Uploaded

I bought this thinking it was Upload. That movie has an interesting premise: choosing your own afterlife. This movie is not that movie. This movie does not have an interesting premise: a video prankster we know next to nothing about other than that he acts like a jerk is framed for murder. The bulk of the film concerns his fate. He gets arrested, he doesn't get arrested. He gets the chair, he doesn't get the chair. There's so little character development it's all the same to us. As far as we're concerned the stakes couldn't be any lower. The fate of a cardboard fictional movie character hangs in the balance. Big whoop. The acting was barely TV movie quality, the script never reached that level. Decent production values can't make up for a story and characters we aren't invested in. Three stars for the production values (with the notable exception of the sound, which randomly changes volume throughout). Zero stars for the plot, story, and dialog. Three stars.

This thing is lazily written and lazily produced and lazily acted. It's a low-budget murder movie, sure, but more could be done on a budget like this. Eric Roberts is top billed on imdb but he appears for like 30 seconds as a car rental clerk. Total waste.

Famous online prankster Mark Clifton (a solid and likeable performance by Chase Ryan Jeffery) gets set up for a murder that he didn't commit. Mark enlists the assistance of various friends to find out who did said murder in order to clear his name before it's too late. Directors Ethan Black and Kamran Delan relate the enjoyable and absorbing story at a constant pace, maintain a smart hip tone throughout, and generate a good deal of tension. Delan's clever script presents a few decent twists and a neat array of colorful characters along with a good central message on how things you did in the past can come back to haunt you in the present. The sound acting from the capable cast keeps this movie humming: Jessica Diane as concerned girlfriend Julie Pinehurst, Alex Demir as the hard-nosed Detective Brandman, Beverly Mitchell as Brandman's perky partner Victoria Perry, Tom Green as a dim-witted pothead motel clerk, John Zacchino as practical lawyer William Rifkin, Jesse Woodrow as the helpful Darius, and Tiffany Shepis as the spunky and protective Cathy. The ubiquitous Eric Roberts has a funny bit as car rental clerk Bobby. A cool little flick.