{"id":20195,"date":"2023-05-23T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-23T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/?p=20195"},"modified":"2023-05-22T17:29:35","modified_gmt":"2023-05-23T00:29:35","slug":"vodepths-what-to-see-and-avoid-on-demand-this-week-65","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/vodepths-what-to-see-and-avoid-on-demand-this-week-65\/","title":{"rendered":"VODepths: What to See (and Avoid) on Demand This Week"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An animated pasta apocalypse, the 10th sequel to a forgotten 1990s family movie, and a thriller by one of the goofy stars of Brooklyn Nine-Nine<\/em> all vie for the title of the most unlikely release in this week\u2019s low-profile VOD offerings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dotty & Soul<\/em><\/strong> (VOD May 19):<\/strong> There\u2019s so much trainwreck potential in writer\/director\/star Adam Saunders\u2019 debut feature that it\u2019s almost disappointing how dull and treacly it turns out to be. Rather than a tone-deaf disaster, Saunders\u2019 film is merely an earnest if misguided message movie about tolerance and respect. Saunders plays tech mogul Ethan Cox, whose ride-share\/self-driving car company is about to close a major merger when a photo of him in blackface at a Halloween party leaks online. Ethan\u2019s top investor (David Koechner) advises him to step down as CEO and appoint a person of color to serve as a figurehead while Ethan runs things behind the scenes. But Ethan\u2019s choice, elderly snack vendor Dotty (Leslie Uggams), proves herself far savvier than anyone expected, helping Ethan see the error of his ways and reconnect with his humble roots. There\u2019s far more finger-wagging (sometimes literally) than comedy, and Saunders is so timid about anything possibly offensive that he misses every opportunity to be bold or original. Grade: C<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outpost <\/em><\/strong>(VOD and select theaters May 19):<\/strong> The State<\/em> alum Joe Lo Truglio follows his peers Jordan Peele and Zach Cregger in making the move from comedy performer to horror filmmaker, although his transition is not nearly as successful. There\u2019s still plenty of potential in Lo Truglio\u2019s first film as a writer-director, which starts out as a grounded drama before rather abruptly shifting into full-on horror. Fellow comedy veteran Beth Dover plays a woman recovering from an attack by her abusive ex who decides that the best way to process her trauma is to take a position as a fire lookout in a remote Idaho forest. Left mostly alone with her thoughts, she experiences flashbacks to the attack and visions of violence, which eventually spill over from imagination to reality. Lo Truglio has found a striking location for a thriller, and Dover is strong as a woman under obvious mental distress, but the heightened horror elements never quite fit with the sensitive character study. Grade: B-<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pastacolypse <\/em><\/strong>(Tubi May 21):<\/strong> As crazy as its concept sounds, this Tubi original from Aqua Teen Hunger Force<\/em> co-creator Matt Maiellaro is in its own way entirely formulaic, with a style familiar from decades of Adult Swim animated series. The 70-minute movie comes off like an extended TV pilot, and Maiellaro\u2019s comedic approach of rampant random absurdity becomes tiresome at feature length. Fans of Maiellaro\u2019s past work should still be amused by the story of celebrity chef Alfredo Manicotti (ATHF<\/em>\u2019s Dana Snyder) who reacts poorly to a worldwide ban on gluten, transforming himself into a sort of mutant pasta creature and creating noodle minions to destroy humanity. There\u2019s some creative design for the pasta monsters, but the characters are mostly annoying, the plotting is haphazard, and the jokes are inconsistent. As a parody of post-apocalypse thrillers, Pastacolypse <\/em>is pretty weak, and the prospect of more adventures for Alfredo\u2019s plucky daughter\/nemesis Emma Manicotti (Lauren Holt), as teased in the finale, isn\u2019t particularly enticing. Grade: C<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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