In this edition of The Shortround, we go all sci fi. JG Barnes, director of Thieves sent me his short to check out. I figured, let's break the monotony and check out a sci-fi short. Here be the nuts and bolts.
One scene. One Room. A nice long chat simmers between a cold and precise Agent (Kelly Kirstein) and a brilliant yet fanatical terrorist (Sheldon Simmons). This man harbors the key to saving lives or the tool of ultimate vanity. But what exactly is it? As the veil slowly burns, the truth unfolds.
the jaded viewer says: Well to call Thieves a short would be a stretch. It's more of an excerpt from a proposed feature movie. Barnes short, done on a $300 budget is to be admired as the set, the surveillancePOV and the acting is all solid. But thrown into the mix of an interrogation between a replicant? and a revolutionary is intentional dialogue of ideas of what it means to be human and how we can easily lose our identity with our tech. Cyberpunk is ever evident but one can get easily lost in the spewing of back and forth questions and answers. Sure budget limitations aside, one can forgo action or CGI, but if the conversation is confusing, it's headed towards disaster.
It's hard to gauge Thieves. We haven't had a decent cyberpunk film in such a long time (Johnny Pneumonic anyone?). I love the ideas of data transfer, a dystopian universe and a revolution against an evil corporation/government entity but I'm not sure where Thieves will go if made into a feature. Lots of interesting parallels to our modern world can be explored, one you hope may be touched on at some point.
Look out for Thieves as it makes a run on the festival circuit.
[this review is from The Jaded Viewer 2 DVD Giveaway Winner Kim K. She suffered through these awful flicks like a real soldier and for that I'm giving her a honorary jaded viewer gold star of awesomeness]
I was warned - these movies won’t be making any "best of" lists. Watching them was a test of will. I have a short attention span. I'm rating them not by spinkicks, but by how many failed attempts it took me to actually sit down with the movie long enough to watch until the end.
"Ferocious Planet"
Alien movies, even when done well, are not typically the subgenre I reach for first. Plus, I tend toward thinking that any film with the word ‘Ferocious’ in the title is bound to be lame. But you can't judge a film by it's cover right?
Okay... maybe you can.
This movie begins with two scientists giving a demonstration to a group of politicians, military and fellow scientists on their groundbreaking technology whose purpose quickly becomes unimportant as once activated, the entire lab rips out of our dimension and into one inhabited only by dinosaur-like aliens. The scientists spend the remainder of the movie trying to fix their machine so that the group can make it back home. The politicians & military men prance around the jungle exploring, in hopes of securing fame and fortune. You can probably guess which group was (marginally) more successful.
There were funny moments, though most of them were likely unintentional. This movie had a feel of Jurassic Park-meets-Predator tweaked for a scifi original. The CGI was cartoonish, but in the context of this movie, it works well enough. The concept was ridiculous from the get-go, so I say run with that. The movie doesn’t seem to take itself too seriously either, which I respect, so if you’re going to watch, make it a drinking game:
Drink every time someone gets killed
-Twice if it’s not the person you expect -Three times if killed in almost identical manner to the previous character
Drink for every cut-to-commercial edit
Drink whenever someone says “that’s impossible,” “we’ve hit a snag,” or “we have a problem”
Drink for every time gunshots don’t work.
-Twice when characters use them anyway.
Drink anytime someone mentions self preservation
Drink for breathless running through the forest.
There is one kind of funny, ironic twist in the final five minutes that I appreciated, but not enough to make watching the entire movie worthwhile.
I give this film: 4 failed attempts.
No nudity in either flick and minimal gore, I’m afraid.
And there you go. Now may I request you send me a copy of “Martyrs” or “The Woman” as consolation for playing? ;)
The first thing I noticed about Attack the Block is the dialogue. British ghetto younglings have a speech all their own and it's really mesmerizing to hear. Lots of "Get me?" and "love" and "Believe!". At times, I had no idea what the fuck they were saying. But that's the fascination right?
I know all the supposed "bad" neighborhoods in NYC. But I've been getting the feeling I should never set foot in Brixton in south London if I ever visit. Get these kids in a movie theater and shit gets loud (oh no he didn't go there!) Lots of ghetto kids go see a horror flick and will yell shit at the screen saying if faced in the same situation with the killah they'd "fuck that suckah up!" (they're words I cleaned up a bit) The beauty of Attack the Block is now we get to see these same tough thugs battle hairy, glowy teeth but blind alien monsters and see if they're all just talk.
Attack the Block is a mix of a thugged up Goonies meets Gremlins and it's all freakin awesome. Blending a mix of comedy, monster mayhem, action-palooza and some class warfare "MESSAGE!!" it's a slice of fun fun fun. The unlikely criminal tykes we bloody fuckin hate somehow grow up, learn a lesson and gain respect the hard way. Throw in some neato sci-fi monsters, a few splatter and gore and quick witted pop culture references rapid firing at a mile a minute and it's all the fun you'll have in 90 minutes.
Quick rehashed plot revolves around a thug of youths led by Moses who mug Sam a girl who lives in the projects (is that what they call em in London?). Soon our ragtag group of misfits (3 blacks, 1 white boy, Sam, pot smoker Brewis) are running and dodging these reject monsters from Star Wars. Aided by Nick Frost and also on the run from a kingpin drug dealer, the block is all in chaos in this one night.
The action scenes are well executed. The kids have bikes, scooters to aid in their escapes and they've got the weapons and use em. Samurai swords, knives and fireworks (the dangerous kind) all come into play and shit gets real fast for them. But these same kids, supposedly tough as nails get scared too. It's this balance in characters that makes them feel human and empathetic. The fact they know the choices they make have consequences is a theme throughout. Lots of good suspense and wicked kills are littered throughout ATB and director Joe Cornish paces it nicely.
He also puts in great scenes of funny jampacked with British references. They call the monsters gollums (LOTR) and Dobbies (HP) and it breaks the tension to have them be all kids in such an adult situation. Any reference to video games will give me a chuckle.
Sure it's a bit silly at times and the monsters aren't very memorable as they should be, but it's forgivable. Clearly we get racial overtones and "the feds" are willing to go all Rodney King on any black youth we see. I mean after seeing the shit that went down during the London riots (that video of the foreign exchange kid getting jumped comes to mind) you really want to hate these brothas from south London in real life and in this movie. But it's all about the choices they make and here they make the right ones.
Attack the Block is a sci-fi kid adventure and twisting the protagonists around makes it worthwhile. You'll rarely see a film that takes the outrageous cheesiness of furry alien monsters and blend it in with thug life. It's a one of a kind movie, one with charm and scares.
"It's different looking at America from the outside in"
-Kaulder
It wasn't Gareth Edwards intention to make a film allegory about the US immigration policy with Mexico. But that's what comes out of Monsters, a sci fi Lost in Translation meets District 9 sorta film.
It's also an excellent display of indie and guerrilla style filmmaking by Edwards, his crew and actors Scoot McNairy and the beautiful Whitney Able. It's easy to Blomkamp this flick with comparisons to District 9. It's got a restricted zone, a military policy towards the alien "invaders" and a look into the world of the quarantine zone. But the film does two things District 9 doesn't. It subtly establishes a pseudo budding relationship between our intrepid photographer and a daughter of a media mogul and it blends in "monsters" into commonplace lore. And it does both effectively.
Sure seeing the monsters in small increments makes it a little irritating, the acting is completely improvised which leads to odd exchanges and the suspense is a bit cliched but it clearly has the heart of a indie film that does the more than most blockbuster Hollywood flicks do with 1000x more budget.
At the end, you feel like you walked away from a seeing an allegory thinly disguised as a sci-fi drama and the aliens seem to have more in common with us than you think.
Boring Plot-O-Matic
Six years ago NASA discovered the possibility of alien life within our solar system. A probe was launched to collect samples, but crashed upon re-entry over Central America. Soon after, new life form began to appear and half of Mexico was quarantined as an INFECTED ZONE. Today, the American and Mexican military still struggle to contain "the creatures"...... Our story begins when a US journalist agrees to escort a shaken tourist through the infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the US border.
Awesome Review-O-Matic
What you notice right off the bat is how seemlessly Edwards integrates the sci fi in Monsters. He is of course an FX wizard first before a full fledge director. We see night vision battles, smoldering ruins, fighter planes in the sky and newscast shots of the skyscraper tall tentacled aliens battling the Mexican and US military. All the signs of a "restricted zone" or "gas mask prices" have been digitally created within shots filmed in real life locations. It's a sight to behold and it's all done quite creatively.
You clearly get transported into a North America that looks gritty real, in a mid post apocalyptic world. Kaulder, a photographer on the hunt for his big payday ends up in Mexico where he's told by his boss he has to escort Sam, the daughter of the company's CEO back to America. Their relationship grows throughout the film.
Soon there trekking to the coast in a bid to get on a ferry to America. The film spends alot of time having Kaulder and Sam talk about their lives. Both have different motivations to go home, Kaulder for his son and Sam to her fiance. But these motivations are deceptive in the big picture of just getting back the the good ole USA alive.
We get a montage of fun and later the easy route leads to a harder one as the duo have to trek back to America by land instead. It's filled with a boat ride with some solid extraterrestrial WTF scenes of suspense. A fighter jet disappears via mysterious tentacles and a group of guide soldiers gets slaughtered.
As we approach the end, Sam and Kaulder are clearly attracted to each other in that "we survived multiple alien attacks" romanticism that comes from well you know surviving such an ordeal. The ending is a little wild and bit of a "Huh?" but it is what is.
Scoot McNairy and the hot Whitney Able both give great performances in a movie that they were only given an outline of what they needed to do. If all the dialogue was improvised, it's a credit to them with coming up with conversation that seems plausible and funny. Able is a presence on screen, a mesmerizing beauty though cliched damsel in distress. McNairy plays tough, lovable fun guy. An alpha male with a heart.
But the monsters should be as important as these characters and through glimpses via news footage, some shots in some climactic scenes and one at the end, they are only their as background. As the titular name of the film, they should have had some focus, possibly their plight of being targeted by both governments (like they did in District 9). This is where I had a few gripes. The aliens seem to have no agenda, no motivation and no adequate screen time which leads to a lacking trifecta.
If your going to make a alien flick, you need to get some meat on the bones of the aliens. They shouldn't be treated like a establishing shot of a sunset. It's only at the end do we see the aliens have relationships as well, a budding family per say and there main motivation it seems is the resources America has. Somehow, it's an appropriate parallel to real life events.
Monsters is made on the attention spans of the YouTube crowd. Doing more with less is a testament to everybody involved in the movie. Edwards does a fantastic job of getting the most out of his special effects laden flick but missed a chance to shed some light into an important subject in current events. The plight of the monsters is as important as the plight of our leads.
America's population will constantly be a changing demographic and so will our alien flicks change as well. Monsters is a step into a new frontier of indie sci-fi, one where we have to adapt our expectations on what it can be, not what it should be.
Gore-ipedia
A few scattered bodies, nothing a tween couldn't handle.
Nude-ipedia
Nada
WTF moment The tentacle tango between the aliens at the end
The Jaded Viewer's Final Prognosis
Monsters is out on DVD now via Magnet Releasing. If you're in the mood for a more arthouse Cloverfield flick with a touch of Lost in Translation and some District 9 danger, Monsters is the clear cut choice for you.
The moment I saw the premise and trailer for Carly Lyn's film A Foundling, I was completely mesmerized.
Was this a Western film that had sci fi elements?
Were the leads both Chinese American actresses?
Was this a film about 2 Chinese American women in the way back West finding an alien?
Yes to all these questions. The beauty of independent cinema is your not constrained by a formula. You can write any story you choose, cast any leads you want and throw in a hook that nobody has ever done before.
Carly Lyn does all of these in A Foundling. It's a beautifully crafted film that tells a story that for once in my long film viewing history I've never ever seen before. That is both refreshing in a way I can't describe. I've seen only a few others indies (like Ink) that have made this happen. But never have I seen a movie that follows Chinese American women in a sci fi western.
A Foundling breaks the handcuffs of the conventional indie film. It's a serial Western with a twist and though follows such a simple story of 2 sisters reunited, it's even smart enough to comment on the world around them. Boring Plot-O-Matic
Virginia (CINDY CHIU) - a young Chinese woman in the Old West - rescues her long lost sister, Mattie (NORA JESSE), from a brothel in Arizona. On their journey home to San Bernardino, they discover the strange, steaming wreckage of an otherworldly craft. Inside the vehicle, Mattie finds a very mysterious baby.
Awesome Review-O-Matic
Simply, A Foundling is about the reunification of Virginia and Mattie as they trek home to Virginia's home. Both have lived different lives and try to find common ground. To not point out that the lead actresses are Chinese Americans would be wrong. Clearly, any Asian Americans are not in many films, Hollywood or indie. To see both Cindy Chiu and Nora Jesse play strong, evolved female characters was very refreshing to see. The stereotype for Asians in films is they are either A.) skilled in martial arts B.) skilled in swords C.) An evil enemy in organized crime D.) All of the above.
Oh yes, and they speak broken English. This is clearly not the Asians in America I know. And it should be reflected in film. Chinese Americans have been in America since waaay back when. We've often heard they built the railroads. I'm no history buff but I'm sure Wikipedia can verify that. To see Chinese Americans break these stereotypes and be portrayed as Americana as can be is to be applauded.
But I digress. As both make their way home via single horse, the film introduces some wild alien lore to the mix. A crash landing brings in a mysterious alien to which the women have no idea of what this is. But they take a liking to the strange child and bring him along on their journey.
Soon the women encounter food shortages, a sick horse, white men who may have a different agenda and a illness befalls one of the sisters. The movie is not an action packed John Wayne flick here but a slow, sun drenched tale of woe. Within their journey, the women experience the world of the times. Racism, sexism and classism are all commented on. Clearly, Chinese women in America in the 1800s were the bottom of the barrel and we see trust and loyalty are challenged when the world is full of inequality. Chiu and Jesse give excellent performances and play off each other perfectly. Chiu, playing the disciplined straight shooter seems to have a solid presence onscreen while Jesse goes all anti as a prostitute with a change of heart. If any of them faltered in their performances, the movie would have suffered greatly. But they don't and they help the film reach it's potential.
The gripes are small but they should be acknowledged. This film clearly could have been a stepping stone to explore issues of the time. I would have liked to have seen the plight of what Chinese Americans endured during the 1800s. But that may have been asking to much from an indie. The cinematography is fantastic but some scenes felt mostly filler in some instances. Somehow even the sci fi element felt a little SyFy-ish mixed in with a Lifetime movie of the week. But these are minor picks.
Lyn has carved a Sci Fi story into a Western that challenges the conventions of films you've seen countless times. I don't know why we think all alien movies need future tenses. I kind of dig these films that invade our notions of the past and blend in two genres into one.
Carly Lyn's A Foundling is that rare film that wants you to see that all the tales we've heard before can be rewritten in a new way. A Western, a Sci Fi or a travel drama can all be intertwined into a film that explores our humanity by seeing what we would do when introduced with something unimaginable.
And sometimes, we don't need a spaceship to do it. WTF moment
Whoa! That's some funky alien child
The Jaded Viewer's Final Prognosis
I challenge you to watch something different, something new and something that's not a remake of a remake. The joys of watching indie cinema is experiencing stories and characters that never get seen. A Foundling is one of many that are part of the new frontier of independent film.
Thanks to Mr. Rhinocerouslip Bumcrack who runs I FUCKING HATE R'n'B... and DUBSTEP!. He sent me a UK comic that was definitely not on my radar. My knowledge of top notch UK comic book writers has only come though via Garth Ennis (Irish, Preacher, The Boys), Mark Millar (Scottish, Kick-Ass, Wanted) and Alan Moore.
I absolutely dig Ennis whose series The Boys is so fuckin awesome. But I digress.
Zombo is the newest creation out of 2000AD and my first introduction to this publisher. So what's Zombo about?
Zombo: Zombo’s Eleven – When Flight 303 carrying government experiment ZOMBO crash landed on the lethal death world of Chronos, the flesh eating ghoul was the only survivor not picked off by the planet. Having joined forces with the eleven Suicide Boys – teens looking for spectacular ways to die – Zombo is on his way to becoming a TV star…
I absolutely loved Zombo. It blends wacky humor with complete evisceration on every page. It mixes in a bit of sci-fi, horror and Lost all into a wild Four Loko blackout in a can comic book. The cover absolutely sets the tone with Zombo politely asking: "Can I eat you, please?"
Zombo is a sort of anti-hero, part zombie and part human. Sent to the death world Chronos with other survivors the first book gives some back story and some serial wicked kills. They don't call it a death world for nothing.
Survivors you think may make it are all fodder for this death planet as the survivors die from poisoned fruit, vicious plants and even Zombo himself. Zombo's dialogue which have him addressing everybody as Mister give Zombo a childlike persona mixed in with a wild dog on a leash. The government agents who control Zombo have sent him to this world to clean up a Shadow rainbow blackhole (don't ask). Throw in some cannibals who leave a limbless and armless survivor in their wake and you got a death every 3 panels. It's not a stretch to say most people die gruesomely but Zombo survives because well he's already dead.
Al Ewing and Henry Flint, the creators of Zombo are on serious hallucinogenic drugs. I mean they write stuff in like a traveling variety Christmas show crashing landing and dying via a Christmas Tree monster and in the final book called "Zombo's Eleven" they have a 11 "Suicide Boys" who look to commit suicide and put it on "Death Tube". They're main focus is to film their deaths to get the best star rating.
Seriously, this is fuckin funny as hell. So wickedly WTF clever. Each of the characters in Zombo from a Russel Brand suicide boy parody to a Simon Cowell like asshole called Hank Epsilon are so annoying (like in real life), you're glad when they die, come back to life as zombies then die again.
The main adversary in Zombo is the death planet which causes humans to turn into zombies (who are just irritating talkative Return of the Living Dead zombies) . A final climactic battle onboard a space station involving zombies rampaging, zombie bees and Death Tube video massacres was truly fantastic.
I gotta admit, Zombo made me laugh in that this is insanely weird, fucked up and I must be high sorta way.
Drill the Brain, Command the Mind, Control the World
Well isn't that overly ambitious? But ambition and effort go a long way in this independent sci-fi gorefest. The production value is at the max and I appreciated the effort of such a project.
Andrew Allan's first feature length film is jampacked with holes in the brain, mind control, cult escapees and full figured nudity. You would think a formula like that would automatically warrant awesomeness. But you'd be wrong.
Brainjacked isn't terrible but it isn't uber awesome. It's a solid 90 minutes of indie horror fun but riddled with story, acting and pacing issues. But aside from that it's got a mad doctor drilling holes in people's heads. Yay.
Boring Plot-O-Matic
Sinister and stylish, Brainjacked tells the tale of Tristan Davis [Chris Jackson], a teenage runaway lured by the enchanting and beautiful Laney [Somali Rose] into a secret underworlde ruled by a psychotic nerosurgeon [Rod Grant]. The doctor's deadly prescription:Trepanation, the very real and gruesome practice of drilling bloddy hole's in one's head for mental relief and enhancement. Suffering from head-grinding migraines, Tristan submits to the doctor's drill. But surgery unlocks more than just Tristan's mental powers. It opens a dark realm of terror... Packed with sexy sirens, mutated abominations, and an army of murderous, mind-controlled teenage slaves. Awesome Review-O-Matic
It's not everyday you can pack a shitload of gore and nudity and not get a high rating from the jaded viewer. But in the case of Brainjacked I have to say I was completely jaded. I've seen stellar boobs and I've seen generic gore. The movie has both but the story which from the onset seemed interesting went downhill during the course of the movie.
Tristan, our teenage runaway has a shitty life. Suffering from headaches and a family which he explains"My father killed himself, my stepfather’s a son of a bitch, and my mother’s his gang-bang party favor. I’ve got nowhere else to go." He's meets Laney (a super hot blonde) who takes him to meet Dr. Karas, who claims he can cure his headaches. Seems the good doctor takes in runaways and performs trepanation (which is just a fancy way of saying he drills holes in people's heads).
All is good until the blinks (aka blackouts) begin and soon Tristan realizes all is not what it seems. The doc seems to using his procedure for mind control and he's pretty much brianjacked most of St. Petersberg, Florida. With the help of a gang of rebels, his new GF Tristan tries to stop the doc from controlling the world.
It's not as cool as it sounds.
Brainjack follows the conventional formulas of a "destroy the cult" movie but with a sci-fi twist. It's got elements of Videodrome, Body Snatchers and every other cult movie you've ever seen. If the movie had not strayed from being a evil cult flick and not turned into a zombie/bad rock em sock em action, it probably would have worked.
The acting is a little cheesy though Chris Jackson as Tristan and Somali Rose as Laney do their best as the coupling that tries to save the world. Rod Grant's doc was very cardboardy and his dialogue in particular sounded robotic.
How do you make up for this? Add boobs! Our Nude-ipedia has tons of full frontal and even a Skinemax-ish love scene. You would think a indie sci-fi schlock movie like this would have fat women getting naked but the women are fuckin hot and I appreciated the effort of getting top notch babes to show some flesh.
The Gore-ipedia is solid with some no cutaway drilling brain closeups. It's definitely non CGI kind and we get the blood deep red. The final gore scene is pretty gruesome and gave me a happy. You only get this good splatter from the indie horror filmmaker and Brainjacked is maxed up on the gore meter.
So should you watch this movie or drill a hole in your brain? It's worth a watch as a scifi-horror fan. The indie spirit is there to make you happy and it's loaded with tons of stuff you'll enjoy. Hot looking women, ample amounts of gore and an interesting concept. If you can forgive the cheesy acting and the uneven first and second halves of the movie, it won't give you a headache. And if you do get one, just take some aspirin instead of drilling a hole in your head. I think that's good advice.
WTF moment
The ending and than the ending after the ending (watch for a scene after the credits)
The Jaded Viewer's Final Prognosis
Brainjacked is being released on DVD on August 31st via Breaking Glass Pictures. The DVD will have these features:
Commentary with the Director Andrew Allan and Producer Andy Lalino
Commentary with Director of Photography Wes Pratt, Sound Designer & Composer Eddie "Enotide" Sturgeon, and Director Andrew Allan
Commentary with Actor Rod Grant, Special FX Artists Marcus Koch, andindie horror funny man Shelby Mcintyre
In this edition of The Shortround, we go all sci fi. JG Barnes, director of Thieves sent me his short to check out. I figured, let's break the monotony and check out a sci-fi short. Here be the nuts and bolts.
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