Published 20 July 2024, 00:07 IST

Clear Cut, 2024.

Directed by Brian Skiba.
Starring Clive Standen, Tom Welling, Stephen Dorff, Alec Baldwin, Jesse Metcalfe, Lochlyn Munro, Lucy Martin, Chelsey Reist, Tom Stevens, and Mike Dopud.

SYNOPSIS:

A team of loggers discover a meth cook site in the middle of the forest and are forced to fight for their lives while being hunted by a drug cartel.

With a title such as Clear Cut, one might think director Brian Skiba is trying to be cutely vague and intentionally jumbling since his narrative distractingly jumps back and forth in time with no grace. The reality is that what the film is trying to do with its story is fairly obvious after roughly the second flashback, executed with such outright poor editing technique (Skiba also performs those duties) that one sits there in shock at the ineptitude when it cuts back to a scene with Alec Baldwin who was recently killed at the beginning.

Dead characters appearing in flashbacks is inherently fine, but watching it play out here is baffling; you could reconfigure the scenes chronologically, and this already lousy film might play better. Alec Baldwin isn’t a recurring presence after that; the movie is just pointlessly like this. At the very least, the not-so-smooth attempt at (I think?) trying to trick the audience regarding what is happening with its central plot could have been avoided. It’s hard to tell since the editing makes everything come across as more confusing than the story is. Furthermore, the fact that I have so many questions about the filmmaker’s intent mostly already proves whatever he was trying to do with structure didn’t pan out. That’s an understatement.

The story itself concerns Clive Standen’s Jack, taking on logging work en route to a job site with his superior and mentor (Alec Baldwin.) Now, if reading this brings about some interest that there might be some positive and earnest deforestation messaging at the heart of the action, let me remind readers that this is one of those super cheaply made Lionsgate VOD entities that somehow slides its way into a few theaters across America. Jack is seeking revenge on some criminals running a meth operation out here in the woods, which also brings up several questions of logistics that the film never bothers to take a stab at answering.

Unsurprisingly, the one cooking up the meth gives the zaniest performance, which basically means Lochlyn Munro is playing clichéd psychopathic redneck running around with a crossbow, murdering anyone who might throw his shady business out of whack. Bringing an inexplicably large amount of money to a deal where the one cooking up the meth lives in a camper, presumably in the middle of nowhere, the leader of the buyers conveniently leaves the money in the back of a truck for Jack to steal and run off with. Stephen Dorff also plays a Park Ranger who gets involved in the two battling sides. The less said about the women who pop up in this movie is probably for the better.

For as much as Clive Standen gives a passable performance regarding both the emotional toll recent tragic events have taken on him and the close-quarters action, it’s also undermined by the film (written by Joe Perruccio) concocting scenarios that tastelessly ramp up that drama. Regarding the direction, nothing here stands out aside from one or two moments toward the end of Clive Standen letting loose some of that bottled-up anger and sadness. There’s a chance that if you show someone the final 10 minutes of Clear Cut, they will wrongly assume you just watched a decent movie. Fortunately, what is clear-cut is that this is anything but worth checking out.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ / Movie: ★ ★

Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com

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“Vanderpump Rules” star Tom Sandoval is standing down in his legal scuffle against ex-girlfriend Ariana Madix.

Sandoval, whose cheating scandal last year rocked the “Vanderpump Rules” fan base, clarified that he has no intentions to take legal action against his former longtime girlfriend, even though a now-ex-attorney encouraged him to file a cross-complaint in Los Angeles earlier this week. The complaint was part of a larger lawsuit from co-star Rachel Leviss, who sued Sandoval and Madix in February for eavesdropping, revenge porn, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

“[Attorney Matthew Geragos] assured me that the action was customary and strictly preventative in these types of lawsuits and urged me to agree to it,” Sandoval said in an Instagram statement Thursday. “The words ‘New Lawsuit’ or ‘Suing’ were not articulated to me.”

Geragos, whom Sandoval said he had “removed” from his legal team since the cross-complaint was filed, did not immediately respond to The Times on Friday.

The cross-complaint was filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. In it, Sandoval, 40, accuses Madix, 38, of invasion of privacy. The complaint accused Madix of going through Sandoval’s phone in 2023 without his “authorization or permission.” She allegedly “reviewed images information, data, videos and/or communications,” including the sexually explicit FaceTime footage of co-star Rachel Leviss, 29, that launched the Scandoval cheating scandal.

Madix also allegedly made copies of the explicit Leviss footage and “distributed the [videos] to Leviss and third parties” without Sandoval’s consent, the complaint said. Sandoval was seeking general damages, legal fees and more.

Jordan Susman, an attorney for Madix, condemned Sandoval and the complaint in a statement shared with The Times earlier this week. He also accused the TomTom restaurateur of trying to “shirk personal responsibilities for the effects his actions had” on Madix.

In a statement to The Times on Friday, Susman said his team is “pleased that Mr. Sandoval has stated his intention to dismiss his cross-complaint against Ms. Madix.”

He added: “This entire lawsuit against Ms. Madix is without merit, and it is only a matter of time before it is dismissed completely.”

Sandoval said in his Thursday statement that he “should’ve done more of my due diligence” and doubled down that “in no way am I suing Ariana,” adding that the cross-complaint is being removed.

“I hold no ill will or vindictiveness toward Ariana. Now, by removing both the Cross-Complaint and the attorney who recommended it, I hope to get through this case quickly, so that Ariana and I can both finally MOVE ON with our lives,” he said.

Sandoval and Madix had been in a romantic relationship for nine years, but in March 2023, Madix learned that he had been cheating on her with co-star Leviss. Days after People broke the news about the Sandoval-Madix split, both Sandoval and Leviss apologized — in since-deleted Instagram posts — for their involvement in the affair. The scandal spawned intrigue among “Vanderpump Rules” devotees and nonfans alike. It also launched each of the members of the reality TV trio to a new level of national attention — whether they wanted it or not.

A year after “Scandoval,” the tabloid controversy is still following Sandoval, Madix and Leviss — and it seems it will continue to do so well into next year. The trial for Leviss’ revenge-porn case against Sandoval and Madix is set to begin in Los Angeles in November 2025.