Hank Boyd is Dead - Indie Film Review

I received an email asking me to considering reviewing this Horror/Comedy. After reading the entire email, looking over the credits on IMDB and watching the trailer I decided to watch the film and review it here. I wasn’t sure what to expect because I am not familiar with writer/director Sean Melia. So, let’s dive in and take a look at my thoughts on “Hank Boyd Is Dead” in this Indie review…

First we can start with the story. A suspected killer has died and a catering service is hired to feed the folks attending the post funeral gathering. Things immediately don’t go as planned as one of the two caterers has to leave. The remaining caterer, played by Stefanie Frame, has to deal with the bizarre family, their questionable past and dangerous future.  Stefanie is an actress I wasn’t familiar with at all but she performed panic, fear, distress and confused all quite well. Overall, I found myself enjoying the story after I was able to get a feel for the tone of the film and the writing style. At first I wasn’t quite certain where the jokes were but that was only because I wasn’t familiar with Melia’s writing. Once I get a sense for his style I found myself enjoying some laughs at seemingly appropriate and (because of my own sense of humor) inappropriate places. The horror aspects of the story were also well done. The suspenseful twists towards the end did in fact surprise me. The story plays out similar to that of a Greek Tragedy and I was, by the end of the film, quite happy I made the decision to spend some time watching this movie.

The characters in this film also were quite different from each other. The initial introduction to one of the characters felt odd but that was only because I wasn’t familiar with the writing style. After a few lines of dialogue it was clear that Michael Hogan was going to be comedic relief. So as the film progressed it was quite surprising to see how his character developed. The character David Wells played also started off feeling a bit two dimensional and forced however by the end of the film I was on board, entirely. His character develops nicely as the movie progresses and the levels his character will go to for his family is truly terrifying and creepy. 

All in all, "Hank Boyd Is Dead" starts off a bit odd but again I feel that is only because I was unfamiliar with how Sean writes film. If the movie didn’t progress as well as it does I probably would be feeling differently. The movie ends well and it’s quite surprising once we get to the third act. The entire story falls into chaos and it’s thrilling to watch. I really enjoyed the characters, the story was paced pretty evenly and the tension builds from start to finish until the film finally ends and we’re left to consider the events that just took place on screen. I recommend giving this film a viewing. You can find it on Amazon and if you enjoy Horror/Comedy indie films I think you’ll appreciate this story. 

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Movie Review: Hits (2014)

David Cross writes and directs a tale of fame set in the small town of Liberty, NY.  The film shows how the internet can make you famous, even if it wasn't the way you intended for it to happen.

Meredith Hagner plays Katelyn, a nineteen year old girl with a dream to be on the NBC television show, "The Voice."  She feels she has what it takes and is willing to do just about anything to be heard.

Katelyn's father Dave, who is brilliantly played by Matt Walsh, has issues with his city council.  He continues to go to the town halls and is shut down.  This has progressively made him more upset and the videos of his city council outbursts have become mildly popular on YouTube.  This is where Donavan(James Adomian) comes in.  He becomes quite interested in Dave's cause when his drug dealer(Michael Cera) shows Donavan and his wife(Erinn Hayes) the YouTube video.  Donavan, who lives in New York City, and his group of friends are part of an internet group called "Think Tank" and he feels Dave is the perfect subject.

Everything culminates in the small town of Liberty.  Katelyn is looking to record a demo, Dave is becoming more and more popular on the internet, Donavan is surprised by the amount of attention, and there are a lot more characters that have integral parts within this story.

David Cross masterfully weaves all of the characters into this film.  There is a lot going on, but he finds a way to give each character enough screen time so that you are able to keep up with this interweaving tale.  There are also characters who may play small roles but had me laughing out loud.  Derek Waters was remarkably funny in his role as the awkward and always hungry Larson.

Those that are looking for fame do find it.  It just doesn't come the way they might have thought it would.

I'm giving "Hits" three out of five Pile Drivers.  Definitely worth watching if you like a tragic comedy.

You can read more of my reviews here on Cinema Head Cheese and also please check out my blogs, reviews and podcasts on http://maskerpiecetheatre.blogspot.com/

Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

This review came from one of my earlier Cinema Head Cheese blogs.

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Movie Review: Primer (2004)

Aaron(Shane Carruth) and Abe(David Sullivan) have an invention.  They don't know what it is or what it does, but they know they have something.  They find out they have a time machine that makes it possible to go back a short time in the past.  The two have issues with how to use the time that they now have.

Primer is the type of movie that puts your brain into think mode.  I'm actually going to watch it again just so that I can help myself piece together the amount of times the two friends use the time machine.

The camera shots are really weird in this movie.  The opening scene is a shot from the ceiling angled down with a light in in the upper portion of the screen and the garage door in the background.  The next scene in the kitchen/dining area has the camera on the counter top, with the edge of the counter top showing.  There were other shots that just had too much showing of people's backs or other objects in the foreground that weren't vital for the scene.  By no means, am I an expert as far as directing goes, but there were so many scenes that were visually bothersome and it took away from the movie-watching experience.

I did enjoy Primer and do recommend it for you time travel buffs out there.  This is one of the more of how I think time travel would be treated if invented by a couple of young scientific minds.  One that is eager for the science, the other eager for the results.  Watch it a couple times, I'm about to.

As of first watching, I'm giving Primer 3.5 out of 5 Pile Drivers.

Let us know what you think about Primer in the comments below.

This post is from one of my earlier blogs on Cinema Head Cheese and you can read more of my movie reviews there.

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Movie Review: Tusk (2014)

It's no secret to anyone who knows me or listens to the podcasts I've been on that I am a huge Kevin Smith fan.  From the first time I watched Clerks I was enthralled with his work.

I finally got around to watching Tusk and at first I wasn't sure what I thought of it.  There's the Kevin Smith humor but it's mixed in with a little bit of a Human Centipede-esque type of film.

Tusk is about an obnoxious podcast host(Justin Long) who travels to Canada to interview an internet sensation.  Unfortunately for him, he is unable to get the interview but he finds out about another person(Michael Parks) who seems like he may be interesting to talk to as well.  Things don't go well and the podcast host will go through some serious changes.

Smith is able to get the most out of the actors in this film.  Michael Parks is masterful as the walrus aficionado.  Justin Long plays his part as the podcast host as excellently as well.  As with most Kevin Smith films, the cameos are fun to watch for(I didn't even recognize Johnny Depp, guess I better watch it again).  The Canadian humor is funny as well.

As for the film itself, it wasn't exactly my favorite.  That's not to say I didn't enjoy the film, it's just not one I would watch regularly.  It's definitely worth checking out but be warned, it's not for those of you with a weak stomach.

On a scale of one to five, Tusk recieves Four Pile Drivers.

Please comment below and let us know what you thought of Tusk.

Please check out my other reviews here on Cinema Head Cheese and also check out my other blogs & podcasts on MaskerpieceTheatre.blogspot.com

This blog is from one of my posts on Cinema Head Cheese and you can read more of my movie reviews there.

Maskerpiece Theatre is sponsored by MoviePass. See unlimited movies at a theater near you for a low monthly rate.

You can also support our show by using our Amazon banners or donating on our Support Us page.