Vengeance

This is NOT Liam Neeson-style vengeance.

This isn't even an action-revenge movie.

It's a study in characters - of how people act in today's world. How do you spend your "time". It has guns, Whataburger, love, angst, drugs, and a heavy side of introspection. Everything's bigger in Texas, including the stereotypes.

This is not a movie I would've seen if it weren't for the "unlimited movie pass". That said, it's one of the best films I've seen this year, and certainly better than NOPE.

Twists? You bet. Happy ending? Depends on your perspective.

Vengeance? Fun. Definitely fun..

I will always appreciate and admire a film that is very clearly the singular creative vision of one person.

BJ Novak clearly had some things he wanted to say, and this film often feels like it was his outlet for venting his thoughts about humanity.

There's a lot of philosophical dialogue where characters disclose their feelings about relationships, regret, isolation, morality, etc. It's a film that covers so much thematic ground that I have to praise it for how far it reaches.

The film succeeds in being thought-provoking on so many occasions and the story is surprisingly heartwarming. I think the central idea upon which everything else hinges is that connection is what breeds caring. If you don't care about someone it's because you don't feel connected to them-not necessarily because you're different.

Unfortunately, with ambition also comes a scatterbrained tone in this case. There are so many jarring tonal shifts between comedy, dark drama, and ponderous dialogue. This also makes for a plot that feels all over the place and often directionless.

So many times throughout this story I didn't even really know what the movie was about because the characters' goals kept changing so often.

This is a strange piece of work, but it's a creative and original one. Please go check this out in a theater if you can.

BJ Novak wrote, directed and acted an intriguing story that is funny, suspenseful, sad, and clever. One of the best things is how heartwarming most the characters are! For a movie that's mostly about finding the truth there's a lot of brilliance and fun scenes. I think if I didn't have a regal subscription I probably wouldn't have seen in the theater regardless I'm glad I did Vengeance is very good, I'd still recommend anyone see it and it was nice how some older folks talked to me.

This satire starts out with extreme comedy and then goes to a deep, dark and real place. The writing was really, really good. I do wish it was funnier throughout as most of the laughs are in the first half.

There's more than one moment that isn't predictable, and I just couldn't see it coming. Even if I watched it again. Just when you think it's all fun and games the movie hits you with a reality check reminder that does kinda feel like a punch to the gut.

Novak does a great job with his character and storytelling. I may have to revisit this one, but I totally recommend it. It's an interesting take on American culture that everyone should experience.

After watching the movie, I was really surprised to see that the movie was not rated more highly by viewers and critics. I think part of the problem with its low rating is that it requires a lot of thinking about society and the way society works, which is very philosophical. That's hard to do, and that knocks out a lot of people, causing their eyes to glaze over in parts of the movie. Hence, a lot of people enjoyed the movie, but the sociology of 2022 in America is not their bag, so the movie got a moderately good rating overall and not a rating of excellent. That's fine. The movie is very insightful as to how society is working in the social media, Trump, Biden, woke age. If you enjoy thinking about these kinds of things, you will absolutely love this movie.

This is also a movie about Texas culture, and it offers good insight on the culture of any place that is desolate, poor, remote, and without much opportunity. The story takes place in a remote area of Texas, and my previous sentence is not a comment on Texas as a whole, although certain Texas cultural elements are certainly shown in the movie. Thus, this movie has good elements that are common in movies about the culture of the economically poor in America. So, if you like movies, like "Wind River," "The Tender Bar," and "Nomadland," you will like this one, as well.

Next, this is a good movie because it displays the importance of individual people as human beings. It argues that people matter.

Lastly , I liked this movie because it shows growth in characters in a meaningful way. You learn something good about life from the movie. The movie makes you think about life, as it points to some important things, which makes it satisfying and worthwhile. Thoughtful movie. Bravo!

I gave it an eight, and struggled to not give it a nine. So, 8.5. Overall, the movie has a sense of loneliness (not a criticism; it intends that), which is the main reason I didn't rate it higher. That's not a criticism of the movie, it's just a reflection of my tolerance level for loneliness!