Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

IntoAvoid Always Shine combines elements of Persona, Single White Women, Mulholland Drive, and the trope of being in slim-populated woodlands.It does not succeed, especially in the 2nd half after a somewhat-promising first that builds up slowly after introducing us to the two main leads; a timid but rising young actress whose career is starting to trend upward, and a brash and fiery aspiring young actress whose career hasn't taken off.The timid Beth has a chance to reconnect w/ "old friend" Anna. I use quotations there due to the film's absence of showing us exactly how these two are friends when neither get along w/ the another very well. Very soon it's shown Beth has kept information from Anna which might have led to a role.This upsets Anna and she is further angered when Beth is hit on by a party-goer not far from the Big Sur home they spend time at "reconnecting," and this same chap had just backed off from the forceful Anna.Now at this point we're still not sure where exactly we're heading with all this tension and awkwardness. At one point Beth points out Anna no longer is friends with Beth, perhaps even hates her. So we assume the rapid flashbacks of violence that splash on the screen at random times will come to fruition in the form of violence.But soon the film degenerates into montages of reality blurring with fantasy; Beth races from the vacation house to be chased by Anna, following a frantic call from Beth to her boyfriend (who drives to Big Sur but disappears entirely near the end; none of the male characters here are important or shown to be competent or confident or necessary) and something bad takes places.Soon after Anna takes over Beth's looks and personality (to the point of mingling w/ Beth's new bartender friend, met at Big Sur after he gives Beth a lift back to the house; he doesn't notice the difference or perhaps this is a fantasy in Anna's head but I was too disinterested by this point to care.)Always Shine is mercifully short, not even 90 minutes. Minutes that go by rather slowly after an intriguing beginning of close-up camera shots for the female leads, establishing their personalities. The final shot comes sooner than expected, but it's rather confusing and not in a good way. As I mention the two leads are the best reason to watch this; the males are rather bland and off-putting, much like the dialogue save for scenes between Anna/Beth. Jane Adams appears briefly near the end; blink and you'll miss her.Not the best material, not very original or captivating. Davis comes off best here in a somewhat meaty role. You'd be best to catch her in Tully, instead. Much more invigorating; Shine is more like a flickering 40-watt bulb.

yb-32293 I just wanted to save someone's valuable time. This film is no more than a primary school show with no story , no playing

Red-Barracuda Two actresses take a break from L.A. and travel to a house in the country, the isolation brings to the surface dark emotions such as jealousy and distrust. Before long, events start to deteriorate badly.This psychological thriller is one of those which plays around with the concept of the unreliable narrator. At times, we are unsure of what is real and what is not. The introductions to both characters taps into this right away where we have a close-up shot of the actress head on, the first woman is auditioning for a part in front of a group of men, while the second woman is engaging in a heated exchange with a man who is trying to rip her off. This latter sequence tricks you into thinking it too could be an actress reading for a role and the reveal shocks us when we discover it is actually real. The idea of these scenes I guess is to show that women exist essentially in a man's world and have to put up with things men generally do not. So, one of the themes of the film is the pressures society puts on women. In this scenario, these tensions result in two friends going to war with each other. We slowly see little niggles gather momentum and insecurities create space that is filled by negative emotions. Both women are actresses, with one being more successful than the other; I guess you could say the less successful one is the better actress but has been less willing to pander to the will of male producers. Professional jealousies intertwine with all other tensions leading to a dark place.Acting by both leads, Mackenzie Davis and Caitlin Fitzgerald, is very good, especially Davis whose character ultimately runs the gauntlet of emotional states including assertive, insecure, meek and aggressive. The final act compounds this where there is a fusing of identities and events develop a more dream-like ambiance. It's, overall, a pretty compelling concoction of ideas which I found very involving. You have interesting characters with differing motivations and huge amounts going on under the surface. This results in a narrative which from an early point suggests cracks in the surface and hints at sinister events. As a viewer, you are actively encouraged to piece things together without being spoon-fed the answers. It's, on the whole, a very satisfying combination of a lot of disparate ideas that's comes together to create something really interesting.

Red_Identity I didn't really expect much from this but the poster certainly intrigued me. It reminded me a lot of the classic two-female psychodramas, most recently of Queen of Earth, and yet it also managed to bring something new to the table. It feels like a B-flick at its core but the filmmaking is very impressive and very intentional. The film also has a lot of interesting themes on its mind regarding the role of women in the film business and in society as well, and it will surely hit close to home for many. The two lead actresses are really good in their roles, particularly Mackenzie Davis who has the meatier role and who is able to knock it out of the park. I highly recommend this.