Oscilloscope Laboratories recently send us over the official teaser poster for their upcoming film "Bellflower", which will be released on July 22nd. The film is also apart of Emerging Vision competition at this year's SXSW Film Festival.
Plot Synopsis:
Woodrow and Aiden spend all of their free time building Mad Max inspired flame-throwers and weapons of mass destruction in preparation for a global apocalypse in which their imaginary gang "Mother Medusa" can emerge on top. But when Woodrow meets a charismatic young woman and falls hard in love, he and Aiden quickly integrate into a new group of friends, setting off on a journey of betrayal, love, hate, infidelity, and extreme violence more devastating and fiery than any of their apocalyptic fantasies.
Oscilloscope Laboratories will release the film theatrical on July 22nd.
Screenings:
Saturday, March 12th at 9:00pm - Alamo Ritz 1 - Premiere
Monday, March 14th at 6:45pm - Alamo Lamar A - Screening #2
Thursday, March 17th at 9:00pm - Alamo Lamar A - Screening #3
Cheesy Nugget Productions recently released the official poster and trailer for their horror/comedy "My Sucky Teen Romance", which will be world premiering on Tuesday March 15 9:30PM at the Paramount Theater. The film will be competing in the Lone Star State competition. That competition showcases films made in the state of Texas.
Plot Synopsis
On 17-year-old Kate's last weekend in town, she and her friends plan to spend it together at SpaceCON– the local science fiction convention they attend every year. At the convention Kate meets Paul, a recently turned teen-vampire (who is also dressed as one). But when Kate tries to make a move on him, he accidentally bites her in the neck. Kate and her friends soon discover that Paul is not the only vampire at the convention, and it is up to them to stop the vampires and find a way to turn Kate back before it is too late
For more information on this film, you can visit the the Cheesy Nugget Productions website at: http://www.cheesynuggets.com/
Screenings:
Tuesday March 15th 9:30PM Paramount Theater
Saturday March 19th 8:30PM Rollins Theater
"My Sucky Teen Romance": Official Trailer
I hope everyone is enjoying our showcase of some of the films that are playing at this year's SXSW Film Festival, so far.
Today, we're focusing on a film that was made under 1,000 Euros. "Charlie Casanova". . Source Productions recently provided us with the official poster and screening information for the film. The film will be having its world premiere at the festival on March 13th and will be competing in the Narrative Feature Competition
Plot Synopsis:
Erudite, harmless, ruling class egotist, Charlie Barnum (EMMET SCANLAN, in a haunting performance)'s smoke and mirror articulations conceal a prejudiced, over-educated sociopath who refuses to be bound by the restrictions of morality, law or even reality. When Charlie knocks down a working class girl in a hit-and-run, he uses a deck of playing cards to determine his fate. Dangerously subversive, provocatively dark, and satirically disturbing, you've already met Walter Mitty and Billy Liar, now it's time for you to meet the darkest member of that twisted trio; the man of our times, Charlie Casanova.
CHARLIE CASANOVA is the first film to be entirely conceived on Facebook. After the Irish Film Board rejected the script, writer-director Terry McMahon had the words, "The Art is in the Completion. Begin." tattooed onto his body then typed a message into his Facebook status that he was planning to shoot the film in a few weeks and soliciting a cast and crew. Within twenty-four hours a hundred and thirty people made contact with Terry. Camera department, designers, production managers, assistant directors, continuity people, gaffers, actors... Three weeks later CHARLIE CASANOVA was in production with this renegade crew of strangers and actors. The film was made for less than $1,000 Euros -- the Irish press have dubbed it Ireland's lowest-budgeted movie of all time!
Screenings:
Sunday, March 13th at 7:00pm - State Theatre - Premiere
Monday, March 14th at 11:15am - Alamo Lamar B - Screening #2
Thursday, March 17th at 6:30pm - Alamo Lamar A - Screening #3
For more information on this film, you can visit the film's official website at: www.charliecasanovathemovie.com
Lost In Love
Year: 2008
Directors: Guy Orlebar
Stars: Bene’t Lynton, Sarika Choi, Gordon Lui
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Agog Films / Cine Century Entertainment
Running Time: 91 Mins
Official Website: http://www.lostinlovemovie.com/
the typical romantic film that I’m used to seeing.Lost in Love is the directorial debut from director Guy Orlebar. This semi-autobiographical film is about an Englishman (Bene’t Lynton) who has an encounter with a sexy foreign businesswoman (Sarika Choi) back in his homeland. He then can’t get the thought of that night out of his head, as he begins to fall in love with her. The Englishman travels to Hong Kong with very little money, in hopes of finding her and the meaning to his life. Along the way, he begins to have flashbacks of that night, as he is wondering if there is a future between the two. Unknown to the two people, each of them is carrying a dark secret that might destroy any chances that the two might have a future together. Lost In love also co-star Kung-fu legend, Gordon Lui (Kill Bill 1 & 2).
Lost in Love is a well-crafted and stunning romantic film. Guy Orlebar’s direction was very visual and well crafted. One of the things that I liked about his direction is that he manages to make a different type of romantic film, because “Lost in Love” didn’t feel like the typical romantic film. The reason for that is that Orlebar focuses more on the visuals and situations than what the main character is going through, in trying to find the love of his life. He relies on the visuals for most of the film to keep the viewer interested in his story. In some films, this is not a good thing, but in a film like this, it’s very welcomed. The visuals in the film were very stunning, as Orlebar captures Hong Kong in an eye-catching way. His direction of the film’s acting was very good. He manages to get a very good performance from his lead actor Bene’t Lynton. He keeps the movie interesting by making his character, so desperate to the find the person he so yearns for. It helps you have an emotional interest in the character.Orlebar’s screenplay was very interesting and appealing. He does a v
ery good job with the story of the film. I liked how he manages to focus the film on one main central character and his yearnings for the person that he loves desperately. It helps bring a purpose to the story as this made it very interesting. It’s one of the things you don’t see in most romantic films, because usually you see the relationship dominate most of the film. Here, you just see the character’s desire to be with this woman and the backstory of the relationship. It’s very effective, as this also makes the film more of a character study. One of the effective methods that Orlebar uses in his storytelling was to examine the relationship his main character and his relationship to the woman that he’s fallen in love with,
in flashbacks. It’s works well because it gives you insight to why Orlebar’s main character is obsessed with the woman. Also, he also spends the time to develop his main character fully and his troubles adjusting to a foreign land. I liked how he does this because it felt different to most romantic stories that I’ve seen. The reason for that is that Orlebar spends time having his main character adjust to another country where most writers will spend time rushing to the romantic plot of the film. This really helped define the character and gave me a sense to who the character was.Lost is Love is a unique romantic character study that will keep you interested.
Review Rating: Four Stars
Sympathy
Year: 2007
Directors: Andrew Moorman
Stars: Marina Shtelen, Steven Pritchard, Aaron Boucher
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Furnessville Pictures
Running Time: 105 Mins
Official Website: http://www.sympathythemovie.com/
Sympathy is a film that has been getting a lot of praise, in the underground horror community from such websites like Bloody Disgusting and Fatally Yours. So yours truly really wanted to determine, if this movie is deserving of all this hype that it has been getting.
The film is about a bank robbery gone horribly wrong, when a bank robber
takes a teenage girl hostage and takes her to an isolated motel and handcuffs her to the bed, so they could hide there, until morning. The night at the motel takes a bloody turn for the worst, when a mysterious person decides to take the two hostage and play a deadly game of cat and mouse with them. During this game, deadly secrets will be revealed about each of the three people. By the night’s end, nobody may get out of that motel room alive, in this very suspenseful and bloody horror film.
Sympathy is a suspenseful thriller that has many twists and turns. Andrew Moorman direction is first-rate, as it had that Hollywood suspense feel to it. He does a very good job making this film very intense, from the first minute, until the very end of the film, as the intenseness never stops. Moorman does this to keep the action and story moving, so that you’re not bored. He also makes this very suspenseful through the various shots that he films. Moorman does this, in order to create the tense atmosphere, in the crowded room. His direction of his three actors was just brilliantly directed. Marina Shtelen, Steven Pritchard and Aaron Boucher were great, in their performances. Andrew Moorman made very sure that their performances were great, because this is one of those films where all the action happens, in one room. He does that; by letting the actors develop chemistry with each other, which makes the film interesting. It also helped, add intensity to film’s overall atmosphere. This in return, leads to a very intense and very well acted film.
Arik Martin screenplay was masterfully executed, as it was edgy and suspenseful. One of the reasons, the film was that way, because of the fact that the whole film takes place in one room. In films like this, the story has to be interesting and the conflicts have to be intense, in order for a film like this to be successful. This also made the conflict very suspenseful. Another thing that was great about Martin’s screenplay was the fact that his story had many 
twists and turns. I like it, when films have this, because it makes the story very intense and characters unpredictable. The screenplay also develops the action and the characters, very well. One of the things that Martin does with his screenplay was create a concentrated atmosphere through the whole story. This was done, so that the average viewer would not be bored with the story, since it only takes place in one room. The intenseness of the film’ story made sure that their was never a dull moment where the viewer’s mind would wonder off. That’s why, this film very intense and edgy through out.
This is truly, one of the most suspenseful independent horror films that I’ve seen overall, this year. Sympathy never lets go of its intense action, until it’s very shocking and bloody end.
Review Rating: 5 Stars
Under the Raven’s Wing
Year: 2007
Director: Susan Adriensen
Stars: Kimberly Amato, Kamilla Sofie Sadekova and Jessica Palette.
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Blue Eyed Productions
Running Time: 88 Mins
Official Website: http://www.undertheravenswing.com/
Under the Raven’s Wing is about a documentary filmmaker, who follows a group of girls who recently murdered a person. These girls want to spread their message by letting the director document their lives and recreate their murderous night. But unknown to the girls, the director has his own agenda. It involves voyeurism and seductive passion. This will lead him down a road, where he’s entangled in the girls’ masterplan. Soon the director’s project begins to spin out of control when the group’s leader Raven wants more control over his film. This will lead to a power struggle over his production, which will make the director fear for his own life.
Going into Under the Raven’s Wing, I thought that was going to be one of those horror films, where it would have a straight forward approach. But from the first minute, when you see the camera shaking, I knew that this was not going to be your average horror film. Instead, this film was a faux documentary like The Last Broadcast, which was released in 1998. The ending in that film left me in shock. The same can be said for this film also.
Under the Raven’s Wing is a very dark-thinking psychological film that gives you the look, at the disturbed mind. Susan Adriensen’s direction was very chilling and realistic. It was shot in a very dark and voyeuristic way, which made the characters very dark and disturbed. The direction was done that way so you feel like that you were watching a Paradise Lost type documentary. Another challenge that she succeeds in doing was keeping the film interesting, when there is no horrific action going on. Adriensen does that by focusing on the performances. The way she directed her actresses’ performances really helps make this material work as a psychological piece. Adriensen also captures the women very well, as it made the characters disturbing. The acting, also make this film very dark. Much of that credit goes the film’s main actresses, Kimberly Amato, Kamilla Sofie Sadekova and Jessica Palette. Their chemistry with each other was very good. Each of the actresses sold their characters as deranged and mentally imbalanced people, which made their characters interesting.
Adriensen’s screenplay is very psychological in the way it explores each of its main characters. She focuses of each of the three young women by going into each of the character’s past in lengthy detail. That’s done so it shows the viewer why each of the characters had lost their mind and became all dark and mentally unstable. Another thing the screenplay showed each of character’s state of mind. That’s how Adriensen’s uses the psychology aspects. She makes the aspects so horrifying that the story didn’t need to show a lot of blood or make it violent (even though there were a couple of scenes toward the end of the film that was violent) to make the film interesting because each of the character’s state of mind made you frightened, to the point that they could explode at any point. Also, Adriensen’s ending to the film was very well executed, as that’s all I’ll say about it
I truly want you horror fans to check this film out, if it’s playing near you. Under the Raven’s Wing is one of the most disturbing and psychological faux documentaries that you will leave you in shock.
Review Rating: 5 Stars
Upcoming Screenings:
September 26th: Dark Carnival Film Festival. Bloomington, Indiana. Venue and Time: TBA
Also on the same day at 12pm, Director Susan Adriensen and Actress Kimberly Amato will take part in the “Women of Horror” Q and A session at the Buskrik- Chumley Theater
Forgiving the Franklins
Year: 2008
Running Time: 100 Mins
Official Website: http://www.forgivingthefranklinsthemovie.com/
Forgiving the Franklins has had the privilege of playing at some of the major film festivals. The film has wowed audiences at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, 2006 South by Southwest and the 2007 Santa Fe Film Festival to name a few. After no major distribution company picked this film up for release the film is now available on DVD via Indie-Pictures.com.
The film is about you typical North Carolina Family that was very religious and very conservative in their political views. The husband, Frank is a lawyer for a big law film; the housewife Betty was a stay at home mom; The son, Brian is a one of his
high-school team’s best football players, and the sister Caroline is a cheerleader for the team. Things are going well for the family until an accident puts Frank, Betty, and Brain in a coma.Forgiving the Franklins is very entertaining and funny dark comedy. I personally like these types of comedies, as I’m personally sick of the comedies that the major studios like to churn out, like Harold and Kumar films and Superbad where they have no story to them. This film
here has good story that focuses on issues in a funny and odd way.Writer/Director Jay Floyd does excellent job making this film enjoyable. He focuses his film on the various topics of religion, it fanaticism and the acceptance of sexual behavior. It’s same things that are usually explored, in most British and John Walter’s comedies. The topics, I thought were focused very well in the screenplay, as helped made this film’s content original. The performances were very good, as Floyd directs them very well. They made the characters that they played interesting and also they had good chemistry.
The screenplay, which was also written by Jay Floyd, brought depth and explored some issues that most filmmakers don’t want do period. He tackles that in a way, s
o that it isn’t too gross out or too offensive to some. Floyd also spends a lot of time developing the characters within the family, from before the accident to after the accident. It does that, in the way that you don’t hate any of the characters within the family. Another thing that made this film very good was the way Floyd took the film into a different direction in the last act of the film. At first, I didn’t like it, but later came to the realization that it was actually was not a bad direction to go. I thought, it helped the film, in a way because I had a feeling that this was going to go the predictable route, but didn’t as it helped add more of a dark element to this comedy.Forgiving the Franklin is very dark and twisted comedy that will spend time with them more often.
DVD Extras:
You can order, “Forgiving the Franklins” by going to:
One Night
Year: 2007
Director: Michael Knowles
Stars: Bill Sage, Melissa Leo, Christian Campbell
MPAA Rating:
Studio: 7A Productions
Running Time: 98 Mins
Review Rating: 5 Stars
Official Website: http://www.onenightthemovie.org/
One Night is a film that has been circulating on the festival film scene for a while. The film has played in various festivals including the Tacoma Film Festival, Kent Film Festival, Port Townsend Film Festival, and most recently at the Solstice Film Festival and the Sunscreen Film Festival, where director Michael Knowles won Best Director.
The film focuses on various character that include, an A&R representative that is having an affair with his young assistant behind his beautiful girlfriend’s back because he has a very bottomless feel that he becoming older. A young sensitive college student, who’s madly in love with her boyfriend while thinking that one of her closest friend, is childish. An twenty something woman, who meets a man for the first time in person after meeting him through the internet. A middle-aged woman, who is looking to change her life and a nervous actor, who finally gets be with the person who he has dreamed about. Through out the night these characters all convene at the same music venue where their lives will change either for better or worse.
One Night is a great film that examines human relationships and intimacy between people who are looking for love. Writer/director Michael Knowles’s direction of the film was very good. He does a great job not making the various plot lines and the drama in the film confusing, since the film focuses on a lot of characters. Knowles direction of the actors and actresses performances was very good. This is definitely the best ensemble piece that I’ve seen this year, so far. Their performances were great. It’s great because of the script that they had and the actors performed their roles very well, which helped bring out the personality of each of the characters. It’s movies like this that you appreciated the craft of acting, when people are there to act and passionate about the material.
The major thing that makes One Night great was Knowles’s screenplay. He does a great job exploring the aspects of human interaction, relationships, and intimacy. The characters that were created for the film were good, as they varied in age from college students to people in their late forties. The reason why he puts it there was to explore these issues, like an older man in love with a younger woman or the interaction of two character that in their forties still searching for love. Knowles also keeps each of the subplots moving by being in a closed environment for most of the film, so they could interact with each of the other characters and makes the viewer become involved with each character’s story. Also. I liked how the characters were intersected into each of the various plotlines. It helps make the story of the film and the characters in it interesting. Knowles also did a good job exploring the dark side of love, as he focuses on the sadness and the things they would do that would drive people who are desperate to be loved.
I definitely suggest that you check this film out, if it’s playing at your film festival. One Night is a very entertaining look at the need for human interaction and intimacy.
Upcoming Screenings:
Solstice Film Festival St. Paul, MN June 2008 Date, Time, and Venue: TBA
All Along
Year: 2008
Directors: Robert A, Masciantonio
Stars: Bill Page, Krista Allen, Erin Brown
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Apprentice Productions
Running Time: 76 Mins
Review Rating: 3 Stars
Official Website: http://www.allalongfilm.com/
All Along is the follow-up feature to Robert A. Masciantonio’s 1999 cult horror film “Cold Hearts”, which I’m a big fan of. He now tries his hand at the romantic comedy genre with this film. All Along has already played in such film festivals such, as the Kent Film Festival and the Myrtle Beach International Film Festival.
This romantic comedy is about a guy named Richard Harrison (Bill Page), 
who has everything going for him, a loving wife, job security, and two rambunctious teenagers. But his life is about to change when he turns 40, as Richard starts to daydream to escape his reality. But his daydreams always get him into trouble when he comes back into reality. In order to stop these problems, Richard seeks the help of a psychologist (Krista Allen) to help trace his problems, so he can unlock the mysteries of his problems and go back to the life that he was accustomed to.
Writer/Director Robert A Masciantonio overall, does a good job with the film. He keeps the action for most of the film through the film’s humor. Masciantonio’s direction of the actors was very good, as he does a good job making their performances gel together. The acting helps makeup for the flaws in the screenplay, which I’ll talk about.
Robert A Masciantonio’s screenplay wasn’t bad but there were some flaws that could have hurt 
the film in a big way and some good things that help the film succeed. First, the screenplay felt too confined to one area, for the most part, as he spends most of the film at the amusement park. It just felt a little boring that the movie was still at the place, after the first half of the film. I would have wanted to see what would happen with his dreams during his daily routine, even though there is a glimpse of it, in the film. The screenplay should have had the main character daydream in other places, which would have added more laughs and added more fun. Also, the film could have used another fifteen minutes to explore that aspect as it would have helped made Masciantonio’s screenplay better. But, there are also good things about Robert A Masciantonio’s screenplay. He develops the main character’s relationship with the other characters very well. The characters also didn’t seem annoying or dumb. And the film’s humor was funny, as it wasn’t repetitively stupid or something so grossed-out that would make me push the stop button, on
the DVD player.
The performances were good. Bill Page was very good as Richard Harrison. I liked how he hits the comedic tones of the material as his reactions helps make his character interesting and fun. Page also had good chemistry with his other co-stars, especially with Krista Allen. The two, worked well with each other, which helped keep my interest in the story, when it was becoming too confined.
All Along is a good film that I do suggest you check out if playing at your local film festival but it’s nowhere close to Masciantonio’s last feature film.
All Along’s Upcoming Screening:
Friday April 4th at 7:00PM at the Fairhope Film Festival, in Fairhope, Alabama
Saturday May 17th at 9:30PM at the Big Island Film Festival, in Hawaii
13 Hours in a Warehouse
Year: 2008
Director: Dav Kaufman
Stars: Danny Selman, Chares Bonin, Meisha Johnson
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 93 Mins
Review Rating: 5 Stars
Official Website: http://www.13hoursmovie.com/
"13 Hours in a Warehouse" recently had it's world premiere, at the "Nevermore Film Festival"
The film is about a group of hired thieves, who spend the night in abandon warehouse along with a hostage. Their heist went perfect, as they wait for their boss to arrive in the morning. Two of the thieves, knew the place was used, for a porn studio. Soon, mysterious numbers begin to strangely appear all over the warehouse and slowly find out that the warehouse was more than a porn studio. Now the thieves have a big problem, as they find out that there is a mysterious presence that is haunting the place and they don’t want them to see daylight.
Usually I see, three to four horror films a week. I admit, it takes me fifteen – twenty minutes to get into a movie every time I review a feature length film. However, 13 Hours in a Warehouse had me hooked from the first shot on.
13 Hours in a Warehouse is one of the most original supernatural horror films I’ve seen in a while, from both the independent and major studios systems. Writer/Director Dav Kaufman did a very good job with the directing and screenplay aspects of the film. He sets the tone early, when has his main characters talking like characters found, in a Quentin Tarantino film. Amazingly, these characters worked. The characters help get your interest level up so that you are interested in the film later on. Kaufman’s direction of his actors was very good. Their performances come out very well, as the actors seemed energized. The effects were also very good. The ghost effects were creepy and static looking, which helped them look frightening on screen.
Kaufman’s screenplay was very original, for a supernatural film. I liked how, he blends elements of films like Reservoir Dogs, Saw, Hostel", and Heist" together here. The elements help make this, very original and keeps your attention through out. The story here was very good. Kaufman’s Story also has a lot of twists and turns that keeps the film interesting. Kaufman makes the thieves likeable, in the same way that Tarantino does with his films. He also does the same with the ghosts, as you have to remember that the thieves were also bad guys in the film. The scares were very effective, especially when the disturbing elements were added in midway through the film.
The acting makes this film, even more enjoyable for me. The actors were, into their roles. The male leads were just great with each other. The chemistry was very good. These five actors would fit right into, a low-budget Quentin Tarantino film, if he’d make another low-budget film.
13 Hours in a Warehouse is a film that you should definitely watch out, on the festival circuit. The film delivers, with the scares and character twists. This is a film that you should definitely check out, if it plays at your local film festival.
You can catch the next screening of 13 Hours in a Warehouse at the Indie Spirit Film Festival on Saturday April 26th in Colorado Springs, Co.
For time of the screening visit the Indie Spirit Film Festival website at http://www.indiespiritfilmfestival.org/.
