iCrime

Released by: Breaking Glass Pictures
Released on: September 27, 2011.
Director: Bears Fonte
Cast: Sara E. R. Fletcher, Travis Brorsen, Christie Burson, Leah McKendrick
Year: 2011
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The Movie:

Written and directed by Bears Fonte (which, you have to admit, is a pretty cool name), iCrime takes place in Los Angeles and follows the exploits of a girl named Carrie Kevin (Sara Fletcher) who has recently moved to the big city to move in with her fancy-schmancy model cousin, Stefy Sinclaire (Kelly Noonan). Not so surprisingly, Carrie wants to find work as an actress - in fact, she's a very determined young woman not about to let anyone step on her toes in terms of getting what she wants. Things take an interesting twist when it turns out that Stefy, whose star is rising very quickly, made a sex tape not all that long ago. Of course, that tape has fallen into the hands of a predatory paparazzi type, Evelyn Echo (Katherine Randolph), who intends to go public with it, that is until Carrie comes along and makes a deal with him. If he hands over the tape, she'll give him the scoop of his life.

What's the scoop? A very popular 'online celebrity' named Jordan Rivers (Leah McKendrick) gets kidnapped in front of her webcam much to the dismay of the legions of fans who logon to her site and watch her do whatever it is that an online celebrity does. Carrie, however, figures this is all a publicity stunt on the part of Rivers and sets out into the Hollywood underworld to prove it to the newshound before he changes his mind and puts Stefy's sex tape out there for the world to see.

For a movie that deals with kidnappings and sex tapes, iCrime is surprisingly timid in the sex and violence department and you get the impression that the intention was to keep this tween friendly, which it more or less is. The movie does a pretty good job of working modern technology and communications into the movie without making it come across as dopey and corny as it often times can (the exception being some webchat sessions that just do not convince - check the screen cap) and Fonte does a really good job of keeping the visuals interesting by using split screens and the like. Sadly, the film over extends its reach and at almost two hours in length feels about half an hour too long.

It does, however, feature some pretty decent acting, particularly on the part of Sara Fletcher. Ms. Fletcher has popped up in some TV roles recently and seems destined for bigger things. Not only is she plenty easy on the eyes but she actually manages to deliver her lines here with believable conviction and fits the part pretty much perfectly. Maybe the whole 'want to make it as an actress' angle spoke to her, who knows, but she's a good leading lady and she makes the film completely watchable even during the slower moments. Had this one tightened up the pacing and not played it as squeaky clean and safe as it does, it probably would have worked better than it does but you've got to give Bears Fonte credit for turning in a pretty interesting micro budget debut. There's no shortage of technical polish here, and here's hoping his next effort improves on this solid inaugural movie.

Video/Audio/Extras:

iCrime looks decent in this 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen presentation. The movie was shot on digital video so there's no print damage to not, and the transfer is well authored so aside from a little shimmer here and there, the picture stays pretty stable and offers good black levels, solid color reproduction and natural looking skin tones.

The English language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo mix is pretty good, presenting the film with clean, clear sounding dialogue and properly balanced levels. There are no problems with hiss or distortion and the mix is pretty effective. No alternate language options or subtitles are provided.

The main extra is a commentary track with director Bears Fontaine and lead actress Sara Fletcher who speak about their experiences working together on this picture and who share some decent stories about this project. Aside from the commentary track, there are also a few deleted scenes here, in addition to a still gallery, a trailer for the feature, trailers for a few other Breaking Glass releases, menus and chapter stops.

The Final Word:

Well put together, fairly well acted and quite polished on a technical level, iCrime never quite catches fire the way you want it to and the end result is a bit too 'clean' feeling considering where the story goes. It's not a bad film, it's just that it could and should have been better, as there are a few solid twists in the storyline and Fletcher delivers a pretty solid turn in the lead. Breaking Glass' disc looks and sounds pretty good and offers up a few decent supplements - not a bad release overall.