NativeBlood66 Reviews

If I Had a Hammer (1999)

Fantastic Independent film by Josh Becker

[9/10 · 19 July 2007]

If you can find a copy of this film then by all means you should get it and keep it in your collection forever.

Josh Becker had been selling copies of the movie on his website and, to the best of my knowledge, has recently stopped.

This movie is about the changing of an era and is comparable to Orson Well's "The Magnificent Ambersons" and also to the legendary George Lucas's "American Graffiti".

It is an excellent commentary on life in America prior to the arrival of the Beatles and is fully supported by a highly energetic, though mostly unknown, cast.

Lisa Records and Brett Beardslee give wonderful, yet innocent performances and add to the overwhelming charm of this undiscovered diamond.

If you are looking for a wonderful thought provoking movie that isn't about special effects but, mercy me, is actually a well told visual story then "If I Had a Hammer" is just what the doctor ordered.

Grizzly (1976)

BIG critter in the woods!

[5/10 · 19 July 2007]

Generally after a movie comes out is when people , critics or whoever, begin making comparisons between it and other films.

If there happen to be any similarities at all then the film is labeled a rip-off and then sent off to the wonderful land of the back room shelf. This is one that I am glad stayed off the back room shelf, if anything, for nostalgic reasons.

Most film makers would tell you they were inspired by something whether it was "Spider Man" or "Black Narcissus" when they were a kid. It doesn't mean they directly ripped it off.

The story for "Grizzly" was written before "Jaws" came out, the writers didn't know each other, and though one might be able to draw parallels as far as the story goes it is not a "Jaws" rip-off. It's just that you have blood, guts and gore and so did Jaws which came out, theatrically, a year earlier.

One is on land and one is in the ocean...How exactly is that the same? No. The real rip-off movie of "Jaws" is the Italian movie "The Last Shark".

"Grizzly" came out in our nation's Bi-Centennial year. "Jaws" kept me out of the water and "Grizzly" kept me out of the woods for a LONG time. Even now though,31 years later, the film is still worth a look and it has some very interesting ideas represented and some very interesting camera shots and a couple of good scares.

Does it have a cheese factor? Of course, but overall it a pretty good low-budget flick which makes me think of guerrilla film-making and it makes the effort at trying to tell a good story..

I put it right in the middle of the scale and worth checking out depending on your own personal perception of what a monster movie should be .