Misfortune

Greetings again from the darkness. Sporting the vibe of two buddies making a movie on their own terms, the film plays like a late night B-movie that would be perfect for one of those sleepless nights. Writer/director Desmond Devenish and co-writer Xander Bailey also star in their own movie … a decision that implies passion project and low budget (both of which can be good or bad).

Nothing in the script is new or groundbreaking, as we have a jewelry store robbery that ends in a double-cross and shootout among partners in crime. This is followed by a 7 year flash forward with the son of the dead partner seeking revenge for his father's death, and the early-paroled partner on the hunt for the stolen diamonds. Of course, there is nothing wrong with a dose of familiarity as long as the characters and setting are interesting.

The original two partners are played by a couple of familiar and excellent actors: Kevin Gage as Mallick and Nick Mancuso as Roman. Both have great screen faces and voices, and we are left wishing these two could go at each other a bit longer. Also in the mix is Steve Earle, friend to Roman and later his son. Once Mallick is paroled, it's filmmakers Devenish as Boyd and Bailey as Russell that get most of the screen time – along with Jenna Kannell (a Neve Campbell lookalike) as Boyd's girlfriend Sloan.

After the worst (unintentionally comical) rock climbing movie scenes ever, we get more shootouts and double-crossing … although Carl Bailey as the Sheriff adds a quick dose of realism and interest. The film would have been better served with a more experienced actor in the role of Boyd, though Xander Bailey does a very nice job in the mostly thankless role of Russell.

The film squanders the desert setting and could have followed the model of last year's Mojave (with Oscar Isaac), which put the desert front and center as a character unto itself. From a filmmaking perspective, it's difficult to determine if budget limitations minimized the suspense and conflict, or if that was more script related. The one sure lesson here is … don't squander the talents of Nick Mancuso or Steve Earle!

The camera work in this film is very good, as is the acting for the most part. The storyline is fairly mundane (been done a 100 times), but the direction of the film is crisp, so the story moves well on the screen. The action sequences are the real downfall of the film; they are terrible and highly unbelievable. They are not quite as unbelievable as Tarantino sequences and stories (and that is really not a good thing), because in real life, you just don't have all that time to get out of those situations. The characters, for the most part, are convincing, but the gunplay is not. And while I like the twist with the girl, it could have been done far better with a bit more development after the surprise. The film was watchable and entertaining, but fell short in the believability department. Both fellows have good potential though.

They did a helluva job with this. Okay, it's no Heat, per se. But, it did have "Waingro" (Kevin Gage) from Heat.

Gage nails the "bad guy" persona again and really pushes this movie up in the rating. The rest of the acting was okay - no Academy Award acting. But, I give a lot of credit to all the actors who really did well enough to make this a very enjoyable film to watch, full of excitement, anticipation, and thrills.

Jenna Kanell - WOW! Not only is she gorgeous (those eyes!!!), she is an amazing human being. Check out her movie "Bumblebees" about her brother. I saw that about a year ago. I have much respect for this young lady - she's amazing.

And! Desmond Devenish really did an exeptional job putting this movie together, and acting the lead role - much respect to him, too! Along with the rest of the actors/crew, he really did a fine job establishing mood & thrills.

This is a fine movie to watch if you are in the mood for some thrills, a decent story, and a bit of violence/payback/treasure/Southwest Desert.

Desmond was the worst actor in this movie. Plot was great, other actors were great, Desmond was awful (you can tell it was him money making the movie). If I watched one more shot of him up close trying to act dramatic I would of throw up. Did I mention his bad acting and tiresome up close shots of him trying to be dramatic? A positive note, all other actors were awesome and the fact that the film is based in Arizona and filmed in Arizona is awesome. 2 star at best.