Category: Letterboxd Reviews

Kid Candidate, 2021 – ★★★½

Not my usual foray, but when I saw the trailer and marketing for this one, I figured It seemed like something I could get into (what with having a passing interest in politics)

The doc follows Hayden Pedigo a 24 year old musician and video artist who attempts to run for the local council in Area 2 of Amarillo, Texas. And while the doc largely focusses on his ‘No donation/No Sponsorship’ campaign, we also get to see the living conditions within the area and get to know the locals as Hayden, who had previously had no political experience, and essentially decided to run after making a funny movie about him playing a strange guy running for the local council, which blew up on Reddit, slowly begins to reach out to communities with the limited support of his friends, while also dealing with backlash from his parents who dont approve and some friction between himself his friends and his wife.

And, while I wasnt *completely* won over by the production on this, the heart, charm and warmth is exudes is frankly delightful and is the thing that really carries this production to the next level.

I think the biggest issue the documentary has is that it really tries to cram too much into the 70(ish) minutes this runs for. Much like the titular ‘Kid Candidate’ The film wildly swings from topic to topic without a clear narrative frame to work within. It’s almost like it talks about an aspect of living in Amarillo, or some background to Haydens life, or we’ll meet members of the community who’ll explain how the current corrupt council have managed to remain in power. But it’ll only hold consistency long enough to become bored by it, then it sharply pivots into something else.

The end result was ultimately that I felt like it was really trying to do two VERY big things at the same time, To tell Haydens story of running for the council AND to try and tell the story of the political swampiness of Amarillo.

Both stories could co-exist, but there really has to be a clearly more dominent element for the documentary to properly function, and I didnt really feel that either story had a more dominant weight for me to invest my interest.

What we ultimately get from this, feels more like a snapshot into the everyday lives of people living in a corrupt system, and the council running story seems almost like they decided last minute that that would be the angle they’d run with. Theres a few moments of artificial suspence, which also felt a little underwhelming on the payoff, and I thought the ending was a bit abrupt.

But then, at the same time contrasting that, we have some really nice interviews with people that feel powerful, engaging and interesting. The visual arrangement for this is a little on the minimalist side, but is charming all the same and, ultimately documentaries like this live and die by their subjects, and Hayden comes across as a very genuine, sincere and at times pained individual, who loves his city and just wants to see it and it’s people treated right.

I ultmately came away from ‘Kid Candidate’ feeling a little fried by just how much information they’d attempted to pour into my brain. But at the same time, I came away from it feeling like I really got to know the situation and it really refreshed my faith that people really truely care and sincerely want to change things.

So…yeh. Its got a lot of heart, it’s got an aspect of feelgood, but isnt afraid to acknowledge the difficulties Hayden encountered. I dont think it was well structured, but I cant deny I enjoyed it. A gentle reccomendation from me. It’s not an essential watch, but I think this ones going to age into a most marvellous time capsule of this eras strange political landscape.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/kid-candidate/

by tytdreviews

Ebola Syndrome, 1996 – ★★★★

I wasnt really too sure what to expect with this one, the marketing for it had made it look like it was going to be some kind of zombie horror flick. But I was actually kind of pleasently surprised that this thing subverted expectation in the grossest most unpleasent way imaginable.

The film largely follows a gross…GROSS man named Kai. Kai only really has two interests. having aggressive dirty sex and low hygiene standards. In the opening of the film, we find Kai having sex with his bosses wife. When the boss comes home earlier than planned, he threatens to kill Kai who somehow manages to turn the tables, murdering his Boss, his bosses friend and the bosses wife, before attempting to murder the Bosses kid. Only got get caught in the act where he promptly flees, catching a plane to Africa.

Once there he sets up working in a restaurant as a chef, preparing meals and helping the owners secure meat. While heading out to collect a whole pig for the lowest price possible however, him and his boss encounter a tribe performing some kind of ‘healing’ ritual, and while heading back Kai finds a woman passed out on the road and decides to SA her…little does he know the woman actually has Ebola, and shes just passed it onto Kai.

And basically; the rest of the film is Kai committing ludicrously disgusting acts, while spreading the ebola about like nobodies business. in what is a genuinely unpleasent and grubby little Cat 3 that I feel does its job a little *too* well.

The scripts really solid, marrying up a queasy offering of vomit, blood, guts and gore. gross sex scenes, sexual assault and nihilism with a strangely toned humour that gives the film a slight comedy edge. its a surpisingly refreshing watch that…While grim, is totally mesmorising in terms of how the awfulness plays out. Especially in the third act, where the police cotton on that somone is spreading Ebola in the city…and we KNOW who that someone is, but noone else does. it really adds a nice layer of suspense to things.

On top of that, the films really nicely paced. maybe a *tad* slower than I personally would have liked, I reckon this could have been 15 minutes shorter and much better for it. It has a good tone, theres a nice 3 act structure that effortlessly transitions between those acts. The characters have a rich level of detail about them and its nice to see how the powe play dynamics shape and shift these characters across the runtime.

On top of that the direction is razor, with a very clear vision of what was wanted from the production, barring one or two slightly ropey shot and effect choices (its more a victim of age and 4k scanning than of quality in and of itself) this thing shows a clear and precise coordination between cast and crew to deliver a super tight end product.

The cast direction in and of itself is breathtaking to say the least, with the director clearly and confidently guiding the cast through several very intricate scenes. There seems to be a little bit of allowance for improvisation, but equally its clear that there was a vision and blueprint for this production, and I really enjoyed seeing these characters REALLY throw themselves about and get into the part.

The cine is top tier as well with not only an unflinching look at the utter grossness of Kai. But the horrific effects of Ebola in full swing, expect plenty of vomit, bleeding uncontrollably, urine, and germ particles throughout. Its handled so well compositionally and creatively in terms of creating a style, that I really did feel like I needed a shower after this thing, It actually kind of reminded me of Sam Raimi and Peter Jacksons early works visually. Throw in a very considered edit that, while I feel it could be shorter, was VERY precise, militantly cut and given more than enough room to breath, this is a very intimate edit that I feel will make people feel warm and uncomfortably clammy.

The performances are all absolutely incredible, delivering very real and vivid scenes that are highly animated and terribly uncomfortable to sit through. I did enjoy the subtle contrast of macarbre humour and unrelenting bleakness of this whole thing. they give a great emotive range, have a wide physicality and get. the job. DONE.

Throw in a very oppressive but perfectly suited score, and while ‘Ebola Syndrome’ wont be one I feel like I could watch often. I cant deny that I had a lot of fun with this thing and it was nice to see a CAT 3 that really earned it’s label. definitely recommended…just…keep some Antibac cleaner near you…for comfort.

EDIT: OH YEH! and they also kill a CRAPTON of live animals in this thing and mutilate a CRAPTON of dead ones. Like I say, this one isnt for the feint of heart. But if you appreciate a film that takes incredibly bleak plots and peppers them with macarbre humour, you’ll probably get on with this…

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/ebola-syndrome/

by tytdreviews

Evil Bong 888: Infinity High, 2022 – ★★

I dont think I was quite prepared for the finale of the ‘Evil Bong’ franchise, but then again, when you have a series that’s revelled so unashamedly in not giving a crap about continuity or plot or…character development…or characters really for that matter. What did I really EXPECT this thing would do in its *alleged* final installment? Because the answer is…not a whole lot.

If you thought with this being the final installment (for now) that things would at least get tied up somewhat. You’d be gravely mistaken, the closest thing I can compare this film to is it feels like two young teenagers huffed paint, watched ‘End of Evangelion’ skipped about 30% of it, didnt get the philosophy and then wrote this based on their experiences.

It’s a film that tries to have its cake and eat it too, for a starters; the film totally ignores the storyline and cliffhangers that we’ve been developing now since ‘Evil Bong 420’. Gingerdead man? Gingerweed man? Sexy Hell? Larnell and the guys? the weird clown girl who suddenly joined the series around part 6? Sarah Leigh? All gone. no mention, not even a passing reference.

Given that 420, high 5, 666 and 777 were so closely linked and dealt with the ongoing plot to open a portal to earth in order to bring sexy hell to the mortal realm. AND given that 777 ends with Rabbit and co staring down the sharp end of an axe. The audacity of this movie to just, pretend that whole plotline doesnt exist…BUT THEN TO REFERENCE CHARACTERS AND LOCATIONS IN PASSING IN THIS MOVIE. Had me reaching for the blood pressure medication.

If you want closure on any of the plot points from the last 4 movies, you’re out of luck. this film raises a firm middle finger to you and tells you to grow a pair because we’re doing something different.

So! Ignorning that half the cast are missing and not even mentioned, AND ignoring the finale of ‘777’, ‘Infinity High’ opens with Rabbit having somehow escaped being axe murdered to death, 2-3 years have passed, the pandemic happened and now for some reason Rabbit is now the owner of a restaurant. Its opening night and he’s got two ditzy girls running food, an *implied* nazi chef and Ebee is helping keep the food ‘well seasoned’.

Its here we get the main selling point of the movie, Diana Prince as ‘Tom Atkins’ (…not THE Tom Atkins…its just a nod and wink…expect lots of those in this) Whos a down on her luck waitress, who doesnt do waitressing…Rabbit sets her up as a front of house greeter…and with that what follows is approximately 30 minutes of total non story filler in which various characters, some new, some from previous ‘Evil Bong’ movies and some from different franchises. Turn up, eat Ebees ‘seasoned’ food and either go crazy, or get horny and naked.

All the while, Rabbit is fighting his urges to not get high and ‘head empty’ because doing so seems to have the magical ability to pull people into his mind.

The ending is LITERALLY the end of the TV version of ‘Neon Genesis Evangelion’ but instead of a teenage boy, its an old man. I…am lost for words.

Besides the fact that I STILL cant believe these film makers would have the UTTER contempt for a loyal audience who’ve sat through 5 films at this point looking for closure, only to airlock any and all of it in favour of 60 minutes of ‘goofy restaurant shenanigans’. The script is limp as a wilted lettuce leaf.

the act structuring is awkward, with the first act getting about 10 minutes, the 3rd act getting about 5, and the 2nd eating up the rest of the runtime. Characters are almost factory reset to just being one note versions of themselves. the cameos make ZERO sense and feel ultra forced. the tone is all over the place with no clear drive for what makes it worth your time to watch this thing (though, to the films credit…at least it handles itself better in that regard than ‘777’ did)

The best way to describe it, is that it’s a film that gets stuck in one gear around 10 minutes in and then never manages to pull out of that mode. Its depressing to me that at 10 entries, The ‘Evil Bong’ films STILL havent decided what they want to be. Ebee is one of the most confusing villains in cinema history, she says what her mission is in almost every movie, and in every movie she somehow manages to achieve less and less. with some films barely even having her appear.

Its just…SUCH a nothing film. and if it wasnt for the fact that theres literally just one or two things that stop me outright hating this thing. it’d be at least a star lower for me.

The direction and cine in this is some of the best the franchise has had to date. Barring a particularly grotesque looking greenscreen shot at the very VERY end of the film, it looks professional, is decently lit, gets creative at times and uses decent composition of shots, solid colour coordination and a tight edit (that feels comfortable at 60 minutes, but could have been shorter) to showcase some really nice visuals…its a shame that theres barely anything happening in this nicely made up shots.

Diana Prince is probably the best part of this movie, shes a little stiff in places on delivery, but does have some really decent comic timing and gets the tone that this thing SHOULD be aiming for through most of the runtime…It’s just a shame the rest of the cast didnt seem to get it. there are one or two cameos that were a nice surprise, but they’re ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ in length and left me quite upset that we didnt get more.

Honestly? this film feels less like a warm and affectionate goodbye to a much loved franchise, and more akin to the cinematic equivilent of taking a franchise out back and seeing it off like ‘Old Yeller’ If this IS the final ‘Evil Bong’ movie, I think its fitting that a franchise that gave not ONE fuck for its audience, a franchise that seemingly believed its viewership consisted of people SO stoned they were worried they’d load toast into their bluray player and eat the disc, and so didnt BOTHER to tie ANYTHING plot wise off…or even to have a base line of style or continuity or tone. Ends the series with a totally removed entry that adds nothing to the series, take nothing away and is just as confusing to watch for someone who’s sat through 10 of these fuckers, as it would be for someone who’s never seen a single one before.

Technical mediocrity and some half decent performances is the only thing keeping this thing above water for me. in every other respect this is dire…DIRE viewing and it’ll likely be a cold day in hell before I bulk rewatch this franchise. DAMN I need some Tylonol.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/evil-bong-888-infinity-high/

by tytdreviews

The Gingerweed Man, 2021 – ★★★

After slogging through 7 ‘Evil Bong’ movies I wasnt exactly racing to dive into a spinoff film based on a fairly new character to the series who’s first appearence was border monotone and second appearence was basically a character focussed on Weed and Boobs and not much else.

It was then, with some great surprise that I found myself actually kind of enjoying ‘The Gingerweed Man’ Not so much for the quality of the production (its SUPER stupid, make NO mistake…) But rather, because it finally manages to nail the tone these kinds of movies really needed from the start. Self aware enough to know all of these characters are terribly developed and written, Self aware enough to know this whole franchise is a total dogs dinner. But not SO self aware that it gets in your face and annoying gloats about it.

The plots pretty straightforward, ‘The Gingerweed Man’ has split off and opened his own weed delivery business with a business partner he’s utterly smitten by. However his constant drive for partying and banging quote ‘bimbos’ has meant that any kind of romantic realtionship with his partner is off the table. While out on deliveries Gingerweed heads back to his dispensery for another pickup, only to find a scientist there dying on the floor who gives Gingy a weird little nugget and tells him to protect it at all cost. This is ‘Buddy’ an alien sentient strain of weed who can only say the word ‘Buddy’ who’s herbal qualities are prophesized to bring about world peace.

Unfortunately Gingerweeds too stupid to understand exactly whats happening and before you know it Buddy and Gingys partner have been kidnapped with the end goal to sell the pair into a prostitution racket. Leaving Gingy and…Ooga Booga…*sigh* to head out and rescue the pair.

And I think the thing I enjoy most about this movie is that they nail the exact right level of stupid in ‘Gingerweed’ that was required for this kind of movie. He’s a total idiot, he can barely remember what day it is…But it’s more in a ‘Beavis and Butthead’ level of idiocy than the kind of One dimensional irritating screechy stupidity that has been prominent in the ‘Evil Bong’ series. Clocking in as well at a mere 47 minutes, this things an absolute breeze to get through and, if anything DID leave me wanting just a little bit more.

The scripts a little aimless, but that kind of plays into the kind of stupid tone the films going for anyway (Think Beavis and Butthead Do the Universe where there IS a plot present, but our characters are too stupid to really engage in it and end up getting involved in their own movie almost by accident) It has a clean 3 act structure, the dialogues probably the best i’ve seen an heard from the ‘Evil Bong’ franchise to date. Characters arnt that well developed, but it actually helps make the film a bit funnier that they dont really get developed beyond a surface level and the script writer actually subverts expectations on occasion by giving some characters really details backstories that just instantly get dismissed with some really solid comic timing.

Is this a masterpiece? absolutely not. But its one of the most solid ‘Full Moon’ scripts I’ve watching in quite a long time, it keeps a decent pace and manages to balance its elements fairly well.

The film looks a little cheaper than previous entries (which is increasingly becoming a problem), but they do have a lot more set spaces and location work here than with previous movies, theres some real attempt to styalize ‘in camera’ rather than just leaving it to post, the CG is fairly minimal and only really used to smooth over visual effects or help emphisize specific elements of the shot. It looks filmic for the most part, which is more than can be said for the previous entries in this franchise.

The cine is well composed, creative in places and the edit feels pretty tight comparatively. If anything, it probably could have stood to slow things down ever so slightly. Which is always a good sign.

In fact, my only real criticism is that, they do over rely on boob shots and women in lengerie to help pad out some of the moments of runtime. They play the joke that Gingy isnt interested in boobs, then he sees boobs and becomes MASSIVELY interested in boobs a couple times too many for me. But that does kind of fall into the films overly dumb dumb remit.

They tease a possible sequel to this film in the credits, and I do kind of hope they go through with it. If they can keep the tone, timing and pacing together. I think this one could go onto be quite a fun and interesting little series. Its not an essential watch in the grand scheme of things, But if you have a subscription to ‘Full Moon’s’ streaming service. Id definitely suggest checking it out as a work of ‘Dumby dumb dumb theater’

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/the-gingerweed-man/

by tytdreviews

Weedjies: Halloweed Night, 2019 – ★★★

As an aside before I get into my thoughts, I only really ended up watching this movie because its the final film included in ‘Full Moon’s’ “Evil Bong Stash Box” a 9 bluray set of all the ‘Evil Bong’ movies. I’m gonna be honest, quite why this film was randomly dumped as the last disc in this boxset is beyond me, as its not related to any of the ‘Evil Bong’ movies (That being said, often ‘The Evil Bong’ isnt related to any of the ‘Evil Bong’ movies.) But more to the point, this set came out in November 2021…and about 4 months later they released ‘The Gingerweed Man’ on DVD and Bluray. Considering 8 of these 9 films took YEARS before getting a bluray release, quite why they decided to just shove a random ‘Weed’ related movie at the end of this set, rather than wait 4 months and include an ACTUAL ‘Evil Bong’ movie in the boxset (WITH the added bonus of being able to market it as ‘ALL the Bong movies to date, including this BRAND NEW film!’ is beyond me. I mean…its not like this was a ‘Value’ release. the thing cost over $150 on release…That really annoyed me…Anyway.

‘Weedjies’ is a film by Danny Draven that attempts to try and recapture the retro nostalgic vibe of those old ‘Magical Creature’ quasi horror films of the mid to late 80s. Think ‘Gremlins’, ‘Ghoulies’, ‘Terrorvision’ to a lesser extent…you get the idea. throw in a little ‘Night of the Demons’ and you’ve more or less got the vibe this things going for.

The plot revolves around a group of college girls, who’ve decided to host a Halloween party in vegas for some of their friends with the aim of trying to both raise their status and raise some cash to help them get by. Little do they realise that the night will take a turn for the spooky when a mysterious woman appears and offers the group a chance to ‘have some fun’ with a little magical boardgame. On agreeing to play, a group of little ‘gremlin’ type weed demons emerge from the board and games begin. The rules are simple: The group must capture and return all of the demons who escaped from the board, back to the board, before the clock strikes midnight. If they do, they get to live and get a special weed pipe as a reward, if they fail. They’ll be dragged into the board and turned into Weedjies themselves.

cue hyjinx and much ado about nothing as the gang run around the party mansion getting into scrapes, while the ACTUAL party guests are all caught up in a treasure hunt that the girls have arranged as part of the festivities.

Honestly? This one wasnt half bad. In fact, given I’ve just come off the back of 8 ‘Evil Bong’ movies, this thing feels like a masterpiece comparatively. Water in the desert.

Tone wise, it feels like a watered down take on ‘Ghoulies’ and ‘Gremlins’…like…Someone who REALLY liked those movies and couldnt really move past those films basically made THEIR interpretation of those movies. As such? while it does meet a ‘standard’ it consistently feels like it’s trapped within the framework of other better movies. It never really feels like it breaks out and does something that ‘Ghoulies’ or ‘Gremlins’ didnt do. In that sense, it absolutely feels like a late 80s movie in that sense…but not one of the ‘classic’ late 80s movies…one of the ones that was shot on video, released locally and usually used as a beer coaster for most of the nights festivitites. being met with a resounding ‘Do we have to!?’ when all the other tapes ran out.

The thing is, theres nothing objectively BAD about this movie per-se. It just doesnt really do anything we havent seen 2 dozen times before. The scripts consistent, has a clean 3 acts that transition nicely, the pacings alright, the runtimes short (but could be a little shorter in my opinion) It gives the info it needs to give and feels comfortable in its skin, If I was going to gripe, the character dialogues a little on the dry side, it feels a bit overly polished, but part of the problem is the writing and part of it is the cast delivery. So I cant really rail on that aspect of the production too hard. Its a fine enough script that does what it needs to set out to do…its just kind of dull and doesnt really do anything interesting.

The Direction is a touch mixed in my opinion, while the whole film looks really nice. It does have some issues with styalization. the marketing and opening of the film would have you believe that this things going all in on the retro 80s throwback vibe. and thats something i’d strongly be in favour of. But as the runtime progresses that 80s aesthetic slowly but surely ebbs away until you’re left with a 2010’s ‘Full Moon’ film. which…well it looks okay, but there is an heir of cheapness to it. its a shame really, because the opening footage set in the 70s and the first act of this thing look really nice and there seems to have been clear communication with the team on how this thing should work. But this was either an after thought, or that close communication slowly started to fall away as the production went on (at least…as far as I can tell.)

Direction of the cast is fine. I wasnt all that sold on this films players, but they do as their told, they work the set space well, the puppets are decently animated and look fine. its a solid enough job, but the schlocky nature of this thing really doesnt do it any favours.

The cine is actually this films strongest point. I mean, yeh. They use a HELL of a lot of stock footage of Vegas throughout. But the on set shots look decent, they’re very well composed, the CG doesnt look like utter arse™ as other ‘Full Moon’ films from this time often do. and the sequences are pretty solidly put together, if not a *tiny* bit looser than i’d have personally liked (if Im being honest I think this would have gotten another full star had this been 10-15 mins shorter)

The performances are a little awkward and delivery is bordering on the amateur. I dont doubt the cast were doing the best they could, but a lot of them seem to be fairly early on in their careers here, and it shows. With time, I could see improvements…but this things pretty ripe.

Aaaand the soundtrack feels kind of stocky, the composer has worked closely with David Decoteau and Richard Band and honestly, its lack of memorability or originality was a real blow to this thing.

Realistically? Im totally apathetic about this one. It has some good stuff going for it, but it also has a lot of issues and pound for pound I think you could do better. But if you’ve seen the staples and REALLY have an itch for ‘Ghoulies’ style Shenanigans…I think you could do worse.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/weedjies-halloweed-night/

by tytdreviews