B.J. Novak

Boyd Holbrook

J. Smith-Cameron

Issa Rae

Ashton Kutcher

Lio Tipton

Dove Cameron

Isabella Amara

Eli Bickel

John Mayer

Louanne Stephens

Zach Villa

Clint Obenchain

Rio Alexander

Ryan Hammond

Ben Whitehair

Grayson Berry

Nathaniel Augustson

Sean J. Dillingham

Ivan Hernandez

David Hight

Tracy S. Lee

Adrianne Lovato

Micah McNeil

Mike Miller

Sarah Minnich

Bronwen Murray

Aaron Rogers

Tony Sedillo

J. Nathan Simmons

Avalon Stone

Dora Woodrum

Darlene Kellum

Gonzalo Robles

Jeremy Warner

Melissa Chambers

Hillary Andujar

Courtney Andujar

FINNEAS

Sarah Domeier Lindo

Plummy Tucker

Christopher H. Warner

Hilda Rasula

Andy Canny

Terri Taylor

Leigh Kilton-Smith

Jessica Richey

Zac Locke

Jon Romano

Denise Harkins

Tara Hunter

Lyn Moncrief

Jason Altieri

Rachel Sage Kunin

Billy W. Ray

Marcia Calosio

David Hack

Peter McGrew

Renee Minasian

Megg Massey

Madeline McCue

Janine Maloney

Kirk W. Johnson

Alexis Williams

Nathan Carlson

Ryan A. Sullivan

Chelsey Danielsen

Jennifer Scudder Trent

Nicholas Kraft

Melissa Brockman

Andrea von Foerster

Mark Riccardi

Ryan Staats

Jason Mack

Heath Hensley

Paul Elliott

Dale Glenn Waseta Sr.

Forrest A. Haag

Brian DeNike

Josiah O'Neil

Ethan Scroggins

Kieran Sequoia

Jannis Schelenz

Jason Patrick Collins

Nick Shuster

Meghan Noce

Dustin Guillen

Olajide Elizabeth

Ralph Watson

Janessa Bouldin

Cynthia Cabrera

Dylan Gravley

Corey Weintraub

Dwight Dollins

Charee Savedra

Bonnie Masoner

Emerald Ortega

Ariel Y. Lopez

Ally Conover

David Sickles

Jason Pinney

Daniel Zamora

Jonathon Slator

Alexander Paul

Waylon Brady

Ryan Halsey

Kim Trujillo

Garret Lord

Ian Henderson

Brandy Marrs

Phil LoGrippo

Shayne Hartigan

James McCray

Jesse Heidenfeld

Lilly Tyson

Anthony Bartra

Jiji Hise

Patrick Puhl

Karen Kuehn

Patti Perret

Jason Kapuscinski

Tiffany S. Griffith

P.K. Hooker

Chris Dold

Drew Sacks

Brian Scott Steele

Ben Simpkins

Kali Kasashima

Jade Peterson

Tateum Kohut

Carl Zeller

Comedy

Mystery

Thriller

Vengeance

Blumhouse Productions

Focus Features

Divide / Conquer

United States of America

English

drug crime

texas

podcaster

mysterious death

podcast

Amazingly well-done. Film gets especially good in the last 20%, super rare!

CinemaSerf

When "Ben Manalowitz" (auteur B J Novak) gets a phone call, he leaves his New York home to travel to a remote desert community to find out what happened to a girl he had once hooked up with. Upon arrival he realises that this could be the subject for a serious podcast and so sets out to find her killer - at the behest of her brother "Ty" (Boyd Holbrook) - and simultaneously to offer an analysis of just how these folks live their lives - such a contrast to the style of fast-paced urban dwelling he is used to, and manna from heaven to his producer "Eloise" (Issa Rae). The storyline itself is rather procedural, but there is a decent degree of humour in this film - especially starting with the man-to-man chat at the top of the film which shows neither in a particularly good light. Thereafter some sparingly entertaining contributions from Ashton Kutcher help ginger this along in a sort of film noir style. The quirkiness of the townsfolk's real existence - centred largely around a burger bar; the characterful personalities and an equally effective score from Finneas O'Connell all help to generate a decently paced and quite compelling mystery that I found myself drawn into more than I was expecting. Novak isn't a great actor, but the writing - ultimately offering us an opportunity to evaluate his character and his flaws as much as of anyone else; the developing scenarios and the whole sense of mischief here do most of the heavy lifting allowing us to enjoy the concept without necessarily having to appreciate the acting scene by scene. I really did rather like the ending too.

The Movie Mob

**Vengeance is a decent movie with big questions, funny moments, and endearing characters that loses itself in trying to do too many things all at once.**

Vengeance wears a lot of hats (or stetsons, I guess). It begins as comedy, then social and political commentary, murder whodunit, and existential evaluation. Growing up in a small western town made parts of the story even more endearing and slightly offensive. The Whataburger and football jokes are 100% true in the heartland of the USA. Thankfully, the lead character's judgmental tone when he first arrives in this tiny Texas town shifts as he develops respect and affection for the people he interviews and befriends. Vengeance tries to be many things and gets messy in parts where it tries to be a little too clever, but there are parts where it pulls it off as well. I enjoyed where the story ended as the lead finds purpose and family after facing the reality of his own emptiness, loneliness, and pretentiousness. I appreciate what this movie was trying to do with its pursuit of truth and meaning, but it probably tried a little too hard, leaving me with an unsatisfied feeling as the credits rolled.

Ben Is Sent to a Rodeo

Rent On Demand Now | Digital 9/16 | Blu-ray & DVD 9/20

What a Story That Would Be Extended Preview

"Whataburger" Official Clip

Vengeance's B.J. Novak Highlights The Brattle Theater in Cambridge, MA | My Favorite Cinema | Ep. 4

Vengeance( 2022)

Find the story before it finds you.

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A review by rsanek

Written by rsanek on Fri Oct 07 2022

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