DAMIEN RILEY, world musician and performer

Author: Damien Riley

  • The Survivalist

    A well-acted thriller set in post-apocalyptic foliage.

    Most post-apocalyptic films focus on the water shortage (“Tank Girl”) or even gasoline (“The Road Warrior”. This film has famine as its hazard. It starts in a survivalist’s cabin that has food among starving people who don’t. As a result, conflict happens.

    The Survivalist (2015)
    Cast
    Mia Goth

    as Milja

    Martin McCann

    as Survivalist

    Barry Ward

    as Forager

    Directed by
    Stephen Fingleton
    Written by
    Stephen Fingleton
    Other Info

    Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
    Rated PG-13
    1h 44min

    An excellent film that captures attention with no emotion. The people we see here are shells of their former selves. Like “Mad Max” the world as we know it has been destroyed. People are scavengers making their way to survival. The “Survivalist” played by Martin McCann has fond a way to farm his own food. When I say food, I’m talking about things like leeks and radishes. It’s humble to be sure. Still, in a world that is starving, he is like a king. Furthermore, thieves would love to have their way with his produce and they are constantly trying to do so.

    While the film starts out showing us nifty survival stuff, that passes. After that it is a subdued dialog between few drifters and most notably, an old woman and her daughter played by Mia Goth. Incidentally, in real life she is the fiance of Shia Lebouef. Once the girl shows up we see a lot of attempts at communication, mostly by the old woman, but we find that sex barter is the only thing that really allows them close to him.

    I kept thinking about how it could get to this after an apocalypse. I mean, if we know no one can really do anything for us, do we continue being charitable? Is the Survivalist charitable? He comes close but I can’t say he ever is truly. Is this what we must become in order to survive? Is survival worth losing trust for anyone? These are the sorts of questions that came up for me.

    The film has an eerie feeling to it and a surprising twist at the end. The events that precede that twist are important to recall. I’m not si sure U know what the twist really means. I have a hunch it’s more than I am relaying to you now. I will most definitely see it a second time but if you have any ideas, do tell! This kept my wife and I’s attention the whole time and for that reason I recommend it. Because it had no emotion, I felt it was somewhat lacking. Furthermore, there could have been more foreshadowing about the twist at the end. That’s why I took a star from the score.

  • Legend

    Title: Legend
    Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama
    MPAA Rating: R
    Year: 2015
    Director: Brian Helgeland, known for “L.A. Confidential”
    Top Billed Cast: Tom Hardy, known for “The Revenant,” Emily Browning, “A Series of Misfortunate Events”
    Brief Synopsis: The rise and fall of two real life mobsters who happen to be identical twins.
    My Word to the Wise: Has all the stuff that makes classic Gangster movies. The fact that it’s real makes it all that more captivating. Tom Hardy is again at an acting high. This excellent entertainment. Highly violent though, maybe needlessly so at times. For that reason, I have to say leave the kids out of this one. The twins played by the same person failed a few times technology wise, it looked fake. Overall though, the movie works on many levels. I think fans of the genre and/or Tom Hardy will really like this film.

  • The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

    Title: The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
    Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
    MPAA Rating: R
    Year: 2015
    Director: Guy Ritchie, “Snatch,” “Rock N Rolla”
    Top Billed Cast: Henry Cavill, “Man of Steel,” Armie Hammer, “The Social Network,” Alicia Vikander, “Ex Machina”
    Brief Synopsis: A film adaptation of a late 1960’s television crime drama. Themes, soundtrack, and visuals are very similar to 007 and “Mission Impossible” films. The story that involves time/date appropriate and overused cold war tensions.
    My Word to the Wise: Guy Ritchie does a good job with visuals. He must have some cool apps for editing. Much of the film is spliced up like my “PhotoGrid” app on my iPhone 6 plus. Story, not amazing. I do like Henry Cavill’s voice. When he speaks, you can’t help but wake up. There are some cool stunts as well.

    The rest of this review may contain spoilers.

    Guy Ricthie can boast of being married to and divorced from Madonna. He can’t say he went to film school. In fact, he’s known for saying film school graduates make boring films that are “unwatchable.” I think Guy Ritchie should have gone to film school. He has a big mouth that his movies so far, for me, can’t back up. This film is shallow and not much more than an undergraduate’s best effort, given access to all the big boy director toys. Somehow this guy knows how to get in with the big dogs, unfortunately he can’t run with them. I’ll send him an application to Cal Arts. God knows he can afford the tuition. Having said that, it’s a nice presentation visually. It would be a good one to put on the HiFi surround sound on low at a cocktail party. Not much stayed with me.

  • Anomalisa

    Title: Anomalisa
    Genre: Animation, Comedy, Drama
    MPAA Rating: R
    Year: 2015
    Director: Duke Johnson, not many credits to his name, Charlie Kaufman, known for “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”
    Top Billed Cast: David Thewlis, known as Remus lupin in the Harry Potter films, Jennifer Jason Leigh, “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” “The Hateful Eight,” Tom Noonan, “12 Monkeys”
    Brief Synopsis: What kind of story about our humanity can better be told through animation?
    My Word to the Wise: Some will quickly turn off to this quirky, sometimes slow animated film. Others who have the patience to see what’s in here will be delighted by the characters, the sets, and the messages that are open to interpretation. It is a life we are watching, maybe it’s a microcosm of our own?

    Source: Listen to Charlie Kaufman’s One-Hour, Career-Spanning Talk with Marc Maron

    The rest of this review may contain spoilers.

    Michael Stone is the main character here, voiced by David Thewlis of Harry Potter Fame, and he is working his way to a conference in Cincinnati where he is be the keynote speaker supporting his book. The book is on customer service. In a taxicab and soon after that in a hotel room, he begins having visions of his boring life. All the women he meets have a man’s voice as well, I should tell you that in case it becomes important. Through a sequence of events, Michael has a one night stand with Anomalisa.

    He regards her for many reasons but mostly, probably, because she is the only woman in his world who has a woman’s voice. One more significant thing, at one point, Michael’s face falls off and he has robotic lights underneath. Such is the oddity of this film.

    I liked it because of the beautiful sets and amazingly real looking stop action animation. If those two items don’t get you motivated to see it, you might save it for a rental. If you’re looking for something different, this dreamlike film definitely qualifies.

    I found it oddly entertaining. Because it is too quirky at times and some of the messages, not all, are obvious and take a lot of screen time, it lost a point with me.

  • Everest


    Title: Everest
    Genre: Adventure, Biography, Drama
    MPAA Rating: PG-13
    Year: 2015
    Director: Baltasar Kormákur. Known for “Contraband,” “The Deep” and others.
    Top Billed Cast: Jason Clarke, known for “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” Josh Brolin, a well known actor, and Thomas M. Wright, known for “The Bridge.” Note: There are many big names in this film including Keira Knightley and Jake Gyllenhaal.
    Brief Synopsis: A true story makes for grand cinema as we travel with hikers up Everest and experience what they do.
    My Word to the Wise: Gritty, brutal film making but for a purpose. We feel the machismo along with these men and we feel the fear of their wives as they take on this journey of false bravado. A lot of snowblind places in the script that could have been better but a grand cinematic experience.

    The rest of this review may contain spoilers.

    Everest is a film with panoramic landscapes. It’s also a gripping adventure. It’s not one to be watched on a small screen. I found myself wondering why the hell they would take on this hike through the beginning parts of the movie. Later, I felt the foolish pride well up in my heart with them. At the end of the movie, it was if I was in the last paragraph of the new story with them. It’s well acted and well cast with some very famous actors like Josh Brolin. Whether you enjoy hiking or don’t, this film will bring you to a much higher place. It is difficult to watch at times when the script is thin so it lost a star with me.

  • A River Runs Through it

    Title: A River Runs Through it
    Genre: Drama, Autobiographical
    MPAA Rating: PG
    Year: 1992
    Director: Robert Redford
    Top Billed Cast: Craig Sheffer, Brad Pitt, Tom Skerritt
    Brief Synopsis: Two brothers grow up taught by their father, a Presbyterian minister. The setting is Montana where fly fishing is just as important as religion. The boys launch adult lives and the film follows them.
    My Word to the Wise: When a loved one gets into trouble a little too often, “we can still love completely without complete understanding.” This is just one life lesson we learn from this truly remarkable film. It’s based on the autobiography of college professor/writer/poet Norman MacLean.

    The rest of this review may contain spoilers.

    Norman and Paul MacLean steal a boat in high school. They nearly kill themselves in the white water. If you were a young man or have known a young man, you know stunts like this often happen on the way to adulthood. Two brothers, sons of the town preacher, two directions. Craig Sheffer, Brad Pitt, and Tom Skerritt are excellent actors who are used by director Robert Redford to paint the canvas of Norman’s life. We learn that fly fishing is more poetry than an aisle a sporting goods store. We learn that writing and applying to college is a rite of passage that can open ones eyes as much as knock one to the ground.

    This is not an open-ended movie, things happen and stop and consequences come both bad and good. It’s a film about the spirit of these two young men and what makes them great individuals, despite tragedy. This film is an emotional journey and you don’t just see Montana, you are transported there. For many years now I have called this my favorite movie. It is full of cinematic Americana and collected stories of a gifted author’s life growing up in Missoula, Montana.