Lotus Eyes (2016) Online

I was surprised to see this film listed on my recommendation list because it is relatively new--2016. The cast is unknown to me, the crew is unknown to me, but I decided to give it a try. It wasn't that bad. I would recommend you give this one a watch.

Why would I recommend it to you: Partly, the plot is atypical of the post-apocalyptic genre. There are not ravaging bands. There are not brain-eating zombies. There is not infection that decimates the population. The plot is about people trying to make do when everything they had depended on no longer exists.

Why else would I recommend it: one theme is about a 16 year old boy/man coming of age. This setting underscores the challenges of a young man in this environment. He has tough decisions to make about his relationships with his mother and women in his life. He also has to wrestle with the inevitable--do I make it with a group or do I make it alone. His conflicts--external and internal--I found engaging.

Another reason to recommend this film is the photography. The lighting is effective in setting moods--from bright light which engenders hope to shadowy which underscores the conflicts Simon has to endure throughout.

So this is a small film about a big issue: what it takes to become an adult in the world today. Give it a try. You might find it engaging.

I saw this movie had a 6.5 rating on IMDb, and it is on Amazon Prime, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Plus, I love post- apocalyptic-type movies (which I'm not sure this really is).

The good: The filming, lighting, and scenery is beautiful. Kudos for that. And as far as the acting, Anna Fagan was really good. Adam David Jones was good too.

The bad: The rest of the actors were pretty awful. 'Roberto' in particular, was terrible. He did not carry the 'something is menacingly off about this guy' character at all.

But the worst was the actual story. There were two HUGE problems- First, they never really told you what caused society to be in the state it was, other than an innocuous screen caption at the beginning that said 'Ten Years after Peak Oil'. And they never really clarified what the state of society was...some people had electricity, some didn't. They showed closed down gas stations, and then other convenience stores with gas pumps, groceries, and power. Some people lived in tents and foraged for food, while others had lovely vacation homes with all the amenities. This should have all been explained at some point.

Second, the story just ended. No explanation, no big moment, it just ended. It was never clear why. It was almost as if they suddenly just ran out of film. This was a major letdown for me.

I gave the movie 3 stars because the cinematography was really very well-done, and because I kinda had a small crush on Anna Fagan's character. But otherwise, at the end I felt like I just wasted 80 minutes of my life.