Movie Review: What Richard Did (2012: Element Pictures/Tribeca Film)

...oh, those pesky, albeit invariable and inescapable life decisions; with spectrum-wide variance, they have the ability to merely move us through the day, and they have the profound effect of affecting our lives...our very destiny, years to come. The waking hours.....Should I have the cinnamon toast, or the Frooty Pebbles.....Sniff, sniff!! Whoa!! Better shower before I go. Gonna ask for that raise, today.....Hey, you moron!! Pick a lane, would ya'? I'm drivin', here, I'm drivin' here, I'm...Whoa!! Almost hit that pedestrian; that was close, whew.....Yeaaaa!! Won the election. Time to make those changes, which I promised the people...especially for the people that pay me the most.....Will she say yes?? Will she say no?? Oh God, if she says no, I might just have to kill myself.....Let's see, the bottle says 'wash, rinse and repeat'. Wash, rinse, repeat...wash, rinse, repeat...Uh oh, I'm balding back there. Time to call Hair Club for Men.....OK, doors and windows locked for the night, children tucked safely in their beds, alarm clock set for 6:00. Time for bed...Good night sweetheart...Smooch, and ZZZZZZZZ!!!

...and as much as we'd adhere to...or at least, claim to adhere to a level of control, when it comes to our feelings and emotions...well, let's just say that those self-same feelings and emotions are often times running the show, and as such, are...for the most part...in the driver's seat, when it comes to our making the decisions that affect our lives. Good. Bad. Scary. Elating and Satisfying. Effectual, for the moment. And yes, even Life-Changing. And again...yes, there's the desire to maintain a measure of control, when it comes to how our feelings and emotions affect our decisions making; but let's face it: there are moments where those feeling and emotions do get out of control, and...good or bad, like it or not...we have to deal with the repercussions and end result of those situations. In the end, it's how we deal with those decisions, and the resulting outcome, which makes each of us, the kind of person we are...

Movie Review: "Red Flag/Rubberneck" (2012; Tribeca Film/Cinedigm)

...whether the endeavor proves successful, or garnishes failure, it's actually sometimes interesting to see a filmmaker attempt to concoct feature films in his or her repertoire, under different...sometimes drastically different genres. The act of trying out something outside of one's normally assumed genre...like putting on an alternate overcoat, in a style totally unexpected...for whatever reason...self-arrogance...boredom...creatively wanting to get something off the chest...confidence in one's self, in working out of the norm...it all goes right down to, it's a matter of 'if you are going to do this, you better get it right, or you'll alienate your core audience" (...although there have been countless directors, who have done this very thing, one cannot help but call attention to one of the latest, Kevin Smith, and the mixed results of his break from the norm, "Red State"). However, given a fledgling filmmaker's tendency to do this...to try on different genres...one cannot help but think that the director isn't really sure what he or she wants to do or say, and conjecture inclined, might lead to believe that he's/she's letting the criticism and/or acclaim for his work, drive that filmmaker toward what he or she may prove best at...and yes, ironically, this is in a world where seasoned and untried filmmakers seem to want to strive to break away from their norm, do something that's unconventionally original and different...something deep inside, which they want to say, or a vision, which they want to show...damned be the critics, in the interim...

...oh, Hollywood!! You're so...odd...

...but then, so is this very much contrasting pairing of independents, the humorous "Red Flag", and it's dramatically tense co-feature, "Rubberneck"...both produced, directed and starring actor, and now filmmaker Alex Karpovsky; and yet, while very much odd, this two-fer may not be as opposingly different, as the premises might suggest...

Movie Review: From Up On Poppy Hill (2011, Studio Gibli, Cinedigm Entertainment)

...this viewer really has to hand it to the skilled writers, directors and animators of the best of contemporary Japanese anime; when skillfully integrated, there's a certain symbiotic relationship between the extraordinary visual splendor of these varied productions, and the engaging & quite compelling storylines, which the striking visuals help to tell. Often, from production to production, the story relies on the visuals, and vice-versa, but also, they complement each other. Without the story, the visuals prove to be merely eye-candy, and without the visuals...well, one might as well merely be reading a book, and imagining the visuals. And some select anime productions are so masterfully written...so visually immersing...so captivating and engaging, with regards to the characters, it makes one genuinely wonder why the filmmakers involved, chose not to conceive and render such an exquisite production, as a live-action feature film, rather than utilizing animation. It is that keen latter observation, which denotes anime filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, as one of the most skillful artists, working in his field. Most anime devotees very much know and lovingly embrace his masterful work, which includes such classics as "Princess Mononoke" (1997), "Kiki's Delivery Service" (1989), "Spirited Away" (2001), and "The Castle of Cagliostro" (1979), amongst others. And proving that the proverbial apple doesn't fall far from the tree, as far as equally skillful filmmaking artistry, in the realm of anime feature-film production, Hayao's son, Goro, has proven himself, his father's equal, carrying on the tradition, with the strikingly beautiful, breathtaking, captivating and compelling coming-of-age drama, 2011's "From Up On Poppy Hill"...