This review of “On the Count of Three” was first published on Jan. 29, 2021, after its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
“On the Count of Three” opens with two friends nervously trying to commit a joint murder-suicide, and it’s the feature directorial debut of comedian Jerrod Carmichael. Thankfully Carmichael, who also stars, never loses sight of the real pain at the story’s center, even as he’s also managing to find the laughs.
Working from a screenplay by TV writers Ari Katcher (“The Carmichael Show”) and Ryan Welch (who co-created “Ramy” with Katcher and Ramy Youssef), Carmichael already feels comfortable behind the camera, which should come as no surprise to anyone who’s seen his HBO documentary shorts about his family and childhood neighborhood. With “On the Count of Three,” he takes on a challenging mix of tones, and mostly succeeds as the story segues from the tragic...
“On the Count of Three” opens with two friends nervously trying to commit a joint murder-suicide, and it’s the feature directorial debut of comedian Jerrod Carmichael. Thankfully Carmichael, who also stars, never loses sight of the real pain at the story’s center, even as he’s also managing to find the laughs.
Working from a screenplay by TV writers Ari Katcher (“The Carmichael Show”) and Ryan Welch (who co-created “Ramy” with Katcher and Ramy Youssef), Carmichael already feels comfortable behind the camera, which should come as no surprise to anyone who’s seen his HBO documentary shorts about his family and childhood neighborhood. With “On the Count of Three,” he takes on a challenging mix of tones, and mostly succeeds as the story segues from the tragic...
- 5/14/2022
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
There’s an interesting idea for a movie in “Fatman,” which seeks to spin a bleak and wintry hitman tale into a deadpan dark Christmas comedy by making Santa Claus the target of that hired killer. It never makes it past the idea stage, unfortunately, since mixing these disparate genres together would require an absolute mastery of tone that the film can’t quite muster.
Writers-directors Ian Nelms and Eshom Nelms (“Small Town Crime”) certainly can’t be faulted for ambition, but their big idea doesn’t make it all the way down the chimney.
Despicable rich child Billy already has a working relationship with the assassin known as the Skinny Man (Walton Goggins), having recently hired him to kidnap a classmate to force her to give Billy a science-fair prize he thought was rightfully his. When Billy’s wicked ways earn him coal from Santa Claus (Mel Gibson), the...
Writers-directors Ian Nelms and Eshom Nelms (“Small Town Crime”) certainly can’t be faulted for ambition, but their big idea doesn’t make it all the way down the chimney.
Despicable rich child Billy already has a working relationship with the assassin known as the Skinny Man (Walton Goggins), having recently hired him to kidnap a classmate to force her to give Billy a science-fair prize he thought was rightfully his. When Billy’s wicked ways earn him coal from Santa Claus (Mel Gibson), the...
- 11/9/2020
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
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