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Darren (1599 KP) rated The Pining (2019) in Movies

Sep 26, 2019

Characters – Joe is a disabled photographer, he used to be an athlete before his accident too, this saw his life change overnight with him still feeling the effects of what happened to him, he has built up a reputation for his skills with a camera too and just when he starts getting help, he starts to see unusual things happen to him too. Father William is the man that held the support group meeting, he is trying to help people get over the trauma in their lives, but he becomes one of the suspects when the bodies start piling up. Detective Harris has been investigating the bodies, some seem like clear murders, others look like accidents, she believes there is a connection between the support group meeting and wants to get to the bottom of it.

Performances – Diogo Hausen is the best of the performers, he does show us how the character does feel like he has been a victim and showing the strength to carry on. Tom Sizemore is an actor we expect so much more from, he doesn’t get a chance to shine in this one, while Jackie Dallas does well with her scenes.

Story – The story here follows a string of cases that involve the members of a support group being involved in murders or strange accidents, we see how one detective is trying put the pieces together, while trying to save one of the final living members of the group. This is an interesting spin on the idea of victim selection, it does work for making the characters seem like they have been selected to play into their strengths and weaknesses. With this strong idea, comes a weaker way of telling the story, which doesn’t seem to make many of the scenes feel connected, or get to a targeting moments, which could bring about motivation to light until way too late in the film. This is a story that could be a lot more intense only it fails to capture the moments well enough.

Thriller – This film does try to keep us guessing to what will happen next, the problems comes with the fact we only have one scene that feels unpredictable with most just being a cut and dry version of the incidents.

Settings – This film is set in one city where the victims have all been around one locations which could make them the potential latest victim to what is going on, it shows how people don’t know everybody’s stories in life.

Scene of the Movie – Grace’s bad date.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The film spends too much time on Joe, when it seems like we should be investigating the murders.

Final Thoughts – This is a thriller that doesn’t manage to hit the levels it could do, it has an interesting idea, only it never gives it the full focus it should.

Overall: Thriller that misses the edgy side.

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Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated Wheels (2014) in Movies

Mar 3, 2020 (Updated Mar 12, 2020)

Wheels (2014)

2014 | Drama

5.0

(1 Ratings)

Movie Rating

According to the film’s IMDb page, this low budget indie production, filmed in Los Angeles is the greatest film of all time! A month ago it sat at 9.3, which is better than The Godfather and The Shawshank Redemption! As I am writing and compiling a book about the best 200 films of the 21st century, up to the end of 2019, I was obliged to check this out. With almost 18,000 votes to its name, there must be something in it being rated that highly, right?

Well, obviously not. Someone smart behind the film, listed variously as a 2014 or 2017 production, depending on where you look, had clearly gone out of their way to manipulate its online presence in the hope of gaining viewers. Look, it worked – I watched it, and now I’m writing about it. Pretty shameful really, as you find that almost no website has a bad review or rating for it out there; it has pretty much been scrubbed clean. How they did it, I do not know, but it is indefensible to be honest. The real shame being that it isn’t a bad film for the budget at all, and may have got more views and respect the old fashioned way.

The story revolves around a recently paralysed man becoming suicidal and finding another guy in a wheelchair to ask if he will blow his brains out with a gun. From there the two go on a rampage of drug addiction, self harm and anti-social misbehaviour. For every cliche in there, there is another moment which is quite well done, and although you can see the cracks here and there it is mostly a watchable and enjoyable film, with some laughs and some genuine emotion. Acting wise, the two leads (writer and co-director Donavon Warren and Patrick Hume) have their moments too; perhaps lacking anything hugely inciteful, but certainly competent enough to compare favourably to some higher profile movies.

Ultimately, it is merely fine. Not something you would recommend or especially remember, but not a complete waste of 2 hours either. It is clearly going for the idea that disabled people are helpless victims on its head, and does largely succeed in not condescending or amping up the pity. That doesn’t stop either of them being unlikable people, however – perhaps that is the point.

More interesting than the film by far is how these guys manipulated the publicity system to get it seen. So many films worth seeing drift into obscurity for lack of money, take the films of Shane Caruth, Primer and Upstream Color. Both incredible, original and intelligent movies that no one saw, and only word of mouth many years later puts them on anyone’s radar. Then there are the endless festival films that do the rounds and can’t pick up distribution, no matter how good. Perhaps a film like Wheels needs to employ these kind of tactics to survive. It is really a question of ethics. I have to say, as an honest reviewer, it does bother me that fake ratings and reviews can exist and slip under the wire. But maybe that is just me…?