This site will point you to places you've never been to before. You'll also be introduced to films (ratings from 1- 5), festivals, music, getaways travel, restaurants and much more. Commentaries and amusing anecdotes may pop up. I really welcome your comments at the bottom of each article. So join me on the ride into the rugged and the luxurious. We all need to discover open borders in the world and in ourselves. S.N.
Sunday, March 7, 2021
COME TRUE, directed by Anthony Scott Burns ***
Julia Sarah Stone plays a disturbed teenager who is a run-away – a very tired one. She innocently enters a sleep study, only to find out her dreams and her waking life are one big horror play-out. What’s real and what’s a dream? The camera pans down a school corridor lined with lockers. In another scene, a door opens like Pandora's box. The camera pans and all merges so fluidly the real and unreal are captivating, bodies morph into scary creatures. The film plays out in titled sections as if each is a part of a dream. Suspense builds certainly with the help of the eerie music that the director himself composed. The pat silly ending was in complete contrast to the mood film's. But the weird stuff prevails. You know all is not good when Sarah asks lying all hooked up in a strange body suit – “What are you studying?” She isn’t allowed to know; nor why there are 4 males and only two females in the study. But the ending is a real let- -down Stalking takes on a whole new meaning, as does peeping Tom. I don’t advise anyone to see this film suffering from sleep disorders
Thursday, March 4, 2021
VIOLATION, directed by Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli ***
Two sisters -
Miriam and Greta meet up in the country cabin owned by Dylan, Greta’s husband.
Miriam is deeply disturbed, and the extent of her aberration manifests when she
seeks revenge on Dylan who raped her when the two were sharing past school
stories by the fire they made. Camp side chatter adds a lighthearted throw-in to
the intense mood that erupts into climatic horror as the characters clash.
The gruesomely gory climatic scene hauntingly
juxtaposes against the expressionistic cinematography of the lush nature that surrounds
them. The two directors were the two sisters in the film, and their chemistry
was electric, seen most vividly when the sisters’ love-hate conflicts mount. Without giving away the spoiler, you would be
wrong to like the ice cream cones the family gathering gobbles up at the end.
The movie is confusing; the flashback scenes interrupt the flow and cause plot distortion. The film could do with more precise editing. There is too much talking and not enough action. Nonetheless, it’s highly successful in showing the inner rage that engulfs every rape victim – Miriam in this case. Never was a rape scene so quiet - even docile in tone, yet wildly fierce in the outcome. There’s a consequence to pay; suffice it to say that Dylan met a terrifying doom. I was very much pulled into this compelling film. Madeleine Sims-Fewer was brilliant as Miriam. The Call of the Wild, by author Jack London has wolves in it. This film had one, That -- combined with Miriam's rage could have led to a more apt title: The Cry of the Wild.
Thursday, February 18, 2021
Dear Comrades! Directed by Andrey Konchalovskiy ****
This intense black-and-white film redramatizes the horrific 1962 massacre in Novocherkassk, in the southeastern corner of Russia, at which between 26 and 80 persons were killed for peacefully protesting hikes in food costs.
Wages were lowered. Hunger was killing people.
A staunch defender of
Stalin, protagonist passionate totes the party line, but knows socialism is a
disaster. Yuliya
Vysotskaya stars as this Lyuda who actually has a high-up
position in the party. She feels all instigators against the regime must be
killed, but it all comes back to backfire on her and when her daughter who
marched in the protest goes missing, she sets out to find her. However, she seems
to be a little less naive about the goodness of the party. A really great film
about a dark moment - largely forgotten and those implied swore to secrecy.
Though people thought it was the army that shot upon the crowd, it was in fact
the KGB. The tragic event comes to live again in this film - a town massacre in
Russia’s brutal past that is largely forgotten.
Wednesday, February 3, 2021
MAX CLOUD, directed by Martin Owen **
In this crazy film, reality collides with science fiction space ship fun. It’s s a throw-back to the era of video game mania. Is this film a spoof or number to put on a kids’ must-have list? I would say both. The futuristic pink set is scene -stealer because the characters are corny and childish. The story is about a video game being played by rebellions Sarah who is catapulted into the game itself. Now she joins the macho captain with some of his crew – all stuck inside their pretty-in-pink space ship on the planet Heinous. The young man in the film becomes Sarah. Confusing yet entertaining, this light-hearted film will be laughed at by Star Trek fans, while novices will watch it in wonder. We aren’t exactly biting our nails in fear during the fight scenes; rather biting into popcorn is more fitting for this absurdly spacey film.
Tuesday, January 26, 2021
PREPARATIONS TO BE TOGETHER FOR AN UNKNOWN PERIOD OF TIME
Lili Horvat |
Set in Budapest, this slow love reveal is both intriguing and
confounding for viewer and protagonists. The romance features Marta (Natasa
Stork) and Janos (Viktor Bodo) two neurosurgeons who can’t find one another
literally and figuratively - even though a place to meet has been set. Marta is
obsessively in love with Janos; she even stalks him - but he is as elusive as
she is quietly persistent. Obsessive love is the root
here. Even Marta has an obsessive suitor. The plot plays out like a sensuous dance
of catch me if you can in ever the most subtle and beguiling way. Never has the
understated spoken so loudly in a film. The effect is ethereal, seeming to echo
the hearts of both of these adults in search of themselves and one another. Is Marta’s
pursuit of Janos all imaginary or is it really happening. Did they really arrange during a conference in
New jersey to meet again in the future on the bridge in Budapest?
This is the most original love story I have ever seen in a
film, and it’s beautifully crafted. Cinematically resonating the inner turmoil
of both protagonists, darkness weaves its own feelings where suspense hangs in
the obscurely lit air, like the big loud speaker does dangling on a wire high up
in the sky as it is being moved into an apartment – a dwelling where (I won’t
give away the spoiler).
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
TAILOR, directed by Sonia Liza Kenterman****
If ever there was a charming movie made that reflects a time in Greece when small businesses were eaten up by the economic crisis, this adorable movie is the one to watch. A father and his almost mute handsome son whose face nonetheless has such a comedic quality to it, are struggling with their tailor shop for men’s clothes in Athens. The father falls ill, and his son has to find a way to keep the shop going. The bank is about to repossess it. He begins selling on the street and soon he’s making wedding dresses at a steal of a price.
His upstairs neighbor and darling child soon get involved in his sewing
business and a quiet romance seems to be stirring among the chiffon and teal. I
could not help but think of Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson) every time the close up of
our hero showed his big eyes and poised manner hiding a bit of humiliation. Comedic and touching, The Tailor is a made-to measure
classic. Dimitris Imellos as Nikos, the
sweet humble son, was impeccable in creating a character of such originality. His subtle expressions tore at our hearts. A gem of a Greek film - with comedic tragic elements.
Monday, December 28, 2020
Psycho Goreman, directed by Steven Kostanski ***
A cute yet gutsy spill of a horror film that has an evil monster visiting
two kids who take control of him through this magic token type beamer light
they find in the ground.
Mimi, the sister of Luke is a sassy, kick-ass brat, magnificently played
by Nita-Josee Hanna. However, unlucky Luke is constantly bullied by her. So,
this campy horror flick, packed with conflicts needs no pithy plot explanation;
rather it is the relationships in this family that cause the malice with household
moments of huge dysfunction – so despite all the ugly monsters unleashed in the
film, the real earthly monsters are embodied in the human species.
The special effects, fabulous costumes and whacky humorous scenes with
clever schtick are quite above the usual horror stuff.
The guy who plays the cop turned into a zombie is the scene stealer. His
movements are utterly entertaining and imaginative – putting new twists to the zombie walk.