gaelick » Movies

Review: Vito

Gooner — Wed, 15 May 2013 07:00:05 +0000

Last August I headed off into town for my annual pilgrimage to the GAZE film festival. I saw several films and was struck by the improvement in the movies offered to the LGBT community over the last 20 years, since I started going to the festival. Arguably my favourite type of film is documentaries, I have reviewed several for Gaelick over the years, and the ones on offer were wonderful yet again. This time around I went to see two, Wish Me Away (my review here) and Vito, which is now available on DVD from Peccapics.

Daring to speak his name

Incredible

This is an incredibly moving exploration into the life of Vito Russo. You may know him from his book, The Celluloid Closet, which was made into a wonderful documentary in the 90′s, but believe me when I say that book is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Vito’s contribution to LGBT rights.

You can’t mention the AIDS crisis in the USA without talking about Vito’s impassioned activism. He was a big part of the ACT UP campaign and a speaker at many marches and information events on the issue. Russo was extremely outspoken and even appeared on TV, writing and co-presenting Our Time, a news show reporting on LGBT issues of the day. An example of what a powerful speaker Vito could be can be seen here as he address an ACT UP Demonstration in New York, 1988:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4ctXqdoVwk

The Celluloid Closet

However, in many ways, Vito’s legacy lies in his belief that the media portrayal of our community was a cause of great concern. This not only lead to his tour of the country, presenting The Celluloid Closet in lecture form but also his co-founding of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). This watchdog group is still a force when it comes to keeping the mainstream media in check and advancing a true image of LGBTs within the media. Not to mention the GLAAD awards, which remain one of the highlights of the gay calendar. The Vito Russo Award is a highly respected annual prize given to an out LGBT media professional who has promoted equality.

25 years later and we're still waiting. Image by Lee Snider

The film goes from one aspect of Vito’s legacy to the next, but throughout this journey you are kept in touch with who he was. A man who adored his mother, was intensely proud of his community and who dedicated his life to the fight for equality. One scene that sticks out in my mind was when a lesbian was being booed at a Pride rally for being so political and Vito stood up and begged everyone to listen to her, saying that the community is equally L, G, B and T.

I cried buckets at the end when they spoke of his death. Russo succumbed to an AIDS-related illness in 1990. On that day our community lost a strong voice and a kind man but his legacy lives on and this film is a fitting tribute, I highly recommend it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfETjT1YRRA

All About My Mother

Ciardubh — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 07:00:20 +0000

I’ve just discovered Pedro Almodóvar. In that strange, timely way that the universe sometimes has, as I was curled up on the couch at home wondering where these films had been all my life ,the IFI has been having a Pedro Almodóvar season of which I was entirely unaware and have now, sadly, missed. I’m pretty sure those deep red palettes and severe letterbox compositions improve threefold on the big screen, so if you did catch something of his in the IFI I’m dead jealous.

My new favourite director

I’m new to his work and not much of a film student – herself is a serious film buff and a close friend is a film maker: both these women save me from pretentions about my meagre knowledge of film. Film studies was inescapable in my undergraduate and it was a subject I thrived in like a spider under treacle. I do, however, know what I like. I like Almodóvar more than I ever thought I could like a director (before this I’d have been hard pushed to identify the effect a director has on his film).

Mama!

I’m currently working my way through his portfolio, there’s plenty to keep my entertained. So far my absolute favourite has to be All About My Mother (1999).

The film begins with a young, handsome boy living with his mother. They have a solid, frank relationship that belies the son’s youth. Though the boy is only turning 17 as the film begins he is working on a story about his mothers life and his birthday wish is to see a production of A Streetcar Named Desire in which his favourite actress has a roll. A round of appluase for the mother, Manuela, for raising a son like that.

As they wait in the rain for an autograph the son admits that his biggest birthday wish would have been to learn about his father, a secret his mother has kept carefully hidden. Begrudgingly, Manuela agrees to tell him the story later that evening. That evening never arrives, however, as Manuela’s life is torn apart by her son’s unexpected death and, in a few weeks, she sets off to find his father in an attempt to make peace with herself.

Girls' night in

I’m not going to summarise more of the plot because I don’t want to spoil it for you later on (really, you all have to watch this). Anyway, the plot isn’t the main reason I fell in love with this film. I fell in love with it for it’s light touch and soft edges. Though many of the subjects are very harsh – car accidents, heart transplants, prostitution, drug addiction, HIV and a myriad of other things – Almodóvar handles them all in a way that takes of the glare.

Something more

More used to mainstream (American) film, I would normally run a million miles from a film dealing with those subjects because I really don’t want to watch slightly gory, scopophilic treatments of sex, death and pain that I’ve come to expect. While All About My Mother doesn’t shy away from the emotions of these things, it is almost stage-like in its use of allusion and relies on the intelligence of the viewer to follow the tragedy unfolding in the story rather than pouring every detail onto the screen.

There is a quirky, off-beat vibe to the film as well which gives it an enjoyable but slightly unreal feeling. There is a sense of gravity throughout, but also the vague feeling that at any moment the whole film could flutter and fly away.

My favourite aspect of the film – apart from the colour, but I’m probably a bit peculiar in my obsession with colour – was the fact that it never felt the need to explain to the audience. A number of characters are transsexual (their label, not mine) and there is not a single manufactured scene where one character explains all that stuff to another character so the audience can keep up. Ditto for the failing mind of one character and the pregnancy of another. There is a trust in the intelligence of the audience which allows you to be fully immersed in a story where subjects that characters wouldn’t need to explain to one another never get explained.

10/10 with an extra whoop of enthusiasm.

I like Almodóvar more than I ever thought I could like a director (before this I’d have been hard pushed to identify the effect a director has on his film).

Review: The Morning After

GuestPoster — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 08:00:59 +0000

Niamh on Katie Shannon’s latest short film

Any girl out there who has experienced the agony of a break up will empathise and possibly compare their own personal experiences to this short and intimate film. Film maker Katie Shannon illustrates the final moments of a crumbling relationship with painful accuracy, making this short picture uncomfortable to watch at times but also irreversibly relatable.

Been there....

In this nine-minute short, we are invited as a guest to witness the most intense moments of any relationship, gay or straight. Characters Sam (Amy De Paola) and Lauren ( Allison Faythe) uncover the topic of infidelity and in doing so examine their own personal resentments towards each other leaving the relationship with a large question mark hanging over it.

This discussion also leads to the inevitable desperation at clinging to happy memories which once cemented the relationship and made it whole, a feeling which can strike a chord with most people, and reveals the vulnerability and exposure which is evoked during any break up. This piece is moving, and can be related to by any sexuality, gender, age or race, a quality which is refreshing and prevents Katie being pigeonholed as a ‘’lesbian filmmaker’’.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a5q3l0IrU0

Katie Shannon graduated from Emerson College with her Masters in visual media arts and created Thompson films in 2011 which allowed her to develop both a business and her creative skills. She is currently in post-production for her first feature length documentary 113 days.

Review: Gayby

CanuckJacq — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 08:00:31 +0000

It isn’t easy or cheap to have a child when you’re a lesbian. Less so when you’re a gay man. If you happen to be a single, 30-something gay man who works in a comic book store, the money probably isn’t there.

So that’s why Matt (Matthew Wilkas) moved to Brooklyn, so he could afford more space for his comic book collection. And that’s why he agrees when his straight best friend Jenn (Jenn Harris) asks him if he wants to father a child with her, fulfilling a promise they made to each other in university.

Jenn is a yoga instructor (with a trust fund, so she presumably lives in Manhattan — in my experience the only people who bitch about their friends moving to Brooklyn are people who live in Manhattan) with a bad history with relationships who becomes inspired by her sister’s quest to adopt a child and decides to pop the question.

Over wine, she clarifies that she’d like to go about this as nature intended — by having sex with her gay best friend.

The results are predictably awkward — and so they should be. Distrustful of western medicine, Jenn attends a herbalist for help. Matt gets some unexpectedly expert help from his hilarious best friend Nelson (writer/director Jonathan Lisecki wrote himself the best character part ever).

For the first ten minutes or so of the film, I was uncomfortable and unsure about how this was going to play out. I was completely disturbed by the apparent coercion involved with Jenn getting Matt to have sex with her instead of doing an insemination, but as the film progressed, the story became more alive and more focused and while the characters were often awful to each other, you could watch with compassion for both Matt and Jenn as they navigated social situations none of us ever learned about growing up.

If you’re having sex with your gay best friend to get pregnant, do you take your bra off?

If you’re trying to get your straight best friend pregnant, should you tell your dates that?

See? There was no after school special about this at all.

So Matt and Jenn carry on trying to get pregnant, juggling a Jenn’s cycle with trying to find romantic love.

This film charmed me senseless and I’ll be watching it again, for sure. It’s challenging to tell a story that hasn’t been told before, but Gayby manages to be told with absolute hilarity, grace and truth. Gayby is nicely shot, well edited, flawlessly acted and a real gem to add to anyone’s collection of gay film.

Gayby is available on DVD today, March 11, through Peccadillo Pictures. It includes several extras, including audio commentary, which my review copy does not have. I might be picking this one up myself.

Turn Me On, Goddammit Review

GuestPoster — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 08:00:13 +0000

Charley reviews Turn Me On, Goddammit

Hollywood has forever been cluttered with images of hormone-ridden, horny young men who, having just learnt what their genitals are for, are prepared to do everything in their power to put them to good use. Well now, thanks to Element Pictures, we can finally see things from the female perspective.

Turn Me On, Goddammit (initially released two years ago under the name, Turn Me On, Dammit! / Få meg på, for faen) is a hilarious look at the raging hormones lingering within the average teenage girl, and the terrible repercussions for those girls brave enough to act on them. The film follows a stint in the life of 15-year-old Alma (Helene Bergsholm) who, after divulging the details of an intimate (and, may I say, very odd!) sexual encounter, to her judgemental and disbelieving friends, finds herself excluded from her friendship group, and stranded in a town that has nothing more to offer than empty roads and the occasional post box – admittedly, this film doesn’t offer the most attractive view of Norway.

As if the school problems weren’t enough, it emerges that Alma has something of a liking for phone sex, something which an over-sized telephone bill eventually reveals to her poor mother. So, outcast from school and severely judged at home, Alma suffers through the trials and tribulations of being a horny teenager, something she must battle against without friends Sara (Malin Bjørhovde) and Ingrid (Beate Støfring), who have decided they can no longer be seen with her. While the film certainly delivers a few outright hilarious moments, there are also moments of frustration and sympathy on behalf of the distraught teenager, who has only found herself in this situation because of the infantile behaviour of the characters she is surrounded by; by this, I am referring especially to Artur (Matias Myren), the Casanova responsible for Alma’s first sexual encounter, which he then denies to the rest of the student body.

All of the actors in this flick deserve a massive pat on the back for being such good sports, if nothing else! Bergsholm in particular deserves commendation for taking to this role so well: trapped in a world of sexual curiosity and experimentation, she delivers an inspired performance than will resonate with many (embarrassed and ashamed) teenage girls out there. As we’ve come to expect from these films, there is a happy ending (don’t worry, I won’t give it away) which lightens the trauma of the young girl’s recent experiences! If this film provides nothing else for viewers, then it at least succeeds in showing us that there is a light at the end of that long, dark and sexually-confused tunnel.

Turn Me On, Goddammit, is scheduled for release in the United Kingdom on March 25th, and will hit the shelves with a 15 certificate (unsurprising, given the amount of explicit content – including at least two shots of an actual penis – consider yourselves warned!) and a £15. 99 price tag. This film is definitely one for the girls, particularly those of us who are ex-horny-teenagers, and definitely for those of us who still are!

Turn Me On, Goddammit is released on DVD on 25 March, courtesy of Element Pictures. Order your copy on Amazon at amzn.to/XVSMtb.

Win! Bumblefuck USA

HAL — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:00:22 +0000

Thanks to the splendid folks from Peccadillo Pictures we have not one, not two, but three copies of the excellent film Bumblefuck USA, which we reviewed last week. We also had an interview with the star and the director, coz we’re that cool.

So, without further ado, here are the details:

How to enter!

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment below – be sure to include a valid email address so we can contact you if you’re a lucky winner! (Your email will be kept private, and will not be used for any other purpose.)

The competition runs from 1pm today (14th February) and will end in two weeks, at 5pm on Monday (25th Feb), with three lucky people getting their paws on a copy of the film.

Simples!

(P.S. – If you comment more than once, we’ll just count one entry. So no messin’.)

Review: A Perfect Ending

CanuckJacq — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 08:00:51 +0000

A Perfect Ending is the most recent lesbian romance by writer/director Nicole Conn. It stars Jessica Clark, Barbara Niven, Morgan Fairchild and John Heard. Nicole Conn is best known for her films Claire of the Moon and Elena Undone.

My wife and I sat down to this film imagining that it, at least, could not be as bad as Elena Undone, and hoping for an evening full of pleasant surprises.

We were disappointed, when we thought that was almost impossible.

Image from peccapics.co.uk

Trying

I understand that as a lesbian, I am supposed to wax lyrical about Conn’s contribution to lesbian cinema. The problem with that is that I haven’t actually enjoyed more than 5 continuous minutes of her film and I’ve seen 3 of her films so far. I watch a lot of films, in a lot of different genres, and I enjoy most of them. I want to like things I spend my time watching, and part of me wants to spend all my time cheering people on who make lesbian film. But I just can’t pretend away some things.

Where Elena Undone was cheesy, A Perfect Ending was just wrong.

I’m imagining it was pitched as a lesbian Pretty Woman-meets-The L Word-meets-Old School Dallas. The story is about a wealthy family woman in her 50s who admits to her friends that she’s never had an orgasm. They immediately suggest she sees a female prostitute. She does, amidst actual pearl clutching. She has an orgasm, and develops feelings for the sex worker who says she chose her career for valid reasons, but really means she’d like the wealthy white lady to rescue her from her choices. No, I’m not making this up.

Image from peccapics.co.uk

Where are all the lesbians?

Conn dispensed with the cheesy narrative devices, like the Soulemetry Guru from Elena Undone, and for that, I am grateful. I am not entirely uninterested in seeing an older woman and a younger woman lesbian film, either. There were moments, flashes of dialogue and truth in this film that made me laugh out loud. Conn, however, cannot hold back on some old tropes. There’s the straight woman falling for a woman (can’t we just have a lesbian film about lesbians?), and there is also the Inconvenient Husband who is not just inconvenient, but a monster. It seems bizarre to me that you’d remove that side of the drama by making the husband such a blatant disaster. My problem with this, is Conn’s depiction of straight women who fall for women is that they seem to do so only because they are married to such uninteresting or monstrous men.

There is also some strange camera work and editing. At one point, she moves as if she’s in a dream. She grabs a bottle of booze and then she puts down the glass, empty. She stands to answer the door, and in the same second, the door is open. It’s choppy and startling.

To me, the film is a complete disaster of bad storytelling, weird depictions of sex workers, and some worrying racial themes.

That said, a lot of people will disagree and I’ll probably get called names in the internet again, so you probably owe it to yourself to watch it and see what you think.

A Perfect Ending is available on DVD and Video-on-Demand and is distrubuted by Peccadillo Pictures.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6NYdpYA8a8

Bumblefuck USA Interview

GuestPoster — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 13:00:07 +0000

Kerrie interviews the director and the star for Gaelick.

Bumblefuck, USA is an American film, which was released on DVD in Ireland this week (January 28^th). Read our review here. It tells the story of a young Dutch documentary maker, who travels to a small US town to explore the gay community, after the suicide of her gay friend. While there, she gets close to a woman, and learns a lot about herself. It is directed by Aaron Douglas Johnston, who also co wrote the screenplay with actress Cat Smits, and also stars Heidi M Sallows. I spoke to the Director Aaron Douglas Johnston and stars Cat Smits and Heidi M Sallows about the film, their inspiration, the process, what it was like to interview real people for the film and future plans.

>Hey, thanks for doing the interview!

What was the inspiration of the film?

Aaron Douglas Johnson: My cousin Matt and I grew up together in our hometown of Muscatine, Iowa, and he was like a brother to me. While I was away at college, Matt came out of the closet and shortly afterwards he committed suicide. I wish I had been there for him, and I kept wondering what it was he went through. Years later, I decided to make a film in my hometown to explore what it’s like to be gay in our small American town. Matt’s death became the starting point for our story. It is thanks to the LGBT community in Iowa that we were able to make ‘Bumblefuck, USA’.

Heidi M Sallows: For myself… I was interested in screen testing for a variety of reasons… the first being opportunities like this, working with a crew from Amsterdam especially, doesn’t come by my neck of the river often… And I’ve always wanted to try my hand at film acting. The story behind the film hit close to home as I’ve known far to many people that have committed suicide or have been hospitalized for it… I hoped that by being apart of this film I could somehow pay homage to these people and the loved ones left behind.

Why was this story so important to tell?

ADJ: Personally, I wanted to tell this story to deal with Matt’s death. My hope is that the film can, at least in some small way, help those in small town America in similar situations to Matt. Learning to love oneself and others is a crucial part of the film.

Cat Smitts: the story is important to tell because it’s about the right to love and learning to love oneself.

The film was co-written by both of you – what was that writing process like?

CS: Aaron and me started writing in Amsterdam together with documentary director Sam de Jong. After that we went to Aaron’s home town and interviewed a lot of people from the gay scene there. These stories lead us to write the scenario.

ADJ: Cat and I wrote the film’s treatment, meaning we focused on characters, their relationships, their actions, and their development in each scene. For some scenes, Cat and I wrote out the dialogue, but for others I gave the actors assignments during the scene to allow them to improvise the dialogue. I wanted to have a treatment to provide structure for each scene and the overall story, but I also wanted to allow for chaos and flexibility to give the film a realistic and authentic feeling. To achieve that, the final part of the writing process took place on set while I built the scenes with the actors.

The film has a sense of realism and some scenes in particular feel very natural and improvised – the scrap yard scene with Alexa and Jennifer comes to mind. The two seem to converse and move around very organically – was the film strictly scripted or was improvisation used?

ADJ: The film was definitely not strictly scripted, which is what I really like about it. Cat (Alexa) is a gifted professional actress and is particularly talented at improvisation. As a director, I love working with her because she always surprises me, and I’m able to use many of those surprises to bring each scene to life. Heidi (Jennifer) had never acted before, but she obviously has a talent for acting and for improvisation. Allowing these two actresses to improvise with certain goals in mind produced some of the film’s best scenes. The junkyard is an example of that.

CS: for quite some scenes we chose to write ‘core scenes’ and improvise around them. So that the actors in the film who weren’t trained actors and played characters close to their own personality, could use their own experiences in dialogues.

HS: a lot of what you hear jennifer say was somewhat scripted… Meaning Aaron would set the intent of the scene… A frame for us to move around in and then allow for us to inject our own dialogs … We discussed what we would say desperately from one another with Aaron so when our characters interacted there was a bit more sincerity behind our reactions… Often Jennifer’s stories are blends of a series of real stories of mine, in with a bit of fiction… Hinging the fiction and documentary by toeing that line between.

Jennifer’s (Heidi M Sallows) interview to camera is another scene which feels very natural – how much of this, if any, is real?

ADJ: All interviews are real. The interview you refer to is actually with Heidi as Heidi, but I use it in the film to bring the two parts of the film together — the fiction with the documentary. Heidi/Jennifer is the person/character that unites the two parts of the film and helps us understand Alexa’s journey.

HS: Oh the interview was very real… So much that at first I didn’t want to do it. I had some reservations for various reasons… One being I had let so much of my own reality seep into Jennifer’s that I thought by doing the interview it might confuse people… Depending upon what they used… Some very personal stuff came out in that interview. A photographer from the Frameline Festival, Ana Grillo, said something to the effect of it was nice to see an actor be a bit vulnerable…and she opened that scene up for me… often we see actors on screen and they seem like, a bit unreal like you can’t fathom them getting depressed or something… then when someone does its shocking! Or sadly people can’t understand why someone with grand stature in the acting world could possibly be depressed… But it happens … We are all human after all… Silly enough, I still cry myself when I see that part of the film… And remember how I felt, what I was talking about… Those seemingly unbearable moments in life… But I’m still trudging along… Flying sometimes… Having to remind myself of those words I said… I’m up for this challenge … I can do this.

How important was it to maintain a sense of realism – to blend in the narrative with the documentary interview segments?

ADJ: This was crucial, and something I spent a lot of time on in the edit. We had to find the right balance so that the fictional story wouldn’t be interrupted too much by the documentary interviews but rather invigorated with new information garnered from these real interviews. They needed to be part of Alexa’s journey. The use of the documentary interviews also meant that the acting style in the fictional story had to be very realistic in order to equal the authenticity of the documentary interviewees. The combination of the two was the film’s biggest challenge.

CS: We played with realism all the time. It’s a style that Aaron uses a lot. He often works with ‘real people’ and bases the story and characters on their own stories. With Bumblefuck, USA he had the same approach.

How did you select the interviewees?

ADJ: It was quite difficult to find Iowans who were willing to talk about being gay in front of the camera. Documentary director Sam, Cat, and I spent considerable time in the LGBT community in Iowa, and we met so many wonderful people. Many of the interviewees we met through Connections, the LGBT nightclub in Davenport (and also the nightclub featured in the film). Others we met through the LGBT center at the University of Iowa. These interviewees all had something special to tell about their experience being gay in small town America. I wish we could have used more of this material, actually, but we only used segments that somehow communicated with Alexa’s journey.

CS: It was hard enough to find people brave enough to tell their stories and be openly gay on film. We interviewed everybody who was willing to share their story. The parts that matched the film best ended up being used.

Part of the realistic elements seem to be a result of real people, rather than solely professional actors, can you talk a bit about your casting for the film, and your decisions made for both the acting and interview portions of the film?

ADJ: My goal, in this film and others, is to combine the authenticity of documentary with the control of fiction to tell a story worth telling. Cat (Alexa) and John (Lucas) are professionally trained actors, and Ryan had a lot of acting experience. For the role of Jennifer, though, I wanted to find a ‘non-professional’ actress – someone from the LGBT community in Iowa – to give the film a more realistic and authentic feeling. After many auditions, we found Heidi through a friend at Connections nightclub in Davenport. Heidi has a charismatic personality in real life, and the amazing thing is that she still has it in front of the camera! She could take my direction, but she also preserved her own impulses, which created many of the film’s beautiful moments. As for the interviews, it was important to me that this story feel urgent, real, and connected to small town America and the experiences of gays and lesbians living there. The authenticity of the people, and hence the film, injects the story with more emotion and power.

CS: the intention was to work as much as possible with real people who were to play themselves. And we were very lucky to find wonderful people in the gay scene there that were willing to cooporate. John Watkins (Lucas) is a trained actor as am I, and Ryan Gourley had acted before. They all come from the same area in the USA though.
For the character Jennifer we really looked for a real person who could also act. And we found her in Heidi after a lot of interviews with other women. Criteria were that she had to come from there, she had to be gay, she had to be able to act and there had to be a click with me. Not easy to find, but we did!
The reason that we wanted to work with real people (actors/interviews) and actors is that we found it really important to tell a real story, close to reallity, with the feel of small town USA.

Is there any style of filming that influenced you when you set out to make this movie?

ADJ: I’m an American trained as a filmmaker in the Netherlands. My main influences are small European art house films that focus on character development and relationships.

Alexa’s sexuality is never outwardly stated in the film; she has sexual encounters with both a man and a woman (although each of these experiences is conveyed very differently) – how conscious a decision was it not to verbally label her sexual orientation?
CS: Alexa starts the film as a character who doesn’t love herself and therefore is not able to love another. The most important thing for us is that whe learns to love, no matter who. That’s why we didn’t chose to make her outspoken gay or straight. We made her happy.

What do you think of the state of LGBT cinema now? Are you noticing any changes? What LGBT films, if any, do you think were important landmarks of the past ten years?
CS:I think a lot of wonderful LGBT films are made. And more LGBT subjects are present in mainstream film and tv nowadays. That’s a good development.
To me the greatest landmark film is Aimee and Jaguar.

HS: I think there’s a lot of great films being made… That have been made. My collection is small but i have some goid ones… Go Fish, Water Lillie’s, Bound and some girl shorts… I really like the short film format… i like teading short stories too… and I’m noticing the topic of being gay or a lesbian or transgendered more and more being a secondary topic to the over all story being told or idea… I like it all but I like that too… I really liked the film August at Frameline and Romeos at Outfest… Spork was fantastically funny… I really enjoyed Asexual too… There’s so many wonderful actors and directors and writers producing great work in this genre right now… It’s quite exciting!

‘Bumblefuck, USA’ is a really striking name-why the title?

HS: At times, the story didn’t necessarily feel like it was strictly attached to America- but as though it could have been almost any small town, in any number of countries, was this a factor when filming- to give the story a universal feel?

At times, the story didn’t necessarily feel like it was strictly attached to America- but as though it could have been almost any small town, in any number of countries, was this a factor when filming- to give the story a universal feel?
CS: I think that has mostly to do that people aren’t so different and we encounter the same basic problems in any part of the world.

There’s a particularly harrowing scene in the film involving Alexa and Lucas – which may be a spoiler for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet – but was this difficult to film? Was it always going to be so raw or graphic, because it seemed largely to be filmed in one take?
CS: As we used a lot of interviews to build the story, this became also part of it. People don’t like to see it in the film. What was important to us when we made the film was hearing from a lot of people that they had a period in which they sent out unclear signals to others because they didn’t listen to themselves or because they didn’t dare to be who they were. That leaded to misunderstandings and sometimes to irritations and anger.
Alexa doesn’t know how to react to Lucas. It leads to a very unpleasant encounter. We decided to put it in because it’s also part of the stories we heard, and because we used it for Alexa as a turning point: this will never happen to her again. And she becomes less careless with herself and others.

You filmed a lot on location- how did the town or the people of the filming locations respond to the film?
CS: Everybody was super supportive. We couldn’t have made the film without the help of all the people from the town.

Did any films in particular influence your process?

ADJ: No, not really. I would say that this film was the beginning of my own process that I’ve since developed more. I loved working with Heidi (Jennifer) on ‘Bumblefuck, USA’ and afterwards I decided to develop more films around non-professional actors in order to tell more original and authentic stories in narrative films. My Sundance-selected short film ‘Today and Tomorrow’ was made entirely with non-professional actors. For three months, I trained Iranian and Afghani political refugees living in Holland to make that film. Afterwards, I returned to Iowa to make a second feature, ‘My Sister’s Quinceañera’, which premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in January 2013. This feature I made with Mexican-American residents of Iowa with no prior acting experience. The film again tells an authentic (though fictional) story. So in many ways, ‘Bumblefuck, USA’ was the beginning for me – the way I found my voice as a filmmaker and a way to tell authentic stories with real people in narrative films.

Lastly, do you have any plans for the future? Hopefully we can see more from you both in the future, because I’d love to see any more films you may have planned!
CS: Aaron Douglas Johnston just made a new film in the same town, it’s called: My Sister’s Quincenera. And it will be screened at Rotterdam International Film Festival.Cat is touring in Holland and internationally with the Ulrike Quade Company and is seen in several new Dutch film productions.

Bumblefuck is available through Peccadillo Pictures.

Bumblefuck USA Review

GuestPoster — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 08:00:00 +0000

Kerrie reviews Bumblefuck, a new DVD from Pecca Pics.

Bumblefuck, USA follows a young Dutch documentary maker Alexa (Cat Smits), as she arrives in a small Iowa town for the summer to film a documentary. She is inspired by the suicide of her gay friend Matt, who had lived in the area, and seeks to uncover his motivations for suicide, as well as gain insight into gay life in small town America. While there, she meets Jennifer (Heidi M Sallows,) an artist, and they begin to get close, while Alexa is clearly still hurt from her exploration of Matt’s suicide. Alexa’s own sexuality is left ambiguous, as are much of her feelings toward the town, and Jennifer. As well as the main plot, interviews by real people- who discuss their personal experience as people who identify as LGBT, while living in small town America -are interspersed throughout the narrative of the film, with interesting results.

Increasing pride events throughout the world

Directed by Aaron Douglas Johnson, who also co wrote the screenplay with star Cat Smits, Bumblefuck, USA is inspired by real events (the unseen character Matt is based on Johnson’s cousin) and incorporates real people. Amidst increasing pride events throughout the world, as well as LGBT and suicide awareness campaigns, we can see a growing LGBT community, and the way that this growth and awareness impacts on mainstream small town life. Such themes are prevalent in this film. The film has a decidedly natural feel- not least from the documentary interviews which appear throughout. The narrative elements are shot on handheld camera, in real locations. The acting has the feel of something which is largely improvised, particularly in the scenes between Alexa and Jennifer. Because so much of the film relies on their relationship, the sense of realism that results in their improvised scenes is pivotal. The camera follows them as they move naturally, physically inhabiting the space freely, as though not reliant on markers and lighting.

Constantly ambiguous

While Alexa’s sexuality remains ambiguous, some conclusions could be drawn from her experience within the narrative anyway; there is a definite contrast between her sexual experience with Jennifer, and another – decidedly less engaged- one night stand with a male grave yard worker (played by Ryan Gourley). Alexa is reluctant to give anything away about her feelings or plans, instead opting to observe and question others, and be frank and direct when she does express desire or want. This leads to a clash between her and her house mate Lucas, in a sub plot which sees her rent a room in his house for the summer. Though Lucas is decidedly odd, Alexa herself is initially hostile towards him. The disturbing familiarity with which Lucas addressed Alexa seems unnoticed by her. In return, and by contrast, she is abrupt and direct toward him, which contrasts his own urgent need to get close to her. At times, this detachment by Alexa can be jarring; it can be difficult to empathise with a character who refuses to emote. She reveals nothing about herself, even to Jennifer. Her mannerisms reveal little about her feelings; it is only through her actions that we learn some insight into Alexa’s state of mind. She is constantly ambiguous, instead allowing others to talk and act, while maintaining a pristine poker face.

Watching Heidi M. Sallows as Jennifer feels like watching a real person, rather than a character or actor. Her words feel honest, rather than scripted, and her movements are natural, rather than the self conscious ones of an actor. For me, she was a highlight of the film, where her natural demeanour blended seamlessly with the documentary elements of the film.

Stories of relationship and love

The talking head interviews were, in many ways, the most compelling aspect of the film. These interviews featured personal anecdotes and experiences by gay men and women, which were upsetting, funny, romantic and uplifting. The focus ranges from coming out and the difficulty inherent in this, to anecdotes which don’t even reference sexuality outright; instead were just stories of relationship and love. With only a small number of these scattered throughout, they were wholly compelling, and begged the question of what Alexa’s proposed documentary would actually have looked like.

Jennifer and Alexa’s is ultimately a story of friendship

A refreshing aspect of the film is its celebration of loving oneself, rather than a need to find love solely in others. Despite the romance and sex, Jennifer and Alexa’s is ultimately a story of friendship. We see that casual sex, or sexual relationships, are as worthy as other kinds, anda long term relationship or love doesn’t always have to be the end goal. There is not a solid conclusion to Alexa’s documentary. She doesn’t ever figure out the motivation behind Matt’s suicide, and as Jennifer tells her, “maybe Matt didn’t kill himself because he was gay, maybe he killed himself because he was depressed.” Alexa gets as many new questions as she does answers. But this represents a sort of awakening for her character; at the film’s opening, she is stony faced, but by its conclusion, this is replaced with optimism and hope.

Although this film does have its pitfalls- the enigmatic Alexa can be difficult to root for, leaving us unsure who the hero of the story is- it is an interesting portrait of personal exploration. Bumblefuck USA is refreshing, raw and real, with some beautiful and true insights into LGBT stories.

Bumblefuck is available through Peccadillo Pictures.

Review: Struck By Lightning

CanuckJacq — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Some stories aren’t about the plot. Struck By Lightning is one of these stories. I could tell you absolutely everything that happens in this film and it would not ruin it for you. It’s like a film about a story you already know – Snow White or Cinderella — the movie experience is simply in being taken through the moments of it.

You would still experience the unusual world-building and painfully on-point performances that make this film so engaging.

It’s also entirely possible you will not like the main character, Carson Phillips (Chris Colfer).

What a striking title (sorry)

Playing straight

Carson Phillips is a douchebag. He’s loudmouthed, judgemental, preachy, mean to his mom (Allison Janney) (who gives as good — or better, really — than she gets). Interestingly, he’s meant to be ambiguous as to whether he’s gay or straight. Gay writer/star Chris Colfer did this on purpose because he believes that a gay character would have less relevance to straight kids, and a straight character would have less relevance to gay kids. The problem with that, of course, is that by removing any explicit reference to his sexuality, Carson’s character becomes “straight” and suddenly critics are wowed at The Gay Kid From Glee‘s ability to play a straight character.

What that doesn’t mean, actually, is that there aren’t any gay romances in the film. In fact pretty much the only romance that goes anywhere (because romance is not the name of the game in this film) is between two boys.

I’ve been a big fan of Colfer’s since a friend harangued me into giving Glee a chance a couple of years ago. Resisting the impulse to tell everyone the film is perfection, however, has been easy. It’s not.

Smack him down

Some of the dialogue is heavy handed. Really heavy handed. When Carson gets preachy, you kind of want to smack him. And it’s even more infuriating that he’s always right. You want to spend a lot more time with Malorie than you actually get to, but that has to be down to the genius that is Rebel Wilson.

Rebel Wilson steals the show, again

The camera work, which some people have found annoying, actually works for me completely. We’re given the impression we’re seeing intimate moments of people’s lives — through windows and a partly open door — that we would never be privy to.

In the end, two things make this film a must-see. The first is the story. It’s unusual, and touching in surprising ways. This is not a standard issue teen film. The second is the performances. While some of the dialogue can be weird and jarring, Allison Janney, Rebel Wilson, Polly Bergen and Colfer himself all give impressive performances.

Struck By Lightning is currently accessible on Video on Demand through iTunes or Amazon provided you are either in the US or can convince Apple or Amazon that you are.

The theatrical release in the US begins this month but we are still awaiting details of an Irish/UK distributor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1VXtvYq_9k

Win! The Journey

Webmaster — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 13:00:06 +0000

Thanks to the splendid folks from Peccadillo Pictures we have not one, not two, but three copies of the excellent film The Journey, which we reviewed just this morning.

So, without further ado, here are the details:

How to enter!

The competition runs from 1pm today (28th January) and will end in two weeks, at 5pm on Monday (11th Feb), with three lucky people getting their paws on a copy of the film.

Simples!

(P.S. – If you comment more than once, we’ll just count one entry. So no messin’.)

Review: The Journey

CanuckJacq — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 08:00:49 +0000

The Journey, originally released in 2004, is being rereleased on a remastered DVD.

The Journey tells the story of two Indian girls, one Hindu and one Catholic, who are best friends, until they grow up and it becomes much more. The love story itself is sweet, and there is no denying the love and passion that the two friends have for each other. Set in a place and time where their love cannot be accepted, being discovered by the wrong person can have tragic consequences. It doesn’t end there, though, and life goes on, regardless.

What makes the story, however, is the feeling of complete authenticity. There are characters that will make you laugh out loud. Others will make you shake your fist at the screen. Some will simply remind of you of the mother or aunt or father who was misguided, but really just wanted the best for you.

There’s nothing simplistic about the film but it’s not a particularly heavy watch either. The Journey is visually compelling and will capture your eyes and heart too.

The Journey is available through Peccadillo Pictures Monday, January 28th.

View Trailer here

Oscar Nominations 2012

Gooner — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 08:00:38 +0000

It’s that time of year again – oh how I love it. I have to admit to being a bit of an award season lover, I know I know but I just can’t help myself. Living here on the Emerald Isle means that a lot of the films nominated aren’t out yet but they will be arriving over the coming months and the nominations are a great way of knowing what might be worth a look.

Our own Daniel Day Lewis stars in the movie with the most nominations, Lincoln got 12 including a nod for Lewis as well as for Steven Spielberg for directing and producing. Speaking of the best film category, Lincoln is joined by the likes of Silver Linings Playbook, Django Unchained, Argo along with Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty. Why isn’t Bigelow’s best movie nomination joined with a nod in the best directing category? I have no idea and have to admit to being very disappointed indeed. However it is great to see Ang Lee in the mix for Life of Pie.

Beasts of the Southern Wild is another best pic contender, the film’s 9 year old star Quvenzhane Wallis is this years youngest nominee. Some might say she is too young but it didn’t do Tatum O’Neal or Anna Paquin too much harm so good for her, if the performance deserves it then why not? She is in good company in this years “best actress in a leading role” category, the lovely Jennifer Lawrence’s performance in Silver Linings Playbook gets her a nomination along side Naomi Watts (The Impossible), Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty) and Emmanuelle Riva (Amour).

Silver Linings Playbook has a nomination in each of the four acting categories, Jenniffer will be hoping she and costars Bradley Cooper, Jacki Weaver and Robert De Niro don’t split the vote.

As you may know from reading Gaelick I do love a good documentary and this years nominees are well worth a look. One of the stand out docs for me recently is How to Survive a Plague, which tells the story of the early years of the AIDS crisis.

The fabulous Adele is nominated for best song for her James Bond hit Skyfall, among others she will be up against Suddenly from Les Miserables and the talented Seth MacFarlane’s Everybody Needs a Best Friend from Ted.

The awards will be handed out on Sunday February 24th so get watching and picking your favourites. You can see all the nominations here. Who have they left out in your opinion?

Interview: Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same’s Lisa Haas

CanuckJacq — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 08:00:00 +0000

After reviewing Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same (and loving it), we were delighted to have the opportunity to ask a few questions of Lisa Haas, who plays the lovable Earthling Jane in the hilarious lesbian sci-fi comedy.

What drew you to this particular project?
The director of the film, Madeleine Olnek, is also a playwright. Over the past ten years I have been in several of her plays and all of them are as unique and hysterically funny as Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same. So when Olnek asked me to be in the movie, how could I say no?! Plus many other ofthe other artists involved are people I had worked with before – all folks who are extremely talented, funny and really wonderful to be with.

Did you sometimes wish you could speak like the aliens? Because that sounded fun.
YES! I wish I could have spoken like the aliens. And, I love special effects make-up and wanted to be an SPFX make-up artist many years ago. I would love to be an alien. Or a pre-historic monster.

Why do you think Jane was single? She seemed so sweet!
Do you ever hear people use the phrase, “I can’t date that person, because they are too nice.” What exactly is “too nice?” Shouldn’t you want to date someone who is nice? I think many people, who aren’t relationship ready, avoid folks who are nice, right? Maybe on some unconscious or subconscious level they don’t believe they deserve to be in a healthy relationship. That’s probably one reason why Jane, we assume, has not gotten lots of dates. Plus, Jane has gone to therapy to work on herself. Perhaps she hasn’t been ready to seriously date someone. Luckily, she is good-to-go when a terrific alien like Zoinx comes along.

What do you expect most people will take away from this story?
There are many analysis angles one could speak on regarding the film’s story, style or characters. But I think what most folks take away is the feeling of surprise at how uncommonly funny the film is.

You’re a writer yourself! Anything exciting in the works?
I am currently working with Olnek on one of her film projects-in-progress, which is most definitely going to be a comedy. And, I write for the character of Doris Anderson who is in an ongoing comedy show titled “IN HEAT: Is the Hot Under Her Collar or Under Her Skirt?” My In Heat collaborators and I just had a show in the 2012 New York International Fringe Festival and are developing material fora new show. We love it when people visit our website!

Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same is available on DVD from Peccadillo Pictures now.

Win! Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same

HAL — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 13:00:37 +0000

People with a sense of humour! People in possession of a funny bone! Do we have a competition for you.

Thanks to the splendid folks from Peccadillo Pictures we have not one, not two, but three copies of the excellent film Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same, which we reviewed just this morning. PLUS!!! One of the lucky shites will also get a t-shirt!

Pecca describe it as follows:

The adventures, misadventures and experiences of three aliens from the planet Zots, sent down to Earth on a mission to rid themselves of romantic emotions, which are considered toxic to their planet’s atmosphere..

So, without further ado, here are the details:

So this is where all the sexy lesbots are Image from peccapics.com

How to enter!

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment below – be sure to include a valid email address so we can contact you if you’re a lucky winner! (Your email will be kept private, and will not be used for any other purpose.)

The competition runs from 1pm today (26th November) and will end in a week, at 5pm on Thursday (6th December), with three lucky people getting their paws on a copy of the film. As well as one of them getting the shirt off our back.

Simples!

(P.S. – If you comment more than once, we’ll just count one entry. So no messin’.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv7bXkVs9RA

About Peccadillo Pictures

Peccadillo Pictures is one of the UK’s most recognised distributors of Art House, Gay & Lesbian and world cinema titles with an impressive collection of films from across the world. Launched in 2000, Peccadillo nurtures new and upcoming talent alongside established directors. In addition, Peccadillo Pictures also distributes short films and re-releases of classic titles.

As well as bringing an array of films to cinemas across the UK and Ireland, Peccadillo provides film viewing on a variety of platforms, from online, video on demand, iTunes, Blu-ray and DVD.

Review: Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same

CanuckJacq — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 08:00:00 +0000

On Earth, our beloved SUVs and cows are believed to be endangering our ozone layer.

On the planet Zots, “big feelings” are thought to be destroying the ozone layer, so any citizen experiencing “big feelings” is sent to Earth, where it is certain they will have their hearts broken and return to their planet sufficiently apathetic to not be a danger to the atmosphere because Earthlings are presumably assholes. Fortunately for everyone involved (including us!), things do not go as planned.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMP0enVAoH8

When you’re handed a film with an amazing title like Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same, it’s tempting to believe the best gag is the title. That’s not the case with this at all.

Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same, written and directed by Madeleine Olnek, follows three aliens on Earth and one human, Jane, who has fallen in love with the alien known as Zoinx (hilariously played by Jane Zeigler).

Is that your hand?

While the alien costumes aren’t convincing, the B-plot is confusing (not so much I-don’t-follow, but more why?), and the “alien language” and names are pure cheeseball, the movie, as a whole, is completely delightful. Lisa Haas plays lovable but alone Earthling Jane, who spends a lot of time defending her alien fantasies to her therapist, who insists it’s a form of escapism.

Among the things I will never look at the same again are revolving dessert trays, the ocean, clap-on-clap-off lamps, and every lesbian protagonist ever, not played by Lisa Haas.

Like all the best sci-fi, here you’ll find incise social commentary dished up with cheesy costumes and aliens who don’t understand our odd social conventions.

Whatever you do, don’t miss out on this film. It would make a pretty epic date film, but don’t let that limit you. No matter who you share this experience with, you’ll laugh (and dance) inappropriately. Pro tip: have cheesecake at the ready.

Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same is available on DVD from Peccadillo Pictures from today.

Scare yourself skinny

HAL — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 11:00:21 +0000

Tonight, when you’re ignoring the doorbell and eating all of the goodies yourself, make sure you are watching a scary film, (maybe one of these). According to a new study, watching horror films make you lose weight. Fangtabulous! You can eat all of the sweets and have no guilt. The peeps involved say that the average person, whoever that is, burns over 100 calories watching people scare the tar out of college kids before they gut them with a knife.

I am finally ab0ve average! I am the world’s greatest wuss when it comes to scary movies. Freddie, Jason and Michael scare not only 100 calories an hour out of me, but also the living daylights. Every time I hear those young choir boys soulfully sings to the chords of a beautiful cello, I am out of there.

On balance, that would mean that if I watch the films, I’ll lose more weight than Mr or Ms Average, right? Woohoo!

Sweet Jesus, I think after sourcing these images, I’ll stay cuddly. Here are the top three.

1. THE SHINING: 184 calories

Cute kid, check. Freaky psychic ability, check.

Now this is a film I actually like. I wouldn’t call it a horror, per se, more of a scary drama. Although, that maze is scary and those twins….and the bath. Gulp. Flat abs here I come!

2. JAWS: 161 calories

I think HAL's going to need bigger knickers

Arra now, Jaws?? Hardly a horror at all. Another film I actually like. Hmmmm, maybe I’ve misjudged my wussiness.

3. THE EXORCIST: 158 calories

The power of terror compels me to watch something else

No, no I haven’t. Wussiness meter verified. The first time I saw this, I was 30 and I was petrified. Completely and utterly petrified. Only 158 calories? More like 600!

Just writing this piece scared me. Sheesh, ridiculous. Now where’s my blankey?

What’s your favorite scary movie?

Webmaster — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 07:00:40 +0000

It’s classic line now, uttered by Ghostface in Wes Craven Scream back in 1996. I love scary or horror movies. Let me begin by clarifying what I consider a scary movie. I love the boo factor. The implication that there is ‘something else’ out there, but you don’t get to see it, leaving it to your imagination. That to me is terrifying. Seeing the ‘scary’ thing, not so terrifying.

DON'T RUN UPSTAIRS!!!!

Also, chainsaws, needles and tying someone up and torturing them, not so scary. Call me a traditionalist, but they do nada for me. Since Saw, the so-called torture porn seems to have taken over the horror industry leaving us true horror fans celebrating when movie comes our way that doesn’t involved more blood then Carrie. With Halloween upon us its time to dust off those DVDs and let Freddie and Jason out to play.
Without further ado here’s my top ten horror movies. Believe me when I say there was a lot of soul searching in narrowing it down to these 10!

10. The Strangers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lm2hZ50sN4

Eerie bizarre movie that involves a young couple, who are after having an argument, return from a wedding to their holiday cottage. There, they are terrorised by three strangers. I suck at premises, just go watch. Only let down slightly by the ending.

9. Nightmare on Elm Street (Original)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Adgp0v_mfTk

No horror top ten is complete without the song, “One, two Freddie’s coming for you”. I only watched this back in the day, cause I thought I was straight and wanted to see Johnny Deep. I saw a lot more of him then I had planned. I still get the heebie jeebies every time I see a red and brown striped jumper. If it turns out to be a janitor, I am so outta that building.

8. 5ive girls

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZ6tm1gKR8Y

This one isn’t really a horror as such, but I had to include cause I love it. Quirky humor, think Cabin in the Woods, and lesbian interest! Five teenage girls sent to a reformatory which resembles the usual hell on toast building we’ve come to expect and love in these movies. Check it out, you won’t be disappointed.

7. The Eye (Original)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoA6dxLeWFo

I had the luck or misfortune, depending on your point of view, of seeing this in the cinema. The now infamous elevator scene had myself, my buddy and everyone else in the cinema turning sideways to try and see around the door into the lift. Many, many jumps. Avoid popcorn until the credits.

6. Tale of Two Sisters (Original)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anF5XiN8QY8

“A family is haunted by the tragedies of deaths within the family”, says IMDB. It does not even come close to unraveling the layers of this movie. You can’t beat the foreign cinema for freaking the bejaysus out of you and this one is the grand champion of new-hairstyle inducing. I have watched it a number of times and have yet to figure out everything that is going on it. Suffice to say, after watching I steered clear of wardrobes and anything that’s under the sink. As you do like.

5. Livide

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UxQg6j1AE8

Recently recommended by the horror-loving future brother-in-law, I thought “sure why not check it out?”. A French horror movie, must be a first. Watched it with the youngster who is also a big horror fan. I should have a scream-o-meter in the house when she’s watching a movie. This one rates quite highly, scream-wise. The little ole lady in the coma, keep a close eye on her. For a comatose lady she fairly moves it.

4. The Grudge (US Version)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bj88_yqlFMA

Poor ould Sarah Michelle Gellar, no amount of stakes through the heart is going to help her here. Once you hear that creaky throaty noise, you know things aren’t going to end well.

3. The Exorcist

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDGw1MTEe9k

Yes, it’s dated, it’s as old as I am but it still doesn’t stop the hair from doing some funky stuff when I see Regan stand in the room and announce you’re all going to die. There are some other unsavory things she says as well, but if you haven’t already seen it then go check it out. It was and still is in my book a classic!

2. The Ring (US Version)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuH5FaUpFm4

Seven days! It took me ages to watch a television after this without expecting a small Asian woman to crawl towards me and suck the life from me. It’s a bit disconcerting. Definitely among one of the best horror movies in a long time.

1. Paranormal Activity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_UxLEqd074

It has to come first. It invented a genre of “found footage”. The genius of the movie came in setting the camera in the bedroom. We all know to hide from monsters/serial/killers/axe murderers and so on, we run into the bedroom, and hide in the bed pulling the duvet up over us, right? Works every time. Wrong in the case of the entity in Paranormal Activity. The old duvet over the head is not going to cut it here.

Honorable mentions go to The Blair Witch Project and Silent Hill.

Of course there are loads more movies then the above list, what are your favorites?

Review: A Montreal Girl

dolanchap — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 07:00:41 +0000

A Montreal Girl (Jeanne Crépeau) is a great big love letter to a changing city. Filmmaker Ariane (played wonderfully by Amélie Grenier) must leave the flat she has lived in for all of her adult life, and this film is as much about saying goodbye to that life as it is about saying goodbye to the apartment.

Oh no you di'in

Her girlfriend lives in Paris, and is not very present in the film. In fact, the relationship Ariane has with her partner is dwarfed entirely by her relationship with the view from her window, a view the camera lingers over, in a way it lingers over little else. The central character in this film is not Ariane, but Montreal itself, in all its various seasons and shades.
As Ariane shows us the various storekeepers, businesses and people in her area, there is always a sense of the end of something – these businesses are changing hands, or are being frequented by new people, and the area Ariane is so in love with is changing around her. The refreshing thing about this film is that, unlike most other stories which are framed in this way, Ariane is not bitter about it. Yes, she would love to remain a part of the narrative, but when she shows us her surroundings, it is with a sense of pride, and genuine affection. And, in the end, she is not too bitter when she must leave.
This is a wonderful film, with an excellent cast. Her friends are well-rounded, even though many of them get very little screen time, we get a real sense of the community she is a part of. Her struggles, and how they help her with them, are genuinely relatable – this entire film is so low key, it’s very easy (and even more pleasant) to slip into the world it is showing you.

Perhaps it is the slight autobiographical tint that makes this the case. Crépeau is definitely showing us her Montreal; it is clear from the outset that this film is heavily based on real knowledge, and real experiences.
A Montreal Girl is an utterly charming little film, and perfect for passing a rainy afternoon. Its message may not be big, but its personality is, and it is a film which is guaranteed to make everyone smile with recognition at least once. I recommend.

A Montreal Girl is available on Busk films for less than a fiver.

Review: Joe + Belle

HAL — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 07:00:59 +0000

From superlative scribe, Sinéad

Image from joeandbelle.com

Joe and Belle is a film which comes incredibly close to hitting the mark.

Veronica Kedar (who plays Joe as well as directing) has, in her feature debut, made a film with some genuine, wonderful moments, but unfortunately, she struggles to tie them together.

The plot is far from simple: Joe is an American-Israeli, living and dealing drugs in Tel Aviv. Belle (Sivan Levy) is a French woman, fresh out of a mental institution, who breaks into Joe’s house, threatens to kill herself in Joe’s bathtub, and then shoots Joe’s ex boyfriend.

As you do.

Image from joeandbelle.com

Crazy women? Never!

The frustrating thing about Joe and Belle is that on paper, the jokes are hilarious, and the poignant moments are resonant. Unfortunately, Kedar seems to have bitten off more than she could chew on this first attempt, and the result is a film which is rife with mistimed jokes, scenes running just a little too long, and a story that packs way too much information into the first half hour, and struggles to a close after 80 minutes.

Saying that, the pulpy storyline is great fun to watch, and when she nails it, she really nails it. Scenes such as when the two share their first kiss in a hotel room (and end up chaining a policeman to a Jacuzzi) are genuinely funny, and in moments like that, you really start to root for these two women to succeed. What Kedar may lack in directorial experience, she makes up for in an incredible performance as Joe, capturing the angsty, nervous energy of someone teetering on the edge, and she plays brilliantly off the deadpan, psychopathic Belle. They have definite chemistry, which overcomes the flimsy plot devices that keep them together.

This is a film with political teeth, too. Every scene is which we see Belle engage in some cartoon violence is countered by a radio ad in the background, of a child talking about the real violence which is happening in Israel. Bombs are falling, and Keplar does not shy away from that.

As a director, Keplar is definitely one to watch. Though in this film, she hasn’t quite achieved what she set out to do, she has succeeded in telling a believeable love story against an unbelievable background, and that is no easy feat. Joe and Belle is not going to win any awards, but if you and your girlfriend are ever torn between watching Jackie Brown and The Itty Bitty Titty Committee, this may be the compromise for you.

Joe and Belle is available for rent at just €3 on BuskFilms