Daily Archives: February 24, 2020

Feb 24 2020

Stuck (2019) Short Movie Review

Director: Steve Blackwood

Writer: Steve Blackwood (Screenplay) David Susman (Story)

Starring: Steve Blackwood, Sandy Bainum, Max Schochet

Plot: George and Helen Simon are a NY advertising couple who buy a sex machine to spice up their lives but it comes with a crazed delivery boy who gets stuck in it on the night of their dinner with George’s clients

Runtime: 14 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Fun Short

Story: Stuck starts when George (Blackwood) gets the sex machine for him and his wife Hellen (Bainum) only the delivery boy Finn (Schochet) to get over eager wanting to set the machine up, only to get stuck in it, just before a business dinner the couple are looking to host, what follows is the pair trying to figure out what to do before the guests arrive.

Thoughts on Stuck

Final Thoughts – When it comes to comedy you need to grab the audience quickly when it comes to something in the short form, this situation the couple find themselves in, does feel like we are watching an idea from Frasier, where we have two people that are trying to cover up something that would become embarrassing towards them if their friends found out. The reaction does get the laughs and you could only ask yourself, what you would do if you were left in this situation, we could also see this grow into something bigger, becoming a full feature with even more comedy along the way.

Overall: Comedy Begging to Give You More.

Feb 24 2020

Blood on Her Name (2019) Movie Review

Director: Matthew Pope

Writer: Don M Thompson, Matthew Pope (Screenplay)

Starring: Bethany Anne Lind, Will Patton, Elisabeth Rohm, Jared Ivers, Jimmy Gonzales, Jack Andrews

Plot: A woman’s panicked decision to cover up an accidental killing spins out of control when her conscience demands she return the dead man’s body to his family.

Runtime: 1 Hour 25 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Gritty Thriller

Story: Blood on Her Name starts after an incident at Leigh Tiller’s (Lind) garage, leaving a man dead and Leigh looking to cover up the dead body, her son Ryan (Ivers) is on parole, while her cop father Richard (Patton) is always watching over her.

After the cover-up starts to get exposed, Leigh is forced into turning to the people she can trust to keep it a secret, leading to more of the people who are coming looking for the truth, which will include people from Leigh’s ex’s life.

Thoughts on Blood on Her Name

Characters – Leigh has been running the family garage after her husband was put in jail, she is holding everything together to make sure her son gets back on the right path and after an incident in the garage, she looks to cover up an accidental death. She is tough, wants to be independent and will do anything to keep her son safe. Richard is Leigh’s father, a career cop that has always helped his daughter, who reluctantly helps her with her problem. Ryan is the son who has had a moment of violence defending himself, one that caused serious injuries, now with a parole officer, he is looked after by his mother, who wants to help him get back on the right path. Dani is one of the locals who related to the victim who might become the problem for Leigh.

Performances – Bethany Anne Lind in the leading role is the highlight of the film, showing the strength her character is showing throughout, while being on the verge of a break down. Will Patton is always going to be a strong character actor, who works well, while the rest of the cast don’t put a foot wrong through the film.

Story – The story here follows a woman who tries to cover up an accident, which sees thing starting to spiral out of control when people start putting the clues together. This is an interesting a gritty crime story, we do see how the reaction is to try and fix things, rather than let the police look into the incident because of the family’s history with against the law. Everything does unfold slowly seeing how everything falls apart which keeps us feeling the same as Leigh who is constantly worried about forgetting something the is trying to keep quiet.

Crime – The crime side of the film shows us how what could have been just an accident, soon becomes more once the cover-up starts happening.

Settings – The film is set in a small town, where the locals all know the reputation families have created for themselves.


Scene of the Movie – The showdown.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Not seeing the incident and any point, only hearing about it.

Final Thoughts – This is a gritty crime drama that boils along as a simmering pace.

Overall: Gritty and gloomy

Feb 24 2020

ABC Film Challenge – Oscar Nomination – X – Alien

ABC Film Challenge

Oscar Nomination

X

Alien

Why I’ve Picked this choice – We have gone under X because of the Xenomorphs in the film, for me this is easily the best in the whole franchise, the horror elements out way the action elements we see in the later films. Sigourney Weaver is a tour-du-force in the leading role, even though we are introduced to not knowing who the lead in the film will be, the shock of the Kane death still works even after decades since the release and when it comes the effects, the film is still flawless in the execution of them. This is one of the greatest horror movies of all time and a must watch for everyone who calls themselves a film fan.

Feb 24 2020

Disappearance at Clifton Hill (2019) Movie Review

Director: Albert Shin

Writer: James Schultz, Albert Shin (Screenplay)

Starring: Tuppence Middleton, Hannah Gross, Marie-Josee Croze, Eric Johnson, David Cronenberg

Plot: Follows a troubled young woman returning to her hometown of Niagara Falls, where the memory of a long-ago kidnapping quickly ensnares her.

Runtime: 1 Hour 40 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Tidy Sleuth Detective

Story: Disappearance at Clifton Hill starts as Abby (Middleton) and her sister Laure (Gross) coming together after their mother passes away, leaving them in her will, with Abby not wanting to just cash in on the offer they received. Abby wants to continuing running the family business, only this brings back a memory for her.

Abby starts to get haunted by the memory of what she once saw back in her childhood, a boy kidnapped, only nobody would believe her, now she starts to try and put the pieces together, which sees her look into the local areas history to learn who the boy might have been.

Thoughts on Disappearance at Clifton Hill

Characters – Abby is one of the sisters, she wants to keep the family memory together even if the money would be better for both sisters, she has a history of telling stories that nobody would believe, which leads her down the trail of something she believed she saw as a child, a kidnapping. The deeper she investigates the more she believes she is going to learn the truth, going full sleuth detective on the case. Laure is the sister to Abby who has always been there for Abby and is used to hearing her stories, she does want her to stop the stories and just focus on her life once again. We do many different people that Abby sees as part of the story she is trying to put together, each with their own story.

Performances – Tuppence Middleton is the star attraction in this film, she brings her talent to the front and centre, making us wonder about her character’s mindset, whether her story is true or not, keeping us guessing to what she might do next. When we look at the rest of the cast we do get to see just how each character plays out without giving the rest of the cast that many scenes.

Story – The story here sees two sisters reunited to deal with an inheritance, only to clash over what they want, which brings back a memory for one about a kidnapping, a case that never got report, but they want answers about. This story does show how people can tell a story which does have truth despite having a reputation that might question that story, we see how this could change their lives and solving it could be the only thing that keeps them going. Strangely it does feel like we are watching a run of the mill detective episode, which leads Abby in different directions, with wild characters you simply wouldn’t come across in daily life. Away from that the pace of the story is strong and does do a wonderful job at balancing the idea of which side of the story is true.

Mystery – The mystery here comes from what Abby saw as a child, just whether it is true or not, it does have an interest case to which we are being left to see unfold.

Settings – The film uses the settings to show how close to the border everything is happening in, this will become key for the Niagara Falls setting during the film.


Scene of the Movie – Returning home.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Diner with the tamers.

Final Thoughts – This is an interesting mystery that shows one person’s determination for the truth to put their own mind to rest, where Tuppence Middleton shines in.

Overall: Mystery Entertainment.