LouHomey From my favorite movies..

ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

newimaginarything You either hate anything remotely biblical, or you have the mind of a genitalia, and your highest level of consciousness is mere hormones.To think that fornicating with someone else is supposed to be beautiful or artistic or some kind of high level that can be seen only by the brilliant, you have a broken mind or you're merely a dumb beast, and I mean dumb. Even animals can have more composure, control, and fidelity.That's why women call men pigs if they are below human standard of morality, and why people are referred to as dogs, or cockroaches, or rats. Some people are like pigs, dogs, and rats, and aren't human at all.People are born as wild beasts, it takes their effort and learning and the doing that earns them the title of human, or man, or woman.You might be of the female or male gender, but that doesn't make you a human.You might have the body, but you don't have the mind or the heart or the spirit or the soul.Humans are deeds, knowledge, spirit, principles, morality, respect, honor.If you're merely emotions and sexuality, you're nothing more than a mere mindless dumb organism that reproduces.Only worse, because though being born with the heritage of aspiring to be human, you degrade yourself below your own minimum quota to be called what you were given, and actually go levels downward. Going above and beyond to be like a cancer, a plague, a disease, an abomination, a thing of disgust and horror.Even if this movie was merely a movie, if you sympathized with the main character or the story, know that there's a difference between you and an actual human.If you can't even refrain from having fornication from someone, what are you. You're a joke, a failure of will and values, who is not suitable to run his or her own life, nor to make his or her own decisions, or to be given authority to do anything, for nothing could be entrusted to such a thing, as we do not entrust such things to wild and dumb beasts.Authority, will, control, choices, that is a thing for civilized, principled, and disciplined beings.Human is an earned title.

Bryan Kluger 'Natural Selection' is a breath of fresh air in the indie film scene. Director Robbie Pickering puts an original face and new spin on the standard road trip film where a pair of people set out on a journey to discover who they really are, a plot line that has been played out time and time again. But with the performances of Rachael Harris and Matt O'Leary, and Pickering's visual style, 'Natural Selection' rises above the rest in the independent film genre.The follows Linda (Rachael Harris), a shy evangelical woman who has been married to Abe (John Diehl) for a couple of decades. They live in a small town and both put God first before anything else. However, Linda is very sexually frustrated, as she hasn't been intimate with her husband for a long long time now, reason being that since Linda is unable to have a child, Abe believes that they shouldn't have sex for pleasure, but rather for just making babies. Needless to say, Linda is is pretty depressed about it, although she stays true to her husband.However, one day as she is talking with her pastor/brother-in-law Peter (John Gries), she gets a phone call informing her that Abe has suffered a major stroke, but is still alive. It is also revealed that he had the stroke at a local sperm bank, which he has frequents quite often since they were married, and also enjoys watching fetish porn as he fills those cups.Linda is outraged as she has come to the thought that she is unwanted by her husband for all of these years, but he still goes to the sperm bank every chance he gets. She feels inadequate, guilty, and overall worthless, mostly because she wasn't able to provide Abe with a child. So, Linda secretly looks into the sperm bank's files and finds one of the kids Abe has fathered through the sperm bank, and thus sets us off on our journey so that Linda can bring him to Abe, in hopes of giving him a child he so desperately wants, before he dies.Unfortunately, this kid is now in his mid to late twenties and goes by the name of Raymond (Matt O'Leary), and is a wicked drug habit, a foul mouth, and has just recently escaped prison, which we see the hilarious and brilliant escape in the opening scene of the film. From here we see these two worlds on opposite ends of the spectrum collide with Linda's shy and true nature in helping, and Raymond's drug fueled rages and incoherent ramblings bring one closer to another. Never done in a cheesy way, both are on journeys within themselves as they are physically on the road. This is mostly a serious drama film, besides some of the story plot and the character of Peter, who literally goes insane, when he finds out about Linda's journey.Harris is phenomenal in her role. It completely surprised me and I think she could win an Oscar for this role or a future role. If you don't recognize Rachael Harris, you might remember her from 'The Hangover' as Stu's (Ed Helms) bitchy girlfriend. You won't even recognize her in 'Natural Selection' and she just steals the show. As for Matt O'Leary, he also does a solid job of playing a drug addicted loser. He plays it so well, that there is not one point of the film where you do not root for him. He is very likable, even though he does some deplorable things.'Natural Selection' is a fine film. It will be in my rotation cue to show people this stroke of genius. The acting, directing, and story are quite engaging and is a great addition to the independent film world. I hope all indie filmmakers strive for a film like this. I definitely recommend this.

TxMike I found this one on Netflix streaming movies. Very quirky comedy about a woman, married 25 years in a sexless relationship, now trying to find some closure in her life.Matt O'Leary is Raymond (or pretending to be Raymond). As the movie opens we see him making some sort of escape from one of the Huntsville prisons. (There are 9 prisons in the Huntsville area.) He somehow has crawled into a large grass mower bag and as the mowing guy takes a break, Raymond tears open the bag and runs away. We will see him later in the story.Rachael Harris is really good as Linda who as we eventually learn became pregnant when she was 16 and her older sister arranged an abortion. They thought the doctor was good but as a result of the procedure she lost her ability to have children. She and her husband being very strict Christians, he refused to have sex with her for the 25 years of their marriage because of the Biblical admonition of a spilling his seed on barren ground. John Diehl is the husband, Abe. But Abe has kept a secret all those years, he had been visiting a sperm bank in Jersey Village (right down the street from where I live!) as his way of insuring that he passed down his genetic makeup. No one would have known, had he not suffered the stroke in the clinic while "making a contribution" (wink, wink).So this information throws Linda's world all upside down. When she asks a worker at the clinic how long her husband had been going there, "I'm not sure, I've only worked here since 1988." As Abe first regains consciousness he whispers something that Linda thinks means she should find his son. (I found myself wondering, if he had been doing that for all of their marriage, might he not have 20 or 30 children running around? Or more??) Anyway she manages to sneak some information that identifies Abe as the biological father of a Raymond who lives in Tampa, FL.So most of the movie is Linda's road trip first trying to find Raymond and convince him to go back to Texas and meet his dying biological father, then the road trip of multiple mishaps trying to get back to Texas. It was mostly entertaining, in a goofy, quirky sort of way.SPOILERS: When Linda finds the Tampa address and finds Raymond, he lies to her. He isn't really Raymond, only rooms with him, but needs a quick ride out of Tampa to avoid police, presumably tracking him down after the Huntsville prison escape. He is an untrustworthy opportunist and Linda is a gentle, trusting soul. This gets them into a number of binds, her car and all her cash in her money belt are stolen, Raymond manages to trade some drugs for a small dirt bike get them home, wherever that was. It looked like Bastrop and Smithville. The last scene has Linda going to the Gulf and wading in the water, symbolic I suppose, because in spite of her "barrenness" became pregnant in a drunken fit of passion on the road trip home. To the young man she thought was her husband's son. Yes, a bit quirky.

Ryan Hatcher I was somewhat skeptical of the premise of this film (which you can read elsewhere) before I saw it. However, writer and director Robbie Pickering does a masterful job of bringing this original and surprisingly compelling story to life. His main characters are cut from starkly different backgrounds (fundamentalist Christian housewife and petty criminal/drug addict) to good comedic effect but each reveals a depth that is both genuine and touching as the story unfolds. I should also mention that the production is outstanding as well - from the pacing and the cinematography to the score. That's hardly a given for an independent film! Last but certainly not least, the acting is fantastic across the board. Rachael Harris especially shines in what I can honestly describe as an Oscar-worthy performance. I had no idea what a talent she is. I dare you to see this film and not be wildly impressed by her.