Because It's A Habit...

It's been three days and whoever really wanted to know my thoughts can't possibly care anymore, but habit forces me to write my weekly "On The Lot" review. Time constraints forced my delay, but I did watch the show Tuesday night to see six films with a hint of romance. First up was favorite Zach with "The Bonus Feature", his homage to a variety of movies. I liked the concept- a couple hits play on an in-car DVD player without putting the DVD in and find themselves transported into a different movie every time they press “Play”. The special effects were great, but there wasn't much romance. It was one of Zach's weaker efforts, but it was still pretty good.
Next was Will's "Unplugged", in which two desk lamps try to get together after hours at an office where they reside in adjoining cubicles. Will has been criticized for not having enough dialogue in his films and this was no exception. He does need to work with actors more. But it is also a rare filmmaker who can keep audiences interested in a story strictly through music and visuals. Will is that exception and deserves praise for it!
Sam was lucky he wasn’t eliminated last week. His luck should run out this week after "American Hoe." A couple sending out wedding invitations get into an argument when the groom brings home Farm History stamps instead of heart stamps. The film's title made a dead giveaway of one joke and ruined my enjoyment of the film. It was too obvious and easily the worst film of the night.
Jason's "Old Home Boyz" was delightful. A concept I've often thought about- what would a high school reunion be like for a class raised on hip hop with songs about hoes and drugs? Jason did one better and focused on the dance moves. Seeing people 50 years later getting into a dance-off over a girl was hysterical. Seeing a few more moves busted would've been nice, but all in all, a very satisfying film.
Andrew's "Keep Off Grass" was an example of biting off more than one can chew. It was a great idea- a superhero couple gets into an argument and wreaks havoc on a man's garden. Andrew, though, spent too much time building up the argument to where the destruction begins, and the moment they leave the scene, it still looks like everything is in place. The special effects were kind of cheesy too. Andrew is one of the favorites but may find himself in trouble with this film.
Finally there was Adam's "Girl Trouble". A man tells his friend about the girl he brought home the night before. But the girl apparently is an older guy in drag. His friend tries to convince him of the problem but the man won't listen, accusing his friend of not wanting him to be happy. There was a mild surprise ending and some amusing "American Beauty" imagery, but it was not my favorite- a one-note piece that was stretched to it’s limit at two minutes.
Final Thoughts: Sam will be gone this week, Will had the best film of the week. And please don't get me started on the pleated bath towel that Adrianna was wearing.

Lights! Camera! Action!

Action week this week during "On The Lot", and of the five filmmakers on display this week, two showed a very good eye for action, one a somewhat good eye and two will probably be shown the door by the voting public.

This week's strongest films were "Sweet" from Jason Epperson and Andrew Hunt's "Zero2Sixty". Neither were true action pics, but both took different situations and added interesting action sequences. Jason's film covered the mad dash of a husband to get his wife an anniversary gift when she's expected home in 15 minutes. In the course of finding flowers for the missus, the husband manages to rescue a baby and stop a bank robber from getting away- funny stuff. Meanwhile, Andrew brought us the story of a car being stolen off a new car lot and the hot pursuit that ensures featuring an FBI agent with car salesman in tow spouting platitudes about the car they're using for the chase. Persistence pays off for the salesman in the end. Great story, good car chase scene, very effective.

The only other contestant who came close was Mateen Kemet with his look at a purse-snatching and the chase that ensues. The overall storyline wasn't so hot, but I was impressed with the editing on the action sequences. Since action was the theme of the week, he showed an eye for pleasing the audience with the action.

That left films 1 and 4 and my picks for getting the boot this week. Sam Friedlander did a short about a bounty hunter catching his man and getting involved in a shoot-out with people who want to keep his bounty from testifying in a trial. Lots of shooting but the dialogue was lame and it came off as a poor "Midnight Run" imitation. Finally, there was Kenny Luby and his short "Losers", a skateboarding film concerning a race between the usual arrogant boarder and the physics teacher who fills in for his injured son. The action- the race- was filmed reasonably well, but the acting was terrible. Also, in the middle of the race, we inexplicably get a shot of a lizard cheering for the father- very weird.

Strictly on the basis of this week's films, my guess is Sam and Kenny are going home this week. I hope that's the case, but Mateen could get the boot instead of Sam. I hope not. I think Mateen has more interesting things to say and I want to see what more he can bring us.

When Two Worlds Collide, Some Good Films Occur

After recording "On The Lot" Tuesday only to find it was instead baseball's All-Star Game, it took until Wednesday to discover this week's episode ran on Monday. So, after just watching the films last week, this week I went online and watched the full episode. I wish I’d watched just the films again. Is there anything more annoying than Adrianna Costas' voice? And now, even the contestants seem to feel obligated to remark on how "beautiful" she is. Sorry, to me she is the epitome of everything that's wrong with Hollywood- only a modicum of talent and succeeding solely because people think she looks good and wears dresses that are too short, too revealing, or both.
But on to the movies, the reason I tolerate that woman's voice every week. This week's theme was "When Two Worlds Collide". The five filmmakers did shorts based on that theme, running the gamut of comedy to social relevance. Most were entertaining. The competition is tightening up!
The first film was by Zach, my favorite to win it all. "Time Upon A Once" was inventive. Two characters who do everything in reverse move into a neighborhood of forward moving people. It touched on social relevance with one neighbor being scared of these strange people, until something happens that makes her accepting. It was a nice film that again shows that Zach has a real humanistic quality to his work.
Next was "The Legend of Donkey Tail Willie" by Hilary, my least favorite director. She finally came up with something I liked- a western fable about a man with a donkey tail looking for love. The story itself was kind of obvious, but was told in a fun way by an old cowboy narrator, making for a nice family-type film.
Will Bigham, another favorite, gave us "Spaghetti", the story of a couple who get lost and find themselves in the middle of a Clint Eastwood style spaghetti western. Overall it was an amusing movie. This is the first time Will has worked with a extensive dialogue. He knows how to tell a story on film, but still needs work at getting the best from his actors' dialogue.
"First Sight" was the latest from Shalani, one of the few directors who has mostly shown us a more serious side. This movie is no different. A superficial woman looks through a pair of special glasses and sees the people she was making fun of in a completely different light. After she sees what she really looks like, a change comes over her. As a longer movie, it would have lost a lot of impact, but at two minutes or so in length, it was a good message piece.
Last up was Adam with "Worldly Possession" and it was the only film I didn't like at all. A special globe meant for an Air Force base is relabeled by a scientist to be delivered to a couple's home. The globe contains special powers, which wreak havoc on the couple's lives. No explanation was ever given as to why the package was relabeled. And even though worse things happen with each thing the couple does to the globe, they still raise the stakes and try something bigger. Maybe there was a message there about the danger of wanting more things, but it was too hidden to be effective.
Two of the five will be going home this week. Based solely on this week's films, it would be Adam and nobody else. Based on entire body of work, it would be Hilary and nobody else. So combine the two and I'll predict Adam and Hilary are the two going home.

When Do We Willingly Stop Suspending Our Disbelief?

I learned in Theater Appreciation class that watching a play or a movie requires a willing suspension of disbelief. We are transported into a make believe world and accept that, for a couple of hours, it is real. That being said, in reviewing a movie or TV show on this blog, I’ll point out inconsistencies in storylines or characters that made my viewing less than optimal. Indeed, movie critics worldwide use plot and character inconsistencies as one basis for their columns.
I bring this up because my wife and I recently saw “1408”, based on Stephen King’s short story and starring John Cusack. I loved Cusack’s performance. It was a similar to Tom Hanks’ turn in “Castaway”- one person on screen for a long period of time with little to play off of- occasionally another actor, but not much else. Special effects were computer generated later, so he didn’t even have those to work with. Non-actors cannot imagine how difficult a task that truly is for an actor. But I digress.
“1408” is a horror movie, so a lot of willing suspension of disbelief goes into watching it. Thus, I had no problem accepting that a picture, once straight, is now crooked. Clock radio turns itself on? No problem! Of course the walls start dripping blood, that’s a given! And yet, despite all these strange things, I found myself bothered by a window.
Early on, Cusack’s character opens the window, pops his head through and looks out onto the street, only to get startled by the clock radio going off. He bumps his head on the window and returns to the room. When he comes back to the window, it’s closed again. Later, he’s looking out the same window and it slams shut on his hand, causing profuse bleeding. Upon returning to the window, IT’S OPEN AGAIN!!!
The question becomes, why do I accept all kinds of weird things happening in a locked room, but at the same time get bothered by these window sequences? When, in a movie filled with fantastical things and all sorts of mayhem, is one justified pointing out that something is not right and can’t be?
Here’s when. With everything but the two window sequences, Cusack reacted. He noticed the picture was crooked. He saw that the walls were bleeding. And he responded when the clock radio went off. But with the window, it never dawned on him that what was once open was now closed and vice versa. Thus, we have a continuity problem and our disbelief returns.
Continuity problems happen a lot in movies and TV shows. They’re not as prevalent on stage, because of the longer period of time between the start of rehearsals and the curtain going up the first time to the public, leaving plenty of time for rewrites. Some continuity problems occur not because of oversight on anyone’s part but because, in editing, it’s decided to move a scene to earlier or later than originally planned, which I suspect happened in “1408”.
Still, problems like this contribute to a viewer like me not enjoying a movie like “1408” as much as I could.

Horror Night On The Lot

It was horror night "On The Lot" and the horrow for me was discovering my Media Center didn't record it like it was supposed to. I may rail on the show itself all the time, but it was
a little strange going to the web site and just watching the films without the rest of the show around it.
Horror movies really aren't my favorite genre so my reviews may reflect that a little bit. Andrew's "Midnight Snack" was not so much scary as it was "Scary Movie". It was funny but it was so obvious this was leading up to a funny moment, what frights that were supposed to be there weren't frightening at all. Jason's effort, "Eternal Waters" was much better- one of the best of the night- the story of a mother grieving for her dead son and then being threatened by an intruder herself. Very well done. Kenny's "The Malibu Myth" was everything that's wrong with horror movies, complete with the guy who just wants to get it on with his girlfriend, the obvious set-ups and an intro and outro that was probably reminiscent of "Blair Witch Project." I did like Mateen's "Profile" a lot. It was about real personal horror- what a black man might imagine when he feels he's being pulled over by the cops for no other reason than he's black. I think his film was the most instensely personal. "Anklebiters" was Sam's foray into the genre and I might have enjoyed it even more if he hadn't given it such a title that gives the whole plot away. His creature was perfectly yucky his actors were great, but since the title gave away the whole set-up there was no element of surprise, which is essential in these types of movies. Last up was Shira-Lee's "Open House", the story of an expectant couple looking at an old house for sale. The imagery was pretty good, but the story was very flat and predictable. Best Of The Night: "Eternal Waters" and "Profile". Worst Of The Night: "The Malibu Myth" and "Open House."