B.I.T.S. '19 Film Review - Z

Joshua (Jett Klye) is an eight-year-old boy with a very active imagination. When he plays with a toy plane the engines roar in his mind. His battling army men are accompanied by rapid gunfire and the horn blares from his train set as it circles the track. But Joshua has a new friend, an imaginary one called Z. Joshua demands that a place is set for him at the table and when milk is served it has to be 2%. His busy architect  dad Kevin (Sean Rogerson) thinks nothing of it believing its a phase his kid will grow out of. His mother Beth (Keegan Connor Tracy) is a little warier. At school, Joshua keeps to himself drawing feverously in his notebook instead of paying attention to his teacher. When his usual ride to school fails to show a pattern develops of Beth's kid being violent and anti-social a fact that Dad Kevin knew but was kept away from his wife.

Director Brandon Christensen alongside co-writer Colin Minihan builds the story slowly dropping subtle clues along the way for the attentive viewer to catch. After a tragic event on an ill -advised play-date, Joshua ends up in therapy where he is treated by child psychologist Dr. Seager (Stephen McHattie) another hit is dropped indicating that this may not be Z's initial incarnation.

Meanwhile, Beth has issues of her own. Her mother is dying in her family home and her younger not so stable sister Jenna (Sara Channing) can't even start to cope. She is not happy with her husband Kevin for hiding critical information from her about her son plus she has now put Joshua on meds that she slips to him undetected without his nor Kevin's knowledge.

Z hits all the beats a viewer would expect from a suburban creepy kid movie. Brittany Allen's score deserves a mention. For the most part, it remains passive in the background working at a subconscious level but expands front and centre when key moments call for it. It's a pulsing narrative that reaches a peak then loses its way a bit in the third act as the film eases away from the jarring direction the story was headed at the end.

*** Out of 4.

Z | Brandon Christensen | Canada | 2019 | 83 minutes.

Tags: Imaginary Friend, Child Psychology, School Suspension, Play-Date, Fire, Wedding, Regression, 2% Milk.

B.I.T.S '19 Film Review - Deep Six Web Series (Episodes 1-6)

"Space Is Hard" is the message that co-creators Mika Collins (who also plays key pilot Nemain) and (Davin Lengyel who also directs) are trying to get across to their audience. Alongside that Truth, the production used classical methods of miniatures, real sets, and practical effects to present their show.  To make sure the story makes scientific sense the production hired UBC Astrophysicist Jaymie Matthews as a consultant. The story takes place in a distant star system Tau Ceti 250 years into the future.

Siku is the current location of the fleet a mix of military and scientist on a mission to explore microbial life supported by a Terminal that is their only link back to earth.  The Terminal reduced the deep space journey from 10,000 years to months. Siege (Katherine Gauthier) and Wing Commander Duke (Tahmoh Penikett) are out on patrol when a bogie approaches. There is an explosion and Duke ends up on the wrong end of a debris field. Ace pilot Athea (Michelle Morgan) attempts a rescue against The Commander's (Jonathan Wittaker) order that is unsuccessful. She gains a reprimand plus a promotion while Siege ends up with P.T.S.D., nightmares and is grounded after the incident.

The situation becomes life or death as lead Science office Eddie (Ginger Busch) discovers that the capsules that bring supplies affect the atmosphere around Siku like rocks in a pond causing changes on the planet that could wipe out the fleet the next time a large capsule arrives. Unfortunately, the last one that caused the explosion was minuscule compared to the next one bringing food and fuel. This likely will cause a catastrophic event that would result in the loss of the terminal and everything around it.  The only way out is to get parts from the military satellite at Armid.  Its a job for two but only one can go due to time constraints, limited space and rations will be low meaning the pilot will be disoriented completing the task. The good news is once the parts are loaded the pilot is not needed to bring the parts back.

Deep Six has 6 of a scheduled 9 episodes in the can. It's low tech at its finest. It features science that is not bunk and a cast of actors that are in tune with their characters. The comradery is strong  amongst the crew that is headed by a detached Commander John whose always looking to get home and his emotionally raw niece Siege at the other end of the spectrum.  It's a gripping watch that is easy to binge leaving the viewer with positive anticipation of the next three episodes to come.

*** 1.2 Out of 4

Deep Six | Davin Lengyel | Canada | 2019 | 70 Minutes.

Tags: Web Series, SCI-FI, Space, Science, Terminal, Pilot, Patrol, Wing Commander, Squad Leader, P.T.S.D, Capsule, Supplies, Repairs, Suicide Mission, Satellite, Launch, Contact.

B.I.T.S. '19 Film Review - M.A.J.I.C.

Roswell, New Mexico,1947, A crashed weather balloon is mistaken for an alien spacecraft; so  Pippa Bernwood (Paula Brancati) starts her podcast The Alarm Clock a weekly wake up call from an internet dreamworld of lies and conspiracies. It all starts with Rosewell. Bernwood is an atheist, skeptical debunker but agrees to meet with Anderson (Richard Fitzpatrick) in a neutral setting. The latter hypes up the cold war espionage meter the moment they meet handing Bernwood a pen for her to keep on her person at all times ala a totem. Anderson is in his seventies seems confused not knowing that the current year is 2008. Burnside is doing research on M.A.J.I.C. or Majestic 12 as she knows it and Anderson has a story to tell. The bend in the timeline is introduced with a throwaway reference to former President Gary Hart launching the intricate but intriguing narrative forward.

Writer-director Erin Berry alongside co-writer David Pulscauskas' script is heavy on procedural dialogue in the first act. The recruiting agency that started out as a post-WWII Air Force maintenance contractor is introduced along with references to the Gemini project and N.A.S.A. alerting the audience that the film is headed deep into Sci-Fi / Spy Agency territory.

Bernwood follows the facts and discovers some supporting evidence for the one tangible document that Anderson provided to her. Her agent injects himself into the mix flogging a product that would lead to sponsorship of her podcast and money for them both. The downside, its mind-altering and she would have to ingest it. Bernwood dismisses him, goes to see a known true believer Fishburn (Anand Rajaram) to discuss the case over a game of chess. Later, she checks some old school microfiche, then turns to fellow skeptic Truckspoor (Debra McGrath) to go over what she has found out to date. A note under her door follows spreading an expanded nugget in her brain on the road to becoming a believer.

M.A.J.I.C. is a conspiracy Sci-Fi story that ticks as the request boxes plus a few additional ones. Paula Brancati shines as the hardcore skeptical debunker that finds her position starting to shift the more she digs into Anderson's story. Richard Fitzpatrick devours the role of Anderson the post-war era card-carrying Republican Government Agency recruit who has no history after his discharge from the Air Force in 1954.  Anand Rajaram and Debra McGrath add to the proceedings as a true believer and fellow skeptic receptively. It's a compelling watch with the best take on an alternate U.S. Presidency timeline since the repeated elections of Nixon in The Watchmen.

**** Out of 4.

M.A.J.I.C. | Erin Berry | Canada | 2019 | 83 Minutes.

Tags: Roswell, 1947, Skeptic, Debunker, Space Pen, Air Force, Republican, Podcaster, Hallucinogenic, 20%, Chess, True Believer, Dick Cheney, Obama 08.

BITS '19 Film Review - The Nights Before Christmas

Mr. and Mrs. Claus (Simon Phillips) who also has a writing credit for the film and (Sayla de Goede) are back resuming their roles from  2017's Once Upon A Time At Christmas. It's a year after the killings from the first movie and Courtney (Keegan Chambers) is under the watchful eye of the FBI after surviving the first massacre. At the films open her father Jim comes to visit as both of her parents are worried about her well being. After giving her some money and an agreement that Courtney will allow her parents to come and visit during Christmas he returns home encountering Santa ax in hand on a feeder highway. The FBI attends the scene to investigate and finding Naughty scrawled in blood in the snow alerting them that the Claus' are back and the killing are about to start again.

Director Paul Tanter returns to familiar ground this time to tel tell the back story of how Mr. and Mrs. Claus met in an asylum where they were known as Nicholas Conway and Michelle Weaver. The facility were treating their patients badly a recent theme in cinema thus here the audience gains a rooting interest for the supposed bad guys when they seek revenge on those that may require some form of punishment but maybe not to the extreme that the murderous couple goes.

The meat of the film is a cat and mouse battle between the Claus' and the FBI. Perhaps the best sequence in the film occurs in a church where law enforcement attempts to ensnare Nicholas and Michelle with mixed results. The events lead to part two of an institutional authority figure that definitely should be on the naughty list theme.

The film is a balanced mix of gore and narrative with a plain plot to follow a killer with a list. The Claus' are twisted and violent but those on the naughty list did have something coming. Nuggets about Nicholas' life before the asylum are revealed along with the pairs' ability to have compassion for those that did no wrong.  If thematic horror is in your lane then The Nights Before Christmas is worth the watch.

*** Out of 4.

The Nights Before Christmas | Paul Tanter | Canada | 2019 | 10. Minutes.

Tags: Christmas, Santa, Mrs. Claus, Asylum, Massacre, Naughty, Nice, FBI, Sting, Witness Protection, The List.

BITS '19 Film Review - DEAD DICKS

Becca (Jillian Harris) has just received the offer of a lifetime. Acceptance into a prestige graduate nursing program. However, her thoughts turn almost immediately to her mentally ill brother Ritchie (Heston Horwin) she has been his main support system for all of her life for her medicated brother. As she decides how she will tell Ritchie the news she goes to a shift at the bar where she works during which discovers multiple urgent voice mails to his apartment . Fearing the worst she cuts out of work running into Ritchie's downstairs neighbour Matt (Matt Keyes) a corporate looking busy body who's push up regime her brother is apparently disrupting.  Becca enters the apartment to find Ritchie hanging in the closet. Mortified she goes to take him down when she hears her brother's voice behind her explaining that this scenario has occurred before.

Based on an intriguingly original idea, the narrative of Dead Dicks continues to twist and turn at each moment the audience things they have things pegged. Writer directors Chris Bavota and Lee Paula Springer pack plenty into their limited budget one main set production. The mechanism that allows Dick to keep coming back is plain to see and understand  but the different developing mutations of the process range from grotesque to surprising the latter in an Invasion of the Body Snatchers -John Carpenter The Thing type of way.

The viewers see the story mainly from Jillian Harris as Becca's point of view. She has to talk Ritchie off the ledge, is the one to get eyes on the full regeneration process and frustrates when she is slow to get in position to witness the rebirth. She's also the one tasked to deal with the multiple Ritchie's. Heston Horwin work is more on the physical side as Ritchie. He's doing the body horror as he navigates the conflicting messages in his mind.

Dead Dicks is at its centre a relationship between a brother and sister. As anyone can relate that has a sibling the relationship can be frustrating at times to the point where time apart can be the best remedy. The writer-directors show in the piece that it is O.K. to admit that frustration even if you are the sibling that is supposed to be the stronger supportive one. The opening warning at the start of the film directing those that need help to get it as what follows could be triggering is thoughtful. The film is a crisp narrative by a pair of fresh voices. The momentum for the film deservedly continues to grow as does the anticipation for the duo's next project.

***1/2 Out of 4.

Dead Dicks | Chris Bavota / Lee Paula Springer | Canada | 2019 | 83 Minutes.

Tags: Skype, Nursing, Graduate School, Mental Illness, Depression, Caregiver, Voice Mail, Suicide Attempt, Portal, Rebirth, Suffocation, Hanging, Electrocution, Medication.

BITS '19 Film Review - She Never Died

Woman of few words are hot topic in the film industry today. There was Margot Robbie as Shannon Tate in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood then most recently Anna Paquin's one line performance in The Irishman created quite a stir. In She Never Died  Olunike Adeliyi takes this concept to a new level as Lacy. She'd rather act than speak, does not want any company except for her one acquaintance who looks after the spot in the alley where she crashes and has a craving  for human fingers for the bone marrow that seems to fuel her incredible regenerative powers.

Lacy is seeking someone known to her as the man with the rings. The man's name is Terrence (Noah Dalton Darby) who is a mix of cruel and comedic as he toils in an industrial setting beating up people as he waits for the next shipment of women marked for trafficking. Lacy's friend tips her off to Terrance's location which she storms mutilates a loser associate but does not get to her target. Intrigued by her strength and power Terrence decides to reverse the tables and hunt her.

Law enforcement also has its eye on Terrence and the disappearances. Veteran cop Godfrey (Peter MacNeil) spots Lacy's handiwork. She is unorthodox but they both want the same thing so Godfrey extends the offer to team up in exchange for a roof over her head that includes a fridge to keep those appendages on ice. The last to the member of team is Suzi ( Kiana Madeira) who begins to follow Lacy around like a lost puppy after she inadvertently rescues her when storming into an apartment looking for a potential target. The trio all plays a role in going after Terrence and his sister Meredith (Michelle Nolden) who is the brains behind the siblings' criminal activities.

Olunike Adeliyi drives the narrative forward as Lacy. She is a human flesh eater but Adeliyi plays her in an understated, quick-witted manner that firmly plants the audience in her rooting section. She wants to be left alone, act practical and spend time in her favourite diner ordering oatmeal. Peter MacNeil grounds the film. His work alongside Director Audrey Cummings eye gives the production a serious look and feel. He looks the part, asks those police detective question and is willing stray from procedure if  his choices help to crack the case. The brother/sister , braun and brains dynamic between Noah Dalton Darby and Michelle Nolan drips with mischief and sarcastic banter.

She Never Died is a suspenseful tale with a gritty look dotted with several instances of short extreme violent bursts. Director Cummings does a lot with a little backed by a cast that contributes greatly to the production. The narrative is funnier than expected and full value for its 90 minute run time.

***1/2 Out of 4

She Never Died | Audrey Cummings | Canada | 2019 | 89 Minutes.

Tags: Rings, Human Trafficking, Interrogation, Bone Marrow, Live Feed, Fridge,  Red Room, Oatmeal, Tooth.