tabuno

This sci fi mystery thriller has an abundance of classic The Shining (1980) flavor but with a rather confusing ending and for some though satisfying resolution. This Serbian/South Korean/Slovenian production is set in Serbia with mostly Serbian actors. The script follows a search and recovery team seeking to locate and recover a satellite with two intelligence agents, one of whom is being dispatched after recovering from a tragedy, along with a scientist, and a local Serbian representative. What follows is a creepy and well-orchestrated search for the satellite with plenty of horror motifs along the way. The haunting ambiance is well captured. What the team discovers eventually becomes maddeningly confusing, sometimes inadequately presented considering at least two or three of these characters are professionals. The shades of The Shining bear down on the plot while finally offering up a twist that almost clings with sadistic satisfaction. Whether there is a real explanation that the scriptwriter and director had in mind remains unclear. Katertina Cas born in Serbia in the titular role as Liz Waid, a returning intelligence agent, holds up her performance well even as the script seems to let her down in latter parts of the action scenes. Reminiscent of Elizabeth Olsen from Wanda Maximoff of the Marvel Universe, Cas has the emotional depth to exude sympathy from the audience. Two other familiar actors, Ken Foree, and Monte Markham with a prolific career hold up their ends reasonably well. With a decent sci fi theme, the overall delivery can't quite hold the entire foundational plot together, it seems to get strung out in places. The Rift offers some great atmospherics and reasonable sci fi credentials yet suffers in places from uncharacteristic behavior on the part of the characters even in light that the movie is supposedly a strange, weird movie in the first place.

This romantic black and white comedy burst onto the scene just as the rapid recovery from the America's Great Depression occurred and World War II was on the horizon. It was a time of hope, revitalization, and the consequences of President Roosevelt's New Deal that created an expansive federal work program and Labor Unions putting Americans back to work and worker rights. The movie portrays the richest man who goes undercover to discover the conspirators against him calling for better, loyal work conditions at one of his department stores. This film is just as relevant now as 84 years ago as workers' job security is as fragile today as the early last century and where the belief in love continues to be debated as a sensation versus something deeper. This movie by now considered a period piece of another time in America displays the same level of comedy, and ironic humor as any contemporary romantic comedy with a stronger emotional resonance and lasting valuable traditions that deserve to be preserved.

Rarely does a movie come along that defies all typical storylines of a comedy drama romance(?). This film...well...pretends to be a rom-com in sheep's clothing turning dramatic and then well it becomes the eye of the beholder. To accomplish even a decent movie that somehow balances the comedy with the drama in this instance without shattering on the wedding floor only provides a glimpse as to how the direction and scriptwriting carefully and delicately tread among the almost crazy goings on in what normally would be one of the insane, ordinary, humdrum rom-coms. Directed and co-written by Joan Carr-Wiggen, a Canadian Independent filmmaker, who began her career in her 40s in the 1990s after being an economist, this movie has the female perspective well infused throughout with a chilling authentic but quite entertaining solidity about it. The real way to truly appreciate this movie is to throw out any expectation and forget about the rom-com label and just experience this movie as the director intended instead of relying on the deception movie preview that distorts what Joan Carr-Wiggen wanted its audience to really become aware in regards to life's complications but ultimately happily ever after and in a good way too. If you don't ignore this cautionary statement, you will definitely be disappointed as the low ratings indicate. Well worth seeing, if you follow my strong suggestion.