tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36398707986730678442024-03-05T13:19:22.437-08:00Soldier of CinemaRobert Aaron Mitchell. Award-winning filmmaker, interviewer, writer.Robert Aaron Mitchellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484977485315027367noreply@blogger.comBlogger214125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639870798673067844.post-48140297117872950382023-05-11T11:27:00.001-07:002023-05-11T11:27:14.304-07:00THE BOBBY DIAMONDS STORY: North American Premiere 2023 Toronto Smartphone Film Festival (TSFF) <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4k4KuUKPzhPr4p0pF0jnrHD-PF70ne5XCR86tL7qbtZt9E_sq4cHiZ-2ycMkGJ_CdTYmKhBiGfdPDnps4fOSwMt2oUH6JRbdUsSdvdyhUuKml9ETok52qDfLll5YvO9ZDKbBPcmK1Gm33n9YOg0fVDViuH5BUFklwEGsp_fawGobd6741271K6TYM/s2304/PosterTHEBOBBYDIAMONDSSTORY.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="1728" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4k4KuUKPzhPr4p0pF0jnrHD-PF70ne5XCR86tL7qbtZt9E_sq4cHiZ-2ycMkGJ_CdTYmKhBiGfdPDnps4fOSwMt2oUH6JRbdUsSdvdyhUuKml9ETok52qDfLll5YvO9ZDKbBPcmK1Gm33n9YOg0fVDViuH5BUFklwEGsp_fawGobd6741271K6TYM/w480-h640/PosterTHEBOBBYDIAMONDSSTORY.png" width="480" /></a></div> <p></p><p>I am excited to announce that my movie THE BOBBY DIAMONDS STORY will be
having it's North American Premiere at the 2023 Toronto Smartphone Film
Festival on Friday June 16th at 7pm at Innis Town Hall Theatre at 2
Sussex Drive in downtown Toronto, Ontario. Team Bobby Diamonds will be
in attendance. Peter Kuplowsky has said, "The film has an enigmatic,
meta quality." </p><p>THE BOBBY DIAMONDS STORY has won Best Documentary at the
2022 Tokyo International Short Film Festival. <a href="https://www.tokyoshortfilmfest.com/post/robert-aaron-mitchell">Here is an interview Robert Aaron Mitchell did with TISFF (link here)</a>
The film has also won Best Documentary at the 2022 Venice Fullshot Film
Festival as well was an Official Selection for the Munich New Wave
Short Film Festival. Here is a trailer cut exclusively for the Toronto
Smartphone Film Festival North American Premiere. </p><p><br /></p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="415" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yR5WD6rIwvw" title="YouTube video player" width="540"></iframe>Robert Aaron Mitchellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484977485315027367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639870798673067844.post-43186468241948619582023-02-22T11:19:00.001-08:002023-02-22T11:19:07.031-08:00Quentin Dupieux’s SMOKING CAUSES COUGHING Poster & Trailer Reveal <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfjhEv39keittIXEF6jAPhSD5KjaIt-qI-XFVWhi4J1Y8zck0rqQLSKx0hH3zpnRCDqTb55mdeuNBZhRKKGz3pNa37RNOM2agmw299A4M1z3SO6sT64szrHm4yZJAx-Ylt2lKXd9-lK5UVuFcjWWR25DT5AaDoOL9egNWU4_gksUbWLT34NPgLoAxq/s2667/SCC_KeyArt_Final_small.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2667" data-original-width="1800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfjhEv39keittIXEF6jAPhSD5KjaIt-qI-XFVWhi4J1Y8zck0rqQLSKx0hH3zpnRCDqTb55mdeuNBZhRKKGz3pNa37RNOM2agmw299A4M1z3SO6sT64szrHm4yZJAx-Ylt2lKXd9-lK5UVuFcjWWR25DT5AaDoOL9egNWU4_gksUbWLT34NPgLoAxq/w432-h640/SCC_KeyArt_Final_small.jpg" width="432" /></a></div><br /> "A Superhero movie for idiots! One of the best films of the year." John Waters. The maestro of the weird is back Quentin Dupiuex (Rubber, Wrong) returns with a super hero tale. SMOKING CAUSES COUGHING, a wildly inventive new French comedy from Quentin Dupieux. The film, which had its world-premiere in Cannes’ Midnight section, follows the misadventures of a team of five superheroes known as the Tobacco Force - Benzene (Gilles Lellouche), Nicotine (Anaïs Demoustier), Methanol (Vincent Lacoste), Mercury (Jean-Pascal Zadi), and Ammonia (Oulaya Amamra).<p></p><p>After a devastating battle against a diabolical giant turtle, the Tobacco Force is sent on a mandatory week long retreat to strengthen their decaying group cohesion. Their sojourn goes wonderfully well until Lézardin, Emperor of Evil, decides to annihilate planet Earth.</p><p>
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Magnet Releasing will release SMOKING CAUSES COUGHING in theaters and on demand March 31, 2023Robert Aaron Mitchellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484977485315027367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639870798673067844.post-66459121320877545012023-02-08T23:00:00.065-08:002023-02-09T06:14:22.259-08:00THE OUTWATERS: The Desert is Lovely, Dark & Deep. A Reflection by Robert Aaron Mitchell<p> </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj81Wc6w8ZUx8s2uWezTLjqG5IXu-9hMgF1vUQTmiz1mSPJAgQLOKvHAu484kAYjWxvTNBhd-vFw3dFdhcePDWjNp14jrhMXGmYkU3SRXD1tXBN48GZDwGefmvES6N4-huL4CJhnw_Y27-9vC1q5LFqsBxCY7xBNUg6B0wC0BtTslDOTO8sc0bVpy_X/s1920/TheOutwaters_1920x1080%20Still5.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj81Wc6w8ZUx8s2uWezTLjqG5IXu-9hMgF1vUQTmiz1mSPJAgQLOKvHAu484kAYjWxvTNBhd-vFw3dFdhcePDWjNp14jrhMXGmYkU3SRXD1tXBN48GZDwGefmvES6N4-huL4CJhnw_Y27-9vC1q5LFqsBxCY7xBNUg6B0wC0BtTslDOTO8sc0bVpy_X/w400-h225/TheOutwaters_1920x1080%20Still5.png" width="460" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Outwaters. Photo Courtesy of Cinedigm</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Writer and director Robbie Banfitch has said with <i>The Outwaters</i>, "... if I’ve done my job well, it should raise hairs and evoke chills, even from die-hard horror fans. I aimed for a naturalistic, slow-burn experience that will take its audience to a place they've never been, and then beyond. I aimed for something lovely, dark and deep."</p><p>People go out to the desert for a myriad of reasons. To find themselves, to lose themselves, to connect, to disconnect. The four friends in <i>The Outwaters</i> are going out to create a music video for Michelle (Michelle August) as a way of helping elevate her music and connect with her mom who has passed away. The video will be shot by Robbie (Robbie Banfitch) who is accompanied by his brother Scott (Scott Schamell) also joining them is Angela (Angela Basolis). These four actors have pulled off something that can be difficult to do in the genre world of micro budget filmmaking. Creating a group of characters that an audience can enjoy spending time with. They are excited to head out on an adventure into the Mojave Desert. As Angela - who has never been out to the desert - remarks, "The desert seems beautiful and magical" </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUGmCAZfPHCE8Si906vY3KLp_C_o43NjkUtkJ5W2iCCWlPCz2DZv4C0Ahwjkh9Ajf5b1nuWkUT2xDOKSuGcEHOSRk5GI0NBCGYKZS_TapQUdlhdwVzgWY8plrDgcERSRvIQORc-t21x7nQRx5wRgs-Q9Tg3J65AiEKh7VuuBeeVWbEpHO5c40MYcJf/s1920/TheOutwaters_1920x1080%20Still1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUGmCAZfPHCE8Si906vY3KLp_C_o43NjkUtkJ5W2iCCWlPCz2DZv4C0Ahwjkh9Ajf5b1nuWkUT2xDOKSuGcEHOSRk5GI0NBCGYKZS_TapQUdlhdwVzgWY8plrDgcERSRvIQORc-t21x7nQRx5wRgs-Q9Tg3J65AiEKh7VuuBeeVWbEpHO5c40MYcJf/w400-h225/TheOutwaters_1920x1080%20Still1.jpg" width="460" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michelle May in The Outwaters. Photo Courtesy of Cinedigm</td></tr></tbody></table> <p></p><p>Along with the excitement there is a sense of loss. Michelle has lost her mother and it is remarked a couple of times how much she looks like her mom. Michelle's music is rooted in her mom singing to her. The Zagorac brothers have lost their father. Robbie gifts Scott a backpack, a journal for Scott's short stories as well as their dad's bandana. </p><p>There are also vibrations are all around. Literally. An Earthquake rattles the apartment the friends are hanging out in as they prepare to head to the Mojave Desert. Several aftershocks rattle the place and the nerves. Innocuous events take on ominous qualities. Someone blows out a birthday cake laden with candles. The candles flicker and get extinguished. Little red embers remain. The embers resemble little red eyes. The red lights are swallowed up by the dark. A chandelier is filmed as a hand moves the dangling crystal accents. The light catches them and flickers in dazzling and hypnotic ways. Once out into the desert there are loud, inexplicable sounds. The vibe moves from fun, easy-going to strange and weird to....<br /></p><p>Cinema for me is largely an emotional endeavor. However a film elicits it's intended response doesn't matter as long as it gets there. Comedy is of course is looking for laughs; a romantic film looks for the wonder and magic of meeting someone and perhaps the sadness of losing that someone. Filmmakers crafting a horror film are trying to make one uneasy and uncomfortable, make the viewer squirm in their seat, make the hairs standup on your arm. Perhaps cup their hand over their eyes and look at the film through the slight spaces one opens between your fingers. Make one audible exclaim, "what the fuck?!?!?!?!" and just down right scream. <i>The Outwaters</i> achieved it's goals. The hairs were standing up on my arms, as I cupped a hand over my eyes and screamed, "what the fuck!?!?!?!?!" I have watched some of the most hardcore, transgressive, dangerous cinema ever crafted. Kudos to the entire team of <i>The Outwaters </i>for setting out to make a scary movie and achieving their goal. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img as="" border="0" creators="" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="2048" embracing="" eschewing="" film="" gets="" height="285" i="" imaginations="" it="" limitations="" of="" s="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1EYM-oUZRaGpTwJnBGrLAXmmVZdkcx9DsJWofBkgmcuNToabESK4plENIBQzQkYKicaZvdcvyz7zOLw79Wn8bf6F_84WgKk1IA1gCov0Ikv8Jb7RNzgOF7rBqq2qjt_PoZKu_HR5xkbFYAIkC1b5zabGFIgozb5k8ORgC1Woyc7ZHTgJTSe8YG9RO/w400-h200/TheOutwaters_2048x1024%20Still3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" superiority.="" technical="" the="" there="" well="" width="460" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michelle May in The Outwaters. Photo Courtesy of Cinedigm</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1EYM-oUZRaGpTwJnBGrLAXmmVZdkcx9DsJWofBkgmcuNToabESK4plENIBQzQkYKicaZvdcvyz7zOLw79Wn8bf6F_84WgKk1IA1gCov0Ikv8Jb7RNzgOF7rBqq2qjt_PoZKu_HR5xkbFYAIkC1b5zabGFIgozb5k8ORgC1Woyc7ZHTgJTSe8YG9RO/s2048/TheOutwaters_2048x1024%20Still3.jpg"> </a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p> <i>The Outwaters</i> is a found footage film and one is either going to be on board with that or not. The impetus of the characters making the trek to the desert for a music video eliminates the shaky cam often found in this genre. Having Robbie looking for cool shots lends itself to a wonderful visual flair. There is a great shot of Michelle's sunglasses reflecting the sky. "Your eyes are the sky" The structure of the film is ingenious. The footage is on three memory cards that is now evidence of the Mojave Police. If you are going to take away or severely limit one of your audiences components to engage with your movie, in the case of <i>The Outwaters</i>, visually, with the use of a flashlight as the only way to see what is happening at night or complete darkness as the visual, then the other cinematic tools better be amped up. Indeed they are, the sound design of the film is incredible. I shall mention the entire credited team here. Robbie Banfitch, sound design. <i>Monkeyland Audio</i>, Trip Brock, Itai Levy and additional sound effects by Matt Shivers (an apt last name), Melody Elwell Romancito and Pete Barry. As in any micro-budget, independent film many hats have to be worn by a few amount of people. Robbie Banfitch also handles the special effects. This is no easy feat. Creating effects that are believable and effective is a difficult task. He pulls of the effects with great affect. Another great aspect of crafting a found footage film is really leaning into it and breaking the forth wall. As much as we the audiences are recoiling in terror we are drawn into what is happening in front of us because the characters are making eye contact with us. They are crying out for help. We, the audience sit in the dark unable to aid those in distress, creating another layer of fear and anguish upon the audience. </p><p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXa98lc3kYFXXLy16xI-frI_eL1qCVtoBgKvoORAJ2kVxBtTUJQYbQNIAK57HrrVZVfl1cPq5s01we563PVv3WCZx7mxFNODFgD_4G5EAR-3jYBgfMgjD_XAV8BPZXrS3BBq4dV4tDutfaPJfMyb839CmtA47ozbjijDB6D_q9y139t2UcN1JPVpN0/s1920/TheOutwaters_1920x1080%20Still2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXa98lc3kYFXXLy16xI-frI_eL1qCVtoBgKvoORAJ2kVxBtTUJQYbQNIAK57HrrVZVfl1cPq5s01we563PVv3WCZx7mxFNODFgD_4G5EAR-3jYBgfMgjD_XAV8BPZXrS3BBq4dV4tDutfaPJfMyb839CmtA47ozbjijDB6D_q9y139t2UcN1JPVpN0/w400-h225/TheOutwaters_1920x1080%20Still2.jpg" width="460" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Robbie Banfitch in The Outwaters. Photo Courtesy of Cinedigm.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>It is a privilege to be able to see a film prior to it being completely unleashed to the world and write about is trying to thread a needle. You are writing about a film in sweeping, vague notions, trying to convey your experience without giving away too much, if anything away. I'll say this, my experience watching <i>The Outwaters </i>was a hypnotic, hallucinatory, disorienting, blood soaked, terrifying, mesmerizing, chilling and shocking.<br /></p><p><i>The Outwaters</i> is a truly a triumph of micro-budget cinematic storytelling. A film like this is truly willed into existence. The desert is indeed lovely, dark and deep. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVWRKCGcye3-VXSoe2o_dD5s6hamgIccl4xnHGwToxQuOtefdH2UpHgUbuPTdlFQUINjUrJxwDFjR_vZ0QHNX8BiWdX5OeZha_iAQFklLWYhIt9k2-XfMEb_0UkiZKbD5QduI5UOocpEyL1Eolqf-fHLoHlj0hCuJ2uq1ehr_64VB5hhKeMxbZ95yB/s3091/TheOutwaters_TheatricalPoster.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3091" data-original-width="2000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVWRKCGcye3-VXSoe2o_dD5s6hamgIccl4xnHGwToxQuOtefdH2UpHgUbuPTdlFQUINjUrJxwDFjR_vZ0QHNX8BiWdX5OeZha_iAQFklLWYhIt9k2-XfMEb_0UkiZKbD5QduI5UOocpEyL1Eolqf-fHLoHlj0hCuJ2uq1ehr_64VB5hhKeMxbZ95yB/w414-h640/TheOutwaters_TheatricalPoster.jpg" width="414" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="415" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v6Du7TvNqvY" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe>Robert Aaron Mitchellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484977485315027367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639870798673067844.post-57196265715765745612022-10-27T10:25:00.001-07:002022-10-27T10:25:11.635-07:00THE BOBBY DIAMONDS STORY - Poster Reveal and Interview with Robert Aaron Mitchell<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj941_b3YPuSKdGf-5BB3Ga2tec873JDphJrU9oizocFsnv_xqLaIQm_fLBYc-kAiqvemOw6fo-drSRXRc60_h796F-Jn730uIUdODeLT5CmBR4955JopbghlB7i8H_v1Rv4QqhrADaoGrvNvv-kKdNVDthCkVexzEMdP920pyZ_pyqiDfNfxfLCHoN/s1280/thumbnail_IMG_4659(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj941_b3YPuSKdGf-5BB3Ga2tec873JDphJrU9oizocFsnv_xqLaIQm_fLBYc-kAiqvemOw6fo-drSRXRc60_h796F-Jn730uIUdODeLT5CmBR4955JopbghlB7i8H_v1Rv4QqhrADaoGrvNvv-kKdNVDthCkVexzEMdP920pyZ_pyqiDfNfxfLCHoN/w480-h640/thumbnail_IMG_4659(2).jpg" width="480" /></a></div><p></p><p>The Bobby Diamonds Story now has a poster. The poster reflects the duality of a poker player as well as the duality of the story the documentary unfolds. The film also recently won Best Documentary Short at the Tokyo International Short Film Festival joining the film's win at the Venice Fullshot Film Festival. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPWl4I7FwvXXSQnluaNiPOu60Tvvj5mIoNjgWGldpobEiYBb9dQ1M1Fp6jJUZKfe6m_Fb66ucPD9Fclif9LBIlMkzeycaATGUYQjn2wSyUQEmBdIp_7M3LhmVVhTPJVb7pgMcRFZZyVcfQZGVVC2hIqVOahbxgkQQ6O1VrFm3J5Md4q9zeYfcGVyFt/s1334/Tokyo.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1334" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPWl4I7FwvXXSQnluaNiPOu60Tvvj5mIoNjgWGldpobEiYBb9dQ1M1Fp6jJUZKfe6m_Fb66ucPD9Fclif9LBIlMkzeycaATGUYQjn2wSyUQEmBdIp_7M3LhmVVhTPJVb7pgMcRFZZyVcfQZGVVC2hIqVOahbxgkQQ6O1VrFm3J5Md4q9zeYfcGVyFt/w400-h225/Tokyo.PNG" width="460" /></a></div><p>Director and writer Robert Aaron Mitchell also recently did an interview about The Bobby Diamonds Story and film making in general. You can find that <a href="https://www.tokyoshortfilmfest.com/post/robert-aaron-mitchell?fbclid=IwAR2WkZT8AOpvcnaeb2KNf6WS8FkpIrehvJt-taa2yr8WJ3I0EHmG4mgJYYA">interview HERE</a> The film's <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt20236104/">iMDB page is HERE</a> </p><p>Here is the trailer once again:</p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="415" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/x3QGE5kR5NI" title="YouTube video player" width="520"></iframe>Robert Aaron Mitchellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484977485315027367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639870798673067844.post-27833284815757779462022-10-06T09:03:00.003-07:002022-10-06T14:40:51.819-07:00FROST Extremities of Survival Reflections by Robert Aaron Mitchell <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyROu8rR8xdMBW5CaLy_YTqcZOy3XjDR1W19HOVQ6zmwtRqyORVy29OP9Cu5FrA9iQG4o1TGKSgKg61fxjQuURjn5xfMbMMybCgBtFsTTBhgLJcKjehhE_gSw6W7U5S9rz4sdqTlkINqctQzBwD0q09AQOWFCudN8RL3PqBkP3JRthXaP0JLzQujgu/s4500/Frost.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4500" data-original-width="3038" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyROu8rR8xdMBW5CaLy_YTqcZOy3XjDR1W19HOVQ6zmwtRqyORVy29OP9Cu5FrA9iQG4o1TGKSgKg61fxjQuURjn5xfMbMMybCgBtFsTTBhgLJcKjehhE_gSw6W7U5S9rz4sdqTlkINqctQzBwD0q09AQOWFCudN8RL3PqBkP3JRthXaP0JLzQujgu/w432-h640/Frost.jpg" width="432" /></a></div><p></p><p>Hypothermia is a medical emergency when your body loses heat faster than it can produce it. As your body temperature drops, your heart, brain, and internal organs cannot function. Without aggressive resuscitation and rapid rewarming, you will ultimately not survive. Hypothermia can begin in five minutes if exposed to cold temperatures. <br /></p><p>Families can be complicated. Abby (Devanny Pinn) is driving to see her father Grant (Vernon Wells). She has not seen or spoken to Grant in five years. Abby is also pregnant. She arrives to his house high in the mountains and surrounded by an immense forest. They have dinner and the conversation is light and then turns into a strained, awkward conversation. </p><p>Quite sometime ago the father and daughter lost the matriarch of the family in a horrendous and unexpected way. Grant self medicates with alcohol and has taken to a near hermit lifestyle, fishing and hunting to make ends meet. </p><p>The next morning Grant is off to fish. He invites Abby along to relive the old days when they would embark on fishing excursions together. A set of innocuous small events leads to disaster. Grant requests that Abby leave her phone at the house. Abby asks her father to drive. Grant loses control of the car and crashes into the heavily forested mountainside.<br /></p><p>A thriller operates on the astringent action continually rising. The film succeeds in creating viable moments of tension that is true to the world the film exists in. In the thriller genre there is always the next problem, then the next hardship and the next obstacle. The filmmakers have crafted a film where these elements are well executed. They have also handled the tone of the film very well. A movie like this can very quickly go into "eye-rolling" territory. Frost resonates and is highly effective because the film does not wavier in it's survival story timbre. <br /></p><p>Devanny Pinn is outstanding in <i>Frost</i>. This is indeed her film. The audience is with her all the way as she navigates the crash scene and as she tries and survive
the elements. A huge amount of praise must also be bestowed upon the special effects team of Frost. For this film to work the special effects must be incredibly and credibly constructed. They succeed and the film succeeds because of their hard work.<br /></p><p><i>Frost</i> is unrelenting as the story unfolds into extremities of survival. How intrinsically ingrained is the survival instinct in human beings? Few films have made me physically ill. I have seen many of the most intense horror films ever crafted. <i>Frost</i> made feel quite queasy. <i>Frost</i> took me to something I have never seen before. <br /></p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="415" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-johEOS_G1s" title="YouTube video player" width="540"></iframe>Robert Aaron Mitchellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484977485315027367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639870798673067844.post-53334125575416469102022-10-05T07:57:00.004-07:002022-10-05T07:57:35.940-07:00SMOKE AND MIRRORS: The Story of Tom Savini. First Look Trailer & Stills <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQbqdnv7uPierVfJ0CEt_I4Bn36bkPcEgr5mwd6jaiL-keBelbxLsfvsWVfAseuf71hqwyZ-pBXJj36ZGb9dR6Xqx6mUu7G5R9_88oMtrZrGgBIck-o26DXzuK9Tzk2Z6HzW3beqLlRMnl9ZeT9jm31_f3ClX6qRtAufL-2uDk3-AGJ2FqQ4S0RVpu/s2975/Smoke.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2975" data-original-width="2088" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQbqdnv7uPierVfJ0CEt_I4Bn36bkPcEgr5mwd6jaiL-keBelbxLsfvsWVfAseuf71hqwyZ-pBXJj36ZGb9dR6Xqx6mUu7G5R9_88oMtrZrGgBIck-o26DXzuK9Tzk2Z6HzW3beqLlRMnl9ZeT9jm31_f3ClX6qRtAufL-2uDk3-AGJ2FqQ4S0RVpu/w450-h640/Smoke.jpeg" width="450" /></a></div><p></p><p>Here is a first look at a new documentary about special effects artist Tom Savini. Special Makeup Effects legend, Actor, Director, Stuntman. Tom Savini has redefined the horror genre with his arsenal on talents. But who is the man behind the "King of Splatter?" </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju-Cgzn6kQjTK_mkObcPTZGRX2TCYhshjUwd_yDnD_MDl6XB9N8NP1zXvDah7QrL8K4RwbmR_zIfeANFNvEBHpImsuCcf7Z_5T4Xyf2XkJyox7xBDLYH2gsVeqhc4X4xpw5wouDZAa-SVhh32EZ98Kfrwn3qcI_R13B2m1jjSBQIyCh-h-Mgcb9Tpd/s1920/Smoke2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju-Cgzn6kQjTK_mkObcPTZGRX2TCYhshjUwd_yDnD_MDl6XB9N8NP1zXvDah7QrL8K4RwbmR_zIfeANFNvEBHpImsuCcf7Z_5T4Xyf2XkJyox7xBDLYH2gsVeqhc4X4xpw5wouDZAa-SVhh32EZ98Kfrwn3qcI_R13B2m1jjSBQIyCh-h-Mgcb9Tpd/w400-h225/Smoke2.png" width="500" /></a></div><p></p><p>From his his childhood in Pittsburgh, PA; to his tour of duty during Vietnam, to his beginnings with George A. Romero and beyond. SMOKE AND MIRRORS is the defining documentary on the life and career of horror icon Tom Savini.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTH9HHneSjTxQDtUstpu08pHEwv4Cwny_3oEBMk4xEHuMwqx-dSnYdsPRpnHOkOeLQuFTXibK0zSwaUOZtklJLxha10EnKt0GP8Q4uwWoRTU95h0iZJsfmeivUOIFrbNSLudtg0QxNO8VeRlyhVeVn7BbPddKQbkrbF_iY4uUa1tkXWTnh-d-PVtqW/s1920/Smoke5.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTH9HHneSjTxQDtUstpu08pHEwv4Cwny_3oEBMk4xEHuMwqx-dSnYdsPRpnHOkOeLQuFTXibK0zSwaUOZtklJLxha10EnKt0GP8Q4uwWoRTU95h0iZJsfmeivUOIFrbNSLudtg0QxNO8VeRlyhVeVn7BbPddKQbkrbF_iY4uUa1tkXWTnh-d-PVtqW/w400-h225/Smoke5.png" width="500" /></a></div><p>Featuring Tom Savini, Danny McBride, Robert Rodriguez, Danny Trejo, Alice Cooper, Greg Nicotero, Tom Atkins, Corey Feldman, Doug Bradley, Bill Moseley, and more!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC3U0bAYiApOJPqHkmMD9iT8QxHfsDZ2nl1OdoOVe9bxT30LT0CecAxT8zWM1tSa2qPrf09jTmcEL88kpbyjZoY6dLFyEbhwXml7ysBPRs_2n2V8XTr1skrfp6IrMvGZt49tHCFMArP7-15GsWXLq9P5CzkHnNU0dfd8RIiCXr0L4vr5avjIEEfeDa/s1920/Smoke3.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC3U0bAYiApOJPqHkmMD9iT8QxHfsDZ2nl1OdoOVe9bxT30LT0CecAxT8zWM1tSa2qPrf09jTmcEL88kpbyjZoY6dLFyEbhwXml7ysBPRs_2n2V8XTr1skrfp6IrMvGZt49tHCFMArP7-15GsWXLq9P5CzkHnNU0dfd8RIiCXr0L4vr5avjIEEfeDa/w400-h225/Smoke3.png" width="500" /></a></div><p>From Wild Eye Releasing, director Jason Baker's SMOKE AND MIRRORS on Digital October 19. Here is the official trailer:</p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="415" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Gy6dnCzG1_M" title="YouTube video player" width="540"></iframe>Robert Aaron Mitchellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484977485315027367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639870798673067844.post-41767321597374336502022-09-18T13:40:00.216-07:002022-09-28T15:47:38.352-07:00TIFF 2022 LEONOR WILL NEVER DIE Ang Pagbabalik ng Kwago: Mabuhay ang Sinehan! <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg0DbIIP40Hg1emMIomqyXvOVBcQTMGz8UT5FhYum5Euwp-Pm6MIct0EYptu91nMdrcC2DlxuYDteRmG6IXejxjRLUgmpDLQi6gTliTf8pvcmqtJrehl2V6AXdSL_1NzPapE24Fenlq_0XIN6fpbp6LPw-B8Zf3vlXXUH9dv4duOFPli0eWh0m6s5c/s1200/leonorwillneverdie_01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg0DbIIP40Hg1emMIomqyXvOVBcQTMGz8UT5FhYum5Euwp-Pm6MIct0EYptu91nMdrcC2DlxuYDteRmG6IXejxjRLUgmpDLQi6gTliTf8pvcmqtJrehl2V6AXdSL_1NzPapE24Fenlq_0XIN6fpbp6LPw-B8Zf3vlXXUH9dv4duOFPli0eWh0m6s5c/w400-h200/leonorwillneverdie_01.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p><i> Leonor Will Never Die</i> closed at the 2022 Midnight Madness program at the Toronto International Film Festival. It was a film I did not know anything about which is one of the great aspects of a film festival. You take a seat, the lights dim and go on an unexpected and unknown ride. And what a ride<i> Leonor Will Never Die</i> is. The film is written and directed by Martika Ramirez Escobar.</p><p>The title character is Leonor Reyes. She was a successful screen writer. Shelia Francisco brings Leonor to life with great pathos and passion befitting an aging writer.
The screenwriter's days are spent slipping in and out of reverie. She
has a fondness for action movies and watches them as much as she can.
She also forgets to pay the electricity bill. </p><p>A freak accident
sends Leonor to the hospital. The doctor explains her
Leonor's condition to Leonor's son Rudie, "Rudie, you see, sometimes, we are awake,
other times, asleep. But sometimes, you can be between both. That is
called conscious sleep or hypnagogia. That's is the state your mother is
now. Right now we don't know how to wake her up, or if she will wake at
all. At least we're sure she's alive." Rudie, "How do we wake her up?"
The Doctor responds, "You can't wake up someone who is not asleep." It
is so with this story as well. A theme of the film is lines. The line
between reality and fantasy, life and afterlife, sleep and awake. <br /></p><p>The
art form of cinema can really deliver on straddling the fictionalized
"real world" of the movie and slide effortlessly into a fantasy world
the characters of the film drift into. I have always gravitated to films
that are movies within movies, mise en aybme. <i>Anguish</i>, <i>Adaptadtion</i>, <i>Videodrome</i> come to mind. This is something seen a lot in horror movies or drama. To see reality and fantasy blend so well in the context of action film was magnificent. Scenes that are exceptionally strong in <i>Leonor Will Never Die</i>
are where the reality of the story run into the fantasy action film
that Leonor is engaging with. The movie is also a love letter to
Filipino action movies from years gone by.</p><p>I especially love the scenes of creating the screenplay for the movie within the movie. <i>Ang Pagbabalik Ng Kwago. The Return of Kwago</i>.
Depicting writing in a movie is not an easy feat to pull off. Martika's
imagination and innovation soar as the film revels in the act of
writing A scene where Leonor is simultaneously typing and acting out
what is she writing is a sheer joy. <br /></p><p>Step back, this where another fight scene happens.</p><p>A
film is created by a great many folks, I want to also acknowledge the
editor Lawrence S. Ang. Pulling together a film that moves within it's
own fantasy and reality takes a keen talent to succeed. The look of the
reality and the action sequences created by cinematographer Carlos
Mauricio are also wonderful. <br /></p><p>There is something to be said or
in this case, to be written about what the film watcher brings to
watching a movie. I watched the film on what is my mother's first
birthday after her passing in March. Watching this movie on this day,
there was a lot that hit me a lot more as I engaged with the film. <i>Leonor Will Never Die</i>
is a film that addresses grief. The movie celebrates the joy and
healing in the act of artistic creation. It is also a testament to
strong material. Good screenplays never age.Mabuhay ang Sinehan!</p><p>After watching Leonor you have to ask yourself why are we not seeing more grandmothers kicking ass in cinema. Ending a story can sometimes prove difficult. Getting a great ending though is uplifting. <i>Leonor Will Never Die</i>, what a great ending to Midnight Madness 2022. </p><p>. The screenwriter's days are spent slipping in and out of reverie. She has a fondness for action movies and watches them as much as she can. She also forgets to pay the electricity bill. </p><p>A freak accident sends Leonor to the hospital. The doctor explains her
Leonor's condition to Rudie, "Rudie, you see, sometimes, we are awake,
other times, asleep. But sometimes, you can be between both. That is
called conscious sleep or hypnagogia. That's is the state your mother is
now. Right now we don't know how to wake her up, or if she will wake at
all. At least we're sure she's alive." Rudie, "How do we wake her up?"
The Doctor responds, "You can't wake up someone who is not asleep." It
is so with this story as well. A theme of the film is lines. The line between reality and fantasy. Life and afterlife. Sleep and awake. <br /></p><p>The art form of cinema can really deliver on straddling the fictionalized "real world" of the movie and slide effortlessly into a fantasy world the characters of the film drift into. I have always gravitated to films that are movies within movies, mise en aybme. <i>Anguish</i>, <i>Adaptadtion</i>, <i>eXistenZ</i> come to mind. Scenes that are exceptionally strong in <i>Leonor Will Never Die</i> are where the reality of the story run into the fantasy action film that Leonor is engaging with. The movie is also a love letter to Filipino action movies from years gone by.</p><p>I especially love the scenes of creating the screenplay for the movie within the movie. <i>Ang Pagbabalik Ng Kwago. The Return of Kwago</i>. Depicting writing in a movie is not an easy feat to pull off. Martika's imagination and innovation soar as the film revels in the act of writing A scene where Leonor is simultaneously typing and acting out what is she writing is a sheer joy. <br /></p><p>Step back, this where another fight scene happens.</p><p>A film is created by a great many folks, I want to also acknowledge the editor Lawrence S. Ang. Pulling together a film that moves within it's own fantasy and reality takes a keen talent to succeed. The look of the reality and the action sequences created by cinematographer Carlos Mauricio are also wonderful. <br /></p><p>There is something to be said or in this case, to be written about what the film watcher brings to watching a movie. I watched the film on what is my mother's first birthday after her passing in March. Watching this movie on this day, there was a lot that hit me a lot more as I engaged with the film. <i>Leonor Will Never Die</i> is a film that addresses grief. The movie celebrates the joy and healing in the act of artistic creation. It is also a testament to strong material. Good screenplays never age. Mabuhay ang Sinehan!</p><p>Ending a story can sometimes prove difficult. Getting a great ending though is uplifting. <i>Leonor Will Never Die</i>, what a great ending to Midnight Madness 2022. <br /></p><p></p>Robert Aaron Mitchellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484977485315027367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639870798673067844.post-13564271813785364912022-09-18T10:06:00.070-07:002023-06-05T13:07:18.751-07:00TIFF 2022: ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT Reflections by Robert Aaron Mitchell <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ebMM8rBr_8MvZzycnXhh_zYNwNQKmxtPDOt9-ucKAfFzdGTffawNy6mDb4eQcwGIDteTaYA66JI8Dv2WGmNQUV3p3KJKPZhfFEZoeW3Fwua4gQ80ewrjrUTteZws4v5NENGkof6bh79RxC3th9T7dNOOppBB75iwYOq5rwb6iw3O2YJmonJIieTQ/s3000/All.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1687" data-original-width="3000" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ebMM8rBr_8MvZzycnXhh_zYNwNQKmxtPDOt9-ucKAfFzdGTffawNy6mDb4eQcwGIDteTaYA66JI8Dv2WGmNQUV3p3KJKPZhfFEZoeW3Fwua4gQ80ewrjrUTteZws4v5NENGkof6bh79RxC3th9T7dNOOppBB75iwYOq5rwb6iw3O2YJmonJIieTQ/w400-h225/All.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>"War is hell." This a statement that has been attributed to General William Tecumseh Sherman. Sherman a Union General in America's civil war, this counties bloodiest war to date. War is indeed hell. Since the beginning of cinema there has been the war film. An entire genre of movie that has striven to convey General Sherman's sentiments.</p><p>Edward Berger's <i>All Quiet on the Western Front </i>is third film bearing the title of Erich Maria Remarque's novel,<i> Im Westen nichts Neuces</i>. There was the original 1930 film directed by Lewis Milestone which sees Lew Ayres play Paul. The 1979 TV movie directed by Delbert Mann that has Richard Thomas play the lead character of Paul. </p><p>Edward Berger has said that in regards to the previous cinematic iterations of All Quiet he just ignored them but was very aware of the historic presence of Lewis Milestone's milestone film. "I ignored it. Ascribe to the idiocy, maybe. We just went for it. While writing it and story-boarding it, I sometimes thought, "What the hell did I do this?" What big shoes to fill." Going into Berger's iteration the 1930s film indeed is on ones mind entering the theater. </p><p>Sitting down to write about this film or any well made war-film, it is helpful to have the thesaurus handy. Harrowing, brutal, barbarous, inhuman, harsh, callous, merciless, atrocious, inhumane, horror, senseless are words to have at the ready. </p><p>The film opens on a beautiful mountain surrounded by forest. The sun is rising. A fox and her kits huddle together for warmth. It is quiet. Looking upwards through the forest to the sky. Looking downward to a snow covered ground that is strewn with dead soldiers. Gunshots are fired intermittently. Blood from the dead are flung upwards. The camera movies into the trenches, through the barbed wire. Running through fields, no man's land through gunshots and explosions. Mud and dirt covered soldiers. War is hell.</p><p>Following the efforts and journey of recycling and reusing bloody uniforms taken from dead soldiers. The washing of the clothes in a giant bloody, soapy tub to stitching the fabric back together in a room full of women working on sewing machines. The machine of war continues waiting for new recruits to get ground up and minced by bullets and bombs. There they are. As a German leader says, "Not children but soldiers" but they are baby faced children. They are laughing and excited, the folly of youth, more gristle for the machine.</p><p>The great ominous music composed by Volker Bertelman belies where this story is going. The audience knows where this story is going. The German children now recruited soldiers are still excited unbeknownst to them where their stories are going. James Friend and his team do an exquisite job making the brutal, beautiful. That is the thing with the war film. So many times great film making technique is employed to hammer home the war is hell motif. The better the technique the more a film can unwittingly glorify war. Of course with the iconic title the novel and previous iterations are very much a part of this films talking points. However it is Elem Kilmov's <i>Come and See</i> that I for one was thinking about more as I watched Berger's film. There is also the other recent cinematic look at WWI through the direction of Sam Mendes and the non-stop camera of Roger Deakins. <br /></p><p>Of course <i>All Quiet on the Western Front </i>is harrowing, brutal, barbarous, inhuman, harsh, callous, merciless,
atrocious, inhumane, horror, senseless. It is an extremely well made film. How many times can one watch a well made film about war. Is the message not clear by now. </p><p>Paul the lead character in the film has no real backstory. He is just another mud caked, blood splattered face that ages over the runtime of the film. We see the grisly details other war films do not focus on. The film succeeds in the details. A close up of shell cases rattling
around the wooden bed of a military truck. A soldier's boots swinging
off the back. The landscape shots are breathtaking. The reusing of bloody uniforms. Paul rolling over dead soldiers and pulling off their dog tags. Recognizing one of his friends. The distant camera. The sad, melodic music. The endless horror surrounded by natural beauty.It is difficult to
have an audience feel the cold of winter. This film achieves that. </p><p>As Matthias Erzberger (Daniel Brühl, Inglorious Basterds) the head of the German delegation is racing towards armistice and proposing a ceasefire during negotiations with the French the men we have followed from the beginning of the film have just arrived in the trenches of the front line. A General knows that the war is ending and refuses to give up any ground to the French. The French hold out a pen to sign the armistice agreement. A body lies in a pool of mud. Another body on barbed wire. The soldiers continue to run towards gunfire. The film is also about class. We see soldiers dying in grisly, brutal ways. Others are barely surviving. The higher up military people are dining in grand dining rooms, eating finely prepared meals, traveling in luxury on trains.<br /></p><p>As Edward Berger noted, "Unfortunately this type of movie is always relevant." and as I said during my write up about<i> Causeway</i>, the cost we expect each generation sent to war to pay is far too great and the burden they carry far too heavy. Edward Berger's <i>All Quiet on the Western Front</i> is this generation's <i>All Quiet</i>. The Netflix version. In twenty years there will be another version and in that, there lies the tragedy. <br /></p><p></p>Robert Aaron Mitchellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484977485315027367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639870798673067844.post-45717458397582144862022-09-16T16:30:00.011-07:002022-12-16T09:58:38.876-08:00TIFF 2022 THE GREATEST BEER RUN EVER: A Reflection by Robert Aaron Mitchell <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgplrIWEg5jUblKUv5UDmanlUKvBgMpUKGg09y-I2a09rB4MHfPjjsBgNzpnicIK6ducesW_e63iw4ihUNAxGqT3DmML71PvJhzq_RFxIIC8fbX_oLp48Xq3_UfH-gq1VFSxSe5i2M5uPjTV-RToCUi5ULpfrBU4V78s5Am-IwHRxVhE3qiICIsx_Bw/s1200/greatest_beer_run_ever_01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1200" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgplrIWEg5jUblKUv5UDmanlUKvBgMpUKGg09y-I2a09rB4MHfPjjsBgNzpnicIK6ducesW_e63iw4ihUNAxGqT3DmML71PvJhzq_RFxIIC8fbX_oLp48Xq3_UfH-gq1VFSxSe5i2M5uPjTV-RToCUi5ULpfrBU4V78s5Am-IwHRxVhE3qiICIsx_Bw/w400-h200/greatest_beer_run_ever_01.jpg" width="460" /></a></div><p>"Based on a True Story." With these words so begins <i>The Greatest Beer Run Ever</i>. It is 1967 and the film begins in Inwood, New York City. A neighborhood in northern Manhattan. With beer, lots of beer, pitchers of beer! Chickie Donohue (Zac Efron) sometimes cheapskate, sometimes merchant sailor is buying the rounds tonight. He stills lives at home with hos parents and is not really do a whole lot with his life.<br /></p><p>The Vietnam war is raging and so are the tensions in the country and around the Donohue breakfast table. The brutal images of war are on TVs at the local bar. A debate is going on with The Colonel, the bartender (Bill Murray) and Chick and his buddies about the war being shown on television. Regardless young men are being killed and returning home in caskets. Protests are gong on, "LBJ how many kids did you kill today?" An argument ensues about the nature of protest being against the troops and the counter argument that it is honoring the soldiers by demanding they be sent home. The country, Inwood is divided.</p><p>Like a lot of insane ideas the crux of this story beings in a bar. The Colonel casually throws out the wish to just going over to Nam and bring the boys from the neighborhood as a gesture to just say thanks. Chick has a revelation, he can do that. Sign up for a ship that is going to Vietnam and jump off and bring the boys some brews. There is definitely a lot guilt and inadequacy of not serving in the war going on in Chick's mind. </p><p>Chick heads to the shipping office and through fate or dumb luck there is a ship heading out in Vietnam in three hours that actually needs an oilier. Now that he is on the ship there is the matter of getting off the ship. A story is concocted and it works. He now has three days to get off the ship, head into a war zone and find his buddies. Beer from New York acts as currency. </p><p>Now that Chickie is in country and has met up with his first buddy now he has to figure out how to navigate a war zone. He figures he'll just hitchhike to meet up with the other Inwood boys. He heads over to the hotel where all the press are. They of course find his story and ambitions, "an idiotic but noble gesture." Left with no other recourse he takes to the streets of Saigon and sticks his thumb out. A military truck picks him up. He heads to a base and tries to hop on a plane. Chick somehow gets on a plane when the Captain exclaims, "It's one of you guys." Things start weirdly falling into place. The military personal believe he is someone who it is indeed not. The funny thing is Chick just straight up tells the truth. </p><p>Everywhere Chick goes there are dead American boys being moved. The further North he heads the further embroiled in the actual war he becomes. Chick sees more brutality as his journey continues and his ideas to get back to Saigon and the ship are increasingly dangerous. He learns first hand how scary, intense and absurd war is. <br /></p><p>This fictional film follows the book by Chick Donhue and J.T. Molly and the short documentary by Andrew Muscato. This film is directed by Peter Farrelly (<i>Something About Mary, Dumb and Dumber</i>). I appreciate that the soundtrack of this Vietnam movie was not steeped in the soundtracks of the others that have preceded it. It is also great that Efron is going against a movie star type playing Chickie, a regular schmo in the midst of a very stupid idea. The Farrelly name is so ingrained in a collective imaginations as being associated with over the top dumb comedies. <i>The Greatest Beer Run Ever</i> is not playing for easy laughs even though the true life story could have seen an adaptation easily turned into a farce. The film exceeds in showing how everyone was struggling with the war. The boys in Vietnam, the friends and family back home. There are a lot of strong visual montages in the movie. <br /></p><p>One of the strongest scenes in the film is when Chick and reporter Arthur Coates (Russell Crowe) are having a conversation - over a few beers - about the effect of the war on everyone. Chick believes it's the truth and the never-ending "bad" stories that affecting everyone. Coates points out that it isn't the truth that is hurting America, it's the lies. The first causality of war is the truth. This scene leads to a great sequence. When the bullets start flying, war is indiscriminate in it's terror. <br /></p><p>Chickie's three day Vietnam sojourn turned into eight weeks. The amount of resources that Chick goes through for his "idiotic yet noble mission" is straight up crazy. It is also indicative of the larger war he somehow is miraculously is moving through shows how truly idiotic the American involvement in Vietnam truly was. War is scary, intense and absurd. He also learns that it is a lot easier to get into a war than it is to get out of a war. Chick brought beer to the boys over there, he brought pack a perspective and truth to the boys in Inwood. <br /></p><p></p>Robert Aaron Mitchellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484977485315027367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639870798673067844.post-11392056157686281532022-09-16T13:20:00.364-07:002022-09-27T13:02:10.309-07:00TIFF 2022 V/H/S/99 A Reflection by Robert Aaron Mitchell <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9k_FMp0tD44mxNGE3tssXfhp-zyNhEVTVcnAfKxxBstyNTGTpo2ad7bmqPqrU7Lg4U6cwIaavo_bP53x72HswSs6mmZRvJZVBFJvmd69OwFYMHFvFweIp8xsAwTWAuD-MDkpLrDiz2rriZDplz_yhMH7z5rdEANvYL5_KQC_K18OGgKazMKmIEvhs/s1200/vhs99_01.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9k_FMp0tD44mxNGE3tssXfhp-zyNhEVTVcnAfKxxBstyNTGTpo2ad7bmqPqrU7Lg4U6cwIaavo_bP53x72HswSs6mmZRvJZVBFJvmd69OwFYMHFvFweIp8xsAwTWAuD-MDkpLrDiz2rriZDplz_yhMH7z5rdEANvYL5_KQC_K18OGgKazMKmIEvhs/s400/vhs99_01.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>V/H/S/99 a reflection by Robert Aaron Mitchell<br /></p><p>The year 1999 has been on my mind a lot recently. I watched <i>Woodstock 99: Peace, Love and Rage</i> and began thinking of the year that was. Culturally turbulent. I remember quite distinctly the buildup, panic and fear surrounding Y2K. The paranoia was very real that computers would not recognize the year 2000 and thereby crash the entire system. Banks where running out of cash. Grocery stores were running out food.<br /></p><p>1999 was actually pretty chaotic beyond the millennium scare. It was a year that saw riots at the WTO Seattle of what became known as the battle for Seattle. On June 1st Napster was launched completely changing how we consume culture and entertainment. The Columbine school shooting tragedy occurred. As previously mentioned, Woodstock 99 concert took place. A corporate music festival billed as an anti-commercial love fest which turned into a nightmare, as riots, fires and numerous sexual assaults happened. If you were a teenager in 1999 it was also a time of restless energy, pranks, skateboarding and nights wandering around Blockbuster looking for a videotape to rent. <br /></p><p>This bring me to <i>V/H/S/99</i>. Alongside the sequel, the found footage concept is another staple of the horror genre, the anthology film. <i>Creepshow</i> (1980) <i>Southbound</i> (2015) <i>XX</i> (2017) <i>Trilogy of Terror </i>(1975), The <i>ABCs of Death</i>. The V/H/S movies combine found footage as well as the anthology structure. <i>V/H/S/99 </i>premiered at the 2022 Midnight Madness program. The fifth film in the series. I have always had a fondness for VHS tapes and camcorders. I spent the 1990s making ninja fight scenes with my friends. Graduating to more complex gangster and art house movies shot around my hometown. There was indeed a thrill to put in a blank tape with nothing written on the label to see what was on the videotape.<br /></p><p>A staple to the structure of the anthology film is the wraparound story. In the case of <i>V/H/S/99</i> it is less a story than something that begins the VHS tape and is then buried under many other recordings and resurfaces in the midst of tracking lines and static. It is highly imaginative and funny as hell. Little green army men in a stop motion movie with great voice overs. These army men segments are the work of Tyler MacIntyre who also directed a longer segment in the film. Which reminds me in the backyard of a townhouse in Mississauga, Ontario near the Meadowvale Mall are several G.I. Joes I buried alive that never made it back to the base. I have been meaning for quite sometime to return to that townhouse on a mission of archeological importance. <br /></p><p>The tape goes through infomercials, BMX stunts, more static, "The Video Journal of Neurosurgery"...and settles into something quite akin to my 1999 experience, videotaping skateboarding at the local skate park and a garage band. This segment is <i>Shredding</i> written and directed by Maggie Levin. Way before YouTube and TikTok the original "content creators" were 90s kids running around with LP videotapes as is the case with this group of friends in a band. Local legend has it that a band called Bitch Cat played a show to very catastrophic results. The kids are going to the place where the show happened to see what they can find. Perhaps some new gear for their band and most definitely some more stuff for them to shoot on their camcorder. The fun of this segment is watching and vibing the transition of kids mugging for the camera, juvenile hi-jinks to suspense and horror in a very quick amount of time. <br /></p><p>The unique pressures of conformity when heading to university. It leads some to take on great risks so that the next four years of their life are filled with friends, parties and maybe find a boyfriend or girlfriend. The tape settles on what is <i>Suicide Bid</i> written and directed by Johannes Roberts. Lily has found a sorority that she has fallen in love with and wishes to pledge to. She is so taken with the sorority and afraid of spending her university days alone that she decides to pledge only to them which means that if she doesn't get in, that's it, no sorority, social suicide aka the suicide bid. She meets up with girls form the sorority in a graveyard where she will be placed in a coffin and buried alive. There are safe guards in place. The lengths someone will go to become popular are indeed downright scary. <br /></p><p>Ah, the Nickelodeon kids game shows of the 1990s. Competition is fierce and broadcast across the nation. You could lose and be humiliated on national television It could very well be a nightmare scenario. Losing far more than the competition is where Ozzy's Dungeon directed by Flying Lotus and written by Zoe Cooper and Flying Lotus takes us. The lengths that a Mom will go to right the wrongs for their children is at the heart of this segment. It is also a segment that asks the question, "What would you do for a Sega Dreamcast?"</p><p>Another great aspect of the 1990s was the prank. It could be done in person, at a sleepover. For my friends and I, our favorite was the prank was the telephone call. Today's kids will never know the simple pleasure of being complete dickheads and phoning complete strangers in the middle of the night. </p><p>It turns out the little green army men were being filmed by Brady the little brother of Dylan the protagonist of <i>The Gawkers</i> written by Chris Lee Hill and Tyler MacIntyre. Directed by Tyler MacIntyre. The big brother promptly snatches the camcorder back from Brady and begins filming himself flexing in the mirror and prank after prank with his buddies. The extremely hormonal teenagers then focus their camcorder lens on Sandra the girl next door. Turns out that Brady while being a genius stop-motion storyteller also has mad computer skills. Once again we see someone sellout morals for the sake of acceptance. </p><p>The tape of V/H/S/99 winds up in a logical place, New Years Eve 1999. All those fears of the Y2K bug and the new millennium take a back seat in Joseph and Vanessa Winters' <i>To Hell and Back</i>. A group of documentary filmmakers are shooting a documentary with a bunch of people anticipating what the last night of 1999 will bring. "You're in for one hell of a trip" one of the people say to the camera. We can all hope to run into Mabel if our journeys do not take us exactly where we thought we might go. Great creature effects and humor close out the anthology on high note.<br /></p><p>The fun of V/H/S/99 are the stories within stories that propel the characters forward in their segments. A doomed band, a tale of a sorority pledge gone horribly array, a horrific appearance on a kids game show. Another completely engrossing and entertaining aspect of the film is being propelled by the imaginations of the storytellers as they take their segments to places you had no idea where they were going to wind up. Watching the filmmakers play within the context of VHS camcorder is also one of the great aspects of the V/H/S anthology films. The end credits arrive with Danzig's "Long Way Back from Hell" blasting. Pitch perfect. 1999 what a fucking year. Don't be a dweeb, rewind the tape for the next person who finds this tape. </p><p> </p><p><br /></p>Robert Aaron Mitchellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484977485315027367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639870798673067844.post-48847344478994882622022-09-14T13:49:00.001-07:002022-09-23T13:59:41.045-07:00TIFF 2022 THE PEOPLE'S JOKER <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUX0w0nhA9wfUYqaznq-BO6vtX-kRZuty724F2YoibqbDGsJ0HLy-JY7fGtfUVTkzPieUGNv_OM2BIwOGkl-758nkSMJBb9eVMllmLTeYM166Wd1Cw6c7xjCeuwK5cs5ebfSq7GfnAkwklmHQS6EnPX4qsgK2d39BuysRLyTJtfaxmJ0GHBM2PT_DB/s1200/peoplesjoker_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUX0w0nhA9wfUYqaznq-BO6vtX-kRZuty724F2YoibqbDGsJ0HLy-JY7fGtfUVTkzPieUGNv_OM2BIwOGkl-758nkSMJBb9eVMllmLTeYM166Wd1Cw6c7xjCeuwK5cs5ebfSq7GfnAkwklmHQS6EnPX4qsgK2d39BuysRLyTJtfaxmJ0GHBM2PT_DB/w400-h200/peoplesjoker_01.jpg" width="460" /></a></div> <p></p><p><i>The People's Joker</i> in a first for the Midnight Madness program screened once at it's world premiere and was hit with a cease and desist order from Warner Brothers. Filmmaker Vera Drew is positive the film will be seen again. As I learn more I will share the details. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl5X_0qzuW0FY7JMaWAsDwjJa4RmK8eE38xhMgZltRpf4NNEcQUzXrH4y3zIHFGti-PSaL_nGonTDRGRYX7j7njoAYZi9YFyr5fkgPzeceIpwx2p8iKv3SjGT64xasdWB5bPjJzvvAQQR1BJyj1oKjL9h3WjSRtniOfWFrClm8TT7zUX4JnOQGFlZ_/s1249/Joker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1249" data-original-width="749" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl5X_0qzuW0FY7JMaWAsDwjJa4RmK8eE38xhMgZltRpf4NNEcQUzXrH4y3zIHFGti-PSaL_nGonTDRGRYX7j7njoAYZi9YFyr5fkgPzeceIpwx2p8iKv3SjGT64xasdWB5bPjJzvvAQQR1BJyj1oKjL9h3WjSRtniOfWFrClm8TT7zUX4JnOQGFlZ_/w240-h400/Joker.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Robert Aaron Mitchellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484977485315027367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639870798673067844.post-77123286918117502112022-09-14T09:30:00.013-07:002022-12-15T13:57:11.049-08:00TIFF 2022 PEARL: A Reflection by Robert Aaron Mitchell<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_k1NB1qPZrW-ccksgypJrhcUJwIyQ7dcpnHCjsJZoVAUt2ArFNwJbSXwyCoDVxUy1jNd8tjtUQec5tlckTMZ22qsAYBftLCg27nnXadly5yJwQEp4JtFBJc3qOfctHJiwd3zwAg8Nk_S9QpQhbwTqyewixpPY1ffLlh7tcFmTYa7ZhGLDNAg89Dck/s1200/pearl_01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_k1NB1qPZrW-ccksgypJrhcUJwIyQ7dcpnHCjsJZoVAUt2ArFNwJbSXwyCoDVxUy1jNd8tjtUQec5tlckTMZ22qsAYBftLCg27nnXadly5yJwQEp4JtFBJc3qOfctHJiwd3zwAg8Nk_S9QpQhbwTqyewixpPY1ffLlh7tcFmTYa7ZhGLDNAg89Dck/w400-h200/pearl_01.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p><i>Pearl</i> was the surprise movie that was announced after<i> X</i> premiered at the South by Southwest Festival. Not only was the film announced as an origin story to Pearl who appears in <i>X</i>, it was already completed. As the story goes X was filmed in New Zealand at the height of the pandemic and Covid restrictions. <i>The Texas Chainsaw Massacre</i> inspired set, house, barn and a guesthouse was already built. Having an already built full-on set was the origin for this origin story. In a two week hotel quarantine stay West came up with the story and script for <i>Pearl</i>. Once again A24 came onboard to make the film. </p><p>The film begins as a camera passes through a barn. The barn doors open revealing an idyllic farm pastoral. The music composed by Tyler Bates and Tim Williams is full of wonder and splendor. We see Pearl in her room surrounded by dolls. She is made up, her lips a rich hue of red. She stands. She is Judy Garland. As we learned in <i>X</i> Pearl was/is a dancer. The lights dim in her mind's eye, a spotlight hits her and reflects off of the mirror she stand before. The door opens and the illusion is shattered. It is back to life on the farm. However dreams do not fade, a pitchfork makes a great dancing partner. The cows are a rapt audience. </p><p>Pearl maybe look like an innocent farm girl. This is also the Pearl from <i>X</i>. A goose wanders into the barn. The goose is carried out of the barn impaled on Pearl's pitchfork. She carries the goose out to the dock overlooking the lake where Pearl will first spy on Maxine many decades later. </p><p>On a side note on the interesting dynamics of film festivals. I watched <i>All Quiet on the Western Front</i> and later <i>Pearl</i>. Both on the same day. Both films take place in 1918. Both films are horrific in their own right. It is an extremely interesting condition of seeing so many films in quick succession. There are emotions, notions and observations that carry over int different pieces you are writing about films on any given festival day. </p><p>Along with World War One, another major event was occurring. A pandemic, the Spanish flu. In an exceptional parallel to our times. To escape the hum drum of farm life, an over bearing German mama and her ill Father, Pearl goes to the movie picture house wearing a mask. The other patrons are all masked as well. A news reel shows graphic scenes from WWI. <i>Palace Follies </i>begins to play. Pearl is enraptured by the singing and dancing and the morphine she is sipping on. Pearl meets the projectionist who in turn hands her a little piece of cinema. Then it's back to the corn fields. </p><p>Both <i>Pearl</i> and <i>X</i> are definitely part of which is now a trilogy with the announcement of<i> MaXXXine </i>rounding out the last film of the trilogy. Both films stand on their own but there is much more to be gleaned from <i>Pear</i>l having seen <i>X</i> prior. It is compelling from a film making stand point to see two vastly different cinematic styles applied to the same set. There is a great scene with Pearl and the projectionist who shows her a film "nobody has seen yet" that leads in the late 1970s in <i>X</i>.</p><p>As the horror in Pearl slowly builds - a Ti West trademark - it pays as much homage to Tobe Hooper as <i>X</i> did with <i>The Texas Chainsaw Massacre</i> so too does Pearl pay homage to Hopper's second film <i>Eaten Alive</i>. Does this mean the third Mia Goth/Ti West film will be an ode to <i>Lifeforce</i>? Only time will tell. Or perhaps being the third film it will be <i>Salem's Lo</i>t.</p><p>The horror is also the dread of family dynamics. Pearl lost in isolation and reverie. A husband at war who has not been heard from in months. An overbearing Mother who is trying to shelter her. A sick Father. Dreams that will not subside of somewhere faraway on stage in front of an adoring audience. It is a potential suitor turning cold. <br /></p><p>Ti West has become much more a stylist in these films, which I dig a lot. He has also grown on me as filmmaker with these last two movies. A lot has been said about Mia Goth and all the positive accolades are very warranted. Mia goes from oh shucks to full on Psycho in the flip of a switch. These films are Pearl and Maxine's world of which Mia brings to grainy 16mm and Technicolor life. West and Goth have become each other's muses. </p><p>Mia Goth delivers one of the all time great soliloquies delivered on film. All the world's a stage and all the men and women in Pearl's way are merely victims. <br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Robert Aaron Mitchellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484977485315027367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639870798673067844.post-35339703504195873442022-09-14T07:25:00.007-07:002022-10-28T10:01:04.722-07:00TIFF 2022: THE GOOD NURSE Reflections by Robert Aaron Mitchell<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXFxUmmvXO1u3YgMcctkoZMVoQSzY4NK2p0PBhblP6h2rRuCLFFr1BHImH9T0cA7cMBv1ORKMqwHYPwIw8fiNTkkGyFXgTvvbpcHv-Nn9_q-d8wtj3UahHdI6hdUEFI7rl3Kb_3SeCHYcYITAupZThe_oXipo0iy-OXOtAQK-wPgJyriJds4Hun77f/s2000/goodnursebest.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXFxUmmvXO1u3YgMcctkoZMVoQSzY4NK2p0PBhblP6h2rRuCLFFr1BHImH9T0cA7cMBv1ORKMqwHYPwIw8fiNTkkGyFXgTvvbpcHv-Nn9_q-d8wtj3UahHdI6hdUEFI7rl3Kb_3SeCHYcYITAupZThe_oXipo0iy-OXOtAQK-wPgJyriJds4Hun77f/w400-h266/goodnursebest.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div> <p></p><p><i>The Good Nurse</i> is based on a true story. Jessica Chastain plays nurse Amy Loughren. Eddie Redmayne plays Charles Cullen. Charles Cullen is a serial killer who killed patients in hospitals. The film is based of the book written by Charles Graeber. Krysty Wilson-Cairns (1<i>917</i>) adapted the book. Tobias Lindholm who directed tiff favorite <i>Another Round</i> as well as <i>The Hunt</i> in 2012 helms <i>The Good Nurse</i>.<br /></p><p>There was a lot of anticipation ahead of the premiere of Lindholm's first American feature film. The journey of this film was a long one as Lindholm was sent a version of the screenplay several years ago. He was drawn to the material because the focus was not an obsession with the serial killer but the nurse who stops him. </p><p>The film opens in a hospital room as doctors and nurses rally around a bed of a patient who is dying. The camera. They are of to the side. The focus of the opening is a slow zoom towards Charles Cullen (Redmayne) who stands expressionless as the events unfold. The patient passes away. Cullen slouched walks down a hallway under a glowing red exit sign. </p><p>The events of the film center around Parkfield Memorial Hospital in New Jersey in 2003. The hospital is run on a strict budget. The American hospital is a business. The nurses are overworked and exhausted. She works the overnight ICU shift as well as caring for her two kids. Amy is informed that she will be getting help soon as another nurse was just hired. Amy also has health problems of her own. As she sits on a bed in a doctor's office he walks in with a clipboard and informs Amy, "If you continue like this you're looking at a serious coronary incident within months." Amy is in danger of suffering a stroke. She has to continue to work the long stressful hours because she does not receive health insurance until she has been employed by the hospital for a year. The consultation she just had runs 980 dollars. The American healthcare industry is a business. </p><p>Amy sits in her car in the parking lot of a hospital as the rain pours. We see her grappling with her circumstances. She gets out of the car and pushes forward. She meets Charlie and shows him around the ward. They begin to bond over the job and their similar backgrounds. Both have two girls around the same ages. The dynamics of their burgeoning friendship is what makes The Good Nurse fascinating. Amy has a heart episode in front of Charles. He shows empathy talking her through the situation. He asks her if she has spoken to their hospital.s cardiologist. She panics and asks Charles not to mention her health condition to anyone. They both have secrets. </p><p>In a film where the two lead actors are Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne one would expect that performances are great. One would be correct. The filmmakers do a great job balancing the film, as the stories unfolding are personal dynamics, hospital drama and police procedural. The film becomes quite compelling as the tension increases with intensity. Amy becomes trapped between the system of the healthcare industry and the legal system.<br /></p><p>A hospital should be a place of empathy, care. People should be treated with dignity. In the apparatus and gears of capitalism, patients can become products. When something is suspect the system is designed to protect the hospital from lawsuits. The American healthcare system, the insurance machine, the bureaucracy, the costs of care can be horrific. To then have a serial killer running loose in ICUs that hospital administrators and lawyers are covering up, truly horrific. The film made me think a lot about systems and how they operate. How the hospital industry dealt with, not dealt with Charlie Cullen reminded me of another giant system, the catholic church. How they move abusers around. The policing system, problematic police are fired only to be rehired somewhere else. The film speaks to the fortitude and strength of Amy Loughren a good nurse that stood up against the system and fought for justice for Cullen's many victims. <br /></p>Robert Aaron Mitchellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484977485315027367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639870798673067844.post-85666012861708544742022-09-14T07:22:00.023-07:002022-12-05T09:29:22.751-08:00TIFF 2022 GOOD NIGHT OPPY: A Reflection by Robert Aaron Mitchell <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjaCLbWoZK1ItSM-iWuCDVsmR_SycoMS_PV_umgQRgyrn9ZtLBxc6hoUjZpyeRRGA9r2-PCVWRAjrfd3GW_DX569rEc0U-quY06O3g48_SY4H-5DgKRWjykBeZb-vRoNjT12TDJTNfzN3qJRdWKkNNZqqaisvIdNGbE8j2tg_8oysACHDIWVthWD5g/s1200/goodnightoppy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1200" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjaCLbWoZK1ItSM-iWuCDVsmR_SycoMS_PV_umgQRgyrn9ZtLBxc6hoUjZpyeRRGA9r2-PCVWRAjrfd3GW_DX569rEc0U-quY06O3g48_SY4H-5DgKRWjykBeZb-vRoNjT12TDJTNfzN3qJRdWKkNNZqqaisvIdNGbE8j2tg_8oysACHDIWVthWD5g/w400-h200/goodnightoppy.jpg" width="460" /></a></div> <p></p><p>"At the beginning, there's nothing. There's no concept of a robot
explorer crawling across the surface of another world. And then,
gradually, you start to think. You start to act. We just start to build.
And those machines come to life." the principal scientist on the
Opportunity mission. Steve Squyres <br /></p><p>Oppy is the affectionate nickname for the Mars exploration rover named Opportunity. Oppy was expected to be operational for 90 days and wound up roving the red planet for fifteen years. In Ryan White's documentary, <i>Good Night Oppy</i>. Ryan White has directed previous documentaries, notably, <i>The Case Against 8</i>
which was the behind the scenes look at overturning California's ban
against same-sex marriage and a film I helped screen at The In Light
Human Rights film festival in Bloomington, Indiana in 2014. <br /></p><p>White and his team follow the rover and the scientists over the course of Opportunity's lifespan. From the ten years of proposals until NASA gave the green light to begin the program. To how would they get the rover to Mars. How do you get the rovers to land on Mars without damaging the robots. How do you build the machines so they can roam the arduous surface of Mars. What cameras and other equipment to you put on the rovers to collect and transmit data? The rovers began to be created at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "It's just a box of wires, right? But you end up with this cute-ish looking robot that has a face." Doug Ellison, camera operations engineer. <br /></p><p>At one point early on we see Oppy navigating the surface of Mars and stops at it detects a hazard. It is only Oppy's shadow and NASA informs the robot rover she is safe to proceed. In 2003, twin sister robots named Opportunity and Spirit were sent to Mars. </p><p>One of the great sequences in the documentary is watching the scientist figure out the airbag landing system to get the rovers to land safely on Mars. We see people sewing this giant airbags. We watch the creation and testing of the parachutes. One of them crash to the surface during a test. That was going to be one of the parachutes that were going to go to Mars. There is genuine suspense as we follow the trials and tribulations of undertaking this mission to Mars. There are so many things that have to go right for any scientific space exploration mission and there are so many more things that can go wrong. <br /></p><p>"And along come Opportunity. And on every test, Opportunity came through with flying colors. So, even before they left this planet, Spirit was troublesome, Opportunity was Little Miss Perfect." Doug Ellison. We see Opportunity take her first steps. "To say that it is like a child being born would be to trivialize parenthood, but it feels kind of like that." Steve Squyres. <br /></p><p>In an age of science denial it was great to spend time with scientist asking questions about life on other planets. The grand adventure, the thrill of discovery and the act of creating robots. How can you not get emotionally caught up watching the rockets blast off to Mars with Spirit and Opportunity. "...it was hard to say goodbye. I devoted 16 years of my life to these rovers. And then you put them on top of a rocket and shoot them into space and you're never going to see them again." Steve Squyers. </p><p>Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? As the Sols go on and Oppy lives far past her projected lifespan. She gets arthritis and suffers memory loss. It is a hell of a thing to get so emotional invested and defeated when the two rovers pass away. <br /></p><p>Spirit and Opportunity. It what was expected to be a 90 Sol mission. Opportunity explored Mars for 5262 Sols. What a journey. Roam where you want to. <br /></p><p><br /></p>Robert Aaron Mitchellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484977485315027367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639870798673067844.post-33640780193108310062022-09-13T12:00:00.055-07:002022-11-30T08:36:44.668-08:00TIFF 2022 CAUSEWAY: A Reflection by Robert Aaaron Mitchell <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2dy7eIh1MpQJXNzMBmWH8-A3ObPeVa99rKxVypDs2dhQxkRPu-9AHEAudEfjTgDOY0t-42B8NJ6L7UhsnafJrwuvCf9aBoiiL46TvMD8WxAYvUhK4svEwlDqSQmIGbTdG05caUp3G22eeVMHdxNlBxAJpSh9m86PbPc7hK1InSfJUUH7blOKlNG-o/s1200/causeway_01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1200" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2dy7eIh1MpQJXNzMBmWH8-A3ObPeVa99rKxVypDs2dhQxkRPu-9AHEAudEfjTgDOY0t-42B8NJ6L7UhsnafJrwuvCf9aBoiiL46TvMD8WxAYvUhK4svEwlDqSQmIGbTdG05caUp3G22eeVMHdxNlBxAJpSh9m86PbPc7hK1InSfJUUH7blOKlNG-o/w400-h200/causeway_01.jpg" width="460" /></a></div> <p></p><p>The American Psychiatric Association defines Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as, "Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that may occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event, series of events or set of circumstances. An individual may experience this as emotionally or physically harmful or life-threatening and may affect mental, physical, social, and/or spiritual well-being. Examples include natural disasters, serious accidents, terrorist acts, war/combat, rape/sexual assault, historical trauma, intimate partner violence and bullying." In the era of World War One this condition was known as "shell shocked" and was far less understood than our modern era. </p><p>According to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs the number of military service people who have PTSD, "Operations Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Enduring Freedom (OEF): About 11-20 out of every 100 Veterans (or between 11-20%) who served in OIF or OEF have PTSD in a given year.Gulf War (Desert Storm): About 12 out of every 100 Gulf War Veterans (or 12%) have PTSD in a given year.Vietnam War: About 15 out of every 100 Vietnam Veterans (or 15%) were currently diagnosed with PTSD at the time of the most recent study in the late 1980s, the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study (NVVRS). It is estimated that about 30 out of every 100 (or 30%) of Vietnam Veterans have had PTSD in their lifetime."</p><p>This brings me to the tiff premiering film <i>Causeway, </i>I hesitate to say "starring" Jennifer Lawrence as this is a film far removed from popcorn spectacle. Along Ms. Lawrence is Brian Tyree Henry. The film marks the feature film debut of director Lila Neugebauer working from a script written by Elizabeth Sanders, Luke Goebel and Ottessa Moshfegh.</p><p>Jennifer plays Lynsey a U.S. Veteran returning to America dealing with a traumatic brain injury that she received while serving in Afghanistan. She arrives at a care facility where she is trying to rehab. She has mobility issues, panic attacks and struggles with PTSD. Jayne Houdyshell plays Sharon, Lynsey care taker. In the midst of this struggle where even the act of driving a car brings out a deluge of painful emotions Lynsey's goal is not to transition to civilian life but to redeploy in another tour of military service. </p><p>The camera, "we" sit across from Lynsey as she transverses her way back home, to New Orleans. The silence as she looks out the window as the bus moves across American highways, we she the look of apprehension and determination on Lynsey's face. She arrives home unknown to her mother. Her mom wanted to plan a heroes welcome. Lynsey just wants to sleep. </p><p>A near empty fridge freezer, a pick up truck that needs a new carburetor that Lynsey doesn't want or doesn't have the money to replace underlies her need to return to work, which for her means a war zone. For now, she applies for a job as a pool cleaner. As she is driving home she once again as a debilitating panic attack. <br /></p><p>This story could be now or perhaps it was twenty years ago when we see a C.D. Player in a car. That's the thing about America at war, it spans decades. Decades of returning soldiers trying to return to life in America. Decades of pain, torment and silent suffering. </p><p>This is a film anchored by performance. Lynsey in a Doctor's office retelling the day she was driving in a convoy in Afghanistan which came under attack is told by her without flashy Michael Bay flashbacks. When she mentions the explosion we the audience are not jolted by a fireball across the screen with a giant soundtrack boom. The camera slowly zooms towards Lynsey as her retelling draws both the Doctor and us, the audience close to this tragic and traumatic event. </p><p>The day Lynsey is driving home after getting the pool cleaning job and the pick up truck she is driving breaks down Lynsey drives it to a nearby garage. Where is meets Henry, a mechanic (Brian Tyree Henry) they strike up a friendship. Watching their burgeoning friendship is a joy in a movie that has such intense material. </p><p><i>Causeway</i> is in no way a "message" movie. It is a slice of life film. <i>Causeway </i>is a film that follows people navigating random traumatic life circumstances in American life. It reminds us that the person sitting next to us on a bus or having car problems near us on the morning commute maybe dealing with events that scar both physically and mentally for the duration of life. As Lynsey's mom remarks upon her return home, "Well, you look like you." It is the hidden wounds that society does not see that can be the hardest to navigate in a world that is built and functions well for able-bodied, mentally well adjusted people. People may leave a war zone but the war is always there. What we ask of each generation that is shipped to war and the cost they pay is far too great and the burden they carry far too heavy. <br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /><br /></p>Robert Aaron Mitchellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484977485315027367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639870798673067844.post-75371523017772852332022-09-12T18:00:00.032-07:002022-12-19T08:51:39.120-08:00TIFF 2022 MY POLICEMAN: A Reflection by Robert Aaron Mitchell<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgkxHLWyW3IvQIYhKrgYMl9gExTAynaC866Jg_SGRTCQ8BVzA1Fw1vLI7qQUyrI0qgHHgAFlalOKdiU81AGLy5TKtKwaLG_nJFvWkmufDxFvkhzhH85fzpCB2gWZE6oND8C2MQUYd-qRjuIU6K_8CruGdpgwuwcnnWEwoo__5iVpuVykS0HNUkJVTd/s1200/mypoliceman.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1200" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgkxHLWyW3IvQIYhKrgYMl9gExTAynaC866Jg_SGRTCQ8BVzA1Fw1vLI7qQUyrI0qgHHgAFlalOKdiU81AGLy5TKtKwaLG_nJFvWkmufDxFvkhzhH85fzpCB2gWZE6oND8C2MQUYd-qRjuIU6K_8CruGdpgwuwcnnWEwoo__5iVpuVykS0HNUkJVTd/w400-h200/mypoliceman.jpg" width="460" /></a></div><p>A lot can and will be written about the 2022 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival but there is no doubt that one of the biggest stars to arrive in Toronto was Harry Styles. King street was crowded more than it has been in years which was a great change of pace form the last couple of Septembers. The screams, oh yes the screams. Loud is not a word that does this collective sound justice. <br /></p><p>Waves cross the oceans. They can be rough or calm but they are always moving. Rolling in and out. Rolling out and in. The tide can be high and the tide can be low. Waves can be metaphors or they can be literal. There is a house by the sea where waves are literally crashing into the beach. Those same waves are extremely rough today such as the regrets of a life nearing an end. </p><p>J.M.W. Turner was a British painter. Arguably Britain's most famous painter. Turner primarily painted in water colors. His landscapes were vibrant, expressions of color. His maritime paintings were also beautiful practices of color interpretation. Fiery palettes. The seascapes were also violent. Turner's watercolors depicted life as both beautiful and turbulent. Ships on fire. Ships sinking. Snowstorms, swirling vortexes, slavers throwing the dead overboard. In Calais Pier (1803) Ships are in a momentary break from a storm and are desperately trying to navigate extremely turbulent seas trying to reach the safety of shore. Waves man.</p><p><i>My Policeman </i>opens with the metaphorical and literal waves of the sea. A frail old man Mr. Hazelwood (Rupert Everett) arrives at a house. The house of Older Marion (Gina McKee) and Older Tom (Linus Roache). Older Tom is not happy to have Mr. Hazelwood staying with them. </p><p>Marion begins to care for the old man. She takes a reflective smoke break. As she looks out the window she spots Older Tom walking up the road. The camera lingers and she and us are back in time with Young Marion (Emma Corrin) and Young Tom (Harry Styles). They are standing on a beach. Young Tom says, "I'm a policeman now" The titular character. Young Marion remarks to Young Tom that "Must be quite fulfilling" Young Tom looks over to Young Marion kinda smiles and looks back at the waves. We since that life as a policeman is not so fulfilling. Since they are at a beach and you guessed it waves are rolling in. Could anyone have guessed that Marion is afraid of water. She is. As Young Tom says to her, "Well, you can't go through life afraid of the water." Instead of going into the ocean though they head to a pool or as Young Tom calls it a Lido. </p><p>Young Marion and Young Tom begin spending more time together. They are in a library and Young Tom mentions he has never really looked at art before. He know believes he could get something out of it. Young Marion asks if there is any particular painter Young Tom is interested in. He asks if there is a painter named Turner. Oh Young Tom, indeed there was. He was also arguably Britain's most famous painter whose water colors were interruptions of beautiful and turbulent life. They acquire some books and Young Tom studiously pours over the pages. Swimming lessons in the lido continue. Oh glorious summer days of youth. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6q9VXbl5rLD0NtKi5HcZZ39lCLP2223oh1zMakcqDhgO2OvOZgL6VbD-LTX84fZ1zY9ftVzfu6KnQNEob24lI0JvdyVvgY_kb6ANHGiIgo-rG8xi_pBmc8tAjNUBtoViXQHyaCIm3TLe4BEfk5-QrUL3B_sw4Z-btn1RjhyDY98d7TNmWy4Xlnwyn/s1200/mypoliceman2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1200" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6q9VXbl5rLD0NtKi5HcZZ39lCLP2223oh1zMakcqDhgO2OvOZgL6VbD-LTX84fZ1zY9ftVzfu6KnQNEob24lI0JvdyVvgY_kb6ANHGiIgo-rG8xi_pBmc8tAjNUBtoViXQHyaCIm3TLe4BEfk5-QrUL3B_sw4Z-btn1RjhyDY98d7TNmWy4Xlnwyn/w400-h200/mypoliceman2.jpg" width="460" /></a></div><p><br />Young Tom takes Young Marion to the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery will they will be going on a private tour conducted by the Director of the Western Art Galleries, Young Patrick (David Dawson). Young Tom met Young Patrick at the scene of an accident where Young Patrick was a witness. An accident, a random act that occurred in the never unfolding universe. The three of them stroll through the empty museum surrounded by so many beautiful pieces of art. They stop at a painting by arguably Britain's most famous painter, J.M.W. Turner. They then look at a painting done by Blake. As Young Tom says, "Blake's trying to startle the senses as well as the spirit. There's so much passion in his work. You just have to let it take hold of you." There is a lot at work in this sequence Young Tom and Marion are on a date. This is the first time all three people are in the same space. There are stolen glances from all three people directed to one another. Unspoken words, a tension is building. Perhaps the two boys fancy Young Marion. </p><p>The three become inseparable. Attending classical recitals. Dinners. Talk of travel. Young Patrick wishes to go to Mother Russia because it is the setting of his favorite novel Anna Karenina. The story of Tolstoy's novel goes, "The story centers on an extramarital affair between Anna and dashing cavalry officer Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky that scandalizes the social circles of Saint Petersburg and forces the young lovers to flee to Italy in a search for happiness, but after they return to Russia, their lives further unravel." Young Marion hasn't read it. Young Patrick assures her she must because it is literature's most tragic love story. He goes on to insist that all love stories are tragic. </p><p>Time is the frequency of longitudinal energy waves. If a wave frequency changed today we would not know the difference. Our perception of time would still be the same. So it goes with Young Marion, Young Tom has changed however Young Marion cannot register it. They get married, they consummate the union, Marion lies and says it was lovely. Time is a miraculous concept, it matches ever forward and yet while sitting still in a house by the ocean one can go back to the days of youth. A dairy written by one you caring for in elderly state of life helps. My Policeman takes on qualities of Rashomon. The glances and the subtle touches at the art museum take on different meanings. <br /></p><p>The crux of My Policeman, many other writers and reviewers seemed to have a personal grudge against Harry Styles and what acting chops he brought to the film, some more than likely were caught up in a the stories out of Venice days prior. Stories of in fighting on another film, a possible spitting incident at another world premiere. Harry Styles was fine. The crux is <i>My Policeman</i> is a film that leans into metaphor of the art the characters are gravitating towards and a simple look at the plot of Tolstoy's novel leaves none too much dramatic surprise. Of course this story is going to be tragic, because aren't all love stories. <br /></p><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p>Robert Aaron Mitchellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484977485315027367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639870798673067844.post-72448388062479243482022-09-12T13:47:00.180-07:002023-02-01T15:14:20.703-08:00TIFF 2022 SICK: Reflections by Robert Aaron Mitchell<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhBbHMfPMEC0NqrX_E0uKsC47AsnB-Zz5dgPqxspBoabsrp1vSvxtirftWlpTHJt0UkBZU4bPKtmGALd8ciXVocHIY_YESIVCVhvswhG1m4Df808G_H-kYx_V9vTrghNpWNpJarX1e-8lT89jnI5acv5I3BWhBJxYSFfLkg2QBuwfDS50QL7BHFTtK/s1200/sick_01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1200" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhBbHMfPMEC0NqrX_E0uKsC47AsnB-Zz5dgPqxspBoabsrp1vSvxtirftWlpTHJt0UkBZU4bPKtmGALd8ciXVocHIY_YESIVCVhvswhG1m4Df808G_H-kYx_V9vTrghNpWNpJarX1e-8lT89jnI5acv5I3BWhBJxYSFfLkg2QBuwfDS50QL7BHFTtK/w400-h200/sick_01.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><p>There was a lot of anticipation for <i>Sick</i>, the new film by screenwriter Kevin Williamson (<i>Scream, I Know What You Do Last Summer)</i> playing the Midnight Madness program. Kevin has been a leading figure shaping the horror genre. The screenplay was also written by Katelyn Crabb. Horror is one of the tenets of the program with wold premieres such as <i>Hoste</i>l, <i>Saw</i> and showcasing the French New Extremity wave in the early part of the century. Add to the the anticipation Sick being directed by John Hyams. John's take on the <i>Universal Soldier</i> franchise, especially with <i>Day of Reckoning</i> is absolutely fantastic. A film that drew from numerous film inspirations one of which is Gaspar Noe. I was personally was very much looking forward to <i>Sick</i>, a horror, action hybrid set during the early part of the pandemic. </p><p>The film opens with the following facts. April 3, 2020 273, 880 COVID-19 cases reported and rising. 42 states have issued stay at home orders. Nearly 97% of the country is quarantined. Reading this takes one right back to the dread and fear of the unknown. An airborne virus was unleashed on the world and no one really knew what was going to happen. The film opens on empty selves in a grocery store. As someone who was working in a grocery store during the pandemic reaching America these images immediately take right back to all the overwhelming emotions of the time, which as of this writing seems both a long time ago and just yesterday. </p><p>A surgical masked customer asks a clerk "Hey do you have any toilet paper in the back?" "What you see is what we got." The customer name is Tyler and he starts getting text messages from some unknown person who wants to party. A woman coughs. Everyone stares at her. Tyler gets a text message saying "Nice Ass" and a picture of him standing in the checkout line. He looks back, everyone is a suspect and anyone could be carrying the virus. The phone rings, he answers, silence. "Fuck you and your stalker bullshit." Instant <i>Scream</i> vibes. </p><p>Tyler gets home and wipes down his groceries with wipes. Ah, the early days of the pandemic. The news is playing, Tyler shuts off the tv and a figure clad all in black brandishing a knife appears. This first scene of brutality is exactly what I would expect from John Hyams and his team. Intense, visceral, right in your face action and brutal. Sirens sound outside. Help arriving? More likely someone with Covid being rushed to the hospital. </p><p>We then meet Parker (Gideon Adion) and Miri (Bethlehem Million) They are heading to a lake house to ride out the pandemic. We know this and who ever is following Parker on Instagram now knows this. The house is a substantial giant wood (cabin) mansion. The place is pretty sick. "I know how to 2020" Parker. Ding. Ding. They begin to receive text messages from some unknown person. Creepily specific text messages. Blocked. Problem solved. <br /></p><p>Nothing like a good drinking game watching pandemic news and taking a shot every time Fauci is mentioned! The doorbell rings. Then banging on the door. Parker arms herself with a knife and heads outside. Mimi masks up. That is what is great in the movie how our collective fears of the global pandemic play into the fear of a serial killer. The ringer of the doorbell is an unexpected "friend" shows up at the lake house. DJ Cole (Dylan Sprayberry)</p><p>Like any good serial killer film your protagonists should get high, really high, however in our Covid times one must practice safe social distance single use joint smoking and a good Lysol spray down as you throw down dancing. </p><p>I love mise en scene in movies. I believe it is not written or talked enough in interviews with filmmakers. The mise en scene in relation to the intruder and the other characters is great. The use of the phone in the film is also so effective. What's the first thing anyone of us do upon waking these days? Reach for your phone. Oh the horror of not having it charging beside you upon waking. The suspense is highly effective. Which brings me to the classic "what the fuck are these characters doing". Once the film ratchets up the violence there is a lot of WTF with the character decisions. The filmmakers have to be fucking with us, the audience, right? Oh yeah there are. </p><p>The movie brings the scream vibes, big time. Not so much in the pop cultural referential way but in the way our protagonists and killer move throughout the movie. The film is a tight, tight sojourn through a night from hell in a pandemic lock down. All in all, it's pretty sick. <br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p>Robert Aaron Mitchellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484977485315027367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639870798673067844.post-28230381736665422172022-09-12T06:16:00.002-07:002022-09-30T05:56:30.680-07:00THE BOBBY DIAMONDS STORY Award Winner and Official Trailer <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8FQsE8hcDDpONJsAfqa7-4q0Z6yELKPznkoumBDkFAbY8KLguobtBOPwcjdqux2_JjdhZh2b_7nOm03r0EGNgmB5HCTj2qCWBvlupGB4EtyCedLEeIUVUco8rD0X-LtAEuSwu-A59qPKNWItOsTdxi6VJuxaPFqONV1DafnsRuPfr-Nm2ldzX16gS/s1512/IMG_9921.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="851" data-original-width="1512" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8FQsE8hcDDpONJsAfqa7-4q0Z6yELKPznkoumBDkFAbY8KLguobtBOPwcjdqux2_JjdhZh2b_7nOm03r0EGNgmB5HCTj2qCWBvlupGB4EtyCedLEeIUVUco8rD0X-LtAEuSwu-A59qPKNWItOsTdxi6VJuxaPFqONV1DafnsRuPfr-Nm2ldzX16gS/w400-h225/IMG_9921.PNG" width="520" /></a></div><p></p><p>The Bobby Diamonds Story has begun it's film festival run. On September 5th the film won<a href="https://www.fullshotcinemag.com/post/venice-fullshot-film-festival-winners-august-2022?postId=440a48bc-b3f3-4995-a503-f9f384f99034&utm_campaign=7b38e49f-4690-44b0-9efd-85cb041c456a&utm_source=so&utm_medium=mail&utm_content=f4c1f61d-838e-4a73-bebb-c0c1392efb92&cid=b7972365-bdcc-4d98-b0d3-5f44903b422b&fbclid=IwAR1unrT9gQbMxpV0zCLQthYthoui9lNMFEXhfwnn7hC_VuB7t6OAJkgQrrM"> Best Documentary Short at the Venice Fullshot Film Festival</a>. I am very grateful and humbled by this award as my short begins the roller coaster ride that is submitting to film festivals.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDJkPmiclo7odqy7NPolrozolRQ9k1-TkjBqXrjRtaI-29eQxclHbf2nQC21c84A2Hnf6CNcPRStYqP8atQ60Y-5Y6xoMcB2Q72bfuJjsClNn8zV26P4HOGAiYXkaJE6ESziVwrYRJC9txPLV1WnPBph0LIys-BWGco-Zk3z7LmTt_AuNqilyGxPDU/s1334/Venice.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1334" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDJkPmiclo7odqy7NPolrozolRQ9k1-TkjBqXrjRtaI-29eQxclHbf2nQC21c84A2Hnf6CNcPRStYqP8atQ60Y-5Y6xoMcB2Q72bfuJjsClNn8zV26P4HOGAiYXkaJE6ESziVwrYRJC9txPLV1WnPBph0LIys-BWGco-Zk3z7LmTt_AuNqilyGxPDU/w400-h225/Venice.PNG" width="520" /></a></div><p>Underground poker player Bobby Diamonds steps into the spotlight in a hallucinatory, hilarious and heartfelt documentary. Here is the official trailer:</p>
<iframe width="540" height="415" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/x3QGE5kR5NI" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>Robert Aaron Mitchellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484977485315027367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639870798673067844.post-72370336848083622992021-12-15T10:22:00.002-08:002021-12-15T14:21:49.409-08:00Happy Holidays from Soldier Of Cinema. Some Festive Film Recommendations. <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjbZG4nNPD-PVvU-x5U78xDYIobZ-10kM8EZD8c0SqAo21ZqWg70IdbAvPQ1Trok80_BiVsmt_wrqOQXZZ4eLVkpL-5yV8gToZoBc1ulMebCyVWZrSCqIRkKJ5ZZ_SFRecgvJyOX-f0kLsOkCNOJ_9wBZ27AL87gNTQZwMhE-gHxjEqYwSUxvEMQe8v=s900" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="900" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjbZG4nNPD-PVvU-x5U78xDYIobZ-10kM8EZD8c0SqAo21ZqWg70IdbAvPQ1Trok80_BiVsmt_wrqOQXZZ4eLVkpL-5yV8gToZoBc1ulMebCyVWZrSCqIRkKJ5ZZ_SFRecgvJyOX-f0kLsOkCNOJ_9wBZ27AL87gNTQZwMhE-gHxjEqYwSUxvEMQe8v=w520-h325" width="520" /></a></div> <p></p><p>Once again it's the holiday season. It's a Wonderful Life is celebrating it's 75th anniversary this year. There is no shortage of holiday themed movies set around this festive season. I decided to take a look at some movies that do not necessarily and readily come to mind this time of year. There have been numerous pieces about Shane Black movies and Die Hard. I wanted to revisit some other films. Once you turn off the Christmas lights the darkness once again emerges. The following films explore some dark natures of the human condition. <br /></p><p> GO (1999) Directed by Doug Liman<br /></p><p>"You know what I like best about Christmas? The surprises. It's like you get this box, and you're sure you know what's inside. You know, you shake it, you weigh it. You're totally convinced you have it pegged. No doubt in your mind. But then you open it up, and it's completely different. You know. Wow, bang, surprise. I mean, it's kind of like you and me here, you know? And I'm not saying it's anything it's not. Come on, this time yesterday, who would have thunk it?" Are the opening lines spoken by Claire (Katie Holmes) GO written by John August (Big Fish, Corpse Bride) and directed by Doug Liman fresh off of Swingers and would later helm Edge of Tomorrow aka Live, Die, Repeat is a movie involving multiple stories around the holiday season. The trio of friends who work at a grocery store who wind up in a drug deal gone bad. A pair of actors who are about to have a horrible night. And a group of friends who head in sin city. Vegas baby! When I first saw film years ago it had me hooked when the Columbia studio logo was inter-cut with rave party footage. The film features a great ensemble cast with pretty much every actor moving onto many other film projects. A personal favorite film I revisit from time to time. Working in a grocery store sucks, especially around the holidays. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEie0fJFHeIckGsXooLV4VJa5m6Zl-HDRrP4q2AQ6dKKb09MzooLFVkMz9EJU6yohHyEDUPbO0JslPCOJSi4q-GgurT9RFd15COx5afJe7smnlzNxI_6I2emAbU7OMNKxkkxK7VjemqlyoLL8K8vemgKE5xGpq8cdKYkj0oPkmMArolFxDbbCREYaf25=s500" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="500" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEie0fJFHeIckGsXooLV4VJa5m6Zl-HDRrP4q2AQ6dKKb09MzooLFVkMz9EJU6yohHyEDUPbO0JslPCOJSi4q-GgurT9RFd15COx5afJe7smnlzNxI_6I2emAbU7OMNKxkkxK7VjemqlyoLL8K8vemgKE5xGpq8cdKYkj0oPkmMArolFxDbbCREYaf25=w520-h320" width="520" /></a></div><p></p><p>JOHNS (1996) Directed by Scott Silver </p><p>"A john once told me that the only one true friend you really have is the money in your pocket. That I know is complete bullshit. All the following hustler stories however are true. My tale begins and ends with shoes." Donner (Lukas Haas) Several years ago I was watching Sean Baker's exquisite film Tangerine. Another film that takes place on Christmas Eve. As I watching the movie another movie kept popping into my head. I could not remember the title. I did remember that David Arquette was one of the actors and I vividly recall watching it on the Canadian channel Showcase and the film was introduced by now C.E.O. of the Toronto International Film Festival, Cameron Bailey. After searching I found the title of the movie, Johns. The film is directed and written by Scott Silver who would go onto write Joker (2019) The Fighter (2010). Johns begins on Christmas eve. The story focuses on a couple of L.A. street hustlers navigating their world on Christmas Eve. John (David Arquette) and Donner (Lukas Haas). This is another film that features a great ensemble cast. The story features the absurdity, fear, sadness of people operating on the fringes of society. <br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhrIzVera8DEQ9dpyz9hh33EkDpJJKXgPv8MO2JK-8ZEZYSLLNgSz72kDH3rf3bUQYAo7NIN8W2XOgEPxfXvw5c9R31DEsTuiCwlMomUGF59z_6aLp46NhGOsH3-Hsysp49UphmS9nz1PRTR35ZHgY9mAMTQOjqTKs6Gw9t_KuroMFJCVuPfjWbjeQ9=s636" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="394" data-original-width="636" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhrIzVera8DEQ9dpyz9hh33EkDpJJKXgPv8MO2JK-8ZEZYSLLNgSz72kDH3rf3bUQYAo7NIN8W2XOgEPxfXvw5c9R31DEsTuiCwlMomUGF59z_6aLp46NhGOsH3-Hsysp49UphmS9nz1PRTR35ZHgY9mAMTQOjqTKs6Gw9t_KuroMFJCVuPfjWbjeQ9=w400-h395" width="520" /></a></div><p></p><p>SILENT NIGHT (2021) Directed by Camille Griffen</p><p>My favorite movie that I watched the 2021 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival was a....Keira Knightley....Christmas movie.... The less said about this movie the better. I urge you to watch it. The couple of folks I recommended it to really dug it. Another great ensemble cast. The stand out actor for me is Roman Griffin Davis (Jojo Rabbit) who is going to have a great acting career. Camille Griffin is his mother. <a href="http://soldierofcinema.blogspot.com/2021/09/tiff-2021-silent-night-reflections-by.html">Here is what I wrote about it. Review Here </a><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi182ZVqf_aLfar2KzgP92xAqQHmAWb5gXltoyy0IGr-CcKV1z06wG3LUcvOmIGHhNA6J_v-WTsgug29Z9DaYf4p4yLfwYVDHcukTLu87sB-gE9j4jsD39Kt-_OPa9TAL1qme4v_5RUiwp1AatgAPYTWXQ8zNTpR9bxLM2_Je95WBqDHBZqtD37aFly=s1024" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="686" data-original-width="1024" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi182ZVqf_aLfar2KzgP92xAqQHmAWb5gXltoyy0IGr-CcKV1z06wG3LUcvOmIGHhNA6J_v-WTsgug29Z9DaYf4p4yLfwYVDHcukTLu87sB-gE9j4jsD39Kt-_OPa9TAL1qme4v_5RUiwp1AatgAPYTWXQ8zNTpR9bxLM2_Je95WBqDHBZqtD37aFly=w520-h368" width="520" /></a></div><br /><p>EYES WIDE SHUT (1999) Directed by Stanley Kubrick </p><p>A film that was written about a crazy amount when it was being filmed. From the aspect that Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman were married at the time, to Stanley Kubrick's obsession to details and multiple takes to the how long the shoot was, 400 days. Eyes Wide Shut still holds the record for longest continuations film shoot. Kubrick died days after presenting the film to Warner Brother executives. </p><p>In the opening moments of the movie the Harford couple are at Christmas party Alice (Nicole Kidman) asks William (Tom Cruise), "Do you know anyone here?" He responds, "Not a soul." The season social gatherings are only going to get more awkward as the night progresses. </p><p>A Hungarian stranger by the name of Sandor Szavost that Alice is dancing with asks, "Don't you think one of the charms of marriage is that it makes deception a necessity for both parties." She laughs the fake kind of laugh that only a former SOHO gallery owner can laugh. He is quite insistent on questioning Alice's marriage. Bill is walking around the party with two gorgeous women on either arm. Ah, to be rich and beautiful."Don't you want to go where the rainbow ends?" One of the women asks Bill. Than he is cock blocked. Seems the host of the party is up to his own infidelity transgressions. A woman has overdosed on a speed ball. Dr. Bill gets the woman to open her eyes. It's a Christmas miracle. </p><p>Alice keeps dancing away. The festive lights are oh so beautiful and bright. She is visibly getting tipsy. Sandor is still quite insistent. Alice cuts him off and says they will never see each other again because she is married. The late 1990s really kick into high gear when the Chris Isaak song "Baby Did A Bad Thing." kicks off. It's back to the practice and taking care of the child. Preparing for Christmas. A little weed to take the edge off. Alice than asks Bill if he pursued extramarital relations at the party last night when he disappeared. Bill asks about the Hungarian stranger. The conversation then turns to Bill saying it was only natural that the Hungarian wanted to fuck Alice because she was a beautiful woman. She takes umbrage to this statement. Alice turns it around on Bill that he did indeed want to fuck the two models because they were also beautiful woman. He says he did not. Alice follows up with asking him, "What makes him an exception?" Bill responds, "What makes me an exception is that I happen to be in love with you. And because we're married..." and continues, "and because I would never lie to you..." with his EYES WIDE SHUT! Kubrick the cinematic master left us with the gift of this perennial holiday favorite as his last fully realized work. <br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYXy201ns8vz_cy7pSYGyYXVS0uv18GtlSlzVrhlAuW8rxBABdnDUin3GttbY6VyHmPKBK_wXMsC7DcTBdO0EfOfbuZyDJ-l5Gyz8xuQJEHrj51e5Vk6xVG3c5QvnQhga-Fw1PZ6xw8SUGk2KvxS66SiMuPL1JkJ6qbuKY4_mN4bMi5ZHbeTe27d-2=s853" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="853" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYXy201ns8vz_cy7pSYGyYXVS0uv18GtlSlzVrhlAuW8rxBABdnDUin3GttbY6VyHmPKBK_wXMsC7DcTBdO0EfOfbuZyDJ-l5Gyz8xuQJEHrj51e5Vk6xVG3c5QvnQhga-Fw1PZ6xw8SUGk2KvxS66SiMuPL1JkJ6qbuKY4_mN4bMi5ZHbeTe27d-2=w400-h225" width="520" /></a></div> <p></p><p>A L’INTÉRIEUR aka INSIDE (2007) Directed by Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo<br /><br />A L’intérieur is a story of loss. It is also about motherhood and providing shelter and safety. The film features two exceptional performances from Béatice Dalle and Alysson Paradis.<br /><br />Sarah (Alysson Paradis) is in a car accident with her husband. He passes away. She survives as well as the five-month-old baby she is pregnant with. Four months later it is Christmas Eve. Sarah is at the a doctor’s appointment. She is due to give birth the following morning. Christmas morning. The doctor says to Sarah, “Enjoy your last night of peace and quiet.” Unfortunately for her Christmas Eve will be the exact opposite of peace and quiet.<br /><br />Red being a predominate color of the festival season. You will not find another film, which displays this much red in it. A giant pair of scissors is not only for cutting wrapping paper. This movie has for me one of the most terrifying and haunting shots when a face appears from the darkness in a doorway. A L’intérieur arrived at the height of the French new wave of horror cinema.There is so, so, so, much blood. It is not for the faint of heart.<br /></p><p>I wish you all a happy holiday season and happy new year. Thanks for reading. <br /></p><p><br /></p>Robert Aaron Mitchellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484977485315027367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639870798673067844.post-43994377796145388572021-11-20T07:11:00.000-08:002021-11-20T07:11:06.978-08:00THE DAY AFTER: Reflections by Robert Aaron Mitchell <p></p><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixl5N-T0tRz9RMsru-l8N7-J_YwkyDTP0jVu8LLcUxhu_0V0D_VBLqLuODSw6Af2mDpvTKs2qwyngbxVns7gFYClDsUTByAGzRecg1vDEpimPInFn5MVzRst8OwGhU91IzRsYtj1i6RvA/s908/DayAfter2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="556" data-original-width="908" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixl5N-T0tRz9RMsru-l8N7-J_YwkyDTP0jVu8LLcUxhu_0V0D_VBLqLuODSw6Af2mDpvTKs2qwyngbxVns7gFYClDsUTByAGzRecg1vDEpimPInFn5MVzRst8OwGhU91IzRsYtj1i6RvA/w400-h245/DayAfter2.jpg" width="520" /></a></div><p> “They made you a moron, A potential H bomb. There’s no future, no future, no future for you” – The Sex Pistols<br /> <br />In my childhood - in the late seventies and eighties – premieres for made for television movies were a big event. You would see commercial spots for the newest made for TV movie for months leading up to the big event. I remember quite vividly the kid floating to the window in Salem’s Lot (1979). When The Exorcist premiered on CBS. My cousins showed me that movie when I was five years old. I had nightmares for weeks afterwards. I used to sneak down stairs and turn on one of the movie channels of my youth, First Choice or Super Channel. This is how I saw John Carpenter’s The Thing for the first time. Runaway train was another film I got up well after bedtime to watch.<br /> <br />The most terrifying scene for me personally, premiered on November 20, 1983 on the ABC television network. Ronald Reagan was President. Yuri Andropov was the paramount leader of the Soviet Union and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or A.I.D.S was a new immune system disorder that was making headlines. Assured mutual destruction and trickle-down economics were buzzwords. Reaganomics was in full effect following massive tax cuts signed into law in 1981. The percentage of people below the poverty line in 1983 had climbed to 15.2%. On March 8th, 1983 President Reagan was speaking to the National Association of Evangelicals where he first said the phrase, “Evil Empire” in reference to the Soviet Union. The doomsday clock was positioned at four minutes to midnight. In November 1983 I was eight years old and living with my grandmother and great-grandmother.<br /><br />For weeks and weeks we had seen the commercial spots for the latest television movie that was premiering on ABC, The Day After. That November night we gathered around the living room. The ABC Theater logo began. Then a man sitting in front of bookshelves introduced himself, “Hello I’m John Cullum.” And went on to introduce the move. “And this evenings ABC Theater presentation of The Day After I play a father in a typical American family who experienced the catastrophic events of a full-scale nuclear war. Before the movie begins we would like to caution parents about the graphic depiction of nuclear explosions and their devastating effects. The emotional impact of these scenes maybe unusually disturbing and are therefore recommending that very young children not be permitted to watch. In homes where young people are watching we’d like to suggest that the family watch together so the parents can be on hand to answer questions and discuss issues raised by the movie.” Suffice to say my grandmother and great-grandmother did not heed the first part of John Cullum’s warning. The three of us did indeed watch the movie together.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizpPsz8Mt9KAaU2yidcq5v0Uvdq7uS0BeSe-iEB3YyCwUHcmRqIm4lHDaD2s6NGWEtf1mdRbKcZ71gJw_ijgZJZQ5ZJ8jp1uUQzJppK9aVogYrjfnUuYNGuil0mdHOPvC9XHVruF4t2XQ/s1536/day-after-1983.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1120" data-original-width="1536" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizpPsz8Mt9KAaU2yidcq5v0Uvdq7uS0BeSe-iEB3YyCwUHcmRqIm4lHDaD2s6NGWEtf1mdRbKcZ71gJw_ijgZJZQ5ZJ8jp1uUQzJppK9aVogYrjfnUuYNGuil0mdHOPvC9XHVruF4t2XQ/s320/day-after-1983.jpg" width="520" /></a></div><p><br />The screen went to black and I had a palpable sense that I was about to see something quite incredible and terrifying. The movie on television began with the following words on the screen: “Although based on scientific fact, this film is fiction. Because the graphic depiction of the effects of a nuclear war may not be suitable for young viewers, parental discretion is advised.”<br /> <br />As a kid I loved, loved airplanes. I had notebooks filled with drawings of them. My father would take me an airshow every summer. I knew all the designations of military aircraft. The Day After opens on a Boeing 707 with gray, white and black lettering of the United States air force sitting on the tarmac at SAC Airborne Command Post Omaha, Nebraska. A general boards the plane. Service people are working. This opening scene feels very much like a documentary. The plane roars to life and takes off over cornfields. Big brassy music swells as the camera flies over farms and small mid-west towns. School is staring. Cowboys ride through cattle pens. People are working in manufacturing jobs. The camera flies over Royals Ballpark where George Brett, Vida Blue, Gaylord Perry played months before. It is a beautiful day in Kansas.<br /> <br />The ticker tape is humming, the phones are ringing and the numbers are changing on the stock boards at the Kansas Board of Trade. The television news plays as journalists are talking about Soviet Union military buildup along the border of Czechoslovakia. A military helicopter lands at a quaint little house. Military personal run off of the helicopter. They enter a missile silo. “Everything is clean and green.” An air force person informs the others. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaANUJo2XMSsFSeU6Hlp2r594Ko3UsNyWQbgO2913no1nv_IOgv5TFw2jS7MFCpiV07XSIi42m4flBHxsr6ZNRg3YxWqjT7fCqKtEMes-7-NVwBAfSqm_QZRI6b7o3ZhLp93cYTx22Twk/s1146/dayafterhomevideo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1146" data-original-width="1024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaANUJo2XMSsFSeU6Hlp2r594Ko3UsNyWQbgO2913no1nv_IOgv5TFw2jS7MFCpiV07XSIi42m4flBHxsr6ZNRg3YxWqjT7fCqKtEMes-7-NVwBAfSqm_QZRI6b7o3ZhLp93cYTx22Twk/w358-h400/dayafterhomevideo.jpg" width="358" /></a></div> <p></p><p>Dr. Russell Oakes (Jason Robards) is meeting with his daughter Marilyn (Kyle Aletter) “Hey what’s eating you fruitcake.” he remarks. “I’m sorry just jumpy.” “Ah, you saw 60 minutes last night.” “Huh? No. Come on, I’m taking you to someplace you work right next to and I bet you’ve never been inside in fifteen years.” Sirens are off in the distance. They then wander an art museum. “Sometimes it’s hard to experience a Chinese landscape because the artist does not tell you where you are watching from.” Marilyn informs her dad as they look upon a painting. “You know why?” She asks. Dr. Russell shakes his head, no. “Because he wants you to be in the landscape. A part of it not out here looking at it.” “You mean a God’s eye point of view?” “No, well yes, if by God you mean everywhere inside sort of thing.” Marilyn informs her dad that she is moving to Boston. “Growing up is like growing apart, maybe it’s a natural phenomenon.” Marilyn says. Seconds of silence. Dr. Russell speaks, “It’s not so easy, saying goodbye.”<br /> <br />As families gather for dinner the evening news plays on the radio and television. The Soviet Union is moving large military forces. People pause as an anchorperson relates that East Germany has closed off access to West Berlin. As the sun sets in Kansas, the threat of war is imminent. A baseball game plays. “We interrupt this program to bring you a special report…” East Germany is making more aggressive moves. Life continues. Two sisters chase each other around the house fighting. “Jolene, I’m never going to speak to you again.” An air force man is getting ready to be deployed to his missile silo has an emotional goodbye with his wife. “It’s just an alert, we run around and check things twice instead of once, that’s it.” Life continues as the prospect of war looms larger. There is such a dread the runs throughout <i>The Day After</i> which directly tapped into the zeitgeist of the early 1980s. At any moment actual nuclear was possible and probable. For a country that has in been in continuous declared war for most of the twenty-first century, it is perhaps difficult to grasp how real nuclear war and all out destruction of the planet was. This threat has never actually dissipated. <br /> <br />The sun rises the next day and people continue to go about their day. Tensions continue to escalate in East Germany. A high school football practice is happening. War in Germany is starting. People are leaving Kansas because of the missile silos. The city of Moscow is being evacuated. A man gets a haircut before his wedding the next day. The Russians have invaded West Germany. The highways of Kansas and Missouri are packed with cars leaving the area. Panic. Supermarkets are getting cleaned out. Children watch morning cartoons. The high-pitched tone of an emergency broadcast interrupts the show. Three nuclear blasts are being reported over advancing Soviet troops. Air force troops scramble to B-52 bombers. Another nuclear bomb has exploded at regional NATO headquarters.<br /> <br />Forty-nine minutes and twenty-seven seconds into The Day After a woman is drying off after a shower. Her kids are playing outside. The farmhouse begins to shake. In the window behind her a huge plume of light and smoke emerges from the ground. She rushes to the window. A horse neighs and bolts in slow motion. The kids stare in awe of the missile emerging from the silo. The nuclear missile is airborne. The unthinkable is happening. When Jim Dahlberg (Jim Cullen) carries his wife Eve (Bibi Besch) downstairs to the cellar and Eve is screaming it is bone chilling.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAckplXLLHJlTRxCZqZB5MxH1KwQ4t5yCcg31v-7OwUvBzhWHK3eFPyvuEg1niXnt3sAaXMa-V50N1uryR2vGPNWrpkk7ICM1NbF1q9RlakWL-p1xApriaOPA8wITQtxYQO188PTI4ZWc/s908/DayAfter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="565" data-original-width="908" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAckplXLLHJlTRxCZqZB5MxH1KwQ4t5yCcg31v-7OwUvBzhWHK3eFPyvuEg1niXnt3sAaXMa-V50N1uryR2vGPNWrpkk7ICM1NbF1q9RlakWL-p1xApriaOPA8wITQtxYQO188PTI4ZWc/w400-h249/DayAfter.jpg" width="520" /></a></div><br />We see the Kansas City skyline. The wailing of warning seconds give way to silence. The shot pulls back. The sound of a large boom followed by a brilliant flash of light. Electricity goes out, rooms immediately darken. Clocks stop. Cars stop. A fireball explosion begins on the horizon. The television screen goes white. Only the silhouettes of cars on the highway are visible. The explosion starts to rise from the ground, rising upwards, forming a mushroom cloud. Vast destruction. More explosions. Mushroom clouds. The screen flashes.<br /> <br />In an entire film filled with the horror of nuclear war, it is a forty second sequence that really got to eight year and now forty-six year old me. It begins with a woman flashing into a skeleton and then ceasing to exist. An entire classroom of children flashes into skeletons and cease to exist. Within flashes of red, white and blue one hundred and seventy life forms flash into skeletons and are instantly evaporated. Among the evaporated, fifty children, six cattle, the horse from the first missile launch and one dog. The most violent fictional forty seconds ever aired on American television. I had nightmares for weeks.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgej3Tz3MbwM4v_78B2ow9uYZJ8-_8hNJOwyBLTzx1AHpYzRJA7rT2CCvAxKHFn4D9jS6KEJwdAo8JUK_SofWiy9KpfQN09jMH4R80i0eJCSNSFzN9tFTcNNass1YpKj57Wa8bLEksHhvM/s1024/DayAfterMoreSkeletons.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgej3Tz3MbwM4v_78B2ow9uYZJ8-_8hNJOwyBLTzx1AHpYzRJA7rT2CCvAxKHFn4D9jS6KEJwdAo8JUK_SofWiy9KpfQN09jMH4R80i0eJCSNSFzN9tFTcNNass1YpKj57Wa8bLEksHhvM/w400-h300/DayAfterMoreSkeletons.jpg" width="520" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>As a Generation X child, it felt like the world could end at any moment. The psychological effect of these catastrophic images at such a young age were deeply embedded in my imagination. I often think of my worldview of the future being such an abstract thought and how I often live within the moment. To both a benefit and a detriment. I hadn’t had nightmares of nuclear war for many years until the 45th President was elected. As the Covid-19 pandemic continues it still feels as though there is no future for you. Scientists developed the doomsday clock in 1947 to convey the threats to humanity and the planet. The doomsday clock is set every year. As of January 27, 2021 the Doomsday clock is set at 100 seconds to Midnight. <a href="https://thebulletin.org/facing-nuclear-reality-35-years-after-the-day-after/">The closet to extinction the clock has ever been set.</a></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizQWG8tWyurhGeE3oas-quM5-OQGUqHTCOOyJWfyvmvHLtdOVMss8wQsRv4ySmQuxDEphU-w9BC6U34hyphenhyphenJyf1FiWbXPzGWUsdTqD-gmuihQR-0BdSExQmEj20CUecHiAgqI3rF82Fh9pE/s620/TVGuide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="419" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizQWG8tWyurhGeE3oas-quM5-OQGUqHTCOOyJWfyvmvHLtdOVMss8wQsRv4ySmQuxDEphU-w9BC6U34hyphenhyphenJyf1FiWbXPzGWUsdTqD-gmuihQR-0BdSExQmEj20CUecHiAgqI3rF82Fh9pE/w432-h640/TVGuide.jpg" width="432" /></a></div><br /> <br /><p></p>Robert Aaron Mitchellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484977485315027367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639870798673067844.post-16111762949148221522021-10-22T06:18:00.001-07:002021-10-22T11:07:17.042-07:00I STILL SEARCH FOR YOU: A Cinematic Sketch by Robert Aaron Mitchell <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxL241a9BWMSIpMtPXJpzHjJk072ftk3kBKTsPkQGADpRtW_c0Ks-Ju4QRGAqdaMkS5VGaC2Cxi_OEXeVwT5SzfycVt_XqZz8Lnjg4M2S3sRUByp28yn9M7ePhD_2Ru-i3-TdXIi5bFXo/s2048/FilmStill.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxL241a9BWMSIpMtPXJpzHjJk072ftk3kBKTsPkQGADpRtW_c0Ks-Ju4QRGAqdaMkS5VGaC2Cxi_OEXeVwT5SzfycVt_XqZz8Lnjg4M2S3sRUByp28yn9M7ePhD_2Ru-i3-TdXIi5bFXo/w400-h300/FilmStill.jpg" width="520" /></a></div><p></p><p>I have been living in the middle of a cattle ranch in South Texas for a couple of months now. The area is very isolated and has amazing visuals. Everyday I have some sort of encounter with wildlife. Be it a snake chasing a frog I saw when out driving. A baby owl trapped near a cactus. The fleeting glimpse of a deer jumping over a barbed-wire fence. I wander the ranch in the hot Texas sun formulating ideas to create several short films. I decided to edit some of my cellphone footage I have been taking, to put together, what I'm calling a cinematic sketch. I used several filter and editing tools available at the app store to play around and manipulate the images. This is the result. </p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15730974/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1"><i>I Still Search For You</i></a>. A man walks in around a cattle ranch ranch in South Texas in a hallucinogenic state. </p><p><br /></p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="415" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OduMOhAoJDE" title="YouTube video player" width="520"></iframe>Robert Aaron Mitchellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484977485315027367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639870798673067844.post-56688516582359245602021-10-20T22:00:00.003-07:002021-10-21T07:38:30.080-07:00BROOKLYN HORROR FILM FESTIVAL 2021: WHAT JOSIAH SAW Reflections by Robert Aaron Mitchell<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoeOd49m2tG1z6cQEBBP26-0Ug8TWPWnvIQeWvNzqSKRmYX735ynchj8jQeU9xLRtFt2r4K3w36LfdWn_X7LMmBnZE735MHgwcExNWh-4D7IdVzuZSNiwHsC7quxAg2dRO7bBqvGUbFWM/s768/WhatJosiahSaw-768x432.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="768" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoeOd49m2tG1z6cQEBBP26-0Ug8TWPWnvIQeWvNzqSKRmYX735ynchj8jQeU9xLRtFt2r4K3w36LfdWn_X7LMmBnZE735MHgwcExNWh-4D7IdVzuZSNiwHsC7quxAg2dRO7bBqvGUbFWM/w400-h225/WhatJosiahSaw-768x432.jpg" width="520" /></a></div><br /> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>WHAT JOSIAH SAW (USA) Directed by Vincent Grashaw<br /><br />Out on old willow road on the outskirts of a small Texas town is a dilapidated farmhouse surrounded by a good swath of land. This is the Graham homestead. Tommy (Scott Haze) is on a rusted out tractor trying to get it started. He cranks the ignition. It pops and puffs. Plumes of smoke billow out. Inside Josiah (Robert Patrick) looks on. His powerful patriarchal presence felt through the glass of the window. Out on an old oak tree is the inscription; <br /> <p></p><p><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Miriam Graham<br /> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Darling Wife<br /><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span></span>Beloved Mom<br /><br />Josiah and Tommy sit around the kitchen table. Tommy says a prayer, “God, God I just love you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. For this food today. I pray for ma. I pray for pa. I pray for the man he lied to Amen.” Josiah tells Tommy a story and tells his son he is ignorant to believe in God. <br /><br />The small town is like a lot of towns these days. Barely hanging on. A main street with a few shops. Oil developers are circling the town trying to buy up land relevant to their shale oil extraction. A couple of Devlin Oil company men meet with one of the assemblymen of the town. They want to buy the Graham property. Assemblyman Gentry points to a map, “Well, this is Willow Road. That’s the Graham property that’ll be a tough sell.” The company men do not seem to phased. “Most have a price.” Gentry continues, “That place has a bad history...something awful has come about.” He proceeds to tell them a story about the Graham family. <br /><br />On a night when the winds are whipping up something fierce, the farmhouse creaking away. Josiah wakes up in a panic. He sees something above him. He is transfixed and frozen in fear. The next morning Tommy sees Josiah standing beside the oak tree. “Whatever bad you got inside you come from me. Everything good comes from your mother.” Josiah eyes wide and unblinking says God is indeed watching them. They can right their ways, right their wrongs. Getting right has to begin with spit shining the house. Tommy gets down to work. Whatever Josiah saw sure has changed him. At the kitchen table Tommy is about to pour him some whiskey. Josiah covers the coffee mug with his hand “Leave it be.” “No morning tea?” Tommy asks. “Not no more.” Things are turning around. Tommy sets upon the old tractor and it pops and puffs more smoke and wouldn’t you know it, the tractor starts. <br /><br />Robert Patrick as Josiah is a dominating presence. He stalks around quietly and on the turn of a dime flies into rage. His wide-eyed, unblinking blue eyes are a force of nature. The eyes that can be infused with drunken lunacy, outright terror, menace and malice. Scott Haze playing the son who has returned has the formidable task of sharing scenes with Robert. He rises to the challenge. From Tommy’s posture, dialect or the way he muses and cares for his pa even when his father is in a mean drunk is a role full of empathy and a longing to stay in pa’s good graces. Resolve and courage are two exemplary traits of good actors. Robert Patrick and Scott Haze display these traits as the story moves into unsettling and disturbing ways. <br /><br />Eli arrives in the story in a frenzied moment of passion. As Josiah remarks about his son, “First step that boy took was a mud pile of trouble.” Looks like Eli continues to step in a mud pile after mud pile of trouble. Eli navigates a violent, rough and tumble world of gambling, whoring and drinking. Henry David Thoreau wrote in Walden, “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation.” Nick Stahl as Eli personifies such a man. A man who is perpetually down on his luck. <br /><br />One of Eli’s many vices is gambling. He owes Boone, a bar owner and all around shady guy a shit ton of money. Boone is going to kill Eli. Unless. Eli has to accompany two of Boone’s guys, Logan (Troy Powell) and Billy (Ronnie Gene Blevins) on a job. Job don’t go well, Eli is dead. <br /><br />The three man crew arrive at a gypsy carnival. “They say if a dog howls for no reason, there’s trouble coming. Gypsy lore.” Billy says, ”Lightning without rain these are omens” Eli sits in a trailer as Logan and Billy go on about things. Eli is approached by a young woman, they get to talking. She mentions Eli should meet with the median. He reluctantly agrees. The gypsy median tells him some things. Bullshit everyday platitudes or ominous omens? A lot of shit goes down. Looks like Eli might very well have a second chance. He shows up to his trailer with a letter from the oil company sitting on the floor.<br /><br />Mary (Kelli Garner) is Joisah and Miriam’s daughter. She is married to Ross (Tony Hale). They are not doing well. They are trying to adopt a child. Mary is meeting with a therapist as a part of the adoption process. Eli shows up with the letter from the oil company shattering a peace that was never quite there to begin with. <br /><br />Thomas Wolfe's posthumous novel is entitled, “You Can’t Go Home Again”. Mary and Eli have spent a lifetime with this as a guiding principle. The allure of the oil company money is the impetus. The confrontation with the past is the pull. A heart wrenching reunion with Tommy in the front yard of the farm house. The hugs and warm feeling is short lived. When Tommy informs Josiah his other children have returned the ominous tone ratchets up in intensity. <br /><br />I like the novel structure of the film. There are also some great story telling moments in the beginning of the chapters when assemblyman Gentry (Ben Hall) and bar owner Boone (Jake Weber) relay a yarn. The film moves among its stories, characters and tones. Sometimes with ease, sometimes jarringly. That is probably the point. There is a lot of movie here. A film full of great faces. Vincent Grashaw makes some great distinct and visual choices to tell the story. There is such an ominous feeling of dread that permeates the film. <br /><br />Film is a combination of so many things. Visual, musical, sound design. In a good movie one should not notice these things. However, for me, that is like going to the symphony and not seeing the musicians gathered around a half-circle on stage. When the elements of a film mesh well together it is pure cinema. Cinematographer Carlos Ritter brings a great look to the movie. Composer Robert Pycior's score is haunting, beautiful, and versatile as the tone of the film changes. Last but certainly not least, the sound design team of What Josiah Saw have done an amazing job. The sound design is exquisite. <br /><br />What Josiah Saw is a southern gothic crime thriller. The film has a great foundation with Robert Alan Dilts screenplay and is anchored by strong performances from a great character actor ensemble. The story twists and turns in unexpected ways. Suspenseful, creepy, disturbing. Director Vincent Grashaw and his team of filmmakers keep the story moving in unique and compelling directions. <br /><br />One of the core elements of <i>What Josiah Saw</i> is the stories people tell. The truth and lies. Through the murky lens of memory and manipulation.<br /></p><p>Family reunions, much like film endings can be complicated affairs. <i>What Joisah Saw</i> will definitely have much discussion after the credits roll. That is a testament to a film that is unafraid to go there. <br /></p>Robert Aaron Mitchellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484977485315027367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639870798673067844.post-2719836104020874512021-10-20T06:24:00.002-07:002021-10-20T06:38:52.293-07:00BROOKLYN HORROR FILM FESTIVAL 2021: WHEN I CONSUME YOU Reflections by Robert Aaron Mitchell <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwnZz3FBbXfIu1kkpSJ5EQtYeZonpLjdlBmvGzYGAYpkPXtpKsc-GGVFxEh-3tsKGOKs7FNqxORyf9IlSRgyS7ixbslJuOv3GJhCHDKO1KjruJwjYPWQ8esLunp54C3K8XQFg5yU9YZ3Y/s768/WhenIConsumeYou-768x432.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="768" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwnZz3FBbXfIu1kkpSJ5EQtYeZonpLjdlBmvGzYGAYpkPXtpKsc-GGVFxEh-3tsKGOKs7FNqxORyf9IlSRgyS7ixbslJuOv3GJhCHDKO1KjruJwjYPWQ8esLunp54C3K8XQFg5yU9YZ3Y/w400-h225/WhenIConsumeYou-768x432.jpg" width="520" /></a></div><br /> WHEN I CONSUME YOU (USA) Directed by Perry Blackshear <br /><br /><i>When I Consume You</i> is Perry Blackshear’s third feature film. His 2018 film <i>The Siren</i> was the closing film of the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival. He returns to the festival with his core acting troupe. <br /><br />The film opens with a frenetic pace. Incredible images of physical pain. A woman is bruised and bloodied. She is in a bathroom. Locks the door. Standing over the sink she regurgitates a lot of blood. She reaches into her mouth. A distinct and jarring snapping sound. She pulls a loose tooth from her mouth. Another jarring sound as the tooth hits the porcelain. Washing her hands a tattoo of appears to be a stick figure is on the inside of her wrist. A man calls out. The woman runs the shower. She says she is good, she is finishing the shower. She sits on the floor, fully clothed, the water pouring over her as a victim of a horrendous encroachment would. <br /><br />A nightmare is revealed in the closet.<br /><br />The woman is in the mirror applying cover up to a bruise. Two people sit on a balcony. Daphne (Libby Ewing) and Wilson (Evan Dumouchel). Wilson says, “I decided I want to be a teacher because I want to help people. People who have had a hard time, need help, and protection and to feel safe. Like kids. It’s really scary to be a kid.” He is really focused on getting this out and has clearly spent a lot time rehearsing his words to get them out in a concise manner. <br /><br />Daphne hands Wilson a necklace. It is inscribed with a quote, “I sought my brother” They are siblings who have endured a lifetime of pain and hardship together. They have a bond that is inseparable. <br /><br />“Are you okay?” Wilson asks. A memory. She nods her head in a way that says I’m not quite okay. <br /><br />The Shaw siblings are forging ahead and pursing paths to better their lives. Daphne is trying to adopt a child. Wilson is going to have an interview for a new job in a couple of days. The adoption process is not going well and has revealed some deep psychological aspects to Daphne’s personality. <br /><br />Wilson preparing for his big interview leaves the iron on his good shirt too long marking it with a burn. He practices tying a tie. Keeping up appearances to a cold, indifferent society. Wilson is not doing well the night before the interview and shows up at his sister’s apartment in the middle of the night. There is a sense that is a familiar routine. A lifetime of developing coping mechanisms. Intense workouts. A fantasy card game. Three am visits. Hanging out on the balcony. Wilson and Daphne are there for each other through thick or thin. <br /><br />Wilson stands outside the school waiting for his interview. He self consciously rubs at the stain on his shirt, holding his jacket a little bit higher. While waiting he is approached by someone who works at the school and is informed he will not get an interview. He does not have a college degree. Wilson stands shattered. Another hit from a cold, indifferent society<br /><br />Wilson returns to Daphne’s apartment. Tragedy. Wilson spots someone running out of the apartment and onto the balcony. On the roof and down the fire escape. He gives chase. To no avail. Wilson stands in the glow of first responder blue and red lights. The chaos of sirens. He frantically is communicating that he saw someone run out the window. An integration. An examination. <br /><br />At the grave site Wilson holds the words he wrote to eulogize Daphne. “I love my sister very much. When we were little, she protected me though she was younger. I would probably be dead if it wasn’t for her and how strong she is.” He chooses a different set of words. He also makes a vow to find the evil that is still out there. The evil that murdered his younger sister. <br /><br />Wilson wanders the dark New York City streets inquiring about the person he saw flee Daphne’s apartment. Approaching people if they saw the person who he describes. They treat him as people do in a cold indifferent society as a delusional person. Wilson continues to work as a janitor. Invisible to the people around him. <br /><br />Wilson falls further into himself. Searching for solace at the end of the next bottle. Is he indeed alone? He obtains a box of keepsakes. He opens a leather bound book. Daphne’s diary. Her voice fills Wilson’s mind. The diary compels him to search for the mystery surrounding Daphne. The path leads to intense violence. A mysterious figure has great plans for Wilson Shaw. <br /><br />When a supernatural event occurs Wilson begins a personal transformation to avenge Daphne. The seeds of letting go and moving forward are also being planted. <br /><br /><i>When I Consume You</i> is Daphne and Wilson’s story. Libby Ewing and Evan Dumouchel carry the film with outstanding performances. Performances that run the gamut of range. <br /><br /><i>When I Consume You </i>is a violent, meditation of personal pain and loneliness. A struggle with mental illness in a society that moves on its own accord and has not the luxury or desire to pause and listen and to help. Perry Blackshear navigates genre storytelling elements as an allegory for physical and mental abuse. The film is also a study in loss and grief. How do you continue to navigate through grief? <br /><br />In a cold, indifferent society the bonds of love are a powerful adherence that spans across different planes of existence. <br /><br />Losing someone there is no such thing as closure. That kind of pain now becomes a part of you. Perhaps, there can be a moment of peace. A moment of acceptance. Maybe, at the end of the day, it’s a victory to hold the demon at bay, for one more day. <br /><br /><p></p>Robert Aaron Mitchellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484977485315027367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639870798673067844.post-88183840501025826762021-10-17T10:41:00.005-07:002021-10-17T10:41:50.128-07:00BROOKLYN HORROR FILM FESTIVAL 2021: NIGHTMARE FUEL Short Film Block<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6WOM9PMT13Ag1rDu2AqgFda4FEredVlB5WasR3q81fX7bD4NeQs1YUyIHH7xjueC4K2xPs6hYcDkBCDeZhYoFnZqOFrVugcB4ObJxEAbtifZ0AjiF_sJ8jIPZlqwZr7F4KzoAjayn0LI/s768/Nightmare-Fuel-768x432.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="768" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6WOM9PMT13Ag1rDu2AqgFda4FEredVlB5WasR3q81fX7bD4NeQs1YUyIHH7xjueC4K2xPs6hYcDkBCDeZhYoFnZqOFrVugcB4ObJxEAbtifZ0AjiF_sJ8jIPZlqwZr7F4KzoAjayn0LI/w400-h225/Nightmare-Fuel-768x432.jpg" width="520" /></a></div> <p></p><p>If a feature film is a novel, then a short film is a poem. I took a look at the following short films that were curated by the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival under the program, Nightmare Fuel. Hope I can sleep tonight….<br /><br /><b>THE THING THAT ATE THE BIRDS</b> (U.K). Directed by Sophie Mair & Dan Gitsham<br /><br />The film opens on a beautiful vista. A man walks the countryside. A bag slung over his shoulder. He points a flashlight ahead of him. The music swells. The man stops walking. A bird lies dead before the man’s feet. Something is wrong in the countryside.<br /><br />Wonderful sound design and musical score. Fully realized characters. It feels as though we are getting a momentary glimpse into a larger conflict. The makeup effects are top notch. The Thing That Ate The Birds does a great job operating with the confines of a short film. A wonderful piece of horror cinema. No birds were harmed making the picture. <br /><br /><b>IGNORE IT</b> (USA) Directed by Sam Evenson <br /><br />A kid sits on a bed playing a GameBoy. The kid’s father comes into the room and tells Justin that an unwanted visitor is back. He must follow the rule. “Stay focused.” The father says. <br /><br />Great use of light as well as fun, creative shots of the unwanted visitor. Ignore it does a superb job of creating suspense and a tone of dread. <br /><br />Family dinners can be awkward and forced. Hopefully your next dinner is not as tense as this one…<br /><br /><b>CUTTER</b> (USA) Directed by Dan Repp & Lindsay Young<br /><br />Cutter wastes no time drawing you into its world. The opening shot is powerful and horrific. <br /><br />I had no idea where this film was going, which is a considerable feat in the short film running time. A film with this kind of gravitas only works on the strength of the actors involved. Nadia Alexander who plays Raelyn and Leslie Fender (Raelyn’s Mother) anchor the film with strong performances. <br /><br />Loneliness and heartbreak are very painful experiences. Sometimes the emotional pain manifests into self-inflicted physical pain. Sometimes other forces are at work. Cutter was an uncomfortable watch. I believe that is a compliment. The film does a great job with the horror people inflict upon themselves as well as the possible supernatural elements that can create havoc.</p><p><br /><b>WEEE WOOO</b> (USA) Directed by Charlie McWade<br /><br />A night in. Playing some tunes. Sipping some red wine. Good times. A door creaks open. <br /><br />I personally hate looking in a mirror and seeing something off. This happened to me just a couple of days ago. <br /><br />Snow gently falls from the night sky. Good at changing tones. Great use of lighting. Sound design that really amps up the story telling. I really dug the changing of subjective and third person in the film. <br /><br />Tara Pacheco does a great job in the lead role. <br /><br />Very effective at being creepy. Perfect for some nightmare fuel. </p><p><b>THIS IS OUR HOME</b> (USA) Directed by AK Espada <br /><br />The short begins with “No animals were harmed in the production of this film”. It continues with, “However, real archival footage of an animal in distress has been used.” <br /><br />Full disclosure, I had a mouse problem when I was living in indiana and resorted to glue boards. While brutal the traps were highly effective. I had a rule, I never went out into nature to mess with mice. However, if you come into my house, you have to get out as soon as possible. Thankfully I never stepped on a glue trap with my bare feet. <br /><br />Dina (Mor Cohen) and Ruya (Ruba Thérèse Mansouri) are roomates. They also have every New Yorkers nightmare of a mice infestation. While they differ on methods they do agree that the mice have got to go. <br /><br />The never-ending squeak of mice at night is so unnerving. War is war. This Is Our Home is ultimately a film about colonialism, roomates and veganism. I promise to never use a glue trap again. <br /><br /><br /><b>OUZO AND BLACKCURRANT</b> (U.K.) Directed by Nat Luurtsema<br /><br />From the font of the title, to the infectious reunion of friends you get the immediate impression you are about to have some fun.<br /><br />Friends wander through a field of wrecked cars reminiscing. To say more would be to say far too much. <br /><br />I dug the look of the film. Ozuo and Blackcurrent does a lot in the condensed run time of a short. A nice slice of horror cinema. <br /><br /><b>BRACKISH</b> (USA) Directed by Christa Boarini <br /><br />Opens with beautiful widescreen cinematography. Hypnotic underwater photography. A body is submerged. An idyllic summer scene. People are enjoying being out on the lake and a woman sets up an easel to paint the landscape. <br /><br />This film being in a program entitled nightmare fuel things cannot stay idyllic for too long. <br /><br />You ever get that sense that you are being watched? Naw me neither. <br /><br />As I have mentioned the photography quite a lot in a few sentences, kudos to Director of Photography Colin Treanbeath. Great score by Justin Hogan. The film reminded me of Peter Weir’s Picnic at Hanging Rock. <br /><br /><b>LA OSCURIDAD</b> The Darkness (USA/MEXICO) Directed by Jorge Sistos Moreno <br /><br />Marina, a former elementary school teacher, emerges badly bruised on the shore of a lake. After a lengthy track through the hot Mexican sun, she lands at the primary school where she once worked. </p><p>A pickup sits by a lake as the sun rises. A man stands at the shore and spits into the lake. It starts. LOUD. The truck rumbles away but the evil deed the driver has performed remains out in the open in the form of a purse and a pair of heels. <br /><br />The tone is a slow dread. Some exquisite shots in the film. Sometimes the darkness claims it’s vengeance. <br /><br />The art house meets horror. La Oscuridad is a haunting and effective story.<br /><br /><br /> </p><br />Robert Aaron Mitchellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484977485315027367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639870798673067844.post-53513979464396917012021-10-15T11:28:00.002-07:002021-10-15T18:25:19.501-07:00BROOKLYN HORROR FILM FESTIVAL SESSION 9: 20th Anniversary Screening Reflections by Robert Aaron Mitchell <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr14HgYU7dcHwiRyaxKp9QH_YwEtp8Ya9gfLZHGsn3epta0qAi5keApQpih2H-guCqO_2L22QokKw8C9HjIKPLfzW98Rz6U0pkzKviSneLUu51ns2LDVzC7nYC3R7OLbsee0C-wMk0RoY/s768/Session9-768x432.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="768" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr14HgYU7dcHwiRyaxKp9QH_YwEtp8Ya9gfLZHGsn3epta0qAi5keApQpih2H-guCqO_2L22QokKw8C9HjIKPLfzW98Rz6U0pkzKviSneLUu51ns2LDVzC7nYC3R7OLbsee0C-wMk0RoY/w400-h225/Session9-768x432.jpg" width="520" /></a></div><p></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal">SESSION 9 USA 2001 (Directed by Brad Anderson) </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Session 9</i> is getting a twentieth anniversary screening
during this years Brooklyn Horror Film Festival at the beautiful Nitehawk
Theater in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. This Tuesday, October 19th 9:30pm. <a href="https://brooklynhorror.eventive.org/schedule/6143d3a6a5b9b7005b29670d">You can get tickets clicking on here.</a></p><p class="MsoNormal"> <br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Several years ago I was living in Worcester, Massachusetts
and took a drive up to Danvers. It is was a crisp, clear October day when I
arrived at the former Danvers State Hospital.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Not much remains of the former State Lunatic Asylum at Danvers is kind
of misleading, the original center building is beautiful and remarkably tall.
It is also very imposing. The red bricks stood out especially as they
contrasted the blue skies of that autumn morning when I visited the grounds. The
original building is actually only a tiny remnant how large the sprawling
hospital was. The Danvers State Hospital has served as inspiration for H.P.
Lovecraft's Arkham Sanatorium as well as Arkham Asylum in the Batman
universe. While the building has been influential in fiction, the true-life horrors that happened here are indeed very
disturbing. <br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Today the site is now comprised of renovated apartments. The past of the state hospital is only
a short walk away down an unmarked trail and through overgrown bushes that leads to a large granite stone.
The stone reads, “The Danvers State Hospital Cemetery “The Echos They Left
Behind”” The cemetery contains hundreds of graves of Danvers patients.
Only numbers marks the graves. Through the efforts of Pat Deegan and many
others, hundreds of the dead have been identified. Many remain anonymous. A lot
of times when reading about a film it is remarked that the location is another
character in the movie. This sentiment is extremely true about the former
Danvers State Hospital in Brad Anderson’s <i>Session 9</i>.
</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The film opens on two men waiting in van bearing a company
name and slogan, Hazmat Elimination Co “Asbestos Abatement Professionals”
outside a gate to the hospital. The two men are Gordon (Peter Mullan) &
Phil (David Caruso) they await Bill Griggs (Paul Guilfoyle) who is holding bids
for the asbestos removal job at the former insane asylum. They meet up and
proceed on a tour of the grounds.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“It’s a pretty simple layout really, if you consider a giant
flying bat.” Bill says as they walk down a hallway. Danvers as I mentioned has been a visual inspiration for <i>Arkham Asylum</i> in the Batman universe. Christian Bale who
played Batman in the Christopher Nolan films also acted in Brad Anderson’s <i>The
Machinist</i>. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“Whoa, what the fuck is this?” Phil asks as he looks into a
metal tub filled with water “What are you a little scared Phil? This is
hydrotherapy. Used to be cutting edge. They’d stuff the nut jobs into cold
water I guess as a way to chill them out. Or they’d give them a lobotomy. The prefrontal
lobotomy was perfected here at Danvers.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bill Griggs (Paul Guilfoyle) As they leave the room we see the full
extent of what they were seeing. A sheet with restraints covers one of the
tubs. Hydrotherapy would consist of placing a person into extremely hot or cold
water, as it was believed this torture would alert the parts of the brain the
psychiatrists wanted to affect. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As Bill continues the walk through “Oh there’s a lovely
cemetery behind the machine shop. No headstones, just numbers.“ As they get
further into the building it gets darker and darker. “This is where they keep
the extreme patients…psychotic. You know what they call ward A? The snake pit.”
Gordon pauses and looks down the hallway and sees the chair from the opening
shot of the film. “Hello, Gordon” some strange voice says as Gordon stays
transfixed on the chair. Phil snaps him out of this reverie. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The camera movement and the use of light and shadow really
infuse <i>Session 9</i> with the sort of creepiness that really disturbs someone
watching the movie. I believe of all the types of emotions and scares a horror
film can achieve, to create a truly affecting foreboding that literally gets
under ones skin is very difficult tone to achieve and sustain. Brad Anderson
and his team elicit this feeling to an amazing extent in the film. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“Reclaiming the dark past to build a brighter future.” Bill
says as the walk through winds down. As far as the job goes, it is difficult and
a huge space. Gordon looks up the ceiling and points out that it contains
crocidolite asbestos. Otherwise known as blue asbestos. It is considered the
most hazardous type of asbestos. The job was severely undercut by the owner of Hazmat Elimination Company. Time is also limited; Bill wants the job done
before Columbus Day, in order to get construction crews in. Phil says it’ll
take three weeks to get done. Gordon says two weeks, much to Phil’s chagrin. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Just before stepping back outside, Phil stops and asks Bill,
“Hey, what’s this?” Phil enters a room, which is covered in dozens, and dozens
of illustrations cut out from magazines and books. “Seclusion, that’s what they
called the patients rooms back then. A part of some therapy that was big in the
seventies. Art therapy.” Gordon is once again transfixed. Outside Gordon tells
Bill they’ll get the job done in one week.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Gordon sits outside his house and watches his wife with
their new baby. A palpable sense of dread is felt. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The crew begins to work. Another member of the crew is
introduced, Hank (Josh Lucas) Turns out Hank is dating Phil’s ex-girlfriend
Amy. The other guys on the crew are, Mike (Stephen Gevedon) and Gordon’s cousin
Jeff (Brendan Sexton III). The crew has lunch and Mike relates the horrific tale
of Patricia Willard. Is it real or urban legend? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They get back to work.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The screams of the patients are in the flakes of paint
falling off of the walls. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Everyone leaves, except for Mike. He has found an old
reel-to-reel tape recorder. He sits in a dilapidated office and hits play.
Voices from the past come alive. “I know this is difficult Mary and that’s why
we are here to help.” Mary’s distraught and anguished voice fills the room.
These are the recorded sessions of which <i>Session 9 </i>takes it’s title from. To
say more would be to say far too much.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The crew is falling apart. Is it the extreme workload in a
short amount of time, the personal relationships, the home life stress, the
asbestos or is it the sinister past of the very building and horrors that
unfolded within affecting the crew? It could very well be, all of it. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The film works for a lot of reasons, in large part because
this five-man crew really feels as though they are indeed a crew of asbestos
removal guys in Massachusetts. I find this story of an asbestos team working on
the building even more remarkable, now that the actual building has become
high-end apartments. The doctor (Lonnie Farmer) and Mary aka Princess, Billy
and Simon (Jurian Hughes) really have to be mentioned. The audience only hears their
voices through the recorded sessions; together they are really the foundation
of the mystery and unsettling tone of the film. </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">I believe that the very place of Danvers State Hospital seeps into the film. The score by Golden Climax
Twins (<i>The Mangler, The Chained</i>) is haunting. Ultimately, the horror of the
film is not built off of cheap scares but a slow I hesitate to use the word
slow. Meticulous is a far better world. Session 9 is a meticulous buildup
towards the haunting tale of Mary as well as the five guys working in her
lingering presence. <i>Session 9</i> is twenty years old. Revisiting the film today I
can say, it still holds up as an unsettling, scary movie. </p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Robert Aaron Mitchellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484977485315027367noreply@blogger.com0