Tag: SXSW 2010

SXSW Review: TINY FURNITURE

TINY FURNITURE is a remarkably successful comedy, smart and witty, from a young and promising filmmaker. Lena Dunham wrote, directed and starred in this somewhat quirky tale of Aura, a young woman recently graduated from college. Having returned home to her often oblivious and distant mother, she finds her life takes a backseat to her mother’s art and her younger sister’s needs. Aura struggles to find her place not only at home with her family but also in the world, as she grapples with what to do with her life, post-college.

Aura’s mother Siri (Laurie Simmons) is a strange and peculiar woman, devoted to her work over her children, but isn’t fully self-aware of this flaw in her character. Aura’s sister Nadine (Grace Dunham) is a bit of a spoiled brat, hogging what little attention is to be had from their mother treating her own sister as an unwelcome intruder in their home.

For such a young filmmaker like Lena Dunham, TINY FURNITURE is an amazing first outing and promises a bright future. The visual storytelling has a slightly surreal feel to it, especially while at her mother’s home/studio… white, sterile and very modern-artsy. Dunham uses this setting as a platform for metaphorical humor, particularly the white cabinets.

The dialogue and humor in TINY FURNITURE is clever, fast-paced and points to a common theme throughout the film of cynicism about the world and life in general. Aura attains a job as a day hostess, which she grows to hate. Aura’s questionably British friend Charlotte (Jemima Kirke) pushes her to be more spontaneous, while her college pal Frankie (Merritt Wever) pulls her towards a more sensible view of the world.

Meanwhile, Aura juggles relationships with two guys, both of whom are less than ideal and have their own peculiarities. In essence, TINY FURNITURE is a film about an unpretentious young woman surrounded by pretentious people, as she attempts to discover her own path in life.

Each of these relationships helps Aura to formulate her own sense of self, one which continues to be a work in progress by the end of the film. There’s a clear element of SEINFELD that has embedded itself into the tone of TINY FURNITURE, but it’s a subtle influence, whether intentional or not.

Overall, TINY FURNITURE is a creative, fresh and funny story about a young college graduate that we all can relate to in some way, not just the New Yorkers. There’s a pleasing philosophical undercurrent that runs through Dunham’s film, which makes the audience think as they’re entertained.

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

SXSW (Short) Review: OUT OF NOWHERE

OUT OF NOWHERE is a strange and mysterious film that combines the bizarre mentality of David Lynch with the curious displacement of time and space reminiscent of stories from THE OUTER LIMITS or THE TWILIGHT ZONE. The film could be described as a darker, grittier sort of GROUNDHOG’S DAY, but in Will Lamborn’s short film there is no clear and evident happy ending, leaving the audience wondering what the heck just happened… or, more appropriately… what the heck is happening?

This sense of bewilderment is not a negative criticism of OUT OF NOWHERE. In fact, its what makes the film interesting. Unlike the more readily accessible and standard feature film, a short film has the luxury of bending or even breaking the rules. Filmmakers get to experiment with short films and it produced some rather interesting results. OUT OF NOWHERE is an example of this experimentation. The story wets the appetite, gets the audience talking and sets in motion discussion.

Peter (Dominic Spillane) is riding in a car with Josh (Robert W. Evans) down a desolate and lonely desert road when Josh suddenly pulls over, claiming engine trouble. As a result, Peter finds himself trekking alone though the middle of nowhere, searching for a way to escape when he stumbles upon a small house. Upon entering the house, he meets a peculiar couple named Curtis (John Henry Whitaker) and Mary (Samantha Colburn), quickly discovering something simply is not right about them or this place.

Peter finds himself repeatedly thrown into a familiar situation with familiar people, but the scenario keeps changing just slightly as he attempts to figure out a way to escape the nonsensical reality he has somehow fallen into. Spillane and Colburn convey an attractive but dangerous familiarity, something similar to that of Kyle Maclachlan and Isabella Rossellini in BLUE VELVET. The story has an unsettling intensity that builds into a crescendo of characters’ roles being rearranged, implying and endless cycle.

OUT OF NOWHERE is an enjoyable cinematic experience, presenting a wonderful “what if” plot that twists itself inside-out and begs to be expanded into a feature film. Whitaker gives Curtis an ambiguous quality that confuses the audience as to whether he’s a threat or not, while Spillane’s and Colburn’s chemistry demands more revelation. To find more about the film or to support the filmmaker, visit their website at outofnowherefilm.com.

SXSW Review: WINTER’S BONE

WINTER’S BONE, quite possibly, is one of the top five best films to see in 2010. Based on the novel by Daniel Woodrell, the film is co-written and directed by Debra Granik, a New Yorker who has taken great care in meticulously ensuring an authentic and honest portrayal of the Ozarks region of Missouri, the people and culture and the struggle beset upon the impoverished families.

Jennifer Lawrence (THE BURNING PLAIN) plays Ree Dolly, a resourceful and determined 17-year old girl living in the rural Ozarks, caring for her sick mother and two younger siblings. The Dolly family has a history with the law, a reputation Ree wants no part of as she takes care of her family in the absence of her father. The dilemma for Ree is that her father placed their small house and land up as collateral for bail and if he doesn’t show up for court Ree and her family will lose what little they have.

Debra Granik (DOWN TO THE BONE) sticks surprisingly close to Woodrell’s book, capturing the details of life in the Ozarks with amazing accuracy. The language, the relationships, the traditions… its all there to illustrate for audiences the fully encompassing picture of what life can be like in the region. Granik maintains an emotional and suspenseful razor’s edge throughout the film as we follow Ree through her desperately fearless quest to find her father before its too late. On this journey, we’re introduced to hardship, the scope of family ties and the devastating yet unfortunate necessity that homemade meth labs have grown to play in the lives of some Ozark families.

Filmed using a RED One Camera, WINTER”S BONE is an indie film that features HD quality cinematography from Michael McDonough (DIGGERS, QUID PRO QUO) while also maintaining a brilliantly cinematic feel. The images appear as though shot on film, allowing the texture of the wooded setting and the earthy tones of the otherwise gray and brown land and sky to pop with depth and detail.

Lawrence delivers an outstanding performance as Ree, a young woman driven by her moral compass and sense of duty to her family. Ree persists in her efforts to find her father, despite warnings from family and neighbors not to pursue this dangerous inquiry. WINTER’S BONE presents a conundrum for Ree, relying cautiously on the same family ties as are putting her in danger. The existence of meth labs and trade as income is no secret, but to pursue her father is synonymous with Ree exposing their secrets in an unwelcome way.

The intensity given on screen by Jennifer Lawrence is matched only by the frightening performance from John Hawkes (DEADWOOD, AMERICAN GANGSTER) as Teardrop, Ree’s uncle and brother to her father. Teardrop is a strong and intimidating character, one that few of the locals dare scrap with, but Hawkes manages to also fully envelope the softer side of Teardrop buried deep within himself, a connection to his family responsibility that slowly forces its way up to the surface.

While WINTER’S BONE is an entirely different movie from O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU, traditional music from the region plays a crucial role in the film in much the same way, setting the place and tone of the story. The incredibly beautiful folk and bluegrass music in WINTER’S BONE digs deep into the soul of the audience. The film features original music by Dickon Hinchliffe (COLD SOULS) and a mesmerizing onscreen performance by Marideth Sisco as a participant in a group pickin’ session that Ree encounters.

Overall, WINTER’S BONE is a powerfully dramatic story that plays in a subtle enough fashion to maintain its realism. The story evokes mystery, placing Ree in the role of the meddling detective, while Teardrop takes on the veil of the anti-hero. There’s a clear parallel to classic film noir structure without becoming cliché. The dynamics of the characters throughout the film are well played, admirable considering many of the characters onscreen are non-actor locals. WINTER’S BONE is a film that can be enjoyed and appreciated by all, a sincere telling account of real life ordeals.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

SXSW Review: MONSTERS

MONSTERS is a film that shoots itself in the foot, undeservedly, with a misleading title. Intentional or not, the title would give the average moviegoer the impression of scary creatures of some sort, wreaking havoc upon unsuspecting citizens within the confines of the horror of science-fiction genre. This turns out to be only partially true, but merely as a vehicle for the primary story.

Written and directed by Garreth Edwards, MONSTERS is primarily a love story, lightly flavored with a socio-political sci-fi glaze that adds a hint of excitement to otherwise slow, but curiously interesting story. The director deserves his props, considering the entire movie was created from his laptop. Impressive, no matter how audiences view the finished product.

The story follows Andrew, played by Scoot McNairy, a struggling photojournalist working south of the border with hopes of catching tragically graphic copy to earn his a decent wage. As the character explains, photographs depicting children killed by the foreign creatures pay well, while images of safe and happy children pay nothing. It’s an unfortunate, but blistering reality of the demand within the journalism market. Andrew meets Samantha in Mexico, played by Whitney Able, daughter of a wealthy media mogul and Andrew’s employer. He is tasked with safely returning Samantha to the United States, but the pair will find this proves more easily said than done.

Simply speaking, the “monsters” within the film are large, exotically designed alien creatures that have overrun the border region between the USA and Mexico as the result of a meteor crash. Their existence, origin and purpose are left for the audience to glean from their own imaginations, while the film’s focus is firmly geared towards the developing relationship between Andrew and Samantha.

With the “infected zone” quarantined and closed off to the general public and the last ferry to the States out of their grasp, the pair is forced to venture illegally into the dangerous infected zone to cross the border into the States illegally. Their journey is filled with real and implied risks, but what fills the screen time is the unlikely and rocky path on which this pair reluctantly develops an interest for each other. In essence, sharing this rough and risky journey brings the two together, with an aggressive alien infestation as a backdrop.

Conceptually, MONSTERS is a tremendously ambitious and promising story. The filmmaker’s execution bares some flaws in tone and pacing, but otherwise holds up well enough to secure a predictably modest following, especially over time. The special effects are impressive, considering the limited resources and path by which they came to be, but in the later portion of the film feel a bit unwelcome, stealing more than their share of screen time without any immediately recognizable purpose.

Overall, MONSTERS is a moderately successful experiment in genre crossbreeding. The film vaguely mimics some popular contemporary films as stylistic influence, including CLOVERFIELD and THE MIST, but maintains its own footprint. Despite the flaws, MONSTERS is worth checking out, recently made more accessible by its distribution deal with Magnet.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

SXSW Review: PUTTY HILL

PUTTY HILL is a film that thrives on its authenticity, portraying a clutch of realistic characters in an impoverished area of Baltimore, all connected and affected by the death of a young man, taken by his addiction to heroine. The film, directed by Matthew Porterfield, explores these relationships and character interactions, all revolving around the recently deceased Cory, whom we never meet outside of impressions we glean from the characters in the film.

Constructed almost entirely in the moment, PUTTY HILL was filmed from a basic outline and premise and is cast entirely with local, non-actor residents of the area. This risky method pays off, creating an atmosphere rich with chemistry, conflict and a mixed urban culture. The filmmaker takes his camera around the neighborhood, casually interviewing family, friends and acquaintances of Cory, occasionally breaking the fourth wall. The audience never sees or is introduced to the filmmaker asking questions, but the sporadic inclusion of the off camera encouragements and inquiries adds to the realistic and spontaneous feel.

PUTTY HILL takes this hypothetical scenario and runs with the concept, giving the on screen participants fairly free reign over the material, allowing them to make their characters their own, perhaps even mirroring their own lives in ways that allow the audience an intimate, inside look at the heart of the people, unaffected by the filter of experienced actors. In many ways, the film is more of a social role-playing experiment than it is a traditional narrative film.

While the initial 15-20 minutes of PUTTY HILL can take some patience, once accustomed to the filmmaker’s underlying idea behind the movie the experience sinks in and takes hold over the viewer’s attention. The conversations that take place do not feel forced or staged, further giving evidence to the likelihood of these stories and characters are originated in these peoples’ real lives.

PUTTY HILL contains conflicts as well as reflections on the past. Family dynamics play a major role, much of it dysfunctional. Equally present and perhaps even more intriguing are the more touching and poignant moments. This is especially true of a lengthy scene depicting Cory’s wake, with many family and friends having turned out. The scene paints a lovely picture of people putting aside their differences and coming together to celebrate a loved one’s tragically short life. The occasion is celebrated with karaoke, surprisingly doing justice to the mood of the scene.

Overall, PUTTY HILL is a satisfying cinematic experience, a study of human nature, turning the tables on the topic of death. Instead of focusing on the deceased, the film focuses on those close to the deceased and how their lives are affected by their loss. PUTTY HILL is appropriately slow in pace, but not boring. It’s a film that doesn’t preach or judge, but does stick around long after the film ends and grows on the viewer in a positive way.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

SXSW Review: COLD WEATHER

COLD WEATHER manages to take two underlying story ideas and combine them into a conceptually intriguing film, one that is partially successful and partially missing its full potential. Aaron Katz (DANCE PARTY, USA) wrote and directed COLD WEATHER, beginning with a story about an estranged brother and sister and wraps it up loosely with a film noir jacket, vaguely reminiscent of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys.

Doug (Cris Lankenau) is an intelligent young man having studied criminal justice and forensic science, but who has taken time from school to find work and save some money. His passion lies with becoming a detective, romanticized by the literary notion of Sherlock Holmes as his ideal role model. Initially mocked by others for his source of inspiration, Doug is quick to dispel their misguided notions of Holmes as depicted in early films as a caricature of the true literary figure.

Doug gets a job at an ice factory, where he meets Carlos (Raúl Castillo) and they quickly become friends. When Carlos’ girlfriend goes missing, Carlos enlists the reluctant help of Doug to solve the mystery of his girlfriend’s disappearance. Once Doug finally discovers compelling evidence that something is amiss about the circumstances surrounding Carlos’ girlfriend, he begins to put his knowledge into play, seeking her out and revealing the truth of her behavior.

What begins as a solitary pursuit, eventually evolves into a mutual effort between Doug and his sister Gail (Trieste Kelly Dunn) who end up working together to solve the mystery. The estranged siblings begin with a troubled relationship, distant and at odds over Doug’s path in life, but becomes a way for them to reconnect with each other and presents the most intriguing element in COLD WEATHER, merely enhanced by the mystery flavoring.

Generally speaking, COLD WEATHER is a successful film that explores some untested water in terms of family relations. The pacing is a bit slow at times, with the high moments rising above the more abundant low moments. The story itself is intriguing, if not a bit slow moving, but I would have liked to a little more of the relationship develop between Doug and Gail a little sooner in the story arc and not put quite so much focus on the mystery of Carlos’ girlfriend.

Visually, COLD WEATHER is impressive, featuring a palette of grays that brings the setting of Portland, Oregon to life through the use of the RED digital camera technology. The film features some incredible shots, including one of Doug and Gail standing on a bridge in front of a waterfall which utilized an expensive and powerful hi-tech lens, giving the film some additional visual appeal. For this, additional praise goes out to Andrew Reed (QUIET CITY) for his cinematography, accompanied by solid editing, also from Aaron Katz.

Overall, I consider COLD WEATHER to have a compelling story with untapped potential. The film deserves a second viewing and, dare I say, could prove an intriguing source material for an ongoing dramatic TV series based on the relationship and cooperative mystery-solving efforts of the sibling team.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

SXSW Review: HARRY BROWN

Few actors are as universally recognized and appreciated… and still working as long and hard as Michael Caine. For this reason alone, HARRY BROWN is worth seeing. Written by (THE TOURNAMENT) and directed by first-timer Daniel Barber, HARRY BROWN tells the story of the title character played by Michael Caine with pleasing success.

HARRY BROWN is a dramatic thriller about Harry Brown, newly a widower and living on his own in a dangerous slum in the UK. After seeing his only friend and fellow frightened senior citizen unsuccessfully lobby the police for assistance in quelling the out of control teens who torment and terrorize the neighborhood killed by those very delinquents, he decides to take matters into his own hands.

Despite Harry’s age, he relies heavily on his training and combat experience as a Marine to outsmart his much younger enemies. Harry is a smart man, with a good heart, but is forced to take action as a last resort only because he sees nothing being done by the authorities in power. Caine does an amazing job getting the audience to truly care about his character. His emotional transition from neutral observer to a heroic man taking action despite the odds and repercussions is what truly makes HARRY BROWN worth seeing.

The primary drawback, and a relatively insignificant one at that, is the relative lack of originality in the story. In the simplest terms, HARRY BROWN is a fairly stock and standard revenge story, a tale of one citizen taking back the neighborhood, a movie about one guy who chooses to make a positive difference when no one else will. This isn’t a scathing criticism, but merely an observation that the otherwise very good film could have been great if only it had a bit more of a unique take on a fairly common and standard in storytelling.

Aside from the underused opportunity, Barber proves to be an accomplished director, taking the material he had and deriving a entertaining a solid visual approach and commanding performance from Michael Caine. The grittiness of the neighborhood’s situation hearkens back to the films of Charles Bronson. One of the most compelling scenes of the film takes place when Harry confronts a couple of local drug dealers in their filthy headquarters, reminiscent of Bronson’s performances.

While it may be a stretch to be calling Michael Caine a “badass” at the ripe age of 77, he delivers the goods with unflinching confidence. When Harry Brown finally goes on the rampage against the unsavory neighborhood influences, the audience fully believes in Caine’s performance and vocally cheers and applauds his character’s bravado.

HARRY BROWN also features a bit of mystery, as the lead character must seek out and uncover the head of the local criminal beast that terrorizes his neighborhood, all while avoiding suspicion from Detective Investigator Alice Frampton, played by Emily Mortimer (REDBELT). What Harry Brown uncovers is surprising both to himself and the audience, revealing that evil lurks even in the least suspecting places and that the line between friends and enemies can be blurred in small, close-knit communities.

Overall, Michael Caine steals the show and turns the otherwise common story into a crowd pleasing crime thriller for all adult ages. Daniel Barber has crafted a film that visually depicts the moods and tone that compliment Caine’s performance and serves as a successful first venture into what will hopefully be a long and fruitful career in filmmaking.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

SXSW Review: CENTURION

CENTURION is an epic story told on an intimate scale. It’s a war movie focused on the character-driven story, but doesn’t sacrifice the expectation of action. Written and directed by Neil Marshall, CENTURION delivers on multiple fronts, supplying moviegoers with a variety of weapons in its arsenal, intended to ensure a wider appeal than simply the violence-seeking male market.

Neil Marshall (DOG SOLDIERS, THE DESCENT) is known as a fan favorite filmmaker, delivering excellent action, thrills and solid stories. He’s taken us deep into the dark and terrifying depths of the cavernous unknown and now he takes us on a journey back in time, back into the Roman era. CENTURION is the story of a small group of Roman soldiers caught behind enemy lines, the only survivors of a vast legion of unstoppable Roman forces obliterated by a devastating ambush in the hills of Scotland.

Michael Fassbender (INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS) plays Quintus Dias, a second in command Roman officer who inherits control of the handful of survivors as they struggle to survive in harsh, unfamiliar terrain, ruled by the unpredictable combat nature of the Picts of Scotland. When the Pict King Gorlacon (Ulrich Thomsen) captures the Roman General Virilius (Dominic West) Quintus Dias leads his men on a suicide rescue mission into the heart of Pict territory.

Marshall clearly did his homework on this picture, delving into the details of the ancient time and place, rewarding his more demanding audiences with detail and texture. His Roman characters are allowed to speak with subtly varied accents, properly representing the fact that the Roman legions consisted of soldiers from all across the vast empire. On the other hand, his actors portraying the Picts speak a more appropriately strong and common accent as well as Gaelic when necessary for mood.

Initially, CENTURION delves into the intricacies of the Roman legionary forces, giving the audience a sense of its structure, a sense of its inner workings and hierarchy. The Roman army fought confidently with a traditional battle strategy. The Romans fought with honor, or so they believed. Unfortunately for them, the Picts saw fighting a war to defend their land and culture as less a question of honor, resulting in the guerilla tactics they employed. These unconventional tactics are what allowed the Picts to repeatedly fend off the Roman invaders.

One of the most epic scenes in CENTURION is the ambush of the Roman legion, perpetrated with the assistance of a Pict scout called Etain, played by Olga Kurylenko, who tricked the Romans into believing she was willing to lead them into victory over the Picts because her people had betrayed her. This scene depicts the utter terror and confusion these guerilla forces could inflict on the unprepared Roman soldiers. With little struggle and time, the entire legion is wiped out on a grand scale, leaving only the handful of soldiers who survived by mistake. Marshall’s story is inspired by the legend of General Virilus’ Ninth Legion, ordered to march into the Pict land and wipe them from the land, but the entire legion mysteriously vanished.

Michael Fassbender apparently can do no wrong, as his performance in CENTURION becomes yet another positive notch in his belt of acting achievements. Fassbender gives Quintus Dias a level of silent moral conflict that balances the character with his heroic status, able to kick some serious ass in combat. Meanwhile, Olga Kurylenko’s silent performance of the Pict tracker Etain, minus a tongue forcibly removed, screams badass female warrior with a vengeance. Convincing fight sequences that could make any guy watch in lustful awe and terror enhance Kurylennko’s performance.

CENTURION is a film that celebrates the strong female character as much as the Roman legend, featuring Axelle Carolyn as the equally formidable female Pict warrior Aeron. Equal to these performances is the gallant portrayal on General Virilus by Dominic West (300, PUNISHER: WAR ZONE). Quintus Dias meets Drusilla (Rachael Stirling) at one point, a Pict outcast who becomes a love interest for him during his efforts to survive.

The finely tuned editing of CENTURION is accompanied by intriguing costume work and cinematography that captures the rugged and beautiful bleakness of the snow-covered Scottish hills. The action itself is an effective combination of choppy closely shot edits, giving just enough chaos and claustrophobia to be convincing but not enough to induce motion sickness or a sense of displacement amidst the action. Audiences will be pleased with the mix of realism and style, while the sensationalist-seeking audiences should appreciate the acceptably ramped up level of blood and graphic violence.

Overall, CENTURION is a satisfying piece of historical cinema that offers action, drama and even a bit of controlled romance, even though its use is primarily a vehicle for the film’s ending. Fans of historical cinema should be pleased with the care taken in the story telling, while those seeking mere entertainment should find themselves satisfied with a well-made period war film.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

SXSW Review: THE HAPPY POET

THE HAPPY PORT is an indie comedy written and directed by Paul Gordon, who also stars in the film as the title character. OK, actually… the title character is called Bill, but he’s affectionately refered to as The Happy Poet in relation to his small upstart business that he reluctantly dubs The Happy Poet.

Bill is an aspiring, yet to succeed poet of questionable talent. After leaving his job for reasons of personal dissatisfaction, Bill ventures out to start his own business. Bill believes he has the corner on the market for healthy food stands in the city park. Surrounded by food stands selling traditional hot dogs full of nitrates, Bill wants to offer people a healthier alternative with his organic, mostly vegetarian food stand.

After enduring an onslaught of rejection and negative feedback on the idea, including an otherwise directly insulting and unprofessional mercy offer from a banker to his request for a business loan, Bill finally barely scraped together enough money to makea down payment on a hot dog cart. He throws together some of his own favorite healthy foods to sell and goes out into the park to start his business.

Needless to say, business is slow at first, but Bill’s idea begins to pick up with the help of a quirky unnamed character (Chris Doubek) that helps spread the word after tasting Bill’s hummus pita. Shortly after, Donnie enters the story and offers his assistance by making deliveries and spreading the word.

As soon as Bill’s business seems to be taking off, he realizes he’s run out of cash and struggles with having to fold the business and his dream. He’s perplexed. He even toys with the idea of switching to the dark side and simply selling hot dogs like the other carts, but does a little investigating on his own and finds out he’s been taken advantage of by someone he hadn’t expected.

Essentially, Bill is the typical example of someone with a passion for something and thinks he can easily turn that passion into a thriving business. Unfortunately, like so many in real life, Bill has absolutely no business experience or realistic sense of how to properly market his product or protect his interests. Despite Bill’s awkward personality, people tend to like him and give him the benefit of the doubt. This includes an attractive young business woman who finds herself strangely attracted to Bill after trying his food, but Bill is about as successful with women as he is with running a business.

THE HAPPY POET isn’t a terrible movie. In fact, the story itself is rather good and carries a nice message to the audience in an enjoyable comedic vehicle. The general idea behind the film is that of someone pursuing their dreams with confidence, regardless of what others say or believe. Essentially, its a story of overcoming the odds.

The audience, myself included, derived many moment sof laughter from THE HAPPY POET. The jokes are mostly solid and fresh, but the key element that holds the film back is not Paul Gordon’s writing or directing… its his acting. Bill is so monotone and emotionless, he’s like a robot. In fact, one could make a comparison to Marv from HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, however Marv’s apathy and depression is even a bit too well defined for Bill. He’s just simply a character that the audience is unable to empathize with and care about, regardless of how nice he seems.

Preferably, Bill needed a bit more range in his performance. Whether or not Paul Gordon portrayed the character isn’t truly the issue on hand, however it probably wouldn’t have hurt to cast someone else to star while Gordon focused on making the film. THE HAPPY POET looks good for an indie film, shot fairly straight-forward, but having used the new RED camera technology means the film looks amazing.

Overall, THE HAPPY POET is worthy of attention as an indie film, but suffers unnecessarily from a main character without any real depth of texture. The idea behind the film is good and the execution is comically commendable, but enjoying the film does take a bit of extra work as Bill the boring poet takes up much of the screen time.

Overall Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

SXSW Review: THE LOVED ONES

There was a time when Australia was a blossoming new haven for great films. Fortunately, that time has not passed. In fact, Australia is continuing to produce great filmmakers making great films and THE LOVED ONES is yet another in-your-face fantastic example of the kind of edgy, boundary-pushing cinema devoted movie geeks can expect from the land down under.

Written and directed by Sean Byrne, THE LOVED ONES is a horror movie for true fans of the genre. This movie simply fucking rocks! Sorry for my “French” but, if you love excellent genre movies that provide the perfect mix of fright and fun, no apologies and just enough innovation to be fresh without being pretentious… you’ll love THE LOVED ONES.

The film stars Xavier Samuel (soon to be immortalized by teeny-boppers in THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE) as Brent Mitchell, a troubled teenager haunted by the memory of a family tragedy he feels guilty for. With the high school dance approaching, boys and girls are pairing up for the big night. When Lola (Robin McLeavy) approaches Brent about the dance, he refuses her shy invitation in favor of attending the dance with his casual girlfriend Holly (Victoria Thaine).

The day of the dance proves an emotionally difficult day for Brent, leading him to go blow off some steam at a nearby cliff. What Brent didn’t expect was that this solitary reflection would result in his abduction and gruesome torture. THE LOVED ONES is a tense tale of teen-aged relationships, all wrapped around a psychotic serial killer story.

I’ll refrain from spelling the details out too clearly for fear of spoiling the film, but you could conceivably describe THE LOVED ONES as a sick and humorous science fair experiment, combining high school horror films such as PROM NIGHT with the crazed obsession factor of MISERY. This is not your average Hollywood high school slasher flick. It is so much more.

Xavier finds himself the doomed object of a murderous admirers bloody affection, kidnapped and help prisoner in the killer’s home and forced to endure the killer’s sick ritual of true love. Meanwhile, the dance goes on and Brent’s chubby friend Sac (Richard Wilson) unexpectedly scores with the attractive but morbidly dressed-in-black Goth girl Mia (Jessica McNamee).

As the night groans along with drunken teens, Brent’s girlfriend Holly becomes concerned and sets out to get help finding Brent. Her search will reveal a startling trend of killings that have been repeated throughout her teen-aged life and her boyfriend could become the newest victim.

The tone of THE LOVED ONES is one of utter shock, darkly funny and often extremely intense. The suspense is masterful leading up to and during the relentless agony inflicted upon Brent. THE LOVED ONES features a killer(s) that benefits from a slight TEXAS CHAINSAW/PSYCHO sort of family element. The violence is graphic and bloody, but more importantly its intense.

Byrne builds layers of renewed hope within the audience’s minds as they experience his torture over and over, each time expecting his escape or rescue, only to be rewarded with more brutal torture. Oddly enough, as extreme as these scenes can be, the audience ends up laughing throughout the scenes. This is where the dark humor plays its most crucial role, balancing the horror on screen with the slightly off key absurdity of the killers’ personality and the performance given from that terrifying thespian.

Few horror films of late have had such a strong and lasting impression on my viewing experience, but THE LOVED ONES is easily one of the best horror films I’ve seen in the last decade. Every element of the film is carefully crafted to please the often hard-to-please genre fan, but is not so far removed from the mainstream standards that general audiences won’t enjoy the film. Perhaps the only complaint I can muster for the film is that the relationship between Sac and Mia is either not defined well enough or perhaps not entirely necessary, but it doesn’t truly remove anything from the overall experience.

THE LOVED ONES is suspenseful, funny, creative and relatively scary (based on your tolerance level). The film ends with a crowd-pleasing bang; features fine performances and directing, editing and even some fairly impressive cinematography. If nothing else, the audience will leave the theater with their eyes and ears assaulted and their cinematic radars finely-tuned to Robin McLeavy’s future performances… and maybe her image in their nightmares.

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars