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SPIRAL: FROM THE BOOK OF SAW MOVIE REVIEW
It’s time for the ninth movie (yup, you read that right) in the Saw franchise, “Spiral: From the Book of Saw”. In an attempt to ‘go back to the basics,’ the film tries to be less torture sequences and is instead structured more like a violent police procedural following Chris Rock as Detective Ezekiel ‘Zeke’ Banks. After the vicious murder of a fellow cop in a subway tunnel, Zeke realizes that a new Jigsaw copycat is on the loose and specifically targeting corrupt officers within the force. With the help of his retired police chief father Marcus (Samuel L. Jackson) and rookie detective Will Schenk (Max Minghella), Zeke plays along with the killer’s game that takes him on a wild goose chase across the city. Will he be able to stop these brutal killings or will he see the logic in the killer’s sadistic brand of social justice? Despite not being Saw fanboys, Justin, Jamarco, Adrian, and Matt decided to give this movie a shot, even if it was occasionally through covered eyes. The results were mixed, though some of the team felt that this might be enough to please longtime fans. Listen here and see if you’re ready to play the game again.
DIRECTED BY: Darren Lynn Bousman
STARRING: Chris Rock, Samuel L. Jackson, Max Minghella, Marisol Nichols, Zoie Palmer, Richard Zeppieri, Dan Petronijevic, Morgan David Jones, Leonidas Castrounis, Ali Johnson
YOUR REVIEWERS
Justin Zarian (Screener Squad, Eye on the Prize, Breakfast Pub, Assistant Site Manager)
Justin’s fate as a movie fanatic was written in the stars when his birth forced his parents to cancel their planned Oscar viewing party. While growing up in California, he was often seen in front of the television watching and re-watching Star Wars, Jurassic Park, classic Disney movies and a steady stream of animated shows. This eventually led to a B.A. in Film at Brigham Young University and an Outstanding Student Teacher Award for displaying a level of film knowledge so insane that even his fellow film students couldn’t compete. He received his M.A. from Syracuse University and is currently pursuing a teaching certificate, but still volunteers at One of Us every so often for the fun of it. His hobbies include non-stop film conversations, wondering how Mass Effect 3’s ending went so wrong, espousing the joys of shooting guns (but not hunting, as he’s quick to note), writing the next great American television show in his head, and anything else entertainment related. You can find him on Facebook once in a blue moon.
Jamarco Shaw (Screener Squad)
Musician. Screenwriter. IMDB trivia page miraculously brought to life. These are a few ways to adequately describe Jamarco Shaw. Born on the southside of Houston, TX, Jamarco (or Marco, as he’s affectionately named, and NEVER Marco Polo) developed a lifelong love for everything pop culture ever since he was running around in his Blue Ranger Underoos. It wasn’t until a five-year detour in Burbank that he discovered that this love would inspire a passion for years to come. When he’s not raving about cinematography and Spider-Verse, he’s been known to make hip hop instrumentals to pass the time. He aspires to join the ranks of such great Renaissance Men as Donald Glover, John Cassavetes, and Jamie Foxx, but until then, you can catch him trying to make sense of whatever Christopher Nolan just released.
Matt Foster (Screener Squad)
Matt Foster is a stand up comic, podcaster, and movie critic currently living in the greater Salt Lake City area. His lifelong love of genre film began early, when he realized they freaked out his mom. He performs (epidemics permitting) regularly on Dungeons and Comedy, a DND live play with standup comedians, and is the slightly less mustache-y half of the Nighthawks Podcast, a cinema-centric discussion cohosted by Trevor T. Trujillo.
Adrian El Critico (Screener Squad)
Though born and raised in Chicago, this film critic is Mexican to the bone. Adrian has been watching movies since he was a child, many of which might not have been age appropriate. Still, he couldn’t get enough. All throughout his life, friends and family would look to him for his recommendations and reviews on whatever films had come their way. Inspired earlier in life by the likes of Ebert and Roper at The Movies and then later Spill.com, Adrian decided film criticism and analysis provided a great outlet to further his love of film. He began to craft his reviews and thoughts on film in ways he thought would be accessible to devout film hounds as well as the casual viewer. Mixing in jokes, entertaining observations and robust critical analysis, Adrian El Critico may be new to OneOfUs, but he is already making a name for himself on our site. If Horror movies are your thing, get ready to hear his voice.
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