“3 Holes And A Smoking Gun” DVD (director: Hilarion Banks)

Slow and convoluted indie thriller

A complicated drama about a university student’s world class screenplay that inspires his once-successful instructor (a Hollywood screen writer himself) to go to extreme ends to attach himself to. Dark secrets are exposed in this smart but convoluted film. First time acting lead Zuher Khan does an admirable job as the student, while James Wilder is menacingly sly in his role as teacher-liar-extortionist. Aside from that, there’s little here to report or notice.

Pacing here is slow and dialogue-driven, but there remains something else missing here. The characters here inspire little empathy, and this micro budget indie, though not entirely unwatchable, is best left in the bins.

MVD Visual

"My Boo" DVD (director: Erica Hayes)

Mediocre indie thriller

This indie film is the tale of a young lady (the lovely Ashlee McLemore) who is unwittingly drawn into the world of her old high school admirer who quietly moves in across the hall from her. The stalker, played creepily by Revon Yousif, uses video feeds he installs into her apartment to spy on her, and finds ways to keep boyfriends and acquaintances cum rivals at bay.

Reminding me often of a bad Lifetime TV movie, "My Boo" has some awful acting (though McLemore is solid in her role, thankfully), terrible audio (the quiet parts I couldn't hear, the louder conversations had to be turned down), and a pretty pedestrian plot. There's little here to recommend, no nudity, and just not enough to make this one more than a struggle to sit through. No, thanks.

MVD Visual