Screen legend John Travolta (The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, Pulp Fiction)
stars as Moose, a celebrity obsessed fan who feels slighted by his
favorite movie star at an autograph convention. He quickly embarks on
an unhinged quest to get a response, leading to a home invasion and a
very long night that changes both men irreparably.
Written and directed by Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst (The Education of Charlie Banks) and co-starring Devon Sawa (Final Destination) and Ana Golja (Degrassi: Next Class), The Fanatic is a tense and suspenseful thriller which boasts a commanding central performance from Travolta.
Dazzler Media presents The Fanatic on Digital Download 8th June and DVD 20th July 2020
Greetings
valued Dan's Movie Report readers, across my desk today comes a brand
new film from Producer/writer/actress Katrina Grey. Katrina has been
featured on my site numerous times with various interviews and film
reviews. Daytime Nightmare is her first foray into a behind a camera
setting. Katrina always made observations of the various film makers
she worked for and with during her career, what to do and what not to
do, and Daytime Nightmare is a culmination of over two years of hard
work.
Since
this is a first review no spoilers of any kind will be given. In fact
spoiling any plot points actually will spoil the movie. Daytime
Nightmare is a hard film to classify as it does not fit into a single
genre, more of a maelstrom of the mind thriller. The film opens in
one setting, taking time to establish the characters, and then
descends into Katrina Grey's Lucy's cranium filled with more
questions then answers. We learn about the various actors in the
film, because they are actors in the opening scene, an allegorical
view at life. The actors all are damaged in a certain way, be
prepared for a subtle, yet truculent ride!
Daytime
Nightmare establishes reality, and then establishes mental
instability. The lines are blurred, yet somewhat firm, a descent into
a psychotic state is not clean cut, and never should be portrayed as
such. Katrina makes sure of it.
The
film opens in a small acting group. What I like here is Katrina
establishes her character during this scene and takes time to
introduce us to the cast, and by doing this the audience is already
invested in, and learning about everyone. Actor Ron Smoorenburg, who
has starred in numerous action films, including Triple Threat, and
the upcoming film, The Legend Hunters, plays Ryan, and has the
opportunity to use his acting skills, also serving as the film's
action coordinator, which is essentially the same as stunt
coordinator.. Back to the acting, Katrina Grey has a tight script,
allowing the actors to explore, yet stay firmly in character, by
showing emotions. All actors are on an equal level, no one is
upstaging anyone, natural and in the moment.
Another
element of the film is Executive Producer Randi Kalsi. Randi serves
as the sound designer, mixer, editor and theme music creator, Daytime
Nightmare sounds amazing, the dialogue is clear and easy to
understand, the music is fitting to the mood and scenes, really
setting the tone of the film.
Yan
Frame is the cinematographer, and really does a great job, in a
variety of locations and settings. Unlike many claustrophobic
thrillers, Daytime Nightmare has some great locations, and Yan frames
them to full effect. Katrina Grey serves also as the location scout
and makes amazing use of the Thailand settings.
Daytime
Nightmare avoids the pitfalls of many thrillers; bad lighting,
distant dialogue, and throw away characters. Clocking in at just a
hair over 85 minutes, the film has a balance of storytelling,
ethereal aspects, elemental merging of film genres and styles.
Katrina Grey has established a strong story, and along with great
acting, Daytime Nightmare will be enjoyed by thriller,drama, horror
and even action fans Worldwide, yes it is 'that good'! Daytime
Nightmare rates a solid 9 out of 10, a must own. I hope that when
film festivals start having screenings again audiences can see this
on a theater screen!
Above: The amazing Zoë Bell on the cover of Life Of Action II, this shot is from the movie 'RAZE'! Photo is for promotional purposes only not monetized
Greetings
valued Dan's Movie Report readers, I decided to make the purchase of
Mike Fury's 'Life of Action II' book. The hardcover book, which is in
limited supply, is a huge coffee table sized book filled with amazing
interviews of various action personnel. The first volume was a taste,
volume two has some truly epic interviews.
The
format of the 300 plus page book is fast flowing and easy to read.
The interviews vary in length, but always have really unique stories,
Mike Fury has a knack of weaving a narrative, and his subjects always
seem to open up. Interviewing can be very tricky as some subjects are
far more gregarious than others. Mike maximizes the interviews with
subjects who are willing to bring the reader into their World!
With
the amazing Zoe Bell on the cover, 'Life of Action II', proves the out
of the box thinking and clever questioning Mr Fury delves into. What
I like about Mike, he realizes the importance of the ladies in action
and also has great interviews with actresses Amy Johnston and JuJu
Chan. The ladies take the hard falls and bumps often without the aid
of padding!
Mike
tries to mix it up, by having stunt coordinators, directors, and
actors in his book, so the reader can get a different perspective on
the films the subjects work on. Also having Cung Le as a subject
coming from a fight background was a great touch, merging real
fighting with film fighting, Cung has some unique persepctives worthy
of a read.
Life
of Action II has a global feel, a great interview with the talented
Marko Zaror, really delves into his upbringing. Marko is a great
person to interview and I feel honored to have had the pleasure of
conducting interviews with him.
I have a few favorite interviews in the book. During Zoë Bell's chat because she talks
about being literally thrown into someone during a take, quite an
interesting yet harrowing, and somewhat humorous story. In the book
there are also very detailed interviews with directors Scott Mann and
Simon West. Scott Mann chats in depth about working on 'The
Tournament' as his first film, leading the cast, and the daunting
task, of literally being in charge and the complexity of it. Very insightful information, for those thinking of going into the film industry, as well as fans.
Mike
puts a selected Filmography at the end of all of the interviews, and
the book is current to 2020, even having Simon West's 'Legend
Hunters' listed, a film not yet out. I think this is great to give
the reader an idea of the subject's variety of work, without being to
burdensome.
The
book is well thought out, detailed and annotated, and I am sure will
help the subjects he has interviewed as he has included their contact
information if so provided. 'Life of Action II' is necessary addition
to any proper action fan's collection and a must own. Life Of Action
2 rates a strong 9 out of 10, and as for catching Ms Bell, um if there is a warning, haha I say yes!
