What to Watch This Weekend: Fishbowl, Boogie, Coming 2 America, Half Brothers, Boogie, Sophie Jones, Lucky, Dark and the Wicked, The Dig

For A Stylish And Cinematic Drama About Faith and Family: Fishbowl (Amazon)
One of my favorite movies of 2020, Fishbowl's fantastic style, understated humor, wonderful performances, and subtle touches highlight a crisis of family and faith in a small town that cannot accept or cope with either.  For more information, check out the review!

For A Slam Dunk Sports Drama: Boogie (Theaters)
Boogie scores some easy points with its realistic setting and wonderful characters and uses sports to explore issues of race, dreams, and realities.  For more information, check out the review!

For A Hilarious Return To Zamunda: Coming 2 America (Amazon)

Coming 2 America sees a return to Zamunda with a lot of the same cast from the Eddie Murphy classic along with new characters, cameos, and some modern updates.  For more information, check out the review!

For A Horror Film With A Much Deeper Message: Lucky (Shudder)

Lucky has an entertaining premise and a dark comedy, fueled by Brea Grant's writing and performance, that will draw you into its deeper, impactful, and important message.  For more information, check out the review!

For A Realistic And Grow Coming Of Age Drama: Sophie Jones (Virtual Cinema)

Sophie Jones is a complicated and raw coming of age story, with realistic performances by this talented cast and some frank conversations about dating, relationships, and life.  For more information, check out the review!

For An Atmospheric And Tense Horror Experience: The Dark And The Wicked (Shudder)

The Dark and the Wicked will keep you on edge with it's palatable sense of tension, dread-filled atmospheric horror, amazing gore and effects, and wonderfully nuanced characters in a terrible predicament.  For more information, check out the review!

For A Suprisingly Entertaining Buddy Comedy: Half Brothers (Redbox)

Half Brothers has a ridiculous premise, two very likeable stars, and enough laugh out loud and heartfelt moments to make you feel like you're part of this loving, crazy family.  For more information, check out the review!

For An Emotional Period Drama: The Dig (Netflix)

The Dig features wonderful performances from Ralph Fiennes and Carey Mulligan, a wonderful setting, and an elegance to the storytelling that will please fans of historical or period dramas!

Lucky Review: An Entertaining Premise That Hits You With A Much Deeper Message

Release date: March 4, 2021
Running time: 89 minutes
Starring: Brea Grant, Dhruv Uday Singh, and Kausar Mohammed
Directed by Natasha Kermani
Written By: Brea Grant

Life takes a sudden turn for May (Grant), a popular self-help book author, when she finds herself the target of a mysterious man with murderous intentions. Every night, without fail he comes after her, and every day the people around her barely seem to notice.  With no one to turn to, May is pushed to her limits and must take matters into her own hands to survive and to regain control of her life.

Lucky has an unconventional setup that jolts you into this interesting descent into madness.  The movie has a groundhog day-like situation, where May (Grant) is forced to defend herself from a nameless, faceless man who is trying to attack her every night.  The ridiculousness of the scenario and the people around her's utter lack of interest in the life-threatening situation are strange at first and really gives this film a lot of charm.  This gives Lucky a sort of stepford wives type of feeling, where society is acting both completely normal and exceedingly strange and no one seems to be taking May's situation seriously.

However, once you scratch the surface, and as this descent gets deeper, you come to realize that Lucky has a lot more to say.  The callous disinterest that those around May have in her situation really hits home and speaks to a larger problem in society.  The nameless, faceless man takes on a more sinister role, and the disinterest by those who May is supposed to trust and rely on takes on a greater meaning.  This film is really what makes horror so special.  It is a film with a much deeper meaning and a much more poignant message than it initially lets on.  You can get interested in the unconventional scenario, while then slowly diving deeper into the film's important social message.

And Grant should be commended for this as it is such a tough line to skirt.  She uses some sharp writing and unusual scenarios to speak to her audience while still providing an entertaining, dark humor product.  It is a way to approach the conversation without feeling like the film is beating you over the head.  And this message is delivered both through her wonderful script and her very natural character.  May is someone trying to do it all but having to contend with her own insecurities and doubts, and literal external attacks on her.  And Grant has to do all of this while threading the film's fine line between humor and horror.  Lucky is a special film and we should all be lucky to see it.

Lucky has an entertaining premise and a dark comedy, fueled by Brea Grant's writing and performance, that will draw you into its deeper, impactful, and important message.  

Watch it.

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Lucky is available to stream on Shudder starting March 4, 2021.