AMAZON PRIME HAS A SURPRISE WINNER WITH "X"

🎥🎞️Movie Review🎞️🎥 - X [2022] - R - Amazon Prime - Directed by Ti West, also writer and producer. Associate producers include Jacob Jaffke, Kevin Turen, Harrison Kreiss. Stars Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, Martin Henderson, Brittany Snow, Owen Campbell, Stephen Ure, and Scott Mescudi. Budget $1 Million.

In 1979, a group of mischievous Houston, Texas filmmakers set out to produce an adult film on the outskirts of the city. Even though their intentions of making a profitable adult film are honorable, the farm where the producer selected to shoot the film has some not so cozy owners who turn out to be serial killers. One by one, the film teams cast and crew are killed off until the reasoning behind the murders is revealed.

***Special Note - This film is the firs part in a set of three films which are currently in production. The prequel to this film is called "Pearl."

THE GOOD - This film is filled with well thought out practical effects! The location spotting for this film truly gave this feature a good texturing feel of the late 1970's and the music selection was also perfect for the time. The road trip aspect of the film was delicately shot with an ominous preview of the calm before the storm. The creepy factor in the film truly captured the duty, old feel to the living conditions of the time on an old farm. The tempo of the dramatic acting in the latter part of the film was delivered perfectly and the death of one actor was totally unexpected. On a special note, the introduction to the alligator was a nice touch in the film to bring it down together towards the end of the film.

THE BAD - There are some scenes in the feature that are shot just way too dark; it was possibly purposely done to hide the obvious details of the masks and makeup used on two of the actors. The beginning of the film is very slow and it takes a little time for the story to start developing; I had the temptation to shut off the movie and see something else, but once I got passed the slow stuff, the better part of the film began to churn out nicely.

POST MORTEM - I am honestly not a big fan of slasher films, but there was something flashy, sexy, and grotesque about this film that I liked a lot. There were some standout actor deliveries, one being Henderson whose work mimicked a younger "Matthew McConaughey" in his performance. This is a fun film with an Urban Legend type feel to it and it does deserve a sequel to it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ [4 of 5  Stars]

NETFLIX'S "REBEL MOON" IS NOT ONLY MONSTOROUS FLOP...IT'S A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME

🎥🎞️Movie Review🎞️🎥 - REBEL MOON; Part I [2023] - PG 13 - NetFlix - Directed by Zach Snyder. Written by Zach Snyder. Screenplay by Kurt Johnstad & Shay Hatten. Starring Sofia Boutella, Charlie Hunnam, Ed Skrein, Anthony Hopkins, Michael Huisman, and Djimon Hounsou. Budget $166 Million for two films.

The plot is simple, an edgy farm girl [Boutella] raised by a local farmer after she was found in a crashed warship, proves that she is actually a skilled warrior in hiding after the farmers in her village are threatened by a local imperial General [Huisman]. After an incident of misfortune, she sets out to start a rebellion to help save the local farmers in her community by soliciting the help of other "locally talented soldiers" - led by Hounsou - who eventually become "rebels with a cause" and try to overthrow the imperial forces threatening a larger commune of free worlds.

***Keep in mind - At some time in Hollywood history, Zach Snyder throw in his hat to try and write episodes 7, 8, and 9 of the Star Wars trilogy, and Rebel Moon was his treatment script to Disney that was turned down. Snyder found a few producers and put together his treatment script to film alone.

THE GOOD - This film is an action packed SciFi film filled full of some spectacular special effects, obvious practical monster makeup, and some breathtaking space-filled visual wonders that are plenty and marvelous to view.

THE BAD - There are lots, and I mean LOTS, of slow motion scenes that are truly unnecessary and over utilized in every action sequence for no particular reason at all. There was no clear description of who or what the Imperial forces are or what power they control in the area of their universe; except that they exist. The dialog is cold and strung out at every turn with very little character development, except for the leading character [Boutella] who actually worked for the bad guys after the imperial forces killed her parents and then...well...it's never explained. As a matter of fact, there's very little explanation of anything in this film; you are forced to accept what is because this person is carrying a big gun and that person has two swords that they wield with precision. There's nothing remarkably smart about the dialog or the screenplay.

POST MORTEM - This film is a mosh-posh of Firefly, Dune, Star Wars, John Carter, and Riddick wrapped up on one epic failure with bad story telling. I fought myself from time to time, trying not to check my phone for better entertainment than just watching this piece of shit film. Prior to the films release, there were some awesome trailers that definitely caught my attention, but in the end, this film is going no where and there definitely won't be a line of toy merchandise to help the film bring in profits. 

⭐️💫[1.5 of 5 Stars]

NETFLIX'S "THE NIGHT AGENT" IS AS CLICHE AS CLICHE CAN GET...

🎥🎞️Series Review🎞️🎥 - THE NIGHT AGENT [2023] - R - NetFlix - Created by Shawn Ryan. Based on a book by Matthew Quirk. Produced by James Dodson and Nick Bradley. Stars Gabriel Basso, Luciane Buchanan, Fola Evans-Akingbola, Sara Desjardins, Eve Harlow, and Robert Patrick. This was the third most viewed series on Netflix for four days and was given the green light for a second season right away.

An off duty CIA agent [Basso] discovers a bomb on a train, that was planted by a mysterious man, and he attempts to try and save the occupants, finds himself the top suspect for planting the bomb on the train, even though it as quite clear that someone else planted the bomb[?] - try to wrap your mind on that one. He is kind of demoted stand watch in an isolated room to watch over a phone that is supposed to never ring, when suddenly it does. He is then asked to watch over a young woman [Buchanan] who has ties to the inner government because of her aunt and uncle who were also "watchers of the phone" and murdered by a top spy, or maybe a duo of hitmen[?] Afterwards, he and the young woman are thrust into a diabolical web of intrigue and inner government moles trying to usurp the inner factions of the CIA...kind of.

THE GOOD - ...I seriously can't remember anything about this pile of shit that really was good. I know that I need to be nice and say something, but I honestly can't.

THE BAD - The story, the dialog, the acting, the lack of realistic responses to danger. I never got the feeling that anyone was in serious peril and that there were no serious consequences for any agent actually doing their job. Everything in the series story and plot are transparent and there's nothing new that I haven't ever seen before in another movie. Basso seems to have the same facial expression in every shot, whether he's just walking down the street, being shot at, or being caught in an explosion. The pacing is really bad and, if there are any veterans in this series, everyone acts live compete amateurs in some type of indie web series, even Robert Patrick looks stiff as a CIA Director who plays an aggressive jerk, often testing the loyalties of Besso's character in the series.

POST MORTEM - I totally understand that Besso has some kind of following and that some people have penned him as the next big actor to break out of Netflix and head to the big screen, but his acting in this series is just horrible. I would have had a better time rearranging my sock drawer than watching this bumbling series that had no mystery or anything coherently as noteworthy for ward nominations or requiring a second season.

DOGSHIT! 💩💩💩 [3 of 3 Poops]  

"THE LOST FLOWERS OF ALICE HART" DIGS DEEP WHERE IT HURTS THE MOST!

🎥🎞️Series Review🎞️🎥 - THE LOST FLOWERS OF ALICE HART [2023] - [R] - Amazon Prime - Based on a novel by Holly Ringland and was adapted to screenplay by Sarah Lambert. Directed by Glendyn Ivin. Produced by Barbara Gibbs. Starring Sigourney Weaver, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Alyla Browne, Asher Keddie, Leah Purcell, Charley Vickers, and Tilda Cobham-Hervey. The series received many nominations for awards from the AACTA Awards in Australia.

A young girl, Alice Hart [Browne], was raised in a turbulent house hold with a talented carpenter father [Vickers] who also carries memories of a dark past. After her parents die in a fire, she is moved to live with her grandmother [Weaver] who lives in a flower farm that also cares for abused women. The young girl learns that specific flowers and plants are used to communicate through patterns of colorful collection, creating their own language that is often openly displayed. As she enters adulthood [Debham-Carey], she learns that her grandmother has many dark secrets of her own, that are hidden in detailed file folders and shelved away in a dark room. But, she cannot escape the fact that some bad family traits can carry one from one generation to another, which forces her to confront the worst in some people.

THE GOOD - There are some outstanding, dramatic performances in this series that demands attention through award nominations. The little girl [Browne] does a fantastic job in her first major role, carrying the character of young Alice through some very stressful and dramatic sequences, presented an emotionally weathered down pre-teen stumbling through life. Weaver was also mentally weathered and trudging through the series, slowly aging but delivering a powerful performance as Alice's grandmother.  The lighting and sound were perfectly arranged, delivering a well balanced production. Location spotting was marvelously selected and there isn't any part of the production that felt off kilter at all. Kudos to the majority of the Australian cast who had some standout performances throughout the series, possibly a strength garnered through the addition of Weaver's presence.

THE BAD - Like most books, the back story to the series takes a long time to develop. There are some "stock footage" scenes between the story telling that were filmed as filler that just seem to slow things down to a point where the real power to the feel of the film gets lost. One plot in the film seems to have been filmed on a coastline that seems a little out of place to the lush lands of rolling fields that are home to the flower garden - I don't know the terrain that can be found in Australia, so maybe I'm just seeing something in this part of the film that is natural to the coastline landscape.

POST MORTEM - This is a sensational series. It was hard to see what was coming up next in the dark tale that was slowly spinning out of control. When the climax hits its mark, the pain is felt and the scene unfolds with turbulent excellence, something that every director hopes for in their films. I highly recommend you watch this series without interruption. This series is a winner!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️[5 of 5 Stars]

QUANTUM STORM .357 ISSUE 27 FOR DECEMBER IS RELEASED!

QSE.357 ISSUE 27 dtd 12/1/2023

62 Pages

ON THE COVER - Beatrice "Bibi" Coltzer, Model.
Photo by D. R. Quintana

MAIN ARTICLES

What's missing in Indie action movies - With a thorough review of over 50 indie films produced in Texas, the studio lists 20 of the biggest issues missing in producing a solid action film.

Seasons Greetings Photoshoot - We present seven of the most talented actors/actresses who work hard in the Texas indie film scenes.

Stunt Teams are looking for work! - Here is a list of semi-professional stunt teams with their own production insurance who want your business...and guess what, they are worth it!

Christmas Music Videos - Not as easy to produce as one might think, but there are perks to making a good holiday video to present your skills to the right film studio. 

YOU MUST BE A SUBSCRIBER TO VIEW THE FULL CONTENTS THIS NEW 2023 ISSUE OF THE QUANTUM STORM .357 E-MAGAZINE AND FOLLOW THIS BLOG

 Thank you for stopping by!