Here Are The 16 Films That Have Been Submitted for Best Animated Feature

Posted on November 7, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Seeing as how the Dazzling Erin and I went to see The Peanuts Movie on Friday night, it now seems appropriate to share the 16 films that have been submitted for consideration for the Best Animated Feature Oscar! Now, to make clear, these films have just been submitted for consideration. The actual nominees have not yet been determined.

But still, you know how much I love to share Oscar news!

Here are the 16 films:

Anomalisa,

The Boy and the Beast,

Boy and the World,

The Good Dinosaur,

Home,

Hotel Translyvania 2,

Inside Out,

Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet,

The Laws of the Universe — Part 0,

Minions,

Moomins on the Riviera,

The Peanuts Movie,

Regular Show: The Movie,

Shaun the Sheep,

The Spongebob Movie,

When Marnie Was There

h/t on this goes to Awards Circuit. I also saw the news on Awards Daily but everyone knows how I feel about that site.

Hallmark Review: Christmas Magic (2011, dir. John Bradshaw)

Posted on November 6, 2015 by Valerie Troutman

I wanted to like this movie. I kind of do, but it’s really bogged down with problems. Let’s talk about it.

That woman is Carrie Blackford played by Lindy Booth and if there’s one thing I can’t complain about in this movie, it’s her looks. She’s quite an attractive woman in this movie. In fact, the whole movie is rather attractive. By and large, it looks good from the actors to the sets. It just has a litany of other problems.

Carrie is at a gas station where she meets the attendant named Henry (Derek McGrath). Henry is a nice guy. She of course gives the Hallmark standard speech about how she doesn’t like Christmas. Henry is nice and just tells her that she should be careful on the dangerous roads and should stay off her cellphone while driving. This is where the movie goofs a little. The whole movie is supposed to take place in New York City, but they make the mistake of showing her cellphone screen.

Rogers is a Canadian cellphone company. It’s a really stupid little mistake that could have been solved so easily. Make the call to the phone. Take a screenshot of it coming in as it is shown above. Edit the image so that the provider is missing. Then for the shot in the movie, have her look down at the screenshot on her phone. Problem solved.

Well, since she obviously did use her cellphone against Henry’s advice, she gets into a car accident. This is where I have to give the movie major credit. I have had issues with my cable signal tiling over the years, but I never thought of actually sticking it in the movie as sort of a replacement for tilting the camera to tell us something is off.

Actually, it was just a weird quirk that occurred at the beginning of this movie. When I watch these I have it playing on the TV for my Dad to watch while I stream it to my iPad where I can take screenshots, and I keep the two in sync. For some reason it decided to tile like crazy only on my iPad mostly at this exact moment in the movie. Odd. Anyways, just before she dies she was having a little argument with a business rival named Lynette (Tricia Braun).

Course Henry turns out to be an angel and now she is too. He even has an assignment all ready for her. She is to go help this guy whose restaurant is having trouble. Given that she was an event planner in real life, it makes sense that she would have some experience that could prove useful. Of course there’s a few conditions. The only one that really is important is that she can’t have contact with anyone from when she was alive. Keep that in mind because that’s where one of the problems with the film is.

She is assigned to Scott Walker played by Paul McGillion of Stargate: Atlantis fame. And this is where the film shows that yes, she’s beautiful and so are the sets even if they don’t really make sense.

Somebody is a fan of Ali: Fear Eats The Soul (1974), and that person is me, because this restaurant made me think of the bar from that movie.

By the way, if you haven’t seen Ali: Fear Eats The Soul, then stop reading this review right now and go watch it. It’s one of my all time favorite movies and I almost came to tears just capturing those two screenshots.

Back to this movie. You see the size of the restaurant. Realistically this set can’t hold more than a couple of customers. Also, he says the regulars keep him afloat, but you will only see a couple of people actually eat at his place. Luckily, they kind of work around it. It still is a sign that this was done on the cheap.

Of course he has a daughter from a previous marriage, and that wife is dead. I was quite surprised that the daughter wasn’t played by Sierra McCormick. This actress certainly made me think of her, appearance wise. Scott agrees to let her help promote his business and help with his kid in the process. Where does she go since she can’t go home. It never says. She just leaves and sometimes goes to talk with Henry. Although, she does spot her father on the street and hides. I’ll come back to him at the end of this movie.

Oh, and the daughter some how knows she is a real angel. It happens really fast as if she has been around for a long time, but they just met. Also, they never explain this. All they had to do was throw in a couple of lines where Carrie asks Henry how she knows and Henry responds that it has something to do with the innocence of children. Hey, it worked to explain how children could see Sam Beckett in Quantum Leap no matter whose aura surrounded him, so why not here?

Well, the reason his restaurant isn’t doing well is because his food isn’t very good. Apparently, he took over from someone else and promised the regulars he wouldn’t change the menu. Doesn’t mean he’s a bad cook, but he’s afraid to try something new since the regulars are the few customers that keep him in business and they are adamant about sticking with what they like.

Luckily, there’s a local guy who looks crazy in that screenshot giving an art exhibit. Carrie goes to see him. This scene seems to come out of nowhere and goes on for quite a while before it ties itself back into the actual plot of the film. She convinces him that, among other things, he needs a caterer.

The event goes well and that’s Lynette from the beginning of the movie. Now I know what you’re thinking. This means that Carrie now has competition for the heart of Scott and someone she’s not allowed to come in contact with. So of course Henry comes to have a conversation with her about it.

Well, you’d think Henry has come to have a conversation with her about not coming into contact with Lynette, but he hasn’t. It doesn’t make any sense, but he’s there to remind her that she can’t come in contact with her father. A guy who has barely been in the movie and will hardly be in the movie at all. This conversation just comes out of nowhere. But then just to confuse matters more, it’s immediately followed by a scene where Lynette shows up at the restaurant forcing Carrie to duck out. After Carrie and Henry have a little heart to heart, this happens.

This is Scott singing and playing a piano. He is badly dubbed here and it comes around to bite this film in the butt at the end. I don’t know why they had to dub him. Even if he has a terrible voice I can fix that without dubbing him. During this scene Carrie comes up behind him and they talk a little about him giving up playing. All they had to do was have her say he sounded great to her. He says he knows he sounds bad, but that his wife would always say what she said, and he can tell she means it just like his wife did. Then he doesn’t have to be dubbed for the final scene of this movie because it’s not whether he sounds good to the viewer, but that it establishes a connection he had with his wife, and now has with Carrie. The movie winds down pretty quick now. It turns out Carrie isn’t dead, but in a coma. She has a chance to come back and Scott goes to her side.

He goes to her side, sings badly dubbed, she wakes up, and that’s the end. However, this is when the father shows back up. He barely is onscreen for a couple of minutes and only has a couple of lines, but he delivers a more genuine performance without saying a word then I see in most of these Hallmark movies. I didn’t think this guy was in the credits, but for some reason he is credited as a character named Jefferson. I don’t remember him having a name in the movie. The actor’s name is Don Allison. He appears to be some sort of character actor. He nearly saves this ending scene that is largely ruined by the totally unnecessary and bad dubbing.

I really can’t recommend this movie for the reasons I mentioned, and others I didn’t. I really wanted to like this, but it’s bogged down by so many problems. Won’t kill ya, but I don’t recommend it.

Because anything this divisive gets my attention. So, I also watched The Leisure Class…

Posted on November 6, 2015 by Valerie Troutman

First off, I have never watched that TV Show, and based off of Lisa’s description in her review of this film, I’m glad I don’t. It sounds like a seasons worth of footage of that dog from Godard’s Goodbye To Language (2014) pooping. In other words, I had no vested interest in this movie developed by watching the show. I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

The movie opens with that title card which would make you think you’re about to watch something like Last Year At Marienbad (1961). Then we cut to a party and meet some of our characters.

That’s William (Ed Weeks) and Fiona (Bridget Regan). One thing that stuck with me from Lisa’s review about the production of this is that it was shot on film, and it shows. I don’t know if it comes through in that screen shot, but it feels like it’s trying to remind me of Merchant Ivory Productions from the 70s and 80s.

That’s Edward (Bruce Davison) and Charlotte (Brenda Strong). This is a party the family is having to celebrate the wedding of William and Fiona that is going to take place the next day. William is marrying into this wealthy political family.

This is Carolyn (Melanie Zanetti) who is Fiona’s sister. She’s the short horny sister whose character is abandoned rather quickly and seems to exist only to give the next character who shows up a foothold in this whole setup.

Then this guy shows up at the party. He is William’s brother and is about to throw a wrench into William’s plan to marry into this family. William is actually a conman. A lousy conman cause this movie already starts telegraphing the ending of the film to you at this point. Now the brother does have a name in the movie, but let’s call him what he is. He’s Withnail (Tom Bell), minus any lines people will be quoting decades from now. William tells Withnail to leave the party, but of course he doesn’t even for money. He latches on to Carolyn and generally begins acting like a jackass.

Since night is upon them, they move inside. Then what I can only assume is the boom mic pops in from the upper left hand corner.

But enough of that little technical goof because we need more characters. We have the parents who seem to be basically oblivious at this point. Fiona is basically the same way at this point. Carolyn wants With to Nail her. And of course there’s our conman William. Naturally that’s why the movie needs a detective character. That comes in the form of another sister named Allison (Scottie Thompson). She tends to stay away from the family and is a lawyer.

And you can tell she doesn’t like him because of that I just met you, but I already know your kind very well look on her face.

Well, after William tries to get some.

And so does take me now Carolyn.

Withnail decides to round up some booze and people to go off to a party!

Now take a good look at Fiona’s hair here. I’ll bring that up later. Now a couple of them, including Fiona jump in a pool.

Oh, did I say a pool. I meant a plot device to clearly establish that Carolyn is drunk, Fiona is her own woman, and William is in over his head. Well, seeing as Carolyn is drunk and something needs to bring things to a head, we get a car accident.

You see the look on Fiona’s face. That’s the look of the audience when they realize this scene only works if William has never seen a movie where rich people get away with things like car accidents they are at fault for. I hate when movies depend on their characters existing in a world where movies don’t exist that have covered situations they’re in. But again, they are trying to foreshadow the ending of this movie some more here.

This is when you need to take another look at Fiona’s hair. I have taken physics before so I’m aware of how hair works when it comes to hydrogen and disulfide bonds, but something tells me being in a pool for all of a couple of minutes doesn’t transform hair from looking perfectly straight to looking like you just had it curled at a salon. I’ll have to ask the lady who does my hair, but this struck me as a continuity error. A minor error like the boom mic, but my only guess is that it was left in to make her character appear more vulnerable and less hoity toity so that we would see her come full circle back to the way she was at the beginning, but worse.

Anyways, this is when Edward decides to give William a good talking to. So he pulls out a report that apparently shows all sorts of inconsistencies in William’s story. Hmmm…and why he didn’t pull this report out I don’t know… prior to the night before the wedding? The movie never really says. The best explanation we are given is in a scene coming up when Edward makes it clear that he wanted a son to carry on his name, but he only seems to produce girls. Perhaps we are expected to believe that Edward was willing to turn a blind eye to this report that he clearly had before because it meant he would have a son-in-law. Fiona also gets a talking to about how the wedding could affect his and her political careers. But who cares about that because we need another character…apparently…for reasons?

This is Carla the prostitute played by Christine Lakin. I actually know who she is since she played Jackie on Melissa & Joey. The girl who wanted Joey’s sperm to impregnate her one way or another. Here she plays a pointless character thrown in so that Withnail won’t leave the movie alone. At least I hope that’s the reason because otherwise she’s just a character who brings Fifty Shades Of Grey (2015) into this movie by bringing up nipple clamps. I know what you are thinking. This movie needs a scene that looks like it belongs in a Tarantino movie or something like Funny Games. And it comes next.

This is when Edward just flips out on the boys and his family. He pulls out a gun, he strips and whips Withnail, and probably give the best performance in this whole movie. Even if it is a bit much.

Cut to the next morning and Edward with two penises drawn on his face makes his daughter and Withnail offers they can’t refuse. Much to the dismay of William who at this point probably figured he and Fiona would be riding off into the sunset having told her the truth about himself and that he truly does love her. At least Carla leaves the bride with a wedding present.

Then a little wedding stuff before the movie ends on this shot.

And that’s The Leisure Class. Why did this movie stir up so much crap over Lisa’s review? It’s a movie with it’s fair share of problems, but those are a dime a dozen. Director Jason Mann tried something probably a little too ambitious for the conditions he was working under, and it never really came together. It happens. It’s his first film. What were people hoping for here? I don’t know. I just know what the finished product is. A forgettable movie that amounts to Withnail Crashes A Wedding.

As for some of the nasty comments that came Lisa’s way. I don’t mind the down votes. That’s what they’re for, but if you only want to hear what you have to think about something then don’t read other people’s reviews of things. You don’t need anyone else’s validation to have an opinion about something.

Well, I’m moving on with my life now.

Here’s The Latest Trailer For The Suddenly Controversial The Hateful Eight

Posted on November 5, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s amazing how quickly things can change.

Just one month ago, The Hateful Eight was a film that everyone was eagerly anticipating but which no one was expecting to be as controversial or as incendiary as Quentin Tarantino’s previous film, Django Unchained. I think a lot of us were expecting The Hateful Eight to be a bit like Kill Bill — i.e., a delirious homage to Tarantino’s favorite films and one that took place in a parallel universe. We were expecting The Hateful Eight to be an example of pure cinema, with little connection to the outside world.

But that was a month ago. Things have changed. As I sit here typing this, The Hateful Eight has suddenly become one of the most controversial films of 2015. Suddenly, deciding whether or not to see it has been transformed into a political decision. Following Tarantino’s public criticism of the police and his refusal to back down from his statements, there are suddenly calls to boycott Tarantino’s latest film.

Myself, I’m not a huge fan of boycotting anything. I may choose not to see something for whatever reason but that’s my choice and it certainly does not make me politically or morally superior to anyone who may choose differently. Ultimately, those who want to boycott Tarantino’s film because of his liberal politics need to realize that they’ll also be boycotting a film that stars Libertarian Kurt Russell and features Republican Bruce Dern. If you can’t stand Tarantino’s politics, don’t vote for him when he runs for President. Don’t vote for any candidate that he endorses. But leave his movies, and those of us who want to watch them, alone.

Add to that, The Hateful Eight looks really good! Check out the trailer below!

Here’s The Trailer For Alice Through The Looking Glass!

Posted on November 5, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Mia Wasikowska (who was so great in Jane Eyre, Only Lovers Left Alive, and Crimson Peak) returns as Alice in the trailer for the upcoming film, Alice Through The Looking Glass! Johnny Depp will be waiting for her. However, Tim Burton (who previously directed Alice In Wonderland) will only be producing this installment. Directing duties will be handled by James Bobin.

The film will be released on May 27th, 2016 but until then, watch the trailer below!

Film Review: Invisible Sister (2015, dir. Paul Hoen)

Posted on November 4, 2015 by Valerie Troutman

I really should have watched something else that featured invisibility before I watched Invisible Sister. It felt weird that I went from the late night cable movie Invisible Centerfolds (2015) to this Disney Channel movie. Oh, well.

The movie begins when we meet Cleo (Rowan Blanchard). She proceeds to give us a little sob story about how she feels invisible, especially next to her popular sister. I’m sorry, but I can’t possibly be the only one who had a thing for the 90s indie girls who listened to Green Day. She is that girl except a modern incarnation that listens to The Hives instead. Luckily, the movie knows we exist and very quickly calls the character on her BS when a guy comes up to her, tries to ask her out, and gets rudely brushed off.

Apparently, nice blonde boys who take notice of her are her main offender. He won’t be off to find another girl, but will come back later when he’s needed the most.

She is friends with George played by Karan Brar. I can handle Karan without his accent, but it’s not the same without his character having a giant lizard for a pet. In case we didn’t know she was smart because her sister is popular and she hangs out with the nerdy kid from Jessie, then her teacher reminds us by giving her a tough assignment.

Thankfully, despite the speech at the beginning, she’s science smart. I don’t think I could have handled Cleo if she spent the film engaged in the dead quote olympics. The details don’t matter. All you need to know is it involves a moth, and her sister soon drinks it from a glass of water.

Now her sister doesn’t just have a see through head, but her body is entirely invisible. In order to make sure the sister remains invisible, the writers made it so that anything she attempts to cloak herself in soon becomes invisible as well. Think this movie is really about the sister being literally invisible? You got it all… wrong. This movie is a body swap comedy minus the literal swap, and makes one of them a ghost following along. This is an important time in the life of the newly invisible sister so she hatches a diabolic scheme.

Her sister will go in her Halloween costume with a mask. This movie takes place in Louisiana, so she’s Mardi Gras Dorothy! Of course we all know where this is gonna lead.

That’s right! All the pep girls give each other a massage. Oh, I can always count on you Disney! Whether it’s the pillow fight between Debby Ryan and Maia Mitchell while Cameron Boyce watches on Jessie, then it’s Ben Savage telling one girl to stop eating the other on Girl Meets World. Really, why did they think this was a good idea to put in the movie?

Since Cleo didn’t really know how much her sister did, she now finds out that she has a bigger hole to fill than she thought because there’s a lacrosse game she needs to play in. Luckily, this is where that whole invisible thing does really come into play.

It comes in handy when the opposing team suddenly gets knocked off their feet into the air. This is one of two times where the invisible sister appears to have acquired super strength by being invisible.

As you can see invisible sis isn’t happy. I mean she’s invisible. Now the movie gets to the fixing her part. This is when the film drives home that this really is a body swap comedy in disguise. While they try to get the right ingredients to make an antidote for what made her invisible in the first place, the sisters share some tender moments. The literal invisibility is just to teach the two about the metaphorical invisibility they had of each other and themselves that only existed because they let it. I’m forgetting something…oh, yeah! The boys!

Turns out the nice blonde boy is also really smart and helps Cleo to make her sister visible again. Also, he thought that if she was going dressed as a bear to the “Romp the Swamp” party, then he would go as honey. There’s an inappropriate joke in that somewhere.

And this is the boy for the invisible sister. He’s kind of the missing link, but seems to be a really nice guy even when it came to the prospect of dating an invisible girl.

The ending is a little much given that the sisters already had their tender moments. It’s a voiceover narration speech to end the film that feels unnecessary.

Well all right! I got in 10 song titles by The Hives into the review. That’s good enough for me, and this is certainly one of the better Disney Channel Original Movies I’ve seen. I enjoyed Rowan Blanchard and Paris Berelc as sisters. If you like these movies, then this is one of the good ones in my opinion.

Film Review: The Lovers (dir by Roland Joffe)

Posted on November 4, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Lovers played in theaters earlier this year but don’t be surprised if you’ve never heard of it. I hadn’t heard of it until I came across it on Showtime. The Lovers — much like Veronika Decides To Die — is one of those films that spent a while sitting on the shelf until it was almost grudgingly granted an extremely limited theatrical run. With little publicity and no critical support, The Lovers came and went and now it’s been relegated to cable and Netflix.

And watching The Lovers last night, I could see why some studios might be hesitant about it. The Lovers is an amazingly messy film, one that seems to randomly careen from tone to tone. Sometimes, it’s a romance. Sometimes, it’s an adventure film. Sometimes, it’s an attack on colonialism disguised as a history lesson. And then, occasionally, it’s even a science fiction film. It’s perhaps the messiest mishmash of themes since Cloud Atlas and that’s saying something!

And yet, despite all that, I still liked The Lovers. In many ways, I enjoyed the film despite some of my better instincts. I’m still not sure what the Hell’s going on in 50% of the film and don’t even get me started on trying to explain how the film’s multiple story lines are supposed to be connected. There’s so much that I could criticize about this film and yet, when it was over, I was not at all unhappy about having taken the time to watch it.

The story … well, it’s a little bit hard to explain. The film begins with a God-like being forging twin rings. We then jump forward a few centuries, to the year 2020. Two marine archeologists, Jay (Josh Hartnett) and his wife, Laura (Tasmin Egerton), are exploring the sunken wreck of a colonial British ship. In the wreckage, they comes across the two rings. They mention that someone named “D.E.” drowned while clutching onto the rings. When Laura gets trapped under some debris, Jay rescues her but ends up brain dead as a result. In a generically futuristic hospital, Laura has to decide whether to use machines to keep Jay alive or to let him go.

However, we don’t see much of Laura and Jay in that hospital. This is because, after Jay goes into his coma, the film’s other storyline starts up. Suddenly, we’re in India. The year is 1778 and Josh Hartnett is playing a Scottish captain in the British East India Company. When we first see Hartnett, we naturally assume that he’s playing the mysterious “D.E.” but instead, we learn that this character is named James Stewart.

(It’s not much of a spoiler to let you know right now that we never learn exactly who D.E. was or why he or she drowned with the rings.)

At first, I assumed that Jay was dreaming about being James and that the India storyline was meant to run parallel to the 2020 storyline. That, however, quickly turned out to not be the case. My next guess was that James was meant to be Jay in a past life and I still think that’s a possibility. But the fact of the matter is that the film itself never makes clear how James and Jay are related or even why we’re seeing both of their stories. In general, I like films that are willing to be ambiguous but The Lovers took it a bit too far.

James is assigned to escort an Indian princess to the capital city. Along the way, James has to protect her from both rebels and assassins. He also falls in love with one of the queen’s warriors, the beautiful Tulaja Naik (Bipasha Basu).

It’s the scenes set in India that make The Lovers worth watching. Full of opulent palaces, gorgeous costumes, fierce battles, and sexy chemistry between Josh Hartnett and Bipasha Basu, these scenes are a visual feast. Even if they don’t always make much sense, they’re fun to watch. When The Lovers concentrates on India, it’s the epitome of an enjoyably over-the-top romantic melodrama. It’s only when the film leaves India for the near future or those Godly ring forgers that its inherent messiness becomes a problem.

In the end, The Lovers is not as bad as you might think. Just enjoy it as a visual treat and don’t worry about making sense of it all.

Let’s Get Back On Track With The Trailer For Anomalisa!

Posted on November 4, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

You know what? Over the past day and a half, I have spent way too much time dealing with the trolls who were apparently offended by my brilliant review of The Leisure Class.

The fact of the matter is that there are other things about which to be excited! For instance, check out this trailer for Charlie Kaufman’s stop motion film, Anomalisa! This film is coming out on December 30th and a lot of people are really excited about it.

Watch the trailer.

Are you excited?

(As for me, I’m just excited to see that my name is a part of the title…)

Hallmark Review: The Christmas Choir (2008, dir. Peter Svatek)

Posted on November 4, 2015 by Valerie Troutman

There isn’t a whole lot to talk about with this one. And that’s a good thing. This isn’t another Hallmark romance, and they kept it simple. Basically, take the choir portions of Sister Act (1992) and merge it with the full employment speech from Dave (1993). The speech where he says, “it’s not about the paycheck. It’s about respect. It’s about looking in the mirror, and knowing you’ve done something valuable with your day.”

That’s Peter Brockman (Jason Gedrick) who has just been reminded by his secretary that he’s supposed to go see his girlfriend Jill (Cindy Sampson). Jill promptly breaks up with him cause he’s basically just too busy and living in a work bubble. This leads him to a bar where he meets a man named Bob (Tyrone Benskin).

He follows Bob back to where he lives, which happens to be a homeless shelter run by Sister Agatha (Rhea Perlman). Of course she gives him a little speech, and in short order Peter decides to do something to help. He wants to round up the guys into a choir in order to give them something to do that can also earn them some extra money.

That’s it! There’s a couple little subplots involving a woman at the subway and Peter’s father, but they really don’t matter. What you are getting here is a nice a little story about a guy who in the process of trying to help some others, also helps himself. The only thing I thought was an actual problem was the minor wrench they throw into things at the last minute. It’s like including a birth narrative because you don’t think the audience will accept the story without it being pre-ordained. Here it’s people will feel let down if it doesn’t end on a super high note.

Nothing to seek out, but it’s a perfectly fine little Hallmark Christmas movie.

Documentary Review: Prophet’s Prey (dir by Amy Berg)

Posted on November 3, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I just finished watching the documentary Prophet’s Prey and I have to say that it’s one of the creepiest things that I’ve ever seen in my life. As our regular readers know, I love horror movies but, in many ways, Prophet’s Prey is scarier than even the most effective horror film. Prophet’s Prey is frightening because it’s true.

Prophet’s Prey is about the secretive Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), a group that is best known for its practice of polygamy. The Presidents of the FLDS, Warren Jeffs, has been convicted of two counts of child sexual assault and is currently serving a life sentence. This documentary suggests that Warren Jeffs (who is estimated to have close to 70 wives) is still controlling the FLDS from behind bars.

Warren Jeffs’s voice is heard throughout the film. He recorded his sermons, the majority of which appeared to be about the importance of obeying his authority, and we hear excerpts of them throughout the film. What’s especially striking is that Warren Jeffs does not sound the way that we would expect him to. After hearing about how powerful he is and how the members of the FLDS continue to defend and follow him, we expect to hear a voice full of charisma and insidious power. Instead, the sermons are delivered in a flat monotone and the utter banality of his voice makes them all the more creepy. It’s the same monotone that we hear when a tape is played of Jeffs praying and then having sex with a 12 year-old that he’s just married.

We also hear a few excerpts of Warren Jeffs at his arraignment. His response to nearly every question is to softly reply, “Fifth amendment.” Even when asked if he has any remorse about his crimes, he replies, “Fifth amendment.”

We also see footage of Warren Jeffs in jail. We watches as he wanders around his tiny cell and occasionally tries to get some sleep. And again, the thing that strikes us is how ordinary and boring he looks. If you ever needed proof of the banality of evil, Warren Jeffs would appear to be that proof.

How, we wonder, did this seemingly dull and uncharismatic man become one of the biggest (and, some would say, most dangerous) cult leaders in America?

The film searches for an answer and suggests that Warren Jeffs’s power over his followers has less to do with Warren and more to do with the culture in which they were raised. The film’s best moments come when the filmmakers drive through the twin towns of Colorado City, Arizona and Hilldale, Utah. These towns served as the headquarters of the FLDS. Cameras line the roads, keeping track of strangers driving past the modest and identical houses. The people who live in town watch the cars pass with unsmiling expressions. Soon, the camera crew realize that they are being followed by another car. At one point, a member of Jeffs’s security force pulls them over and asks what they’re done before taking their pictures. With mountains rising high in the background and the blue sky seeming to go on forever, Colorado City and Hilldale seem like the most isolated places in the world.

Because it covers so much material and comes to so many disturbing conclusions, Prophet’s Prey can be an exhausting film. Along with detailing the life and crimes of Warren Jeffs, the film also details the larger history and culture of the FLDS. It makes for fascinating and disturbing history and it all ends with the ominous reminder that Warren Jeffs is still leading his group from prison.

Pair Prophet’s Prey with Going Clear for an anti-cult double feature.