Indie Showcase: Spider-Man 4: Spider-Verse (2021) Live Action Remastered - Tobey, Tom, Andrew (Fan Film)

 

Alternative visions are essential for any field of art and cinema is not an exception. Today, thanks to modern technology, the potential to create those visions have never been greater. Spider-Man 4: Spider-Verse (2021) Live Action Remastered is a fan film that takes this idea and builds upon it to an incredible extent. This 50-minute indie fan film was made by a single person during a five-month period. The person behind it is also the creative force behind Macam TV YouTube channel, which is beyond popular, with over 177,000 subs and 54 million views (and counting) on its fan trailers and many more clips.

Yet, the undertaking on the Spider-Man movie is still incredibly impressive. Besides numerous elements it offers, the return of Tobey Maguire, the original modern Spider-Man, is probably its most intriguing element. Best of all, fans of the same series and the iconic comic book character can watch the entire film for free right here:

Movies like this show that with enough passion and commitment, any work of art can be created or remade in a different form. So, if you would like to support Macam TV YouTube channel and this incredible and unique creator, visit its Patreon page and join its Discord server's growing community.

Two-Paragraph Review: The Block Island Sound (2020)

A lot of divisiveness about different ways of reviewing The Block Island Sound will likely boil down to the way a person chooses to interpret its ending. However, for me, the movie already misses the mark sometime before that moment. As a story, it opens in an interesting manner - a small island and a fishing family (or the family of a fisherman) slowly becomes consumed by a strange sound they begin to hear. This blends perfectly with their already numerous personal issues and emotional problems, showing again that living on a small, wind-swept island in the Atlantic might not be the best place for mental well-being.

However, beyond solid acting and good cinematography, the moving quickly loses focus in terms of what is trying to accomplish. Through the perspective of one family member, Harry, we kind of see a descent to madness, irritation with life going nowhere, sleepwalking from hell, and a mystery to be solved. Yet, we get nothing of that, as the movie becomes bogged down in itself nearly halfway in. From there on, the viewers basically wait for someone (or someone else) to die already and give The Block Island Sound some semblance of closure. Expectedly, it fails to deliver that as well. So, the entire experience ends up with an interesting premise in a cool setting for psychological horror, but which doesn't evolve into that cool horror psychological film at all. Instead, it lingers and it then ends in a lingering way.

Deadlier than the Human - New Novel and Future Film from Writer and Director Paul Kyriazi

Thanks to decades of his work in the movies business and the broader entertainment industry, Paul Kyriazi is truly a veteran creator. However, he's clearly hungry for more, which is why he recently published his latest novel. Its name is Deadlier than the Human and it's available on Amazon. Here's how the novel describes itself:

Aliens leave four beautiful women in the desert. A young indie film producer inadvertently records the event. He joins an ex-Navy SEAL to discover the shocking secret of their mission on earth.

Some time ago, Paul Kyriazi created the Forbidden Power series in a similar process. It too is now not just an award-winning indie movie, but also a sequel novel. Deadlier than the Human also looks like an exciting tale for those who like the tried and tested approach of the now-classics sci-fi action genre.

Check out the book on Amazon and follow Paul Kyriazi on Twitter to stay up to date with his latest interesting project.

Two-Paragraph Review: Run Hide Fight (2020)

 

I'm always fascinated that the attention of the mainstream media is sometimes so easy to catch. In the case of the Run Hide Fight film, this focus came because of the fact that it explores the topic of a school shooting situation but one that is immersed in an even more sadistic and diabolical setting. While the movie is essentially an exploitation action flick, the media did its best to provide it with an abundance of free promotion. It has not been deserved.

When the media spotlight is turned off and the outrage dies down, what remains is a mediocre action movie with a few strong twists - if any - and an overkill of US high school stereotypes and tropes. Also, its grisly and gory moments have been presented in a way that is self-righteous and serious. This shows that the film clearly wants to embrace and disregard its exploitation of nature. That is never a cool move from any filmmaker and contemporary works like Green Room show how this should be done in the correct manner. The outcome of this embrace-push away approach is a film is much easier to watch than Elephant, but which also provides next to nothing emotionally, and very little as a purely bloody action adventure with a macabre, hot-button topic.

Short Movie Review: Pussie Control 2: Night At The Drive-In

Nine out of ten times, you can’t make a good movie if you don’t have a good script. In the case of indie short films, make that same rule ten out of ten. Fortunately for “Pussie Control 2: Night At The Drive-In'', that great script was present when this short film went into production. It was written by Bryan Bostic, who is also the director of the film. Thanks to the great script and an excellent cast, this short film ended up as an entertaining experience.

The plot takes Ryan and Tiana on a date at a drive-in theater. However, in the back seat is also Davion Pussie, Tiana’s pet cat. Davion is there determined to make sure this date goes nowhere and he is ready to do whatever it takes, which doesn’t exclude murder.

The film quickly sets up its premise and from there, hilarious dialogues ensue. Davion is a type of cat that carries a gun and is no stranger to all manner of thuggery. Throughout the movie, there are numerous jokes and skit-like moments as Ryan and Davion fight it out over Tiana. At the same time, Bostic is also adding further elements like cuts to other locations or even some gross (but hilarious) elements like Davion using his hairball to further threaten Ryan.

As the confrontation picks up speed, the setup, especially the photography and the camera on Davion, who is a puppet voiced by Myron L. Mayberry, has almost a Jordan Peel vibe to it. This comes from that weird humor that is mixed in with a bit of horror atmosphere. While this mixture is strange, Bostic makes it work like a charm. Of course, the cast also does a fantastic job - besides Mayberry, Rajane Devlugt as Tiana, and Taylor Byron Barr as Ryan all perform their parts more than convincingly.

When it comes to comedy short films, “Pussie Control 2: Night At The Drive-In'' shows how this genre is done effectively and very successful. Watch the entire film right here!

Two Paragraph Review: The Devil All the Time (2020)

Hands down, the coolest thing about The Devil All the Time is the fact that the movie is based on a book and that its original author joined the movie as its narrator. The gruff and serious tone of Donald Ray Pollock's voice really gives the film a level of shine and emotional tone that is hard to beat. However, the movie sadly lacks any other such element.

Instead, what is likely a densely woven book becomes a festival of bad things happening to people. From dull serial killers to cancers, suicides, and child abuse, the story of this massively depressing tale is made up out of numerous equally depressive snippets. Yet, they all come together in some shape, but that mosaic doesn't help its flat, emotionally-void delivery and the star cast doesn't help either. This is why The Devil All the Time feels like a dark comedy of absurd where someone simply forgot to add the funny parts.