LET’S MAKE A MOVIE
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  Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 102 minutes |
Overall, I think “Let’s Make a Movie” succeeds in its message of at least doing something, rather than just talking about it, and I appreciated what could be callously disregarded as the naiveté to the idea that the finished film is not what it’s about, but about the act of creating itself. In other words, this film wears its heart on its sleeve…
Posted on January 16, 2013 by Mark Bell
20 SOMETHING
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  Year Released: 2011 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 43 minutes |
While Anastasia and Sean do get more than a single look, and seem to have more of a journey in their stories, it still feels woefully surface. Perhaps I was pining for more of a narrative than what reality was providing, or perhaps I wanted fewer subjects but more time with each…
Posted on January 16, 2013 by Mark Bell
MOTIVATIONAL GROWTH
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  Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 105 minutes |
…so much of the film made me cringe away from the screen in the off chance some of the grime came through and got on me, so there’s this ever-present feeling of ick, but that doesn’t mean the film isn’t enjoyable. It’s just so odd, and original. What other film out there has a guy befriending and conversing with a mold puppet?
Posted on January 16, 2013 by Mark Bell
NO ONE LIVES FOREVER
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  Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 70 minutes |
A story like this might work in a comic book, or a novel, where you can sit down and get into the history of the Iron Maidens, Obsidians, Regents or the Magnate, but as it is presented here, it all blends into gibberish…
Posted on January 15, 2013 by Mark Bell
FIGHTING FISH
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  Year Released: 2010 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 84 minutes |
Small town dynamics and escapist elements exist in many an indie film, but those elements are more on the fringe of a film that is really about family, and the sometimes inappropriate way in which siblings left adrift try to put that family back together…
Posted on January 15, 2013 by Mark Bell
2013 SXSW FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES OPENING NIGHT FILM AND OFFERS PROGRAMMING TEASER
The 2013 SXSW Film Conference and Festival, running March 8-16, 2013, in Austin, Texas, has announced “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” as its opening night film, and also revealed a teaser the rest of its program, including the remake of Sam Raimi’s classic “Evil Dead” (not surprised, in a good way)…
Posted on January 15, 2013 by Mark Bell
ARE ALL MEN PEDOPHILES?
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Year Released: 2013 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 70 minutes |
Mainly, the film is based on cut-and-paste arguments; the type of “well, technically…” conversation that you’d see utilized in a court case to sneak someone out a legal loophole…
Posted on January 15, 2013 by Mark Bell
CHILDREN OF THE DARK
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Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 10 minutes |
It would be easy to dismissively describe this as just another zombie apocalypse film, except the film utilizes a few variations here and there to keep away from such a simple characterization…
Posted on January 14, 2013 by Mark Bell
SABERFROG
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Year Released: 2010 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 91 minutes |
As hilarious as I found the diatribes on walrus porn or the ideas of a liberal arts education being a front for mind control, I often found myself as sidetracked by the plot moves as the characters were sidetracked from their potential. I guess what I’m getting at is, despite sharing more than a few traits of potential gone awry with the characters in the film, I often had trouble caring for them, or what they were up to…
Posted on January 14, 2013 by Mark Bell
THE BROTHER
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  Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 25 minutes |
The film makes a few stylistic visual choices, most notably showing Mark’s separation from his past via imagery that is presented in black-and-white. It shows the contrast between the worlds, but also hints that, despite Mark thinking that his escape from his family was overall beneficial, his life lacks something because of it…
Posted on January 13, 2013 by Mark Bell
A LITTLE PUSH
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  Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 10 minutes |
So while it would be easy to dismiss this as a music video, it is flipped in execution, as you have a narrative to follow, that you can infer from the visuals whether you listen to the song or not. Therefore the music enhances the visuals, not the other way around. Thus, credit is due for telling a story well without needing to be too obvious or literal…
Posted on January 12, 2013 by Mark Bell
SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 2013 JURY
The 2013 Slamdance Film Festival, taking place January 18-24, 2013 in Park City, Utah, has announced the jury for this year’s event…
Posted on January 9, 2013 by Mark Bell
MAUDE
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Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 7 minutes |
Jeremy Jed Hammel’s short film “Maude” has more in common with a music video than it does a traditional short. Which is to say that very little happens beyond Maude dancing around to the background music. On the plus side, it captures the vibrant energy and innocence of youth…
Posted on January 9, 2013 by Mark Bell
THE MAIDS
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Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 24 minutes |
Since the source material is a play from Jean Genet, I understand the idea to let the entire experience play out in dialogue and close-up performance, and in spots Hull is up to the task, but it would’ve benefited from a much shorter running time…
Posted on January 8, 2013 by Mark Bell
FILM THREAT PODCAST – EPISODE 78: A NEW YEAR
It’s a new year, and Don and Mark are as awkward as ever! Mark explains why you should never let him drive a grip truck, the guys talk about Sundance 2013, PR emails, Mark tries to recount his adventures at the Borscht Film Festival and the podcast ends on the most uncomfortable note imaginable…
Posted on January 7, 2013 by Mark Bell