Some More Quick Ones (One Good One)
"Anatomy of a Love Seen"
starring: Shaon Hinnendael, Jill Evyn, Constance Brenneman, Marina Rice Bader, Kieran Valla
written and directed by: Marina Rice Bader
An interesting play on words for the movie's title "Love Seen" instead of "Love Scene" since the film's story solely revolves around two actresses/lesbians who fell in love, dated, and broke up, only to be reunited on the set of the same film months later. They are reunited to reshoot a special/important film/love scene for the director's film that brought them together in the first place. The director has a hidden agenda, though. She is hoping that by reuniting these two actresses (equally beautiful), they will reignite their fire and passion. The director gets more than what she hoped for and eventually has to come clean with her intentions, but not before the audience has been totally convinced that this is a beautiful story.
This film surprised me. It's actually really good and worth checking out.
In Anatomy of a Love Seen, leading ladies Zoe (Sharon Hinnendael) and Mal (Jill Evyn) meet on set and fall madly in love during the filming of their big love scene. Flash forward to six months later, and Mal has up and left Zoe with no explanation. Zoe is an up and coming actress, whose success begins to overshadow that of Mal’s. Mal, an in recovery addict, can’t deal with the fear of losing Zoe, so she bails before she has the chance to get hurt. While nursing her broken heart, Zoe learns from her friend and director Kara (director Marina Rice Bader) that the film’s love scene needs to be reshot for a broadcast deal. It’s during this reshoot that is Anatomy of a Love Seen picks up.
Anatomy of a Love Seen is Mariana Rice Bader’s directorial debut. The dialogue is largely improvised which gives the film a rather raw and spontaneous feel. Hinnendael and Evyn are quite strong in this format, packing a lot of emotional wallop with their scenes. At times, the pain of their break up is almost palpable. That’s the beauty of this improvisation, which allows for some real organic moments to occur. Hinnedael is particularly gifted at creating very subtle moments that come across as genuine and relatable.
Not all love stories need to be grand. This film is tiny in its environment, yet uses that claustrophobia to really push the performances along. There is no other option than to face the thing that breaks you in Anatomy of a Love Seen. It’s not so much a character study, as a relationship study. How does a relationship fail when two people love each other so deeply? Why do we sabotage our own happiness? Anatomy of a Love Seen tries to answer that.
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"The Angriest Man in Brooklyn"
starring: Robin Williams, Melissa Leo, Mila Kunis, Peter Dinklage, Hamish Linklater, Sutton Foster, James Earl Jones, Richard Kind
Robin Williams is/was a great comedic actor (who found himself dabbling in the more dramatic roles as well, throughout his career). Unfortunately, this small, not-widely-seen, indie film also starring Mila Kunis, is definitely not his best work, even though he gives it his best effort. There really is not much to work with, but he does turn up his crankiness up to 11, convincingly, with this role. In the film, Williams plays a perpetually angry man, ready to snap at any minor incident. The man's name is Harry Altman and it seems like his life has been defined by minor and major disappointments (his "favorite" son choosing dance academy instead of following in his father's footsteps, the end of his marriage and then finding out she'd been cheating on him with a neighbor for several years). What propels Harry's story and the film happens at the beginning, when Kunis' doctor (really?! believable?! I think not) character informs him that he has approximately 90 minutes to live (thank God, because the film is a little less than that long). So, carry on with his angry, never really letting it go, Harry attempts to reconnect with his family (his estranged son and their relationship seems to be the focal point of his existential crisis) before its too late. He questions his entire existence and wonders if it was all worth it, especially the angry, while also coming to terms with himself and his decisions. He searches for the meaning of life, but not really in an effective way (for a film that could have been so much more and so much better).
The tone is all wrong here. It's melodramatic, comically clumsy, and filled with poor timing. A complete disappointment, especially as one of Robin Williams' last pieces of work before his death.
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"Into the Blue 2: The Reef"
starring: Chris Carmack, Laura Vandervoort, Marsha Thomason, Michael Graziedei, , Mircea Monroe, Audrina Patridge
The question is: Did the world really need another "Into the Blue" film, you know, a sequel to the otherwise drab, boring original film that really comes off as a rip-off of an extended episode of something between Baywatch and Hawaii Five-O, except worse, if that's possible, and here they prove it, completely. And this sequel doesn't include the "stellar" (he said with sarcasm) acting of Paul Walker and Jessica Alba- they knew enough to go one-and-done.
Early in Into the Blue 2 we learn that some smugglers, under Coast Guard pressure, must drop their precious cargo. This makes their employer quite irate. So irate, in fact, that he kills the driver of the boat. We then cut to a pair of dive bums who make their living taking tourists underwater off the coast of Hawaii. Sebastian (Chris Carmack) and Dani (Laura Vandervoort) have dreams of retiring once they find Christopher Columbus's lost treasure ship, but for now they rely on rich couples like Carlton (David Anders) and Azra (Marsha Thomason) who want to rent the boat for a week, ostensibly to look for Columbus' treasure. Sebastian and Dani soon learn that the couple isn't what they seem, even if their initial fears of drug-running are unfounded.
Obviously, Walker and Alba are absent from this outing, and in their place we have Chris Carmack and Laura Vandervoort. Neither is particularly bad, but their characters are tragically underwritten, so there isn't much for the actors to work with. I couldn't quite tell if their characters were totally faceless, or if Carmack and Vandervoort are just that blank. If you enjoyed the first film not for Walker's and Alba's acting talents but for their hard bodies, you probably won't be disappointed by the flesh on display in Into the Blue 2. There's quite a bit of casual nudity from the other actors and actresses, neither Vandervoort nor Carmack shies away from showing as much skin as a bathing suit can throughout most of the film.
This is a lame film that never really gets its head above water.
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"Open Water 2: Adrift"
starring: Eric Dane, Susan May Pratt, Richard Speight Jr., Ali Hillis, Cameron Richardson
It's actually interesting that this is seen as a sequel to the "original" "Open Water" which was based on a true story of a couple literally lost at sea. The truth of the matter is that this script was written before "Open Water" was released. It had a different title and production was stalled until the studio saw how successful "Open Water" was and saw they steamrolled ahead with this straight-to-video film starring Eric Dane (before his fame from "Grey's Anatomy" and really nobody else famous).
I loved the first film, because it was slowly suspenseful and the "real" actors were great with each other as they floated aimlessly and helplessly on the water, awaiting their inevitable death.
With "Open Water 2," we have a group of friends, instead of a couple. The script calls for tension between the friends and being adrift is supposed to invoke some self-reflection and conflict among the friends (which it certainly does, but not suspenseful enough).
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"Soul Survivors"
starring: Eliza Dushku, Wes Bentley, Casey Affleck, Melissa Sagemiller, Angela Featherstone, Luke Wilson, Allen Hamilton
written and directed by: Steve Carpenter
This film came out in 2001, not really fresh off the heels of the hyped "Scream" film. Instead, it comes off as simply riding the coattails of a new revival of teen horror films that quickly played itself out by replicating itself over and over again, for the masses to consume and essentially get sick of pretty quickly. And maybe that's the reason why "Soul Survivors" is quite a forgettable film. It really tries to be everything films like "Scream" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and even "Urban Legend" were. It includes a cast of young, up-and-coming fresh faces (Casey Affleck and Wes Bentley are the dudes, and Eliza Dushku has a smaller part). It's a little like the post-Vietnam War film "Jacob's Ladder" without being very smart. It's just a rip-off of everything that's come before it.
Cassie (Melissa Sagemiller) is off to college for some real wild times! Unfortunately, her boyfriend Sean (Casey Affleck) is going to be leaving for Harvard and the two will be doing that whole "long distance relationship" thing. Bummer. After a night of partying with her boyfriend, her ex-boyfriend Matt (Wes Bentley), and his bitchy yet sexy girlfriend Annabel (Eliza Dushku). Cassie accidentally kisses Matt which infuriates Sean (well, duh). While arguing in the car about her and Matt's little peck, Cassie slams into another car, causing her car to roll down an embankment and make a general mess out of the two automobiles. Flash forward a few weeks later. Cassie and her friends have survived, but her loving boyfriend Sean has not. Haunted at college by dreams of the accident, Cassie tries to make sense of all the wackiness that's going on around her. This includes, but is not limited to, being chased by a man in a plastic mask, seeing blood squirt up from her shower drain, hallucinating about a twisted hospital, and showering with her friend Annabel.
This film is a mess right from the start and all the way through until the end. There is not much within the entire story. Nothing redeemable. The script is confusing, even for me, an intelligent person. You do not really know exactly what happened or what is happening throughout the film. Was it all just a dream? A nightmare? Is Cassie dead? Alive? Stuck in the in-between? Brought back? There isn't really any suspense or gore or blood enough to really scare anyone, either. It's all just ridiculous. And Melissa Sagemiller certainly fails miserably at her attempt to fit in with other ladies as a Scream Queen.
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"Open Road"
starring: Camilla Belle, Andy Garcia, Colin Egglesfield, Juliette Lewis
This is a small movie. A weak one, too, trying to make a point and be something bigger than it really ever can be. It presents itself as something like a Lifetime movie, with aspirations. The editing and equally the passage of time is a failure and a weak point, which makes the film a bit confusing. There's also a flashback that apparently plays an important role in the main characters situation (re: a rape?) but it never really breaks out and becomes a piece of who this girl has become, as we see her now. What we do know is that she does not like answering questions (about herself, about her past, about anything). We understand that this girl is complex and has some heavy emotional baggage. She has left home, in search of someone. She is clearly in need of an emotional anchor (found in the young cop who helps her out), but she pushes anyone away who shows an effort.
Angie (Camilla Belle) doesn't like answering questions about her past. In fact, she doesn't like answering questions about herself, or even answering questions at all. During the day, she works in a diner, where her co-workers hardly know anything about her other than her name, and at night she retreats to a tent in the mountains, where she paints and relaxes in solitude. Her only guests are other drifters, like Chuck (Andy Garcia), who accepts dinner from her and poses for one of her paintings. Angie's in the middle of moving to a new town when her car breaks down, and she's rescued by a local cop named David (Colin Egglesfield). David lands her a job at another diner run by his cousin Jill (Juliette Lewis), and gives her a place to stay, and Angie begins to wonder if her life without attachments all it's cracked up to be.
It's filled with many cliches. It's even got the crucial girl meets boy and straightens herself out for him. Unfortunately Camilla Belle has always been a rather bland, naturally cold, emotionless face and demeanor (here, it is no better). And Colin Egglesfield, who plays the cop, Angie's love interest, is equally as bland; so, together they do not really heat up their scenes together, which unfortunately is the vehicle for this story. But, at least there's Andy Garcia, who plays a bearded drifted who has befriended Angie as she lives out in the woods, in a tent. He also has assigned himself the role of her protector, and it's clear why. If you don't figure out why Andy Garcia's character exists almost from the start, you might need to watch a couple more films like this.
starring: Shaon Hinnendael, Jill Evyn, Constance Brenneman, Marina Rice Bader, Kieran Valla
written and directed by: Marina Rice Bader
An interesting play on words for the movie's title "Love Seen" instead of "Love Scene" since the film's story solely revolves around two actresses/lesbians who fell in love, dated, and broke up, only to be reunited on the set of the same film months later. They are reunited to reshoot a special/important film/love scene for the director's film that brought them together in the first place. The director has a hidden agenda, though. She is hoping that by reuniting these two actresses (equally beautiful), they will reignite their fire and passion. The director gets more than what she hoped for and eventually has to come clean with her intentions, but not before the audience has been totally convinced that this is a beautiful story.
This film surprised me. It's actually really good and worth checking out.
In Anatomy of a Love Seen, leading ladies Zoe (Sharon Hinnendael) and Mal (Jill Evyn) meet on set and fall madly in love during the filming of their big love scene. Flash forward to six months later, and Mal has up and left Zoe with no explanation. Zoe is an up and coming actress, whose success begins to overshadow that of Mal’s. Mal, an in recovery addict, can’t deal with the fear of losing Zoe, so she bails before she has the chance to get hurt. While nursing her broken heart, Zoe learns from her friend and director Kara (director Marina Rice Bader) that the film’s love scene needs to be reshot for a broadcast deal. It’s during this reshoot that is Anatomy of a Love Seen picks up.
Anatomy of a Love Seen is Mariana Rice Bader’s directorial debut. The dialogue is largely improvised which gives the film a rather raw and spontaneous feel. Hinnendael and Evyn are quite strong in this format, packing a lot of emotional wallop with their scenes. At times, the pain of their break up is almost palpable. That’s the beauty of this improvisation, which allows for some real organic moments to occur. Hinnedael is particularly gifted at creating very subtle moments that come across as genuine and relatable.
Not all love stories need to be grand. This film is tiny in its environment, yet uses that claustrophobia to really push the performances along. There is no other option than to face the thing that breaks you in Anatomy of a Love Seen. It’s not so much a character study, as a relationship study. How does a relationship fail when two people love each other so deeply? Why do we sabotage our own happiness? Anatomy of a Love Seen tries to answer that.
.......................................................................
"The Angriest Man in Brooklyn"
starring: Robin Williams, Melissa Leo, Mila Kunis, Peter Dinklage, Hamish Linklater, Sutton Foster, James Earl Jones, Richard Kind
Robin Williams is/was a great comedic actor (who found himself dabbling in the more dramatic roles as well, throughout his career). Unfortunately, this small, not-widely-seen, indie film also starring Mila Kunis, is definitely not his best work, even though he gives it his best effort. There really is not much to work with, but he does turn up his crankiness up to 11, convincingly, with this role. In the film, Williams plays a perpetually angry man, ready to snap at any minor incident. The man's name is Harry Altman and it seems like his life has been defined by minor and major disappointments (his "favorite" son choosing dance academy instead of following in his father's footsteps, the end of his marriage and then finding out she'd been cheating on him with a neighbor for several years). What propels Harry's story and the film happens at the beginning, when Kunis' doctor (really?! believable?! I think not) character informs him that he has approximately 90 minutes to live (thank God, because the film is a little less than that long). So, carry on with his angry, never really letting it go, Harry attempts to reconnect with his family (his estranged son and their relationship seems to be the focal point of his existential crisis) before its too late. He questions his entire existence and wonders if it was all worth it, especially the angry, while also coming to terms with himself and his decisions. He searches for the meaning of life, but not really in an effective way (for a film that could have been so much more and so much better).
The tone is all wrong here. It's melodramatic, comically clumsy, and filled with poor timing. A complete disappointment, especially as one of Robin Williams' last pieces of work before his death.
..............................................................................
"Into the Blue 2: The Reef"
starring: Chris Carmack, Laura Vandervoort, Marsha Thomason, Michael Graziedei, , Mircea Monroe, Audrina Patridge
The question is: Did the world really need another "Into the Blue" film, you know, a sequel to the otherwise drab, boring original film that really comes off as a rip-off of an extended episode of something between Baywatch and Hawaii Five-O, except worse, if that's possible, and here they prove it, completely. And this sequel doesn't include the "stellar" (he said with sarcasm) acting of Paul Walker and Jessica Alba- they knew enough to go one-and-done.
Early in Into the Blue 2 we learn that some smugglers, under Coast Guard pressure, must drop their precious cargo. This makes their employer quite irate. So irate, in fact, that he kills the driver of the boat. We then cut to a pair of dive bums who make their living taking tourists underwater off the coast of Hawaii. Sebastian (Chris Carmack) and Dani (Laura Vandervoort) have dreams of retiring once they find Christopher Columbus's lost treasure ship, but for now they rely on rich couples like Carlton (David Anders) and Azra (Marsha Thomason) who want to rent the boat for a week, ostensibly to look for Columbus' treasure. Sebastian and Dani soon learn that the couple isn't what they seem, even if their initial fears of drug-running are unfounded.
Obviously, Walker and Alba are absent from this outing, and in their place we have Chris Carmack and Laura Vandervoort. Neither is particularly bad, but their characters are tragically underwritten, so there isn't much for the actors to work with. I couldn't quite tell if their characters were totally faceless, or if Carmack and Vandervoort are just that blank. If you enjoyed the first film not for Walker's and Alba's acting talents but for their hard bodies, you probably won't be disappointed by the flesh on display in Into the Blue 2. There's quite a bit of casual nudity from the other actors and actresses, neither Vandervoort nor Carmack shies away from showing as much skin as a bathing suit can throughout most of the film.
This is a lame film that never really gets its head above water.
............................................................................
"Open Water 2: Adrift"
starring: Eric Dane, Susan May Pratt, Richard Speight Jr., Ali Hillis, Cameron Richardson
It's actually interesting that this is seen as a sequel to the "original" "Open Water" which was based on a true story of a couple literally lost at sea. The truth of the matter is that this script was written before "Open Water" was released. It had a different title and production was stalled until the studio saw how successful "Open Water" was and saw they steamrolled ahead with this straight-to-video film starring Eric Dane (before his fame from "Grey's Anatomy" and really nobody else famous).
I loved the first film, because it was slowly suspenseful and the "real" actors were great with each other as they floated aimlessly and helplessly on the water, awaiting their inevitable death.
With "Open Water 2," we have a group of friends, instead of a couple. The script calls for tension between the friends and being adrift is supposed to invoke some self-reflection and conflict among the friends (which it certainly does, but not suspenseful enough).
Four friends, Amy (Susan May Pratt), Zach (Niklaus Lange), Lauren (Ali Hillis), and Dan (Eric Dane), decide to have a small reunion on Dan's yacht in celebration of Zach's birthday. Dan brings along a very insecure date named Michelle (Cameron Richardson), while Amy brings along her husband James (Richard Speight Jr.), and their infant daughter Sarah (obvious plot device, so you really know that Amy's character will survive because only a heartless bastard would kill off the baby's mother and put the baby in danger).
As Zack, James, Lauren, and Michelle enjoy the ocean, Dan and Amy discuss the latter's phobia of water. Attempting to help her with some aversion therapy, Dan picks her up and jumps into the water. But there's a problem; he forgot to put down the ladder on the side of the boat. And the only person left on board is baby Sarah. Now all six of them are stuck in the water until help arrives, or until they can figure out a way back onto the boat.
There's no real sense of urgency, even with a baby on board, as the group of friends is adrift in the water adjacent. The characters are likable, but quickly become archetypes. Amy clearly has to find the courage to face her fear (of water). Dan is an amoral character who has to find his morality in order to survive. There's a lot of overcompensating by the director, screenwriters, and actors, because they clearly know the film is rather ridiculous and filled with contrivances and cliches. A miss on all counts.......................................................................................
"Soul Survivors"
starring: Eliza Dushku, Wes Bentley, Casey Affleck, Melissa Sagemiller, Angela Featherstone, Luke Wilson, Allen Hamilton
written and directed by: Steve Carpenter
This film came out in 2001, not really fresh off the heels of the hyped "Scream" film. Instead, it comes off as simply riding the coattails of a new revival of teen horror films that quickly played itself out by replicating itself over and over again, for the masses to consume and essentially get sick of pretty quickly. And maybe that's the reason why "Soul Survivors" is quite a forgettable film. It really tries to be everything films like "Scream" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and even "Urban Legend" were. It includes a cast of young, up-and-coming fresh faces (Casey Affleck and Wes Bentley are the dudes, and Eliza Dushku has a smaller part). It's a little like the post-Vietnam War film "Jacob's Ladder" without being very smart. It's just a rip-off of everything that's come before it.
Cassie (Melissa Sagemiller) is off to college for some real wild times! Unfortunately, her boyfriend Sean (Casey Affleck) is going to be leaving for Harvard and the two will be doing that whole "long distance relationship" thing. Bummer. After a night of partying with her boyfriend, her ex-boyfriend Matt (Wes Bentley), and his bitchy yet sexy girlfriend Annabel (Eliza Dushku). Cassie accidentally kisses Matt which infuriates Sean (well, duh). While arguing in the car about her and Matt's little peck, Cassie slams into another car, causing her car to roll down an embankment and make a general mess out of the two automobiles. Flash forward a few weeks later. Cassie and her friends have survived, but her loving boyfriend Sean has not. Haunted at college by dreams of the accident, Cassie tries to make sense of all the wackiness that's going on around her. This includes, but is not limited to, being chased by a man in a plastic mask, seeing blood squirt up from her shower drain, hallucinating about a twisted hospital, and showering with her friend Annabel.
This film is a mess right from the start and all the way through until the end. There is not much within the entire story. Nothing redeemable. The script is confusing, even for me, an intelligent person. You do not really know exactly what happened or what is happening throughout the film. Was it all just a dream? A nightmare? Is Cassie dead? Alive? Stuck in the in-between? Brought back? There isn't really any suspense or gore or blood enough to really scare anyone, either. It's all just ridiculous. And Melissa Sagemiller certainly fails miserably at her attempt to fit in with other ladies as a Scream Queen.
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"Open Road"
starring: Camilla Belle, Andy Garcia, Colin Egglesfield, Juliette Lewis
This is a small movie. A weak one, too, trying to make a point and be something bigger than it really ever can be. It presents itself as something like a Lifetime movie, with aspirations. The editing and equally the passage of time is a failure and a weak point, which makes the film a bit confusing. There's also a flashback that apparently plays an important role in the main characters situation (re: a rape?) but it never really breaks out and becomes a piece of who this girl has become, as we see her now. What we do know is that she does not like answering questions (about herself, about her past, about anything). We understand that this girl is complex and has some heavy emotional baggage. She has left home, in search of someone. She is clearly in need of an emotional anchor (found in the young cop who helps her out), but she pushes anyone away who shows an effort.
Angie (Camilla Belle) doesn't like answering questions about her past. In fact, she doesn't like answering questions about herself, or even answering questions at all. During the day, she works in a diner, where her co-workers hardly know anything about her other than her name, and at night she retreats to a tent in the mountains, where she paints and relaxes in solitude. Her only guests are other drifters, like Chuck (Andy Garcia), who accepts dinner from her and poses for one of her paintings. Angie's in the middle of moving to a new town when her car breaks down, and she's rescued by a local cop named David (Colin Egglesfield). David lands her a job at another diner run by his cousin Jill (Juliette Lewis), and gives her a place to stay, and Angie begins to wonder if her life without attachments all it's cracked up to be.
It's filled with many cliches. It's even got the crucial girl meets boy and straightens herself out for him. Unfortunately Camilla Belle has always been a rather bland, naturally cold, emotionless face and demeanor (here, it is no better). And Colin Egglesfield, who plays the cop, Angie's love interest, is equally as bland; so, together they do not really heat up their scenes together, which unfortunately is the vehicle for this story. But, at least there's Andy Garcia, who plays a bearded drifted who has befriended Angie as she lives out in the woods, in a tent. He also has assigned himself the role of her protector, and it's clear why. If you don't figure out why Andy Garcia's character exists almost from the start, you might need to watch a couple more films like this.
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