Brother Tom Review

The short film is far too under-rated.

The blame lies in the hands of directors such as Michael Bay, Zack Snyder, and Gore Verbinski. And yes, before we go any further, let me go ahead and get it out there that I am a huge fanboy of Bay and Snyder (interesting fact: the two were college roommates). Anywho, these gentlemen have been delivering to us, on an almost annual basis for the past decade, films of such an epic proportion that short films have become a thing of the past. They still get made, and some may even find themselves getting the remake treatment into full-length features; more often than not, though, they just don't get watched.

Which is sad; shorts offer a director the chance to create a very deep, meaningful film without the need of a ridiculous budget. Case in point: Nick's Flicks latest short, Brother Tom. I had the honor of getting to see this fine film last week, but tonight saw it premiering at the Morehead Cinemas for the cast and crew (the second such time that we have premiered a Nick's Flicks short), which means that I can finally post my review for it!Toby Glover as the titular Brother Tom

Of course, I am more than a little excited to be doing this, for a number of reasons: 1) as a member of the team, it's free press. I can't even try to lie about that...2) this is the first "modern" production that I have had no active participation in. I had discussed it many times in the past with Nick [Johnson], but was not on set at any point...and 3) Brother Tom is an incredibly powerful movie.

In a nutshell, and sans any spoilers, Brother Tom is the story of a group of people that have lost their faith, for one reason or another; the titular Tom, though, is there for them when they needed him most, with his own outlook on faith. Through the course of the short (which clocks in right around 20 minutes), we learn a little about each member of this group, which is where the movie shines it's brightest. Nick assembled an excellent cast for this production, which is full of familiar faces. However, the introduction of Michele Breeze as one of Tom's followers brings an added bit of power; she absolutely owns the camera when she is on screen. In fact, this is really the first time that the cast for one of Nick's Flicks productions shines as a whole; in the past, things have always been lighter and more relaxed due to the comedic fare, but this is a wholly different beast.
Will Johnson and Michele Breeze

I highly recommend that you check this out when the opportunity arises. It's hard to believe that, in less than 30 minutes, you get more a more emotional ride than you could hope to find in most of this past summers blockbusters. Nick has taken the first step towards something great with this, and I am ecstatic that I am along for the ride, particularly with the upcoming slate for us: first up, the highly anticipated (at least by those who have seen More Than A Feeling and Plan B) finale to the trilogy of films that revitalized Nick's Flicks two years ago (in which I play the villain, Hilarity ensues), and secondly, the biggie, which, as of this posting, still has an embargo on anything I might say about it, so just trust me when I say it is going to blow you away.

Alright! I will lay off shoving Nick's Flicks down your throats, but only for a while: there will be plenty more in the future, but the next few weeks will see me trying to tap into Gonzo. The good doctor beckons, and I feel that I must heed the call of the beast and satiate it. In the meantime, the links for MTAF and Plan B above will take you to youtube, where you can watch them in their entirety; they are, however, only the links for part 1, respectively, so you will need to click over to finish them. You'll never listen to Chris Isacc's classic "Wicked Games" the same again.