Reviews

Review: Open Grave (2013)

Posted on by indiemacuser

Open Grave is the new thriller/drama from Spanish director Gonzalo López-Gallego(Apollo 18) and writers Eddie & Chris Borey. The film stars Sharlto Copley (Elysium/District 9/Maleficent), Thomas Kretschmann (Resident Evil: Apocalypse) and Josie Ho (Contagion).

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We open boldly with a stylised shot of Sharlto (John/Jonah) gasping for breath and seeing only by candle-light; discovering for the first time his strange and scary situation, waking up in a huge pit of corpses having no memory of who he is, where he came from, where he is now or how he got there. He soon realises he is not alone however when he finds a house that is occupied by others in a similar predicament. None of them know how they got there or what connection they have with each other.

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Review: Debug (2014)

Posted on by indiemacuser

Debug is the 2014 Sci-Fi/Thriller big screen debut from writer/director David Hewlett (better known for his sci-fi acting roles such as Stargate & Rise of The Planet of the Apes) and stars Adrian Holmes, Jeananne Goossen and Jason Momoa.

The story resolves around a team of criminal computer hackers that have been sent into space by the Department of Corrections to help salvage old ships by over-riding their computer systems. This seems like an easy job; until they come across an abandoned prison ship. As they interact with the various virtual elements of the ship’s system they s4-debugoon realise it is fighting back in a very real and physical way as it turns the team on each other.

This is hardly new territory in sci-fi (i.e. the Alien franchise starts with a similar premise and there is of course Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Oddyssey) however the hacker angle does provide a fresh and interesting new take on this. All that said I feel the film is well executed but did not particularly stand out for me. Jason Momoa’s performance is ominous and unnervingly evil as the ships AI Iam.

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Review: Reaper (2014)

Posted on by indiemacuser

Not to be confused with the TV series of the same name; Reaper is the 2014 thriller/horror from director Philip Shih and writers Mark James/James Jurdi. The film features a strong cast including Danny Trejo (Machete Kills), Vinnie Jones (Snatch), Shayla Beesley (Sex and the USA), Jake Busey (From Dusk Till Dawn – TV Series), Christopher Judge (Stargate) and James Jurdi (Pocket Listing).

Reaper (2014) _thumbThe story plays out initially like a typical road horror movie in the tradition of The Hills Have Eyes & The Hitcher. Hitch-hiker Natalie (Beesley) gets a ride with happy-go-lucky travelling salesman Bill (Busey). When Bill crosses the line Natalie turns the tables on him and we learn there is much more than meets the eye to this girl. This leads her to run into drug runner Brad (Jurdi) who is carrying out a pick-up for tough criminal boss Rob (Jones). Later on the pair meet Jack (Trejo) at the suitably named ‘Last Chance Hotel’ and the story turns somewhat sinister. The twists in this tale remind me a lot of Tarrentino’s writing for From Dusk Till Dawn.

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Review: The Shoot (2014)

Posted on by indiemacuser

From Wonder Wheel Productions and joint writing/directing team John Adams & Toby Poser ‘The Shoot’ stars John DiMaggio (“Futurama,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”), Keith Allan (“Z Nation,” “Mad Men”), Doug Spearman (Cradle 2 The Grave), and Toby Poser (The Lucky Ones).

The main protagonists are Tommy (Adams) & Dougie (Sam Rodd); a pair of struggling musicians that are in debt to a loan shark represented by token ‘Bad Guy’ Steve (DiMaggio) while trying finish off their recording sessions. Continue reading →

1OVE (2014) – ‘A Romantic Comedy For Pop Music Nerds’

Posted on by indiemacuser

1OVE is a fun internet comedy short from GDB Films; written by G. Daniel Bailey & directed by Reynaldo Rodriguez.

The ensemble cast includes G. Daniel Bailey, Laura TenZijthoff. Keith C. Wade (Burn Notice, Graceland) and Frank Francisco (Univision’s Va Por Ti).IMG_1918-0

The concept here is ‘a romantic comedy for pop music nerds‘. This is achieved through the dialogue which is mostly referencing or byorrowed from well known song lyrics (both recent and classic). With everything from Rihanna to The Who there is something for everyone here. Continue reading →

Review: Bypass (2014)

Posted on by indiemacuser

Bypass is a joint venture between Third Films and Swedish company FilmiVast with funding from the British Film Institute and Film Agency Wales; from writer/director Duane Hopkins and starring up-and-coming young actor George MacKay (Pride, Sunshine on Leith, Peter Pan) as Tim.

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Movie Gem of the Week: Coffee Town (2013) from CollegeHumor

Posted on by indiemacuser

Coffee Town is the original comedy from writer/director Brad Copeland and marks the first feature film produced by website CollegeHumor; better known for their on-line comedy videos. This continues a new trend of features created by on-line content sites; thecoffetown_poster feature iSteve (a comic look at the life of Steve Jobs) was released by site FunnyorDie earlier the same year. The film was released simultaneously in cinemas and on-demand. Continue reading →

Movie Gem of the Week: War, Inc. (2008)

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There exists a great tradition in cinema of political satires that highlight current and future issues ironically through their use of dark comedy; whilst not actually featuring factual characters or events (i.e. The Manchurian Candidate)…this is one such film.

War Inc. is the 2008 dystopian sathttps://i0.wp.com/upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/68/WarIncPoster.jpg/220px-WarIncPoster.jpgire from director Joshua Seftel and writers Mark Leyner, Jeremy Pikser and John Cusack; starring John Cusack, Hillary Duff, Marisa Tomei, Dan Aykroyd, Joan Cusack and Ben Kingsley. Continue reading →

Review: Motivational Growth (2013)

Posted on by indiemacuser

 Originally reviewed for Battle Royale With Cheese

‘Motivational Growth‘ is the 2013 dark comedy/horror film from Writer/Director Don Thacker and has already been well received on the festival circuit; winning several awards.

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The story revolves around Ian Folivor (Adrian DiGiovanni); a reclusive slacker who dispels his own schizophrenic, self-effacing view of the world. The film opens with an excellent stylised montage of retro trash TV as Folivor flicks between channels on his old TV set ‘Kent’; his only companion as he spends his life on the couch. When the set malfunctions Folivor attempts to bring an end to his miserable existence; he wakes up after knocking himself unconscious only to discover The Mold (voiced by horror veteran Jeffrey Combs) is talking to him. He starts to take advice from The Mold and begins to clean up his act but as the story continues we see this relationship turn sinister; think Little Shop of Horrors but without the songs.   Continue reading →

Retrospective: Alien³ (1992) *Spoilers*

Posted on by indiemacuser

Written by Lewis Mainwaring

 

Alien³ is a 1992 American science-fiction horror film and the debut feature film of director David Fincher(Fight Club, Se7en, The Social Network).

This film is the third instalment of the Alien film series;alien-3-australian-movie-poster-27x41-1992-david-fincher-sigourney-weaver set directly after the events of the previous film Aliens         (1986 – which was written and directed by James Cameron and is personally my favourite instalment of the franchise).

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