list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around Do or Die on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/Do_or_Die/221777/default.aspx Title: Do or Die
Plot: Jason Young's urban drama Do or Die concerns three friends who have found a certain amount of success running a successful set of laundromats. Eventually, they stretch themselves too thin financially and must make a deal with a powerful local drug lord. The criminal will launder his ill-gotten gains in exchange for cash. Soon this deal with the devil sows seeds of distrust and fear in the three friends. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
Number of blog posts: 1
]]>Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:37:45 GMTDo or DieJason Young's urban drama Do or Die concerns three friends who have found a certain amount of success running a successful set of laundromats. Eventually, they stretch themselves too thin financially and must make a deal with a powerful local drug lord. The criminal will launder his ill-gotten gains in exchange for cash. Soon this deal with the devil sows seeds of distrust and fear in the three friends. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide1http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t33931j9m76.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/Do_or_Die/221777/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/blogs/jj79/archive/2008/9/30/35741.aspx Post By: JJ79
Post To: JJ79 Blog
Post Date: 9/30/2008 8:37:45 PM
Body: "Do or Die" is not your typical Sci Fi Channel flick. There are no creepy crawlies popping out of the shadows or hideously bad acting to overcome. No, the story is actually science fiction in its truest form: the story extrapolates a possible future based on current technology, throwing humanity into the middle in order to figure out how we´d react. At some point in the near future, the people of the world fall into one of two categories: clean and infected. The infected people are segregated away from the cleans, left to suffer with a rapid aging disease if they don´t take daily doses of a drug called anZanol. When Ruth Hennessey (Polly Shannon) finds herself pregnant and her husband Jack (Anthony Lemke)-an infected man passing as clean-is killed, she is thrown into a world of deceit and exploitation. Let´s be upfront, okay. According to writer/director/executive producer David Jackson, the total budget for this 90 minute television movie was $2 million. That sounds like a huge sum of movie, but consider what needs to be created for the production. Make-up effects, futuristic locations, action set pieces, costumes…and that´s just in front of the camera. I mean absolutely no disrespect when I call "Do or Die" a low budget sci fi film. Jackson does everything he can to stretch the money he has to create a socially conscious and entertaining story. One has to wonder, though, in the end, what the production would have been like with more money, say, $5 million? But we shouldn´t dwell on that. Instead, we should give props to the filmmakers for defying convention (and stereotype) to deliver a socially relevant tale. After all, that is what sci fi is supposed to do, right? The script makes a point several times to show the marked differences between the cleans and infecteds. Above and beyond the nasty looks and circumspect comments, each group is segregated in the world. One lives in a beautiful suburbia, the other in a near ghetto. The stigma attached to the infected population is most closesly reminiscent of AIDS patients, especially at the outset out of the disease. Though Jackson never says it explicitly in the commentary track, it's hard to believe it didn't play a part in writing the script. And that makes the story engaging, at least for a little bit. It's a classic story of man's inhumanity toward man, similar to "Children of Men." The disease isn't contagious, as far as the movie tells us; the cleans simply don't want to know people who aren't like them. What Jackson does, as did Gene Roddenberry and a host of other writers before him, is put a mirror up to society in the guise of the future, making the lesson easier to swallow. It is true, though, the script tends to hit the audience over the head with the message. There's no subtlety about it. Not with the camera shots or the dialogue. Jackson constructs the film in such a way there is never room for doubt. The people are either "good" or "bad," no two ways about it. Therein lies the downfall, of sorts, in "Do or Die." It's too easy. Maybe the fear was anything more complex wouldn't fit into the Sci Fi Channel's lineup or the film was already skirting the edges of "science fiction." There's also a strong possibility the constraints of a movie of the week forced Jackson to make story cuts. The story doesn't flow the way it should; it jerks and lurches into motion like a car on its last legs. There's a sense of the narrative biding time until the final half hour when all the revelations and action sequences can take place. For instance, the first half is nearly consumed with slowly turning Ruth into a fighter (as opposed to a mother, wife or lover). There's a Sarah Connor aspect to watching her give birth and then get back into shape. I have no doubt this is a comparison Jackson was trying to achieve. But then the focus comes off her rather abruptly, leaving the audience with a "complicated" mystery which isn't all that complicated when you think about it. Pharmaceutical czar Ethan Grant (Nigel Bennett) has built an empire based on the drug. Doesn't it stand to reason (spoiler, maybe?) he doesn't want that to go away? Moreover, villains in these types of movies usually have the lamest motivations or secrets masquerading as motivation. It would be easy to point out all the flaws in something like "Do or Die." The acting isn't great, sequences meant to titillate are overused, characters act out of character. But there's the underlying idea which carries us as much as it can. And really, in a Sci Fi Channel movie, I´m shocked to mention the narrative. VIDEO: All things considered, I´ll take it. We´re provided with a 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer which doesn´t look half bad. Sure, it´s not the most detailed or exquisite picture I´ve ever seen; the image is generally grainy and there is a distinct lack of detail is dark colors. The rest of the palette works relatively well, with the clean Citizone´s warm colors coming across nicely when compared to the sterile blue of the Bluelands. AUDIO: Like the video presentation, the audio doesn´t present any major issues. Sound is relegated to the front speakers courtesy of the English 2.0 track. In the first five minute, I was blown away (no pun intended) with an explosion. It sounded more forceful than it had any right to. While nothing else in the movie really caught my attention, the sound effects and dialogue are both carried with respectable levels of fidelity. There are no subtitles included. EXTRAS: Aside from the single screen of other Sci Fi Essentials titles, there is the aforementioned audio commentary with David Jackson. Because he wears so many hats in the production, the track is rarely silent. He recounts stories dating back to when the story was originally written (it was called "The Cure"), buying back the rights to the story, the Canadian shoot and the limitations of the budget, among other topics. An interesting sidenote: Jackson was a production assistant for Roger Corman, king of low budget flicks. This experience helped immensely on this project. The feature is broken down into 12 chapters. PARTING THOUGHTS: An honest attempt at telling a relevant story trumps any missteps a production can make. That´s my general philosophy when it comes to "Do or Die." It´s not perfect, but it tries. Which is more than can be said for a lot of other movies.
]]>Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:37:45 GMTJJ79JJ79 Blog9/30/2008 8:37:45 PM"Do or Die" is not your typical Sci Fi Channel flick. There are no creepy crawlies popping out of the shadows or hideously bad acting to overcome. No, the story is actually science fiction in its truest form: the story extrapolates a possible future based on current technology, throwing humanity into the middle in order to figure out how we´d react. At some point in the near future, the people of the world fall into one of two categories: clean and infected. The infected people are segregated away from the cleans, left to suffer with a rapid aging disease if they don´t take daily doses of a drug called anZanol. When Ruth Hennessey (Polly Shannon) finds herself pregnant and her husband Jack (Anthony Lemke)-an infected man passing as clean-is killed, she is thrown into a world of deceit and exploitation. Let´s be upfront, okay. According to writer/director/executive producer David Jackson, the total budget for this 90 minute television movie was $2 million. That sounds like a huge sum of movie, but consider what needs to be created for the production. Make-up effects, futuristic locations, action set pieces, costumes…and that´s just in front of the camera. I mean absolutely no disrespect when I call "Do or Die" a low budget sci fi film. Jackson does everything he can to stretch the money he has to create a socially conscious and entertaining story. One has to wonder, though, in the end, what the production would have been like with more money, say, $5 million? But we shouldn´t dwell on that. Instead, we should give props to the filmmakers for defying convention (and stereotype) to deliver a socially relevant tale. After all, that is what sci fi is supposed to do, right? The script makes a point several times to show the marked differences between the cleans and infecteds. Above and beyond the nasty looks and circumspect comments, each group is segregated in the world. One lives in a beautiful suburbia, the other in a near ghetto. The stigma attached to the infected population is most closesly reminiscent of AIDS patients, especially at the outset out of the disease. Though Jackson never says it explicitly in the commentary track, it's hard to believe it didn't play a part in writing the script. And that makes the story engaging, at least for a little bit. It's a classic story of man's inhumanity toward man, similar to "Children of Men." The disease isn't contagious, as far as the movie tells us; the cleans simply don't want to know people who aren't like them. What Jackson does, as did Gene Roddenberry and a host of other writers before him, is put a mirror up to society in the guise of the future, making the lesson easier to swallow. It is true, though, the script tends to hit the audience over the head with the message. There's no subtlety about it. Not with the camera shots or the dialogue. Jackson constructs the film in such a way there is never room for doubt. The people are either "good" or "bad," no two ways about it. Therein lies the downfall, of sorts, in "Do or Die." It's too easy. Maybe the fear was anything more complex wouldn't fit into the Sci Fi Channel's lineup or the film was already skirting the edges of "science fiction." There's also a strong possibility the constraints of a movie of the week forced Jackson to make story cuts. The story doesn't flow the way it should; it jerks and lurches into motion like a car on its last legs. There's a sense of the narrative biding time until the final half hour when all the revelations and action sequences can take place. For instance, the first half is nearly consumed with slowly turning Ruth into a fighter (as opposed to a mother, wife or lover). There's a Sarah Connor aspect to watching her give birth and then get back into shape. I have no doubt this is a comparison Jackson was trying to achieve. But then the focus comes off her rather abruptly, leaving the audience with a "complicated" mystery which isn't all that complicated when you think about it. Pharmaceutical czar Ethan Grant (Nigel Bennett) has built an empire based on the drug. Doesn't it stand to reason (spoiler, maybe?) he doesn't want that to go away? Moreover, villains in these types of movies usually have the lamest motivations or secrets masquerading as motivation. It would be easy to point out all the flaws in something like "Do or Die." The acting isn't great, sequences meant to titillate are overused, characters act out of character. But there's the underlying idea which carries us as much as it can. And really, in a Sci Fi Channel movie, I´m shocked to mention the narrative. VIDEO: All things considered, I´ll take it. We´re provided with a 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer which doesn´t look half bad. Sure, it´s not the most detailed or exquisite picture I´ve ever seen; the image is generally grainy and there is a distinct lack of detail is dark colors. The rest of the palette works relatively well, with the clean Citizone´s warm colors coming across nicely when compared to the sterile blue of the Bluelands. AUDIO: Like the video presentation, the audio doesn´t present any major issues. Sound is relegated to the front speakers courtesy of the English 2.0 track. In the first five minute, I was blown away (no pun intended) with an explosion. It sounded more forceful than it had any right to. While nothing else in the movie really caught my attention, the sound effects and dialogue are both carried with respectable levels of fidelity. There are no subtitles included. EXTRAS: Aside from the single screen of other Sci Fi Essentials titles, there is the aforementioned audio commentary with David Jackson. Because he wears so many hats in the production, the track is rarely silent. He recounts stories dating back to when the story was originally written (it was called "The Cure"), buying back the rights to the story, the Canadian shoot and the limitations of the budget, among other topics. An interesting sidenote: Jackson was a production assistant for Roger Corman, king of low budget flicks. This experience helped immensely on this project. The feature is broken down into 12 chapters. PARTING THOUGHTS: An honest attempt at telling a relevant story trumps any missteps a production can make. That´s my general philosophy when it comes to "Do or Die." It´s not perfect, but it tries. Which is more than can be said for a lot of other movies. http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/druglord/MemberTagFilms.aspxdruglord
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