Volition (2019)

A man tries to change the future he has seen with taking things in his own hands.

Written by Ryan W. Smith and Tony Dean Smith with the latter directing as well, Volition is a film that requires attention in that it crosses timelines and the story becomes different with each attempt at making things better done by the lead. The story is one that is made for those who do not like when the film takes them for idiots or spoon feeds them what they want to see. Here the film takes its premise and makes the most of it, but it also becomes a bit complicated for itself, requiring the viewer to really pay attention. The film is well-written and directed, but something makes it hard to follow at times, perhaps making it a film made to be watched while fully awaken and energized.

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Shorts Round Up of the Week: Art Under Quarantine

It’s the middle of the summer and quarantine is still under way, sadly. We hope you and yours are doing well during these bizarre, frightening times. “Shorts Round Up of the Week” once again goes back to Quarantine, visiting a list of short films of varying genres that were created during quarantine. This scenario allowed a lot of great filmmakers to build genuinely beautiful, fun, and sometimes horrifying cinema, and it’s managed to be a great twist in such unusual circumstances.

For this edition we have some great short films including a documentary, a horror comedy or two, and yes, a zombie flick.

If you’d like to submit your short film for review consideration, submissions are always opened to filmmakers and producers.

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Stadium Anthems (2018)

Scott Douglas Brown’s “Stadium Anthems” is a movie that is just fine when all is said and done. The direction and production values are very good, and most of the cast keeps the film afloat with their charisma. It’s an okay movie that ultimately feels like with a bit of alterations it could have been great. I am always a fan of mock documentaries about rock bands, and varying shades of egos, et al. It’s just that “Stadium Anthems” suffers from feeling like there are just too many ideas struggling to rise to the surface, and it drags it down big time.

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Another Plan from Outer Space (2018)

Despite the title which weirdly made me think this was an homage to “Plan 9,” Lance Polland’s science fiction thriller is quite an impressive survival film. Director Polland obviously has great affection for and knowledge of classic science fiction television, thus he creates an interesting character study that feels like a more sophisticated take on the original “Star Trek.” In many cases, so much of the scenes feel like something directly ripped out of “Star Trek” (and I mean that as a compliment).

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In Action (2019)

How do you deliver an action comedy filled with gun fights and car chases on a 30K budget? You be as clever as humanly possible, and add in a bit of suspension of disbelief. “In Action” is a shockingly clever action comedy that takes a unique premise and puts it on film, come hell or high water. Working simultaneously as a proof of concept, directors Eric Silvera, Sean Kenealy, and Jon Warren’s bring to life a premise with potential to be pretty damn good, and they do whatever they can to bring their concepts to life.

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