Sundance Film Fest 2018 - SKATE KITCHEN; SUMMER OF '84; AMERICAN ANIMALS

SKATE KITCHEN

Part of the Sundance NEXT programming, Skate Kitchen is the feature debut of writer/director Crystal Moselle. This tale of a suburban Long Island teenager's descent into New York City's gritty street skateboarding culture poses a stronger first half than second half, with some important character arcs left either unresolved or unrealistically fulfilled. Boasting evocative cinematography, a bass-busting soundtrack, and strong performances, Skate Kitchen is something of an oddball. As a piece of visual storytelling, it's great. As a feature-length story, it doesn't quite work.

SUMMER OF '84

Riding the coattails of Stranger Things and the recent success of the It remake, directors Francois Simard, Anouk Whissell, and Yoann-Karl Whissell (collectively known as "Roadkill Superstar") return to Sundance with a horror-comedy that stands out from its ilk by going all-in on the horror in its final moments. Typically seen in more comedic supporting roles, Rich Sommer (Mad Men, The Devil Wears Prada) emerges with a positively bone-chilling performance that culminates in some of the most genuinely terrifying work this reviewer has ever seen from a horror movie villain. I'm squirming just thinking about it! A cranking synth score from French-Canadian electronic duo Le Matos, assured performances from the young cast, and production design that feels more like a lived-in 1980s than a world focused on chitzy, kitchen-sink pastiche all but solidify Summer of  '84's place as a worthy successor to the cult favorites it so obviously admires. Fans of Turbo Kid are in for another treat! Can't wait to see it again.

AMERICAN ANIMALS

American Animals is the dramatic feature debut of documentarian Bart Layton (The Imposter). It follows the true story of four college kids (Evan Peters, Barry Keoghan, Blake Jenner, Jared Abrahamson) who plot to steal some rare books from the private collection in the library at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. The strong performances and production values aren't what make this comedy-drama stand out. American Animals is different because of its approach to the storytelling. The bulk of the film is told via the dramatization starring Peters, Keoghan, etc. But Layton leans into his sensibilities as a documentary filmmaker by interviewing the actual perpetrators and using them to punctuate the acted drama. It works surprisingly well. 

SUNDANCE FILM FEST 2018 - "Science Fair" and "RBG"

SCIENCE FAIR

This charming, hilarious documentary from first-time filmmakers Cristina Costantini and Darren Foster follows nine high school students from around the world as they assemble projects and navigate their way to the International Science and Engineering Fair in Los Angeles. Costantini & Fosters' decision to highlight a diverse group of kids accentuates the importance of the sciences for our future as global citizens. The kids are all quirky characters - not exactly the quiet, dweeby-looking nerds from your uncle's high school days. Navigating high school and hormones while stressing out about competing makes for some truly hysterical moments, like when the three boys from DuPont Manual in Louisville fly to L.A. for the big competition the day after prom. Surely you can guess the state they're in. The documentary is also well-structured and builds to a climax that is all the more satisfying because it couldn't be staged. Very entertaining and well worth your time.

RBG

This documentary produced for CNN by directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West chronicles the life and work of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The film primarily focuses on Ginsburg's unparalleled work for womens' rights but draws engaging parallels to her now somewhat punk-rock reputation as "The Notorious R.B.G." Viewers should learn a lot and come to appreciate the struggles she faced while striving for laws which promote gender equality. The first great superhero film of 2018. If you miss it at Sundance, look for it airing on CNN later this year.

"The Birth of A Nation" (2016) Review

DISCLAIMER: The Birth of a Nation is NOT a remake of D.W. Griffith's 1915 film of the same name which chronicles the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in the American South. This new film seeks to reclaim that title and create a dialogue about racial issues both in popular culture and in our society at large.

Nate Parker writes, directs, produces and stars in this film about the Nat Turner rebellion which came to a head in 1831 in Southampton County, Virginia.

Nat (Parker), a literate slave and preacher, tours around the county with his cash-strapped owner Samuel Turner (Armie Hammer) using God's word to quell anxious slaves at other plantations for pay. While on the tour, Nat witnesses atrocities committed against other slaves in the county. Upon returning home, tensions on the Turner plantation start running high and beget heinous acts committed against Nat's family and friends. All of this boils over when Nat believes he has been called by God to lead his fellow slaves in a violent rebellion against their white masters.

This story represents a remarkable piece of history which deserves to be told as accurately and as viscerally as possible. Luckily, Parker's hands aren't covered with kid gloves. His debut feature is an assured one despite a lack of distinctive style. Then again, this story doesn't really need it. This straightforward, no-nonsense approach allows for a greater focus on story and character building and also lends the film a consistent pace. All of this makes for one of this year's most engrossing films. The two-hour run time will have elapsed before you've even taken the time to check your watch.

The Birth of a Nation may draw comparisons to 12 Years a Slave, which won the Oscar for Best Picture a couple years ago. Personally, I found The Birth of a Nation to be a more satisfying picture than 12 Years a Slave. I'm not sure why. The acting is solid, especially by Parker and a scenery-chewing Hammer, but none of the players are on the level of Chiwetel Ejiofor or Lupita Nyong'o. Both films are equally uncompromising in their depiction of slavery. Both are extremely powerful and emotionally resonant for our current cultural climate. I think, perhaps, The Birth of a Nation is a stronger example of narrative economy. Nary a scene feels self-indulgent or out of place. Every moment builds the characters and/or plot. Additionally, Birth's resolution falls in a very bleak place which should encourage discussion about the history behind the film as well as its place in the zeitgeist.

Having seen the film three times, it does not get any easier to take in. The story is so riveting and so focused in its execution that the film's emotional impact never wanes, even with repeat viewings. The Birth of a Nation is quite simply one of the finest and most important films of 2016. It should be required viewing for all moviegoers.

A

"Wiener-Dog" Review

Acclaimed writer/director Todd Solondz (Welcome to the Dollhouse; Happiness) returns with another pitch-black examination of the human condition, this time through the eyes of a dachshund as it moves from owner to owner.

Wiener-Dog is a story told in four parts.

The first:
After adopting the dog, a young, naive boy (Keaton Nigel Cooke) gets an education in mortality from his dysfunctional parents (Julie Delpy, Tracy Letts). A severe bout of diarrhea forces the family to give the dog up.

The second:
Dawn (Greta Gerwig), a veterinarian's assistant, steals the dog away from the clinic after nursing it back to health. One day she reunites with an old friend named Brandon (Kieran Culkin), and the two set off on a road trip to score drugs. The trip ultimately leads them to the home of Brandon's brother Tommy (Connor Long) and his wife April (Bridget Brown). It's there that Brandon informs Tommy of their father's death. In the wake of this news (and essentially all but a girlfriend to Brandon), Dawn realizes that Tommy and April need a furry friend more than she does at the moment. She leaves the dog with them on the way out of town.

The third:
Some time later, the dachshund winds up in New York City under the care of a disillusioned screenwriting professor named Dave Schmerz (Danny DeVito). Schmerz achieved success in Hollywood thirty years ago with the release of a comedy he hated. In the present day, Schmerz's forays into Hollywood prove fruitless. He's disrespected by his students and underappreciated by the administration at his institution. He's stuck in an existential rut. That is, until he eyes his dog and asks "What if..?"

The fourth:
The titular puppy finds a home with a curmudgeonly old lady (Ellen Burstyn). She's visited by her granddaughter Zoe (Zosia Mamet) and her boyfriend Fantasy (Michael James Shaw). Fantasy is a controversial installation artist, and so Zoe begs her grandmother for money for Fantasy's latest project. Nana hesitantly turns over the money and is later confronted by a dozen projections of her younger self. "This is you if you had continued to play the piano," says one angelic voice. "And this is you if you if you had left bigger tips," says another. This segment culminates the entire 90-minute picture in one extremely bleak, unexpected moment.

The movie ends in a rather sobering place when you think about what each of these four stories and their mascot represent. That said, It's still a place where you'll have trouble stifling bewildered chuckles. Solondz's brand of black humor proves endearing here because the characters are so well-realized and that dog is just so darn cute. When I walked out of the theater afterwards, I felt like my cinematic palette had been cleansed.

Wiener-Dog is a well-rounded, well-acted ensemble flick whose cynical outlook actually feels refreshing after a steady diet of safe big-budget blockbusters. This movie isn't for everyone (especially not kids!); but if you appreciate offbeat comedies, you'll get a kick out of it.

A-

"Swiss Army Man" Review

It's been about a week since I've seen this movie, so I'd just like to get my thoughts about Swiss Army Man out there quickly and as best I can...

There is nothing else out there quite like Swiss Army Man.

Hank (Paul Dano) is stranded on an island with nothing left to live for. During a suicide attempt, he spots a corpse floating in the wake. Hank goes to investigate and finds that the seemingly dead body won't stop farting. Turns out, with that kind of gas, the corpse makes a great jet ski. Hank then literally rides the back of his new friend to the coast of northern California. It's there that Hank and his new dead pal Manny (Daniel Radcliffe) embark on a surreal journey to get home.

This isn't your typical Weekend at Bernie's. There's something much deeper going on in Swiss Army Man. Writing/directing team Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert find the comedy inherent in the concept of death in order to tell one of the most unique life-affirming stories you're likely to see in cinema. Dano turns in another solid performance while Radcliffe makes a hard case for Oscar consideration. Seriously, that farting corpse will break your heart, re-assemble it, and then break it again.

I'm hard-pressed to find anything about this movie that didn't endear itself to me. From Manny's anatomical compass to aptly-timed usage of the Jurassic Park theme, I had a smile on my face from start to finish. For now, I'm declining to say more since the greatest pleasures of Swiss Army Man are best left for oneself to discover. Feel free to discuss with me on social media after you've seen it. It's just that kind of film.

A+

"Love & Friendship" Review

Acclaimed writer/director Whit Stillman (The Last Days of Disco) returns to the screen with his fifth feature Love & Friendship, a charming - albeit often stuffy - adaptation of Jane Austen's novella "Lady Susan."

Mourning the death of her husband, Lady Susan Vernon (Kate Beckinsale) moves to the country estate of her in-laws in order to clear her head and to wait out some nasty rumors swirling about London high society. Whilst there, Lady Susan uses her charm, beauty and quick wits to hopefully secure a suitor not only for her young daughter Frederica (Morfydd Clark) but for herself as well.

Love & Friendship is no tactless spoof like the works of the Wayans brothers. Rather, Stillman recognizes the comedy inherent in both the story and in British melodrama itself. The writing is great, but it doesn't revel in its humor as often as it probably should. Not long after introducing the characters through a series of amusing vignettes, the film got so slow and stuffy to the point where it lulled me to sleep for about 20 minutes. I awoke and rejoined the narrative to find that stuffy and deliberate were kind of the point. That way, when Lady Susan does or says something brash, it comes as a bit of a welcome shock that you can't help but chuckle at. I still might have enjoyed it even more if Stillman had properly deconstructed the whole thing, like Adaptation. or Blazing Saddles.

Stealing the show is potential suitor Sir James Martin (Tom Bennett), an awkward simpleton who wrings the best laughs from an occasionally dry yarn.

Performances are tremendous across the board, especially Beckinsale as Lady Susan who fits the role like a glove.

If one were to compare this film to other popular Austen adaptations, it falls closer to Joe Wright's 2005 Pride & Prejudice than to the one with the zombies from earlier this year. Love & Friendship stands out for at least having a sense of humor about itself that works more often than not. If you like Downton Abbey or other films and television shows about European nobility, you'll enjoy Love & Friendship. If those aren't your cup of tea, fret not. You aren't missing much.

B-

"The Witch" Review

The first and only two words that come to mind as I sit and gather my thoughts on Robert Eggers' Sundance darling The Witch rhyme with "moley" and "truck."

The hype is real with this one, folks. To the horror fans bemoaning the glut of mainstream, jump-scare-ridden fare, especially from the United States, your search for a new classic is over.

The Witch is billed as "a New England folktale" that borrows its story and language from myriad accounts of demonic possession, native folklore, and personal diaries from around the time that the first settlers came to America in the early 17th century. I'm concerned that the production design and old English language used in the film are so period-accurate that it may throw too many mainstream audiences for a loop. This is not your typical horror film, and that may disappoint less discerning viewers. The Witch is a slow-burning tragedy about a Puritan family that tears itself apart on a spiritual level. There are no jump scares and very little gore to be had. However, Eggers' story, lighting design, and Mark Korvan's evocative score combine to create a pea soup-like sense of dread from start to finish.

Things get off to an unnerving start when the main family is banished from their settlement and move to a secluded farm at the edge of a forest. Mysterious events cause everyone in the family to undergo individual crises of faith as their limits are tested by evil in its purest form.

Eggers' cast is full of relatively unknown faces which makes it easier to buy into their fear. These are meant to be real, average people, and the audience accepts them as such on the strength of the central performances. Newcomer Anya Taylor-Joy plays the oldest daughter, Thomasin, whose perspective the story adheres to most. Ralph Ineson and Kate Dickie play the parents. Ineson's patriarch, William, is a man who would have everyone believe that he is a stalwart in faith. But what's most interesting about his performance is the way Ineson nails the fine line between his Godly duty to faith and family and succumbing to the evil before him. Dickie plays the emotionally-unstable mother Katherine struggling to keep her children (and her sanity) in check.

Like most slow-burning horror films, stuff seriously hits the fan in the last 15 minutes. The Witch is no different. See the movie for yourself, but when it comes out that the distributor, A24, showed the film to a group of real-life satanists and got a ringing endorsement from the actual Satanic Temple, that should generally be taken as a good sign for a horror film.

A

Sundance 2016 - "Green Room" Review

There seems to be a color pattern emerging in writer/director Jeremy Saulnier's body of work. Could the other colors of the rainbow be in each of his next films?

Saulnier follows up his magnificent, modern-day "Hatfields & McCoys" thriller Blue Ruin with Green Room, a white-knuckle siege thriller that will leave you gasping for air.

Green Room chronicles the ordeal of a punk rock band who, after witnessing a murder at a gig, are forced to sit tight in the venue's "green room." Seemingly trapped by the people responsible, the group fights to escape despite being hopelessly outmanned and outgunned.

Patrick Stewart plays Darcy, the owner of the venue and leader of the neo-Nazi group based there. He proves a formidable villain even though some of his dialogue could have been better written. It seems like most of the interactions between the bad guys rely on so much jargon that the motivations of Darcy and his disciples are never entirely clear.

Whatever character development may be lacking through dialogue, Saulnier makes up for in atmosphere. 85 percent of this movie is as tense and nerve-shredding as any of the best horror films from the past 10 years. We know these are nasty guys from the way Darcy sends them in to stalk and murder the trapped teens like a (pardon the simile) Cult of Thorn overlord commands Michael Myers. Even though some of these guys are really no more than disposable goons, Saulnier shoots them all like the horror-movie "big bads" that they are. This way, every scene has a sense of gravity and excitement that you normally don't expect for most movies like this.

Of course the tension boils over into Saulnier's trademark violence. Frequently shocking and unexpected, Saulnier's violence will make you either wince or cheer - sometimes all at once, as the most satisfying violent scenes in all of cinema do. The violence of Green Room also appears medically accurate. Wounds appear realistically based on the weapons used. There's a decent amount of blood, but this isn't Tarantino. I've always found this approach to violence to be the most cinematically visceral. I'm more traumatized by Saulnier's realistic approach than Tarantino's near-comical gore-fests or any movie released as part of the "torture porn" craze of the late 2000s. If the message of Green Room is either "violence begets violence" or "don't mess with desperate people," it lands loud and clear.

Performances are quite impressive from a star-studded cast including Stewart, Anton Yelchin (2009's Star Trek), Imogen Poots (2011's Fright Night), Alia Shawkat (TV's Arrested Development), Mark Webber (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), and Macon Blair (Blue Ruin). Yelchin and Poots reunite for the first time since Fright Night, and their chemistry hasn't lost a step.

Green Room should be seen and enjoyed by anyone bored with how mundane most indie dramas really are. That's always been Saulnier's approach. It certainly served as a perfect shot-in-the-arm to end Sundance with. It's as taut as any of the big Hollywood-produced thrillers of the past several years. I can't wait to watch this one over and over.

A

Sundance 2016 - "Cemetery of Splendor" Review

Writer/director Apichatpong Weerasethakul (let's just call him A.W.) burst onto the Sundance scene in 2010 with Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. After premiering at the Cannes Film Festival last may, he returns to Park City to share his latest feature, Cemetery of Splendor, with American audiences for the first time. After seeing this film, it is clear that A.W.'s subtle mastery of the cinematic language affords him the status of being one of the world's most exciting visual storytellers.

The story of Cemetery of Splendor involves a middle-aged housewife, and her wards, tasked with caring for a group of recovering soldiers. These men are nearly all in a coma-like slumber until one of them finally awakes, prompting our heroine on a journey through an Inception-like world where dreams and reality blur in a far more understated fashion.

The film's slow pace and Thai language may be off-putting for less discerning viewers, but rest assured that the deliberate nature with which A.W. approaches this story only reinforces the emotional impact of the images onscreen. This lends us more time to contemplate and accept this vivid "netherworld" which A.W. would have us believe exists within our own. For example, notice how the neon tubes seem to emerge from the ground near each soldier's bedside like glowing grave markers. These men aren't necessarily dead, but A.W. allows us to contemplate all sorts of alternatives without the use of dialogue in sections like this.

In fact, the film's most insightful, poignant moments come at times in which no words are spoken.

Cemetery of Splendor is a film rich with so much texture, both visually and emotionally, that it is impossible to fully digest after only one viewing. I expect it will have a long and healthy shelf life as it is studied, discussed and scrutinized as one of the 21st century's defining cinematic achievements.

A+

Sundance 2016 - "Antibirth" Review

Six years ago, writer/director Danny Perez brought his experimental music film Oddsac to the Sundance Film Festival. At that time, Perez promised the director of programming for the festival's "Midnight" section that he would eventually return with "the midnight movie to end them all." That's a bit overzealous. The film is too serious to match the giddy goofiness of Yoga Hosers, not gory enough to satisfy bloodlust the way 31 does, and just isn't as gloriously fucked up as The Greasy Strangler. That said, Antibirth may be the most artistically impressive of the midnight movies I've seen so far this week.

The film centers around Lou (Orange is the New Black's Natasha Lyonne), a hard-partying slacker who wakes up one morning with symptoms of a strange illness. All the while, talk of government conspiracies and alien experimentation permeate the background. Concerned that she may be pregnant, Lou attempts to ruin the kid by continuing her bender of bong hits, chain smoking and binge drinking. As we expect, those toxins in Lou's system mess her up pretty bad but what we don't expect is just how bad. And, man, it's pretty horrendous.

Perez showcases Lou's hallucinatory drug trips somewhat differently than what we've seen in film before. Rather than carry on for an entire scene with manipulated lens filters and shudder effects, Lou only hallucinates in "shards of time," as if the bong rips force her to remember, rather than forget, glimpses of how she became "pregnant."

Helping Lou piece together the mystery is her best friend Sadie (Chloe Sevigny). The chemistry between real-life pals Lyonne and Sevigny comes off natural, making it easier to sympathize and engage with the characters.

The cinematography from Rudolk Blahacek is also quite impressive. I love the way the film is lit, especially during the final 10 or so minutes. Blahacek's work also allows the special practical effects to shine for ultimate, slimy, gross-out impact.

If you can picture a less intelligent version of David Lynch's Eraserhead with the body horror of David Cronenberg, you'll have a good idea of what to expect from Antibirth. 

B-

Sundance 2016 - "Certain Women" Review

Kelly Reichardt's new film Certain Women follows the stories of three different women as they struggle to blaze their own trails within their respective worlds.

The film is riddled with understated beauty from the direction to the cinematography to the performances. My favorite storyline follows Laura Dern as a lawyer struggling to get an emotionally unstable client (Jared Harris) the justice he may or may not deserve. Kristen Stewart, Michelle Williams, and Lily Gladstone all give magnificent performances as well.

I've written about a couple of other Sundance films being a bit too deliberately paced, but Certain Women takes the cake as the slowest of the bunch. Watching that in a pitch-dark room on three hours of sleep... you do the math.

For that reason, I need to see it again before bestowing a final letter grade. What I managed to catch, however, was visually beautiful and emotionally rich. Certain Women could well be Reichardt's masterpiece. See it.

Sundance 2016 - "Yoga Hosers" Review

Kevin Smith follows up Tusk with part two of his "True North" trilogy: Yoga Hosers. The Colleens (Lily-Rose Depp, Harley Quinn Smith) are sophomores in high school who love their smartphones, their band, and practicing yoga. They hate working at the Eh-2-Zed convenient store, Winnipeg's go-to shop for artisanal maple syrups. When their plans to attend a senior party backfire, the girls team up with bumbling "manhunter" Guy LaPointe (Johnny Depp) to destroy the evil lurking beneath the store.

Your tolerance for this kind of film depends on what you think of Canada jokes and late-period Kevin Smith. It's no secret that the guy loves his daughter and wanted to give her a fun vehicle for her first leading role, but the man was high as a kite when he wrote this script. That said, I was grinning ear to ear from start to finish. Maybe it was the margaritas beforehand, but I left wanting to watch the forthcoming part three, Moose Jaws, immediately.

Yoga Hosers is only slightly less messed up than Tusk, which made it easier to devour the nonstop manic hilarity this time. Clever quips, sight gags and cameos pick up the slack by the time we quit laughing at the millionth utterances of the long-O's in "oot," "aboot," and "sorey" (sic "sorry").

Perhaps both the younger Depp and the younger Smith need a project with more meat on it before we all start taking them seriously as rising stars, but they navigate this material like pros. They're perfect fits for the Colleens. The older Depp solidifies LaPointe as my favorite of his post-Captain Jack Sparrow characters. From the shifting moles to his occasionally cross-eyed glare, every nuance is hysterical. 

I don't trust the people who came out of Yoga Hosers thinking poorly about it. The older Smith, in his pot-addled state, miraculously managed to weave subtexts about chastity, feminism, and the flaws of Gen-Y into a colorfully original script. I promise you've never seen these subjects explored the way Yoga Hosers presents them.

Again, your enjoyment depends entirely on your suspension of disbelief and tolerance for Canada jokes. However, one should expect nothing less from this stage in Smith's career. Come prepared for an absurdist blast.

A-

Sundance 2016 - "Brahman Naman" Review

Brahman Naman is an English-language feature from India by a director known only as "Q." The film serves as something of an indictment of the Indian caste system in the guise of a college sex comedy. The jokes don't always land, and for American audiences, the film lacks bite, but it could turn out to be quite controversial when it finally premieres in India.

Brahmans are a very conservative class of people, so to see their true lascivious nature here makes it feel like we're privy to events that we should not be seeing.

The story focuses on Naman (Shashank Arora) and the fruitless sex lives of he and his quiz teammates. As Naman aims his sights on Rita, a sexy upper-class girl, Ash, a fellow Brahman, vies for his affections. Through Naman's encounters with fellow Brahman and higher-class girls, we get a sense of how life in the caste system stifles their actions. Naman remains unsuccessful because he talks a big game, but when the clothes come off, he is too scared to seal the deal. Damn that conservative Brahman culture!

The film isn't always as raunchy or gut-bustingly hilarious as I expected, although I nearly fell out of my chair when Naman attempted to jerk off with a ceiling fan.

Yes, apparently that is a thing.

It's great that the film tries to value its message more than nonstop sex jokes. However, the impact of that message in the end feels somewhat limp (pun intended) despite an atypical "boy gets the girl" ending.

In a way, Brahman Naman is sort of like the Indian Superbad, but I couldn't help feeling unmoved by the time the credits rolled.

C-

SLAMDANCE 2016 - "Neptune" Review

I lied.

I didn't think I'd return to Slamdance to watch anything else, but since I slept through my early morning screening of Captain Fantastic, I thought I'd tag along with my man Cody who was on his way to see Neptune.

Neptune is director Derek Kimball's first feature-length project. It's about Hannah (Jane Ackermann), a young woman who grew up, as an orphan, in a church on an island off the coast of Maine. Obsessed with the disappearance of a friend, Hannah begins working for the boy's father where they trap lobsters together. All the while, Hannah discovers her path in life on her own accord - which is a first since she's been instructed her whole life by her caretaker, Reverend Jerry (Tony Reilly).

"Subtle beauty" is the only way to define this emotional journey akin to Antonioni's L'Avventura. Kimball's direction is assured, and the cinematography (by Jayson Lobozzo and Dean Merrill) is magnificent. The cool color palette reflects the setting quite well and contributes a haunting sense of unease to the drama.

Ackermann is a revelation in her first movie role. She brings urgency and heart to the role of Hannah in a way that I hope lends her recognition. Since Brie Larson is now apparently "the next Jennifer Lawrence," I'm calling it now that this girl has the potential to be the next Brie Larson.

The film also deserves to be commended for its use of local talent from the state of Maine. Kimball, Ackermann, several background players, and many among the production crew hail from "the Pine Tree State." Kudos to the locals for creating such a beautiful film to affectionately showcase their territory.

My only minor gripe is that the pacing is a bit too deliberate. Otherwise, Neptune has restored my faith in Slamdance 2016.

A-

Sundance 2016 - "31" Review

Rob Zombie returns to the horror genre with 31, a project he's kept largely under wraps for the past five or so years. The film itself isn't really good enough or shocking enough to merit the secrecy, but if you're a fan of Zombie's previous films, you'll have a great time.

The story is a period piece that takes place on Halloween night, 1979. A band of travelling carnies (Sheri Moon Zombie, Meg Foster, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Kevin Jackson, Jeff Daniel Phillips) are attacked and taken hostage by goons working for Father Murder (Malcolm McDowell), who places the group into a deadly game called "31." The object of the "game" is to survive 12 hours in an abandoned compound while several maniacs dressed as different clown-like characters attempt to kill them.

The story borrows too heavily from other, better horror films such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and House on Haunted Hill. The most fun part of 31 isn't the concept itself, nor is it the gruesome violence (of which there is plenty). It's the villains. If anything can be said about Zombie as a storyteller, it's that he always has a distinctly original eye for characters. Goons such as the Harley Quinn-like "Sex-Head" (E.G. Daily), the Spanish-speaking Nazi midget "Sick-Head" (Pancho Moler), and the Joker-like "Doom-Head" (Richard Brake) steal the show. Brake especially commands the screen each time he's on it. The film's bone-chilling opening scene may be the single best sequence in Zombie's oeuvre. The directing, writing, and Brake's performance in the first 5 minutes are worth the price of admission alone.

Personally, I watch Zombie's films to satisfy my bloodlust. It's a bonus that the characters are almost always fascinating. Now that I'm used to watching the unrated cuts of Halloween and The Devil's Rejects, the violence of 31 feels almost too tame in comparison. There's actually been some controversy surrounding this issue. Zombie submitted the film twice to the MPAA for certification and both times was slapped with an NC-17 rating. Since he wants to get the film into theaters nationwide, edits are necessary to get the film down to a more commercially-friendly R rating. The R-rated cut is what was shown at last night's premiere, much to the dismay of myself and the other midnight movie mongers in attendance. Zombie personally assured all of us, however, that the original NC-17 cut will be available on an "unrated" DVD/Bluray release later this year.

Despite 31's narrative shortcomings, I look forward to revisiting Zombie's true vision on Bluray later this fall ahead of the Halloween holiday. He remains as strong a horror auteur as we have working in the genre today.

B-

Sundance 2016 - "Goat" Review

Ben Schnetzer and Nick Jonas turn in excellent performances in Goat, a dramatic exploration of how delicate masculinity can be, especially in organized cultures promoting "brotherhood." As director Andrew Neel made clear in his Q&A, these kinds of issues aren't limited to Greek life. Everything from organized sports to the workplace is affected, in some way, by a power struggle and the need to prove oneself to one's peers.

Allusions to Lord of the Flies abound as young Brad (Schnetzer) decides to attend college and pledge the same fraternity as his brother Brett (Jonas). The hazing that Brad endures does nothing to aid his emotional state following a violent assault after a summer party. This tests his bond with Brett in ways neither expected.

The script by David Gordon Green (Prince Avalance, Pineapple Express) doesn't sanitize anything. This is a coming-of-age story of sorts that never dips into cliché.

It's clear to see Goat has roots in exploitation film. What might be considered smut in the hands of lesser storytellers, Goat's most brutal and graphic material only reinforces the film's message - that no matter if you're the bully or the bullied, masculinity is fragile.

Though some might dismiss the film's brutality the same way they wrote off The Revenant, Goat is an important story told through a unique lens. We don't usually get many college frat "dramas," let alone ones that pack such an emotional punch.

With wide distribution in question, only time will tell if the film successfully opens up a dialogue with university administration about the issues on display.

A

Sundance 2016 - "The Greasy Strangler" Review

I need to be up-front about this. In the history of cinema, there is no other film like The Greasy Strangler. Whatever qualms or praises anyone imposes on the film will always be trumped by the sheer originality on display here; so I'm not sure exactly what it means when I say that this is the most fucked-up movie I've ever seen.

It's about a father (Michael St. Michaels) and son (Sky Elobar) who lead a "history of Disco" walking tour across Los Angeles. When Janet (Elizabeth De Razzo) takes the tour one day, it ignites a love triangle between father, son and a woman neither of them knows that well. If that wasn't weird enough, this is about the time that a deranged killer, covered in grease, starts terrorizing the neighborhood.

The film is really more of a romantic comedy than it is a horror film. The actual "greasy strangler" turns up at sporadic occasions; not necessarily when the story permits.

If you can picture Napoleon Dynamite with constant graphic nudity and gloriously cheesy horror elements, that's essentially the vibe of this picture.

I would only consider ever watching it again with a midnight crowd as lively as the bunch at last night's premiere. The Greasy Strangler is destined for cult status, possibly with props and quote-shouting like Rocky Horror Picture Show.

"Hootie-tootie disco cutie! Hootie-tootie disco cutie! Hootie-tootie disco cutie!"

B

Sundance 2016 - "Embrace of the Serpent" Review

Embrace of the Serpent is Colombia's entry for the Best Foreign Language film Oscar. It is playing as part of the "Spotlight" program, which consists of films not submitted for consideration in competition. These are hand-picked by the programming staff to share with Sundance audiences. Other films in this category include Miles Ahead, Green Room, and The Lobster - all of which premiered at other festivals in the past year.

Embrace of the Serpent chronicles the 40-year story of Karamakate, an indigenous shaman who, on two separate occasions, encounters a white man in search of a sacred plant. The man Karamakate aids in his younger days is the sickly traveler Theo (Jan Bijvoet). Theo searches the plant for its healing powers. 40 years later, Karamakate meets Evan (Brionne Davis) who hopes to harvest the plant for its potential destructive capabilities. 

Throughout both journeys, the film explores themes of trust and spirituality (especially the warped kind). This is very much a Heart of Darkness story, and it's interesting to see it told through a lens in which the indigenes play actual characters with depth. The actors who handle the dual role of Karamakate are both incredible. 

The film dissects the nuances of native traditions while also occasionally indicting them, which lends depth not only to the characters or the story itself but to the setting as well. Storywise, everything works in perfect harmony. 

However, what works as a careful examination of humanity for one audience may come off as slow for another. The film unfolds at a very deliberate pace that some may find too slow for an adventure story. 

Additionally, there's one scene later in the film where the elder Karamakate and Evan encounter a religious cult and a leader so insane, he makes Col. Kurtz look like a teddy bear. What unfolds is certainly the most absurd sequence of the film. It feels like something that might be in King Kong or any one of the egregious "cannibalsploitation" films of the late '70s and early '80s. I was interested to learn in the Q&A session that this was the moment in the film that adhered the closest to what was written in the original travel logs on which the film is based. Turns out we were wrong for letting that scene remove us from the experience, however briefly. 

Lastly, I had trouble seeing past one visual hiccup in an otherwise gorgeous film. The black and white cinematography exposes different textures in ways that color can't often capture. There's a very fast helicopter tracking shot over the Amazonian canopy that was too much for my eyes to handle. All that texture moving at that speed nearly made me motion sick. 

In the end, Embrace of the Serpent far outdoes The Danish Girl as the most audacious cinematic challenge of the past year for this reviewer. Heck, Serpent may be one of the most challenging, yet emotionally rewarding, films I've ever seen. It deserves its place among the Oscar nominees. I've yet to see Son of Saul, but the three foreign-language nominees I've seen so far are among some of the very best movies I've seen in years. Give them a chance if films like Serpent, Mustang, Theeb or Son of Saul are playing in your area.

A-

SLAMDANCE 2016 - "Mad" Review

The "Slamdance" Film Festival serves as something of an antithesis to the Sundance festival. It was started by a group of artists who felt that, over the years, Sundance had turned into precisely the corporate, mainstream monster that it was originally created in opposition of. Slamdance is supposed to be something of a "safe haven" for the artists and filmmakers with even more offbeat, experimental projects than Sundance. With a couple of free hours, I decided to dabble and chose to watch Mad, which I had heard was one of the better Slamdance offerings.

If that's the case, I'm not sure I'll be returning.

It's the story of an emotionally unstable mother (Maryann Plunkett), her two grown daughters (Jennifer Lafleur, Eilis Cahill), and the war of nerves that often defines family dysfunction.

In the film, this war is fought on three separate fronts, and it doesn't quite work. It's great that all three women have their own, well-developed character arcs, but the film quickly loses focus switching between their different storylines.

We see Mel (Plunkett) making a recovery in the psych ward where she befriends Jerry (Mark Reeb), a fellow patient.

Connie (Lafleur) faces down criminal accusations at work while also balancing the responsibilities of motherhood and as a daughter to a hospitalized mother.

Casey (Cahill) is the family "fuck-up" and constantly butts heads with her older sister Connie about cleaning up her act.

Balancing the emotional beats of these 3 different arcs is a Herculean task, and writer/director Robert G. Putka doesn't quite get it. Hearing him speak before and after the film made it clear that he's not exactly the brightest or most friendly guy. He seems very full of himself, and that self-righteousness is seen through the cynical interactions between the characters. Much of the dialogue is mean-spirited for the sake of being mean-spirited. Putka essentially admitted this himself. It probably makes him laugh, but the rest of us never feel in on the joke.

Acting performances show no lack of skill, and everyone pulls it off as well as they can with such an asinine script.

D+

Sundance 2016: "OTHER PEOPLE" Review

David, having the shittiest year of his life: "I always thought these kinds of things happened to other people."

Gabe: "Well, to 'other people,' you are 'other people'."



Other People is the debut feature film of writer/director Chris Kelly who, when he's not busy toying with the emotions of Sundance audiences, writes for Saturday Night Live.

In the film, his knack for laughs shines through in spades with this semi-autobiographical story about David, a fledgling comedy writer (Jesse Plemons) who returns home to Sacramento to help his father (Bradley Whitford) and sisters (Maude Apatow, Madisen Beaty) care for their cancer-stricken matriarch (Molly Shannon).

Judging by the reactions of those around me at the screening, Kelly and the cast totally nail the experience of caring for a sick loved one. As far as being its own piece of drama, the performances are honest and emotional. Plemons proves himself as a viable leading man while Shannon plays the deteriorating Joanne with grace and nuance. This is not the Mary Katherine Gallagher we're used to, but it works wonderfully.

In terms of being a "cancer comedy," Other People is one of the funniest and most endearing I've ever seen. The leads are terrific, but it's young J.J. Totah who steals the show as Justin, the little brother of David's only friend in Sacramento, Gabe (John Early). That living-room dance recital had me rolling!

That's not to say the film is all sunshine and daisies. I kind of felt cheated in the end by a running motif involving Train's hit song "Drops of Jupiter." The song is the bane of David's existence since it constantly reminds him of the pain and suffering of home. To avoid spoiling the specifics, in one way, the very end of the movie uses the song so perfectly, I nearly cried. However it also felt like the world's biggest contrivance, and to end an otherwise delicately emotional film that way ruined the payoff for me.

Regardless, the film received a standing ovation from the 9am crowd, which bodes well for its chances in the festival's U.S. dramatic competition. Keep an eye out for some kind of release later this year.

B+