Plot: What’s it about?
In Honey Glaze, we watch as a daughter attempts to put her life back together, after the tragic death of her father. She is Honey Glaze, a girl who loves her father, minds her manners, and plays with her toys, an ideal daughter, to be sure. She never even leaves the house, in order to keep out of trouble. But Honey is also not some little girl or even a teen, instead she is thirty years old and of course, that makes the situation a little weird. Her father was a special agent for the government, but he was gunned down. Now she has to piece her life back together, but first, she wants some payback. She follows in her dad’s footsteps and finds herself involved in an evil plot, one created by the nefarious Dr. Sum Thaim. Can she mature in time to block his evil plans, even with some help from new friends? In Braindrainer, a meteor has fallen from the heavens, which is rare, but isn’t that of an unusual event. But this space rock is no normal meteor, instead it drains the intelligence out of anyone that touches it. So if Einstein walked up and hugged this chunk, his mind would drain within seconds, so you know its a powerful stone. A research institute tries to harness this power for some kind of productive output, but someone else has plans for the rock as well. The Amazing Jacques and his sidekick The Spider Woman wish to obtain the special stone, but unknown to them, the meteor has its own ideas…
This is one of the more offbeat double features I’ve witnessed, which is a compliment, since I’ve seen a lot of oddball releases. These movies are low rent slapstick comedies, which doesn’t sound too promising, I know. I have faith in low rent horror movies and dramatic pictures, but comedies don’t often pan out well, even in the big leagues. But writer & director Michael Legge has fashioned these two movies, both of which were a fun watch. Honey Glaze is the better of the two, with more sharp dialogue and humorous moments. The premise of a female secret agent is cool, but made even better by having Honey be a womanchild. This chick plays with children’s toys, not guns and gadgets, but she is in the thick of the spy trade. The humor is decent and fairly consistent, while the action driven sequences also provide some laughs. Braindrainer is no slouch, as any film with a rock that plans world domination can’t be that bad. This one is just an off the wall, slapstick ball of chaos, one that works as often as it doesn’t. Yes, it is rather hit and miss in terms of humor, but the dialogue is well crafted and some of the barbs are excellent. As with any comedic movie, these two have failed bits and slow parts, but I still had a lot of fun with this release. So if you like offbeat comedies, give this double feature a spin.
Video: How does it look?
Honey Glaze and Braindrainer are presented in full frame, as intended. This is a split decision, as Honey Glaze looks terrific, but Braindrainer has a soft, low end visual presence. I would assume this is because better equipment, probably digital video was used on Honey Glaze, whereas a normal video camera was implemented for Braindrainer. Honey Glaze has a crisp and sharp appearance, though the usual digital video foibles do surface. The image is clean and shows no serious flaws however, so no real worries there. Braindrainer looks like it was shot on VHS, with a soft and less refined visual texture. If this was the case, that the movie was shot on low end video, then you can’t complain too much about this presentation. In the end, both movies look more than passable, though Honey Glaze benefits from better equipment.
Audio: How does it sound?
The audio is not too memorable here, but it is more than adequate and delivers on all the basic elements. The tracks are clean and well recorded, with no serious errors to discuss, which is of course, terrific news. The music is well presented and never falters, while the various sound effects are as well, at least within the limits of a stereo option. The dialogue remains crisp and easy to understand, which leaves to score this one with a solid number, as it deserves. I do think Honey Glaze has a better audio presence, thanks to a superior sound design and equipment, but both movies sound solid here.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Braindrainer is left to speak for itself, but Honey Glaze has been showered with a few bonus materials. An audio commentary is up first, as writer & director Michael Legge is joined by stars Lorna Nogueira and Robin Gabrielli. Legge provides some cool and insightful tales from the production, which give us a look inside a low budget production. He talks about the ups & downs of such a project, then tosses in some technical data to round out the session. I loved this track and would have liked one for Braindrainer also, but no such luck. You can also view a behind the scenes featurette, as well as the film’s trailer.
