I know Sir Pryz is usually the one to do this, but I saw a movie at 2:30 in the AM skunk as a drunk a couple nights ago and it hit hard. So I thought I’d commandeer the TTC vessel this time around.

This was released by Magnolia Pictures (imagine that!) which released priceless flicks such as “Murder Party” (Sir Pryz) , “Cashback” (again, Sir Pryz ), “Humboldt County”, “The Host” and so on and so forth. You can be certain with a Magnolia Pictures film you’re in for a ride, be it bumpy or calm.

“The Signal” takes place in the fictional city of Terminus on New Years Eve when a change in human behavior engulfs its inhabitants. This change is caused by signals sent through T.V.s, radio, GPS, phones, anything that recieves The Signal. Visually, it looks like what would be the desired effect in a shroom trip (“Shrooms” is also a Magnolia Pic Flick). And on the phone it sounds like the terror filled days of Dial-Up… If Dial-Up came back to kill us all for leaving it behind.

Prolonged exposure to The Signal causes insanity. What type of insanity? The kind that distorts your perception of the world around you and completely rationalizes killing a human being without a second thought. People riot in the streets, killing each other like animals desperate to survive. A trick on the playing field of their media and their minds. Makeshift weaponry as far as the eye can see!

Told in three parts, from three differing perspectives, you experience confusion laced with humor intertwined with bedlam sewed onto confusion and mindfuckery. On their journey to Terminal 13, their ride out of the shitfray, they struggle with their own sanity and keeping it from crumbling like Clint Eastwood left out in the sun for too long. And oh yes, you see a foil hat donned for the sake of survival.

The importance of The Signal almost makes me sigh with grief because so few people will get to see it. The time period we live in, along with the time period we’re on the brink of, make this flick resonate in a distinctly haunting manner. In an era so obsessed with technology it borders on a fetish, this movie makes you wonder… “Is it all making us crazy?”

People have been crazy before our time, that is well known. But haven’t you noticed that everyone is crazy? At least the ones who are paying attention even a little! It makes it pretty difficult to decipher the people who let their craziness bend their perception like a pretzel. And if you think we’re crazy now just wait until shit REALLY hits the shingle. We haven’t seen SHIT yet. The Signal illustrates a zombie uprising that’s a little less far-fetched (not to say a zombies could never happen).

The Signal has some interesting special features. The ones that stood out most were the short films about people around the city of Terminus. Short stories that add depth to the events taking place in the city. It connects a lot to the idea of total chaos taking place while the ones creating it are seeing it as a rational reaction. After seeing this movie, my first instinct was to tell everyone I knew about it. So this is my way of doing it. Check out the signal and get ready for the Mindfudge.

Do You Have The Crazy?

The Fall is a touching story about two people stuck in a hospital due to an injury they got from a fall. One a small immigrant girl named Alexandria who fell while picking oranges to help her family financially. The other is stunt man Lee Walker, played by Lee Pace from ABC’s Pushing Daisies (A tv show that if you have never seen I also highly suggest), who fell of a bridge from a very dangerous stunt. Lee is in a great deal of depression due to the fact he may never walk again, something that would kill his career.  One Day Alexandria wonders into his room, and what appears to be a friendship. He begins to tell her a fantastic story. With adventure, mystery, revenge, and love. As the story goes on longer and longer, the line between their real lives, and what Lee is creating in this story begin to blur, and Lee’s true intentions become clear. A beautiful movie, climatically, writing, acting, every element of this movie is just beautiful. It is one of my fav. movies, if not my all time fav. movie. I say go out and buy this movie, it is also out on blue ray, and with a high def. television it would make it a thousand times more beautiful visually. A perfect 10 from me! So please go out and support these under dog movies! Til next time, I will be falling through the cracks for you, seeing if it takes me somewhere entertaining!

This installment of Through the Cracks brings us a gem of a Halloween movie called “Murder Party.” Murder party is an awesome tale of an Average Joe, named Chris, who finds a mysterious invitation to a Halloween Murder Party. Assuming that this is just your ordinary costume party, Chris bakes some pumpkin break, and prepares a costume made of cardboard that closely resembles something out of Monty Python. Chris is greeted by a group of college artists, who tie him up, and inform him that he will soon be murdered, all in the name of art. This movie is filled with references to many other cult classic movies, along with many funny moments. The box describes it as Napoleon Dynamite meets Texas Chainsaw Massacre, i couldn’t disagree more. Yes, there is a good amount of blood, and a chainsaw as a weapon, and yes there is a very nerdy main character, but other than that, there is no relation to either movie! This movie will truely shock you, and even though we are out of the Halloween season, it is still a good flick to pick up and watch at your local rental store. So that is all for this installment of Through the Cracks, and i leave you with the Tag line from today’s movie……”EVERYBODY DIES!”

With that out of the way, lets begin with the first installment. Today I will  be talking about a movie entitled “Cashback.” This movie started out as a 18 minute short film about a guy who was just trying to pass his time at work, and blossomed into something so much more. The film revolves around a art student by the name of Ben (played by Sean Biggerstaff) who, after a messy breakup, develops a severe case insomnia. He then decides to trade in the time of his restless nights for “cash back,” as he puts it, by working at a supermarket third shift. Here you are introduced to many colorful characters and are shown how each of them passes the time of the night shift in their own unique, and sometimes unorthodox, ways. Ben’s artistic minds passes his time by doing the opposite, imagining he can freeze time. With this new found “power” he observes the world through and artistic mind, undressing women and sketching images of their naked bodies. I know what you are thinking, this guy is a pervert….right? Yet, the narration of Ben during these scenes brings you into his world where everything is beautiful and everything can be art. This movie was much more than what I thought it would be when I picked it up at my local movie rental store, and it is one of the greatest finds in a long while. A true thought provoking movie, that takes you away from the normal and brings you into the artistic mindset. I give “Cashback” a 9 out of 10 and highly recommend you rushing out right now and at least renting it!

-Keith