Vengeance – 6.5

A fun cross-cultural spoof, with a bright-lights New Yorker writer turning his trip to West Texas into a podcast, like he’s visiting a zoo, only to find that the animals can not only talk but have a lot on their minds.  The lesson in self-awareness is less interesting than the characters he runs into, and if the plot is a little pat you can still admire its intricacy. The film didn’t have much wallop on TV, but it provided plenty to think about. Ashton Kutcher stands out.