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Reviews
Stowaway (2021)
I'm not even done watching it and I hate it already
I should have turned it off five minutes in, but I didn't. It's so freaking slow I have it on 1.5x speed and it's still feels like it's only a fraction of a second sped up. It's painful. Just really really awkward, stupid, and painful.
Mermaid Down (2019)
Beautiful story; small budget
I really loved the concept, design, and story of this movie. I wish I could give it more stars, but sadly, the minimal budget for this movie did more harm than good.
The camera shots are too close, too far, too dark, and few in between. Most of the camera jumps didn't make logical sense, and was difficult to tell where some scenes ended and another began.
I love the relationship between the ghost and the mermaid- I wish that could have been explored more.
As someone who has actually been in a psychiatric institution, I was bothered by how inaccurately it was portrayed. Probably something that very few people would pick up on, but if you've been through the experience, you know exactly what I'm talking about.
Lastly, the script had very little dialogue (which I think also contributed to the confusing camera shots and bad lighting)- sort of a key give away that the director/DP/writer has had very little practical experience. I get it; small budgets suck. BUT that's part of being a filmmaker, you have to learn to make do (although I will say, I've seen a lot of indie movies, and the sound was good for this movie, props on that). The dialogue that was in the movie seemed unrealistic and unedited, like it was the first draft of the script and wasn't edited before shoot days. Whenever a character spoke to another character, they always included the character name. So the end result is this back and forth, back and forth he said, she said, repeating character names nearly as much as actually dialogue.
Again, the story is great and unique, but unfortunately, the inexperience, small budget, and what feels like an unfinished script, made me mourn the movie that could have been. It could have been executed so much better, but it wasn't.
Charlotte's Song (2015)
You're killing me, Charlotte
The trailer looked intriguing.
The trailer lied.
I don't write reviews, but this film really bothered me. The trailer looked amazing, and I figured I'd give it a go. For the $2 million dollar budget this film had, it should have been excellent. Yet, it was, at best, a grossly drawn out student film.
The first three minutes or so, the film shows off its best assets; the lighting, cinematography, and set design. Really, whoever was on set and costume; you're the one thing that made this movie worth watching (and yes, I did watch to the end). I did notice the sound seemed a bit off, but kept watching anyway.
After the initial credit roll, when the movie actually started, I knew I was in for a bumpy ride. Music is overlaid in every scene. After fiddling with the sound for a solid five minutes, I finally turned the subtitles on. Without it (and sometimes even with it), I had no idea what the actors were saying.
And who was who? When Tim was first introduced, I thought he was a slightly older actor playing Charolette's crush? Her brother? A hired hand? I had no idea. Halfway through the movie, it's revealed he's George's (the Dad's) friend. I never would have guessed. Apparently Gertrude is George's second wife? I found that out about five minutes before the ending (everyone calls George 'Father').
No intentions are clear. The script makes no sense and characters say lines that leave you thinking '...did I miss twenty minutes?' I'm still not sure why they owed Randall money in the first place. Nothing is really explained. Gertrude (the wife??) calls Charlotte's mom 'mother.' Honestly, I don't know who's who. And Tim...if the whole point of the child is for her to be the product of true love...why aren't any of the other sisters mermaids? Why is it only Charlotte? Then I was waiting for the twist that Tim was the father...that didn't happen either.
To recap: sound effects lagged, dialogue was beyond hard to hear, acting was okay but nothing to write home about, hire the set designer for your next renovation project.
This movie could...no, should have been really fantastic...but it fell unbelievably short.
Booze Boys & Brownies (2014)
Boys Everywhere
Intrigued first by the trailer, I decided to watch the movie. And I did not regret it. Mannion's characters were lovable, the songs catchy, and the story relatable. I'm not well immersed in the world of indie film-- with Mannion's films being one of my first experiences in indie features-- but I loved this movie. I do feel like it started off a little slow, but by the end, I was nearly in tears for poor Vivian, and felt so connected to the character. If you want a film that's both funny and heartbreaking, this film's for you.