Ever since it was announced that Chance the Rapper was doing an A24 horror movie, Slice has been a favorite of the internet. The film is an homage to B-horror movies, following a town in shambles after a pizza delivery boy is murdered with a possibly supernatural connection. I was among the people looking forward to the film, but became suspicious after A24 marketed the film as a one night only theatrical release before dropping it on digital platforms at midnight the next day. Still, I stayed up until two in the morning watching it.

Ultimately, the best comparison I can draw for this film is to the recent (atrocity) The Happytime Murders, but this was much more interesting. There were so many arcs between which the film jumped for the character development to be truly effective, but I found the story to be compelling nonetheless. This film is predominantly an attempt at a noir-style detective story, with some added horror comedy elements and half-baked attempts at social commentary. The film is obviously trying to draw connections between the ghosts in the film and minority groups in real-life America, but the film handles it so ineffectively that it almost feels like an afterthought. This made the film feel very insincere. That being said, I thought the whodunit storyline was adequate. Even though the big reveal at the end is super obvious from the beginning, I still enjoyed the ride, and the addition of ghosts and werewolves was welcome. I never really found it to be that funny as a whole, but it wasn't unwatchable, either. There were a few moments in which I found myself grinning, but for most of the film, I found myself just feeling rather neutral towards it.

In terms of execution, the film is really a mixed bag. The best part of the film, hands down, is the title sequence, which is awesome. That says a lot, though, that the title sequence is the thing that impressed me the most. Also impressive were the performances of Chance Bennett (Chance the Rapper) and Paul Scheer. Both looked like they were having a tremendous amount of fun with their roles and absolutely nailed the over-the-top cheesiness for which the film was hoping. I also liked the general visual style of the film, as a throwback to 80's monster movies. Otherwise, I didn't find myself super impressed. The CGI in the film is absolutely horrid. I really don't know if this film had a budget for CGI at all. The practical effects and prosthetics are also pretty rough, too. I wasn't crazy about Zazie Beets in this film, either. She just isn't given enough to do, so she mostly looks bored, and that feeling was a little contagious at times.

Overall, I didn't think that Slice was as bad as it could have been, but it really isn't worth a cult following, either. Instead, it just falls in this awkward middle ground where it isn't bad enough to be good or good by itself.

Slice
Big Tuna's Rating: C
How Did I Watch It?: Digital rental.
Had I Seen It Before?: No.
Would I Watch It Again?: Maybe.

I was very interested in seeing "Last Flag Flying" because it had a great cast and I generally enjoy the films of Richard Linklater. However, it surprisingly did not make a very big theatrical splash, so I had to wait until it became available to rent.

Ultimately, I found that the writing of this film was satisfying. The character development is very strong. All three of the leads are developed very well into complex characters that add to the audience's sympathy for the story. This also allows Linklater to deliver his commentary on war more effectively. Even though Linklater had quite a bit that was noble to say, and it does deserve to be heard, I fear that it is too little too late. To me, it appears that the film would have been much more well-timed were it released about five years ago. Now, it feels like the war has evolved to the point that the commentary is a little redundant. That didn't affect my enjoyment of the movie, though. There were many parts that were funny, and there were many parts that were endearing.

The style of the film is definitely extremely minimalistic. It is a little play-like in that it is shot in mostly confined sets and is based predominantly in its dialogue, but I think that is fine to accomplish its purpose. Maybe a few flashbacks to the war could have been beneficial to garner even more audience sympathy, but I thought that it was fine enough. I did very much enjoy the soundtrack, though. The performances were also great, too. Steve Carrell is more well-rounded than usual, and with the exception of one scene, I didn't ever find him to be squeaky and annoying. Bryan Cranston and Laurence Fishburne are also great, having excellent chemistry with Carrell that makes the film what it is.

Overall, I found "Last Flag Flying" to be quite good. There are many things about the film that succeed, I just wish that it would have been released a little sooner so that it could have made more of an impact.

Last Flag Flying
Big Tuna's Rating: B
How Did I Watch It?: Redbox rental.
Had I Seen It Before?: No.
Would I Watch It Again?: Yes.

I had wanted to see Stronger when it was in theaters, but ended up missing it because it never expanded close enough to me. As such, I ended up renting it on Redbox when I got the chance.

Ultimately, I found myself a little underwhelmed by the film. I was really expecting a moving, even a little depressing, character drama. Instead, it felt like I was watching a PSA for Boston Strong that came out a few years too late. This film definitely isn't timely enough for its message to be effective, and I didn't feel like its story was strong enough, otherwise. It's diversion enough, but it never is truly captivating, and I found it to be full of flaws. For one, the characters aren't particularly sympathetic. They are a little annoying due to the sheer amount of bad decisions they make.  For a little bit, I could have suspension of disbelief, but after a while, they outstayed their welcome. In my opinion, the film tried too hard to be inspiring for it to be a good film.

I also found that the execution of the film was mediocre. Undoubtedly the best part of the film was Gyllenhaal's performance. He appeared sincere and emotional in his role, although I would still say it is far from his best. I wasn't particularly impressed by any of the supporting cast. The cinematography was a little rough, but I will say that the practical effects for the aftermath of the bombing looked really good.

Overall, I wasn't super impressed by Stronger. I don't think it clicked for me emotionally, and as a result, it didn't work for me as a whole. I'm sure it has its audience, and it isn't bad, but the story deserved better.

Stronger
Big Tuna's Rating: B-
How Did I Watch It?: Redbox rental.
Had I Seen It Before?: No.
Would I Watch It Again?: Yes.

I had heard a lot of good things about "Beach Rats" out of Sundance. It never came close to me when it was in theaters, though, so when I was looking for something on Redbox and came across it, I decided to pick it up.

The film had some very strong parts, but also had some crippling weaknesses. The protagonist is extremely well-developed for the first half of the film. He does some bad things, but he is shown to be real and experiencing emotions with which the audience can sympathize. However, I think that the protagonist's character is weakened by his companions. I found those characters to be extremely annoying, and every scene in which they shared the screen with the protagonist, I could barely tolerate it because of them. Then, there's also a twist at the ending that is ridiculously sudden and does not do a good job of resolving the characters' arcs at all. It disappointed me that with such a strong start, the movie ultimately fell flat.

​The filmmaking style of this film is rough, but visceral. There were are a lot of shots that are built in the dark, but are bright with the neon-like glow of the moon. The result is quite beautiful. The location scouts also did a good job, as the settings of the film work to build the tone for which it hopes. The music is good, too, further creating suspense. Harris Dickinson does an excellent job in the lead role, but all of the other actor's performances were a little burdensome.

Overall, it's a shame that "Beach Rats" wasn't better. It had the narrative potential to be what it wanted to be, but there was some extreme weakness in the development of secondary characters.

Beach Rats
Big Tuna's Rating: B-
How Did I Watch It?: Redbox rental.
Had I Seen It Before?: No.
Would I Watch It Again?: Probably not.

I had a rent one, get one free code for Redbox, and there was another movie that I really wanted to see, so I looked for the most interesting thing that was available for my second one and this was it. I had heard about Camera Obscura at the Florida Film Festival, and while the reception wasn't positive, I still thought it would be interesting.

The writing of this film was interesting. It's nothing super original. There are all sorts of horror films about a supernatural entity compelling a person to kill. What made this film interesting was the mystery behind it. The mystery was even rather predictable at times, but the film took what could have easily been cheesy in such a serious way that it kept me involved. The commentary is also very solid. The film served as a relatively interesting exploration of PTSD. That being said, there are TONS of issues. The character development is beyond lackluster. There are also a lot of errors in logic found throughout or things that just don't make sense. As a whole, the film is just convoluted.

The execution of the film is surprisingly decent for a horror film, though. The camerawork was solid. It didn't look like it had a super high budget or anything, but it was much better than that of a TV movie. The practical effects for the gore were also very impressive. It wasn't scary, but it was a little disturbing at times. The acting is fine, but not amazing. Christopher Denham does a good job in the lead role, and Nadja Bobyleva accents him well in her supporting role.

Overall, I thought that "Camera Obscura" was an enjoyable horror film that ended up better than expected, but still not great. If you are a horror hound, it's definitely worth a shot.

Camera Obscura
Big Tuna's Rating: C
How Did I Watch It?: Redbox rental.
Had I Seen It Before?: No.
Would I Watch It Again?: Probably not.