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Reviews
Alien Blood (1999)
It's a film that boldly goes where the `X-Files' should have!
For me Alien Blood represents a true indi film experience! It's the type of film where no two can agree as to what its about.
Jon Sorenson has crafted a haunting maze of images that are at times so breathtaking that its worth seeing Alien Blood for that alone. Indeed I felt I was on a very cool acid trip as I watched the story unfold and develop. It's a film that boldly goes where the `X-Files' should have gone but never had the guts! Ya gotta love it.
Add to that a pure visual approach to the story telling and you enter the land of CINEMA - a story told with images, mood, events, without relying on insipid explanatory `spoon fed' dialog. Bravo!
Mr. Sorenson's expertise in SFX is well played as he create some the best indi EFX I have ever seen. The Efx are worth the wait and bring the film to its dramatic crescendo much like the arrival of the mothership in Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Finally there is the very hand use of erotica which is so subtle and sensual that to say more would burst the glowing bubble of it in my mind.
All said - the truth is way out there baby!
Echos of Enlightenment (2001)
WOW! What a Surprise!
What a surprise!
A sleazy lawyer stumbles upon enlightenment!
This film is grounded in the expression of the Buddha nature. I think this is the first time the essence of Buddhism is expressed on the screen. Even if the quote from the Lotus Sutra is unrecognizable to the general audience, everyone can relate to the impact of a single life on so many others and the struggle for meaning in life.
The route to Daniel's enlightenment was laced with social commentary and humor about the mundane routine of life. The lawyer's daily trudging his cases up to the courthouse was a great motif for showing the increasing burden his life and his unraveling before he finds enlightenment. Daniel's struggle between his humanity and his dreary work is something many people can relate to. (I'm especially recommending this to my lawyer friends).
Very good actors, well cast. The direction, camera work, and editing were well done--better than many movies emerging from the independent market. (Clerks, Chuck and Buck come to mind). Visually interesting, particularly that scene where his suicide is envisioned. Powerfully presented.