Films About...
"Ava's Possessions"
starring: Carol Kane, Jemima Kirke, William Sadler, Alysia Reiner, Dan Fogler, Lou Taylor Pucci, Louisa Krause, Whitney Able, John Ventimiglia
written and directed by: Jordan Galland
Most films about demonic possessions are classified as horror films because of the structure of the story being told, and how the climax is almost always an exorcism of some kind. They all, of course, have some kind of religious undertone as well.
With this film, filmmaker Jordan Galland takes the approach of what happens after the exorcism. The exorcism happens within the first minutes of the film, and then the audience follows Ava through the aftermath of becoming a regular person again and the effects of the possessions, as she is followed around by a series of her monstrous inhabitations as she attempts to put her life back together. Of course, with the religious undertone provided with these types of films, there is also plenty of room for metaphors. Ava could resemble a rape victim, a recovering addict, a recently released prisoner- she even attends meetings for the Spiritual Possession Anonymous, in order to help make amends for what she did under the demons' influences and repair the damage she caused with people in her life.
Louisa Krause really owns the film and the story and plays the character of Ava with poignancy. She is a variety of emotions, including angry, resentful, lustful, lonely, and hollow/sad throughout her journey, and Krause really conveys each emotion on her baby-doll face.
This is a fun, unexpectedly decent film that bends the horror-comedy genre.
...........................................................................
"Bleeding Heart"
starring: Jessica Biel, Zosia Mamet, Joe Anderson, Mauricio Gomez Amoretti
written and directed by: Diane Bell
"Bleeding Heart" brings Jessica Biel back onto the screen after having a baby with husband Justin Timberlake in a film about a sisterly bond between two women/sisters who have never met and what women will do for each other and the lengths they will go in order to help each other, and of course save one from a terrible man in their lives. Perfect Lifetime movie quality that someone turned into a full-length film.
As a yoga instructor, May (Jessica Biel) exudes an aura of calm, composure and balance. But she's apparently not over the fact that she was adopted as a child. She manages to track down her biological sister, Shiva (Zosia Mamet), a sex worker stuck in a stormy relationship with volatile pimp Cody (Joe Anderson). May immediately injects herself into the life of this practical stranger and makes it her mission to rescue Shiva from her abuser.
May's business and romantic partner, Dex (Edi Gathegi), is none too pleased about not being consulted on the decisions to invite Shiva over for the night and misappropriate company funds to help her make rent. While his concerns seem legitimate, they apparently suffocate May as much as Cody's death threats debilitate Shiva.
This drama-turned-action/thriller becomes a poor girls' "Thelma and Louise" and becomes quite steeped in the two women's codependency and low self-esteem, their neediness and desperation to continue to exist in a lonely world.
Quite a disappointment of a film.
............................................................................
"Condemned"
starring: Johnny Messner, Michel Gill, Jon Abrahams, Ronen Rubinstein, Lydia Hearst, Michael Dyer, Dylan Penn, Kea Ho, Genevieve Hudson-Price
written and directed by: Eli Morgan Gesner
"Condemned" is such a terrible, low-budget horror film that seems to just be a vehicle to get Sean and Robin Wright Penn's daughter, Dylan, into the business. Too bad the film is awful, the story has nothing gripping or redeeming about it, and Dylan Penn's character, Maya, is nothing special.
The film starts with Maya, a poor little rich girl leaving her upscale lifestyle and beachfront home in order to escape her screaming, fighting parents. She moves in with her boyfriend, Dante, in a condemned shithole of an apartment building in the lower east side of New York. Maya experiences culture shock instantly and has absolutely no time to adjust to the life of a squatter and and poverty because of a toxic meth lab in the apartment building which sets the rest of the film in motion.
Maya’s too weak a character to attach too, as she enjoys a naive worldview just over the wrong side of annoying. She’s the kind of woman that can tell the woman looking for her next fix that it’s okay because “she’s a junkie” with all the self-awareness of a Malibu Stacy doll proclaiming “math is hard.” when you pull her string. As Maya may be the most balanced character of the lot, its up to the audience to find something else to latch onto.
Perhaps the filmmaker knew there was absolutely nothing of substance within this film and that all his characters were one-dimensional at best, and so, instead just goes for the gory glory. It certainly has enough horror and gore, albeit predictable as hell, to entertain, but even so, it's still quite a waster of time.
............................................................................
"Zoombies"
starring: Ione Butler, Andrew Asper, LaLa Nestor, Kim Nielsen, Marcus Anderson, Brianne Joy Chromer, Aaron Groben, Kaiwi Lyman-Mersereau, Reuben Uy, Isaac Anderson, Tammy Klein
written by: Scotty Mullen
directed by: Glenn Miller
"Zoombies" is everything you would expect and hope for, in the same vein as "Zombeavers" which I watched a couple of years ago thanks to Netflix.
Zoombies takes place in the Eden Wildlife Zoo, a facility that specializes in housing endangered animals. The outfit is headed by Dr. Ellen Rogers (Kim Nielsen) who inherited it from her grandfather. On a seemingly routine day at the zoo, chaos erupts as the closed biological system is infected by a zombie-like virus that quickly spreads between the animals and makes them hungry for human flesh.
This is such a fun film that never takes itself seriously, but also doesn't come off cheap and too gag-filled. The characters are developed just enough, the dialogue is real enough. Sure, it's cheesy sometimes, but that's almost what the film company that produced it is known for.
.........................................................................
"Don Verdean"
starring: Sam Rockwell, Amy Ryan, Will Forte, Danny McBride, Jermaine Clement, Leslie Bibb
written by: Jared and Jerusha Hess
directed by: Jared Hess
The husband-wife collaborators perhaps will never come out of the shadow of their extremely successful and quirk-fest of an independent film that became a giant monster and pop culture phenomenon known as "Napoleon Dynamite." God knows they've tried with "Nacho Libre" and "Gentlemen Broncos" as well as with this film, but they've failed each time, unfortunately. They do keep their focus on quirkiness and ostensibly charming eccentricity especially of their characters and not just the story being told.
In the film, the titular biblical archaeologist (Sam Rockwell) is commissioned by a desperate pastor, Tony Lazarus (Danny McBride), to find physical evidence of certain biblical tales in order to help bolster the faith of his followers. The seeds, then, are planted for a potentially fruitful satirical dialogue between science and religion—the need for proof put in direct conflict with religion's required leap of faith.
Of course, Don Verdean has to have a rival and an antagonist, which comes in the form of Pastor Fontaine (played comically masterfully by Will Forte, like one of his SNL characters), who happens to be a "former Satanist turned Christian."
The treatment of both its main character and his faithful assistant and conscience, Carol (Amy Ryan), somewhat offsets the snark. And in the film's own dramatic terms, Don Verdean, despite serious doubts about the veracity of his discoveries, is intended as a well-meaning person who's led astray into a pit of sin and temptation by both a desperate commitment to a larger faith-based cause and a self-interested Mephistophelean Israeli named Boaz (Jemaine Clement). But with Rockwell sporting a bushy beard and spouting his lines in an exaggerated Southern accent, it might be difficult for viewers to grasp his supposed goodness underneath the loud surface oddities.
Amy Ryan is the best part/character in this film and its story, because she comes off as the most authentic person in the film, one whose flaws make her human. But, unfortunately, the filmmakers and writers do not give her enough material to make the role an integral part of the story. I think they were more focused on being snarky and making a point about religion, which got most in the muddy mess of too many jokes.
..........................................................................
"Indigenous"
starring: Zachary Soetenga, Lindsey McKeon, Sofia Pernas, Pierson Fode, Jamie Anderson, Laura Penuela, Juanxo Villaverde
written by: Max Roberts
directed by: Alastair Orr
Here is a film that is a cheap knock-off of the uber-scary film "Descent" and may I suggest watching that film instead.
Five model-perfect Americans travel to Panama for a graduation holiday. The two couples and fifth wheel plan on taking in the postcard ready beaches and tropical climate as a means to unwind and have one last blowout before the demands of adulthood begin to weigh them down. When the group befriends a few of the locals, they learn about a wellspring hidden deep in the jungle that’s rumored to a spot imbibed with magical powers. It’s also off limits as people that tend to seek it out tend to never turn up again. I think you can figure out where this is heading.
............................................................................
"Buffalo Soldiers"
starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Ed Harris, Scott Glenn, Anna Paquin, Elizabeth McGovern, Michael Pena, Leon Robinson, Gabriel Mann, Dean Stockwell
written and directed by: Gregor Jordan
Here is a film that could have almost been written and made by Oliver Stone, given his attitude of contempt and conspiracy theory-laden mind, as it is one of the last films made about the U.S. military pre-9/11 (nearly every single film post-9/11 has a completely different tone, mood, message to it regarding the military, as it is seen as unpatriotic to even consider saying anything negative).
This is a hard-edged satire on the U.S. military and a film that was made before 9/11 but shelved until 2003. It portrays the Army as a last resort for criminals and high school dropouts who don't seem to fit in anywhere else, where they can be wasteful and wasted, quite inept and mismanaged and mostly forgotten, especially because we have troops placed all over the globe.
This story, though, takes place at an Army base in Stuttgart, West Germany at the tail-end of the Cold War, just before the Berlin Wall comes down. Joaquin Phoenix plays Ray Elwood, a silver-tongued and street-smart supply clerk. Ray doesn't give a hoot about serving his country; if he hadn't stolen a car and needed a refuge from prison, he wouldn't even be in uniform. Bored by the monotony of peacetime, he dupes the clueless base commander (Ed Harris), drives a sleek Mercedes, runs black-market sales on everything from Mop & Glo to Stinger missiles and uses base facilities to cook heroin from high-grade Turkish morphine. When a brutal new top sergeant (Scott Glenn) arrives on base and pulls the plug on Ray's tedium-killing scams, Ray stupidly retaliates by dating the sergeant's daughter (Anna Paquin).
I really enjoyed this film for its harsh, unapologetic message about the military corruption and ineptitude especially at a time when the country was begging and demanding everyone hop on board with our message and war in Iraq.
starring: Carol Kane, Jemima Kirke, William Sadler, Alysia Reiner, Dan Fogler, Lou Taylor Pucci, Louisa Krause, Whitney Able, John Ventimiglia
written and directed by: Jordan Galland
Most films about demonic possessions are classified as horror films because of the structure of the story being told, and how the climax is almost always an exorcism of some kind. They all, of course, have some kind of religious undertone as well.
With this film, filmmaker Jordan Galland takes the approach of what happens after the exorcism. The exorcism happens within the first minutes of the film, and then the audience follows Ava through the aftermath of becoming a regular person again and the effects of the possessions, as she is followed around by a series of her monstrous inhabitations as she attempts to put her life back together. Of course, with the religious undertone provided with these types of films, there is also plenty of room for metaphors. Ava could resemble a rape victim, a recovering addict, a recently released prisoner- she even attends meetings for the Spiritual Possession Anonymous, in order to help make amends for what she did under the demons' influences and repair the damage she caused with people in her life.
Louisa Krause really owns the film and the story and plays the character of Ava with poignancy. She is a variety of emotions, including angry, resentful, lustful, lonely, and hollow/sad throughout her journey, and Krause really conveys each emotion on her baby-doll face.
This is a fun, unexpectedly decent film that bends the horror-comedy genre.
...........................................................................
"Bleeding Heart"
starring: Jessica Biel, Zosia Mamet, Joe Anderson, Mauricio Gomez Amoretti
written and directed by: Diane Bell
"Bleeding Heart" brings Jessica Biel back onto the screen after having a baby with husband Justin Timberlake in a film about a sisterly bond between two women/sisters who have never met and what women will do for each other and the lengths they will go in order to help each other, and of course save one from a terrible man in their lives. Perfect Lifetime movie quality that someone turned into a full-length film.
As a yoga instructor, May (Jessica Biel) exudes an aura of calm, composure and balance. But she's apparently not over the fact that she was adopted as a child. She manages to track down her biological sister, Shiva (Zosia Mamet), a sex worker stuck in a stormy relationship with volatile pimp Cody (Joe Anderson). May immediately injects herself into the life of this practical stranger and makes it her mission to rescue Shiva from her abuser.
May's business and romantic partner, Dex (Edi Gathegi), is none too pleased about not being consulted on the decisions to invite Shiva over for the night and misappropriate company funds to help her make rent. While his concerns seem legitimate, they apparently suffocate May as much as Cody's death threats debilitate Shiva.
This drama-turned-action/thriller becomes a poor girls' "Thelma and Louise" and becomes quite steeped in the two women's codependency and low self-esteem, their neediness and desperation to continue to exist in a lonely world.
Quite a disappointment of a film.
............................................................................
"Condemned"
starring: Johnny Messner, Michel Gill, Jon Abrahams, Ronen Rubinstein, Lydia Hearst, Michael Dyer, Dylan Penn, Kea Ho, Genevieve Hudson-Price
written and directed by: Eli Morgan Gesner
"Condemned" is such a terrible, low-budget horror film that seems to just be a vehicle to get Sean and Robin Wright Penn's daughter, Dylan, into the business. Too bad the film is awful, the story has nothing gripping or redeeming about it, and Dylan Penn's character, Maya, is nothing special.
The film starts with Maya, a poor little rich girl leaving her upscale lifestyle and beachfront home in order to escape her screaming, fighting parents. She moves in with her boyfriend, Dante, in a condemned shithole of an apartment building in the lower east side of New York. Maya experiences culture shock instantly and has absolutely no time to adjust to the life of a squatter and and poverty because of a toxic meth lab in the apartment building which sets the rest of the film in motion.
Maya’s too weak a character to attach too, as she enjoys a naive worldview just over the wrong side of annoying. She’s the kind of woman that can tell the woman looking for her next fix that it’s okay because “she’s a junkie” with all the self-awareness of a Malibu Stacy doll proclaiming “math is hard.” when you pull her string. As Maya may be the most balanced character of the lot, its up to the audience to find something else to latch onto.
Perhaps the filmmaker knew there was absolutely nothing of substance within this film and that all his characters were one-dimensional at best, and so, instead just goes for the gory glory. It certainly has enough horror and gore, albeit predictable as hell, to entertain, but even so, it's still quite a waster of time.
............................................................................
"Zoombies"
starring: Ione Butler, Andrew Asper, LaLa Nestor, Kim Nielsen, Marcus Anderson, Brianne Joy Chromer, Aaron Groben, Kaiwi Lyman-Mersereau, Reuben Uy, Isaac Anderson, Tammy Klein
written by: Scotty Mullen
directed by: Glenn Miller
"Zoombies" is everything you would expect and hope for, in the same vein as "Zombeavers" which I watched a couple of years ago thanks to Netflix.
Zoombies takes place in the Eden Wildlife Zoo, a facility that specializes in housing endangered animals. The outfit is headed by Dr. Ellen Rogers (Kim Nielsen) who inherited it from her grandfather. On a seemingly routine day at the zoo, chaos erupts as the closed biological system is infected by a zombie-like virus that quickly spreads between the animals and makes them hungry for human flesh.
This is such a fun film that never takes itself seriously, but also doesn't come off cheap and too gag-filled. The characters are developed just enough, the dialogue is real enough. Sure, it's cheesy sometimes, but that's almost what the film company that produced it is known for.
.........................................................................
"Don Verdean"
starring: Sam Rockwell, Amy Ryan, Will Forte, Danny McBride, Jermaine Clement, Leslie Bibb
written by: Jared and Jerusha Hess
directed by: Jared Hess
The husband-wife collaborators perhaps will never come out of the shadow of their extremely successful and quirk-fest of an independent film that became a giant monster and pop culture phenomenon known as "Napoleon Dynamite." God knows they've tried with "Nacho Libre" and "Gentlemen Broncos" as well as with this film, but they've failed each time, unfortunately. They do keep their focus on quirkiness and ostensibly charming eccentricity especially of their characters and not just the story being told.
In the film, the titular biblical archaeologist (Sam Rockwell) is commissioned by a desperate pastor, Tony Lazarus (Danny McBride), to find physical evidence of certain biblical tales in order to help bolster the faith of his followers. The seeds, then, are planted for a potentially fruitful satirical dialogue between science and religion—the need for proof put in direct conflict with religion's required leap of faith.
Of course, Don Verdean has to have a rival and an antagonist, which comes in the form of Pastor Fontaine (played comically masterfully by Will Forte, like one of his SNL characters), who happens to be a "former Satanist turned Christian."
The treatment of both its main character and his faithful assistant and conscience, Carol (Amy Ryan), somewhat offsets the snark. And in the film's own dramatic terms, Don Verdean, despite serious doubts about the veracity of his discoveries, is intended as a well-meaning person who's led astray into a pit of sin and temptation by both a desperate commitment to a larger faith-based cause and a self-interested Mephistophelean Israeli named Boaz (Jemaine Clement). But with Rockwell sporting a bushy beard and spouting his lines in an exaggerated Southern accent, it might be difficult for viewers to grasp his supposed goodness underneath the loud surface oddities.
Amy Ryan is the best part/character in this film and its story, because she comes off as the most authentic person in the film, one whose flaws make her human. But, unfortunately, the filmmakers and writers do not give her enough material to make the role an integral part of the story. I think they were more focused on being snarky and making a point about religion, which got most in the muddy mess of too many jokes.
..........................................................................
"Indigenous"
starring: Zachary Soetenga, Lindsey McKeon, Sofia Pernas, Pierson Fode, Jamie Anderson, Laura Penuela, Juanxo Villaverde
written by: Max Roberts
directed by: Alastair Orr
Here is a film that is a cheap knock-off of the uber-scary film "Descent" and may I suggest watching that film instead.
Five model-perfect Americans travel to Panama for a graduation holiday. The two couples and fifth wheel plan on taking in the postcard ready beaches and tropical climate as a means to unwind and have one last blowout before the demands of adulthood begin to weigh them down. When the group befriends a few of the locals, they learn about a wellspring hidden deep in the jungle that’s rumored to a spot imbibed with magical powers. It’s also off limits as people that tend to seek it out tend to never turn up again. I think you can figure out where this is heading.
............................................................................
"Buffalo Soldiers"
starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Ed Harris, Scott Glenn, Anna Paquin, Elizabeth McGovern, Michael Pena, Leon Robinson, Gabriel Mann, Dean Stockwell
written and directed by: Gregor Jordan
Here is a film that could have almost been written and made by Oliver Stone, given his attitude of contempt and conspiracy theory-laden mind, as it is one of the last films made about the U.S. military pre-9/11 (nearly every single film post-9/11 has a completely different tone, mood, message to it regarding the military, as it is seen as unpatriotic to even consider saying anything negative).
This is a hard-edged satire on the U.S. military and a film that was made before 9/11 but shelved until 2003. It portrays the Army as a last resort for criminals and high school dropouts who don't seem to fit in anywhere else, where they can be wasteful and wasted, quite inept and mismanaged and mostly forgotten, especially because we have troops placed all over the globe.
This story, though, takes place at an Army base in Stuttgart, West Germany at the tail-end of the Cold War, just before the Berlin Wall comes down. Joaquin Phoenix plays Ray Elwood, a silver-tongued and street-smart supply clerk. Ray doesn't give a hoot about serving his country; if he hadn't stolen a car and needed a refuge from prison, he wouldn't even be in uniform. Bored by the monotony of peacetime, he dupes the clueless base commander (Ed Harris), drives a sleek Mercedes, runs black-market sales on everything from Mop & Glo to Stinger missiles and uses base facilities to cook heroin from high-grade Turkish morphine. When a brutal new top sergeant (Scott Glenn) arrives on base and pulls the plug on Ray's tedium-killing scams, Ray stupidly retaliates by dating the sergeant's daughter (Anna Paquin).
I really enjoyed this film for its harsh, unapologetic message about the military corruption and ineptitude especially at a time when the country was begging and demanding everyone hop on board with our message and war in Iraq.
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