Change Your Image
info-837-364862
Reviews
We Are Monster (2014)
Disturbing and sad
This is a very interesting study of a young offender and what led him to brutally kill his cellmate in a racially aggravated murder (inasmuch as something like that can ever really be understood).
This was a fairly high profile case, so there is a kind of melancholic inevitability hanging over the film and quite a few times I found it pretty tough to watch.
I'd definitely recommend this film, especially to anybody interested in true crime and the mindset and life events that might lead someone to commit a horrific act like this.
The Sound (2018)
Great short film
I thought this was a great short film - very atmospheric, beautifully shot and very well acted. The sound effects were also very effective and incredibly atmospheric.
Without spoiling anything, a huge plus for me was the ambiguity around the events of the film and the way the story could be read in a number of ways.
Definitely recommended.
Banshee Blacktop, an Irish Ghost Story (2016)
A hidden gem
I have no idea why this film isn't getting the plaudits it deserves. The direction is excellent, and you can clearly see that the director is the same man behind the short film The Wheelhouse.
The film is shot beautifully, giving depth to the desolate and barren locations and imbuing them almost with characteristics so that they become characters in and of themselves.
The sound especially is exceptional in this film, and again heightens the sense of dread permeating through many of the scenes.
I always feel the best horror films are the ones that leave you thinking about certain ideas and remembering certain images days or weeks after watching, and that is certainly what has happened with this film.
I stumbles upon this film by chance and am very glad I did. A true hidden gem.
The Wheelhouse (2006)
Incredible short
This was an incredibly atmospheric short film, with a genuine sense of impending doom hanging over it all.
I really liked the cast, and the older gentleman especially had such an expressive face - perfect for the role.
I liked the ending in that it wasn't a run of the mill Hollywood-style denouement. At the same time it didn't feel like a twist for the sake of having a twist, it felt like a natural progression of the story.
I'd highly recommend you seek out this short.
NokotaHeart (2011)
Breathtaking
There's a real sense of poignancy that permeates this film. Nokota Heart follows Leo - a horse rancher in North Dakota - and what at times seems like his futile attempts at preserving the bloodline of Sitting Bull's wild horses, and possibly his own legacy.
Oddly enough, watching this film reminded me of a great scene from The Sopranos, where Tony is explaining how he feels that the best is over and the party that is/was America is ending. That sentiment is very much echoed through this film, and a lot of the time I was left wondering just how many Leo's there are left.
The film looks and sounds incredible, and conveys both the desolation and beauty of North Dakota. Set against this backdrop is Leo and his family, and of course the majestic horses themselves.
I loved this film, as it captures something which is in real danger of being lost, and there's a real feeling that this is somehow preserving it all - the sights, the sounds, the people. On that point, this film shows the real, warts-and-all people involved - and Leo especially is an incredible character who surely would have to be invented if he didn't already exist!
I definitely recommend this film, and ideally on the big screen. Ironically, it's only set against this vast backdrop that the larger- than-life Leo can be fully appreciated.