The Fearless Filmmakers event this month was another mixed bag of great independent films, and...um....not so great independent films.

Joe Johnson: "Girl Next Door" - A cross between "Silent Hill" and "Scream", and somehow a parody of them at the same time. Would make a great Rob Zombie video (and I mean that in a good way), half-naked (actually 90% naked) smokin-hot babe gets covered in blood while battling creepy-looking creeps in her home, which has mysteriously inadequate lighting. Unfortunately, the ending was a complete Cheap Shot, one of those "Oh my Dog, look at the time! Damn, and we're almost out of tape too! Anyone know how we can end this in less than thirty seconds?"

355 Productions: "Love" - Hysterical mockumentary about a white-collar office guy who decides to encourage "Love" in his coworker's lives. Hints of "The 40 Year Old Virgin" crossed with "Office Space" and Poor quality sound. This worked great as a short, but I have a hard time imagining how it could be extended into a full-length feature film. I guess we will find out, because the full-length version, "Love: A Documentary" is in Post Production, and slated for release in Summer 2007.

Aaron Gelperin and Steve Blehert: "The Man Who Couldn't Stop Eating Cake" - Far and away the best short of the evening. Well done, funny, and although I didn't understand the ending AT ALL, I didn't even care. I laughed my ass off.

Orange Apple Productions: "It's Killing Me" - This film is based mostly on a poorly-written nursery rhyme, narrated by a child with cancer, who is killed by his own parents to put him out of his misery. This film is positively atrocious, and directly opposed to their 'Mission Statement'

to bring a positive message to its audience through the projects it produces. To show its viewers that the right choice made in even a bad situation can affect everyone involved in a positive way.

From: http://www.orangeappleproductions.com/aboutus.html


Not. Even. The writer/director/producer seemed to think it was "Pretty good". He was wrong.

Matt Osterman: "Turtle" - Square White Guy is commissioned by the Lord (in the shape of a turtle, hence the name) to build an ark. I was expecting hilarity to ensue, but instead the story moved from silly comedy to sad tragedy to disturbing thriller.

Ryan Schaddelee: "Manfant" - Billed as a 'Horror/Comedy with a Twist' This film was the exact opposite to "Turtle" in that "Turtle" went from comedy > tragedy > disturbing, "Manfant" moved from thriller > comedy > lighthearted fluff. During the Q&A after the showing, Ryan admitted that the entire movie was based off one of his friend's abilities to make accurate baby noises, and they got drunk and decided it would be an interesting plot for a short about a full-grown man who acted as an infant. He also apologized. This was one of the best produced movies shown tonight, but not nearly as good as his "Scream Like A Girl"

Justin Pierre of Motion City Soundtrack: "Karen" - This is what happens when a musician decides to make a movie. Writing was thin and abstract. Way more attention was paid to the soundtrack, which was very good, and included the band 'Sweet J.A.P.' The end credits were WAY too long. If that many people were really involved, it should have been better.

Benjamin Martin of Chow Projects: "$$$ (In:love)" - Animation over audio conversations with a telemarketer. Very funny, and got the most laughs of the evening. This is part of a larger series of audio called "Wrong Answers" all of which are available on the web for free at this site.

Ryan Taylor from Prime Productions "MVP" - This entry in Grain Belt's 2006 "Make Your Own Commercial Contest" won Prime Productions first place, and a year's supply of beer. (I don't know how much a year's supply of beer is, and I forgot to ask at the afterparty, but they said it arrived in a truck.) "MVP" is Very pro, it looked like a real commercial.

Blog on,
-CZ

Labels: indie movies, Minneapolis Event, movie reviews