Armstrong

This is what happens when a director can't decide whether to make an action movie or a morality tale, and this waste of an hour-and-a-half of your life manages to fail miserably at both.

I can forgive the low budget and how the writing gets pretty cliché, considering it's a *very* indie movie. But the acting really holds it back, unfortunately. There's potential, the characters are fairly fleshed out and the direction is competent enough, but it's really difficult to get immersed when you're constantly aware that everyone is reading off a script. Armstrong and the rookie EMT are decent, but everyone else is pretty painful to watch. It's far from the worst thing I've ever seen, but it definitely doesn't deserve anything above a 6/10.

Don't let the other reviews get your hopes up.

I watched the whole thing. Don't know what to say. Definitely could and should have been better.

Whatever the truth is, we are led on an exciting and dangerous adventure, with lots more people (or not people?) resembling "Star Wars" cast members, in which many people apparently die (though we don't get to know most of them) and buildings get blown up. You just don't know what will happen next or if things will get even worse. Maybe, just maybe it will end with the city being safe.

This isn't an extraordinary movie, but more like a two-part TV episode. Sometimes there is action, and sometimes there is quiet conversation where we get to know the people. We see flashbacks with inferior picture quality and sound. That's how we know they're flashbacks.

Armstrong is the standout character here. He is strong and intelligent and capable. Shawn Parsons does a good job.

Lauren is not one of these strong women seen in so many movies and TV series like this. But she does call on what strength she has. And, yes, that does mean what you think it means, but does she go through with it? She is good at her job and even doing things that are not her job. Just once she really gets excited because she accomplished something important. As for whether Vicky Jeudy, who I am not familiar with, does a good job, of course good acting can include lack of confidence, and I think that's what happens here.

Eddie is a regular guy who gets called on in this case to do more than a regular guy does. He has a mouth on him. The sound went out a lot, mostly when he was talking. Jason Antoon does a good job.

Kevin Pollak is the only actor here I ever heard of. And he does the wacko radio host brilliantly.

Is this wholesome family viewing? Not really, though it's not particularly bloody. I already mentioned language, but that problem is easily solved on broadcast TV.

I don't usually watch movies or TV series like this, but sometimes I get rewarded. Here, I'm not so sure.

Is it worth seeing? Certainly, if you like this sort of thing.

Armstrong was a great film for me to watch because I had incredibly low expectations for the picture and in every way the movie exceeded them. You see, I generally dislike action films…and I actually put off watching it when I realized that. While it is a relatively low- budget film and features lesser-known actors, the writer- director team of Kerry Carlock and Nicholas Lund-Ulrich managed to make the absolute most out of what they had. By the time the film was ending…it actually left me wanting to see a sequel…and there is plenty of room for that. So, if I'd give this picture an A, it is pretty special!

The story is set in Los Angeles late at night. It's shot in accelerated real time—taking place over perhaps four or five hours. Lauren (Vicky Jeudy) is about to begin her very first shift as an EMT and she's incredibly nervous…and it's made much worse because she is in recovery for substance abuse. He sponsor talks her through her nervousness but neither had any idea just how stressful this night was about to become. As for her new partner, Eddie (Jason Antoon), he's a cynical and abrasive guy…though deep down he seems like a decent guy through the course of the film.

So what happens to the pair? Well, they stumble into some sort of war…a war you can only assume consists of warriors from some other time or, perhaps, planet. Their weapons are very futuristic and soon Lauren and Eddie find they are isolated…as some sort of electro-magnetic pulse has made their phones and radio inoperable. The other problems are that they aren't sure who are the good guys and who are the bad…and lots of people start shooting at them!

I could easily say more but really don't want to spoil the film for you. Suffice to say that in addition to the action and excellent story, these actors really knock it out of the park, so to speak. Vicky Jeudy is great as a very normal, albeit screwed up, sort of person…and I loved Jason Antoon as Eddie. He was very memorable as well. Overall, a really well made film that I hope get seen widely. It's just too enjoyable and intelligently made to be missed.