Oddball Cinema

The titular “girl” is an AI program that accesses internet chatrooms in the guise of a preteen girl. Its objective is to attract online pedophiles, get them to reveal details about themselves, and pass the information along to the authorities. It seems like a good cause, but the program is constantly self-improving to the point that it worries its developers. The story is presented as a three-act morality play, with each act occurring in a single room where a small cast discusses and debates the project.

■ Title — The Artifice Girl
■ Director — Franklin Ritch
■ Cast — Tatum Matthews, Lance Henriksen, Sinda Nichols
■ Unrated, suitable for teens and adults
■ ©2022 | 1h 33m | Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
■ Distributed by Lionsgate

Welcome to a series of interwoven stories about men who own cats. All demonstrate great love and devotion for their cats, whether it’s one adopted from a shelter or a flock of neighborhood strays benefiting from a neuter-&-release program. Some of the men are defiant about a stereotypical attitude that brands men with cats as weird: a single fellow in particular separates his dates into two categories: those who say, “eww, a man with a cat?” and those who say, “ooh, a man with a cat!” It’s the latter who get second dates. With a cast of furry characters who receive unconditional love from their owners/caretakers, this feature is a must-see for cat lovers. Those who dislike cats may find their opinions changing!

■ Title — Cat Daddies
■ Director — Mye Hoang
■ Cast — Nathan Kehn, Jeff Judkins, Erin LemMon
■ Unrated, suitable for general audiences
■ ©2022 | 1h 29m | Documentary

■ Watch it free with ads on Fandango:
https://athome.fandango.com/content/browse/details/Cat-Daddies/2160593
■ Watch it free with ads on Tubi:
https://tubitv.com/movies/100018767/cat-daddies
■ Available free without ads to Kanopy subscribers (details below):
https://www.kanopy.com/en/product/13422551
■ Available free without ads to Amazon Prime subscribers:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/amzn1.dv.gti.72f14617-c6a1-4281-9453-6760306805b0

■ Kanopy streaming service is available free to holders of DC library cards. DC libraries will issue cards to residents of Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, and other nearby areas. Visit any branch to obtain your card. Kanopy is also provided free to Loudoun County library card holders who live, work, or study in Loudoun County.

■ As with most of our online features, you can watch this one whenever you like. Members who watch at the scheduled time may enjoy exchanging comments with other members on this page. If you post a comment before the show, please avoid spoilers. Comments posted after the show may contain any content, but Oddball Cinema encourages members to always avoid spoilers unless there’s some particularly important details you need to mention.

■ Many of the movies on our online events from as far back as March 2020 are still available for viewing. However, titles sometimes move from one streaming service to another. If you find that the links on an old event no longer work, you can search for the current providers of any title here: https://justwatch.com

Redemption Requires Truth

• “Confession frees. Lies kill.” It’s layered, but unmistakable. The moral comes through the smoke, neon, and blood.

Seven strangers converge at a fading hotel straddling the California–Nevada border, each carrying secrets heavy enough to bury them alive beneath the El Royale’s velvet wallpaper and hidden corridors. As lies unravel through gunfire, confession, and betrayal, the hotel becomes a purgatory where every character must confront the truth of who they are before the night consumes them entirely.

Beneath the neon glow, soul music, and blood-soaked suspense, Bad Times at the El Royale delivers a hard-earned moral: redemption only begins when the masks come off — because secrets rot in darkness, and lies eventually demand payment in flesh.

Director: Drew Goddard, 2018
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Starring: Jeff Bridges | Cynthia Erivo | Dakota Johnson

Time travel has been developed, and with it the need for the Time Enforcement Commission (TEC) to protect the past from modifications. A police officer is invited to join the TEC, and when his wife is murdered by strangers, he accepts the invitation. One of his early assignments is to arrest his former partner who’s gone back to manipulate the stock market in 1929. When confronted, the criminal confesses before he dies that he’s really working for a senator who’s running for president. When the senator learns that the officer is on his trail, he makes use of the time-travel device to thwart the investigation.

■ Title — Timecop
■ Director — Peter Hyams
■ Cast — Jean-Claude Van Damme, Mia Sara, Ron Silver
■ Rating — R
■ ©1994 | 1h 39m | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi, Thriller

■ Watch it free with ads on Fawesome:
https://fawesome.tv/movies/10667699/timecop
■ Watch it free with ads on Shout!Factory:
https://watch.shout-tv.com/interstitial/610643
■ Available free without ads to Kanopy subscribers (details below):
https://www.kanopy.com/en/product/14257976
■ Available free without ads to Amazon Prime subscribers:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/amzn1.dv.gti.93b098ad-e6bd-4807-b151-7656e4ccfb6e

■ Kanopy streaming service is available free to holders of DC library cards. DC libraries will issue cards to residents of Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, and other nearby areas. Visit any branch to obtain your card. Kanopy is also provided free to Loudoun County library card holders who live, work, or study in Loudoun County.

■ As with most of our online features, you can watch this one whenever you like. Members who watch at the scheduled time may enjoy exchanging comments with other members on this page. If you post a comment before the show, please avoid spoilers. Comments posted after the show may contain any content, but Oddball Cinema encourages members to always avoid spoilers unless there’s some particularly important details you need to mention.

■ Many of the movies on our online events from as far back as March 2020 are still available for viewing. However, titles sometimes move from one streaming service to another. If you find that the links on an old event no longer work, you can search for the current providers of any title here: https://justwatch.com