Alright. Once again, I'm slow to post. But at least I give you plenty to read everytime I do get around to it. Not much else to say, so...enjoy. See you next time.



Me and You and Everyone We Know
Review by Jon Waterman

***

After his divorce, Richard desperately tries to keep the kids in his life. They do live with him part time, but they purposefully make themselves unavailable. After all, the kids have their own troubles trying to fit in at school and in the neighborhood. Meanwhile, Christine, a driver and caretaker for the elderly and disabled, is attempting to get noticed as a performance artist by a major gallery. On a chance meeting at Richard’s job as a shoe salesman at an upscale department store the two hit it off and find themselves complicating their lives even more with all these fresh emotions. Can they successfully pull off the juggling act?

It’s kind of tough to describe the plot in an interesting and representative manner. The film is just a little bit too quirky for that to be possible. So, imagine if you will a more grounded, less controversial Todd Solondz. That would be writer/director/lead actress Miranda July. This movie contains several slightly quirky characters that take precedence over a plot full of potential taboos and artistic flavor that’s designed to be a connecting line (instead of a driving force) between clever scenarios.
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+++++++++


The Island
Review by Jon Waterman

*

Lincoln Six Echo and Jordan Two Delta live each day like the one before it. They get up, put on the same clothes, eat their prepared meals, go to work, and watch the lottery. The lottery is a system that chooses one lucky inhabitant of society to move out of their enclosed colony and onto “The Island.” The island is the only part of the world that has avoided contamination, but space is limited. So, everyone stays in this ultra sterile, supposedly utopian society until his or her time comes. Well, as you can probably guess (especially if you’ve seen ads for the film), there is no island. The people here are all clones and are only there so their organs can be harvested. Our heroes don’t like this idea so much, so they go out into the real world searching for their real-life counterparts in hopes that they will help.

Doesn’t that all sound exciting? No? Well, what if I tell you there are all kinds of explosions and car chases and gunplay and stuff? Still no? Well, trust your instincts. The movie is severely flawed. Written by Caspian Tredwell-Owen (“Beyond Borders”) and Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci (TV’s “Alias,” “Legend of Zorro,” M: I-3”), the script fails to really garner any reasonable pace, excitement or interest. For starters, going in we already know these people are clones, so why act like it’s some big secret for the first half hour.
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+++++++++


Pure
Review by Jon Waterman

**

Paul’s mom is a junkie. Everyone around town seems to know it, except for him. He cares deeply about his mother; after all, she’s all that’s left after his father died. The ten-year old is already used to being mostly independent, but soon he’ll find himself taking care of the whole family. Mom’s drug addiction is getting worse, and after a family friend overdoses, Paul is forced to face reality and his sole guardian. To avoid being ripped away from her by child services or grandparents, Paul will do anything and everything possible to get his mom clean and sober.

The film is artistically directed by Gillies MacKinnon (“Hideous Kinky”). Keep in mind however that not all art is good. There’s nothing terribly wrong with it, but it gives off a definitive glorified student film look. Some of the camera movement, especially in the beginning, seemed to be there just to incorporate some camera movements. There’s nothing here that really adds a particular flavor or mood to the picture. There’s no discernable atmosphere coming across from the locations or cinematography. It’s just there.
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