Author: Joel Fisher

Buster Keaton is one of those names that even those who aren’t well versed in silent cinema will recognise. Alongside Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton was an iconic actor, writer and director who managed to envision the kinds of cinema set pieces that were years ahead of their time and just as impressive when viewed today.

Especially considering how little went into the special effects. However, through the use of camera trickery and Keaton being the best special effect of all, Buster Keaton became a unique and unforgettable performer during the Roaring Twenties.

The Great Buster is a documentary written, directed and narrated by director Peter Bogdanovich which charts Keaton’s life meticulously from his early years in his family Vaudeville show to his untimely death in the mid Sixties.

Throughout the documentary, Bogdanovich tells the story of one of his idols leaving no stone unturned as every facet of Keaton’s life is explored from his incredible success to his spiralling career and alcoholism that developed once he lost creative control.

Along with Bogdanovich are other famous film makers and actors that all talk lovingly about what an influence Buster was on their own work, with some surprises such as Quentin Tarantino and Werner Herzog. Split into two halves, the second half of Bogdanovich’s documentary lets the silent movie star speak for himself as the audience are treated to the best bits of Keaton’s finest work.

Lovingly restored and preserved for everyone to see from ardent fans to those who just want to see what made the man and his work so great, the clips from some of his most beloved film are sure to raise a smile.

Gliding through all aspects of Keaton’s life, the documentary doesn’t really have the time to settle down on one thing and it would have been nice to have heard a little more from its talking heads. However, the joy on their faces when talk about what an impression Keaton made on their careers is enough to make the audience want to look back at their work as well as Keaton’s to see if they can see the join.

A master of the silver screen that pushed boundaries of not only cinematic wonder, but also pushed the limits of his own body, The Great Buster is a documentary that encapsulates Buster Keaton’s story with love and admiration.

For those fans who think they may have seen everything Keaton had to offer, this documentary may even show fans a little bit more.

Atticus Virtue (Chad Michael Murray) is the richest man in the world. A tech genius with billions of dollars in the bank. He has everything he could ever want and gives millions of people around the globe the experiences of using the technology he has created that changes lives.

So, when Virtue announces a competition to win his mansion with all the technology that it holds inside, Max Winslow (Sydnee Mikelle) gets really excited – especially when she is chosen as one of the competitors. Along with Max, four other students from her school are chosen; Benny (Jason Genao) a game addicted wise cracker, Sophia (Jade Chynoweth) a social media obsessed star, Aiden (Emery Kelly) the school bully and Connor (Tanner Buchanan) a top lacrosse player and also the boy that Max has a crush on.

When brought together, the teenagers are all excited about what’s to come, but when they meet the mansion’s artificial intelligence, H.A.V.E.N. (Marina Sirtis) then they soon realise that the games she has in mind for them may test more than they’d ever imagined.

Max Winslow and The House of Secrets is a teenage science fiction fantasy that owes more than a little to its influences and shows them off proudly. As the children are met with the challenges that the mansion’s A.I. their challenges start to take the forms of their worst fears and nightmares, which each of them having to overcome them in order to survive.

This turns the movie which into an instant homage to Charlie and The Chocolate Factory as each contestant learns a valuable lesson. However, H.A.V.E.N.’s disembodied voice is also reminiscent of Jigsaw from the Saw franchise and is made all the more sinister by Sirtis’ voiceover. Although thankfully nobody gets permanently mutilated – like they do in Charlie and The Chocolate Factory.

Max Winslow and The House of Secrets is an interesting movie aimed at a teenage market and does indeed play a little like a horror movie at times. However, the moral messages come through and should be clear to its audience, so it takes the edge off a little. Although perhaps not all the messages are as clear as others and it’s not entirely clear what all the lessons are or whether everyone has learnt their lesson.

Max Winslow and The House of Secrets is a movie full of heart, where at least one of the characters will resonate with its audience. The lessons learnt also don’t come across as too preachy, but rather as a reflection on modern day behaviour which many will recognise.

Children will enjoy the movie and who knows, perhaps it will encourage them in later years to watch the horror films it’s influenced by that they are currently too young to enjoy.

Joshua (Jeremy Ninabar) and Emma (Melissa Joy Boerger) are siblings, twins in fact and ever since they were born, they’ve held a strong connection. However, when Emma develops supernatural powers, Joshua sees no other option than to sedate her and keep her hidden from the people that may want to take her away and use her powers for evil.

The twins are also being harassed by somebody who also seems to have similar supernatural powers to Emma and it’s down to Joshua to do his best to keep Emma hidden away while he works to make money to keep them both alive. Unfortunately, this means competing in an underworld fight club, but it’s the only thing that keeps Joshua sane. Problems start to arise though as a mysterious man tracks them down and claims that he can help Emma control her powers.

Transference is the latest film from writer/director Matthew Ninabar and also the latest film to star his brother Jeremy. No doubt taking the experience of growing up as close siblings, Ninabar’s story takes the audience through the story of the two siblings and what Joshua is willing to do to protect his sister. The trouble is that there really isn’t anything new to be seen in the story and the few twists that come in the story really add nothing to it as the pacing is so slow and the ending so predictable.

Joshua is the typical hero of a story like this, he’s tall, blonde, brooding and… boring. He monologues about how he has the weight of the world on his shoulders, has always been angry and never feels more alive than when he’s punching seven shades of Sunday out of whoever he can get his hands on.

He may be the typical hero, but he’s also a lazy, cliched stereotype who could only appeal to the kind of meatheads who never connect with their feelings and blame everything on absent fathers. The most character development the audience gets out of Joshua is whether he may or may not have slept with the only woman he knows, Amanda (Jehan Hashim).

Then after what seems like an age the audience gets to the final act and the big reveal of the nature of Emma’s powers is… underwhelming. It’s hinted at what her powers may be throughout the film, but when it’s finally revealed it’s a mixture of every cliched superpowered character that comes to mind.

Is it telekinesis? Mind control? Force powers? It’s all very unclear and the supposed true villain of the story is about as ineffective and non-threatening as they come. The X-men could beat the villain on a bad day, even Deadpool could do it if he was given enough cash.

All in all, Transference is as dull and forgettable as its characters and really doesn’t offer the audience any surprises. A little character development and bonding between the characters may have helped, but as far as the story goes, nobody should really care.

Scotty (Grant Rosenmyer) is horny. He’s 24, he’s never had sex, he lives with his mother and yet sex is all he thinks about. Sex and aspirations to be a rapper anyway. Sick of never getting what he wants and being under the control of his mother, Liz (Janeane Garofalo) Scotty finds a website that caters for men like him and their sexual needs. He just needs to convince some people to come with him because the brothel he wishes to go to is in Canada and, oh yes, Scotty uses a wheelchair.

Matt (Hayden Szeto) is newly disabled after an accident and arrives at the same physical therapy centre clinic that Scotty attends, immediately hitting it off with him – in the worst way possible. Scotty is obnoxious, rude and confrontational, he may have needs that are going unfulfilled, but he’s going about life in all the wrong ways. However, after Matt hears about Scotty’s offer of a road trip and after Matt realises that his girlfriend has moved on, he sees no other option but to join Scotty on the road.

Coming along for a ride is Mo (Ravi Patel) a visually impaired man who works at the physical therapy centre and considering he’s in his thirties and still a virgin himself, he jumps at the chance. So, the trio set off on their adventure – not anticipating that their driver would be a woman, Sam (Gabourey Sidibe).

Come as You Are is a remake of the Dutch film Adios Amigos which is in turn a remake of the Belgian film that shares the same name as this English language remake. However, without having seen the previous versions of the film I can only come to a few conclusions. Either the film has accurately copied some of the scenes from the original so that fans would recognise it, the film makers didn’t even consider that making the scenes less insulting and more acceptable would matter if they were in the original. Or new scenes were added to make the film funnier but they were done at the expense of the disabled characters.

A running gag of Mo mistaking one thing for another because of not having 20/20 vision and a scene involving Scotty dropping his mobile phone and struggling to get it because of his inability to bend down and pick it up are all part of the ‘hilarity’. A surprise considering the tone of the film and the subject, but it’s not something I’d expect to see in a film on this with these characters this far into the 21^st century, but apparently the cast and crew were fine with it.

However, it’s not all bad though as the best parts of the film are the scenes where the film forgets that the majority of the cast are disabled, giving them the chance to become more human. However, these scenes are often far too short or are immediately undermined by a joke about somebody’s disability. The budding love story with Mo is also sweet, but again sadly undermined by using his ability to do something on a superhuman level suggesting that the film makers believe the myth that when one sense is gone the rest are heightened, or they just didn’t care enough to check its validity.

Personally, speaking as a disabled person, I have never considered visiting a brothel, preferring to make emotional connections and getting to know people and thankfully Come as You Are does eventually show that there’s more than just brothels for disabled people who want sex and even love.

However, I feel that the film is only going to appeal to an able-bodied audience who has never interacted with a disabled person and will think that brothels are the only option and that it’s the same for everyone.