Director Matthew Slamowitz’s short film “Water Dogs” isn’t so much about the beauty of New York, but about good luck and learning to pay that luck forward. “Water Dogs” is a compelling and very entertaining short dramedy about a homeless man who gets the chance to make a life for himself when events occur that drops everything in to place before his eyes. The trick behind this odd good luck is how he’s going to choose to use it in the long run.
Category Archives: A+ Indie
Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie (2014)
“The Angry Video Game Nerd,” for the uninitiated, is an online personality and character created by James Rolfe, who plays really bad vintage video games on his show usually by request of his fans. He then provides insightful commentary (along with excellent comedy) that also includes a lot of rage, anger, and bafflement as to how what he’s played could have ever been allowed for public consumption. “The Angry Video Game Nerd” is a wildly popular and influential online series that is mostly familiar to gamers and pop culture fans alike, so it’s wise that director James Rolfe takes the big screen debut of his beloved character, and broadens it to appeal to more general indie audiences alike. Director James Rolfe and Kevin Finn’s movie is still a niche comedy with loads of cult potential, but will also catch the eye of movie goers in the mood for meta-comedy, and an honest to goodness indie road trip film.
Super Zero (2014)
Zombie movies are the order of the moment for so many filmmakers working right now, and it’s tough to really find any good zombie entertainment. How do you take a pretty tired concept and turn it in to something interesting or worth investing your time in? Shockingly director and writer Mitch Cohen found a way. Rather than basing his entire short zombie movie on zombies, he instead explores the more humanistic element of the apocalypse, centering on a small group of people trying to survive, and how one seemingly irrelevant young man becomes their savior.
Kindred (2014)
It’s pretty clear that director K” is ambitious and has aspirations to be so much bigger. Considering the budget and the limitations, “Kindred” is pretty fantastic and garners implications that could hopefully lead to a sequel sometime in the future. I was definitely sucked in to the world Nicholson and writer Josh Bryer unfolded for us and I just wanted to see more and where it was all leading.
Time to Kill (2014)
It’s impressive how some filmmakers can take a one setting short and turn it in to an event filled picture filled with sharp writing and rich characterization. “Time to Kill” is based on one character and one setting and still feels more complete than most films I’ve come across. Christopher T. Wood who penned the film, also gives a top notch performance as a hit man waiting for his target, and might be waiting for his target for as long as his patience and endurance can hold out.
Escape From Garden Grove (2014)
I like how director Mathilde Dratwa’s short tale of coming of age and growing up doesn’t try to be anything but itself. Right until the very end, it’s a cute and very bittersweet tale about accepting adulthood, and the grim realities of being an adult. Sometimes we have to forgive, sometimes we have to forget, and a lot of times running away from problems solves nothing. Martine Moore is adorable as young Sophie, a teenage girl who breaks in to Garden Grove old folks home to break out her grandmother Faye. Faye is a bit eccentric and somewhat odd, but Sophie only feels solace in confiding in her and her alone.
Hangman (2014)
Crew B and Freddie Wright’s short film about a seemingly sentient hangman game is probably one of the more creative short horror films I’ve seen in a while. Normally directors are prone to sticking to the classic devices of a Ouija Board or other oddities, but director Wright sticks to an odd game of Hangman to paint the future. And surely enough it becomes a Pandora’s Box that doles out terrible fates.