Tag Archives: 2020

Apr 4 2020

Dead by Dawn (2020) Movie Review

Director: Sean Cain

Writer: Wes Laurie (Screenplay)

Starring: Drew Lindsey Mitchell, Kelcey Watson, Jamie Bernadette, Bo Burroughs, Timothy Muskatell, Bobby Slaski, Detra Hicks

Plot: A suicidal man in a remote cabin is suddenly faced with protecting a kidnapped woman from three sexual deviants and their sadistic games.

Runtime: 1 Hour 25 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Enjoyable Slasher

Story: Dead by Dawn starts Lulu (Mitchell) walks out on her abusive relationship, looking to catch a ride, which only turns into a nightmare when she is taken by Neil (Burroughs), Chad (Muskatell) and Snack (Bernadette), Lulu does escape, finding shelter in a cabin in the woods, where depressed suicidal man Dylan (Watson) is thinking about ending his life.

With Lulu and Dylan working on a way to keep the others out, the three kidnapers need to find a way to get into the cabin, only the bigger secrets will be revealed during the wait.

Thoughts on Dead by Dawn

Characters – Lulu is an artist who is trapped in an abusive relationship, she tries to walk out on, only to find herself being kidnapped and forced into a sick torture, she does escape, seeking help, where we get to see the pain she has suffered, rather than seeing it, where she gives Dylan a meaning to keep fighting. Dylan is a depressed man, he has lost everything and is about to end his life before Lulu arrives on his doorstep. He decides to help her fight back against the people trying to kill her, using the memories of lost loved ones. Neil is the man that is running the kidnapping, he is psychotic in how he tries to control the situation, showing his power over people with how Snack is controlled by him. Snack was a former victim that has becomes Neil’s second, she is ruthless, never wanting to look back on the violent side she has gained.

Performances – Drew Lindsey Mitchell in the leading role does start strong in the film, but strangely, she doesn’t get that much more to do in the second half of the film. Kelcey Watson does show us how broken his character is, with this new meaning giving him extra hope, becoming the most interesting character and performer to watch through the film. Bo Burroughs fills the psychopath role well, with Jamie Bernadette bringing us a performance we haven’t seen from her before, a much darker one.

Story – The story here follows a young woman who has escaped a kidnapping situation to find herself in the middle of a battle of wits between her rescuer and kidnappers. The story does keep the ideas very simple, with most of the film being a battle between the two sides trying to get the upper hand, even though Lulu does seem to take the back seat while Dylan and Neil are the two in control. It does deal with a lot of issues around abuse, loss and living in pain you feel helpless in. one of the bigger known movies you could compare this to, would be ‘No One Lives’ with both sides having something bigger about what is happening behind the motivations they are doing this for.

Horror – The horror in the film is around what has happened and what would happen if Lulu is taken again.

Settings – The film keeps everything around the cabin, showing how there isn’t going to be help coming, why Dylan is away from the world and why the kidnapping has ended up here.

Special Effects – When it comes to the effects, we do get some strong effects when it comes to injuries, with one trap coming off very well.


Scene of the Movie – Pressure plate.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Lulu does seem to take a back burner in the second half of the film.

Final Thoughts – This is a strong game of wits between both sides, that holds back a lot with everybody getting a chance to show what this moment would mean to them.

Overall: Game of Wits 101.

Mar 31 2020

The Complex (2020) Review

Director: Paul Raschid

Writer: Lunn Renee Maxcy (Screenplay)

Starring: Michelle Mylett, Kate Dickie, Al Weaver, Kim Adis, Akie Kotabe, Beau Fowler, Rachel Petladwala

Plot: After being tasked with saving the life of a potential bio-weapons terrorist, two London scientists find themselves in a locked-down laboratory with time – and air – running out.

Runtime: This is an interactive movie, the action you take will give you the length of your experience.

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Entertaining Experience

Story: The Complex starts as a nerve agent has inflicted two people with Dr Amy Tennant (Mylett) and Rees Wakefield (Weaver) are treating the patients, leaving the decision in our own hands, as the audience. This is here to help us understand the type of decisions we will be facing.

5 years later Amy is working under the great doctor Nathalie Kensington (Dickie) trying to get funding for the latest invention that could improve medical technology, until one of the team gets dangerously ill, leading to Amy needing to uncover what went wrong before it becomes a bigger problem.

Thoughts on The Complex

Final Thoughts –This being an interactive movie does change some dynamics, first we will still look at the performances, Michelle Mylett, Kate Dickie, Al Weaver and Kim Adis are all wonderful to watch, they each have different directions their characters could go in, with them having to do plenty of different reactions depending on what we choice.

When we look into the story that is unfolding, it does target the idea that a medical enhancement being unleashed with us needing to figure out if it was an accident or for a greater reason. We get to decide the direction this story goes, with us needing to do Amy’s decision making along the way.

The big part of what makes The Complex different is the interactive style, because once you finish watching, you will get an assessment of you choices, with the potential of 9 different endings, meaning you will need to re-watch to try and get the different outcomes. I only did two different results, but you could easily go back through this to find the different branches to each story.

It will be easy to compare this to Black Mirror Bandersnatch, only that version went too deep into everything, sometimes losing direction, with The Complex, we contain the action within one building showing us, this concept works much better in the contained environment. This is a film that you can go through multiple times and still get something fresh out of it each time.

Overall: Experience You Need to Try.

THE COMPLEX a live action, interactive Sci-Fi thriller is released worldwide through PC, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch on 31st March 2020

Mar 30 2020

Rogue Warfare: Death of a Nation (2020) Movie Review

Director: Mike Gunther

Writer: Michael Day (Screenplay)

Starring: Will Yun Lee, Jermaine Love, Rory Markham, Bertrand-Xavier Corbi, Katie Keene, Fernando Chien, Chris Mulkey

Plot: The Black Mask Organization coordinates a twisted plot which will devastate the world within the next 36 hours.

Runtime: 1 Hour 35 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Nice Finish to Trilogy

Story: Rogue Warfare: Death of a Nation starts as Daniel (Lee) is still struggling with the effects of his time in captivity under the Supreme Leader (Ferris), suffering nightmares of wanting to get his revenge, with his team Ralph (Love), James (Markham), Jacques (Corbi), Galine (Keene) and Xu (Chien) preparing their next attack on The Black Mask Organization.

With the team searching for the Supreme Leader, he has one plan set up to get his revenge on the western world, the question is, can the team stop him before he unleashes his devastation on the world.

Thoughts on Rogue Warfare: Death of a Nation

Characters – Daniel returned to safety now, filled with more anger than before, wanting to kill the man who kept him captive for so long, his nightmares are showing him how this will reflect on his own life. He must make sure his mind is in the right place before leading his team on the next mission to finally stop the Supreme Leader before his plan is unleashed on the world. The soldiers around Daniel, are loyal, they are from different militaries from around the world and will always check that Daniel is ready to return. We have followed these soldiers for three films now, they have all be same through the trilogy.

Performances – Will Yun Lee takes centre stage here, he shows us the most about his character with the damaging time his character has been through during the film, showing glimpses of leadership, while the trauma can cause problems. The rest of the cast fill their roles very well never looking out of place as the different nationalities of military personal.

Story – The story here shows the continuing battle Daniel and his military unit are facing against the Black Mask Organisation led by the Supreme Leader as they look to stop his plan to build a bomb to destroy the western world. This story ramps back up the action showing the peril the world could be facing if the plan goes ahead, much like the last hour of a 24 season, we have built up to this to unleash the biggest attack, the most important attack and we even get involved with seeing how the PTSD Daniel could have suffered could affect his judgement through this mission.

Action – The action is military heavy, it does give us the biggest operation in the series so far, which is just what we were waiting for in a final battle.

Settings – The film continues the same settings, with the military base being created to be like a level in any video game, it used for different tactical spots during the mission.


Scene of the Movie – The final assault.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – If you haven’t seen the previous films, you might struggle to understand just how damaged Daniel is.

Final Thoughts – This is a nice conclusion to the trilogy, like the final episode in any continuous tv series, we get everything bigger, better and continues to show the continuing building unity between the unit.

Overall: Great Finish to Trilogy.

Rogue Warfare 3: Death Of A Nation will be available on Digital Download from 13th April and is available for Pre-Order here

Mar 25 2020

Ella Bella Bingo (2020) Movie Review

Director: Atle Solberg Blakseth, Frank Mosvold

Writer: Jeffrey Hylton, Frank Mosvold, Johnny Smith, Rob Sprackling (Screenplay) Frank Mosvold, Tom Petter Hanson, Trond Morten Venaasen (Creator)

Starring: (Voice Talents) Summer Fontana, Jack Fisher, Gard B Eidsvold, Mara Junot, Chris Anthony Lansdowne

Plot: Ella Bella Bingo (Elleville Elfrid) and Henry are best friends, but one day a new boy moves into the neighborhood and everything changes.

Runtime: 1 Hour 15 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Heart Warming Animation

Story: Ella Bella Bingo starts as the two best friends Ella and Henry perform magic tricks around town, with their chickens, they get into a range of adventures around town together. With one of their first shows about to happen, they get interrupted by a new kid Johnny, who offers Henry a chance to learn new tricks, leaving Ella to prepare alone.

This day will become difficult for Henry as he sees the two friends in his life, fighting over his attentions, with the idea of picking just one being one of the decisions, he can’t handle. Ella and Johnny need to put their differences aside to have a bigger group of friends that can have their own adventures.

Thoughts on Ella Bella Bingo

Characters – Ella has always been the one that creates the adventures for the pair, she has always planned to make them fun with the latest to start a circus between the two, she gets jealous when the new kid arrives in town and gets determined to prove she is the closer friend of Henry. Henry is Ella’s best friend, though when Johnny arrives in town, he wants to hang out with him, be interested in the new toys he has, he ends up getting caught up in the middle of a battle for his attention, causing him to go into hiding, spending the day with his father instead of the two friends. Johnny is the new kid in town, he comes into the neighbourhood acting extra cool, showing off his expensive toys, he wants to be Henry’s friend, with these new toys and after Henry runs away, always makes a point of showing off his fancy toys.

Story – The story here follows a perfect partnership friendship that gets shattered by a new kid in town, only for the two that clash needing to work together to fix the problems. This is a story that puts a firm spotlight on friendship, how hard it is to have, to start and maintain through changes in lives, showing the three young children needing to learn this is outstandingly done, this is a lesson people will always need to learn and for it to be told to the youngest members of society, is wonderful to see.

Settings – The film is set in the small town where everybody is close, which highlights how out of place the new kid would be, only for it to show how important welcoming people will be.

Animation – The animation looks great through the film, it does show us how you can get the message over with how the animation is displayed with comedy that doesn’t go over the top.


Scene of the Movie – The magic show.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The bull looks too much like Ferdinand.

Final Thoughts – This is a wonderful little family film with a firm message about friendship shining through.

Overall: Kids will Love.

Mar 14 2020

Bloodshot (2020) Movie Review

Director: Dave Wilson

Writer: Jeff Wadlow, Eric Heisserer (Screenplay) Kevin VanHook, Bob Layton, Don Perlin (Comic Book)

Starring: Vin Diesel, Guy Pearce, Eiza Gonzalez, Toby Kebbell, Sam Heughan, Talulah Riley

Plot: Ray Garrison, a slain soldier, is re-animated with superpowers.


Tagline – Being a hero is in his blood.

Runtime: 1 Hour 49 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Ambitious Action Film

Story: Bloodshot starts when soldier Ray Garrison (Diesel) sees his wife murdered, before taking a bullet to his head, waking up under the experiment of Dr Emil Harting (Pearce) who has bought him back to life swapping his blood for nano technology that re-animates his cells, giving him superpowers.

With Ray become a soldier that will kill for vengeance, he is unstoppable, until he learns the truth behind why he was created and decides to fight back.

Thoughts on Bloodshot

Characters – Ray Garrison is the soldier that gets killed by a psychotic killer, he doesn’t stay dead, he ends up being taken and turned into a super soldier with nano technology replacing his blood, making him stronger, faster and almost unkillable. He will get a target in his head and go all out to kill his target no matter what the odds. KT is another one of the creations, using her breathing technology to stay alive, used to help Ray get on target, though always being conflicted about her part in the missions. Jimmy Dalton is the heartless member of the team, who enjoys hurting people. Dr Emil Harting has made the soldiers, he has used technology to improve them and give them a second chance, only he has become obsessed with power he has created.

Performances – Vin Diesel is everything you expect him to be in the leading role, he doesn’t push himself to the next level, but handles the action fine. Gut Pearce is fine as the villain, while Eiza Gonzalez does make for the conflicted figure well, with one excellent action spree.

Story – The story here follows a re-animated soldier that is driven by revenge, until he learns the truth about his memories, where he can turn his new abilities against his creator. This is a comic book story, so we can see how this is going to be over the top and this is going to change how certain moments in film are read, though it is one of the most predictable stories you will ever see, once the first repeat happens, it does become clear what is happening and we are just waiting for Ray to learn the truth. The story is easy enough to watch, though it will never test the audience, because of the confuses around character introduction being false for the most part.

Action/Sci-Fi – The action is everything we have seen before, with a couple of flashy nano shots, this does mix into the sci-fi side of the film, which shows what is going on within the body of Ray, the two can create moments for the action, without being anything more than we have seen before.

Settings – The film uses the high-tech research facility for the creation, while sending us to the usual ambush locations for the big fight moments.

Special Effects – The effects work well enough, though with the nano technology almost hiding what is on screen at times.


Scene of the Movie – The KT fight.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Very predictable.

Final Thoughts – This is a simple easy to watch action sci-fi film, it doesn’t get as dark, bloody or edgy as it could be.

Overall: Easy to Watch.