Bravo for the B-side Podcast

Buddymoon proves to be one of the best buddy films put to screen. We were thoroughly entertained as jilted at the alter David is guided on a heart-healing honeymoon by his best friend Flula. This film has plenty to offer in both lessons and aspirations. Excellent cinematography, sound, direction, pacing, and performances. After a few let-downs, Buddymoon was a welcome and fun ride. We have a lot of good to say in this episode.

Buddymoon can be found on Tubi.

The trailer for Broadcast Signal Intrusion had us hooked. However, the film as a whole failed to deliver. The movie serves as a reminder that the foundations of storytelling are more important than the idea for a film. Broadcast Signal Intrusion is a convoluted, slow-moving, and at times annoying slog through a concept based on an actual event that took place in the late 80’s. There were some good points on the technical side, as well as some aspects that came across as lazy.

Broadcast Signal Intrusion can be found on Tubi.

Hypochondriac was a mixed bag, mostly in favor of the good. This dive into the nightmare that those with mental illness deal with in trying to get recognized and treated does an excellent job in hitting at the societal stigmas and judgements that keep sufferers from revealing their troubles. We go long in talking about the importance of bringing the struggles of mental illness higher into the consciousness of everyone.  This episode had some sound issues due to an electrical issue that was not discovered until editing. Not the best sounding episode, but still an important one.

Hypochondriac can be found on Tubi.

National Institute of Mental Health Resources

Emergency – dial 911

Suicidal, emotional distress – call or text 988

Disaster Distress Helpline – 1-800-985-5990

Birdemic:  Shock and Terror is supposed to be a message of environmentalism, but like the shock and terror in the title it misses out on all three.  James Nguyen lost his message in an almost violently slow film that tests the limits of boredom.  While there are kudos for making the film he wanted, the only lessons here are what not to do.  More importantly, we stick hard on the tenet of knowing the structure of a story, particularly the importance of having a plot.

Birdemic:  Shock and Terror can be found on Tubi.

The indie film All We Had gives us the directorial debut of Katie Holmes. A story about a woman fighting poverty while raising her teenage daughter, in the hope of giving her daughter a better life. Solid cinema work, great directorial debut for Katie Holmes, this adaptation suffers from the original author, and adaptation writers, not having actually lived this kind of life. The beats are there, but the connecting webs between are missing.

All We Had can be found on Tubi.

We dive into the David Ryan Keith film I Am Rage.  David’s first action-horror delivers as we follow Erin, a woman with a terrible past, as she gets caught up in a centuries’ old family business that is definitely hazardous to her health.  I Am Rage is a departure from David’s previous films, i.e Redwood Massacre, Attack of the Herbals, Ghosts of Darkness, and for a first run it is brilliant.  We talk cinematography, writing, action, direction, pacing and more.

I Am Rage can be found on Tubi.

We are back!  And we are diving into Love Song of William H Shaw.  The third film in the FrenZee series, following Finding FrenZee and Revenge of Zoe, we rejoin our favorite characters John, Pete, and Billy.  This time around John and Pete are at odds, and Billy Shaw needs to figure out how to mend the rift.  Pure Indie film is what you will find here.  We have a lot of good things to say, and important lessons for creatives of all levels.  Jump in for this fairly spoiler-free coverage.

Love Song for William H Shaw is not yet in distribution.

We do love a thriller, but it has to thrill. Unfortunately The Invitation does not provide any thrills. Good direction by Karyn Kusama, good cinematography, decent performances, but things fall apart with the writing. We do pick out some good lessons from this one, but once again one of those lessons is a Do Not Do. Poor writing had the film basically figured out in the first ten minutes. Also, suspension of disbelief is stretched to the limit. You can see that money was well spent on the technical aspects.

The Invitation can be found on Tubi.

Someone reached out, and we watched their film. The Rogue Barrens is a no-budget, short feature that delivers. Exemplifying everything about Indie film – economy of locations, making the best of available equipment, simple story, and a low-overhead of effects. One big boost is a professionally scored soundtrack. These young filmmakers are the primary reason we started this podcast, which is to inspire newcomers, beginners, and everyone else. It’s fitting that their film should inspire others in their creative endeavor. A joy to watch, we have a lot of fun talking about this one.

The Rogue Barrens can be found on YouTube.

Sometimes a movie hits some deep personal beats. The film Evergreen does just that, and a lot more. This excellent indie film has some rock-solid lessons on direction, writing, pacing, and more. Fantastic performances and clear, crisp storytelling brings you in to the very personal journey of a young woman’s learning experience about life and family. A must watch for technical lessons as well as solid entertainment.

Evergreen can be found on Tubi.