George Lucas returns, ready to milk more money from a frothing science fiction cult that still takes his lousy writing like the sadomasochists we have become.
My plot summary will be spotty, since the politics here are more complicated than "All the President's Men." On her way to an important senate vote, someone tries to kill cutie Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman). Protection is called in in the form of wiser Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and brooding hunky Annakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen). After another attempt, and a fantastic chase scene in flying vehicles, Obi-Wan investigates whomever is behind the assassination plots as Annakin takes Padme to her home planet to hide out. Meanwhile, Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) and Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz) sit around in lotus positions and wring their respective appendages as civil war appears imminent in the galaxy.
Obi-Wan traces his investigations to a far off planet, where he finds a bounty hunter named Jengo Fett and a massive army of his clones, all created for the use of the good guys...I think. Obi and Fett fight, in another impressive battle on the watery planet. In the meantime, Padme and Annakin are making like Lady and the Tramp, full of goo goo eyes and light petting. Annakin goes searching for his mother, finds her dying, and goes berserk, killing all of those responsible for her kidnapping, men, women, and children (off screen).
Obi-Wan is captured by the evil minions run by Dooku (Christopher Lee), our villain for the film. Padme and Annakin try a rescue, are captured after getting trapped in a massive droid factory, and the reunited trio must fight off assorted execution monsters. As Yoda, Mace, and all those clones come in to save the day, the final half hour is a dazzling display of technical marvel, readying us for the next film.
After sitting through "Episode I," this film was the first installment of "Star Wars" I chose not to see in the theaters. The scenes with Ewan McGregor crack and pop with tension, he does a fantastic Alec Guinness impression without slowing down physically. Christensen and Portman are both young, smart, and good looking performers who are given stilted dialogue to try and work with. Their scenes are the silliest love scenes since Ben and Liv in "Armageddon." The normally superb Samuel L. Jackson is as stiff as his costume.
The blame must fall squarely on the shoulders of Master Lucas. His actors seem so overwhelmed to be in a "Star Wars" film that they treat their lines with a reverence that sucks all the fun out of it. Lucas tries to hit on so many plot points and ideas, he spreads himself too thin. The first three films in the series were great fun, but these prequels are not working! Why didn't George go the "The Godfather Part II" route and move his story forward while showing us what happened to get us there in the first place? The fact that we know Annakin is going to turn into Darth Vader takes the solar winds out of his sails, and he tries to cover by dazzling us with pretty lights and shiny objects.
I remember the hoopla that sprung up with each release of the first three films. It was good guys versus bad guys, and we loved the good guys. In the new films, our brains are overrun with hints of those films, and I, for one, miss them.
The special effects are brilliant, McGregor is excellent, but watching this film is like reading the recipe for a cake you just ate- there is no point to it, you have already consumed the payoff. I am disappointed with George Lucas.
Monday, April 20, 2026
Red Shoe Diaries 3: Another Woman's Lipstick (1993)
David Duchovny still plays Jake, the betrayed man who only gets through life thanks to his dog Stella and a personals ad that requests sexual situations from its readers.
The responses are anonymous, Jake reads the letters while trying to understand what happened to him when he lost his one true love, and the viewer is tantalized with nude B name actors and actresses in this semi-popular late night cable series. Each of the three tales on the video is reviewed separately below:
"Just Like That" (Directed by Ted Kotcheff) (1992)
This is a rather simple tale, without much depth or sex. The always cute Nina Siemaszko is a law student working as a receptionist in a law office. She meets bike messenger Kyle (Matt LeBlanc, in a role not even Joey would have taken on "Friends") and Phillip (Tcheky Karyo). She begins dating both, and having amazingly well lit sex with both, and eventually suffers a bit of a breakdown trying to keep her relationships straight. While nothing earth shattering happens, all eyes are on Nina. The entire video has a distinct lack of male nudity (sorry, ladies and some gents) but Siemaszko is flat out gorgeous. Watching a familiar face like LeBlanc go through the paces is also entertaining, although he does not get as much bed time with Nina as Karyo does. An average effort, directed by a name director. (3/5*)
"Another Woman's Lipstick" (Directed by Zalman King) (1992)
I don't know who in the world would want to cheat on Maryam D'Abo, but Robert (Kevin Haley) does with Christina Fulton. Maryam finds out, mopes a bit, spies on her husband, then tries to seduce the other woman herself. An interesting concept turns into all-style as King goes through the motions here. A body double may have been used in some close-up shots of D'Abo, and even the sex is rather mild. Watch for Fulton's striptease with a lamp, as concern for light bulb burns take precedence over any erotica. (2/5*)
"Talk to Me, Baby" (Directed by Rafael Eisenman)
Bud (Richard Tyson) and his girlfriend Lydie Denier fight constantly but have an incredible sexual history. One night out, Bud tries to comfort a wet T-shirt contest winner by having sex with her in the men's room, and is discovered by Denier. The rest of the episode is a virtual monologue as Bud tries to defend himself, tries to get Denier to talk, and eventually goes to great lengths in a souped up muscle car to do so. Tyson is an underrated actor who also starred in "Two Moon Junction," and has been banished to either softcore or secondary roles. For such a jerk, Bud does elicit some sympathy. Also watchable are some of Bud's remembrances of the past. While most of the sex in this series was mostly over-choreographed nibbling exercises, there is a shower scene here that made me drop my Pop-Tart. The best of the video. (4/5*)
David Duchovny's Jake serves as a bumper between the three episodes, and his scenes are a bore. I remember the first "Red Shoe Diaries," and Jake's heartfelt pain, but now he is just a weird guy who reads smut and talks to his trained dog, reaching no insightful conclusions about his circumstances through the musky missives.
"Red Shoe Diaries 3: Another Woman's Lipstick" is a mixed bag of softcore erotica. If you are a fan of the series, then by all means go for it. If you and your partner are looking for something to jazz up your nightlife, maybe you'll find it. If you are a fat divorced guy reviewing obscure videos on the internet, you will give this an average rating and move on.
"Just Like That" (Directed by Ted Kotcheff) (1992)
This is a rather simple tale, without much depth or sex. The always cute Nina Siemaszko is a law student working as a receptionist in a law office. She meets bike messenger Kyle (Matt LeBlanc, in a role not even Joey would have taken on "Friends") and Phillip (Tcheky Karyo). She begins dating both, and having amazingly well lit sex with both, and eventually suffers a bit of a breakdown trying to keep her relationships straight. While nothing earth shattering happens, all eyes are on Nina. The entire video has a distinct lack of male nudity (sorry, ladies and some gents) but Siemaszko is flat out gorgeous. Watching a familiar face like LeBlanc go through the paces is also entertaining, although he does not get as much bed time with Nina as Karyo does. An average effort, directed by a name director. (3/5*)
"Another Woman's Lipstick" (Directed by Zalman King) (1992)
I don't know who in the world would want to cheat on Maryam D'Abo, but Robert (Kevin Haley) does with Christina Fulton. Maryam finds out, mopes a bit, spies on her husband, then tries to seduce the other woman herself. An interesting concept turns into all-style as King goes through the motions here. A body double may have been used in some close-up shots of D'Abo, and even the sex is rather mild. Watch for Fulton's striptease with a lamp, as concern for light bulb burns take precedence over any erotica. (2/5*)
"Talk to Me, Baby" (Directed by Rafael Eisenman)
Bud (Richard Tyson) and his girlfriend Lydie Denier fight constantly but have an incredible sexual history. One night out, Bud tries to comfort a wet T-shirt contest winner by having sex with her in the men's room, and is discovered by Denier. The rest of the episode is a virtual monologue as Bud tries to defend himself, tries to get Denier to talk, and eventually goes to great lengths in a souped up muscle car to do so. Tyson is an underrated actor who also starred in "Two Moon Junction," and has been banished to either softcore or secondary roles. For such a jerk, Bud does elicit some sympathy. Also watchable are some of Bud's remembrances of the past. While most of the sex in this series was mostly over-choreographed nibbling exercises, there is a shower scene here that made me drop my Pop-Tart. The best of the video. (4/5*)
David Duchovny's Jake serves as a bumper between the three episodes, and his scenes are a bore. I remember the first "Red Shoe Diaries," and Jake's heartfelt pain, but now he is just a weird guy who reads smut and talks to his trained dog, reaching no insightful conclusions about his circumstances through the musky missives.
"Red Shoe Diaries 3: Another Woman's Lipstick" is a mixed bag of softcore erotica. If you are a fan of the series, then by all means go for it. If you and your partner are looking for something to jazz up your nightlife, maybe you'll find it. If you are a fat divorced guy reviewing obscure videos on the internet, you will give this an average rating and move on.
Jesus: Path of Faith (1999)
This film goes to the Holy Land and retraces the life of Jesus Christ by visiting the actual places where the stories found in the New Testament take place. However...
...the narrator uses the term "traditional site" more often than not, and we can only assume the miracles mentioned took place at the location where a chapel sits or a sign points the way for pilgrimages.
The video box proudly proclaims that the documentary will visit forty sites...in fifty two minutes. You may be familiar with that television commercial where the two women are taken on a whirlwind tour of Rome in a car, and one woman's pictures do not turn out well because of the speed of the driver. I felt this way about the documentary.
The introduction jumps back and forth between Jerusalem, Nazareth, Bethlehem, and Nazareth again, getting ahead of itself before finally settling down and telling a time linear story of Jesus' life. All the major sites are hit: Jordan River, Desert of Judea (with the best footage featuring monasteries that are literally hugging cliff walls), and St. Peter's house.
Through the different locations, the narrator tells us of Jesus' life and what occurred at each spot. The feeding of five thousand, the Tomb of Lazarus, and his eventual crucifixion are all highlighted, and the camera shows us the beautiful chapels that have been built on the "traditional sites" as well as floods of Christian pilgrims celebrating Jesus.
While the architecture and scenery are sights (or sites?) to behold, the film left me empty. A thorough knowledge of Christianity is not needed to follow the video. However, I thought each location could have driven a fifty two minute video of its own. Forty locations in fifty two minutes averages to just over one minutes per location. Lazarus' tomb is given a scant fifteen seconds! Also, the sweeping aerial shots are gorgeous until you see the shadow of the camera's helicopter creep in and out of frame. I am not that much of a purist, I know cameramen need to fly, but the intrusion of the modern technology on these holy sites interrupted the mood the film makers were trying to bring. It would be like a cell phone ringing during a funeral.
There is no director credited, as the film was assembled from many camera crews as opposed to being edited together by one central visionary.
I know I may never see these places in person, but I wish the producers had taken the extra step on such a worldwide subject.
The video box proudly proclaims that the documentary will visit forty sites...in fifty two minutes. You may be familiar with that television commercial where the two women are taken on a whirlwind tour of Rome in a car, and one woman's pictures do not turn out well because of the speed of the driver. I felt this way about the documentary.
The introduction jumps back and forth between Jerusalem, Nazareth, Bethlehem, and Nazareth again, getting ahead of itself before finally settling down and telling a time linear story of Jesus' life. All the major sites are hit: Jordan River, Desert of Judea (with the best footage featuring monasteries that are literally hugging cliff walls), and St. Peter's house.
Through the different locations, the narrator tells us of Jesus' life and what occurred at each spot. The feeding of five thousand, the Tomb of Lazarus, and his eventual crucifixion are all highlighted, and the camera shows us the beautiful chapels that have been built on the "traditional sites" as well as floods of Christian pilgrims celebrating Jesus.
While the architecture and scenery are sights (or sites?) to behold, the film left me empty. A thorough knowledge of Christianity is not needed to follow the video. However, I thought each location could have driven a fifty two minute video of its own. Forty locations in fifty two minutes averages to just over one minutes per location. Lazarus' tomb is given a scant fifteen seconds! Also, the sweeping aerial shots are gorgeous until you see the shadow of the camera's helicopter creep in and out of frame. I am not that much of a purist, I know cameramen need to fly, but the intrusion of the modern technology on these holy sites interrupted the mood the film makers were trying to bring. It would be like a cell phone ringing during a funeral.
There is no director credited, as the film was assembled from many camera crews as opposed to being edited together by one central visionary.
I know I may never see these places in person, but I wish the producers had taken the extra step on such a worldwide subject.
On the Couch (2004)
Photographer Tom Bianchi interviews and photographs over a dozen men in their altogether, digging into their psyche to uncover their innermost fears and fantasies...or just to watch them have hot gay sex.
The DVD set is divided between two discs. Volume One is San Francisco, where Bianchi has his models pleasure themselves and each other on a couch in his home. The men are not models, and the couch metaphor carries over into what the men think of their sexuality. Volume Two takes place in Toronto, where a bed and breakfast's love seat boldly carries on with the "on the couch" motif. In Canada, he has a shoot with four men at once, and eventually becomes part of a shoot with a slave-like subject.
Both discs run about three hours total, and I wished for something different almost as soon as the first disc began. The viewer is mislead into thinking this is going to be a behind-the-scenes documentary about the photo shoots. The video makers turn on some very drowsy music and shoot the models, with Tom hanging around the edge taking his photographs. As the shoot goes on, I became progressively bored (and sleepy).
Bianchi pushes the fact that these men are not professional models, but they look it. If you expect Average Joe Six Pack to come in and drop his trousers, you will be disappointed. One of the models, a Canadian television personality, does not want to show his penis in the shoot with his lover, and Bianchi almost cancels the shoot. So Bianchi wants only hot looking Everyday Guys who are willing to get hard for the camera, outside life be damned.
Eventually, "On the Couch" is all sound and fury signifying horniness. The models come in and do their thing, and the probing interviews are little more than small talk. One guy mentions his kids before reaching into his underwear, I frankly wanted to hear more about his kids. Bianchi was disappointed with homosexual erotica, and decided to make his own. He falls into the same trap as other photographers, accepting only the perfect, while trying to appeal to the average gay man who had hoped to be represented in Bianchi's work. There is more designer underwear on display than the skivvies gondola at the outlet mall, and the men are clean and perfect.
If it looks like overly handsome men making love, smells like overly handsome men making love, and sounds like overly handsome men making love, then it is not average gay men given the chance to get in touch with their sexual side. Want gay porn? Buy this. Want a great documentary about sexual identity and homosexuality? Buy "The Cockettes."
The DVD set is divided between two discs. Volume One is San Francisco, where Bianchi has his models pleasure themselves and each other on a couch in his home. The men are not models, and the couch metaphor carries over into what the men think of their sexuality. Volume Two takes place in Toronto, where a bed and breakfast's love seat boldly carries on with the "on the couch" motif. In Canada, he has a shoot with four men at once, and eventually becomes part of a shoot with a slave-like subject.
Both discs run about three hours total, and I wished for something different almost as soon as the first disc began. The viewer is mislead into thinking this is going to be a behind-the-scenes documentary about the photo shoots. The video makers turn on some very drowsy music and shoot the models, with Tom hanging around the edge taking his photographs. As the shoot goes on, I became progressively bored (and sleepy).
Bianchi pushes the fact that these men are not professional models, but they look it. If you expect Average Joe Six Pack to come in and drop his trousers, you will be disappointed. One of the models, a Canadian television personality, does not want to show his penis in the shoot with his lover, and Bianchi almost cancels the shoot. So Bianchi wants only hot looking Everyday Guys who are willing to get hard for the camera, outside life be damned.
Eventually, "On the Couch" is all sound and fury signifying horniness. The models come in and do their thing, and the probing interviews are little more than small talk. One guy mentions his kids before reaching into his underwear, I frankly wanted to hear more about his kids. Bianchi was disappointed with homosexual erotica, and decided to make his own. He falls into the same trap as other photographers, accepting only the perfect, while trying to appeal to the average gay man who had hoped to be represented in Bianchi's work. There is more designer underwear on display than the skivvies gondola at the outlet mall, and the men are clean and perfect.
If it looks like overly handsome men making love, smells like overly handsome men making love, and sounds like overly handsome men making love, then it is not average gay men given the chance to get in touch with their sexual side. Want gay porn? Buy this. Want a great documentary about sexual identity and homosexuality? Buy "The Cockettes."
The War That Changed War- Armored Warfare (1997)
This hour long video makes a big to-do about how World War II changed the world and the way we fight wars. Unfortunately, it barely makes any sort of point, and is so boring it took me three days to complete.
A sleepy-sounding narrator gives the history of tank warfare, tracing the success of Desert Storm back to lessons learned during WWII. Before then, horses ruled the battlefield until a young Winston Churchill of the British admiralty pushed for the fully operational tank. In order to confuse and squash any intermilitary competition, the Navy said they were working on a new water storage unit, and the "tank" name stuck.
The first tanks were mechanical nightmares, and since the world had just fought the war to end all wars (World War I), not many people paid attention to the armored vehicles...except Adolf Hitler. Panzers were developed en masse, and the invasion of Poland took a matter of weeks. The Allies were fooled, and the Nazis went around static defenses to take France in lightning time as well. The Blitzkrieg was so quick, they would outrun their own supply lines.
The United States had no tank program until the late 1930's, when the first ones began rolling off a former Chrysler plant's assembly line. The video then covers Commander Rommel's success in northern Africa, and the British forces there that also used tanks to their favor.
Germany invaded Russia, not realizing the Russians not only defended differently, they had some pretty impressive tanks of their own. Three million German soldiers were on the front, and Russia held her own even after the Nazis regrouped and came up with a better tank. After D-Day, the Rommel of the United States, General John Wood, commanded the tanks to everyone's benefit in Europe, especially a young sergeant's idea to clear the giant French hedgerows that had become a detriment to the allies.
General Colin Powell is shown during Desert Storm, using the same type of strategy used in WWII to defeat the ego inflated Iraqi army. The video was produced in the mid-1990's, and that was the last war we had had until that point.
While many of the facts are interesting, and might make a history buff do more research (especially on Wood, a name I was not familiar with), the video is terrible. The entire hour is filled with stock footage and some brief but decent battlefield maps. There are no contemporary interviews, no experts, no recreations, just lots of black and white footage of what could be any battle in the war, and the dull narration.
"The War That Changed War" is a bold title, but the producers refuse to back it up with interesting footage, or interest at all. This plays like a poorly edited Broadcasting class project (believe me, I know from whence I speak), and it is astounding that this is just one video in a series. I doubt the other entries are any better, but if I ever find myself suffering from insomnia, I will check them out and review them here. In the meantime, do not surrender to this video hype.
A sleepy-sounding narrator gives the history of tank warfare, tracing the success of Desert Storm back to lessons learned during WWII. Before then, horses ruled the battlefield until a young Winston Churchill of the British admiralty pushed for the fully operational tank. In order to confuse and squash any intermilitary competition, the Navy said they were working on a new water storage unit, and the "tank" name stuck.
The first tanks were mechanical nightmares, and since the world had just fought the war to end all wars (World War I), not many people paid attention to the armored vehicles...except Adolf Hitler. Panzers were developed en masse, and the invasion of Poland took a matter of weeks. The Allies were fooled, and the Nazis went around static defenses to take France in lightning time as well. The Blitzkrieg was so quick, they would outrun their own supply lines.
The United States had no tank program until the late 1930's, when the first ones began rolling off a former Chrysler plant's assembly line. The video then covers Commander Rommel's success in northern Africa, and the British forces there that also used tanks to their favor.
Germany invaded Russia, not realizing the Russians not only defended differently, they had some pretty impressive tanks of their own. Three million German soldiers were on the front, and Russia held her own even after the Nazis regrouped and came up with a better tank. After D-Day, the Rommel of the United States, General John Wood, commanded the tanks to everyone's benefit in Europe, especially a young sergeant's idea to clear the giant French hedgerows that had become a detriment to the allies.
General Colin Powell is shown during Desert Storm, using the same type of strategy used in WWII to defeat the ego inflated Iraqi army. The video was produced in the mid-1990's, and that was the last war we had had until that point.
While many of the facts are interesting, and might make a history buff do more research (especially on Wood, a name I was not familiar with), the video is terrible. The entire hour is filled with stock footage and some brief but decent battlefield maps. There are no contemporary interviews, no experts, no recreations, just lots of black and white footage of what could be any battle in the war, and the dull narration.
"The War That Changed War" is a bold title, but the producers refuse to back it up with interesting footage, or interest at all. This plays like a poorly edited Broadcasting class project (believe me, I know from whence I speak), and it is astounding that this is just one video in a series. I doubt the other entries are any better, but if I ever find myself suffering from insomnia, I will check them out and review them here. In the meantime, do not surrender to this video hype.
Determinism (2011)
Penn State has given the nation many things over the years- like Joe Paterno and TV's "Paranormal State" (featuring the lovely Katrina...and something about ghosts). I'm sure there are famous alumni and what-not, but the newest artistic force to come out of the university are identical twin brothers Ranju and Sanjit Majumdar, who have crafted this mean little crime thriller.
Alec (Sanjit Majumdar) has flunked out of Burroughs University. His parents have cut him off, and he cannot find a way back home to New Jersey. After hitting up some friends who are still attending school, he decides on one of those criminal plans that always seem foolproof, but in reality is a chaotic train wreck just waiting to happen.
Alec decides to burglarize Jeff (Geoffrey Ohen), a local drug dealer. He recruits his recovering addict friend Tristan (Ryan Lewis) with a little cocaine, but during the crime Jeff walks in and is shot and killed. The underground crime scene in the small town reels, and reacts violently. Chuck (Alan Van Pelt), the guy who got Alec and Tristan their weapons, winds up dead, and other seemingly small-time hoods suddenly start gunning big-time for the panicking duo...oh, and Tristan's cute girlfriend Lynn (Darcel Grant) is feeling ignored.
"Determinism" has one of those complicated storylines that cannot be detailed too much without spoiling some major plot points. The Majumdar brothers have taken a tried and true tale, and tweaked it using what they had. Out of necessity, they set the film on a college campus, and surrounding college apartments (which must look the exact same no matter where you live in this country), and even bravely shoot in the middle of winter and mostly at night. Aside from a little awkwardness, I thoroughly enjoyed this.
In addition to writing, acting, and producing, the brothers' names are all over the credits. They did an outstanding job, I enjoyed the moody cinematography and brisk editing. Sanjit is almost sympathetic as Alec, complaining about people reacting to him being of Indian descent, yet the viewer is not preached to. There is an underlying element about race throughout the film, it's as if nothing and everything concern where these characters' ancestry hails from. Lewis is very good as a twitchy Tristan, and plays very well off of Majumdar. Ismael Iniguez as Wallington is great, watching him go from newbie drug dealer to cold-blooded gangster is interesting to watch. I also liked Mike Preyer as Kallen.
The story is a labyrinth of plot, but the introductory onscreen naming of the characters helped. Much of the entertainment lies in the complications Alec and Tristan bring upon themselves. You don't necessarily hope they succeed, but their respective downward spirals are believable, as are the peripheral criminals who populate the campus. Settling for actual locations help the film's realism, with some darkly comic moments coming from these gun-toting hoodlums worried about class and art projects.
The Majumdar brothers have graduated from college, according to the film's website, and hopefully "Determinism" is the start of bigger things to come.
Alec (Sanjit Majumdar) has flunked out of Burroughs University. His parents have cut him off, and he cannot find a way back home to New Jersey. After hitting up some friends who are still attending school, he decides on one of those criminal plans that always seem foolproof, but in reality is a chaotic train wreck just waiting to happen.
Alec decides to burglarize Jeff (Geoffrey Ohen), a local drug dealer. He recruits his recovering addict friend Tristan (Ryan Lewis) with a little cocaine, but during the crime Jeff walks in and is shot and killed. The underground crime scene in the small town reels, and reacts violently. Chuck (Alan Van Pelt), the guy who got Alec and Tristan their weapons, winds up dead, and other seemingly small-time hoods suddenly start gunning big-time for the panicking duo...oh, and Tristan's cute girlfriend Lynn (Darcel Grant) is feeling ignored.
"Determinism" has one of those complicated storylines that cannot be detailed too much without spoiling some major plot points. The Majumdar brothers have taken a tried and true tale, and tweaked it using what they had. Out of necessity, they set the film on a college campus, and surrounding college apartments (which must look the exact same no matter where you live in this country), and even bravely shoot in the middle of winter and mostly at night. Aside from a little awkwardness, I thoroughly enjoyed this.
In addition to writing, acting, and producing, the brothers' names are all over the credits. They did an outstanding job, I enjoyed the moody cinematography and brisk editing. Sanjit is almost sympathetic as Alec, complaining about people reacting to him being of Indian descent, yet the viewer is not preached to. There is an underlying element about race throughout the film, it's as if nothing and everything concern where these characters' ancestry hails from. Lewis is very good as a twitchy Tristan, and plays very well off of Majumdar. Ismael Iniguez as Wallington is great, watching him go from newbie drug dealer to cold-blooded gangster is interesting to watch. I also liked Mike Preyer as Kallen.
The story is a labyrinth of plot, but the introductory onscreen naming of the characters helped. Much of the entertainment lies in the complications Alec and Tristan bring upon themselves. You don't necessarily hope they succeed, but their respective downward spirals are believable, as are the peripheral criminals who populate the campus. Settling for actual locations help the film's realism, with some darkly comic moments coming from these gun-toting hoodlums worried about class and art projects.
The Majumdar brothers have graduated from college, according to the film's website, and hopefully "Determinism" is the start of bigger things to come.
Broken Mile (2017)
Writer/director/cameraman Justin McConnell goes the Alfred Hitchcock/"Rope" route, presenting a thriller purportedly filmed in one shot without edits (although a little research online reveals that wasn't the case).
Shaun (Francesco Filice) wakes up in a pool of his own sick in a bathtub, stumbles out into a living room, and finds his girlfriend Sarah (Lea Lawrynowicz) dead of a drug overdose. He panics and runs, with his best friend and Sarah's real paramour Kenny (Patrick McFadden) hot on his heels (armed with a pistol). Shaun flees to former girlfriend Amy's (Caleigh Le Grand) apartment, and the two find themselves running around a rainy Toronto avoiding Kenny, who "just wants to talk."
Going the "real time" route must be hell on a filmmaker. The logistics alone send your mind reeling. McConnell avoids this by employing seamless edits to make the audience think they are watching the story in literal real time (and the edits, however many there are, are seamless- I didn't spot one!). "Rope" worked because the intensity of an unbroken ten minute take (before a laughable transition shot on a performer's back) cranked up the tension of the story, and the actors' over-the-top performances. In "Broken Mile," the fine performances are there, and McConnell's off-kilter script and characterization is evident, too. He did a documentary called "Skull World," which immersed the viewer in another off-kilter person's life. Shaun is no hero, you will wish he would just answer Amy's questions about exactly what happened before he came to her for help. McFadden is fine, McConnell succeeds in making a minivan (of all things) actually menacing. Le Grand seems to be the center of attention in the film, and holds her own, showing us why Amy is drawn to these men and the pathetic turns their lives have taken.
Obvious budget constraints abound here. This is a thriller, but not an action-packed one. The change of point of view during the film, from Shaun to Kenny to Amy, is nifty, but then McConnell hits you with an overly long scene of Amy driving to a rendezvous point with Shaun...and driving and driving and driving. There are a couple of red herrings thrown into the film that makes you think McConnell was going to pick up the speed and suspense, but they didn't amount to anything. The climax is rife with black comedic moments, and I wish the previous seventy-five minutes had played on that as well. You really want to knock some sense into these characters, and McConnell's camerawork makes you believe you are right there with them. The musical score is great, but the sound mix on the DVD gets extremely loud at a few points depending on where the microphone was being directed.
"Broken Mile" is an interesting film. McConnell is a known low-budget film maker in Canada, and I wish he would be able to break into a larger budget, if only to see what his imagination could bring us.
Shaun (Francesco Filice) wakes up in a pool of his own sick in a bathtub, stumbles out into a living room, and finds his girlfriend Sarah (Lea Lawrynowicz) dead of a drug overdose. He panics and runs, with his best friend and Sarah's real paramour Kenny (Patrick McFadden) hot on his heels (armed with a pistol). Shaun flees to former girlfriend Amy's (Caleigh Le Grand) apartment, and the two find themselves running around a rainy Toronto avoiding Kenny, who "just wants to talk."
Going the "real time" route must be hell on a filmmaker. The logistics alone send your mind reeling. McConnell avoids this by employing seamless edits to make the audience think they are watching the story in literal real time (and the edits, however many there are, are seamless- I didn't spot one!). "Rope" worked because the intensity of an unbroken ten minute take (before a laughable transition shot on a performer's back) cranked up the tension of the story, and the actors' over-the-top performances. In "Broken Mile," the fine performances are there, and McConnell's off-kilter script and characterization is evident, too. He did a documentary called "Skull World," which immersed the viewer in another off-kilter person's life. Shaun is no hero, you will wish he would just answer Amy's questions about exactly what happened before he came to her for help. McFadden is fine, McConnell succeeds in making a minivan (of all things) actually menacing. Le Grand seems to be the center of attention in the film, and holds her own, showing us why Amy is drawn to these men and the pathetic turns their lives have taken.
Obvious budget constraints abound here. This is a thriller, but not an action-packed one. The change of point of view during the film, from Shaun to Kenny to Amy, is nifty, but then McConnell hits you with an overly long scene of Amy driving to a rendezvous point with Shaun...and driving and driving and driving. There are a couple of red herrings thrown into the film that makes you think McConnell was going to pick up the speed and suspense, but they didn't amount to anything. The climax is rife with black comedic moments, and I wish the previous seventy-five minutes had played on that as well. You really want to knock some sense into these characters, and McConnell's camerawork makes you believe you are right there with them. The musical score is great, but the sound mix on the DVD gets extremely loud at a few points depending on where the microphone was being directed.
"Broken Mile" is an interesting film. McConnell is a known low-budget film maker in Canada, and I wish he would be able to break into a larger budget, if only to see what his imagination could bring us.
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