Recently I decided it was high time I started shopping around the manuscript for Killing Lake Michigan. Imagine my surprise when I discovered several flaws on the first page. I thought I’d thoroughly revised the whole novel, but after desperately searching for a polished version, I was left with the task of editing the full 535 pages again. As such, April slipped away from me, but that doesn’t mean other projects didn’t get finished. It’s just been the kind of stretch where I wake, work, and slip out of consciousness again. That said, March featured a few fabulous moments, so let’s get that roundup done before moving on to other details.
As usual, the main work output focused on movie reviews and film articles for Film Obsessive. It was nice to find out recently that the site is registering roughly 62,000 visitors a month. Here’s hoping a few of them found flicks worth watching courtesy of yours truly not to mention the other phenomenal writers keeping the site fresh and full.
As usual, the main work output focused on movie reviews and film articles for Film Obsessive. It was nice to find out recently that the site is registering roughly 62,000 visitors a month. Here’s hoping a few of them found flicks worth watching courtesy of yours truly not to mention the other phenomenal writers keeping the site fresh and full.
March started with a trip to the Alamo Drafthouse in Wrigelyville. Although not my favorite part of Chicago—most of the people there are blackout drunks using baseball as an excuse to get obnoxiously intoxicated—it was nice to visit this theater for the first time. I will say it was one of the finest smelling parking garages I’ve ever been in, thanks in no small part to aromas pouring out of the Alamo Drafthouse kitchen. That’s left me wondering if the facility was designed with that in mind, pour the scent of fried food into the garage to start tempting customers the second they arrive. I swear, it smelled good enough to tempt the anorexic to eat.
In any case, I saw a curious indie film called Problemista. It’s a surreal comedy about a young immigrant trying to make it in New York City. Things don’t go smoothly, and desperate to avoid deportation he begins working for an art critic who can only be described as an eccentric curmudgeon. There’s some wonderful acting, clever imagery, and a sweetness to the story that made it worth watching. For more details on what works and what doesn’t in Problemista, check out the review below.
Problemista Is an Amusing Show of Potential | Film Obsessive
In any case, I saw a curious indie film called Problemista. It’s a surreal comedy about a young immigrant trying to make it in New York City. Things don’t go smoothly, and desperate to avoid deportation he begins working for an art critic who can only be described as an eccentric curmudgeon. There’s some wonderful acting, clever imagery, and a sweetness to the story that made it worth watching. For more details on what works and what doesn’t in Problemista, check out the review below.
Problemista Is an Amusing Show of Potential | Film Obsessive
After that I got to see a fabulous horror flick called Out of Darkness. This came by way of a digital screening link, so I got to watch it in my apartment with the lights off and headphones in. Normally, I’m all about the full theater experience, but this really helped accentuate the feel of the film, especially the audio.
Out of Darkness is a primitive tale of terror featuring a stone age band struggling to survive in the wilderness. Whether they’re being picked off by actual animals or something more demonic is part of what captivates, but there’s so much more to this movie that I dare not risk spoiling anything. The review explains it best; however, I can’t recommend this one enough.
Out of Darkness Stabs at the Heart | Film Obsessive
Out of Darkness is a primitive tale of terror featuring a stone age band struggling to survive in the wilderness. Whether they’re being picked off by actual animals or something more demonic is part of what captivates, but there’s so much more to this movie that I dare not risk spoiling anything. The review explains it best; however, I can’t recommend this one enough.
Out of Darkness Stabs at the Heart | Film Obsessive
In-between reviews, I penned a retrospective looking back at The Boondock Saints. Released 25 years ago, I found it interesting to discover this flick has not aged well. Not so much because of the content, though some problems exist there, but mainly, I found many people critical of it now simply because it belongs to the long list of Tarantino inspired films from that era. Contemporary critics, particularly those who weren’t even alive during the film’s release, bash the picture for its clumsy mimicry of other films. In my opinion they fail to take into account a number of things, all of which are laid out in the article.
By no means a perfect film, I do still find The Boondock Saints an enjoyable movie. And revisiting it, while giving modern criticism a fair shake—maybe nostalgia changes our perspective, but I think I made a case for why the flick is still a decent watch. No, it isn’t for everyone, yet that’s what makes it a cult classic. If nothing else, it’s never a bad idea to have to defend a point of view every now and again—keep things sharp and sure.
Twenty-Five Years Later, The Boondock Saints Calls to Its Cult | Film Obsessive
By no means a perfect film, I do still find The Boondock Saints an enjoyable movie. And revisiting it, while giving modern criticism a fair shake—maybe nostalgia changes our perspective, but I think I made a case for why the flick is still a decent watch. No, it isn’t for everyone, yet that’s what makes it a cult classic. If nothing else, it’s never a bad idea to have to defend a point of view every now and again—keep things sharp and sure.
Twenty-Five Years Later, The Boondock Saints Calls to Its Cult | Film Obsessive
Following the action classic, I visited a flick called Glitter & Doom. This romantic musical centered on a pair of lovers with the titular names, at the very least as stage personas. For those inclined to roll their eyes, I think the film makes the point that such noms de guerre are often indicative of a person’s inner identity. Still, theatrics aside, the movie is okay.
It’s a jukebox musical composed entirely of tunes from the Indigo Girls. I wouldn’t be surprised by younger folks having no idea who those folk singers are. And frankly, I thought they were more famous than history records. Seems I was just friends with a lot of their fans, so mistook the prominence of the band. Thing is, they’ve got some solid tunes well-worth a listen; however, the musical doesn’t quite capture what made the Indigo Girls special.
For a better sense of what I mean, check out the review.
Glitter & Doom Sparkles but Doesn't Shine | Film Obsessive
It’s a jukebox musical composed entirely of tunes from the Indigo Girls. I wouldn’t be surprised by younger folks having no idea who those folk singers are. And frankly, I thought they were more famous than history records. Seems I was just friends with a lot of their fans, so mistook the prominence of the band. Thing is, they’ve got some solid tunes well-worth a listen; however, the musical doesn’t quite capture what made the Indigo Girls special.
For a better sense of what I mean, check out the review.
Glitter & Doom Sparkles but Doesn't Shine | Film Obsessive
March saw the release of one anticipated sequel. I’m talking about Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. At first, I didn’t exactly get assigned to this movie. Someone else beat me to the punch. Yet, my editor put me on deck as a backup in case something happened. On occasion, other reviewers have run into obstacles, personal and professional, which prevented them from turning in articles. For instance, working more than one job can make it hard to attend screeners or complete reviews on a deadline. That’s where backups come in.
If nothing else, I appreciated being able to attend the press screener. Numerous cosplay groups showed up including the South Shore Ghostbusters. Basically, every Chicagoland and greater Illinois Ghostbuster organization within driving distance arrived in full gear. These are great groups who do charity shows for various causes. Their enthusiasm was palpable and definitely made the experience more memorable.
Although I ultimately didn’t get to turn in a review, I wrote one anyway. Posting it to my own site seemed the logical move, and I may start doing that on a regular basis. We’ll see. Although I mostly agreed with what my colleague at Film Obsessive put together, there’s no sense in me writing this stuff just to put it where no one can see.
REVIEW: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Falters but Doesn't Fall - Honesty Is Not Contagious
If nothing else, I appreciated being able to attend the press screener. Numerous cosplay groups showed up including the South Shore Ghostbusters. Basically, every Chicagoland and greater Illinois Ghostbuster organization within driving distance arrived in full gear. These are great groups who do charity shows for various causes. Their enthusiasm was palpable and definitely made the experience more memorable.
Although I ultimately didn’t get to turn in a review, I wrote one anyway. Posting it to my own site seemed the logical move, and I may start doing that on a regular basis. We’ll see. Although I mostly agreed with what my colleague at Film Obsessive put together, there’s no sense in me writing this stuff just to put it where no one can see.
REVIEW: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Falters but Doesn't Fall - Honesty Is Not Contagious
Jumping on an offer from my editor Don Shanahan, I checked out a movie called Paradise. One of the downsides to reviewing feature films is wading through a lot of garbage to find even a glimmer of gold. Paradise is a gem I could not recommend more. For all the details, read the review below… and if you’re the kind of person who enjoys an excellent movie, then please watch Paradise.
Plus, if I may toot my own horn, it seems the director of the flick enjoyed the review as well. It’s always nice to feel like we’re helping smaller films get noticed, or at the very least made aware they did a great job. As someone who has put work out there, it always sucks not knowing how people are reacting. Sure, bad reviews hurt but silence just allows for worse things to form in that part of the brain that says everything you do is a failure. I don’t want to seem egotistical, but if I can point folks towards a smaller film overshadowed by mediocre blockbusters, that makes the work worthwhile.
Paradise is a Terrific Tropical Western | Film Obsessive
Plus, if I may toot my own horn, it seems the director of the flick enjoyed the review as well. It’s always nice to feel like we’re helping smaller films get noticed, or at the very least made aware they did a great job. As someone who has put work out there, it always sucks not knowing how people are reacting. Sure, bad reviews hurt but silence just allows for worse things to form in that part of the brain that says everything you do is a failure. I don’t want to seem egotistical, but if I can point folks towards a smaller film overshadowed by mediocre blockbusters, that makes the work worthwhile.
Paradise is a Terrific Tropical Western | Film Obsessive
Interviews are still a tricky part of the job. I like to do them and am hunting for more opportunities. However, I can’t deny my people skills need improvement. That’s why it was great to interview someone like Scarlett Moreno.
Besides having an impressive career to go over, she’s someone easy to chat with. We had a lovely discussion about her new award-winning short film Velma. We also got to go over her previous work on things like the television show “Rebel Without a Crew” as well as her numerous film projects. She has a definite visual style that I find alluring and the metaphors in her works are thought provoking. But it’s best to let her speak for herself, so check out the interview below.
Scarlet Moreno Talks to Us About Velma | Film Obsessive
Besides having an impressive career to go over, she’s someone easy to chat with. We had a lovely discussion about her new award-winning short film Velma. We also got to go over her previous work on things like the television show “Rebel Without a Crew” as well as her numerous film projects. She has a definite visual style that I find alluring and the metaphors in her works are thought provoking. But it’s best to let her speak for herself, so check out the interview below.
Scarlet Moreno Talks to Us About Velma | Film Obsessive
Finally, I closed the month reviewing a foreign film entitled A Forgotten Man. It was a heavy period piece about a Swiss diplomat coming home after World War II. It seems that during the war, at the behest of his government he borderline helped the Nazis. Along the way, he also assisted several entrepreneurs who saw ways to profit off the Reich without getting too directly involved in the war effort. They basically held attitudes like, “I just sent them metal and chemicals. I didn’t know they built murder machines with them.”
It's a well put together flick based on a play. That much is obvious from some of the staging. The only drawback I see is that the message is so heavy it may put off casual viewers. What makes that a shame is the relevance of its key points nowadays. This is a movie about turning a blind eye to obvious evil for reasons that are terribly understandable. Besides greed, there’s also the idea that appeasing the wicked may mean avoiding greater bloodshed, and historically, Swiss complicity in the Nazis regime’s crimes has never been fully addressed, at least according to the filmmakers. A Forgotten Man isn’t meant to shame; it’s a chance to acknowledge a mistake in the hopes of never repeating it.
A Forgotten Man Is a Caution and Condemnation | Film Obsessive
It's a well put together flick based on a play. That much is obvious from some of the staging. The only drawback I see is that the message is so heavy it may put off casual viewers. What makes that a shame is the relevance of its key points nowadays. This is a movie about turning a blind eye to obvious evil for reasons that are terribly understandable. Besides greed, there’s also the idea that appeasing the wicked may mean avoiding greater bloodshed, and historically, Swiss complicity in the Nazis regime’s crimes has never been fully addressed, at least according to the filmmakers. A Forgotten Man isn’t meant to shame; it’s a chance to acknowledge a mistake in the hopes of never repeating it.
A Forgotten Man Is a Caution and Condemnation | Film Obsessive
And that does it for March. I promise the April roundup will come much sooner. The only thing left to do is a rush of articles at the start of May then the final mastering on Beerfinger “Lessens”. As far as I’m concerned, the album is done but it’s best to take a breath to see if any kinks stand out. Sometimes being too close to a project can obscure obvious flaws. That said, things have finally come together, so stay tuned for that.
Otherwise, my best to you and yours. Remember to stay weird, remain safe, and never turn down a chance to chuck pudding at idiot kids while cruising by in a mean ride. Cheers!
Otherwise, my best to you and yours. Remember to stay weird, remain safe, and never turn down a chance to chuck pudding at idiot kids while cruising by in a mean ride. Cheers!
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