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josephdifran
Reviews
Lost Phoenix (2023)
Phoenix Found
Very interesting concept, and original in many ways - even when compared to films covering similar territory.
Cinematography is first rate. Scene compositions, fight sequences, pacing, sound effects, editing - considering its indie status and budgetary restraints, all very strong. Impressive. A great team of filmmakers came together on this. That is very clear.
Director James Couche most certainly has his own style. Great cinematic choices. Transitions. He has a touch, and I will most definitely be keeping an eye out for him.
The writing, overall, is good, but there were a couple of holes in the logic, and a few scenes seemed a touch overwritten - but that's just me.
As for performance standouts: Wan Dral (assuming acting debut) did a great job. His character had a lot going on, and he gave every facet his full attention. David Norton is as slick and sinister as they come. Eliza Kelley, being tasked with an emotionally and physically complex, multidimensional role, knocks it out of the park.
I hope these filmmakers come together again and again because they have something going here that really works.
Cicada Song (2019)
A Song Indeed
Not sure how this movie got past me. I pride myself on finding cinematic diamonds in the rough, and am quick to bring them up in the workplace break room - then watch the people around me slip them into their queue. But not this time, I'm ashamed to say. It was brought to me.
Regardless, this film works so well on just about every level imaginable. The story itself is compelling, very well told and demonstrated. The staggered sequences of events are handled well with skillful editing. Even the transitional scenes possess tiny elements of "reveal."
But its social commentary, and how it is so tastefully and deftly woven into the fabric of the tale....this, in and of itself, is the mark of a highly skilled storyteller.
Lyndsey Lantz's performance was solid and absolutely unwavering. Dialogue, real world in my opinion. Found the plot to be somewhat convoluted at times, but grounded and believable at its core.
It is well paced - yet a slow burn - and contains its fair share of surprises.
I would definitely keep an eye on Michael Starr. He has more tales to tell and I am eagerly awaiting.
A Place Among the Dead (2020)
Hollywood is the vampire.
From the outset, I was taken aback by how deeply personal and incredibly revealing this esoteric film turned out to be. One has to be extraordinarily brave to venture down roads so many of us try to forget ever existed.
I found the writing, in the form of the subject's observations and deductions into the evil entity, to be very thought provoking, even memory inducing - dark memories.
There are many solid, emotionally jarring performances by, to name a few, Denise Blasor, Janet Chamberlain and, of course, Juliet - particularly in her sorrowful appeal.
The film has many layers. My personal interpretation; at its core, is that Hollywood, in its ability, its unwavering success at capturing people amidst their most beautiful and alluring stages of life and suspending them forever in celluloid, is the cloaked vampire of our time.
"A Place Among the Dead," so aptly titled, is a horror story told from the soul, and set in the very town that devoured it.
Bravo.
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
Keep Killing Bill
This movie breaks new ground, even for QT. Plays out like a virtual comic book. Violent? Yes. Sexy? You bet. Entertaining? Incredibly so! It's replete with tiny surprises. QT has a way of mixing highly fantastical elements with gritty realism. The collective result of this hard-to-pull-off blend is what keeps your legs crossed, your butt on the seat's edge, and your perspective on its toes. Cinematography was nothing short of breathtaking and the sound effects, especially those in the realm of all things guttural or the least bit moist, were extraordinarily palpable. Dialogue was sharp, clever and economical. Combat choreography was surprisingly exceptional - especially with the scene involving the rarely seen spike & chain. (though somewhat modified) One also has to mention the countless subtle salutes to the movies of yore - the most obvious being the homage to Bruce Lee's unfinished Game of Death. I so look forward to the second installment.