Here's Part 2! (We also watched a couple of different short collections but those would be hard to review so, I'll just say that we did it!)
This movie felt very up my alley until I started hearing a lot of people say how INCREDIBLY violent it was and then I got scared. We watched it anyway. It was violent, and a lot of people die but the violence is not shown very close up, so I thought it was fine. But just be aware going into it. Interesting, complex characters, great scenery, very tense and claustrophobic. I liked it.
MKE Film description: Hoaggie and his family are having a delightful trip in the stunning New Zealand wilderness when they're approached by two mysterious strangers. It quickly becomes apparent this duo has malicious intent. While Hoaggie claims to have no idea why, he has a sneaking suspicion that his unsavory past has come back to haunt him. The brutality and terror that unfolds will have you second guessing that summer road trip you have planned.
I don't ever want to go to prison. Especially a prison where the guards don't even fake do anything to keep you safe. This was a really like, artistic, lovely kind of film considering it was in a prison and people def died during the movie. There was a beautiful, graceful, creativeness through it. I know it has been a favorite of many during the fest.
| MKE Film description: La Maca is a prison in Côte d'Ivoire run by its prisoners. When a newcomer arrives on the night of the red moon rising, he is entered into a storytelling ritual to become the new king of the prison, known as the "Roman." Rolling Stone calls it "a film steeped in myth and ritual, besotted with secrets, history, and imagination -- with a clear eye on the Ivory Coast's politics." |
The Djinn - Like all good creature/horror movies, this movie wasn't actually about the horror of the creature but consequences of ours and the peoples around us actions, and sometimes getting exactly what you wish for.
I love an indie creature horror movie because I'm always interested in how they are going to make for a good creature on a smaller budget and this movie didn't dissapoint in that way. There's a lot of whipsy/smokeyness to it which looked good and thats all I will say because I don't want to give too much away. The movie started very strong, and got a little weaker throughout but not by much.
The ending was great but the only thing that irritated me about it was at the height of the suspense at the end they did a flashback and were like SEE, SEE WE'VE BEEN FORESHADOWING ALL THIS STUFF THE WHOLE TIME. DIDYA CATCH IT? And like, yeah I get it but having it shoved in your face at the end while you're in the moment kinda made it lose some momentum. Great acting, loved the dad part which felt like it was perfectly written for Richard Jenkins, but was lovingly performed by the actor cast. A very capable, introspective little horror movie.
MKE Film description: Dylan and his dad have just moved to start a new life after the tragic loss of his mother. Dylan finds a mysterious book in a closet and reads about the Djinn, a magical beast that can grant wishes. Dylan is mute, so he wishes for a voice, but he fails to realize that he has to survive the night at the mercy of the monster.
I mean, it's pretty obvious from the description that Misha is not all that she says she is, but the story is more than that. Misha's whole, truthful story is (I think) even more compelling than her famous memoir. Of the two WWII related documentaries that I watched this film fest I liked this one the best.
MKE Film description: Misha Defonseca's story sounds too good to be true - an orphan escaping the Holocaust by hiding in the woods and living amongst wolves - but Misha inspires all she encounters. When her memoir's publisher starts to peel back one corner of this narrative, however, it turns into a detective story with twists and turns you'll never see coming. Hobkinson's film ultimately asks us to examine truth, belief, and trauma in the most tangled of stories.
I watched this movie actually in Florida and I was like, well, I don't want to be in the same state as some of these people. The Villages would be a prime location for a horror movie, and I can't stop thinking about how I want to write it, haha. I'll add it on my list of things to write. The four residents (well one interloper and 3 residents) were very interesting personalities and showed, I think, some common situations in this weird, Truman Show, overly manicured existence.
MKE Film description: The Villages, located in central Florida, is the world's largest retirement community, home to more than 130,000. Following four residents who struggle to find their place in the extreme homogenized culture, this character study delves into the whimsy, banality, and bizarreness of life when you have nothing to do and all day to do it. With gorgeous cinematography, Oppenheim plays up both the serene and surreal images found in this "Disneyworld for retirees".
This was the "Super Secret Members Only Screening". The group that watches these movies together are between 26-36 years of age, so the only way that anyone had heard of Tiny Tim was the 26 year old who had heard him on...Spongebob Squarepants. Honestly, a little terrifying. A man who sings in a soprano voice, who plays the ukulele and looks like this. I didn't know what to really make of this one to be honest. But, I do love me a weird documentary.
