(Note: not really any spoilers, but this review may give more information than the movie opts at first.
I watched this film entitled "A Problem With Fear (or Laurie's Anxiety Confronting the Escalator). It is a small, indie Canadian film that has seemingly gone semi-mainstream. The movie is a mellow-dramatic ensemble of fears with a sci-fi twist. You are probably wondering why I am even reviewing this movie of all movies; well, simply it bewildered my interest and me. So enjoy my little blurb and decide for yourself if it is worth ninety-two minutes of your life.
The movie stars Paulo Costanzo (T.V. Series: Joey) as a young man with The Fear. What is The Fear? It is a fear of everything from germs, to escalators, to open spaces the list goes on. The only thing he doesn't seem to be afraid of is openly letting people know of his neurotic tendencies.
Laurie (Costanzo) ironically works at a newsstand in the mall and, again, ironically has to take the oh-so-scary subway to get to work each morning. Though, the security guard is kind enough to escort him to his newsstand.
Laurie's girlfriend is a fashion-righteous symbol of pathetic annoyance named yes Dot. Though, not short for Dorothy, but Dotty. Lovely isn't it? Well, it would seem lovely enough to keep the laughs going during these two characters witty and sometimes even quirky scenes, but Gary Burns (Director/Writer) seemed to think it wasn't enough. Not enough to fulfill a full-length movie.
The subplot of Laurie's sister seemed entertaining at first, and proposed some intriguing questions of near suspense, but believe it or not it somehow made the story harder to follow. I will admit that I caught this flick on my paid-for extra channels and did miss the first 10 minutes, and could have seemingly missed the basis of the film in that short time, but my best guess is all I missed was Laurie's sister taking the scandalous corporate position at global security.
Now I am losing you. Let me track back for a second. The story is simple I think. This global security company sells wristbands that warn when danger is ahead; a nifty little gadget that seems to cause more harm than good (for the people of the city, but more good than harm for the company itself). The premise of the story is that the gadgets are all connected, warning of potential danger nearby as well as recent danger, and somehow a virus is released and people's fears begin to come true. A stickle for Laurie as he witnesses more than one death in less than forty-eight hours.
The ever-lingering theme: The corporate man rubs our back of our fears, pains and problems, but for a fee. A good theme, right? Sure it is, but the confusing plot and overbearing lack of actual substance to the theme kind of hinders the possibilities of this film. This could have been a film festival phenomenon, but somewhere along the lines Burns lost direction. I will admit, it was well directed, and even the effects were well used considering its low budget interior. And hey, it was filmed in Calgary I'm Canadian. Are you Canadian?.
Laurie was casted so well I nearly felt the poor boys pain, but it was without a doubt that Dot (Emily Hampshire) was the one who managed to steal their duo-pseudo-romantic/dramatic/comedic scenes. At first, I hated her then I realized that that is why I love her. I actually looked at the character and was so annoyed by her, that I got even more annoyed when the story moved on to Laurie, or his sister's subplot.
Although the movie was witty, comedic and intriguing to watch, it suffered in many areas. I found myself laughing at peculiar situation and shaking my head at quirky side notes, but when it came down to it Burns did not create a cohesive story and the main plot itself had such an arrogance about it that either you got it or you didn't. And if you didn't well, you felt out of the loop. Not just out of loop, but apart from the story. I felt this way at the beginning maybe because I missed the intro, or maybe because my humour or insight really isn't as fast-witted as I'd like to claim, but either way I was detached from the film and it wasn't until later when I began to catch on that I could even get into the movie.
So the movie has style and substance if you got it but overall seemed to have too many loose ends. However, don't let my negative critique fool you. I may only give this thing a 2/4, but I would recommend a look. And I say this because even though it lost me here and there, it opts free laughs and an entertaining ninety-two minutes.
It would be a shame to see this movie go on as unnoticed as it has, but hey it made the movie network didn't it? So take a look.
I watched this film entitled "A Problem With Fear (or Laurie's Anxiety Confronting the Escalator). It is a small, indie Canadian film that has seemingly gone semi-mainstream. The movie is a mellow-dramatic ensemble of fears with a sci-fi twist. You are probably wondering why I am even reviewing this movie of all movies; well, simply it bewildered my interest and me. So enjoy my little blurb and decide for yourself if it is worth ninety-two minutes of your life.
The movie stars Paulo Costanzo (T.V. Series: Joey) as a young man with The Fear. What is The Fear? It is a fear of everything from germs, to escalators, to open spaces the list goes on. The only thing he doesn't seem to be afraid of is openly letting people know of his neurotic tendencies.
Laurie (Costanzo) ironically works at a newsstand in the mall and, again, ironically has to take the oh-so-scary subway to get to work each morning. Though, the security guard is kind enough to escort him to his newsstand.
Laurie's girlfriend is a fashion-righteous symbol of pathetic annoyance named yes Dot. Though, not short for Dorothy, but Dotty. Lovely isn't it? Well, it would seem lovely enough to keep the laughs going during these two characters witty and sometimes even quirky scenes, but Gary Burns (Director/Writer) seemed to think it wasn't enough. Not enough to fulfill a full-length movie.
The subplot of Laurie's sister seemed entertaining at first, and proposed some intriguing questions of near suspense, but believe it or not it somehow made the story harder to follow. I will admit that I caught this flick on my paid-for extra channels and did miss the first 10 minutes, and could have seemingly missed the basis of the film in that short time, but my best guess is all I missed was Laurie's sister taking the scandalous corporate position at global security.
Now I am losing you. Let me track back for a second. The story is simple I think. This global security company sells wristbands that warn when danger is ahead; a nifty little gadget that seems to cause more harm than good (for the people of the city, but more good than harm for the company itself). The premise of the story is that the gadgets are all connected, warning of potential danger nearby as well as recent danger, and somehow a virus is released and people's fears begin to come true. A stickle for Laurie as he witnesses more than one death in less than forty-eight hours.
The ever-lingering theme: The corporate man rubs our back of our fears, pains and problems, but for a fee. A good theme, right? Sure it is, but the confusing plot and overbearing lack of actual substance to the theme kind of hinders the possibilities of this film. This could have been a film festival phenomenon, but somewhere along the lines Burns lost direction. I will admit, it was well directed, and even the effects were well used considering its low budget interior. And hey, it was filmed in Calgary I'm Canadian. Are you Canadian?.
Laurie was casted so well I nearly felt the poor boys pain, but it was without a doubt that Dot (Emily Hampshire) was the one who managed to steal their duo-pseudo-romantic/dramatic/comedic scenes. At first, I hated her then I realized that that is why I love her. I actually looked at the character and was so annoyed by her, that I got even more annoyed when the story moved on to Laurie, or his sister's subplot.
Although the movie was witty, comedic and intriguing to watch, it suffered in many areas. I found myself laughing at peculiar situation and shaking my head at quirky side notes, but when it came down to it Burns did not create a cohesive story and the main plot itself had such an arrogance about it that either you got it or you didn't. And if you didn't well, you felt out of the loop. Not just out of loop, but apart from the story. I felt this way at the beginning maybe because I missed the intro, or maybe because my humour or insight really isn't as fast-witted as I'd like to claim, but either way I was detached from the film and it wasn't until later when I began to catch on that I could even get into the movie.
So the movie has style and substance if you got it but overall seemed to have too many loose ends. However, don't let my negative critique fool you. I may only give this thing a 2/4, but I would recommend a look. And I say this because even though it lost me here and there, it opts free laughs and an entertaining ninety-two minutes.
It would be a shame to see this movie go on as unnoticed as it has, but hey it made the movie network didn't it? So take a look.