Author: Joel Fisher

Tits: Review

Iben (Marie Bya) is a teenage girl who does the same as any other girls her age. She likes hanging out with her friends and with hormones being what they are, she’s a little boy crazy and has found someone she likes.

However, it seems that hormones work differently for girls and boys and whereas Iben would rather relax by the sea with her boyfriend, he still wants to go out playing with his friends.

Oscar (Snorre Kind Monsson) is one of those shy, introverted teenage boys who seem to get overlooked. He doesn’t feel great about his weight and he compares himself to the other boys, especially when he sees them doing more athletic things that make him feel self-conscious. He finds himself one day by the sea and desperately wants to join in with his friends. However, he thinks that he has to hide himself so that nobody will stare at him – or at least that’s what he thinks.

Iben has no such issues though and is happy to disrobe and swim in the sea without a care in the world. At least that’s how it comes across at least.

Tits is a short film written and directed by Eivind Landsvik which tells a short story about two teenagers who find they have something in common. A tale so common that it could be set at any time, it feels as if Landsvik’s film is a timeless and universal story.

Shot as if it were a slice of life rather than a staged drama, Tits brings out natural performances from its young actors and their feelings about their bodies feels relatable. Although clearly walking very different paths, once Iben and Oscar start talking, they find that they may have more in common than they thought.

A story which thankfully doesn’t feel forced, neither does it feel like a message being rammed down the audience’s throats. Instead, Tits is just a sweet simple film about two people who may not usually talk. Heart-warming but not in a saccharine way, Tits will make you smile and think twice about judging other people.

There’s a hotel somewhere in America with a room numbered 508 which people stay in and never come out in the same way again. When they arrive, they perhaps don’t always have the best intentions nor the best mindset, but what happens in that room changes them forever. It could be said that if you stay at enough hotels then you’re just living in a country of hotels, but it seems that Room 508 has more mysteries to unfold.

Country of Hotels is a horror movie written by David Hauptschein and directed by Julio Maria Martino in their feature debut. Something that many horror fans may not consider straight away, Country of Hotels tells unnerving tales of the human spirit rather than all out horror.

Those expecting a slasher may be disappointed, but there are certainly recognisable influences in the movie’s sense of style.

Taking inspiration from The Shining and perhaps David Lynch’s work, Country of Hotels invites guests to stay while telling their stories for the audience. An interesting way to frame what is essentially an anthology movie, Country of Hotels may leave a lot up to the audience to interpret.

A couple having an illicit affair are first on the agenda, slowly introduced to something which may be living in the vents while they hash out their moral dilemma. An ambitious salesman and vlogger also stays at the hotel, becoming increasingly influenced by the mysterious voice in the vent. Finally, a man being interrogated to find a man’s wife is forced to experience an ever increasingly surreal series of events.

With little connection between the stories and the characters, director Martino displays a flair for style with an almost timeless look to his movie. Something which either works for the audience or just makes the décor look like it’s stuck in the Seventies.

However, the problem is that despite its style and some good performances among its eclectic cast, having no connection and no resolution to the stories may intrigue some and frustrate others. After all, there’s one thing to make an audience think and there’s another to want to confuse them.

During the 1880’s in Hawai’I, there was an increasing presence from the US government to enforce their rule over the island. Ko’olau (Jason Scott Lee) and his wife, Pi’ilani (Lindsay Watson) live there with their son, Kalei (Kahiau Perriera) and despite their begrudging acceptance of Americans in their country, they were never afraid to remind them who was there first.

However, at the time there was an outbreak of leprosy, and although the Hawai’ian people have dealt with such things for years, the US government think they know better. This unfortunately leads to an order for Ko’olau and his son to be taken away when they are show signs of having contracted the disease.

Not taking this easily though, Ko’olau and his family escape and on their journey to safety they hope to find a medicine that can cure them.

The Wind & The Reckoning is an historical drama directed by David L. Cunningham, written by John Fusco and taken from a true story of a family who did what they could against an opposing force. The kind of story which has been told over and over again, although one worth repeating because it reminds the audience of the terrible things people do as an oppressive force.

What sets this story apart from others though is the family dynamic. A story to which we can all relate; The Wind & The Reckoning puts a husband and wife together with their young son who they are caring for while shielding him from their own worries of what their nation will become.

The Wind & The Reckoning brings the true story to life without embellishment and does so with a beautiful cinematography which highlights the natural beauty of America’s island state.

Considering all the stories that have been told before and told so differently, everything from Disney’s Pocahontas to James Cameron’s Avatar, they all have something in common. They’re all told from the perspective of somebody who hasn’t experienced prejudice and oppression. That’s what makes The Wind & The Reckoning stand out though as bringing out its story as authentically as possible enhances the power of its message.

There are tens of thousands of wild horses in the US, maybe even more and it’s likely that a lot of people don’t even know they exist. Under Richard Nixon’s administration he helped create the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), a team tasked with ensuring the safety of such wildlife,

However, it appears that the BLM have gone too far with their management of these beautiful creatures. Instead, they are euthanising and abusing wild horses and doing so under government approval and their efforts appear to be increasing.

Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of The West is a documentary directed, written and narrated by Ashley Avis. A cause which is clearly close to her heart, the documentary lays out every issue surrounding the dwindling wild horse population in the US and details every form of abuse which is making it worse.

Shot against the stunning landscapes of Western America, Avis’s documentary shows the wild horses in their natural habitat and just how calm and peaceful they can be. A documentary which could have manipulated the heartstrings of its viewers, instead Avis’s narration is passionate, but also factual as it explores everything that people are fighting against.

Showing an organisation fuelled by greed, their cruelty is shown in an unflinching manner to highlight their atrocities.

A documentary such as this could have taken the opportunity to leer over the abuse and use graphic images just as much as its visual feast portrays the horses to illicit emotion. Thankfully though, Avis and her team use their investigative journalistic style and not emotion to get behind the wall that the BLM have put up to get to the truth.

The footage they show of what this organisation does is bound to shock an animal loving audience and open their eyes to the torture that the horses are facing. However, the end result doesn’t provoke tears, but anger at how such a thing could be allowed to happen. Every point and counterpoint is carefully thought out in Wild Beauty, ensuring it will become a documentary that will make you think and perhaps even do something to help.

Lawrence Peter Berra was born on May 12^th 1925 and would go on to make an impact, not only in baseball, but in popular culture. Signing with the New York Yankees, known as Yogi because of how he sat in the dug-out, Yogi Berra caught the attention of his peers and captured the hearts of the American public.

However, it wasn’t all sunshine and roses and because he was short, had big ears and big hands he became a figure of fun for the media. There was even a famous bear named after him to which he didn’t take too kindly.

It Ain’t Over is a documentary about Yogi Berra, one of baseball’s greatest catchers with a career that went from player to coach and from the highs of Yankee stadium, to the lows of selling products on TV to trade on his public persona. With many interviews from Berra’s friends, family and colleagues, It Ain’t Over sets to put the record straight and remind people of his impact.

As all good baseball stories start out, Yogi Berra’s started playing with his friends. A career which many may have not considered what with Berra’s physical stature. However, he went ahead and proved them wrong by being able to do the things that other players couldn’t.

His natural progression would then to become a manager and to great success over twenty years, but his unceremonious firing not only enraged the fans, but also Berra himself as he felt betrayed.

However, even the most casual baseball fan would have heard of his Yogi-isms and although the documentary wants to downplay his comedic caricature, it wouldn’t be the same without a section on his contradictory genius and so it does. Exploring Yogi’s wit and insightful intelligence, his impact on people not only made them smile, but also made them think.

Overall, It Ain’t Over is a passionate documentary from a family who are clearly still very much missing their father. A fitting tribute that reminds its audience of what a great player/manager he was, also showing that he may have been imitated, but Yogi Berra’s legacy will never be copied.