Change Your Image
kevinrodriscoll
Reviews
The Objective (2008)
What?
I caught the filmmaker's screening at Tribeca and I have to admit that I just don't get it. Now I am an intellectual liberal type and a filmmaker mind you, but in the discussion after the film no one came out and said: "This film makes the Taliban look like it has supernatural powers." I guess I feel someone just has to say it. I'm just as American as the chest thumping military guys out there, in fact I grew up on an Army base. I'm not saying this film is anti-American but it certainly doesn't bring out any of the kinds of feelings a good war movie should. It doesn't make you feel like you're in the squad. There is no visceral connection as in a good horror film and there is no patriotic or emotional connection to the cause. Worse of all there is no real buddy type feelings going on in the small platoon. When the staff Sergeant finally loses it with the CIA officer I didn't buy it. When any one guy disappears or gets blown up you don't really care. The nature of the mission is unclear, you never really get to know any of the main players. It seems like the production was hasty and poorly planned. Maybe there were too many producers and writers and no clear objective. The casting and acting are pretty good, but the direction and script are pretty bad. Unfortunately the film as feature just doesn't work. If it were edited down to a 20 min short it might work, in fact maybe they could get a TV show out of it, kind of like the X-Files meets Rat Patrol.
The Civilization of Maxwell Bright (2005)
Wow, this film will blow your mind!
The film starts off with a disclaimer stating that a true Buddist would sacrifice to live their life in hell so that another would be spared the same fate. This is followed by an opening scene that could have been taken from COPS or a really bad porno flick. It quickly emerges that Maxwell is a profane, mentally unstable misogynist who makes his living hawking TV's on TV in Southern California. His collection of pitiful friends and his materialist lifestyle are even more pathetic than his abominable anger at everything and everyone. For the first two acts, it seems a black comedy that is heading down a clichéd path toward ignominy. Maxwell's behavior is so disturbing and contemptible, you may even be tempted to leave the theater, but a story of love and sacrifice emerges that you may never forget. Maxwell's life is ultimately changed when he is able to see life differently through the eyes of both his best friend and his wife, a Chinese woman who he has arranged to marry through a broker. This film will leave you with profound emotions and may even change your life.
Goodnite Charlie (2005)
Look for This Urban Action Flick ...
I saw the premier of this film last summer at the Billy Holiday Theater in Brooklyn. It is currently making the rounds at both national and international film festivals. It's the story of a nice kid from Brooklyn who turns into a murderous thug. Charlie shows no remorse in his path of destruction. His family and associates are sucked into a spiral of drug-related violence as money and power drive Charlie to the shocking final scenes of this film.
Shot on video with a cast of real New York people, don't expect to see a lot of fancy effects and pretty Hollywood faces here. Its just a great action movie with excellent martial arts sequences choreographed by Writer, Director and Actor Kenya Cagle. Cagle and is co-director Gail Rorant follow in the footsteps of John Cassavettes in a latter day "true cinema." Based on a true story, Goodnite Charlie is a compelling depiction of a youth gone bad in the modern urban environment.
The actors did a great job in emotional and realistic portrayals, with stand out performances by Nafeesha Pasha as Charlie's mother, and James Anthony Jackson as his uncle Leon. The dynamic between Charlie played by Ernest Dancy and his uncle Kenneth played by Kenya Cagle who lays everything on the line for him tells the tragic and classical story a youth who thinks he can conquer the world by breaking all the rules.
I played the Lawyer in this film and it was a truly enjoyable experience being part of it. Seeing the film brought to the big screen was the greatest pleasure since so many true indies either never even get finished or never make it to DVD. Bigtime Hollywood actor and producer Bill Duke was at the premier and expressed congratulations and thanks to all those involved. I truly hope to see a limited theatrical release or at the very least a DVD release. There is an audience for this film out there, and I am confident that it will find it eventually.
The remarkable casting of previously undiscovered talent by Anisha Gennario was both realistic and fresh. The sound track was notably original, featuring memorable Hip Hop tracks by Pop Gaskins including the title track "Goodnite Charlie" and some great R&B by Ayanna Gabriel who also sang live at the Premier. The script by Cagle was very authentic and a pleasure, but the third act was maybe a bit too long for its own good. The sound of the film was pretty good on the whole, with a couple of small scenes that could benefit from overdubbing to be heard. Another round of unbiased editing and some more post-production would make this film an indie 10! Oh, and don't forget that Lawyer!!