Critical Nexus (2013) Poster

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1/10
Uncritically Noxious
Uncritically noxious indeed. Painfully bad with pretentious, pseudo-philosophical ramblings and ultimately marred by tainted IMDb reviews which appear to come from the filmmakers or friends of.

After having read the 'glowing' reviews, I decided to give this film a go. Silly me. I should have smelled the celluloid rat from the unusually high and positive ratings-not one bad review on IMDb? I now realise the ratings were fake. As a rule I have a distaste for most 'critics' but after watching this painful rubbish (and being mislead by fake reviews), I decided to become that which I despise: A Critic.

As soon as I began watching I realised the script could have come from a 'Cut-Up' technique using The Sun (National Enquirer) for its content. Conceptually, there was initially some potential but this was quickly negated by the one-dimensional characters and terrible script. The acting was so wooden that alerts should have been sent to the Forestry commission. This film is laughable, apart form the fact it will rob you of 90 minutes of time you could spend doing something more productive like sticking pins in your eyes. There is a scene in a gym at 22:30/40 with a laughably stilted exchange between 'Mark', the 'amoral/moral porn producer'/detective/internet 'entrepreneur' and 'Charlie' which left me cringing for its epic failure. All the way through this filmic debacle, the soundtrack/background music was jarring-it just didn't fit, it seemed disjointed-(as did the acting, writing, sound, er...everything). It's like they just randomly plucked music from the 'cut 'n' paste hat'. It didn't work. The audio itself seemed like it was taken from a badly dubbed 70s Kung Fu flick. Worst of all were the vacuous, pseudo-philosophical ramblings that perpetuate this vapid, infantile mess. It seems like it's his first film after having just left college but that no excuse. The ending? Well, looks like they just gave up. I only wish it had come sooner or not at all. Beyond Good and Evil? Yup.

When IMDb allows false ratings like this I find myself disappointed, disgusted and angry. I wasted 90 minutes of my life on this rubbish which only has a high rating because, coincidentally, all the 'reviewers': * All 7 people have ONLY 'reviewed' one film-this one; * Have all joined in the past 4 months; * All gave consistently high 'marks' * They ALL come from America/Chicago; and, no doubt, all have some connection to the film itself. Why don't you just have the courage of your celluloid convictions and NOT try to 'fix' the ratings. As 'Artists', and in this case I use that term very loosely, you should allow the 'work' to speak for itself, to stand on its OWN merit or lack thereof. That's what being an artist is all about- I'm an artist, a painter and photographer so I know all about 'baring one's soul'. Giving your own film these arbitrary rating does nothing but put people off any future endeavours. I only give it one out of ten because they don't allow lower or minus marking which would have been more appropriate for this sad, pretentious waste of space.
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Worth Checking Out for Originality
puretalk2912 December 2013
Critical Nexus takes a different approach to dealing with ideas like our online identities and how they can have an impact in the real world. Each of the main characters is coming to terms with their actions or the consequences of their actions online. This is not the usual "ripped from current headlines" story line, rather it presents a some interesting ideas and observations about the costs of anonymity in our online lives without being preachy or apocalyptic. The cinematography and production looked very professional and the acting was also quite good for something on this scale and I would like to see more work by the two leads in particular. Overall, Critical Nexus deserves points for having an original plot, solid cinematography as well as some very good acting. All of which left me wanting more but in a good way.
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1/10
A critically awful waste of your time.
elroi71431 July 2016
Warning: Spoilers
SPOILER ALERT!!! This movie just plain sucks. It's so bad, I don't even know where to begin! The production values were decent enough- but NOTHING ELSE! When your plot and actors are both terrible, you could have the greatest production and still end up with a flop. The story is sketchy, at best. Some web-cam tramp is trying to find meaning to her life, but has problems, because she is clueless. A guy obsessed with her (for reasons beyond my comprehension) is following her as she treks across the country in search of enlightenment; which will always elude her, for obvious reasons. Sound good? Or does it sound like a bore-fest? It's the latter and you have been warned! Those other "wonderful" reviews? Obviously written by the cast/director. Don't you hate that?
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9/10
a webcam girl being stalked across country
not_appearing26 September 2013
Warning: Spoilers
To be honest, there are some things about this movie that I didn't get. But I keep thinking about it. Like, I am not sure how her dad fits into things or if (how?) Mark knew Katie before she ran away.

But here is what I know: a girl runs an internet sex show, and runs away from home. Two different guys are chasing her, one of which wants to murder her and one of which wants to ... well, his motives are kind of mysterious. They don't know where she is headed but are trying to figure it out based on things she says on her webcam.

It is a sexy movie, but not really in the way I thought it was going to be. This movie will really make you think.
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7/10
Sometimes certain roads lead to Las Vegas...this movie does it's best to show the darker side of paths taken.
richwamsley-516-975522 October 2013
I saw the premier of Critical Nexius a few weeks ago. I thought Tirf Alexius did a very credible job of interweaving the back stories together.

That said, I would of liked more involvement of why some of the characters behaved the way they did. For instance, the young sociopath killer. I never really figured out why he went on a killing spree. And I just did not like that trenchcoat! It just didn't seem to fit the character.

The supporting characters were all good. The soundtrack was excellent.

Karmann Bajuyo did a nice job of showing his mounting stress. All in all, a fun night at the movies.
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A Great Movie as a Teaching Tool
carnesmd30 September 2013
I recently watched Critical Nexus at the Harper Theater in Chicago. Despite an unseasonable rain storm, I and a few others braved the weather to watch this film. I'm so glad that I did. It is a smart portrayal of the intersecting issues of sex, lust, pornography, female body image, acceptance and relationships/dating in a modern digital world. I found the movie to be very thought provoking and one that can be used for teaching on the various topics mentioned; or a movie that a small group of people can view together, discuss, share and learn. I'm looking forward to the release of the DVD, because I plan on sharing it with many of my friends in the sex abuse prevention industry. Thank you to the producers, director, writer and cast for creating this wonderful work!
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10/10
Critical Nexus 2013
gwenloyd11328 September 2013
This was one of the most interesting plots I've seen in the theater. The movie had great cinematography, the acting was realistic with artistic license from the producer. This movie grasp the audience attention with excitement. Kudos to the producer Mr. Tirf Alexius! You're on your way man!! Great job!The acting was realistic, enticing and interesting.For all intentions and purpose this is a well made film. the execution had great coincidences and interesting. The major turns in the story were timely and moved us to the next act. The writer/Director Tirf Alexius directorial choices were great!The film devolves into one scene after another where the lead actress run to one situation after another. Great foreshadowing and a great sense of humor in some parts of the movie. Kudos Critical Nexus..you definitely got a A+ from me.
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10/10
An exciting thriller that hasn't been done before.
z_number710 October 2013
I recently had seen Critical Nexus at the New 400 Theater, not knowing what to expect. I watched the trailers and was intrigued, as I find myself looking for a movie that "hasn't been done before" or of a different story than the typical "Hollywood film". This film nailed that! It was a thought provoking film that was edgy and a completely different film than the overdone, typical Hollywood story lines. If you are looking for a great movie to see that is edgy, full of thrills, and will keep you involved until the end of film, I would highly encourage you to see this film. I know I will be watching it again as soon as it comes out on demand.
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A teen girl sets out to find answers about herself and her sexuality and chaos surrounding her running away ensues.
writewoman1228 September 2013
I was intrigued the whole while watching this film. It has plenty of layers and complexity and is rich in themes. I thought there were some strong performances, especially from some of the actors playing secondary characters. This is not an easy breezy storyline, so you have to bring your thinking cap. I'm not certain all of the story lines were tied up completely, but that may be my own need for a neat ending. But this is definitely an independent spirit film, so don't expect Hollywood conventionality in the story lines. It was also fresh and original in other ways. For instance, I really loved that the casting was so diverse and unconventional.
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