89. The Death of Dick Long (2019) Film Review

A24's first distributed film of 2016 was the crime thriller "Mojave." Starring Garrett Hedlund and Oscar Isaac, this film follows a chaotic film director named Tom that decides to go on a drunken escapade in the desert. It isn't long before he runs into trouble in the form of an enigmatic drifter named Jack, which causes Tom's whole life to spiral. Written and Directed by William Monahan (writer of The Departed) while guest starring Mark Wahlberg, what will these A24 film nuts think of this one? Caution: movie spoilers. Production note: we will be releasing these episodes once every OTHER week now. Last year we got a bit burnt out with recording these every week and as you all now, we don’t get paid for this. We decided that to still give you quality film reviews, and to still take full enjoyment in doing these podcasts, and to keep each episode feeling fresh for us: we wanted to give ourselves a bit more a buffer between each review. So again, these will be released every other week now. We hope you understand, and as always, thank you for listening and please rate and subscribe if you haven’t yet.

11 Jan 20231h 11min

The A24 Rocks gang has now reviewed every A24 film from 2015, and you know what that means... IT'S AN AWARD SHOW! Join in as we discuss and vote on who will win an Oscar in six categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Screenplay. A24 On The Rocks will also be taking a break until January 2023, more than enough time for you to go back and watch every A24 film from its first 3 years and listen to our reviews. It's been quite the journey. The Nominees: Best Picture- Ex Machina Amy Room The End of the Tour While We’re Young Best Director- Asif Kapadia for Amy Alex Garland for Ex Machina Lenny Abrahamson for Room James Ponsoldt for The End of the Tour Noah Baumbach for While We’re Young Best Screenplay (Original or Adapted)- Ex Machina by Alex Garland Room by Emma Donghue While We’re Young by Noah Baumbach Slow West by John Maclean The End of the Tour by Donald Margulies Best Actor- Oscar Isaac in Ex Machina Ben Mendelsohn in Mississippi Grind Jacob Tremblay in Room Domnhall Gleeson in Ex Machina Jason Segel in The End of the Tour Best Actress- Brie Larson in Room Alicia Vikander in Ex Machina Naomi Watts in While We’re Young Alicia Vikander in Son of a Gun Charlize Theron in Dark Places Best Supporting Actor- Adam Driver in While We’re Young Ewan McGregor in Son of a Gun Michael Fassbender in Slow West Ryan Reynolds in Mississippi Grind Bruce Dern in Cut Bank Best Supporting Actress- Joan Allen in Room Caren Pistorius in Slow West Amanda Seyfried in While We’re Young Sonoya Mizuno in Ex Machina Sienna Miller in Mississippi Grind

16 Nov 20221h 4min

A24's final film from 2015 garnered its most mainstream success in its three years of existence. Room, starring Brie Larson who won the academy award for best actress for her performance, is about a woman who had been abducted before birthing a child from her abductor and sexual assaulter Old Nick. Jacob Tremblay plays Jack, a child who only knows the 10x10 room that he and his mom have been forced to live in. Room is a world that Ma has built for him through books, stories, and cartoons. In one of the best reviewed films from the 2010-2020 decade, this tour-de-force drama was written by Emma Donoghue, who also wrote the book. Director Lenny Abrahamson also received a Best Director nomination. Will this be the A24 Rocks family's most well-reviewed film yet? Caution: movie spoilers.

9 Nov 20221h 7min

Written and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, Mississippi Grind is a movie about a lonely and depressed gambling addict named Gerry (played by Ben Mendelsohn) who meets a charismatic wandering soul at a poker tournament in Iowa named Curtis (played by Ryan Reynolds). After a night out where Curtis and Gerry get along famously: we figure out Gerry owes money to a bookie, he hates his job, and his wife left him years ago. He convinces Curtis to stake him money and go on a road trip down to New Orleans, so he can try his luck in a high stakes poker game. Special guest and former online tournament poker player Caitlin Kiska gives her wisdom on how Mississippi Grind depicts poker and the gambling world. What grade's will the A24 Rocks gang give this one? Caution: movie spoilers.

2 Nov 20221h 9min

It's Halloween week, and the A24 Rocks gang has quite a spooky review for you: Dark Places starring Charlize Theron and Christina Hendricks. In the 25th film A24 distributed, was this the creepshow you wanted? That's ok, there is still plenty of great horrors to be had. Satanism and true crime is the theme for this film, amongst things like Chloe Grace Moretz convincing you to runaway with her to California. Farms in Kansas have never yielded so much life insurance. Caution: movie spoilers.

26 Okt 202257min

In 1996 following the release of the critically-acclaimed post-modernist Magnus Opus "Infinite Jest," Rolling Stone journalist David Lipsky (played by Jesse Eisenberg) set out to interview author David Foster Wallace (played by Jason Segel). David Foster Wallace nears the end of his book tour and is dealing with newfound fame and respect from the literary world. Over those days, Lipsky finds a person who is dealing with much more than revelatory success, and has many philosophical conversations that dig deep at the author inside of him. Although the article was never released, Lipsky wrote a book on this encounter in 2010 after David Foster Wallace's suicide in 2008. Directed by James Ponsoldt and written by Donald Marguilies, this 2015 A24 film covers that memoir.

19 Okt 20221h 5min

The first documentary distributed by A24 was Amy, a poetic tragedy of a film that documents the life and music of British singer/songwriter/pop icon Amy Winehouse. Directed by Asif Kapadia, Amy went on to win the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature at the 88th Academy Awards. Kapadia decided to mostly use found footage to depict Winehouse's life, and give fans and viewers a window into what she was really like, beyond the paparazzi and salacious headlines. That window revealed a woman dealing with addiction and people in her life that used her as a product to make money. Was Kapadia successful in depicting the real Amy Winehouse? These filmheads discuss and debate the first A24 documentary, what grade will they give? Caution: movie spoilers.

12 Okt 20221h 1min

Today the A24 Rocks gang reviews what may be the worst A24 film of all time. They've said this before, but this time they mean it. Barely Lethal is a 2015 action comedy film directed by Kyle Newman (director of Fanboys and several Taylor Swift music videos), and written by John D'Arco (writer of Trolls: The Beat Goes On and TrollsTopia). It's packed with the star-studded cast of Hailee Steinfeld, Sophie Turner, Samuel L. Jackson, Jessica Alba, Dove Cameron, and Steve-O. What made this film so bad? May it be the play on the commonly used pornography title "Barely Legal" while casting kids that aren't even 18? What about the atrocious CGI and a script that includes the line "want to hang out or bang out?" These film reviewers think it's that, and much more. It's okay if you don't want to watch this film, but you can still listen to these cinephiles eviscerate it. Caution: movie spoilers.

5 Okt 202257min