Starfish

Some movies you have to "pause" when you go to the bathroom. This is the kind of movie that you can "start it" go wash your car come back and you would have missed nothing. In a one women show the turtle got voted "best new comer"... seriously though there's nothing here. Productuon values are good. Virginia Gardner the lead and only character in the movie is very good. The writer/director had nothing to say no story to tell. Well he did have a story to tell but seems he chose not to tell it or lost it in editing. Just kidding this movie was not lost in the editing room. Starfish is what you get when you have a kernel of an idea and a slightly smaller kernel of imagination. (6 turtle puns deleted out of respect for the 3 people who will read this review)

This movie may have been billed as Drama/Horror but essentially it's neither. Although the premise of the film is a girl battling thru the end of the world in which monsters have come thru from another dimension, its really just all a bunch of metaphorical hooey that the writer/director was using to express his personal grief issues. Thus the only person who truly understands this movie is its creator, the rest of us can only take our best guess as to what it all means. My interpretation is that the star represents the director, coping with some marital and grief issues and the monsters are the occasional terror and anxiety they felt in their isolation. The premise of some magical sound hidden in the various mixtapes feels like a thin veil put on the film so it could be categorized. If you want a monster horror flic, this isnt for you but if you have a personal relationship with grief, loss, or regret, then you may find some understanding in the film, but dont look for any big answers.

The good: the lead is breathtakingly beautiful. Good actress too. The cinematographiy is very clever and eyecatching. The bad: a "thriller" this ain't. It could be bottled and sold as a sleep aid. I literally fell asleep halfway through.

It is very pretentious though. This is a one-man live action dream, a nightmare or a trip. It has a single track plot, nauseatingly slow with chaotic details and a few peekaboo scares. It reconnects with reality and speeds up closer to the end. Monsters and vfx here are not to amaze but to add to sophistication. Somber and ethereal music makes for a more enjoyable experience.

Visually very beautiful though a little depressing. Nice sound on scenes and nice songs on mixtapes. Should have better ending.