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Reviews
Tromatized: Meet Lloyd Kaufman (2009)
One of the best Troma films out there, yet it's not Troma!
I have always been fascinated by the films Troma has put out over the years. I grew up on Toxic Avenger and all those wonderfully, low budget movies. Tromatized was a film on prescreen.com that I watched as soon as I got my subscription. What I really wanted was to know more about the man behind the mask, Llyod Kaufman, which, unfortunately, the movie failed to do to where I felt satisfied.
The movie was very well put together and flew by. I enjoyed the insight the film did bring to Lloyd's life, however I felt it was missing the heart. It could've been a very warm film, from a passionate director who produces horrifying images on screen, which would be the "catch". It failed to do so, but by no means does this make the movie a flop. It's very much the opposite.
It was a delightful film, with the typical gory, gross images you've come to expect from a film about Llyod or Troma, which will not attract anyone who is turned off by the independent legendary studio from New York. Although, even if you have a slight interest in their movies, I'm sure you will walk away inspired.
Transatlantic Coffee (2012)
Watched and then watched again.
Transatlantic Coffee is a movie currently on prescreen.com. I found out about the site from a friend who was a member of the site. My second rental was Transatlantic Coffee. I watched it with my girlfriend (because she thought it looked cute) one evening and needless to say, it was not what we expected. Maybe because "we" as American audiences are expecting something predictable. We thought the movie would be filled with fart jokes ...yadda, yadda and yadda. Well, we were wrong. In fact, the humor is kept to a minimum as this movie is surely nothing to chuckle about.
Alex is a clown for hire in Brooklyn, who is left alone from a separation, divorce or something else "we" as an audience are unsure of until the time is right. He finds comfort by having an online relationship with a much younger girl in London, who eventually comes to visit him in New York. All sounds cute and fluffy, right?
The film is so very real with it's look, feel, sound and acting. After the first few minutes you feel you are there with these characters. There are so many small surprises and visual elements that make this a movie you need to watch again to fully appreciate, which we did since prescreen allows you up to 48 hours to re watch the rental. However, even if they didn't, we'd most surely pay the extra money to rent again. We may have waited a week or so, as watching this heavy movie back to back would be, well ...heavy!
I want to compare the film to another, but it's really difficult. On the outside, it looks like a foreign film, but in actuality, it's very much a universal vision. Director Erik Peter Carlson captures a feeling so well, it is literally impossible not to be captivated from the first few frames.
The performances are outstanding, the music is wild and the feeling that is left with you at the end of the movie is something I, and yes, my girlfriend have not experienced in many moons. An A + for such bravery in scenes that are very hard to watch, yet are impossible to turn away from.