Monthly Archives: September 2018

Found Footage 3D: Parody on Found Footage Horror Movies

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Written and directed by Steven DeGennaro, Found Footage 3D begins with Mark, played by Chris O’Brien, who lives in the shadow of his overbearing older brother, Derek, played by Carter Roy. Mark always wanted what his brother processed. Derek is successful with a career in the movies and the love of a beautiful woman. Mark longs for a life like Derek’s. One day, Derek asks Mark to document the production of his next low-budget horror movie called Spectre of Death. Mark leaps at the prospect of being with Derek and becoming engaged in his production.

The Spectre of Death is filmed in the ‘found footage’ style similar to the Paranormal Activity movies.  Derek stars himself and his estranged wife, Amy, played by Alena von Stroheim. The storyline in Derek’s movie is similar to his relationship with his Amy. The art-imitates-life story of a couple whose relationship is slowly deteriorating. Against the objections of his director, Derek decided to make Spectre of Death the ‘first 3D found-footage horror film’ and hired his younger brother to shoot the first 3D behind-the-scenes documentary.

The production is plagued with trouble from the very beginning. Derek and Amy fail to be professionals and are amicable long enough to shoot a scene together. But things take a much more sinister turn when the fictional entity they’ve created for their film shows up in Mark’s behind-the-scenes footage. Frightening accidents begin to plague the shoot. The footage Mark is shooting grows stranger and more ominous. When an act of unexpected and ferocious violence finally tears down the wall between fiction and reality, Mark must find a way to contain the evil presence before it is too late.

The cast holds their own in this funny and quirky horror movie. The cast includes Tom Saporito, Scott Allen Perry, Jessica Perrin, and Scott Weinberg.

Found Footage 3D breaks down the found-footage horror movie and fills it with people who are aware of all of the rules, tricks, and platitudes of the genre. It obvious the cast and crew in the movie understand how to make a ‘found footage’ movie. The key to this horror movie, like all horror movies, who will survive?

Godard Mon Amour Brilliant Movie by Hazanavicisu

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Directed by Michel Hazanavicius, who won the Best Picture Oscar for The Artist, which I totally recommend that you see The Artist if you haven’t seen it yet. It is brilliant.

With, that Hazanavicius brings us another brilliant movie called Godard Mon Amour. The movie is a true story of Jean-Luc Godard at a turning point in both his own groundbreaking career and in the art of cinema.

Just like the movie The Artist, which was set in the silent film era, Hazanavicius again tenderly transfers moviegoers back to a unique time and place in cinematic history. Known as France, in the late 1960s. We meet a Young actress Anne Wiazemsky, played by Stacy Martin, who achieved instant fame as the teenage star of Robert Bresson’s Au Hasard Balthazar. She finds herself juggling political protests and artistic challenges in her married life with Jean-Luc Godard, played by Louis Garrel.

Goddard, for those who don’t know who he is, is the fearless, innovative and significant director of Breathless, Band of Outsiders and Contempt. As Wiazemsky country undergoes enormous cultural change, so too does her dynamic with her husband, as the great director becomes absorbed in the political and cultural moment and less emotionally available to his wife.

Nominated for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and four César Awards, including Best Actor and Best Director, and co-starring Bérénice Bejo of The Artist, Godard Mon Amour is a global sensation – both as a tribute to a crucial moment in cinema history and as the resounding artistic triumph in its own right.

Ed Potton of The Times of London said Godard Mon Amour “manages to be a biopic, postmodern comedy, stylistic homage and poignant relationship study all at once.”

“Garrel is wonderfully dead-on as the director,” said Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly, adding, “Martin manages to convey some of the heartaches in watching the man you love turn sour.”

Donald Clarke of The Irish Times called the film “occasionally disrespectful and hugely amusing … It’s carried off with an irreverence that would delight Mel Brooks.”

Such a wonder of just about two hours spent enjoying filmmaking and filmmaker Goddard, I hope you get a chance to see Godard Mon Amour because it is a great movie for any movie aficionado.

“Hostile” Backstory Defines the Horror Worth Seeing

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Written and directed by Mathieu Turi, Hostile takes place when a worldwide epidemic pretty much killed most of the population on Earth.

Those few who survived the epidemic struggled every day, trying to find food and shelter. With that, a creature, unlike them, proves that they are not alone. The beast is super creepy. Take a look at the poster and Blu-ray/ DVD cover. You get a good idea of what this thing looks like in the movie.

Juliette, played by Brittany Ashworth, is driving on her way back from a scavenging mission. She experiences a terrible accident. She is trapped in her car, with a broken leg, in the middle of an unforgiving desert. That is not the entire story. There are a couple of stories within the story itself.

As you can see in the two movie clips, Ashworth’s acting skills shine as she tries to deal with and outsmart the creature. The story is about how she must survive the dangers of the post-apocalypse world while a strange creature prowls around her car.

Another part of the movie is a love story told in flashbacks while Juliette tries to survive the car crash and creature. The story is between her and a Frenchman named Jack, played by Gregory Fitoussi. The love story is a bit slow and twisted to the horror-thriller and science-fiction aspects of the movie. All in all, I think horror fans will like watching this movie because it is not your usual horror movie. There is even a nice twist at the end.

Turi’s directing credits include two shorts and another feature called Meander, which is in pre-production at this writing. He paid his dues in the business, working on sets as assistant director of several movies.

Higher Power is a Trippy Sci-Fi Journey

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Directed by VFX artist Matthew Santoro, Higher Power is a visually rich sci-fi thriller. The movie stars Ron Eldard and Colm Feore.

Santoro makes his directorial debut with the story of Joseph Steadman, played by Eldard. Steadman suddenly finds himself under the command of a mad scientist, played by Colm Feore.  The mad scientist is on a mission that will alter the fate of his family and the world.

Because of the scientist, Steadman becomes equipped with new superpowers. But, he remains under the thumb of the seemingly omniscient scientist, and Steadman does all he can to protect his daughters from the man who bargains with their lives. The scientist’s warped mind overshadows his mysterious quest meant to save all of humanity. When the Universe decides what it wants, it’s pointless to resist. With his family’s life at stake, Joseph Steadman finds himself the unwilling test subject of a maniacal scientist in a battle that could save the world or destroy it.

Santoro uses his professional background in crafting an impressive movie filled with special effects. He directs a stunning a world of supernatural abilities and consequences. Santoro immerses you in the movie like a trippy journey. Spending most of the time going through the experiences of the main character, Steadman, as his life is engineered and disfigured to turn him into something stronger. I wasn’t sure what to expect watching this movie. It’s quite different from other movies that are similar in character. Higher Power is a refreshing concept with a trippy story.

The acting is decent and the story starts off slow. But, hang in there because as the story unfolds the movie becomes a rocket ride in which a reluctant man must overcome his past in order to find his higher power. The ending makes watching the movie worth it.

The movie clips show a good deal of what the movie emulates.  The special effects are awesome but basic. Only someone like Santoro can pull it off.