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THE RIVALS OF AMZIAH KING MOVIE REVIEW
Every generation have a few actors that become icons. Sometimes it’s sheerly because of their skill at the craft. Sometimes it’s because they’ve just got that ‘je ne sais quoi’ that makes them stand apart. Sometimes, they’re just Matthew McConaughey, and you can already just hear that voice in your head as you read the name. One could argue that Matt is a national treasure, but he’s surely a Texas one, and the Alamo Drafthouse cemented that by having a special ceremony to name of one their Austin theaters after him. Part of this event was a screening of his new film, the festival hit The Rivals of Amziah King and your One of Us bosses, Wright and Chris, were there to bear witness (and take advantage of the open bar). The story initially follows Amziah (McConaughey), about the most amiable souther fella you could ever want to know. Deeply loved by seemingly everyone who has ever met him, Amziah goes through his day of running a beekeeping/honey business with both competency and charm, but there’s a bee in his bonnet. Someone is pulling heists on honey businesses, his included, and it’s put such a dent in his profits, he’s unsure exactly what to do about it. But this film has to get a lot set up before its questionable mid-film turn. The most important element is Kateri (Angelina LookingGlass) coming back into Amziah’s life. A former child he fostered, they reconnect and he becomes firmly her mentor and friend as he shows her the bee business, the joys of playing music with friends (there’s a LOT of it in this film), buffet strategies, and more. The first half is a warm honey bath that if you are someone who succumbs to McConaughey’s drawly charms, and don’t mind a good deal of borrowed style from O Brother, Where Art Thou?, you’ll want to keep soaking in. But then the second act turn has Matt leave the film and Kateri become the center. While she gives a remarkable performance, it’s not just the lack of Matt that starts to make The Rivals of Amziah King start to fray, culminating in some pretty sizable ending issues. You may hear a lot of unabashed love for this one, and we get it. Chris and Wright still have some pretty strong thoughts about what keeps this from being as great as it almost is.
DIRECTED BY: Andrew Patterson
STARRING: Matthew McConaughey, Angelina LookingGlass, Kurt Russell, Scott Shepherd, Rob Morgan, Tony Revolori, Cole Sprouse, Owen Teague, Jake Horowitz, Catherine Dyer, Jason Davis, Sandra Ellis Lafferty, Harris Stone, Bruce Davis, Sharon Blackwood, Chip Carriere
YOUR REVIEWERS
Christopher Lawrence Cox (Founder, Da Boss, Digital Noise, Highly Suspect Reviews, Screener Squad, Deliberations of Doom)
Born in the wilds of northern Virginia, Chris managed to put all of his survival skills to use and barely escaped with his life to Austin Texas in 1992 where ever since he’s dabbled in everything from plumber’s assistant to sandwich maker, from band to bar and theater management. An opportunity to see theatrical release films for free by becoming a critic on a local public access show called “The Reel Deal” turned into a full-time job when Chris and his friends decided to take it to the internet. They built the site Spill.com, adding multiple podcasts and animated features, to no small amount of success. During this time, a fortuitous friendship sprung up between Chris and young Brian Salisbury, who was also a local film critic, and they merged their forces of will, and their laundry list of ideas for shows, to eventually build this community of critics. While Brian eventually followed his heart to a new family, Chris continues on with a cast of colorful folks from all over the country (and a few others).
Wright Sulek (The Other Boss, Trash in the Can, Digital Noise, Highly Suspect Reviews, One Man’s Trash, Screener Squad)
Wright hails from the northern suburbs of Dallas, Texas. His passion for filmmaking brought him to Austin to study and make movies. Since then he’s had his hand in acting, writing, and directing his own short films with numerous like-minded film geeks he’s met along his journey. His newest interest has brought him into the podcasting world. He co-hosted a few different movie related podcasts such as ‘And Now This’ and ‘The Match Cut’. He currently co-hosts with longtime friend, Eric Samaniego, where they talk shop about the grimiest, trashiest, lost gems of movies on their show, ‘Trash in the Can’. Wright also guests and hosts reviews on Screener Squad and Highly Suspect Reviews as well as co-hosts Digital Noise with Chris Cox. As of 2024, Wright has now been inducted into the Austin Film Critics Association as well as co-owns the One of Us network with Chris Cox.
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