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Reviews
Givers of Death (2020)
It's better than it looks!
It was an interesting plot idea, a sort of hyper-realistic, topical, speculative near-future fiction. The film has a great modern "noir" atmosphere. Someone involved had a real feel for that both in the story itself and the consistently dark mood. I could have done without the little tiny bits of mysticism but that wasn't a major problem. The major problem was they really didn't have anywhere to go at some point towards the end so it just sort of flatlines like someone said "ok let's wrap it up!". The acting is good, sometimes very good. I'd say it's worth watching even if the ending is a little disappointing. I'd admit the ending was believable given the rest of the film, it just didn't have any dramatic punch.
#FollowFriday (2016)
It has its moments.
Overall it's a trifle involving murders at a college which revolve around social media.
The film's best is its commentary on social media which resonates -- the addictive and obsessive quality social media can have for many people. The writers understand that well enough and weave the story around this theme well.
For example when our main character goes to speak to the dean and while apparently in a serious conversation about serious issues the student is experiencing the dean's desktop screen just keeps beeping with social media alerts which the dean can't seem to ignore for even a minute. It's tragicomedy, not played for a laugh but you'll smirk anyhow. If you use social media and your friends do also you will recognize the behavior.
As a murder mystery it's average at best and that almost gets lost in the social media distractions which isn't a terrible thing, one could argue that's the point of the film.
The acting is good, not great but good, production quality is very good, and the writing, dialogue, and directing are good enough for what it is: Entertainment, a thriller, with some on the mark observations about social media.