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Reviews
Joyland (2019)
Hyper Saturation Mixed with Style
From the get go, Joyland pulls you into its world with the hyper saturation and superb sound track. Following the delightful protagonist Pooda Johnson, we embark on his journey of neighborhood bootlegging, to being released from house arrest, to his celebration that could end it all. With a very nuanced and detailed portrayal, director, J Mike Scott does a fantastic job of combining the two genres of comedy and drama into one.
Hesperia (2019)
Hesperia - The Deserts and Mysteries of Southern California
The film opens with a powerhouse song that captures the desert landscape of the Mojave Desert in California. Giving an inside view of drug dealers living in the desolate area who involve themselves with tweakers and a pair of young adult friends who stick together through the twist and turns, Hesperia has the true styling of great 1980s neo-noir movies that captures the elegance, mood, and mystery of the Southern California landscape.
For an independent film, the filmmakers created a story of true originality. I can't wait to see what comes next for them.
Earthrise (2014)
Mysterious and Psychological
A mysterious and psychological space drama set on board a ship on route to our home, our planet, Earth. This film builds on the claustrophobia, the mental stamina, and the meaning of communication and trust with your shipmates.
Director Glenn Payne delivers a multi-layered story that combines the elements of science fiction with a theatrical flare that guides us through a journey into the unknown.
Maussan's UFO Files (2019)
An In-Depth, Compelling and Serious Examination
Beyond the Spectrum - Maussan's UFO Files is an in-depth, compelling and serious examination of the UFO phenomenon through the notable Mexican journalist Jaime Maussan. Mr. Maussan retraces the history of his career starting in the early 1980s with his animal rights and environmental activism through the show 60 Minutes (Mexico), which led to his partnership with NASA that took him to the North Pole on an investigation of the depletion of the ozone layer.
Starting in 1995 Jaime began his reporting on UFOs and wanted to change the way people think of them by applying the investigative methods he developed earlier with his reporting.
Directory Darcy Weir provides some fantastic and compelling video footage as evidence for their existence, which is often unseen by the public. In his thorough research, Darcy's film is on point with the current wave of reports that have dominated the news cycle from the New York Times to the Washington Post for 2019.
This film is a great continuation of the Beyond the Spectrum series. I look forward to seeing the next installments, with even more incredible footage, evidence, eye witness accounts and theories on the ever growing UFO phenomenon.
The Texture of Falling (2018)
Full of Wonder and Detail
From the beginning, the Texture of Falling pulls you in with its cinematography, sound design and beautiful details that create a world of its own. Maria Allred is a true talent and auteur with her writing and directing. Her sense of style falls somewhere between David Lynch and Stanley Kubrick.
The beautiful Northwest city of Portland provides the perfect backdrop to the story as it portrays the opposite of what lies ahead for its ensemble cast of characters.
Testing the boundaries of relationships and sexuality, Allred shows us just how far people are willing to go to feel a spark of sensation that can take control over their lives.
The Texture of Falling is a dark visual poem that captivates the chaos, fantasy and passion of its characters.
Purdah (2018)
Cricket and Female Empowerment - Beautiful and Bold
From the start, Purdah pulls you into Kaikasha Mirza's world of cricket, in the city of beautiful Mumbai, India. The sights and sounds are dense and filled with the hustle and bustle of modern life.
From the referees to coaches they present the cultural restrictions involved with the sport for females and the reasons why girls are discouraged to participate. A concept that may be hard to grasp in the West, but presents itself as a different world view to those unfamiliar with Asia.
As the film dives deeper into Kaikasha's family life we learn of her Muslim background and the role that her religion plays in her upbringing.
The world of sports is about over coming obstacles, mental, emotional and physical. It is also about achieving your personal best through development and self awareness. Kaikasha personifies this and captivates us through her journey.
Director Jeremy Guy has vividly given us an insight to the sport of cricket and female empowerment, not often seen on screen. Told with such honesty, boldness and charm, Purdah is a well crafted film that is prescient without forced intention; this is a mark of a great storyteller.
Beyond the Spectrum: Being Taken (2018)
A Thoughtful Presentation on One of Life's Biggest Mysteries
Beyond The Spectrum - Being Taken, a documentary on the UFO and alien abduction phenomenon presents convincing evidence to their existence. Filled with great first hand accounts, this film covers a lot of ground and takes the viewer on a journey into one of life's biggest mysterious. The presentation of the material is thoughtful and well examined. Directors Darcy Weir and Lee Lustig have put their best foot forward in producing a wonderful documentary that should be taken seriously within this genre by skeptics or those fascinated by the UFOs.
Karate in Ontario: The Uphill Battle. The Cost of Raising a Champion (2016)
A Sport, an Art, and a Philosophy
The Uphill Battle provides a great in-depth view and look at Karate, on how it relates to our modern lives in the West, as a sport, art, and philosophy. As someone who studied martial arts in the past we need more documentaries such as this that showcase and promote a sense of well being for our mental, physical and spiritual health. The director, Maria Morgunova outlines her film with very candid interviews and teachings, with some of the top talent in the Ontario area.