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Islands movie review

Screener Squad: Islands

ISLANDS MOVIE REVIEW

Sometimes people take a vacation and they never go home. Then vacation then becomes a routine, and that routine becomes a whole lot of work. Islands follows a Tennis coach named Tom (Sam Riley) who at one time went by the pro nickname of Aces. His kindness, charisma, and all around chill vibes make him the perfect hang out if you’re a tourist, a local, or some one who’s looking to improve their serve. A married couple with a marriage on life support, husband Dave (Jack Farthing), wife Anne (Stacy Martin), and son Anton (Dylan Torrell), all take a liking to Tom after Tom takes Anton under his wing and teaches him how to improve his play. Tom, who’s open to lend a helping hand and provide favors to locals, staff, and the community, uses his enchanting wiles to get the trio a better room with a transcendent view of the beach at no extra charge. After a night of heavy drinking with Dave, Tom wakes up in a location he doesn’t remember being with faded memories of the night before and Dave is nowhere to be found. Bradly, Eoin, and Mike discuss this Hitchcockian thriller mixed with the cool vibes of a chill summer vacation while the singles live it up to the backdrop of a bickering angry couple at the end of their rope. Is this buried treasure a future classic or just a collection of tropey cliches lost at sea?

OFFICIAL WEBSITE/TRAILER

DIRECTED BY: Jan-Ole Gerster

STARRING: Sam Riley, Stacy Martin, Jack Farthing, Dylan Torrell, Fatima Adoum

 

YOUR REVIEWERS

 

Bradly Martin (Screener Squad Boss, Eye on the Prize, Breakfast Pub)

Bradly Martin was born in the united states and grew up on a healthy diet of sports, films, and books. A rather shy lad who kept to himself, Bradly soon discovered the best way to know a person was to know what people liked. Throughout the years Bradly became a fan of many things and a fanatic of none. From Doctor Dre, to Doctor Strange and the who’s who of Whos. From Playstation to the Dreamcast and Marvel to DC. From LeBron James to James Bond and Lord of the Rings to Lord Palmerston (or Pitt the Elder if you agree with Wade Boggs) and is a huge fan of dad jokes and randomly obscure Simpsons references. Armed with a vast knowledge of comics, films, and pop culture. Bradly traveled the world making friends and sharing takes. As a young man Bradly married the love of his life young and grew older every year with each new child brought into the brood. If trends continue, Scientists predict that .2% of Canada (where Bradly and family reside) will be populated by Bradly’s children by the year 2029. You can hear him leading and listening to his favorite critics on the Screener Squad and maybe even providing some comments of his own.

 

Eoin Daly

Born and raised in Dublin Ireland, Eoin currently lives in London and has been an avid film lover from as far back as they can remember. Eoin enjoys going to the cinema weekly regardless of the film: new, old, or the most random title. They have no preconceived notions when taking in a new film. They tend to look for the good in any film they watch and will always love the art form. They are a major fan of actress-led cinema and will never apologize for this one film bias.

 

Mike J. McAllister (Screener Squad, Staff Writer, Head Video Editor)

Mike J. McAllister is an award-winning creative jack of all trades, and is pretty competent with most of them. He is a writer, director, animator, video editor, and motion graphics artist. He has tried his hand at nearly every form of artistic expression at least once. He was born and raised in Western Pennsylvania where he fell in love with film, writing and special effects at an early age. His obsession with film would lead him to being locally known as a “human IMDb” and being on a first-name basis with every video store clerk in town. He would study film in Pittsburgh before taking his talents to Austin. Not letting something like Tourettes get in his way, he has produced a handful of animated short films that have won awards from film festivals all over the globe. He has also written several yet-to-be-produced screenplays and TV pilots, with some of them being recognized in screenwriting competitions. He has even created motion graphics and animations for several clients, from movie theaters to Twitch streamers. When not creating or watching films, he enjoys MST3K, classic video games and buying vinyl records. He loves dogs, dropping obscure pop culture trivia and watching travel videos. He currently resides in Austin Texas and can be followed on the Instamagrams at @ohheyitsmikejm. His body of work can be found at his homepage or you can take a gander at his somewhat-impressive IMDb listing here.

 

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