Rarely does a movie come along that shows the gritty underworld of society without glamour or glory. Even more rare is the film that can showcase without judgment the brutality and depravity of the men who populate it. Kerberos, the second feature film from award-winning director William Kely McClung, does both. When past and present overlap one man's purpose, dragging him into the dark world of violence and duplicity he once thrived in, ex-con Michael Finn must sacrifice his own chance of redemption to save an innocent girl caught in the crossfire of these human hellhounds. With gruesome action scenes, unrivaled depth of character and strength of acting, Kerberos chronicles a harrowing 36 hour race through the hell of criminals, dirty cops, thugs, and low-lifes each trying to claw their own way to somebody else's money.
Reviews
4 Reviews
Blood Ties
(I) (2007)
How Much Would You Risk With a Film?
21 May 2009
Independent films, being already at the disadvantage of lacking a studio subsidized budget and pool of resources, are dealt a harsher blow by the criticism given by an audience when the finished piece is compared against the slick, polished Hollywood product. But why do we want it slick and polished? Do we really want the story all neat-n-tidy, pre-digested for us? Don't we prefer those creative and visually stunning pieces that engage us in a new paradigm?
Enter: Blood Ties by William Kely McClung, an independent feature film that requires the viewer's attention and imaginative involvement but pays it back many times over with depth of character, unanticipated FX, and bone-jarring action.
While rattling the audience along at desperate, heart-punishing pace, Blood Ties requires the audience to think, without making them hate doing it. This isn't tweed-and-pipe professor analytical thinking, but the looking over your shoulder for the hidden guns in the shadows, the click on your phone line really being the snapping of pieces fitting together kind of thinking. It is an international chess match with tragic human casualties and spectacular martial arts action sequences.
An action film at heart, Blood Ties delivers fight scenes laden with an astonishing mixture of martial art, wrestling, and street fighting styles. But the real genius of the film is the director's balance of truly exquisite filming in the Virginia mountains, National Mall in D.C., and the jungles of Cambodia and Thailand with these explosions of brutality. The nuances and innuendos in the story carry enough to fill a trilogy, but never come across as overwhelming, thanks to the truly top-notch editing and brilliance of visual storytelling.
With a tag line: "Fight for your country. Fight for your family. Fight for your life.", one could expect the film to be lacking of sensitivities and character development. A word of advice: Don't. Blood Ties brings it. Jim's defiance and indomitable spirit while getting the crap beat out of him speak to a strength far deeper than that of any other character. He is no one's victim. Jack's intensity and resolve are given penetration and weight when cut against his humor and softness while discussing disturbing culinary choices with Sarin. A warrior with a human side; who knew? And the sadistic and awkwardly comical Markus/Erik combination is both frightening and leveling, showing the animal in the man.
While the film does have some slight sound issues, the strength of the acting (even in the nonverbal) and the eclectic, evocative score give the film a quiet artistry and subtle power. The desperation and palpable urgency of the film are played out across 90+ minutes of conspiracy, hidden strands of interconnectedness, and heavy consequences. Watching it once is not enough.
Enter: Blood Ties by William Kely McClung, an independent feature film that requires the viewer's attention and imaginative involvement but pays it back many times over with depth of character, unanticipated FX, and bone-jarring action.
While rattling the audience along at desperate, heart-punishing pace, Blood Ties requires the audience to think, without making them hate doing it. This isn't tweed-and-pipe professor analytical thinking, but the looking over your shoulder for the hidden guns in the shadows, the click on your phone line really being the snapping of pieces fitting together kind of thinking. It is an international chess match with tragic human casualties and spectacular martial arts action sequences.
An action film at heart, Blood Ties delivers fight scenes laden with an astonishing mixture of martial art, wrestling, and street fighting styles. But the real genius of the film is the director's balance of truly exquisite filming in the Virginia mountains, National Mall in D.C., and the jungles of Cambodia and Thailand with these explosions of brutality. The nuances and innuendos in the story carry enough to fill a trilogy, but never come across as overwhelming, thanks to the truly top-notch editing and brilliance of visual storytelling.
With a tag line: "Fight for your country. Fight for your family. Fight for your life.", one could expect the film to be lacking of sensitivities and character development. A word of advice: Don't. Blood Ties brings it. Jim's defiance and indomitable spirit while getting the crap beat out of him speak to a strength far deeper than that of any other character. He is no one's victim. Jack's intensity and resolve are given penetration and weight when cut against his humor and softness while discussing disturbing culinary choices with Sarin. A warrior with a human side; who knew? And the sadistic and awkwardly comical Markus/Erik combination is both frightening and leveling, showing the animal in the man.
While the film does have some slight sound issues, the strength of the acting (even in the nonverbal) and the eclectic, evocative score give the film a quiet artistry and subtle power. The desperation and palpable urgency of the film are played out across 90+ minutes of conspiracy, hidden strands of interconnectedness, and heavy consequences. Watching it once is not enough.
Forged
(2006)
A Mercilessly Beautiful Film
29 January 2008
David No's "Forged" is a remarkable short film that defies strict genre labels, touching equal parts science fiction, fantasy, action, and drama. The visual beauty and fluidity of "Forged" are immediately engaging and give way to the complex emotional elements of the story, a well-worn path that never comes across as trite or played-out. It is ground happily revisited. The director's choice of locations showcase such brilliant anachronisms that the viewer never gets a true lock on the time period or locale where the events take place, giving us just enough fantasy, post-apocalyptic harshness, and historical romanticism to let go of reality and fall headlong into the film. The music and action sequences are so well married that the grace of the piece speaks louder that any character, though the performances aren't anemic, either. Juda refuses ever to be ignored. Marla's emotional collapse in the barn hits the mark exactly. And the restraint with which the character of Sargon is handled further speaks of a deeper understanding of the art. The angst of this film creeps slowly beneath the skin, taking hold of the viewer, until the heart-wrenching final moments when our worst fears are realized. "Forged" doesn't settle for the mundane, doesn't give in and make anything easy for you, and doesn't disappoint. David No and "Forged" really "get it."
Vanished Acres
(2006)
Indie Gold in Vanished Acres
29 January 2008
So what is left when you are completely disillusioned with Netflix, the latest TV series, and the movies in the theaters? Find your local independent filmmakers and beg to see what they have got to show for their months (or in some cases years) of near-starvation and bad credit.
Like Adam Bolt's short film "Vanished Acres." From the opening credits I was, for one of the first times in recent memory, transfixed and speechless. This film speaks with an artistic voice and visual poetry that hold captive the viewer on an emotional level that is almost uncomfortably close. With precision of timing and splendidly fresh visual arrangement, "Vanished Acres" makes accessible and familiar to the viewer a neglected farmhouse and its unlikely mix of tenants, never letting the audience feel like an insider peeking into another world. We are there. We feel the despair of the rundown house, the ominous warning of the horn worm, the loss of those days of youth so far gone, so far across the world. The music comes in, like a faint and distant memory long forgotten, but tickling something we should be remembering, and regretting that we don't. The fun J-Pop video cut into the bleak existence of Jerod Grot should tip off the viewer that the world is about to upset in a most unpredictable way, the ground never again becoming stable beneath our feet. Jerod's confrontation with his nemesis can carry interpretations on so many levels, but even at face value serve the film in a remarkable way. The exchange is relentless and tragic, exposing truths that cut deeper than we can imagine surviving. And yet, we do, though forever changed. If the film has a weakness, it is the physical mannerisms accompanying Jerod's reaction to Caroline's lost letter. However, the honesty of his loss of control in the bedroom scene makes up for any deficiencies earlier on. When both morning light and the light of the consequences of Jerod's actions come to the farm, the film wraps in what could be the only satisfying way. Adam Bolt's stunning storytelling shines through "Vanished Acres," and leaves me anxious to see what else this guy can do.
Like Adam Bolt's short film "Vanished Acres." From the opening credits I was, for one of the first times in recent memory, transfixed and speechless. This film speaks with an artistic voice and visual poetry that hold captive the viewer on an emotional level that is almost uncomfortably close. With precision of timing and splendidly fresh visual arrangement, "Vanished Acres" makes accessible and familiar to the viewer a neglected farmhouse and its unlikely mix of tenants, never letting the audience feel like an insider peeking into another world. We are there. We feel the despair of the rundown house, the ominous warning of the horn worm, the loss of those days of youth so far gone, so far across the world. The music comes in, like a faint and distant memory long forgotten, but tickling something we should be remembering, and regretting that we don't. The fun J-Pop video cut into the bleak existence of Jerod Grot should tip off the viewer that the world is about to upset in a most unpredictable way, the ground never again becoming stable beneath our feet. Jerod's confrontation with his nemesis can carry interpretations on so many levels, but even at face value serve the film in a remarkable way. The exchange is relentless and tragic, exposing truths that cut deeper than we can imagine surviving. And yet, we do, though forever changed. If the film has a weakness, it is the physical mannerisms accompanying Jerod's reaction to Caroline's lost letter. However, the honesty of his loss of control in the bedroom scene makes up for any deficiencies earlier on. When both morning light and the light of the consequences of Jerod's actions come to the farm, the film wraps in what could be the only satisfying way. Adam Bolt's stunning storytelling shines through "Vanished Acres," and leaves me anxious to see what else this guy can do.
Tell Your Friends