DVD REVIEW: Scenic Route (2013)

TWO MEN AND A DESERT.

Sometimes a movie's premise is so strange that you want to see it and hope that they pull it off. Buried (2010) is an example of that, just Ryan Reynolds buried alive in a wooden coffin.... for the whole movie. Could they make that work? Could that sustain your attention for 95 minutes, I thought as the cashier demagnetizes the Blu-Ray and the machine makes an eerie beeping sound.

I felt the same way when I first saw the DVD for Scenic Route on the shelf. On the cover was the face of Josh Duhamel, who is known from the mega budget Transformers franchise. He looks pissed off, has a beaten, bloody face and is sporting a Mohawk. In the background is a road and an endless stretch of desert where we see a full view of the man with the Mohawk, he wears a polo shirt and khaki pants while he wields one of his crutches in the air with what looks like the dead body of another man at his feet in front of him. What the heck is this movie, I thought as I quickly grab it off the DVD rack.

Scenic Route wisely opens with a well executed fight sequence with these two characters out in the middle of the Death Valley landscape. Then we are back with them as they drive down the desert road before all the fighting occurred. We watch the events unfold as we know that these two have a difficult journey ahead of them. Duhamel's character, Mitchell is sleeping in the passenger seat with a full head of hair. Carter, played by Dan Fogler is driving. Several things happen and these two, who we learn have been friends since high school are stranded in the desert where their cell phones have no signal. Yes, this story element of a cell phone dead zones is a cliche but with this setting, it is realistic.

What follows is what they call a two hander. The rest of the movie is a well written character study that feels like a play, with the exception of the vast landscape that practically becomes a character itself. These two men have grown up to be total opposites. They both started with the same aspirations but one chased wealth and family life while the other guy has blindly followed his dreams with nothing to show for it.

Without food or water, their lives hang in the balance while these two men argue and defend their choices in life. Some of the decisions the characters make in this situation are not smart, so that is tedious at times but over all I was captivated with the chemistry these two actors had and the command they had over the blunt dialogue of screenwriter Kyle Kitten.

This movie is definitely not for everyone and that is why I like it. The actors have expressed that they chose to make Scenic Route because it was a departure from the types of films they made in the past. Josh Duhamel was looking forward to getting a Mohawk, which was done for real. The production was scheduled around this punk rocker haircut. It is great to see an actor committed enough to do something like that. It made the story feel more real, more authentic because you could tell that they did not throw a bald cap on him.

The film's ending could be a point of contention. Some people might say that it is too drawn out, others may feel it was too ambiguous. My thoughts on it is that it gives you some sense of closure and I'm glad to see that they chose to end it this way. Scenic Route is an independent film and the filmmakers took advantage of that from beginning to end.

Curt Wiser is the author of the suspense novel Box Cutter Killer.

 

Box Cutter Killer On Amazon Kindle:

 

Box Cutter Killer on Barnes and Noble NOOK:

 

Official site and trailers for Cam-Girl, the movie the novel is based on go here:

OFFICIAL WEB SITE 

 

 

 

 

 

E-BOOK PUBLISHING GUIDE

E-books have changed everything as far as publishing is concerned. The popularity of E-books keeps growing and sadly, bookstores are closing. The good news, this is the best time for first time authors to get published. The bad news, the competition increases as self-produced e-books flood the market.

First of all, I suggest that you do not rush into self-publishing and try to sign with a publisher for your work. This will give you third party input, an edit and hopefully a professionally designed cover. Having a publisher, even a smaller one will boost the initial reputation of your book because it means someone said “Yes, I will sell this.” Just make sure that the other books the publisher is known for are similar to yours. These other titles in the publisher's library will help to promote your book when it is released.

If all else fails, self publishing is a luxury that was not a viable option for most writers until now. So go for it, take advantage of the fact that you call the shots and keep all the profits. I would recommend that you do a lot of proof reading and get feedback on the text and cover design before you go to press. You only get one chance at a first impression, so it will be worth all the extra time and effort.

Once your baby is ready to be taken out into the world, the next step is to get an ISBN number. This International Standard Book Number is a 13 digit number that is unique to your book and used to identify your book. Each edition, including separate E-book formats, audio books and versions written in different languages should have its own ISBN. This is a requirement if you want to submit your book to be distributed through stores, libraries or wholesalers. Every country has only one agency that is allowed to assign ISBN's for publishers (including self-published authors) who live in that country.

To purchase an ISBN if you live in the United States go to www.myidentifiers.com

Pricing is a main factor when it comes to sales and could affect the percentage of each e-book sale that you are given. This is why many E-books are priced around $2.99 because that is generally the lowest price it can be to get the higher share of profit. This is something you should research with possible retailers before you price your E-book because agreements change.

Some independent authors decide to give an E-book away for free. While this may seem like an act of madness at first, I assure you it's not. Just don't do this if you have only one book to publish. When author Darrell Pitt published his three book series Diary of a teenage superhero, he priced the first book, all 411 pages of it for free to get readers hooked. Free, people love that word and it's no surprise since the cost of everything around them keeps rising. This lets readers decide if they like your writing at no risk. Just make sure that even though you plan on giving away your E-book, it is the strongest example of your writing that it can be. If all goes to plan droves of people will decide to shell out a few bucks to buy your other books. Mention your other books and provide links in the back pages of your free E-book to get the most out of this promotion. Some boutique publishers do this for their books after they have been out in the market for a while. Wheelman Press, the publisher who released my first novel Box CutterKiller gives away free books.

FREE E-BOOKS FROM WHEELMAN PRESS.

Check out this informative E-book: So you want to publish an E-book? By J. P. Kurzitza

I also recommend these free E-books on the subject.

Secrets of successful writers –Edited by Darrell Pitt

The savvy book marketer - Edited by Dana Lynn Smith

 

 

Curt Wiser is the Author of Box Cutter Killer, a suspense novel available on Paperback, Kindle and Nook. 

BOX CUTTER KILLER for your Kindle

 

BOX CUTTER KILLER for your Barnes and Noble NOOK

 

 

 

NEW RELEASE MOVIE REVIEW: AFTERSHOCK

I went into this expecting a lower budget film about a group of party goers including Eli Roth, who get trapped inside a nightclub when a massive earthquake hits Chile. To my surprise this was a much bigger form of disaster film. The scope of the movie shows much of “The Real” Chile as the character played by the director Nicolas Lopez tells his American friend simply called “Gringo” played by Roth.

 

The situations and the way the characters responded to these life and death choices are brutally realistic. They use practical effects to show the destruction and carnage once the earthquake hits and the blood effects are well done. It takes a bit of run time before the earthquake happens, but not too long and then the action does not stop.

In the DVD making of the director said he got the idea for this movie because he survived a tragedy like this that struck Chile in 2010. It shows in the careful attention he took to make it feel real.

This review was written by Curt Wiser, Author of the novel Box Cutter Killer and Writer-Director of the movie Cam-Girl (aka Web-Cam).

 

BUY BOX CUTTER KILLER FOR KINDLE (ON SALE)

 

BUY BOX CUTTER KILLER FOR NOOK (ON SALE)