Billie Morin
This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows
Kaydan Christian
A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
Cassandra
Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.
RevRonster
Sometimes, "found footage" films feel like the writers/directors were just trying to cash in on a craze and make a film that doesn't necessarily require a script in order to get a big return or just get a film out there…and sometimes they're even worse."Lucky Bastard" is a thriller with no thrills and a horror with no scares. The actors looked lost on who exactly their characters are suppose to be and just, instead, settle for cheesy acting, it seems like the director had no idea about yelling "cut" or having the editor trim scenes, and the entire concept of bringing in tension was entirely foreign to the production. The entire film is just one long and terrifyingly bad example of how to not make a thriller. Every scene lasts way too long and the actors look like they are trying, and failing miserably, at improvising every scene. Then, as if the production was literally trying to make an awful film, they only include the moments that are, on paper, meant to be the thrilling part near the end of the film. The film wastes an entire hour without establishing anything but the most basic of its premises and completely forgetting to seed the ground in order for terror to sprout."Lucky Bastard" only had one thing in its favor…it cured my insomnia.Hello! My name is Rev. Ron and if you feel like reading more of my rants, ramblings, geek references, bad jokes, and other movie reviews (like a more in-depth look at "Lucky Bastard" and other films that actually remember to include the frightening stuff) you can visit my blog at revronmovies.blogspot.com. If you hate me now because my opinion on this film differed from yours, you don't need to visit.
capkronos
Smarmy, burnt out middle-aged porn king Mike (Don McManus) runs his own adult film empire in L.A. that specialize in things like live streaming rape-fantasy scenarios. One of their other sites - "Lucky Bastard" - offers subscribers a chance to come in and film a sex scene with one of their actresses. Site favorite Ashley Saint (Betsy Rue), a single mother of two who's not lived a charmed life and adopted a tough exterior as a result, decides to do the job for 1500 bucks. They screen a bunch of applicants who send in submission videos and finally settle on an awkward, geeky redhead named David G. (Jay Paulson), who claims to be well-educated and an army vet. Once David is picked up for the shoot, his odd behavior and constantly- changing stories raise some red flags for the perceptive porn queen, who's faced a dangerous stalker in the past and knows David fits the m.o., but her suspicions are all but ignored by everyone else. They - along with a few cameramen (David Wylde, Lanny Joon) - then go to a rented Hollywood hills mansion filled with surveillance cameras for the shoot and then things take a violent turn.After David finds himself unable to perform for the cameras (well, he actually "performs" a little too quickly if you catch my drift) and is exposed as a virgin, he's humiliated and mocked by the crew, Ashley refuses to "act" with him a second time and Mike kicks him out of the mansion. They'll all soon regret their cruel treatment of the already- unhinged amateur when he comes back armed and ready to kill in order to retrieve the embarrassing footage he did shoot. Also getting caught up in the crossfire are Casey (Catherine Annette), Mike's much-younger porn starlet girlfriend who's fighting a losing battle trying to prove she's more than just a piece of ass, as well as a bitchy real estate agent (Deborah Zoe) who apparently rents properties by the hour and the porn stud (Lee Kholafai) called in to replace David.If you're sick of found footage movies and mockumentaries set in dreary abandoned asylums and dark haunted houses, this at least marks a change of pace to that played-out formula. Aside from some crime scene footage at the beginning telling the eventual fates of some of the characters, it's filmed entirely during the day in bright, sunny California. Unlike most other films of this type, there's fairly strong acting (especially from Rue and McManus) and a decent (though dialogue-heavy) screenplay. If you've ever seen any behind- the-scenes footage on adult film sets or documentaries about the people who make and act in these kinds of films, you'll realize just how well- researched this is. The characters in this one are believable personalities that are true to life and each are fairly well-defined and fleshed out. The thriller / horror elements and violent backlash of the psycho toward the end are, unfortunately, far less taut and disturbing than I think the filmmakers intended, mostly due to the shooting format. I'm not really sure the "found footage" route was the right way to go for this kind of material.There's clearly a message being conveyed here, so at least this has a focused point of view and something to say. There's an opening text that tells us "For too long the adult entertainment industry has pushed the boundaries not only of obscenity but common sense. Those who play with fire... eventually get burned." That in itself sets this up as message movie meant to expose the dangers of the porn industry. Fair enough. The film does develop a sort of victim / victimizer parallel between the money-centered porn veterans who are completely resigned to what they do and the fresh faces in the industry who are treated as being disposable with no regard whatsoever for their feelings. Again, this seems somewhat true to the industry based on what I've heard from many - though not all - of the people who have worked in the industry.One thing that did take me by surprise was that this was directed and co-written by an extremely successful TV producer with five Emmy nominations to his name and not an ambitious amateur like I initially thought. The producer was prolific B movie / soft corn porn king Jim Wynorski, and this is certainly more thoughtful than the brainless T&A films he's typically associated with. Because of full frontal male and female nudity, lots of raunchy dialogue and two simulated sex scenes (which are about on par with what you'll see late night on Cinemax these days), this earned itself an NC- 17 rating. That unintended irony there is that this rating is likely to draw in a crowd of viewers who might not like - or will even be offended by - what this has to say.
tonyp3101
After excitedly ordering this movie, I was finally able to view it last weekend. Both I and my co-viewer thought it was excellently acted and a suspenseful flick which was surprisingly better than we both expected. My viewing tastes tend toward edgy fare and I collect NC-17 rated movies (which are too few and far between unfortunately), and this is one of the best I have seen in the last couple of years. The production value was good and was obviously not hindered by budget. My favorite character was Ashley, nothing like a kick-ass no-holds-barred female to command attention. Kudos to the actors, writers, and director--great job! P.S., let the haters hate; they are going to anyway. I always have to wonder why people comment on films that they haven't even seen--why do we care about your opinion based on nothing but your own personal bias? Watch the movie, THEN comment.
gavin6942
Lucky Bastard is a "found footage" thriller about a porn website run by Mike (Don McManus) that invites fans to have sex with porn stars. Dave (Jay Paulson) is an eager young fan given a chance to have sex with the fabulous Ashley Saint (Betsy Rue). But everyone gets more than they bargained for in the seemingly mild-mannered Dave... with gruesome results.I am not a fan of the found footage subgenre in horror (if this can be called horror). Since its modern birth with "Blair Witch Project", few of those entries in this category have been better than average. This, I must say, might be the exception. Not only were the cameras not overly irritating, but it actually made sense for the plot of the film to have so many filming at once.The film starts with a rather graphic sex scene by non-porn standards (perhaps not surprising for a film of this subject matter) involving actress Catherine Annette. Now, this scene notwithstanding, Annette is an actress to watch -- she has excellent screen presence and steals scenes, even eclipsing star Betsy Rue (with all due respect to Rue, who more than holds her own). The nudity is a bit extreme, earning the film an NC-17. But, again, this is about porn so that may be expected.Don McManus is awesome, very funny and I love the beard. He is a veteran actor, though perhaps not well known. He is not going to become much more well known from this film, but he should -- he has a great personality, a great look about him, and he is the one character in this movie I really found myself identifying with (whatever that might say about me).In the background is producer Jim Wynorski, whose involvement is not entirely clear to me. I can frankly say this is the best thing with Wynorski's name on it that I have seen in over a decade, probably longer. Also worth notice is editor Tony Randel, a "Hellraiser" veteran. People rarely notice editors, but Randel is worth every penny.Although the plot of this film is rather simple, it was brilliantly scripted. Every camera is accounted for, scenes are made to flesh out characters without dragging on too much. Everyone came to the set ready to act, and this was expertly executed. Well worth a watch.
