QuickBirbs: Unsane/Hearts Beat Loud/American Animals

QuickBirb: Brief reviews, typically done when I see multiple films in one day.

Usually, this will be done with lower budget/indy films, or ones I am getting caught up on VIA streaming/rentals. This is a new concept, so let me know what you think!

Unsane stars Claire Foy (The Crown) who, after going to a counselor to seek help for the flashbacks of her stalker, is put into an asylum against her will. As her stay is prolonged, she finds that her stalker found his way into getting a job at the asylum she's at. Steven Soderbergh (Logan Lucky, Magic Mike) directs this stylized film with the usage of iPhone 7's for the cameras. Foy's performance is great, but the overall story lacks in any real surprises and to a degree seem unrealistic, even for a movie. Soderbergh tried to do something different, and for the most part, he succeeds. Would recommend for Foy's performance alone.

Hearts Beat Loud stars Nick Offerman and Kiersey Clemons as a father/daughter duo who do jam sessions together. These sessions morph into the creation a band aptly named We Are Not a Band, due to Sam's (Clemons) reluctance to take this further than the jam sessions with her going to UCLA in the fall. The music and performances by Offerman and Clemons have real chemistry and this overall was a fun movie. My only qualm is it seems to be juggling too many eggs for a film with such a small cast. Take away a couple of the unnecessary side stories and put more focus on Clemons and Offerman and this film would have gone from good to great.

American Animals tells the true story of four college students who try to rob a University of millions of dollars in rare books and artwork. Barry Keoghan (The Killing of a Sacred Deer) and Evan Peters (American Horror Story) star as the two ringleaders who work their way from watching heist films to attempting to pull off the robbery with the help of Blake Jenner (The Edge of Seventeen) and Jared Abrahamson (Detour). The best aspects of this film come from how they make it part narrative and part documentary by adding in the actual people being portrayed in the film. It gives the overall story a sense of reality while keeping it interesting. It feels a little long in the tooth (could have easily shaved ten minutes off the runtime), but for what it was it's an engaging fun ride.

Have you seen any of these films? Follow me on facebook and instagram and let me know what you think.

-birb

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