From the mind of Jesse Barack comes "Polypore," a sci-fi thriller that centers around a real-life fungus known as polypore. In the film some of the characters, such as Paul, played by Jeffrey Bielat, stumble upon the fungus and are exposed to its powers. He then struggles to control his new power of telepathy and finds himself targeted by a power hungry corporation that seeks to harvest his powers. From here you're on your own; the already over-ambitious storyline becomes clouded when we are introduced to a variety of characters, all of which have their own point of view.
The sheer number of cast members in this short 1-hour film becomes too distracting. One after the other, in flash-forwards and flashbacks, a dizzying amount of names and character importance become lost in the already complicated storyline. Some characters do impress, such as Paul's father, played by Shelly Whittle, but even then at times many of the actors seemed to overact their roles at the request of the director.
While the film becomes overshadowed by the list of actors it contains, it did have some very impressive camera angles as well as special effects. From the start the camera seemed to never stay still, in a positive way, and it truly helped move the otherwise confusing film. The other high point was special effects, for a limited budget the film impressed with its gun shootouts and fungi special effects. The film wanted desperately to hit the CGI standards of Hollywood thrillers but, unfortunately, they were hidden with the confusing story and characters.
The director seems to ignore his limits and rather then accept the budget and constraints with his actor's performances he still pushes the limits. There was also a struggle with combining and finding the complicated balance between comedy and thriller. At random moments characters would break into jokes during scenes that were meant to be dramatic. The failure to find the right timing was evident and this further dampened the film.
Overall there is not much to see here, after viewing you are left with more questions then answers. You have traveled around the world yet you feel like you haven't seen anything to explain the story. The characters, while passionate in their roles, fall flat at times and fail to drive the story forward. But you still will find yourself impressed with the young ambitious filmmaker. He wants nothing more then to impress with his art but unfortunately he is still learning and understanding his craft.
The sheer number of cast members in this short 1-hour film becomes too distracting. One after the other, in flash-forwards and flashbacks, a dizzying amount of names and character importance become lost in the already complicated storyline. Some characters do impress, such as Paul's father, played by Shelly Whittle, but even then at times many of the actors seemed to overact their roles at the request of the director.
While the film becomes overshadowed by the list of actors it contains, it did have some very impressive camera angles as well as special effects. From the start the camera seemed to never stay still, in a positive way, and it truly helped move the otherwise confusing film. The other high point was special effects, for a limited budget the film impressed with its gun shootouts and fungi special effects. The film wanted desperately to hit the CGI standards of Hollywood thrillers but, unfortunately, they were hidden with the confusing story and characters.
The director seems to ignore his limits and rather then accept the budget and constraints with his actor's performances he still pushes the limits. There was also a struggle with combining and finding the complicated balance between comedy and thriller. At random moments characters would break into jokes during scenes that were meant to be dramatic. The failure to find the right timing was evident and this further dampened the film.
Overall there is not much to see here, after viewing you are left with more questions then answers. You have traveled around the world yet you feel like you haven't seen anything to explain the story. The characters, while passionate in their roles, fall flat at times and fail to drive the story forward. But you still will find yourself impressed with the young ambitious filmmaker. He wants nothing more then to impress with his art but unfortunately he is still learning and understanding his craft.