Arkansas

The reality is that most criminal enterprises operate under a shadow of confusion, of disorganization. That's the story of Arkansas, a hard-boiled noir where the end is written in the messy beginning.

Not everything here works, including some lead casting. But this daylight noir should please viewers willing to roll along with a crime meller more interested in character quirks than action thrills.

The film bills itself as a suspense thriller due to the predicament Kyle and Swin must eventually try to escape, but it works best as a comedy using that narrative drama to entertain regardless of the stakes.

Not much about this film is original, but the buddy-pairing of two equally competent criminals is something we haven’t seen too often.

Arkansas doesn't break the mold on cheeky, stylish, low-life movies; rather, it worships it.

Arkansas struggles to find an internal rhythm - resulting in a laid-back crime film that suffers from flat execution, in spite of some bright spots.

Most of Arkansas — Duke’s home state, by the way — just falls flat, despite individual scenes here and there that work.

Released this past year but flew under the radar due to the pandemic. Arkansas is a solid directorial debute for Clark Duke, who i mostly know from comedies such as The Office, Hot Tub Time Machine and Sex Drive. Liam Hemsworth, Eden Brolin and Vince Vaughn offer the best performances here and the film is very Tarantino-esque with its screenplay, which is cool because it tells the story in chapters and from different perspectives rather than in linear form. Overall, its a decent watch. Its an enjoyable film with good performances let down by a boring screenplay that im sure a more polished director would have been able to spice up. Its a slow, easy watch though thats interesting enough to keep you entertained.

It never picks up the pace and it's a shame because the story lent itself to more compelling variants, as this one was complex enough to work better. And it's also surprising considering the people involved, because even though Liam Hemsworth never seemed to me to measure up to the rest of his co-stars, I can't say that his work was problematic, it's just like I said, the story never takes a direction to become more dynamic and therefore more efficient. Sometimes the most practical is more useful.

More commonly known for his comedy work on The Office and Hot Tub Time Machine, Clark Duke makes his feature length directorial debut with a southern-fried noir that’s in many ways impressive but ultimately a mixed bag. Duke not only directs but also gives himself a prominent role alongside Liam Hemsworth’s straight guy but his facetiousness is at odds with some of the plot’s darker elements. This only causes the film to feel unbalanced in terms of its tone but he does do an admirable job in stringing the narrative’s five chapters together and keeping tabs on slightly alternate time lines and characters - where Vince Vaughn stands out with a shady part to play. For the most part, I found a lot to enjoy here but, sadly, it becomes rushed and messy in its denouement.

(Mauro Lanari) According to Rotten Tomatoes, this unsatisfying directorial debut by Clark Duke is a "character-driven neo-noir too derivative to leave much of an impression". Even if it had been original, as it is titled the 2nd of the 5 chapters, "Boredom is Beautiful" not even under the influence of the drug peddled by the protagonists.

Clark Duke has a lot on his plate as the director, writer, and one of the lead actors. Wearing himself so thin that it shows throughout the film. Having a talented cast can only do so much. The story is a bit jarring (showing flashbacks and present) and never seems to find a proper pacing. The dialogue feels stiff and awkward, resulting in some equally wooden performances by Hemsworth, Malkovich, and Vaughn. All in all, It just goes to show that talent doesn't always mean success. Could you suffer through this one? Sure, but that's about the only good thing I'd say about it.