PEACOCKS "COCAINE BEAR" IS A HUGE MISHAP WAITING TO BE EXPLORED

🎥🎞️Movie Review🎞️🎥 - COCAINE BEAR [2023] - [R] - Peacock - Directed by Elizabeth Banks, Written by Jimmy Warden. Starring Ray Liotta, Keri Russell, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson. This is another Peacock original movie and is Elizabeth Banks first attempt at directing a dark comedy.

Inspired by actual events that occurred in December 1985 where a man named Andrew Thornton [real drug smuggler], a large brown bear consumes a large amount of cocaine that was dropped from a drug plain over the distance of two states. The bear embarked on a killing spree, in an area where several innocent bystanders have stumbled onto the fallen payload, and attacks anyone who goes near the drugs or who is in direct contact with it. This movie has a lot gore and an some brutal kill scenes.

THE GOOD - The special effects and bear CGI are tremendously produced and delivered with stunning visuals. A lot of the gore looks realistic and presents some real painful visuals. There are several stories wrapped up in this movie that makes you wonder exactly where the writers were going with the entire plot. The entire film takes place in the middle of the 80's and there are some interesting tidbits of "you had to live back then" to catch the inside jokes that are spread out throughout the films run. As mentioned before, there is a lot of gore that befalls each death made by the large killer bear. Each story intertwines with the idea that even though there is a drug runner side to the entire story, the bear is the only constant. There are parts in the film where the killer bear takes on the leading role, sometimes crossing into a realm of human characteristics which makes some of killings look silly and too far fetched to believe.

THE BAD - This is a typical 80's slasher film filled with so much schlock, that it gets a little boring at times. There is a ton of bad acting and over acting that makes the comical side of the film seem a little too stupid to follow. Where some actors take the film serious and present some brilliant acting chops to deliver some intensely dramatic scenes, others seems to present no talent at all, and deliver performances that are easily forgotten.

POST MORTEM - This movie would have been better if the writer and director stuck to presenting a more real presentation of the actual events of the Cocaine Bear and how the drugs ended up in the woods in December of 1985. Using that baseline Urban Legend to create this film was just completely absurd.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ [3 of 5 Stars]

"POKER FACE" ISN'T FRESH, BUT IT'S HUMOROUS & ENTERTAINING

🎥🎞️Series Review🎞️🎥 - POKER FACE [2023] - Peacock - Created by Ria Johnson, Produced by Cameron Angeli. Writers Wyatt Cain, Ria Johnson. Stars Natashia Lyonne, Benjamin Bratt, and a whole sleuth of talented veteran actors in each new episode. This is a Peacock original series and I am sure that a real network would have never picked up the series because of the unoriginal filming format style used in the shows production.

Charlie Cale [Lyonne] has a unique, natural ability to sniff out a lie during any communication with a person; whether through body language, use of specific words, or natural instinct. We learn in the first episode that Cale uses her ability to become a poker champion; jumping from one casino to another, winning countless scores of money until she's sniffed out, black balled and forced to work at one casino in Las Vegas as a waitress to make ends meet. What isn't known is whether her ability to substantiate the truth from a lie is a supernatural ability or not. Since most of what is seen is the fact that Cale has to ask questions and wait for answers. If one doesn't give her answers or refuses to communicate, her ability will be useless in any case or mystery that falls in her path. Throughout the series, she is on the run with hitman Cliff LeGrand [Bratt] always on her tail.

THE GOOD - The series is inventive, always starting off with presenting a well planned murder or other crime, that leads to the perfect crime. Then each episode is replayed with a side plot of how Cale is inserted into the story and solves the crime by asking a few questions. Lyonne is humorous at best, always playing a quirky hippy-woman that either smoked too much marijuana or drank too little to stay pickled up and present her deep throated lines. What I like best is how nosy Cale is, how she is constantly questioning the mystery that bothers her, even while she's at rest. The action scenes are simple, the dramatic build up in each mystery by the supporting cast is spot on the best I've seen in a series in a long time.

THE BAD - Lyonne's silly acting style gets a little too far fetched at times and then becomes a silly staple that you have to endure towards the end of each episode. Where most of the time, the viewer can figure out what actions need to take place to solve the crime, Cale stumbles through her divinity of solving crime and takes another angle that you will not expect, and then in a silly "twerk style" maneuver, the case is quickly solved and the episode is over. After a few episodes, this writing format gets old and un-inventive.

POST MORTEM - This is a good series. The plethora of quality veteran actors helping out as "guest stars" in each new episode is truly remarkable. None of the new episodes cross over in plot or story, which is refreshing, but sometimes I feel like a good character arc, well designed and developed, is wasted on the idea that they were just arrested and taken away. I expect some type of crossover to eventually happen. Still, even though not ground breaking, this is just a fun show to watch.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫[3.5 of 5 Stars]

TAKING A LOOK BACK AT J. J. ABRAMS' "SUPER 8"

🎥🎞️Movie Review🎞️🎥 - SUPER 8 [2011] - Amazon Prime - Directed and written by J. J. Abrams. Stars Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler, and Ron Eldard. Produced by J. J. Abrams, Steven Spielberg, and Bryan Burk.

Strange things are afoot in a small town in Ohio during the summer of 1979.  First, there was a train derailment that was witnessed by a bunch of teens shooting an indie movie; then there were some power outages, large machinery was stolen, and all of the dogs in the local county went missing. Making things seem worse, the derailed train was owned by the U.S. Air Force and suddenly a large fire threatens the lives of everyone in the small town, forcing an immediate evacuation. What could be the cause? Are aliens involved?...watch the movie and fall into the dark spell of intrigue that only Abrams can bring to life with his trademark lens flairs and quick action film formats, that seem to dazzle the new breed of action seeking viewers around the world.

But honestly, SUPER 8 had a lot of potential when it was first released. The train derailment alone was a masterful piece of action and surprise, completely not expected when I first saw the movie in the theaters. The entire theater was aghast with the energy from the crash, that I witnessed everyone look about the theater wondering how such an event was produced on camera. After that, the innocence of the film lost its luster and the magic of film making just tanked into a world of never ending stupidity, which Abrams' has learned to sell to the big wigs in Hollywood, but not the fans that watch his movies. Using an old 80's format, something that he admitted to in interviews, as a large aliens full appearance was kept out of camera until the third act of the film, something that Steven Spielberg did in JAWS [1975] while he was waiting for the practical effects machine to be put together and work properly. Once the new CGI monster was revealed, and it was huge and ugly, the total embodiment of a large beast turned out to have the heart of a smaller ET monster.

THE GOOD - The story arc with the teens was the best part of the film. The character development between the six teens was well scripted and developed for the film; I actually began to give a shit about what was going on around them and the way their parents treated them. The visual effects and sound were pristine and some of the camera angles were filled with epic little wide screen shots.

THE BAD - Oh my God is the film filled with some really bad technical crap and lens flair galore! Abrams, known to prove that he has little knowledge about how the military actually works, goes off the rails in this movie. Nothing is ever explained, and this claim that "the little box with a secret" is a hallmark to his writing ethic, just falls apart at every little attempt to show the "dark side" of the military and how officers and soldier act and carry out their duties without any regard for civilians. There's a chaotic scene in the fourth act of the film where tanks are firing, missiles are flying, and machine guns are shooting off all on their own, with the help of the aliens control over machinery...??? The alien never seemed to have presented this ability before, such as shutting off cars, buses, or anything else; just that this was happening in the fourth act in a "wouldn't this be cool" segment of the film. It was totally silly and the film suffers a lackluster ending because of it. Abrams continual use of his "nothing education" about how things actually work, is so evident in this film. How he was chosen to lead the new Star Trek movies is beyond comprehension, especially in a SciFi universe that demands to present how things work. No wonder why he felt more at home directing and writing the last of the George Lucas Star Wars trilogy, where nothing needs to be explained.

POST MORTEM - The 80% of SUPER 8 that totally got wrecked by Abrams continual bad writing bullshit was actually saved by a short zombie movie that was being produced by the teens in the film. I remember sticking around through the end credits when the film suddenly presented the teens finished film in it's entirety. That small film was a total gem and something that should have been a larger staple in the film. For all of the work the veteran actors put in the film, it suffered horribly and could have been a major part in bringing a more heart worthy appearance in the film early on, proving that maturity is the best medicine for any horrifying event to bring a town together, than just tear it apart. Showing that at the beginning or middle of the film would have been "mint!"

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 [3.5 out of 5 Stars]

QUANTUM STORM .357 ISSUE 19 IS RELEASED FOR APRIL 2023

 

QSE .357 ISSUE 19 dtd 4/1/2023

38 Pages

ON THE COVER - Shots from various local film projects. Used by permission.

MAIN ARTICLES

Marketing Your Indie Film - From Advertising, labeling to trailers. We show you how you should hire professionals to promote your Indie film prior to it's release.

 Behind The Scenes Special - Take a peek into new production efforts for HAVOC 114 Redux and a special look at the alien behind GREY PANIC.

Special Look - The "Spring Break" spectacular is here! See if your favorite local model made the top ten!

PodCast Radio News - Houston PodCast shows are gaining popularity, here's a peek into a story set for release in April.

Summer Fever is Building - Is your production team planning a big indie film project for the summer? Let us know so we can spread the news. Email us here.

  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

A LOOK INTO HOUSTON’S TOP POD CAST SHOWS IS MOVED TO THE APRIL EDITION OF THE QSE .357 E-Magazine!

 

EPIC NEWS UPDATE - The Studio presents news that production efforts have resumed for HAVOC 114 Redux. Additional scenes have been added to the feature to extend the length of the film. The studio is also planning the release of a new trailer and music video this summer!

Thank you for stopping by!

STAR TREK PICARD SEASON 3 HAS IT’S MOMENTS

🎥🎞️Series Review🎞️🎥 - STAR TREK PICARD - Paramount. Showrunner Micheal Chabon, Terry Matalas. Stars Sir Patrick Steward, Jonathan Franks, Gates McFadden, Jeri Ryan, Michael Dorn, and Ed Speleers.

30 years after the Star Trek - The Next Generation [STNG] timeline and the frightening first two seasons of Star Trek Picard, the old crew of STNG slowly reassemble to first identify a new threat to the Federation; second, learn that retired Admiral Jean-Luc Picard [Stewart] and Doctor Beverly Crusher [McFadden] are parents to a now grown son [Speleers]; and that a new deadly weapon was stolen from a highly Top-Secret Federation base.

Being a big Star Trek fan myself, I got caught up in the hoopla about a review on YouTube, that Season 3 of ST Picard had fallen into the right hands of a lead director and writing team, and that the new season was a much needed rewrite with episode writers who were once legitimately part of of the production team of Star Trek Deep Space 9 and other more "fan favorable" Star Trek shows and movies, hired on to answer a lot of the fan based questions which were far too ignored. With a new production budget and visual zeal that brings traveling through the final frontier back to the original form, the show has received good buzz and there's word that this will be the last series with the old crew to ever be produced for fans.

THE GOOD - The visual effects and CGI are pleasing to the eye. Seeing the aged and dusted off Admiral Picard in the Captain's seat was a real treat. The battle scenes between ships is epic and some of the special effects in the series are far above the imaginable.

THE BAD - If you've ever been to a twenty-year reunion of your high school class and realized that all of the people you once knew were still the same, but just heavily sprinkled with parental problems and a burned out married life...well, then this show won't seem any different. The story lines drag on and on per each episode, with a touch of "Oh shit, this is so important!..." and "You once gave a shit about me, but now you don't" to "I can't do this anymore, I'm a senior officer!...", to "Okay, for old times sake, I'll step up and be part of the team again." Many of the cliche's are old, seem to work from time to time, but there is also a TON of dialog with mixed feelings about this and that, that the entire fluidity of the film just seems to drag on...and then BAMB, something hit's the ship and the entire crew looks about the room stunned and then someone cries out, "...they've found us!" Most of what's seen within the first four episodes could have been presented in a one hour special of STNG. The rest is just useless fluff that just wants you to scream out, "...C'mon!...get on with it!" - Yeah, folks. The show can be THAT bad from time to time; more often than not.

POST MORTEM - There's a scene were Admiral William Riker [Franks], Worf [Dorn] and third party member transport down to a Top Secret Facility and just calmly walk around some passageways, looking for chamber door. There are no standard hand scanners to help them on their search; something that was always seen in the older shows. For every good thing that ST-Picard brings to the table [including some badly designed star ships] another big FAIL falls directly following the BIG reveal which isn't as fantastic as the writers hoped it was going to be. It's certainly another jumbled mess of nostalgia, but way better than what was presented in the first two seasons. But this is a good send off for a bunch of actors who couldn't find good work after the biggest and most popular of the Star Trek shows went off the air. The actors are certainly getting a raise in their retirements without having to work to hard for it this time.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫[3.5 of 5 Stars]

NETFLIX’S "ADAM PROJECT" IS JUST TOO MUCH…

🎥🎞️Movie Review🎞️🎥 - THE ADAM PROJECT [2022] - PG13 - Netflix - Directed by Shawn Levy. Written by Jonathan Topper, T. S. Nowlin, Jennifer Flackett, and John Levin. Stars Ryan Reynolds, Mark Ruffalo, Walker Scobell, and a remarkably surprised & unaccredited, Jada Pinkett Smith. 

This is a silly movie that has Reynolds - AKA Deadpool - continue to play himself in Deadpool-fashion in another SciFi action film. This time it’s a time travel movie about a man who accidentally travels too far into the past to try and contact himself for help after the time displacement equipment his father helped create falls into the wrong hands.

THE GOOD - In the 80s we had to endure a plethora of big budgeted action movies with either Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, or Chuck Norris in it, so in the 2020’s it has to be Ryan Reynolds. This film has a bunch of explosions, heavily choreographed fight scenes, and a bunch, and I mean BUNCH of typical Ryan Reynolds one-liners that just regurgitate in one massive repulsive swirling storyline with more twists and turns like a swirling heap of diarrhea that fails to flush down the toilet after the fourth attempt. 

THE BAD - There’s nothing truly surprising here. You’ve seen it all before, except that Reynolds gets a chance to wield a double-edged lightsaber that "...ISN’T a lightsaber." Where many of the other characters in the story take things very seriously, Reynolds plays it off calmly, like he knows he’s in a hollow-deck where the entire program will eventually just shut off and he’ll be completely okay. There’s never a feeling that his character is ever in real jeopardy.

POST MORTEM - This movie is filled with overly flashy action scenes and the actors performance are garnished with a lot of cheese. It’s a perfect fun film for the youth who think that life is easy, because mom and dad will always be there to let them stay in their basement playing video games. Mature adults with bore pretty quickly. I definitely won’t be watching this pile of shit a second time. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️ [3 of 5 Stars]

STALLONE TURNS UP THE HEAT IN "THE SAMARITAN"

🎥🎞️Movie Review🎞️🎥 - THE SAMARITAN [2022] - PG13 - Amazon Prime - Directed by Julius Avery, based on creative works by Bragi Schut, Marc Olivent, and Renzo Podesta. Stars Sylvester Stallone, Javon Walton, Pilou Asbaek, and Dascha Polanco. This is a dark story about two brothers with incredible powers who are at odds with one another; one fallen to evil [called Nemesis], the other follows the life of law and order [called The Samaritan], who wind up in a battle for control that costs one their life. Many years later, living in a city torn with the admiration of the populace living in the Urban Legend of the two brothers, always wondering who won the final battle, who lost, and where they vanished to, a young boy [Walton] meets a mysterious old man [Stallone] and begins to believe that he has stumbled onto one of the survivors of the final battle.

The movie has a slow start, but in small spurts the visual effects fall to the mainstream high action and super hero filled special effects that usually follow in every super hero movie that's been produced in the last ten years. So, there's no surprise at what abilities are presented when the quiet super hero attitude of Stallone's character "Joe Smith" suddenly sparks to life and emotion, and the truth surfaces. Walton seems a little out of his league performing as a surprised teen, finding out that his childhood Urban Legend hero is actually alive and kicking. But he does his part consistently and he grows quickly as a young actor during the entire run of the movie.

THE GOOD - Stallone is playing a usually quiet and dark character, a stigma of his decision to choose roles recently. He looks old and tired in this film, which fits him perfectly for the role. He turns up the intensity as the film progresses and there's just something that he does to bring the house down in style, and I mean that literally. The CGI at the end of the film is pretty impressive for building up the final battle and there are moments where the viewer can honestly believe that their standing in the middle of a fiery inferno. The director chose to shoot this film in a wide-angle format, giving the film an epic feel from beginning to end, which gives the film a larger preview of the background locations and big city feel. The back story is the real mystery and the totally of the cost of life is brought to the forefront, giving a good plot a really good chance to show its true colors.

THE BAD - The start of the film, after the brief history opening, just seems to slow down to a crawl. Plus there are few moments of grand standing by other actors. Walton was obviously picking up some bad habits from the other senior actors around him, as he begins to show some over-acting in some scenes. It's noticeable, but does not alter the films energy. Pilou Asbaek plays the perfect villain for the film, but I can't shake off the fact that his "tremendous presence" makes his performance seem a little over-the-top. I know I sound like I'm being a little bit picky, but these are the only weaknesses to the film that I noticed.

POST MORTEM - This is a solid film where the director seems to have had a eye-opening idea to keep things simple, punch out the better scenes with up close action, and deliver the type of action sequences that seem to look like the production used practical effects instead of making the whole movie look like a CGI video game. Stallone was a perfect cast for the role as Joe Smith and I honestly like that the film didn't go over board and show more than just a localized area of mayhem; keeping the universe of the main story to only a small section of a big city and not the entire world.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️[4 out of 5 Stars]

QUANTUM STORM .357 ISSUE 18 IS RELEASED FOR MARCH 2023

 

QSE .357 ISSUE 18 dtd 3/1/2023

42 Pages

ON THE COVER - Stock Photos
Photoshop by K. Santos

MAIN ARTICLES

Viking Indie Films - Several indie film productions in Texas have taken the Viking genre to the next level with fantastic details in wardrobe. Four indie film teams prepare to release their projects in the fall.

Promoting Your Film - Now that your film is complete and ready for preview. We present the steps to help you promote your film and get fantastic results.

Special Look - We're preparing for our "Spring Break" spectacular! Meet some of the male and female models we will present to you this year.

Indie Film News - Two interesting indie film projects currently in production. Meet the production crews and their actors.

Sneak Peek - Houston PodCast shows are gaining popularity, here's a peek into a story set for release in April.

 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

A LOOK INTO HOUSTON’S TOP POD CAST SHOWS IS MOVED TO THE APRIL EDITION OF THE QSE .357 E-Magazine! 

Thank you for stopping by!

PEACOCKS "M3GAN" STUNS AND THRILLS!

🎥🎞️Movie Review🎞️🎥 - M3GAN [The Directors Cut] - Peacock [2022] - PG13 - Directed by Gerard Johnstone and Edited by Jeff McEvoy. Written and created by Akela Cooper and James Wan, this movie has a little punch in its deliver of chills and thrills. Not to be considered another "Chucky-type" horror movie, M3GAN is a story of how a child's toy in this day and age of new technology, might go too far in protecting it's owner.

Starring Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Jenna Davis, and Amie Donald.  The story and plot involves a young girl named Cady, performed by a talented and emotional McGraw, who loses both her parents in a horrific highway accident. She is then raised by her aunt, Gemma [Williams], who is single and also a robotic's engineer. Through her aunt, Cady is eventually introduced to Megan, an automaton that is programmed through sophisticated Artificial Intelligence [AI] to be more than a child's friend, but to also be a beneficial guide in building trust through a physiological series of daily events that parents seem to ignore in a young persons life. Megan follows Cady and reminds her of what's the right thing to do, the right way to feel, and that at times, it's okay to share memories and feel strength through solid companionship.

THE GOOD - The cinematography seems perfect, especially when a scene requires to show how short the children [and Megan] are against the parents. In the film sequences "size really does matter" as the actual size of Megan hides the actual inner strength of the android when it's fully engaged to protect Cady. The special effects, along with the practical effects are delivered nicely, with very little CGI that has to be abundant during certain action scenes. The director does a great job enforcing some much needed character development to set the mood and get the viewer to trust the android in the earlier parts in the film. There are some surprising effects in presenting the android using 'less human" antiquated movements that seemed a little eerie to watch.

THE BAD - Due to this being a "Directors Cut" review, there are some bad editing skips that occur in the film; even thought they don't ruin the mood of the film, they are noticeable and I cant shake off bad mistakes in films that have gotten such great reviews. Some of the darker scenes that require torn skin or burning flesh were cut too short, but that's what you can expect from a PG13 movie. This movie should have been Rated R and the blood factor should have been pumped up to maximum; it certainly has very little to offer entertainment to children and is certainly falls under an adult horror film.

POST MORTEM - M3GAN is a definite "like" in my opinion. The film could have easily gone into deep gore and horror if the director and the films producers wanted to push the envelope. There's only so much a film can deliver to fans in the genre of a PG 13 film, but there are some scenes that kept me on the edge of my seat.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫[3.5 of 5 Stars]

QUANTUM STORM WIKI ON “GRAVITRON” [2010]

GRAVITRON is a dramatic, SciFi short film created and produced by David Quintana-Lujan in 2010, under the team moniker of DAMAR Editions Ltd. This was the 17 short film created by the director-producer under the studio name, Quantum Storm Productions., and the fourth short film he created during his move back to Texas. The story is simple; a lone traveler [Larry Carrell] visits a distraught mother [Amy Mitchell] who lost her daughter [Briannah Korin] ten years ago in a horrific car accident. The lone traveler gives the still grieving mother a gift to go back in time and correct a wrong and live her life in another more positive reality. This short film was planned as part one to a mini-series of five short films.

Directed by D. R. Quintana-Lujan

Screenplay by D. R. Quintana-Lujan & Larry Carrell

Story by D. R. Quintana-Lujan

Starring Amy Mitchell, Larry Carrell, Briannah Korin

Cinematography by D. R. Quintana-Lujan

Edited by D. R. Quintana-Lujan

Music by Zeca Mahoney

Production Company Quantum Storm Productions

Running Time 8 minutes

Countries  United States

Language English

Budget  $2,500

 

 

GRAVITRON is an ultra-low independent short film directed and produced by David Quintana-Lujan during the fall of 2010. The script for the short film was fallout from a cancelled episode of "The Secret of Angelika5" [TSOA5] where a supporting character, Brianna Fuller [performed by Jessica Yanker] learns that she has the ability to travel back in time and change certain events that helps her save the life of her own father from a tragic accident. The director removed the episode and re-wrote the script after sharing the idea with Larry Carrell after the TSOA5 break for season two.

PRE-PRODUCTION

The director first met Amy Mitchell on the set of a local film project, at the time a pitch film for "Divorce Texas Style" of 2010. He wasn't only captivated by Mitchell's natural beauty, but taken by her 'untapped' talent as an actress. He pitched Mitchell the script and immediately the two began to collaborate to make the short film a dramatic masterpiece by delivering a performance outside of her current training. During the production, Mitchell was well prepared and delivered her part in the film brilliantly.

Larry Carrell had just finished up working on his first season on TSOA, taking the role of Arthur "Art" McAdams. He volunteered to work on GRAVITRON as he was shifting a career in indie films from working as a director towards performing parts as a leading actor.

Brianna Korin had answered a casting call for "The Immortal Legion" which was also being produced by the director. Korin had little acting experience, so she was asked to join the production for a small part and give her some exposure to working on a film set.

LOCATION SPOTTING

The director had worked with Rick Cloutier on two "Razor" short films for TSOA5 and had also held a TOSA5 actors "mega-photo shoot" at Cloutier's home in Montgomery, TX. The same home was used in GRAVITRON and was supposed to show what the parents had done with the insurance money gained from their daughters loss. That part of the script was scrapped after a second home, which was supposed to be a mobile home in a rural area, could not be confirmed on the day of filming.

The director used three filters on the camera lens to show the variation from a cold atmosphere in the beginning sequences of the production, to warmer colors at the end of the film. The change in filters did not require extensive lighting.

PRODUCTION NOTES

Filming began early in the morning on November 13, 2010 and the camera rolled for over five hours to capture the scenes required for the eight minute film. Due to the large windows in the main scene in the film, natural lighting was used to capture all of the scenes in the project. Cloutier provided some of the wardrobe that Mitchell wore and also provided food for the cast and crew.

Immediately after filming, the director took the footage home, downloaded it to this computer and began editing the film. Special care was taken to give the best production as possible and Carrell assisted with the sound and color variances in the film.

The film was submitted to a film festival in Houston, Texas where the leading actress won "Best Actress" in a dramatic short film and the music coordinator, Zeca Mahoney won "Best Music Arrangement." Carrell would later direct and star in the classic Houston horror film JACOB and Mitchell would also work with Carrell and have a small part in that film.

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HALLMARK PRESENTS A WINNER WITH "THE WAY HOME"

 🎥🎞️Series Review🎞️🎥 - THE WAY HOME [2023] - Hallmark/Peacock - PG - Created by the talented writing skills of Heather Conkie, Alexandria Clarke, and Marly Reed, this little jewel of a series is remarkably well produced and delivers an emotional zeal to a simple plot about a small family that has to heal itself from past events to move on with life. The series stars Chyler Leigh, Evan Williams, Sadie LaFlamme-Snow, and Andie McDowell. The series has been scheduled for 10 episodes and as of the release of this blog, only four episodes have launched exclusively on the world reknown Hallmark Channel. 

THE WAY HOME [TWH] is a family friendly series with some believable, emotional performances by Leigh, Andie, and Sadie; with some standard emo daughter issues due to a daughter being exposed to a failed marriage. The story may sound redundant, however, the series flows flawlessly from one plot and storyline to another as the daughter finds a portal through time which gives her the ability to  expose herself to a few moments of the families past and help her find a way to mend the family through a harrowing event that crippled the family during the summer of 1999. There are no outstanding CGI effects or explosions in this series, but the drama and mystery are superbly presented in all of their glory.

THE GOOD - The cinematography is just outstanding. Shot in epic cinematic quality and each scene was directed with a natural screenplay that gives the actors plenty of room to maneuver through their scenes with tremendous strength. The lighting quality, shifting from bright day to heavy shaded areas was carefully examined and planned prior to shooting, carefully controlling the color variances from bright colors to cool shades with tremendous forethought. The editing is impeccable and definitely shows that an experienced team worked together to ensure that there are no skips in the shows presentation.  The story arc is progressive, leading the viewer to absorb the character development and to hope that things come together by the end of each new episode. The casting seems perfect and no actor tried to out-do the other. Each leading actor in this series has an extensive list of films under their belts to carry this series to the next level, and there is some really tough emotional scenes that are masterly delivered in each new episode.

THE BAD -  The Hallmark Channel has received some pretty harsh criticisms  for apparently altering their recent movie and series productions more towards a "woke" atmosphere that makes a lot of people uncomfortable with being exposed to the changing "hormonal climate" of today's youth, and even though there's very little of that being presented in this series, those sharp edged criticisms may endanger the real success of this series.

POST MORTEM -  This is a series that exposes it's characters to time traveling. I find it funny that the time travel jumps from 2023 to 1999, which in my run of history isn't really all that far, but for production costs and, of course, location spotting, the story covers enough events in that time frame to spin a nice little mystery that needs explaining and closer. The atmosphere of the series s very casual and warm, perfect for letting you watch on a quiet evening or a Sunday afternoon when there's nothing else to do or watch on TV. Each episode is only 49 minutes long, but a lot of information and emotion is pump through that time frame to give you plenty of soft details to consider in each passing episode. This is certainly a fun and entertaining series.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ [4 of 5 Stars]