Month: January 2014
Slamdance Film Review: Huntington’s Dance
Chris Furbee began video recording his journey back to West Virginia as he caught wind of his mom’s worsening battle with Huntington’s Disease 18 years ago. With the backdrop of his home state’s tradition of independence, the Southern laurels of self reliance dissipate as Furbee watched his grandfather battle Huntington’s as a young child, and now his mother, Rosemary Shockey. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: My Blind Heart
Plain and simple, My Blind Heart is a gorgeous film set in Vienna (spoken in German). Kurt (Christos Haas) lives with a rare condition, Marfan Syndrome, from which he is nearly blind. After he kills his mother, he misbehaves to the point of his caretaker’s frustration while living in a home with others with handicaps, playing the part of both a victim of his disease and troubled kid abreacting to his undesirable situation. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Goldberg & Eisenberg
A single, typical “liberal” computer programmer in Tel-Aviv, named Goldberg (Yitzhak Laor) invests a lot of time meeting women to date online and walking his dog as an extension of his romantic pursuits. Unfortunately for him, he encounters Eisenberg (Yahav Gal), who attempts to make (read: tries to force) Goldberg to be his friend, who demands money and blow jobs from Goldberg—getting under his skin and fomenting dastardly outcomes. … read more
Sundance Film Review: What We Do In The Shadows
Have you ever wondered what a vampire’s life is really like? Where they like to sleep? How they get along with their roommates? What kinds of clubs they go to on weekends? From sunset to sunrise, the camera crew (RIP Camera One) of What We Do In The Shadows tails blood-sucking friends and roomies Viago, Vladislav, Deacon, Peter and their eclectic group of living and undead pals through their daily, complicated lives in Wellington, New Zealand. … read more
Sundance Film Review: Love Is Strange
Love Is Strange is a much-needed breath of fresh air blowing away the cobwebs of a tired romantic dramedy genre. In this truly unique story, partners of 39 years, Ben (John Lithgow) and George (Alfred Molina) lose a coveted Manhattan apartment after their official marriage results in George’s termination from his job as a music teacher at a Catholic school, forcing them to temporarily move in with separate family members. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: The Chaperone 3D
Excellently using a combination of animation, stop-motion, live-action, puppetry and exploding piñatas, The Chaperone tells the “hand drawn true story” of teacher/chaperone Ralph, DJ Stefan and the-kid-at-the-concession-stand Peter as they kick ass and take names after a motorcycle gang invades a Montreal youth dance that they’re watching over.
Sundance Film Review: Private Violence
Sundance is known for its quality, life-altering documentaries, but Private Violence is not one of them. Interviews, B-roll and evidential photographs make up the film, which lacks a clear, linear line of thought and regurgitates the question, “Why do they keep going back?” without giving an intelligible answer. … read more
Sundance Film Review: Cooties
With a fantastic intro reminiscent and eerily similar to the first season of “American Horror Story,” my hopes for this zombie black comedy starring Elijah Wood were high. After a child ingests a rotten chicken nugget in a school cafeteria in the small town of Fort Chicken, a rabid virus soon spreads through the hallways infecting only the pre-pubescent attendees.
… read more
Sundance Film Review: Ivory Tower
Is the price of higher education really worth it? Director Andrew Rossi asks this question, and many others, in this overwhelming look at the direction of colleges and universities in the United States. Rather than focusing on one area, Rossi jumps from subject matter to subject matter to address every angle of the debate—from the fact that 68% of American students do not graduate in four years, which increases their vast student debt, to multiple schools that offer free tuition to its students. … read more
Sundance Film Review: Web Junkie
I’m a gamer. I’ve caught myself playing for hours on end with titles like “Grand Theft Auto 5” and “Halo: Reach,” but, after a session of that magnitude, my brain chimes in with, “Hey, jackass, go do something productive.” For others who enjoy the thrill of virtual adventures, such is not the case. China has become the first country to deem “internet addiction” as an official clinical disorder. … read more