Hey Everybody. Today I bring you reviews of two very independent movies. I'll be back (hopefully sooner than later) with some more reviews for you all, including Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Charlie Chaplin's The Kid, The Neverending Story and The Ice Harvest. So keep checking back.



Bums
Review by Jon Waterman

*1/2

“Bums” tells the story of Don, a young man who has just broken up with his girlfriend. In order to move on as quickly as possible, he runs over to a friend’s house to score some drugs then its off to the bar to pick up his first one-night stand – or at least first in a really long time. But he’s not alone on the quest. He brings a couple of buds to help him out. Along the way, Don’s newly christened ex gets the same idea and sets out on a similar adventure that may have you wondering, “Just how different are men and women?”

The Butler brothers (Jason and Brett) are back with their sophomore (and sophomoric) effort. The masterminds behind “Alive and Lubricated” bring us what is essentially a sequel where every character’s name has changed. The big twist is that this time the guy breaks up with the girl, but in both situations she’s a slut. The film still focuses on sex, but also turns its attention towards relationships in general (with some drugs thrown in there for good measure). This second feature actually represents a full step forward in terms of filmmaking, but these two still have a long ways to go.
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++++++++++


Alive and Lubricated
Review by Jon Waterman

*

Dickey just got dumped by his girlfriend, so he does what any self-respecting fresh on the market guy would do: he heads back to his house to drink away his problems with his roommate. It’s there that the conversation turns to the typical guy banter of sex in all its incarnations from slutty exes to one-night stands. Eventually they come to the conclusion that the only way Dickey is going to overcome his sorrow and move on with his life is to find and sleep with an anonymous girl. Or escape by taking a road trip. Whichever comes first.

This is proof positive that independent filmmaking is a double-edged sword. On the one hand you get all the intelligent, thought-provoking fare that breaks away from the traditional Hollywood prototypes. On the other hand, you get all the pseudo-intellectual knock-offs that come from the inspired masses that suddenly think, “I can do that, too.” “Alive and Lubricated” falls into the latter. The Butler brothers (director/co-writer Brett and producter/co-writer Jason) seem to hit nearly every horrible cliché that budding “artists” fall victim to.
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