MOVIE REVIEW
With Arms Raised
NR - 3.5 out of 5 stars
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Short
Year Released: 2025
Runtime: 11m
Director(s): Jon Cvack
Writer(s): Jon Cvack
Cast: Jonathen Wallace, Andrew Garrett
Where to Watch: available to watch now, here: vimeo.com
RAVING REVIEW: How much discomfort do we tolerate in everyday interactions before acknowledging that something is actually wrong? That uneasy question is the core powering WITH ARMS RAISED, a short that understands something basic about fear; it doesn’t always equal a jump or a scream. Sometimes it shows up as forced friendliness, awkward laughter, and a driver who keeps choosing to “smooth things over” because that feels safer than honesty.
The setup is simple on paper: a rideshare pickup; a passenger in the back; a driver up front; the kind of experience everyone recognizes. But the film’s intelligence comes from how it weaponizes that script. You can feel the driver trying to be decent and professional, trying to read the temperature while keeping his own nerves invisible. The passenger, meanwhile, talks like a person who’s already rehearsed these thoughts a hundred times; he’s not just venting, he’s testing the waters. He tosses out conversational bait, waits to see what gets affirmed, then escalates. The effect is suffocating in the best way, because it mirrors a real dynamic most people don’t like admitting exists: the moment you realize “being polite” might be the very thing that traps you.
Jonathen Wallace carries the film with a performance that’s all small decisions. He’s not playing a hero, and he’s not playing a fool; he’s playing a guy doing what a lot of people would do when cornered by a stranger’s volatility. There’s a constant calculation behind his eyes, and the film gets power from that internal truth. You can sense him weighing empathy against self-preservation, weighing when to push back versus when to let something slide. That tension makes him deeper, because he isn’t performing righteousness; he’s trying to get through the ride without making the situation worse...
My full review on my Letterboxd and www.OHMR.us
#OverlyHonestReviews #witharmsraised
Here’s how I made the official poster for With Arms Raised, directed by @jcvack 🚕
#poster #posterdesign #officialmovieposter
#posterart #graphicdesign #movieposter#posterdesigncommunity #witharmsraised #joncvack #shortfilm #shortfilmposter #thriller #thrillerposter #creed #witharmswideopen
I wrote a spooky novel years ago and always wanted to do something with it. It was originally written as a mini-series and then the lightbulb went off and I realized I could supplement it with some generative vid. What I'm calling a "visual book" (and Lordy needs a better name, but ya know - audio books and all…). I was hoping to do the whole prologue by the end of October but it just took too dang long.
For Orland Park peeps, it all takes place in our town with a different name circa 2004. About a type of evil infecting the burbs, led by a supernatural slasher named Furster Ray who kills a victim per night on what was then Columbus Day weekend.
The words are all mine. No AI involved at all. The videos were generated with Runway and Midjourney.
So here's the teaser to my book
COME TO DUST
My first AI short flick/music vid based off a song from one of my fav bands Grails. I know, I know - it “looks” like AI, but put that to the side for a moment and see if the story works within those limitations. Open to any and all feedback! Feel free to DM.
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#runway #midjourney #ai #aishortfilm #aimusicvideo #aimusicvid #grails #postrock #genai #genaivideo #genaiimagee #shortfilm #musicvideo
Thoughts on Diary of a Chambermaid (1964). Could have used more surrealism and less boot fetishes. Link to read in bio.
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#DiaryofaChambermaid #LuisBunuel # OctaveMirbeau #JeanneMoreau #MichelPiccoli #GeorgesGéret #FrenchCinema
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Thoughts on Apollo 13 (1995). One of the first movies I watched on 4k and one of the all-time greatest action-dramas. Link to read in bio.
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#RonHoward #KevinBacon #TomHanks #GarySenise #Apollo13 #BillPaxton #KathleenQuinlan #NASA #ChrisEllis #EdHarris
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Thoughts on Bad Boys II (2003). One day Michael Bay will be recognized as a great artist. At least in the world of action flicks. Link to read in bio.
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#BadBoys #BadBoys2 #BadBoysII #WillSmith #MartinLawrence #MichaelBay #JerryBruckheimer #GabrielUnion #JordiMollà #HenryRollins #MichaelShannon #ActionFilm #ActionMovies #BadBoysforLife
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Thoughts on Poltergeist (1982). One of the best horror films ever made which will one day be officially declared a Spielberg feature. Link to read in bio.
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#horrorfilm #horror #scarymovies #poltergeist #theyrehere #JoBeth Williams #CraigTNelson #HeatherORourke #BeatriceStraight #StephenSpielberg
#shocktober #horrorfilms
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Thoughts on The Evil Dead (1981). Haven’t seen this in about a decade and it might be the greatest horror franchise debut of all time. Link to read in bio.
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#TheEvilDead #EvilDead #Ash #SamRaimi #EllenSandweiss #BruceCampbell #Horror #scarymovies #halloween #shocktober #horrorfilms
#cinemastudies #cinephile #moviereview #MovieCriticism #FilmReview #film #cinema #movies #classicfilm
Thoughts on The Two Popes (2019). The Before-series meets Catholicism, exploring the way to bridge an increasing political divide. Link to read in bio.
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#TheTwoPopes #Catholicism #PopeBenedictXVI #PopeFrancis #JonathanPryce #AnthonyHopkins #FernandoMeirelles “Catholicism
#cinemastudies #cinephile #moviereview #MovieCriticism #FilmReview #film #cinema #movies #classicfilm
