Film Reviews · Backpex

Title	Overview		Toggle columns Title Overview
Hello Herman	Set in the not so distant future, in Any Town USA, sixteen year old Herman Howards makes a fateful decision. He enters his suburban school and kills thirty nine students, two teachers, and a police officer. Just before his arrest he emails his idol, famous journalist Lax Morales, sending him clips of the shootings captured with Herman's own digital camera. In the clips Herman tells Lax, "I want to tell my story on your show". Lax, haunted by his own past, is now face to face with Herman.
The Internship	Two recently laid-off men in their 40s try to make it as interns at a successful Internet company where their managers are in their 20s.
Kid	A seven-year-old child, his brother Billy and their depressed mother live on a farm. Then something painful happens to the family and the kids are left to live by themselves.
Diary of the Dead	A group of young film students run into real-life zombies while filming a horror movie of their own.
Black and White in Color	French colonists in Africa, several months behind in the news, find themselves at war with their German neighbors. Deciding that they must do their proper duty and fight the Germans, they promptly conscript the local native population. Issuing them boots and rifles, the French attempt to make "proper" soldiers out of the Africans. A young, idealistic French geographer seems to be the only rational person in the town, and he takes over control of the "war" after several bungles on the part of the others.
No Man's Land: The Rise of Reeker	A sheriff and his son who are tracking down a group of bank robbers on their way to Mexico, only to discover that they are being stalked by a far more deadly enemy — The Reeker.
Sister	A drama set at a Swiss ski resort and centered on a boy who supports his sister by stealing from wealthy guests.
Edge of the City	An army deserter and a black dock worker join forces against a corrupt union official.
Sounder	This is a coming-of-age story of a boy living in the Depression era of the South. "Boy" (Daniel Lee Robertson III) learns the hard way about the realities of being black, poor and unable to read. But he also learns about the deep love of family, the long-suffering loyalty of a dog and the importance of words, faith, stories & truth.
Salem Falls	A man with a troubled past tries to settle down in a small town, finds love and then ends up being the target of a witch hunt.
Boys Life 2	Compilation of four short films about homoerotic situations involving young men. In "Trevor", by Peggy Rajski, a teenager faces homophobia and falls in love for the first time. Tom DeCerchio directed "Nunzio's Second Cousin", telling the story of a gay cop who forces a gay-basher to come to his house and have dinner with his family. In "Alkali, Iowa", by Mark Christopher, a young gay man finds out some of his father's past secrets. And "Must Be the Music", by Nickolas Perry, follows four teenagers looking for love in nightclubs.
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb	Insane General Jack D. Ripper initiates a nuclear strike on the Soviet Union. As soon as the actions of General "Buck" Turgidson are discovered, a war room full of politicians, generals and a Russian diplomat all frantically try to stop the nuclear strike. Near the end is a scene that is probably the most uniquely unforgettable performance of Slim Pickens in his movie career. Peter Sellers plays multiple roles in this film.
9	A rag doll fights a monster that has been stealing the souls of his people. This film was Shane Acker's thesis project at UCLA film school. 11 min short, not to be confused with the 79 min 2009 feature version.
Saint Young Men	Jesus Christ and Gautama Buddha, the founders of Christianity and Buddhism, are living together as roommates in a Tokyo apartment while taking a vacation on Earth. The comedy often involves jokes about Christianity, Buddhism, and all things related, as well as the main characters' attempts to hide their identities and understand modern society in Japan.
The Fountain	Spanning over one thousand years, and three parallel stories, The Fountain is a story of love, death, spirituality, and the fragility of our existence in this world.

Hello Herman

Set in the not so distant future, in Any Town USA, sixteen year old Herman Howards makes a fateful decision. He enters his suburban school and kills thirty nine students, two teachers, and a police officer. Just before his arrest he emails his idol, famous journalist Lax Morales, sending him clips of the shootings captured with Herman's own digital camera. In the clips Herman tells Lax, "I want to tell my story on your show". Lax, haunted by his own past, is now face to face with Herman.

The Internship

Two recently laid-off men in their 40s try to make it as interns at a successful Internet company where their managers are in their 20s.

Kid

A seven-year-old child, his brother Billy and their depressed mother live on a farm. Then something painful happens to the family and the kids are left to live by themselves.

Diary of the Dead

A group of young film students run into real-life zombies while filming a horror movie of their own.

Black and White in Color

French colonists in Africa, several months behind in the news, find themselves at war with their German neighbors. Deciding that they must do their proper duty and fight the Germans, they promptly conscript the local native population. Issuing them boots and rifles, the French attempt to make "proper" soldiers out of the Africans. A young, idealistic French geographer seems to be the only rational person in the town, and he takes over control of the "war" after several bungles on the part of the others.

No Man's Land: The Rise of Reeker

A sheriff and his son who are tracking down a group of bank robbers on their way to Mexico, only to discover that they are being stalked by a far more deadly enemy — The Reeker.

Sister

A drama set at a Swiss ski resort and centered on a boy who supports his sister by stealing from wealthy guests.

Edge of the City

An army deserter and a black dock worker join forces against a corrupt union official.

Sounder

This is a coming-of-age story of a boy living in the Depression era of the South. "Boy" (Daniel Lee Robertson III) learns the hard way about the realities of being black, poor and unable to read. But he also learns about the deep love of family, the long-suffering loyalty of a dog and the importance of words, faith, stories & truth.

Salem Falls

A man with a troubled past tries to settle down in a small town, finds love and then ends up being the target of a witch hunt.

Boys Life 2

Compilation of four short films about homoerotic situations involving young men. In "Trevor", by Peggy Rajski, a teenager faces homophobia and falls in love for the first time. Tom DeCerchio directed "Nunzio's Second Cousin", telling the story of a gay cop who forces a gay-basher to come to his house and have dinner with his family. In "Alkali, Iowa", by Mark Christopher, a young gay man finds out some of his father's past secrets. And "Must Be the Music", by Nickolas Perry, follows four teenagers looking for love in nightclubs.

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Insane General Jack D. Ripper initiates a nuclear strike on the Soviet Union. As soon as the actions of General "Buck" Turgidson are discovered, a war room full of politicians, generals and a Russian diplomat all frantically try to stop the nuclear strike. Near the end is a scene that is probably the most uniquely unforgettable performance of Slim Pickens in his movie career. Peter Sellers plays multiple roles in this film.

9

A rag doll fights a monster that has been stealing the souls of his people. This film was Shane Acker's thesis project at UCLA film school. 11 min short, not to be confused with the 79 min 2009 feature version.

Saint Young Men

Jesus Christ and Gautama Buddha, the founders of Christianity and Buddhism, are living together as roommates in a Tokyo apartment while taking a vacation on Earth. The comedy often involves jokes about Christianity, Buddhism, and all things related, as well as the main characters' attempts to hide their identities and understand modern society in Japan.

The Fountain

Spanning over one thousand years, and three parallel stories, The Fountain is a story of love, death, spirituality, and the fragility of our existence in this world.