Here I am with the second post of festival coverage. I'll keep this intro brief so I can get back to writing. I'll be back with more. You don't want to miss it.



Havoc
Review by Jon Waterman

**

Have you ever wondered what would happen when rich, upscale suburbanite teenagers who act like gang-bangers actually meet up with the people they’re trying to emulate? If the answer is yes, then boy do I sorta have the movie for you! Allison is the girlfriend of her preppy high school’s gang leader. All of her friends are in the gang, too. They spend their days constantly looking for a new and bigger rush. On one outing, they drive out to East LA to score some drugs, when the situation turns ugly. They make it out alive, but it throws them all into a massive downward spiral.

The film starts out with some kid in their high school making a documentary about these kids from the Palisades and the gang they formed there. He seems to pop in and out of the movie whenever the filmmakers feel we need a little more insight into Allison’s character. It accomplishes that goal, but it’s a strange way to get to the bottom of what the person is all about. And because these scenes are turned on and off like a switch, you just sort of end up forgetting about the movie kid until he shows up again.
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++++++++++


It’s Not You, It’s Me
Review by Jon Waterman

*1/2

Javier and Maria are newlyweds going through an interesting transition. They’re looking to move to Miami to start life over. Maria reluctantly goes first, so that Javier can tie up the loose ends there in Argentina and give his hospital time to find a replacement. After renting the apartment and quitting his job, he’s finally ready to head out to Florida where plans seem to be in place for them both. On the way to the airport, Maria calls and breaks up with Javier, because she cheated on him and needs time. Now Javier still has to start a new life, just not exactly how he had imagined it.

Doesn’t it sound like an uproarious comedy? Well, you’d be right in assuming it’s not. If it were marketed as a drama, people would walk out afterwards wanting to shoot themselves, but since the audience goes into it expecting to laugh, they only walk out disappointed. Javier doesn’t do anything funny throughout the whole movie. He mostly mopes and scares away everyone he knows. When he gets back into the dating scene, the opportunities for comedy are wasted on predictable jokes we’ve all seen fall flat several times before.
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