Drama, thrills, comedy and so much more: Directors Andrew Arguello and MJ Palo’s Target List has all the fixings of a great movie. Combining a fantastic cast with the witty writing of MJ Palo and John Reizer, whichever way you flip this film, it lands on its feet with feline agility.
Curing cancer is one of those rare things that everyone can agree would be a huge win for mankind. But with greed seeping into every crevice of our culture, some can only focus on financial losses rather than the immense humanitarian gains. When the key investor in a new device that promises a non-invasive cure is assassinated, it appears the rest of the team are pawns in someone else’s game. Unaware of the assassination, Dr. Donna Sawyer goes ahead as planned in announcing that the team are taking “the wand” to clinical trial. The wand is a device that could save millions of lives. But not, as one cruel reporter points out, Donna’s own daughter, who passed before the advent of the device.
While Donna and the other members of the team celebrate, one person remains sceptical. Clyde knows that this invention will cost those who provide cancer treatments millions of dollars, and they won’t be happy about that. He thinks they should have waited to announce the invention. This is just typical, grumpy, anti-social Clyde, his colleagues decide. Little do they know, the take down has already begun. But even Clyde couldn’t predict just how unhappy Big Pharma would be, and the sacrifices they’d make to preserve revenue over life.
After the celebrations, when everyone has gone home, the lab is attacked in an attempt to destroy all research and prototypes. Luckily, Clyde has stayed late and is able to rescue some work, including two of the wands. In a complete daze, he rushes to Donna’s house, again finding himself in the right place at the right time. The assassin has set Donna in his sights as the next victim. As the pair manage to escape unscathed, they find themselves on the run together. Being pursued by an assassin, and also framed for murder, they are thrust into the middle of an action movie they were not prepared for.
What follows is a delightful combination of tense drama and ice breaking comedy. The humorous elements of the film compliment the more melodramatic moments brilliantly. The writers construct perilous situations, and then infuse them with the hapless antics of Clyde and Donna, who really are just two normal people. It feels like a resistance to the trope of the nerdy scientist suddenly becoming Bruce Willis in order to save the damsel in distress. Instead, Clyde is his wonderful, quirky self, and Donna is her uncertain-but-surprisingly-badass self too. The characters have strengths and weaknesses in a very human sense. Despite the fact Clyde’s appearance does remind me of Clark Kent, Clyde’s weakness is not kryptonite but horses. And feet. Balancing this comedy, Donna’s struggles stem from the loss of her daughter. But regardless of their individual weaknesses, the pair come together to clear their names and protect the research so it can benefit mankind.
The writing of the film is definitely what underpins its greatness. The characters Clyde and Donna are extremely well written and the situations they are put in are masterfully created. The truly wonderful performances of Justin Ray and Rachel Alig really bring this writing to life. As individual characters, Justin Ray is both a little cocky and quite shy in a way that you can’t help but find endearing. Alig is assured and decisive with her own moments of comedic greatness. Together, Alig and Ray create the perfect on screen relationship. Something I really appreciated was the fact the film didn’t end down the traditional route of forcing a relationship between Donna and Clyde. It was really rewarding watching their relationship develop in a platonic sense. The film plays just enough into the “will they won’t they” routine to make it fun rather than laboured and predictable.
A top class film. Definitely on my “target list” of must watches. See the trailer below!
We have a family member who is battling a severe health issue and is in the confines of an intensive care unit at a local hospital. It has been a stressful week for our family, but things are looking much better now for our loved one than a few days ago.
What is so peculiar to observe in a hospital setting is the blatant disregard for public safety from an infectious disease perspective.
Less than a year removed from the global Covid psyop, you can’t find anyone in hospitals wearing masks or respecting a six-foot distance from others.
All of a sudden, deadly invisible microbes are no longer a concern in society, and unlimited numbers of maskless people can crowd together in waiting areas and patients’ hospital rooms. Hell, there aren’t even restrictions for visitors inside intensive care facilities where people are on ventilators battling double pneumonia and septicemia.
It’s incredible to see how people have entirely forgotten the perceived dangers of infectious microbes.
A short time ago, all hospital employees were wearing plastic hazmat suits and patients were confined to rooms surrounded by plastic draping. Everyone in a hospital had to wear a face diaper as recently as a few months ago.
Now, all the safety precautions have been dropped because officialdom has declared the pandemic to be finished. The case numbers associated with the fake Covid disease have disappeared because the bogus PCR testing has, for the most part, been halted.
An Abandoned Covid Testing Site
Rigged testing gave the fake disease legs!
The infectious disease paradigm is a scam!
Big pharma’s goal of getting people on board with regularly receiving a deadly bioweapon disguised as a beneficial vaccine to protect society from an imaginary infectious disease has been accomplished. Now, life can return to normal, and the sheeple can pretend that what they went through for over three years never happened.
People can be broadly influenced to believe anything in a short period. The controlling powers can employ mainstream media and other tools to convince the masses that the air is dangerous; it is too risky to go to work, and criminal drug companies are working hard to make society healthier.
What have most people learned from the Covid psyop? Unfortunately, not too much. Most people have difficulty remembering traumatic events, and the last few years were not fun. Instead, people are content with living in the present and forgiving big medicine and big pharma for their sins.
Life continues, and people are concentrating on more important things than the world government, which is hard at work planning their extermination. That is until the next psyop is unleashed.
In Target List, five researchers announce a ground-breaking cure for cancer. It doesn’t take long for them to realize that there’s some, I’m looking at you big pharma, who aren’t particularly happy about this discovery and will do whatever it takes to stop it. Targeted by assassins, two researchers survive their attacks but quickly find themselves on the run and being framed for the crimes against their peers.
An action suspense with surprisingly effective comic moments, Target List soars on the strength of co-leads Rachel Alig, as Donna, and Justin Ray as Clyde.
Richard Propes is an award-winning film critic based in Indianapolis and one of the country’s leading disabled film journalists with an outreach that spans web, print, and broadcast outlets. He is founder/publisher of The Independent Critic and a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association.
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In Target List, five researchers announce a ground-breaking cure for cancer. It doesn’t take long for them to realize that there’s some, I’m looking at you big pharma, who aren’t particularly happy about this discovery and will do whatever it takes to stop it. Targeted by assassins, two researchers survive their attacks but quickly find themselves on the run and being framed for the crimes against their peers.
An action suspense with surprisingly effective comic moments, Target List soars on the strength of co-leads Rachel Alig, as Donna, and Justin Ray as Clyde. The two possess such a marvelous chemistry that you can’t help but want to see them work together over and over and over again. Alig, whose work I’ve previously seen in Last Call at Murray’s, is an absolute spot-on delight as Donna with an ability to pull off the necessary balance of action, drama, and somewhat quirky humor. Alig adds a layer of emotional resonance that makes you realize that even while you’re laughing there’s definitely some seriousness going on in the film’s messaging.
Justin Ray similarly shines as Clyde, whose aura constantly reads as “in way over my head” but never in a caricaturish way. Ray’s impeccable timing alongside Alig is a joy to watch throughout. Ray’s won several acting awards on the ultra-indie fest circuit over the years and I’ll never forget his Attack of the Killer Donuts.
In Target List, five researchers announce a ground-breaking cure for cancer. It doesn’t take long for them to realize that there’s some, I’m looking at you big pharma, who aren’t particularly happy about this discovery and will do whatever it takes to stop it. Targeted by assassins, two researchers survive their attacks but quickly find themselves on the run and being framed for the crimes against their peers.
An action suspense with surprisingly effective comic moments, Target List soars on the strength of co-leads Rachel Alig, as Donna, and Justin Ray as Clyde. The two possess such a marvelous chemistry that you can’t help but want to see them work together over and over and over again. Alig, whose work I’ve previously seen in Last Call at Murray’s, is an absolute spot-on delight as Donna with an ability to pull off the necessary balance of action, drama, and somewhat quirky humor. Alig adds a layer of emotional resonance that makes you realize that even while you’re laughing there’s definitely some seriousness going on in the film’s messaging.
Justin Ray similarly shines as Clyde, whose aura constantly reads as “in way over my head” but never in a caricaturish way. Ray’s impeccable timing alongside Alig is a joy to watch throughout. Ray’s won several acting awards on the ultra-indie fest circuit over the years and I’ll never forget his Attack of the Killer Donuts.
Seriously, go look it up. I swear.
Adapted from a short film by the same name, Target List is a film with big messages made palatable but absolutely undeniable. I’m not sure the filmmakers realized they were sending their film to a film journalist currently dealing with cancer, but I can’t deny I may have cheered both Donna and Clyde a little bit along the way.
The rest of the film’s ensemble cast is also strong and it’s clear that co-directors Andrew Arguello and MJ Palo were able to communicate their vision for the film as they certainly got this cast all on the same page.
The script by Palo with John Reizer for the most part rides that perfect balance between its more dramatic moments and perfectly placed moments of humor that never distract. While they’re probably not going to get invited to any big pharma conventions anytime soon, Reizer and Palo have a point and they make it beautifully.
Arguello lenses the film quite effectively and knows just when to ease up on the tension. Likewise, he wisely tunes in to Alig’s physicality and facial expressions. Alig is one of those actresses who can communicate an entire dialogue with non-verbal cues.
Original music by Ryan Clark companions the film quite nicely. While the film occasionally shows its indie roots, Target List is an engaging and thought-provoking action/thriller that gets it right by letting us also bond with these characters along the way. Currently available on Amazon Prime Video and TubiTV, Target List is a great view for anyone who wants a compelling and suspenseful flick with a message that matters.
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