RobertN1

The Outsider is a psychological thriller/crime drama based off of Stephen King's book of the same name. The series takes place in Cherokee City, Georgia and starts off following Terry Maitland (portrayed by Jason Bateman), a little league baseball coach who is accused of brutally killing a young child. However, conflicting evidence both puts him at the crime scene and away from the scene. Ralph Anderson (portrayed by Ben Mendelsohn), who son passed away a few years before, is tasked with investigating the matter and determining the truth of the killer. When he has issues with resolving the matter, he has private investigator Holly Gibney (portrayed by Cynthia Erivo) come aboard to help find out if Terry is really the killer or if another individual is involved. Yet, Holly begins to suspect supernatural forces that will make the parties consider scenarios they would have never imagined to exist.

The important supporting characters are: How Saloman (portrayed by Bill Camp) who is Terry's attorney, Alec Pelley (portrayed by Jeremey Bobb) who is a private investigator helping Ralph and Holly, Glory Maitland (portrayed by Julianne Nicholson) who is Terry's wife, Jeannie Anderson (portrayed by Mare Winningham) who is Ralph's wife and slightly helps him with the investigation, Claude Bolton (portrayed by Paddy Considine) as a strip club manager that identifies Terry the night of the murder and later gets entangled deeper in the matter, Yunis Salbo (portrayed by Yul Vazquez) as a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent that helps Ralph and Holly with the investigation, and Jack Hoskins (portrayed by Marc Menchaca) as an alcoholic detective that works with Ralph and gets himself involved in Terry's case.

The series starts really strong. The first two episodes are fast paced and really intense. After this the series slowly cools off and begins to give the viewer a ton of questions without answering any of them until the final third of the series. I have no issue with a film or series that makes me question a lot of the events occurring. However, I need something thrown at me to keep me involved and there were a couple episodes that answered nothing. The ending was also very anti-climatic. As intense as the film begins, the opposite can be said of the final episode. Without trying to ruin too much, a character basically tells someone they suck and the person realizes they suck and just stops what they are doing. It felt lazy.

As far as the performances, Ralph and Terry stole the show for me. Ralph is just an interesting character who is a hard-nosed cop that is determined to find the truth. Jason Bateman is just a really good actor and this isn't an exception. It should be noted that he is barely in the show and is not one of he major character throughout.

I actually didn't care for Holly's character much. She's a genius at solving the case and figuring out the puzzles. But she is kinda useless in critical situations and was a bit boring at times. However, i did enjoy the subplot of her relationship with Andy (portrayed by Derek Cecil) who is a former cop and current security guard who begins to help her on the case. They felt genuine and I enjoyed watching them together.

The film is also really beautiful as far as the locations used. It felt like a lot of money and time went into creating these sets.

With that being said, I did enjoy the series and would recommend checking it out but it starts intense to only cool down until the end that left a ending that wasn't the best.

There is also a post-credit scene at the end of the series that is important to watch for. It hints at a second season which now feels a bit unanswered since the second season was never made.

Yes, God, Yes is a coming-of-age comedy/drama film written and directed by Karen Maine. The film is based on the short film of the same name that Maine wrote and directed in 2017. The film follows Alice (portrayed by Natalia Dyer), a sexually curious teenager that goes to a strict Catholic school somewhere in the Midwest. The film follows Alice's journey of learning herself, dealing with a rumor at school that she tossed Wade's (portrayed by Parker Wierling) salad, and the normal issues that someone her age would have. The film primarily takes place at Alice's school or at a spiritual retreat.

The more important supporting actors are: Father Murphy (portrayed by Timothy Simons) who is the teacher of the students, Chris (portrayed by Wolfgang Novogratz) who is Alice's crush, Laura (porytrayed by Francesca Reale) who is Alice's best friend, and Nina (portrayed by Alisha Boe) who is the head of Alice's group on the retreat.

I really like coming-of-age films so I have a soft spot for this type of film. I like the character development and seeing Alice become more comfortable with herself and grow as a person throughout the film. I appreciated how the film showed the impact that the small town atmosphere can have on a young person trying to figure themselves out. I also appreciated the film showing some of the hypocrisies of those around Alice who act like their follows the faith more strictly than her to the public but behind closed doors they are the same as her.

However, outside of this I thought the film was a bit weak. It felt like the characters kept the vibe of a short film as the supporting characters were never really developed. An example is I would have liked to know a little more about Alice's parents who are briefly shown and could help explain her deep faith. You don't learn about anyone in the film in the slightest other than Alice except for small scenes. The film is also about 75 minutes but feels a bit longer because it is a slow burn.

Overall, I liked Alice's character but thought the overall plot was a bit weak. It's not a bad film, and not a waste of watching, but it's not the best coming-of-age film I have seen - 5/10.

The Pale Door is a western horror film directed by Aaron Koontz. The film follows brothers Jake and Duncan who are saved by Lester (portrayed by Stan Shaw) when their home is attacked by a gang of robbers. The film then jumps to Jake (portrayed by Devin Druid) as a young adult who works at a saloon. Meanwhile, Duncan (portrayed by Zachary Knighton) is the head of his own gang that includes Lester. Jake joins the gang to help out on a mission where they are supposed to get a big score. Instead, they end up finding a woman in a box named Pearl (portrayed by Natasha Bassett). Pearl promises that if the gang takes her back to her town they will get a reward. However, they soon learn the town is controlled by witches and must fight to try to escape.

The important supporting characters are: the witches leader Maria (portrayed by Melora Walters), gang member Dodd (portrayed by Bill Sage), and gang member Wylie (portrayed by Pat Healy).

I really liked the concept of the film. Witches versus cowboys is not something I have seen overly done so I appreciated the new concept. I However, I thought the film was pretty poorly executed. The main character is Jake who just feels awkward in the role. I also felt like his ending in the film was not fully developed. The special effects/CGI looked pretty fake. At one point they showed a witch who I could tell was wearing a mask and the makeup was not fully blended in. I also thought the overall plot was a bit boring. Not much occurs after the initial encounter between the party. The film slows down and there are multiple scenes of the individuals walking around in the woods.

Overall, I liked the concept but thought the execution of the film was weak - 3/10.