Merrick here...
That headline sounds like a Roger Corman movie.
As promised in the first installment, here's the conclusion of Psychedelic's look at films featured in this year's Los Angeles Film Festival, which wrapped up on July 2.
RIGHT AT YOUR DOOR is the one that grabs my attention out of this lot; sounds like an interesting examination of/spin on Al-Queda tensions mixed with New Orleans inefficiency. Might be one to watch out for...
Here's Psychedelic...
Hey Harry and Image Surveyors,
Beneath undulating waves of time and space, rippling hypnotically to frontal lobe currents, I bring to you more reviews from the 2006 Los Angeles Film Festival in Westwood Village.
Mario’s Story
Long legal battles over many years are probably one of the hardest situations to turn into compelling drama, let alone a suspenseful thriller. Yet directors Jeff Werner and Susan Koch do just that in this documentary. Mario Rocha was wrongfully imprisoned at age 16 for a murder he didn’t commit. At 18, in an improperly handled trial, he received a life sentence. The hand-wringing and at times appalling details of his appeal process are chronicled.
The underlying urgency of his life at stake is the narrative’s propelling heartbeat. This is in large part because of Mario’s indomitable spirit which finds articulation in his poetic writings. The other component is his family’s continuing hope. This story is very much in progress ten years later; Mario has another hearing on July 25th in downtown Los Angeles.
Right At Your Door
This is the underlying nightmare that’s plagued our country since 9/11. A series of dirty bombs detonate in Los Angeles sending lethal toxins into ash air. Told from the small perspective of a husband (Rory Cochrane) and wife (Mary McCormack) plus the handyman from next door (Tony Perez), uncertainty and paranoia build up as none of the promised help comes. Is the government to be believed? Who knows what’s really happening? What’s the best treatment for contaminated people?
Writer-director Chris Gorak has a streamlined story that doesn’t bog down in unnecessary melodrama. The situation and characters are intelligently laid out in linear fashion focusing on immediate human drama. This is shouldered by excellent performances that don’t ring false notes. It’s been picked up by Lion’s Gate and will hopefully play at a theatre near you soon.
Swedish Auto
A guy and girl, who are very shy, follow each other and don’t speak. The first twenty minutes are yawningly predictable and plodding. I dreaded the rest. The guy (Lucas Haas) and girl (January Jones) talk to each other and performances charm. Both are isolated due to family tragedies. He’s a mechanic and infatuated with a cute violinist. She’s a waitress where he lunches daily and her mother’s boyfriend is an abusing brute.
I surprisingly was won over and genuinely wanted these lonely souls together. The rebuilding of a car reflects the rebuilding of their spirits. Lee Weaver excels as the encouraging kind owner of the service garage. Writer-director Derek Sieg honestly portrays the initial trepidacious steps of romantic connection. The story grows naturally from the characters. Next time Sieg needs a more engaging beginning.
This Film Is Not Yet Rated
This much talked about documentary expose of the internal workings of the MPAA lives up to the hype. To uncover the secret identities of the raters who imprint G, PG, PG-13, R, and NC-17 (formerly X) on almost every movie, director Kirby Dick hires a private investigator. Parallel to this, Dick deconstructs the hypocritical ways ratings are applied. In one instance, gay and straight sex scenes with similar camera angles are compared side by side.
There’s also rumination on this country’s information control being in the hands of a few conglomerates and how this chills open discourse and perceptions. Everything is relayed with pointed humor. Harry rightly raved about it earlier this year. Unfortunately, I’m afraid it has preached to the choir so far. A wide public audience needs to see this in order to understand who, what, and why influences what they watch.
In Between Days
Two Korean teens, a girl and guy probably about 14, hang out and have repressed immature romantic feelings indigenous to their age.
Jiseon Kim is wondrous in the lead role as the girl. Her vulnerable, sweet, open face allows her emotions to stream across screen. All performances are natural and unaffected. I was held under its spell until three-fourths of the way through, and then really dragged. Tighter editing is required. For example, there are too many city shots with her voice-over reading letters to an absent father. There’s an amateurish over reliance on close ups; 80% of the movie is in close-up, that’s no exaggeration. The ending would be more powerful if not for these self-indulgences. As it is, co-writer and director So Yong Kim’s work is uneven but shows much promise.
Weary bleary exhales call down roadways and wakes of the awaiting holiday. Until cinema compels us again…
-Psychedelic
