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Bay City (2008) Online

Bay City (2008) Online
Original Title :
Bay City
Genre :
Movie / Action
Year :
2008
Directror :
Rodney Dwira
Cast :
Nathan Allard,Mike Beange,Marshall Erickson
Writer :
Rodney Dwira
Budget :
CAD 3,000
Type :
Movie
Time :
1h 32min
Rating :
4.2/10

Two of the city's top detectives Kevin Tate and Smith Teasdale are caught in a web of betrayal and back stabbings while criminals scramble to get their hands on 100 million dollars of laundered funds.

Bay City (2008) Online

Two of the city's top detectives Kevin Tate and Smith Teasdale are caught in a web of betrayal and back stabbings while criminals scramble to get their hands on 100 million dollars of laundered funds.
Credited cast:
Nathan Allard Nathan Allard - Construction Worker
Mike Beange Mike Beange - Junkyard goon
Marshall Erickson Marshall Erickson - Duncan
Shannon Everett Shannon Everett - Panda Bear
Robin Frigeri Robin Frigeri - Smith Teasdale
Damien Gilbert Damien Gilbert - Cop
Tom Gilbert Tom Gilbert - Oleg
Neil Green Neil Green - Kevin Tate
Tony LaChimea Tony LaChimea - Lexi Ruben
Michael Picard Michael Picard - Uncle Lou
Andrew Pohjolainen Andrew Pohjolainen - Solo 2
Derek Pohjolainen Derek Pohjolainen - Solo 1
Mika Polkki Mika Polkki - Liquid
Trista Roininen Trista Roininen - Smith's girl friend
John Sacek John Sacek - Tubby

After graduation from the Film Production program, Director 'Rodney Dwira' started his own production company called Alphabet Productions with "Bay City" its first production. While in the last semester of the Film Production program, Rodney decided that, instead of writing a commercial, short film or documentary for his final project, he would write a full length, action, feature film based in Thunder Bay and 'Bay City" was born. He wrote, produced, directed, and edited 'Bay City'. The creation of the film began while Rodney was still in college.

After graduation, the editing of the film took over nine months to complete. Director 'Rodney Dwira' produced it for under $3000 thanks to the generosity of individuals, businesses, and suppliers throughout the city.

Director 'Rodney Dwira' is of Ghanaian descent. His grandfather's dream was to be a director and producer of films; but the closest he got was to own a movie theater - The Rio, the only independently owned movie theater in Ghana at that time. None of his nine children showed an interest in movie making, until his grandson Rodney. Rodney had an inexplicable, burning desire to make films and it wasn't until he made his aspiration known that he found it was a dream shared with his grandfather.

In February 2008, 'Bay City' made its premiere to a full Thunder Bay Auditorium crowd. In only one day, over 1500 patrons purchased tickets while hundreds more were turned away. It sold more tickets, faster than any other celebrity to grace the Auditorium's stage.

Director 'Rodney Dwira' wrote, produced, directed, and edited Bay City, while working part-time at a Subway restaurant.

Fifteen-year-old Jonas 'Shane Meekis' composed most of the films music.

Many of the dolly shots were created by having the cinematographers shoot while wearing roller blades.

Actors Neil Green, Robin Frigeri, Tom Gilbert, Michael Pickard,Trista Roininen, Tracy Sadgrove and Robert Sweet shot both Bay City and Slightly Used back to back in the city of Thunder Bay.

Director 'Rodney Dwirwa' gave a lot of freedom to actors Robin Frigeri and Neil Green, so, much of their lines was improvised.


User reviews

Xangeo

Xangeo

Touted as the first feature-length action film made in Thunder Bay, Ontario Canada, Bay City has all the right plot ingredients: amoral, ruthless characters each trying to get a fortune in money and/or at each other, with enough weaponry to equip a regiment in Afghanistan. Or, Bay City is the first feature-length comedy etc etc, with all the right ingredients: dimwitted characters who constantly blunder and/or find themselves in ridiculous situations with liberal amounts of clumsy slapstick.

The trouble with Bay City is, it's both, and neither.

Producer/director/screenwriter Rodney Dwira produced a visually interesting film, with excellent use of some of Thunder Bay's gritty factory-floor and junkyard locale. Young composer Jonas Shane Meekis put together some fine, atmospheric music to underscore the menace in the narrative. And actors Marshall Erickson (chillingly creepy hit man), Robin Frigeri (Smith Teasdale, a cop), Neil Green (Kevin Tate, another cop), and Tony LaChimea (Lexi Ruben) turn in mostly good performances in the film, while Tracy Sadgrove struggles valiantly to realize her role as the police captain.

But while Sadgrove worked very hard to be a believable boss lady of the two marginally-competent detectives, her presence is undercut by a gratuitous scene in which her two underlings ring her doorbell in the evening when her character is off duty. Naturally, she has her hair in curlers and a mask of some porridge-like concoction on her face and looks something like a zombie deer caught in headlight glare. As well, a completely unnecessary sound effect is added when a portion of the porridge falls off.

Crude, unfunny comedy occurs throughout the film--Neil Green's character (or was it Robin Frigeri's--no, this is otherwise not memorable) slowly devours a local confection called a Persian in another scene: for no good reason other than an opportunity for further unnecessary sound effects.

Michael Picard's performance as Uncle Lou is all but wasted--he just isn't funny. Loopy, missing a couple of cards from his deck, yes, but his character misses laugh generation by a kilometre. There are plenty more instances, and far from wringing out a laugh, the effect is like having someone yell a second-rate joke in your ear while jabbing you with an elbow to make sure you laugh in the right places. Less would have been more.

Between the sound effects and the so-so comedy, there is an action film. Sort of. Unfortunately, the plot is very hard to follow, as though the writing was made up as each scene was shot. Only when the climactic junk-yard shoot-out occurs, followed by the speedboat chase, does Bay City actually get into third gear. A cleaner plot with fewer complications (and more character explanations, please!) would have worked better. Less would have been more here, too.

This may have been intentional on the director/writer's part, but it seemed to me that unless they were firing at point blank range, nobody seemed able to hit the broad side of a barn door with their incredible array of weaponry. Then again, a high body count doesn't necessarily a good action flick make; besides, on a tight budget, less stage blood is maybe better than more. Who knows?

That said, two scenes stand out: the execution of a minor character by a henchman of Lexi Ruben near the beginning of the film, and the torture scene by high voltage of another character about halfway through the film. These work: they're well timed, they reinforce the ruthlessness of the characters involved. But that's pretty slim pickin's, though.

Ultimately, Bay City won't be remembered. It has the distinction of being the first feature-length action film created and shot in Thunder Bay. After all, the area is brimming with talented film makers, composers, actors, photographers, artists of all types. It has both urban decay and natural beauty, sometimes side by side. So why not a "good" feature-length action film?

Start with some essential ingredients, beginning above all with a good script. Good casting and acting. Atmospheric cinematography. Lean, tight editing. The rest will follow. Oh yes, and keep the Foley in storage unless it's absolutely necessary to use it.

Less is more.
Dalallador

Dalallador

I was told it was a must see movie if you live in Thunder Bay.. So I rented it.. I had to read on here the plot to figure out what was going on as it was very hard to follow.. It has Beautiful Thunder Bay scenery but poor transitions.. Hilarious timing on audio and switching between voice overs that it should almost be categorized as a comedy/action movie.. there is neat background music though that keeps the movie going..I feel like it would have been better if it had voice overs the entire movie like in Kung-Pow.. I remember one point when they actually showed someone getting shot and a black dot plopped on his neck and he covered it up so don't expect anything too amazing.. not a lot else to say about the movie except watch it for yourself of your really really bored..