Ever Since The World Ended

Ever Since The World Ended

I love post-apocalyptic movies. Humanity laid to waste for whatever reason. Now they must fight to survive or band together to survive or take out the guy with the butt-less chaps so he doesn't steal their oil.

This movie incorporates the story of the destruction of humanity to a very few and a first hand perspective mocumentary (aka fake documentary). So basically you have a cross between "The Postman" and "The Blair Witch Project". The main question I had before seeing this movie was, "Is this going to suck as much as "Blair Witch" did?"

Twelve years have passed since a plague swept the planet killing out most of the population. The film revolves around two guys who decided to document the post-destruction era they live in on video for future generations, if any. They live in San Francisco where they are only 2 of 186 people remaining alive. So the film makers give us a taste of what life is like. They interview a kid who is a "finder of anything you need" by raiding houses of the dead. We see the group council deciding how to carry out punishment. We see how family life has changed and how children who have grown up post-plague feel about the "times before" that they never knew. A bunch of subjects, if properly done, could make for a very interesting movie.

Unfortunately, this movie fails at telling the story they wanted to.

The production value isn't the best, but I hold that against no movie. I hate to see Hollywood have a monopoly on movie making so I will watch a movie shot on a 1980's home video recorder and appreciate the story for what it is (and I have to!).

Grade - D+

This movie is horrible. I know people will and have picked on it for having little production value but I don't hold that against anyone...unless you're "Blair Witch", and your movie has nothing in it. This movie at least tells the tale of how people would be like after they grow accustomed to the notion that the world just started from scratch again. I liked that it showed a wide selection of people. Kids who knew little to nothing about the "time before", people starting families again, "deviants", etc.

The real gripe I have with this movie is that it allows people to talk too much and doesn't show much about the daily struggles that the people have to face. It's mostly about how people came to this point and what they do now. We're only treated to a small insight of the new "governing body" making a decision about a "deviant". What happens after that is a bit confusing (not wanting to give anything away). Also, they never explain why they wanted to film outside the city at all. We're just suppose to guess. There are also no fun shots of a deserted city or any aftermath shots. It's a nice talking points movie...but not much of anything else.

Uncivil Liberties

Uncivil Liberties

Be advised when dealing with B movies! If you know it's a B movie, but the box looks awesome, they are trying to fool you! Be advised! This is a B movie. Good thing I don't hold that against them. I'm not going to hold the poor video quality or the iffy acting against them. I judge these types of movies based on plot and entertainment. After all, if I expected Hollywood gold from every movie, every movie would end up like crap. I applaud these brave heroes who shirk off Hollywood stigma and strive to make a good indie film!

The story is set in the near future in America. The two main characters that we follow are on opposite sides of the wall of "security". In this dystopia, the US government is spying on its own citizens, both secretively and outright, in the same of security. There are a group of rebels made up all sort of disenfranchised citizens with different reasons why they are rebelling. On the side of the rebels, we follow Mike Wilson who decides that he wants to renounce his rebel ties because of the violence that is asked of him to carry out. On the side of the government, we follow Cynthia Porter who rebels against the government spying operation she helped to create by sabotaging her program. Oh the irony! Cynthia's own program is turned against her while Mike's former rebels deem him a security risk. Oh the irony!

I would talk about the "stars" in this film. But as of right now, they aren't.

Grade - D-

Oh how I wanted to like this movie! This movie had a lot of potential. It started off really good and seemed to have a good plot. Then they lost me in the middle; especially with a 20 minute slow chase through the forest. I tell no lie! 20 minutes...chasing a guy...through the forest...for no reason! The main problem I have with this movie is that I have no clue what their message was. They say there is a system, then there isn't one, then there is again.

I didn't care about the low production or the amateur cast...this movie was about the story; and because of that...it faltered. The story could have been better if they would have stuck to the "rebels vs. the system" plot line...but it didn't. Not to mention, I wasn't really given a sense that people in this movie were being tracked and exploited by the system/government. Again, the plot seemed to sea-saw in the message which hurt them the most. If you're going to make a movie about a overbearing government surveillance system that both sides admit you should show it working, show why it's bad (or good depending on your message), and your story elements should revolve around it in some way!