All reviews - Movies (6)

The Nightmare Ends on Halloween II review

Posted : 3 months ago on 26 October 2011 08:51 (A review of The Nightmare Ends on Halloween II)

For an early effort made at the start of his career in 2004, Chris R. Notarile managed to make an enjoyable, interesting and well made short film called "The Nightmare Ends on Halloween". The fact that it was shot on home video is further proof of how good it was and showed promise of the talented filmmaker that Notarile would become.

The only drawback to the original film was that, at that time, a suitable pool of good actors wasn't available to Mr. Notarile.

Fast forward seven years and the sequel "The Nightmare Ends on Halloween II" not only outshines, but buries the first film. The evidence is the fact that the ending of the original film has been completely re shot for Part II and then leads directly into the battle! Compare the two versions of this scene. It's obvious Part II is far superior! The first thing you notice is how professional everything is. Superior lighting, camera work, editing and direction. The story is less talk and all action from the start! Action fans will love the fight scenes and horror fans will appreciate Notarile's attention to detail both in characters and story.

Regarding the acting - OMG what an improvement! Hector De La Rosa, Anthony Palmisano, Josh Rothman and Jerry Todisco don't even have dialogue, but they totally nail the essence of Jason, Michael and Leatherface. Kevin Lennon completely embodies Pinhead (with fantastic Pinhead voice by Notarile) and Roberto Lombardi is absolutely perfect as Freddy Krueger! Lombardi plays Freddy more as a homage instead of flat out copying Robert Englund, while portraying the character his way! This film and "Krueger (A Tale from Elm Street) are proof that Notarile and Lombardi can handle this material and the fans seem to agree!

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Methodic review

Posted : 1 year, 4 months ago on 20 September 2010 09:36 (A review of Methodic)

***SPOILIERS***

I'm serious! I don't understand the jealous hatred some "reviewers" post about this film. I guess it's true. Those who can't do, BASH! Speaking of "bash", METHODIC has the distinction of being the very first "basher" film!

Anyway, sure there's a similarity to HALLOWEEN, but director Chris .R. Notarile freely admits his love of that film and that METHODIC was originally intended as a reboot / remake of the John Carpenter classic.

All that aside, METHODIC starts out on failiar ground with a small boy who kills his parents, but quickly developes into it's own interesting and original story where we learn that the entity known as "The Dollman" is more like a virus than a spirit so anyone can't become The Dollman. This theme is explored more in the short sequel METHODIC 1.5 and that film shows where the storyline is going and it has nothing to do with HALLOWEEN !!

As for the acting, Brandon Slagle, Niki Notarile, Tony Dadika and Stephen Muzzonigro completely nail their roles and the supporting cast is equally as good with standouts being Daniel Werzinger, Rachael Robbins and Roberto Lombardi (who's storyline features heavily in METHODIC 1.5 and the upcoming METHODIC II).

Visually, METHODIC is stark and disturbing in all the right places and the music really enhances the visuals. Pick this up if you like old school horror with a good story. If you're into body count movies about drunk teens, pass on this!

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Bazookas: The Movie review

Posted : 1 year, 9 months ago on 17 April 2010 06:48 (A review of Bazookas: The Movie)

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I am a huge fan of indie films, actors and film makers and I had been reading online about Bazookas: The Movie for a long time and it was worth the wait!

***SPOILERS*** The owner of a family owned gym, Gus Bazooka (Stosh Zona, dies suddenly and leaves the business to his two sons. Angus (Vinny Duwe) is the good son trying to keep the business going and Judah (Sean R. Brooks) is the weasel of an older brother trying to sabotage the gym so he can sell it! The two brother make a bet that will give control of the gym over to the winner and that's where the movie really shines!

Angus enlists his employees (Angela Cohen, Nicole Galati, Jason J. Michael, Roberto Lombardi & Steven Nelson) to help him save the gym by introducing some sexy new classes, while Judah plots to destroy it with his henchmen (Joseph Campellone and Omar Portilla).

Bazookas is total slapstick, college humor in the vein of Porky's or Old School and is just as good (if not better) than most!

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Nice twist of the 'Love Triangle' theme!

Posted : 2 years, 3 months ago on 4 October 2009 12:47 (A review of Just Like Me)

*SPOILERS* I recently bought a copy of 'Just Like Me' because I am a fan of indie films & in particular one of the actors (Roberto Lombardi) who is in this film.

The film is about a half hour long and is the story of Bobby Greene (Lombardi) a comedian who thinks he needs to be more serious to find love and Marv Holtz (John Chisholm) a psychologist who wants to be funnier for the same reason. Barabara Kelly (Christina Sampson) places 2 ads in a singles paper because she doesn't know what she wants.

Both Bobby & Marv wind up dating Barbara but none of them realize it! As for the story, it's a familiar love triangle theme that is an interesting story with a surprise twist at the end. The 3 lead roles are acted very well, as well as the supporting roles of Buddy (Art Lyle) & Sheila (Jennifer Wiener). Dolores Lombardi is also very funny as Mrs. Nuesbaum, a patient of Marv's that has a fish phobia! Lombardi's comedy club routines are also very funny! I took a point away for production value. While the visuals are fine, the audio track is a little hard to hear in a couple of places. The music in the film is perfect & fits the film well.

Not 100% perfect, but I'd still recommend this pretty highly!

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Disturbing, Campy & a little Bloody!

Posted : 2 years, 3 months ago on 4 October 2009 12:45 (A review of Abduction)

*SPOILERS* I bought this film from Amazon and I really liked it! I've read some really positive reviews and some negative ones as well, but being an indie film fan and a fan of previous John Orrichio films - I bought Abduction. The camera-work is his best yet with beautiful outdoor shots and disturbing lighting and effects that show how the town is twisted behind closed doors, but picturesque and normal to the outside world.

It's the story of a remote New Jersey small town that is not on any map. Basically the townsfolk kidnap unsuspecting tourists and sell them into slavery, they harvest their organs for sale on the black market or make leather goods out of them! Everything starts to unravel when an up & coming pop star from South America is kidnapped and her bodyguards come to town to find her. The whole town is in on the secret. The story is original and plays out well. The first 10 minutes are a little slow, but it picks up nicely from there.

As for the acting, Tony Rugnetta (Jacob) is excellent. His best role to date. Roberto Lombardi (Johnny) is perfect, convincingly evil & sexy at the same time! Christy Callas (Lilly) who is vulnerable & sinister at the same time and Gerry Kirschbaum (Doc) who has the cool demeanor of a Doctor with a hidden mania. Other notable performances are Deana Demko (Rosie) and Christina Sampson (Myrtle). There is rarely a stumble by any of the actors.

I also think that to truly enjoy this film you have to take it for what it is. A low budget, well made drama / thriller that is a little creepy, a little campy/funny and a little bloody. It's not a horror film per se and it's not for everyone. If you want the thrills of a Saw movie, pass on this. If you like Rosemary's Baby, this is right up your alley. The film has gotten bashed, but I believe that is coming from former colleagues of the film maker who are bitter. Judge for yourself!!

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This should be remade by Blinky Productions!

Posted : 2 years, 3 months ago on 4 October 2009 12:44 (A review of Maniac Cop)

I've watched Chris R. Notarile's 'Maniac Cop' a few times now & it is so good that I keep going back for more. But then again, I just love Chris' films! The plot line follows some of the original film and left me wanting to see an entire movie and not just a short!Kim Santiago is perfect as the victim and looks the part to a T! Scott Dadika just scares me as the Maniac Cop and is more than worthy to carry on from the original. Damien is also good, but my favorite actor in this is Roberto Lombardi! He's just so believable and such a great actor that goes from a tough, self assured thug to scared out of his mind in the space of a few minutes! If you haven't seen this you should check it out

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Relationship status: In a relationship

Roberto Lombardi, Hugh Jackman, Andrew Roth, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Dolores M. Lombardi, Mark Wahlberg, Mandy Patinkin, Peter Jackson, Mack the Dog, Edward X. Young, Kevin Sizemore, Nick Grock, Shawn Parr

John Orrichio, Chris R. Notarile, M. Night Shyamalan, Christopher Nolan, Brian De Palma, Wes Craven, Steven Spielberg, Alfred Hitchcock

Roberto Lombardi, John Orrichio, Chris R. Notarile, James Cameron