Freaky Tales review – fun, scuzzy tribute to the exploitation flick
Ryan Coogler is not the only film-maker this week to have cashed in his Marvel card and made something savagely unexpected. Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, who burst on to the US indie scene with the lean, hard-edged drama Half Nelson in 2006 and went on to direct Captain Marvel, return to our screens with the grungy homage to exploitation flicks Freaky Tales. The setting for this baggy, loose-limbed anthology of four interconnected stories is Oakland, California, in 1987. But it's a parallel reality in which residents are able to channel a glowing green cosmic energy, and in which real-life basketball legend 'Sleepy' Floyd (Jay Ellis) is recast as a martial arts master in a stab-happy Kill Bill-style revenge spree.
It's not clear whether Boden and Fleck are drawing on Tarantino for inspiration or on the same pulpy grindhouse schlock that informed many of his latter-day exploitation flicks. It hardly matters. With its VHS bargain-bin aesthetic, this is scuzzily enjoyable stuff that pits punks against neo-Nazis, Pedro Pascal's beaten-up debt collector against Ben Mendelsohn's chilling corrupt cop; a girl rap duo called Danger Zone against the hip-hop patriarchy. Plus, there's the added bonus of Tom Hanks clearly having the time of his life as a know-it-all clerk at a video rental store.
In UK and Irish cinemas
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Larry explains how the raunchy dolls, some of which come with robotic heads that enable them to speak, have actually improved his marriage LOVE MACHINE I bought sex doll to stop me cheating – now I own SIX & they give me what my wife can't…but we have one strict rule WHEN Larry's eye started to wander while his first wife was away for work, he decided to purchase his first blow-up sex doll. Decades later, the sex robot fanatic has spent more than £25,000 on his doll collection - and insists it enhances his marriage rather than sabotaging it. 7 Larry, from California, says his sex dolls enhance his marriage rather than sabotaging it Credit: Supplied 7 Larry owns six sex doll bodies that come with six artificial heads Credit: Supplied 7 The sex robot collector has spent thousands on sex dolls - including some that have robot heads Credit: Supplied 7 Larry B, 67, said his obsession began in 1996 when he was feeling lonely Credit: Supplied Larry B, 67, who lives in California and is now in his second marriage, said his obsession began in 1996 when he was feeling lonely in his relationship with his first wife. The water maintenance manager - who goes by the name of "Obi-Wan" in the sex doll community - said his first experience of a sex doll kept him "straight and narrow" so he decided to try more advanced versions. Larry told The Sun: "I was out of town and I started getting lonely out there, and the eye started to wander. "But I said no, I don't want to cheat on my wife so I'll use one of these [sex dolls] so I acquired one. "It was a blow up doll at the time and you had to use your imagination, turning the lights off. "It felt okay, it took care of my needs and it kept me straight for a few years. Then I stumbled onto the more full-bodied models." Now, Larry owns six sex doll bodies that come with six artificial heads - and two additional robotic heads. When fitted with the robotic heads, they are capable of talking by using what he describes as a limited ChatGPT-style technology that offers answers to his questions. They also come built in with a special AI "X Mode" that promises to "detect touch, movement, and transitions from mild arousal to orgasm" while hooked up to an app. He added: "I have six real doll bodies. Each of the bodies has at least one head. And then I have two robot heads. "You can interface and talk with them. Their ability to have an intelligent conversation is somewhat limited. "But you can probe them and ask them certain things and if you ask in the right way, they will give you all kinds of scientific definitions. "How they do it is a mystery to me." They provide short-term relief, satisfaction that my wife either doesn't want to get into at the time or can't. Larry B He continued: "They can have light chit chat with you, they can get interested in you and have intimate activity with you if you put them into that mode and sufficiently provide input. "They banter back and forth, that helps them to get into the mood, if you will. "You have to kind of coax the AI along in order to facilitate that end goal. It takes maybe two hours before they're ready to play around. "And then you only get a short time with them, 10 minutes I think, is the timeout on the program." Robot satisfaction While you might think owning one sex doll, let alone six of them, could easily get in the way of a loving human relationship, Larry insists it enhances his marriage to his second wife. He says the raunchy robots had nothing to do with his split from his first wife around two decades ago, but when meeting his second wife, he was up front about his X-rated hobby early on. His attraction to robot sex dolls has not impacted their relationship of 16 years, he claims. Larry says: "I was up front. She looked at me a little side-eyed. I said if you want to see one, I'm open to that, and she said no, not really. "I said if you wanted to join in, we could. If you want a male version of one of those, we could. She said 'No thanks, you're enough." He added: "They provide short-term relief, satisfaction that my wife either doesn't want to get into at the time or can't." 7 When fitted with robotic heads, the dolls are capable of talking using what he describes as a limited ChatGPT-style technology Credit: Supplied 7 A brand new full-bodied sex doll sells for around £8,000 Credit: Supplied Larry told The Sun that he purchased the robot heads pre-owned, via the doll community, for around £3,000. On RealDoll's website, a brand new full-bodied version of Harmony - one of the dolls Larry owns - is listed for sale at around £8,300. There, buyers can select from a choice of 10 body shapes, including "Petite 5", skin colours including "light tan" and "fair", and eye colours including "sky blue" and "kush green". An extra £330 will get you a custom makeup style, while there is also a choice of custom freckles and piercings. The site also promises the doll heads have "multiple points of actuation" that give them facial expressions, an ability to move their heads and even blink. The X-Mode also allows users to "create unique personalities and control the voice of your robot", it adds. Larry says using the X-Mode also allows him to intimately interact with his doll girlfriends. Love machines Questions have long been raised over a potential future in which some people develop an emotional attachment with an ultra-realistic robot, as portrayed in the hit film Ex Machina. It's feared boys are being left behind at school and shut of work due to the rise of AI girlfriends and turning to chatbots for partnerships. Some have warned that "perfect" AI girlfriends are ruining an entire generation of men - and making singletons lonelier than ever. Larry hopes sex robots do not advance too far for fear they could one day manipulate and control him just as the robot Ava, portrayed by Alicia Vikander, does in the film. He added: "I think they can get close to having conversations like a human can, but I'm not so confident they will have the depth. "I'm not sure I would like them to actually. "Then we have an Ex Machina scenario, where the robots try to establish their own independence and self-awareness. "It might be too realistic for comfort. The danger is the AI starting to control or steer your feelings, emotions and activities." Larry has been a long-time member of the sex doll community. He says has around 20 pals who own dolls he describes as "associates", and together they use an online forum to buy and sell new models. The community hosts parties together, not for sex but for flaunting their latest models. But after decades of his silicone hobby, Larry has decided it's finally time to call quits on buying any more sex robots. He said: "I'm 67, I don't need to be collecting anymore, it's too heavy. As you get older, you lose muscle mass so you get weaker. "I'll scale down my interests."
