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Reviews
The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker (2023)
Lost opportunity for the filmmakers
Yes, social media is a dangerous tool that can potentially glorify scary people, but this story has a far more interesting angle that the filmmakers somehow missed.
SPOILER ALERT...
Had Kai not been elevated to celebrity status by the internet and social media, he may well have gotten away with murder. The film goes to great lengths to emphasize his anonymity prior to his now-famous news interview and just how impossible it was to locate Kai before he became a media sensation. Without Kai going viral, the "Lawrence Kai" note the cops found would have elicited meaningless Google results. Kai's blurry face from the NJ Transit security footage would no longer have matched up with his famous internet image. The cops would have been reduced to throwing some mysterious face on a wanted poster-not quite as effective as a Google search that brings up a video of a hatchet-wielding hitchhiker yelling "Smash! Smash! Suh-mash!" Plus, no internet presence means no justice for McBride: the Fresno police would never have located Kai at the Kimmel show and captured his eye-witness testimony that put McBride away. Take away Kai's initial TV interview, the memes, the autotunes, and you're left with an invisible, unpredictable nomad with little chance of ever being found. I definitely enjoyed the film, but I'm left scratching my head that the filmmakers missed the opportunity to provide a more nuanced, thought-provoking message.
Fell, Jumped or Pushed (2016)
Very funny indie!
This is a really fun movie that I was extremely proud to be a part of. You can trust me on that since I'm of course not the slightest bit biased. If I were, man would I go crazy about how awesome it is! You'll just have to watch it and decide for yourself whether it's simply terrific (my unbiased opinion) or amazingly mind-blowing (my biased opinion). It's the story of budding documentary filmmaker, Todd, trying to unravel the mystery of his grandfather's disappearance. His journey to make sense of what really happened is compelling, but what's even more intriguing, is the bumbling crew trying desperately to navigate their own quirky journeys simultaneously. I think you'll really enjoy it and appreciate its capacity to be both hilarious and poignant.