEATER 2 BEATRICE $21.50
For more information on all of these films, you can visit the Tribeca Film Festival Guide 2015

‘TRUE STORY’ stars James Franco and Jonah Hill in roles you never saw coming.

True StoryPosterThe mind is a dangerous place. Power is a dangerous thing. Manipulation is a dangerous game. Fame is a monster. Infamy is forever. TRUE STORY, based on real life events, is the story of former New York Times writer, Mike Finkel. Once highly regarded for gutsy journalism, his choice to fabricate pieces of one story come crashing down on him. Let go from the NYT, he moves back to middle America with his lonely and tremendously supportive wife. Soon after his return, Mike receives a phone call about a man who, when arrested for the murder of his family, claimed to be the NYT reporter, Michael Finkel. Naturally intrigued, he sets up a meeting with now inmate, Christian Longo. Armed with only his wits and a notepad, Finkel agrees to tell Longo’s story, that is, if he can get it.

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The question in this film is who’s playing whom? The manipulation of both men walk a razor thin line throughout. Jonah Hill is excellent as Finkel. Thoughtful, gentle, needing to understand why Longo acts as he does. James Franco is downright frightening in this role. The roller coaster ride of this character’s journey is plain to see, with engrossing effort on Franco’s part. These two duel it out in each scene, many times with nothing but eye contact that speaks 1000 words where there are none. This is some serious acting going on here. We all know Hill is perfectly capable of this level of intensity with Moneyball and The Wolf of Wall Street under his belt. Franco, while  I am a huge fan already, really knocks it out of the park as Longo. As an audience member, he is likable and seemingly sincere, all while having an undercurrent of potential sociopath. The way these two play off one another is movie magic. I really think it would be a shame to ignore these performances come awards season.

TrueStoryFelicityJones

Felicity Jones plays Finkel’s wife, Jill, with huge range, as usual on her part. She is vulnerable yet strong, as a woman stuck between a healthy marriage and the ambition of a husband hungry to rebuild his name. Once again, it’s the quiet moments that are some of the most frightening for her. Left alone in the house with remnants of Longo’s drawings and writings, she is visually confronted by his enigmatic musings that are wholly unsettling to stare at. This film is perfectly timed in its release with the popularity of The Jinx and the wildly successful podcast Serial. If you are a fan of either (which, frankly, you should be) True Story will be right up your alley.

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Bottom line, TRUE STORY will chill you to your bone. It will give you pause. The film is so profoundly menacing because it is based on actual events. That creepy crawly feeling under your skin lasts long after you’ve exited the theater. The question still remains; “Who do you believe?”

TRUE STORY is now available on VOD and comes to theaters Friday, April 10th.

SYNOPSIS: When disgraced New York Times reporter Michael Finkel meets accused killer Christian Longo—who has taken on Finkel’s identity—his reporting job morphs into an unforgettable game of cat and mouse. Based on actual events, Finkel’s relentless pursuit of Longo’s true story encompasses murder, love, deceit, and redemption.

Cast:
Jonah Hill
James Franco
Felicity Jones
Robert John Burke
Ethan Suplee
Gretchen Mol