Netflix Original Movie Reviews: 'The Highwaymen' and 'Unicorn Store'

‘THE HIGHWAYMEN’ – 50/100

Synopsis: The outlaws made headlines. The lawmen made history. From director John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side), THE HIGHWAYMEN follows the untold true story of the legendary detectives who brought down Bonnie and Clyde. When the full force of the FBI and the latest forensic technology aren’t enough to capture the nation’s most notorious criminals, two former Texas Rangers (Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson) must rely on their gut instincts and old school skills to get the job done.

A painfully slow drawl with no true payoff, ‘The Highwaymen’ takes one of the most electric crime sprees/manhunts in human history and reduces it to 2 old men growling at each other like 20 year old bulldogs. There are some redeemable qualities in the production value and camerawork, but there isn’t much else to take from it.Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson star as the U.S. Marshalls sent to hunt down Bonnie and Clyde. They’re gruff, old as fuck and go to great lengths to show you how badass they are. The actors themselves do a great job at portraying their respective characters, it’s just that those characters are boring as all fuck. At about the 45 minute mark, you realize that they are still setting up the actual chase and that these old bastard’s act has already gotten old. The strengths in this movie comes from the production value, which is phenomenal and makes the movie feel really authentic for the time period. The camera work also fits well, with plenty of sweeping landscape views of the southwest and tracking shots of foot chases.

Overall, it’s just not great. It’s a great dad porno, but there isn’t much else value to it for people who aren’t into that or procedural police dramas.

 ‘UNICORN STORE’ – 65/100

Synopsis: Kit (Brie Larson) is a lonely twenty-something dreamer who’s reluctant to leave the comforts of childhood and fully embrace adulthood. But when art school sends her packing, Kit is forced to move back home with her parents and take a temp job in a boring office. Just when she’s resolved to finally put her Care Bears aside and grow up, a mysterious salesman (Samuel L. Jackson) enters Kit’s life and offers to give her childlike heart its greatest desire. Larson’s directorial debut, with a script by Samantha McIntyre, is a love letter to everyone’s inner child, and a reminder that no dream is impossible

Brie Larson’s directorial debut is eccentric and whimsical, but also just feels like it’s lacking some real substance to take it over the top. There is a lot about this movie which makes me excited to see what else Larson has in store for us from behind the camera, but I think that the film is a lot less smart and abstract than it thinks it isLason stars in the movie alongside her ‘Captain Marvel’ co-star Samuel L. Jackson, Mamoudou Athie, Bradley Whitford and Joan Cusak. There isn’t any bad performances, but Larson is the star of the show. She portrays a unique character that is sort of floating in her own cloud to the point that I was semi-convinced that many scenes were dream sequences. However, she is also grounded with real world problems we all face that bring you back to earth.

The problem comes from the substance of the plot. The purpose is just sort of murky, and leaves you sort of questioning if what you’re watching is some sort of lucid dream or not. It’s almost like a nonfiction Peter Pan that’s on a light hallucinogen. I will say that the aesthetic and color palates Larson uses are wonderful. It almost reminds me of the planet Sakaar in ‘Thor Ragnarok’ which is one of my favorite MCU settings. I’m hyped up to see what Larson has next, because she showed a lot of promise for a rookie effort.

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