Indy Incubator Review

Indy Incubator Film Fest 4: It might have been one small step for Matt Kubinski and Charles Klein (creators of the incubator), but it was a giant leap for the Indy Incubator Film Fest (IIFF). The IIFF celebrated season 4 by introducing a panel of judges that critiqued each film and awarded a “best in show” at the end of the night. The panel consisted of Kathy Byrne from the Chicago Film Office, Ed Griffen from WTTW's Image Union and Matt Sardo from the Chicago Comic Vault.
As for the films themselves – another terrific harvest!!! The fest really got moving with a screening of Apocalypse Oz, a marvelous creation from cineclash productions. The film mixed elements of Apocalypse Now and the Wizard of Oz to perfection. Director Charles Klein in association with Film Beyond brought us the next highlight – Brain. The film centers on a handsome young man nicknamed – Brain, who works in the IT department of a company he does not like. One day he flips and goes out drinking….in his mind, he had the night of his life! Right before the intermission D-mob productions brought the house down with their small film – Ass Periods. Not for the faint of heart, the story centers around a wish made by a girl that her boyfriend would get a menstruation period so he could see what it is like first hand. As the title suggests….the wish came true. The movie was done perfectly, highly creative and just the right shots to get some gross humor going, but stopped short of being “vomit material”. Bravo!! I was not the only person impressed with Ass Periods, as the judges declared the film “Best in Fest” at the end of the night. The second half of the fest had 2 films from Blame Society – The Death of a Pumpkin & Chad Vader 7. Both these films were of the highest quality and very creative; Blame Society really has something great going on. In all it was a great night for the movies. All the filmmakers should be proud as to should Matt Kubinski and Charles Klein. They have created a Film Fest that keeps getting bigger, better, and more creative. Great work guys!!! See you in November for Season 5.

Spiderman 3 Review

Spiderman 3: The web slinger is back in his third installment and this time his web was stuffed with one to many storylines. The Hollywood formula for these blockbusters is to always top the last one…..well sometimes more is less, as is the case with Spiderman 3. For starters, Peter Parker has a record - 3 villains to take on while balancing his relationship with Mary Jane and new love interest Gwen Stacy. On top of that he is overtaken by a mysterious black substance that gives way to a “darker” Spiderman and Peter Parker. All of this crammed into a 2 hour 20 minute action packed movie, there is no wonder it feels “rushed” at the end. This is not to say that the movie is without highlights. The action sequences are a plenty and are the best of the series. Catching me by surprise was the humor the movie had, this is by far the funniest Spiderman. As for the 3 villains mentioned before: Sandman played by Thomas Haden Church was well done and looked fantastic on screen, but due to limited screen time, never lived up to his stature. The New Goblin played by James Franco came out with a lot of energy, however needing to stretch his plotline out, he gets thrown into a soap opera storyline for much of the movie. Finally we have Venom played by Topher Grace, all I can say is “way under written”. It felt Venom was just thrown in there to satisfy some hardcore fans as he appears late in the movie with almost no back story. The ending has everyone and everything colliding for a climatic battle atop New York City. It was the 1st time I finished a Spiderman movie and did not feel totally satisfied. This is in no way a BAD movie, it just failed to live up to the expectations the first two movies created for it. I enjoyed a lot of it, I was disappointed by some of it, the result….an average Spidey 3.
* * and ½ or a grade: C+

If this movie had parents they would be: Batman & Robin and Superman II

With a running time of 120 minutes
This film is rated PG-13

Grindhouse

Grindhouse: A double feature paying tribute to the “B-movie thrillers” of the past, from directors Robert Rodriguez & Quentin Tarantino. I give big thumbs up for the ambition of the project which is comprised of 2 full length movies (each about 1:25 minutes in length), accompanied by faux “coming attractions” before and in between the features. The two films have nothing tying them together plot wise; however some of the same sets, props, and actors are used in both films. Up first is Planet Terror by Rodriguez. The film is a “gore fest” of a zombie movie. The story uses basic zombie movie understanding – everyone is infected with a virus which turns them into man eating zombies. A small group of rebels remain uninfected and need to get to a safe area to produce a cure to the virus. The humor in the movie is spot on, making fun of itself as it goes along. The second feature is Death Proof by Tarantino. I loved this movie. Kurt Russell plays Stuntman Mike, a mad man who likes to kill people in his death proof-(made for a stuntman)-car. The reason I found Death Proof to be a superior film is that not only did it pay tribute to old B-movies, but at the same time you were getting some classic Tarantino cinema!! I did not get that blend from Planet Terror. In fact I was getting bored by the mid-way mark of the first feature. Tarantino had the right mix and it worked. The final car chase was one of the most exhilarating scenes I have seen in a long time. Between the outstanding faux trailers and the extremely fun ride of Death Proof, Grindhouse gets a recommendation from me.
The Breakdown – Planet Terror : * * // Death Proof * * * *

Grindhouse (as a whole): * * * or grade: B

If this movie had parents they would be: Shaun of the Dead & Duel

With a run time of 191 minutes
This film is rated R

Perfect Stranger Review

Perfect Stranger: Halle Berry, Bruce Willis, and Giovanni Ribisi team up for this mind numbing thriller. I left this movie with 1 BIG question…..how do scripts like this get green lit? Berry plays Rowena, a journalist always looking for the big story. When a childhood friend of hers is murdered she jumps onto the case – because in movies like this the star journalist is always better at solving crimes than actual cops. Rowena’s profound investigation finds that her friend was having an affair with the top advertising executive in NYC – Harrison Hill (played by Bruce Willis and a damn good “movie name” if I do say so myself). To get the inside scoop on Harrison Hill, she gets a temp job at his advertising firm. From there the plot thickens as we are given even more reason to think that Hill is our perpetrator. Of course, what would a thriller of this nature be without a twist or two……..or five. The movie does have a couple tense moments, but I would have liked a little more given that the movie is like so many we have already seen. The ending is creative, but it is almost laughable when you put it through the “believability test”. Every once in a while a movie of this nature is done right, with just enough thought put into it to allow us to believe in the irrationality of it all. Unfortunately, Perfect Stranger does not have the smarts to make it all work.

* * or a grade of a C -

If this movie had parents they would be: You’ve Got Mail & Basic Instinct

With a running time of 109 minutes
This film is rated R