Friend and prolific b-movie filmmaker John Polonia passsed away suddenly yesterday of a heart aneurysm. He was 39 and leaves a wife and young son.
John was an incredibly funny person who enjoyed home and family life and could talk movies with a great fervor. He turned this love of movies into a memorable filmmaking career.
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I don’t know if I would say that the “retro-grindhouse” look is a movement, but certainly there have been some gestures towards it lately with directors like Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino and their double-feature experiment. But Scott Phillips’ Gimme Skelter, from its opening shot of a ribbon of two-lane blacktop disappearing into the night, may be the most pitch-perfect rendition to date.
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There may be no unreleased film more worthy of the highest esteen in the geek pantheon than 5-25-77, Patrick Read Johnson’s autobiographical tale of that fateful day that Star Wars came out (but Planet of the Apes gets its props as well). I slavered over this trailer at Microcinema Fest a few years ago and, having been there when we lined up at the Northwest Plaza the first time it happened, thought it hit a pitch-perfect note. Check out the old-school vibe at the newly-launched site.
The inaugural Alt-Film Fest has landed documentary filmmaker Robert Greenwald (Outfoxed, Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price) as the keynote speaker. Other participants include Matt Pizzolo (Threat), Joanna Angel, and Curt Johnson. Greenwald presents at Border’s Books in Westwood California on Friday November 16.
GoTV and Google Video are two of the sponsors of the Century City Cellphone Fest, which is accepting shorts fifteen seconds to three minutes in length. The Fest is a fundraiser for the Minorities in Broadcasting Training Program. A variety of cool prizes are offered, including a chance for a spin on GoTV.
Gritty drama features a professor who becomes attracted to a student with a sordid private life in An Apology to the Dead. Although initially put off by a dark, grainy look that may have been only partially intentional, I was drawn in by strong performances from the leads. Troy Randall-Kilpatrick, albeit boneheaded in some of his character’s decisions, was well-rounded, and I especially liked Jenelle Mazaris’s shaded turn as the strong-willed but wounded student. Jonathan Victor also gives a shot of kinetic energy in an edgy spin as a brutal pimp.
Iowa directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods have been doing interesting work in their young careers, with The Bride Wore Blood their most accomplished to date. This time out, Beck and Woods go for a more stylized vibe in this neo-spaghetti western outing, with a memorable genre-appropriate score and some unusual touches in character and production design.
Genial comedy, from director Matt Olson, features a lonely collegiate who tries to apply scientific principles to find the perfect mate, finding himself having one adventurous date after another.
Somewhat straightforward in its plotting and production design, The Chemistry of Dating gets an uptick from a strong performance by Brandon Rowray in the lead, a likeable, natural presence.
“The Family Johnson” was a hip band on a meteoric rise when front man Bugs (Royce Peterson) flamed out in the usual way.
Later, post-rehab, he tries to reconnect with a former bandmate (Wilder Selzer) who is rocketing to stardom of his own accord in Cara Maria O’Shea’s urban fable Aesop’s Diner.
“Twilight Zone”-flavored horror-thriller, from New Zealand director Amit Tripuraneni, features five camping friends, and the secrets that are revealed over a long weekend in a remote cabin. Five, Tripuraneni’s follow-up to the admirable, muscular spy thriller Memories of Tomorrow, plumbs a traditional genre, but with a different vibe. Tripuraneni coached naturalistic, almost improvised-seeming performances from his leads, but coupled that with energetic visuals and a crisp pace. The visuals are eye-searing and the editing leaves scenes charged with menace.
Just in time for Halloween, CNGM Pictures debuted Irving Renquist, Ghost Hunter will be debuting on the web Wednesday. This supernatural series, sporting a first season run of nine episodes, will be available on the web, on regional cable access channels, and ultimately on DVD. Irving is CNGM’s first foray into television production after several years of producing features and shorts, including Fate Twisted Simply, Cuba Road, Sleep to Dream, and others.
The Carolina Film and Video Festival is looking for submissions for their Fest in February in Greensboro. The Fest focuses on independent and student work and has cash prices. There are workshops and presentations, as well as screenings, throughout the Fest. The deadline for submissions is November 15.
Michael W. Dean, who has encouraged free bootlegs of his underground music documentary DIY Or Die, has opted to put the entire feature up at YouTube. The documentary features interviews with Lydia Lunch, Gwar, Fugazi, the Stooges and others. Dean is also the author of the how-to book $30 Film School.
Stray Cinema is back with another open source film experiment. This year’s footage, available for recutting and remixing, was shot by New Zealand filmmaker and visual artist Naomi Lamb. A screening of remixed projects will be held in New Zealand.
After suffering a loss, a young man comes home to the midwest to try and rekindle an old friendship, but quickly learns that the friend he left behind has gravitated towards a new, sinister “family.” Zack Parker’s Quench bills itself as a “modern gothic tragedy,” with perhaps a bit of emphasis on the “gothic” and veined, so to speak, with dark horror undertones. Some explicit sex, and liberal use of blood, startle against the strikingly-shot Indiana landscapes.