Above Image: (C) 2021 Gavitas Ventures, all rights reserved, used for promotional use only, image not monetized.
From Gavitas Ventures, HOUSE OF QUARANTINE launches its poster ahead of its theatrical release and VOD rollout on all major platforms on July 20th.
Director Mitesh Patel (Anti-Coronavirus, Instant Karma) brings together a diverse cast for a tense, edge-of-your-seat thriller shot during the COVID lockdowns of 2020.
SYNOPSIS:
Nine
people have been locked down together in a house while trying to shoot a
movie. Unknowingly, one of their group is infected with COVID-19. The
next three weeks become a life and death struggle for survival with no
help from the outside amidst a global pandemic and national chaos.
Greetings
valued Dan's Movie Report readers. Across my desk today comes a film
made during quarantine, about a quarantine of a more extreme variety.
'House of Quarantine' has a group in a home, who happen to be making
a movie, so in essence we are watching a movie, about making a movie.
Being brutally honest the first 20 or so minutes of the film I really
did not care for, but the final hour is really amazing as things take
a decidedly dark turn, no spoilers!
There
is a film director, a sound guy, a PA, and of course the stars all
together in the producer's house. When it appears that no one is
allowed to even leave their own home, actually this did happen in
China and parts of Italy, they become increasingly agitated and
scared, lashing out at one another.
I
really cannot describe the movie without spoiling the plot. I could
classify this film as a thriller, as there are no exterior forces, no
monsters, and no supernatural elements. The acting is average, but
not too bad for this level of film, some seems a bit wooden, but
again the story is solid in the second half.
Director
Mitesh
Kumar Patel seems to focus on what he wants out of his actors.
Because they are supposedly stuck inside the same house for over two
weeks, they do not have a change of clothes except for the lead
actors. I think although this understandable they are in a home so I
would have to figure the owner of the home would at least have t
shirts and shorts etc... Let us just say other things in the home
were taken or removed, but not clothing!
There
is some action and violence near the middle and the end, some things
are predictable, some are not, again solid story, but nothing
Earth-shattering. The lighting, music and sound are decent, slightly
above the B movie level. Rachel
Grace as Macy and Zoey
Walker as Brenna seemed to rise above the rest of the cast Zoey
in particular had some great sarcastic lines, plus she has potential
as a strong actress in the future. The rest of the cast were solid
enough to not waiver or slow down the story.
Overall,
I just thought the first 20 minutes were tedious, even though this
was setting up the story, the house was not super nice but say upper
middle class, color grading was a bit drab. With all of those
detraction's yet 'House of Quarantine' is worthy of a rent, and rates
a 6 out of 10!
Above Image: Theatrical Release Photo for The Fatal Raid. (C) 2019 Yes Culture Limited https://www.yes.com.hk/thefatalraid All rights reserved, image not monetized, and used for promotional use only.
Greetings
valued Dan's Movie Report and Action-Flix.com readers. Thanks to John
over at Action-Flix I heard about 'The Fatal Raid' being released in
the USA on Well-Go, yet the film was actually released a couple of
years back in Asia and is actually available to buy as an import with
English subtitles. Being an old guy, ha the HK Girls with Guns and
action films from the 1988 thru 1998 era are just amazing to me, I
can easily recommend many of them, including 'Her Name is Cat' and of
course 'Naked Killer', I always thought that one of the really
underrated films was the essential remake of LeFemme Nikita entitled
'The Black Cat' far better than the U.S. Remake, actress Jade Leung
is a power house talent that I always thought could easily have been
at a level of Maggie Q or Michelle Yeoh given her demeanor and skill.
I always wondered what would happen if a 1990s style girl with guns
film, shot in the same style would be like in the modern era. The end has a cool twist to tie things in from the 'The Black Cat', no spoilers!
Again
it is VERY important to know, these films are highly violent with
some softer interludes, but ultimately they are lower budget B movie
fare, yet 'The Fatal Raid' manages to bridge the gap and mix younger
and older people, thus audience for this should be higher. Well-Go
USA is absolutely the right company to release this, I must say,
PLEASE Jade Leung, continue and give it another go, even if it more
in a supervisory role.
In
1995 Jade played a rookie police woman who enlists a pimp to help her
catch the person who attacked her called 'Fox Hunter' so this 2019
film is kind of like her passing through the force, yes they are
unrelated, but oddly they are. I recommend watching Jade in 'The
Black Cat' and 'Fox Hunter' prior to watching 'The Fatal Raid'.
'The
Fatal Raid' has a definitive style, yet minus the high tech cell
phones, cars and presentation, the style hearkens back to a day
before the handover of HK to China when movies were really thriving,
Yes gone are the hypersexualized cat III or Category 3 films like
'Robotrix' another crazy film I recommend, yet 'The Fatal Raid' has
that seething under, intense quality that is sadly missing in many HK
films after 1998.
The
action in 'The Fatal Raid' is more explosive when it happens, yet
enough downtime occurs to not be lost in the madness. There is a
particular scene in the middle, I will not spoil yet it involves some
pretty crazy on purpose car crash, yet they never over exploit the
violence. The film's setting in Macau may have had something to do
with the exterior action, but who knows.
'The
Fatal Raid' is a classic crime drama, mixed with action. Director
Jackie Lee, has a firm grasp on the style of movie he wants to make.
Veteran actors Michael Tong and Patrick Tam adds an air of experience
and authority. What I like here is that the ladies are also
experienced with Jade Leung and Kristy Yeung. I think the experience
of the actors really helps the director to create a more
entertaining, and detailed story film as well.
The
fact that you have 50 year old vets, some 30 year old and younger
starring in 'The Fatal Raid; is important. To have a random older
person in a supervisory role just to have them in a film is often a
tactic used and thus they only have to be seen, either on the phone
or in their office. Jade and Michael Tong are both over 50 yet,
action for them is not just a second thought.
My
only real problem with this film aesthetically is the entire film
even at the brightest settings needed some more vibrant color
correction, that said, it looks just like a film shot in the 1990s so
if that is what they were going for, the succeeded.
Musically
'The Fatal Raid' is unobtrusive, but in a good way, it gets very loud
during the action, and a low tense hum during the tense dialogue.
Several different styles were used, even one heavy rock song!
The
sound is clear and even though the film is not in English, the voices
are easy to hear as well as the inflection.
Dealing
with the action, there is a pretty crazy opening scene in a brothel
or something like that which really kicks things off, yet the rest of
the film is more of a police procedural with action interspersed.
The
ladies are not afraid one bit of the action, I am sure doubles were
used in some parts, but it is not as obvious as some films so good
work.
At
just 91 minutes, trying to tell a story that should have ran another
10-15 minutes is hard, but then again, this is the norm now for
direct to video as it was back in the late 80s early 90s HK film era.
I just wanted more, more drawn out action sequences, a bit of a back
story on the new characters. Jade Leung, is also not in the film as
much as I would have liked to see, but she is in there, so points for
that
Was
reading that this film was written and directed by Jackie Lee, a
daunting task for the man, and kudos for assembling such a cast, as a
second time feature film maker. I hope to see more of his work in the
future, hopefully a US release of this film will help all involved.
'The
one who breaks the law should be punished' is one of the quotes in
this film, and the kind police lady who says this means business, yet
so do the criminals! No dumb police here, these ones are no keystone
cops!
Overall,
I could go on and on, just go out and get either the upcoming USA
version or the original Asian version as both are on Amazon! The
'Girls with Guns' HK style 1988 to 1998 genre is back! Would love to
do an interview with Jade Leung! OK I have to put it out there! This
is a very specific genre film so I rate it based on how it would
interest fans like myself of these films, and thus rates a solid 7
out of 10.
Above Image: Poster for 'Miranda Veil' from IMDB, all rights reserved to original copyright holders, image used for promotional purposes only not monetized. Lionsgate Releasing
Greetings
valued Dan's Movie Report readers. Across my desk today thanks to Mr.
Williamson comes a movie entitled 'Miranda Veil' I always like
watching indie movies. If at all possible it is often best for me to
view films without watching any trailer or even reading anything
about them, usually that is hard but, in this case I did. I was
working on judging films for the IDTV Action Fest, and I decided to
go all in and watch, literally as soon as the link was sent over! I
must say, the film is surprisingly complex, many layers of allegory,
wrapped in an enigma, people mirroring the lives of animals, one can
only imagine the life you would lead if you could not die. 'Miranda
Veil' explores the nuances of life and death.
It may
seem intrinsically simple, a serial killer movie where a man hears
voices in his head. In 'Miranda Veil he cannot act upon them, because
he cannot find the right girl. The first girl is taken back to this
ramshackle building, yet he cannot go through with the final act.
Zach
Steffey (Soren) is a tortured soul, conflicted, yet seemingly a
horrible person in waiting. He soon meets up with Annabel
Barrett (Miranda Veil) first by seeing her drunk then running
into her again the next day. I refuse to spoil the content, let us
just say that Barrett and Steffey put on a master class in acting,
angst, anger, joy, and horrified emotions.
Miranda's
parents, expertly played by Vida
Ghaffari as Alice Veil and Kelton
Jones as Daniel Veil, are trying to have normal lives, yet
something is off, again no spoilers, but it gets pretty crazy! This
is one area I kind of wish was explored more in the movie, more of
Miranda's home life.
Director/Writer
Levin
Garbisch has a very detailed and creative script, and watching
this movie makes me think that he had to direct it, as the script had
so many nuanced dialogue and placement of the people involved.
Garbish did something also amazing, while on the road, Miranda Veil
and Soren meet up with several characters, each representing an
animal you would find. Upon second viewing, yes it takes two full
watching, the characters could all represent aspects of human life,
but wrapped in human form, One man they meet is dressed in a bunny
suit, he describes his story. I will not spoil it but one of the more
interesting ones was Irena
Violette as (The Cat) she is found perched on top of a dumpster,
her movements were quite intriguing. Dean
Satriano as (The Fox) was like a hippy guy, yet had a very odd
vibe. Garbish to his credit never gets sidetracked in the 104 minute
movie, the movie is a bit longer than many slasher films, but things
are not what they seem! All of his actors are well coached and very
much engaged in the dialogue.
Aesthetically
the movie is solid, of course the film is independent, yet camera
work is clear, many shots are during the daylight hours, and the
simplistic, yet effective settings work wonders in a film like this
allowing the viewer to take in the dialogue and performances. Musical
score is very good, as is the ADR and Foley. Respect on this! Hard
work getting these types of films to look and sound amazing.
Minor
gripes as I said before, I wanted more time spent with Miranda's
parents. I will not spoil the ending, but to be honest, it was
something I did not expect, not that it is bad at all, yet I guess I
really thought it was going to end different, but upon second
watching, and thinking, 'Miranda Veil' can only end two possible
ways. Again, no spoilers!
'Miranda
Veil' is an innovative, and unusual story, with top notch acting,
minor issues aside, the film rates a very strong 8 out of 10, a must
watch! Support indie! Hopefully the creative people involved will
level up due to the popularity of this on the streaming services!.
'Miranda Veil is available all over the World!
Hopefully later in 2021 I can do an interview with director Levin Garbish, want to get his thoughts on the film. Also I would like Annabel Barrett to discus her thoughts on her character. For Vida, as always she is amazing and creative, we will do an interview, I know long overdue, great work in a motherly role!
Amp
Films International is returning for the sequel. The movie began
pre-production in November of 2020. Connect with them @
https://amp-film.com/
Currently
the film is in production in Queensland, Australia. The six week
shoot should wrap in early August.
Above photo credit: (C) 2021 https://www.if.com.au A;; rights reserved, image used for promotional use only not monetized. 'The
Reef: Stalked' lead cast (L-R): Saskia Archer, Ann Truong, Kate
Lister, Teressa Liane
Synopsis:
In an effort to heal after
witnessing her sister's horrific murder, Nic, her sister Annie and
two close friends travel to a remote Pacific island for a kayaking
and diving adventure.
Only hours into their expedition, the
women are stalked and then attacked by a massive Great White
Shark.
To survive the women will need to band together, and
Nic will have to overcome her post-traumatic stress, face her fears
and slay a monster.
'THE REEF: STALKED' is the franchise
sequel to Andrew Traucki’s hugely successful 2010 thriller 'THE
REEF' which regularly features in best shark films of all time that
aren't JAWS.
Above: Poster for 'Occupation: Rainfall' (C) 2020/2021 Monster Films and Saban Films, All rights reserved image used for promotional purposes only not monetized.
Greetings
valued Dan's Movie Report and Action-Flix.com readers, across my desk
today comes the second installment of the Occupation film series
titled 'Occupation: Rainfall. The film is released in the USA on
Saban Films. When director Luke Sparke had a vision for the original
film he probably never could have imagined how a indie film from
Australia could have such a global impact. The first film is a
masterful story of everyday people fighting for their lives in the
midst of initial aliens invading Earth. The first film had detailed
character development and an every-man relatable quality. The second
film assumes that the viewer has seen the first one, thus the action
and starts out basically in the middle of a full blown war.
'Occupation:
Rainfall' has a budget probably three times as high as the first one,
and the money was used for obviously larger sets, more detailed VFX
and superior cinematography. 'Rainfall' does not have the charm and
innocence of the first film, but this film is told from a soldier
sense, rather than a bunch of locals rounded up to combat the aliens.
Because of this I recommend watching the first film prior to viewing
the sequel.
Dan
Ewing reprises his role as Matt Simmons and Temuera
Morrison also returns to the leadership role of Peter Bartlett.
The lead female role of Amelia Chambers played by Stephany
Jacobsen in the first film has been replaced by the amazing Jet
Tranter . Normally I do not like replacing characters in a direct
sequel, but in 'Occupation: Rainfall' the alteration of character
from civilian to hardened soldier implies almost a totally new
character. Yes in 'Terminator 2' Linda Hamilton bulked up to warrior
size, but there was six years between films. Since Jet already had
her acting and physical action skills on point she was an easy choice
and the proper one. That said, Jacobson was a great choice for the
first film.
'Occupation:
Rainfall' is loud, booming, full of explosions and firefights.
Director Luke Sparke made a film for theaters, I watched this at
home, and in this case I wish I was watching this in a huge IMAX
screen. The movie progresses at a frantic pace, not even allowing for
much time to catch your breath, save for a few scenes of tender
moments with Amelia, and some explaining of the weaponry and tactics.
Normally I would like more time spent on character development, but
here it is on the fly, and works within the rapind pace structure of
the story.
There
is an alien named Garry, who is sympathetic to the humans. He is
hunted by his own kind and the humans, yet the small group shelter
him and he helps them. This fact adds a conundrum to the group, some
of who do not trust him. The aliens are referred to as The Greys,
Garry the alien has a scene in which the humans attack the home where
he is housed along with the soldiers. I see correlation here as to
how the aboriginal people in Australia are often treated, as
outcasts, even though they deserve a voice and to stand on equal
footing.
The
musical score gives Occupation: Rainfall a bigger feel, and
demonstrates the emotional connection with the characters. The
importance of a solid musical bed really amplifies the intensity and
urgency in films and kudos must go to Frederik
Wiedmann and the entire team of sound recorders as well.
Occupation: Rainfall not only sounded epic, but even the background
sound in headphones were quite stunning.
Project
Rainfall is mentioned and I will not spoil it, as the reveal is in
the final 30 minutes of the film. Let us just say it involves an
alien weapon, yet the humans have a their own reverse engineered
weapon as well. Actor Ken Jeong portrays Bud Miller and he chats
about Project Rainfall and adds an bit of levity to the otherwise
very serious film.
The
ending is pretty crazy, and the sheer number of explosions and action
rival a Michael Bay 200 million dollar film, let us just say a third
film will happen. Overall I liked 'Occupation: Rainfall' Kind of like
the massive budget Chinese film 'Red Cliff', the film essentially is
a two parter. I am curious how the battle will unfold in the second
part of the film. Respect to all involved, a labor of passion, sweat
and determination. 'Occupation: Rainfall' rates a 7 out of 10, if you
can view in a theater I recommend it, otherwise a worthy of a rent or
purchase if you like SciFi.
Please
check my interviews for Stephany Jacobson as the original Amelia and
director Luke Sparke, watch for a third Jet Tranter interview later
in 2021:
