Low Budget Movie Buff: Movie Reviews

Oh, in the late hour, how dreadful the bumps and shadows of the night can be. But rest assured, it’s usually nothing more than the wicked tricks of your paranoid mind running amok … well … if you’re lucky . Because sometimes those ghostly flashes in one’s peripherals or the unsettling creaks of one’s home can be far more real and malevolent than any would want them to be. And if they truly are, then what is a lonesome soul to do? This question and more, I’m sure, ran through Josh’s mind, when he found himself caught in an unsettling game of cat-and-mouse with the mysterious, shadow stalker known as The Visitant . The Visitant ( 2024 ) is a horror-short written and directed by Chad and Brennan Sano that tells the tale of Josh ( Aaron Groben ), an artist that inadvertently creates a gateway into another world that invites a dark presence into his home. Clocking in at exactly 7 minutes ( with credits ), not a single second is wasted, wracking the spirit with a lingering dread that does ...

Time. What a wonder of reality. Because no matter what lay before or behind its path, it holds the power to bolster, erode, redeem, or punish as it sees fit. People. Places. History. Culture. Ideas. Stories. It doesn’t matter. All manner of existence must humble itself before its will, praying desperately to either forever hold its favor or at the very least, to one day find it. And amongst the myriad of entities that writhe within its ceaseless tide, it’s our precious narratives, in all their varied forms, that come into question more than anything else. So for one such tale of an abysmal future ravaged by ill favor, shall we now find it redeemed by time and finally worthy of praise? Or shall time still find it wanting and leave it where it lie, so it may fade into oblivion? Let’s get into it. Oblivion (2013) is a post-apocalyptic action-adventure film that was adapted by Karl Gajduskusek and Michael deBruyn from director Joseph Konsinki’s unpublished graphic novel of the same name. ...

Secrets. White lies. Sometimes it’s all we have or at least what we perceive to have that’ll hold ourselves or the world around us together. In some instances, they may even hold the key to a brighter future. One of victory. One of peace. One of hope. And for Flight Officer, Maude Garrett, nothing could be further from the truth as she sits trapped in a gunner’s hatch suspended beneath the belly of a Boeing-B7 Bomber, while her top secret package lies somewhere up above in the heart of the vessel amongst a crew of misfit soldiers that (with both good and bad reason) do not trust her. But just as she spins her tales and pleads with the crew, professing the legitimacy and importance of her person, her secrets, and her mission, so too does she with the audience, who watch and listen with bated breath. But as both characters and audience follow the wild escalation of her adventure, the question beckons to be asked, are the revelations made along the way and the means by which they come abo...

     Within a vast sea of eclectic personalities, all strange, deranged, and nostalgic in their own right, it’s truly a wonder that one manages to easily stand head and shoulders above all the rest, both in and out of the ring. And I’m not talking about The Rock, The Hulkster, or even The Unseeable Cena. No. Because even with all their charisma combined, I can surely say that their legacy does not hold a candle to the most revered, beloved, and reviled personality of them all, the infamous head honcho that everyone loves to hate, Vincent Kennedy McMahon.      Yes. Always walking ten feet tall and with every inch of the Biggest-D-Swagger the world has ever known, Mr. McMahon single handedly birthed, grew, and perfected the multibillion dollar WWE empire that many know and love today, producing unforgettable stories, legendary bouts, and larger than life superstars that rival (perhaps even best) the ancient myths of old world gods and monsters. Or so the rum...

     The haunting red spark of Anakin’s betrayal. The alluring mystique of the bounty hunter, Boba Fett. The epic carnage of the infamous Clones Wars. The legendary Kessel Run of Han Solo. These are but a few of the tantalizing tidbits of the once rumored lore of the Star Wars Universe. People, places, and events of such legendary status that when hinted at or referenced to, set many bleeding-heart fans ablaze with wild and wide-eyed imagination. In fact, the fabled fragments cause such a visceral surge of inspiration that the masses can’t help, but conjure up their own fantastical tales regarding them. And with such potential forever floating amidst the void of speculation and so many chomping at the bit to have their dreams made manifest, it was only a matter of time before the powers that be finally put pen to paper, paper to film, and inevitably film to screen. However, once they had, the stories that played out were met by fans with varying degrees of cheers, jeers, ...