MikeEverleth Blog

Road Trip

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Circulation (2008)

Ryan Harper's debut feature is a nice twist on the desert thriller genre. A young Mexican woman is helped by a crusty, but kind, stranger as she escapes from her abusive ex-husband. While it may look like she's still in the same desert community where she grew up, she eventually realizes she's trapped in a nighmarish mirror world.

Her journey is kind of like Dorothy's in The Wizard of Oz, except the Munchkins here are normal-sized and like to vomit bile on and eat people; and instead of a dancing scarecrow, she's accompanied by a cranky bald guy in a rundown truck.

Read my full review on Bad Lit.

Posted Friday, February 13, 2009 11:25 PM by MikeEverleth | with 0 comments

How not to be a rock star

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The Atlas Moth (2002)

The Atlas Moth chronicles struggling heavy metal band Dark Horse and their desperate attempt to become rock stars. But these aren't some wide-eyed kids, they're middle-aged guys with families and plenty of other hobbies that keep from making music.

The members of Dark Horse -- including Dan Cleveland, Sean Cassidy and Jon Mortenson -- are all extremely interesting guys and they're completely candid and uninhibited in front of director Rolf Belgum's camera. So, in that regard, this makes for fascinating viewing, but it's up to the viewer to figure out what Belgum's trying to say by telling their story.

Read my full review at Bad Lit.

Posted Friday, February 13, 2009 4:58 PM by MikeEverleth | with 0 comments

No payoff

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The Strangers (2008)

The mood and character set-up are pretty good here and there are certainly some nice scary parts. However, what I think totally sinks the film is that director Bertino never sets up a good sense of space. About halfway through the film I realized I had no idea where the characters were in relation to the house from one scene to the next. They seemed like they were in this very big house, but we only get to see like two or three rooms in it. Then, a barn is introduced halfway into the film that it's not clear how far it is from the house. I lost track of where Tyler and Speedman were in each scene and thus lost interest in their predicament. But, still didn't totally dislike it. More like a missed opportunity.

Posted Saturday, February 07, 2009 2:37 AM by MikeEverleth | with 0 comments

A punk rockin' good time!

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Altamont Now (2008)

This was, hands-down, my favorite movie of 2008. It was the liveliest, most energetic and just plain ol' good time fun film I saw all year. Plus, it has an incredible rockin' original soundtrack and a star-making performance by Daniel Louis Rivas as Richard Havoc, a punk rock phenomenon whose fame gives him delusions of grandeur. With a small band of misfits, Havoc plans on a nuclear armaggedon after which the youth will take over the world.

The rest of the cast, including Frankie Shaw, Teddy Eck, Matthew Humphreys and Raphael Nash Thompson, are excellent, too. And director Joshua von Brown actually shot the film in a real decommissioned nuclear missile silo that gives the production an authentic air.

Read my full review at Bad Lit.

Posted Monday, February 02, 2009 9:01 PM by MikeEverleth | with 0 comments