Written and directed by Scott Lebrerecht Cast: Zak Kilberg, Maya Parish USA
Plot
Jacob a night security guard is not very well. His doctor thinks he might be suffering from anaemia, but Jacob is not so sure. He gets badly burned when he goes out into sunlight, and also he is hungry all the time. But none of the nationally void microwave meals he heats up satisfy him. Then he buys a steak, and he finds it is the blood left in the packaging which excites him, not the steak.
Eventually he hustles a butcher into selling him blood, which he drinks from a takeout coffee cup. So it's all sort of adding up too, Could he be a vampire?
Don't read further if you're worried about spoilers. He is a vampire. After much standing about looking like a catalogue model waiting for a bus, Jacob decides blood from the butcher is okay but doesn’t really hit the spot. He finds a fence for human blood, and slowly he learns how to be a vampire. But after he is implicated in the murder of a woman in a car park, he also begins to understand what being a vampire means.
His journey into vampirism is further complicated by a Mary with whom he begins a relationship, but he isn't sure she will accept his ''illness.''
Review
A bit on the tedious side, lots of wondering and sitting about by Jacob looking sensitive and deep. It takes him ages to figure out he is a vampire and it's never explained how he became one. It's certainly a different take in the low budget horror genre - low key realism - but the drama is predictable and there is no tension or excitement to keep audience attention.
The characters don't feel very real and are generally unlikeable. The script seems to always take the next logical step, rather than find an original or unexpected way to tell the story, the effect is predictability.
Nothing interesting in the setting or directorial style (except the last bloody shot which seems to be almost from a different more exciting film).
The acting is fine, the story is okay, but the film has nothing really to say.
This is a fascinating documentary by first time feature director David Gleb. The film follows the life of 85 year old Jiro Ono a man who has been in the sushi business an astonishing 75 years. In case you are not up on your sushi masters, Jiro is one of the worlds best, and he is the owner of Sukiyabashi Jiro a tiny restaurant located in a subway station in Tokyo. The restaurant has only ten covers, but 3 Micheline stars. Why Jiro had such an early start in his career, and the person it has made him, is the central focus of the film. He is, it seems, relentlessly driven to perfection and it has made him a master of his art. The documentary also explores the story of Jiro's older son and his relationship with his father. At the age of 50 Yoshikazu Ono has been working for his father for 30 years. He will inherit the business on his fathers retirement enabling him finally to fulfill his own potential as a sushi master. But his inheritance could be a double edged sword. Yoshikazu's sushi may always be judged inferior to his father's even if it is comparable, and there is a risk that the restaurant will loose customers and him, his inheritance.
Review
A film with sensitive story telling but also insight into Japanese culture. And a very interesting lesson in the delicate an art of sushi making in a high end restaurant, it takes 10 years to apprentice as a sushi master in Japan. Starting at the bottom means wringing out hot towels for a few weeks before you are even allowed to wash the fish (or massage the octupi). After ten years they let loose on the egg sushi. Thoughtfully filmed, with great insight to interesting characters. The trip to the fish market is a particular highlight, and it seems in the sushi business there is a chain of high standards from the fish vendors, to the customers plate. This film is well worth a look, but if you care about Octupi please stay at home or bring tissues.
Budget: Low Budget, the director is also the camera man. Red One camera.
Directed by, Aditya Datt. The film's name alludes to Article 21 of the Indian Constitution; ''Right to life.''
Plot
Beautiful, materialistic but poor married couple Vivaan (Rajeev Khandelwal) and Siya (Tena Desai) are celebrating their anniversary on the beautiful island of Fiji when they are invited, seemingly by chance, to take part in a ''game'' by mysterious restaurant owner Mr. Khan(Paresh Rawal). The game is to be telecast live to 8 million viewers via the internet earning Mr. Khan millions of hits and our couple an opportunity to be millionaires.
But there are rules; ''you cannot quit'' and ''if you lie, you die.'' Does that sound a little suspicious to you? ...
The game as you have probably surmised takes a turn for the worst and becomes increasingly violent and humiliating. Slowly through the use of flashbacks we begin to discover that Mr. Khan may have a vendetta against the couple (Mwahaha).
Subject matter. The film is anti-ragging; ragging is a practice in Indian university's and schools (and in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan) where existing students bully or rag on freshers.
Review Overall; The film works well as an anti-ragging treatise, and certainly the audience is left in no doubt about the seriousness of the practice and the danger of dismissing or trivializing the problem ''as just a game'' or ''the right'' of senior students.
In more detail; the film begins promisingly with a thrilling and intriguing if somewhat bloody suicide attempt reminiscent of Hollywood rather than Bollywood. Tensions rise further when we first meet the intriguingly sly Mr. Khan (a charismatic performance by Rawal), and the game begins. But the build up flat lines soon after and audiences will quickly figure out the slippery Mr. Kahn knows more than he is letting on.
Sympathy for Vivaan and Siya wains early due to their shallowness and materialism, more sympathy would highlight the complexity of ragging and heightened the drama at the end of the film, but both actors give very good and believable performances.
It's a low budget film but feels big budget; helicopter shots, speed boats and luxury hotels and the location of Figi (which looks truly spectacular). The photography really is beautiful and the colours are overwhelmingly vivid this is coupled unending sunshine. Unfortunately this works against the dark nature of the film arresting the impact and the shocking nature of the subject matter. The muted palette of the flashbacks work better in this respect. The Director also uses some inventive angles for shots some work, some don't.
Summary The film highlights a difficult problem but fails in areas of suspense and thrills. However, if you live in Scotland (like me,) and it's winter go and see the film. It may be the only sunshine you will see for 6 months.
Budget: low budget, subsidized by Fijian government
