Arkansas

That's it. An intelligently written, well directed and well produced, greatly acted and tastefully photographed movie. Stylish and clear headed. Arkansas deserves at least a 7 on IMDB, like a lot of quite slow and clever little gems stuck around the 6. If you love cinema, do not miss this little jewel. Characters are graciously sketched in their lovely, human weirdness. You do not know a lot about them, but you can sense their past in their words, faces and actions. Liam Hemsworth is a little affected in a couple of scenes, but everyone else is credible even when exaggeratedly over the top, like Malkovich. Watch this movie if you want to watch a good, well-narrated and entertaining story. Cinema really needs this kind of productions, even if the ratings tell us that people need less quality.

Well I'm just surprised by the low rating Arkansas gets. I read a lot of negative reviews, stating Clark Duke wants to be like Quentin Tarantino but failing in doing so. I can't agree with that. Tarantino is Tarantino, he's the master in this genre and almost everybody loves him for that, me first as I'm a big fan of all the movies he directed yet. Clark Duke on the other hand did a pretty good job with Arkansas. For his directing debut I thought it was more than convincing. Sure he must be a big fan of Tarantino, but then again who isn't? But also as an actor he gave a good performance, his character was a delight to watch, and so were the characters of Vince Vaughn and Liam Hemsworth. Each character adds something special to the plot, a story that is well written, a sometimes intriguing story but most of the time a very enjoyable story to watch. So yes I'm very surprised Arkansas doesn't get higher ratings. It's a mystery to me what those one star reviewers are trying to achieve, is that really the worst movie they ever watched? I guess they don't watch much movies then because I've seen thousands worse movies than this one. Anyway, if you really like this genre of movies just give this one a fair chance, I did and was surely not disappointed.

I saw this movie without watching the trailer, without reading anything bah it. Sometimes I do this like a blind buy. The film is slow at times n tries hard to be a cool slick flick. Vince Vaughn saved this film from being a disaster. He once again played a drug dealer like the one from True Detectives, who wants to start afresh but..... The star cast is good, Eden Brolin's got a very different n attractive face. All in all, this one will not leave any impact.

"Oh boredom is a beautiful thing. No because a bored criminal is a good criminal. So if you boys ever catch yourself starting to complain about boredom. Just remember; it's better to have to look for something to do, than have something to do, looking for you" - Bright.

A pretty apt quote for this film. Providing you with something to do during a time of boredom in a second lockdown. Truthfully this film found me (thanks Netflix) and I'm happy to say it was a fun ride!

Arkansas tells us the tale of an unlikely pair of drug dealers, Kyle (Liam Hemsworth) and Swin (Clarke Duke) and follows them on their journey into the underbelly, whilst avoiding the wrath of Kingpin, Frog (Vince Vaughn), after a deal gone wrong.

As is expected from the area of Arkansas, the story takes place in an "Ozark-esque" surrounding, showing a different form of drug dealing, with unusual players, customers and problems along the way. A far cry from what we usually expect to see in films and shows such as Narcos, Blow, Wolf of Wall Street or Scarface, where drugs are the epicenter. Here, in thousands of square miles of dense green forest, our drug dealing pair, conversing with each other with laugh out loud moments similar to that of RDJ and Galifinakis in Due Date, can even make themselves an extra buck.

With standout performances from supporting characters such as Bright (John Malkowich), Frog (Vince Vaughn), Johnna (Eden Brolin) and the Twins (Brad William Henke and Jeff Chase); Arkansas provides us with rich, funny and intelligent dialogues similar to that of Pulp Fiction.

Clarke Duke not only plays Swin, but directs this film too, setting the scene with Chapter Titles to break down the story, mirroring Kill Bill whilst also using shots and music similar to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Along with a shocking torture seen early on, resulting in unfortunate events for the pair, reminding us of the infamous Egg Plant torture seen in True Romance. If you can't tell already. My guess would be that Duke has taken a lot of inspiration from Quentin Tarantino. And a little from Taxi Driver with a motivational mirror speech in the end of the final act. But you'll have to see for yourself.

A simple tale of a drug deal gone wrong and the misfortune that awaits two friends. A story that we have seen in one way or another man times, isnt perfect, but well worth the watch if it appears in your recommendations.

"I hear he has a pool shaped like a Lily Pad". Unfortunately not. But he does own a ton of terrible rodeo shirts!

6/10. One time viewing at best.

2 small time criminals accidentally get the chance of running a drugs dealing business. Will they succeed in running it successfully or die trying?

I liked this movies' laidback, slowburning feel, but I guess the regular crime fans wont like this movie, because the focus of this movie is first most about the characters instead of cool poses and shootouts, although there are still a few pretty cruel murder scenes to be seen.

Acting is terrific. Even Liam Hemsworth is good and Vince Vaughn plays one of his best serious acting performances ever. Supporting roles are good as well.

Any bad? Not really, but this movie was based upon a novel and the director followed that novel structure with many jumps in time, which dont really work for the movie. The story structure is somewhat disjointed. What works in a book often does not work well in a movie.

Other than that minor criticism, I would recommend this movie to any arthouse movie fan of subtle, slowburning crime dramas. It mesmerized me and I will start paying attention to other works of this great director called Clark Duke.