Dir - Calvin Lee Reeder
Overall: MEH
The latest from filmmaker Calvin Lee Reeder is a mess of an updated version of David Cronenberg's The Fly, but this is not so much due to any derivative elements as it is to an increasingly implausible screenplay. In genre fiction, we are asked to take certain unbelievable elements on their own terms, and The A-Frame's concept of an inter-dimensional transportation device that has the side effect of curing cancer, (since the cancer, for whatever reason, cannot travel along with the host), is an acceptable jumping off point. What is not acceptable is how the charters in this universe behave concerning its existence and execution. Johnny Whitworth's scruffy and smirking mad scientist stand-in is the type of openly shady ubber genius hacker bro that only exists in wacky screenplays, and the plot would go nowhere if everyone that he meets does not immediately report and/or permanently stay away from him. This does not even take into account the fact that he has world-changing technology at his disposal at two locations that he presumably has to pay rent on, all of which probably costs close to a billion dollars. So maybe Whitworth is an ubber genius day trader too? The movie is tonally imprecise as well, going as far as to feature an aspiring stand-up comedian, (who is at least played by Nik Dodani, an actual comedian), and its fusing of goofy nyuck nyucks, terminal cancer patients coping with the shit hand that they have been dealt, a soulless physicist who easily dupes people and needs a shave, vague pseudo-science, characters changing personalities at a moment's notice, and gooey practical effects just makes for too ludicrous of a pill to swallow.
Dir - Rachael Cain
Overall: MEH
Though shy of remarkable, writer/director Rachael Cain's Somnium is a promising full-length debut, one of many films that examines the exhaustive hardships that young Hollywood hopefuls face when trying to make their dreams a reality. It is an age old tale, and Cain's script relies on too many cliches to say anything unique about its subject matter, but it is at least less cynical than most movies that feature someone trying to break into the movies and facing insurmountable odds along the way. Chloë Levine is the textbook conduit for such a story, literally a small town girl with big if generic aspirations who is forced to face her fears in getting any kind of leg up in the game. How she faces such fears is the interesting part, (it all involves some plausible sci-fi tech that causes psychological whirlwind effects on those exposed to it), and thankfully Levine turns in a top-notch performance that elevates a slew of less inspired ideas. There are predictable plot beats every step of the way, a naked, creaky, bald, and generic creature shows up, plus it has a finale that is too simple minded to be profound. Yet even if Cain was going for something more bold than she was able to pull-off, the movie's elementary nature is refreshing in its own right, and like Levine's ambitious protagonist, there is "something there" that may lead to bigger and better things.
Dir - Stuart Ortiz
Overall: MEH
Stemming from half of the Vicious Brothers team, (Stuart Ortiz working solo here), Strange Harvest is one of the better true crime mockumentaries to emerge in recent times, but the particular sub-genre hardly wields effective results on the regular. While it is nifty to see a work of fiction adhere strategically to a non fiction format, trying to capture as many nuances as possible and hitting all of the prerequisite beats to sustain verisimilitude as if one is watching an actual documentary, (in this case on an allusive, occult-inspired serial killer called Mr. Shiny), it also opens itself up to scrutiny. Most people whose curiosity would be peaked by this are likely the same people who have seen countless true crime programs on Netflix or have dabbled in any of the hundreds of podcasts out there that tackle such material. So it is easy to nitpick anything that seems off when a screenwriter and professional actors go through the motions, and there are various moments throughout here that seem off. Most of the talking heads, (particularly Peter Zizzo as the case's main detective), indulge in hyperbolic platitudes, as if they are narrating the film instead of just being interviewed for it. That and incessant scary music, horror movie editing, and makeup, special effects, and gore sequences that come off as silly instead of convincing all help to sink the ship. On the plus side though, just as many of the performances and faux news footage pieces are nailed, plus if one can scratch their true crime itch while knowing that it is all fictitious, (if still eerily plausible in parts), then the story itself has enough unsettling juice to keep them invested.
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