Post by muz on Feb 29, 2008 10:37:33 GMT
Mulberry Street (2006)
Great film making on a restricted budget - clever!
New York City has a rat problem it seems. The little furry pests are crawling all over the place and you better hope they don't bite a chunk out of you because, when that happens, you start growing hair out of strange places and want to eat human flesh! "Mulberry Street" is an apocalypse movie which takes "28 Days Later" and filters it through a post 9-11 New York. It begins at a rundown tenement building on the titular street where we are introduced to several of those who live there including Clutch, a retired boxer, a bartender named Kay (living with her teenage son) and Coco who is Clutch's best friend. Meanwhile, Clutch's daughter Casey arrives in New York City after serving in the Middle East and begins making her way home. Unfortunately, there have been several reports of rats biting humans, a nasty virus spreading through the city and people suddenly turning on one another. This results in the subways being shut down and Casey is forced to make her way home on foot. Are all these events connected? You bet!
The director Jim Mickle and his team (especially the actors and camera crew) seem to have pulled a rather splendid rabbit out of a low budget hat.
Using the camera well with a lot of close ups,speeding things up when appropriate to cover for lower budget make-up effects - which I thought were pretty good anyway, creating characters that you actually care about (loved the 2 old guys), and some really nice and clever ideas, like the photo of the 3 main characters held by the army girl, fading over to a different picture from the same film, owned by her father, was very nice. The characters are not idiots, and what a pleasure it was to see people react to danger in a way that you would like to think you would too - instead of the usual imbeciles.
I'd heard that they had to film the outdoor New York scenes on the hoof without permission, but the way it was done, I never really noticed, as I was too drawn up in the story.
Well done people, a really enjoyable experience. What a contrast to the last film I saw (My Wife and My Dead Wife), thanks guys for restoring my faith that there are some film-makers (and indeed talented actors) with intelligence and creativity who can use low budget challenges in a positive manner.
;D
Great film making on a restricted budget - clever!
New York City has a rat problem it seems. The little furry pests are crawling all over the place and you better hope they don't bite a chunk out of you because, when that happens, you start growing hair out of strange places and want to eat human flesh! "Mulberry Street" is an apocalypse movie which takes "28 Days Later" and filters it through a post 9-11 New York. It begins at a rundown tenement building on the titular street where we are introduced to several of those who live there including Clutch, a retired boxer, a bartender named Kay (living with her teenage son) and Coco who is Clutch's best friend. Meanwhile, Clutch's daughter Casey arrives in New York City after serving in the Middle East and begins making her way home. Unfortunately, there have been several reports of rats biting humans, a nasty virus spreading through the city and people suddenly turning on one another. This results in the subways being shut down and Casey is forced to make her way home on foot. Are all these events connected? You bet!
The director Jim Mickle and his team (especially the actors and camera crew) seem to have pulled a rather splendid rabbit out of a low budget hat.
Using the camera well with a lot of close ups,speeding things up when appropriate to cover for lower budget make-up effects - which I thought were pretty good anyway, creating characters that you actually care about (loved the 2 old guys), and some really nice and clever ideas, like the photo of the 3 main characters held by the army girl, fading over to a different picture from the same film, owned by her father, was very nice. The characters are not idiots, and what a pleasure it was to see people react to danger in a way that you would like to think you would too - instead of the usual imbeciles.
I'd heard that they had to film the outdoor New York scenes on the hoof without permission, but the way it was done, I never really noticed, as I was too drawn up in the story.
Well done people, a really enjoyable experience. What a contrast to the last film I saw (My Wife and My Dead Wife), thanks guys for restoring my faith that there are some film-makers (and indeed talented actors) with intelligence and creativity who can use low budget challenges in a positive manner.
;D