Review by Dane Marti

“Polly want a cracker?” This old phrase floated into my subconscious a few times while watching, ‘Polly,’ a low budget horror movie.

There are a number of elements within this film that make ‘Polly’ better than many other films of this genre. For instance, the structure is unique and laid-back. It has a detached documentary feel, especially during the first twenty minutes, which makes it seem like we’re looking at actual, true-crime images! These first images are striking and haunting. Some look very realistic.

Directed by Jason Hoover, the film makes good use of its low budget. Falling somewhere between: HENRY PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER, HOSTEL, SAW and other movies which, to me, often seem as much like snuff films as anything else, the film’s main character is a psychopath.  No surprise there, right? It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure this out. One look at his dumb visage and you can figure out that something isn’t copacetic in his old’ noggin.

Played with subtle menace by Brandon Williamson, the acting works well because we don’t expect the nut to play his role in a Shakespearean mode or like Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs. He isn’t a great actor, but for this film, and the horror audience, he is good enough! The crazy monster here is so blandly normal, with a beefy, flabby body (it seems so many guys start to bloat up as they enter middle age.), that even when he goes on a handyman job in his neighborhood, the woman who needs his help would never fathom in a million years that the ‘nice guy’ is a very sick pervert. This scene is one of the best in the movie. It is subtle, stark and holds the viewers’ attention; something is definitely going to happen, right? I felt it was a well-filmed and suspenseful moment.

Although the start of the film shows a montage of still images of murder and torture, the bulk of the movie’s story details one woman—Polly—who is trapped and tortured in the basement. She is roped to a chair that resembles something out of a Gothic Horror film.

The film isn’t extraordinary, but there are definitely moments of suspense, with a cinematic attention to detail on the director’s part. For instance: Polly is trapped in the psycho’s basement, but unfortunately for her, the weirdo can have ‘fun’ with her whether he’s literally near her or not: Polly has a sharp hook cutting into the back of her head. A wire runs from the hook and up through the home’s floorboards, across the living room floor, finally winding up in the psycho’s hand while sits in a lounge chair, leisurely enjoying some television. Therefore, when he gently moves the position of his hand, it causes horrible pain for poor Polly downstairs– her distant screams can be heard in the background.

I hated the metal music playing in the background. Luckily, it was often in the background and didn’t overwhelm the movie. It felt cliché to me. It was as if the writer/director, the musicians and psycho were all one and the same person. It needed music that complimented and mimicked the inner workings the madman.

To me, the climactic moments of the film are predictable and life affirming, but after such a grim, cinematic character study, there needed to be a little ‘light’ in the basement. The final moments of the movie aren’t as terrifying when compared to what had gone on before. Plus, some of the acting seems a little forced, motivation for certain behaviors do not seem right. Other viewers might disagree with me. If the director had utilized more Hitchcockian camera placement, storyboarding and editing, there might have been more dynamic tension within the final moments of the film. It’s frustrating for me to write this since much of the movie definitely has clever camera placement and an eerie sense of foreboding, with sick menace right out of camera range.

POLLY is available from JABB Pictures

Visit their website HERE

http://www.jabbpictures.com/default.html

Review by Dane Marti

The post-apocalyptic film DYSTOPIA: 2013 is an honest, often exciting cinematic effort, with a story that takes place after a mysterious and life-changing cataclysm on earth – or at least the Midwest. Obviously an independent film, a viewer shouldn’t go into the film expecting earth-shattering visual effects or top of the line acting. To enjoy the film, one must accept it as it is. It’s low budget and fun. The viewer should use their imaginations. If you do these things, you will find the film to be a cool and entertaining trip.

The film is directed by Johnno Zee. He definitely has a vision, but due to budget restraints, much of the story must focus on the characters and not on special effects depicting a devastated world. The film is good when the characters are interacting, but less impressive when showing the horror of the world they now find themselves in.

As the film starts, a midwestern guy has a terrible day: He loses both his job and his wife. Can’t much worse than that, right? Wrong. He seems to be a stoic sort of guy, an okay kind of dude. After his depressing day comes to an end and he is going to bed, there is an off-camera explosion. He survives and the scene fades out. When we see him in the next scene, a certain amount of time has transpired since the big bang that changed the world and he is pushing a cart and looking for food and supplies. I think there should have been a larger transition between the off camera explosion and our hero pushing a cart around a landfill looking for anything to utilize in his survival. Basically, it is a subtle transition, but it also is slightly confusing. Perhaps this was part of the director’s vision.

Within a short time, he meets another guy, a kindred spirit, and another survivor hiding from mutant nomads like, presumably, our original character. This second man might have a dubious past, though. Throughout the rest of the film, these two characters will try to bond, but never completely trust each other: The tension between them brings a dynamic tension to the film, even if some of the dialogue between them seems forced and awkward.

Speaking of dialogue and acting, much of the dialogue in the entire film is hard-boiled and terse, making points in a very simplistic and blunt way – as you would expect from people who find themselves living through the aftermath of an Apocalypse. Unfortunately, the acting isn’t too professional, but don’t let that ruin the fun. As I said before, this is a B Movie, and in that spirit, the scenes in which the two new partners banter and argue in a neo- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid-type of way, are fun.

The overall direction, as well as the camera work is professional given the limitations in money and equipment. The editing could be tighter, but the films weakness is basically due to the screenplay and acting. The director and the cameraman have obviously seen a lot of these types of films. The scenes that show the passage of time are effective, and in keeping with the overall post apocalyptic storyline as seen in countless films. Although the film has moments of cliche, it also has enjoyable and fun scenes, including an elderly character that is always offering verbal commentary about their predicaments: Whether he quotes a famous author or a film quote, it is fun and/or poignant. I enjoyed this.

The story is nicely paced, although the end of the film (once the characters are taken prisoner by some masked freaks) seems to plod a little – it also shows the films low budget. There needed to be a more palpable threat to the characters. Semi-punk, semi-Road Warrior evil, mysterious characters appear on motorcycles and haunt our good guys. The editing, camera angles and pacing could have added more kinetic menace to these scenes. Filming the action in long shots, the viewer can tell that the cars and bikes are simply not driving very fast or very maliciously. It doesn’t scare or thrill.

I would have had the main characters walk through more unique and visually interesting landscapes. After awhile, they all tend to look very similar. And the visual effects that show the St. Louis Gateway Arch are okay, but the film could have benefited, given its subject and genre, with a few more establishing shots of a world that has been completely decimated and changed by the Apocalypse.

Some of the film reminded me of ROAD WARRIOR and LOGAN’S RUN.

Within the constraints of the budget, the climactic, “nightmarish” scenes within a factory are effective. We’ve seen scenes like this before, but it works within this movie, because, we still care about the main protagonists! Damn it, we want them to survive and not to end up strangled or tortured! Since the acting is serviceable, but not amazing or riveting throughout the film, this is quite an accomplishment: As an audience, we have looked past the things in the film that didn’t completely work and still care about the well being of the characters. To that extent, the film works and is an enjoyable little adventure.

Visit the DYSTOPIA: 2013 website HERE

http://countzeecom.ipage.com/2013.html

Freestyle Digital Media (FDM) has set March 6, 2012  for the US release of DEADHEADS, the Best Horror Film Winner at the Traverse City Film Festival 2011 and Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking Winner at the Newport Beach Film Festival 2011. Brett and Drew T. Pierce wrote and directed the film, as well as produced alongside Andy Drummond and Kevin Van Hagen.  DEADHEADS will be available via FDM’s distribution partners that include the iTunes’ store, Amazon, Vudu, DirecTV, Dish Networks, Blockbuster.com, Best Buy CinemaNow, Sony PSN, YouTube, and most cable VOD services. Available for DVD rental at Blockbuster and Family Video.

DEADHEADS’, starring Michael McKiddy and Ross Kidder, is a return to the great comedy/adventure films of the 80′s. The story follows two zombie slackers, Mike and Brent, who find themselves surprisingly reborn from the dead amid a disastrous zombie outbreak. After discovering an engagement ring in his coat pocket, Mike enlists his new found zombie pal, Brent, to embark on a quest in search of his lost love.

FDM recently acquired DEADHEADS in November during the American Film Market, where the company also picked-up the thriller DONNER PASS which is now available on DVD, digital download, and on demand. Additional FDM titles now available include SWINGING WITH THE FINKELS, and TOMORROW, WHEN THE WAR BEGAN, which also marked the first feature film premiere on Facebook in February.

BONUS FEATURES FOR DVD
About DeadHeads, The Making of DeadHeads, Trailer, Director’s Commentary

TECHNICAL INFORMATION – DVD:
Street Date: March 6^th, 2012
Copyright: ©FroBro Films, LLC 2010. All Rights Reserved
Catalog Number: FDM-DV-109
UPC Number: 850153003102
Running time: 95 Minutes
Layers:  Single Layer
Picture Format: Widescreen
Aspect Ratio: 16×9 1:78
Rating: R, Bloody violence and gore, language, some sexual content and brief drug use
Languages/Subtitles: English SDH
Sound: 5.1 stereo surround & 2.0

CAST AND FILMAKERS
Cast:  Michael McKiddy, Ross Kidder and Markus Taylor
Directed by:  Brett Pierce, Drew T. Pierce
Screenplay by: Brett Pierce, Drew T. Pierce
Produced by: Brett Pierce, Drew T. Pierce, Andy Drummond, and Kevin Van Hagen
Director of Photography:  Robert Toth
Production Designer: Steven Milosavleski
Film Editor:  Kevin O’Brien
Costume Designer:  Blair Grinn, Rachel T. Smith

About Freestyle Digital Media
Freestyle Digital Media, LLC was launched in November 2011 by its CEO Susan Jackson who is Co-President and founder of independent theatrical distributor Freestyle Releasing, LLC and North American sales company Turtles Crossing, LLC. Freestyle Digital Media supplies quality commercial film and TV content directly to all US VOD/SVOD rental DVD/Kiosks and theaters using the latest cloud-based technologies to automate digital workflow.  Freestyle’s goal is to provide fresh, well-marketed product and stay on the cutting edge of the ever-compressing windows to ensure that their partners benefit from a platform that delivers an anytime-anywhere capability in the medium of their choice and a positive digital viewing experience on any device in any location. Jackson has partnered in FDM with Steve Harnsberger and Mark Borde.  Harnsberger is FDM’s Executive Vice President of Business Development and Borde is the company’s EVP of Theatrical Distribution.

Cool!  56 year old Cynthia Rothrock is back! Rothrock was the undefeated middleweight Kickboxing/Weapons lady champion for five consecutive years and starred in a boatload of DTV action adventures in the ’80s and ’90s. She has not been in a film since 2004′s SCI-FIGHTER but she’s making a comeback in DOUBLE FURY, to be filmed this summer, and I’m kinda jazzed!

Here are the details:
SaintSinner Entertainment (www.saintsinnerent.com) along with Jaunted Productions (www.jauntedproductions.com) is currently in pre-production for a martial arts action film that’ll shoot this summer titled DOUBLE FURY.

The film was written and will be directed by Amel J. Figueroa, and stars veteran martial arts action stars Richard Norton (Mr. Nice Guy) and Cynthia Rothrock (China O’Brien), as well as rising stars Cyrus Samson (Night of the Living Dead – 2012), Dennis Ronin (The Sickness), Natalie Amenula (Hamlet 2), Cynthia Housel (Iniquity), Rommel Gargoles (Black Ninja), & Laura Lynn Cottrel (The Replacements).

The film features numerous professional wrestlers like Katarina “Winter” Leigh Waters, Gail Kim, & Brooke Adams of “Impact Wrestling, Kip “Billy Gunn” Sopp, and Chavo Guerrero Jr., and more to be named.

SYPNOSIS: Double Fury is a martial arts action packed tale of two estranged brothers brought back together after their father is murdered by a megalomaniacal madman who’s looking for a volatile package in one of their possession that could destroy all that they hold dear.

Look for more coverage here at We Are Movie Geeks!

In the thriller genre one subset popular with film makers ( and often audiences ) has been the psychological thriller. A theme seen in these films has been an infatuation that turns to  ( usually deadly ) obsession. It’s been explored in older films like Hitchcock’s REBECCA and VERTIGO through the sixties with THE COLLECTOR and had a big resurgence with FATAL ATTRACTION and SINGLE WHITE FEMALE. Many times the plot will involve a young woman striking out on her own in a new city. This is at the heart of the new film THE RESIDENT which bypassed American theatres and is premiering on home video.

Juliet ( Hilary Swank ) is an emergency room surgeon living at a hotel after a nasty break up with her boyfriend Jack ( Lee Pace ). She finally decides to get a place of her own. After several dissapointing  tours with real estate agents, she posts an apartment wanted notice on the bulletin board at the hospital. She responds to a call and arrives at the building managed by Max ( Jeffrey Dean Morgan ). He’s in the middle of rehabbing the place and informs her that cell phone reception is lousy and the subway trains rattle the foundation. But Juliet is smitten with the view ( you can see the bridge right outside the window ), the opulent space, and the very affordable price. Max rents her the place without a reference check and soon she’s hauling her stuff up the elevator. Max introduces her to his ailing eccentric grandfather August ( Christopher Lee ) who lives down the hall from her. It takes a bit for Juliet to grow accustomed to the creaks and groans of the building, but soon she’s settled in. Later Juliet is invited to a local gallery party by a hospital co-worker and there runs into Max. As they walk and talk she wonders if Max will help her get over Jack. At her door she leans in to kiss Max who backs away. Perhaps she’s crossed a line. The next day she finally takes a call from Jack after he’s left countless messages and texts. She also gets a call from Max. He wishes to make up for the awkward previous evening with dinner. At the end of the meal she invites him into her bedroom. Just as things are heating up, Juliet rebuffs Max by stating that her feelings for Jack are still too strong. He understands and then reluctantly leaves. A few days later Juliet re-connects with Jack. It looks as if they will repair their relationship. All seems to be going well except that she’s constantly sleeping through her alarm and is always exhausted. And it seems that Max is not so sweet and understanding  anymore. Is there something sinister going on here?

Well, of course there is. Director Antii Jokinen telegraphs the creeps during her first night alone at the new place. He also lingers on a very graphic emergency room heart repair, perhaps to show us Juliet’s proficiency with tools. The gore there seems more than a bit gratuitous. Swank doesn’t have much to do here besides looking tired, worried, and confused. Morgan has the more complex role. He shows some of what charmed the many fans of his work on the TV show ” Grey’s Anatomy “. He also goes to a much darker place like his role in WATCHMEN. Pace, also from TV ( “Pushing Daisies” ) has little to do as Swanks’s rekindled romance. The real wasted opportunity here is the small , inconsequential role given to the great Christopher Lee. He’s there as a plot red herring who leers at Juliet through his front door. I was intrigued when I’d heard of his casting in this film. THE RESIDENT is a co-production with th newly re-formed Hammer studios. From the late 50′s through the early 70′s  they were famous for there Gothic horror films especially the Frankenstein film series with Peter Cushing and the Dracula  film series starring Mr. Lee. This film was to be their first big new theatrical release along with the English language remake of LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, LET ME IN. That film was critically lauded,but sank like a stone at the box office. Perhaps that had a factor in THE RESIDENT going right to video. More likely that despite the presence of the two time Oscar winning Swank ( who executive produced this along with Renny Harlin ) the film plays like a slightly sexed-up, gored-up, version of a story you’d see as a Lifetime-type TV movie. Certain character behaviors seem very implausible, and the cat and mouse chase through the building’s walls and crawlspaces at the film’s finale  ends flatly. I’m rooting for Hammer’s comeback. I hope they’ll bring us something more exciting and original next time. THE RESIDENT ( with only a trailer as an extra ) is available on DVD and Blu-ray from Image Entertainment.

Overall Rating: Two and a Half Out of Five Stars

THE TOURNAMENT is one of those films where the premise is so corny and overplayed that it’s strengths have to come from it’s execution. Luckily The Tournament doesn’t disappoint and is actually something of a gem. In the world of films about televised or secret death matches between over the top badasses THE TOURNAMENT stands out for having a great cast and some of the better, bloodier and more interesting action moments ever.

The Tournament itself happens every seven years, when the world’s best assassins all gather together in one random small town to do battle until one is left standing and is declared the best assassin in the world. I think the winner gets a giant pile of money as well, but that’s never made clear. Each Assassin is outfitted with a tracking device so the other killing sociopaths know exactly where to go, keeping the insanity to a clean 24 hours. OH and the trackers are explosives, so if there are too many people left alive at the end of the day, BOOM!

This time around a civilian is brought into the mix when a Frenchman (played by one of the creators of parkour/free running, Sebastien Foucan) cuts out his tracker and places it in a coffee pot. This is when it’s swallowed by alcoholic priest Father Macavoy (played by Robert Carlyle). Now this washed up, hung over shambled priest has to figure out how to stay alive when the world’s best are trying to kill him. Luckily he has Kelly Hu playing a very sexy trained killer named Lai Lai Zhen. Hu seems exceptionally buxom in this role… but that’s got NOTHING to do with the story… just makes her that much more interesting to watch. Her fight scenes are top notch though, as are most in the film.

Also being a complete and total badass is Ving Rhames as Joshua Harlow, a man who was once retired at the top of his game, but is now pulled back in when the murderer of his wife is pulled into the competition. He’s out for revenge and looks damn cool while he’s there.

I can’t lie about somethings this film has that you’ll see coming a mile away and you’ll just have to suspend your disbelief for. Of course the entire small town is wired up with HD video cameras that are part of some safety network and of course two really smart computer hackers who live off red bull and talk like they’re from a Diablo Cody film have hacked into the system and are letting the gambling billionaires see who’s winning everything. Basically they have my dream job and are the nerds everyone like me (IT Majors) wants to be.

Where the movie falters is just that it’s a played out idea and the budget isn’t nearly big enough to make all the effects look as good as they probably should. Thank god most of the gore is practical effects and the movie relies on very little CGI. There is one scene that completely took me out of the experience involving a montage of murder done to a sweet song. It’s very over the top and comedic but doesn’t fit the rest of the film at all and doesn’t do anything to push the narrative forward.

I can’t help but wish this film was getting a very wide theatrical release here in the US because it’s worth it. Sure it doesn’t have any A-list stars, but the cast here is amazing and the characters are very memorable.

What do you do when you go into blockbuster (or any other movie chain/store) to see something you haven’t seen before and you have already seen all the good stuff? Well then you rent the direct to DVD movie, if for no other reason then to laugh at how awful it is. Well sometimes that direct to DVD movie surprises you and its actually kind of good. Well that’s what brings us to this new column.

The first movie to get this treatment is … American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile.

For those of you that haven’t seen any of the American Pie movies past American Wedding … let me fill you in. All of the movies since then follow the Stifler clan and only contain one of the original characters, Jim’s Dad who is played by Eugene Levy. I started the watch the one right after American Wedding which was called Band Camp … but got bored and turned it off. This one, actually held my attention, and several laughs.

The story follows Erik Stifler played by John White who sets off with a couple of buddies on a road trip to his Erik’s cousin Dwight Stifler at a college in Michigan for the “Naked Mile Run”. A tradition that was done up until 2004 at the University of Michigan. Erik has hit a rough patch with his girlfriend and she gives him a free weekend pass to do whatever he wants. What follows is an insane weekend of partying, ladies, and Erik’s battle with himself to decide if he would use his weekend pass, or stay true to his girlfriend.

The highlight of the American Pie Presents series has been Steve Talley, who also stars in the latest installment ‘Beta House’. He plays Erik’s cousin Dwight … aka Stifler. A ladies man who is the president of Beta frat house. He is quick witted, but not in the typical asshole Stifler fashion. You really come away from this flick with an appreciation for him, and I hope to see him in more movies soon.