Movie Review: Memory Lane (2022)

 

Creating an impactful independent film is an incredibly difficult thing to do. More precisely, it demands a very strong alchemic mixture that combines visual storytelling, the ability to get an idea and thematically develop it, but finally, to infuse that with a personal and deeply emotional touch. This is precisely what Ross Holman AKA Arcadia Smith managed to do with a film called Memory Lane. The same independent movie is a work of art that transcends any single genre and even the art of cinematography as a whole. 

The film begins in a very straightforward fashion. It follows its main character who finds an advertisement that promotes the possibility of traveling through time. He takes on that offer and thus begins a strange and impactful journey through the actual life of Ross and his personal history. The same is followed by the actual archive footage going back to the early 90s and the birth of the same writer and director.

At the same time, the film uses a range of hip-hop tracks that Ross Holman created as well, including full music videos. These follow the same general formula of the film, adding a further avant-garde notion that strongly resonates through the whole work. Using this almost magical formula, the movie tells a tale of a boy who lost his father at an early age and began his adulthood through numerous challenges. 

 

Yet, the will and the drive to create clearly never left him. On a technical side, Memory Lane was made in a solid manner, covering all of the bases diligently. The camera shoots from a steadicam and offers clear and crisp pictures, while the audio remains level and clean, even though the movie uses a range of recordings.

All of this shows that Ross Holman is a very talented individual with an outlook on the world of art that is different and impactful. Memory Lane is the ultimate proof of this, as it provides something unique. Follow Ross Holman on his official website and Instagram, but make sure to check Memory Lane when you get the chance!

Documentary: Imagine Nation (2018)

Electronic Dance Music or EDM is one of the unsung heroes of the ongoing digital revolution. From its modest beginnings decades ago when first audio engineering pioneers started experimenting with modifying guitar processors to the birth of DJ and computer music production, the EDM has been growing constantly and consistently all over the world.

Imagine Nation is an impressive new documentary taking a look in this domain and doing it at a festival that holds a very special place for the EDM culture. Here how the film describes itself:

What started as a small city festival in Atlanta has blossomed into one of the largest EDM festivals in North America. Viewers are immersed into the event's eye-popping stage production, insane pyrotechnics, diversified line-up of headliners from around the world, a wide array of stage performers, Avant Garde art installations, stunt riders, and carnival rides.

Indie Showcase: Pain & Music (2016)

Over the last few years or even the previous two decades, there have been some very solid cinematic works of art about the world of African-American music scene. Currently, Empire is a TV show that found mainstream success with its formula, while the slightly less-known Atlanta made by the brilliant Donald Glover is leagues in front of it when it comes to its simplicity and humor.

In the movie domain, Hustle & Flow made a few ripples over a decade ago but has practically disappeared since. Now, a new indie movie desires to continue on this path. It is called Pain & Music and it's currently available on Amazon Prime. Here's its official description:

Film Review: Love & Mercy (2015)

Copyright: Roadside Attractions

The goal of the Love & Mercy and its director Bill Pohlad are clear from the first moment of the film, which show John Cusack as an older Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys who wants to buy a car somewhere in the 1980’s. Wilson, now an unrecognizable middle-aged man, lost all of this drive and creativity that help him create one of the most successful bands in the U.S. history.

Deeply troubled by emotional issues and under the constant supervision of a strange psychotherapist, Wilson loses days and months, maybe even years in a haze of prescription drugs and complete lack of interest in anything in the world around him. Then, without any warning or sign, the story rewinds 20 years into the past, where the young Brian, now at the top of his game, desires to make an incredible album which will break away the Beach Boys from their fake surfer vibe he gradually came to despise.

Review and Ending Explanation: Whiplash (2014)

Copyright: Sony Pictures Classics

Amazed by this film from the first moments, I quickly realized that Whiplash movie is neither about J.K. Simmon’s great acting nor the drama that occurs between his character and the pupil character played by Miles Teller. Instead, Whiplash is about the consuming power of music and the need music plants in those who hear its calling the strongest.

Damien Chazelle, a newcomer to the directorial role, made this film in a very bold way. It includes a lot of jazz, but not in a way that will be interesting to those who think they love this music genre, but prefer to listen to it while they meet friends for a drink in a local classy bar. Instead, Chazelle focuses on the hard mechanics of music seen through the eyes of the students in a Shaffer Conservatory in New York.

There, a student named Andrew wants to become the best drummer in the world. A teacher named Fletcher, played brilliantly by J. K. Simmons, runs a studio band and Andrew is soon desperate to become its primary drummer. But Fletcher method resides on torture, humiliation and mocking his band members.

Crowdfunding push: PLEASED TO EAT YOU!

This is a short film about a lifeboat scenario that includes cannibalism. Oh, and it's a musical.

Naturally, I am very interested in any art form that covers isolation, gruesome death by starvation and the possibility of eating human flesh. But, when all of this is provided in a musical setting, a genre that definitely lacks cannibalism (among many other things), I have no doubt that this crowdfunding project needs to be supported. The official PLEASED TO EAT YOU! description states:

Melody of Love (TV series)

Copyright:  KBS1

Daytime soaps long time ago became a world trend from many TV networks. South Korea, with its expanding film production and many promising names (Joon-ho Bong and his Snowpiercer is first that comes to mind) is also a big producer of TV shows in this format. Melody of Love is a perfect example. This soap opera focuses on characters and their emotional relationships, but also includes a lot of music as a background story.

The storyline of this South Korean daily TV show drama follows the lives of several young people. They are all in their twenties and trying hard to begin their real adulthood. But, this turbulent period is a challenge for them, both in their professional and personal lives.