BobbyBless Reviews

All Hell Breaks Loose (2014)

All Hell Breaks Loose Review

[8/10 · 21 October 2014]

All Hell Breaks Loose, the aptly titled feature film written by our main Movie Cynic The Vocabulariast, is a low budget indie film that will surely connect with fans of the Grindhouse or Exploitation genre of films; meaning that it is a low budget film that is so low budget that it shouldn't work, but ends up working, and gaining a following for that matter, because everyone involved actually gives a damn about making the movie they want to make.

The film's synopsis is simple: Nick (Nick Forrest) and Bobby Sue (Sarah Kobel Marquette) are enjoying their honeymoon in a park, drinking booze out of plastic cups when out of nowhere a group of hellacious bikers, known as Satan's Sinners, show up. The gang proceeds to kill the wimpy Nick and kidnap Bobby Sue because they believe she is the one to save them from damnation. However, after the gang exits stage left, a cowboy-esque God shows up to revive Nick and give him a chance (it ends up being multiple because Nick isn't a major bad-ass) at saving the love of his life. As I said, the synopsis is simple, but it works.

There are flaws throughout the film (i.e. the acting is a mixed bag with high and low spots and some of the special effects are beyond cheesy), but many of those flaws actually bring about a delightful ambiance to the film; assuming you are twisted in the head and like watching people on film get taken out in a brutal manner, like me. Now, however, this film has one major flaw: one that would probably just be a minor inconvenience; the audio quality. There are times in the film where the audio, mostly the dialogue, sounds like it was done in post production and an annoyance as the film progresses.

Again, the film has many flaws, but many of those flaws help make the film a fun experience. The thing is when you are working with a low budget on a film, you have to embrace your flaws and try to have fun with them; and as a result, when it comes to a brutal low budget film, All Hell Breaks Loose takes the cake and ends up being one hell of a time.

Final Synopsis: All Hell Breaks Loose hasn't its fair share of flaws, but god damn is this movie fun. If you like exploitation films, you'll like this… and, also, you're awesome. Points Lost: -1 for audio problems, -1 for the low spots in acting Lesson Learned: Never kill the virgin. Burning Question: Doesn't seeing a motor scooter make you want to ride it down the street and saying "Ciao" to people? All Hell Breaks Loose 8/10

Paranoia (I) (2011 Video)

My Review for it from MovieCynics(dot)com

[8/10 · 1 July 2011]

Frustrated with Hollywood's growing inability to constantly produce films worth paying to see, Brad Jones, a fellow cinephile who calls himself The Cinema Snob (and also a contributor for That Guy with the Glasses), has gotten together with a group of friends to make a film called Paranoia. A film, though having some flaws, ends up being a nice little independent thriller.

In the film, Mark Bishop (Brad Jones), an inspiring/failed writer from a small town that is being terrorized by a serial killer, has a deadly encounter with a mysterious man (Brian Irving). Not sure if the man that was in his home was the killer or not, Mark decides to skip going to the authorities and any unwanted attention that would come from that and the media onslaught afterwards by getting rid of the body himself. However, as time goes by, Mark develops an increasing feeling that the real killer may still be lurking.

Even though Paranoia is a low budgeted indie thriller, the film doesn't really feel like one. Sure, the plot is a simple one and there are some other low budget issues (that we will get into later), but, for the most part, Paranoia is a pretty good film. Ryan Mitchelle's (The Hooker with a Heart of Gold) direction is solid throughout and his pacing is great. Brad Jones, who also served as the film's writer, does an equally impressive job with the script… especially with a certain dialogue heavy scene towards the end of the film. The only drawback to his script, though, comes from the "twist." The problem with the "twist" doesn't come from it being lame; in fact, the "twist" works for the movie. The problem with it comes from the fact that it's hinted at a bit too early. Once they throw it out there, and assuming you're smart enough, you already know how the movie will end; thus killing the impact of the "twist." Other than the "twist," the only other flaws the film has are the same problems that other low budgeted films have; acting blips and some audio issues. Don't get me wrong, both issues are fairly minor in this film, but they are still there. The minor acting blips are only there because, well, since they didn't have a massive budget, they got their friends to help out. As for the sound issues, they don't happen often, but there are scenes, especially at the beginning of the film, when the camera is focused on one character, namely Mark, and another character says their lines off camera. This is a problem mainly because in one shot, the two characters aren't that far apart, but when the camera focuses on Mark and the other character says their lines, it sounds like they are reading them from across the room. Now, a lot of people aren't going to care about this, but for me, this is a problem because it detracts from a good movie.

Overall, Paranoia isn't the greatest movie ever made, but with its solid direction and impressive script, the film turns out being a nice little surprise.

Final Synopsis: It has its flaws, but that doesn't stop the film from being a good movie. Help support indie films by checking it out.

Points Lost: -1 for the hinting at the "twist" a little too early, -1 for some audio problems, -1 some minor acting blips.

Lesson Learned: The trunk of a Nissan Sentra is a great place to store a body.

Burning Question: Why couldn't the cop tell the difference between blood and ketchup? Paranoia 7/10

One Hour Fantasy Girl (2009)

My review for One Hour Fantasy Girl over at www.moviecynics.com

[7/10 · 7 April 2010]

Have you ever wanted something so badly that you would do anything just to obtain it? If so, how far would you go? These are the questions that you may be asking yourself after viewing No Restrictions Entertainments latest film; One Hour Fantasy Girl.

One Hour Fantasy Girl, which is based on a true story, tells the tale of Becky Lewis (Kelly-Ann Tursi). Becky, a 20 year old who is struggling to make a living in downtown L.A., aspires to make it in the real estate business, but because of her financial woes, she is unable to. As a result, she decides to become a "fantasy girl"; a dominatrix of sorts who will do anything you want (except for kissing or sex) for an hour. During her time as a "fantasy girl", Becky meets some shady individuals, an odd real estate agent named Sal (John Buckley Gordon… probably the best character in the movie) and a guy who appears to be her saving grace… but is he really too good to be true? To be honest with you, I wasn't expecting a whole lot out of this movie… mainly because I don't see too many independent films that impress me much… but, this film was actually, quite surprisingly, well done. The film has some solid direction, some decent acting and, for the most part, is decently written.

The film's director, Edgar Michael Bravo, puts together a wonderful looking film that is dark and complex, yet, somehow, he manages to make the film look beautiful and simplistic. Bravo's only blemish comes from the writing. I said before that the writing was, for the most part, decent. I used "for the most part" because there are two characters that have their own thing going on that is kind of relevant to the story, but not necessarily needed. To make matters worse, Bravo throws in a twist. The good thing about the twist is that you don't see it coming… which is a good thing since most twists these days you see coming a mile away… but the bad thing about the twist is that it's very random and you're left sitting there going, "Huh?".

The acting is pretty much hit or miss. The two acting highlights of the film come from Kelly-Ann Tursi and John Buckley Gordon. Tursi is the heart and soul of this movie… if it wasn't for her the viewer wouldn't be emotionally attached to anyone in the film and probably wouldn't give a damn about it. Her performance single handedly saves this movie. As for John Buckley Gordon, he provides some comedic elements to the film that bring a breath of fresh air to the film by briefly brightening the mood of the story for a few moments. The rest of the cast, however, is pretty poor. I don't want to say that their bad actors or anything like that, it's just that I found their acting in this film to be rather bland and emotionless… there are even moments when these actors appear to be rushing through the dialogue and, because of this, it kind of kills the pacing of the film.

No Restrictions Entertainments' One Hour Fantasy Girl has its weak moments, but, overall, turns out being a pleasant surprise.

The Path of Torment (2009)

My review for The Path of Torment over at www.moviecynics.com

[8/10 · 7 April 2010]

The Path of Torment is one of those clichéd ugly, fat dude (Craig Beffa) marries a chick way out of his league (Dona Ellis) suburban couples. However, unlike those clichéd scenarios turning into a sitcom about how the ugly, fat guy can't f*ck his hot wife because they keep getting interrupted by some retarded thing (usually kids or in-laws living with them); this story turns into something much different. In this story, the couple, who are trying to get there house set up for a party, are visited by two LDS's (Joe Noelker and Gary C. Warren). They start to converse about Jesus and all that mumbo-jumbo, but then LDS #2 (Gary C. Warren) tells a parable about how two thieves kidnapped a Governor and his wives and made him watch as they tortured, maimed and burnt his prettiest wife until the Governor gave them the information they wanted. The couple starts feeling a little uncomfortable after hearing the parable and attempt to kick them out of the house, but sh!t takes a turn for the worse as the LDS's proceed to torture the couple out of information that they want…. Think of something along the lines of the movie Funny Games; only better and full of dialogue about television shows and making references to other things like comic books, Predator and Transformers.

This movie is just hilarious, which is odd because it's supposed to be a horror as well, but seems to ditch that idea part way through and just sticks with the comical side. Gary C. Warren (the movie's writer, director and star) makes this movie worth it on his own. His portrayal of LDS #2, a crazy f*cker that loves him some television, pizza from Pistol Pete's Party Pizzeria and talks to his imaginary, naked fat chick that feeds him said pizza (amazingly restraining herself from eating the pizza and him for being in close proximity of the pizza and on her t!t), is classic. He does sh!t in this movie that makes you laugh so hard that you end up missing sh!t, forcing you to rewind the movie just to see what you missed. However, The Path of Torment does get tainted by some bad acting and some bad looking special effects, but then again, they actually help make the movie funnier than it already is.

The Path of Torment is a hilarious low-budget indie flick. There are some minor qualms with it, but they are overshadowed by the movie's random awesomeness.

Melvin (I) (2009)

My review for Melvin over at www.moviecynics.com

[9/10 · 7 April 2010]

I'll be the first to admit that when it comes to a low-budget flick, I have a tendency to stay away from most of them. The reason; those movies usually end up being sh!t. However, there are those few (i.e. Re-Animator, Dead Alive and anything with Lloyd Kaufman's name on it) that I watch constantly… to the point that I actually own numerous copies of each… and boy, let me tell you that 531 Productions first feature film, Melvin, is going to end up being one of those movies that I'm probably going to have to order a few times.

Melvin plays out a little like this: A nerd named Melvin (Leif Fuller) gets picked on a lot by three punks from school. The punks do numerous things to ruin Melvin's life and go as far as tossing him in the back of a car and leaving him on some train tracks to scare the f*ck out of him. But since they aren't the smartest punks alive, it doesn't dawn on them that if you duct tape a person's mouth shut and then toss them into the trunk of a car, said person will eventually run out of oxygen and die. Not wanting to go to jail the punks cover it up and go on with their lives. Fast forward a bit and these punks are now tainting the soul of another nerd; this one named Norton (Patrick O'Driscoll). They don't go as far as killing Norton, but they do spike his drink at a party, which makes him act stupid, and c-block him big time. Embarrassed, Norton ventures back home; unfortunately, Norton gets attacked, and bitten, by a zombie Melvin. From there on out, the film turns into a gore filled horror movie with cheesy, but amazingly done, special effects that are reminiscent of a Troma movie.

Henry Weintraub (the writer, director, producer and editor of this movie) puts together a fantastic film that is probably one of the best new movies I have seen in the past few months. The special effects, though cheesy, are done really well and you have to give 531 Productions props for being able to do these things on such a small budget. Two of my personal favorite death scenes in this movie involve a possessed Norton ripping off the head of one of the punkers (which is clearly fake, but hilarious to watch) and Norton taking a mop and stabbing a punker and his girl through their throats, which leads to a gloriously bloody death. The movie's two main stars, Fuller and O'Driscoll, own their roles in this movie. Though I don't know either man, they seem perfectly casted as the tortured nerds in the movie.

However, as this is a low-budget movie, it does have some problems. The movie does suffer from some low-budget acting, but hey, no one is perfect and with time, each actor in the movie will grow accustom to it and may actually end up being a pretty decent actor. My other gripe with the movie is that it runs a little short for my liking. Even though I thoroughly enjoyed the hell out of this movie, I wish it was longer.

Besides the little qualms with the movie, I think Melvin is the f*cking T!TS. It isn't for everyone, but if you love cheesy comedy/horror movies with massive amounts of blood, then this movie is for you.

The Book of Caleb (2008)

My review for The Book of Caleb over at www.moviecynics.com

[9/10 · 5 April 2010]

You have to hand it to independent filmmakers these days. Many of them do whatever they can to get the movie they want to make up and running. It can range from giving blood to donating sperm to using the cheapest film known to man to film the movie or to even begging for donations… it doesn't matter what it is as long as you're ambitious enough to do whatever it takes to make the movie the way you want it be made. Hell, it doesn't even matter how long it took you to make the movie, as long as the ending result is something you are proud of. Such is the case with Matthew von Manahan's film, The Book of Caleb.

In the film, our hero, Caleb Callahan (Jeremy Luno) returns home after dropping out of college… to the surprise of everyone as he was only six credits shy of graduating. Upon arriving, Caleb rekindles his relationship with his childhood pals; Montag (Michael Hampton), the prankster who believes he's figured out everything in life, and Swank (Nikitas Manikatos), the ever trusting sidekick. It doesn't take long before the crew is up to no good and pulling pranks like they used to… that is until one of them involving the gubernatorial candidate James Paddington (Paul Gleason of The Breakfast Club in one of his final roles), goes horribly wrong. After which, it is up to Caleb to man up, face his fears (namely the sinister Scar; played by Jeff Berg) and become the leader that everyone knew he could be.

The Book of Caleb is a surprising little slice of the independent film-making pie. The movie is finely directed by Matthew von Manahan, who spent six years making the film from the basement of his parents' house. By taking as long as he did to finish the film, one can tell that von Manahan is dedicated to his craft; which is a welcomed treat as many would have either given up on the project or rushed it out just to say that they made a movie. This is a missing trait in many filmmakers today… even the "named" directors who started out small and are now making big budgeted movies. Matthew von Manahan's direction skills are so impressive that they are able to save the movie from the randomness that it appears to have by bringing out some fairly decent performances from his cast.

The cast do a nice job with their performances. Usually, with low-budget films, the film is full of actors that attempt to actor but end up doing a subpar job; but here, no one in the cast, a few of which have done mainstream films before (i.e. the late Paul Gleason and Mackenzie Firgens of Rent) seems to deliver a bad performance. Sure, the movie has a case of overacting in Jeff Berg's portrayal of the villainous Scar, but, to be honest with you, the performance is so over-the-top that it's hilarious and doesn't hinder the movie in any way what-so-ever.

The randomness of the film, which could probably be attributed to the writing, is basically the only thing that tarnishes it. There are numerous moments in the movie when things just happen. You never really know why they happen, they just do. It's kind of puzzling when these moments occur, but they are actually pretty funny… to the point that you just go with it and forget the fact that it was totally random in the first place.

When I first heard about the movie, I wasn't really expecting a whole lot out of it, but after seeing it, I can say that I was pleasantly surprised with The Book of Caleb had to offer. So much so that I actually look forward to von Manahan's film… hopefully it doesn't take him another six years to make one. Sadly though, I fear that not everyone will like the film as much as I, but hopefully I'm wrong.

The Commune (2009)

My review for The Commune over at moviecynics.com

[7/10 · 30 March 2010]

Most of the horror films that I see released these days aren't scary, sport a CW-esquire cast and have to rely on the gore to save a film that was weak in the first place. Long gone are those days of great horror films and here to stay are the days of poorly structured horror films that have to glorify bloodshed… that is until now with the release of Elisabeth Fies' The Commune; an independent horror film that is reminiscent of the fantastically structured horror films of old.

The Commune is about a 15 year old girl named Jenny Cross (Chauntal Lewis) who, because of a lawsuit, is sent to live with her father, Dr. Polieos (Stuart G. Bennett), for a month on his hippie compound. As the days pass, Jenny spends most of her time counting down the days until her 16th birthday and trying to figure out what she's going to do for entertainment for a month. Luckily, Jenny meets a guy named Puck (David Lago), who seems to help Jenny get some enjoyment back into her life. Jenny starts believing that, because of Puck, her time at the commune won't be so bad after all… but then some freaky things start happening and Jenny has to figure out a way to get out of there or become just another victim.

Aside from some rough spots with the supporting characters, the acting in the film is pretty solid. Chauntal Lewis is great as Jenny. Lewis is essentially this film's "final girl"… the part in a horror film that you are supposed to connect with, care for and hope that she can find a way to overcome the odds… and manages to pull it off without a hitch. Because of Lewis' performance, Stuart G. Bennett is able to feed off of her and delivers a performance that is beyond creepy; something Bennett seems to have enjoyed a tad bit too much. Lago as Puck does a fine job with his part; that of Jenny's love interest, which would bore people to tears in other movies, but works here. When you first see him in the movie and notice that he's sporting black nail polish and eye liner, you want to punch him in the face, but as the film progresses, you see that the character is actually a likable guy and you don't want to hit him as much.

Elisabeth Fies, who not only directed the film but also wrote it, produced it and played a part in it as well, may actually be the film's shining star. With The Commune, Fies crafts a film that has the perfect amount of tension needed for the story and is able to disturb viewers to the point that it will make them cringe, but will keep them so wrapped up in the story that they won't want to turn it off. Oh, but that isn't the best part. The best part is that The Commune is Fies' first film. To be ambitious enough to put together a film that looks this great and shows that she has the potential to put many Hollywood directors to shame is a feat that is just phenomenal. Hopefully any movie she makes in the future turn out this good.

For those of you who like horror films from the past, you will most likely want to check out Elisabeth Fies' The Commune. It's a nicely structured film that creates the perfect amount of tension and doesn't rely on any unnecessary gimmicks. It is good to see that there are ambitious people out there that are willing to spend their own money to get a film that they want to see made.