Posts by Jeremy Butler

I must confess that I missed the boat on the original film, so going into this film I had reservations regarding my ability to properly review this film given that I haven’t seen the original. These concerns were made irrelevant by the revelation that this film, Orphan: First Kill, is actual a prequel to the first film. In this film, we get to see the events that led Leena Klammer to become what several people in the film call her: a monster. In 2007, Klammer is a 31-year-old psychiatric patient with a rare hormonal disorder called hypopituitarism that gives her the appearance of a 10-year-old child. After orchestrating an escape from the Saarne Instituute in which she manages to kill at least two people, Leena researches missing American girls and finds that she bears a resemblance to a girl named Esther Albright, and hatches a diabolic plan. However, it is not long before she realizes that in this seeming ordinary role that she has managed to slither into that she is not the only one with blood on her hands.

So this is not a movie that I would say aged well with time. However, if you could put yourself in the mindset of the time period of its release (1987), I could see the appeal. Lori Singer of Footloose fame and Anthony Edwards of ER fame star as married couple Roxy and Aaron Walston, whose life and relationship becomes strained in rural North Carolina in the post-depression late 1930s, when a young drifter named Jack Ruffin (Bruce Abbott, Re-Animator) comes to their tobacco farm to be a farmhand. Roxy, a shelter girl who married young and had a child is unable to resist the temptation that is Jack Ruffin. As expected, things do not end well. Based on a 1984 novel, Here to Get My Baby Out of Jail, the film shows the tragic results of the affair, which in this modern setting may appear cliché, but during that time likely would be engaging.

Not crazy about the title. Personally, I think that the title of the novel on which this film is based  would have been better suited given the film’s plot. Based on a 1989 Sara Bird novel by the name of The Boyfriend School, this 1990 comedy tells to story of Gus Kubicek, a depressed and overweight cartoonist who is in love with a woman that won’t seem to give him the time of day. I’ve heard some excuses for getting out of having to go out with someone, but lying and saying you have to have dental surgery; that’s pretty low. Despite seeing numerous movies that utilize the “judging a book by its cover” trope, I still was able to see the appeal of the film, as soon as I was able to put myself into the mindset of the film’s time period. By doing this, I was able to avoid perceptions of it being cliché. This was a necessary measure to take, especially if you would like to be able to enjoy the film in 2022. Even so, I’m still not a big fan of the title.

Now here is a series that me and my wife just didn’t seen eye to eye on. For her, the series was a triumph and had great depth. For me, it made me wonder whether we were watching the same thing. Because outside the beautiful scenery, I did not discern any great depth to this anthology series, which appeared to feature unhappy people. The series featured a cast of recognizable faces, which included Alexandra Daddario, Connie Britton, Steve Zahn, Sydney Sweeney, and Jennifer Coolidge; however, their characters weren’t what I would call loveable. It was difficult to find anyone pure or worth cheering for. Granted, the characters had varying degrees of sins, and none of them were what I would call evil, but none of them were worth investing in. Of course that is merely this humble critics opinion, as it would appear that many people have found something to love, given the series recent award success, such as two Critic’s Choice Awards and five Primetime Emmy Awards, including for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series, and Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. I guess this explains the series being granted a Season 2, which is scheduled to premiere in October 2022.

Unfortunately, this film was a little immature to gain the Nalyce stamp of approval. While Japanese animated films have been her bread and butter in recent years, her tastes venture more towards anime such as Inuyasha and My Hero Academia. When it comes to Panda! Go Panda!, it was just too kiddie for her. Had this been a year or two ago, she would have been all about it. Perhaps there will be such an opportunity with my son, but given that he is only a week old, time will have to tell. As far as I’m concerned, it was a cute story if impractical. I recommend a suspension of belief if you chose to watch the film. Given that a suspension of belief is a prerequisite for all animated films, that shouldn’t be too much to ask. While I understand the need for this suspension of belief, I’m afraid I wasn’t fully able to achieve it at times.

I would categorize this as a unique movie. Not only based on its premise, even though that did possess a measure of intrigue. Zero Contact has multiple things that make it unique, such as it is the first film from a major Hollywood studio to exist on the blockchain. According to my research, the film will premiere on new NFT platform Vuele, a premier platform for collecting, watching, and trading exclusive, limited edition feature-length films and collector NFT film content. However, while this is interesting and potentially could serve as a new frontier for cinematic releases, there was another factor that made the film unique in my eyes. To me, Zero Contact’s most unique quality is that the film was produced in 17 different territories entirely virtually during the 2020 global pandemic. Anthony Hopkins leads the cast and is supported by a cast of faces that I recognize, but whose names are not on the rolodex of actors that I keep in my head.