Audience Member
Offbeat and uncompromising to its vision, this indie has balls, but little crossover appeal.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/25/23
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Audience Member
Two words: seductive and intelligent. Realism is a product in eternal short supply. The problem is that it requires a very perceptive and intelligent writer to pen it in the first place. Someone who can set aside the stock phrases and rebuttals they could easily type, discard the clever filmic lines they want to type, and produce textured and deeply considered interactions. Scenes last for minutes on end, with long, stage-like monologues.
Those interactions won't always inspire imitation. People often speak in non sequiturs, their gestures are non-linear and awkward, they are crushed by outwardly trivial insecurities. This is what we do, even it escapist cinema doesn't want to acknowledge the fact.
And like watching the real man emerged from underneath the Mickey Mouse costume, Pinassi proves adept at a nuanced performance that challenges him. Lead female Lewis hits her stride early and turns in a good performance..
As for Carlson's direction, it's fresh. Watch as Carlson dispenses with foreshadowing to engender a feeling of shock as the plot twists. Certainly this film is visually jarring, with extremely intolerable scenes of sex acts, which makes Pinassi's performance and approach so interesting to watch.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/12/23
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Audience Member
Transatlantic Coffee takes you on an amazing love adventure between a 41 year old clown named Alex and a teenage stripper named Mandie. Both characters are battling inner demons. Alex sees life through black and white and Alex is as colorful as a rainbow. The director and writer Erik Peter Carlson uses vibrant energy with splashes of color as he takes you on an amazing journey of love, color, inner demons and knocks your socks off at the end that will leave you in awe. Can this love affair work? You have to see it with your own eyes.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/10/23
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Audience Member
You seldom see movies that are this unpleasant. There are films that are far, far harder to watch... but this is still not one you put on to enjoy yourself - at least in my opinion. As many other viewers, I didn't understand much of the first half.
As the movie went on, it proved to be far more worth-while, in my opinion. The writing and direction is excellent in both. The pacing works well... I was never bored, and while it wasn't exactly a "good" time, it moved along as it should, never really too slow or too fast. The characters were incredible... the sheer amount of development... that's talent.
Certainly not a film for everyone. It's difficult to say who I'd recommend this to... cynics or realists with a strong threshold for some of the uncomfortable sides of life and behavior, I suppose....however, damn....it left me thinking, and you can't say that about most of the movies we all watch.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/01/23
Full Review
Audience Member
It'll keep you engaged. It'll keep you wondering. You'll feel awkward, but its insightful raw-ness will you keep you planted in your seat. The dialogues will make you smile. The music and the scenes will lure you in. The ending...completely satisfying: not I just had good lunch satisfying, but I just had the best climax of my life satisfying.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/02/23
Full Review
Audience Member
I have yet to come even close to fully appreciating the sheer artistry and complexity of Erik Peter Carlson's stunning and flat-out, in-your-face drama, "Transatlantic Coffee".
"Transatlantic Coffee" is a perfectly concrete example of how the relative absence of special effects, explosions, etc. can still help create an engaging, and thoroughly unique viewing experience. Overflowing with subtle intensity and seamless camera-work, this is a frightening roller-coaster ride of a film. "Transatlantic Coffee" is by no means short on resonance - but rather leaves a heavy feeling of exuberance and fascination with the material that lasts long after it's finished. At the same time, though, people who aren't as open-minded to more obscure, abstract films like this would be, I think, surprised. This is not as complicated or bewildering a film as I had expected. If one can be able to focus intently on the story, the result is rewarding, and doesn't provide for much head-scratching. Its style seems rather modern, rather hip.
To shy away from this film simply because of its disturbing content is to be completely shallow and ignorant. The way it handles the material is a whole lot more interesting than you'd probably think.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/12/23
Full Review
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