Jerry watched over 75 films at the festival this year. In this interview he shares some of his favorites, as well as some suggestions for next year's festival.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
ROCK-AFIRE EXPLOSION Review
Rock-afire Explosion is a documentary that chronicles not only the history of the Showbiz Pizza franchise, but also the resurgence of the chain’s popular robotic house band.
Chris Thrash, an obsessed fan to put it mildly, tracks down the original creator of the robots, Aaron Fechter, and purchases an entire set of fully functioning characters so that he can have his own Rock-afire Explosion band. He sets the band up in a pull-barn behind his house where he can have the characters laid out in a similar fashion to how they were in the old Showbiz Pizza restaurants. Thrash eventually gets the idea to re-program the characters to play contemporary hit songs by User, Shakira, and MGMT. Thanks to hundreds of thousands of hits on YouTube, the Rock-afire Explosion has seen since seen a resurgence in popularity.
I’m fairly sure the filmmakers intended the film to be a celebration of the Showbiz Pizza chain, but I couldn’t help but also feel a sense of sadness for most of the characters in the film. For fans like Chris Thrash, it seems like they are trying to re-capture the happiness and innocence of their youth by purchasing these animatronic characters. This isn’t unlike a more typical middle-aged adult who pines for his days when he was the highschool quarterback or she was a cheerleader. It’s just Thrash and his friends have a more quirky obsession. It did seem like some of that wonder for these collectors had dissipated because they now had to worry about fixing and maintaining their expensive investments, rather than simply enjoying the band as they did when they were young.
For creator Aaron Fechter, what was once an extremely lucrative business that employed hundreds of people in the 80’s, has turned into an empty rundown warehouse full of scraps and random parts from old unsold Rock-afire Explosion bands. Fecter’s robots are still technically amazing, even though it’s been 20 years since they were originally created. He still seems to have trouble getting back on his feet, despite his obvious talent, and finding someone interested in investing in his business ideas.
While on the surface Rock-afire Explosion may seem like a light film that is played more for laughs, I found it to be much deeper. I think everyone can relate to Chris Thrash and his yearning for a time in his youth when life was more innocent, and it was natural to be awestruck by simple pleasures.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Review of POUNDCAKE
The movie, Poundcake, was billed as a comedy, but it's much, much deeper than that. It's a look into 48 hours of a family's life and understanding a lot of the baggage the family members have carried with them throughout the years of their life. The movie takes pace in 1987 Buffalo, New York, and is filled with all the appropriate music, decor, and trappings of 80s life.
It's the night before Thanksgiving, and the Morgan family are eating at the Golden Buddha as part of their traditional family Thanksgiving celebration. Carol and Cliff Morgan announce that after 30-plus years of marriage, they are getting a divorce.
Their three grown children, Robby, Charles, and Brooke, are stunned, and react accordingly.
"This is what you brought us here for?" demands Brooke. "To tell us you're getting a divorce?"
Cliff has also been let go from his job at the AM&A, which he reminds his kids was the other reason they brought them.
The comedy of Poundcake comes not from stupid jokes or being clever. It's from situations many families have seen themselves in: fathers who can't share their emotions, brothers who can't get along and fight every chance they get, an older brother who's in love with his younger adopted sister.
Okay, we don't see that one so much, but it's a part of this movie.
The kids are all in their 20s, are immersed in their own lives, trying to find their own way in the world. Robby wanted to be a rocker, and is an overnight DJ at a rock-and-roll radio station, Chuck still lives at home, and is trying to create an exercise video, while Brooke is an administrative assistant for a one-armed real estate agent who can charitably be described as an asshole.
The three are thrown back together with the news of the breakup of their family, but are held together as their parents try to make this last family holiday a happy one.
Yeah, good luck with that.
Robby learns that he is in love with his sister, who is adopted. Brooke learns that her mother is more human than she believed, and Chuck learns that, at 25 years old, he needs to finally grow up and quit pursuing his half-baked ideas. With some bad advice from his son, and a clearly uncomfortable moment in expressing himself, Cliff Morgan takes the plunge and learnes he sometimes needs to tell his wife how he feels.
I loved the casting in this movie, and the two brothers Charles and Robby (Kevin Logie and Troy Hall) were also the writers and producers of the movie. Kathleen Quinlan and Jay Sanders are immediately recognizable to anyone who has watched TV or movies in the past year, and did an excellent job playing 50-something parents who realize they have been roommates more than they've been spouses.
Funny in the best parts, dramatic and awkward in others, I loved Poundcake, and recommend it to anyone looking for a solid movie.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Catching Up With An IIFF Alumnus
Colin Armstrong wrote the short film Red Harvest that screened at the 2007 Indianapolis International Film Festival. We caught up with Colin at a recent screening. Here is what he's up to these days:
I Was Merely Acting/Dramatic Shorts
I'm not much into dramatic movies. As a humor writer, I try to avoid things that are, well, dramatic. I like to say it's because dramatic movies and TV shows just suck the humor right out of me. But in truth it's because dramatic means "will make Erik tear up."
But still, I had decided to see the dramatic shorts at the Indianapolis International Film Festival on Tuesday. I figured they were short enough that we would be starting the next one before the first one really had a chance to grab ahold of me.
Here's a quick rundown of the five movies in the "I Was Merely Acting/Dramatic Shorts", including Free Lunch, The Collector, Borderless, The Chef's Letter, and Weathered.
Free Lunch
The story of a privileged young man who decides to shake off the fetters of wealth and privilege to open his own lunch truck in Los Angeles. Walter was one of those optimistic young liberals who thinks he's down with the people because he lives in a 2-room apartment and can speak a little street Spanish.
Frankly, I found Walter really annoying. The acting was good, the story was actually kind of funny. But Walter as a person bugged the shit out of me. He had that youthful world-changing optimism that you find in a lot of youth pastors meeting their first group of inner city kids. He bugged me because I was that way. I saw a lot of myself 20 years ago in Walter.
The bigger problem is that Walter didn't know when to quit. When things were going bad, he kept going. When things got worse, he kept going. When things hit rock bottom, you and I would have wondered how we're going to find our next thing. Walter just looked like this was one more minor setback, no worse or better than running out of ham for his favorite customer.
The Collector
I watched these movies with a couple of friends I bumped into at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, and the consensus was The Collector was not our favorite. Most stories have a beginning, middle, and end; The Collector just had an end, with a bit of a middle in front of it. We weren't sure what happened at the end or what caused the end to come around. It threw all of us for a bit of a loop.
The story is about a boy who develops a love — an obsession, really — with collecting things. When he collects all of something, he finds something new. This behavior continues on until he's an old man, collecting memories along with items.
I love the sound effects in this movie. It's a weird thing to love, but the the solid clunking of the different collectibles was comforting and more vivid than even real life sounds.
If you're into imagery and metaphors and deep life lessons, then The Collector is right up your alley. If you're not, it will be a little tough to wrap your head around. See it more than once to get it to fit with your worldview.
Borderless
I loved this movie. Elena Torres, a college student and illegal immigrant, and Jason Whitsell, a campus Republican, are the two characters in this great short about learning to trust and accepting help from new friends.
Elena washes dishes for 40 hours a week, sleeps in the library at night, and goes to campus events that provide food so she can eat; Jason is the son of a U.S. Congressman who's against illegal immigration. Elena has to learn that she either has to trust Jason or spend her days and nights alone.
The website, BorderlessMovie.com says this is a story about being who you are, even when you are afraid that who you are is not what other people would accept.
What was especially surprising was that this was done as a USC graduate thesis film. It was well-acted, well-shot, and in short a great movie. It was my second favorite of the whole series, and actually a tough call to make.
The Chef's Letter
Rob is a successful chef with a wife who loves him and a daughter who adores him. Everything is going great, but he falls in love with a male trainee, so he writes a letter on the trainee's last day, telling him how he feels.
I found myself pulling for the two characters who never made an appearance in the film, Rob's daughter and wife. I wanted Rob to follow his loyalty and family commitments, not follow his infatuation. I can imagine it was a hard decision for him, and I've known people who have faced this decision. Knowing Rob's dilemma made this a difficult film for me to "just watch." I became emotionally invested in the story, wondering and worrying about what would happen.
Weathered
My favorite movie of the whole series. Weathered is a story about a woman, Weather, who lost her fiancée, Jules, in the 1990s, and has refused to move on in her grief and mourning. Her computer is a word processor, she uses an answering machine, and still listens to record albums.
As Jules' life came to an end, and all their friends faded out of their life, the doctors and nurses were the only human contact in Weather's life. So as a way to receive some human contact, Weather visits every kind of medical professional she can imagine, saving their little flyers, prescriptions, and sheets of paper they hand her.
It's only by accident that Weather's life gets shaken off center and we think she may finally move on a bit. Starring Nicole Parker of MadTV and Broadway's Wicked, and Tony Hale of Arrested Development, this film became my favorite of the entire slate.
I had a chance to meet Matt Barber, one of the writers who also played Jules, after the show, and talk to him for a little bit about script writing. Pretty cool, pretty cool.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
TIGER NEXT DOOR Review
The documentary, Tiger Next Door, begins with a sobering fact. “Experts estimate that there are more tigers in private captivity in the USA than there are roaming wild in the world”. The film then introduces the audience to Flat Rock, Indiana resident Dennis Hill, owner of many types of wildlife including over 24 tigers. The film follows Hill’s struggle with Indiana DNR officials to keep his tigers amid concerns over whether he can appropriately care for them.
After an unexpected inspection by government officials reveals less than satisfactory conditions, Hill loses his license and is forced to give up his animals by the Indiana DNR. The most exciting scenes show Hill trying to find last minute, temporary homes for his tigers before a final inspection of his property. If he passes the inspection, he is allowed to keep some of his tigers, if he fails he loses all of his tigers for good.
The film gives a balanced view of both sides of the argument. Hill’s calm and assuring personality makes it hard to believe that he has anything but his animal’s best interests in mind. At the same time you have to question whether the tigers are truly happy having to spend their entire lives in small cages isolated from one another. Questions are also raised throughout about the quality of homes that Hill sells his tigers too. Hill never makes it clear how much background checking he does to ensure that the buyers aren’t simply buying the tigers to slaughter for their meat and skins.
Joe Taft of the Exotic Feline Rescue Center, is also featured throughout the film and provides a counter viewpoint to that of Dennis Hill. Taft’s facilities are clearly better funded and better equipped to provide a more fulfilling life to the captive tigers. Taft believes that the tigers need extremely large areas to roam, and that they require the company of fellow animals. Throughout the majority of the film the two are filmed separately giving their opposing viewpoints. At the end of the film they finally appear on screen together where things get heated and some shocking allegations are made by both parties.
The film makes it clear; there aren’t easy answers for the issue. On the one hand the tiger’s natural habitat is constantly shrinking and they are on the path to extinction. If the only alternative though is to live isolated in captivity in small cages, is it worth it?
Whats new at IIFF this year: Part 2
Craig Mince is the man behind the programming for this year's IIFF. He's worked hard to both execute the vision of the IIFF as well add to its richness. Craig recently ran the Really Big Short Film Festival at the IMAX Indianapolis. We'll be talking to Craig a lot over the next few days about whats new with IIFF this year!
- Indyfilmfest
- Indyfilmfest
Monday, July 20, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
TROLL 2's George Hardy at IIFF
George Hardy surprised fans at Best Worst Movie & Troll 2 screenings.
Nil(b)log: BEST WORST MOVIE & TROLL 2
Going into the documentary Best Worst Movie I had no idea what to expect. I had never seen Troll 2 so I had no idea really what I was going to be watching. The documentary tells the tale of the cult phenomena of one bad movie that became good (but still was bad).
Michael Stephenson is the director of the film. Michael played Joshua Waits in the movie. Interestingly enough, half the cast in the movie had no idea of it original release date or how bad the movie was. The documentary followed George Hardy who played the dad in Troll 2. Michael followed him around in his everyday life of being a dentist and father. Years after Troll 2 was released, George Hardy and Michael discover the cult following to this movie. They traveled around to different screens meeting fans. This was not just a documentary about a bad movie - it relates on a human level. You are introduced to the personal lives and dreams of some of the actors. Most of the people who stared in the movie really had a passion to act and thought this would be there break through role. The bittersweet part of the story is the fact that it wasn't until years later that they are got the recognition and fame for their roles. All the cast will agree that it was a horrible movie but can laugh at the experience. The best part is the director of the movie, Claudio Fragasso, really believes this was a good movie and is the reason for such phenomena as Harry Potter. It is an entertaining story of average people who were in the worst movie ever.
Immediately after the screening, Troll 2 played at the outdoor theater of the IMA. All I have to say about Troll 2 is that it is definitely one of the worst movies I have seen, but I would watch it again. I want to make my friends watch it too. George Hardy was at the screening of Best Worst Movie and talked with the audience. He was a really genuine person and very friendly. He tried to call Michael Stephenson who was in New Zealand at another film festival, but was unable to reach him due to reception. George also came to the screening of Troll 2 and walked around and interacted with the audience.
Whats new at IIFF this year: Part 1
Craig Mince is the man behind the programming for this year's IIFF. He's worked hard to both execute the vision of the IIFF as well add to its richness. Craig recently ran the Really Big Short Film Festival at the IMAX Indianapolis. We'll be talking to Craig a lot over the next few days about whats new with IIFF this year!
IIFF Founder Brian Owens on upcoming films
If you're not familiar with Brian Owens, you should be. He's the man that envisioned and led the IIFF for its first five years! He's now leading all programming efforts for the Nashville Film Festival. Here's a video of our chat with him yesterday at the Toby.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Official Rejection Review
On Thursday I went and saw Official Rejection. I knew loosely about the film and thought it was an interesting idea to make a documentary about getting rejected by film festivals. The movie was funny and very informative. I would recommend this movie to any person who wants to get in to the entertainment business - whether they want to be an actor or director.
Official Rejection (see trailer) goes through the process of promoting your film, submitting your film, and the atmosphere and culture of a film festival. It was interesting to see how one minute you could feel like you were on top of the world at a festival, but then the next minute you are left to return to your hotel room alone. Official Rejection reveals how corporate sponsors are now in control of big name film festivals. If your film did not have Hollywood stars in it then you would not get selected. It was also sad to see how screeners for a festival are over loaded and generally could miss your film in a stack of 100s.
The documentary was a really good marketing ploy because now I want to go seek out the film that was rejected so many times. The documentary is not totally defeating. The filmmaker does come out on top. My only issue was that it was a little lengthy. I think the filmmaker could make his point and have room to cut out. If you are a filmmaker, and looking for information or resources about promoting your film or submitting your film, you should check this documentary out.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Night 2 of IIFF: Indiana Black Expo Night
SinnerMan
Arriving about 10 minutes later than the feature film Prince of Broadway was scheduled to start; we were in for a surprise when we entered the Toby Theater in the IMA. Thankfully, the short film SinnerMan was playing when we arrived. We started watching it about half way in, and I really wish we would have seen it from the beginning. What I caught from the middle was, for me, very exhilarating and captivating. Because I have heard and seen several stories in movies, from friends, and on the news about police discrimination and violence toward black men, my heart raced as Freeman, played by Matthew Cadet, quickly tried to leave the scene where an old pot smoking, drug dealing acquaintance was heckling him. As he is walking away, after telling the ne’er do well that he is trying to get his life straight, a police officer quickly approaches him shining his flashlight and insinuating that the teen is up to no good. Heart pounding, heart pounding… I’m not giving away what happened.
Doing the best I can to summarize the film without seeing the full film, Freeman, the son of a Preacher, is dating a white girl and has a great life with her but is haunted by skeletons in his closet. He has gotten another girl pregnant and doesn’t want his girlfriend to find out. He does everything that he possibly can to keep the baby and the mistress a secret to save his relationship. The end is a shocking tragedy that leaves one to wonder how often this situation happens.
I give SinnerMan a B- with a strong recommendation to check out the film if given the chance, and I would love to see an extended version of the film.
Prince of Broadway
Prince of Broadway, the feature film of the night, was directed and produced by Darrren Dean. The film started slightly rocky for me. Being turned off by the “hustling” shown, I was relieved to get to the plot of the film. Lucky, a Ghanaian man played by Prince Adu, is trying to get by in the “hard-knockoff life” streets of New York City. Trying to make a living by enticing pedestrians into the back room of the illegal store run by Levon, an Armenian-Lebanese illegal immigrant, selling designer label purses and shoes, his life is quickly disrupted. Linda, a young Hispanic woman aggressively passes her young toddler to Lucky. Linda, claiming that Lucky is the baby’s father, speeds off in the back seat of a car leaving Lucky standing on the street with a baby who would later be called the Prince of Broadway.
Eagerly trying to track Linda down, Lucky is forced to care for the baby while Linda disappears with her boyfriend who restricts her from keeping the baby in her care. The film is filled with ups and downs, showing the struggles that immigrants in the U.S. face, and comedic situations as Lucky does what he can to look after the child while simultaneously attempting to return the baby to his mother.
I give the Director and Producer, Darren Dean, an A+ for making himself available for mingling with viewers after the film. I look forward to future films produced by Darren.
Check out my Flickr album for more photos from the night.
Q&A with Free Wall producers
Q&A session with the producers of the Ball State University-produced Free Wall at the "Living in Indiana, Filming in Indiana" screening last night in DeBoest Lecture Hall at the IMA:
Thursday, July 16, 2009
500 Days of Summer Video Recap
NUVO's Jim Poyser waxes philosophically about 500 Days of Summer outside the after party at Forty Five Degrees.
Opening Night and 500 Days of Summer
Opening night of the IIFF went well. This year the festival was held at the IMA - a change from Keystone Arts where it has been held in prior years. I think the change was for the better. The IMA offers still the same atmosphere as Keystone Arts but now the film festival is not located in the heart of a mall. Viewers are still able to bring drinks and food in to the theater as they did at Keystone. The IMA Theater has a fun artsy feel to it - topped off with giant bean bag chairs in the front row.
Once the festival got underway, we heard from Dorothy Henckle, the new president of the board for the IIFF, and Brian Owens, the original founder of the IIFF, who came up from Tennessee.
The opening night movie was 500 Days of Summer. It's not a love story, but a story about love. 500 Days of Summer is directed by Marc Webb and staring Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Zooey and Joseph play the main characters Tom and Summer. The story begins with Tom and Summer working at the same company and is a classic tale of boy meet girl. Both characters have a different outlook on life and love. In the movie Tom has the help of his two friends and wise sister. Tom’s friends McKenzie and Paul who are played by Geoffrey Arend and Matthew Gray Gubler give a good comedic relief. The movie is a romantic comedy with reality laced in.
500 Days of Summer portrays a good example of how we can get so carried away with obsessing and analyzing someone before we gain the courage to even talk to them. I found myself relating to too many of the different stages they went through in their relationship and I think most viewers could also. It is entertaining to have a wise 11yr old sister, but I feel this role has been played out in many other movies and could have done with out. The best part of the movie for me is when they create the scenario of reality and fantasy. I think anyone can relate when we have expectations of how an evening will go and then reality sets in. 500 Days of Summer also creates a beautiful image of downtown Los Angeles that we generally do not see in movies. The film also has a strong soundtrack that carries you through the various different moods.
If you missed the screening last night I would suggest to look for it when it comes to theaters. It is a fun movie that goes through all phases of a relationship from begin to the end.
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