Ingrid Goes West (2017)

Sometimes the films I chose for the challenge can be totally random like a lot of the films or they can be planned right from the start like a lot of the films I choose. Nonetheless, I have grown to become a huge fan of independent films due to the creative and artistic freedom that they possess. I had heard a lot of buzz surrounding this week’s film Ingrid Goes West and the fact that it starred Aubrey Plaza (An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn) made it easier to choose. Ingrid Thorburn (Plaza) is not your normal everyday girl who does your normal everyday stuff. You see she has a problem and that is as soon as someone likes or responds to her on Instagram, she becomes instantly obsessed with that person. In fact after a Instagram star (Elizabeth Olsen) responded to her, Ingrid packed up and moved west, but will the Instagram star figure it out or will Ingrid be able to slide right in to her friends list? The film also stars O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Outta Compton) as Dan Pinto, Wyatt Russell (Overlord) as Ezra, Billy Magnussen (Game Night) as Nicky, Pom Klementieff (Uncut Gems) as Harley Chung, Meredith Hagner (Horse Girl) as Charlotte, Hannah Pearl Utt (Eat Prey) as Nicole, and the film was directed by Matt Spicer (It’s Not You It’s Me).

Ingrid Goes West is able to take the classic obsession genre of films like Single White Female and it’s able to make it current with the social media aspect. While I believe that everyone in the film did a wonderful job as far as the acting was concerned, I feel that Aubrey Plaza stepped it up big time in this film. She was able to play this vulnerable woman who just wants to be accepted, but can’t help that there is something seriously wrong with her. O’Shea Jackson Jr. is another actor in the film that definitely deserves some props as he went from playing the rough and tough Ice Cube role in Straight Outta Compton to playing this lovable, cool dude who just happens to be obsessed with Batman. It was definitely a role flip for him and I love that because he challenged himself. The film features a bright young cast that could be giving us a preview of the future, maybe? Even if it doesn’t mean that, you still should check out this film because it has so much to offer from the black comedy aspects to the cinematography which is pretty good as well. I thought the ending was going to be pretty dark as it seemed like it was going to end on such a horrific note very reminiscent to what happens today, but luckily we get some sort of a happy ending. The film could be considered to be social commentary on the way things are today and maybe we should look at social media differently. Anyways, I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.

Horse Girl (2020)

Netflix for a very long time had come out with material that was just phenomenal whether it be original documentary films/series, original series, stand up specials, or even their original films. Now with Disney Plus being around, the company has to step up their game. The film that I chose for today features a slew of actors that have all either been on Netflix shows or films as we watched 2020's Horse Girl which was co-written and directed by Jeff Baena (The Little Hours). The film stars Netflix veteran and co-writer of the film Alison Brie (The Little Hours) as the socially distant, but innocent Sarah who has a love for paranormal TV shows, horses, and arts and crafts. One day after a weird dream, Sarah begins to decline mentally as the things she dreams about start to trickle into her real life and start becoming a hindrance. The film also stars Debby Ryan (Netflix's Insatiable) as Nikki,  Jake Picking (Netflix's Hollywood) as Brian, Molly Shannon (The Little Hours) as Joan, John Ortiz (Silver Linings Playbook) as Roy, Lauren Weedman (Date Night) as Cheryl, John Reynolds (Stranger Things) as Darren, Meredith Hagner (Set It Up) as Heather, Paul Reiser (Aliens) as Gary, Robin Tunney (Empire Records) as Agatha Kaine, Matthew Gray Gubler (Alvin And The Chipmunks) as Darren, and Dylan Gelula (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) as Jane Doe.

The film is actually very good and definitely one that I think is worth checking out if you are into the more psychological side of thrillers because this is a story of a girl falling into hysteria. I couldn't have thought of anyone better to play the role than the amazing Alison Brie who is yet to disappoint me with what she releases whether it be G.L.O.W., BoJack Horseman, The Little Hours, etc. The poor girl even has an awkward full frontal nude scene in the film that must have been interesting to film, but she does such a great job. She makes you believe that everything is OK with her in the beginning of the film, but the thing is you have to pay attention to the signs when given to you. I say that because she eventually descends into madness and the signs have been there all along with how some of the people act when they are around her. I should have known when I saw them, but I was like why are they acting like she's weird and then the film progresses and you begin to understand. She is definitely the main star of the film while everyone else is literally a supporting actor to just her and it definitely works. They did a great job with the acting and I loved when they went into the dream sequence towards the end because that was a trip. I definitely recommend this to anyone because a good story can take you anywhere and they accomplish that with good cinematography as well.  With that being said, I am giving the film an A- for a final grade.

Set It Up (2018)

So, the film I chose for today was in a way intentionally picked and that is because of how much I enjoy watching my celebrity crush Zoey Deutch (Flower, Zombieland: Double Tap). So, while I was cruising through Netflix, I saw that she starred in the 2018 romantic comedy Set It Up that sees her play Harper, an assistant to a ruthless sports writer. Glen Powell (Everybody Wanst Some!) plays Charlie, a sweet kid who aspires to be his asshole boss who works in thew same building as Harper. One day the two faithfully meet and decide that they are going to try and make their lives easier by setting up their bosses to date and while it's a fruitful mission it could prove to be a disaster as well, but that is the risk you take. The film also stars Lucy Liu (Kill Bill: Vol. 1) as Kirsten, Taye Diggs (House On Haunted Hill) as Rick, Joan Smalls (John Wick: Chapter 2) as Suze, Pete Davidson (The Dirt) as Duncan, Meredith Hagner (Ingrid Goes West) as Becca, Jon Rudnitsky (Big Hero 6: The Series) as Mike, Tituss Burgess (Dolemite Is My Name) as Creepy Tim, Jake Robinson (The Carrie Diaries) as Golf Guy, Aaron Costa Ganis (Jessica Jones) as Dan, and the film was directed by Claire Scanlon (The Last Man On Earth).

One thing I will say is that while I am not a huge fan of Pete Davidson (I hated him in The Dirt), I thought he did a pretty good job as a side character in this one. He is just there to add some comedic relief moments and while not totally hilarious, he served his purpose. The real stars of the film are exactly who the writer and director wanted them to be and that is Glen Powell and Zoey Deutch who carry the film all the way through and they deliver the goods because they kept me well entertained. One thing I will say is that you obviously know right from the first minute that while they are trying to set up their bosses, it's inevitable that they will eventually fall in love because it just written there all over the place. You just knew that Harper wasn't going to find the right guy and that Suze was not the right girl for Charlie, it was just a matter of time until we visited that and we did. At one point, you start rooting for that more than you're rooting for the bosses to continue to hook up. That is why Ia m saying that Powell and Deutch are the MVP's of the film and if you think about it that means the film was well structured when written because every character does his/her specific job which allows our duo to be MVP's. This is definitely a good date night film especially if you and your significant other are looking for something to watch. He is only in it a couple of times in the film, but Tituss Burgess';s role as Creepy Tim is gold. I am going to go ahead and give this one a grade somewhere between an B+/A- for a final grade.