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UNABOMBER MOVIE REVIEW
For two decades, the notorious Unabomber terrorized America, until 1996 when the FBI finally apprehended Ted Kaczynski, a former professor of mathematics now living as a recluse in a small cabin in Montana that lacked running water or electricity, but had a typewriter and lots of bomb-making equipment. A gifted student, the young Kaczynski skipped several grades and in 1958, when he was only 16 years old, he enrolled at Harvard University on a scholarship. During his sophomore year, the socially awkward Kaczynski (Jacob Tremblay) participated in a study led by Professor Henry Murray (Russell Crowe). At first, Murray seems like a mentor and father figure to Kaczynski. He flatters the younger man by telling him his high intelligence and strong convictions make him the perfect candidate to participate in the study. However, we soon discover that the true nature of Murray’s experiments are designed to break the will of the person being interrogated. Meanwhile, in the present day, FBI Agent Jo Ann Miller (an invented character played by Shailene Woodley) is trying to discover the identity of the Unabomber. When the Unabomber successfully extorts a major newspaper into printing his 35,000 word manifesto, Miller realizes that a linguistic analysis of the text might provide the breakthrough the Bureau needs to crack the case; if only her male counterparts would listen to her. There has been much speculation over the years as to whether Murray’s now discredited experiments contributed to the mental breakdown that led to Kaczynski’s murderous crimes, and this new Netflix film is firmly on the side of that argument. That’s an interesting premise for a period piece, but did it need a secondary plot about a fictional FBI agent trying to catch the Unabomber decades later, and will those two plot threads ever converge in a meaningful way? Our forensic reviewers Caroline, Jen, and Marco have sifted through the evidence, assessed the damage, and are ready to share their findings with you.
DIRECTED BY: Janus Metz Pedersen
STARRING: Jacob Tremblay, Russell Crowe, Shailene Woodley, Annabelle Wallis, Alexander Ludwig, Steven Ogg, Marc Menchaca, Gus Halper
YOUR REVIEWERS
Marco Noyola (Digital Noise, Highly Suspect Reviews, Screener Squad, Audio Editor)
By day, Marco is a mild-mannered office worker, but by night he is a mild-mannered movie watcher. He does other mild-mannered stuff too.
“I’m not a film critic. I just play one on the Internet.”
Jena Perry (Screener Squad)
Jena Perry. Aka Luna. Aka Dion. Aka Memori. Aka Dog whisperer. Aka whiskey connoisseur. As you can see, depending on when you met this Oakland, California native, you have experienced a completely different person, each time. After finally deciding on a 13+year career choice as a Videographer and Radio Personality, Jena balances her time between pursuing her Doctorate in Philosophy, providing insightful and funny critiques on films and Television, raising her daughter and dog in Ohio, and constantly fighting off the existential dread that is being a dope black woman in America in the 20th century.
Caroline Sulek (Screener Squad, Trash in the Can)
Caroline Sulek resides in Mckinney, TX with her son Henry and two cats: Sally and Rocky. As a mom, corporate baddie, and unabashed lover of all things silly, spooky, and creative, she brings a unique perspective to the One of Us network. Her love of art and movies started long ago when she and her brother, Wright, would spend entire summer vacations in front of the TV and she would draw portraits of Wright as he sat watching for hours. Caroline has been a frequent guest and fan favorite of the Trash in the Can podcast with her brother, Wright, and his life podcast partner, Eric Samaniego. Caroline enjoys the most gruesome of horror movies and the most bingeable of reality shows and anywhere in between!
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