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August 6, 2025 20 mins
Brandon chronicles an extraordinary evening at The Belcourt Theatre here in Nashville before digging into his review of Sketch on this special bonus episode of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast for August.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
And now, ladies and gentlemen, the Sobros Network proudly brings
to you some in depth movie discussion with our resident
film critic Vic. Happy evening, everyone, the vix Flicks Podcast
is here. Hello, Hello, Hello, Welcome to a bonus episode

(00:38):
of the vix Flicks Podcast. I'm your host, Brandon Vic.
Some people call me the beast from the Southeast, and
I am a let me think about this. I'm a
member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and a board
member of the Music City Film Critics Association, as well

(01:00):
as the resident film critic for a good old Nashville
Movie Dispatch. Again. You can read and listen everything movies
on Nashville Moovie diispatch dot substack dot com. I have.
I actually was going to write about this movie called

(01:21):
Sketch that stars Tony Hale as you may know him
from probably a lot of stuff, but he was a
standout in Veep, the HBO series with Julie Louis Dreyfuss,
and of course he's the voice of Fourky don't forget
that and Darcy Darcy Cardon who was in a good place.

(01:43):
And but I came to find out that this movie
has huge huge. Well, I had a really good word
for it, but now I forgot it because I wanted
to make sure I said a huge in a ridiculous way.

(02:04):
But its whole entire background is Nashville. The guy who
wrote it and directed, the producer, where it was filmed,
the people who worked on it. So I actually thought
this would be a good one actually podcast about. And

(02:24):
I got to see this, I think two and a
half almost three weeks ago. Today is August sixth, so
it is officially out in theaters. You can go see
Sketch in theaters. But I got an invite to see
it at the Bell Court back last month, and to

(02:50):
my surprise, the producer was there, the director was there,
Tony Hall was there, a couple of other people from
the cast, people locals that worked on the crew were there.
So it was a really cool kind of obviously Bell
Court is a cool place to see any film, but
it was cool to be in there. It's cool to

(03:10):
have so many people that were involved in the film
there as well. They had a little red carpet outside
and then the producer got up and was kind of
talking about it a little bit, And what I found

(03:31):
out was one that Tony Hale had been working on
getting Sketch made since, like I think they said, twenty eighteen.
Steve Taylor, he is seeming to be kind of the
main producer. He's actually an associate professor of cinematic Arts
at Lipscomb University. And Seth Worley, who is the writer director,

(03:53):
which by the way, Sketch is his first feature film.
He was also a professor there, and I if you go,
I think it's just called Seth Worley dot com. But
apparently he has He has plenty of like videos on
just teaching on different aspects of filmmaking as well as

(04:17):
seems to have a well established background visual effects, and
that absolutely shows in Sketch. So let's get to the
part where wait a minute, we let me not do
synopsis just yet because Sketch. Also, I found out Sketch
took place over like a span of three years. It

(04:41):
was filmed entirely in and around Nashville, and apparently a
number of students which I know, some I know they said,
like have already graduated obviously because it's been a three
year process, but they students and graduates of Lipscomb we're

(05:01):
all a part of the production team, and like I said,
a lot of them were there in the audience with
a few of us critics watching it. I believe a
lot of them had this was their first time seeing it,
so so that was cool. And uh, I know some
of you are probably listening to this now. This sketch

(05:23):
was also the a week like last Monday, so not
this past moment Monday, but the one before, because Regal
does these movie Monday mystery movies. In any way, sketch
ended up being that, so some people have already been
able to enjoy it before its opening day today. So sketch,

(05:45):
let's get to what it's about. I Love Rotten Tomatoes
says when a young girl's sketch book falls into a
strange pond, her drawings come to life, unpredictable, chaotic, and
dangerously real. As the town unravels and brother must track
down the creatures before they leave permanent damage. Their father
is played by Tony Hill, racing to find them through

(06:07):
the fallout, must navigate a town in crisis to reunite
his family and stop the disaster they never meant to unleash.
So this is really as kind of crazy as it sounds.
This is the heart of it is about a family

(06:28):
that is dealing with grief, more so of the the
daughter that is sort of expressing herself in all of
these drawings that she's doing, and as dark and as
strange as they appear, I think it is essentially it's

(06:54):
quite revealing that the family losing their mother has obviously
deeply affected everyone. But and I think that we sort
of know this, but you don't quite know how they
do it as far as trying to deal with that
loss and to try and manage the grief, and so

(07:15):
the little girl, the daughter, it's all in these drawings.
As far as the father and son, they have done
a they've they have done a nice job of basically
trying to bury that right now. Obviously it's for different reasons,

(07:36):
because you know, between the wife and mother that's very
much of a different relationship. But the two the two males,
are essentially doing the same thing. But take kind of
take that heaviness, put that to the side. Sketch is

(07:56):
overall it is quite creative and clever. It's it's very imaginative,
and it's it's it's actually pretty funny. I laugh more
than a few times, and it mostly comes from the kids,
which we'll get to them here in just a little bit,
but sketches. Really this kind of family adventure fantasy movie

(08:21):
that happily embraces the weird and the peculiar, and it's
the story really benefits from that. It is it's not
afraid to place judgment on the scroll and their drawings

(08:41):
and again once they come to life. I mean, you know,
it is sort of offbeat, especially, I mean, listen, it's
about a magical pond, right, but the significance that that
pond plays within what the family has been going through
and the possibility that it opens up as far as

(09:03):
maybe having the family as a whole again is very interesting.
But it's also a sketch, and as as a whole
is also very playful. It is silly but sweet, though
it does maintain its tricky tone that seth Worley again

(09:25):
writer director, first feature film that he brilliantly balances from
scene to scene. There are fantastic visual effects, I mean,
some of the best that you've seen, which I guess
for a movie like this, it's, you know, not one
of these summer blockbusters. I was very I was really

(09:48):
amazed with just how well these looked and the stellar
designs of us, like of the monsters, and it's and
it's all kind of very colorful, vibrant, it's got its
energy really kind of sweeps you up almost from the beginning.
And I mean, I guess because I didn't really know

(10:10):
much about the movie, but it really took me by surprise.
And again all of this, all of this kind of
i'll say chaos again, but the with the monsters and
and everything else and all this kind of life. I mean,
it really is healing. And it's by facing the grief

(10:38):
that is sort of it's manifesting, transforming into these real
wacky monsters that have truly come to life. I read
an interview and this is on Mason dot net. That's

(10:59):
im axo n dot net. And one of the questions
that is asked to Seth Morley is it's really cool
that the monsters in the film are made up of
the materials that were drawn that they were drawn in.
Could you take us through the Red Giant tools you
use to create these material effects, which Red Giant, I guess,

(11:20):
is a system that can be used for it to
bring these creatures to life. And Warley says in the
film the monsters are composed of whatever they were drawn with,
which that makes them look really cool. So some are
made of crayon wax and get melty when exposed to heat,
while others are made of chalk, so they generate colored
dust clouds in their wake, and so on. We wanted

(11:43):
them to always have some level of material related debris
or atmosphere coming off of them, be it glitter, chalk, powder,
or crayon wax. Having those organic elements help them feel
tactile and real. One of the monsters, Dave, is covered
in glitter, so when he roared, he spews glitter everywhere,
and that's always a bit of it, and there's always

(12:03):
a bit of it falling off of him as he moves.
As a result, his appearance tends to be preceded by
glitter falling in the air, which felt like a fun
Spielbergian device to build anticipation that how that is actually
put on screen and how that is executed as far
as with what the monsters are made out of and

(12:26):
staying true to how she drew them and what she
used is something that you don't really think about, but
as the movie goes on, you realize these little details
that do make a huge difference. But it also I
think is a credit to Seth for not just really

(12:50):
half assing it and having like these you know, crazy
weird creatures run around but not have any sort of
not not making them stand out, not making them specific
to to what was drawn and what kind of has

(13:11):
come from the imagination, but also using it to making
it way more fun and way more I mean, way
more visually terrific. It's they are. They are really a

(13:33):
sight to see. And again, the effects that are used,
they're just so well done. I again, I was kind
of I was sort of amazed by it. Uh there
is a bit uh he talks about Spielbergian Uh there,
and there is a bit of Spielberg energy here. I
mean I think I think et kind of instantly comes

(13:54):
to mind. I mean, most of the movie is about
three kids go again. There's the brothers, sister, and then
a boy that the girl does not like and I
think and he inspires one of her drawings. So but
a lot of it comes from them, and I feel like,

(14:15):
especially with E T, it's kind of all kind of
following them on this on this you know, wild adventure
and so so yeah, there's there's there has to be
some Spielberg inspiration in there and it and it does,
it does come through. I will also say that there

(14:36):
are some creepy moments. I don't know if anything's quite
like scary, but I do think there are several instances
that where the movie is creepy enough for young for
for young viewers to kind of get a taste of, uh,
the horror genre. Again, Still, it's a still, it's a

(14:57):
family it's a it's a family movie. But but I will
say it could also be scary for adults because there
was a woman behind me and I'm pretty sure she
was someone that worked on the film that during a
certain jump scare, she screamed her head off in that

(15:18):
whole theater. So adults, beware, you might you might get
scared yourself. Tony Hale, I don't really, I don't guess.
I've seen a lot of his stuff, but he but
how the performances I have seen, he changes it up

(15:40):
for this one, and he kind of reins it in
a bit. But his portrayal is wonderful as of a
single father who is kind of submerged, submerged in pain
but trying to keep it together. Holding it in, like
I said, pushing it down and trying to do the
best that he can for his kids, and he doesn't

(16:00):
want that to show. But at the same time, there
are things where you know, the pictures of their mom
aren't aren't hanging up on the wall, and you know,
he doesn't really say her name, and obviously his children
have noticed that and it has you know it obviously
it has an effect on them. The kids. The kids

(16:24):
are sensational in this I there the chemistry between these three,
but also just what they're able to do with their
young talent is so impressive to kind of be in
this world that Seth has created and be able to

(16:49):
be funny but also touch on these emotional points, especially
especially the siblings. Beyonca Belle plays Amber, that's the daughter.
H Q Lawrence plays Jack, that's the brother, and then
Kaylin Cox plays a kid named Bowman. Uh. These three,

(17:12):
they also have got some of the they I think
they are probably Tony Hill has has a few, but
they the kids bring most of the laughs, which as
they should. Again, the main focus is on the kids,
and I think that's I think that's really the only
choice you make for for for a movie. Like Sketch,

(17:32):
but but they are all they all did a fabulous
job and so I was really I said, I was
really impressed by them. And obviously Tony Hill and I
will say uh for fans of The Good Place, Darcy
Cardon Uh, she plays his sister, Tony Hill's sister and uh,

(17:53):
and they're they're mostly together in the movie, and the
kids are kind of off on their doing their thing. H.
But I like them together as well. They again they
are They're both pretty funny in their own right, but
together they got some some good stuff. But there's also
I know there's one scene in particular that kind of

(18:15):
gets to the heart of Tony Hill's characters, the father's
pain and regret and grief. And so it was really
well done by the entire cast. Uh. Sketch is, like
I said, it's not one of these summer blockbusters. It's
not something that I think a lot of people know about,
which is another reason why I thought I will get

(18:36):
on here and do podcast about it and maybe bring
awareness to it. And again, a lot of Nashville natives
involved in this in this movie. It did premiere in
Toronto in National Film Festival late last year and got
really good reviews, and you know, you kind of never know.
I mean here you are almost you know, a year later.
But but it is, I mean, Sketch is a delightful

(18:57):
surprise that offers up every everything I think you would
want in a family film, with plenty of wonder and weirdness.
It's something that kids and grown ups alike can hopefully
relate to and learn from in some in some way,

(19:18):
in some way. Again, Sketch is out now, so go
see it. It's one of the if not the biggest
surprise of the summer. It's worth checking. It's worth checking out,
fun for the whole family. And yeah, I hope you uh,

(19:38):
I hope you enjoy it, because I certainly did. Sketch
is getting a vix Flix rating of three and a
half out of five, and uh, come back on Monday,
We'll have a vix Flix podcast on the incomparable Jamie
Lee Curtis. As for your Friday is coming out this weekend,

(20:01):
and again catch all over stuff Nashville Movie Dispatch dot
Substack dot com and hey, until we do this again,
you stay classy moviegoers.
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