movie review

Movie Review: BATMAN V SUPERMAN (2016) #BatmanvSuperman

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Deadlines to Submit your Screenplay, Novel, Story, or Poem to the festival: http://www.wildsound.ca

batmansupermanBATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE (USA 2016)

Directed by Zack Snyder

Starring: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Holly Hunter, Jeremy Irons, Gal Gadot

Review by Gilbert Seah

Before the film starts at the press/promo screening of BATMAN V Superman, director Zack Snyder appears on screen practically begging the audience not to give away plot points and spoilers to the rest of the world in order for them to enjoy the film. True to word, there are a lot of spoilers that could be revealed but this latest multi-million dollar effort is so bad that no spoiler could have made the film any worse.

Snyder makes no qualms at reminding the audience that he directed the Spartan film 300. At the film start, after Bruce Wayne rushes into the dust from the rumble of a fallen skyscraper, a lone horse is seen on the screen. 3/4 through of the movie, a cop and a horse is again shown on the screen. Of course lots of muscled bodies like the Spartans in 300 are on display throughout the film.

One can tell that a movie is bad from its continuity. The car chase segment makes no sense whatsoever. The reason for the chase is zero. When it takes place, there are lots of overturned other vehicles, lots of explosions but the scenes could have be taken out of 4 different streets for all that matters. The editing is awful and continuity is non-existent.

At the promo/press screening the executive introducing the film touted the imax technology involved in the making of the film. 40% more images can be seen in the imax version. But in the in the imax version that I saw, only the last sequence and the Batman Superman fight was in full imax top to bottom presentation.

There is little to enjoy in this film – the main problem being that the film is all over the place and all the filmmakers seem more content with the special effects. Comic book fans will be flabbergasted at the way the filmmakers have taken liberties to change what fans deem unchangeable and a staple to the comic book fan base. The main premise for example, would be that if ever anyone would want to see Superman fight Batman? And who would care which one would win? A true comic book fan would cringe every time anyone of the heroes, Superman or Batman was hurt.

The plot of the film involves Superman and Batman questioning each others tactics in order to save the world. The reasons are superfluous and unconvincing. All this leads to a confrontation and fight at the film’s climax.

BATMAN V SUPERMAN is a very dark film no doubt. So was the recent DEADPOOL. But DEADPOOL was smart enough to be funny and tongue-in-cheek while the latter took itself far too seriously.

And there is the question of the villain and a few other loose ends. Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor is an odd one. Eisenberg seems to have sculptured his role from Heath Ledger’s edgy Joker before his death. Esisenberg does what he does best – speaking his lines at a thousand words per minute but in this film, with creepy twitchings. It is not what is expected from classic Lex Luthor. Eisenberg dons his long hair till shaved off bald when in prison. Aquaman and Wonder Woman make their appearances but for no real reason. It seem a total farce and they should have been better totally omitted from the script.

In one segment of the film, a character says that people hate what they do not understand, referring to the suspicion they have of Superman being an alien doing good but causing destruction of the planet. Audiences might hate this film for it is impossible to understand for its purpose or plot.

*****

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Movie Review: TIME TO EAT (short film) Directed by Luke Guidici

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MOVIE POSTERTIME TO EAT, 4min, USA, Horror/Comedy
Directed by Luke Guidici

After being sent to timeout, a mischievous boy’s trip to the basement leads to a monstrous revelation.

WEBSITES

www.timetoeatfilm.com
www.facebook.com/timetoeatfilm/

Read review by Amanda Lomonaco:

Super clever, great cinematography, excellent special effects, Director Luke Guidici has truly achieved so much with so little. Time to Eat is really among one of the more unconventional horror films our there, but it’s certain to please even the most critical of horror film buffs.

To begin with, Guidici chooses an incredibly bright and cheerful colour scheme. Nevertheless he definitely proves the importance of musical score in any film, by superimposing his bright images with the perfect eery tune to leave us just suspicious enough about what might happen. Likewise, the lack of dialogue itself helps to add to this sense of unease.

At first glance Time to Eat seems like an innocent enough film. You pretty much expect it to be your typical, cliché, basement horror. Then it gives us a wonderful reminder to never underestimate what can be done with just a couple of minutes of time and an incredibly talented crew. In fact, credit must be granted to all the cast and crew of Time to Eat. Every piece of this film was extremely well executed and the care with which each cast and crew member performed their individual roles is palpable.

I was very pleasantly surprised by Luke Guidici’s work. While I have repeatedly admitted my bias towards the horror genre, I like to think it makes me more discerning as oppose to an unquestioning follower. In light of this, Time to Eat must be praised for its outstanding execution, uniqueness, and cleverness. Whether you’re a lover of the horror genre or not, this film can be appreciated by a variety of audiences and is certainly a very well spent 4 minutes of time.

 Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video of TIME TO EAT:

Movie Review: CANTATA IN C MAJOR (short film) Directed by Ronnie Cramer

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CANTATA IN C MAJOR, 7min, USA, Horror/Musical
Directed by Ronnie Cramer

Six-hundred-five film clips are assembled and used to create a piece of electronic music. As the visual component appears in the center of the screen, the original analog audio is sent to the left channel while it is simultaneously converted into digital music data and sent to the right channel.

Read review by Amanda Lomonaco:

Definitely not your average night out at the movies. Cantata in C Major is a shock to the system in more than one way. From the very beginning the film jars you with its unconventional structure; introducing itself and its composition from the very start. Even so, director Ronnie Cramer, manages to maintain a sense of intrigue by never quite explaining the purpose of such a rigidly constructed film.

There are definite moments of despair in this film, and not for the reasons you might imagine. Though I will admit, about a minute or so into Cantata I found myself wondering when it would end. Still as the jolting mixture of images and sounds continued something clicked in me.

You suddenly become incredibly immersed in the patterns and tropes you never would have otherwise noticed. Cantata almost seems to cancel out your other thoughts, feelings, and sense, until all you can see, hear, think about and experience is what’s right in front of you. It’s almost as if Cramer’s intention was to invoke some sort of disturbing meditative experience, an intention that seems almost implied by the film’s closing titles.

Cantata in C Major isn’t really the kind of movie you watch to experience a storyline, or to submerge yourself into someone else’s life for a short while. Cantata is a film about sound, patterns, and noise. It’s a film about films, how we watch them, how we make them, how they construct and provoke different emotions. It’s certainly not the kind of film everyone will enjoy equally, but it seems to be an introspective piece that might provide you with some interesting food for thought.

 Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video of CANTATA IN C MAJOR:

 

cantata_in_c_major_movie_poster.jpg

Movie Review: VAMPIRAS (short film) Directed by Wesley Armstrong

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MOVIE POSTERVAMPIRAS, 5min, USA, Fantasy/Comedy
Directed by Wesley Armstrong

This is the story of two woman trying to save a secret in the city of Los Angeles.

Written by Bruna Rubio

Read review by Amanda Lomonaco:

At first glance, I was fully prepared to dislike this film. The very opening scene seemed far too cliché for me to expect much from this short, but perhaps that was exactly why I found myself enjoying it more and more by the end. In fact, it was certainly one of the few short films that I felt could have been better served with more time. I almost hoped Vampiras was its own TV series, rather than a film.

I’m sure many of you are rolling your eyes right now over yet ANOTHER vampire movie, and particularly over my suggestion of turning it into a TV series. I have to admit, I was a big fan of Buffy back in the day, but I haven’t been able to find many vampire shows and films that I’ve truly enjoyed since then. I suppose some of this sprouts from the fact that I’ve always appreciated horror films that know precisely how to make fun of themselves.

In Vampiras, director Wesley Armstrong has been able to perfectly achieve the elusive balance between horror and comedy. Though the audience seemed to have some mixed reactions over the main characters’ appearance and obvious objectification, I found Vampiras to be quite an empowering film. What I originally saw as a somewhat questionable beginning was quickly compensated by the evident strength and dominance of Armstrong’s female protagonists.

Something about Vampiras certainly feels unfinished, or incomplete. Though the film works quite well on its own, I found myself wanting to know more about the stories of its protagonists. Anyone with a sense of humour would easily appreciate this film, as would any horror-comedy lover worth their salt. Vampiras isn’t exactly the most original vampire film out there, but it’s certainly worth a viewing, especially for those of us needing a good Buffy fix. It might be missing Sarah Michelle Gellar, but all the other more important elements are definitely in there.

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video of VAMPIRAS:

Movie Review: F**KING WORLD (short film) Directed by William Mussini

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MOVIE POSTERF**KING WORLD, 1min, Italy, Experimental
Directed by William Mussini

Modern man lives his life in just under a minute and thirty seconds. Frustration, joy, and a sense of incompleteness jumping from one emotion to another, from a knowledge gap to a lack filled by media messages.

Read review by Amanda Lomonaco:

Cathartic, chaotic, confusing, crazy; F**king World is the definition of all these words. It might take a while to appreciate William Mussini’s masterpiece, but it is precisely in forgetting to think and just watching that you are really able to taken in all its wonder.

Mussini’s short is a quick, precise, and vivid description of our daily lives, of our innermost thoughts. It’s a photograph of our own psyche. F**king World doesn’t need a narrative, or a protagonist, or a story line. All of those elements sprout from the audience themselves.

F**king World is extremely fast paced, and hectic, and fun, and distressing. It’s a concentrated drop of serum of emotions dropped gently into each of your eyeballs. Whether it clears or fogs your vision is really entirely up to you.

If you watch this film, be warned, you should be ready and attentive for this one. F**king World is not a film to watch, it’s a film to feel. Don’t expect your every-day film from this one. It’s so unique in its existence that I can’t even describe it, or tell you what you should expect from it. F**king World, just like our own f**king world, is just something you experience.

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video of F**KING WORLD:

Movie Review: BURGLAR (Short Film) Directed by Hojin Kim

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MOVIE POSTERBURGLAR, 5min, South Korea, Crime/Action
Directed by Hojin Kim

A crime takes place inside of a child’s imagination.

Read review by Amanda Lomonaco:

If any film from the WILDSound Feedback Film Festival has ever tugged at my heart strings it’s this one. Yet “Drama” is probably one of the last words any one would use to describe Burglar.

Starting off as a beautifully choreographed crime thriller, Burglar leaves the audience intrigued on the edge of their seats. The whole scene is made all the more mysterious by the utter lack of dialogue throughout it. A silence that is precisely and perfectly complemented by the musical score. Finally all our intrigue and interest is wrapped up and resolved in such a surprising, yet comforting, and bittersweet manner that you can’t help but be affected.

There was the odd person or other who seemed a little perplexed by this film, which isn’t so surprising when you consider its style. Burglar is definitely more of a poetic, metaphorical, and suggestive film. While most films like to hold the audience’s hand and pull them along the story line, Burglar pushes you head first into a pool of warm water and walks away as you try to find your bearings.

Burglar may have garnered a few mixed reactions from WILDSound viewers, but that’s often to be expected from such experimental films. It’s not unlikely that some audiences will have slightly more emotional reactions to this short than others, but that’s precisely why Hojin Kim’s film should be praised for its uniqueness. Burglar seems to have been created to give audiences more insight into themselves, than into the characters within it. Maybe if you give this short a go you’ll learn something new about yourself.

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video of BURGLAR:

Movie Review: HIP HOP-OPERATION. Directed by Bryn Evans

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Deadlines to Submit your Screenplay, Novel, Story, or Poem to the festival: http://www.wildsound.ca

hip-hop-operation.jpgHIP HOP-OPERATION (New Zealand 2014) ***
Directed by Bryn Evans

Review by Gilbet Seah

The feel-good crowd pleasing documentary from New Zealand is so-called HP HOP-OPERATION because the film’s subject, a troupe that competes in a hip hop dance championship in Las Vegas is made up of seniors, the oldest of whom is 93, many too who have undergone a hip operation.

The dance troupe is the brainchild of flash mob choreographer Billie Jordan. She ably manages the group. Credit goes to her for everything from her planning, choreography, cheerfulness right down to her financial management and chaperoning of the seniors down to Las Vegas. Her motivation occurred during her experience of an earthquake while in Christchurch. She chose to cherish life. Jordan and the seniors are from an island in New Zealand called Waiheke Island. The film includes some footage from the film that shows the island and its surrounding and like everything in New Zealand – the scenes are stunning and pretty.

HIP HOP-OPERATION is an ok documentary that is clearly running out of material within the first 30 minutes. Director Evans fills in the gap be selecting a few of the participants and have them talk about their younger days. One assumes that he has chosen carefully the half dozen or so from the 80.

The film includes limited footage of other hip hop artists performing in Las Vegas. The reason is obvious. They will overshadow Hip Hop-operation. The seniors are not that good – they are so-so but if one factors the age into the equation, the group is phenomenal. The best thing abut the performance is the support of the spectators. The camera spends an equal amount of time on the reaction of the spectators, especially the astonished look on the faces when they experience aged seniors on stage doing hip hop. Hip Hop-operation rocks – that is the unanimous reaction of the spectators.

Does Evans film also rock? Not really. As mentioned, the material is limited and there is little research that needs to be done of the subject. It is a simple film simply executed. But no critic, myself include wants to be a sourpuss in taking down a film which has so much heart. And this fluff does have more than its share of delightful, feel good moments.

The participants also give themselves hip hop names. The participants or the cast includes the following with their age in brackets:
Kara “Bang Bang” Nelson (94, with cane)
Maynie “Quicksilver” Thompson (95)
Terri “2-cents” Wool-Moore Goodwin (94)
Eileen “Diva mystic” Evans (84)
Rosemary “Missy Ro-Yo” McKenzie (74)
Billie ‘Billie J Buzz” Jordan (44)

The film is also supported by local New Zealand hip hop artists such as Dziah and Krash who also entered in the Las Vegas championships .

The film has understandably won many audience popularity awards in the festivals that it has been showcased. The film also won the Best New Zealand documentary Award.

 

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Movie Review: THE LEGEND OF BARNEY THOMSON (UK/Canada 2015) ****

festreviews 2016 movies, Movie Review, Uncategorized , , , , , ,

Deadlines to Submit your Screenplay, Novel, Story, or Poem to the festival: http://www.wildsound.ca

legendofbarneybaTHE LEGEND OF BARNEY THOMSON (UK/Canada 2015) ****
Directed by Robert Carlyle

Starring: Robery Carlyle, Emma Thompson, Ray Winstone

Review by Gilbert Seah

The film THE LEGEND OF BARNEY THOMSON arrives with zero fanfare but is a film that should be taken seriously. A film that could be alternatively titled THE DEMON BARBER OF GLASGOW, the film is based on the book “The Long Midnight of Barney Thomson” by Douglas Lindsay. The film begins when barber Barney accidentally scissors to death his boss, Wullie (Stephen McCole) in the barber shop that leads to another death, thus classifying him a serial killer. Barney becomes a Scots Sweeney Todd with several inept Glaswegian cops on his case.

The film takes quite a while to get a solid footing. The first third of the film muddles around with little humour, ingenuity or direction (and those unable to decipher the Scots accent might leave the cinema) but Carlyle slickly gets the action in gear and keeps the film moving during the next 2/3 of the film, leading it to a climatic mother/son confrontation and a Mexican stand-off. But the main plot of the reason Barney Thomson becomes a legend is still in effect, a comical farce that finally succeeds.

For a film entered on grisly murders that include chopping up of body parts, the film is free from violence. But the film is not without queasy scenes that include a severed penis and other assorted boy parts bundled up for the Royal Mail. The language is also particularly foul, especially the words coming out of Barney’s mother, oddly called Cemolina (Emma Thompson).

Three strong British actors headline the film. Carlyle himself, Thompson and Ray Winstone are thee actors I would pay serious money to see on screen. Thompson who is barely two years older than Carlyle, plays Barney’s mother with all the wicked relish she can muster. Her make-up by Oscar Winner Mark Coulier makes her look the part. Hissing out most of her lines with a fag always hanging from her mouth, this is Thompson the complete opposite, not the Thompson HOWARD’S END audiences know. The funniest part has her dipping biscuit dropping into her tea and then remarking: “I now have to fish it out with my spoon.” The mother/son confrontation in which she reveals how much she has done for him, including providing him dolly mixtures when he was a kid is priceless.

Carlyle is a Scots actor best known for his role in Danny Boyle’s TRAINSPOTTING. Carlyle’s debut directorial feature has the occasional feel of a Coen Brothers film (BLOOD SIMPLE, RAISING ARIZONA), but Carlyle who has worked with great English directors like Ken Loach (RIFF-RAFF, CARLA’S SONG), Boyle (TRAINSPOTTING) and Shane Meadows (ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE MIDLANDS) and the influences of the three directors are evident here. The atmosphere of small town mentality of Meadows is the most obvious.

THE LEGEND OF BARNEY THOMSON opened at the Cineplex Yonge and Dundas Toronto last week and continues with an added opening at the Carlton Cinemas. The film arrived with zero publicity and no press screenings, the only reason I can think due to is the film’s macabre nature. But this is a awesome little gem, that is a must-see!

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Movie Review: HAPPILY EVER AFTER – Starring Sarah Paxton & Julie Montgomery

festreviews 2016 movies, movie, Movie Review, Uncategorized , , , , , , ,

Deadlines to Submit your Screenplay, Novel, Story, or Poem to the festival: http://www.wildsound.ca

happily_ever_afterHAPPILY EVER AFTER (UK/Canada 2014) ***
Directed by Joan Carr-Wiggin

Starring: Janet Montgomery, Sarah Paxton, Alex Kingston, Peter Firth

Review by Gibert Seah

Running at almost 2 hours, HAPPILY EVER AFTER is a delightful comedy drama about two high school friends who both have the identical goal of living happily ever after. The only problem is that it is almost impossible task to accomplish, as most human beings can attest to.

The film centres on Heather (Janet Montgomery), an edgy documentary filmmaker in her 20s returning to her small Canadian hometown to look after her ailing father, Walt (Oscar nominee Peter Firth). She had left the town and her friends and family for Toronto after high school. She then reluctantly agrees to film the wedding video for her former high school best friend Sarah Ann (Sara Paxton). Things turn out more complicated than expected as the film turns into sort of a bedroom farce involving the whole town.

And between family and secrets, Heather is convinced that she and the seemingly carefree bride-to-be have nothing in common – except perhaps the high school teacher they both fell in love with (Tom Cullen).

It takes quite a while for Carr-Wiggin’s film to get a solid footing. The first half of the film appears to be all over the place with too many characters and an annoying lead. The situations all centring around a wedding also seems superfluous. But one has to be patient for HAPPILY EVER AFTER to settle in. It takes a while but the waiting pays off. The film shifts its focus from the lead character to the two leads, the lead and her best friend with an additional twist in the plot coming near the end (which will not be revealed in this review).

The film is about leaving a small town and making good. Another film that deals with this same theme, my favourite but highly forgotten INDEPENDENCE DAY (not the disaster pic) also showed the really difficult decision of small town folk having to make the decision to get away even though all logic points into doing so. The best thing about HAPPILY EVER AFTER is that the lead has left for the big city of Toronto but has not got much success either. She is a documentarist wannabe. Yet all the small townsfolk still admire her, if not for her decision to leave, despite the current state of affairs. The fact that Heather is not perfect and has just an equal if not larger amount of problems makes her character a more interesting one.

The film grows on the audience like a small town does on its visitors. At first annoying and uneventful, a small-town and the film gradually enchants its audience with its small town charm.

Carr-Wiggins characters also are all searching for simple happiness. They are all looking for love, and often in all the wrong places – i.e. the same town. The ‘follow your heart’ message is a bit too obvious, but given the situation of losers, it is an appropriate one to entertain the audience. There is more than meets the eye in this neat little film.

Also, Free logline submissions. The Writing Festival network averages over 95,000 unique visitors a day.
Great way to get your story out: http://www.wildsound.ca/logline.html

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Best of 10 Cloverfield Lane

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Read interview with the top film crew of the film, plus a praising movie review of the film that will set box office records this weekend:

Movie Review: 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE ***1/2
https://festivalreviews.org/2016/03/10/movie-review-10-cloverfield-lane/

Spoiler Alert: Please note that in order to provide a readable film review, there are minor plot points that have to be revealed in the review.

Interview with Cinematographer Jeff Cutter (10 Cloverfield Lane):
Interview with Cinematographer Jeff Cutter (10 Cloverfield Lane)

From Jeff Cutter: Expect a taut, tense psychological thriller with 1 or 2 big surprises. I had a great time working on the film as we had a wonderful director in Dan Trachtenberg and an extremely supportive production company in Bad Robot. It was a relatively small budget, and had challenges as a result, but since it is mostly a very contained script we could maximize the resources we had.

Interview with Special Effects Coordinator Donnie Dean (10 Cloverfield Lane):
Interview with Special Effects Coordinator Donnie Dean (Emmy Winner – American Horror Story)

From Donnie Dean: I can say we didn’t know until everyone else in the world that it was to be 10 Cloverfield. It was called Valencia up until then and no one knew it was related to Cloverfield at all.

Interview with Stunt Double Olga Wilhelmine (10 Cloverfield Lane):
Interview with Stunt Double Olga Wilhelmine (10 Cloverfield Lane)

From Olga Wilhelmine: I was Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s stand-in, photo double and stunt double on 10 Cloverfield Lane so I was there every day with her on set. We filmed about 7 weeks in New Orleans mainly on a sound stage bunker set which was kept dark and lots of smoke, dust and special effects that add to the bunker feel. Being in the dark all day was a bit harrowing especially in the beginning and we really felt like we were in a bunker.

****
Also, Free logline submissions. The Writing Festival network averages over 95,000 unique visitors a day.
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