Blood, Sand & Gold (2017)

Perfectly adorable

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Without a doubt, it is not a blockbuster movie, but it has managed to create a quality film with low resources, good talent and experience. A great achievement for the beginning of several new film agency in the world with great stories.

After finding a chest of the missing treasure of Sir Francis Drake in the Western Sahara desert, the company turns on Mave Adams (Monica West) and leaves her for near dead in the desert. The film then flashes 4 years...which is not 4 years later, but the length of time Jack Riordan (Aaron Costa Ganis) has spent in a Belgium prison for illegal archaeological digging. I had trouble with both of those details, but continued. It seems Mave's brother Matthew (Christopher Redman) of Adam's Exploration has taken over the company as CEO and has bumped her out. Mave hires Jack to help her recover the treasure stolen from her in the desert (we saw that coming) for most of the rest of the feature minus a few details.This is similar to your Indian Jones type of films except in modern times. Aaron Costa Ganis is no Harrison Ford and as such his character was a let down. Monica West failed to give her character the needed personality and I don't know what she is doing in the desert with her skin that pale. The film lacked engaging dialogue and quality actors.It has been speculated some of Drake's treasure may be buried in Marion, California. I could have bought into that. Western Sahara is a bit far fetched. The ending leads into a sequel for our twosome treasure hunters which is in production.Guide: F-word, implied sex, brief nudity (Shuna Iijima)

Blood, Sand and Gold is my latest review. What, no sweat and tears? Anyway, "Sand" doesn't have a MPAA rating but I'll go with a standard R. There are a few F-words, a cold-blooded murder involving a tied up escort, and a couple of other nasty kills. Just think of Blood, Sand and Gold as Raiders of the Lost Ark meets National Treasure. Now take away any excitement or verve that those movies hastily possessed.Blood, Sand and Gold is your typical, slick Redbox endeavor. It has lots of glossy locations (Canary Islands, Dubai, Belgium, and Hong Kong to name a few), a no-name cast, a familiar movie poster (similar to Extraction, Arsenal, or Sicario), and a rookie director in 27-year- old Gaelan Connell. Released only in New York City, "Sand" is a globetrotting affair that feels surprisingly grounded. It obviously has a budget but I doubt it will break even on said budget.With its minimal images of wealthy relics and its lack of insightful treasure speak, Blood, Sand and Gold still comes off like the cinematic poster child for modern day archaeology. It stars Monica West and Aaron Costa Ganis. West looks like a cross between Judy Greer and Tilda Swinton. Sadly, Ganis looks like the B-list version of Gerard Butler. Together, Ganis and West's characters (Jack Riordan and Mave Adams) travel the globe in search of priceless, 15th century artifacts needed for a salvage company. On their journey, they involve themselves in deeper territory as conspiracies about stolen treasures begin to surface.In regards to the overall effect of Blood, Sand and Gold, watch for middling acting, ludicrous shootout sequences, and laughable fistfights that seem to be forced and used just for filler (that way "Sand" can safely say it's an action film). There's a car chase where a woman who's never shot a gun before, kills about three bad guys without missing once. There's also a scene in which an elderly dame (maybe in her 70's) turns all antagonistic and fires an AK-47. Finally, you have a romantic subplot between Riordan and Adams that lasts for about five minutes. It involves the French language and conversations about screwing on a table. Gag me.As for the look of Blood, Sand and Gold, well it's not half bad. Cinematographer Chloe H. Walker provides mountainous landscapes, shots of gleaming deserts, and twinkling city skylines. However, the performances in "Sand" are so lackluster (the troupers either overact or seem wooden) that Walker's keen eye just becomes prepossessing, empty background. What a shame.In conclusion, Blood, Sand and Gold is filmmaking water mold. Gaelan Connell's direction on it lacks a sense of coherent locality. The actors go from country to country and with each frame, "Sand" feels like its solely edited on the fly (that can't be good). All in all, it's best to just skip Blood, Sand and Gold unless it's the last movie left on Earth. Then, you should only see it once. Rating: 1 and a half stars.

I have never written a review before but felt I had to this time. Saw this advertised online then read the review by GearPatrol.com on IMDb...for the money ($274k) the result is amazing. Mr Connell has made the genre of film he wants and should be more than pleased with the result. Most low budget indies are about character and story but this shows that the genre can be bigger than that. This reminds me of what Gareth Evans did with 'The Raid' but for less. Yes..the acting may not be the best (but far better than most of us could ever do, believe me) but he has made a small, independent movie that so surpasses expectations that I cannot believe. His vision far out ways his budget and the major producers/studios must surely want to see what he does with a larger budget. And no, I am not related to anybody connected to the director, producers, investor or anybody else. I just love film of all genres and was really amazed with what I just saw...sometimes you just want to be entertained. Watch and enjoy.