A brief review of the films I saw at this year’s festival. I didn’t see quite as many as I would have liked to but all in all, I would have to say that this was a good year.
Square Grouper: The Godfathers of Ganja – This was a very well put together documentary about the marijuana smuggling industry in Florida. It tells three separate stories about people who all have been caught and sentenced over the past forty years or so. One thing I found interesting about this film was the lack of traditional narrative. It seemed to allow old news footage of the stories to be in the place that you would expect to hear a voice over. Some of the footage was very old and at times I thought I was watching this on youtube but overall it told three very engaging stories that should perk the interest of anyone. 4 out of 5 stars. This film is available on Netflix soon so keep a look out.
Terri – Here we have a very odd film about an overweight and extremely socially awkward high school student. It’s not a whole lot more than a little slice of life that at times seems to drudge along a bit too slow. The clear savior of this flick is the performance of John C. Reilly. He kept me entertained as the off the wall assistant principal. It was a much more reserved performance than we’ve seen from him before and I think it allowed his delivery to shine through. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Tucker and Dale vs Evil – This was definitely the most fun I had at the festival this year. This is a comedy/horror film about that is centered on the two titular characters trying to have a nice weekend in the woods. They run into a group of college kids that mistake the two for some sort of psycho hillbilly serial killers that kidnapped one of their friends. This cinematic cocktail made up of one part slapstick, one part, slasher film and garnished with a healthy dose of bromance really hit the right spot for me. It also gets major bonus points for starring Firefly’s Alan Tudyk. 5 out of 5 stars.
Kill the Irishman – I actually had some high hopes for this film. It stars Ray Stevenson, Val Kilmer, Vincent D’onfrio and Christopher Walken. It’s a Cleveland mob story about a union organizer and his rise through the ranks of the underworld. Unfortunately, I lost interest in this film very early on. Essentially, it’s a long biopic about a relatively interesting character that felt pretty mishandled. You can find every tired old organized crime trope here. And most of the film had very low production value. Flash animation explosions, bad acting (even from good actors) and a predictable screenplay are the primary ingredients that make up this film that will take up more than two hours of your time. 2.5 out of 5 stars.
Pablo’s Hippos – So, you know how they always say that pot documentaries are the gateway drug to harder narcotic documentaries? Well, I guess they were right. Once I’d had a taste of that sweet sweet ganja movie, I need something a little more hardcore. How about a documentary that uses animated hippos to tell the story of Columbia’s most notorious cocaine kingpin, Pablo Escobar? This film really captured me. The cartoon hippos serve as the narrator of Columbia’s long struggle with the cocaine industry while the film simultaneously tells us the story of a group of hippos, left over by Escobar’s private zoo. Nobody seems to know what to do with either of them. The juxtaposition of cute cartoon animals and actual footage of carnage on the streets due to the drug wars is often extremely jarring. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Small Town Murder Songs – A sheriff (Peter Stormare) of a small Canadian town is investigating his first murder that may or may not involve his ex-girlfriend. This film was absolutely beautiful to look at. The story was engaging and the acting was spot on. A special mention needs to be made for Bruce Peninsula. This is the band that provided the soundtrack for the film. Their sound is almost indescribable but it works so amazingly well in this film. My only gripe with this film honestly is that it didn’t quite give me enough. I really could have used about another half hour…… even if it would have just been scenery and music. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Rene Goes to Hollywood – I was very intrigued by the synopsis I read of this Georgian film. Rene is a propane salesman by day and a professor of film by night. He keeps footage of his days with a handycam to document the reality he invents. Somewhere along the way, he seems to lose touch with what is real and what he has imagined. Unfortunately, this film seemed to be a bit more than the filmmaker could handle. It very quickly digresses into incoherency. Most of the surreal set pieces were actually very well put together. It’s a shame that the film as a narrative didn’t work very well. 3 out of 5 stars.
Lucky – This is a dark comedy about what happens when your local serial killer wins the big lottery. All of the sudden, the girl he has a crush on stops ignoring him. Colin Hanks stars in this surprisingly good film. Ari Graynor, Mimi Rodgers and Jeffery Tambor also costar. I thought Ari Graynor was actually pitch perfect in this film as the object of the lead’s desire. She was every girl next door that every boy could never help fall in love with. I really had a lot of fun with this film and I hope it gets distribution soon. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this get a wide release. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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