I chose to rent "Thoroughbreds" from Netflix DVD because it was Anton Yelchin's last movie before his death at the age of 27. I didn't know what to expect, but the first few minutes had a distinct "Heathers" feel to it with the distinct, ennui-laced dialogue between two privileged girls. It's the kind of conversation that makes me want to yell, "GET A JOB, THEN YOU'LL HAVE REAL PROBLEMS!" 

The story focuses on two rich schoolmates, Olivia Cooke as Amanda, who is angry for no apparent reason other than thinking she has a much better grasp on real life than everyone else. Anya Taylor-Joy is Lily, a perky, studious girl with a hatred for her stepfather, Mark (Paul Sparks). One of the most humourous conversations was one of the first between Amanda and Lily when they were starting to be honest with each other:

Lily : Have you been showering?
Amanda : Recently, only every couple of days. Nobody said anything so I assumed I was getting away with it.
Lily : Well, you're not.
Amanda : Not sorry I tried.

After that, it kind of spiraled into what I assume are writer/director Cory Finley's observation's on life. Finley is a member of Youngblood, a group of young writers. The cinematography was a nice combination of shadows and blocking, positioning each actor's head and body in just the right spot. Lyle Vincent was the brains behind all of that, using natural light for most of the shots. I'll be looking for other films that feature Vincent's work...he does have a knack for framing. 

The stepfather turns out to be Bad to Lily and her mother, so the girls want to kill him of course. Like other movies of this ilk, the girls hatch an unlikely plan to do this which, in Chapter Three, involves Yelchin. He has a very small part as Tim, a drug dealer who is a potential hit man that Amanda and Lily try to hire to kill Mark.

There's an interesting twist as various plans go awry, and the end of the film far makes up for the triteness of the beginning. It is bittersweet, but plays out in a very disconcerting way that will have you questioning what Amanda and Lily's lives will be, and questioning your own morals. The movie poster touts it as "wickedly funny" (not so much) and "unpredictable" (most definitely). More dark than comedy, it's worth the watch. 

If you're looking for a Netflix DVD with more Anton Yelchin, try "Odd Thomas" or "Charlie Bartlett."

#dvd20 #dvdnation #ad

I will admit this right off the bat: I am not a big fan of Natalie Portman. As Dorothy Parker wrote about Katharine Hepburn, "She runs the gamut of emotions from A to B." If I apply that to Portman, then it puts us both in good company. Because of that, the movie didn't grab me from the beginning, despite the Crosby, Stills, and Nash background music as she thought about her husband who supposedly died in service to our country. Honestly, as she is pulled back and forth around his disappearance, I feel nothing coming from her. She's just as blank as Queen Amidala. Even when things should have been really terrifying, her face looked like she'd just had botox. Good thing I rented this on Netflix DVD (http://www.dvd.com) so I can return it easily!

​Anyway, about the movie.  The premise is interesting - a no-woman's-land where things aren't at all what they seem. A group of women are sent in to figure it out. They aren't trained much, so they take a lot of needless risks. A whole lot. Despite seeing all kinds of mutations and other oddities, they still don't believe other strange things when they see them. It's like a bad 80s horror film where the guy who says, "I'll be right back," never comes back. 

If I sound cynical, it's because I am - "Annihilation" tries way too hard to bring odd things into the picture, then dispense with them right away. "I don't want to stay here tonight." "We have to. It's too late to move on." That dialogue could have (and probably is) in almost every movie ever made. The Shimmer itself was no more interesting than anything we've seen in the new "Lost in Space," or the Australian Outback. Everything they find, they immediately go up close to it without protection or go off alone. Even Navy Seals don't do that. 

I won't spoil the end, but it is way too easy to figure things out when the explanation is just waiting for you at the end. There's no real use of anyone's intellect to figure out what's happening. Portman plays a biologist, whose big revaluation is that different flowers shouldn't grow from the same stem. I wonder if they just took LSD if they'd have a better adventure. Honestly, the bending and loss of time was the most unsettling thing - if the writers had done something with that - well, that would have been a bit better. 

If it sounds like "Annihilation" was a waste of my time - it was. The good thing is that because I wasted my time, you don't have to waste yours. Skip it. 

#dvd20 #dvdnation #ad