Yet Another Foray Into Indie Films

Every once in a great while I get the urge to watch one of those painful, awkward, indie comedies - which I always do "in secret" (when none of my roommates are home!) And 99.9% of the time, I hate the movies as much as I thought I would.

Since I don't feel especially qualified to actually write about these experiments, I thought I'd collect them into one, brief post of my random thoughts.

Dan in Real Life

Littered with every awkward, interpersonal interaction possible, yet somehow writer / director (Peter Hedges) felt it believable to end with a happy ending.

Who the hell is he kidding? If you steal your brother's girlfriend (and marry her) you brother won't come to the wedding and be happy.

Absurd, annoying, and utterly ridiculous.

You can watch the trailer here:

Sideways

Oh god - this fucking movie. It's like a train wreck of male mid-life crisis bullshit. I hated every character in this movie.

I'm sure some wise-ass, high-horse riding, hipster, film student douchebag is reading this and saying, "it's adapted from a novel, blah blah..." and you know what, I don't give a crap; that doesn't make the movie any less terrible.

You can watch the trailer here:

Everything Must Go

Perhaps I'm biased by loving Will Ferrell (or by having an appreciation for the source novel's author.) but I didn't hate this movie.

There's also something lovely about the imagery of Will Ferrell, on the lawn, with all his stuff. I also love his stubborn refusal to accept his situation.

You can watch the trailer here:

The Curiosity of Chance

Standard, "gay teen discovers that it is okay for him to be gay" movie.
Characters were fairly likable and the story wasn't too painful.

If you love high school stories, you'll likely enjoy this one, too.

You can watch the trailer here:

Butter

Oh good lord, this movie was hilarious. Oliva Wilde is such a hero; she's beautiful and has great comic timing and her character in this movie is amazing.

I also appreciate how completely surreal and nonsensical the entire story is - it's charmingly absurdist and sort of Python-esque.

I could actually watch this one a second time.
...and marry Oliva Wilde.

You can watch the trailer here:

Young Adult

I hate to admit that I connected with this movie because I have moments where I feel so much like Charlize Theron's character; desperate, lonely, forgettable, and completely out of control.

This was one of those rare indie flicks that really showcased the actor's ranges and acted as a reminder that some people really do go into acting out of a love for the craft.

I loved Patton Oswalt in this really understated, nerdy, socially awkward role. I also loved his chemistry with Charlize; they were this strangely perfect pair, totally playing off one another's snarky-ness. And probably best of all was that their characters hooked up and nothing came of it.
You can watch the trailer here:

Jesus Henry Christ

This movie had a bit of the same comic sensibilities as Strictly Ballroom, But I'm A Cheerleader, and Amelie. The characters were charming and the story amusing. I may go so far as to say that I liked this movie.

I loved Samantha Weinstein's character - she's what you'd get if Lydia (from Beetlejuice) had a baby with Kat (from 10 Things I Hate About You.)

You can watch the trailer here:

Tiny Furniture

Generally, I dislike the manufactured honesty of indie movies however, in this case, I appreciated the "natural" interactions between the characters.

The thing I disliked most about this movie was it's completely stereotypical indie ending, which is to say, "no ending at all." There was no real plot of direction to the movie, it was just a "slice of life". No story arch, no character growth, no wrap up or resolution at the end... just, "roll credits."

You can watch the trailer here:

Sassy Pants

The girl playing the lead was terrific: she was genuine, passionate, and adorable. Also. Bonus points to this movie for starring Haley Jole Osment as a fat, gay bar-tender with a good heart and a desire to shop for cute clothing. Hilarious.

You can watch the trailer here:

And so, a wrap up?
If you're going to torture yourself with indie comedies - choose wisely! Hopefully, this post has been helpful in your mission.

Rebuttal: 17 Disturbing Horror Movies You Will Never Watch Again

When I'm not watching movies, I'm reading about movies. I stumble across all kinds of articles, blog posts, book excerpts, etc. in my quest to absorb as much movie knowledge as possible. Now, I'm snotty and loud-mouthed and opinionated but I'd never begrudge another human their opinion. Seriously. You're absolutely welcome to have any opinion about any thing you want. However, I must warn you, if I think your opinion is stupid, I'm absolutely going to say so. I've recently stumbled on an article completely brimming with so many idiotic opinions that I'm actually compelled to craft a response. Here's the gist of the original article: there are some horror movies out there that are so disturbing , you'll only ever want to watch them once. I've have taken her original list and refuted her claims without pulling her entire article over. You can read the original article here . Let's start at the beginning, with her opening statement

Escape From Tomorrow

I love creative people who are willing to take risks with their art. I appreciate the refusal to do things by the rules. I'm also terribly impatient with mediocrity. Enter Escape From Tomorrow . Created by a team of rogue filmmakers, the movie was shot in the video mode of high-end still cameras. Actors shared scripts and shooting locations across their smartphones. Shot on location at Disney World, the parks were completely unaware this was all going on right under their mouse ears. I wanted to love Escape From Tomorrow. More than that, I wanted to be completely taken with its ingenuity and creativity and - oh yes - its originality. And there is really a simple brilliance to their covert plan; all families are roaming around the parks, taking videos and chatting on their phones. Just blend the fuck in, act like you belong, and you won't get caught. Too bad the movie can be summed up as: ambitious but Rubbish. As you can imagine (or possibly know), there was a ton of con

Mother!

Alright friends and readers–this one is probably doubly filled with typos and grammar errors because I wrote it while angry. Good luck and happy reading. There are unpopular opinions in every realm. As a film student, you can truly strike a nerve when you say things like, "I fucking hate the self-indulgence of independent films and the way people idolize them." Or, you know, "Low lighting and slow pacing does not a good movie make." Or whatever. You can of course, objectively, understand how this happens. When you are creating art–when you are outside the system so to speak–you are free to explore things (subjects, techniques, etc.) that may need to be addressed and that freedom can become intoxicating and go to one's head. While it may seem only right or only fair to respect and accept each creative endeavor that every artist undertakes, it is unreasonable to believe that the world will remain forever patient with the self-obsession artists have. Th

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