Juncture

source: Juncture

In this Lifetime-style film, Anna Carter is a superb administrator for a philanthropic organization. But she leads a separate, private life, carefully planning murders of a wide assortment of offenders, child molesters, drunk drivers, and other nefarious creatures who have remained unpunished in the eye of the law. She is also terminally ill with cancer and is highly motivated to continue with her vigilante work to the bitter end. The actress was great in the role of Anna, bringing multiple dimensions to the role. She was credible as the loyal executive working under the powerful magnate Jonathan She was the wounded victim, who lost her family members in a random act of violence committed by a murderer who got the wrong address of his victims. She was sensitive in her relationship with her best friend Chloe. And she was even thoughtful to Michael, the psychiatrist who adores her, but does not understand the full story of her life. My favorite character in the film was the wily detective who suspected something was amiss in Anna's story and began nosing around for the truth. The various plot strands come together nicely after the detective character had done some snooping around. The key juncture of the film was the detective's surprising bonding with Anna. The locations in the film were effective, as Anna planned her murders in such far-flung places as San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Albuquerque. One of the best scenes is when Anna is about to murder an oily defense attorney in a hotel, but chooses compassion when she sees a photo of his beautiful children. In the end, the film belongs to Anna as an interesting character study, a female "Death Wish" artist in more ways than one.

When it comes to the Morality of a Vigilante, whether it's "Batman" or "Paul Kersey", the Argument is the Same. When the "System" Breaks Down and Fails to Deal with Society's Myriad of Problems, should "Citizens" take the Challenge and "Aid" Law Enforcement and the Judicial to the Benefit of the Collective as a Whole. The "Vigilante Problem" has Good Arguments on Both Sides. But Without the "Fictional" Vigilante" the Pop-Culture would Surely be the Lesser. This is a Multi-Tiered Movie with Terminal Illness Added into the Mix and that makes it more "Rich" than Most Stories of this Kind. It Helps the Movie Along Nicely In-Between Anna's Rage and Revenge. The Movie is a Low-Budget Affair. The Director and Screen-Writer Squeeze the Resources for just the Right Amount of Sleek and Satisfying Visuals and Multiple Peripheral Characters that Intrigue. Kristine Blackport is a Good Casting and Brings both Sensitivity and a Hard-Edge to the Multi-Dimensional Role. The Rest of the Cast All Do Fine Work. Slightly Above Average in its Weight Class and is... Worth a Watch.

Finally saw this 15 years after its release. I found it boring and unimaginative. A low budget production with some nice scenery is not a masterpiece of cinematography, as some have claimed. Nor does shooting a movie on a budget make it notable in any way. The promise of turning this into a trilogy was, to my knowledge, thankfully abandoned. Kristine Blackport didn't become the breakout star her fans predicted. If anything, this s-show broke her down (and for good reason). Don't blame me if you choose to watch this and end up as disappointed as I was. Allk I would be able to say is I told you so.....

Had potential to be a great movie. But I hate when a good idea is written by an idiot.

I recently saw Juncture at the Mill Valley Film Festival and was completely blown away. I honestly had no idea what to expect and was very pleasantly surprised. Juncture is the right combination of action, thriller, suspense and drama and it poses some very interesting moral questions. Lead lady Kristine Blackport (as Anna Carter)'s presence is unforgettable. The viewer experiences Anna's journey through the last few months of her life and what she chooses to do with that precious time. I laughed and cried with Anna. And the film definitely left me pondering about what I would do in a similar situation. It's always nice to see strong female characters presented in film. Excellent story and dialogue. Beautiful cinematography. Impressive acting. The music also was very strong and helped support the dramatic moments of the film. All in all, I highly recommend Juncture.

Beautifully shot, well performed film. Definitely worth watching. I saw this movie at the Mill Valley Film Festival. I had no idea what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised. The lead character, upon learning of her terminal diagnosis, systematically kills people who she thinks are "monsters": child molesters and the like. The story follows her deteriorating health and mental state as she tries to complete her kills before her time runs out. There were a couple of really great surprises and I loved the ending. The filmmakers were at the screening and they took questions from the audience. Despite its large commercial feel, this is a truly independent movie (you wouldn't believe the budget if I told you) and it has a great message: What would you do if you only had three months to live?

A lot is said these days about the so-called "independent films" and film makers. These are the guys and gals who look forlorn and studious and take their "art" very seriously. Some of us consider anything not made by MGM to be not serious film. This film is a case in point. What separates the mediocre movie from the memorable one is ACTING. Great actors, be they from Hollywood or Hoboken, captivate you and bring you into the world they inhabit on screen. Some independent films have great acting, as do many Hollywood mainstream features. This particular film does not. The lead actress, Kristine Blackport, was simply annoying. Her "little girl" voice and expressionless delivery was inadequate and did not suit the character she plays. Her supporting actors were equally wooden, particularly the earnest,caring boyfriend/psychiatrist and the naive and sugar-sweet best girlfriend. The plot was well worn-the wronged female goes on a revenge spree with her 9mm semi-automatic handgun. All of this carefully planned out without missing a beat at her job. Oh, and she must make sure that the "bad guys" don't leave the earthly realm without knowing why. She makes sure that they hear her case against them with appropriate sneers and tears. A new wrinkle: the killer/protagonist has an inoperable brain tumor and has 3-4 months to live. This, of course, makes everything all right. She's now a murderer for whom we MUST feel sympathy. Unless you're really into revenge/vigilante flicks, I would give this one a pass. How many ways can you do the revenge plot and still keep it interesting and thought provoking?

John Huston once said that a good story should have "excitement, color, spectacle and humor, adventure, high drama, tragedy, good conversation, truth and irony". Although 2007's "Juncture" is missing most of these ingredients it does manage to put most of its tiny budget on the screen in a professional manner and should get high marks for the crew's hard work. But it is one of those sow's ears to silk purse things where you just can't do much with such a weak script (thankfully the writer has had no screen credits since). This low budget action picture is basically a combination of "Death Wish" (1974) and "La Femme Nikita" (1990); with a sterile heroine both homicidal and irritable from a bad headache. Kristine Blackport, in her first and only feature, plays Anna Carter, an executive who has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. With three months to live she decides to check out with a bang by taking out criminals who have abused children and been inadequately punished by the judicial system. That old vigilante justice thing. Blackport looks like Leighton Meester, which probably accounts for a lot of close-ups of her face and eyes. This is a good thing with Meester, because an "actress" is able to use close-ups to nonverbally convey things about her character and to connect with viewers. Unfortunately Blackport's skills are more on the order of Ali Larter (well maybe not quite that bad); with an emotional and sensuality range confined to a look of dull surprise and the occasional blink. A competent "acting for the camera" director could have helped, but James Seale appears to entirely lack that skill set. Like the writer, he too has been on the sidelines since directing this movie. Blackport fares much better on the DVD's behind the scenes featurette, where you begin to suspect that Seale's directing contributions add up to "less than zero". So poor Blackport gamely plods around with little help from the likewise unskilled supporting cast as they cut back and forth between wide master shots and extreme closeups; without managing to create an identifiable point of view or a character with any sort of dimensionality. The DVD release includes a filmmaker's commentary (gag), a behind the scenes featurette (excellent), deleted scenes, trailers, and Spanish subtitles. Given all this extra stuff it is extremely odd that they did not choose to include English subtitles. The audio is a not very good and Blackport's squeaky "Rocky the Flying Squirrel" voice is often inaudible. Maybe this was a way to add some dimensionality to the Anna Carter character, a viewer can mentally replace inaudible elements of lame dialogue with comments from Robert Shiller about the state of the economy. Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Don't ever get involved in committing a crime, at least not if Anna Carter is around and gets your number. You've better watch out! This young lady has seen her share of hard times in her lifetime. She was the sole survivor of a crime meant for another family. You see, the killer got the wrong address and ended offing Anna's parents and sister. Now, when we meet her, she is hellbent in getting justice done, if not to the assassin of her folks, she will take care of those who commit serious crimes in our society. To make matters worse, Anna discovers her headaches are related to a malignant tumor. She gets bad migraines all the time. Her doctor doesn't give her much to live. That's why Anna must rush to eliminate the scum out of the same society in which she lives, trying , perhaps to avenge her family. Since she has the use of a private corporate jet, she is a frequent traveler with benefits that include being in the targeted areas, thus combining work with her avenging activities. Not even the hunky boyfriend that appears in her life will get her away from what she has set out to do. There is an interesting twist at the end when a detective figures it all out, but he too, sees things from Anna's perspective. "Juncture", as directed by James Seale, shows a lot can be done on a small budget, something to give him credit for. Mr. Seale has a great eye for the locations in which he shot the film with glossy detail. The cinematography of Richard Lerner is one of the highlights of the movie. The acting is adequate as it shows a leading lady, Kristine Blackport with a beauty and affinity for the material.