Skip to main content

American Animals (2018), R, ★★★1/2


What drives people to steal something? Well, two things: 1) the fun and 2) the money, potentially for personal reasons. I think the best proof of the latter is Hell or High Water where two brothers have to rob banks (I will still not spoil it since it's two years old) for personal reasons. Heist movies are still up in my alley as it could be a great experience. But, this movie was a different experience that is worthwhile and highly entertaining for people who are a fan of the heist genre.

This movie is a mockumentary style of a heist in which, in Kentucky, most particularly, in Transylvania University, we observe people doing makeup for others that we do not know yet. Spencer (Barry Keoghan) is an artistic student who is friends with Warren (Evan Peters), who is also another student. They are average suburban kids who, along with their friend, Eric (Jared Abrahamson), want to do something incredible to improve their everyday lives. So, they being to hatch up a plan to rob some books in the library that are worth millions of dollars.

They decide to recruit their friend, Chas (Blake Jenner), who is not only comes from a wealthy family, who can be their financier, but also can be their getaway driver. They begin to plot the crime and they realize that the one person who is interfering in the way of the rare books section is Betty Jane Gooch (Ann Dowd), the librarian. Warren decides to take care of her during the heist. The boys practice for the big day and they decide the best way to be conspicuous is to dress like old people but unfortunately, the staff had a meeting in the rare books section, so they had to abort. But, they figure out a new plan.


I really liked the whole direction as it was both stylistic and tense in its situation in which this whole movie is sort of a rebellious event in their youthful lives, even though, there is a chance that the heist might land them in prison. What I love about this movie is that it combines the notions of intelligence and action in a documentary-style that it kicks it up a notch with its energy that becomes a bit fresh and exciting. Plus, I think it is straight-forward with its heist, story and their hypotheses of what might happen because the characters are having fun but they are worried that this "fun" plan might ruin their lives. This movie is all panic and cluelessness as they attempt to be slick like the Ocean's Eleven crew, which they watched the movie in order to prep.

The cast is terrific and the dynamic chemistry is quite well noticed as the actors are having fun. And, Barry Keoghan should get more work as he has gotten some strong work from Dunkirk and The Killing of a Sacred Deer. Evan Peters gives an rich, volatile performance as a person who seems intelligent but is the opposite. Blake Jenner is good, too. And, Ann Dowd as the librarian is exceptional.

Director Bart Layton combines the distinctive, stylistic choices from Reservoir Dogs and Ocean's Eleven remake and a bit of the remake, The Thomas Crown Affair. The movie is making fun of itself that I appreciate it because the movie is not entirely original but, again, it has a fresh approach of doing the heist. I like that Layton stage the slick heists of what it might be and then show the antithetical clumsiness in its execution and the undertaking. It is quite humorous and it matches the energy. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and I hope this movie is not under-the-radar because I think that the younger demographic will have an entertaining time.

***1/2



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2015 Documentaries

I have only seen 6 documentaries this year which also includes Amy and I Am Chris Farley . But, I have to be honest, this has not been a particularly strong year for documentaries except for onethat got me emotionally and mentally as what I examine for when they uncover the truth or some facts from the people involved in these documentaries. But, here are the four I have seen this year: Listen To Me Marlon, Unrated, 4 stars This is the most insightful documentary of the year as we only hear Marlon Brando narrating his life and experiences what he has gone through regarding his family, his private life and his film experiences regarding The Godfather , Apocalypse Now , Last Tango in Paris , etc. It is like Marlon Brando came out of his grave to give us another profoundly moving movie only we hear his voice and scenery and nothing else. The Look of Silence, R, 3.5 stars Joshua Oppenheimer's follow-up documentary is a light-hearted but still-disturbing film regarding a ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Daddy's Home 2 (2017), PG-13, ★1/2

The first Daddy's Home was surprisingly a financial success as I thought it was not as bad as many people thought. I thought it was a solid cable watch because it had enough laughs for that sort of mixed recommendation. I was not craving for a sequel for this movie because again, comedy sequels have a very bad record, however, the only difference is that it is not too late since the first movie came out a few years ago. But, this sequel is a reminder as to why we do not need a sequel to a hit comedy because this is a pretty much forgettable comedy, especially a holiday comedy...which I hade a guilty pleasure for. This did not work for me. Brad and Dusty (Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg) have become friends after the events of the first film and they set up a co-dad system where their two children, Megan and Dylan, spending time at each father's home. Dusty has re-married to writer Karen (Victoria's Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio) and he is step-dad to Adrianna, Karen...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), R, 4 stars

The stockbrokers worshipping Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) like a god. Wall Street. The clients, the adrenaline, the stocks, the money, the power, and the decadence. The former three pertains to the man's job, but the latter three pertains what any stockbroker wants in order to have the freedom to do whatever they want with the client's money. As Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey) would say, "The name of the game is: move the money from your client's pocket into your pocket." We basically spend three hours seeing all of these Wall-Street scumbags steal the clients' money into their own pockets and spend it on booze, drugs, women, and other insane things in more insane activities. I have witnessed here is a great movie that I would not watch repetitively. The movie starts with Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) blowing cocaine onto a hooker's butt and he and his brokers throwing a little person onto a board with a dollar sign in the center. It'...
Post a Comment
Read more