Anna kendrick – Page 2 – STREAMING MOVIE NIGHT

2024 Hulu

Rated: R

Length: 1 hr 25min

Comedy ~ Thriller

Starring: Jake Johnson, Biff Wiff, Anna Kendrick, Natalie Morales, Mary Holland, Emily Hampshire, and Christopher Lloyd.

“Surviving is all about the company you keep.”

Jake Johnson stars (and directed in his directorial debut) as Tommy Walcott. On his way to work, a limo pulls up beside him and Andy Samberg rolls down the window and asks, “Do you like Limos?”. Tommy says yes and Andy Samberg invites him into the limo. Andy then tells Tommy he has been hired to read him words from a card telling him he has been chosen to “Be in an adventure” or he can leave the limo. Tommy decides he wants to continue with “An Adventure” and Andy and the limo driver drop him off in front of an old warehouse. He follows the arrows through the empty warehouse until he comes upon two men waiting for him.

They explain to Tommy that we was chosen to participate in a Dark Web Reality Game Show. They tell him that if he chooses to be a contestant he could win a million dollars. All he has to do is not get killed in the next thirty days. There will be killers hunting him and that he must survive for thirty days and he will win the money. The killers are also instructed not to put anyone else in harm’s way, so they can only kill Tommy if he is alone. Tommy sees an in and decides he can surround himself with people 24/7 for the next thirty days and agrees to participate.

He starts with his family who soon grow tired of him and within a couple of days hires a bum raiding a dumpster named James (Biff Wiff) to be his constant companion. He places a Craigslist ad looking for other contestants and meets Maddy (Anna Kendrick) who says she is also a contestant. Tommy, James and Maddy set out for the remainder of the thirty days to spend every minute together. Dealing with the reality of constantly being in each other’s space, and avoiding assassins dressed like Mario, Michael Jackson, Sinbad, Ellen DeGeneres, a Cowboy and a Sumo Wrestler.

I’m not familiar with Jake Johnson, I watched it because I saw Anna Kendrick and Andy Samberg was in it. Alright, I thought, that ought to be good. I was pleasantly surprised to see Christopher Lloyd, always a pleasure to watch. In the beginning it had me hooked on the premise and I waited for the hilarity to begin. About thirty minutes into it I started to get bored with it, I made it through but it was anti-climatic. I thought that sure was a waste of time, I had high hopes given the star power. It was nice to see Andy Samberg but it was brief and not very funny. Anna Kendrick I expected more of but it was the movie role, she is always great.

The one person who had my attention and I wanted to know more about was James played by Biff Wiff. I am not familiar with Biff Wiff and couldn’t find a whole lot of information on him. Other than his real name is Gary Crotty. Strange……

Anyway I’m not a fan of this movie, a little too stupid and boring for me. It just fell flat, not really funny. Not a comedy and not thrilling either. Just a complete waste of time and a letdown waiting for the star power to shine through the muck.

But it never did.

Two Thumbs Down.

2024 Netflix

Rated: Unrated

Length: 1 hr 35 min

Crime ~ Drama ~ Thriller

Directed by: Anna Kendrick

Starring: Anna Kendrick, Daniel Zovatto, Tony Hale, and Autumn Best.

“Bachelor number three, I’m counting on you. What are girls for?”

Anna Kendrick stars as Cheryl Bradshaw, an aspiring actress from Pennsylvania, who relocated to Los Angeles. Desperate for work and not having any luck, her agent books her on “The Dating Game” TV show. Among the three male contestants is Serial Rapist-Murderer Rodney Alcala played by Daniel Zovatto. I just can’t talk too much more about the plot of the movie without giving any spoilers, so I will give you more background on the movie and the real life story.

Woman Of The Hour is based on the true life story of Cheryl Bradshaw’s account of being on the episode and meeting Rodney Alcala. It focuses more on that story than the life and deeds of the convicted serial killer Rodney Alcala. At the time he appeared on The Dating Game September 13, 1978 he was wanted for the rape and murder of several women and the rape and attempted murder of an 8 year old girl. He was also employed at The Los Angeles Times and was interviewed by the Los Angeles police as part of their Hillside Strangler investigation.

Rodney Alcala hid behind the façade of being a photographer. Always carrying a camera around his neck and pretending to be interested in photographing his victims as a ploy to get them to remote spots. Charming and personable be the devil that lurked behind the camera, peering at his victims through the lens. Quietly watching and capturing their last moments of freedom before he unleashed his unsuspected savage terror. He would beat and strangle his victims to the point of unconsciousness, then bring them back to life so he could rape and abuse them. Mercilessly over and over again until they died.

It reminds me of Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, the true life depiction of serial killer Ted Bundy. Another ruthless savage who hid behind the façade of his charm and good looks, using them to lure his victims into a false sense of trust before he brutally raped and murdered them. Woman Of The Hour does depict some of the most famous Rodney Alcala cases to give you a better sense of the suspenseful Game Show appearance. One of the other male guests is quoted as saying that Rodney gave him the heebie-jeebies, something very unnatural about his presence made him want to get as far away from Rodney as possible.

Like Ted Bundy, Rodney Alcala evaded capture by running and hiding, assuming a new identity wherever he went. Always leaving the state they perpetrated their crimes in for new territory and an untapped victim pool. Bundy wore a cast and pretended to be helpless as he asked victims to assist him, Alcala always wore the camera around his neck and pretended to be taking photographs as he hunted for his next victim. He had over a thousand photographs he had collected that the police found when he was finally captured. It is believed that he potentially raped and murdered hundreds of women.

This movie marks Anna Kendrick’s Directorial debut. Nice job, I say. It is a great depiction of how the devil hides in plain site waiting to pounce on his next unassuming victim. I think she did a great job with the story, the movie and her role as Cheryl Bradshaw. Daniel Zovatto also did a great job portraying the many sides of Rodney Alcala, going from personable and charming, to a horrific murdering animal in the blink of an eye. Autumn Best also did a great job of portraying the victim Amy (The real life case of Monique Hoyt) who managed to trick Rodney into letting her live and escaping while they stopped at a gas station. She alerted the authorities and he was apprehended at the gas station.

So, that’s a big thumbs down on serial killers and rapists and………..

Two Thumbs up for Woman Of The Hour, Anna Kendrick, Daniel Zovatto and Autumn Best!