Reviews

An advantage that American audiences have when viewing Euro films is that you regularly come across brilliant performances from actors you've never heard of. This rarely happens in Hollywood products because almost every popular American actor began as a child star. (DiCaprio, Gosling, dare I add Bale) Even the semi-talented kids get discovered & groomed early by Nickelodeon, pop music producers or the gazillion teen sitcoms, so by the time they appear on movie screens in a substantial role, you've seen their familiar faces countless times.

In Complices, we know from the start we'll see solid performances from veterans Melki & Devos, but who knew Descours & Meurisse would carry the film? And such excellent casting doesn't stop there. Even the smaller roles from Preiss, Ponsot & Kapone are on point.

I'm so tired of hearing other reviewers compare any film with a dead body to Twin Peaks. Films began with dead bodies long before David Lynch was even born. And the body that begins Complices makes Laura Palmer look as believable as Howdy Doody. Hats off to Hipaux & the effects crew for giving us a good corpse.

Mermoud & Arnold tell a simple but engaging story full of subtlety & subtext, only hinting at the character currents underneath. Watch Complices for the exquisite performances, but also to catch a glimpse of how tiny the French make their washing machines.

What a waste of talent. Beals, Lynch, Nichols, Thirlby - all put in solid performances here, only to be undermined by underdeveloped characters & a sloppy third act from writer/director Anderson. What begins as a somewhat clumsy but interesting noir, stagnates before devolving into nothing more than an excuse to film some actresses feeling each other up through their clothes while tongue wrestling (TV-MA, read: "underwear"). I mean, Thirlby's inexplicably uptight wallflower, complete with amorphous bipoc cardboard friend, makes it obvious where this script is going from the first fifteen, you just expect it'll get there with a little more style and/or purpose. Sadly, it doesn't. The amount of finale monologuing alone required to salvage this mess drops it far below Body Heat, The Last Seduction, Mulholland Drive or even A Perfect Getaway, although pieces of each are littered throughout. Your ninety minutes are better spent with any of those superior efforts.

This "reality" show fiasco is exactly what one would expect from a show runner, a camera operator, and a bunch of other TV errand boys & girls whose previous gigs were the Lizzo show, Haunted Highway & Keeping up with the Ks.

There is nothing hot here. Both girls slather on two pounds of pancake foundation (and not enough powder) & slip into Demonia vinyl platform boots to tell us about their personal journey into witchiness. They throw in some terribly bad acting, fake ghost detections, a hoaky graveyard set (Peter Killer, really?) & an embarrassingly naïve revisionist take on the Salem Witch trials, which are blamed on the Patriarchy, despite the original accusers being young girls. Judging from the sleep-over style presentation, young girls aged 10-11 years old are indeed the obvious target audience here, despite both Hudgens & Magree being close to 35 years old.

All of these factors result in a femdom empowerment roadtrip to Snoresville. Save your 90 minutes & watch The Craft instead.

This is a fun film. As others have said, it's part grindhouse & part kung-fu. You will see nods to The Big Boss, Enter the Dragon, Old Boy & others. Mitsutake & Imai are creative with the camera. CGI effects are not bad, and most of the actors are capable. There are some scripted surprises & some shocking kills. There is plenty of cinematic humor here, but no nyuk-nyuk dialogue jokes.

If not for the abundant use of slow-mo, this movie could've clocked in at around 45 mins. The sound effects were fine, but the reliance on cheap, overly-orchestrated soundtrack music detracted from the experience - but that's a common problem in low-budget films. I was disappointed in Katarina Severen's featured role. She showcased her wrestling-ring skills plenty, but her theatre skills were lacking. Same goes for Tomm Voss. Both were simple caricatures & could've been stronger in their villain roles. Sadly, the shallow script did not help them any.

California is always a poor substitute for Texas, but the compound set in the finale was suitable. Contrary to a previous reviewer, there is no "sociological insight" here, and there is no adolescent Trump-bashing. This film is a very straightforward hostage plot ala Taken, but much simpler.

I would take this film over a thousand similarly low-budget "horror" films, the kind seemingly cranked out by any kid with a Black Magic camera these days. Mitsutake needs a better screenwriter, but at least he knows how to tell an entertaining story. I look forward to seeing his other projects.

It's hard to argue with a business strategy that's proven to work. Similar to Samuel Z. Arkoff's American International Pictures, whose success spanned the 1950-1970s, ITN Distribution specializes in micro-budget products aimed at a somewhat lowbrow audience willing to overlook rather obvious compromises of quality. However, whereas AIP films typically cost $200-300K & grossed a few million dollars, ITN products are often budgeted for less than $50K & go straight to VOD & retail DVD outlets.

While a few ITN distributed films feature known actors such Nicholas Cage (Grand Isle) or Lance Henriksen (Paranormal Island), much more typical is a product made by novice actors/crew with an investor pitch that surely goes something like, "Dude, my dad has a creepy looking cabin behind his house. We should make a scary movie!" Unfortunately, Chatterbox is this latter kind of ITN product.

In his second project for ITN, writer/director Ben Patterson returns with another cast of amateur actors & crew and a half-baked script about a group of six friends who encounter a killer while renovating an investment property. Patterson & cinematographer Pasternak's inexperience is on display from the start. Rather than a felicitous opening ala Cabin in the Woods, Friday the 13th or The Burning, Patterson's bar scene character-intro plays like a funeral dirge, with weak dialogue, lagging conversation, apprentice editing & stiff acting.

These actors do not fit together; they are simply not believable as friends, much less collaborating investors.

Furthermore, none stands out. There is not a quirky nerd, a tough jock, a brainiac, or a nympho among them; they are all so similarly bland & useless that it is no small relief when they start dropping out. Only veteran thespian, Tony Manders, in the tiny role of detective, provides any hint of a sympathetic character.

The abandoned investment property is a fine setting for this tale, but director Patterson inexplicably shuffles us - and the entire cast - through every single room with an "And this here is the bedroom"-style tour of the facilities. It's also obvious that the house is actually on loan to the filmmakers: The six friends arrive at the location under the pretense of fixing it up to sell, yet after a whole day of "renovation," there are zero visible improvements, save for some sweeping. Given the dilapidated state of the property, "A couple of hours work will increase its value," should have been played for comedy, but that would require actors comfortable enough to be funny.

With an estimated budget below $10K, Pasternack's equipment seems to consist solely of a single Blackmagic or RED video camera and a fixed tripod, as nearly every shot is static. There are no dolly shots, and only in a few brief chase scenes toward the end does he go handheld. Similarly inappropriate for the tone here is his over-reliance on medium and establishing shots. Apparently he feels the need to include as many cast members as possible in each shot. An awkward example of this is the first kill where instead of a follow-tilt to reveal the killer behind, he opts for a static parallel two-shot that ruins any surprise.

Sadly, this isn't the only moment we see the killer too soon when it would be more effective if we didn't see him at all. In one scene we see the killer needlessly close a bedroom door, when it would have been more suspenseful had we, like the protagonists, not known who closed it. A struggle could then ensue to open it, building tension that could climax in a jump scare when the door is ripped open from outside by - not the killer, but - another friend. Instead, the characters simply walk over and open the door. "Must've been the wind." That's not drama.

Similarly, the second kill would have been more effective if we didn't witness it. Had we discovered the death later when the camera revealed the lifeless body with open eyes, this would have been quite a shock. Alas, no such luck. Given the story and setting, Patterson & Pasternack would have been wiser to adopt a giallo POV.

Unfortunately, the amateur dialogue, bland characters & poor style choices in Chatterbox sabotage what could have been, in more capable hands, a decent giallo-thriller. The slow pace, superfluous footage and deliberately-lethargic credits crawl stretch the morass out to just under 74 minutes, which is easily twice as long as necessary. So while ITN follows the successful AIP low-budget formula, with its famously-targeted audience of 19 year old males, they need to search harder to find the next Roger Corman. They should start by insisting on a solid script.

Scheinert & Co. Play this story so straight it will no doubt confuse a lot of viewers, but the title should make clear the true purpose of this 'dark comedy.' TDODL is not a celluloid postcard to the writer's roots ala Big Bad Love or a respectful tribute ala Blood Simple; instead, it's a vitriol-fueled elitist inside joke. Read other reviews if you want the spoiler, but the 'big twist' here is so ridiculous and insulting that you may want to save yourself 100 minutes of disappointment.

One is left pondering how much director Scheinert & screenwriter Chew - both Alabama natives - must despise their childhood and blame their relatives and neighbors for all of their personal scars and social failures. You must also wonder if a similarly-gimmicked product set in, say, Palestine or Afghanistan would have ever received $5 of funding.

Surely the filmmakers got an even bigger laugh from duping the naive citizens of Bessemer and a clueless Alabama Film Commission into participating in this video version of a 'snipe hunt.'

Give it a view if you want to see yet another example of what sanctimonious neo-coastal 'artists' think of heartland and rural people, their lives and dreams. Otherwise, avoid like the rightful Duke of Bridgewater.

How on earth anyone could rate this movie more than two or three stars is beyond me. Yes, the acting is surprisingly decent. Yes, the idea is clever and interesting. Yes, the cinematography is appropriately moody. But the story MAKES NO SENSE!

I'm a huge fan of slow indy suspense. Give me Berberian Sound Studios, give me Mulholland Drive, give me Swimming Pool, give me Cache, any day and I will pop the corn and have an engaging & enjoyable experience. What I have zero tolerance for is a script which sets up purposefully ambiguous plotlines and follows through with NONE of them. Neither should you.

The 13th Warrior meets I, Frankenstein meets Dracula Untold. And, sadly, The Northman is probably the worst of this weak bunch. This movie has all the complexity and subtle sophistication that you would expect from a story that began in the mind of a narcissist, in this case Skarsgard: "Y'know, I've always wanted to play a viking...." Basically a hired hand, Director Eggers was tempted by the typical studio apple: a budget 10 times his normal size and a paycheck to match. Unfortunately, the price was his soul. The finished product is a shallow, bland, uninspired cartoon. Scenes are well-executed as long as there is no dialogue or fighting, but those scenes account for a mere 5 minutes. The fight choreography is on the level of a high school production of the musical Camelot. Worse still, the dialogue is horrendous. Even stalwarts, Nicole Kidman (who does have one fine and important scene) and Willem Dafoe, can't bring it to life. Wooden Skarsgard does his best Aaron Eckhart impression while Anya plays...well, Anya plays Anya, of course, with an even-funnier-than-usual accent. The film plays like Eggers dutifully filmed the storyboard he was given, scenes have all the inspiration of a paper doll's wardrobe, which is not surprising for a film where the editor has more power than the director. Kudos, however, are given to the makeup department, not so much because of the work they did, but instead because of the work they didn't do. If you ever wanted to know what Kidman and Taylor-Joy REALLY look like behind all the spotlight filters and red-carpet greasepaint, several scenes here are quite the education. Though, like this movie, it may be one you'd rather forget.

I sure hope all the "This movie warped my life" & "I can never unsee it" reviewers actually work for Unearthed Films. That kind of melodrama belongs in showbiz. But those viewers who can aptly distinguish between the real world & the fantasy world - you know, fans of Saw, Martyrs, Hostel, etc - will not have their lives forever altered by A Serbian Film. Sorry, hype-sters. Just remember to look for metaphors (and it helps to have at least a casual awareness of Serbian history) and you will be fine. Desperate Afghans falling from airplanes as they flee Kabul International airport or NYers jumping from the flaming 93rd floor of Tower 2 - those are horrors that you can't unsee. Serbian fiction can never compare.

Kyle Rideout deserves applause. Not many directors can con investors & distributors out of millions of dollars based on a script with zero sympathetic characters and absolutely no character development. Anybody who can't generate audience interest with a naked Jodi Balfour, Sara Canning & Vanessa Walsh should be banished from narrative storytelling. This film plays like a music video of "Taps." He should be paying you to watch this travesty.

Based on the novel of the same name by Imma Turbau, El Juego del Ahorcado is written like many Euro thrillers, as a cinematic opera with strong characters having wildly passionate affairs & often making irrational choices - some of which test the viewer's suspension of disbelief.

Also like many Euro thrillers - such as Clara Lago's prior film, La Vida Que te Espera (My Next Life) - this film centers around an accidental murder for which the lead characters improbably fear they will be imprisoned. Perhaps the prosecution of victims is a rampant reality in Europe, but to many in the rest of the civilized world, this will play as simply a tired & worn plot device. Similarly, the personal object that pivots the relationship between the main characters is rather silly. Any 17-year old who could construct an elaborate lie to cover a murder, could easily construct a simple one to cover for the appearance of this object. Again, you've seen this before from Puccini & Mozart and you'll need to play along a bit.

However, the acting in the film is SUPERB. Clara Lago & Alvaro Cervantes are beautiful on screen, and they are completely believable as a teenage couple. Both get a turn to reveal their transformative dramatic skills (and skin.) Even 8-year old child actors Nacho Fernandez & Carlota Morien perform their own stunts. Likewise, Pereira's adept direction and keen cinematography from the legendary Juan Amoros (R.I.P.) are impressive, and the score by Bingen Mendizabal conjures a textured Hitchcockian vibe.

Why El Juego del Ahorcado has not received an American release (or at least streaming distribution) is a bit of a mystery. Even more of a mystery is why Clara Lago has not become an international superstar rivaling the popularity of Penelope Cruz. She should fire her agent immediatamente.

This relatively obscure film is difficult to find even on Region 2 DVD, but well-worth the effort for fans of Euro thriller. For fans of Clara Lago, Alvaro Cervantes, or Manuel Gomez Pereira, it is required viewing.

The filmmakers went into this movie wanting to re-create the drab, subdued, Euro detective vibe that pervades series like Shetland & Wallander, but instead they produced a dull, lifeless series of tedious scenes.

Dialogue is minimal, the characters emotionless & the cinematography is static. I swear the entire movie was filmed with one camera & a tripod. The most movement on screen, aside from the first two minutes, is people walking. Literally, walking. The camera never dollies, never pivots, never even pulls focus. Master, close up, master, close up, ad nauseum. The film simply lacks any movement. It's like watching a 90-minute conversation across a dinner table.

Apart from the walking & talking, there actually is a 10-minute story here, but Jim Carrey had no business telling it. His appearance (and accent) was distracting more than anything. Of course, without 'star power' this movie would have never left development.

I love slow, deliberate storytelling, but a filmmaker must capture passion from his script, his filming style or his actors. Otherwise, he only bores his audience. Sadly, it is only here that Dark Crimes succeeds.

Not sure who wrote the previous review or what part s/he played in the movie, but there's really not a redeeming quality to this picture. Yeah, there's a bit of fake blood and a flash or two of skin, but the script and the acting are terrible. The director - who also wrote, "shot," and edited the movie (surprise, surprise) - couldn't give directions to the nearest stop sign, much less assist his actors to deliver believable dialogue. There is probably a 5-minute story in this 82-minute mess about an unconvincing throuple, some skin-stealers, a Halloween party & an old folktale. But the devil, as they say, is in the details. And the details - like well-crafted dialogue, intelligent casting, creative character choices, and coherent plot progression - are where this project goes to Hell. Apparently, the filmmaker realized this and added a disclaimer in the end credits, revealing the movie was made during a hurricane on a $25K budget. Sadly, most of that loot must've blown away because it never seems to have made it to the screen.