Author: Allie Loukas

“Eternal Code” follows a scientist named Bridget (Erika Hoveland,) who is the CEO of a company that makes a scientific breakthrough that could alter the course of human aging.

When she realizes something sinister is going on with the company she agreed to develop the prototype with she wants to call off the deal, this sets off a chain of events that spark kidnappings, murders, and rivalries all to silence Bridget and get the two companies to merge.

Although this premise sounds good in writing, in execution, unfortunately, not so much. Though I give points to the cinematography, by DP Jackson Swan, and attention to detail in the production design, the rest of the film just ends up coming off as a cheap copy of “Self/Less” (2015,) which wasn’t very good either.

There’s too many plates spinning in the air in this film, too many interjecting storylines and subplots that make it hard to follow, all of that coupled with a script laden with some cheesy dialogue and sub-par acting leaves much to be desired. The low, gravely bad guy voices are cliche and tired to the point where most of the acting in this film comes off like side characters from a cancelled 1980’s soap opera.

The sound design is distracting as well as the score, this film was obviously a massive undertaking to produce independently and lacks focus. If the story were to be about Bridget, it needed to be centered around her, the random homeless guy and hooker getting wrapped up into a side-plot that revolves around Bridget’s daughter (Angelina Danielle Cama) was hard to follow and didn’t really make much sense.

All of this being said I do think the filmmaker, Harley Wallen, has talent and probably a cult following. I appreciate the amount of effort that went into this, the production must have been taxing and I know there are groups of people out there that enjoy low-budget action films that don’t take themselves too seriously, in the same vein as there are groups of people who enjoy low-budget horror.

This one simply isn’t for me and I can’t recommend it to anyone who doesn’t frequently watch underground films because you will probably be there, scratching your head, for the entire 1 hour 47 minute duration of the film, and thinking to yourself “this couldn’t even be on Lifetime!” You wouldn’t be wrong, but there are probably some people out there who like this kind of thing. Just not the general population.

“A Disappearance” is a short film that follows celebrity medium Dame Alvera as she struggles to restart her career after 11 years, and perform readings in front of an audience.

From the beginning of the short we see the Dame struggling with alcoholism, self-hatred, and blame shifting. The actress who plays Dame Alvera, Sophie Thompson, really captured the perfect balance between sweet and sinister, complete with subtle cues in her wardrobe.

A sweet pink ruffled blouse and pink skirt confused me as to whether or not she was actually evil and at fault for the downfall of her career or if it really was her manager Pat’s fault as she accuses him of while he’s crying out his black eyeliner begging her for another chance.

As the short progresses the Dame performs a public reading, with some degree of accuracy for those in the audience and others accusing her of being a fraud. There is great tension and suspense build, the cinematography and score are superb and add to the effect of not knowing whether or not to believe in the validity of her readings.

The storyline has a great arc and landing and perfectly fills the fifteen minute space. It held my attention and made me curious to see how this would play out as a feature film, I wonder if the filmmakers, Laura Spini and Laurence Brook, would have any interest in making this into a longer piece.

With the increasing popularity of mediums and tarot I think this could potentially develop into a unique feature, and would be timed properly with the interest in mysticism in modern culture. The only thing I was looking for in the short that I felt was missing was more in terms of production design. Having additional objects and a brighter color wheel would have added to the supernatural effect, and, in these types of films, it is almost an essential.

I thought of one of my favorite films “The Love Witch” (2016,) and I see shades of that here, but so much of the otherworldly beauty of that film relied heavily on unique and detailed production design. If that aspect could be amped up here this short has a great potential to be something more.

“A Disappearance” is available now, streaming free on Vimeo, I highly recommend this one, a very enjoyable 15 minutes and I would love to see it as a Vimeo Staff Pick.

“Second Spring” is a British drama that follows the life of Kathy (Cathy Naden) as she is diagnosed with a rare mental illness. Early on in the film Kathy becomes estranged from her husband Tim (Matthew Jure,) begins acting erratically, and leaves her marriage for a man she barely knows. Kathy begins exhibiting extremely poor impulse control and, most notably, struggles with feeling any empathy.

Though Kathy knows this, she seems to embrace her illness and slip into a delusion about the gravity of her condition.

The filmmaker, director Andy Kelleher, and screenwriter, Martin Herron I believe took quite a risk in showing Kathy’s illness in this way. The progression of Kathy’s poor decision making from the point of diagnosis was quite rapid, but I also believe the timeline is realistic; though not the happy and digestible story an audience always wants to see. 

I even found myself angry with Kathy’s estranged husband Tim, why wasn’t he doing everything in his power to help her? Why did he allow her to make such poor choices knowing it wasn’t completely her? Why did he seem indifferent when she blacked out after spending a night in a park with a stranger? It was difficult to watch, but then I remembered some real-life statistics of women who are diagnosed with cancer.

A 2009 study found that women with cancer are six times more likely to be divorced or separated than a man with a similar diagnosis. Although it is hard to face the reality of serious conditions, and that the words in sickness and health can be just that, words, when two people get married, I still found the downward spiral devastating and I empathized with Kathy even though I cringed at some of the things that she said and did.

The film itself is quite beautiful, and the cinematography, by DP Jonas Mortenson, is a gem. The color palette was lovely, and I was quite impressed later on when I learned this piece was actually shot on Fujifilm. The difference from shooting on digital was instantly noticeable. I miss the days when movies were shot on film and this took me way back, the film gave off a soft contrast and realistic feel that we do not see anymore in modern cinema, it was a real treat.

In terms of the pacing, the film did feel slow and plodding and I would have liked to see more dialogue at points as it tended to become stiff. The edit left something to be desired as my attention slipped in many places. That being said the film had shades of “Still Alice” (2014,) and “Terms of Endearment” (1983) and I found the lead actress, Cathy Naden, to be quite refreshing. She played Kathy with vulnerability and subtlety, her performance reminded me a bit of Susan Sarandon’s in “Stepmom” (1998.)

Though this film is a bit unsettling and could use a final pass through edit, mental illness can be very difficult to capture on screen, and there are good things to be discovered.

Check out the rain jacket in the trailer too.

“Immortal Hero” is a Japanese film based on Ryuho Okawa, the founder of Happy Science, a religious movement that evidently claims to have over 11 million followers worldwide. Okawa, unsurprisingly, executive produced this film and his daughter, Sayaka, wrote the screenplay.

Immortal Hero follows Makoto Mioya, aka the movie version of Okawa, a best selling self-help author and founder of a publishing company. When we meet Makoto in the beginning of the film we see him struggling to breathe and dramatically clutching his chest.

He’s having a Japanese soap opera version of a heart attack, and is subsequently rushed to a hospital where he is told he will not live to see another day. What will he do? How will he survive? Well, lucky for Makoto, he can see dead people. One I think was Jesus, the other maybe Buddha, I’m not sure about the rest of his visions, the visual effects looked like they were made on an IBM computer circa 1987.

Anyway, the random spirits tell him that he is in fact the chosen one, he will unite all of the people of the world and all of the religions of the world in one fell swoop. He will save humanity when he thinks himself well, and he does just that!

He thinks himself well! In true messiah like fashion, he repairs his own heart with his mind, all those spirits were right! Alas, the mission is not complete, Makoto will now attempt to inspire the world as the chosen and lead them into the light. 

I know to some of you reading this may think, is she joking? No. This is actually the plot of this film; though I am being cheeky. The direction is poor, the music, oh, the music. Probably some of the weirdest, most vain, cheesy songs I’ve ever heard in my entire life. Let’s see, what else? We’ve discussed the visual effects; oh! The acting. I don’t know if it qualifies as acting?

Over the top, laughable in places. Even the pop in characters seemed confused. I count my favorite as a former business associate of Makoto, a Londoner named Robert, who was so inspired by Makoto that he travelled all the way from London to Tokyo to let him know live and in person that he was able to heal his cancer with his mind after he read his book!

In a scene with bar none the worst editing I have ever seen Robert goes from jovial to sad and crying when there is a cut from wide angle to close up, I guess they forgot that wide angle of him crying. Ah, those pesky minor details.

I really don’t know what else to say about this. I legitimately am at a loss for words, and I have nothing positive to say. I can sum up my feelings about this film with a famous quote from “Billy Madison,” (1995) “I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.”

“Almost Love” is an ensemble comedy from filmmaker Mike Doyle. It follows the life of a gay couple Marklin (Augustus Prew) and Adam (Scott Evans) who have reached a make or break crossroads in their relationship and the friends they interact with.

Elizabeth (Kate Walsh) is Adam’s best friend and entering marital breakdown with her husband of 15 years Damon (Chaz Lemar Shepard.) Cammy (the charming Michelle Buteau,) another friend of the couple, questions her judgement and social motivations when she begins seeing a homeless man (Colin Donnel;) and there’s Haley (Zoe Chao) a teacher who is experiencing conflicted feelings about her not quite 18-year-old student Scott James (Christopher Gray.)

Marklin and Adam have been together for 5 years, and are both successful in their respective careers; but, Adam, working as the ghostwriter version of a painter for celebrity artist Rebella (Patricia Clarkson) has taken a toll on his emotional health and self-esteem, whereas Marklin is more satisfied professionally as a fashion designer and blogger.

The distinct differences in their professional lives start to spill over into personal and they begin to question whether or not their relationship can last through the down cycle.

Though the centerpieces of the film are Marklin and Adam I found the context to be less hyper-focused on their sexuality so much as it was about the reality of relationships, how they ebb and flow, and how we can choose whether or not we survive in them through communication and patience. The film has all the inner workings of a classic rom-com, it feels a bit like “Love Actually” (2003) but it just never turns out to be as sweet.

Making the choice to not focus the plot around Marklin and Adam exclusively gave the film an unfortunate feel of a half-finished story. I think excising the use of the interjecting storylines would have been preferential and would not have left the audience with so many question marks and underdeveloped sub-plots, though I do admire the filmmakers’ risk and dedication.

The stand outs of this piece for me were Scott Evans as Adam; he delivered a fine performance and really understood how to craft the perfect balance of emotional depth and light-hearted fun, and Michelle Buteau as Cammy who provided comic relief and had wonderful synchronicity and chemistry with everyone she shared the screen with.

“Almost Love” is an almost there movie for me, it is basically the meat without the bones; with a few more brushstrokes it could have been something truly unique, but it ultimately felt like one of Rebella’s paintings, and left me longing for a blank canvas.