Change Your Image
Chris_Coffel
Reviews
Amexica (2010)
Amexica exposes harsh realities of human trafficking through impressive performances
**Review courtesy of Trashwire.com**
Amexica, from writer/director Ron Krauss, was hands down the best short film I screened at the 2010 Arizona Underground Film Festival–and in no way is this a slight to the other films there. Amexica was simply just that good.
Amexica is the tale of human trafficking but told in a different way, from a different viewpoint. Two con artists, played by Joseph Ferrante and AnnaLynne McCord, buy young children from Mexico. They use the children as part of a scheme to make money and do it quickly.
The most recent child they acquired is a young boy (Jordan James) whose name we never learn. The boy speaks no English so he is unaware of what is going on. The man and the woman pass the boy off as their son. How they make money off him is truly heart breaking.
The woman stands along a busy street and waits for an expensive car to come by. When one does she pushes the boy in front of it causing him to get hit. Naturally the drivers freak out and are willing to do whatever it takes to keep this from the police including cutting the man and the woman a large check.
One day the boy sneaks out of the hotel where the three are currently staying. He heads off to a busy street and does the only thing he knows how. This quickly changes all three of their lives.
The film is very emotional and the acting is superb. Ferrante is extraordinary in the lead role of the man. The way he is able to convey the growth and change of his character to the audience in a short film is truthfully an amazing feat. McCord is equally impressive as the woman who is as ugly on the inside as she is beautiful on the out.
Amexica is a short film that everyone needs to see. It sheds light on the terrible things that occur as a result of human trafficking. Most Americans probably aren't even aware of a lot of things that go on in this film, so I applaud Mr. Krauss for exposing it to the masses. I truly hope this film makes it out to much larger audiences so it can have the best possible impact.
This film is highly entertaining but it's more than that. It can make a difference. Demand this film be shown in your area. It's very rare that a film can have an impact like Amexica, and it's even more rare when the film is a short film. Amexica has it all.
The Ruffians (2009)
The Ruffians ventures into the underground
Review courtesy of Trashwire.com
You ever wonder what's in those huge underground tunnels you see around town? You know the ones. You can often find them under a bridge or overpass. I always thought they were bum tunnels. I was terrified to go in them. Sometimes, I'd step in and immediately retreat back on out. I never made it two steps in, so I have no proof that bums ever lived in them. Writers Travis Mills and Drew Koshar have a much different and quite frankly much more interesting theory in the short film The Ruffians, directed by Mills.
The short is about Jim, portrayed here by Gordon Clark, a man working for a law firm. Jim begins to lose focus on his job and his work suffers as he begins to hear a static like noise. The noise appears to be calling him towards a huge underground tunnel that is located outside his place of work.
After becoming increasingly interested in the tunnel, Jim finally decides to venture into the dark abyss and see what, if anything, is calling out to him. Once inside, Jim encounters a tribe of people living a primitive lifestyle, much the opposite of his own.
As the static noise that plagues Jim becomes stronger and stronger, his work suffers more causing a conflict with his boss and pushing him closer to the tribe living underground. As the troubles at work continue to increase into a bigger issue, Jim is forced to decide if he wants to continue to conform to the lifestyle that society deems normal, or give way to his animalistic urges and live with the tribe below.
The Ruffians is a film that truly impressed me at the Arizona Underground Film Festival. The story is something most people should be able to relate to. We've all gotten to that point at one time another in our 9-5 job where we just want to get away and live the most simple life. That's what I took away from this film, that Jim had finally hit that point.
The performance from Clark is picture perfect. He's outstanding at conveying that feeling of a man that's just had it with his desk job and is ready to break away from the "norm." I was fortunate enough to see Clark in back-to-back performances (the first being Bloody Basin) and just from one short to the next you could see the growth in his performance. Clark's acting ability in The Ruffians appeared to be leaps and bounds above his work in Bloody Basin, and that's say something as I was a fan of his work in the latter.
The score in this film was fantastic, one of the better scores I've heard in a short film. The tribal like drum and bass sounds that played over the scenes in the underground tunnel really set the mood and atmosphere for the entire film. Musical scores can often times go unnoticed, especially in the impact that have on a film, but that is not the case here. With The Ruffians, the music is felt and the impact is clear.
As far as I'm aware this short marks the directorial debut from Mills and what a debut it is. In just a short Mills was able to encompass many of the elements that make a quality film; mood, feeling, story, lighting, score, acting, location, casting, to name a few. If The Ruffians is any indication, Mills is a name you won't soon forget.
Bloody Basin (2009)
"Bloody Basin" is a killer short.
**Review courtesy of Trashwire.com**
It's bad luck to kill a coyote. It's really bad luck to kill a coyote if you're a college kid trespassing on sacred Native American soil with three of your college buddies. This is what writer/director Dave Surber shows us in his 15-minute short, Bloody Basin.
Bloody Basin is just that, the story of four college students, two guys and two girls, that decide to set up camp on a Native American Reservation. After a night of drinking, one of the fellows pulls out a shot gun and shoots a coyote off in the distance. From this point on its bad news for this group of America's future as every little turn and twist becomes deadlier than the last.
The film is directed and written very well. The opening shots of the Arizona desert are gorgeous. As a fan of establishing shots, especially those that involve natural landscape and scenery, the opening sequence of Bloody Basin was right up my alley.
The story is perfect for the short film format and Surber did en excellent job of executing it on film. I'm unaware of whether or not the story is something Surber came up with entirely on his own or if its loosely based off a Native American legend or myth, which admittedly I should know being from Arizona, regardless however, the idea is tailor made for this medium so kudos to Surber for taking advantage of that.
That acting is the weakest link of Bloody Basin. The lead male, Mike, played by Gordon Clark, gave the best performance and stood out to me. He was perfectly cast as the twenty something, obnoxious college male, whose only focus and care is to bed as many women as possible. I look forward to seeing Clark around in the future. His supporting cast, however, could use a little work. This is not to say that they were bad, just that it appeared to be first time gigs for them while Clark looks to be a little more polished. In no way did any of these performances take away from the overall enjoyment level of the film and I fully expect each one of these actors to continue to grow and progress.
All in all, Bloody Basin is a great little thriller that I thoroughly enjoyed. My eyes were glued to the screen throughout as I watched the fast paced plot unfold and come to an exciting, heart pounding conclusion. Oh, and I learned to never kill a coyote. Not bad, Surber, not bad at all.
The Villikon Chronicles: Return to Mayhem (2010)
Just a small tidbit of the series
**review courtesy of Trashwire.com**
One of two animation shorts I saw at the Arizona Underground Film Festival was The Villikon Chronicles: Return to Mayhem. The three minute short, written by Bryan Kinnaird and directed by Rebecca Friedman, is just a very small segment in The Villikon Chronicles series created by Kinnaird.
This particle piece is inspired by the upcoming live-action movie, The Villikon Chronicles: Genesis of Evil. The characters are based off those from the graphic novels and the original trilogy of screenplays written by Kinnaird.
It's really hard to say anything about this short because it actually seemed to be more of a teaser trailer for fans of the series. We don't learn anything about the characters nor do we know why they're in the situation they're in and nothing really happens to them. Granted, it's hard to tell much of a story in three minutes, however, it is possible. Unfortunately, that simply was not the case for Return to Mayhem.
With that being said, I think this piece of animation wasn't really supposed to have much of a story. It seemed to be something just made for fans of the series to give them something before the live-action film is released. Perhaps, if I were more familiar with the universe Kinnaird has created, I would have taken more away from this short than I did.
As far as the quality of the animation goes, it wasn't the best and in fact, sub par may be a better way to describe it. It felt as if it were rushed just to get something out there. Had the animation been of better quality, this may have been something I could have enjoyed despite the lack of any real story.
Based on what I saw here, this isn't really a series I'd want to get involved and caught up with, however, I am a tad bit curious to see what they are able to do with the live-action film when that times rolls around.
For more information on The Villikon Chronicles visit www.villikonchronicles.com