ManiakJiggy This is How Movies Should Be Made

Micransix Crappy film

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Josephina Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

aimless-46 John Huston once said that a good story should have "excitement, color, spectacle and humor, adventure, high drama, tragedy, good conversation, truth and irony". Although 2007's "Juncture" is missing most of these ingredients it does manage to put most of its tiny budget on the screen in a professional manner and should get high marks for the crew's hard work. But it is one of those sow's ears to silk purse things where you just can't do much with such a weak script (thankfully the writer has had no screen credits since).This low budget action picture is basically a combination of "Death Wish" (1974) and "La Femme Nikita" (1990); with a sterile heroine both homicidal and irritable from a bad headache.Kristine Blackport, in her first and only feature, plays Anna Carter, an executive who has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. With three months to live she decides to check out with a bang by taking out criminals who have abused children and been inadequately punished by the judicial system. That old vigilante justice thing.Blackport looks like Leighton Meester, which probably accounts for a lot of close-ups of her face and eyes. This is a good thing with Meester, because an "actress" is able to use close-ups to nonverbally convey things about her character and to connect with viewers. Unfortunately Blackport's skills are more on the order of Ali Larter (well maybe not quite that bad); with an emotional and sensuality range confined to a look of dull surprise and the occasional blink. A competent "acting for the camera" director could have helped, but James Seale appears to entirely lack that skill set. Like the writer, he too has been on the sidelines since directing this movie. Blackport fares much better on the DVD's behind the scenes featurette, where you begin to suspect that Seale's directing contributions add up to "less than zero".So poor Blackport gamely plods around with little help from the likewise unskilled supporting cast as they cut back and forth between wide master shots and extreme closeups; without managing to create an identifiable point of view or a character with any sort of dimensionality.The DVD release includes a filmmaker's commentary (gag), a behind the scenes featurette (excellent), deleted scenes, trailers, and Spanish subtitles. Given all this extra stuff it is extremely odd that they did not choose to include English subtitles. The audio is a not very good and Blackport's squeaky "Rocky the Flying Squirrel" voice is often inaudible. Maybe this was a way to add some dimensionality to the Anna Carter character, a viewer can mentally replace inaudible elements of lame dialogue with comments from Robert Shiller about the state of the economy.Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

refdan A lot is said these days about the so-called "independent films" and film makers. These are the guys and gals who look forlorn and studious and take their "art" very seriously. Some of us consider anything not made by MGM to be not serious film.This film is a case in point. What separates the mediocre movie from the memorable one is ACTING. Great actors, be they from Hollywood or Hoboken, captivate you and bring you into the world they inhabit on screen. Some independent films have great acting, as do many Hollywood mainstream features. This particular film does not.The lead actress, Kristine Blackport, was simply annoying. Her "little girl" voice and expressionless delivery was inadequate and did not suit the character she plays. Her supporting actors were equally wooden, particularly the earnest,caring boyfriend/psychiatrist and the naive and sugar-sweet best girlfriend.The plot was well worn-the wronged female goes on a revenge spree with her 9mm semi-automatic handgun. All of this carefully planned out without missing a beat at her job. Oh, and she must make sure that the "bad guys" don't leave the earthly realm without knowing why. She makes sure that they hear her case against them with appropriate sneers and tears.A new wrinkle: the killer/protagonist has an inoperable brain tumor and has 3-4 months to live. This, of course, makes everything all right. She's now a murderer for whom we MUST feel sympathy.Unless you're really into revenge/vigilante flicks, I would give this one a pass. How many ways can you do the revenge plot and still keep it interesting and thought provoking?

Ken Maskrey Yes this movie really is as bad as a movie can be.If someone was trying to make a loser of movie, I don't think they could have succeeded any better than this. The premise is old and tired. Also, revenge-filled,lead-females simply don't sell...look a Jodie Foster's movie, The Brave One...studios aren't touching this genre right now.The cinematography is NOT good, many shots are out of focus including the opening where she is sitting on a park bench. A really difficult feat for a digital camera. But then, the out of focus shots keep on coming.Then there is the audio. The lead actress speaks so softly compared to other people in the various scenes, it's as if there was no sound engineer on the set. At least, in post, they should have tried to normalize the conversations.Next, the writing. OMG...did someone not think to get coverage on this script? Finally...the acting...some of it is pretty okay, but not the lead. Totally unbelievable...no emotion...no nothing...Sure, some of it can be attributed to the poor script, but didn't someone think to tell her to speak more clearly? I tried to watch it, but could only get through about 5 minutes before I couldn't take any more.

tonyhag A dying Protagonist Blackport goes on a an angel of vengeance killing spree meeting out her own kind of justice on those who got away with it.Its been done many times before, but I have to admit this film is well made and carries the storyline very well and the main character is top notch and I must admit, I have never heard of Kristine Blackport, but she has done an excellent job of portraying the warped her heroine of the movie.Also top marks to the writer and director who have in effect made one hell of a good movie.