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‘the big ugly’: film review.

Vinnie Jones, Ron Perlman and Malcolm McDowell star in Scott Wiper's Appalachia-set crime drama 'The Big Ugly.'

By Frank Scheck

Frank Scheck

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It’s a toss-up as to which substance flows more freely in Scott Wiper’s Appalachian-set thriller — alcohol or testosterone. There’s plenty of the latter on display, to be sure, thanks to the presence of such supremely macho actors as Vinnie Jones, Ron Perlman and Malcolm McDowell and the sort of hard-boiled dialogue that mainly smacks of a writer’s overheated imagination. But, no, it’s the booze that wins out, whether it’s Jones ordering “milk and whiskey in a pint glass” at a seedy bar or McDowell making the toast “Let’s drink” with the solemnity of a pastor announcing to his flock, “Let’s pray.”

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In this noirish exercise seemingly fueled by the filmmaker’s overindulgence in B-movies, Jones plays the ostensible hero, Neelyn, an enforcer for British gangster Harris (McDowell), who accompanies his boss to West Virginia on a business trip. The purpose is to set up a money laundering deal with a swaggering oilman (is there any other kind?), Preston (Perlman), although for some reason the two Brits have also brought along their respective significant others, Fiona (Lenora Crichlow) and Jackie (Elyse Levesque).

Release date: Jul 31, 2020

The night of the arrival, a drunken Neelyn stumbles to his hotel room and immediately passes out, leaving Fiona to wander out and have a drink with Preston’s equally swaggering but more malevolent son, Junior (Brandon Sklenar). The next morning, Neelyn wakes up to discover that Fiona has disappeared. Aided in his search by a local barmaid (Leven Rambin), he soon finds her dead body abandoned in the woods and sets out to exact revenge on the murderous Junior.

Cue the ensuing series of increasingly violent skirmishes, accompanied by such vintage pop hits as “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress” and “Kiss You All Over” and punctuated by long, philosophical discussions in which both the Brits and Appalachians wax pseudo-poetically about the brutal lives they’ve chosen for themselves. Asked if he feels better after fatally dispatching an enemy, Neelyn opines, “Killing never makes it feel better…it’s the booze that makes it feel better.”

Alas, viewers will find no such comfort, unless they take the opportunity to play a drinking game while watching the film (available in on demand and in digital formats) at home. Director/screenwriter Wiper ( The Condemned ) applies such a veneer of solemnity to the turgid proceedings that any possibly enjoyable guilty pleasure is lost, unless you count the climactic gun battle that represents the silliest duel committed to celluloid since Woody Allen shot himself in Love and Death .

The slow-paced proceedings are dragged out even further by the inclusion of unnecessary subplots, including one involving Preston’s foreman (Nicholas Braun, Succession ), whose attempt to do the right thing doesn’t exactly pan out.

What makes The Big Ugly watchable are the authentic locations and the veteran actors who bring admirable conviction to their tough guy roles. Although Jones doesn’t really have the emotional range to pull off his character’s inner turmoil, his powerful physical presence makes up for it. McDowell can do this sort of icy villainous thing in his sleep, but he never gives the impression that he’s going through the motions. And Perlman continues his string of wildly enjoyable, charismatic performances in subpar films that make you breathe a sigh of relief just to see his name in the opening credits. 

Available in virtual cinemas and on demand Production company: 4G Vision Distributor: Vertical Entertainment Cast: Vinnie Jones, Malcolm McDowell, Ron Perlman, Nicholas Braun, Leven Rambin, Brandon Sklenar, Lenora Chrichlow, Bruce McGill Director/screenwriter: Scott Wiper Producer: Scott Wiper, Vinnie Jones, Karri O’Reilly, Tarquin Pack, Michael Downey, Nancy Hirami Executive producers: Michael Angelo, Josh Crook, Malcolm McDowell, Ron Perlman, G. Gibson Williams Director of photography: Jeremy Osbern Production designer: Ren Blanco Editor: Jordan Downey Composer: Alex Heffes Costume designer: Zachary Sheets

Rated R, 106 min.

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The Big Ugly Reviews

A few craggy teardrops and a convincingly taken beatdown aren't necessarily going to perk ears up at Oscar headquarters for Vinnie Jones. Then again, in 2020...who knows?

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 4, 2020

It's very intense... [And] very interesting politics.

Full Review | Aug 13, 2020

The characters are prisoners of fate but the film is more poignant because they know this isn't how things have to be.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 8, 2020

The Big Ugly doesn't "move," it just sits there on the screen

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Aug 7, 2020

The Big Ugly isn't an unwatchable film. It's just a very forgettable and derivative film that tries to be very lofty and serious-minded, as if it's pretending that it's not a substandard B-movie.

Full Review | Aug 1, 2020

Some noir-style visual flourishes can't rescue the formulaic screenplay, which downplays the violent confrontations yet never musters sufficient tension or finds enough sympathy in its collection of schemers and scoundrels.

All of this is delivered with the utmost solemnity. The film desperately needs a sense of humor. If only The Big Ugly lived up to the gonzo promise of its Tarantinoesque title.

Full Review | Original Score: C+ | Jul 31, 2020

I was more intrigued by the supporting players, a colorful array of wrong-side-of-the-law types

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jul 31, 2020

Wiper has helmed a bracingly attractive thriller with ugly consequences. It's everything you want in a revenge-action flick, but with appealingly hammy weight.

Full Review | Original Score: 7.5/10 | Jul 31, 2020

Boozing, brawling and tedium.

Full Review | Jul 30, 2020

Wasting a promising set-up, The Big Ugly never rises to the heights of its genre counterparts.

Move over, Ugly American, Brando or not. A gangster thriller gone global that may endure for that title if nothing else, The Big Ugly could not have grabbed US feeding frenzy imperialism more. Plus Brexit anxiety, and a rural land uprising tossed in too.

A pretty detestable piece of trash that couldn't end fast enough ... and it didn't.

Full Review | Jul 29, 2020

The flashes of B-movie action are but interruptions for the endless succession of long, pretentious speeches.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.4/5 | Jul 28, 2020

For a B-movie, The Big Ugly delivers what it needs to.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5 | Jul 28, 2020

It's a familiar revenge narrative, punctuated by solid performances by rugged faces.

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Jul 24, 2020

This pulpy "B" movie crime thriller gets by not only on potent casting but also on its clash between two different types of characters. It's like 'Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels' meets 'Hell or High Water.'

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 24, 2020

The preponderance of middle-aged men doesn't help: world-weary, seasoned villains they may be, but you wouldn't bank on any of them breaking into a sprint without pulling something.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 24, 2020

The characters of The Big Ugly get some appreciated room to breathe, but ultimately, they're suffocated by an obvious and far less nuanced plot.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jul 23, 2020

The Big Ugly's action feels like a throwback to an earlier time when manly men in movies maintained their loyalty to one another, no matter how stupid their allies behaved, leading to conflicts that escalated into overblown battles.

Full Review | Jul 23, 2020

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The big ugly.

• Common Sense Says
• Parents Say 4 Reviews
• Kids Say 0 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Solid, pulpy crime thriller has language, violence.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Big Ugly is a crime movie about two powerful gangsters, murder, and revenge. It's a pulpy but enjoyable B movie thriller that has lots of iffy content. There's frequent violence that includes guns and shooting, deaths, fighting, punching, kicking, and hitting with a rock…

Why Age 16+?

Constant, extremely strong language includes "f--k," "motherf----r," "c--ksucker

Guns and shooting. Characters shot and killed. Several scenes of fighting. Punch

Cocaine is snorted. A secondary character is depicted as an alcoholic. Talk of c

Sex scene shows a woman on top of a man; grinding and moaning, no graphic nudity

Any Positive Content?

The story is all about criminal activities and revenge. No real lessons are lear

A few "good" characters get away in the end, but they're mostly criminals (and o

Constant, extremely strong language includes "f--k," "motherf----r," "c--ksucker," "s--t," "a--hole," "ass," "son of a bitch," "bitch," "goddamn," "balls," "damn," "d--k."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Violence & Scariness

Guns and shooting. Characters shot and killed. Several scenes of fighting. Punching, kicking, hitting with a rock. Dead bodies. One character is a bully.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Cocaine is snorted. A secondary character is depicted as an alcoholic. Talk of characters having been drunk. Talk of a man drugging a woman. Social drinking, shots at bar. Cigarette smoking.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Sex scene shows a woman on top of a man; grinding and moaning, no graphic nudity. Kissing. Sex-related language. A character is a sex worker.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Messages

The story is all about criminal activities and revenge. No real lessons are learned, except for escaping from bad circumstances, possibly getting a chance to start over.

Positive Role Models

A few "good" characters get away in the end, but they're mostly criminals (and one bartender).

Parents need to know that The Big Ugly is a crime movie about two powerful gangsters, murder, and revenge. It's a pulpy but enjoyable B movie thriller that has lots of iffy content. There's frequent violence that includes guns and shooting, deaths, fighting, punching, kicking, and hitting with a rock. Language is extremely strong, with constant use of words such as "f--k," "s--t," "motherf----r," "c--ksucker," and much more. A sex scene shows a woman straddling a man; there's grinding and moaning, but no explicit nudity. A character is a sex worker, and there's some kissing and sex-related talk. Characters snort cocaine, a woman is drugged in a bar, characters are described as drunk, and a secondary character is depicted as an alcoholic. There's also social drinking and cigarette smoking. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

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Parent and Kid Reviews

• Parents say (4)

Based on 4 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In THE BIG UGLY, English crime boss Harris ( Malcolm McDowell ) flies to West Virginia to see his old friend, oilman Preston ( Ron Perlman ), in hopes of striking a deal. Harris brings along his loyal lieutenant, Neelyn ( Vinnie Jones ), and Neelyn brings his girlfriend, Fiona ( Lenora Crichlow ). That night, Preston's bullying, womanizing son, Junior (Brandon Sklenar), seduces Harris' paid companion and then turns his sights on Fiona. When Fiona is later found dead, Neelyn vows to stay behind and find out what happened. Meanwhile, Junior has decided to seduce pretty bartender Kara ( Leven Rambin ), who's begun dating kindhearted Will ( Nicholas Braun ). Will works for Preston and is supposed to keep an eye on Junior. Will Junior's behavior tear apart the peace between Preston and Harris?

Is It Any Good?

This pulpy B-movie crime thriller gets by not only on potent casting but also on its clash between two different types of characters. It's like Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels meets Hell or High Water . Starting at the top, The Big Ugly has Perlman as a mountainous cowboy type who stops to tear down a Confederate flag and makes speeches about honoring the land ("I don't frack"). And then you've got McDowell as an elegant Englishman who's capable of terrifying with his steely stare and his raspy snarl. It's so much fun to see these two sharing scenes, and they actually feel as if their characters have a shared history.

Junior is a truly vile antagonist, bullying and oppressive toward women, and Sklenar somehow makes him believable. And speaking of women, the female characters in The Big Ugly are all pretty wise: Even though they're living in a men's world here, they refuse to be pushed around. Director and co-writer Scott Wiper does an admirable job balancing all of the characters and keeping things clear. The movie feels neither too long nor too lean. He also manages a certain appealing lightweight tone while still honoring the tragedy that Jones' character goes through. The Big Ugly may not break any new ground, but it's a colorful, enjoyable romp through the criminal underworld.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about The Big Ugly 's violence . How strong is it? Is it meant to shock or thrill? How did the movie achieve this effect? What's the impact of media violence on kids?

Is Junior a bully ? How is he dealt with? In what other ways can you handle bullies?

What's the appeal of movies about criminals and mobsters? Is it OK to enjoy them even though there aren't any positive messages?

What makes movies about revenge appealing? Does revenge solve anything?

How are drinking, smoking, and drugs depicted? Are they glamorized? Are there consequences? Why does that matter?

Movie Details

• On DVD or streaming : September 8, 2020
• Cast : Ron Perlman , Malcolm McDowell , Leven Rambin , Vinnie Jones
• Director : Scott Wiper
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Vertical Entertainment
• Genre : Thriller
• Run time : 106 minutes
• MPAA rating : R
• MPAA explanation : violence, language throughout, some sexual content and brief drug use
• Last updated : August 25, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

What to watch next.

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Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

‘The Big Ugly’: Great cast stirs up some West Virginia mountain mayhem

Vinnie jones leads an ensemble of tough guys and colorful characters including veterans ron perlman and malcolm mcdowell..

A British brawler (Vinnie Jones) goes hunting after his girlfriend disappears in West Virginia in “The Big Ugly.”

Vertical Entertainment

The British footballer turned action star Vinnie Jones is featured most prominently on the poster for the modern-day Western “The Big Ugly,” and his mob enforcer Neelyn is the narrator and driving force for the story, but I was more intrigued by the supporting players, a colorful array of wrong-side-of-the-law types including:

• Ron Perlman’s Preston, a West Virginia oil man/crime boss with a strict ethical code when it comes to respecting the sanctity of the land.

• Bruce McGill’s Milt, Preston’s loyal consigliere and gunman, who owes his life to Preston and will do his bidding, no questions asked.

• Brandon Sklenar’s Junior, a hybrid of two of Don Corleone’s sons from “The Godfather.” Junior has the volatile temper and violent streak of Sonny — but he’s as weak and sniveling as Fredo.

• Nicholas Braun’s Will, a recovering alcoholic who works for Preston and runs around with Junior, trying to keep him out of trouble, and Leven Rambin’s Kara, a tough but tender bartender who met Will in a recovery meeting and has fallen in love with him.

• Malcolm McDowell’s Harris, a London crime boss who forged an unlikely bond with Preston many years ago.

Throw ’em all together and what do you get? “The Big Ugly” (so named for a jagged tributary of the Guyandotte River), a wildly entertaining, over-the-top, blood-soaked, noir-Western from director/co-writer Scott Wiper that’s filled with stunning visuals of the breathtaking and sometimes foreboding countryside (with Morehead, Kentucky, standing in for West Virginia) and searing performances from the ensemble cast.

• Ron Perlman relishes his ‘Big Ugly’ role — and speaking his mind on Twitter

“The Big Ugly” kicks off with Jones’ Neelyn, the longtime muscle for McDowell’s upscale crime lord Harris, running through the woods and trying to dodge gunfire while voicing grave narration about how he “didn’t come here to West Virginia for God,” which seems pretty obvious given he’s a mob enforcer and he’s in the middle of a gunfight.

Flashback to a few days earlier, as Preston awaits the arrival of a private jet carrying Harris and Neelyn and their respective companions: Jackie (Elyse Levesque), a high-end sex worker on a permanent retainer with Harris, and Fiona (Lenora Crichlow), Neelyn’s longtime girlfriend. (I guess the fellas thought it would be a peachy idea to take the gals on a glamorous vacation trip from London to … Appalachia?)

Preston needs financing for his sprawling and very illegal drilling project; Harris is looking to launder some 25 million quid. It’s a win-win! Preston wears an oversized cowboy hat and rules the region with an iron fist, but he’s no stereotypical Western villain. He doesn’t frack, he takes care of the local mountain folk by providing them with food and jobs, and he doesn’t have any use for good ol’ boys displaying a Confederate flag from their pickup truck, telling them the flag is a tribute to men “who ripped our nation apart until finally [they just] quit. They gave up. They lost. You want to fly a flag, hey, go win something. Riding around with this just says, ‘Hey, I’m a f---ing loser.’ ”

After Preston and Harris consummate the deal, a night of wild celebration ensues. (“Only you could get 86’d from a bar called the f------ Eighty Six!” Harris exclaims to Neelyn after a barroom brawl.) Things really go sideways after Neelyn passes out and the troublemaking Junior invites Neelyn’s girlfriend Fiona to have one more drink. Cut to the morning after, and Fiona has gone missing, and her story will not have a happy ending.

At that point “The Big Ugly” becomes a revenge thriller, with the headstrong Neelyn ignoring orders from Harris to return home while vowing to end Junior, who is almost certainly responsible for Fiona’s disappearance. With power rock such as “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress” blasting on the soundtrack, “The Big Ugly” introduces a number of subplots, from the romance of Will and Kara; to a backstory involving Preston’s beloved wife and how she was killed, to a seemingly peripheral character who is bound to resurface at a key moment in the story, or else why would we be introduced to him in the first place?

Jones is rock-solid as Neelyn, an anti-hero who is at the point in his “career” where he’s not going to win a fight against a much younger tough guy unless he finds a handy rock at just the right time. Brandon Sklenar gives a screen-popping performance as Junior; he’s fantastic as a monster cloaked in a James Dean persona. Best of all, “The Big Ugly” gives us 70-year-old Ron Perlman and 77-year-old Malcolm McDowell playing two very different sides of the same coin, who respect the hell out of one another but understand the rules of the game they’ve chosen to play, and find themselves sitting across from one another, each with a glass of something strong, each with a gun.

The Big Ugly (2020)

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The Big Ugly

Despite an on-form Malcolm McDowell, this creaky gangster thriller is critically short of propulsion

Time Out says

Bish-bosh La’hn gangsters meet dodgy American oilmen in a clunky crime thriller that reminds you of that old adage about Britain and America being two countries separated by a common fackin’ language. On one side, there’s Malcolm McDowell’s teetotal cockney crime lord; on the other, Ron Perlman’s swaggering driller. In the middle? Vinnie Jones’s perma-grimacing enforcer, Neelyn – a kind of fun-free version of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels ’ Big Chris. Neelyn provides a voiceover – delivered with the throaty growl of a man who probably gargles with barbed wire – explaining how the boss, Harris (McDowell), has brought his crew to the Appalachians to launder suitcases of dirty cash via his old mucker, oil baron Preston (Perlman). The sense the trip is a bit of a jolly is enhanced by the presence of Neelyn’s girlfriend Fiona (Lenora Crichlow) and Harris’s escort Jackie (Elyse Levesque) – at least until Preston’s sleazy, psychotic son Junior (Brandon Sklenar) inflicts himself on Fiona with violent results.

You can tell roughly where The Big Ugly is going right from those opening exchanges: people are going to get punched, booze will be slugged back, and there will be some lads’ mag philosophising about blood oaths and the bonds of brotherhood. Then more people will be punched. Amid all this, female characters will stand around wondering why they’re so one-dimensional.

It’s oh-so-familiar terrain, yet writer-director Scott Wiper lets a deadening sense of inertia creep in, leaving the payoff feeling like a Guy Ritchie movie played at the wrong speed. The preponderance of middle-aged men doesn’t help: world-weary, seasoned villains they may be, but you wouldn’t bank on any of them breaking into a sprint without pulling something.

Criminally, the dependable Bruce McGill is given almost nothing to do as Preston’s trusted henchman, while Nicholas Braun ( Succession’ s cousin Greg) makes a surprising and not entirely auspicious appearance as his morally conflicted foreman. On the upside, McDowell is enjoyably ripe as the Perrier-sipping Harris and Perlman barrels through his scenes with juicy menace. Jones, meanwhile, gives it his best shot as the vulnerable but no-bullshit Neelyn. Ultimately, though, he’s a blank canvas. Like the film, Jones is reaching for depths that aren’t really there.  Available to stream in the UK from Fri Jul 24 .

Cast and crew

• Director: Scott Wiper
• Screenwriter: Scott Wiper
• Ron Perlman
• Vinnie Jones
• Bruce McGill
• Malcolm McDowell
• Nicholas Braun
• Leven Rambin

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The Big Ugly Movie

Who's Involved:

Ron Perlman, Leven Rambin, Scott Wiper, Malcolm McDowell, Nicholas Braun, Vinnie Jones

Release Date:

Friday, July 31, 2020 VOD / Digital Friday, July 24, 2020 Limited

Plot: What's the story about?

Neeyln (Vinnie Jones) has always been the loyal enforcer for crime boss Harris (Malcolm McDowell) back in London, taking care of problems and people that disrupt his illicit business. When Harris strikes a deal with an old friend – American oilman Preston (Ron Perlman) – they find themselves in the wild hills of West Virginia. Contracts are signed and the whiskey flows in celebration, but overnight Neelyn’s girlfriend disappears, last seen with Preston’s wayward son Junior. Lines are drawn between family and friends, but nothing will stop Neelyn from getting answers — and retribution.

3.40 / 5 stars ( 10 users)

Poll: Will you see The Big Ugly?

Who stars in The Big Ugly: Cast List

Vinnie Jones

Kill the Irishman, Bullet Proof  

Ron Perlman

Succubus, Absolution  

Malcolm McDowell

Thelma, Easy A  

Nicholas Braun

Saturday Night, Get a Job  

Leven Rambin

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Who's making The Big Ugly: Crew List

A look at the The Big Ugly behind-the-scenes crew and production team. The film's director Scott Wiper last directed The Condemned and Act of Valor 2 . The film's writer Scott Wiper last wrote The Cold Light of Day and Act of Valor 2 .

Scott Wiper

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Production: what we know about the big ugly, filming timeline.

• 2020 - July : The film was set to Completed  status.

The Big Ugly Release Date: When was the film released?

The Big Ugly was a VOD / Digital release in 2020 on Friday, July 31, 2020 . There were 10 other movies released on the same date, including The Secret: Dare to Dream , Tijuana Jackson: Purpose Over Prison and Cut Throat City .

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• Sat., Aug. 1, 2020
• changed the US film release date from July 24, 2020 to July 31, 2020
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• added the US film release date of July 24, 2020
• changed the US film release date from TBA to July 24, 2020

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The Big Ugly: Exploring the Places Where the Movie Was Shot

With director Scott Wiper at the helm, ‘The Big Ugly’ is a film-noir crime thriller set in West Virginia. A London Mob boss and his right-hand man, Neelyn (Vinnie Jones), fly into the States to meet oilman Preston (Ron Perlman), finalizing a deal that will help them launder dirty money. Having a distinctive British accent, Neelyn becomes targeted by locals looking for a fight, one of them being Preston’s wayward son, Junior.

When Neelyn’s girlfriend disappears overnight, with Junior being the primary suspect, Neelyn sets out for revenge , setting aside his business obligations and the possible repercussions. The narrative of the 2020 film unfolds around the small towns, forests, hills, and creeks of Appalachia in the Mid West, overlaying the tone of a Western film. With such a distinctive backdrop, you may wonder whether ‘The Big Ugly’ was actually filmed in West Virginia.

The Big Ugly Filming Sites

Though West Virginia is the setting of ‘The Big Ugly,’ it is not where the shooting took place. The action thriller was actually filmed in Kentucky, particularly in Morehead, Owingsville, and Olive Hill, as opposed to West Virginia. Filming was carried out for six weeks in the summer of 2018, under the working title ‘London Calling.’ Let us take a closer look at the filming locations used for the production.

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Morehead, Kentucky

A small town seated in Rowan County, Morehead is a remote location to be sure, located over a hundred miles southeast of Cincinnati, but offers a rustic landscape with plenty of Appalachian charm. Interestingly, director Scott Wiper and actor-producer Vinnie Jones scoured through Appalachia while scouting for locations and ultimately settled on Morehead. For the purpose of filming, local talents from the home rule-class city and surrounding towns were hired to fill out extra roles. Interestingly, Wiper wanted his home state, Ohio, to be the backdrop for the film, but due to a lack of tax incentives there, the production location had to be shifted to Kentucky.

Though Ohio couldn’t serve as the filming site, Kristen Schlotman, the Executive Director of Film Cincinnati, showered praises on the cast and crew members who are a native of the region. She said, “Although not filmed directly in Cincinnati, knowing the film would not have been possible without the talent and workforce cultivated right here in our region is a testament of our work we are incredibly proud of. We are thrilled that Karri (co-producer Karri O’Reilly) and her team were able to rely on the cast and crew from Greater Cincinnati to make their story come to life.”

Olive Hill, Kentucky

Olive Hill is a very small town northwest of Morehead. The weathered look of its structures was used to create the town visited by the British gangsters. The site can be seen when Harris walks into a desolate bar and talks to Kara, the bartender. Here, the production team ran into a unique challenge. Olive Hill is a part of Carter County, which used to be a dry county; therefore, the town had no bars. The one shown in the scene was created entirely by the production team using just a dilapidated building.

Creating the oil site where Junior’s shipping container office lies was a similar story. An abandoned quarry was used to create a set portraying the oil farm. This is where the final showdown between Neelyn and Junior takes place as well. Everything from building a road leading up to the site to setting up fences and the offices themselves was done by the team.

Owingsville, Kentucky

The home rule-class city of Owingsville is located west of Morehead in Bath County. The town is surrounded by open plains and wilderness, certainly fit for a Western-themed noir film to take place in. Interestingly, Wiper had initially envisioned the story for actor and producer Vinnie Jones, and both had created a script for it by 2014, with the story initially being set in Texas. Unable to find takers for the script, Wiper was struck with the idea of setting the film in Appalachia, an uncommon Western setting, but one where oil had been discovered as well. When it comes to filming, the region is certainly unique, having a rustic charm rarely tapped by filmmakers.

Read More: Best Western Movies of the 21st Century

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Ron Perlman Dishes About His New Movie The Big Ugly - Exclusive

There aren't many actors with as expansive a resume as Ron Perlman , who's appeared in everything from  Alien Resurrection and  Star Trek: Nemesis to his famous comic book adaptations Hellboy and  Hellboy II: The Golden Army to  Pacific Rim , Sergio and Sergei, Adventure Time , The Capture , and so much more. Perlman's newest film,  The Big Ugly , finds the actor playing an oil magnate named Preston in a story that sees things go south after British mob boss Harris (Malcolm McDowell) invests in a West Virginia oil company to launder his money. 

As he explained to  Looper in an exclusive interview, Perlman took the role in  The Big Ugly for two reasons: He liked the script and "was really fascinated by the compendium of characteristics" in Preston. He described Preston as "a man who is infused with strength and power and integrity because he doesn't march to the beat of anybody else's drum but his own" — a man who's the "top dog" everywhere he goes.

Preston is also a character full of contradictions. "He's an oil man, but he's a conservationist. He's a southerner," said Perlman. "He's a badass, probably had quite a youth himself, but he's trying to steer his young son into the straight and narrow with love and compassion and toughness. He's a lot of different things that don't go together — and yet, they do." Perlman saw his job of playing Preston in The Big Ugly  as "threading the needle and finding the human in there."

Preston's first scene of the movie sets the tone for his character. Shortly after his introduction, he sees a Confederate flag flying on the back of a pickup truck. He walks over, tears it down, and lectures the people in the truck about how it's a flag for losers before trashing it. Perlman had no idea how relevant the scene would be upon the film's release on July 24, 2020, but he had a feeling it would strike a nerve. As such, Perlman asked director Scott Wiper for an excerpt to post on his social media feeds to promote The Big Ugly , and it got three million hits on Facebook. Perlman noted the importance of culture in driving conversations in saying, "Here we were, right on the cusp of putting our finger on something that we're watching live out in real time."

Ron Perlman on working with his fellow Big Ugly cast mates

Perlman had high praise for his fellow Big Ugly  cast members. He said of Malcolm McDowell, who broke out onto the Hollywood scene with his role as Alex DeLarge in  A Clockwork Orange , "He's somebody who lives large and he is not afraid to tell you what he thinks, which I love. [He] loves to talk about old things that happened to him on Stanley Kubrick sets." 

Turning his attention to Vinnie Jones, the  X-Men: The Last Stand and  Arrow actor who top-lines  The Big Ugly as Neelyn, Perlman called the star "a great guy" with "a great sense of humor." He added, "[Jones has] a compendium of incredible qualities that you hope for in a friend, a family figure, a son, a father."

His highest praise, however, went to Brandon Sklenar — who plays Preston's son, Junior. He serves as  The Big Ugly 's central villain: a cruel boss, a bad friend, and an awful son. Thankfully, Sklenar is nothing like Junior in real life. Perlman predicted that Sklenar is "going to have an incredible career," saying he's "a real powerhouse of an actor and a real beautiful dude to just be with." 

Perlman said Sklenar's portrayal of Junior was "humbling." The actor explained, "He made me playing my character feel like I had no power and I had none of the things that I took for granted. Charm, persuasion, leverage — nothing worked [on Junior]." 

In portraying Preston opposite Sklenar's Junior in The Big Ugly , Perlman went into every scene they had together ready to lay down the law. Sklenar, however, remained unshaken. As Perlman told Looper , "It never had one iota of an effect on Brandon Sklenar's playing of Junior. And it was as if, finally, this most powerful guy you ever met is dealing with an unmovable object."

The Big Ugly is now in select theaters and at drive-ins. The film will be released on video-on-demand and digital on July 31.

The Big Ugly

Cast & crew.

Vinnie Jones

Ron Perlman

Malcolm McDowell

Levin Rambin

Nicholas Braun

Solid, pulpy crime thriller has language, violence.

• Average 5.6

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In a film dominated by macho tough guys like Vinnie Jones and Ron Perlman, sometimes it takes a touch of femininity to add some much-needed perspective. In The Big Ugly , Leven Rambin stars as Kara, a West Virginia local whose budding love story is threatened by British gangsters looking to become oil tycoons.

Written and directed by Scott Wiper, The Big Ugly is the passion project of star/producer Vinnie Jones, who sought to make a film outside his usual wheelhouse. Granted, he still plays a British tough guy gangster , but he's nonetheless presented as a character with layers and complexities not usually afforded to "the heavy."

Related: Vinnie Jones Interview: The Big Ugly

While promoting the release of The Big Ugly , Leven Rambin spoke to Screen Rant about playing the moral center of a movie otherwise defined by its male characters, and how all the masculinity and posturing can only carry one so far. She discusses her working relationships with legends like Vinnie Jones and Malcolm McDowell , and talks about her career in the film industry; she's been starring in film and television since she was a teenager, but with films like The Big Ugly and upcoming surefire hits like David Fincher's Mank and The Forever Purge , she's on the cusp of being one of the biggest stars Hollywood has to offer.

The Big Ugly is out now in select theaters, drive-ins, virtual cinema, and on VOD/Digital.

I'm particularly excited to talk to you, of all people, about this movie. I'm thinking about movies like The Dark Knight, where it's got Batman and The Joker living on their extremes, but it's really about Harvey Dent, the guy stuck in the middle. And you play someone trying to just live their life, but the conflict is on either side of you and you just can't avoid it.

Yes. That's the perfect way to put it.

I often hear the term "reactive" used as a negative, but I really don't see it that way in many cases, and I'd definitely cite this as one of those cases. Can you talk about playing a character who is trying to walk her own line, but everyone is constantly trying to push her off her path?

That's interesting. I think she has her own life in her town, and I don't think she was desperate to get out or anything. She's proud of where she is and who she is, and she knows that she's dope! She has her own life, her own things. She's worked hard to be sober, and she falls in love with this guy. You know, putting myself in Kara's shoes. Like, she's grown up in this real small town, probably knows everybody in the town, and is starting a new life in her sobriety. So when she meets this guy who's not from around there, and their paths cross, it's incredible fate for her. She actually falls in love with someone who is real and a really nice guy, authentic and different from anybody she's met before. And so she's ultimately willing to follow her heart with him, and sort of start a new life with him, which I think is very cool and symbolic for where she is in her life. She wasn't desperate to get out of a situation, but she saw "the one" and was willing to embark on that journey with him.

Sometimes it's really difficult to make a movie where a female character has that level of agency that you described, especially for it to be nestled within a movie that, on the outside, looks like an extremely macho "guy" movie. It's so delightfully subversive, I think.

Totally. The way I saw it, she was calm and collected and gathered. She wasn't a victim of anything, and she was making the most of her life. And these guys are the ones who are destroying themselves all over the place. She's wiser and more centered than all of them. That's what I liked. I felt like she was the moral compass, and they were all spinning around her. She helps them more than they help her!

Speaking of that macho element, does Vinnie Jones have to break the ice? I assume that anyone who sees him is immediately scared of him. He's got that look about him.

I mean, I wasn't scared of him! I'm not scared of anyone, and that's why I think I got the role. I was like, listen, I can go toe-to-toe with Vinnie Jones. He can roast me, and I can roast him back. Big time. He called me (in a cockney accent) "Blondie. Alright, Blondie," like that. "Blondie, get back to work!" And I would just be ribbing him constantly. Just insults left and right from both of us, but all in good love. I know that he would literally take a bullet for me. I think he said that one time, under his breath, before telling me to get back to work. But I have such love and respect for all of them. I wasn't really scared of him, but I was more excited by the challenge. I guess we're both dominating and aggressive, so we had good fun pranking each other and calling each other out.

I kinda get the sense, watching the movie... I guess you can tell when something is a big studio picture where, in between takes, everybody goes back to their trailer while they reset everything. And this doesn't seem like that. It feels like there's a bonding that happens between the actors and the crew. Is that just me, in my head?

No, definitely! There was not much of a place to sit most of the time, so we were all on our feet, walking and talking, joking. It wasn't a movie of convenience. We were in Kentucky, in the lakes and the rivers. Everybody was very involved. Vinnie was a producer and he made sure we were all at dinner together, we were all at the lobby of the hotel, and we were discussing things every week, about how we felt things were going and we thought needed to change. He was a really great leader.

You have scenes with Malcolm McDowell in this movie. I mean, he's a legend, and he carries himself onscreen as such a regal figure, but he clearly has a sense of humor. Did you get that sense of him, or is he a straight-up 9-to-5 kind of actor? What's his deal?

We had great conversations. He is super confident and obviously is such a veteran. He has a wealth of experience in his eyes. He wanted to chat about the scenes and how to make them, between him and I, more dynamic and lively, and what our connection could be, how we would relate to each other. It's a very specific relationship with their sobriety and stuff. We talked about this unspoken kinship we felt towards each other, even though we're from completely opposite worlds and could not be more opposite in mostly every way. He wanted to make it really interesting, and he wanted to have fun, and he was very serious about the work when it was the work, but then he would laugh at himself and talk about how bad he thought that take was, it was cool. He was definitely humble, but also very confident and assertive. It was cool. It was fun to watch and be friends. I miss him a lot, actually.

You'll just have to make another movie together!

Absolutely.

Okay, enough about those guys, I'm sure they're great, but let's talk about you now. I told my nieces I was interviewing you, and they went, "Oh my God, she was so scary in Hunger Games!"

And yeah, you were really scary! I feel like you've been building your star for a long time, but this is really finally your year. Well, The Purge has been pushed back to next year, but 2020/2021 is your year.

I'm excited for The Purge. I'm also in Mank, the new David Fincher film. Obviously, I started out doing Hunger Games and stuff like that, but my heart has always been in dramas and more intimate things. I think I've done a lot of that since Hunger Games. I did Percy Jackson and stuff, but then I kinda went into more grounded drama type of things.

Like True Detective!

Yeah, and that's always been who I felt like in my heart. But now I'm like, I want to do comedies, and lighthearted sexy, fun things. Not always so serious. I think the best part about it is that I'm always changing. What I want is always changing. And I want to grow into other areas. I'm directing now. I just consider myself always changing. One day I'm doing The Purge, and then the next I'm in 1940s Hollywood, in black and white with David Fincher. Literally one day after the next, and I was just like, this is so cool. This is my life. To be able to slip in and out of different worlds and see where I want to go next is really cool.

What do you want to do next?

I want to do Marvel!

Ooh, that's the hot ticket these days, right?

Yeah, I want to do Marvel. Not a Marvel TV show, really, but a Marvel film. I want to be one of the... I've been close to being in Marvel movies.

Can you dish, or is is secret?

I met with the Russo Brothers for Captain America. That was really cool, it was very hush-hush. I was very young at the time. I was probably, like, 20. But I didn't end up getting it. I'm obviously a big fan of them, and have been awaiting my opportunity to go back.

That's the way it always goes, right? They audition for one role and then get called back a few years later to play an even bigger part in a different movie.

Absolutely, yeah! Eventually, I'll have my chance.

You said you're always changing. When did you decide that you wanted to be an actor in the first place?

I was 14. I sort of fell into it, and I knew I wanted to do it, but I didn't know it was going to last for 15 years. So here I am, and I feel really grateful that it is an industry where you can constantly change, evolve, and branch out and stretch your skills into directing, producing, writing, and singing, and creating, and editing. I've done all of those things, also. And plays and play writing. There are so many opportunities.

When you're a very young actor, and I remember when this show was on and when it got cancelled, The Book of Daniel. When that got canned, was that devastating, or as an actor going in, do you already have the expectation that it's a blessing if it even makes it past the pilot stage at all?

I think, in the beginning, I always pinned so much expectation and pressure on things, to A: never end, and B: to be some massive success. But now, I'm not jaded, but I don't expect anything from anything, really. I take it for what it is and I know I've lived and experienced enough to know that things always end. So I just try to take it for what it is in the moment and not care about if it's a massive success, a massive flop, if it goes for 20 seasons, if it doesn't go at all. That's not in my control. I just try to do the best job that I can and appreciate the experience. Of course, I want to be successful, to be seen, but I don't pin my self-worth on it anymore.

I imagine that's the right message to come to, I guess it's also hard to get to that state, but I'm glad you are there!

I am! It took me about ten years, but it's much more enjoyable when I can just know my lane and do the best I can in what I can control and let go of needing anything to be a certain way. Knowing that it's all going to work out.

There's no shortage of roles out there, just waiting for you to take them. And that's kind of, in some ways, the message of The Big Ugly. "Don't wait."

What do you think the message of the movie is?

Well, I did read the press notes, and it does say "Don't wait," but really, I feel like it's about the futility of machismo. When you are so masculine, you're just old guys shooting each other for no reason and calling it "honor."

Exactly. Your ego is so intense and everything you pinned your ego on has destroyed you at this point, and your family, and your wealth, and your greed, and your money, and your business. It can destroy you. That's what I love about Kara. She's like, I don't need any of these things, I don't need money. I don't need fancy sh**. I just want you. And he's like, "Huh?" (Laughs)

And the only characters who come out unscathed are the ones who are like, "Screw this, we're out of here. We don't need this nonsense."

Yeah! She is the superhero, the moral of the movie, she's Captain Marvel of The Big Ugly.

You've started directing. You made a short film called Red Giant, is that finished, or is it in limbo because of Coronavirus?

No, it's coming out soon. It's finished. I'm very proud of it. I also did a music video during quarantine, that I directed. And I'm going to be doing several other videos for this artist. I'm creative directing her whole album. I'm working on a TV show that I'm going to be directing, as well. That is my new passion. Telling these female stories from my point of view is really exciting, and my creative aesthetic is really cool, so I'm excited to be able to move into that this year.

Next: Ron Perlman Interview: The Big Ugly

The Big Ugly  is out now in select theaters, drive-ins, virtual cinema, and on VOD/Digital.

• The Big Ugly

Movie Review: Native sports drama 'Rez Ball' follows formula but wins out with heart and poignancy

This image released by Netflix shows Kauchani Bratt as Jimmy, left, and Sam Griesel as Mason, in a scene from the film "Rez Ball." Credit: AP/Lewis Jacobs

A scrappy young team of underdogs — in both sports and life — must find a way to unite and win that big championship. Can they do it? How many times have we seen that story, and who among us couldn’t write the ending right now?

That may be just what you’re thinking as you settle into “Rez Ball,” the latest entry in the canon of inspirational youth sports movies, and the sub-canon of inspirational youth basketball movies. And yes, there’s a lot you can predict from the outset, not to mention lines you could have pre-written, word for word.

But that doesn’t mean your heart won’t be caught up in this deeply felt, poignantly told story from Navajo country, especially when the last player takes that last shot in those final seconds — never mind some heavy-handed moments. And it bears mentioning that the basketball pedigree is unimpeachable here, with none other than LeBron James producing.

So many movies begin promisingly and fail to stick the landing. “Rez Ball,” directed by Navajo filmmaker Sydney Freeland (the title is shorthand for "reservation ball”) is quite the opposite, a movie whose ending lifts the rest of the film up with it.

Indeed, there’s a palpable sense of fresh energy — visual, and emotional — the minute our underdog team, the Warriors from the fictional town of Chuska, New Mexico, arrives at the state championships in Albuquerque. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

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Freeland and co-writer Sterlin Harjo, their script inspired by Michael Powell’s book “Canyon Dreams,” begin with a flashback. Young boys Nataanii and Jimmy are playing basketball in happier times. We move to their high school years. They're both skilled players — especially Nataanii, whose height, grace and speed have made him a local hero.

But life has taken a dark turn. Nataanii (Kusem Goodwind) sat out the previous season because of the deaths of his mother and sister at the hands of a drunken driver, a tragic but not uncommon occurrence in the community. But despite falling into depression, Nataanii has returned for the new season.

This image released by Netflix shows Kusem Goodwind as Nataanii, left, and Kauchani Bratt as Jimmy, in a scene from the film "Rez Ball." Credit: AP/Lewis Jacobs

The team’s coach, Heather (Jessica Matten), is a former WNBA player who grew up locally and has her own complicated history, as does Jimmy’s mother, Gloria, a former high school star who fell on hard times.

Trouble rears its head in only the second game, against Santa Fe Catholic, a cocky team that crushes the Warriors. Much worse is the fact that Nataanii hasn’t shown up and nobody’s heard from him. After the game, the team is delivered devastating news that threatens their ability to continue.

And it puts the pressure squarely on Jimmy, now the captain. Gradually, they coalesce into a workable unit. In an early team-building exercise, coach Heather tasks the boys with herding some escaped sheep on her grandmother’s land. She also engages an assistant coach who puts an emphasis on Navajo spiritual traditions. Under Jimmy, the team also embraces the clever idea of calling their plays in Navajo, to thwart their rivals.

Things go well but then fall apart, on court and off, at a critical moment in the season. And though the team makes it to state playoffs at the famous “Pit” — the 15,000-seat university arena in Albuquerque — there’s a real question as to “which” Chuska Warriors will show up.

This image released by Netflix shows Kauchani Bratt as Jimmy, left, and Devin Sampson-Craig as Bryson, in a scene from the film "Rez Ball." Credit: AP/Lewis Jacobs

It’s a moment of truth for Jimmy — played by the appealing Kauchani Bratt (nephew of Benjamin) — who must not only rally his team, but triumph over the pessimism his bitter mother imparts to him, especially about basketball. Gloria (Julia Jones) tells him she doesn’t come to his games because she doesn’t want to see him fail. Another gem from Mom: “The higher you go, the greater the fall.”

Such lines would land with more authenticity if Gloria had been given a deeper backstory. The off-court life of Heather, too, is given cursory treatment. Two appealing girlfriend characters also get short shrift. The filmmakers clearly have one focus, which is to impart drama through basketball. And the game scenes are the best ones, with director Freeland, cinematographer Kira Kelly and a cast of newcomers — not to mention a basketball choreographer — joining to produce some exciting on-court moments.

Luckily, Bratt inhabits Jimmy with charm and ease. (A Native performer with varsity basketball experience, he and other actors had to prove their ball skills before being cast.) And so it comes down to Jimmy, at the end, with his hand on the ball at that crucial moment.

We won’t tell you what happens. And even if you’re sure you know, is that really the point?

“Rez Ball,” a Netflix release, has been rated rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association “for thematic elements including suicide, teen drug/alcohol use, language and some crude references.” Running time: 111 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

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Movie Review: Native sports drama ‘Rez Ball’ follows formula but wins out with heart and poignancy

A scrappy young underdog team must find a way to unite and win that big championship

A scrappy young team of underdogs — in both sports and life — must find a way to unite and win that big championship. Can they do it? How many times have we seen that story, and who among us couldn’t write the ending right now?

That may be just what you’re thinking as you settle into “Rez Ball,” the latest entry in the canon of inspirational youth sports movies, and the sub-canon of inspirational youth basketball movies. And yes, there’s a lot you can predict from the outset, not to mention lines you could have pre-written, word for word.

But that doesn’t mean your heart won’t be caught up in this deeply felt, poignantly told story from Navajo country, especially when the last player takes that last shot in those final seconds — never mind some heavy-handed moments. And it bears mentioning that the basketball pedigree is unimpeachable here, with none other than LeBron James producing.

So many movies begin promisingly and fail to stick the landing. “Rez Ball,” directed by Navajo filmmaker Sydney Freeland (the title is shorthand for "reservation ball”) is quite the opposite, a movie whose ending lifts the rest of the film up with it.

Indeed, there’s a palpable sense of fresh energy — visual, and emotional — the minute our underdog team, the Warriors from the fictional town of Chuska, New Mexico, arrives at the state championships in Albuquerque. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Freeland and co-writer Sterlin Harjo, their script inspired by Michael Powell’s book “Canyon Dreams,” begin with a flashback. Young boys Nataanii and Jimmy are playing basketball in happier times. We move to their high school years. They're both skilled players — especially Nataanii, whose height, grace and speed have made him a local hero.

But life has taken a dark turn. Nataanii (Kusem Goodwind) sat out the previous season because of the deaths of his mother and sister at the hands of a drunken driver, a tragic but not uncommon occurrence in the community. But despite falling into depression, Nataanii has returned for the new season.

The team’s coach, Heather (Jessica Matten), is a former WNBA player who grew up locally and has her own complicated history, as does Jimmy’s mother, Gloria, a former high school star who fell on hard times.

Trouble rears its head in only the second game, against Santa Fe Catholic, a cocky team that crushes the Warriors. Much worse is the fact that Nataanii hasn’t shown up and nobody’s heard from him. After the game, the team is delivered devastating news that threatens their ability to continue.

And it puts the pressure squarely on Jimmy, now the captain. Gradually, they coalesce into a workable unit. In an early team-building exercise, coach Heather tasks the boys with herding some escaped sheep on her grandmother’s land. She also engages an assistant coach who puts an emphasis on Navajo spiritual traditions. Under Jimmy, the team also embraces the clever idea of calling their plays in Navajo, to thwart their rivals.

Things go well but then fall apart, on court and off, at a critical moment in the season. And though the team makes it to state playoffs at the famous “Pit” — the 15,000-seat university arena in Albuquerque — there’s a real question as to “which” Chuska Warriors will show up.

It’s a moment of truth for Jimmy — played by the appealing Kauchani Bratt (nephew of Benjamin) — who must not only rally his team, but triumph over the pessimism his bitter mother imparts to him, especially about basketball. Gloria (Julia Jones) tells him she doesn’t come to his games because she doesn’t want to see him fail. Another gem from Mom: “The higher you go, the greater the fall.”

Such lines would land with more authenticity if Gloria had been given a deeper backstory. The off-court life of Heather, too, is given cursory treatment. Two appealing girlfriend characters also get short shrift. The filmmakers clearly have one focus, which is to impart drama through basketball. And the game scenes are the best ones, with director Freeland, cinematographer Kira Kelly and a cast of newcomers — not to mention a basketball choreographer — joining to produce some exciting on-court moments.

Luckily, Bratt inhabits Jimmy with charm and ease. (A Native performer with varsity basketball experience, he and other actors had to prove their ball skills before being cast.) And so it comes down to Jimmy, at the end, with his hand on the ball at that crucial moment.

We won’t tell you what happens. And even if you’re sure you know, is that really the point?

“Rez Ball,” a Netflix release, has been rated rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association “for thematic elements including suicide, teen drug/alcohol use, language and some crude references.” Running time: 111 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

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Triptii Dimri on Animal criticism: Cinema lets us explore the good, bad and ugly

Actor triptii dimri recently opened up about being cast in sandeep reddy vanga's animal. at the india today mumbai conclave 2024, she also discussed the criticism her character, zoya, faced after the film released..

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• Triptii Dimri discussed her role in Animal at India Today Mumbai Conclave 2024
• She opened about the criticism her character faced after the film's release
• She defended her character, Zoya

Actor Triptii Dimri recently opened up about being cast in Sandeep Reddy Vanga's film Animal and the criticism the film faced post release. The actor, who gained a different fandom after appearing as Zoya in the 2023 film, attended the India Today Mumbai Conclave 2024 on Wednesday, September 25, where she spoke about why she chose to star in the Ranbir Kapoor-starrer and her reception to the film's criticism.

Triptii spoke at a session titled 'Struggles to Stardom: The Untold Story of My Bollywood Breakthrough'. Opening up about her decision to feature in Animal and playing the role of Zoya, Triptii Dimri said, "For me, I don't like staying in my comfort zone. With Bulbbul and Qala, I found that comfort, and while I love drama, being on those sets always energised me. However, when Animal came along, I found it truly challenging."

She continued to explain, "As an actor, it's important to take on something that pushes you. Every time I get a role, I feel like it's both scary and challenging. That's exactly how I felt when Sandeep Sir explained Zoya's character to me. She seemed both brave and innocent at the same time, and that excited me. I’m always looking for roles that offer something different."

Addressing the criticism her character drew from the viewers, Triptii Dimri said, "I would approach Zoya's character exactly the same way I did. As humans, we all have different shades—good, bad, and even ugly. I feel that films allow us to explore these sides. Acting lets us experience a wide range of emotions, and I consider actors lucky because we get to live through so many different experiences in one lifetime."

'The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee' Review: A.I. Ruins This Tribute to a Horror Icon I Fantastic Fest 2024

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When you think of classic horror movies, the first icon of the screen to come to mind is probably Christopher Lee . He’s up there with Vincent Price and Peter Cushing as one of the most recognizable faces of the genre, having played just about everyone except the Wolfman. Either that, or you recognize him from The Lord of the Rings , where he played the diabolical Saruman in his later years. Regardless of which, he’s an icon of cinema history, and director Jon Spira has set out to reveal the truth behind the legend of the actor, veteran, and occasional metal singer with his new documentary, The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee.

The film, which premiered at this year's Fantastic Fest, chronicles the life of “death’s emissary in modern cinema” by presenting him as a marionette puppet, a version of Lee who narrates his own life story via the voice of comedian Peter Serafinowicz , along with talking heads like Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson and Lee’s own biographer, Jonathan Rigby . It’s a journey through his entire life, from beginning to end, illuminating not only his film career but other aspects of his life as well.

The Film Comes Up With Creative Ways to Tell Lee’s Story

Serafinowicz does a pretty serviceable Lee impression — I’d equate it to the Rod Serling soundalike in the Tower of Terror at Disney World — and it doesn’t feel as though it’s a cheap stunt for the sake of making an impression on the audience. For its narration, the film appears to lift large portions directly from Lee’s autobiography, Tall, Dark and Gruesome , which turns the approach to telling his story from a by-the-books documentary into yet another addition to his unique and iconic filmography. It's reminiscent of a similar documentary, The Disappearance of Shere Hite , which features actress Dakota Johnson narrating the late feminist’s writings to bring her voice to life.

Said narration is also supplemented by pieces of animation and illustration, which are used to fill the gaps in Lee’s life of which there is no archival footage or photos available. This is primarily ued to showcase the star’s years in the military, where he was famously part of a number of black ops missions, the details of which he never revealed to anyone. It plays rather well when supplemented with Serafinowicz’s narration , at least until you get into the nitty-gritty of things and come face to face with the many monsters Lee played over the course of his career.

The 10 Best Christopher Lee Horror Movies, Ranked

The king of Hammer Horror made more than a few iconic horror movies!

That said, it might have been nice to see some archival footage of Lee himself talking about said career, rather than relying entirely on written narration that may or may not be pushing a certain angle about the star’s legacy. It doesn’t help that certain talking heads seem more interested in their own take on things than imparting an actual view into Lee’s personal life. This is particularly the case with the inclusion of John Landis , who seems more interested in playing himself up than actually giving us an insight into his relationship with Lee, which starts to grate on the viewer's nerves. That fact is made up for by other, more introspective interviewees like Joe Dante and Harriet Walter , but does serve to prove that Spira could have spent more time choosing who gets to tell the late actor’s story. However, this pales in comparison to the doc's biggest issue: certain gaps in B-roll footage filled with what I can only describe as the most offensive A.I. slop I’ve ever seen.

Jon Spira Takes Lazy Filmmaking to the Next Level With AI

Maybe, just maybe, I can see the idea behind using it as another creative source alongside animation and illustration to fill in the gaps in Lee’s life that don’t have film footage or photos to accompany them. But that doesn’t excuse the blatant laziness that A.I. automatically signifies, nor the immediate disgust it fills me with, despite having otherwise enjoyed the film. You’re making a movie about one of the hardest working, most dedicated actors in the history of filmmaking, and you’re choosing to insult his memory by not even putting in the effort to fully finish making the film yourself? Give me a break.

It’s a tragedy to witness because the rest of the film is rather adept at telling Lee’s story in a way that feels authentic to the legacy he left behind. It plays a bit like an old Hammer Horror trailer, something that reels you in and keeps you hooked when you realize you have no idea where it will go next. Most of those involved seem genuinely invested in opening up about their experiences with him, even though, as with most celebrity documentaries, it won’t teach you much of anything if you’ve briefly glanced at his Wikipedia page. I’m sure none of the talking heads nor Serafinowicz were at all aware of planned A. I. usage when filming their parts in it, and I do not intend to fault them as such — particularly not when I doubt that this film will see much wide release once the general public discovers its use of said barbaric technology.

To have played three of the four most iconic monsters ever put to film — Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Mummy — makes Lee a staple in cinema history, inextricable from some of the films that define the medium as it stands today. He is, like Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, and so many more, a face that will never be forgotten, even if it fades back into the annals of midnight movie territory. But if the filmmakers behind The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee can’t even bother to properly honor that legacy by putting in the kind of effort he did, then you’re better off just picking up one of his many Hammer films instead.

The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee (2024)

A somewhat competent narrative about one of horror's greatest icons, told by his own voice from beyond the grave.

• The project takes a unique approach to documentary with various visual styles.
• Its talking heads seem largely competent.
• Use of generative AI for B-roll footage sours the entire thing and makes it look lazy.
• Certain aspects don't seem thought through, including a lack of actual footage of Lee.

The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee screened at Fantastic Fest 2024.

• Movie Reviews
• Christopher Lee

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‘megalopolis’: best and worst reviews of francis ford coppola’s epic.

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Adam Driver and Nathalie Emmanuel in "Megalopolis."

Francis Ford Coppola's big-budget sci-fi drama Megalopolis has sharply divided critics as the film prepares to open in theaters Friday.

Megalopolis held its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May. Per IndieWire , Coppola self-financed and independently shot the $120 million film, which was picked up for distribution by Lionsgate Films in June.

The film’s official synopsis reads, “ Megalopolis is a Roman Epic set in an imagined Modern America. The City of New Rome must change, causing conflict between Cesar Catilina, a genius artist who seeks to leap into a utopian, idealistic future, and his opposition, Mayor Franklyn Cicero, who remains committed to a regressive status quo, perpetuating greed, special interests, and partisan warfare.

“Torn between them is socialite Julia Cicero, the mayor's daughter, whose love for Cesar has divided her loyalties, forcing her to discover what she truly believes humanity deserves.”

Written and directed by Coppola , Megalopolis stars Adam Driver as Caesar, Giancarlo Esposito as Franklyn and Nathalie Emmanuel as Julia.

Also starring in Megalopolis are Aubrey Plaza, Laurence Fishburne, Jon Voight, Shia LaBeouf, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, Grace VanderWaal, Kathryn Hunter and Dustin Hoffman.

Some of the reviews for Megalopolis originated out of Cannes following the film’s premiere. To date, Rotten Tomatoes critics have collectively given Megalopolis a 52% “rotten” rating based on 83 reviews—a number that will surely expand as more critics gain access to the movie.

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Hurricane helene: airlines issue travel alerts as storm heads for florida, forget the fed—china could be about to quietly blow up the bitcoin price and crypto market, what are individual critics saying about ‘megalopolis’.

Not surprisingly, several of the individual reviews by top Rotten Tomatoes critics specifically mention Francis Ford Coppola, especially given his resolve to get Megalopolis made decades after conceiving the story.

Among the “fresh” reviews by RT critics, Barry Hertz of the Globe and Mail writes, “ Megalopolis might be Coppola’s decades-in-the-making passion project, an epic of ambition and imagination, but it is also a magnificent mess of a masterpiece, as irredeemably silly as it is sincerely sublime.”

In addition, Iana Murray of GQ UK writes, “Very little of Megalopolis makes sense, but it’s nonetheless fascinating to watch the story of a man playing god against all odds and witness Coppola attempt the very same. It is ludicrous and awe-inspiring. Most importantly, it is never boring.”

New Yorker film critic Justin Chang also lauds Coppola, noting, “After a thirteen-year absence, a great American director returns with an ambitious vision of a city—and a world—in need of renewal.”

In his review for Variety , Peter DeBruge writes, “ Megalopolis is anything but lazy, and while so many of the ideas don’t pan out as planned, this is the kind of late-career statement devotees wanted from the maverick, who never lost his faith in cinema.”

On the other side of the critical spectrum, some of RT’s top reviewers are harsh in their “rotten” takes on Megalopolis .

Maureen Lee Lenker of Entertainment Weekly gives the film an F grade, noting, “The film may be set in the future but its views on sexuality, men and women, and power are hopelessly stuck in the past.”

Vanity Fair’s Richard Lawson was also critical in his review, writing, “This is the junkiest of junk-drawer movies, a slapped-together hash of Coppola’s many disparate inspirations. What really tanks the movie, though, is its datedness.”

Toronto Star critic Peter Howell also slams Megalopolis . Noting Coppola’s past glories, Howell writes, “It’s hard to believe the same brilliant director who made The Godfather , The Conversation and Apocalypse Now also birthed this monstrosity, which is wrong in so many ways, from its insipid screenplay and terrible direction to its bizarre casting.”

Meanwhile , BBC online critic Nicholas Barber, writes of Megalopolis , “It's like listening to someone tell you about the crazy dream they had last night–and they don't stop talking for well over two hours.”

Megalopolis plays in Thursday previews before it opens in theaters and on IMAX screens nationwide.

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