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Reviews
Crackie (2009)
The Beauty of Dysfunction
A very accomplished piece from director Sherry White dealing with the dysfunction of multiple generations in a small East Coast town.
The film is gritty and oft times bleak, but Meghan Greeley playing Mitsy is an absolute joy to watch and the novice actress steals every scene she's in, despite playing off a far more experienced cast (Mary Walsh as her grandmother)
The story of a character trying to better herself and venture from her place of origin is a fairly universal and relatable one, but what separates this film from so many others of it's kind is the strongly drawn characters that give the audience a true stake in their success.
This film is not for everyone. It is, after all, unabashadly Canadian in every aspect, but hopefully this won't preclude this terrific little indie from making it's way out to wider audience.
At Home by Myself... with You (2009)
Money better spent
I really, really wanted to like this movie. The story behind it is inspiring. Indie director raises money through pocket change to make his dream feature. It's a feel good story. Unfortunately, the film is just not good. It's actually pretty bad.
It's decently photographed and the acting is competent (for what the cast had to work with) but where it really falls down is the script. Pedantic doesn't even begin to describe it. It's formulaic writing at it's absolute worst. From bad dialogue choices to boring characters, this film was several rewrites away from being ready for filming.
I think there's a lesson in this film, and it's a sad one. If you have to beg for change to make a movie -- you should make sure the movie you are making is worth it. Well many in Canada bemoan the public funding agencies, they do serve their purpose in that they are a litmus test for whether or not a project has any appeal. At Home By Myself with You simply does not.