There’s a stark beauty to the animation of Richard Williams that is wildly undercut by the startling violence that ensues. Williams is very talented with presenting very fluid and life black and white animation that is reduced to very horrific scenes of battles and a war ensuing in the middle of a field.
Director Sanjay Patel’s short film can pretty much apply to anyone who is either an immigrant or a minority growing up in America. Too often when you come from an ethnic background, living in the country can help you lose sight of your heritage very easily, and you almost find stuff like family and heritage almost unimportant. For young Sanjay, it’s a matter of perspective that gets him to realize that his heritage is rich, interesting and quite magical.
It’s not many movies with the alternate title of “Spy High” that doesn’t feature much spying. Of course, if you’re interested in a spy movie where the trio of heroes do nothing but sit at a computer typing over and over, then you’re going to love what “Task Force 2001” has in store for you. And just for your information, the trio of aspiring spies has a sidekick dog named Rocky that does most of the work. Because of Ethan Hunt really lacked a sidekick with fur and a tail. Of course! “Task Force 2001” has a great concept and some interesting ideas, but really none of the budget to commit to unfolding the intended action scenes.
Matt Rindini’s short drama suffers mainly because of its short format. And I mean that as a compliment because I really like the concept for “The Runaround Club,” but feel it’s a good short film that could transform in to a great dramatic thriller. It could work as a film about a crisis of conscience with two criminals, both of whom see a family committed to a more dead end life than their own. It could almost be like “The Desperate Hours” meets “The Ref” sans the comedy.
Director Kim Bowling’s “B.C. Butcher” wears its self awareness and cheap budget on its sleeve, and doesn’t seem to care that it’s a bare minimum production. For folks that appreciate the kind of low budget schlock director Bowling practices, “B.C. Butcher” might serve as a fun diversion with a mercifully short run time. There aren’t many slasher revenge films set in the prehistoric era, and “B.C. Butcher” drives that concept home with some fun gore, slick kills, and a fun villain who also happens to be a caveman.
“Dead in Concert” is one of the rare comedy specials starring John Bloom as his iconic character Joe Bob Briggs. Briggs himself is a politically incorrect character who revels in embracing stereotypes for the purpose of ironically mocking them. He mocks religion, race, gender, politics, and even speaks about growing up in a small town where dirt was a way of life. Briggs is not one to shy away from being offensive and has a good time making his audience squirm and laugh at some of the most inappropriate jokes. In one instance he royally pisses of an audience member who gazes at him angrily.
Pascal Laugier’s 2008 “Martyrs” was a grueling experience that masked blatant misogyny and torture as a pseudo-intellectual transcendental tale about the afterlife and the pressing question about where we go when we die. Kevin and Michael Goetz’s remake of “Martyrs” is not only a pointless exercise in futility, but it dodges any and all attempts to improve on the goofy ideas about spirituality by mostly dodging them. By dodging the torture and pegging this as cheap exploitation, and alternately dismissing the ideas about the afterlife and transforming this in to a spiritual horror film, it effectively renders itself pretty damn pointless and dull.