TARGET PRACTICE Showdown with Terrorists

Available via NETFLIX, AMAZON, BEST BUY, BORDERS, BARNES & NOBLE, et al.

Acclaimed award-winning thriller from Big Screen Entertainment and ADA/Warner Elektra ... Visit the Official Film Website: http://targetpracticemovie.com/

Target Practice
By ROBERT KOEHLER, VARIETY

With: Eric Dean, Aaron Hawk, Joey Lanai, Solomon Hoilett, Eltony Williams, Bill Elverman, Richard deGuilio, Daniel Rosenberg.

When a group of fishing buddies stumble upon a terrorist cell-in-training, politics give way to pure, unadulterated action in Richmond Riedel's impressively mounted "Target Practice." Though it's never more than a low-budget thriller that occasionally stumbles when its characters stop moving and talk, this is a helming debut engineered with confidence and exceptionally skillful editing. Regional fests should take notice, and a careful distrib could provide a brief theatrical window before tube and vid shots.

Initial impression is that a "Deliverance"-type storyline will play out, given the generally solid, middle-class makeup of the fishing party, some assuring their wives they'll be back soon, and all of them bickering with each other in the SUV driven by Dave (Bill Elverman). Riedel's script tends to slot his men into types, particularly bigoted, hard-hearted Paul (Joey Lanai) and whiny Mark (Eric Dean), who could be read as gay without the film stating as much.

But once the guys stop to check what seems to be a roadside vehicle in distress, the action becomes all, and Riedel, a vet Hollywood editor, shows his manifest chops with a relentless pace and astute storytelling. Different reference points from "Deliverance" soon take over, including the terrific, taut WWII TV series "Combat!", Fox's "24" and Ti West's "Trigger Man," another ultra-indie about innocent outdoorsmen being gunned down.

West's film was all the more disturbing in refusing to provide a motive; Riedel's film insists on naming the enemy as an Al Qaeda training camp deep in the forest (which looks very much like the Mt. San Jacinto area in Southern California). After a bloody attack leaves Mark and a wounded Steve (Aaron Hawk) together, and Paul alone and on the run, pic alternates between the two sides in a vicious cat-and-mouse chase in the mountainous woods.

The seemingly weaker Mark asserts himself as a leader, much to Steve's surprise, and Paul is forced to work with a black CIA undercover agent (Solomon Hoilett), who has infiltrated the cell and is about to bring it down. Pic's juggling of PC thematics and post-9/11 fears follows the "24" strategy of playing to both rightward and leftward viewers, though the juggling here is often too obvious by half.

Pic never lets up, though, and certain twists are quite brilliantly pulled off, with the bonus of being fairly credible. Key setpieces, including Mark and Steve's discovery of the camp, are extremely tense and executed with great energy, with no guarantees, given the cast of unknowns, that anyone will survive. Flashbacks designed as character backgrounding prove more facile than effective, however.

Whether viewers will completely accept that this particular cell is ready-for-Al-Qaeda-primetime is open to question, though Daniel Rosenberg's cell leader conveys a scary mix of cunning, ruthlessness and smarts. Dean and Hawk struggle with some rancid patches of dialogue, but work nicely in tandem, while Lanai enjoys playing the bigoted Paul.

Financially strapped American filmmakers would be wise to study "Target Practice" for what can be done with minimal crew and cash. Pic maintains technical quality control with sharp lensing (again, by Riedel), action staging (care of stunt coordinator Sean Christopher) and subtle supporting music (Jeff Arwady).

Camera (color, DV), Riedel; music, Jeff Arwady; sound (stereo), Scott Jennings; stunt coordinator, Sean Christopher; assistant director, Christopher. Reviewed on DVD, Los Angeles, July 26, 2008. (In Dances With Films, Los Angeles.) Running time: 97 MIN.

Read more: http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117937872.html?categoryid=31&cs=1#ixzz10...

WINNER, Action Film Of The Year, Action On Film International Film Festival, Best Action Feature, Fargo Fantastic Film Festival, 2nd Place Best Feature Appalachian Film Festival, Silver Screen Award Nevada Film Festival, Award of Excellence Accolade Film Competition, Official Selection 17 Film Festivals including Dances With Films Independent Film Festival, Trail Dance Film Festival, Burbank International Film Festival, Macon Film Festival, Riverside International Film Festival, ThrillerChiller Film Festival, Wild Rivers Film Festival, more

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• independent films
• independent features
• action movies
• movie trailers
• scary movie
• suspense
• target practice
• homegrown terrorism
• jihad
• terrorists
• training camps
• al-qaeda
• thrillers
• richmond riedel
• rich riedel
• joey lanai
• eltony williams
• bill elverman
• michelle tomlinson
• islamberg
• deliverance
• what tigers do
• big screen entertainment group

[TargetPractice08]

"'TARGET PRACTICE,' NOW STREAMING ON NETFLIX, IS ONE OF THE BEST INDIE ACTION FILMS OF THE LAST DECADE ... THE FILM'S SCRIPT IS A MODEL OF EFFICIENCY ... A CONSTANT BARRAGE OF FAIRLY REALISTIC DEADLY GUN BATTLES AND HARROWING KNIFE FIGHTS... THE SUCCESS OF A MOVIE LIKE "TARGET PRACTICE" FOR THE VIEWER IS THE JOY OF DISCOVERING A FILM THAT ISN'T THE KIND OF THING MOST PEOPLE ARE USED TO WATCHING... WORKS BECAUSE IT'S ROUGH AROUND THE EDGES NOT IN SPITE OF IT."

- Jonathan Hickman, Daily Film Fix

[TargetPractice08]

"★★★★★ EXCELLENT! TIGHT AND EXCITING THROUGHOUT ... KEPT ME ON THE EDGE OF MY SEAT. REALLY AMAZING INDEPENDENT FILM THAT DESERVES A WIDER AUDIENCE ... CAN'T RECOMMEND IT ENOUGH!"

- Gregory Plotkin, editor of "PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2"

[TargetPractice08]

"POLITICS GIVE WAY TO PURE, UNADULTERATED ACTION IN RICHMOND RIEDEL'S IMPRESSIVELY MOUNTED 'TARGET PRACTICE' ... A HELMING DEBUT ENGINEERED WITH CONFIDENCE AND EXCEPTIONALLY SKILLFUL EDITING ... A RELENTLESS PACE AND ASTUTE STORYTELLING ... PIC NEVER LETS UP ... EXTREMELY TENSE AND EXECUTED WITH GREAT ENERGY ... FINANCIALLY STRAPPED AMERICAN FILMMAKERS WOULD BE WISE TO STUDY 'TARGET PRACTICE' FOR WHAT CAN BE DONE WITH MINIMAL CREW AND CASH."

- Robert Koehler, Variety

[TargetPractice08]

"QUICK PACE AND STEADY MOMENTUM ... ROUNDED OUT WITH A SOLID CAST, 'TARGET PRACTICE' IS TOPICAL, VIOLENT, AND THOUGHTFUL."

- Will Colby, KillingBoxx

[welderMTL]

Al-Qaeda was created by the C.I.A to destabalize any government they wanted by having double agents created in prisons like guantanamo to lead misled people.

[TargetPractice08]

@welderMTL that's a leap

[TargetPractice08]

"ONE CAMERA, A HANDFUL OF DEDICATED ACTORS, STRONG WRITING, AND ALMOST NO MONEY. AND YET TARGET PRACTICE IS EASILY THE GRITTIEST AND MOST INTENSE ACTION FILM OF THE LAST DECADE, FAR SUPERIOR THAN THE DRECK THAT HOLLYWOOD CHURNS OUT YEAR AFTER YEAR ... DIRECTOR RIEDEL MANAGES TO AVOID THE CLICHES AND SINGLEHANDEDLY TURNS THE ACTION GENRE ON ITS EAR."

- Cary Conley, Rogue Cinema

[TargetPractice08]

‎"THE FILM BUILDS TO AN INTENSE AMBUSH AND WRINGS EVERY OUNCE OF TENSION IT CAN ... DO YOURSELVES A FAVOR AND FOR ONCE BELIEVE THE HYPE. WITH TARGET PRACTICE, RIEDEL HAS PRODUCED A TAUT, EXCITING ACTION MOVIE THAT DESERVES TO BE SEEN. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!"

- Mike Parkin, Flash Bang Action Movies (U.K.)

[TargetPractice08]

"REALISTIC ... FAST-PACED AND INTENSE ... TARGET PRACTICE THE MOVIE IS AN IDEA WHOSE TIME HAS COME!"

- Judi McLeod, Canada Free Press

[TargetPractice08]

Big Screen Entertainment Releases Critically-Acclaimed Action Pic, "TARGET PRACTICE" on DVD. The testosterone-fueled thrill ride centers around 5 friends on a weekend fishing trip who discover a hidden training camp for homegrown terrorists and suddenly have to wage a bloody battle for survival. Based on recent real-life discoveries. Order your copy now from AMAZON, BEST BUY, BORDERS and many other retailers... Or just add to your NETFLIX queue ... Visit targetpracticemovie. com for more info.