Year: 2014
Slamdance Film Review: I Play with the Phrase Each Other
I Play with the Phrase Each Other is a film solely consisting of phone calls, filmed solely on cell phones and shown in black and white. Director Jay Alvarez, who plays Sean, has constructed a plot where his character urges Jake (Will Hand) to move to “the city”—Portland—to indulge in the glory of the Bohemian life of 20-somethings. Once Jake arrives, though, Sean’s possessions have been pilfered by a junkie with whom he’s staying, and Jake’s “in” to city life is no longer viable. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Kidnapped for Christ
David is a close-to-4.0 student enrolled in AP classes and an International Baccalaureate Diploma candidate, but once his parents find out that he’s gay, he’s forcibly taken from his home in the early morning and enrolled in Escuela Caribe—a Christian youth correctional school in the Dominican Republic. Here, these born again Evangelicals manipulate biblical doctrine in order to brainwash teens to conform. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Glena
In this rousing and inspirational documentary, first-time director Allan Luebke follows amateur MMA fighter Glena Avila as she works, fight by fight, towards reaching pro status.
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Quit Shaking and Get Dirty with the Dirt Daubers
“I grew up watching TV and being influenced by pop culture like everyone else, but over time, I found that to be hollow, and eventually all you do is become a commodity to be bought and sold. But there is that undercurrent of culture that lives in every one of us—it’s indigenous, and we lose more and more over time. I love feeling connected to that history.” … read more
Sundance Film Review: God Help The Girl
Belle & Sebastian’s Scottish frontman Stuart Murdoch takes us to his hometown for a musical narrative that has all the quirks and melodrama of an indie pop song wrapped up in the most stylish movie you’ll see at Sundance this year. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Sometimes I Dream I’m Flying
Opening with an incredible visual metaphor—a slow-motion horse race with close ups on the legs and muscles of the horses, representing ballet dancers—and moving through the film with gorgeously-shot scenes, Sometimes I Dream I’m Flying visually feels much more like a feature narrative than a documentary.
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Slamdance Film Review: Wizard’s Way
If I’m being completely honest, I’m a little done with the “found footage” types of faux documentaries. That being said, Wizard’s Way is able to move beyond the cliché it starts in because of the superb character portrayals provided by Kristian Scott as Julian “Windows” Andrews and Socrates Adams-Florou as Barry Tubbulb.
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Slamdance Film Review: I Put A Hit On You
After Harper proposes—with a ring for herself instead of a ring for him—and Ray turns her down, Harper goes on a drinking binge in her apartment to get over it. Oh, and did I mention that Harper puts out a hit on Ray via the Internet in her drunken stupor? And that a potential killer answers the ad? Yeah, that happened, too.
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Slamdance Film Review: Cheatin’
Cheatin’ is a bit bizarre, but entertaining nonetheless. It’s an animated narrative film that tells the troubled love story of Ella and Jake, which has no dialogue, just grunts and squeals from the animated characters. … read more
Sundance Film Reviews: I Origins
It’s extremely rare when a science-fiction film comes along and makes you ponder as you walk out of the exit, “What if that really happened?” Such is the case with director Mike Cahill’s chilling exploration into the existence of the human species. When Dr. Ian Gray (Michael Pitt) becomes infatuated with the mysterious Sofi (Astrid Bergès-Frisbey) after a one-night-stand, the two randomly find each other and become a couple. … read more