Juncture (2007) User Reviews

Get'em Carter!

[jotix100 · 6/10 · 29 April 2008]

Don't ever get involved in committing a crime, at least not if Anna Carter is around and gets your number. You've better watch out! This young lady has seen her share of hard times in her lifetime. She was the sole survivor of a crime meant for another family. You see, the killer got the wrong address and ended offing Anna's parents and sister. Now, when we meet her, she is hellbent in getting justice done, if not to the assassin of her folks, she will take care of those who commit serious crimes in our society.

To make matters worse, Anna discovers her headaches are related to a malignant tumor. She gets bad migraines all the time. Her doctor doesn't give her much to live. That's why Anna must rush to eliminate the scum out of the same society in which she lives, trying , perhaps to avenge her family. Since she has the use of a private corporate jet, she is a frequent traveler with benefits that include being in the targeted areas, thus combining work with her avenging activities. Not even the hunky boyfriend that appears in her life will get her away from what she has set out to do. There is an interesting twist at the end when a detective figures it all out, but he too, sees things from Anna's perspective.

"Juncture", as directed by James Seale, shows a lot can be done on a small budget, something to give him credit for. Mr. Seale has a great eye for the locations in which he shot the film with glossy detail. The cinematography of Richard Lerner is one of the highlights of the movie. The acting is adequate as it shows a leading lady, Kristine Blackport with a beauty and affinity for the material.

***Spoiler** Independent yes-Excellent-no

[refdan · 4/10 · 31 December 2008]

A lot is said these days about the so-called "independent films" and film makers. These are the guys and gals who look forlorn and studious and take their "art" very seriously. Some of us consider anything not made by MGM to be not serious film.

This film is a case in point. What separates the mediocre movie from the memorable one is ACTING. Great actors, be they from Hollywood or Hoboken, captivate you and bring you into the world they inhabit on screen. Some independent films have great acting, as do many Hollywood mainstream features. This particular film does not.

The lead actress, Kristine Blackport, was simply annoying. Her "little girl" voice and expressionless delivery was inadequate and did not suit the character she plays. Her supporting actors were equally wooden, particularly the earnest,caring boyfriend/psychiatrist and the naive and sugar-sweet best girlfriend.

The plot was well worn-the wronged female goes on a revenge spree with her 9mm semi-automatic handgun. All of this carefully planned out without missing a beat at her job. Oh, and she must make sure that the "bad guys" don't leave the earthly realm without knowing why. She makes sure that they hear her case against them with appropriate sneers and tears.

A new wrinkle: the killer/protagonist has an inoperable brain tumor and has 3-4 months to live. This, of course, makes everything all right. She's now a murderer for whom we MUST feel sympathy.

Unless you're really into revenge/vigilante flicks, I would give this one a pass. How many ways can you do the revenge plot and still keep it interesting and thought provoking?

Hack Director Meets Lame Script

[aimless-46 · 4/10 · 2 August 2010]

John Huston once said that a good story should have "excitement, color, spectacle and humor, adventure, high drama, tragedy, good conversation, truth and irony". Although 2007's "Juncture" is missing most of these ingredients it does manage to put most of its tiny budget on the screen in a professional manner and should get high marks for the crew's hard work. But it is one of those sow's ears to silk purse things where you just can't do much with such a weak script (thankfully the writer has had no screen credits since).

This low budget action picture is basically a combination of "Death Wish" (1974) and "La Femme Nikita" (1990); with a sterile heroine both homicidal and irritable from a bad headache.

Kristine Blackport, in her first and only feature, plays Anna Carter, an executive who has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. With three months to live she decides to check out with a bang by taking out criminals who have abused children and been inadequately punished by the judicial system. That old vigilante justice thing.

Blackport looks like Leighton Meester, which probably accounts for a lot of close-ups of her face and eyes. This is a good thing with Meester, because an "actress" is able to use close-ups to nonverbally convey things about her character and to connect with viewers. Unfortunately Blackport's skills are more on the order of Ali Larter (well maybe not quite that bad); with an emotional and sensuality range confined to a look of dull surprise and the occasional blink. A competent "acting for the camera" director could have helped, but James Seale appears to entirely lack that skill set. Like the writer, he too has been on the sidelines since directing this movie. Blackport fares much better on the DVD's behind the scenes featurette, where you begin to suspect that Seale's directing contributions add up to "less than zero".

So poor Blackport gamely plods around with little help from the likewise unskilled supporting cast as they cut back and forth between wide master shots and extreme closeups; without managing to create an identifiable point of view or a character with any sort of dimensionality.

The DVD release includes a filmmaker's commentary (gag), a behind the scenes featurette (excellent), deleted scenes, trailers, and Spanish subtitles. Given all this extra stuff it is extremely odd that they did not choose to include English subtitles. The audio is a not very good and Blackport's squeaky "Rocky the Flying Squirrel" voice is often inaudible. Maybe this was a way to add some dimensionality to the Anna Carter character, a viewer can mentally replace inaudible elements of lame dialogue with comments from Robert Shiller about the state of the economy.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Less Than Thrilled

[rsyung · 2/10 · 18 October 2007]

I saw "Juncture" recently at the Mill Valley Film Festival and I'll start off by saying I left 15 minutes before the end. A few twists, yes, but I found this thriller mind-numbingly repetitive, with less than mediocre performances and dialog. It was impressive visually, and I credit the filmmakers for squeezing the most production value out of a small budget. Unfortunately, it was rife with stereotypes, and there have been movies about female vigilantes before so I can't give it high marks in the originality department. I came to the conclusion after 90 minutes that even the most incredibly shocking twist ending couldn't make up for the hour and a half of dreariness I was subjected to. The lead, Kristine Blackport is a beautiful woman to look at, but her performance was just plain leaden. The earthy girlfriend, the sensitive love interest, the CEO mentor who could have walked out of any number of 80's plots, and the too-easy-to-hate "perps" she knocks off were just sloppy stereotypes plain and simple. Throw in a few clumsy homages, and you have something which might be an amusing diversion on DVD at three in the morning, washed down with cold pizza and beer. I would like to say it might do okay in the Direct-to-DVD market, but I'd still end up hitting the fast forward button.

Bad acting, but great cinematography!!

[jkatte · 3/10 · 22 October 2007]

OK so the story line is different but the characters are cliché and the actors are appalling. Especially the lead actor (Kristine Blackport), she thinks too highly of her acting abilities and you can definitely tell! I'm really surprised that she is the lead actress in this movie, I mean it has independent written all over it, but still she is atrocious, many of the extras could probably have done the role/movie more justice. The music also doesn't help at all, it's annoying at best. The only thing that made this movie watchable was definitely the cinematography! It was artful and flowing and did the most towards helping understand what was going on, although the scene changes were a little jumpy, visually this film was great! Acting-wise it was beyond poor!

These filmmakers spent too much time and energy on the wrong things

[MBunge · 4/10 · 28 April 2011]

When this thing finished, I was a bit flabbergasted. I had to go an look at the "making of" featurette on the DVD to try and make sense of what I just saw. During it, they spent more time talking about the soundtrack than they did about the story. They spent more time talking about the set design than they did about the story. They spent more time talking about the camera they used to shoot Juncture than they did the story. And that helped me to understand this movie. A lot of reasonably talented filmmakers and performers made a great deal of effort, but all their work was undermined by a horribly conceived and terribly executed script.

Anna Carter (Kristine Blackport) is a pretty young woman who runs the multi-million dollar charity of business tycoon Jonathan Lamont (John Hutton). Anna has a beautiful home, a best friend named Chloe (Elizabeth Rose) who works as a legal secretary in the district attorney's office and flies around the country in a private jet for meetings related to the work of the Lamont Foundation. She also has a brain tumor and takes time out on her business trips to murder people she feels haven't been punished for their sins.

Let me stop right here and ask a question. Based on what I've described, what is the most important and interesting question you have about the character of Anna Carter? Isn't it, why did she decide to start killing people? And maybe some secondary questions also leap to mind, like how does she decide who to kill or how does she actually kill them? Those sorts of things are the most important things to know about this woman, right? The answers to those kind of questions will more clearly and more powerfully define Anna's character than anything else, won't they?

Well, those questions are never answered in Juncture. Those questions are never even asked. We join Anna already well into her deadly spree with how and why she got to that point left almost totally unexplored. I say almost, because there's a point toward the end when Anna explains herself to her newly acquired boyfriend (Bill LeVasseur). Just as she starts, though, the dialog is muted and the soundtrack rises up so we can only see Anna talking and can't hear anything she says. That either shows off an astounding lack of awareness, or that director James Seale knew he was leaving out the most significant part of his story, did it for a particular reason and filmed Anna's explanation that way to thumb his nose at anyone in the audience who didn't understand why he left it out. Well, I don't understand it. I know I'm not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, but I think Seale's the one who doesn't know what the heck's he was doing.

In addition to leaving out the best part, this film is riddled with other bad writing. There are too many characters. Anna's boyfriend is almost totally superfluous. He's only necessary so the movie can have a sex scene and to introduce another character who turns out to be vital at the end. Of course, the character that's vital for the end doesn't get introduced until Juncture is almost two-thirds over. I mean, come on! That's basic stuff. If something is going to be important for the conclusion of your tale, you establish it at the beginning. You don't chuck it into the mix when the film's more than halfway over. The dialog is also utterly unexceptional and the whole thing ends on a cliffhanger that leaves Anna's internal and external conflicts unresolved. It's like this is a long, boring prologue and the real movie should start just as the closing credits role.

All of which is a shame, because this is a very nice looking motion picture. It's not all that flashy, but it covers an amazing number of locations for an indy flick and there's a real breadth and depth to a lot of the imagery. The cast also do fine work, though they're often dragged down by sketchily drawn roles and badly thought out scenarios.

There's also an oddly dated quality to some of Juncture. A dinner party monologue by Anna sounds like a deleted scene from a 1970s vigilante movie. Anna also has files on all of her targets. However, they're not computer files. She has manila folders full of sheets of paper and newspaper clippings, like they came straight out of the office a private investigator from the year 1982.

The people behind Juncture look like they could make a pretty good film. This is a fairly bad one, but there's enough evident talent to give you some hope for the future. As long as that future isn't an interminable sequel to this movie.

Underrated!

[rcimi · 7/10 · 20 November 2008]

This film is much better than the ratings its been getting from others. I've watched many other thrillers over the years, most with larger budgets, and would place this one somewhere in the middle of the pack. Blackport gives a decent acting performance, though not of the caliber of other great "thriller" actresses such as Jodie Foster and Laura Linney, and yet the movie was quite compelling and intense. Sure, the story plot was simple, and some of the cast came across a bit stilted, but nevertheless it held my rapt attention for its entire length. I look forward to the next sequel in the 3-part trilogy about Anna Carter. Given her medical condition and her plan, it makes for a fascinating story.

Time has not been kind to this "movie"

[roiallen-60933 · 2/10 · 3 December 2020]

Finally saw this 15 years after its release. I found it boring and unimaginative. A low budget production with some nice scenery is not a masterpiece of cinematography, as some have claimed. Nor does shooting a movie on a budget make it notable in any way. The promise of turning this into a trilogy was, to my knowledge, thankfully abandoned. Kristine Blackport didn't become the breakout star her fans predicted. If anything, this s-show broke her down (and for good reason). Don't blame me if you choose to watch this and end up as disappointed as I was. Allk I would be able to say is I told you so.....

UNDERRATED FEMALE VIGILANTE MOVIE...LOW-BUDGET...A THOUGHTFUL GOOD LOOKING NOBILITY

[LeonLouisRicci · 7/10 · 13 August 2021]

When it comes to the Morality of a Vigilante, whether it's "Batman" or "Paul Kersey", the Argument is the Same.

When the "System" Breaks Down and Fails to Deal with Society's Myriad of Problems,

should "Citizens" take the Challenge and "Aid" Law Enforcement and the Judicial to the Benefit of the Collective as a Whole.

The "Vigilante Problem" has Good Arguments on Both Sides.

But Without the "Fictional" Vigilante" the Pop-Culture would Surely be the Lesser.

This is a Multi-Tiered Movie with Terminal Illness Added into the Mix and that makes it more "Rich" than Most Stories of this Kind.

It Helps the Movie Along Nicely In-Between Anna's Rage and Revenge.

The Movie is a Low-Budget Affair.

The Director and Screen-Writer Squeeze the Resources for just the Right Amount of Sleek and Satisfying Visuals and Multiple Peripheral Characters that Intrigue.

Kristine Blackport is a Good Casting and Brings both Sensitivity and a Hard-Edge to the Multi-Dimensional Role. The Rest of the Cast All Do Fine Work.

Slightly Above Average in its Weight Class and is...

Worth a Watch.

Terrible

[ken-522 · 1/10 · 25 October 2008]

Yes this movie really is as bad as a movie can be.

If someone was trying to make a loser of movie, I don't think they could have succeeded any better than this. The premise is old and tired. Also, revenge-filled,lead-females simply don't sell...look a Jodie Foster's movie, The Brave One...studios aren't touching this genre right now.

The cinematography is NOT good, many shots are out of focus including the opening where she is sitting on a park bench. A really difficult feat for a digital camera. But then, the out of focus shots keep on coming.

Then there is the audio. The lead actress speaks so softly compared to other people in the various scenes, it's as if there was no sound engineer on the set. At least, in post, they should have tried to normalize the conversations.

Next, the writing. OMG...did someone not think to get coverage on this script? Finally...the acting...some of it is pretty okay, but not the lead. Totally unbelievable...no emotion...no nothing...Sure, some of it can be attributed to the poor script, but didn't someone think to tell her to speak more clearly? I tried to watch it, but could only get through about 5 minutes before I couldn't take any more.

Excellent movie!!!

[bs-joss · 9/10 · 10 October 2007]

Not much of a thriller, Juncture is a beautiful drama that also raises questions of moral importance.

Lead Kristine Blackport (as Anna Carter) sometimes gives you the shudder. She makes you feel what Anna would feel if were in her place.

Plot: Anna Carter is informed by her doctor that she has three months to live because she suffers from frontal-lobe Glioblastoma (a type of brain cancer). Tumors in the frontal lobe can cause changes in personality, thus the question whether her decision to kill child-molesters and other criminals is a matter of choice or of psychiatric nature hangs unanswered. As the plot goes forth, the moral and philosophical issues arising are inevitable, and the surprising end is a statement you can't forget.

I liked it very much.

The Hidden Side of Anna Carter

[lavatch · 7/10 · 7 August 2018]

In this Lifetime-style film, Anna Carter is a superb administrator for a philanthropic organization. But she leads a separate, private life, carefully planning murders of a wide assortment of offenders, child molesters, drunk drivers, and other nefarious creatures who have remained unpunished in the eye of the law. She is also terminally ill with cancer and is highly motivated to continue with her vigilante work to the bitter end.

The actress was great in the role of Anna, bringing multiple dimensions to the role. She was credible as the loyal executive working under the powerful magnate Jonathan She was the wounded victim, who lost her family members in a random act of violence committed by a murderer who got the wrong address of his victims. She was sensitive in her relationship with her best friend Chloe. And she was even thoughtful to Michael, the psychiatrist who adores her, but does not understand the full story of her life.

My favorite character in the film was the wily detective who suspected something was amiss in Anna's story and began nosing around for the truth. The various plot strands come together nicely after the detective character had done some snooping around. The key juncture of the film was the detective's surprising bonding with Anna.

The locations in the film were effective, as Anna planned her murders in such far-flung places as San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Albuquerque. One of the best scenes is when Anna is about to murder an oily defense attorney in a hotel, but chooses compassion when she sees a photo of his beautiful children.

In the end, the film belongs to Anna as an interesting character study, a female "Death Wish" artist in more ways than one.

Had Potential

[solidabs · 4/10 · 10 November 2020]

Had potential to be a great movie. But I hate when a good idea is written by an idiot.

A great update on the classic 70's style vigilante movie

[jstrahan04 · 10/10 · 11 November 2007]

I just saw this film at the Starz Denver Film Festival. It was an amazing film. Anyone who knows anything about independent films knows that this film is an amazing achievement. Even someone who has never even seen an independent film can appreciate the great story line and the beautiful locations. Besides the four different locations and the great cinematography for a completely unknown cast the acting was great. The lead Kristine Blackport was great. Her first major role, doing all of her own stunts and overall just doing a phenomenal job. I definitely recommend checking this one out! Also if you stick around you can see in the credits that she was responsible for the music which was really great. I think we will probably be seeing her sometime in the future.

Well thought out thriller

[tonyhag · 9/10 · 4 October 2007]

A dying Protagonist Blackport goes on a an angel of vengeance killing spree meeting out her own kind of justice on those who got away with it.

Its been done many times before, but I have to admit this film is well made and carries the storyline very well and the main character is top notch and I must admit, I have never heard of Kristine Blackport, but she has done an excellent job of portraying the warped her heroine of the movie.

Also top marks to the writer and director who have in effect made one hell of a good movie.

I really liked it.

[rmichael48 · 8/10 · 16 October 2007]

I didn't know what to expect but this was a really great movie. I felt the pacing was good, the lead actress was engaging and the story had some unexpected twists. It is a daring story. The lead character is a murderer and yet I felt sympathy for her. I think the credit goes to the filmmakers for constructing such an intriguing story. It's controversial enough to make the lead character a murderer and a woman, but some of the targets could definitely raise some eyebrows depending on how one feels about the justice system.

I think if anyone gives this movie a 1 or thinks its bad is either lying or they didn't really watch it.

I thought it was more of a drama with some thriller elements, too. But otherwise, it delivered.

Overall- definitely worth watching.

Excellent Indie Movie

[film_fan10 · 9/10 · 15 October 2007]

Beautifully shot, well performed film. Definitely worth watching.

I saw this movie at the Mill Valley Film Festival. I had no idea what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised. The lead character, upon learning of her terminal diagnosis, systematically kills people who she thinks are "monsters": child molesters and the like. The story follows her deteriorating health and mental state as she tries to complete her kills before her time runs out. There were a couple of really great surprises and I loved the ending.

The filmmakers were at the screening and they took questions from the audience. Despite its large commercial feel, this is a truly independent movie (you wouldn't believe the budget if I told you) and it has a great message: What would you do if you only had three months to live?

How would you spend your last 3 months of life?

[iunostar245 · 10/10 · 19 October 2007]

I recently saw Juncture at the Mill Valley Film Festival and was completely blown away. I honestly had no idea what to expect and was very pleasantly surprised. Juncture is the right combination of action, thriller, suspense and drama and it poses some very interesting moral questions. Lead lady Kristine Blackport (as Anna Carter)'s presence is unforgettable. The viewer experiences Anna's journey through the last few months of her life and what she chooses to do with that precious time. I laughed and cried with Anna. And the film definitely left me pondering about what I would do in a similar situation. It's always nice to see strong female characters presented in film. Excellent story and dialogue. Beautiful cinematography. Impressive acting. The music also was very strong and helped support the dramatic moments of the film. All in all, I highly recommend Juncture.