REVIEW: American Pie [1999]

“Suck me, beautiful” I’ll admit now that my love for American Pie is rooted heavily in nostalgia. Having first seen it in theatres as I was entering my own senior year of high school, the comradery of its band of brothers cautiously walking together towards graduation and manhood doesn’t quite resonate as much today at age thirty. My seventeen-year old self remembers the performances being a bit more honed and the scripting a tad crisper, but the one thing that didn’t change with an older and maybe wiser perspective is…

Read More

REVIEW: Wrath of the Titans [2012]

“I will never leave my son” There’s nothing like a little patricide to bring two estranged brothers like Zeus (Liam Neeson) and Hades (Ralph Fiennes together again. It’s what teamed them up to imprison their father Cronus long ago in the underworld prison Tartarus and it’s what will ultimately make them choose sides again while humanity looks on helplessly for a victor. And while Perseus (Sam Worthington) wouldn’t have minded killing his own God of a father in Clash of the Titans, it is his half-brother Ares (Édgar Ramírez) who…

Read More

BNFF12 REVIEW: Living River: The Ganges [2012]

“She is worshiped by Demons and Gods alike” Having just been to India last summer, the pollution of the Ganges in Vinit Parmar‘s documentary Living River: The Ganges is something I witnessed first-hand. Taking a gondola ride down the ghat-filled bank of Varanasi’s portion of the holy river, I saw hundreds of men, women, and children bathing, drinking, and performing rituals to the Goddess Ganga. Having heard the facts about the water before visiting, I tried my hardest to cover every square inch of flesh from even a splash courtesy…

Read More

BNFF12 REVIEW: Caught [2011]

“I don’t cheat” Using baseball as the metaphor to an underdog life of disrespect, the short film Caught utilizes a recreation league’s championship game as the release of starting catcher Hannah’s (Lori Martini) naïve reliance on her family for a love they’ll never share. Trash-talking her brother Robbie (Daniel Braver)—stuck in a leg brace and batting for the opposing team—we see the strained bond of the present mixed with flashbacks full of disappointing letdowns from the past. Words spoken and characters’ actions witnessed at the game are explained by these…

Read More

BNFF12 REVIEW: Fractured Minds [2011]

“Sometimes I want to smash your face into a window” The horror genre has been used to speak on political matters, mask psychological traumas, signify an internal struggle through manifested pain, and to just plain scare audiences with a healthy portion of blood and guts. Frank Battiston‘s Fractured Minds wants to feed into the more than meets the eye mentality, but I’m not sure if the multi-narrative finds the sure-footing to do more than portray the usual backwoods cretins and a quartet of city folk unknowingly walking into their lair.…

Read More

REVIEW: Clash of the Titans [2010]

“They declared war. War on the Gods.” Going from Luc Besson‘s go-to director to becoming a Hollywood action regular, you can’t blame Louis Leterrier for wanting to tackle the big budget remake of Clash of the Titans. With a predecessor remembered more for its Ray Harryhausen creatures than any lasting artistic quality—I still can’t believe its shoddy effects came after Empire Strikes Back—its subject matter actually seemed ripe for a revisioning. So many genre ‘classics’ have garnered a want for new boatloads of cash, why not a film badly in…

Read More

BNFF12 REVIEW: Beware Pickpocket [2010]

“How did you get it?” We all strive to be pure, to be worthy of those we love. Oftentimes, however, such illusions of grandeur are nothing more than a façade to hide who we really are. Even in dream the titular petty thief (David Amito) of Beware Pickpocket sees himself as the bloodied punching bag of the victims he isn’t quite good enough to escape. You can dress a criminal to look upstanding, but he can change himself. So, despite putting on the clothes and practicing the smile of success…

Read More

REVIEW: The Hunger Games [2012]

“Thank you for your consideration” Underdogs thrive on the ability to retain hope in a world forever shoving them into a corner without the reality of upward mobility or a true chance at overall social change. When they start to believe their numbers can actually overcome that adversity, however, the ruling class must take notice and ready for a fight they may not win. Rebellion will forever be a threat whether one has been squashed in the past or not since you can only kick the underprivileged masses down so…

Read More

BNFF12 REVIEW: Kaziah the Goat Woman [2010]

“Maybe because I picked up the brush I can leave a little love behind” Up in Manti, Utah lives a woman for which the word eccentric doesn’t quite do justice. Emotional, spiritual, joyful, and without regret, Kaziah Hancock has overcome a hard life to become an American treasure cherished by those unfortunate families dealt the devastating blow of losing a member during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A goat herder by day to sustain herself monetarily, it’s her work with Project Compassion and the vow to never stop painting…

Read More

BNFF12 REVIEW: Aloneliness [2011]

“I’m at the front door” It’s hard to believe that Sid Bodalia‘s Aloneliness is a student film. After living in New Jersey and eventually attending the Maryland Institute College of Art for degrees in design and painting, the young artist moved all the way to Mumbai, India in order to pursue a career in filmmaking at Whistling Woods International. I can only imagine the wealth of talent and collaboration between departments and disciplines that allowed for such a stunning psychological thriller to look and feel as though made with studio…

Read More

BNFF12 REVIEW: Dot Got Shot [2011]

“Stop walking me home” Making its rounds through underground film festivals, Honey Lauren‘s Dot Got Shot brings a relevant psychological punch with its ultra low-budget aesthetic. The acting is not the greatest and the cinematography choices may be a bit too artsy at times, but the story of Dot—a decorated policewoman haunted by the nightmares of reliving the moment she was shot in the head breaking up a domestic squabble—is unique enough to overcome its faults. Written, co-directed with Carlos Ramos Jr., and starring Lauren, the short crime drama finds…

Read More