Life Tracker

We found "Life Tracker" via On Demand's sci-fi selection of new releases. This movie has a synopsis that is intriguing: if your genes could predict your future, would you want to know? It is an original idea, with believable actors, and a surprise conflict (even to those desensitized and/ or jaded...) that kept my interest until the bitter end. I am not typically a fan of "found footage" movies, but I forgot about the filming style as it was deeply incorporated into the plot of the movie. Genetic reading is not such a far-fetched idea. Genetic research and it's scientific credibility has grown to be a powerful tool in medical and forensic fields. It seems to be the key to everything. The characters in this film are relatable and gripping. We watch their initial jovial disposition (regarding the genetic readings) shift into a tenacious and frightened need to know.

~Mary Ann @grabdmama and Shannon @feralthundercat

Yes this film was a great idea. Someone somewhere came up with a cool idea for a movie. Other than that it's all downhill. What it appears like is that a bunch of stoner friends got together with some cheap cameras, had no access to a budget or good equipment, no access to producers or directors or studios or a cast of actors... So they shot it themselves over a weekend. The acting is beyond bad. It's gruelingly uncomfortable watching these homies attempt to clumsily "act" through this dreadful dialog. It's so annoying at times that you literally have to fast forward through it. The main actors are just so so bad. What's worse is that one worries that it is them who actually trying to direct it too. I would have loved this movie to be good. Unfortunately it's just dreadful.

I guess I will never learn to be careful of highly rated movies with not a substantial amount of votes. This film had 81 votes and a 8.0 rating. If you like the plot to consist of much talking and little else then this is the film for you. The idea is so intriguing and there was so much more that could of been done that it's a shame the filmmaker did not take advantage and make a more interesting and compelling film. I have to admit that an hour was all I could take and my frustration got the better of me, but it didn't seem to me that the film was going to utilize the main idea to make a better film. The one critic who wrote about the film mentioned that it was a sci-fi mumblecore. This is obviously a low budget film, but still so much more could have been accomplished here. It's a shame and a missed opportunity.

I was impressed be the " real people " feel to the characters. I could really relate to them. Maybe it was the director's use of new talent, with a few tried and truly talented familiar actors in the mix, but it really worked. The genetic theory was very believable. I think I even heard on the radio somewhere a doctor is very close or already has found a gene along these lines. It seemed a little slow at 1st, but caught my attention quick, and kept it all the way to the end. I would like to see more from Joe McClean. Even if you sort of guessed what was coming, it was really a "wow" feel to it. I will tell my friends about this one. I would also say watch it for yourself, well worth it.

This was a fantastic movie! It played like an honest-to-goodness homemade documentary. Virtually every scene was viewed from the eye of the hand held camera. The characters were so believable and so natural that you really don't think of them as "acting". The plot was a little less believable, but I don't think this film was meant to imply that this technology would ever become a reality to that extent. Although some of the technology does exist at the present time, Joe McClean takes it to a whole new level. The film had me from the beginning. Some people say that you have to push through the first part of the movie to get to the "good part", but I found it interesting and engaging from the first minute. (although I really thought there was something wrong with my player during the first few minutes because of the poor quality of the video! Which just added to the realism.) I strongly recommend this film. It's a departure from anything else you have seen before and that alone makes it worth watching. 10 Stars & 5 Thumbs Up for this one!