Far behind the headlines are the people engaged in the conflict between Israel and Palestine. What's more, there are people behind the teens and adults killing themselves and each other in this conflict. There are the children growing up very fast in the midst of all this insanity. The film gives you a glint of hope that this conflict could some day end by planting the seeds of cooperation in the next generation, but then makes you wonder when revisiting the same children, slightly older, and more personally affected by tragedies on both sides. Overly aged, bitter, and sounding very much rhetorically programmed, these kids are being swept up in forces much larger than them, and one wonders if we can't count on the children to end this vicious cycle, how will the conflict ever end?
Reviews
6 Reviews
One Point O
(2004)
Atmospheric thriller delivers creeps, laughs - SPOILERS
1 March 2004
Warning: Spoilers
Saw this creepy film at Sundance January of '04, and it was very effective at creating a claustrophobic yet outlandish Gilliamesque environment consistent with its theme, namely the pervasive and unchecked spread of embedded consumerism.
Sisto delivers an increasingly out of control performance that is riveting to watch, and it's a kick to see Lance Henriksen play an off-kilter role like this, though I'd have liked to see it pay off with greater impact. Udo Kier is his usual deliciously kooky self, and Deborah Unger is gorgeously melancholy as usual. That's a good thing, though I'd really like to see this woman get a role she can break out with.
The film takes a bit to work up a rhythm, but becomes genuinely unsettling for the better part of its running time, and it generates a number of uncomfortable and truthful laughs.
All in all, it was a cool Sundance find, but I also know there's an audience out there that appreciates this kind of work (Gilliam, PKD and other literate speculative fiction lovers), and I think they'll be more than satisfied with this debut from Renfroe and Thorsson.
Sisto delivers an increasingly out of control performance that is riveting to watch, and it's a kick to see Lance Henriksen play an off-kilter role like this, though I'd have liked to see it pay off with greater impact. Udo Kier is his usual deliciously kooky self, and Deborah Unger is gorgeously melancholy as usual. That's a good thing, though I'd really like to see this woman get a role she can break out with.
The film takes a bit to work up a rhythm, but becomes genuinely unsettling for the better part of its running time, and it generates a number of uncomfortable and truthful laughs.
All in all, it was a cool Sundance find, but I also know there's an audience out there that appreciates this kind of work (Gilliam, PKD and other literate speculative fiction lovers), and I think they'll be more than satisfied with this debut from Renfroe and Thorsson.
Chekhov's Gun
(1997)
The comedic height of meta-theatricality
15 August 2002
If literate, knowing, wink-wink humor is up your alley, then you have to find a way to get your hands on a copy of this short. Being an early, low-budget effort, you'll have to forgive some of the production values, but that's easy to do because the focus is where it belongs: on being smart and entertaining. Chekhov's Gun is hilarious, and still one of Nix's best works.
The Big Blue
(1988)
Maybe I shouldn't have seen the director's cut
10 August 2000
I'd never seen the film, but had been only told passionate things about it, and indeed there are many aspects of The Big Blue to recommend it. I just came home from seeing the director's cut in a theater on La Brea in Los Angeles called the Showcase. This bloated cut masked what could have been a very tight film that probably resembles more closely the comments that I've been reading since I came home.
It's funny how the non-American actors totally out-did their American co-actors. I really feel that the Americans could have been cut back considerably for a far more pleasing film. The sequences with Arquette, particularly toward the end, felt unnatural compared to the world Besson created between the two divers, though I did care enough about their relationship that I got pretty upset when Mayol left the pregnant Joanna behind for the sea, just like his own father...
Anyway, an interesting story, fairly involving for the most part, but I have a feeling I would have been better off seeing the non-US, non-director's cut. That said, if you live in Los Angeles, you may be one of the few people in the world who get to see this film on the big screen. Check it out.
It's funny how the non-American actors totally out-did their American co-actors. I really feel that the Americans could have been cut back considerably for a far more pleasing film. The sequences with Arquette, particularly toward the end, felt unnatural compared to the world Besson created between the two divers, though I did care enough about their relationship that I got pretty upset when Mayol left the pregnant Joanna behind for the sea, just like his own father...
Anyway, an interesting story, fairly involving for the most part, but I have a feeling I would have been better off seeing the non-US, non-director's cut. That said, if you live in Los Angeles, you may be one of the few people in the world who get to see this film on the big screen. Check it out.
Time Bandits
(1981)
An imaginative classic that entertains me now as much as it did when I was a kid
16 August 1999
If I had owned this film on VHS tape, and not had cable, I would have worn out the tape when I was younger. I saw this movie a zillion times in the early 80's, and it was my first exposure to the wonders of Terry Gilliam and, ultimately, Monty Python. Not a bad route, if you ask me.
Idle Hands
(1999)
A surprisingly fun horror-comedy
12 April 1999
Unlike Go, I was expecting nothing out of this movie, but I ended up laughing quite a bit, and appreciating what is likely to be an overlooked horror-comedy gem. It isn't perfect (some scripted moments between the two "romantic" leads are downright unbelievable, though that's hardly surprising in a movie like this), but it's one of those movies that is good to see if for no other reason than it's not being overly hyped (a la Go), and it's a hell of a lot of fun.
Seth Green is obviously having a great time here, and the lead, Devon Sawa (with whom I'm completely unfamiliar) is actually pretty entertaining in a Jim Carrey-esque role. And the third guy (not sure which actor plays him, but he's the guy who loses his head) is also pretty damn funny. A real solid set of actors that worked well together comedically. The romantic interest is a young little hottie (17 playing 17 for a change... but 18 real soon) who is perfect for the part, even though the writing for her is pretty weak. Supporting cast is fine, though nothing extraordinary (Vivica A. Fox isn't killer as the evil-slaying "priest," but she has a lot of fun with it, and it's interesting to see her in a role like this).
The real kudos go to director Rodman Flender for creating a vervy movie that manages to be hysterically funny at times and shockingly violent (but not explicitly violent) at others (and sometimes simultaneously). The whole concept is reasonably pretty out-there (lazy pot-head's idle hands become the devil's playpen), and some of the gags are fantastic. There's a fun, irreverent mind at work on this, and if you have an afternoon to check this out, it's worth the money.
Seth Green is obviously having a great time here, and the lead, Devon Sawa (with whom I'm completely unfamiliar) is actually pretty entertaining in a Jim Carrey-esque role. And the third guy (not sure which actor plays him, but he's the guy who loses his head) is also pretty damn funny. A real solid set of actors that worked well together comedically. The romantic interest is a young little hottie (17 playing 17 for a change... but 18 real soon) who is perfect for the part, even though the writing for her is pretty weak. Supporting cast is fine, though nothing extraordinary (Vivica A. Fox isn't killer as the evil-slaying "priest," but she has a lot of fun with it, and it's interesting to see her in a role like this).
The real kudos go to director Rodman Flender for creating a vervy movie that manages to be hysterically funny at times and shockingly violent (but not explicitly violent) at others (and sometimes simultaneously). The whole concept is reasonably pretty out-there (lazy pot-head's idle hands become the devil's playpen), and some of the gags are fantastic. There's a fun, irreverent mind at work on this, and if you have an afternoon to check this out, it's worth the money.
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