Iron City Chronicles: Bitter Heart (2015)

BitterHeartNOW SEEKING FUNDING ON KICKSTARTER – It’s a real testament to Jason Turner’s talent that he’s able to pull off such a unique neo-noir with such a low budget. “Bitter Heart” is kind of a sequel to the original adventures of robotic private investigator Iron Joe. After being plagued with nightmares of a lost love, Joe is contacted by his ex-colleagues from Iron City’s police force when a young man is mysteriously assassinated. Linking evidence on the scene to a specific culprit, Iron Joe goes looking for the minds behind the murder and runs afoul a lot of interesting thugs willing to protect some secrets.

In particular, Iron Joe is on the track of a lead named Stoker, who is a CEO of Teknika, a corporation responsible for the robotic augmentations in the entire city. What link this assassination has with Stoker remains wholly ambiguous, but it’s intriguing to see how far Iron Joe is willing to go to take aim at corruption in the city. With some neat special effects both CGI and traditional, Turner unleashes this bold and unique wasteland where Iron Joe has somewhat bitten off more than he can chew with his assistant J.E.S.S. I hope we get to see how Iron Joe fares in the future, as “Bitter Heart” is a wicked prologue to an epic crime thriller.


Intruder (2016)

Intruder2016Elizabeth is a talented cellist living in Portland, trying to make a career-making decision.  During a huge storm, an intruder finds his way into her apartment and watches her go through life as normal.  As time goes by, his stalking progresses from mild to worse.

Written and directed by Travis Z (Travis Zariwny), Intruder is a well-crafted thriller that plays on the idea of someone being on one’s apartment without their knowledge, stalking them, watching them, eating their food, moving things around. No matter how creative the kills in a slasher or how creative a monster, a realistic situation (well mostly realistic) of something that could actually happen to anyone, that could have been ripped from the headlines, is much scarier and much harder to pull off.  The characters feel like real people and speak in a manner that could be someone the viewers know.

Granted, the lead is not someone most people encounter every day (an orchestra cellist) but she is written in a way that makes her believable and makes the viewer care for her.  The rest of the characters are good as well, bringing more reality to the story by grounding it in people that could really exist.  Most of this story rests on ambiance and on lead character Elizabeth’s shoulders so Louise Linton’s performance is crucial.  Thankfully, Linton is quite good, showing the viewer’s nuanced emotions as she goes through life not knowing someone else is in her apartment.  Once things start changing, she adjusts accordingly.  The Intruder also does very well, giving off a creepy vibe while staying hidden most of the film.  For the sake of not spoiling the film, the performer’s name is not going to be given away here.

No one in the cast here stick out like a sore thumb, there are no grating performances or bad ones which is definitely a good thing and a sign of great casting and good directing.  As effects/blood are basically non-existent in “Intruder,” the one big important aspect here is the music as it adds to story like special effects do to horror.  Having an orchestra cellist as a lead character, there had to be a few scenes of her playing.  As someone rather unfamiliar with the instrument, it’s hard to tell if Louise Linton is playing, pretending really well, or just terrible at it, but what can be said is that it sounds very good when it should.  The rest of the score adds to the creepy scenes by supporting and adding to the uneasy feeling of watching someone watch someone else without their knowledge.

Intruder is a creepy film with good performances and its music is beautiful. For anyone who’s ever felt like they’ve been watched or stalked, this one will bring back fears and make its effect much stronger.  For those who have not, the way this is shot may give you a better understanding of those fears by caring for Elizabeth and what happens to her.  This film is effective and works on many levels.  For people who tend to stop watching a movie once the credits roll, do yourselves a favor and keep this one going as it has a mid-credit sequence and a post credit scene which are the real ending to this story and bring the whole of the film together. “Intruder” is entertaining and creepy, definitely worth a watch in a dark room, possibly alone to make its ambiance work even better.


I.V. League (2016)

ivleaguePatrick Rea has been more committed to dark comedy as of late, delivering horror shorts that are based a lot around deception and pure evil. It’s really interesting to see director Rea working outside of his comfort zone and diving in to new areas of horror and fantasy that are rarely mastered. “I.V. League” is another of his many latest short films where human cruelty is the theme, and Rea delivers a one two punch of plot twists that make the experience very worthwhile.

Creating a ring of lies, “I.V. League” is centered on a man who’s barely survived a car wreck that left him burnt from head to toe. While his new nurse attends to him, she soon meets his wife, and learns that she’s been all too aware of her bed ridden husband’s past with sleeping with young female doctors and nurses around the hospital. Without realization, the two women are embroiled in a secret murder plot against him, with a man named Nico who was sent to murder him. After failing, both women have a bone to pick with him, and soon the suspicions arise among the pair of women.

It’s tough to continue discussing the movie without actually giving away what unfolds, but Rea’s film is slick enough to follow without ever getting too crowded with plot points and twists. The performances from Misty Dixon and Katrina Volonnino are superb (as well as the rest of the supporting cast), with Rea devising a nice web of revenge and spite that culminates in to a really good climax. While I admittedly saw the first plot twist coming miles away, the final twist is really unexpected, and felt very well placed, rather than tacked on. Rea’s film is a strong and clever short thriller, and one that warrants a watch when it becomes available for fans.

Ils (Them) (2007)

themDirectors Moreau and Palud’s “Ils (Them),” is an unnerving and spooky horror entry almost in the vein of “The Strangers,” and “Last House on the Left,” that sets down on the countryside where hooded beings are terrorizing the locals and tourists. Clementine and Lucas go away for the weekend to their country home for holiday, and after a night of dinner and love making learn that they’re being terrorized by an endless group of hooded individuals who engage in a rather horrific game of cat and mouse.

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The Invitation (2016)

invitation2016I will say for the record to avoid any and all spoilers about “The Invitation,” because Karyn Kusama’s film is a masterpiece that deserves an audience with the ability to soak in the full weight of the experience. Kusama’s “The Invitation” is one of the most competently made and mesmerizing horror thrillers I’ve seen so far this year. It’s a haunting and disturbing look at the unbearable pain of grief, and how so many are incapable of dealing with it that it allows for a predator to prey on them without fail.

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I Am Street Fighter: 25 Years of Inspiration (2012)


I have nothing but love for “Street Fighter,” one of the greatest, if not the greatest fighting video game ever made. My first contact with it was during my elementary school days when I’d pass by the arcade cabinet residing outside of a local auto shop. There was always someone playing it, but I would look over their shoulder and see what the game was. Later on I learned to love the “Street Fighter II” on the Super Nintendo and I’ve had an interest in its universe for many years. “Street Fighter II” set the template for pretty much every fighting game ever consumed by mass audiences, and is still a brilliant fighter based around strategy and quick timing.

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The Intern (2015) [Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital]

internRobert DeNiro gets a lot of crap for basically losing the drive and just giving up and starring in any film he can get a role in. Granted, those arguments are valid, but in films like “The Intern” there’s at least some of the fine actor we once knew and will always know even after DeNiro has passed on. DeNiro has something of a twinkle and spark in “The Intern” where he conveys a lot of the charm we know him for. I don’t know if he was really just phoning it in the entire time, but in “The Intern” he plays the role well and works off of the potential sitcom trappings director Nancy Meyer tries to peg him in to.  DeNiro plays seventy something Ben Whittaker, a man who’s lived a long life with a good career, and has lost his wife years before we meet him.

He’s spent the rest of his time travelling around the world and getting in touch with his son, but is still very restless. Hoping for a new chapter in life, Ben enters a work program for a dot com company that’s specifically hiring senior citizens. When he gets the job, he begins working under Jules, an ambitious young woman on the verge of forming a media empire who finds her marriage and relationship with her daughter crumbling under the weight of her success. With Ben garnering some sympathy toward Jules’ dilemma, the two bond as Ben tries to help Jules garner some clarity, while gaining insight in to her stressful life. Surely, it’s a movie like “About Schmidt” about a senior citizen looking for a life after his marriage, but the movie is less about the meaningless of life, and more about how character Ben doesn’t have it so bad.

He had youth, he had ambition, and now that he’s experienced it twice, he can now just relax, and he’s content with that. Being without a job and a marriage does not mean one is purposeless. Meanwhile when we meet Ben working in a chic office without walls, where the workers live on their computers and cell phones, DeNiro comes off surprisingly dignified. “The Intern” doesn’t paint Ben as a man stuck in the digital age, but as a man who accepts today’s generation and tries his best to adapt. This involves hanging on to his email where he anxiously hopes to be called upon by his superior Jules. Even the relationship he develops with a trio of comedic interns ends up quite charming and entertaining, as they learn from his experience and use it as a means of bettering themselves in the professional and personal world.

“The Intern” promises again and again to become this stale sitcom, but surprisingly it’s a very unique and charming drama comedy with DeNiro carrying the weight of the film. Anne Hathaway is great as Jules, a young upstart CEO for a dot com company that is promising to destroy her personal life with her husband and her daughter. Hathaway succeeds in playing such a tragic character bound by traditional relationship roles and finds her ambition is ruining the dynamic in her marriage. Granted, “The Intern” can be a bit sickly sweet with some goofy moments injected, including a silly break in scene after Jules sends her mom a graphic email, as well as the romance between Rene Russo and DeNiro’s character that begins with a groan and literally goes nowhere.

In either case, “The Intern” is a charming and simple drama comedy with some genuine sincerity and heart to it. The Blu-Ray release comes with a DVD copy and Digital copy. Among the special features, there’s “Learning from Experience,” a five minute obligatory EPK with interviews with director Meyers, and other cast members. “Designs on Life” is a six minute visit with the set decorators, production designers, and costume designers, as well as interviews with various cast members, and director Meyers who discusses the film’s look. Finally there’s “The Three Interns” a six minute look at Zack Pearlman, Adam DeVine, and Jason Orley, all of whom have funny supporting roles as young eager co-workers. They speak about working with DeNiro and on the film.

Intruders (2016)


Adam Schindler’s “Intruders” (formerly “Shut In”) works with a fairly solid concept that begins with a clever note and then uses the concept to keep out of gimmicky trappings and implement it as a means of exploring a very unique kind of horror protagonist. By the end of “Intruders” you’ll either really care about Anna’s plight, or really fear what kind of maniac she’s capable of becoming, especially when she decides to approach her enemies with a swift and merciless motion.

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