film reviews, interviews, features | BRWC

Author: Joel Fisher

  • Lemonheads: Review

    Lemonheads: Review

    Leo (George Johnson) is a drug addict who’s in need of a fix and is willing to do anything to get it. He’s been through the roughest parts of addiction and come out the other end of it looking so much worse for it and this is where the audience finds him now.

    Desperate to find his next high and with only a vague recollection of where he can get it, Leo enlists his impressionable cousin, Louis (Samuel Wyatt) to help him to convince somebody to give him what he needs. However, the price may be too high for some people, but to Leo who only sees his own pleasure as the end goal – he’ll do anything.

    Lemonheads is a comedy drama written and directed by Ryder and Dawson Doupé and Todd Tapper. In the same vein (pun intended) as such stoner comedies as The Big Lebowski and Trainspotting, Lemonheads has the feeling of the latter, but without the style of the former – but what does?

    Instead, Johnson gives the audience his best performance as a likeable single-minded stoner and his determined influence over the people around him. The problem is that although this works for the majority of the movie and there are some funny lines with an interesting cast filled with unique and eccentric characters, by the movie’s final act the tone changes dramatically.

    This leaves Johnson trying to do his best with the way he’s decided to portray the character, but makes him feel like he’s in another movie altogether.

    Admittedly though, for the writer/directors to be so young and to come out the other end with something as tightly scripted, with an interesting cast of characters, it shows that they may have a future.

    There are directors twice their age with more movies under their belt that still can’t seem to get it right, and yet the trio may have found a perfect team in their debut feature. As a first try, Lemonheads is far more accomplished than anyone may have expected, and although there are certainly lessons to be learned, the young filmmakers are sure to have a future.

  • Away: DVD Review

    Away: DVD Review

    Away is a silent Latvian animation written, directed, animated and scored by Gints Zilbalodis. It tells the story of a boy who wakes up on an island with nothing but a bird for company, a motorcycle as a means of escape and a large, towering monster who looms over him watching his every move. The boy sees no other option but to try and fix his motorcycle and get as far away from the monster as he possibly can. Although obstacles along the way ensure that his journey will not be a simple one.

    Beautifully animated with a wonderful score, Away is a charming animation that takes its audience away to a fantasy world with humungous monsters that constantly pursue the island’s inhabitants. For those who are fans of video games, Away may also seem rather familiar as it evokes a visual style of games such as Rime and a similar thematic style to Shadow of The Colossus.

    However, although at times Away does manage to create great visual spectacle, in terms of story there isn’t really enough there to make it feel like a profound piece of work as the boy struggles to escape.

    Filled with metaphors, Away is not so subtle as it shows the obstacles that the boy overcomes in order to escape the monster. This leads to times where watching the boy struggling up a treacherous mountain and watching a turtle fall on his back, struggling to get upright is a little too straightforward.

    Although these metaphors will resonate more universally with an international audience, it does feel that perhaps Away could have spent a little more time adding a bit more variety, rather than just following the boy as he travels across the island and reminding the audience of his incredible struggle.

    Also, Away’s chapters will again remind audiences of a video game, with each section having the boy met with an obstacle or showing an incredible set piece which further enforces the idea that perhaps Away would have been better in this medium.

    An incredible accomplishment in animation, storytelling, music and sound design, Away is beautiful to watch, but with a bit more development would be a more fulfilling experience.

    AWAY is available to pre-order now from Apple TV and iTunes. It can be purchased from Sky Store, Amazon, Google, Microsoft,  Rakuten and Sony from January 18th, as well as Curzon Home Cinema from 25th January. 

  • Ham: A Musical Memoir – Review

    Ham: A Musical Memoir – Review

    In 1983, Sam Harris was the winner of the biggest talent show in the world – Star Search. Long before talent shows became a franchise, Harris was the biggest star and travelled the world, most famously singing his rendition of Somewhere over The Rainbow.

    However, the seemingly sudden and meteoric rise to fame for Harris didn’t come out of nowhere. Sam Harris must have come out of the womb singing and dancing as it was surely in his blood. Years later and after a long and celebrated musical theatre career, Harris wrote his autobiography entitled Ham: Slices of Life which told readers all about his life long before Star Search and long after.

    Not content with stopping there though, Harris and his musical partner, Todd Shroeder decided that the next best way to tell Sam’s story was on the stage. Ham: A Musical Memoir is the story of Sam Harris’ life told by Harris himself in the only way that he can.

    Directed by Andrew Putshoegl, Ham: A Musical Memoir is the off Broadway show where Sam Harris and his accompanying pianist tell the audience all about Harris’ humble beginnings in the Midwest and how despite his outgoing personality, he never felt like he fitted in.

    Harris’ story may be a familiar one to all those who have either been through growing up gay or different in any other way, but his story may resonate with many different people and could even inspire people, giving them hope that one day things could get better.

    Harris’ stage presence, warmth and wicked sense of humour are what drive the show. Paired with some very catchy original songs, Harris seems like a seasoned veteran of his craft. He knows who he is, what he does and how it may come across to other people and he just doesn’t seem to care.

    Following his story with songs, impressions of characters from his life and career and Ham: A Musical Memoir is great fun for those who have known him since Star Search and for fans who love musical theatre. Harris’ show makes the audience grin from ear to ear.

  • Occurrence At Mills Creek: Review

    Occurrence At Mills Creek: Review

    Clara (Ava Psoras) and Cassandra (Alexa Mechling) are sisters and as with all teenage sisters, they don’t often get along even though Clara does her best to look after her little sister. Then one day after an argument, Cassandra is found dead and soon Clara starts to learn about the family curse that has been passed on to her.

    Dealing with her grief and trying to find a way to move on, Clara finds herself being tormented by ghostly apparitions, hallucinations and strange occurrences as she starts to feel the grip of her mourning take her over.

    Occurrence at Mills Creek is a feature length melodramatic horror movie directed by Don Swanson and co-written by Betsy Lynn George and Joe Fishel, based on Swanson’s short film, Mills Creek. Framed as a ghost story, Mills Creek feels like a story from another time and almost takes a Victorian inspiration from the way it tells the story.

    There is no real explanation or emphasis as to how the supposed family curse manifests itself, leaving it up to the audience to speculate on what’s going to happen. This may work for some audiences, but it may also bore some as with the random encounters that Clara experiences, there is no hint as to what will become of Clara.

    Shot on a very low budget and with a cast that’s lacking in experience, Occurrence at Mills Creek can feel slow and often aimless and those expecting something of a higher quality may be disappointed. However, during the movie’s final act it does manage to increase the tension as the true nature of Clara’s family curse is revealed.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umP2of9HN14

    With its limited budget then it may very well be a blessing in disguise that Swanson’s ghost story isn’t all that ambitious in terms of story. Being inspired by a different kind of ghost story that audience’s may not be accustomed to may bring them something a little different.

    However, although there are many horror stories in cinema that may have a familiar tone and formula, those who are looking for something a little more exciting and familiar may want to look for something else.

  • Sacred Cow: Review

    Sacred Cow: Review

    You’ve probably had a great holiday at home together and you probably had at least one big meal that consisted of either beef, pork, chicken, turkey and maybe even duck or goose. A lot of us never even think about where our meat comes from and we take it for granted when we go to the supermarket or local farm shop to get the freshest cuts that we assume must be the healthiest choice money can buy.

    There’s also a rise in people who have decided not to include meat and animal products in their diets which is either down to ethical reasons or health benefits. Sacred Cow is a documentary that recognises those arguments and presents counterpoints to each of them as it explores an in depth look into the benefits of eating meat.

    Narrated by Nick Offerman, audiences may expect such a documentary to be about how the human body has evolved over time to eat meat and that it’s only natural. Also, audiences may expect that it’s simply telling its audience that they’re not ‘man enough’ if they don’t eat meat.

    However, Sacred Cow takes a more balanced perspective as it not only looks at the rise of veganism, but the health crisis in general that our world is facing and that excluding red meat may not necessarily be the answer.

    Talking to a number of experts and those who work in the farming industry, Sacred Cow covers every single argument that could possibly be made about not eating meat is dealt with fairly, giving a reasonable response. Just when the audience may think of something that could upend the argument for eating meat, Sacred Cow gives them a thoroughly thought out and well researched answer.

    However, it doesn’t mean to demonise vegans or vegetarians either, but merely give them something to think about which often means addressing the issues head on. One little critique could be that it does sometimes try and blind its audience with science and occasionally sentimentalises the people who work on the farms, but luckily it pulls itself back and proves an informative watch for those who wish to learn more.

    Perhaps don’t make your vegans friends watch it though, because it may not entirely change the strongest of minds.