What to Watch This Weekend: Jakob's Wife, The Year Earth Changed, Ren & Stimpy, In The Earth, Songbird, Willy's Wonderland, Synchronic, Honest Thief

For The Return Of A Horror Icon: Jakob's Wife (Theaters and Digital)
Jakob's Wife has an old school feel, strong characters, a great balance of dark comedy and horror, and a well-paced story that has plenty to sink your teeth into.  For more information, check out the review!

For The Planet Earth Fans: The Year Earth Changed (Apple TV+)

The Year Earth Changed chronicles this strange year and the profound effect that it has had on the planet, with amazing and eerie images of this dramatic natural transformation.  For more information, check out the review!

For The 90s Kids: Happy Happy Joy Joy: The Ren & Stimpy Story (Vudu Free With Ads)

Happy Happy Joy Joy: The Ren & Stimpy Story is an insightful documentary about a show that changed all of animation, its rise and fall, and the genius and dark flaws of its creator through the unfiltered insights of those who worked on it.  For more information, check out our review!

For An Environmental Horror Fan: In The Earth (Theaters)

In The Earth is a visual and auditory trip, with an unpredictable characters, great effects, and an unsettling story that merges folk tales, science fiction, and horror.  For more information, check out the review!

For A Surprisingly Good Pandemic Drama: Songbird (Hulu)

Songbird's interesting take on a post-apocalyptic world and its stellar cast deliver a thrilling and sadly timely quarantine adventure.   For more information, check out the review!

Because You Know You Love Nic Cage: Willy's Wonderland (Redbox)

It has Nick Cage beating up animatronics.  I mean, what else do you want?  Think Five Nights At Freddy's except with more Nic Cage!

For A Genre and Time Bending Sci Fi Film: Synchronic (Netflix)

Synchronic takes you on a mind-bending time travel trip with a dark, gritty style, fantastic performances by Mackie and Dornan, and a powerful score.  For more information, check out the review!

For Those Hoping For A Fresh Start: The Honest Thief (Redbox)
The Honest Thief is classic Liam Neeson, with an interesting premise and plenty of tense, cat and mouse scenes.  For more information, check out the review!

Beate Review: A Film That Humorously Stitches Together Nuns And Lingerie

Release date: April 16, 2021
Running time: 90 minutes
Directed by: Samad Zarmandili
Written by: Antonio Cecchi, Gianni Gatti, Salvatore Maira
Cast: Donatella Finocchiaro, Paolo Pierobon, Maria Roveran, Lucia Sardo, Betti Pedrazzi

Partially inspired by several true stories, the comedy BEATE is a modern social fairytale set in Northeast Italy. When the employees of the Veronica lingerie factory discover they’re about to be fired, they take matters into their own hands and “borrow” equipment to produce their own garment line. Lead by plucky forewoman, Armida (Donatella Finocchiaro), they’re determined to overcome the odds and make their business a success despite their lack of resources.  Together with a nearby convent of nuns, they join forces for a surprising collaboration: an artisanal line of sexy embroidered lingerie. However, they soon come under attack from all sides and have to band together, and pray for a miracle!

Beate has a whimsical style that lets you know that this quirky lingerie / nun comedy is a light hearted endeavor.  The film has a soundtrack that sounds classic, evoking older comedic films, and whimsical, fitting the tone of Beate.  And the interactions between the lingerie makers and the nuns are fun to see.  The film touches on changing times and trying to keep tradition in an increasingly secular world, and seeing these clashes of ideas forms a lot of the fun in this movie.  And reliance on others forms a central focus of this movie as both the workers and the nuns need and learn from each other.  

And Beate is filled with quirky characters to tell this unique story.  They are well acted and fun to see on screen, especially Armida (Finocchiaro).  And although the nuns are generally more reserved, Lucia Sardo was fun to watch as an outspoken aunt to Armida.  These two form the basis of the culture clash, and seeing these strong women collide provided plenty of drama and humor.  And the film should be lauded for telling an empowering female story with an almost all female cast.  It was fun to see these ladies take matters into their own hands and sell a sexy product, but one that they designed and promoted themselves.  And although the cast was almost all female, Pierobon as Loris (one of the few males in the film) was a lot of fun to see.  He acted as their sales manager and was the right balance of sleazy but genuine.  I really liked seeing how he treated Armida and their relationship throughout the film.  

However, although Beate has a great style and comedic overtones, the comedy just did not hit for me.  Maybe some of it is lost in translation (and generally, comedy is tougher to watch in another language since you don't always get the tone and timing of things) but I wanted to like this movie a lot more than I did.  Perhaps for native speakers or those with more exposure to Italian, these will make more sense.  And the film also seems to introduce some unnecessary drama in the middle of it, which just seemed to come out of nowhere.  It caused a central conflict in the film and just felt a little rushed and out of left field.  Now this drama does come full circle in the end but it definitely caused me to scratch my head when it happened.  And along those lines, the film also has a strange scene towards the end that was supposed to be helpful / funny but just felt off with the rest of the movie's tone.  And it also didn't accomplish much for the storyline.  But those minor issues aside, this film is definitely a unique one with its mostly female cast and strange, empowering story.

Beate weaves a unique story with its lighthearted tone, mostly female cast, and funny, empowering story of nuns and lingerie!

Rent it.

If you liked this review and want to see more from Watch or Pass, please consider 

following us on our various social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube. 

Beate is playing in virtual cinemas across the country.  For more information and for showtimes click here.

T11 Incomplete Review: Plenty of Broken Characters In An Unconventional Relationship Drama

Release date: April 13, 2021
Running time: 105 minutes
Written and Directed By: Suzanne Guacci
Starring: Kristen Renton, Karen Sillas, Zachary Booth

Kate (Sillas), a visiting home health aide and recovering alcoholic, strives to rebuild her broken life, only to have it fall apart once again when she falls in love with her young, paraplegic patient Laura (Renton) then betrays her trust.

T11 Incomplete is an interesting movie about self discovery and rebuilding.  Not only is Kate helping to rehab and assist Laura, but Kate herself is working on her own life after some questionable decisions in the past.  These bad choices continue during the film, but the movie does a decent job of showing what she is going through and the reasons for these choices.  The movie has a slow start, but I didn't mind that as it spends a good amount of time on Kate's character.  After laying a solid groundwork for Kate's predicament and her current life, it introduces us to Laura.  And when the main relationship is introduced, the film has a lot of very sweet moments.  I enjoyed seeing these characters on screen and experiencing the unconventional nature of the story.  

However, the movie has some strange aspects as well.  For one, it starts off in a 16:9 aspect ratio, then switches very quickly to 4:3 for almost the rest of the movie.  I was wondering if there was a problem with the screener but this appears by design.  It is an odd choice and I think I know what they were going for, but I don't necessarily know if the more limited aspect ratio helped achieve that.  Additionally, the film has a lot of emotion but it can feel forced at times.  Some character's moods and attitudes shift very quickly with little provocation, leading to an emotional rollercoaster but one that also feels like an unnatural one.  And I liked the characters and the underlying relationship, but the progression of the romantic aspects also did feel a little rushed.  Maybe some more build up had to be cut due to the film spending more time on Kate's initial situation, but for a movie that is focused on the emotional aspects of the story, those just didn't hit with the kind of force that I think the movie was going for.  

T11 Incomplete's story of rebuilding touches all of its slightly broken characters, with an inclusive message and plenty of drama fueling this unconventional relationship.

Rent it.

If you liked this review and want to see more from Watch or Pass, please consider 

following us on our various social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube. 

T11 Incomplete is available digitally and on demand on April 13, 2021. 

For additional information about the film and to rent / buy it, check it out at the links below.

This site contains affiliate links. //Commerce or this site may be compensated when you click through links on our site.  

Touch Review: A Promising Start Cannot Massage The Lumps Of The Second Half

Release date: June 7, 2020
Running time: 97 minutes
Written and Directed By: Aleksandra Szczepanowska
Starring: Aleksandra Szczepanowska, Jun Yang, Jiangwei Yuan

Fei Fei (Szczepanowksa), a married Caucasian western woman meets Bai Yu (Yuan), a Chinese blind masseur. When they come together in an intense love affair they find the demons they've created implode in a clash of violent impulses.

I think the most interesting aspect of Touch for me was seeing Szczepanowksa's take on being a foreigner in China.  Being American and living in a very America-centric world, I was fascinated to see some of the issues that Fei Fei encountered trying to adopt China as her home country.  The distrust that she experienced, the endless bureaucracy, and the fact that if she was someone of important cultural character, she could have been pushed to the front of the line were all issues that I was fascinated to see.  I also loved seeing her interact with her Chinese friends early in the film, some of the banter that they had, and how she adopted a Chinese name, a perfectly normal occurrence for Chinese people living in America but also one I had never thought of for immigrants to China.  

And the movie builds on this interesting start to emphasize Fei Fei's loneliness and disconnection with her adopted homeland.  She wants to be treated equally with those around her, but is thwarted by Chinese culture and customs.  I loved when she tried to converse with the men at a party but was gently and not so gently rebuked by her husband.  And even when she meets Bai Yu, the build up is interesting.  I liked the connection to her loneliness and how that connected to her desire to continue her massage sessions.

However, the film transitions after she meets Bai Yu into something more akin to a horror thriller.  Although I appreciated the love affair aspects with Bai Yu, that progression felt a little quick and disproportionate to their respective interests.  I couldn't understand why she was risking so much but gave it the benefit of the doubt.  However, when the movie turns into a horror thriller, the film goes off the deep end.  Bai Yu seems almost omnipotent and moves like a villain in most horror films, which was strange to me because he cannot see.  The film hints that maybe he has some vision or uses his other sense to accomplish this, but even with this his movements and tactics feel too unrealistic.  And Fei Fei's fear and obsession over this also feels a bit extreme.  I appreciated what the film was trying to do, but I found the cultural aspects of the earlier part of the movie to be completely abandoned when it moves into its thriller side.  And the thriller parts weren't unsettling enough or realistic enough to keep my attention after it made this transition.

Touch's promising premise, strong performance by Szczepanowska, and interesting cultural perspective on China are dulled in the second half switch to erotic thriller.

Rent it.

If you liked this review and want to see more from Watch or Pass, please consider 

following us on our various social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube. 

Touch is playing in festivals around the world and should be in general release later in 2021.

In the Earth Review: A Trippy Blend of Folk, Sci-Fi, and Horror

Release date: April 23, 2021
Running time: 107 minutes
Starring: Joel Fry, Ellora Torchia, Hayley Squires, Reece Shearsmith, John Hollingworth, Mark Monero
Written and Directed By: Ben Wheatley

As the world searches for a cure to a disastrous virus, a scientist and park scout venture deep in the forest for a routine equipment run. Through the night, their journey becomes a terrifying voyage through the heart of darkness, the forest coming to life around them.

In The Earth is a trippy sci fi / horror film that will get under your skin and into your head.  The film is set in a near future (it seems) time period where a virus has devastated the world.  But the fact that the film is set out in the forest obscures the timeline as it has a decidedly lower tech feel.  This is definitely not a knock as I think it was a smart choice to do a near future film on a lower budget.  Overall the film has a lot of very smart choices that help to build a very unsettling mood and keep you on your toes.  The film's main thread has you following the scientist and the park scout as they become closer to nature, sometimes unwillingly, and learn more about the sounds and sights of the forest.  The film has several sequences that might be dream sequences or hallucinations letting you experience some of the mind bending episodes that these scientists go through.  And the camera work during these is phenomenal, disorienting you and transporting you to these strange sequences and letting you experience what the characters do.  

And overall, the characters in Into The Earth are all unique and well acted.  It was especially great to see Joel Fry take on a leading role, although his character does have a tendency to fade into the background.  Ellora Torchia was dynamic, and had to go through a range of emotions during her harrowing, trippy ordeal.  And Reece Shearsmith is very unsettling as an unpredictable captor who seems to be listening to something that no one else can hear.  He is magnetic on screen and causes you to be drawn to him but also worried about him!

But one thing to keep in mind is that this film lets you follow a psychedelic journey with intense colors, visuals, and sounds.  If you are prone to epilepsy or have issues with flashing lights and strange occurrences, then you will want to skip this one.  The scenes are harsh, like nature, and they can be jarring even if you are normally comfortable with bright and flashing lights.  And there is also plenty of brutality.  The film shows its horror roots during some of the more visceral scenes.  There aren't a lot of them but when they come, they can be tough to watch.  But that is definitley not a knock.  The brutality was realistic with great practical effects, and the scenes were put to good use to show both the unsettling nature of some of the characters and the brutality of the nature that they were studying.

But Into The Earth's biggest problem is its story.  The film is a wonderful, atmospheric and interesting scifi / horror blend that just never really comes together.  There are paganistic and scientific ideas spliced throughout, as well as some mental health ideas, but I did not feel that these ideas gelled in the end.  The movie is still a visual and auditory treat, but I was left feeling a little unsatisfied after experiencing this journey.  

In The Earth is a visual and auditory trip, with an unpredictable characters, great effects, and an unsettling story that merges folk tales, science fiction, and horror.

Rent it.

If you liked this review and want to see more from Watch or Pass, please consider 

following us on our various social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube. 

In The Earth premieres in theaters on April 16, 2021.  For showtimes, click here.

For additional information about the film and to rent / buy it, check it out at the links below.

This site contains affiliate links. //Commerce or this site may be compensated when you click through links on our site.  

Vanquish Review: Morgan Freeman's Stylish Action Film

Release date: April 16, 2021
Running time: 77 minutes        
Starring: Morgan Freeman (Se7en) and Ruby Rose (“Orange Is The New Black”)
Directed By: George Gallo
Written By: George Gallo and Samuel Bartlett 

 A mother, Victoria (Rose), is trying to put her dark past as a Russian drug courier behind her, but retired cop Damon (Freeman) forces Victoria to do his bidding by holding her daughter hostage. Now, Victoria must use guns, guts, and a motorcycle to take out a series of violent gangsters — or she may never see her child again.

Vanquish has an all star cast and I went in really hoping for an exciting movie.  I loved the idea of Freeman in an action role and seeing a badass female lead in Rose was another plus. However, Vanquish just doesn't feel like it has the production values to justify the all star cast.  The film doesn't get off on the right foot, with an opening involving newspapers and screens that feels more like it was out of a television program than a feature film.  And although the film has some interesting ideas and some beautiful shots and locales, overall the movie just doesn't catch your attention.  The main conflict--Victoria trying to save her daughter--doesn't have much gravity after the initial shock.  And the film is billed as an action film, with a Stallone or Schwarzenegger type poster, but the action itself just isn't that exciting.  Gun battles generally do not last nor do they have the quick camera work and loud effects to really draw you attention.  

And Vanquish has this blue tint to most of the scenes, possibly because it takes place at night, that just gives it a lack of variety despite the film moving to various locales.  It feels like the tint was meant to give the film a near future, cyberpunk type of style but it just causes the movie to feel like it doesn't go many places.  It doesn't help that the film has a sameness to the scenarios; with Rose going into these dangerous locales, having some issue come up, and then quickly dispatching of whatever shows up.  And along the lines of movie magic effects, the overall effects in the film just did not feel up to snuff.  And even a scene involving snuff just felt cheesy.  The movie has noticeable CG for the gunshots and some very obvious cuts during the action scenes.  There is a motorcycle scene that takes a noticeable cut right after the stunt to try and imply that the rider landed the trick.  But the audience never sees this so doesn't get a sense of excitement and wonder; to the audience it just looks like the rider slid on their bike to a crash.  Overall, I wished that Vanquish could have been more and was excited after seeing the poster.  But despite this, the movie just did not live up to the cast and hype.

Vanquish has an all star cast and some beautiful shots, but is brought down by action that doesn't live up to the star power and effects that take you out of the film .  

Pass on it.

If you liked this review and want to see more from Watch or Pass, please consider 

following us on our various social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube. 

Vanquish is available in select theaters on April 16, 2021, on Digital and On Demand on April 20, 2021 and on Blu-ray and DVD on April 27, 2021.  For tickets, click here.

For additional information about the film and to rent / buy it, check it out at the links below.

This site contains affiliate links. //Commerce or this site may be compensated when you click through links on our site.  

Jakob's Wife Review: A Small Town Wife Finds Her Fangs

Release date: April 16, 2021
Running time: 99 minutes
Directed By: Travis Stevens
Written By: Mark Steensland, Kathy Charles, Travis Stevens
Starring: Barbara Crampton, Larry Fessenden, Nyisha Bell, Mark Kelly, Sarah Lind, Robert Rusler, Bonnie Aarons, Phil Brooks 

Anne (Crampton) is married to Jakob (Fessenden), a small-town minister and feels like her life and marriage have been shrinking over the past 30 years. After a chance encounter with “The Master,” she discovers a new sense of power and an appetite to live bigger and bolder than before.  As Anne is increasingly torn between her enticing new existence and her life before, the body count grows and Jakob realizes he will have to fight for the wife he took for granted.

Jakob's Wife is a clever film that has a lot of old school style.  The film clearly takes inspiration from 80s horror films with a text and shot style that evoke classic horror.  And some of the music also evokes this time period with a stylized music to fit the stylized text.  The director said that he wanted to evoke classic horror films when making this and he succeeded.  The film has plenty of over the top gore (such as gratuitous amounts of blood shooting from every bite victim), some corny acting, and some strong characters that further feel like call backs to a different time.   

But although Jakob's Wife has a classic feel to it, it also has plenty of more modern themes.  The story is one of a small-town wife learning to find her own voice and trust her own choices.  And this is brought to life by Barbara Crampton's wonderful performances as Anne.  She goes from a timid, supportive partner to a strong willed, vivacious character.  And in order to do that, she has to make a lot of tough choices as she learns to adapt to her new situation.   And she is perfectly paired with Fessenden as Jakob, who is initially seen as boring but we find out has more going on than we originally thought.  Despite his plain persona, he has more of a rebellious side than he initially lets on.  

Jakob's Wife has a great balance of horror and dark comedy.  A lot of this is due to Anne's dry sense of humor.  But the movie also has a lot of little comedic touches that let you know that this film is not taking itself too seriously. From some small town humor, to the over the top characters, and Anne's reactions to her slow change, the film has a wonderful balance that will keep you entertained and hooked on this story.  And overall the story of the film is perfectly paced.  It develops deliciously slowly as Anne comes to terms with the changes that are happening to her.  And the story also reveals more about the vampire that bit her and its motivations.  It doesn't pile on anything too fast, letting the story move at a good pace and keeping the viewer engaged.  And this lets you watch as Anne transforms into a more confident, determined, and vocal character.  This film has an empowering aspect that is not just from Anne's physical transformation.  Her character transforms emotionally as well.  But I also love that as her character evolves, she still retains some of what grounded her.  She becomes confident and opinionated, but uses it to adapt to her current life and not have a full break from it.  She moves from a follower in the relationship, to a true partner; one with agency and an idea of what she wants in life.  

Jakob's Wife has an old school feel, strong characters, a great balance of dark comedy and horror, and a well-paced story that has plenty to sink your teeth into.

Watch it.

If you liked this review and want to see more from Watch or Pass, please consider 

following us on our various social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube. 

Jakob's Wife is releasing in theaters, digitally, and on demand on April 16, 2021.  For showtimes, click here. 

For additional information about the film and to rent / buy it, check it out at the links below.

This site contains affiliate links. //Commerce or this site may be compensated when you click through links on our site.