Matt and Kim (Live Dance/Electro-Music to the Max) Plus Some Films
A couple Saturday nights ago, I had the pleasure of seeing Matt and Kim in concert (for the first time- and it certainly won't be the last time). Let me tell you, what an incredible show. They packed so much energy into their set, from their interaction with the crowd, to the dance songs they play, just everything. It was awesome! Kim is a great drummer, and dancer, as she took every opportunity to shake her booty. The fact that they are so happy making music together was invigorating, add to that the fact that they are an (extremely) happy couple and it makes the experience of seeing them live even better. This was the opening night of their tour and I was stoked that they chose Portland, ME. They certainly did not disappoint.
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"Preservation"
starring: Wren Schmidt, Pablo Schreiber, Aaron Staton, Cody Saintgnue, Michael Chacon, Nick Saso
written and directed by: Christopher Denham
First, let's talk about the title and what it means, more specifically the idea of self-preservation. It is a behavior that a living thing exhibits in order to ensure survival, especially when pain and fear are part of the experience. Pain motivates an individual to withdraw, to protect, and/or to heal. Fear makes an individual seek safety and causes a release of adrenaline. The idea of evolving and adapting during highly stressful and painful/fearful moments in a living thing's experience is also crucial to existence and survival (hence the theory of "survival of the fittest"). This is what we get with this indie horror film: an exploration into the idea of self-preservation and the evolution of one particular character, the female lead, Wit.
This is another, indie version of the urbanites vacationing in the backwoods to escape the realities of their busy, always on the go lifestyles, which is meant to teach them a lesson about themselves and said lifestyle. Their quiet vacation in the woods turns into a horror scenario and possibly anyone's worst nightmare, as they are tracked and hunted by three masked, silent (until towards the end, which I would have preferred they kept the mystique and not spoken at all) killers.
The vacationers are three relatives: a married couple, Wit (Wrenn Schmidt) and Mike (Aaron Staton) who is a workaholic and cellphone addict; with them is Mike's ex-military, PTSD-suffering brother, Sean (Pablo Schreiber). Each character brings their own issues to the story. Mike is more interested in business and has a general disinterest for his attractive, down to earth wife. His brother, Sean, clearly has a not so subtle attraction to Wit. And Wit has a strong discomfort for hunting (which is what the boys really want to spend their time doing). Wit's struggle is what will really end up driving the story as she becomes the hunted and must overcome her discomfort in order to survive.
But, the problem with director Denham's film is that he is trying to pack too much into this horror film. He is also trying to tell us a lesson about the technological obsession we have grown to have within our society. The three, teenage boy killers only communicate via text messaging each other (again, until the end, when one of the killer's moms calls and he answers the phone and talks to her). And then, there's the concept of the woods as a literal hunting ground, where men hunt animals and men hunt men. Horror films are generally obsessed with the idea of stalking prey and that's exactly what we get here, and we feel for Wit as she has to attempt to escape when there does not seem to be a route of escape, and so she needs to overcome for discomfort for hunting and become the hunter.
In the beginning, Wit makes it clear that she does not believe that everyone has a murderous, self-preservation skill-set inside of them, unlike her brother-in-law, who believes in the kill-or-be-killed theory of existence. Wit undergoes a drastic character evolution, going from the non-violent everywoman (that we, as guys fall in love with) to the aggro-vengeful agent of death (much like most girls in any horror film), but the wrench in the plot seems to be- the only reason why she becomes this killer is because she is ultimately trying to protect her unborn child (which isn't a spoiler alert, we know she's pregnant almost right at the beginning of the film, and it is something she wrestles with because of whom she is married to). The maternal instinct seems more at play, which makes the idea of the story a bit contrived, although not very overplayed in most horror films, so kudos for that plot point.
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"Three Night Stand"
starring: Sam Huntington, Meaghan Rath, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Reagan Pasternak, Jonathan Cherry
written and directed by: Pat Kiely
I almost feel ashamed to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed this indie, rom-com with a hint of French farce and mishaps, designed as a comedy of errors with eccentric secondary characters moving in and out of the picture, leaving their mark and almost upstanding the main characters and their follies. The filmmaker really relies on two things, the French farce aspect where this married couple, Carl and Sue (Huntington and Rath), have been together for several years, without rings, and Carl has decided to take her on a romantic getaway to a ski lodge he has known about; the other thing the filmmaker wants us to believe is the married couple. He is asking us to invest in this couple that is clearly incompatible, has been for years, and they are simply going through the motions. They are not believable and there is not much chemistry between the actors. With the high maintenance look of Rath, you almost expect her to have higher standards, especially since Huntington's character seemingly treats her like shit throughout the whole film. He is clearly giving her a wedding ring, finally, because it's an expectation.
Carl and Sue (Sam Huntington and Meaghan Rath) are a married couple on their way to a winter weekend at an isolated B&B in Quebec. He is a frustrated game designer, and she is so beautiful that people stop dead in their tracks to comment on her looks. It happens a couple of times, showing that Kiely has conceived of Sue in an extremely limited way, not caring to give her a personality or some traits that would explain who this woman actually is. Rath does the best she can to humanize Sue based on the little information she is given. Although Carl and Sue both seem extremely young, they have been married for some time, and are on autopilot, bickering and having bored or unsuccessful sex. Turns out Carl is haunted by a woman from his past named Robyn. Carl has never told Sue about Robyn, but then it turns out, amazingly, that Robyn (Emmanuelle Chriqui) owns the B&B where Carl and Sue will be staying! What a coincidence! Awkwardness ensues, especially when Sue figures out that Robyn and Carl have a past, and, worse, that the couple used to come to this very same B&B for sexy-times getaways.
The real problem is that Carl and Sue seem like bit parts in the fascinating dramas of other people. Why did they hook up in the first place? What bonds them together? What will be lost if they don’t “make it”? They bicker like siblings, and it’s hard to feel that there was a relationship there as a foundation at all.
The filmmaker takes a refreshingly unsentimental introspection on romantic relationships by presenting the viewer with several different relationships (each with their own strengths and flaws), but we do not know exactly which relationship to base our belief in. The director/writer Kiely showcases his keen ear for dialogue and takes pleasure in presenting us with many aspect of the absurd, like many of the French farce predecessors. It's actually a decent film. ................................................................................
starring: Wren Schmidt, Pablo Schreiber, Aaron Staton, Cody Saintgnue, Michael Chacon, Nick Saso
written and directed by: Christopher Denham
First, let's talk about the title and what it means, more specifically the idea of self-preservation. It is a behavior that a living thing exhibits in order to ensure survival, especially when pain and fear are part of the experience. Pain motivates an individual to withdraw, to protect, and/or to heal. Fear makes an individual seek safety and causes a release of adrenaline. The idea of evolving and adapting during highly stressful and painful/fearful moments in a living thing's experience is also crucial to existence and survival (hence the theory of "survival of the fittest"). This is what we get with this indie horror film: an exploration into the idea of self-preservation and the evolution of one particular character, the female lead, Wit.
This is another, indie version of the urbanites vacationing in the backwoods to escape the realities of their busy, always on the go lifestyles, which is meant to teach them a lesson about themselves and said lifestyle. Their quiet vacation in the woods turns into a horror scenario and possibly anyone's worst nightmare, as they are tracked and hunted by three masked, silent (until towards the end, which I would have preferred they kept the mystique and not spoken at all) killers.
The vacationers are three relatives: a married couple, Wit (Wrenn Schmidt) and Mike (Aaron Staton) who is a workaholic and cellphone addict; with them is Mike's ex-military, PTSD-suffering brother, Sean (Pablo Schreiber). Each character brings their own issues to the story. Mike is more interested in business and has a general disinterest for his attractive, down to earth wife. His brother, Sean, clearly has a not so subtle attraction to Wit. And Wit has a strong discomfort for hunting (which is what the boys really want to spend their time doing). Wit's struggle is what will really end up driving the story as she becomes the hunted and must overcome her discomfort in order to survive.
But, the problem with director Denham's film is that he is trying to pack too much into this horror film. He is also trying to tell us a lesson about the technological obsession we have grown to have within our society. The three, teenage boy killers only communicate via text messaging each other (again, until the end, when one of the killer's moms calls and he answers the phone and talks to her). And then, there's the concept of the woods as a literal hunting ground, where men hunt animals and men hunt men. Horror films are generally obsessed with the idea of stalking prey and that's exactly what we get here, and we feel for Wit as she has to attempt to escape when there does not seem to be a route of escape, and so she needs to overcome for discomfort for hunting and become the hunter.
In the beginning, Wit makes it clear that she does not believe that everyone has a murderous, self-preservation skill-set inside of them, unlike her brother-in-law, who believes in the kill-or-be-killed theory of existence. Wit undergoes a drastic character evolution, going from the non-violent everywoman (that we, as guys fall in love with) to the aggro-vengeful agent of death (much like most girls in any horror film), but the wrench in the plot seems to be- the only reason why she becomes this killer is because she is ultimately trying to protect her unborn child (which isn't a spoiler alert, we know she's pregnant almost right at the beginning of the film, and it is something she wrestles with because of whom she is married to). The maternal instinct seems more at play, which makes the idea of the story a bit contrived, although not very overplayed in most horror films, so kudos for that plot point.
..................................................................................
"Three Night Stand"
starring: Sam Huntington, Meaghan Rath, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Reagan Pasternak, Jonathan Cherry
written and directed by: Pat Kiely
I almost feel ashamed to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed this indie, rom-com with a hint of French farce and mishaps, designed as a comedy of errors with eccentric secondary characters moving in and out of the picture, leaving their mark and almost upstanding the main characters and their follies. The filmmaker really relies on two things, the French farce aspect where this married couple, Carl and Sue (Huntington and Rath), have been together for several years, without rings, and Carl has decided to take her on a romantic getaway to a ski lodge he has known about; the other thing the filmmaker wants us to believe is the married couple. He is asking us to invest in this couple that is clearly incompatible, has been for years, and they are simply going through the motions. They are not believable and there is not much chemistry between the actors. With the high maintenance look of Rath, you almost expect her to have higher standards, especially since Huntington's character seemingly treats her like shit throughout the whole film. He is clearly giving her a wedding ring, finally, because it's an expectation.
Carl and Sue (Sam Huntington and Meaghan Rath) are a married couple on their way to a winter weekend at an isolated B&B in Quebec. He is a frustrated game designer, and she is so beautiful that people stop dead in their tracks to comment on her looks. It happens a couple of times, showing that Kiely has conceived of Sue in an extremely limited way, not caring to give her a personality or some traits that would explain who this woman actually is. Rath does the best she can to humanize Sue based on the little information she is given. Although Carl and Sue both seem extremely young, they have been married for some time, and are on autopilot, bickering and having bored or unsuccessful sex. Turns out Carl is haunted by a woman from his past named Robyn. Carl has never told Sue about Robyn, but then it turns out, amazingly, that Robyn (Emmanuelle Chriqui) owns the B&B where Carl and Sue will be staying! What a coincidence! Awkwardness ensues, especially when Sue figures out that Robyn and Carl have a past, and, worse, that the couple used to come to this very same B&B for sexy-times getaways.
The real problem is that Carl and Sue seem like bit parts in the fascinating dramas of other people. Why did they hook up in the first place? What bonds them together? What will be lost if they don’t “make it”? They bicker like siblings, and it’s hard to feel that there was a relationship there as a foundation at all.
The filmmaker takes a refreshingly unsentimental introspection on romantic relationships by presenting the viewer with several different relationships (each with their own strengths and flaws), but we do not know exactly which relationship to base our belief in. The director/writer Kiely showcases his keen ear for dialogue and takes pleasure in presenting us with many aspect of the absurd, like many of the French farce predecessors. It's actually a decent film. ................................................................................
"Sunset Strip"
starring: Simon Baker, Anna Friel, Nick Stahl, Jared Leto, Rory Cochrane, Adam Goldberg, Tommy Flanagan, Stephanie Romanov, Mary Lynn, Rajskub
Sometimes ensemble movies set to a specific time period work (re: Boogie Nights, Go) and sometimes they are complete and utter failures (re: 54, and this film). This is supposed to be a youthful comedy but it turns completely depressing fast, with really no comedic value at all. The film is 1972 in and around LA's Sunset Strip (hence the title) and it follows 7 characters during one day. But, the thing is, none of these people are interesting enough to want to follow around for any specific time, even a single day. Nothing really significant happens.
We have Tammy (Anna Friel), who is an supposed to be the romantic idealist, but is really just another 20 something opportunistic bimbo. She is a clothing designer with her own shop conveniently located around the corner from the infamous rock concert venue, Whiskey Go-Go. She is sexually adventurous, hooking up with an up-and-coming country rocker (played by Jared Leto, in a bizarrely chosen role, even in 2000), as well as a visiting Scottish rock superstar (played by Tommy Flanagan). Nothing Tammy does really affects the story, even though she is supposed to be the main character that we feel connected to.
Then there's Zack (Nick Stahl), a novice guitarist really trying to break into the music business. His band is opening for the Scottish superstar, but that gig quickly turns terrible and his dream is broken pretty fast. The weird piece of Zack's story is that he is delusional and thinks he's been visited by Jimi Hendrix, who has anointed him the next great guitarist. This is just a stupid add-on.
Other insignificant characters include, Felix (Rory Cochrane, best known for his role as Lucas in "Empire Records," a much better emsemble, music-related film), who is a booze-addled songwriter who dreams of becoming famous after he dies. Shapiro (Adam Goldberg) is a ridiculously typecast hustling talent agent from the Valley who just doesn't seem to get it. And then, there's Michael (Simon Baker) who falls for Tammy, one of his best friends. He's a shy, color-blind photographer who discovers he's caught a venereal disease from a cocktail waitress and he has to retrace his steps and tell other bedmates what he's contracted.
This is just a terrible film all around, which was probably a hard pill to swallow coming from the writer of "The Doors" film. This film is clearly trying to be something like that, but falls short and falls hard, fast.
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"Tracks"
starring: Mia Wasikowska, Adam Driver
directed by: John Curran
written by: (novel) Robyn Davidson
starring: Simon Baker, Anna Friel, Nick Stahl, Jared Leto, Rory Cochrane, Adam Goldberg, Tommy Flanagan, Stephanie Romanov, Mary Lynn, Rajskub
Sometimes ensemble movies set to a specific time period work (re: Boogie Nights, Go) and sometimes they are complete and utter failures (re: 54, and this film). This is supposed to be a youthful comedy but it turns completely depressing fast, with really no comedic value at all. The film is 1972 in and around LA's Sunset Strip (hence the title) and it follows 7 characters during one day. But, the thing is, none of these people are interesting enough to want to follow around for any specific time, even a single day. Nothing really significant happens.
We have Tammy (Anna Friel), who is an supposed to be the romantic idealist, but is really just another 20 something opportunistic bimbo. She is a clothing designer with her own shop conveniently located around the corner from the infamous rock concert venue, Whiskey Go-Go. She is sexually adventurous, hooking up with an up-and-coming country rocker (played by Jared Leto, in a bizarrely chosen role, even in 2000), as well as a visiting Scottish rock superstar (played by Tommy Flanagan). Nothing Tammy does really affects the story, even though she is supposed to be the main character that we feel connected to.
Then there's Zack (Nick Stahl), a novice guitarist really trying to break into the music business. His band is opening for the Scottish superstar, but that gig quickly turns terrible and his dream is broken pretty fast. The weird piece of Zack's story is that he is delusional and thinks he's been visited by Jimi Hendrix, who has anointed him the next great guitarist. This is just a stupid add-on.
Other insignificant characters include, Felix (Rory Cochrane, best known for his role as Lucas in "Empire Records," a much better emsemble, music-related film), who is a booze-addled songwriter who dreams of becoming famous after he dies. Shapiro (Adam Goldberg) is a ridiculously typecast hustling talent agent from the Valley who just doesn't seem to get it. And then, there's Michael (Simon Baker) who falls for Tammy, one of his best friends. He's a shy, color-blind photographer who discovers he's caught a venereal disease from a cocktail waitress and he has to retrace his steps and tell other bedmates what he's contracted.
This is just a terrible film all around, which was probably a hard pill to swallow coming from the writer of "The Doors" film. This film is clearly trying to be something like that, but falls short and falls hard, fast.
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"Tracks"
starring: Mia Wasikowska, Adam Driver
directed by: John Curran
written by: (novel) Robyn Davidson
Here's a film about another woman's solitary (for the most part) journey/trek across desolate land that did not see a wide release, so has kind of taken a backseat to Cheryl Strayed's "Wild" story. This film follows Robyn Davidson's mid-1970s trek across the Australian desert with nothing much except 4 camels and some camping supplies. She walks 1,700 miles with no clear intention or reason, and the climax at the end of the film is rather unsatisfying. It's difficult to get emotionally invested in Robyn as a character/person and her journey, when she clearly states there is no true purpose to the journey other than to answer the question, "Why not?" She doesn't share anything enlightening or things that she's learned throughout her 1,700 miles. There's no attempt at self-discovery, so we are left to simply admire the Australian landscape that Robyn walks across. The filmmaker teases us with some kind of emotional scars via flashbacks to Robyn's childhood, which would absolutely make this a deeper, better film. Instead, we are just presented with a prickly, stand-offish woman who is trying to avoid or acknowledge any desire for human companionship (which comes in the form of Adam Driver's National Geographic photographer, who comes along at certain points in Robyn's journey to take pictures of her, since the magazine is sponsoring her trek).
The film is an exercise in free will, by the filmmaker and by the character. It's open ended enough for us to create our own assumptions about Robyn as a person. Is she a feminist icon of survival? A mystical seeker? An animal lover?
The film promises things it doesn't deliver, unfortunately, because I turn to these types of films as a way to inspire my own self-reflection and inner journey (much like "Into the Wild" and "Wild").
This film falls short of truly entertaining. I'd rather find other single-person journey films.
The film is an exercise in free will, by the filmmaker and by the character. It's open ended enough for us to create our own assumptions about Robyn as a person. Is she a feminist icon of survival? A mystical seeker? An animal lover?
The film promises things it doesn't deliver, unfortunately, because I turn to these types of films as a way to inspire my own self-reflection and inner journey (much like "Into the Wild" and "Wild").
This film falls short of truly entertaining. I'd rather find other single-person journey films.
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