Jul 29 2020

Nothing But the Blood (2020) Movie Review

Director: Daniel Tucker

Writer: Daniel Tucker (Screenplay)

Starring: Rachel Hudson, Jordan O’Neal, Nick Triola, Les Best, Vivian Glazier

Plot: A small-town journalist sent to cover the opening of a controversial church. As the ministry digs its roots into the town and its residents, her life takes an unexpected, violent turn that will shake her foundations to their very core.

Runtime: 1 Hour 29 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Cult Like Nightmare

Story: Nothing But the Blood starts as journalist Jessica (Hudson) looks to investigate a controversial church, she meets the Father (Best) whose words show they behaviour isn’t going to be good for the neighbourhood and when she meets Thomas (O’Neal) he finds himself in trouble with the church.

When the couple decide to have a baby together without marriage, they become the target for hate, they start receiving threats with the church looking over them, waiting for their next move.

Thoughts on Nothing But the Blood

Characters – Jessica is a journalist that will look for stories that will make an impact, with this new cult like church being her latest target, she knows they will be dangerous even though she falls in love with one of the members who can see the problems within the church, she feels targeted, is determined and is looking over her shoulder about what the church could do to her next. Thomas was once part of the church, but starts noticing the problems within the church and falls in love with Jessica. Father is the one that controls his followers, he believes the religion is the most important in the world and if you don’t follow him, he will target them.

Performances – Rachel Hudson must go through a range of emotions through the film, each one she shines in. Jordan O’Neal as the former church member shows us an enlightened character, with the performers from within the church showing us just how controlled they can become.

Story – The story here follows a journalist who is investigating a controversial church, where she gets caught up in the middle with a follower that is willing to leave for her and how the church seems to have their own ideas for them. This story does bring us the ideas of a cult like church who have their own minds on life issues, they will go against the other churches and if you go against them, they look at you as a threat, including people leaving them. How the story is told is very different because a lot of the story takes place over a larger period of time, showing the slow hassling of the new couple, where you always feel like something will become the catalyst to everything else that happens. There is a lot of tension built up in the story and things will go in shocking directions.

Horror – The horror is more focused on what could be happening, fearing what the church is capable off, making our characters live their life with them needing to look over their shoulders.

Settings – The film uses the community settings, this shows us how the church has created a fear within the people, how they look to control people and how their words can be followed with the local environment.

Scene of the Movie – Tables turned.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – There seems to be a slower side to the opening part of the film.

Final Thoughts – This is a cult following movie that does everything we have seen in them before, with the biggest change being the length of time the characters are left haunted by what could be going on, with tension being the driving force in this one.

Overall: Tension Filled Horror.

The film hits VOD, blu-ray, and DVD nationwide on August 4th

Jul 29 2020

Battle Scars (2020) Movie Review

Director: Samuel Gonzalez Jr

Writer: Samuel Gonzalez Jr, Christopher Lang (Screenplay) Samuel Gonzalez Jr, Christopher Lang, Michael Kuper (Story)

Starring: Arturo Castro, Jonathan Peacy, Kit Lang, Arielle Brachfeld, Laure Malone Hunt, Jason Vail

Plot: After his best friend is drafted to fight in Vietnam, a young man must grapple with the reality of life before and after war.

Runtime: 1 Hour 24 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Stark Reality of a War Veteran

Story: Battle Scars starts as Michael (Lang) is graduating high school, only for him to learn that Vinny (Castro) his best friend has been drafted to the army for the Vietnam war, not willing to let Vinny go along, Michael agrees to go with Vinny, to keep him safe.

In the war Michael loses a close friend and finds himself coming home to a not so favourable welcome, dealing with the nightmares of his experiences he suffered over there, turning to whatever, he can to survive.

Thoughts on Battle Scars

Characters – Michael is the main character here, starting of as an enthusiastic student ready to start the big world, only to agree to join his best friends in Vietnam, just as his girlfriend announces she is pregnant, he wants to show his loyalty to his friends, but upon returning he is a different man, a broken man, a lost man, facing no future, left to be a single father, a role he isn’t prepared for, struggling just to keep a roof over his head. We do meet the best friends that are lost at war, the people he meets after war, the people that tried to support, the others that use him and the rest that abuse him

Performances – Kit Lang in the leading role is brilliant, he shows each difficult moment of his life upon his return from war, show us just how difficult returning to society is. The rest of the cast are good, but not enough of them are part of the main story for long enough.

Story – The story here follows a young man fresh out of high school that agrees to go to Vietnam to support his drafted friend, only to see the world in a very different light when he returns, as he struggles to re-enter society the way he had imagined he would, dealing with his own demons of his time at war. This story does highlight the struggles with PTSD that the soldiers returning from war suffered through, we see how without help the soldiers life spiralled out of control, without the study of the problems they faced, they are left with nothing in the world. We see just how much of his life changed, how he never recovered and always tried to see some positive in life.

War – The war side of this film shows us more of the aftermath of being there, rather than the conflict itself.

Settings – The film shows us the different locations that Michael is forced to find himself in as he tries to rebuild his life, some are places no one should be forced towards.

Scene of the Movie – The robbery decision.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – We jump forward in time a lot between what happens in the life.

Final Thoughts – This is an important drama that does show us just how important looking after war veterans is, and how there should be more made available to help them.

Overall: Important Drama.

Jul 29 2020

The Speed Cubers (2020) Netflix Movie Review

Director: Sue Kim

Plot: Discover the special bond — and uncommon competitive spirit — shared by the world’s Rubik’s Cube-solving record breakers in this documentary.

Runtime: 40 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Rubik Cubing Becoming the Highlight

Story: The Speed Cubers follows the build up to the 2018 world championship of Rubik Cube solving on different size levels, from 3×3 rising up through 4×4, 5×5, 6×6, with one- and two-handed styles being used. We see the two favourites lives Feliks Zemdegs the original superstar in the sport, who held all the records before Max Park arrived on the scene, started breaking records and taking the world title in the previous event.

The two are friends, with Feliks encouraging Max to continue to break his records, while getting to show the reality of what is happening with the players, growing up, becoming adults, they must face the reality of life and getting a job, while the younger players have the time to become the best in the world.

Thoughts on The Speed Cubers

Final Thoughts – The Speed Cubers brings us into this world with ease, showing how much the competition means to the players, how much this world has helped Max Park develop, as his autism had given his parents problems, this world bought him friendship and even understanding social situations like never before. Seeing what this means to the players, while maintain the friendship created between Feliks and Max is great to see and we do get to see in other competitive worlds. To make this seem like an event we would like to watch is great and showing the art behind perfecting the skill shows us just how much it means to everyone involved.

Overall: Entertaining Documentary.