Review of "Video Diary of a Lost Girl"

In Video Diary of a Lost Girl, Lindsay Denniberg brings us an unusual and ticklish tale of a demon enamored by love most unnatural. The initiates a series of bold and chaotic images with an unnerving illustration of Lillith, who, according to Jewish Folklore, was the first woman. Made from the earth just like Adam, Lillith refused to submit to her male counterpart. After he raped her, she made love to demons and gave birth to the new race of women: the Lillin. 

After the poignant and hooking introduction, Denniberg's film introduces the demons as creatures of modernity. They seem like normal girls who like to party and eat Cool Ranch Doritos, but there is one thing that's a little different: they fuck to live and fuck to kill. Once that time of the month rolls around, they bleed and it doesn't stop until they get a little somethin' somethin'. If they don't cookie their nookie, they will bleed to death, but if they harvest on time, the lover becomes the victim. Enter the youngest Lillin: Lousie. Outcast from the other Lillin, Louise is awkwardly passing her time working at an adult video store as she approaches her centennial. She quietly minds her own business, acting as close to human as she can, until the day that her very first victim,  the man who broke her death cherry, returns from the grave for a little visit. The audience soon learns that despite her demon DNA, Louise fell in love with her exed and his return proves no easier.

Video Diary of a Lost Girl
Starring: Priscilla McEver, Chris Shields
Directed by Lindsay Denniberg
My Opinion: I see a cult following...
and I'm at the front.

With all the mythology and rules and regulations of demon-hood, there is a shit-ton of story and background to communicate. However, Denniberg's spicy but casual dialogue successfully articulates the doomed love story intertwined in this unfamiliar fantasy world. The expressionalist style and use of video effective communicates the tone of the Lillin's tale. In addition to the never ending parade of enamoring imagery accented by homages to horror classics, the soundtrack creates an atmosphere of haunted lust. The voices are akin to Siouxsie and PJ Harvey tragically dying together from a  heroine overdose, yet the resulting sound is breathtaking. Somehow, the film also makes room for several catchy tunes that have adhered themselves to my cranium.

Naturally, the film isn't without its imperfections. I will reluctantly admit that the acting is one of the film's weaker points. That being said, a certain presence of awkward moments and rocky delivery have become a staple in the world of indie filmmaking, however, the dialogue in Video Diary is so clean and natural that it minimizes the shortcomings of any of the actors. Furthermore, the richness of the characters in the film prove that Denniberg sculpted each actor into their roles. In the end, everyone is very convincing and every performance has some truly, lovely moments.

Video Diary of a Lost Girl is a lot to take in one sitting. The film could be construed as another flick about an angsty adolescent demon confronting her first romance. However, it gets a little more tenderhearted than you'd expect. Even the darker moments have a spooky charm with a level of cult-class that's as addicting to original films of Tim Burton (Pewee's Great Adventure, Mars Attacks!). I'd also say that the horror films of Peter Jackson's early career were brought to mind. It's truly a wonderfully entertaining gem of indie film: dark and funny with just a touch of sweetness. It is seriously impressive for a feature debut.

Review of "The Dark Knight Rises"

The epitome of the year for nerds all over has finally come: The Dark Knight has risen, the trilogy is complete.

The Dark Knight Rises
Starring: Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy
Directed by Christopher Nolan
My Recommendation: See it.

The film begins with the winded billionaire limping through his manor, avoiding any and all public appearances. He's withered and isolated: far from the man who protected Gotham eight movie years ago. He has dissipated into an old man. Of course Christian Bale is master of deforming himself, but the transformation from the stoic Batman into the Bruce Wayne is nearly wrenching. However, Christopher Nolan doesn't take that much time exploring this Bruce; in fact, we learn more about Alfred than Bruce in this film. Of course, the state of intimacy with the superhero that the precursors establish was innovative, but Rises is differentiated by the rawness of its action-driven plot.

I wouldn't say that this is a bad thing, the movie essentially is clusterfuck of violence. One of the most important accomplishments of this film is that Bane, the new villain, fills the shoes left large and empty by Heath Ledger's Joker. Of course, the blurred lines of good and evil are so invigorating that Bane seems much more shallow. He's almost too evil. However, this does work for the story, which is less of a developed plot-line than a spiral of shit, sucking Batman down below rock bottom and forcing him to admirably pull himself back up. It's fast, angry and packed with brutal combat, much of it hand to hand. It's very entertaining action, but with a lot less depth than the previous film.

Most reviews are a side by side study of Rises and its predecessor. I fear that I have also fallen into this trap, but how can you not? The last one was great, even though I was disappointed by Two Face's story line. Whether or not it was realistic to top what the last one had done, The Dark Knight Rises was the appropriate and entertaining end to a very solid franchise. Was it too long at parts? Most definitely. Was it a little shallow? Of course. But it's fun and the biggest movie of this summer. Don't miss out.

Review of "Beasts of the Southern Wild"

New Orleans is one of the most magical and intriguing places in the entire United States. The culture is distinct and rich - especially to someone coming from Nowhere, Midwest. Needless to say, I found Beasts of the Southern Wild unwaveringly entrancing. I will begin by saying that you cannot see this film on an empty stomach, especially if you like Cajun cuisine. There must have been 100 lbs of tasty, meaty shrimp eaten in the film... and this one scene with a prostitute cooking beer battered catfish... oh, yeah. The movie.

Beasts of the Southern Wild
Starring: Quvenzahné Wallis, Dwight Henry
Directed by Benh Zeitlin
My Opinion: Highly recommended.

Taking heavily from the genre of magical realism, this film impressively portrays a child's perspective of impoverished life in a community outside the safely laden levees, an area called The Bathtub. The star of the film is Hush Puppy, a six year old girl, who lives alone with her daddy. Estranged from her maternal ties, Hush Puppy spends some of the movie hugging her mother's basketball jersey and speaking to a stick figure drawing on the wall: rather typical behavior of a motherless child. However, Hush Puppy is anything but ordinary. In fact, she is likely one of the most stoic figures in the history of cinema.

Hush Puppy's daddy raised her tough as tough can be. At first, his behavior towards his daughter seems antagonistic and bordering abusive. But quickly the viewer is made to understand that this father-daughter relationship reflects the conditions in The Bathtub. Hush Puppy's father can't coddle her: he must make a survivor out of her. Even in school, Hush Puppy learns that survival is all that matters. Anything living is meat. Yeah, it's pretty shocking to hear a six year old talking about eating her pets, but Hush Puppy is so unbelievably charming that you can't help but admire her for her strength. Naturally, when her father's ailing condition worsens, it is terrifying for the soon-to-be orphaned Hush Puppy. Yet, her almost mystical courage gives us hope.

Beasts of the Southern Wild isn't trying to make a large political statement, because that's not what Hush Puppy is seeing in her world. The film is a portrait of a very impressive little girl and her home. Now, I'm a huge sucker for an impressive child lead, but I'll be damned if this film didn't deliver that and more.

Review of "Tiny Furniture"

Blind

After officially admitting that I like Lena Dunham's new HBO series Girls, I was excited to see the film that sparked the interest of producer Judd Apatow. Unfortunately, after I saw this film I felt like I went to an obscure but Zagat rated restaurant only to receive had a tepid meal. Yeah, it kinda sucked.

I will start out by saying that the premise is modern and very relatable. Dunham's character Aura is moving back to her New York City home after graduating college with a film degree. She is greeted by her overachieving sister and her preoccupied mother who likes to photograph tiny furniture. Aura gets a job as a day time hostess at a local restaurant, where she does nothing but flirt with the cute sous chef for $11 an hour. As someone who also earned a film degree and became a hostess upon graduating, I was quite pleased about seeing my own desperate and stupid decisions play out on screen. Of course, her story was surprisingly dissimilar. Though normally I'd say that movies that show girls scouring Craigslist in their underwear are boring, apparently so is the alternative plot offered by Dunham.

Tiny Furniture
Starring: Lena Dunham, Laurie Simmons, Grace Dunham
Directed by Lena Dunham
My Opinion: Just listen to some menstrual girl bitching.
You'll save time and money for the same anti-climatic experience.

I found the stasis of the film rather surprising because Aura is at a point in her life where everything is changing. The security of being in school with but a few worries aside from keeping up in classes has just plummeted from beneath her feet, leaving her to float to a post-college home that proves much less welcoming and comfortable as it did in the past. Yes, her friends are still there, but her family is waiting for her to move out. In some ways, Tiny Furniture does a decent job of portraying her struggle and frustration, especially when it involves other people, but the outcome, as I've already said before, is not entertaining nor conclusive.

At first, the film introduces Aura to all types of different circumstances: she meets a semi-famous couch surfing YouTube comedian who ends up staying with her and working at a new job. This is all very charming and complimented by unique dialogue that isn't quite witty but more on the cute side. Nevertheless, her interactions with her friends, family and even with the mysteriously modern white closet in her mother's apartment are intriguing. I found myself excited to witness how all of these new and old relationships will unfold themselves. However, as the film wears on, it becomes little more than Aura still not getting laid by that Nietzschean Cowboy, still flirting with the hot chef, still not really getting along with her family, and still neglecting her friends.

The little conflict that actually exists in the film arises from the friction between Aura and her mother. It's pretty dull until Aura finally snaps under the mild pressure and begins to scream at her mother about the same angsty shit that we all remember screaming at our mothers when we were 15 and wildly hormonal. Unfortunately, it's not the confrontation we've been waiting for and it's a huge letdown for the climax of a rather lifeless dull movie. Furthermore, the filming of this climactic moment is so obnoxiously distancing that I had trouble caring at all. The whole debacle is filmed from far away in one long shot so as to keep us from seeing Aura's facial expressions or that of her family. I don't know what the effect of this was supposed to be, but it left me very frustrated because I didn't feeling anything for this girl whose life was so close to mine. The audience is made a fly on a very boring wall... and I just don't think it really worked.

In the same way that Aura neglects her best college friend by admitting that she can't move in with her anymore only a few days in advance, Lena Dunham neglects the script. The whole story falls through like an unsigned lease. Without the story and dialogue to back it up, what the hell is the point in making a film like this?

Review of "Jeff Who Lives at Home"

Jeff Who Lives at Home chronicles the eventful day of the estranged Jeff, his troubled brother and his lonely mother. Jeff is a stoner, living at home and nearing his thirties. Like many in his situation, he is desperately trying to discover what his place is in the world: he overanalyzes wrong numbers and random happenings, interpreting them as signs from the universe. Eventually, we witness Jeff discover a purpose to his life - one that is part of the greater whole.

Jeff Who Lives at Home
Starring: Jason Segal, Ed Helms, Susan Sarandon
Directed by Jay & Mark Duplass
My Opinion: Eh.

As a whole, the film focuses less on Jeff and his life than I had expected. It should really be called: Jeff Who Lives at Home, His Brother Who Found Out His Emotionally Abandoned Wife is Having an Affair and His Mother Who is Really Very Lonely. Obviously, that wouldn't fit on the poster as well as the actual title does, but at least it would be much more telling of what the film is actually about. While the film begins with Jeff in his gloomy, dissipated status, the purpose that he pursues comes to light in an expectedly altruistic light.  The moral is a conventional, but a truthful one: we are all here for a greater purpose, for each other. Yes, this is a nice and tidy point, but because of it the film begins to lack focus.

Each thread in the story eventually rises and converges, but unlike Jeff's life, they seem to lack a deeper meaning. Furthermore, the film veers away from comedy and maintains a steady dramatic structure that is occasionally tinged by a laugh geared by a member of the talented triad cast. The bottom line is pretty clear. There needs to be more dark humor in this at times morose tale, otherwise it's just plain uncomfortable and boring. I found myself rather apathetic to the characters in the film. In addition to the reprehensible steel drums which cast an obnoxious light in the background throughout the entire film, there was something else that impeded Jeff from being entertaining. There was a lot of potential for this film, mostly due to the cast, but I found myself watching the credits roll with a sigh of relief.

All that being said, the film's opening shot which reveals Jeff speaking his thoughts into a tape recorder while sitting on the toilet is really very clever and a wonderful introduction. I only hope that the rest of the film kept the strange, dark humor that poignantly opened the film. Unfortunately, this welcoming tone vanished quickly, leaving me anxious for Jeff to find himself just so the film would end.

A Review of "Girls"

I've finally seen every episode of HBO's new series Girls. The first couple episodes were very charming and I found myself hooked. As someone who is in a similar situation as the protagonist, Hannah, I felt that the depiction of a struggling writer facing her terrifyingly bleak future was pretty accurate: the way she stuffed her face with a dinner her parents bought her in the shot that opened the series as well as her reasoning behind the illustrations tattooed on her shoulder were such genuine, humanizing depictions of the artist as a young woman. I'll admit it, I was charmed by Lena Dunham's witty creation.

Girls
Starring: Lena Dunham, Allison Williams, Adam Driver
Created by Lena Dunham
My Opinion: Sassy and modern,
but in danger of growing stale

However, as the series moved on, the focus shifted from on Hannah's struggle in the job market: something that we can all relate to with the staggering unemployment rate of today. In fact, this important plot point moved from the forefront to backstage. For example, I would find myself bewildered when Hanna was suddenly in an unfamiliar office that I had never witnessed her finding. There was one hilariously disastrous interview that I recall, but that obviously didn't go anywhere. So how did she land the gigs with the touchy-feely old guy and as a barista at some trendy coffee shop? The audience never learns the story of how Hannah obtained two different jobs with no experience. Because Hannah's lack of qualifications for any job is such a fundamental part of her character, these little details cannot be left out; it's an unfortunate missed opportunity and it left me rather disappointed.

Furthermore, the first couple episodes displayed the graphic sex and lack of censorship for which HBO has always been known. However, I began to notice a trend in the intimate scenes. Hannah frequently noted that she came close to having an orgasm but never actually did, Marnie tried to have sex with Charlie only to get him back and stopped half way through and Jessa was seen having sex with a man purely to exert her power over him. Despite the sometimes darker ironic comedy in the show, this pattern revealed something more dismal than the abortion waiting room party- Girls don't have sex for themselves.

While this may be an accurate comment on the lives of some girls, I know for a fact that women enjoy sexual pleasure and to fail to indulge that fact is rather old fashioned. Jessa seems to discuss her sexual escapades enough, but why don't we see it? Furthermore, as the series draws on, most of the sex leaves the screen. I'm not saying I'm disappointed that it didn't turn into a porno, but these are the lives of 20-somethings in New York City- where's the fucking?

At this point in the series, the partying ways of the Girls are the most entertaining. Shoshanna unwittingly hitting a crack pipe was a great plot point and I even like how the events of the party dispelled Jessa's relationship with her boss. That whole episode was well played out, but the series needs to continually hit on the lives of all four of the girls. When it focuses too tightly on one, the show gets a little stale. Or perhaps, when the plot focuses too much on Hannah and her rather dull relationship with Adam, the bad aftertaste deepens.

In conclusion, I see a lot of potential for the remainder of this series and I'm very excited to see where it goes next season. However, I do hope they can perform some upkeep with what was so alluring initially: struggle.

"We Need to Talk About Kevin"

Tilda Swinton stars as Eva in We Need to Talk About Kevin. Eva is the burdened mother of a budding psychopath who struggles with her own social problems and is now cursed with a child who is set on making her life a misery. The film follows Eva's relationship with Kevin, from conception to his development into a young man.

We Need to Talk About Kevin
Starring: Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller
Directed by: Lynne Ramsay
My Opinion: A little one dimensional, but decently enjoyable

The film is shot with subdued tones which contrast sharply against the splashes of red paint that Eva finds on her house and car in the film's graphic opening. A surrealistic tone dominates, outcasting any external reality in the film and limiting the audience's perception to that of Eva. Kevin has all the ingredients for a psychological thriller, complete with so-good-that-it's-creepy child acting. Empty, demonic eyes in a toddler refusing to please his mother by uttering the word "mommy" and painfully manipulative dialogue nearly drive us to identify with Eva, even when her frustration slowly lends itself to habits of child abuse. This element makes the film stand out among others of its kind, as it tests the boundaries and terms of a mother's love.

However, We Need to Talk About Kevin lacks the depth and the script that could have pushed the film beyond just creepy. The non-linear story introduces Kevin's mysterious deed that eventually convinces everyone else of what Eva has always known. The pending question "what did Kevin do?" is the driving force for the audience. The entire film leads to this revelation, and frankly, it's pretty disappointing. For starters, it doesn't make any physical sense and whoever decided that this would be Kevin's final act of defiance against his mother sucks at building story. Compensation for the poor twist is rather absent, especially considering the graphic bloodbath that begins the film.

Though promising with its style and dazzling cinematography, We Need to Talk About Kevin is one dimensional and relies far too much on its insufficient story. Not surprisingly, Tilda Swinton's performance stands out as the most impressive element. As a psychological thriller, the film is better than some, but allows for only minimal insight into the struggles of the psycho's mother.