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Reviews
Nara (2008)
A very promising debut.
I had a chance to see Nara at the Mississauga Independent Film Festival two night ago. Nara starts off to a slow start and really picks up after 30 minutes to become a fascinating story about obsession. The main actor, Dylan MacDonald, is believable in this part as a strange social outcast and his subdued interpretation contributes to the eeriness and mysterious atmosphere of the whole movie. The imagery is really beautiful, heightened by a very colorful production design. It may be hard to believe that the aspiring social worker, unknown yet very talented Nicole Maroon, develops such a reckless fascination for this loner even after discovering that he keeps the head of a young woman on top of a shrine, yet this film sustains the attention until the very end thanks to the power of its haunting imagery and confident directing from its debut director. We follow her journey with an increasing sense of dread and become more and more engaged as the intricate story unravels. Despite obvious budget constraints, "Nara" shows a strong visual style, an original voice and a knack for building up an eerie, creepy atmosphere. One moment of scare is truly memorable, playing with our nerves with a rare and delicious sense of timing. The director's sense of composition and pacing are impeccable, which is rare for a first movie. His attention to small details is outstanding. I am eager to see what else this talented, visual filmmaker will come up with in the future once he is granted bigger budgets to bring his stories to life.
Deadline (2009)
A beautiful supernatural thriller
I got a chance to rent "Deadline" last night and I was pleasantly surprised. "Deadline" is the kind of movie that relies on a sense of dread and atmosphere instead of shocking effects and a display of gratuitous gore in place of genuine scares. It conveys an eeriness that sets it apart from all the other recent movies in this genre. Brittany Murphy and Thora Birch reveal an haunting fragility and vulnerability that suit their characters' pale features and haunted countenance. The story, one that explores the fine line between love and obsession, sanity and insanity, what's real and what's not, leaves a lasting imprint in the mind of the viewer, and a subsequent, thoughtful, reflective summation on our past relationships that covered the same territory, or at least could have.The cinematography is really beautiful, confident and composed. The poignant, classic score elevates the movie to a level way above its modest budget, which according to IMDb was under 2 million. I felt there could have been less score at times, but it creates a powerful emotion at the very end when we realize the extent of Alice's descent into madness. It feels as though the screenplay wasn't developed as well as it could have been as I felt the characters were a little two dimensional at times, and there are a few clichés that could have been avoided, yet it's compelling viewing and really picks up when the B. Murphy character discovers the box of tapes and goes on to investigate the mystery in the house. Overall, the execution is really admirable and there are moments of sheer cinematic beauty as when the B. Murphy slowly goes down the stairs in an eerie, ghostly manner to the haunting Moonlight Sonata concerto by Ludwig Van Beethoven. I don't know if it was the director's intention, but at times it reminded me of A. Hitckock's movies such as "Rebecca" or "Vertigo". It's elegant, classy and if you love intelligent, atmospheric, slow burners like "The Orphanage" or "The Others" then go and rent it.