Review: ‘DRUNK BUS’ challenges life’s direction in an unlikely and perfect buddy comedy.

DRUNK BUS

Michael (Charlie Tahan) is a recent graduate whose post-college plan is derailed when his girlfriend leaves him for a job in New York City. Stuck in Ohio without a new plan of his own, Michael finds himself caught in the endless loop of driving the “drunk bus,” the debaucherous late-night campus shuttle that ferries drunk college students from parties to the dorms and back. When the bus service hires a security guard to watch over the night shift, Michael comes face to tattooed face with Pineapple (Pineapple Tangaroa), a larger-than-life Samoan American who challenges him with a kick in the ass to break from the loop and start living or risk driving in circles forever.

Transitioning from your college bubble to adulthood is hard enough. Add a breakup and no sense of direction and you’ve got yourself a basic outline for a film. Based on a story by screenwriter Chris Molinaro and directors Brandon LaGanke and John Carlucci, DRUNK BUS gives us a coming-of-age buddy comedy that you won’t see coming. This film is unexpectedly guffaw-inducing. I was knocked off my feet watching the chemistry of this cast. This film is about overcoming fear, anxiety, latent rage, guilt, you name it. DRUNK BUS has it all without ever getting too heavy.

Will Forte’s voice can be heard over the bus’s PA system, both encouraging and agitating Michael. Your ear immediately perks ups as Forte’s familiar timbre gives Michael the hokiest advice but it’s clear he also genuinely cares for him. Even though he has the least amount of screentime, he seamlessly even more laughter to an already hilarious plot. Notable performances also come from Kara Hayward and Zach Cherry. Hayward grounds the film with her honesty. Cherry leaves a lasting impression in every single scene.

Pineapple Tangaroa is the perfect foil for Tahan. He’s is incredibly funny. You will not be able to control your smirk. He was born to do this. I hope writers create all the things for him because he’s a star. Charlie Tahan has been on my radar since Super Dark Times and Ozark. His ability to be both accessible and to possess a natural comic timing makes him so alluring on-screen. There’s something visceral about his energy. That’s a rare quality.

DRUNK BUS challenges our insecurities. It asks us to take a chance. If there was ever a time to gt to bat for an indie film, this is it. You will not be disappointed. You can watch DRUNK BUS today in select theaters and On Demand. Check out the trailer below.

Cast: Charlie Tahan, Kara Hayward, Pineapple Tangaroa, Tonatiuh, Will Forte, Zach Cherry, Sarah Mezzanotte, Dave Hill, Jay Devore, Martin Pfefferkorn
Directors: John Carlucci, Brandon LaGanke
Screenplay by: Chris Molinaro
Based on a Story by: Chris Molinaro, Brandon LaGanke, John Carlucci
Executive Produced by: Executive Producers Ian Tarbert, Edward Nash, Michael Carroll, and Tom Gordon
Produced by: Eric Hollenbeck, Grant Franklin Fitch, Steven Ilous
Co-Producer: Benjamin Bradford
TRT: 100 minutes

‘Super Dark Times’ now available on Shudder!

Super Dark Times will stun Shudder audiences. Here is a flashback to our review from The Fantasia International Film Festival 2017…

SUPER DARK TIMES

Teenagers Zach and Josh have been best friends their whole lives, but when a gruesome accident leads to a cover-up, the secret drives a wedge between them and propels them down a rabbit hole of escalating paranoia and violence.

Set in the early ’90s, before Columbine was an event ingrained in history, a child’s innocence was not as easily spoiled as the kids in Super Dark Times. As someone who grew up at the same time as the main characters, I can attest to the typical dangers that surrounded our childhood. We were affected by the national news when a child was kidnapped, but that was about it. On the first evening of this year’s Fantasia Film Festival, audiences will see a film so brilliantly composed from the colors and textures of the costumes and cinematography to the incredibly disturbing storyline from screenwriters Ben Collins, Luke Piotrowski. The power of an act of violence changes a person. Born from that awkward time in our lives comes the idea that fear can control the room, where the older/stronger kids ruled the proverbial schoolyards. Drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes made you popular and badass and oftentimes, intimidating. Super Dark Times taps into those ideals in that very specific time in history, and yet it has a creepy timeless factor once you understand the full plot. With elements of the surreal, you will find yourself asking who is showing us the truth at any given moment. Director Kevin Phillips takes us on a sickening journey, one that’s become all too familiar as the years have rolled by.

  • Directed by: Kevin Phillips
  • Written by: Ben Collins, Luke Piotrowski
  • Cast: Sawyer Barth, Owen Campbell, Elizabeth Cappuccino, Amy Hargreaves, Charlie Tahan, Max Talisman
  • Company: 1091

Fantasia International Film Festival 2017 Review: ‘SUPER DARK TIMES’ is both a flashback and omen of horror.

SUPER DARK TIMES

Teenagers Zach and Josh have been best friends their whole lives, but when a gruesome accident leads to a cover-up, the secret drives a wedge between them and propels them down a rabbit hole of escalating paranoia and violence.

Set in the early 90’s, before Columbine was an event engrained in history, a child’s innocence was not as easily spoiled as the kids in Super Dark Times. As someone who grew up at the same time as the main characters, I can attest to the typical dangers that surrounded our childhood. We were affected by the national news when a child was kidnapped, but that was about it. On the first evening of this year’s Fantasia Film Festival, audiences will see a film so brilliantly composed from the colors and textures of the costumes and cinematography to the incredibly disturbing storyline from screenwriters Ben Collins, Luke Piotrowski. The power of an act of violence changes a person. Born from that awkward time in our lives comes the idea that fear can control the room, where the older/stronger kids ruled the proverbial schoolyards. Drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes made you popular and badass and oftentimes, intimidating. Super Dark Times taps into those ideals in that very specific time in history, and yet it has a creepy timeless factor once you understand the full plot. With elements of the surreal, you will find yourself asking who is showing us the truth at any given moment. Director Kevin Phillips takes us on a sickening journey, one that’s become all too familiar as the years have rolled by.

CANADIAN PREMIERE
  • USA
  • 2017
  • 102 mins
  • English
  • Directed by: Kevin Phillips
  • Written by: Ben Collins, Luke Piotrowski
  • Cast: Sawyer Barth, Owen Campbell, Elizabeth Cappuccino, Amy Hargreaves, Charlie Tahan, Max Talisman
  • Company: The Orchard

Trailer for Fox’s ‘Wayward Pines’ Starring Matt Dillon Debuts

wayward-pines-dissecting-wayward-pines-what-can-we-expect

FOX has released the trailer Wayward Pines, an event series starring Matt Dillon and executive produced by M. Night Shyamalan. You can watch the trailer below!

Dillon plays a U.S. Secret Service agent investigating the disappearance of two federal agents in a mysterious small Idaho town. The show boasts an all star cast including Carla Gugino, Toby Jones, Shannyn Sossamon, Reed Diamond, Tim Griffin, Charlie Tahan, Juliette Lewis, Melissa Leo and Terrence Howard, who is currently starring in the hit Fox series Empire.

The show is based on the novel “Pines” by Blake Crouch and developed for TV by Chad Hodge. The pilot episode was written by Hodge and directed by Shyamalan himself.

Wayward Pines is set to premiere on FOX Thursday May 14th