Channels

Yeah! A movie that not only entertains with chuckles here and there, but really moves you with some knockout punches. The main characters played by Nat Christian and Kim Oja have a marvelous chemistry. You WANT these two to be together. Christian has the magnetism and sex appeal of some of the old time male movie stars. Oja fits right in with the sweet yet sexy clan. Both are great actors. Christian never hits a false note and allows us to journey with him throughout the movie. As the director of the movie too, Christian selflessly gives a lot of screen time to all of his co-stars. Oja is able too show us a comedic style that hasn't been shown before. Joan Van Ark, still hot at her age, is able to project a vulnerability under her character's hard shell. Ed Asner has a great monologue which made me nearly fall over laughing. John Kassir and Taylor Negron are perfect matches for these actors and are always interesting to watch. It was great to see Amber Barretto on the screen, along with Chloe Hunter. Both are beauties who could grace any movie. Gil Glaskow is a standout in a supporting role.

The director takes us on an emotional journey step by step with our main characters and mixes it up with some great imagery. The composer, Rossano Galante, delivers an emotional score.

Wow!

This is a supernatural romantic comedy, that a beautiful TV character comes out of the TV screen into a producer's life.

Initially the plot is a little slow, but it becomes sweet and romantic. Katherine is sweet and charming. Her constant saccharine smile melts the hearts of the viewers. She reminds me of Reese Witherspoon. The lead guy, Black Racklin, on the other hand, is rather disappointing. He is wooden and uninteresting. he is unable to convey emotions and feelings, especially of live and passion. Though he frequently kisses with Katherine, I still am not convinced by his passion for Katherine.

It's a very watchable film, and I am sure it would have been a blockbuster if it had top A List actors and actresses in the lead roles.

CHANNELS feels like the best of the old-fashioned films. But is was made recently and it is wonderfully crafted and sophisticated. A passionate, charming, witty, romantic story about a love transcending space and time. In the finely written screenplay by writer/director Nat Christian, the lead character, "Black", also played by Christian, is a busy producer on the rise. But he really doesn't have a spark in his life. He meets "Katherine", played by the beautiful Kim Oja, and together their chemistry keeps you glued to the screen.

Christian, a mesmerizing talent, gives the character of Black charm and cynicism, and is deliciously romantic when he meets Oja. He is fun and tragic at the same time. One immediately connects with his character.

Oja, displays great skill in playing comedy, coupled with moving scenes of reflective sadness. The two of them captivate the screen.

The whole cast - John Kassir, Taylor Negron, Joan Van Ark and the wonderful Edward Asner - plays every role with precision.

The beautiful photography by Michael Hardwick never gets in the way of the characters. Visual FX sequences by Duane Condor add mood. Rossanno Galante's score is sweeping.

I was quite moved. Lots to think about in this unusual love story. Maybe even a little bit of quantum physics!

This kind of film is a wonderful mix of a contemporary love story and some old fashioned comedy. There is a real sincerity here which promotes a really nice feel all along the way.

At first I wondered if the kids of today would like it as much. And I though, yes. We may be at a time where people of all ages are getting more reflective about our time here.

The cast is superb. The lead guy,played by Nat Christian, underplays the character of Black just right. He brings out what he needs to with a subtlety that only true artists can do. Kim Oja, the female lead, is sweet and fun in the role of Katherine. As always, Ed Asner, the consummate actor is compelling to watch. Taylor Negron, John Kassir and Joan Van Arc balance out the cast with impressive skill and talent.

The direction and the writing (also by Nat Christian) walks a fine line between comedy, philosophy and drama and I feel that Mr. Christian executed the incredible task beautifully.

I was left thinking about the movie hours later and even after I went out and I came home. It just stayed on my mind. CHANNELS truly comes form an artist's point of view. An original voice. And I sure do feel we need more original voices.

I just started writing comments on movies. I watched three recently. Two I loved. One I didn't. I'll get around to writing about the movie I didn't like. But the two I loved were "Slumdog Millionaire" and "Channels."

"Channels" is a very special piece of work. it is funny, romantic and beautifully quite profound. Questions were posed that I suppose I've had passing thoughts about, but "Channels" brought them to the surface for me by pulling me in to the story.

It was directed and written by Nat Christian, who did quite an artistic job of putting all of these moments together. His vision imbued the movie with a poetry, or maybe a lyrical quality that was quite appealing.

The cinematography by Michael Hardwick very much helped capture this vision as did the nice production design by Dolores Piazza. Duane Condor gave the movie some haunting Visual Effects. The musical score by Rossano Galante is quite marvelous. And there is a cool song written by Daryl Orenge, with Christian providing the lyrics.

The actors all were wonderful. Ed Asner is fantastic in a cameo appearance and is funny at times. John Kassir, famous for his character roles and "voices", gives his very fine talents as a manager. Taylor Negron, who normally plays goofy characters, does a really nice job and comes off quite sincere in this. Joan Van Ark is also sincere and appealing while keeping her character tough.

The lead character is played by wonderfully talented Kim Oja. She's really fun to watch and, in the moments when she loosens up, she sort of reminds of an old movie actress, Carole Lombard.

Christian plays the lead character with a powerfully nuanced performance. In his subtle looks and gestures, we know what is going on with him. I would like to see more of this compelling actor.

And I would like to see more movies like "Channels", and that's what the energy out there feels like.