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.

The Witch (2015)

You know the drill - there's ALWAYS spoilers. Don't want the movie ruined for you, come back after you've seen it. Also - I'm still without an editor - typos and bad grammar await you! I keep hoping that the cultural obsession with zombies will end; literally every other damn movie that comes 'round seems to feature some sort of shambling, undead being bent on devouring the weak flesh of regular humans. Once upon a time, zombies have have been used as a metaphor for the blind consumerism created by our capitalist society, or the perceived depletion of resources by immigrants, or even the ravages of time and disease on our frail bodies. Now it seems that the deeper social commentary has been lost as audiences mindlessly consume "zombie fiction" in an attempt to keep up with trends. ( How very meta - a film buddy of mine commented on this assessment! ) All of this is just a sideways rant, leading up to my actual point: it seems that zombie may actually...

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...

The Babadook

Spoilers and typos! Enjoy. We often look back nostalgically on childhood, envious of the joy we felt and the boundless imaginations we possessed. How conveniently we forget the other side of that coin: as children, we experience a depth of terror our adult selves continually try to recreate for cathartic entertainment. When we try to bring those childhood fears to life on the screen, we often end up with movies about "things that go bump in the night," which is a somewhat superficial approach. While it does provide an opportunity for a supernatural experience, it ignores the root of our fear: the unknown . As children, we lack life experience. We lack nuance. We lack understanding. Not knowing creates in us fear. Yes, we fear what lurks in the darkness but we also fear the adult world because we do not understand how it works. The Babadook works to exploit both those fears. The short story: a widowed mother of a young boy experiences a mental breakdown and tries to...

i'm kael's ghost

Search This Blog