Tag: Indie

Early Review: ‘Official Rejection’

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Two weeks ago I posted a First Look at an independent documentary called Official Rejection. A few days ago I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to watch it. I expected to see a film that was funny and entertaining but also shed some light on film festivals. Official Rejection was that film and more. I was thoroughly entertained throughout the film but not always for reasons I expected. It is at times hilarious but there are also some moments that are heartbreaking, especially to those interested in filmmaking as a career.

I feel that in the interest of full disclosure, I should let you know that this film is about me. Well, technically that’s not true. I am not actually in the film but there is a general feeling of camaraderie and singularity among independent filmmakers. While we all take different paths to get our films released, nearly every filmmaker will visit a few film festivals along the way. Official Rejection may only cover a few filmmakers and their films, but this is very much a film about all indie filmmakers and their work. In fact, replacing film festival with a major concert or gallery makes this a film about musicians and other artists as well. So to put it simply, all artists despite your medium of choice need to see this film.

That doesn’t mean this film is for artists only. Anyone that is at all interested in film should see Official Rejection. If you are a fan of independent films (real indies, not Hollywood “indies†) this doc will show you the journey many of those films went on to gain an audience and find distribution. If you hate independent film, you should see this film to at least gain an appreciation for the struggles the filmmakers face. And for anyone who could care less about movies and filmmaking, there is still a compelling story being told here. After all, who doesn’t like a good underdog story?

Official Rejection follows filmmaker Scott Storm and his film, Ten Til Noon, from its first rejections to its first few acceptances. What gives this documentary such a personal feel is that the director of Official Rejection is the screenwriter for Ten Til Noon. Because of this, we get an in depth look at what filmmakers experience before, during and after film festivals. This is also beneficial because this means Paul Osborne truly cares about his subject and in turn, so does the viewer. And don’t worry; this does not make Official Rejection seem like a long commercial or some kind of bonus feature for Ten Til Noon. Ten Til Noon is meant to be the everyfilm and Scott Storm represents most independent filmmakers. To further prove this, we are treated to many interviews along the way from a variety of people in independent film.

Kevin Smith, Chris Gore, Lloyd Kaufman, Jenna Fischer, Andy Dick, Traci Lords, Troy Duffy and Bryan Singer are a few of the more famous people interviewed. They all offer some great words of wisdom and give some insight into film festivals. I will admit though that even though I agree, I was very upset to hear Kevin Smith say that Clerks. would never be accepted into Sundance if it was made today. We also hear from many other independent filmmakers, both in interviews and through footage captured at festivals. One of the best and most eye opening segments in the film is the nightmare of a situation that happened to filmmaker Blayne Weaver and his film, Outside Sales, at Indie Fest. I don’t want to ruin it but I will say that it is shocking to see how some festivals treat filmmakers. There are also a few actors, sales reps, audience members and representatives from a few film festivals that are interviewed.

Overall, I think this is a fantastic documentary that is fun to watch and very informative. I wish I had seen this movie a year ago before I started submitting to film festivals because I actually did pick up quite a few things about the process. Official Rejection should be mandatory viewing in all film schools.

I want to wish Paul and everyone else behind Official Rejection the best of luck with the film and its festival run. It’s going to be hard to get a film that exposes film festivals into film festivals, but that should only be the case for festivals with something to hide. All festivals that accept films based on their worth should accept this movie. I highly suggest seeking this film out if it is screening near you. For everyone else, this film will definitely find distribution in the near future so look for it then.

Jerry Cavallaro – www.AreYouStuckLikeChuck.com

Review: ‘Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead’

Well, Thanksgiving is almost here so we all have Turkey on our minds. I was sitting in my room waiting for my next video to finish rendering when I decided to watch Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead. It’s a movie about a different type of poultry; zombie chicken poultry to be exact. I know it’s not exactly perfect for Thanksgiving since it doesn’t have any mutant turkeys but until Eli Roth makes Thanksgiving for real, this is the most relevant horror movie to watch on Thanksgiving. (I did do some research and I came across a film called Blood Freak about a mutant killer with a turkey head but from what I’ve read, it’s truly awful and not in the it’s so bad it’s good way that we all love.) So if you like blood, guts, sex, gratuitous nudity, singing, dancing and bathroom humor, read on for my review of Poultrygeist.

If you haven’t heard of Poultrygeist yet, you are probably not a fan of Troma films. Lloyd Kaufman, president of Troma Entertainment, has been working on his latest Tromasterpiece for over 3 years. Troma is the longest running independent film company in the world with over 1,000 titles to their name. They have a unique brand of entertainment, with most of their films being chock full of all the wholesome goodness I listed above except for the singing and dancing.

Poultrygeist begins with Arbie and Wendy dry humping in an ancient Tromahawk Indian cemetery while a crazed metal patient with an axe watches and masturbates. He dies when a zombie chicken arm is shoved up his ass and pokes through his mouth, but only after he sniffs Arbie’s discarded underwear. One college semester later, Wendy has become a lesbian and is protesting the grand opening of an American Chicken Bunker fast food restaurant that has been built on that very same sacred Indian Burial ground. Arbie, upset about seeing Wendy with her girlfriend Micki and the fact that they probably won’t go for a threesome, decides to get even by taking a job at the fast food joint. He starts his job working with Denny, Paco Bell, Carl Jr. and even the future version of himself.

You may think this movie sounds completely insane and is just an excuse to shock and disgust the viewer. Well, it is. But the film also has some commentary on the fast food industry, big business, protestors, racism and other important social issues. You may have noticed the names of the characters all refer to famous fats food restaurants. In addition to making a statement, the film is also pretty damn entertaining. The musical numbers are pretty funny; I especially loved the last one. In fact, I loved the entire ending. Actually, I’m going to take it a step further and say that the last 30 or so minutes of the film was pretty much perfect. The zombie chicken massacre was amazing, the humor was on point and the ending was hysterical, even though being a Troma fan I immediately predicted it would happen once they got into a car.

The rest of the film was also very entertaining. There were some great one-liners and some interesting set pieces. There are also some funny fantasy musical sequences, including one that happens during a semi-dance-orgy in Wendy’s dorm room. The special effects were very good, especially for a Troma movie. My favorite effect involved a small order of chicken nuggets attacking a screaming customer. The acting ranges from decent to over the top, which is exactly what is needed in a film like this. The film moves at a quick pace and it’s fun and crazy tone is set early on and kept throughout the film.

In addition to a great film, the DVD is packed with bonus features. Like most of Lloyd’s films, the second DVD has a feature length making of the film called Poultry In Motion. I did not get to watch it yet but I’m sure it will be as informative and entertaining as his previous making of documentaries. There are also a few deleted scenes and an alternate ending. My favorite deleted scene involves Lloyd’s real life daughter’s death by soda machine, which was cut from the film. The third disc will probably be more popular at parties since it features the songs from the film in a karaoke version. You can sing along with the characters by following the words on screen or remove the voice track and sing solo. There are also some hidden Easter eggs including a small interview with Trey Parker, which seems to be excess footage from the just released Cannibal: The Musical 13th anniversary edition DVD.

Before I finish, I do want to add that this is not a film for everyone. If you like Troma movies, you will definitely love this. If you haven’t seen a Troma movie, this is a good one to start with. It is a tad less offensive than most Troma films and it has some of the best production value even though there are no fire trucks present. If you are looking for a wildly funny movie filled with bodily functions, various fluids spraying across screen and zombie chickens, this is a movie for you. In honor of Lloyd Kaufman, I will end this review with a really bad pun. You’d have to be a cluckin’ idiot not to enjoy Poultrygeist!

[Rating: 4 out of 5 Zombie Chickens]Â  

Jerry Cavallaro – www.AreYouStuckLikeChuck.com

Review: ‘Good Dick’

We All Need GOOD DICK

In a world oversaturated with formulaic $15 million dollar “independent† films, Good Dick is exactly what the doctor prescribed. Made for about $200,000, Marianna Palka’s first directorial effort is a beautiful, hilarious and fascinating look at an antisocial damsel in distress and the timid but persistent Knight who tries to rescue her. But as the stars said at the Q and A following the film, the irony is that the damsel is also the dragon.

The opening credits start as we watch our alienated heroine (Palka) make her way to Cinefile Video. After renting 3 softcore, porn titles and an awkward conversation with the video store clerk, she heads home in retreat. The clerk, played perfectly by Jason Ritter, copies down her address and drives to her home in his. He has had some troubles in the past and is now living out of his car, which becomes a base camp outside her apartment building. He eventually works his way into her home and begins disrupting her life.

This sounds like a great but possibly simple plot for a generic psychological thriller. The kind where the girl kills the stalker at the end and gets the courage to realign herself with society. Instead the film takes a completely different direction as a semi-romantic dramedy. In other hands, this film could have been a mess but, luckily for the audience, Palka proves to be a very talented writer and director, in addition to being a great actress. Jason Ritter also truly shines in his role, which could have gone either way. His character essentially stalks the lead and then lies several times to get into her apartment. However, he never seems like a creepy stalker but instead like a genuinely lonely person who wants to help someone he cares for.

You can tell Marianna Palka put her heart into this script and into the whole film in general. The overall message of changing your life, little by little, comes through clearly and fits the film perfectly. There are some very emotional scenes but she mostly keeps the tone lighthearted. There is some hilarious dialogue, especially the conversations amongst the video store clerks, but some of the funniest moments come from characters expressions and body language. In the trailer there is a short clip of Jason Ritter in an elevator after a failed conversation where he leaves his arm raised in the air. For me, it goes from a simple gesture into an invitation to “look at me, I’m an idiot.† There are many moments in the film where seemingly simple gestures like that thoroughly enhance the scene. The film also focuses on the little details; so many that it may warrant a second viewing just to catch them all. One of my favorites is that the characters use plastic baggies as mitts when placing the porn tapes into the DVD player.

In true indie fashion, the film was a labor of love for everyone involved. Everyone worked for free in locations they had or knew they could use. There were no auditions for the film. Marianna wrote most of the parts for specific actors she was friends with and found additional actors through those friends. The crew also consisted of unpaid friends who just loved the script and wanted to be a part of the film. If that doesn’t sound indie enough to you, in order to film in the video store, they had to shoot almost all the scenes at night after it closed. To top it all off, the film is being self-distributed. The decision to self distribute was made at Sundance when the filmmakers and producers saw that the market has changed with less distributors showing up and fewer purchases being made. With positive feedback and a lot of support, they felt self-distribution was the best way to get the film seen. It’s a brave move but I’m sure this film will do well, especially as word gets out. Besides, a distributor would probably try to change the title anyway.

And if you are curious about the title, you are not the only one. Soon on their official website, they will be posting a section where you can upload what the title means to you. You can make a video, write a message or send in any work of art inspired by the film’s title and what you think it means. Everyone seemed to have a different opinion, ranging from the crude to the surprising. Marianna joked that her grandmother thinks the movie is about a really good detective.

To find out more about the submission or to learn more about the film and see where it’s playing, check out  www.gooddickthefilm.com. It is unfortunately not having a wide release, but the plus side is that the filmmakers are attending many of the screenings. You can also pre-order the DVD but a date has not been announced yet. I absolutely loved this movie and I hope many of you will to. Now go out there and enjoy some Good Dick.

And as a bonus for the filmmakers†¦Good Dick Stands Tall. Feel free to use that quote in any of the marketing.

[rating 4.5/5]

  Jerry Cavallaro – www.AreYouStuckLikeChuck.com

Review: ‘The Visitor’ on DVD

Zac:

Richard Jenkins stars in this touching drama about a man finding himself in the midst of an immigration mess with his unexpected roommates upon his return to NYC.
Walter (Richard Jenkins) is a lonely professor in Connecticut; he lives the day paint by numbers and carries on getting from one day to another.   Struggling to attempt to learn the Piano, Walter has a love for music, but no way to play it, a role his wife once held, and his failure the art only adds to his sadness in life.   When his writing partner has to pull out of a conference, he is sent in her stead as he “co-authored” the book, but has hesitation to go due to his lack of really being prepared for the conference.   The faculty insists and basically forces him into going to New York City, where he used to live with his wife and family before his child grew old and his wife passed away, and he returns to stay in his apartment he still owns that he uses while he is in the city.   Upon entering his home, he finds things to be a bit out of sorts and walks in on a woman taking a bath in the bathtub.   Her male companion quickly closes in on Walter and pins him to the wall, demanding what he is doing here; to which Walter asks the same.   They come to find that someone had been renting the apartment under false pretenses to the couple and they kindly and quickly decide to leave.   Walter, feeling bad for the couple, invites them back to stay with them until they can get their feet settled and the three of them begin to bond.
Tarek, the boyfriend of Zainab who was in the bath, plays the Djembe, and it instantly captures the attention of Walter.   Tarek and Walter begin to form a friendship and bond over the drum, Walter learning from Tarek, as Zainab remains weary of getting too close to Walter, and is more interested in moving out.   One day Tarek and Walter go out to play the drums in the park and upon their rush to get back and meet Zainab, Tarek accidentally runs into some trouble and the film takes a turn from the sweet and funny bonding of Walter and the couple he is keeping a roof above.   Zainab and Tarek are from Senegal and Syria respectively and Walter is put into the position to help the two out and to keep them together.
The film is a fairly straight drama from start to finish, though has some great bits of comedy throughout the opening half of the film.   Thomas McCarthy does a fine job of convincingly bringing these people together and creating a powerful and effective story that sends a message to this country and the way it treats the people in it.   He does this by getting some great and subtle work out of his actors.   Richard Jenkins is great as usual here and he carries the picture as the sad and lonely Walter, who is grasping on to this couple as they are bringing something new and breathing a new life into him.   Jenkins captures what the power of music can do to one, and the effect in can have on bringing people up and together even in their times of sadness and need.   Jenkins works incredibly well with his unlikely roommate Tarek played by Haaz Sleiman.   Sleiman creates this wonderful, friendly, and endlessly likeable companion and friend out Tarek that he is impossible not to like.   The charm and charisma he brings to himself and gives to Jenkins’ Walter is both pure and sincere. Sleiman is also very capable in the more dramatic scenes in the later half of the film, while maintaining the selflessness of Tarek.   Danai Jekesai Gurira plays Zainab and she does a great job of bringing the guarded, hesitant, and a tad untrusting feel most people in Zainab’s position would have to her character.   She is always kind and respectful, but her face and eyes carry this uneasiness with those that are trying to help as she struggles to make it through her current adversity.   Also showing up later in the game is Hiam Abbass as Tarek’s mother and a possible flame for Walter.   The two bond over the connection to her son and become close as they share the same roof while she is in town.   Jenkins and Abbass click and their moments together are sweet and tender as they bond over an unfortunate situation.
In the end, The Visitor sends an important message to this country and the way that our government is mishandling the immigration in this country post 9/11.   As for our story of Walter, Jenkins does a fine job, and the story is very sweet, interesting, and compelling, it never really sucks you all the way in.   It doesn’t help that the drama has no consequence on Walter other than loosing a friend, and maybe the one thing that might allow him to break out of his shell; so I guess there is a bit of consequence.   Though the film doesn’t pull you in as much as it could it remains a solid film, but there is something keeping it from being great; even with all the good work from the actors involved.   The film is definitely worth watching though, and is a nice little story that will get you thinking about a political topic that sadly gets avoided more than it should.

[rating: 3.5/5]

Meet the Makers: Guy Maddin

Maddin is one of the most original and creative indie directors working today. It is true that his films often weigh heavily on the side of the depressing, and many are so unique that the general viewing audiences aren’t likely to get or appreciate his films, but he’s an appreciated favorite of many film buffs like myself for doing his own thing without any apologies. Maddin’s newest film is the docu-fantasy My Winnepeg, which made its US festival debut in April 2008. Unfortunately, It may be some time before we in the Midwest get a glimpse. Featured here is a small taste of what this Canadian filmmaker has to offer movie geeks with a more adventurous cinematic palate …

Continue reading Meet the Makers: Guy Maddin

Review: ‘Circulation’

Circulation (2008) was written and directed by Ryan Harper. The film stars Yvonne Delarosa and Sherman Koltz as two wandering souls in an alternate purgatory-like dimension where people retain human form but are driven by the instincts of the animals they are destined to be reincarnated as in their next lives. In this strange existence Ana (Delarosa) has visions of becoming a caterpillar, while Gene (Koltz) roams the Mexican desert seeking prey to store for food as a spider would hunt and store its food. The two characters meet by chance when Gene picks her up on the side of the road. They develop an odd relationship without reliable communication, as Ana does not speak English and Gene does not speak Spanish. Gene is compelled to protect the fragile Ana as she flees from the danger of her ex-husband, who appears to be driven by the instincts of some sort of predatory beast.

Despite being shot on a low-budget, as is the case with most indie films, Circulation relies heavily on its unique story to draw the audience into its world. Harper shows that even with a limited budget, he can still stretch that dollar by utilizing creativity, ingenuity and a clear understanding of what it takes to make an interesting movie. More often than not, the most imaginative cinematic concepts are presented in small, under-appreciated independent films and Circulation is further proof of that trend. View the trailer below or visit the official website.

[rating: 3/5]

David Lynch + Werner Herzog = New Horror Film?

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What a MAJOR announcement for movie geeks world-wide … two of the greatest indie film auteur’s working today will apparently be collaborating on a new movie. The film is titles My Son, My Son and is a horror-thriller based on a true story.

Werner Herzog wrote the script, “loosely based on the true story of a San Diego man who acts out a Sophocles play in his mind and kills his mother with a sword. The low-budget feature will flash back and forth from the murder scene to the disturbed man’s story. A guerrilla-style digital video shoot on Coronado Island is tentatively set for March.” — Gregg Goldstein, The Hollywood Reporter

Indie Movies …

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So, I have had several directors/publicists criticize our blog saying that we only cater to Mainstream Movies.

Well, here is my open letter to ALL indie director/publicist.

Send us your Movies. We are all very open, and we all love indie flicks, so in order for us to cater more to things outside the mainstream movies we need you. We will give everything we receive an honest and open review. I dont care if its a home movie that you shot with paris hilton on a grainy handycam..send it to us and we will review it. If you want to do this send me an email, or give me a call (479-422-8067).

So there you have it, my contact info, and the direction that we are wanting to go. So, get a hold of me …