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I.V. League (2016)

ivleaguePatrick Rea has been more committed to dark comedy as of late, delivering horror shorts that are based a lot around deception and pure evil. It’s really interesting to see director Rea working outside of his comfort zone and diving in to new areas of horror and fantasy that are rarely mastered. “I.V. League” is another of his many latest short films where human cruelty is the theme, and Rea delivers a one two punch of plot twists that make the experience very worthwhile.

Creating a ring of lies, “I.V. League” is centered on a man who’s barely survived a car wreck that left him burnt from head to toe. While his new nurse attends to him, she soon meets his wife, and learns that she’s been all too aware of her bed ridden husband’s past with sleeping with young female doctors and nurses around the hospital. Without realization, the two women are embroiled in a secret murder plot against him, with a man named Nico who was sent to murder him. After failing, both women have a bone to pick with him, and soon the suspicions arise among the pair of women.

It’s tough to continue discussing the movie without actually giving away what unfolds, but Rea’s film is slick enough to follow without ever getting too crowded with plot points and twists. The performances from Misty Dixon and Katrina Volonnino are superb (as well as the rest of the supporting cast), with Rea devising a nice web of revenge and spite that culminates in to a really good climax. While I admittedly saw the first plot twist coming miles away, the final twist is really unexpected, and felt very well placed, rather than tacked on. Rea’s film is a strong and clever short thriller, and one that warrants a watch when it becomes available for fans.

Tony Masiello Short Films Round-Up

MortyandChesterShorts can be fun tidbits of film, no matter the genre.  Some genres can lend themselves to this format better than others, horror being one of them.  So horror shorts with a grindhouse flare should be at the very least interesting.  Here are four mini reviews of shorts by Tony Masiello that fall in that sub-genre.  All of these shorts are part of anthologies that are out or about to come out.

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Hank Boyd Is Dead (2015)

HankBoydAccused murdered Hank Boyd has died and his mother wants him remembered with a funeral and gathering at the family home.  Sarah is hired to work this gathering for the local catering company.  As the hours pass, the Boyd family grows stranger and stranger and Sarah must fight for her life.

Written and directed by Sean Melia for whom this is a first full length feature film, the story seems simple at first: A child murderer has died in a small town and his family is trying to keep a minimum of respect for him at his funeral.  However, as more and more is discovered about the Boyd family, the more twisted the story becomes.  It isn’t only about Sarah’s survival among this family but also about how crazy can one family really be.  The story is fairly well written and unfolds at a good pace, never losing the viewer’s attention but also not exactly feeling like it’s doing anything new with the crazy family aspect.

The acting is decent from the leads and supporting cast.  Standouts are Carole Monferdini as the aging and slowly losing it clan matriarch, Beverly Boyd, who alternates between sweet old lady and crazy violent bitch.  Her performance is nuanced with a touch of bat shit insane.  The other standout if Stefanie E. Frame as Sarah Walsh, the outsider who becomes captive and fights for her life.  She shows a range of emotions from boredom to stunned surprise to desperation which adds to the viewers’ care for her character.

Hank Boyd Is Dead is a violent film but there is no gore and very little blood, the horror here is more psychological in nature.  Yes, there is violence, but what is meant to shock is the story, the characters’ backgrounds, and the family dynamics, not the physical damage made to others (except in a couple of scenes).  That being said, it is a violent film with some disturbing aspects, however for a more jaded audience, it’s not quite enough to have much of an effect.

The film has good performances in general, a fairly good story, decent dialogue, but nothing is really shocking or new.  At 76 minutes, it’s a fairly short feature which allows it to not overstay its welcome.  The twists are interesting but will be predictable to some.  Nonetheless, the film is entertaining while not breaking any new ground in the crazy family with major issues horrific drama sub-genre.

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Baskin (2015)

baskinFive cops go on a very late night call to the middle of nowhere.  On their way, their hit something on the road and crash close to the source of the call, as they head into the property, things take a turn for the very weird. Baskin is based on the short of the same name and is written by Ogul Can Eren, Can Evrenol, Cem Ozuduru, and Ercin Sadikoglu.

The way they built the film with dreams and flashbacks leads to a story that could have been muddled but isn’t as it works with them and integrates them well.  Of course, this leads to a story that is not entirely linear and may not be everyone’s cup of tea.  The direction by Can Evrenol demonstrates talent with only a few scenes showing that this is his first feature and that his directorial experience is not wide and varied yet.  Most of the writers and the director are newer to completely new to making films, yet this shows only very, very scarcely, which is a testament to their pool of talent.

The cast here is also fairly new to the business with two standout performance by Gorken Kasal as Arda, the lead amongst a good group of actors playing cops going on an ill-fated call.  Kasal gives a layered performance of a character with a childhood that is still affecting him, while trying to be the best cop he can be, he also shows a good emotional range.  Also worth noting is newbie Mehmet Cerrahoglu as Baba, The Father, the cult leader Arda and the cops encounter.  Kasal and Cerrahoglu play well against each other. Many scenes in “Baskin” are trippy and visually very interesting, leading to sometimes packing a lot in a quick scene which serves to disorient as much as engage the viewer.

As the film advances, things go from weird to seriously messed up and the gore factor goes through the roof.  Blood, guts, everything gets thrown around.  The effects for these are of varying quality.  For most of the film, the effects are great, done practically and looking quite realistic, especially once put in a darkly-lit, fast-moving scenes.  However, a few of the effects, seen in better light and for longer periods, look a bit cheaper, of lesser quality which can break the tension of the scene they are in.  Adding to the visuals and the effects is the music which works well here, helping sustain the suspense and raising up the creep factor by underlining the fear felt by the protagonists.

Baskin is a movie once should see as it shows what short film makers can do when expending on one of their shorts such as what happened with Turbo Kid (but much, much darker here).  It’s a tense film with scenes to make almost anyone uncomfortable.  The story starts off with an effective opening, then keeps things more or less almost creepy until it suddenly amps up the creep factor and then the gore becomes prevalent making for a suspenseful experience with some gross out moments.  By the end of the film, more questions have been asked than answered, leaving the viewer to think a bit and come to their own conclusions.

ChicArt Short Films Round Up

Day Before YesterdaySometimes, a bunch of shorts fall in my lap and I gather them for review under a theme.  Like the recent piece on the shorts by production company 2AM Burrito, this group came from one company, albeit a PR one: ChicArt.

The style of the shorts here is very different, so this is where the comparison ends. Without further ado, ChicArt repped shorts.

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Zootopia (2016) [Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital]

zootopia-dvdDisney’s newest “Zootopia” is a very heavy and complex movie that can be appreciated by a broader audience. Sure, it has a lot of ideas about heroism, courage, and features a slew of really charming cute animals, but it’s also a tale about prejudice and stereotypes. It’s an inverted exploration of biases and conclusions we draw with others that can be dissected and analyzed by virtually anyone. I don’t think “Zootopia” is about a specific issue in the modern social and political climate, but it does hold an interesting function in helping us to take a second look at racism and the ideas of stereotyping a specific sub-set of individuals and how damaging it can be to us as a society and personally.

Ginnifer Goodwin is fantastic as Judy Hopps, a rabbit who has been told all of her life that she’s incapable of being anything but a farmer. When she beats all the odds and tries for her role as a police officer, she eventually proves everyone wrong and ends up earning a job as an officer in Zootopia. Zootopia is a series of small communities and cities made up animals, most of which are prey. The predators are reserved for more side roles in the society that are influential but not totally intimidating. Judy is underestimated mainly for her size and gender, and is sadly relegated to being a Meter Maid.

After stopping a theft from a local flower shop, she begs her commander Chief Bogo (Idris Elba) for a chance, and volunteers to find a missing Otter. With only forty eight hours given by Bogo, Judy begins cracking the case and blackmails local con artist, Nick Wilde, a sly Fox who may be able to help her. With their uneasy pact, Hopps learns about a grander scheme involving other missing animals, and the unnerving idea that local predators may begin hunting prey and ruining the harmony of Zootopia. Goodwin is charming and fun as heroine Hopps, who manages to disprove a lot of assumptions about her from her department and fox Nick Wilde, who sees her as literally nothing more than a dumb bunny who’s bitten off more than she can chew.

With courage and old fashioned determination, Hoops paves her way in to the annals of Disney heroines with ease. The voice work is fantastic with folks like Idris Elba and JK Simmons lending their voice talents, while Jason Bateman is a wonderful foil to Hopps. With his calm and smug deliver, Bateman turns Wilde in to a complex anti-hero, who garners his own ideas about stereotypes and the often inescapable pigeonholes society can put us in to. Wile just accepts his fate as a lower class predator, while Hopps is eager to prove she’s so much more than prey destined to reproduce and farm. Like the former Disney smash “Frozen,” the writers take its audience seriously and offer complex and very adult overtones that will allow them to give second and third thoughts about what “Zootopia” is trying to convey.

Along the way there are some genuinely funny moments, including the visit to the DMV run by Sloths, the fun jabs at previous Disney films, and shockingly compelling dynamic between Nick and Judy. “Zootopia” is another stellar Disney film that begs for a second look thanks to its evocative overtones and commentary.

The Disney release of “Zootopia” comes with a DVD and Digital Copy alongside the Blu-Ray. Among the features, there’s “Research: A True-Life Adventure,” a ten minute look at how the filmmakers dropped themselves in to the animal kingdom to research wildlife and bring them to life for the film. “The Origin of an Animal Tale” is a nine minute look at filmmakers discussing ideas for the movie during development, along with inspirations, themes, and whatnot.

“Zoology: The Roundtable” is a three part feature clocking in at almost a half hour, covering various facets of the film. There’s “Characters” about the film’s primary characters, “Environments” about the bigger and more minute details that comprise the film, and “Animation” revolving around the film’s fantastic animated sequences. “Scoretopia” is a look at the film’s fun score, “Z.P.D. Forensic Files” is a three minute look a the Disney East Eggs throughout the movie. There’s a music video by Shakira, a look at the characters removed from the final film, and a slew of deleted scenes and an alternate opening with an optional commentary by Byron Howard and Rich Moore.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991)

TMNT-III know that this is grounds for getting my “90’s Kid” membership card stripped from my hands, but the more I see “TMNT II,” the more I dislike it. Yes, it has camp value thanks to Vanilla Ice, but nostalgia lens aside, it’s a pretty crummy follow up to the 1990 movie. It’s basically the “Batman Forever” of the original TMNT movie series, a movie that waters down the formula of the Ninja Turtles. Hell, even like “Batman Forever,” the turtles are no longer urban legends working in the shadows, and become virtual celebrities by the climax. Much to the shock of everyone involved, 1990’s “TMNT” movie was a film for all ages that took violence seriously, and depicted actual consequences to actions and decisions.

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