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Brackenmore (2016)
Too much stew, not enough Irish
This had the potential to be a really nice independent thriller/horror. Unfortunately, while the performances are mostly fine (with a couple of exceptions), the writing is hopeless - it doesn't know what it wants to be and there are huge unexplained plot devices and many, many brooding characters.
It's a bit derivative of The Wicker Man (the good one!) but, had the plot progressed into something intelligible, that could have been forgiven, instead, the resolution seems to be almost cobbled together for the sake of getting it done and dusted.
Midnight Sonder (2016)
How can it be so right and yet so wrong?
This is quite an odd film in a number of ways. It's beautifully shot and most of the principal performances aren't at all bad (Evan Jones as the lead character, Roderic, mumbles his way through the movie, clearly not confident in what he's doing).
The problem arises with the turgid dialogue and the story, which is convoluted and just downright silly in places. Most of the film is a set-up for the odd ending, which lacks any tension or resolution.
While Mayuren Naidoo's direction and camera work are to be greatly applauded, his skills as a writer and editor leave much to be desired. Superfluous scenes, characters who do nothing to move the narrative along - Naidoo's script is flabby and uninspiring.
Midnight Sonder isn't a complete train-wreck - it's just capable of being so much more with some TLC.
Rosewood Lane (2011)
Not as bad as they say
I think some reviewers have been unfair to this movie. Sure, it's a little derivative of other work but what horror movie isn't?
Yes, some of the acting was a little wooden but there was enough suspense and jumps to keep most people happy, I'd have thought.
The reaction of the police to Derek's live call to the radio station was just pathetic. Also I got the feeling that there was more of the story to come out. Who were Derek and his "siblings" and why were they all psychos? Where *was* Barrett's body? A victim of the film editors maybe?
But what really spoilt it for me was the very last minute. Such a lame ending!
God Don't Make the Laws (2011)
Almost but not quite
I tried really hard to like this movie - the premise sounds encouraging: a loner boy comes to a small town where basketball is banned following the road traffic death years before of some young people - a bit like 'Footloose' but without the funky music and some added supernatural undertones.
The dialogue's not too bad but some of the acting (Lucas Salvagno, Jason Jay Crabtree) is just shockingly bad. Then we come to Adam White's cinematography and director David Sabbbath's editing. The whole thing has the ambiance of some 1970s porno-flick.
It's saved by the easy-on-the-eye Ella Rae Peck and a hefty performance by Robert Prescott but the production values leave a lot to be desired.
Extracted (2012)
Great little independent movie
A little slow to get started but stick with it for 20 mins and you won't be disappointed.
Without giving spoilers, the ending was a little "by the numbers" and I might have preferred a twist of some kind rather than a straight resolution. In saying that, though, certainly doesn't deserve anything less than a 6.
There's certainly potential for a sequel here and the ending I'm thinking of would have lent itself to that. No matter, though,
A very creditable early full-length work by Nir Paniry, who should now try his hand at something even larger-scale.
Storm War (2011)
Typical SyFy fare but not awful
I was bought Weather Wars (aka Storm Wars) as a joke gift DVD. In the UK, the DVD cover shows a flooded Capitol Hill with with the Supreme Court building being "attacked" by a twister. Odd, because there's no flood in the movie.
The discrepancy becomes bigger when you read the description on the back of the DVD box: "A young scientist revels in the creation of a supercomputer that can stop the effects of climate change and catastrophic weather. When the computer's artificial intelligence advances it creates deadly storms to stop the military from controlling it or shutting it down. It's up to the scientist to outsmart his own creation..." Sounds great, huh? Kind of Day After Tomorrow meets Terminator. Only that description bears no relevance to the plot of the movie. In the film, the young scientist is chasing down his own deranged father, who has somehow learnt to control the weather and is wreaking revenge on the US Government. No super-computer with advanced AI is ever mentioned.
In saying that, what they've produced is actually okay. The plot's a bit silly but the performances and SFX are reasonably for what's obviously a low-budget movie.
**SPOILER** The end leaves the door open for a sequel. That probably shouldn't happen.