Tag Archives: film festival viewings

Review: Nobody Walks

Review: Nobody Walks

Yet another film I saw this year at the Sarasota Film Festival, Nobody Walks  follows the the blossoming relationship between Martine, a young film director (Olivia Thirlby) and her audio tech mentor, Peter (John Krasinski). Peter is a guru at sound mixing and has agreed to help Martine add sound to her film project, which follows insects on their day-to-day journeys, much like the David Attenborough feature Life in the Undergrowth. Martine comes to live at Peter’s luxe house during the project, and enjoys privacy in the pool house.

As the duo delve deeper into the mission, Peter begins to find Martine irresistible, even as she denies that she is cloyingly trying to entice him. The two bond over their artful success over mixing her film, which only further cranks up the sexual tension. Peter’s intern, much closer to Martine’s age than his, flirts with Martine and this drives Peter into a crazed frenzy of jealousy, even though he cannot articulate to himself why.

There’s only one problem with this burgeoning love story. Peter is married. With kids. And they all live in the big house in front of Martine’s pool house. Melodrama ensues.

If you are expecting John Krasinski’s character to be anything like Jim on The Office, you will be shocked and amazed. Krasinski has stifled the funnyman shtick in other films – most notable in his directorial/screenwriter debut, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (which I do not recommend).

Olivia Thirlby is one of those faces that seems to make people say “Aaah, where do I know her from?” You may have seen her as Jason Schwartzman’s ex on HBO’s Bored to Death or more recently in the unforgettable Moscow disaster blunder The Darkest Hour. She has some indie cred from films such as Juno, Being Flynn, Breaking Upwards, and The Wackness, but some career missteps as well: No Strings Attached, Dredd 3D (I’m assuming) and did I mention The Darkest Hour?

The effervescent Lena Dunham scribed the screenplay, which I didn’t know until the film’s credits. From an objective viewer standpoint, this was probably a plus as I am such a big Lena fan — her awkwardfest debut Tiny Furniture is over-the-top quirky and squirmy, but easily watchable and endearing.

Much like Peter’s inability to articulate his jealousy, I cannot closely articulate my reasons for not loving the film. It dragged in a few places, even though the runtime is a mere 83 minutes. Several pivotal scenes feel like the “oomph” has been diluted; much more a critique of how the film is shot rather than Dunham’s screenplay. However, the story and dialogue is lackluster, leaving us with a wholly mediocre adventure in suburban infidelity, where nothing new is ventured and nothing new is gained.

Watch the trailer, and catch the film on iTunes on September 6th or in cinemas on October 12th.

Recommendation Level: Barely Recommended (and only as a rental). Sorry, Lena.

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Review: The Day

The Day

Review: The Day

The Day is a new post-apocalyptic horror film with a whole host of actors you know from other genre films. I liked it but didn’t love it.

We saw this film at the Sarasota Film Festival in April. The filmmakers were in attendance along with actors Ashley Bell and Dominic Monaghan.  You may remember Monaghan best as the hobbit Merry from the Lord of the Rings trilogy and as Charlie on Lost. He was affable during the post-viewing Q&A – maybe even endearingly goofy. It was clear that he enjoys interaction between the audience/fans and himself, and I always respect an actor for this. Similarly, Ashley Bell (the tortured young girl from The Last Exorcism) was incredibly gracious toward the audience and her experience on the film.

X-Men’s Iceman Shawn Ashmore  and Shannyn Sossamon round out the principal cast.  Michael Eklund continues his run of creepy roles as the chief of predatory clan. Eklund brings a feral quality to the role that other actors would have spoiled by overacting, lack of nuance, or an overindulgence in the cheese quotient.

The basic premise is a devastated earth yields little fuel, animals, or food for the remaining human race. Survivors band together to scavenge what they can to subsist, but ruthless clans of predators have picked off many of these intrepid human remnants. Five somethings are being tracked by one of these clans, and rather than run and be picked off one-by-one by the ruthless trackers, they hole up for a final stand in an old farmhouse and prepare for battle.

Luckily, this protypical siege film is pretty true to its genre and premise. It’s straightforward in that if the premise sounds appealing to you, you will probably like it. If it doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, it likely isn’t. The Day does not pull its punches.

The “preparing for battle” montage was probably my favorite scene of the movie. Cornered without arms, the quintet use ingenious methods to cobble together weapons and traps for their would-be assailants (who of course are expected to arrive at dark).  The gore is not over the top, but do know that most of the combat is of the hand-to-hand variety, and a female is tortured practically to the point of losing consciousness.

As for the shooting aspects, the film was beautifully shot in a muted palette.  The colors of the world have bled out with the last bastion of humanity, and it adds a really gritty atmosphere to the film. You may even forget from time-to-time that the film was shot in color because the landscape is utterly gray and dreary.

The filmmakers were coy when an audience member asked what caused the apocalypse, but they seemed to insinuate it was possibly environmentally-related. It seemed they didn’t want you to question to “why” or “how” of their set-up, but just get immersed in it. I think this is partially folly – while I get they are not trying to make a Message Film, trying to analyze the plot beyond what was shown on-screen was not rewarded.

WWE Studios is distributing the film. According to VideoETA, the DVD is slated for a November release if you don’t catch it in its limited theatrical run.

The trailer is here, but I would advise against seeing it; the trailer reveals a fairly significant and unanticipated spoiler than I was glad not to know going into the movie completely blind.

Recommendation Level: Recommended (if you are a fan of the genre).

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Review: Juan of the Dead (Juan de los Muertos)

Review: Juan of the Dead

I saw this film back in March at the Gasparilla International Film Festival in Tampa, Florida. It was our third year in attendance. Coming into the festival, I had secret hopes that Juan would serve as this year’s Strigoi, the Romanian/UK horror-comedy (available on Netflix Instant).

Juan, he did not let us down. Touted as the Cuban Shaun of the Dead by the media, this slogan really sells the film short because it is more than just a Spanish-language counterpart. Indeed, Juan is an homage to our beloved Shaun, but it stands on its own two undead legs too. One reviewer makes fun of the incessant comparisons to Shaun of the Dead with his parody titles list, including Prawn of the Dead, Lawn of the Dead, Faun of the Dead, et al.

This gory romp has pure moments of comic relief buffeted by intense action sequences that scandalize the audience in its honest brutality. Tucker and Dale v. Evil may be a better comparison for this element, among others.

The film has real heart. Initially, Juan is shown as a feckless, absentee father interested only in beer, women, and chortling with his pudgy best friend. His transition into zombie-combating greatness does not seem forced and is surprisingly organic. The tragic pre-outbreak relationship between Juan and his teenage daughter is remarkably spot-on for a film with so much zombie fodder.

As his undead-killing prowess improves, so does his relationship with his daughter, who finally sees her father as the leader she has always wanted in her life. Raised by her grandmother, the daughter has the sass and spunk that is needed in what is otherwise a male-dominated cast.

Characters use insanely ingenious methods of dispatching the infected. I dare not ruin any for you, but two scenes in particular will be a treats you have always wanted but have never been given in somewhat similar fare.

Cuba, for all its problems (both of image and actual substance) should be proud of its film industry for making such an entertaining, solid film. While being marketed as Cuba’s first horror film, there has been dispute as to whether this is really the case. Anyway, politics are not wholly removed from this neo-Cuban classic. A visit to the film’s website reveals the apropos tagline: “50 years after the revolution, a new revolution begins.”

See the trailer and you will get an excellent idea of the film’s feel. No punches were pulled during the editing of this preview. Juan of the Dead is now available on VOD in USA and Canada. Check for screenings of the film here.

Recommendation Level: Strongly Recommended

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