Jul 8 2021

Black Medicine (2021) Movie Review

Black Medicine – Tense Thriller

Director: Colum Eastwood

Writer: Colum Eastwood (Screenplay)

Starring: Amybeth McNulty, Orla Brady, Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Desmond Eastwood, Beccy Henderson, Lalor Roddy

Plot: Black Medicine follows a black-market medic who carries out illegal operations for the criminal underworld. When she gives refuge to a young girl, she must choose between breaking her medical oath or crossing her ruthless employers.

Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Black Medicine starts when black-market medic Jo (Campbell-Hughes) does job of the records for money after being struck off the medical side of things, she is hired for the latest job with her history being used to help persuade her to complete a procedure for Bernadette (Brady) to save her daughter.

When Jo learns the truth about what the plan is, she is forced to make an impossible decision to help Bernadette sacrifice a homeless teenager Aine (McNulty) or do the right thing, putting her in a position where she is put through the impossible decision.

Thoughts on Black Medicine

Characters & Performances – Jo is an off the grid nurse who uses her skills to help people for money without questions being asked. She is given a new job, which will see her needing to make an impossible decision after learning the truth about the job. Antonia Campbell-Hughes does a great job in her role, she will show us just how conflicted her character will be through the events of the film. Bernadette is the woman that looks to hire Jo, she offers big money, with the promise the procedure isn’t a complicated one, one that would help her daughter out. Orla Brady does show us just how far a mother would go to save their daughter from what could happen to them. Aine is the homeless teenager that has been tricked into being part of this decision, she is promised money, but is trying to escape, needing Jo to help her find safety. Amybeth McNulty does show us how someone can fall off the tracks and taken advantage of in this world. We do meet other people that have helped Jo in the past an d others that will be working for Bernadette to make things happen.

Story – The story here follows an underground nurse that is hired for a job she isn’t expecting, one that will see her needing to put her moral oath in question when she learns the truth about what the plan truly is about. This is an interesting thriller that will show us just how difficult one person’s life can become when it comes to dealing with the heartache of their personal life, when they are given a chance to save someone else’s life for a price. It does bring an edgy side to it, while having the message about how the rich will look to take advantage of the poor. We will be left guessing as to how everything will play out, because even the wrong decision at the wrong time could see a bigger tragedy.

Themes – Black Medicine is an Irish thriller that will use the background of the country to show how people will need to turn to a few off the grid jobs to try and make it through the day. We are left to see how the underworld of criminal activities operate when it comes to helping people survive different situations.

Signature Entertainment presents Black Medicine on Digital Platforms 12^th July

Final Thoughts – Black Medicine is a tidy thriller leaving us with a massive moral oath dilemma throughout the film.

Jul 8 2021

ABC Film Challenge – Comedy – H- The House of Tomorrow (2017) Movie Review

Director: Peter Livolsi

Writer: Peter Livolsi (Screenplay) Peter Bognanni (Novel)

Starring: Asa Butterfield, Alex Wolff, Nick Offerman, Ellen Burstyn, Fred Armisen, Maude Apatow

Plot: The film tells futurist, architect, and inventor R. Buckminster Fuller’s incredible story through two teens hoping to get laid, become punk gods, and survive high school.

Tagline – Make Your Own Future

Runtime: 1 Hour 25 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Enjoyable Comedy

Story: The House of Tomorrow starts as Sebastian (Butterfield) and his grandmother Josephine (Burstyn) are showing of their house of tomorrow to a church group, when Josephine suffers a stroke, with Alan (Offerman) and his son Jared (Wolff) taking him during his time of need, offering him friendship and a new look to life, while his grandmother recovers.

Jared introduces Sebastian to punk music, with the two looking to start their own band, only Jared needs to start look after his own health, which is always going to hold him back, no matter how hard he tries to get the most out of life.

Thoughts on The House of Tomorrow

Characters – Sebastian has been raised in a house of the future, one that has seen him not experience the outside world, just having the tours around the home, when his grandmother has a stroke, he makes a friend in the outside world and learns that their will be more to life. Jared is the teenager that is the same age as Sebastian, he has his own health problems which will shorten his life, his love of punk helps him wanting to be a rebel and with Sebastian, he wants to start a band. Alan is Jared’s father that runs a church, he offers to help Sebastian, though he is always trying to care about his son’s health. Josephine is the grandmother that worked with the great mind behind the house of tomorrow, she has continued his work, showing her house as part of the tour.

Performances – Asa Butterfield and Alex Wolff work very well together, they balance out the differences between the characters well through the film, while Nick Offerman is as always entertaining to watch.

Story – The story here follows two teenagers from different worlds that find each other by chance and end up starting a band and discovering they is more to life. This is like most stories about discovering more about yourself, it gives us two people from different worlds that their meeting will bring them closer together unlike anything before, it shows that you can go out there and live your own life, despite the obstacles that may be around you. It doesn’t offer anything new to this, but shows we can learn from our past to enjoy our future.

Comedy – The comedy in this film is everything you would imagine, Nick Offerman gets most of the laughs, without trying.

Settings – The film uses the settings to show the different homes the two teenagers have come from, each is different and sees the other as something they hadn’t experienced before.

Scene of the Movie – The gig.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – We have seen this before.

Final Thoughts – This is an enjoyable coming of age comedy that shows the importance of living life to the fullest once again.

Overall: Enjoyable.

Jul 8 2021

The Nest (2021) Movie Review

Director: James Suttles

Writer: Jennifer Trudrung (Screenplay)

Starring: Dee Wallace, Sarah Navratil, Maple Suttles, Kevin Patrick Murphy, Drez Ryan, Blaque Fowler

Plot: A mother’s reality erodes around her as she struggles to fathom the entangled web of her daughter’s separation anxiety brought on by parasitic creatures within a stuffed bear.

Tagline – Don’t let the bed bugs bite.

Runtime: 1 Hour 43 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Nest starts when Beth (Navratil) and Jack (Murphy) get their daughter Meg (Suttles) a new stuffed bear from a garage sale, the bear does have a secret, one that starts to take over Meg. With Meg changing the family is trying to figure out why, but soon they will learn what the parasite living inside the bear really wants.

As Beth sees the change in Meg, she tries to get to the bottom of it before she loses her daughter, believing she can help put her back on the right path before it is too late.

Thoughts on The Nest

Characters & Performances – Beth is the mother that is starting to notice the change in her daughter, she believes it is a form of anxiety, trying to help keep the connection between the two, she is also filled with a regret which cost the family, believing it might be her fault the family is become more distant. Sarah Navratil in this role does give us the concerned mother role with ease, showing us just how far a mother will go to do the right thing for their child. Meg is the daughter that gets the new teddy bear to help ease her separation anxiety, this only starts to make her act stranger around the home and people, acting out of character to everyone around her. Jack is the father who is trying to play the middle ground between the two, but like most father figures in these types of horrors, we get left with them taking the back seat on everything happening. We do have the horror icon Dee Wallace in this film, playing the grandmother role, wanting to make sure everybody stays connected whatever might happen.

Story – The story here follows a young girl that gets a new teddy bear, a teddy bear with a secret that starts to change the family due to a parasite within the bear slowly starting to infect the family. This is a slow burning story that will mix the demon environment with a creature feature, with the slow change within the family. The story will head down a disturbing line, without getting into the truly scary line, which it feels like it wants to.

Themes – The Nest is a horror thriller that turns the creature feature on its head with the inclusion of the demon factors, showing us just how the changes could easily be the same as any demonic possession movie, with the whole film taking place within the family home, adding to the evil that is changing things. The creature creations are slowly revealed, with each one having the creepy feel to them.

THE NEST will be available at Redbox for an exclusive two-week window beginning July 6 before a wide Digital and DVD release on July 20.

Final Thoughts – The Nest is a disturbingly creepy creature feature that will spin the typical ideas of the idea.