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Reviews
The Feature (2022)
Delightful, sincere, artful, entertaining.
I found this to be quite an entertaining bit of film. I am already a fan of Ian Adams, so I expected to enjoy this film, and I did. This is a wonderful ensemble cast--really, all of them were so natural it almost has a documentary vibe in parts (and I mean that in a positive way). The earlier reviewer commented that you forget it's low-budget and he's right. In general, I don't think an awful lot about budget when it comes to evaluating a movie. But it's easy to tell (visually) when a film has cost hundreds of millions--though that is often no indicator of how good or awful a movie is. Yes, if you think about money, it's clear this is a low-budget film--and who cares? The camera work, the editing, the performances--all top-notch. Ian is a director--auteur--to look out for. And expect to see good things from the young actors in this cast. I wasn't planning to single out any of the performances because they're all very good, but I admit I really liked Ian in his role--partly, maybe, because he seemed to be having quite a good time, and I think Darragh Gilhooly has quite a bright future ahead of himself as well. This is a delightful, quiet "little" film in the best possible way.
Mates (2023)
A sweet, quiet little movie, in the best possible way.
I disagree with the reviewer who found nothing to like in this film. Maybe I am Arno Crous' target audience? I really enjoyed his earlier short, "Happy Families" which I found to be well-conceived and actualized.
I found the characters in Mates to be well-drawn by the various actors, and I found the characters and situations quite believable. The various dynamics around the new-and-old friendships at the center of the story seemed quite real to me. Hierarchy, attractions, affinities, jealousies--all very believable to me in the way these themes are explored and expressed. Sam Law's Nathan, the character whom at first blush might seem the least interesting among the four leads, actually is quite complicated and maybe the most mysterious. Law managed to create a different flavor of awkward sexual tension with each of the three others. I look forward to seeing him in other roles.
To be fair, I thought ALL of the leads were quite good, and the ensemble seemed natural. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that some of the dialogue was improvised.
As far as the low budget....so what? I thought the camera work, framing, editing, music were all rather artfully and tastefully done. Sort of a cinema verite vibe.
There is a lot of talent on display here. Crous is a helluva writer, and a promising young director. There are four actors I find worth keeping on the radar.
Nothing Hollywood here, including the ending. If you are looking for Hollywood, look elsewhere. If you are willing to meet this movie on its own terms, I think you will find a lot to appreciate. I sure did.
1985 (2018)
Ugh.
How many cliches, how many stereotypes, how much sap, how much saccharin--can you contrive into one movie? It's almost parody. The dialogue, the soundtrack, the scenery-chewing over-acting...layer after layer of awful.
This is a story that didn't need to be told again, especially in such a maudlin, didactic, heavy-handed way. This is a movie without depth, a story without depth, characters without depth.
I am absolutely, positively mystified by the reviewers who didn't think this was an abomination. To be fair, I have seen a few worse movies, but not very often, and certainly not on purpose.
Vacationland (2006)
It's bad.
Brad Hallowell is the only redeeming element in this disaster, as he makes do with being miscast (way too old for the part) and having unbelievable and horrible lines to deliver (the dialogue is Gawd-awful) throughout).
The film is populated with poorly drawn sterotypes that even fail as stereotypes.
The child molestation (and revenge) subplot is stupid, unbelievable and poorly developed.
The non-story careens toward a violent ending that is neither believable nor satisfying.
The actor and actress who play the friend Andrew and the sister Theresa are the worst of the worst in this film with many, many facets in competition for the worst.
Just awful.
The Lost Coast (2008)
I liked it.
This one has been bouncing around on the free streaming services for quite a while. I saw it early on and liked it enough to have gone back to watch it again, and then again with liberal fast-forwarding. Low-budget and slow, but has some real chemistry and moments of truth.
Ian Scott McGregor and Lucas Alifano are the reasons to watch. Their storyline is compelling and rings true, to the point that I would like to see a "sequel"--where do they stand 15 years later?
I am surprised how much hate this has gotten in the reviews. It's very competently done, and the acting is "fine" throughout. I imagine I will be watching it again.
Brotherly Lies (2022)
A stinker.
This is a story that didn't need to be told. This is low-budget, and not in a good way.
The acting, writing, and directing are all so poor, it's hard to know which aspect to blame, or if every element of the film worked in concert to be so meaningless. The dialogue is especially awful.
I kept hoping that I could find one of the characters likable enough to sort of attach to, and find some redemption here, but all of the characters are thoroughly unlikable--selfish, self-involved, navel-gazing, shallow queens converging to be selfish, self-involved, navel-gazing, shallow queens. (Yaaaaaaaaas queen!)
Writer/director Mark Schwab (who must be surrounded by the same kind of awful people he wrote about here) turns in a jarringly bad performance as Harry, and Casey Semple delivers a performance so nails-on-a-chalkboard grating that she becomes the most memorable thing about this inevitably and blessedly forgettable dreck-fest. Robert Sean Campbell delivers perhaps the worst of the performances, maybe because the character was the most unlikable and irredeemable of the bunch. And whomever styled this generally handsome actor made him utterly unbelievable as any kind of star or heartthrob.
Don't waste your time. This one isn't even bad enough to watch for its awfulness.
Godless (2015)
Quirky and good.
I stumbled on this without knowing anything about it, which is how I generally find the movies I like best, and also the ones that are irredeemably bad. This is one that I liked very much. It's low-budget in the best way, and the movie is cohesive, coherent...obviously reflecting that the director was following a vision, and it rang true (enough that I wonder about the possibility of an autobiographical aspect in play), which is surprising for a storyline built around a taboo.
I agree with another reviewer that Craig Jordan was excellent here...he's one to watch. I disagree, however, because I thought Michael E. Pitts was equally strong. I thought the Trent and Ray characters needed more development, and I thought the uncle character contributed nothing. However, as the main story is about the brothers and their complex relationship, the "other men" in the story are kind of placeholders in the story, and that is kind of how those characters are treated.
Another reviewer thought the film was poorly-paced, too slow. I thought the pacing was right for the story, as it seemed to reflect Nate's stall-out in life. Yes, this story could have been told as a "short" and it could still be edited into one. But also, it could've had thirty more minutes of flashbacks and screentime for the Trent and Ray characters. But with the film as cut, I think it rather completely expressed the writer/director's vision and I was quite satisfied with it. It is a strong enough film that I will seek out Joshua Lim's other work, and will keep him on my radar.
Damon's Revenge (2022)
Maybe it's a sequel, but nobody cares.
I find it difficult to believe that anyone, including the director or editor, watched this POS from beginning to end. I find it amazing that Michael Madsen, Tom Sizemore and Robert LaSardo participated in this. Maybe they did it for sh!ts and giggles? Maybe they have kids in college? Maybe they have heroin addictions?
What's even more puzzling, is why anyone would make such a film? How did they get so many actors to so poorly deliver such amazingly badly written lines? How did they cram so many hackneyed cliches into such an irredeemably bad waste of effort? Was this some sort of student project or just a bad joke?
Rest assured, if you wander into this incomprehensible waste of effort, you will find yourself asking all these questions and more, chief among them: WHY?
The Evil Within (2017)
A guilty pleasure, a future cult classic.
I probably watched this because of who Andrew Getty was. Also, I am a fan of Sean Patrick Flanery, and I wanted to see what Frederick Koehler, who played Vern Schillinger's son in the prison soap opera twenty years ago, would do with this deranged role.
I expected more. Flanery and Koehler were respectable, but something was missing. The tone, maybe? The overall vibe of the movie? It wasn't cohesive, and as it lurched toward its conclusion, it became increasingly unhinged, frenetic. And that was the best part of the movie. The plodding first part of the movie should've maybe had a little of that frantic energy and over-the-top psychosis.
Life in Color (2015)
Katharine Emmer's tour de force.
What do they call it? A passion project? When one person writes, directs, produces, stars and edits a film? This is a perfectly realized vision. The story is kind of simple: a couple of unappealing loners get thrown together, and against all odds, they wind up helping each other solve their problems--fix each other, in a way.
Emmer found some nice onscreen chemistry with Josh McDermitt. Their individual and joint story arcs are all convincing and satisfying.
The downside of the story is, Emmer and McDermitt had to work to make themselves unappealing to fit the characters at the beginning of the movie. Two truly obnoxious and/or physically unattractive are not likely to have similar results in the real world.
Wonderstruck (2017)
Wonderstruck will leave you wonderstruck.
I wouldn't have expected this from Todd Haynes, but it's quite good. Millicent Simmonds is one to watch. Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams turned in solid performances as always.
An unlikely, whimsical, multi-generational story that relies too much, in my opinion on serendipitous coincidence. But life does that sometimes. The story is mostly told in two time periods, a bit difficult to piece together, and there are fairly large holes in the plot. But overall, it's a slow, sweet, quiet, sentimental, nostalgic story. If that sort of thing appeals to you, then this will probably appeal to you.
The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)
A quietly delightful story.
Helen Mirren, Lasse Hallstrom, a foodie movie...I am there.
The characters in the story seem driven by happenstance, perseverance and stubbornness. What if their car hadn't broken down? I kind of think that is kind of how life is...one choice, decision can make all the difference (hat tip to Robert Frost).
The parallel love stories was a bit too much preciousness for me, but it was heartwarming to see, and Mirren had great chemistry with Om Puri. The rest of the cast were unknown to me, but the casting was good and the performances quite good throughout.
Hallstrom is solid, as always. I recommend this movie.
Sometimes Always Never (2018)
Quirky, wistful.
This is a slow movie, but it's quite charming and affecting.
A Scrabble-fixated family's patriarch uses his obsession with Scrabble to find his lost/missing/runaway son. How unlikely and absurd is that? Throw in the internet as a major player in the plot, and I'm all in.
I had previously noticed "Bill Nighy in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," but aside from that, I was completely unfamiliar with the cast, the writer and the director. The story sort of ambles from quirks to absurdities and finally meanders into a sweet conclusion.
If you like quiet, weird and character-driven narratives, then you will probably like this one.
Say You Will (2017)
Watch out for Travis Trope, Nick Nevada and Katherine Hughes...
...they are going on to great things.
I guess I like these tragic coming-of-age movies. I like a redemption story. I like stories that highlight the resilience of humans, particularly young humans.
I first noticed Michelle Forbes in Dandelion nearly twenty years ago. I like her style and think she is highly underrated. It was also great to see Sam Trammell in his small role, although I think that character could've been better developed, and would've strengthened the story.
The stories that unfold in the shadow of a suicide are a special kind of sad, and Nick Nevada captured that in this film. I will be there for whatever he decides to do next.
Good Joe Bell (2020)
Marky Mark.
Mr. Wahlberg reminds us that he's a serious actor. I've seen negative reviews of his performance, but I found him quite convincing, and the performance nuanced and painfully human.
The writing is Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry, the same folks who adapted Annie Proulx's fantastic short story "Brokeback Mountain" into the screenplay/film of the same name. They were faithful to the source material in Brokeback, so I hope they've been equally respectful of the facts of the story that inspired this movie.
This is a fairly straight-forward movie that could've tried harder to be a tear-jerker. There was a bit of that present, but given the story, I don't think they went overboard. It's also a little preachy and didactic, but that's also to be expected.
A heartbreaking story translates into a heartbreaking movie.
Starfish (2016)
Navigating the unnavigable.
This is a heartbreaking story that's told with sensitivity.
A regular guy gets an infection that leaves him disfigured and significantly disabled. This movie tells the story of how he and his family make it through the ordeal. It's a story about how the limits of love and dedications are tested, it's also a testament to the resiliency of the human spirit. Fight or flight, I suppose, is a real thing. Many, many people would (and do) throw in the towel when faced with the unspeakable horror that Tom Ray (magnificently portrayed by Tom Riley) must confront.
I wasn't expecting the uplifting, optimistic conclusion that Bill Clark leads us too, but after so much grimness, I must admit it was a welcome relief, even if it's a surprise and probably unrealistic.
This is a great little movie.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
Sensitive subject matter handled with sensitivity.
This film is based on a story of childhood sex abuse and the resulting emotional disturbance in the aftermath.
Now.
Layered upon that are a coming-of-age story, and teen buddies story, a freaks & geeks story, and probably several others. I guess he's been cancelled now, but Ezra Miller was a stand-out in a stand-out cast. Paul Rudd and Dylan McDermott--perennial favorites of mine. Emma Watson can really irritate me, but I thought she was excellent. Logan Lerman...this was a tour-de-force for him.
Had I been producing this, I would've delved deeper into the backstory and the sensitive issues, but to make it a mainstream movie, I think they did the right thing.
Red Oaks (2014)
Extraordinary ensemble cast.
With David Gordon Green and Gregg Araki directing many of the episodes, I kind of knew I would love this.
Favorite moment of the series: Jennifer Grey on cam, with a theater marquee advertising Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
Craig Roberts is outstanding as David and Ennis Esmer is masterful portraying Nash. I don't remember seeing Oliver Cooper (Wheeler), Alexandra Turshen (Misty), or Alexandra Socha (Skye) before, but I was duly impressed with them. Jennifer Grey, Gina Gershon and Richard Kind were all wonderful in their roles. Freddie Roman, James Waterston, Richard Masur and Tate Donovan were delightful in their small/cameo roles.
Paul Reiser delivered a performance that was better than I thought he could ever do. Maybe I had underrated him.
Highly recommended, especially if you have a penchant for eighties nostalgia.
Birdy (1984)
A sweet little movie about friends and loyalty.
Whenever people tell me that Nick Cage can't act, I remember this movie and remind myself that he can act, but he has picked some terrible roles, resulting in him playing a caricature of himself.
I've always kind of liked Modine and Cage and I particularly like the chemistry they had in this movie. Modine's character going from naive boy to catatonic shell-shocked war veteran to re-emerging mostly unchanged must've been challenging--and he did it quite believably.
This is old-school film-making, no tricks beyond sentimentality and nostalgia. The story is linear with no real surprises, and leading to, in its own way, a Hollywood ending. I like all those things, and if you at least sometimes appreciate the same, give this forgotten little movie a view.
All the Little Animals (1998)
A sweet character study.
I'm a big fan of both Christian Bale and John Hurt. Both of them turned in exceptional performances in this film, and they had surprisingly good screen chemistry together.
There isn't much to the story...it's fairly simple. Wicked step-parent story. Mentor/mentee. Odd couple. Kindred spirits.
Bale does an exceptional job portraying the sensitive naive young man, a truly child-like innocence. To me, that was the most appealing part of the movie, Bale inhabiting such an unlikely character.
I did find the ending far-fetched, incongruous with the rest of the movie. Putting the ending in context with the ending makes the film feel a bit allegorical.
Torn Hearts (2022)
A comedy, I think.
Is it an unfunny slash-and-gore-fest, or is it a funny horror movie? Well, it's kind of neither and both. There's not much story to anchor so much violence, but whatever, right? The acting is pretty awful. I think Sagal seems to excel in the role because she was the only talent in the entire cast. Too harsh?
Was this a story worth telling? No. So I guess there was never a message--no story, no message, right? So the intent must've been to entertain. The movie barely kept my attention, and the laugh-out-loud moments, for me, I am pretty sure were not intended to be comedic.
I love a so-bad-it's-good movie as much as the next guy, but this movie isn't good enough to be good, and it isn't bad enough to be good. It's kind of formulaic hackery that belongs on a late night movie channel, or in the dustbin of history.
1408 (2007)
A mess.
The movie starts with a narrative and ends with a narrative, but most of the movie is a disjointed, incomprehensible, unsatisfying mess.
I love John Cusack, and usually he's enough to carry a movie for me. But not this time. The script and direction are just too awful. My guess is the director had several sequential plot ideas to give the inside-the-room section of the movie some connection to the room's history. Each of those plot ideas hit a wall, so in editing, they decided to just randomly string unrelated shots into a long, stupid, boring mess of images.
It's definitely a couple wasted hours that I will never get back.
Friday the 13th (1980)
It launched a franchise.
My 13-year-old self loved this in the theater. But I think even then, it was only scary because I wanted to be scared. I've seen it countless times since then, on TV with commercials, streaming on various platforms. It would make for a great audience participation film. I've watched all the sequels, a few tributes and a parody or two.
The acting is bad. The acting is unbelievable. The acting is unbelievably bad.
And yet it solidified a genre, launched a massive franchise, and it has survived long enough to be the movie equivalent of a rock band becoming its own cover band.
What's not to love, if you're in the mood for this kind of thing?
My Policeman (2022)
Pleasantly surprised.
Maybe because I had heard such bad things about Styles' acting in this role, I expected it to be pretty awful, but I actually found his performance believable. Not every man is as emotive as folks seem to think Tom should've been in 1950s England. Even today, men in similar situations maintain stoic facades which belie what may be devastating emotional turmoil. That said, I thought the acting was quite good across the board, and would only want more screen time from each of the characters at both ends of the story, and most especially, some exposition of what happened in the twenty intervening years. There's something appealing about only getting the beginning and the end, I suppose--allows us to sort of imagine twenty years of drudgery and suffering. But I needed to see more of the thought process that led Marion to make the decision that would ultimately resolve the complicated love triangle forever.
I get the comparisons to Man in the Orange Shirt and Brokeback. One scene in particular, Marion reacting to seeing Tom and Patrick in the shed really seemed to borrow from Alma reacting to seeing Ennis kissing Jack in Brokeback. However, this was very much its own story, and this kind of love triangle is more common than most people would ever imagine--and it's been happening across cultures and across time--the nuances of the personalities involved and the backdrop of social mores of the time, are really the only differences.
My big (gigantic) misgiving about the whole story is...I just can't reconcile that Tom would've abandoned Patrick for twenty years. I suppose that's a significant element of the story, but it does not ring true for me.
The Falls (2012)
Solid.
I originally watched The Falls when it was new-ish, and thought it was fine. I had occasion to watch it again, and still think it's fine. The overall "realness" feel of it is still a major strength in my opinion.
Watching it again, knowing there are sequels possibly influences my review.
The on-screen chemistry of the leads is what carries this film. I don't know if it's just that the roles are so right for them, or if they are really that good as actors. I am surprised that Nick Ferrucci's and Benjamin Farmer's careers haven't progressed further than they have. Some of the supporting characters are exceptional.