This week\u2019s fringe VOD releases explore the angst of motherhood as horror and comedy, the love life of a disabled man, and the music-fueled revenge of a trio of cursed brothers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Clone Cops<\/em><\/strong> (VOD and select theaters January 31):<\/strong> Director and co-writer Danny Dones\u2019 debut feature peaks early, with an amusing parody of corporate training videos that promises a sharper dystopian satire than what Dones and co-writer Phillip Cordell deliver. Clone Cops<\/em> lurches awkwardly from outlandish humor to gritty violence, aiming to emulate the wry social commentary of sci-fi action movies like RoboCop<\/em> and The Running Man<\/em> but settling for weak sketch comedy and weaker battle sequences. At first it\u2019s not quite clear what the mass production of the title characters (all played by Cordell) has to do with a group of criminals hiding out in a warehouse, but the two elements eventually connect via a deliberately annoying live-stream broadcast. Dones and Cordell have nothing new or interesting to say about media depictions of violence or the self-determination of synthetic beings, and the attempts at pathos among the criminals fall especially flat. Once the characters turn off that opening video, the audience might as well turn off the movie. Grade: C<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Devil and the Daylong Brothers<\/em><\/strong> (VOD January 31):<\/strong> There\u2019s no lack of ambition in this Southern gothic Western revenge thriller musical, although fitting those disparate pieces together is not always within writer-director Brandon McCormick\u2019s grasp. The unwieldy, long-winded result is equal parts bold and messy. As a musical, it\u2019s full of catchy blues-rock songs, and Keith Carradine channels a bit of vintage Nashville<\/em> energy in his one big number, a slow-burn lament. The songs don\u2019t always connect to the action, though, especially when the characters are literally singing them during car chases and shootouts. Brendan Bradley, Nican Robinson, and Jordon Bolden play the sons of Carradine\u2019s Nehemiah Daylong, who sold their souls to Satan before they were born. The logistics of their curse aren\u2019t always clear, and the motivations of the sultry Frankie (Rainey Qualley), who claims she can help them locate Nehemiah, are even murkier. The actors affect exaggerated hillbilly accents to deliver McCormick\u2019s tortuously folksy dialogue, which can be exhausting \u2014 like everything else about this alternately frustrating and exhilarating movie. Grade: B-<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Good Bad Things<\/em><\/strong> (VOD February 4):<\/strong> It\u2019s impossible to fault the intentions of this mostly bland romantic dramedy, about a man with muscular dystrophy opening himself up to love. Newcomer Danny Kurtzman (who co-wrote the story with director Shane D. Stanger) plays Danny, a wheelchair user who lives a pretty sweet life but still keeps his emotional guard up, thanks to past bad experiences with people taking advantage of his disability. When his marketing company is pitching a collaboration with a dating app, he signs up and matches with Madi (Jessica Parker Kennedy), a bubbly, attractive, able-bodied photographer. She\u2019s little more than an idealized fantasy with virtually no internal life, and their perfunctory third-act conflict is easily and predictably resolved. Good Bad Things<\/em> is more effective as a character study, especially in the relationship between Danny and his best friend\/roommate\/business partner Jason (Brett Dier), but Stanger rarely gets below the surface, and Kurtzman\u2019s performance is shaky in the more intense scenes. Those are only fleeting moments in what amounts to a glossy, forgettable rom-com. Grade: C+<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n