Mandy (2018)

94%
Mandy - Panos Cosmatos
Action/Horror - NR - 2018

Trippy, weird, hyper-violent awesomeness.

This movie is straight up bizarre in the best ways possible. Demon biker gang. Drug-crazed hippie cult. Chainsaw fight. Nicolas Cage geekin' out and embarking on a blood-fueled escapade.

Mandy is full of LSD-laced, blood-soaked 80’s grindhouse madness – and I loved it. This movie is visually fascinating and emotionally haunting. Another “twisted descent into mayhem” film with lots of enjoyable whacked-out elements. I’ve realized recently that I really enjoy the hyper-violent action/horror genre, and if you’re interested in these types of movies – you will love this one, as well. I couldn’t help but feel like it was a more well-produced version of Revenge (which I have also reviewed). The unique, color-saturated visuals and palpable emotion from Cage really drew me in.

I’ve honestly never been a fan of Nicolas Cage – he’s done A LOT of shitty movies in recent years (if you ever need a good laugh, check out The Wicker Man) – but I thought he was fantastic in this. This movie reminds us that the man can really act. As a viewer, you can feel the raw emotion and pain he projects throughout. His character, Red Miller, is on a mission of vengeance against a hippie cult known as the Children of the New Dawn, after they kidnap his beloved girlfriend, Mandy. He will stop at nothing to punish her captors, who are led by a Manson-esque psychopath.

I had a lot of fun watching this movie; definitely one of my favorite films of 2018 so far. ALSO – not an absolute necessity, BUT I recommend lighting up a fat joint for this one! Also worthy of note, Mandy is one of the final films to be scored by the late Johann Johannsson, who passed away earlier this year.

American Animals (2018)

87%
American Animals - Bart Layton
Drama/Mystery & Suspense - R - 2018

“Once you cross that line, you can never go back.”

A unique viewing experience, American Animals blends fact with fiction to create a nail-biting heist film. The crazy (true) story revolves around two young men – Spencer and Warren – who lead pretty average existences. They go to school, smoke weed, and dream of better lives. They bond over the haunting fear of never becoming “truly” special, until one day when Spencer’s class is shown a rare collection of art in his school’s library. The collection, worth more than $14 million, seems to be their ticket out of this boring little Kentucky town.

I always enjoy a movie that can make me feel uneasy at times, and there were definitely some tense moments in this one. The movie is essentially like any “true story” documentary, but with a Hollywood spin. Spencer and Warren - played by Barry Keoghan and Evan Peters, respectively – were both very well cast, in my opinion. Throughout the film, they show testimonials from the actual guys involved in the heist plot, and I can definitely see a lot of parallels between the real-life Spencer and Warren and the actors that portrayed them. Evan Peters does a fantastic job in recreating Warren’s personality as the kind of rebellious, me-against-the-world friend, while Keoghan superbly portrays Spencer – the typically quiet, moral kid.

I liked this movie because it was pretty relatable in an obscure way (no, I am not dumb enough to plan a $14 million heist), but I definitely did some dumb shit in college. I’m sure a lot of us have, at one time, been coerced by friends into doing something nonsensical. Having found myself in some situations I’d never thought I’d be in, I felt somewhat of a connection with Spencer as he told his story. Overall, American Animals is a unique heist movie that offers true insight into the minds of the characters and tells a pretty outrageous story.