Posts by Jeremy Butler

A femme fatale who predicted her own demise -- now that is the stuff good noir films are made of. And what better person to play the role of said femme fatale than Amber Heard, fresh off her performance in the popular DC Comics film Aquaman? Granted this movie was filmed before the DC film, but delayed due to lawsuits, which only goes to add further intrigue to the movie. Originally screened at the 2015 Toronto Film Festival, London Fields features a cast of well-knowns including Jim Sturgess, Theo James, Billy Bob Thornton, and perhaps most notably Heard’s ex-husband, Johnny Depp. One can only imagine the effect this film would have had if it had not been for a few setbacks. As it stands, London Fields is laced with intrigue, and Amber is compelling, but the film amounts to very little substance.

Nicola Six (Heard) has always possessed the ability of premonition, capable of seeing others’ deaths as well as predicting her own on her 30th birthday, which is rapidly approaching. Intertwined in her demise are three men who find themselves drawn to her beauty and mysterious demeanor: Keith Talent (Sturgess), a local degenerate who dreams of fame and is in debt up to his eyeballs to a loan shark (Depp) eager to take him apart; Guy Clinch (James), a local sophisticate trapped in a loveless marriage; and Samson Young (Thornton), a writer suffering from crippling writer’s block and in dire need of a muse.

In life, we all fall down; it’s a fundamental fact of life. This is a story about how we get back up. 100 Yards is about Rich Porter, an NFL prospect who loses his way after suffering tragedy. With a potentially great opportunity in front of him, he cuts himself off from the world. The hits just keep on coming as he is diagnosed with cancer. Instead of battling his disease, he is resigned to his fate until his meets a young boy with the same condition as well as a compassionate nurse that try their best to bring Rich back to the light and get him to hope again. 100 Yards is a story about regaining faith that no situation is completely lost, and it is about how we approach it.

This is an emotional tale; that is made evident early on as we watch Rich Porter sacrifice an opportunity of a lifetime, going from a number one NFL draft pick to relocating to the Philippines to search for his missing mother. He is not the only person suffering in this story, but he is the engine that drives forward the plot, and you can’t help but feel for him. His loss is significant, making him very relatable. Honestly, I would mostly likely respond in a similar way if I was in his shoes.

The city morgue on the graveyard shift? Well, you can’t ask for a better setting for a horror film, can you? Shay Mitchell has been making a decent run in horror/suspense with her role of Peach on the stalker thriller You, as well as her newest role in this horror film The Possession of Hannah Grace. Horror films have become a new obsession for me in recent years, so I was very excited for this addition. Though given how saturated the market has become in recent years, my expectation was on the lower side of the spectrum. In its favor, there are several other familiar faces, including Stana Katic of Castle fame and Grey Damon. Additionally, the story unfolds in a suspenseful manner, which is half the battle right there. Though no possession film will ever top The Exorcist, The Possession of Hannah Grace is a worthwhile addition to the genre. I mean, it scared my wife out the room. 

The story follows disgraced ex-cop Megan as she begins a new job as a night shift intake attendant at the city morgue. Off the bat, her supervisor informs her that this is not a job for the fainthearted, as her only coworkers will be corpses. Despite this, Megan takes on the responsibility, eager to redeem the sins of her past that resulted in her leaving the police force. While beginning this new chapter in her life, she is still haunted by the things that caused her to spiral out of control as well as the tense relationship between her and her ex-boyfriend, Andrew.

“For the record, I am a better Dorothy Parker than Dorothy Parker.”

Looks like Melissa McCarthy is attempting to branch out from her usual branch of raunchy comedy. Or at least she is dipping her toe in the water of such an idea, as Can You Ever Forgive Me is not without its raunch. Based on  the novel by Lee Israel, a known literary forger said to have forged over 400 false letters from notable writers, McCarthy plays the character and brings the comical quips that she has became famous for. Paired with Richard E Grant, the two work off one another with positive results. Probably one of the best examples of a non-romantic pairing I’ve seen this year. 

American Vandal is a mockumentary series that premiered on Netflix back in 2017. For those unfamiliar with the term “mockumentary,” it is a parody film or television series in the format of a documentary. This particular series is a parody of the Netflix series Making a Murderer and a investigative podcast called Serial. American Vandal has been on my radar for quite some time thanks to a friend of mine that sang its praise for weeks, trying to convince me of the show’s merit. My buddy’s recommendation had me intrigued, but as you can imagine my queue of media content is a long one, and I was waiting for inspiration to strike to push the series to the front of the queue (thank you, Upcomingdiscs). First thing I did after watching the series is call up my friend and let him deliver his “I told you so” speech.

The series follows two student investigative reporters, Peter Maldonado and Sam Ecklund, as they begin to investigate an act of vandalism that left 27 faculty cars defaced with phallic images. Following the incident, class clown Dylan Maxwell is quickly deemed to be responsible and promptly expelled. Dylan is a notorious prankster, and his prior history of drawing phallic images makes his guilt a forgone conclusion. However, as Peter and Sam begin to examine the evidence more closely, Dylan’s culpability becomes less clear.