alexanderhanno

Heartwarming and heart-wrenching all at once, 12 Months peels back the curtain on love - warts and all - providing an honest look at a toxic relationship, one that's equal parts beautiful and unsettling. Elizabeth Hirsch-Tauber and Michael James Kelly each give incredibly compelling and genuine performances in the leading roles, earning empathy and ire from moment to moment, both detestable and lovable every other turn. The grounded and gritty approach to the camerawork further adds to the film's authenticity, crafting something close to home for anyone who's ever navigated the highs and lows of companionship.

Street smart, uncompromising, sexy, bitter, funny, feminist and beyond all else, raw, Low Low is an indie film that strives to say so much, often through nothing but subtext and casual banter alone. It's a beautiful and honest piece that depicts the rough slice of life four woman have carved out for themselves in a tired, suburban world, managing to do so with genuine finesse. Patient writing and gut wrenching performances from all the leading women (special mentions go to Ali Richey and Kacie Rogers) help lure the viewer into the story and get them thoroughly invested in the nuanced conflicts that threaten to tear any happiness these girls have found clean in two. It's not a perfect film per se, and it doesn't intend to be. It's messy, it has cracks, it's dirty... just like the lives of its four leads, and these "imperfections" ultimately yield truth and empathy that so many indie films today genuinely lack. It isn't an easy watch, for the girls have a tough go of it throughout, but that's life, and that's what I appreciated the most. This movie is a breath of fresh air, and even if it's cold, biting air that comes along in the dead of winter and stings just a bit, it's hugely refreshing nonetheless.

As so many excellent modern horror films do, Hex focuses on a tight cast of characters (in this case two) to provide an in depth character study over spectacle or gore. The result is a patient examination of belief and fear, set against the backdrop of England amidst a civil war in the 1600s, all achieved despite - or perhaps because of - its micro budget. Worth a watch for true indie fans, history buffs and horror aficionados alike.