Film Review: HICK (2011)

Director: Derick Martini
Writer: Andrea Portes (novel/screenplay)
Running time: 90 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Drama/Comedy
Japan Release date: 24^th November 2012

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 6^th July 2013.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE UNINTENTIONAL SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I rarely check out much about a film before watching it; I tend to go more on instinct, which usually works out ok. I wasn’t all that sure about this one though so I had a quick peek on how well it scored across various sites. I was in for a shock; it scored really badly and it was then that I had to know why; hence the viewing. Well I have to admit they were, to a greater extent right, it’s not very good and I’ll tell you why after this very brief summary.

When her parents, Nick (Anson Mount) and Tammy (Juliette Lewis) abandon her just after her 13^th birthday, Luli McMullen (Chloë Grace Moretz) decides to leave her home in Nebraska and head for the bright lights of Las Vegas. She has no money and so sets off walking. She is first picked up by a cowboy, Eddie (Eddie Redmayne) who seems nice at first but soon reveals he has a temper. Not wishing to stay in his company, Luli makes him stop and she gets back to walking. She is next picked up by a woman, Glenda (Blake Lively), who she helps rob a convenience store. She bumps into Eddie again at a bowling alley and again later at Glenda’s place where her husband, Lloyd (Ray McKinnon) has employed him. All of these meetings are more than coincidence; Eddie has a connection to Glenda and plans for Luli.

I first have to say that I have no problems with the performances; everyone did a great job in that department. Throughout the film Luli is drawing in a sketch book as she narrates and I really liked the simplicity of the drawings. No, what let it down (IMO) was a poorly put together script. They say it’s a bad idea to let the writer of a novel attempt the screenplay and I suspect this is a case in point. It probably works very well as a book, but it really didn’t work on the screen in this form. I like the actors fine but I found little to like in the characters. Our main focus, Luli, has very few redeeming features; she was a victim of circumstance all the way through and I found it quite frustrating to watch I’m afraid. Sadly not one I can recommend.

SteelMonster’s verdict: NOT RECOMMENDED

My score: 4.9/10.

IMDb Score: 5.4/10 (based on 7,322 votes when this review was written).
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1205558/

MetaScore: 28/100: (Based on 10 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 5/100 (based on 20 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 37/100 (based on 4,945 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hick_2012/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HICKTHEMOVIE
Trailer:

Film Review: CONVICTION (2010)

Director: Tony Goldwyn
Writer: Pamela Gray
Running time: 107 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Biography/Drama
UK Release date: 14^th January 2011

Watched on Sky+ Monday 2^nd January 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I knew very little about this film before seeing it, in fact I almost gave it a pass as I knew nothing of the case it’s about either. No surprise there really, I don’t think it even featured in news bulletins here in the UK. Needless to say, it’s based on a true story; a powerful drama about a sister who refuses to believe her brother is guilty of murder. I’ll give you my thoughts after this brief summary.

When Kenny Waters is charged with the brutal murder of a woman in 1982 the evidence, plus testimonies from the police and two of his former lovers, are enough to convict him. His sister, Betty Anne Waters, refuses to believe his guilt and sacrifices her marriage and a big chunk of her life to go to law school so she can prove it. There she is befriended by fellow student, Abra Rice, who supports her in her crusade. She eventually passes the bar exam and, as a qualified lawyer, is free to find the evidence that might clear her brother. By now many years have passed and DNA evidence is now permissible in court, but how to locate the original evidence and also get the witnesses to tell the truth? Well, I’ll leave you with that burning question or the Spoiler Police will be fabricating evidence against me (again).

Quite well made with some flashback sequences that (for me) didn’t really work. They seemed to be thrown in at random and only served to break up the flow of the storyline rather than enhance it I’m afraid. Very powerful performances from both Hilary Swank as Betty Anne Waters and Sam Rockwell as Kenny Waters. Honourable mentions must also go to; Minnie Driver as Abra Rice, Melissa Leo as Nancy Taylor, Juliette Lewis as Roseanna Perry and Peter Gallagher as Barry Scheck.

Although it’s quite an inspirational story I’m afraid I found it hard to warm to any of the characters, particularly that of Kenny Waters. I agree that he did not deserve to go to jail, but I didn’t find much sympathy for him; particularly when he’s shown beating a guy up for suggesting that a bar is maybe not the best place to bring his baby daughter. Of course it’s alright in the end because he offers to buy the guy a drink! There is obviously a very strong bond between brother and sister forged from them being brought up in foster homes. I know some will draw great inspiration from this film, but for me, sadly, I didn’t enjoy it all that much. I will still deem it recommend though, but mainly for the performances.

My score: 6.6/10

IMDb Score: 7.1/10 (based on 14,849 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1244754/

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 68/100 (based on 174 reviews counted at the time of going to press).
Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 71/100 (based on 30,138 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/conviction_2010/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Kenny Waters: [after seeing the media people and the police surrounding him] What the fuck?
Nancy Taylor: Kenneth Waters? You're under arrest for the murder of Katharina Brow.
Kenny Waters: Are you out of your fucking mind? You let me off two years ago!
Nancy Taylor: We've got you now.

Betty Anne Waters: I don't deserve a friend like you.
Abra Rice: You damn right, you don't!

Nancy Taylor: I'm sorry you wasted your life on this. Your brother killed that woman.

Betty Anne Waters: You are innocent!
Kenny Waters: Are you sure about that?
Betty Anne Waters: [crying] How can you ask me that? How can you ask me that?

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press).
Official Site: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/conviction/
Trailer:

Film Review: WHIP IT (2009)

Director: Drew Barrymore
Running Time: 107 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12A

Genre: Drama/Comedy/Sports
UK Release Date: 7th April 2010

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 16th April 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I have been wanting to see this one for a while, I was interested to see just how Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut would turn out. Not too bad is the answer, a little rough around the edges, but not a bad first effort all in all. It’s entertaining, very funny, in places, and I found it a laudable effort. Here’s a brief summary before I give you my thoughts (summary haters, and those that don’t wish to know about the plot, please lace up those skates while I write the next paragraph).

Bliss Cavendar is a teenage girl living in Bodeen, a small town in Texas. Her mother, Brooke, encourages her to take part in beauty pageants, but you can tell her heart isn’t really in it. She works at a diner with her friend Pash and one night they decide to go out to a Roller Derby in Austin. They discover the team are having try-outs and so Bliss decides to give it a go. She’s under age and so tells them that she’s 21. At first she’s not very good, but with practice she gets better. Of course she has to lie to her parents about where she’s going and what she’s doing. All the players have pseudonyms and Bliss chooses ‘Babe Ruthless’ as her moniker. She eventually gets good enough to take part in a match and, after a baptism of fire, she soon finds her feet. Their coach, Razor, discovers that Bliss is a very good player; she’s small, agile and can score them lots of points… If only he could get them to use his playbook! Eventually it comes down to the play-off game and Bliss must face her nemesis, Iron Maven. Add to this the turmoil at home and a love interest, a boy from a band, Oliver, (of course there’s got to be a love story) and that’s a potted version of the film. No more, or the Spoiler Police will be after me.

I really enjoyed this one, yes, it’s a bit rough around the edges, but you can see they had a lot of fun making it. The performances are all very good, especially Ellen Page as Bliss and Marcia Gay Harden as her mother Brooke Cavendar, both were very good. Both Kristen Wiig as Maggie Mayhem and Drew Barrymore as Smashley Simpson did a good job as Bliss’s teammates. Also Juliette Lewis put in a good shift as Iron Maven. Honourable mentions go to Alia Shawkat as Pash, Jimmy Fallon as 'Hot Tub' Johnny Rocket, Andrew Wilson as Razor and Landon Pigg (great name!) as Oliver.

Credit goes to all the stunt people, this must have been a tough one to pull off, but they did a very good job. I also enjoyed the soundtrack, some good tracks are used, mostly indie stuff, but if you include ‘Sheena is a Punk Rocker’ by The Ramones then you’re always going to get my vote! It’s not prefect, as I’ve already mentioned, but I did find it pretty entertaining, and so… Recommended.

My Score: 7.9/10

LINKS:
(RT = Rotten Tomatoes)
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1172233/
RT Page: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/whip_it/
Official Site: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/whipit/
Trailer: