{"id":25111,"date":"2022-07-28T01:17:20","date_gmt":"2022-07-28T08:17:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=25111"},"modified":"2022-07-28T01:17:20","modified_gmt":"2022-07-28T08:17:20","slug":"vengeance-makes-a-big-impression","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=25111","title":{"rendered":"VENGEANCE Makes a Notable Impression"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/24_0009_B-merged.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14439\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Focus Features will release this film&nbsp;in theaters on\nFriday, July 29th.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jason Blum is a producer most famous for his low-budget\nhorror efforts, including the <em>Paranormal Activity<\/em>, <em>Insidious <\/em>and <em>Purge\n<\/em>movie franchises. So, when a film called <em>Vengeance<\/em> appears at\ncinemas with Blum\u2019s name on it, one might assume that they will be seeing a\ngenre flick in a similar mold. But that isn\u2019t the case here. Director\/writer\nand star B.J. Novak (who will be most familiar to viewers from the TV-series <em>The\nOffice<\/em>) has created something quite different. The story does revolve\naround a mysterious death, but it isn\u2019t focused on a maniacal killer. Instead,\nit\u2019s a grim fish-out-of-water comedy\/drama that works far more effectively than\none might anticipate.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Vengeance-01-fixed-1024x631.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25113\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ben Manalowitz (B.J. Novak) is a shallow New York-based\njournalist. Out of the blue, he receives a strange call from Texas. The\nheartbroken voice on the phone announces himself as Ty Shaw (Boyd Holbrook) and\nexplains that his sister Abilene Shaw (Lio Tipton) has died of an opiate\noverdose. The protagonist is confused by the news, having no idea who the\ndeceased is. However, he soon realizes Abilene was a woman with whom he had a\nbrief fling and that the family believe their relationship was serious. He ends\nup being roped into visiting her West Texas hometown to attend her funeral.\nWhile there, Ty appears and explains that his sister\u2019s death was actually but\nan act of murder\u2026 one that the pair should avenge. A shocked Manalowitz doesn\u2019t\nwant to get involved, but sees an opportunity. He sets out to do a big story on\nthe odd family and their refusal to accept reality. But as his investigation\nprogresses, he finds himself growing close to them and wondering if their\nclaims are true.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Vengeance-02-fixed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25114\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It would be easy for the screenplay to simply focus on\nmaking fun of the Shaw family and their eccentricities. Thankfully, it also\nhighlights Manalowitz\u2019s general ignorance of the area being visited and\nexamines his manipulation of those around him in order to create a story.\nNovak\u2019s character is a challenging one to portray and the actor deserves credit\nfor his work in the film. Manalowitz isn\u2019t especially likable on paper, which\ncould easily have turned viewers away. But, using humor in the first act to\nplace the arrogant and patronizing lead in uncomfortable situations works to\nthe movie\u2019s benefit. There are some darkly funny moments early on, including\nthe lead being asked to give a eulogy at Abilene\u2019s funeral and plenty of\nawkward exchanges with Ty in which his ideas are challenged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Vengeance-04-fixed-1024x633.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25116\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While there are gags throughout, the story does slowly shift\ngears to focus on the mystery itself and Manalowitz developing true affection\nfor his surroundings. This includes a change in attitude and passion to\ndiscover the truth for the sake of the Shaw family. Surprisingly, the subtle\nchange is a smooth one and ends up creating plenty of engaging drama. Of\ncourse, the supporting cast are also essential to the movie\u2019s success. They are\nuniformly excellent as they turn from quirky to pensive and share personal\nmemories of Abilene. There\u2019s also an unexpectedly effective supporting turn\nfrom Ashton Kutcher as local record producer Quentin Sellers. The performer\ndoesn\u2019t have a ton of screen time, but stands out as he details his work\nattempting to inspire hopeful local talent in the middle of nowhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Vengeance-03-fixed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25115\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Additionally, the well-written screenplay deserves a nod for\ncritiquing all of its characters and showing everyone as flawed. Things get\nvery messy in this movie when what really occurred to Abilene is finally\nbrought to light and the finale is appropriately tangled. <em>Vengeance<\/em> was\nnot what this reviewer expected when he walked into the theater, especially\ngiven the producer behind it. But this reaction should actually be taken as a\ncompliment. B.J. Novak has conjured a unique little film that successfully\nmixes contrasting elements with sharp writing and strong performances. This is\na memorable effort that makes an impression and ultimately stays with you after\nthe credits roll.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Focus Features will release this film&nbsp;in theaters on Friday, July 29th. Jason Blum is a producer most famous for his low-budget horror efforts, including the Paranormal Activity, Insidious and Purge movie franchises. So, when a film called Vengeance appears at cinemas with Blum\u2019s name on it, one might assume that they will be seeing a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":25112,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[209,1890,2128,3377,4660,5213,12466,14399,14523,16931,19420,22825,23701,23702,23703,23705],"class_list":["post-25111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-209","tag-ashton-kutcher","tag-b-j-novak","tag-boyd-holbrook","tag-comedy","tag-dark-comedy","tag-lio-tipton","tag-murder","tag-mystery","tag-revenge","tag-suspense","tag-thriller","tag-vengeance","tag-vengeance-film-review","tag-vengeance-movie-review","tag-vengeance-review"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25111\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}