Up first this week is a remastered Blu-ray of We Go On. I had never heard of this movie never mind seen it. The best part is it’s a little Smallville reunion with Annette O’Toole and John Glover. O’Toole plays the mother of a man who places an ad in the newspaper offering money to anyone who has proof of an afterlife, whether it’s spiritual or paranormal. Most of the replies are scams and O’Toole wants him to move on after narrowing down the candidates and meeting some people. But one voicemail catches his attention because he never gave his number. This is where the film turns into a bit of a supernatural thriller. I won’t spoil how he finds proof and what unravels because of it. For a film I had never heard of it was a decent watch. The lead playing the son was solid as was O’Toole as the mom not wanting anyone to screw over her son. Plus a family secret comes out which pushes the story along. Not a bad film I had no expectations for.
I really hope Club Zero is satire because if you watch it as satire it has a lot to say. Mia Wasikowska plays a teacher with a unique way of eating which she soon teaches to a select group of students. Eventually they all stop eating as they depend more and more on their teacher’s almost cult like actions. As long as it’s a dark comedy it’s enjoyable because you can see how quickly students can be corrupted and not think for themselves. They easily dive into the ways of their teacher and their parents are completely wrong about everything and what their teacher says is right. If you pay attention to current events it sounds pretty realistic to me. It’s also a frustrating watch because you know it’s all going to go bad and that these students are just dumb kids who would fall for anything. I don’t know if I loved the ending either, but I get what it’s going for. I can see people talking about this as a cult flick for years to come.
Speaking of cult flicks, I’m sure Deathdream is one to people who know it. This sort of zombie-ish 1974 film gets a 4K release this week. It opens with some soldiers in Vietnam getting shot and then a family in America getting a telegraph saying their son had died in Vietnam. But days later he’s in their home and everyone is excited to have Andy back. Soon they realize something is wrong with him, but the mother can’t accept it. News of a truck driver being killed by a hitchhiker has everyone on edge while they try to get Andy to be normal. Andy wants nothing to do with it and more bodies start piling up. It’s a pretty odd movie, but I also kind of liked it. There’s some great practical effects and this release is jam packed with bonus features. If you are a fan then you’ll dig this 4K release a lot. If you like 70s campiness you’ll like it too.
Last we have Dead Wrong which is nowhere near as smart as it thinks it is. It’s based on a true story about a wannabe gangster having his baby kidnapped at the hospital. The baby is given to another family by a dirty lawyer (Rob Schneider) and the man wants $60 million from the hospital for losing his baby. The story is interesting, but the resulting film isn’t. The acting is bad. The production is bad. The cold open with a different gangster killing two people on the road serves no point whatsoever. Somehow the director’s cut is shorter in runtime than the released version. There’s a sex scene and side characters that could all be cut. Most of the cast will never get beyond this level of movie. It’s sad to see Schneider and Katrina Bowden in a film like this. Maybe with better talent in front and behind the camera the story could have shined, but by the end I just didn’t care.
The Nerds Templar 