Author: Erik Trudel

High stakes and tension are on the menu in Cheap Thrills

Desperation brings out the worst in most people, but how far down the rabbit hole will a person go for a lump sum of cash that could turn their lives around? Cheap Thrills is looking to answer that very question.

The film is a black comedy thriller that can be separated into two portions; the first part of the movie relies on humour, the second takes a much darker twist.

Director E.L. Katz makes a strong debut with this film, which centres around four key characters and features both humorous moments and increasingly disturbing scenes.

After being fired from his job and given an eviction notice, family-man Craig (Pat Healy) ventures to a bar where he runs into Vince (Ethan Embry), an old friend with his own financial issues. The strangeness begins when Craig goes to the bathroom, where a mysterious man in a hat has left money in a urinal. Craig finds the money and returns to his table where the mysterious man introduces himself as Colin (played by David Koechner, from the Anchorman films and The Office), along with his wife Violet (Sara Paxton).

Dared by the cheap thrill — get it? — of playing some games for more money, Colin tempts the duo to participate in a series of challenges for an even larger piece of the wealthy pie. Given the dire financial situation of both Craig and Vince, the two friends accept and begin their dark and comical downward spiral.

Koechner as Colin is a brilliant and twisted mind, ready to give away $250,000 on his wife’s birthday because buying her jewelry means nothing to him. Paxton’s Violet, is a cellphone addict with a psychotic edge who lives in an open relationship. Paxton’s performance is surprisingly strong despite her previous acting gigs. It goes to show that appearing in a terrible movie like Shark Night does not mean an acting career is dead.

One of the supporting characters is played by Brighton Sharbino (known for her role as the troubled Lizzie Samuels in The Walking Dead), who plays Luann — the daughter of Colin’s neighbour. She appears in one scene when Vince is trying to accomplish a bet inside her house.

Despite the focus being on a lesser-known crew, the cast of Cheap Thrills is excellent. The chemistry is evident and each member plays their role effectively. Healy easily puts together a believable performance of his character’s hopeless life situation. Embry’s addition as an old friend bearing a grudge is believable and provides the audience with strong acting and excellent delivery.

Cheap Thrills employs a handheld camera, making the movie feel personal to the characters and less like a scripted series of events. The style resembles films like Cloverfield and The Blair Witch Project, but unlike those movies, the camera is kept steady, much like the type used in District 9.

If you are prone to motion sickness, don’t worry — you can keep your brown bag safely tucked away under your seat. The pacing is as strong as the supporting cast, and the movie never dwells too long on a ‘killing joke’.

Cheap Thrills does things differently than the average dark comedy, leaving some existential questions about one’s depravity in the face of the mighty dollar. We learn that there are games that are fun to play and there are those that we would rather commit to forgetting.

Cheap Thrills is currently showing in Cineplex theatres across the city.

With files from Jocelyn Beaudet

https://bit.ly/1gb1cFE

The silver screen adaptation of the video game takes us into the world of muscle car-racing

With Breaking Bad ending last fall, Aaron Paul had a lighter schedule and with it came Need for Speed, a movie supported mostly by exotic cars and scenery. Despite Paul’s acting credentials, the movie isn’t exactly a masterpiece.

In 1994, Electronic Arts introduced its first entry into the racing video game market with Need for Speed. The more recent game in the franchise, Need for Speed: Rivals, became the 20th title in the series to be released. Started in 1998, the Hot Pursuit subseries then had new installments both in 2002 and then in 2010. This subseries is now the universe in which the latest movie by Scott Waugh takes place.

Struggling through financial issues, Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul) and his crew agree to a business proposition with ex-NASCAR

champion Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper). The partnership goes awry when one of their own is killed in a car crash orchestrated by Brewster. Marshall is then framed for the fatal crash and winds up in prison. Two years later, Julia Maddon (Imogen Poots) aids Marshall in getting his redemption, ultimately leading to challenging Brewster in a race. This race is sponsored by Monarch (Michael Keaton), an ex-racer in charge of the De Leon race, an annual invitation-only event held in California for the six best racers in the US, where Brewster and Marshall face off while law enforcement pursues the racers.

When it comes to the acting, Paul is really invested in his character, while Cooper fits the bill as a remorseless racer. Keaton’s character adds humour to the film and his role as Monarch, the overly excited and slightly crazy overseer, nails the performance. Poots’ character, though, is confusing, trusting Marshall at the drop of a hat and never questioning any event.

The weakest point of the acting is in the supporting cast. It is terrible: they are corny, forgettable and stereotypical. Who are Brewster’s stooges? Why is there not a single car driving near the coastline? How does a character get access to army and police helicopters? Why are the police officers not using spike strips? These plot holes and acting deficiencies serve as the main criticism against Need for Speed.

With that being said, the movie takes elements from the Hot Pursuit subseries and translates them to the silver screen making the experience enjoyable for fans of the franchise, while not alienating a new audience. Need for Speed takes the viewer across the United States to a scenic view of the Pacific Ocean. The movie illustrates the beautiful scenery: the canyon, the country, the forests and the mountains, which will surely cause those who played the games to take a trip down memory lane.

Waugh had good ideas for directing; cockpit views and overhead shots at an angle are filmed several times.

Need for Speed showcases impressive crashes and stunts. Each impact is real and no CGI was used to create the scenes. This realism serves as a message: speed kills and so does stupidity.

The score by Nathan Furst is a suitable original soundtrack for this movie and the song selection, including a track by Linkin Park, is decent. However, the cover songs by Aloe Blacc in the movie’s song selection are butchered and bring little to no value to the score.

For what it’s worth, Need for Speed is alright if you can ignore the plot holes and bad supporting cast. One thing is for sure though, it is better than half of the Fast and the Furious franchise.

You can catch Need for Speed in theatres nationwide.

See more: http://www.wdsmediafile.com/dreamworks-pictures/needforspeed/videos/