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32 Weeks (2020)
Lots of twists and turns. Lots of questions.
There was one question that was always floating around. Lying and who's telling the truth?
Great chemistry between he two Nicole Souza and Nicole Rainteau. I love the way that Scott Bender portrays Simon, giving him the tinniest bit of unease when he talked about memories.
I will confess that during the beginning I pinned it as a toned down version of 50 First Dates but let me tell ya, it takes a totally different direction that has it slipping out of its genre (in a good way obviously). I don't want to say too much because this is a recommendation for me.
Sunday Mornings (2021)
Got that home movie feel.
Before watching this I didn't read the description because like throwing myself into these kind of movies and oh my word. Defiantly feels like a home movie where they got all their sisters and they were told what the scene was and they took off. There was great chemistry and the story was there. Wish the audio was cleaner and the cinematography was easier to follow. But all in all a great low budget indie film about being there and sticking up for your family.
The Crumbs (2020)
It's not repetitive, it's revealing.
On the surface, The Crumbs seems to be just a repetitive story about those who come to their B and B. If they have reservations then The the crumbs can't touch them, but if they don't have reservations then they're up for grabs. And that seems to be the only thing driving the plot. Then it starts to dig under the surface. The family problems start to come out making for a great horror film form the perspectives of the killers. And there seems to be more people involved than just the The Crumbs. The acting was spot on but the cinematography could have been more diverse. At some points the lighting seemed a tad bit flat for a horror flick. Other than that it was a great watch.
Pungo: A Witch's Tale (2020)
One crazy ride.
This is probably the one small budget indie film that I have seen with this much SGI in it. It also had a bigger story. Witches, supernatural entities, and time travel? Holy cow. It did have some bigger ideas in mind but sometimes the acting falls flat. The VFX is understandable but there was a whole lot of it. Congrats on getting your film out there!
Sweet Sunshine (2020)
It feels like two stories in one, just needs some more work.
It has the upbringing and downfall of a pop star roped in with TJ being able to bring forth a prodigy. It helps give him another purpose in that he can still be he can still feel useful. They didGreat job setting this up in the first part of the movie then it has a great pay off in the end.
It did have some issues with the dubbing and some of the ending was not as clean as it could be.
But it was still a great watch as a family and some really enjoyable scenes.
Purdah (2018)
A classic underdog tale infused with culture.
This documentary has reminiscence of underdog films but its story is infused with the culture around her. This is a documentary about Kaikasha Mizra who wishes to play professional cricket, but her society seems to frown upon such things. Even though its story is infused with culture, the filmmakers do a great job at keeping their views on their religion, they are telling a story of girls and how they can become who they want to be despite their circumstances not to commentate on what their society thinks and says about them.
Hoodman (2021)
80's horror-thriller? Kinda... but more of its own.
While the title and poster give off an 80s horror-thriller, Hoodman does very well job bringing modernism to its story with its low budget and great performances. It kept me well evoked and also gave the chance for some real scares. It just have. Problem with how it ramps up jumps scares though. Most of the time it seems that it was trying to start and then it would let the sound take over then it lost always ends up being someone she knew. Other than that I loved the characters and the woodman lore. A great Indie horror thriller flick.
Mandao Returns (2020)
Absurd twist on b-movie Si-fi classics
This was a great comedic twist on other out of body type movie. And apparently they've this is the second in the series, but I didn't realize it giving us a story that is distant enough from the original that it can be it's own film. I should have known considering it's called Mando Returns so I'll have to see the other one. There is defiantly a comedic voice here.
A fun 70 min.
Back to Berlin (2018)
It's not a biking trip. It's a journey.
They said it in the film and I think it fits it really well. "Its not a biking trip. It's a journey." Back to Berlin is an amazing, beautifully told story of bikers journey through the past. For some of them they lived it and for others they are dependance of those.
There was also another line that stood out to me. "It's all smaller stories but they are all the same story." It seemed like they were talking about both the survivors and their story from then and for the whole story of the Holocaust.
At the beginning we are not given everyone who is on the trip, but as we go along this journey, we learn form them, we learn from their descendants and how their stories fit in now and then.
Incredibly moving documentary.
Deine Farbe (2019)
Looks beautiful, feels beautiful.
Your Color (Deine Farbe) is a film about friends. It's a different side of love. It's the love that wants to call you out and make sure that you see your flaws that way you can fix them. And the actors are all about that. They have great chemistry between the two leads including the mother. And this film blew me away. It's got the story that fits the indie film but the production of the studio movies.
Looks beautiful, feels beautiful.
Very impressive indie film.
Dirty Beautiful (2015)
Dirty beautiful: A beautiful film with dirty contingencies.
Dirty:
Sometimes the acting falls flat, montages become too often, and sometimes the song selection made it feel mainstream While it tried to keep the indie film feel. For how well this was written I didn't see a need for the talking to camera bits. Information between two characters is well written and when bringing one looking directly at the camera does helps bring about connection but most of them seemed forced. I'm glad that they didn't do it after every major plot point.
Beautiful:
On the positive side I really did like this movie. It was a down to earth love story that wasn't froufrou. The leads had great chemistry and characters had depth. They didn't happen to be in situations the whole time they tend to put themselves in that position. Cinematography was great. Lighting brought moods expessially that a lot of it was shot in a one room apartment and the shot selection wasn't getting annoying.
This was an impressive love story. It went above to show us what a true relationship can sometimes look like.
Introspectum Motel (2021)
Layers upon layers upon layers...
Introspect Motel has got the reigns on multiple strong themes. Loyalty and trust. Revenge and fear, even tying basic human instincts into it. There are a lot of layers that the film peels off. Some are ripped off and some are slowly, painfully, rolled off. Great acting and kudos to the writer. It was awkward not being able to like any of my main characters by the time the film was over but like I said, each one of these people had layers to them which made for a very interesting film.
The Misadventures of Mistress Maneater (2020)
An indie film with big ideas.
Usually indie films are made with smaller stories in mind but The Misadventures of Mistress Maneater takes it up a notch. This is story with a lot of intricate details happening. Thank goodness the writers knew what they were doing. It's full of small moving pieces and very eccentric performances by Lorissa and Mickey. Considering how much Lorissa has contributed to this film. I love the $0.82 cents bit though the film. Congrats!
The Mentor (2020)
A different tale that all fresh film industry peeps want to tell.
The idea that you must do anything to get your film made. Including all the hardships between the producers, directors, crew members, and actors. Using what seems to be gibberish but for all of the that understand even the littlest bit of film mumbo jumbo then you can understand most of what they are getting at in this film.
Reminds me of a film called Man Under Table, where the film is all about a person's view on the indie film industry in LA. This feels like the same type of commentary but less about the surrealism. I would love to have other film students watch this and see what they think.
The Stalker (2020)
Needs more credit that it gets
At the time of writing this review (6/9/21) The Stalker has a 3.6/10 on IMDB. I don't think this deserves that rating. This indie film has great cinematography. It's a story that keeps us in the dark for as long as it can. It gives us multiple choices on who The Stalker could be and his motives for dong what he does. I would recommend this indie film to those who like to see modern adaptations of the classic horror thriller era.
The Stalker (2020)
Needs more credit that it gets
At the time of writing this review (6/9/21) The Stalker has a 3.6/10 on IMDB. I don't think this deserves that rating. This indie film has great cinematography. It's a story that keeps us in the dark for as long as it can. It gives us multiple choices on who The Stalker could be and his motives for dong what he does. I would recommend this indie film to those who like to see modern adaptations of the classic horror thriller era.
Normandy Is My Name (2015)
Very much a modern day Breakfast Club!
A heart warming film about 5 teenagers from different walks of life learning how to become friends for a month without technology. In the the film they kept saying "digital detox" and and that seemed to be what rubbed off on the kids, especially when the kids decide to hang out by themselves. Even the relationship between Grandma and Normandy. One thing that I was glad that came out of this film, is that the parents weren't stupid like parents usually are in these types of movies. Congratulations on a very well done indie film.
The Berlin Bride (2019)
Newfangled Surreal Love Story
A lovers quarrel with surrealism and absurdism helping aid the story. Taking hold of the silent era in one hand and in the other love stories from the 60's and 70's and bringing it together for a newfangled artistic film. Intriguing from the beginning and making me think way past its end.