Alone (2020) [Fantasia Fest 2020]

John Hyams’ “Alone” begins kind of sketchy. In fact I spent the first fifteen minutes not quite sure where the screenplay was going, if anywhere. But sticking with it, I’m glad to discover that “Alone” is one of the best and most exciting thrillers of the year. While it does get off to kind of a sputter, it transforms in to a journey of self discovery and evolution for a woman who is shambles when we first meet her. By the end, she has to figure out if she can keep charging head first in to the world, or if she wants to recede back in to the night.

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The Bootleg Files: Inside Magoo

BOOTLEG FILES 738: “Inside Magoo” (1960 public service film for the American Cancer Society featuring Mister Magoo).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: Not to my knowledge.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: The status of the copyright is uncertain.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Either in a Mister Magoo anthology or in a collection of classic public service films.

Public service films run the risk of either being too solemn and preachy or trying too hard to sell their message in an emotional manner. Health-related public service films are particularly problematic, as the sponsoring organizations don’t want to scare the audience but also don’t want to trivialize diseases with inappropriate humor.
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I WeirDO (2019) [Fantasia Festival 2020]

A germaphobe meets the girl of his dreams who he follows to a supermarket as she steals chocolate while wearing a similar protection outfit as his. Together, they attempt to make their life better, or at least perfect for them as a couple, that is until something unexpected happens and changes one of them.

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