Pickings (2018)
When a short-tempered mobster and his gang of thugs try to shake down a neighborhood bar, they're soon confronted with the wrath of its owner - a mysterious southern mother with a dangerous past.
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How sad is this?
A Brilliant Conflict
Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.
As someone who considers himself a fan of independent films, and genre films in particular, I found a lot to enjoy in this movie. It's a mixture of film noir, spaghetti westerns and comic book genre films like Sin City and 300, all that made behind the mask of a super-stylized independent film. The visuals, editing and acting was all top-notch. The story was gripping, and the main character of Jo was bad-ass! Fans of niche genre films would love this movie.
"Pickings" is an interesting little revenge film about a single mom who runs a family bar in a fictional town (Port City), one day some mobsters come seeking to collect protection and things escalate quickly, the scene becomes violent and the gangsters end up dead. This sets up a turf war between a women who is on the run from a really violent past (and the filmmakers reveal the past nicely throughout the movie, in little pieces) and a local gangster who's out for blood. The plot isn't really that innovative or new and you can clearly see where the filmmaker gets his inspiration from (cough... Tarantino), but overall the movie does a really good job of keeping your eyes glued to the screen and I think it delivered. There are some really light moments and some really dark moments which is a staple of these types of B movies. The filmmakers also combined film noir and Spaghetti Westerns in an interesting way and the film does not lack in style, sometimes thou that style can get really distracting and it can take you out of the story, but for the most part it keeps you engaged.
When I went to see this movie, I did so because it had a 7/10 rating. I had expected it to be a good movie, but what I was met with was a trope and cliché filled attempt at a revenge film by a director/writer who is trying way too hard to be Quentin Tarantino.Imagine Tommy Wiseau directing "Kill Bill" and you would get something in the vicinity of this movie. It's been a while since a movies dialogue made me cringe this badly.I feel it is my civic duty to warn others away from seeing this, so I made an IMDb account with the sole purpose of writing this review. That is how disappointed I am with this film.
When she loses the people she loves-gloves are off. The many emotions which are unfiltered and expressed by Jo Lee played by Elyse Price are on the big screen. Would you seek revenge, hate the people that caused your nightmare, and lose empathy? The settling of scores which takes place is powerful! Her performance is totally believable, from the love of her small children, to the chilling outcome of holding a pistol to someone's head without shaking. The persuasions and methods of retaliation are used by Jo Lee, which Elyse brings to life flawlessly. To root for the good guy is not a bad thing.