After his early criticism “Half Nelson” with Ryan Gosling and “Dirty Trip” with Ryan Reynolds, the director's team Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck from the Marvel Studios was for the first time committed to one of their blockbusters: “Miss Marvel” was a huge hit in 2019 more than $ 1.1 billion. It was not absurd to expect that your next movie would again be a major project with a mega budget-it probably did not lack offer in this regard. Nevertheless, the duo decided to add the TV series “Mrs. America” and “Masters of the Air” before returning to the big screen and at the same time to their independent roots:
Your episode film, which was located in the 1980s and occupied with a large ensemble cast, “Freaky Tales“Mixes absurd brutal action with black humor, whereby dark thriller elements on a teenager lovestory, a fictional musician biopic and a trail of supernatural hocus-pocus. Real people and historical events-all fictionalized-as a background for four loosely connected stories. That also sounds-but it does not matter-but is still not a wildness good film.
“Freaky Tales”, “The Last of Us”, “Eddington”, “Fantastic Four” – Pedro Pascal is particularly popular in Hollywood!
In 1987 a number of fates cross in the California Oakland: The young people punk rock fans Lucid (Jack Champion) and Tina (Ji-Young Yoo) have to watch how their favorite club is devastated several times by a horde of neo-Nazis-at least until the couple decides to strike back with the support of the remaining regular guests. At the same time, the ice cream parlor sellers want to establish themselves as hip-hop duo. When the young women get the chance to compete against the local genre star Too $ Hort (Demario “Symba” Driver), they have to take all their courage together and fight against their stage fright.
Clint (Pedro Pascal), in turn, works as a debt incentor and executor for a COP (Ben Mendelsohn), which leads a double life as a gangster boss. When the son of one of his former victims accidentally shoots clints pregnant wife Grace (Natalia Dominguez), he now believes that he has nothing to lose anymore, and refuses against his boss. While he shows the best performance of his career in a match, the house of basketball professional Eric “Sleepy” Floyd (Jay Ellis) broke into the house. The criminals kill the girlfriend (Alexis Zollicoffer) of the star. Destroyed on the ground, the Martial arts and esoteric fan Sleepy is drawing to take the perpetrators and their client into account as a one-man army …
The role models are not difficult to identify
“Freaky Tales” is based on the mercilessly exaggerated memories of the Ryan Fleck, who grew up in Oakland. However, the connections between the stories are very thin and mostly have a frustrating constructed: In each of the four stories, only characters from the other episodes appear briefly, but they get almost nothing meaningful to do there. Here a few looks are changed, there are some irrelevant words. In addition, everything should be held together by a mysterious energy that, thanks to sudden flashes, gives all those strength and self -confidence that are ready to expose themselves to the green lights. The origin and background of the phenomenon called “Psytopic” are never explained. Apparently it led to the emergence of a kind of religious movement in the world of the film, which is introduced to us by means of a cringe commercial that makes the whole thing smell like Scientology.
Undoubtedly, soil and stain have tried to orientate himself to Quentin Tarantino. This becomes particularly clear in the third segment, which feels like a light version of “Pulp Fiction” and in the “The Last of Us” star Pedro Pascal makes the best of its rather banal figure. In the course of the fourth part, on top of that, even several times in “Kill Bill” and even “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” are used. In “Freaky Tales” we not only get several long dialogue scenes in a diner and tons of allusions to older films and other pop culture elements. There is also a revenge campaign with a katana, inexplicably shining boxes (the MacGuffin case made of “Pulp fiction” greets), a longer animation scene and again and again outbreaks of extreme violence.
The youthful punk rockers take it up in “Freaky Tales” with a group of right -wing radicals!
It all seems familiar to you. However, the obvious role models are all significantly more original and captivating. In the meantime, idle and boredom even spread. The fact that the film does not find a constant tone in its entirety and who lives up badly with regard to the pace is aggravated and tires strong in the long run. The best three minutes from “Freaky Tales” then denies Pedro Pascal in a duet with one of the biggest stars that Hollywood has to offer for decades. The A-Lister, whose name we do not want to tell you here, because its presence in such a small production is really a huge surprise, plays a small supporting role as a condescending video store owner as a self-proclaimed flavor.
Okay, the part is a little reminiscent of Jack Black's record shop seller in “High Fidelity”, but that's completely okay. Because here the dialogues are nice and crisp and the timing in the interaction of the two actors is perfect. One would have liked to see much more of it – maybe even a full -length film, this brief appearance is great. Instead, we get nobody -written scenes, underdeveloped characters as well as a little thought -out frame story, which ultimately leads to nothing anyway. In addition, there are a charismatic, but ultimately given away in a one -dimensional role, Ben Mendelsohn and Jay Ellis, who reveals his potential as an action star, but is only used little. “Freaky Tales” is a full disappointment from a duo that has already shown with “Half Nelson” and “It's Kind of a Funny Story” that it can also work better with a small budget (clearly!).
Conclusion: The three -minute guest appearance of a superstar is world class! The rest of “Freaky Tales”, on the other hand, turns out to be a more mobile, unbalanced, boring and generally not particularly well-written Tarantino-Abwatch. Even the charming retro look and a few known faces can not tear out much.