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Reviews
Behind the Eyes: When My Eyes Go Dark (2016)
Good overview about the psychic who died five times
I highly recommend this short documentary 'behind the scenes' talking about the making of Arise from Darkness. This gives a better appreciation for the film and takes you into the world of Lazaro Torres.The film uses actual archived voices by the Archdiocese Detroit used in exorcisms. That had me hooked in.
This helps shape-up the gritty, retro film that has mainly emotional quite performances. Good commentary by Zachary Laoutides, he obviously had a real vision for what he was trying to accomplish. Although maybe too alternative or artistic for some I personally like art house depictions.
You be the judge of what is real and what is not from a paranormal standpoint. For all you indie filmmakers this will be a film you will thoroughly enjoy.
*Do watch this first to gain appreciation.
Arise from Darkness (2016)
Creepy Art Show
The film is definitely creepy and the film is definitely art house. If I'm going go judge the film on it's actual form 'art house' (which I'm doing) then I did enjoy the strange trip.
The movie is a thriller, tied into the paranormal and shot artistically, at times moving into black and white. I enjoyed the aged film look, at times shaky and blurring documentary style. The soundtrack really helps this style evolve (it can be a bit draggy at times) and keeps you interested in the journey of Lazaro Torres the psychic who died five times.
This film comes from the same studio who made the movie called Adios Vaya Con Dios, taking a gangster genre and making an art house film with UK rock music (UK rock/ambient music is also being used again). Some people are going to like the experimental nature of what this studio, perhaps screenplay writer and actor Zachary Laoutides is trying to accomplish. However, if you're looking for a commercialized film that is sharp and shot with the RED camera, you've come to the wrong place.
Arise from Darkness is a dirty, gritty, throw back film that has mainly silent performances over supposed 'real' demonic voices. Interesting to say the least
For all you indie filmmakers and those who are fans of the paranormal this will be your cup of tea. Overall I'm glad movies like these exist and find their way into the mainstream.
Behind the Script: Adios Vaya Con Dios (2015)
As Real as it gets
An artistic documentary that narrates how the film Adios Vaya Con Dios was made by using the streets, neighborhoods and the real locals from Chicago. They interestingly titled the film, giving the directorial splendor to La Raza. A Latino Hispanic saying, meaning 'The People.'
It is quite intriguing that the film was created by a Chicago neighborhood. I don't know if any hood or ghetto actually came together before to make a film? From viewing one of the movie's trailers it looks like the movie snagged an award or two, gathered several nominations and some good reviews. This must have been after the documentary as the behind the scenes doesn't mention the acclaim the film received. What's peaking my interest mostly about clips from the film is that it doesn't feel like a gangster film. It's almost euro looking and has a retro old- school style to it. They obviously went for this different look using alternative rock soundtracks from the UK and Mexico that reminisce the 80's.
Synchronicity (2015)
1980s vision of the future
The main visual inspiration is most obviously "Blade Runner" as the film goes through great efforts to emulate the look of those vast cityscapes, particularly during its establishing shots. And, like Ridley Scott's film, the movie has a constant hazy, smoky sheen throughout. Gentry appears to be really fascinated with 1980s sci-fi; you get the impression that the design of the film represents a 1980s vision of the future.
While the plot and some of the characters' behavior initially comes across as odd and incomprehensible, it really starts to come together in a surprising way once you get past all the time travel technical jargon from the first half hour. "Synchronicity" also entertains partly because it knows how to have fun with itself. The characters feel grounded and down-to- earth despite living in a world where time travel is possible. The film follows physicist Jim Beale (Chad McKnight) who, along with his team, invents a device that can bend space and time and create a wormhole. This wormhole can send something (or someone) back in time, but Jim Beale has difficulty proving it can work.
His first experiment resulted in receiving an exotic flower, a dahlia, from the future, but he can't prove that it was ever sent back into the past. This doesn't go over well with his investor, a greedy venture capitalist named Klaus Meisner (Michael Ironside) whose funding is desperately needed in order for this device to keep operating.
Adios Vaya Con Dios (2014)
Highly original
With an over-saturation of Independent films, and 'no' I'm not including the low budget B- Movies that pop out for genre fair, do yourself a favor and check out Adios Vaya Con Dios. Don't be deceived by the premise that reflects a gangster movie. The film couldn't have been put together more creatively and the experimentation of bringing the genuine community into the movie pays off.
Highly original, that is the title of this review because it is and someone needs to be the advocate of the art house film approach to a gangster genre film. The movie that comes to observance on the same parity would be the Brazilian film City of God. That film in particular had twenty times the budget (being a throw back 70's piece), but like Adios Vaya Con Dios there was an artistic methodology. In Adios Vaya Con Dios the film is less action and more talk, more the analysis of social issues that plague the Chicago Latino communities. It's a smart film and 'no' they don't insult my intelligence, nor will they yours.
I'll be straightforward, with the few independent films I will watch in 2016, I want to be hard, I want to be critical, I want to smack sense into filmmakers once and a while. The poster of the movie invited me; I wanted to 'throw down' some film tips to Adios Vaya Con Dios and shame on me. This film humbled me, watching the behind the scenes further made me appreciate the bravery of all the participants.
Mean and ugly neighborhoods can create the most beautiful and imaginary minds. The coming together of executive producer Monica Esmeralda Leon and writer/actor Zachary Laoutides collaborated a perfect artistry in the streets. I hope people pay attention.