What to Watch This Weekend: Psycho Goreman, You Will Die At Twenty, Synchronic, Alone, Like a Boss, I Used to Go Here, Cut Throat City, How to Train Your Dragon

For A Throwback Bloody Good Time: Psycho Goreman (Digital)
Psycho Goreman is an entertaining throwback to 80s and 90s shows, with an exaggerated style, intentionally noticeable costumes, and fights that definitely earn the "gore" in Goreman!  For more information, check out the review!

For A Powerful Oscar Contender: You Will Die At Twenty (Virtual Cinema)
You Will Die At Twenty is a powerful piece of cinema with some expert cinematography and a story that highlights religion, fate, and life.  For more information, check out the review!

For Genre and Time Bending Sci Fi Film: Synchronic (Digital, Redbox)

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 The Horror Fans: Alone (Digital)

Alone is a tense survival horror film with great performances by Willcox and Menchaca, a slow burning story, and enough twists and turns to keep you guessing what will happen next.  For more information, check out the review!

For Those Missing Their Bestie: Like A Boss (Amazon)

Like a Boss has charismatic leading ladies, who form a strong foundation for both the funny and dramatic parts of this friendship comedy.  For more information, check out the review!

For A Blast From The Past Drama: I Used to Go Here (HBO)

I Used To Go Here is a wonderfully personal story, with an emotional performance by Gillian Jacobs, a quirky, funny cast, and a heartfelt message about life and success.  For more information, check out our review!

For the Fan of Thrillers and Tension: Cut Throat City (Netflix)

Cut Throat City has a lot more going on than meets the eye, from its complex characters, to its involved story, and wonderful dialogue, this film steals the spotlight.  For more information, check out our review!

For The Kids: How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (Hulu)

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is a beautifully animated movie that continues and concludes the story from the first two films.  It is fun to watch, despite its less than stellar story, and provides a fitting end to this high flying trilogy.  For more information, check out our review!

What to Watch: Fishbowl, All In, Come Play, The Call, Blackjack, Cut Throat City, Cats, and Bad Therapy

For An Indie Gem - Fishbowl (Digital)

Fishbowl's fantastic style, understated humor, wonderful performances, and subtle touches showcase a family and spiritual crisis surrounded by small town angst and judgment.  For more information, check out our review!

For Those Looking to Vote - All In: The Fight For Democracy (Amazon, Youtube)

All In; The Fight for Democracy is an important film about modern voter suppression techniques, with poignant examples and valuable advice to ensure that all Americans are able to exercise their rights to vote.  It is free to watch this weekend on Youtube so make sure to check it out!  For more information, check out the news story!

For Those Looking For Digital Horror - Come Play (Theaters)

Come Play is a modern Babadook, with fantastic sounds, a creepy modern creature, and palatable tension.  For more information, check out our review!

For 80s Kids and Scream Queens - The Call (Digital)

The Call gives Lin Shaye a platform to shine as a different, insidious type of character, surrounding her with a young cast and a creepy setting for this atmospheric 80s horror callback.  For more information, check out our review!

For the Showboats - Blackjack: The Jackie Ryan Story (Digital)

Blackjack: The Jackie Ryan Story is a slam dunk portrayal of the legendary street baller, with a boisterous performance by Finley and a loud style to match the street ball subject and hot-tempered athlete.  For more information, check out our review!

For the Fan of Thrillers and Tension - Cut Throat City (Digital / Redbox)

Cut Throat City has a lot more going on than meets the eye, from its complex characters, to its involved story, and wonderful dialogue, this film steals the spotlight.  For more information, check out our review!

For Those Looking For A Different Type of Horror - Cats (HBO)

Yes, this movie was universally panned.  Yes, it is a strange film.  But it is also catchy and has enough in there that I'm sure you'll be singing through the fever dream that is this film.

For Fans of Awkward Comedy - Bad Therapy (Hulu)

Bad Therapy has three great leads in a dark comedy with funny moments, awkward humor, and ridiculous situations.  For more information, check out our review!

Cut Throat City Blu Ray Unboxing - Heist Film by RZA starring Ethan Hawke, Shameik Moore, T.I.

Thanks to our friends at Well Go USA, we have a special unboxing video for you of Cut Throat City, featuring an all star cast!  From director RZA comes the explosive CUT THROAT CITY, the story of four boyhood friends from New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward who return after Hurricane Katrina to decimated homes, no jobs, and no help from FEMA. Out of options, they reluctantly turn to a local gangster, who offers them one shot at turning their situations around—by pulling off a dangerous heist in the heart of the city. When the job goes bad, the friends find themselves on the run, hunted by two relentless detectives and a neighborhood warlord who thinks they stole the heist money.

Directed by RZA (The Man with the Iron Fists) and written by P.G. Cuschieri (“The Undercovers”), CUT THROAT CITY features a powerhouse cast, including Shameik Moore (Dope, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse), Tip “T.I.” Harris (Ant-Man franchise), Demetrius Shipp Jr. (All American) and Kat Graham (“The Vampire Diaries”), along with Wesley Snipes (Blade, New Jack City), Academy Award® nominee Terrence Howard (Best Actor, Hustle & Flow, 2005), Eiza Gonzalez (Baby Driver) and four-time Oscar® nominee Ethan Hawke (Best Supporting Actor: Training Day, 2001, Boyhood, 2014; Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay: Before Sunset, 2004, Before Midnight, 2013). Denzel Whitaker (Black Panther), Keean Johnson (Midway) and Isaiah Washington (“The 100”) also play supporting roles.

This video will show you what you get from the Blu-Ray copy of this movie.

What to Watch This Weekend: Charm City Kings, The One And Only Ivan, Words on Bathroom Walls, Chemical Hearts, And More

For the Fan of Thrillers and Tension - Cut Throat City (Digital)

Cut Throat City has a lot more going on than meets the eye, from its complex characters, to its involved story, and wonderful dialogue, this film steals the spotlight.  For more information, check out our review!

All Black Cast And Great Story - Charm City Kings (HBO Max)

Charm City Kings has a commitment to authenticity that should be applauded, as well as fantastic performances from an all black cast, telling a story that has humor, emotion, and important lessons.  For more information, check out our review!

For the Comic Book and Horror Fan - Random Acts of Violence (Shudder)

But those things aside, Random Acts of Violence offers a stylized horror experience with good characters, gruesome effects, and something to say about said random acts.  For more information, check out our review!

For the Fan of Teenage Dramas - Words on Bathroom Walls (Digital)

Words on Bathroom Walls portrays a complicated illness through strong performances and good lessons about family, love, growth, and pain.  For more information, check out our review!

For the Fan of More Teenage Dramas - Chemical Hearts (Amazon)

Chemical Hearts is an emotional coming of age drama with great performances by their leads and a story about loss, growth, and finding your place in this world.  For more information, check out our review!

For the Fan of Indie and Foreign Films - Song Without A Name (Digital)

Song Without A Name has a striking, lovingly crafted style that ensures that this heartfelt family song is not one that you will soon forget.  For more information, check out our review!

For the Kids - The One And Only Ivan (Disney+)

It's a new Disney movie on Disney+.  You're going to watch it, but thankfully it also has good reviews for its heartwarming performances and story.  

For the Fan of Feel Good Movies - The Peanut Butter Falcon (Amazon)

The Peanut Butter Falcon has nearly universal critical and audience appeal, a heartwarming story, and strong performances that should not be missed.

For the Suspenseful Horror Fan - The Wretched (Redbox)

The Wretched feels like an old school horror movie with an enjoyable cast, a ton of suspense, and a refreshing lack of computer graphics.  For more information, check out our review!

Cut Throat City Review: A Heist With More Going On

Release date: August 21, 2020
Running time: 123 minutes
Starring:ar Eiza González, Ethan Hawke, Shameik Moore, T.I.

Set after Hurricane Katrina, four boyhood friends out of options reluctantly accept an offer to pull off a dangerous heist in the heart of New Orleans.  However, when the heist goes wrong, the friends are in even deeper trouble.  As they try to hide from their crimes, they learn more about the dark underbelly of New Orleans the real power behind the city.

One thing Cut Throat City has going for it--and is evident the moment this movie starts--is a sense of style.  The movie opens with a great animated introduction that lets you know that this movie is not going to look like your typical heist film.  From the colors of the opening, to the vibrant characters dripping with personality, to the opening credits that have an old school charm, to the artistic nature of the main character, Cut Throat City definitely has its own feel.  And this style makes even more sense because the main character is a comic book animator.  It was great to see a protagonist who is artistic and black, eschewing your typical movie stereotypes to show a complete character.  His character tries to stay out of the violence going on around him through his art, but unfortunately he is drawn into a darker life.

And one thing that Cut Throat City has is characters--tons of characters.  These characters are introduced throughout the film and keep the cast and situations feeling fresh.  And the motivations and interests of these individuals are far more complex than your normal heist movie.  Each character has more depth than you would normally expect--generally having more than one motivation for what they are doing--which leads to people that are easier to relate or sympathize with.  And these characters are portrayed by some amazing acting.  Cut Throat City ha a varied cast of very talented actors and they all bring their A game.  And the writing of these characters is genuinely good.  I appreciated the references in some of the conversations, and the dialogue overall is more complex than you would expect from a heist movie. 

The story of the film is relatively linear but definitely has plenty going on.  The story layers on situation after situation, forcing the friends to adapt if they want to survive and ever hope to return home.  The film introduces new characters, threats, and story threads throughout, and as you learn more about the situation, the film throws a wrench in that story.  This movie has a lot more going on than originally meets the eyes; it has stories on stories on stories with twists and turns. But one thing that won't change in the story is who you're rooting for and the fact that at the end of the film, you will have taken a satisfying trip through New Orleans.

Cut Throat City has a lot more going on than meets the eye, from its complex characters, to its involved story, and wonderful dialogue, this film steals the spotlight.  

Watch it.

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