Blackmark

source: Blackmark

This is a good story and had plenty of potential. However, I'm sorry to say it is badly let down by a poor script and acting

I am glad to see someone finally address this and the obvious role of John McCone head of the CIA. . I was only 14 when JFK was murdered but the moment I saw the Zapruder film I knew we were being lied to. If you watch the film, when he's shot with the kill shot, his head goes up and back. That just doesnt happen when shot from above and behind. He had to be shot from the front, likely from below. Interesting that there is a tunnel from the grassy knoll to a drain in the street just in front of where he was shot. McCone hated Kennedy because he said he would ake the CIA apart into 1000 pieces. The CIA was closely affiliated with the Mafia since WWII when they shared info on Europe, The Mafia hated him because he let them down on the Bay of Pigs invasion where they planned to take back Cuba for their casinos. The Federal Reserve *the money) hated hem be cause he was going to dissokve them. So McCone had Carlos Marcella, the crime boss of New Orleans orchestrate the hit and then teamed up with J. Edgar Hoover, who hated Kennedy because he thoaughthe was soft on communism , to cover it up. Was Johnson in on it? Where did it happen? Dallas Texas where LBJ had just been governor. Johnson hated Kennedy because Kennedy looked down on him as a redneck Texan. So JFK pissed off too many people who kill people for a living and it cost him his life. Our country has never fully recoverded from that.

What a delight to find such an excellent film from a director & cast previously unknown to me! I have no complaints about any aspect of this production. Poor reviews may come from people who refuse to embrace a storyline that doesn't align with previously published "history". Having read "THE GEMSTONE FILES" published in Hustler magazine in the 1970s I was intrigued with the believable details provided by the script. Anyone who thinks that we receive the real stories from our government or media is responding exactly as "they" desire. I found this film to be so intriguing that I had to download for future viewing. I highly recommend this movie to anyone how wants to be engaged & entertained by great actors previously under the radar and capable of holding the viewer's attention to the very end!

Really interesting spy thriller. Realistic plot. Wonder why some people give this movie less than a 5 out of 10. Did IMDb have controls in place for preventing malicious ratings when this movie was released? Anyway, don't see how this movie comes across as less than average. The cinematography alone was enough for a 5 out of 10. Perhaps it was the reminder about JFK's assassination that generated the low scores. Given the assassination already is in the past, it is fact. Enjoying the movie for its literary quality does not change that fact. For me, framing of the assassination within a nicely articulated movie was a plus, not a minus. Prior to the very last frames of this movie, I was leaning towards a rating of 8 out of 10. But then the ending was so sublime.

What's not to like about a movie about JFK? Everyone knows, just like the Manhattan Towers, that the truth has not been told; and when the truth is hidden fantasy abounds. Now fantasy is usually more fun than the truth, and whatever the truth about the JFK assassination this fantasy is interesting, intelligently constructed, even if at times a tad confusing, but certainly action packed. The characters are sketchy, but it is a short movie, and designed to be leave much to the imagination - filling out the characters would, imho, take from the "whaaat?" factor. The second viewing opened up new possibilities, and the third led to "Ah ha!" moments. Overall a good watch to fill an evening with other conspiracy theorists.

I love finding a well-made underground indie film like this. I saw this movie and was impressed by the quality of such an inconspicuous picture by an unknown director with an unheard-of cast. I did a bit of research into the people who made it, among other things, I found out the original title was "Redfish Bluefish". On their YouTube channel there is a video posted in 2015 (3 years before it was released) that tells a bit about the creation of this film that should be inspiring to any upstart filmmakers out there who wonder what is possible to accomplish with not much else but talent and perseverance. This is not a perfect movie, but it's a damn good one considering it's a micro-budget, independently produced film by a first-time writer/director/producer. The cinematography and editing are impressive, giving it a polished look. It's cast strictly with lesser and un-known talents who are all very good in their roles. The top-billed leads include Kaiwi Lyman, who's biggest credits include some smaller roles in well known titles and a few leads in other straight-to-video movies, plays Timothy Daniels, a rogue American spy, the main protagonist in this picture. Jeff Hatch, an obscure actor who has only a handful of credits on IMDb, is the title character Arthur Blackmark- our principle antagonist. Corey MacIntosh, another unknown, plays a noble Russian military commander, Alexi Popolovski. These three turn in solid performances, anchoring a roster of veteran D-list actors as well as some other polished rookie talent. John Henry Richardson, Lana Gautier, Jon Briddell, Tim Oman, David Light, Brian Ide and Elliot all turn in solid performances. Based on the film's behind the scenes YouTube videos, the real talent behind it is writer/director, AJ Martinson III, who apparently pulled this project together with not much more than a motley cast and crew, a shoestring budget, and lots of called-in favors. The overall quality of the script, direction, cinematography and editing make this feature feel like the "little film that could" hold its own beside big Hollywood Cold War movies like Bridge of Spies, Hunt For the Red October or classics such as Failsafe and 7 Days in May. The story takes place in 1963 during the highest tensions of the Cold War. It involves a shadowy, Illuminati-like organization working behind the backs of the Whitehouse and Kremlin to initiate a nuclear showdown for reasons that do not become clear until late in the story, as twists, double-crosses, treachery and a unique conspiracy theory unfold. The knocks from negative user reviews have mainly been the complexity of the plot and overly dramatic feel of the acting. The plot is a bit hard to follow, but if you stay with it, it pays off. A second viewing with the subtitles turned on satisfied some questions that left me scratching my head. The movie does not quite "stick the landing" at the story's climax though, in explaining the reasons it comes to the conclusions it does, but it executes a high degree of difficulty getting there, so it only loses one point on that count. As for the acting, I felt the quick, snappy dialogue and rushed pace was a nod to the straightforward way acting was typically done in classic noir thrillers of the black and white era, but it does get a little heavy-handed at times and there are a couple of over-cooked speeches, costing them one more star for final rating of 8/10. Overall, the quality of this film, especially considering it's a first time effort with a tiny budget, is incredibly impressive. I hope this movie will find the audience it deserves and I'm quite interested to see what Martinson does next.

Although politically, I'm very independent, which is why after deciding I'd need protection of SOME party, went from misnomered NPA which is how they classify "independents" in the USA, decided that the GOP was only party who'd allow me to express myself freely and, they have so, I think that reality that JFK's greatest accomplishment, was his murder being staged by the CIA, says a lot about them as he nearly brought nuclear devastation upon the world.

I asked my girlfriend the other day, does Hollywood want us to go to war with Russia? What's with all these anti-Russia movies? I've lost count of how many American movies, in the last 5-8 years, that portray Russians as 'the bad guys'. Nevermind the daily news articles in the US trying to convince our popultion that Russia is evil. (Though I admit, it's a nice break from constantly being bombarded with stories about 'the evils of middle eastern countries.) So, I like the premise and I"m willing to believe there could be a 'consortium' out there, trying to get two powerful countries, like Russia and the US, to fight a war, or at least, start another cold war. As a movie, it's average, at best. The characters are two-dimensional and the non-linear story-telling is often unnecessarily confusing. But hey, I'm a fan of 'idea' movies and this is a strong idea with a lot of merit, and relevance for today. So, I'm adding an extra star or two. I hope people will watch it and consider the possibility that there might be people out there, working to get you to hate an entire country full of people you've never met, because it profits them in some way. Think for yourselves friends!

Don't believe the harsh reviews from people writing reviews in their mother's basements. This is a good, solid, well-crafted movie that's entertaining. To me, a movie is good and entertaining when I'm not wondering how much longer before it's over. Blackmark is like walking out of a fog - it starts a bit slow and is a little confusing, but as it goes along it builds momentum so by the end you're right there and caught up in the drama. And, like coming out of a fog, you see things clearer and clearer as the movie progresses. What makes that interesting is you want to watch it again - and it actually plays better the second time because you now understand and have context for the whole story. Most importantly, it's just as entertaining the second time around.