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Porno (2019)
Porno
When the employees of a Christian owned movie theater happen upon a demonic sex film in their basement, all hell should break loose, which it does in Keola Racela's fun horror comedy Porno.
It's 1992. For a small theater in an even smaller town, the choices are Encino Man or A League of Their Own. For the kids working in the theater, the decision of what to watch will make or break their night. Chaz (Jillian Mueller) has been promoted by their super-religious boss Mr. Pike (Bill Phillips) to assistant manager despite her recent flirtation with goth culture. Abe (Evan Daves) is a burgeoning peeping Tom who shares his predilection with his best friend Todd (Larry Saperstein). Ricky (Glenn Stott) has just returned from Christian camp to his rightful place as the high school jock. Heavy Metal Jeff (Robbie Tan) runs the projector and lives a rigid life of Christian straight edge.
The deal is, after all the patrons leave, they can watch any movie they like. A crazy homeless man (Peter Reznikoff), however, leads them to a forgotten section of the theater where they find an unmarked film canister. This instantly becomes the choice, but upon watching the movie, they find it filled with satanic ritualism and sex. In fact, the film itself conjures a sex demon (Katelyn Pearce) and now it's up to the employees to defeat it and escape from the theater.
Essentially, writers Matt Black and Laurence Vannicelli have crafted an excellent screenplay that teeters between John Hughes teen dramedy and, well, Evil Dead. Every one of these characters is instantly recognizable either as someone we know or a portion of ourselves. When combined with a stellar cast, the results are simply magical. Racela does an excellent job of allowing the laughs and dramatic moments play out so nothing seems out of place in its particular moment. We really care about these characters and we want to see them win.
The one drawback is the "porno" in question. Perhaps to a group of teenagers in a Christian run movie theater in 1992, it's scandalous, but to someone desensitized by early Wes Craven, Ruggero Deodato, Pier Paolo Pasolini and A Serbian Film, it doesn't really seem like much. Sure, there's nudity, but does that constitute pornography in and of itself? If so, the Friday the 13th franchise is porn. Of course, nowadays you can't show too much lest the uptight idiots at the MPAA doom your film to obscurity by slapping an unreasonable rating on your movie, but it calls into question whether the filmmakers bothered to research the subgenre of Satanic-themed X-rated movies made throughout the '70s or if the title is just there for shock value.
We do need a good laugh once in a while though, and while Porno lacks in actual pornography, it fully delivers in strong characters, good humor and enough tension to keep you poised at the edge of your seat once things get going. It really is a good time, and for that reason, it's worth a watch or ten.
Tater Tot & Patton (2017)
Fantastic
Every so often a film so perfect arrives that you can't help but wonder what magic brought it all together. You laugh, you cry, you become completely engaged in the story to the point that it feels like you just sat down when it ends. It resonates so much that you can't stop thinking about it and feeling the range of emotions it conjured. Tater Tot and Patton is that film.
Erwin (Bates Wilder) lives on a South Dakota ranch. He wakes up, pees, drinks a raw egg and beer, does some work, drinks more beer, does more work, drinks even more beer and passes out only to relive it all the next day, that is, until his teenage niece from Los Angeles comes to stay with him. Andie (Jessica Rothe) is the quintessential popular millennial girl - entitled, dependent on technology, raging with attitude. She's there on an ultimatum from her mother, rehab or the ranch. Of course, this leads to personality conflicts with hilarious results, though even more interesting is their journey from coming to a mutual understanding to being best friends that reveal their darkest secrets and help each other work through them. It may sound like just another odd couple scenario, but there's so much more going on here.
Director Andrew Kightlinger somehow delivers heart without being corny, a feat revealing the true depth of his talent. His realistic visual style beautifully blends the composition of early Steven Spielberg with George Romero's quick-edit cover-your-ass style of filmmaking. He also plays with focus effectively, adding a touch of dreaming psychedelia to his vision.
The performances are completely stunning as well. A man of few words, Erwin speaks through his actions and expressions and Wilder consistently nails it without a single misstep. Rothe plays an annoying millennial teenage girl just enough that you don't turn against her right away, instead winning you over with an understanding of why she is the way she is. Even Forest Weber gives his all in his supporting role of Richie the ranch hand turned love interest.
With so much focus on A list actors and blockbuster shenanigans, it's nice to see a simple film grounded in the emotions we experience every day. We know these things because we feel these things from the moment we wake up to the time we fall asleep. It's everything a film should be, and done on a shoestring budget to boot. The next time somebody says, "They don't make movies like that anymore," put on Tater Tot and Patton to prove them wrong.
Twin Cities (2017)
Excellent Underground Minnesota Film
Simply state that reality is relative and even stoners will kick you out of the hotbox. It's one of those truths so obvious that hearing it makes people smack their forehead and say, "Duh," yet in the normal course of one's daily life, it seems to be forgotten. We selfishly crusade on social media, insisting that our perspective is the only point of view while completely ignoring the life and experience of anyone else, let alone acknowledging that our personas in and out of cyberspace are two very different people. Minnesota director Dave Ash poignantly examines our relationship to our realities in his locally-produced-on-a-shoestring-budget masterpiece Twin Cities.
John (Clarence Wethern) works in IT for an advanced biochemistry company, but his social awkwardness and OCD have led him away from his pregnant wife Emily (Bethany Ford). Frequent panic attacks bring him under medical scrutiny and ultimately he receives the diagnosis of rectal cancer, sending him on a path of re-examining his life. He strives desperately to rekindle his relationship with Emily while finally accepting his parents for who they are. He even seeks to reconnect with religion by sitting down with a pastor and asking serious questions about what it all means. Things are going well and his life suddenly has meaning until he gets some jarring news.
Only that's not what the film is about at all. Divulging any further would be a disservice to the viewer though.
Basically, Ash has taken some very serious meaning-of-life questions and strung them into a narrative reflecting, not one, but several experiences. Are the stories we create as real as who we are? What does religion actually mean? Can we forgive our parents for being who they are? Why are we so prone to being unhappy and can we change it? Will great tragedy define who we are or tear us apart?
His approach borders on science fiction, though the extreme emotion conveyed by the entire cast makes the story all too real. We feel things watching this because we've been there at one point or another. Or maybe it hasn't happened yet and we see it on the horizon. Perhaps we've seen ourselves in that very moment for no reason other reason than narcissism.
As much as Ash's directorial genius revolves around character driven stories, a word should be said about his visual sense. As previously mentioned, the film was probably made on pennies compared to whatever opened at the box office last Friday, meaning locations provide the majority of the scenery. Ash's exquisite cinematography turns these locations into characters in their own right, revealing he truly understands the meaning of this craft.
With so much of Hollywood focused on one-dimensional superheroes and CGI scenery, it's nice to see something grounded in something that's actually relatable. On that note, Twin Cities won't win an Oscar, either. There's no big money backing or A-list actor drastically changing the way they look. It's just a guy telling a story that means something to him. Isn't that what it's about?