During my time attending the 2009 CineVegas Film Festival, I managed to get some time to sit down with director Kyle Patrick Alvarez and stars Brian Geraghty and Kel O’Neill of ‘Easier With Practice‘. One of the best films of the festival, we talk about their experience, their inspiration and what went on during the making of this fine film.

I want to apologize for the shakiness of the video. Due to technical difficulties with our HD camera, we had to rely on our emergency backup Flip Mino camera to shoot the interview. Otherwise, enjoy!

Hulu really is taking over the world.   Not only is Alec Baldwin extremely convincing in that Superbowl commercial, the site has got first dibs on the new red band trailer for ‘World’s Greatest Dad.’

I was lucky enough to catch this movie at CineVegas earlier this week, and I will have my review for it up soon enough.   I will say that it is sick and twisted in all the best ways, and it’s taking me some time to get my head all the way around it to talk about it in full detail.   Jody Hill sure seemed to like it.   God, that guy is fidgety in a movie theater.

Anyway, check out the red band trailer for this latest comedy directed by Bobcat Goldthwait:

‘World’s Greatest Dad’ comes out on August 21st in limited theaters.

Check out Scott’s rave review of the film from Sundance right here!

Source: Hulu

This is the second video blog from CineVegas. It features red-carpet interviews with Michael Jai White and Scott Sanders from ‘Black Dynamite’ and a Q&A with director Duncan Jones for his new film ‘Moon’. Check, Check it out. Keep an eye out for day three coming soon.

Cinevegas Day Two from Anthony Meadows on Vimeo.

It’s sort of become an unofficial unstated tradition that most movies featuring a character with some form of neurological disorder or handicap usually miss their mark, or in many cases simply fall flat on their faces. More often than not, the majority of movies that shed light on the topic of people living such lives shed the kind of light that mock or disrespect those afflicted with these conditions. ‘Deuce Bigalow’ makes fun of several including narcolepsy and Tourette Syndrome (a popular comical target) for example, but the list goes on. And for what, to make us laugh?

I prefer the rare film that takes subject matters such as these and constructs a smart and meaningful story depicting these lives and opening the viewer’s eyes to circumstances they themselves have not been privileged to endure and overcome. ‘Adam’ joins the select list of quality films that tell respectful and worthwhile stories of people with neurological conditions such as Rain Man, I Am Sam, Tic Code and House of Cards, to name a few.

Writer and director Max Mayer (Better Living) manages to capture this essence of daily life for an adult with Asperger’s Syndrome, taking us on a journey one day at a time through Adam’s struggle to adapt to his community of neuro-typicals and introduces us to the process by which he interacts and understands the world around him. Hugh Dancy (Confessions of a Shopaholic) delivers a commendable performance as Adam, pulling us into his mind and allowing us a glimpse of how alien the emotions and communication of others around him must feel at times. Interactions that the rest of us take for granted are difficult for Adam to grasp and at times the jokes and sarcasm of our conversations are misunderstood.

What I found particularly enjoyable about ‘Adam’ was that his life isn’t perfect, but he manages to adapt. The story is realistic and filled with the ups and downs that come with real life, but still manages to incorporate an an almost fairy tale like quality that mimics real life, that feeling of when things seem just right but then fall apart without any notice. That’s what life is actually like. Things don’t always, perhaps rarely work out as planned and this fact of life is no different for people that society sees as being “different.” If anything, these moments are more abundant.

‘Adam’ tells the story of a 29-year old man with Asperger’s Syndrome whose father has just passed away and must now learn to live on his own in New York. Adam has never lived alone, never traveled outside of his neighborhood alone and soon finds himself without a job to pay for the mortgage on his father’s house. Adam has one true friend in his life, a friend of his late father’s named Harlan who works as a locksmith and does his best to keep an eye on Adam and be there for him when needed. This is a two-way street however, as Harlan finds great wisdom pass through Adam’s lips to him as well.

The heart of the story develops as Adam meets his new neighbor, a single teacher named Beth played by Rose Byrne (Knowing). She is a kind, open-minded woman who quickly develops an interest in getting to know Adam, but one that slowly grows into something more as she realizes Adam holds qualities she admires despite his differences. The struggle for them both as they pursue a relationship neither knows what to expect of, is that they both have a lot to learn from each other and must work together to communicate their feelings.

This is not a sappy, story book kind of romance that’s filled with your typical rom-com tendencies. ‘Adam’ has more than the average amount of hardship that occurs in the lives of Adam and Beth. The struggle isn’t focused entirely on Beth trying to understand Adam, but branches out to find Adam struggling to understand Beth and her family, and Beth’s family struggling to understand Adam. In the end, Adam and Beth must both make important decisions about their relationship and their lives and the ending is satisfies on both ends of the emotional scale.

Additional quality performances are delivered by Peter Gallagher as Beth’s father, Amy Irving as her mother, Frankie Faison as Harlan and a welcome face from the past with Mark Linn-Baker (Perfect Strangers) as Adam’s boss. What ‘Adam’ delivers is more than just an intelligent story of boy meets girl, offering a story about Adam’s revelation that he does have the ability to live a “normal” life on his own. Whereas the customary assumption is to assume this is a love story, the truth is that neither Adam nor Beth truly even know what love is as they go through the motions of what a typical relationship entails before learning that love cannot be forced or manufactured and shouldn’t be taken for granted.

I’ve spoken a lot about why I feel this is a significant film, but when all this is put aside, the bottom line is that ‘Adam’ tells a heart-warming and honest story that provides the full spectrum of emotional satisfaction. ‘Adam’ is entertaining and inspirational. Much of the humor is rooted in Adam’s incredible amount of knowledge and his uncanny understanding of the physical world and outer space. Talking in great detail for hours about the intricacies of astrological physics and electronics comes as second nature to Adam, but the ability and understanding of how to carry out a simple and playful 60 seconds of small talk is beyond his ability. Adam begins to grasp this understanding thanks to Beth, while Beth begins to understand what’s really important in her life as a result of her time with Adam.

How do you remember a past love?  Chances are, it’s not in a linear fashion.  The whole “boy meets girl – boy falls for girl – boy loses girl” storyline works in that order only in typical love stories.  True love is remembered in fits and starts.  Sometimes you remember a fight.  Other times you remember the happier moments.  Still other times you go all the way back to the beginning and remember how the two of you first met.

With ‘(500) Days of Summer,’ writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber and director Marc Webb have pieced together one of the most magical and genuine love stories of the modern era.  It moves around within those 500 days that Zooey Deschanel’s Summer is in Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Tom’s life.  It doesn’t start with them meeting.  We start somewhere in the middle, in one of the more melancholy moments of the relationship.  Slowly, we work back and forth, eventually hitting all the major highs and lows of the relationship finally culminating on the events of that 500th day.

But, the structure is not the only place where ‘(500) Days of Summer’ pulls out the originality.  Were this film told in a completely straight-forward narrative, it still would be head and shoulders above most other romance films.  For one, there is nothing predictable about ‘(500) Days of Summer.’  You truly do not know where it is headed.  You may think you know what is going on, and, honestly, that bit of cinema-going arrogance soured me on the film a little around the middle.  However, by the end, the film reached out, slapped me around and said, “No, I refuse to be just another love story.  You do NOT have any clue where I am headed.”

The acting is unmatched.  Gordon-Levitt is one of the best actors working today, and Deschanel is only a role or two away from taking the same crown on the actress’ side.  These two play their parts with absolute honesty, never once faltering.  Gordon-Levitt’s Tom is a hopeless romantic, always seeking out the next bit of love in his life.  Deschanel’s Summer doesn’t believe in love, and it is unclear for most of the film where she sees her relationship with Tom.

In more amateurish hands, this idea might have gone the way of so many quirky comedies that are fun on first viewing but then simmer out after losing the Best Picture Oscar to something more dramatic.  Yes, I’m talking to you ‘Juno’ and ‘Little Miss Sunshine.’   In even less capable hands, it could have fallen into the saccharine stylings that a majority of romantic comedies stumble over.

However, with ‘(500) Days of Summer,’ you just feel that everything that is transpiring before your eyes is going to stick with you long after you leave the theater.  Every aspect of this film works towards its inevitable state of perfection, not the least of which is Webb’s direction.

This is Webb’s first feature film.  Up until now he has directed a number of music videos and one short film.  He shoots this film as if he has been directing motion pictures for decades.  Every shot in ‘(500) Days of Summer’ is a stunningly beautiful picture.  Every camera movement and edit in the film serves to elicit the emotion coming out of the film’s main character.

Even a few segments within the film where Webb shows us the character’s mindset a bit more stylistically than the rest work perfectly.  There is a dance sequence early on, right after Tom and Summer have spent their first night together.  It is Gordon-Levitt dancing down the street as the whole world seems to take on the blue shade of Deschanel’s eyes.  It is pure movie magic, and it even finds little moments here and there to throw in some hilarious surprises.

Another segment features a split-screen.  The less said about the narrative surrounding this scene the better.  I will just say that certain aspects of what was going on story-wise were lost on me, because I found myself wide-eyed and open-mouthed at how brilliantly crafted the scene was.  That is not to say in the least that what is happening in the story is the slightest bit uninteresting.  Far from it.  The nature of the scene, though, and the way it is so masterfully written and put together is breathtaking.

There is another element to ‘(500) Days of Summer’ that puts the film in a class far above most other films.  The people behind it are not afraid to set their own rules and then break them.  Each scene begins with the numbers 1 – 500 spinning and landing on one, particular number.  It is that day the scene takes place on.  At certain points, though, we don’t get a particular or whole number.  At one point, we get a number and 1/2.  At another point, we get a range of numbers followed by a montage of Tom’s day-to-day routine during that span of time.  This idea of setting your own rules and then having absolutely no fear of breaking them is what makes master craftsmen of filmmakers and the writers and director here take that idea and run with it wholeheartedly.

‘(500) Days of Summer’ is more than just a better-than-average offbeat romantic comedy.  It is a truly amazing and poetic look at the honesty of love and what comes after.  Whether you are someone who has love and lost or someone who has finally found your one, true love, you will know the veracity of the story told in ‘(500) Days of Summer.’  The film is truly amazing, truly the best crafted and most sincere love story put to film in a long time.

There are many living legends of filmmaking in the world today that are still going strong in their craft and Wim Wenders (pronounced Vim Venders) is among that list. While he’s not in the top tier of my most favorite directors, I still appreciate his mastery of the art and craft of making some damn good movies. Many critics will cite that his cinematic body of work has it’s ups and downs, but most directors fall into that category. I’d like to go on the record however, and state that ‘Palermo Shooting’ ranks fairly high on my list of Wenders’ films.

‘Palermo Shooting’ is like many of Wenders’ films — complex, enigmatic and can be a bit taxing to watch at times. The first half of the film plays with a perfect tone and pace that draws the audience into the developing mystery and paints a detailed picture of our main character. In this case, our main character is a very successful fine art photographer named Finn (played by Andreas Frege, also known as the German punk singer Campino) that has taken a liking to fashion photography despite his agent’s warnings that it will destroy his credibility as an artist. Finn does not care, as he finds a strange sort of peace and relaxation within the hyped frenzy of fashion photography.

On the surface it seems Finn has a great life filled with fame, money, nice things and women, but Finn is actually empty on the inside although he doesn’t truly realize this yet. He struggles to hold onto the happiness that seems inherent with the kind of life he leads. Recently experiencing trouble sleeping due to repeated strange and surrealistic dreams, Finn begins to envision a mysterious man in a silver hooded robe, a man who keeps shooting arrows at him in broad daylight, but when Finn attempts to explain to others he finds the arrows have vanished as if existing in an ethereal form and no one claims to have seen a thing.

During a fashion shoot with Milla Jovovich in Greece Italy, Finn decides to remain behind for a bit while his crew return home, wandering the ancient streets of the Greek town and photography the town with a 20-year old favorite camera of his. While exploring and intermittently taking mid day naps in public places around the town, Finn happens to meet Karla (Inga Busch) who restores art for a living. As the two of them slowly grow closer, Finn realizes that she is the only person who believes his stories of the mysterious hooded man (Dennis Hopper) and finds herself uncomfortable by his visions.

After an extremely close call with death from one of the man’s arrows, Finn seeks to search this man out and discover his identity and the reasons for which the man continues to pursue him. What Finn doesn’t realize is that the mysterious man has given him several chances more than is customary and Finn will learn he is asking questions for which the answers he may not be ready to hear. The first half of the film, which carries a level of interest and intrigue that keeps the audience wondering what the outcome will be, slows to a more cautious and cerebral pace in the second half that at times slows to a crawl. Hopper’s small but important role in the film is concentrated in this second half, which leads up to the slightly unexpected ending.

‘Palermo Shooting’ contains many of the trademark elements of Wenders’ films, from a creative and saturated use of popular and eclectic music with a soundtrack including Bonnie Prince Billy, Nick Cave and The Velvet Underground, to the use of super-imposed imagery to convey the feelings of the character and foreshadow events to come. Campino is surprisingly adept in his performance, revealing a depth and range of emotion that we rarely see from musicians that cross over into acting. ‘Palermo Shooting’ is primarily a one man show, whereas Finn actually undergoes an internal battle with himself that is portrayed on film as an external struggle, manifesting in what seem to be outwardly physical obstacles. Ultimately, Finn is allowed to learn a valuable lesson about life and death and all that exists between the two, changing his outlook on the life he once though complete.

Some may feel the need to call Wenders a pretentious old hack, but I find this accusation unwarranted and just plain mean-spirited. I agree that many of his films present ideas that are heavy and at times hard to swallow, but let’s not fault a filmmaker for taking chances and venturing into a realm of storytelling that is challenging and difficult. I find that, even if his films aren’t always a success, they’re almost always interesting and worth the credit of having tread across a path so many others have feared to tread. ‘Palermo Shooting’ is not for everyone’s tastes and will likely either lose many viewers or simply bore them, but the film remains a moderately successful entry into the archive of Wim Wenders that has plenty of creative juice to keep the curious and open-minded viewer’s batteries charged.

Friendship and strange relationships seems to have been one of the major themes represented at CineVegas 2009.   We had not one, but two love stories told out of sinc (’500 Days of Summer’ and ‘Mercy).   We had two, straight friends who decide to make a porno for artistic value in ‘Humpday.’   We even had an intergalactic relationship between a rugged outlaw and a little girl with ‘Stingray Sam.’   However, nothing seen all week at CineVegas would prepare us for the strangeness found in the horror comedy film, ‘The Revenant.’

Joey (Chris Wylde) is a slacker, a real low-life who would rather sell drugs than go out and find a real job.   He has just buried his best friend and roommate, Bart (David Anders), a soldier who has died in Iraq.   Joey is about to go on with his life when Bart, resurrected from the grave, comes knocking on his door.

Bart has become, for no reason given, a revenant, a member of the undead who must satisfy his cravings for human blood by night.   He dies again each dawn, only to be brought right back once the sun goes down.   So, what do you do with a friend who is completely immortal and is only able to go out at night?   You party your heads off, right?

The narrative for ‘The Revenant’ doesn’t just stop at the level of two friends dealing with newfound immortality in one of them.   It delves into violence, gets more complex, and, by the end of the film, completely goes way out on the limb.   Joey and Bart become a duo of vigilantes, taking out murderers and drug dealers allowing Bart to suck them dry of their blood.   If ‘The Revenant’ would have stuck with this storyline and allowed the majority of the film to follow this path, it would have worked successfuly in several different ways.   However, writer/director Kerry Prior only gives the two a small amount of screen time to work any violent magic on the criminal underworld.   Much of the film’s earlier scenes is played out for absolute comic relief with the hanging out, getting drunk, and, basically, being the adolescent partiers Joey has always wanted them to be.

These early moments could have easily been cut out.   If nothing else, they could have been shortened immensely.   It seems like most of the scenes found in ‘The Revenant’ are about twice as long as they need to be.   It is well into the film before the real plotline begins to reveal itself.   Don’t get me wrong.   There is a lot of fun to be had in the first half of ‘The Revenant.’   Anders and Wylde are clearly having a blast playing these two characters, and it seems much of their early scenes together were improvised while the two were just hanging out.   Anders just happens to have crazy, zombie makeup covering his face and Kerry Prior just happens to be there with a camera to film it all.

The first half of ‘The Revenant’ offers up some bloody good fun, as well.   Prior’s interest in directing the film more towards horror is evident.   He never holds back from showing us the red stuff.   Unfortunately, the story behind all the fun horror just isn’t as interesting as it should have or even could have been.

One thing, however, that is interesting about the film’s plot is the notion that Prior never gives us a reason for Bart’s resurrection.   Late scenes give an indication that this is a small part of something bigger, but there still is no explanation given.   It’s not needed, and it would have just slowed down the film more than it already was.

Needless to say, at some point, Joey becomes a member of the undead, as well, and this is where the film begins to take more of a dramatic turn.   It is a very interesting study to have two friends become members of the undead, conscious as they are, and show that they have two, opposing views on what they should do with the power.   Bart feels the two are doing good in the world, taking out bad guys and feeding his own thirst for human blood at the same time.   Joey just wants to run off to Vegas where day and night are pretty much flipped anyway.   I say this is a very interesting study, but Prior doesn’t allow this much screen time, either.   And this is saying something considering the film’s running time of just under two hours.

One element that is given just enough amount of screen time is the relationship between Bart and his girlfriend, Janet, played by Louise Griffiths.   Prior hits on it a few times here and there, but, for the most part, it just lingers in the background.   One scene between Bart and Janet actually delves into the realm of high emotion.   It doesn’t hurt that Prior has some nicely placed Muse playing in the background.

‘The Revenant’ feels like a statue that is half chiseled.   You know there is a masterpiece under there somewhere, but the artist involved still has a lot of work to do on it.   The film feels like it was rushed through production extremely fast.   This is a definite possibility.   They could have rushed through production just to get a workable print to show at CineVegas.   Special effects are not polished at all.   The editor involved needs to go back and work through the flow of the film again.   There are several scenes late in the film that make absolutely no sense, and they don’t offer anything to the overall story, either.   At a certain point late in the film, Bart begins attempting suicide.   It might have been effective earlier in the film, but, after seeing him getting shotgun-blasted by drug dealers more than a few times, it doesn’t really mean anything to see him trying and failing to hang himself.

There are about half a dozen points where ‘The Revenant’ could have ended.   It probably should have picked one of these moments.   As more and more false endings come our way, our interest in what happens to Bart and Joey grows less and less.   By the end of the film, the storyline gets so convoluted that the whale-sized plot holes found in the film’s ending aren’t even of note.   You just don’t care by then.

‘The Revenant’ is a film that could have been a lot of fun.   Everyone involved seems to have been having a grand time shooting it, and this level of comraderie really does comes through for most of the film.   Unfortunately, what could have been a fast-paced and highly entertaining horror comedy gets lost in the middle of a film that still needs a whole lot of post-production work.   If the film gets picked up for distribution, I’m sure these problems will get fixed.   Plain and simple, ‘The Revenant’ seen at CineVegas was an unfinished version of a much better film.   There is just one more piece of evidence that the film wasn’t complete.   The final credit in the opening credits reads: PRODUCED, WRITTEN, AND DIRECTOR BY KERRY PRIOR.   That just about says it all.

“In the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes.” — Andy Warhol

By now, everyone should be familiar with this quote made famous by the pop artist Andy Warhol and most all of us can probably relate to it’s meaning in one way or another. The variable in this prediction is for what shall each person be famous. When Warhol uttered these words, his meaning was most likely related to the rapidly increasing popularity and accessibility to new media such as television, making it possible for anyone to get face time in front of hundreds, thousands or even millions of people.

‘Bronson’ is based on a true story about Michael Peterson, later known for his self-adopted unofficial fighting name Charlie Bronson. Mickey, as those closest to him call him, is a man who knows he is destined for greatness of some kind and he’s known since he was a child. What exactly that greatness is, however, is precisely the obstacle that Mickey struggles to overcome as a young man living in England in the 1970s. That is, of course, until he realized he had the heart and drive (and perhaps even the marbles) to be a fighter.

Mickey should not be mistaken for a professional fighter. During a particularly rough period in his adult youth, Mickey attempted to convince his intimate companion to marry him with a massive stolen diamond ring, only to find himself put down by his girl and put away by the law for having stolen the ring. This new chapter in Mickey’s life turns out to be a revelation for him as he quickly discovers that serving 4-7 years in prison is a long time and gives him lots of time to pursue his dream of greatness.

Once inside, Mickey decides he likes prison and refers to his cell as his hotel room. Mickey determines his time behind bars is his time to shine, creating for himself the fame and reputation as Britain’s most violent criminal. This endeavor plays out perfectly as he is privileged with a captive audience that is highly receptive to the type of performance that Mickey has set out to provide. In a way only Mickey could truly appreciate, his world has come together and allowed him the destiny he’s sought since childhood.

The strapping young Mickey Peterson is given a fascinating performance by Tom Hardy (RocknRolla) that is equally humorous, disturbing and insightful. Director Nicholas Winding Refn manages to construct an intensely textural sensory interpretation of the man known as Charlie Bronson, based on Brock Norman Brock’s writing. The film delves into both the reality and the fantasy of the man and the world he created in his mind that spilled into the real world with pint after pint of blood and pain.

Later in Mickey’s blood-soaked circus of chaos and carnage, he finds himself losing the control and power of manipulation he has come to adore as the penal system of England loses patience and ideas for how best to contain and control the beast known as Bronson. After repeated attempts to break his will through relocation and time spent in solitary confinement, Mickey is transfered to an asylum for the criminally insane, abruptly removing him from his element and nearly destroys his strong will.

‘Bronson’ is a film clearly influenced by the late Stanley Kubrick’s infamous cinematic ode to violence and the society that creates it, and in that same way is what ‘Bronson’ attempts to convey in the extensively violent telling of Mickey Peterson. The movie is an amazing audio-visual experience that has been meticulously pieced together from Refn’s precise cinematic blueprints. This may all sound very familiar to those serious film buffs that appreciate Kubrick’s work, but Refn manages to make this film his own despite the influence.

Once again comparing ‘Bronson’ to ‘A Clockwork Orange’, powerful classical music plays a significant role in the telling of Peterson’s story and the illustration of his mind and his personality. Peterson is not an unintelligent man, but merely focuses his energy on achieving the goal at hand. Time after time, Peterson insists on being a violent presence, provoking the guards at every chance, consequently resulting in his unimaginable amount of time spent in solitary confinement. Peterson has spent 34 years in prison without having ever killed a single person, 30 of those years were spent in solitary confinement.

In a very strange way, ‘Bronson’ depicts the notion of hope and the power of staying true to one’s dreams, even if they are incredibly self-destructive and detrimental to society. ‘Bronson’ is a movie that takes the yin and the yang of life and sticks it in a giant blender, creating a puree that blurs what is good and bad, right and wrong, leaving only the ultra-violent vaudevillian version of the world that exists through Peterson’s crimson-colored glasses.

The movie as a whole is not quite perfect, but it does manage to come quite close. The only truly obvious flaw in ‘Bronson’ is it’s relative lack of a traditional three-act story. The plot is there and is easy enough to follow, but more time is spent on developing the idea of Charlie Bronson than is spent on developing the character himself and his underlying motivations. Aside from this one area of concern, ‘Bronson’ is a breath-taking piece of cinema. Breath-taking not in it’s beauty, although Larry Smith’s cinematography is outstanding, but more like a gut punch that takes your breath away, leaving you utterly flabbergasted that what just occurred actually did occur in some version of real life.

What would you do to prove the strength of your friendship with someone? How far would you go? OK, now what is the most extreme thing you would do with a friend of the same sex to show how much they mean to you? Sure, ‘Humpday’ is a comedy, but the film is just as much a playful story of two guys who are the best of friends, who made a promise to each other and find that keeping that promise may prove more difficult than they had imagined.

Director Lynn Shelton, who also plays the role of the bi-sexual artsy friend Monica, has created another entry into the fresh new genre of dramedy known by those in the know as “mumblecore” and it is a delightful success. The film stars Mark Duplas (The Puffy Chair) and Josh Leonard (The Blair Witch Project) as two old college buddies who are suddenly reunited when Andrew (Leonard) shows up unannounced at 2am for a visit with Ben (Duplas) at his home in the suburbs.

Having traveled the world and experienced all kinds of things, Andrew has become the open-minded art-loving free-spirited type, while Ben has gotten married with a good job and a nice house in the burbs. Surprised, but happy to see Andrew, Ben and his reluctantly understanding wife Anna (Alycia Delmore) welcome Andrew into their home as the two friends quickly begin catching up on old times and reminiscing about the past.

The following night, Andrew invites Ben and Alycia over to Monica’s place for an all-out Dionysus party. Ben agrees to stop by to put in some face time, despite Anna’s prior plans to make them dinner and get to know Andrew better. What ensues is an orgy of alcohol and marijuana that leads Ben to stay for hours while Anna waits for him to return home. The catalyst for both the comedy and drama of ‘Humpday’ occurs with an idea that Ben comes up with after they learn from Monica about an erotic video art fest called HumpFest.

Uninhibited and high as a kite on the hookah, Ben suggests that the only way this would be worthwhile would be to come up with an idea that has never been done, otherwise it’s just more typical porn. His idea is for him and Andrew to have sex with each other on film as two straight guys depicting the depth of their friendship. What seems to be a brilliant and artistically worthy concept turns into a dilemma for the two friends the next morning as they realize the implications of what they have set in motion.

Ben must now attempt to convey and gain Anna’s approval and acceptance of this bizarre project, but the overwhelmingly difficult task at hand is for Ben and Andrew to overcome the strain the next 24 hours will put on their friendship. Initially touched upon as a mistake, Ben abruptly reinterprets their agreement as both a crucial symbol of their friendship and as a way to prove his marriage and current life has not completely destroyed the more adventurous and open-minded side of himself that he sees in Andrew.

On the flip side, Andrew appears to be more conflicted with the proposition than Ben as he begins to question his own true self and whether the person he is being is completely false to the person he actually is. Neither of the two friends will back down, fearing that if they do it will tarnish the trust they have with each other and damage their friendship. In the face of pride, Ben and Andrew put aside any beneficial sense of humility and agree to uphold their promise to follow through with this project.

From here, ‘Humpday’ truly makes it’s mark as the real impact of the story takes place during Ben and Andrew’s time together in the hotel room rented with the purpose of filming themselves having sex for the sake of art. Perhaps one of the most uncomfortable situations two straight men could possibly put themselves into, the second half of ‘Humpday’ becomes a hilarious but thoughtful meditation on where to draw the line between platonic love and sexual love.

Ben and Andrew must first determine whether or not to even act on this agreement and if so, how to go about making it work, not just for themselves but also as a worthwhile work of art. The film is shot handheld with an understated production value to create the sense of realism and feeling that we’re witnessing these two friends experience this awkward scenario in real time, as it happens. The emotions of the story are just as effective as the humor and even the mystery of whether or not these two friends will actually carry out this project plays a prominent role in the overall success of the movie.

‘Humpday’ is an extremely satisfying movie that will make the audience laugh, think and maybe even choke up a bit in spots. Shelton manages to convey the controversial aspect of the story without relying on a shock value approach that would offend many viewers, but also manages to highlight the touching and poignant side of the story as well with the help of great performances from Duplas and Leonard that are grounded in reality, despite being greatly improvised. Alycia Delmore also delivers an outstanding performance, who portrays the extremely complex and unbearable emotions of what Anna must endure at the mercy of Ben and Andrew with exacting and powerful clarity.

I highly recommend seeing ‘Humpday’ for the important work of cinematic art that it is, not just the comedy that it offers on the surface. Realizing the subject matter will likely, and undeservedly, turn some people off, I ask that any reservations regarding the content be put aside and assure the only reasonable offense to be taken from ‘Humpday’ would require a distaste for meaningful storytelling about the true nature of friendship.

Stingray Sam is not a hero.   He just does things that folks don’t do that need to be done.   Cory McAbee’s latest cinematic offering is a sci-fi/western/musical/comedy.   Got that?   It offers up something for just about everyone, and McAbee’s incredibly engaging story, not to mention the beautiful black and white photography, makes it just about the most fun you’ll have in the independent theater this year.

Playing out in six segments, ‘Stingray Sam’ tells the story of…well…Stingray Sam (McAbee), a one-time outlaw who is just trying to make it as a lounge singer/endorser for Liberty Chew Chewing Tobacco.   Enter the Quasar Kid (Crugie…that’s the guy’s name.   Crugie), Stingray’s former accomplice who has an offer for Stingray.   He must accompany Quasar to help retrieve a kidnapped, little girl, and all of Stingray and Quasar’s past offenses will be forgiven.   The adventure begins.

The film plays out like six, consecutive episodes of a sci-fi serialized TV show.   Each episode has the same intro theme, along with the same opening credits and the cast members who appear in that episode.   Each episode has a title card.   Each episode has wonderful narration strewn throughout by the incomparably stellar voice of David Hyde Pierce.   Each episode even has a single song played somewhere within it by McAbee’s band, American Astronaut.   On top of all of this, each episode grows in its brilliance.

The first few episodes are hilarious, and they get funnier as we go along.   Stingray and Quasar run into brilliantly crafted, eccentric characters.   Whether its a secretary who calls out numbers in completely random order or a planet full of pregnent men or the first bred clone who is treated like royalty, the characters in ‘Stingray Sam’ are incredible and, equally as much, hilarious.   McAbee and Crugie also bring the funny in ample amounts.   However, the funniest aspects of these earlier episodes are the songs.   The soundtrack for ‘Stingray Sam’ is a must-listen, and most of the songs are sure to play out just as comically the fiftieth time as they do the first.   The song “Fredward” is a real standout, and features a seemingly endless barrage of names.   It makes sense when you see it, and I don’t want to give away too much about the intricacies of this particular song.   Let’s just say, you’ll know what I’m talking about halfway through listening to the song.

McAbee also incorporates some magnificent collages into each episode, each one going over some important backstory to the overall narrative.   They are as intricately written as they are executed.   John Borruso deserves much credit for his work on the animated collages found in ‘Stingray Sam.’

Credit must also go to Scott Miller.   His camera work and usage of stark black and white is nothing short of breathtaking.   It honestly gets some getting used to be following such a goofy storyline through the lense of such profesional looking colors.

As the story progresses, the film actually takes a more dramatic turn.   Once Stingray and Quasar rescure the kidnapped girl, played sweetly by McAbee’s daughter, Willa Vy McAbee, the chuckles subside and the emotional outlook begins to take over.   It’s not even a sudden jolt in the film’s overall narrative.   McAbee does a great job of seemlessly moving the tone from one to the other.   A later moment of the film where Stingray and Quasar sing a lullaby to the girl is just about the most genuinely sweet scene seen in years.

And that is what makes ‘Stingray Sam’ such a success.   For all of its facets, all of the different feels to the film, McAbee and crew don’t let any of them feel short-changed.   The sci-fi, the western, the comedy, the musical, and the dramatic aspects of the film are all executed with equal care.   They all blend together perfectly well, as well, each flowing through or alongside the other to create the perfect mixture of them all.

‘Stingray Sam’ is the type of film that moviegoers looking for something a little bit different will absolutely adore.   Original in all of its aspects, and genuine in all of its execution, it is the best sci-fi/western/comedy/musica/serialized story ever told.   That might not be saying much, but don’t let that fool you.   ‘Stingray Sam’ is absolute fun.   Now, if I can just get those darn songs out of my head.

I suppose every human being has had something in their lives to instill guilt, ranging greatly over a vast spectrum of severity. Such severity often determines the depth and duration of one’s guilt. Having stolen a piece of candy as a child would naturally be short-lived while causing another person permanent damage would likely weigh much heavier on that person’s conscience. Having been the cause of something to die is clearly amongst the worst guilt a person could endure. Imagine for a moment that you have taken a life, but to what or whom that life belonged you are not certain.

This is the experience the audience is engaged in with ‘The Headless Woman’ (La mujer sin cabeza). This Argentinian film was written and directed by Lucrecia Martel and stars Maria Onetta as Veronica, a middle-aged woman affectionately known to her family and friends as Vero. Driving home by herself, she hits something in the road. Vero believes she heard a dog yelp, but finds herself terribly frightened of what she might find if she were to return to the scene. Vero, clearly disturbed by what has happened, chooses to continue home rather than reveal the truth to herself.

The opening scenes of ‘The Headless Woman’ introduces the audience to Vero’s questionable psychological state of mind, but takes some time to reveal the underlying cause of her distress. We witness the accident very early on, but at first it seems to be the result of some deeper root cause for her mental state. At first, I found myself wondering if Vero was suffering some early onset stage of Alzheimer’s, but this misdirection eventually passed. Vero’s actions and her frequency to appear oblivious to the world and events around her present an interesting element of mystery to her character.

Vero is a member of a good-sized family of class who care for her, but mostly dismiss her concern and continually reinforce the insignificance of what occurred and attempt to prove it was merely a dog. For Vero, the experience is not that simple to cut herself loose of and finds she is alone in carrying this burden. She finds herself surrounded by children, constantly reminded of the possibility of what she might have done. Once Vero does finally break down and cry for the first time, she does so with a complete stranger.

One of the most intriguing aspects of ‘The Headless Woman’ is Martel’s use of space. The framing and staging of the film emphasizes Vero’s sense of uneasy solitude, forced to deal with the unknown reality of her own actions despite having people around her at all times. During her interactions with others, Vero rarely faces the others and stands removed from the action, but always remains in the foreground. This, combined with a masterful use of racked focus and Vero’s lack of eye contact with others, creates an effect of separating Vero from the rest of the world and allows us a front row seat to her inner conflict of emotions.

The concept of ‘The Headless Woman’ is great, taking something as philosophically complex as guilt and translating it visually on screen, but suffers from an otherwise tedious lack of substance outside of Vero’s mind. The film tends to get bogged down in it’s own pace and can become a bit draining at times. However, this is not entirely a fault to the overall effect the film is intended to have on the viewer. A turn of events is revealed in the final third of the film that presents the opportunity for interpretation of Vero’s feeling of guilt.

In the end, Vero dyes her hair from blonde to black, as if to reinvent herself in an attempt to start over and perhaps even redeem herself for what may have happened. Throughout the film, Vero shuffles between wearing two masks. One false mask of relative peace is for her family and friends while the other mask of sadness is her true face.’The Headless Woman’ is a study of the human psyche, a glimpse inside the rugged terrain of guilt and uncertainty that requires more than casual viewing, but isn’t mired in complicated plot devices.

While talking with Cory Knauf and the cast and crew of ‘Godspeed,’ the subject of what everyone was doing came up.   Cory had an exclusive.   He will be reteaming next month with writer/directors Mitchell Altieri and Phil Flores (AKA The Butcher Brothers) on their latest film, ‘The Violent Kind.’   Cory and The Butcher Brothers first worked together on the 2006 horror film, ‘The Hamiltons,’ which also featured ‘Godspeed’ co-star, Joseph McKelheer.

Cory was reluctant to say what ‘The Violent Kind’ would be about.   He did, however, say that he had less than a month to build eight pounds of muscle.   Judging by their past two endeavors into film, ‘The Hamiltons’ and the 2008 remake of ‘April Fool’s Day,’ it doesn’t seem likely The Butcher Brothers will be pulling a family-friendly comedy out of their hats.   The title doesn’t give us that feeling, either.

In a related bit of news, ‘Godspeed’ was awarded the Exceptional Artistic Achievement Award at the 2009 CineVegas Film Festival.   Writer/director Robert Saitzyk, and co-writers/co-stars Knauf and McKelheer accepted the award.   Stay tuned for the exclusive interview with the cast and crew of ‘Godspeed,’ as CineVegas may be coming to a close, but our coverage of it isn’t.   You can also check out my review of ‘Godspeed’ right here.

Our good buddy, James, over at Gordon and the Whale got their hands on some exclusive pieces of information out of Mr. Danny Trejo.   First off, Trejo is not, I repeat, NOT in the Sylvester Stallone-directed actioner ‘The Expendables.’   There were rumors going around that he was, and, with any dispute, it had begun getting referenced around the net as fact.

According to Trejo, his name was associated with the film for some reason.   However, he was never contacted by Stallone or anyone associated with ‘The Expendables’ about the film.

Also in speaking with Trejo, James asked the man about ‘Machete,’ the feature film adaptation of Robert Rodriguez’s fake trailer for ‘Grindhouse.’   Evidently, filming begins on ‘Machete’ in five weeks.   Trejo had just spoken with Rodriguez the day before, and the shooting date for ‘Machete’ is set.   This puts to end rumors and speculation on what Robert Rodiguez’s next film is going to be.

So, to recap, no ‘Expendables’ for Danny Trejo, but ‘Machete’ is set to begin shooting in a little over a month.

Source: Gordon and the Whale

In our contemporary society of living bigger, better, faster — keeping up with the Jones’ and putting on facades and masks to prove we’re someone different, someone more-than or less-than, it’s not difficult to connect a level of insanity to the lives we lead from day to day, slowly trading the lives we have in for the hopes of a life we want someday in the future.

‘Asylum Seekers’ is an extremely creative visual adventure of six individuals seeking to escape this crazy world we live in by checking themselves into an exclusive insane asylum that promises to encourage their full mentally unstable potential. What ensues is a sort of extreme reality TV style competition for the one and only vacancy at the asylum, conducted by Nurse Milly under the supervision of the mysterious Dr. Beard, whose voice echoes throughout the asylum by way of wall-mounted speakers.

The eccentric cast of mental patients is diverse, including Maud (Pepper Brinkley) the trophy mouse-wife obsessed with preparing for having a child that does not exist, Alan (Bill Dawes) the gender-bender rapping stockbroker, Alice (Stella Maeve) the cybernetic Lolita, Miranda (Camille O-Sullivan) the introverted exhibitionist, Paul (Lee Wilkof) the Evangelical nihilist, and Dr. Raby (Daniel Irizarry) the virgin nymphomaniac.

Writer and director Rania Ajami delivers a visually poetic and explosive film that is both mind-boggling and thoughtful. The film serves as a commentary of a world we live in that can seem so crazy that submitting one’s self to an asylum is a relaxing escape. ‘Asylum Seekers’ is rich with a vivid color palette and kinetic cinematic energy that’s in your face and alive with stylistic flair. This contrasts with the white, sterile rooms of the asylum to further emphasize the visual effect.

‘Asylum Seekers’ is an odyssey that evokes the influence of several films. The characters, the style and the structural approach of the film often resonate memories of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, with brief musical moments and enigmatically offbeat dialogue. At the same time, the interaction of Nurse Milly and the journey taken by the six potential residents carries a familiar connection to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Even The Wizard of Oz emerges as an influence, with the characters seeking something they do not have at the mercy of Dr. Beard’s mysterious authoritative voice.

Given the intense and occasionally slightly perverse style of the film, ‘Asylum Seekers’ is also a hilarious romp of intelligent absurdity. Not all of the humor is successful, whereas certain moments clearly intend to evoke a laughter that is substituted with an awkward silence. These moments however are easily forgotten as most of the humor does work. Irizarry was particularly effective in his performance of Dr. Raby who is the most outrageous character in the film.

‘Asylum Seekers’ is not an easy film to follow, often asking a lot of the viewer in it’s over-the-top production, but with some time to digest the film it does leave a pleasant and rewarding aftertaste that actually invites interpretation and discussion. The film lingers on the brain and the ending especially has a lot to offer. From the costume design to the props, the overall effect of ‘Asylum Seekers’ is to transport the audience into a fantasy world only minimally removed from ours. Pop culture references appear from time to time, but the most obvious is a scene that plays on the popularity of American idol. The story becomes a sort of Aesop’s Fable, leading to a touching end that toys with an idea of the lost innocence of childhood and the playful peace at which it rests.

Justin Long and Emmanuelle Chriqui (Don’t Mess With the Zohan) star in this movie directed by Talmage Cooley. The story follows young Chase Revere (Long) who runs the small town of Patriotville’s historical museum and battlefield with a passion unshared by the rest of the town. An economic downturn in Patriotville has businesses collapsing daily and the town council is scratching their heads about how to recover.

Chase puts his passion and knowledge of the town’s history to use and develops a plan to save the town from bankruptcy by promoting historical tourism, but the town’s mayor has other plans. With a group of Native Americans planning to build a new casino and hotel in the area, Mayor Cleveland Fishback will do literally anything to ensure Patriotville gets the casino over the rival town across the mountain.

Once Chase discovers the town council’s plan to develop a casino on his beloved battlefield grounds he mobilizes his efforts to stop the plans with the help of Lucy (Chriqui) whom he just met. Lucy is the exact opposite type of personality of Chase, laid back and mischievous. The two of them set out to start a petition but find the town’s residents do not welcome his enthusiasm against the casino and lash back at them with great vengeance.

‘Patriotville’ is a comedy that tries to be funny but perhaps tries to hard. Much of the film centers on the plot of the casino transaction and highlights the quirkiness of the town’s people, but the colorful nature of the town mostly comes off with little success. The majority of the humor in the film falls short, resulting in poorly written dialogue and ridiculous moments of absurdity amongst the town council. The mayor is a jacka** and the rest of the council are the fools by which he exacts his bullying tactics of leadership.

Long and Chriqui feel out of place in ‘Patriotville’ as they’re the only ones who seem “normal” in the town. Their acting isn’t bad, but just didn’t pop due mostly to the script they had to work with. There are moments when Long nearly sparks an ember of realism, but the faint glow quickly fades once the scene cuts to the other characters. Long’s trademark humor does appear just under the surface of his performance, but the sarcasm is overshadowed by the character’s door mat personality.

On the other hand, the film features some interesting visual use of locations and existing architecture in the town. The opening sequence contains a montage of shots from around the rundown town, painting a sort of reverse-Rockwellian image with closed businesses and decrepit vacancies. This was one element of the film that worked well, representing a small town in dire straights and the effects of the modern culture and economy on a community still trying to survive with it’s roots in tact.

I felt the ending of the film was a bit much to swallow. There was an attempt to inject a moral into the story of Chase and his efforts to save the town’s history and the message is delivered, but loses it’s punch as a direct result of the film’s lack of seriousness. Simply put, everything this story had going for it was diminished greatly by the lack of empathy and respect that is conjured by the residents of Patriotville.

The problem with ‘Patriotville’ isn’t the concept or even the story, but rather the execution of the story brings the film down. With the exception of Chase, few characters command any respect and most of them basically break down to being crude, stereotypical representations of what small town folk are like. Given a better script and a revised approach to the characters and the tone of the story, ‘Patriotville’ had potential as a more serious comedy but ultimately proves to mock itself.

In the 1970s, surfers like Mike Boyum, Martin Daly, Peter McCabe, and Jeff Chitty were always   on the lookout for the next adventure, the next, great wave that crashed on the shore.   They found their adventure in the jungle spots of the South Pacific, in the remote coastline of Indonesia, and in G-Land, the famed surf spot found in East Java.   Director Michael Oblowitz’s new documentary, ‘Sea of Darkness,’ explores this subculture of men.   However, ‘Sea of Darkness’ is anything but your typical movie about surfers.

The early moments of the film may lead you to believe just that, but Oblowitz quickly moves the film into darker territory.   The darkness that followed this group of young surfers wherever they went is what ultimately drives the film.   It is genuinely eye-opening and awe-inspiring as tales of drug smuggling push the story forward with an incredible force.

Oblowitz utilizes all the markings of a first-rate documentary to tell his tale.   There is much in the way of talking heads, interviews Oblowitz conducted with Daly, Chitty, and others who came through the group at this time.   Oblowitz does so in a way, though, that never feels stale or overdone.   Quick editing and Oblowitz’s amazing usage of stock footage keeps the film from ever growing dull.

There is a time or two near the beginning of the film where it feels like it could all fall apart very quickly.   Hearing interviews with older surfers about how unstoppable the young surfers of G-Land were tends to grow quite monotonous.   Even Oblowitz’s stock footage and the film’s intense editing isn’t enough to threaten the audience with a slight case of repetitiveness.   He does do a wonderful job of keeping the audience in the loop at all times, though.   With all the names and scenarios getting thrown at you left and right early on in the film, it could easily have gone lost on the audience who all these men were, what they looked like, and the major accomplishments they were known for.   Yet, Oblowitz’s decision to continuously subtitle the protagonist’s names over stock photographs of them is an ever-helping hand throughout the film’s early moments of complexity.

Of course, the real meat of ‘Sea of Darkness,’ the moments when the film really begins pushing you towards the edge of your seat is when the talking heads begin going over the drug smuggling business men like Mike Boyum were in charge of.   These were clearly troubled men, men who only wanted to surf and have a good time, and their way of bankrolling the whole adventure is what pushes the film into its darker region.

The whole drug smuggling storyline continues to build and build until Oblowitz unleashes his standout moment.   It comes in the form of Jeff Chitty iterating the story of how he served as a mule, smuggling China White inside his own body, and the ensuing tale of police intervention.   It is a detailed story, one Chitty remembers vividly, and his explanation is ferocious.   It is a tale that is almost too ridiculous to be believed.   We know it is factual, but Chitty’s fierceness in the way he tells the story just clinches its genuineness.

‘Sea of Darkness’ is a candid look at a subculture of men who wanted to live on the edge.   They did it in the best way they knew how, and, for many, it cost them dearly.   Remembered fondly was Mike Boyum, and most of the men talk about him as if her were a modern legend.   In fact, Boyum’s story does have a somewhat mysteriously legendary outcome.   Oblowitz goes from one interviewee to another, each one giving their own, different interpretation of what really happened to Mike Boyum.   It’s an amazing way for Oblowitz to cap his picture, and it serves to grow the legend.

I often find that some of the more engaging stories come from the smaller, more intimate productions. This is the case with ‘Daylight’, directed by David Barker, making his feature debut. The story occurs over a two-day period in which a young couple, Irene and Daniel, are driving through the remote woods to a wedding. Along the way, they encounter an obstacle that would put their their lives, and the life of their unborn child at risk.

Alexandra Meierhans plays Irene, daughter of a wealthy Swiss man, wife to Daniel (Aidan Redmond) and soon-to-be mother. Irene is pregnant, but from the beginning of the film while in their bedroom, it is clear that something is bothering Irene, resulting in a bit of a rift between her and her American husband. Irene’s pregnancy is 100% believable, as Meierhans was actually eight months pregnant during the shooting of ‘Daylight’.

As the couple are driving through the remote woods in the expensive Maserati that was a gift from Irene’s father, they encounter a hitchhiker named Renny. Irene convinces Daniel to stop and ask for directions and, despite his cautious reluctance, agrees to give the man a ride in exchange for directions. This would soon prove to be a disastrous mistake as the film quickly evolves into a tense, suspenseful tale of survival and meditation on the concepts of faith and thrust in others.

Daniel is nervous about meeting Irene’s father, while Irene seems to be troubled by something deeper and more personal. Once they become entangled in the plans of Renny (Michael Godere) and his collaborators Leo (Ivan Martin) and Murph, the focus shifts to staying alive and waiting out the plans and outcomes of their captors. With the uneasy vibe between Irene and Daniel now subdued by the events at hand, another uneasy relationship emerges between Leo and Renny as they attempt to stay on track with their plans despite a proposition made by Daniel to save his own life, leading to his relocation from where Irene is being held. The dynamic this creates is an emotionally-charged, dialogue-driven exploration of the inner workings of Irene’s mind and the stability of trust between Renny and Leo.

What I found the most compelling about ‘Daylight’ aside from Alexandra Meierhans’ performance, is the film’s ability to maintain the mystery, revealing pure emotion while keeping the ending well hidden within the story. ‘Daylight’ is not predictable and the suspense builds during each and every minute of the unconventionally short 73 minute running time. ‘Daylight’ allows the viewer to interpret much of it’s potential direction in their own minds. The effect this has on the audience is to set the conclusion up from multiple different angles so that the viewer is never certain where the events will lead.

‘Daylight’ does end with with a “shocking” outcome. Personally, this ending was not one I had expected and isn’t necessarily the ending I felt would have been the most rewarding, but it’s still an effective outcome, playing on subtle clues laid out along the story that fit together with this ending. With that said, the movie truly isn’t about the ending, which is more of a bonus. Rather, the experience leading up to the end is what I feel makes ‘Daylight’ an exceptional cinematic endeavor.

We’ve been in Vegas for a few days now, but here is the video blog from day one at CineVegas 2009. The video features red-carpet interviews with the cast and director of ‘Saint John of Las Vegas’. Check it out.

Listen up, all you jive turkeys.   It’s time to get your ass to the nearest movie theater, pop down your Lincolns, crack open an Anaconda, and check out ‘Black Dynamite,’ the most badass exploitation movie to come out in years.   It’s mean.   It’s hard.   It’s in your damn face.   ‘Black Dynamite’ delivers all the goods in every department.   Action.   Comedy.   Even a bit of political espionage.   But don’t let the goofy nature of the movie’s more humorous side steer you clear.   This is one, badass ride, and anyone who says otherwise is liable to get a nunchaku upside the cranium.

Okay, Blaxploitation voiceover aside, ‘Black Dynamite’ is a real treat, a balls-to-the-wall action comedy that incorporates everything that made films like ‘Super Fly’ and ‘Shaft’ so memorable.   Loosely inspired by ‘Three the Hard Way,’ screenwriter and star Michael Jai White wanted to make a film that poked fun at as much as embraced all the elements of a quintessential Blaxploitation film.   His narrative follows the title character, a former CIA operative whose brother, an undercover agent, has been gunned down.   Fast kicks, fast dialogue, and fast comedy ensue with a serious verocity.

White and director Scott Sanders really know the genre they are working with.   ‘Black Dynamite’ seems like an effortless collage of everything Blaxploitation, with a few, added elements thrown into the mix.   The camera is completely unstable, sometimes even wandering off to the side.   Sometimes the actors will look directly at the camera, read screenwriters notes out loud as if they were lines of dialogue, and even break character a time or two.   At one point, a character slaps another, and Sanders makes it seem like the really was a connection.   The actor who was slapped starts to call the other a dirty name, there’s a cut, and the shot is redone with a completely new actor in the role of the slapee.   It’s such a minute moment in the overall film, but it’s one of the more memorable bits of fourth-wall comedy found in ‘Black Dynamite.’

The comedy in ‘Black Dynamite’ is all over the top, some jumping way ahead of other parts.   We see the invention of chicken and waffles.   We see an underground meeting of all the major pimps that includes stellar cameos by Arsenio Hall, Bokeem Woodbine, John Salley, and Cedric Yarbrough, whose Chocolate Giddy-up has probably one of the best character names in recent memory.   The “ah-ha” moment when Black Dynamite and his crew figure out the conspiracy behind what is going on is as ludicrous as it is hysterical.   Let’s just say it involves everything from M&Ms to Greek Gods to Little Richard.   It’s really a scene to behold and words cannot do it justice.

The lead character is amazingly written, a juggernaut of martial arts who, evidently, everyone in the world knows about, even the President of the United States.   Every time Jai White’s Black Dynamite enters a room, everyone is effected in various ways.   Some run from him.   Some begin quaking in their boots.   One woman in particular can’t stop from tearing up.   It’s so much fun to watch Jai White play the character he himself has written.   You can just feel it oozing from the screen how much fun everyone had in making this film.

‘Black Dynamite’ isn’t all about the comedy, either.   There is some really nice fight scenes in this film courtesy of Jai White’s martial arts background.   Regardless of how you view these fight scenes, whether through the glasses of comedy or action, you will not be disappointed.   They work so well either way.   And, because of that, ‘Black Dynamite’ really comes out as a brilliant mesh of action and comedy, a la ‘Hot Fuzz.’   It really is to Blaxploitation films what ‘Hot Fuzz’ was to buddy cop movies.

This isn’t to say the film is perfect.   There is a perfect end point to the film that takes plance on a locale known as Kung Fu Island.   This should have been the finale of the movie, but it goes on from there.   The very last action scene is unnecessary, and it really lowers the film’s standards a bit.   I won’t go into detail what the last scene is about or who is revealed to be behind the whole conspiracy.   I will, however, say that Jai White and Sanders’ film doesn’t fall into pure spoof until those last moments, and it is completely unneeded.   The first 9/10 of the film worked perfectly, because it didn’t feel like the filmmakers behind it were trying to be funny.   It truly felt like a serious action movie from the ’70s that just wasn’t working, and, because of that, the majority of this film is brilliant.   It is in those last few moments that Jai White and Sanders feel like they are trying too hard, attempting to inject a brand of comedy that just isn’t necessary.

What more, though, can be said about Jai White’s performance here.   The man is so talented as a screenwriter and as an actor, and his fight scenes are incredible to watch, as well.   Funny when he needs to be, intimidating when he needs to be, and absolutely charming when he needs to be, Michael Jai White is everything in his performance here, and nothing is held back, nor should it have been.

‘Black Dynamite’ is a blast, a hilarious action comedy that delivers everything you would want from a film whose forefathers were the classic Blaxploitation films of the ’70s.   Jai White and Sanders clearly have a lover for that genre, and they show it in the best way imaginable.   They have crafted a picture perfect reenactment of one of those films, and they have made it their very own.   When you have the chance, check out ‘Black Dynamite,’ sucker.   Your ass just might depend on it.

You’ve probably never heard of George Kuchar or his twin brother Miek.  Even though they have hundreds of directing credits between them (George has 215 alone), their names are as lost to the general public as a ship that has entered into the Bermuda Triangle.  Yet, despite this unfamiliarity in the minds of general film audiences, the works of the Kuchar brothers have inspired filmmakers like John Waters, Guy Maddin, Atom Egoyan and Buck Henry.

The documentary film ‘It Came From Kuchar’ is a celebration of their life, work and inspiration.  Director Jennifer Kroot works in all the angles spending equal amounts of time on each of these three aspects.  We see interviews she conducted with George and Mike as they discuss their lives, their childhood, and the relationships they each had with their mother.  We see interviews with filmmakers, critics, and film historians alike as they discuss the ways the Kuchar Brothers have influenced the media of film.  These are spliced with actual scenes from various Kuchar films, films that a majority of the public has never seen.  With titles like ‘Hold Me While I’m Naked,’ ‘The Devil’s Cleavage,’ and ‘Sins of the Fleshapoids,’ you can clearly see why the Kuchar Brothers never made it into the big leagues.

But, unlike ‘Anvil!,’ ‘It Came From Kuchar’ is never about George or Mike’s frustrations and inabilities to become mainstream film directors.  They each have a passion for filmmaking, and they have no regrets for the paths they have chosen.  In fact, George, to this day, continues to direct films with the help of the San Francisco Art Institute.  George has taught a film class there since 1971, and he continues to utalize the institute and his students in helping him create his later films.  Kroot’s documentary also follows the production of George’s latest film, ‘The Fury of Frau Frankenstein,’ and hearing his students/crew talk about George’s work ethic is both humorous and heartfelt.

And that, more than anything, is what ‘It Came From Kuchar’ is all about.  It is a heartwarming depiction of twin brother filmmakers whose passion for the medium outweigh their artistic abilities.  Their films don’t look polished.  They hardly look complete.  But none of that matters.  George makes the films he wants to make, and, without a studio backing him or standing in his way, he is able to do just that.

One negative about  Kroot’s documentary is the way Mike seems to be shortchanged, particularly in the directing pair’s later years.  Much of the film follows George.  It stands to reason, seeing as how George, with 215 directing credits to Mike’s 17, is the much more prolific of the two.  However, the moments featuring both George and Mike under one roof are smile-inducing.

There are several stand-out interview moments in ‘It Came From Kuchar.’  So many times Kroot will be speaking with George and Mike at different locales about a similar subject, and she edits the conversations in such a way that it appears each brother is finishing the others sentences.  Whether it is through a gifted level of editing or the two brothers are that finely tuned to each other remains to be seen.  Regardless, these moments serve as emotional backbone to the depiction of the Kuchar Brothers’ life outside of film.

‘It Came From Kuchar’ is a wonderful documentary that brings to light a film movement not seen by many but that influenced hundreds.  The Kuchar Brothers were and still are pioneers in the underground film movement, and Kroot’s documentary is a heartwarming look at everything they have accomplished and everything they stand for.