29 | September | 2020 | Movie Reviews 101

Director: Teddy Grennan

Writer: Teddy Grennan (Screenplay)

Starring: Bruce Dern, Annabelle Dexter-Jones, Eric Nelsen, Robert Longstreet, Joshua Brady

Plot: When a nature photographer explains to the Police how she fought her way out of the Watchatoomy Valley, they dismiss her crazed and violent story as a meth-induced nightmare. But when they discover that she’s telling the truth, it’s too late.

Runtime: 1 Hour 17 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Ravage starts as nature photographer Harper Sykes (Dexter-Jones) is recounting the events which left her in her condition, which sees her stumbling upon a group of rednecks torturing someone.

Harper finds herself captured by the group, with Ravener (Longstreet) looking to put her in part of their twisted games, only it turns out Harper knows how the handle herself, with a mix of her escaping and preparing to get out of the valley she is trapped in.

Thoughts on Ravage

Characters – Harper Sykes is a nature photographer, her work is respected around the world, with her latest search for a long thought extinct species finding her in the Watchatoomy Valley, where she witnesses a crime, trying to expose the truth finds her needing to use her own survival skills to try and survive from the killer lurking in the valley, always showing her abilities to stay ahead of the game. When it comes to the other characters, we have Ravener, who is leading the hunt for Harper, most other characters don’t get much time, usually setting up an incident for Harper to find herself in.

Performances – Annabelle Dexter-Jones is brilliant to watch, be it her cold deliver in the story of the events, the action her character goes through and the way we see her constantly showing the calculated mind rolling. We do get a small appearance from Bruce Dern, which doesn’t steal the spotlight, while Robert Longstreet, brings all the seedy evil character to life.

Story – The story here follows a photographer that stumbles upon a meth murder, finding herself needing to show her survival skills to fight back against an evil. This story does give us a revenge style that we have seen before, one where the female character shows strength the criminals didn’t believe they could have, the revenge style is similar to the ‘I Spit on Your Grave’ without the same awful start, it does feel very formulaic, until we get the shock of what happened to Harper, as we know from the opening she is left in a hospital because of the events of her ordeal.

Thriller – The thriller side of the film comes from seeing how Harper is fighting back, each scene is slow build in tension, though we know we are waiting for the mega explosive moment.

Settings – The film leaves us in the remote valley, where Harper must learn to adapt to this area.

Scene of the Movie – The shock reveal.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – It does seem slightly too formulaic.

Final Thoughts – This is a by the book thriller that does everything right and is saved by the shocking reveal in the final moment of the film.

Signature Entertainment presents Ravage on Digital HD 5th October

Director: Wes Llewellyn

Writer: James M De Vince, Reuben Evans, Billy Falcon, Better Sullican, Bob Saenz (Screenplay)

Starring: Corbin Bernsen, John Schneider, Natasha Bure, Kurt Yue, Jenn Gotzon, Sandra Ellis Lafferty, Jenn Gotzon, Jim E Chandler

Plot: Sparks fly between a famous model and a farmer with a young daughter when she visits her childhood home. The town is in danger of losing their beloved Santaland festival, but miracles can happen with a little love, family, and faith.

Tagline – Where do you find your value? Enjoy this Christmas miracle.

Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Farmer and the Belle: Saving Santaland starts when an aging model Belle Winters (Gotzon) goes in search for a bracelet she once lost at Santaland when she was a child. This will see Belle learn that her old pen pal Josh (Chandler) is still running the farm, but this might be the last year they are open.

As Belle spends time on the farm, she starts to look at life in another light, one where she could be happy out of the spotlight she had craved for her whole life.

Thoughts on The Farmer and the Belle: saving Santaland

Characters – Belle Winters is an aging fashion model, she is trying to hold onto the last few years of the spotlight, which is seeing the jobs dry up for her, her partner had just moved on, leaving her aimless in her life, until she decides to return to Santaland, a place which was big for her childhood. Belle will learn a lot with her time spent on the farm, learning about the life that Josh had without her. Josh is a widowed father who never left Santaland, he runs the church and is giving Belle the welcome return, showing her more about how life is about enjoyment not material fame. Adele is the daughter of Josh, she loves have Belle around, as she has been dealing with losing her mother in her own way.

Performances – Jenn Gotzon in the leading role is great to watch, she brings the laughs in the film, where her character most go through the self-discover arc through the film, getting to have plenty of fun in the diva side of the role. Jim E Chandler is great too, with her much straighter, calm down the middle character, he shows his character keeping things inside during the problems they are facing. The supporting cast get their moments of impact, through the film too.

Story – The story here follows a famous aging model who returns to a childhood holiday camp of Santaland in search of discovering something from her past, only to see that not much has changed and the place needs saving, facing her past and searching for her future. This story does bring to life the idea of showing us how life can take you on strange journeys, but the ones you make are always for a reason, you can find hope in a location you never imagined and learn that life will always have a plan for you. We get to see how people will have sides to them that will be filled with good and bad before you are a major part of their life, they will need moments in their life when your weren’t around that will define them, along with having the good old fashion message about how important Christmas can be for bringing people together.

Comedy/Romance – The comedy in the film is firmly involved in the Belle role, be it how she has a diva mentality at times or finds herself petrified of the animals. The romance comes from seeing what might well have been for the two if things had stayed the same in their lives.

Settings – Most of the film is set on Santaland farm, where we get to see more of the old-fashioned style of life which will show Belle more about life.

Scene of the Movie – The games begin.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Not enough is made of the fact models age out.

Final Thoughts – This is a delightful family Christmas movie that will bring love and joy to the people who watch and see just how love can come from anywhere.

DVD/VOD Release Date:11/17/20

Head Over to the Website to learn more about the movie Here