Imitation Girl (2017) [Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival 2017]

A being falls to Earth and copies the first image of a human it sees.  Living as this girl, she starts learning about family, love, and life.  As she does, the girl she has copied lives her life in New York, working in the adult industries and slowly losing herself.  As their lives evolve, their meeting is unavoidable and may bring them more than they expect.

Continue reading

Un ciel bleu presque parfait (A Nearly Perfect Blue Sky) (2016) [Horrible Imaginings Film Festival 2017]

Following an accident, a brother takes care of his paraplegic sister while preparing for the arrival of other beings.

This film by artist Quarxx is one of those that must be seen. The story is well-developed and done in just about the perfect way. The way the story approaches multiple issues including gun violence, disability, the burden of taking care of a loved one, and others is tactful and done with care. The script approaches these issues in respectful ways while also given them the room to be properly shown and have their effects be clear. The writing and directing brings these to the forefront while still letting the film be about the people and how these things affect them.

Continue reading

Transmission (2017) [Horrible Imaginings Film Festival 2017]

A man is kept captive; his captor both tortures him and spoils him. What does he want? Why is he doing this?

Written and directed by Tom Hancock and Varun Raman, this short has more questions than it gives answers, creating an odd mystery as it entertains with its proceedings. The two leads are used as nemesis in a way and the story unfolds as an odd game of captor/captive that seems to be going to a definite ending but turns out to be something else entirely. The film’s story keeps most of its action in one location and uses this location to its maximum potential. The small cast actually helps the story in creating a sort of intimate chaos.

Continue reading

Welcome to Willits (2016)

A group of friends goes camping near Willits, CA. There, the locals grow very potent weed and smoke it as well while they are attacked and abducted by aliens on the regular.

The film is written by Tim Ryan and directed by Trevor Ryan who team up here to give the viewer a completely insane experience in which it’s hard to know what is true and what is a hallucination. The film plays with this constantly with only a few characters being sober and all there. The film also mixes in a tv show the locals watch called Fist of Justice which stars Dolph Lundgren. This addition sounds ridiculous at first, but it works in the film’s context. The way it goes back and forth between the two groups of people and the tv show creates a chaotic feeling for the story that works great with its insanity. The way characters created here are ridiculous but feel like real people in their environment and against one another.

Continue reading

Batman and Harley Quinn (2017): Deluxe Edition [Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital]

“Well that was a big ass bucket of nothing!”

“Batman: The Animated Series” is one of the seminal animated creations of the nineties and is still considered a quintessential depiction of Batman. It’s a masterpiece of animation and meticulous storytelling. The voice work by Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill as Batman and Joker are so definitive, that some fans can’t possibly imagine either character on screen without either actor portraying them. Here we are in 2017 with Bruce Timm reviving his animated version of “Batman” and what do we get? A very long gag involving Harley Quinn farting in the Batmobile as Batman sniffs it in with pleasure, all the while Nightwing retches in the side seat. This is the bar of “quality” we get with “Batman and Harley Quinn.”

Continue reading

Haskell (2017) [HollyShorts 2017]

Three moments from the life of a man who can manipulate time and how his ability is affecting him.

Written and directed by James Allen Smith, Haskell is a small part, or three small parts, of what feels like a much bigger story.  The story deals with time and how it affects people, especially the man who can manipulate it and those around him.  The story is one that is multi-layered and deals with plenty to become a full length feature easily.  The way it’s written does make it feel like it’s a part of something much bigger and perhaps a proof of concept for a feature film.  However, it does still work as a short where not everything is explained and the film works with some mysteries not explained.

Continue reading

Mune: Guardian of the Moon (2015)

“Mune: Guardian of the Moon” draws obvious influences from the likes of Studio Ghibli and Laika, and it’s a rather entertaining gem of an animated fantasy that I couldn’t help but enjoy with a wide smile. After “The Emoji Movie,” it’s very calming to know that there are still studios out there trying to deliver quality family animated entertainment. Dubbed over from the original French track, “Mune” translates well for domestic audiences, and I didn’t have a very tough time following what is a pretty nifty premise based around mysticism, nature, and the like. It also sports the classic hero’s journey trope, which isn’t so bad when it’s handled subtly.

Continue reading