Beta (2017) Movie Review

Beta is the new micro-budget sci-fi film recently released to amazon prime. The sophomore directing effort of Layton Matthews (director of 2013's The Wanderers) follows Jake Plissken (Evan Gamble), a drug-addled So-Cal rockstar well on his way to being washed up. When Jake is confined to his home by a court order and an ankle monitor after some criminal mischief, his lawyer pulls favors with the Hilltech corporation to get him the chance to be a beta tester for their new fully immersive, virtual reality network H.A.V.E.N., which Jake accesses with the BCI (Brain Computer Interface.) Within the network, Jake is introduced to a host of other characters including Natalie (Cole Smith), a fellow tester that ultimately challenges Jake to rethink what it really means to be human. 

      The film makes use of classic sci-fi themes such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality and applies them in a unique way. Within sci-fi, most films coalesce with the genres of action or horror, while Beta opts to use it's scifi foundation to explore romance and humanity. Though i initially thought this genre mash-up to be strange, by the end of the film i was impressed with the competency in which it was executed. There were also plenty of technical aspects to keep me engaged throughout the runtime as well.

Jake logs into H.A.V.E.N. with the BCI

      The locations in the film are very limited but they're put to good use and livened up by some crafty camerawork. I noticed rack focuses, time lapses, first person POV shots, and one sequence that i suspect was done with the aid of a drone. The soundtrack is also a fundamental aspect in constructing the movie's character; the heavy bass and drum sound complimented with electronic melodies was perfectly suited for the high tech settings. Beta never takes itself too seriously to miss opportunities to take comedic jabs at the nature of A.I. or tech culture. There are also a few special effects scenes that, while looking cheesy, just add to the low-budget charm.
      Beta held my attention throughout, but it's most glaring problem is it's pacing. There are times when the movie begins to drag, especially during scenes with lengthy expository dialogue. The characters are well established by the end of the first act but by the end of the third act I didn't as if they were fully realized. Also, the ending wasn't as climactic as I'd have hoped and it left a few loose ends but overall, Beta was a solid watch for any sci-fi junkie that values high-concept themes and ideas over budget and visual effects.

Bad Batch 2016 Movie Review

Not a typical indie film or small film I would normally review. Big names in the cast, marketing campaign, but with a budget of six million dollars and theatrical release a year after debuting at a film festival we can make an exception. Plus I have been waiting a damn year to see this stupid film. It shows that indie filmmakers can break out. That the visual medium of film is more accessible and affordable than ever. Once a good old boy network or rich kids (Howard Hughes) with a bullet proof ceiling. A talented person with a good eye and story can get noticed. More important a good script can raise funding and attract big named actors.

From the trailers, it looked like it was going to be more of a grindhouse film. But little blood showed up on screen. The director mostly did the butchering out of view, think of the scene in 'Children of the Corn' (1984) where they force the hand of the restaurant patron into the blender (covered my eyes, I was ten. Took me twenty years to watch that movie again and realize there is nothing scary to see except blood splatter on the wall. No fingers flying, no gross imagery but in my head) so those of you that cover your eyes during scary scenes, this movie might give you nightmares. If this film was released in the 80's it would be PG.

Being a huge fan of George Miller the opening of this film was great. Twenty Minutes with little less than a line of dialog. Director Ana Lily Amirour sets up a story visually that can easily suck the viewer in for the rest of the ride. This style also leaves the viewer wanting more and with a bunch of questions. In one scene with no dialog between Jason Momoa and his daughter reminiscent of 'Jaws' (1975) dinner scene with Chief Brody and his son, that is shamefully overlooked when understanding why the film is so good, is an important moment of character development that most movies ignore. Especially important for a low-budget movie being able to stretch film time with inexpensive scenes while keeping the viewer engaged, bonus points for doing character development at the same time. It takes a special talent to use the surrounding scenery to help emerge film goers into the movie world. Another recent relatively low-budget (four million Euros) film 'The Girl with All the Gifts' (2016) is good to check out, for those wanting to see great character development, limited dialog and use of surrounding scenery.

Another way directors get more out of their resources is to shoot on location. Being filmed in California the actors weren't acting that they were in a miserable place, they were. High temperatures, bright sun, and wind gave the film a level of realism and believably that some actors can't deliver on a sound stage. During filming 'Alien' (1979) the scenes in the ventilation shafts were brutal for the actors. Hot lights, no air flow, small space but on film audiences took the hot, sweating, tired, exhausted actors as being terrified. In 'Spider Baby' (1967) the high heat during shooting made the cast seem truly insane. At the same time shooting on location gives the director a great chance to expand the scene. No restriction of a sound stage or partial set up. The location can almost be another character in the movie.

YouTube Trailer for Bad Batch

Acting abilities of both relative newcomer Suki Waterhouse and (I got my start on Baywatch) Jason Momoa are helped by the harsh location. Suki did a convincing job portraying a clueless teen that has been thrown out of society for refusing to adhere to social norms and failing to realize actions have consequences. She has been in a number of projects in a short time with four more movies coming out in 2017. This movie was made for Jason, but somehow it's not what it could be. His accent was distracting, playing a Cuban that escaped to Miami before being labeled a bad batch thus banned from society, but coming off more of a Chicano from South California. The one hand to hand fight scene was started and over before anything really happened. Needed a 'They Live' (1988) drag down all out brawl. The movie did a good job developing his character as something more than just a meathead but not necessarily a bad ass.

This movie will not have huge box office receipts. Many will be disappointed by the lack of gore, boobies, and special effects. Others will stay away due to the perceived notion this is a grindhouse flick. One can blame it on the advertising. Many movies have been DOA due to the marketing department not understanding the movie. Other times movies don't know what they want to be. One famous example is Don Coscarelli's 'Kenny & Company' (1976). The movie was a great film but not fitting into any one category, drama, comedy, or horror the studio didn't believe in it. Marketing didn't understand it. But it's a good movie. Bad Batch doesn't know what it wants to be. The story is about a brutal apocalyptic wasteland where there are no rules except survive, but also wants to be about a fathers love for his child, or the strong feminist who can survive anything in a male dominated society, or the sexy girl in distress, or like the trailer suggests a grindhouse film. It is a visually entertaining film that takes a few detours but worth a watch, but if you're expecting something from this film it will leave you disappointed.

The Sky Has Fallen (2009 – to Infinity and Beyond) Movie Review

Watching this movie it's striking to see how much can be done by one man with passion. While Hollywood cranks out ninety minutes of garbage at the cost of a billion dollars a gonzo filmmaker can produce ninety minutes of entertaining garbage for .00002 of a percentage of that. If Doug Roos makes 'Suicide Squirt' or 'Batdork vs Superlame' they might have made more sense. Seriously a billion f'ing dollars, a whole building of writers, thousands of comic books and no one could come up with a better way for two losers who can't get dates on a Friday night to become bros than 'let's form a my mommy's name is Marta club'? Or 'Susie pom Squad' lack of anything, script, bad guy, heroes, sense, continuity, anyone to care about, and the one big bad, The Joker, could have been taken by Milley Cyrus in Celebrity Deathmatch.

The Sky Has Fallen Trailer

TSHF has a beautifully scored soundtrack, FX, a weirdly interesting story and many elements that predate 'The Walking Dead'. Numerous filmmakers get off track using fancy computer generated special effects instead of basic camera and makeup techniques. With green screens technology assessable to even amateur filmmakers it gets overused. Professional actors have a hard enough time trying to react, interact, or play off of something that isn't there (watch 'Birdemic' (2008), please don't it's really bad). So taking someone with no acting experience/skill/aptitude and throwing them in front of a green screen isn't going to work well. Using practical effect only helps wannabe actors be convincing to audiences.

Birdemic (2008) Bus Attack

OCD isn't a stranger to artists or creative types. Making short or full-length films in some ways is a resume for people working on them. Working on reshooting and re-editing the same film for ten plus years isn't a good representation of the level one's skills are at now. There are some really nice well shot scenes in this film but the cinematography of this film is at an overall lower level. After a decade the people working on this film are at a more advanced stage in their experience. Mr. Roos also does everything on this movie. Which shows off his considerable skills but leaves him little time to really focus on any one thing. Most films where one man does everything normally turn out badly. For every Terry Lofton, 'Nail Gun Massacre' (1985), there's a hundred Tommy Wiseau, 'The Room' (2003). This movie is much closer to 'Nail Gun Massacre' than 'The Room'. Not to mention the twenty-minute roll at the end listing a ridonkulous number of executive and associate producers watering down meaningful contributions of people who took a chance on a dream over a decade ago.

IMDB 'The Sky Has Fallen'

The big problem with this movie is the chronic camera hopping character to character. Watching this movie shows the viewer what it is like to have Popcorn Brain. Another issue is in a post-apocalyptic wasteland neither of the two survivors has any gear. Not a water bottle, backpack, fanny pack, sleeping bag, tactical vest, jacket, nothing! The main dude Lance is continually giving things to other people throughout the film, that he pulls out of mid-air. But at least it isn't 'Things' (1989) bad. Which had a budget of forty thousand dollars Canadian (adjusted for US dollars and inflation that's like $1,000,000)

Things (1989) Trailer

Queen finally had to stop messing with Bohemian Rhapsody due to the tape being worn thin (in this digital age they would still be working on it). It is time to take the knowledge and experience gained from making this movie and pour that into a new project. Of Course if you're Sam Raimi you just remake the same movie you just spent the better part of a decade making (Someone explain this to me? Evil Dead one and two are the same damn movie. Making it worse, the first one is better!) When your film's website looks dated and it has been getting awards for a decade it might be time to move on to the next project.

Watch 'The Sky Has Fallen' Here

Non-Transferable (2017) Movie Review

The first thing you'll notice is that Non-Transferable is not your run of the mill meet-cute - in fact, our two leads couldn't be more opposite. Amy (Ashley Clements), a self-proclaimed "global concierge", is a by-the-books woman who has a plan - for everything. Except getting dumped by her boyfriend on their anniversary right before they were supposed to embark on a two week, non-refundable vacation to Europe. Her two best friends, (Shanna Malcolm and Katie Wee) convince her to still go, just with a different guy - who has to have the same name as her ex. Enter Josh Merit (Brendan Bradley), a kindergarten teacher who not only doesn't follow life's rule book, he tears, burns, and scatters its ashes.

They're a mismatch from the start and they know it - there's no denying it after their hilarious "first fight" in front of a TSA agent that ends in a judgmental exchange ("Y'all are crazy." "We're in therapy.") After Josh's near-death experience during takeoff, they finally reach their destination - but the journeys just begun.

What follows is a crazy, endearing, butterflies in your stomach ride as Amy and Josh try to navigate their trip (after Josh loses their itinerary out the car window), not to mention their ''just met you off the internet', totally-not-awkward relationship. Set against the gorgeous backdrop of the Turkish landscape, both Amy and Josh discover there's so much more to a journey when you're brave enough to throw out the rule book.

As director, writer, co-producer, and co-star of Non-Transferable, Bradley was hyper-focused on every aspect of the film, from production to distribution. "A question I always asked myself," he says, "is how can we bring together advertisers and artists to share the risk and reward of original storytelling?" For Bradley, that vision became reality. Co-financed by the country of Turkey, a remarkable mutual filmmaking relationship ensued. The entire film team supported and featured the country's travel brands and famous destinations in a collaborative effort to produce an international love story.

What sets Non-Transferable apart from most other rom-coms is how it successfully pulls the heart strings without losing its laughs. It's overflowing with hilarious moments from start to finish. A sincere marriage proposal one second, and the next somebody's gulping down lead-laden water from a millennium-old fountain to get moisturizing lotion out of their mouth because they- (no spoilers - you have to watch the film).

Even better, you know those scenes in every rom-com? The last-ditch running through the airport, the "just broke up" montage with muffled Michelle Branch playing in the background? Non-Transferable brings those nostalgic moments back - but with a twist. As our couple hurries towards their departing ferry, we expect they'll make it on board with little problem and then share a calm, beautiful boat ride. Instead, jumping off the pier, missing their ferry by inches and falling into the ocean (and subsequently drenching all their luggage) becomes the most romantic gesture in the world.

Moving behind the camera, Non-Transferable boasts another trailblazing aspect as being part of the new breed of film that's instrumental in rewriting modern movie language. It's a style of communication that's adapting to our technological advances and culture at breakneck speed - evident in the characters' rapid-fire dialogue of social media terms, such as the number of Instagram notifications, online dating, and having "four million followers on vine", etc,. Non-Transferable succeeds where few others have: walking the thin line between it's unique, "millennial" language being interesting enough to not lose its older audience, and being genuine enough to engage the entire younger demographic.

In an "epidemic of content", Bradley says he's trying to get back to the age when stories were about "bad timing, not bad people." To him, the genuine, uplifting romantic comedies of today get glossed over because "in the last decade we’ve shifted to mean-spirited characters and R-rated comedy." Not that he doesn't enjoy a 'Superbad'-esque movie as much as the rest of us, but his vision with Non-Transferable was a welcome "return to the 90’s formula using today’s social media pacing and personalities." It's safe to say after seeing Non-Transferable that his vision has succeeded, blending trans-media promotion and a modern technological language to achieve the best of both worlds. **

**

About Brendan Bradley:

After getting his start in the harsh New York independent theater and film scene, Bradley ventured into a variety of creative projects: starring in PBS Digitals Frankenstein MD, developing his first series 'Squatters' for DailyMotion Originals, Video Game Reunion for Comedy Central's Online Hub, and even earning casting as 'The Staples Guy' on dozens of television and radio commercials worldwide.

Border Brothers (2017) Movie Review

 It's a film about the grown up son of “Dude” from The Big Lebowski. It has some great cameos from John Goodman and Jeff Bridges. The young Dude decides to pass the J and get off the couch, making a sticky icky run to Mexico, where he mistakenly brings back two brothers named Joel and Ethan. And if you believe that Rickey Bird Jr. would like to talk to you about an investment opportunity in a movie called MachineGun Baby being produced by Menahem Golan.

Border Brothers Trailer YouTube

No, seriously, Brian (not the son of the sultan of slack, though he could be) runs a pool service. His life sucks, on the wrong side of life, dating an Oildale Debutante who is sleeping with his worse, and one of his last, customers. While Brian is fishing out used condoms of 'El Negro Diablo's' pool he is serenaded by his tube top wearing, huffy riding, sleeve job giving girlfriend's moans of 'demasiado grande de fierro'. At the same time, his competitor is heckling him and stealing all his customers, including dear old mom. The life of Brian takes a series of events to become the Messiah drug pimp of Bakersfield.

Oildale debutante checking her leaky pipes YouTube

Written, directed and produced by the Hectic Films cartel out of Bakersfield CA (if you have been paying attention, every time Hollywood needs a town to make fun of, hello Bakersfield). If you watch a Korn video, you can see Rickey's house. The Bakersfield film mafia has been making hazy brown cloud movie magic for over a decade. Spoiler alert they don't film in Tijuana, the town and air is much clearer than Bakersfield. If people in Tijuana were given a choice of staying there or moving to Bakersfield with papers but having to live in Bakersfield for the rest of their lives, they would choose to stay in Mexico. They don't leave Oildale to film except to get a clip on the 101.

Korn Oildale YouTube

They are a dedicated bunch no matter how many times they get shut down by break-ins, equipment thefts, brown clouds, valley fever, Oildale Royals, booze shortages, drug shortages, sand storms, strange new STD's and drive by’s (seriously who would live there, it's not a prison, anyone can leave and never go back, who in their right mind would stay in the central valley) they still just crank out good movies… even if Rickey has to force his son to work on these films (all little Rickey got out of it was a crappy sound tech credit)

Oildale Royals YouTube

It's a film that is more appreciated after watching Gods of Egypt. It’s a film with a budget of one hundred and forty million dollars and Rotten Tomatoes has it rated sixteen percent fresh. Someone must have slipped a bag of cash to get the rating that high. The movie is so bad and makes no sense. The chariot pulling fly things go from sixty miles an hour to a complete stop without slowing down, letting Geezer Butler step off the green screen, like me strolling out of the bathroom in the morning. After watching Gods of Egypt, I rate this Border Brothers movie a full bucket of popcorn! Border Brothers is a fun movie that will convince everyone that some people should stay behind the camera… well, for that matter some ideas shouldn't be made into films. A great film that would make PC Principal pop a blood vessel, Roger Ebert would call waste of film (screw him, he gave Deuce Bigalow, Joe Dirt, Dukes of Hazzard, Tommy Boy, Resident Evil, and The Water Boy all zero stars and it's all digital now anyways! Plus he wrote a Russ Meyer film), gives moviegoers a better option than Gods of Egypt. Plus your ticket purchase goes directly to supporting the crack addict that keeps stealing all of Hectic Films (or HF because abbreviating worked so well for KFC, maybe because after sixteen years there's no Hectic left in HF?) sound equipment. So, you could either donate money to Sally Struthers to feed.... well Sally Struthers or support struggling crack addicts. Your call.

Watch Border Brothers and other fine Hectic Films movies

Pitching Tents (2017) Movie Review

This movie is an homage to classic 80's teen comedies, only better. Many of those movies did the same stereotypical cast, jokes, and gags repeatedly. They all had the Asian guy who was a tech wizard. The jock whose nickname was a thinly veiled reference to his junk. The stoner, the horn dog, the clueless parents that come around in the end, stupid adults the kids outsmart, sibling rivalry, horror-able sex acts, the holy grail quest to get laid, and lastly the sweet kid just trying to figure it out. Most think of Porky's or the John Hughes movies. As funny as Porky's was, it wasn't a very good movie in many ways, naked girls just to have naked girls, poor camera work, over the top raunchy script setting up studios to lose focus on cinematography and dialog for the rest of the decade. It wasn't until Kevin Smith's Clerks in 1994 that anyone spent time developing dialog again. Watching the John Hughes movies now, all the characters are one-dimensional and teens always win/figure life out in the end, type of boring. Not, that these movies weren't good at the time, but they don't hold up well. 

Pitching Tents is a good mixture of 'One Crazy Summer' (1986), 'Last American Virgin' (1982), and maybe 'Meatballs' (1979). The director Jacob Cooney has a George Millerian skill in communicating information to the viewer non-verbally. Which is the only way this movie would work. With a large cast of charterers, he is able to introduce them seamlessly without veering off course from the plot. While avoiding over redundant stereotypes that make many movies unwatchable/predicable. Jacob does a good job of showcasing the beautiful women in this movie. Made difficult by hideous 80's fashion. All the girls are way too beautiful to wear waist high, pleated, acid-washed jeans. Not the typical 'have the girl jump up and down' gonzo directing so many teen films have. The steamy make-out scene in the woods is way hotter than the standard mandatory 'the movie needs this' nude scene. One of the hard things to secure for this movie had to be Grandpas mint condition boxy 80's boat. Image trying to pitch dear old pappy on letting his cherry vintage ride he has waxed twice a week for the last forty years to be used in a movie about a wild drug party in the woods with a side quest for Goddess Camp. A movie you never can let him watch due to the weird necrophilia-beastiality and drug use in his car. 

Pitching Tents YouTube Trailer

From start to finish this was a funny enjoyable movie to watch. Mister fast forward button wasn't needed once, the first or second viewing. The dialog does have many raunchy jokes, keeping with the feel of eighties teen comedies. Without being dependent on them. It has plenty of witty quick dialog, more in tune with a Joss Whedon vehicle than anything from forty years ago. Great period soundtrack with talented actors. Both Samantha Basalari and Micheal Grant should be in more movies in the future. Best eighties teen film since the eighties!

Spider Baby (1967) Retro Movie Review (Public Domain)

This was a lost film for most of its existence. Lost films happened in many ways. Nitrate film stock used before 1952 is flammable causing film fires wiping thousands of films off the face of the earth. Fox had a big fire in 1937 wiping out their film vault and MGM had one in 1967 taking out many early films. Most film buffs have at least heard of Metropolis (1927) which was lost but found early in the new millennium. Most studios didn't then have a way to monetize movies after their theatrical run until TV, home video and art houses came around. So there was little interest in preserving or storing them, even though a copy of every film since 1909 was to be preserved in the Library of Congress. Interesting to note Lon Chaney Sr. film London after Midnight (1927) is also on the lists of lost films even though through promo photographs they have reconstructed the entire movie from stills. Luckily for us, this movie miraculously was released on VHS in the late 90's, when an owner of a television station in Finland realized the rights had lapsed allowing him to sell copies of the reel he had.

Spider Baby Trailer YouTube

Spider Baby had a rough go of it from the start. Starting with a minuscule budget of $65,000. Causing it to be filmed in black & white. Even though since Technicolor 'Process 4' came out in 1932, color films had become the standard. Televisions since the mid-fifties had color available. For budget reference, The Night of the Living Dead (1968) had a budget of $114, 000. So Spider Baby was made for little over half of what George Romero scraped together. The interior scenes were filmed in a warehouse in Glendale California in the middle of summer with no air conditioning (studio was going broke). Which had the effect of making most of the actors look bat crazy between sweating and being a moment away from heatstroke. The viewers get the sense that Lon Chaney was going to mentally snap at any time. After the studio went bankrupt it sat for several years before being released with little fan fair. With several name changes The liver Eaters, The Attack of the Liver Eaters, Jack Hill's Spider Baby, Cannibal Orgy, Or the Maddest Story Ever Told it never had much of a chance and the lyrics in the opening don't make much sense unless the movie is named Cannibal Orgy.

At the time of its release, the most famous cast member was Mantan Moreland who starred in many early comedies as a house boy, manservant, or chauffeur playing a stereotypical character. Mr. Moreland broke many barriers for black actors but the style of comedy he was known for was quickly swept under the rug after the civil rights movements in the 50's. 



Lon Chaney Jr. was mostly known for low-budget horror movies and as the guy that played the Wolfman. Even though his father had taught him make-up, strict union rule prevented him from doing anything with it. Watch some of Lon Chaney Sr.'s films, the level of horror he brought to the screen with no help from CGI, modern camera tricks or sound is remarkable. There was a huge gap in the world of horror movies for make-up, from Chaney Sr. to Rick Baker in the seventies. A piece of horror movie trivia is Chaney jr. is the only person to play all four of the major Universal monsters on film.

Sid Haig gives a standout performance in this movie. Still very bald (didn't that guy ever have hair?). But wandered in bit parts as a heavy for forty years until Quentin Tarantino and Rob Zombie came calling. Looking at his list of credits he literally played a bad guy on every TV show in history Star Trek, Six Million Dollar Man, Dukes of Hazzard, and A-Team to name a few. But he, like the director, wouldn't be appreciated till many years later.



Jack Hill wrote and directed many of the well-known exploration movies in the seventies Foxy Brown, Coffy, The Big Bird Cage, Switch Blade Sisters and The Terror (with Jack freaking Nicholson and Boris motherfing Karloff). He said just as long as he put blood, violence, and nudity in the films the studios would allow him to add intelligent ideas and concepts in the films. Hill left movies all too soon cause the movies the studios green lit for him weren't exactly what he wanted. His student film 'The Host' (1960) is well worth watching. The only place to find it is a bonus feature on the Switch Blade Sisters DVD. Francis Ford Coppola said 'The Host' was a major influence on the last part of Apocalypse Now (1979).

The movie tells the story of a family chauffeur that made a death-bed promise to the head of the household to keep the family together and hide their dark secrets. A family that has skeletons in the closet, bed, basement, and dumb-waiter. Caused by a disease that runs in the maternal DNA that causes members to regress after the age of ten to a primitive state. The chauffeur played by Chaney is barely hanging on to his own sanity. Having to take care of covering up the transgressions of the household he is slowly being tasked with more and more hideous chores. When into the red with no warning, distant family members come sniffing around hearing rumors of a family fortune.

Spider Baby Full Movie Public Domain YouTube

There is a reason this film has grown a huge mass cult following, with only being available in the last twenty years, missing the building a fan base over most of its early life-like most films, it's very well done. Rated a seven on IMDB and 100% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. The 2007 release has some cool special features namely the early 2000's premier. Sadly Lon Chaney, Mantan Moreland and Jill Banner (played Virginia Merrye) all past a few years after the theatrical release of the film. Any aspiring filmmaker should watch this film to see what is possible with no budget and twelve days. It's entertaining from beginning to end. The only real knock is towards the end the make-up they used for Uncle Ned, makes it feel like they had no budget or time. Still not as bad as the tall alien at the end of 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' (1977) seriously what was up with that dandy long legs alien? That's not even the worst thing about that movie, family man Roy jumps on a spaceship and no one is like what about your wife and kids, he doesn't think to ask how long this trip to another galaxy is going to take or when his family should expect him home, Roy is clearly the villain of CE3K and a deadbeat dad. Have fun with this goody but an oldie and don't be a bug caught up in a spider web! Whatever you do, don't play the spider game........