reviews

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.

Continue reading →

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.

bypass

Continue reading →

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 →

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.

motgrowth1

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 →

Behind The Blog: It’s a Small World After All

Posted on by indiemacuser

The last few weeks have shown me it really is true what they say…the internet makes the world a whole lot smaller;  and there has been a number of exciting and unexpected developments with the blog that I would like to share with you. Continue reading →

Three Short Film Reviews

Posted on by indiemacuser

As part of my ongoing contributions to film site Battle Royale With Cheese I was asked to review three short films.

These three shorts were produced in the UK by Chocolate Bear Productions.
All three will be featured at the Portobello Film Festival on September 14th, 2014.

Continue reading →