Category: Thriller

Really Awful Movies: Ep 399 – Emily the Criminal

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This week on the podcast, we close out the year with Emily the Criminal, a taut, tense thriller about credit card scheming which stars Aubrey Plaza and Theo Rossi (Sons of Anarchy).

In the film, a down on her luck Emily, meets the charismatic Youcef, and together, they bilk big box retailers and car thieves out of thousands of dollars.

Meanwhile, Emily, is halfheartedly trying to live life on the straight and narrow with the assistance of a friend, Liz, a high-powered advertising executive who can pull a few strings.

This is a film that’s well-deserving of its kudos.

On the latest episode of the podcast:

  • Film noir plots
  • The work of Aubrey Plaza
  • The big score, and the allure of the criminal lifestyle
  • Ex-jewel thief Larry Lawton
  • What drives people to a life of petty and then increasingly more lucrative crime

Tune in, and don’t forget to subscribe to the show, uploaded every Friday and spanning genre films of all stripes – particularly horror and action movies.

Really Awful Movies: Ep 379 – Gutshot Straight

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Today’s podcast is Gutshot Straight.

We are on the Strip in Las Vegas. And Jack is a degenerate gambler, whose losses are mounting to the point where he can’t pay his bar tab. Uh oh. We’ve all been there.

He’s hooked up with a mover and shaker, Duffy, who offers him wagers of increasing magnitude. And soon…well, things go south.

An intriguing plot, right? Plus, Vinnie Jones and Steven Seagal are in this – however briefly! However, don’t be fooled: this is an often languid, dialogue-driven affair. When it comes times to beat down unibrows, Stevie is nowhere to be found (probably off at the buffet table). Check out the latest installment of the podcast, as we dive into Vegas movies, appearances by b-listers like Tia Carrere, the UFC, Seagal’s later direct-to-video (DTV) “efforts.”

Really Awful Movies: Ep 371 – Zola

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On this week’s episode of the Really Awful Movies podcast, a bit of a departure: modern exploitation. Ya’ll wanna hear a story?

It’s hard to categorize Zola, a 2020 American black comedy crime film directed by Janicza Bravo and written by Bravo and Jeremy O. Harris. It is based on a strange idea that absolutely, positively should not work: a viral Twitter thread from 2015 by Aziah “Zola” King and the resulting Rolling Stone article “Zola Tells All: The Real Story Behind the Greatest Stripper Saga Ever Tweeted” by David Kushner.

Zola stars Taylour Paige as Zola, a part-time stripper who works at a Hooters restaurant, who is convinced by her new friend (Riley Keough) to travel to Tampa, Florida, in order to earn quick and easy money, only to get in over her head. That’s the premise to something pretty enticing.