The premise for “Check Please” is less a slice of life and more something you’d find in a normal sitcom. That’s not a slight, but it does hinder what is a fine comedy, that could have been great. “Check Please” involves a massive misunderstanding that snowballs in to chaos, as young Ben is preparing to propose to Laura, his girlfriend of many years. She seems like a girl who has put up with a lot and has spent a while trying to convince Ben to marry her, and he’s opted to propose by sneaking her ring in to a piece of pie.
Tag Archives: Indie Film
Iridescence (2017)
Director Max Beauchamp’s “Iridescence” is an excellent short film and one that we desperately need these days. Conveyed through motion, body language, and dance, “Iridescence” is the story of one family torn apart and destroyed by ignorance and misunderstanding. Relying on ace editing by Duy N. Bui and fantastic choreography, director Beauchamp tells the story of the tragic death of a wife at the hands of her husband one fateful night. Years later their son grows up confused about his own sexuality and is struggling to hide his affair with another man from his violent father.
Say What! A Geriatric Proposal (2016)
Being an artist is tough work. Not only do you have to work very hard to hone your craft, and perfect it, but you also have to fight to be taken seriously. Jeremy Weinstein’s chronicle of his brother’s life as a Jazz Musician is a funny and charming slice of life and how a talented Jazz Musician finds himself on the end of man condescending remarks.
Blackhearts (2017)
As Norway prepares for one of its epic black metal festivals, 3 bands prepare to go and play their set there for the first time. The film follows closely Hector from Columbia (leader of the band Luciferian), Sina from the Middle East where playing black metal is a jailable offense, and Kaiadas and his band mates (band Naer Mataron) through their preparation for the festival and what pushes them to play this type of music. The film also explores the history of black metal in Norway, including a visit to the Rockheim museum in Trondheim, interviews and moments with members of bands such as Keep of Kalessin, Mayhem, and a few others. Through seeing the lives of these musicians, what they believe in, and what they want to accomplish, the viewer can get a good idea of what black metal is all about and also learn about its history.
What Happened in Vegas (2017) [Cinequest 2017]
Las Vegas has long been a city of many mysteries, of gambling, sins, even murder. Throughout seasons upon seasons of television shows set in the city have shown police brutality and corruption, this film shows that it may very well be closer to the truth than fiction. What Happened in Vegas explores cases where all signs point to police execution or over reach of power that lead to deaths and subsequent framing of the victim as bad, evil people.
We Just Want to Play (2013)
I really like where James Cappadoro and writer Frank De Rosa’s heads are with “We Just Want to Play.” There is always someone who is trying to hand us a new kind of college classic like “Animal House” or “Revenge of the Nerds,” and director Cappadoro’s short film has an infectious energy that made it a blast to sit through. The one downfall behind it all is that the movie is only about sixteen minutes in length. Chalk it up to budget or whatnot, but “We Just Want to Play” looks like it has material for at least a ninety minute movie. That said, the current short is fine as it is and works as a very entertaining and fun tribute to classic college comedies about underdogs fighting the alpha males and corrupt deans.
Cauliflower (2017)
Director-Writer Phoebe Torres’ short “Cauliflower” plays out like a skit from a comedy show, and that’s not at all meant to be a slight since it’s a damn funny short film, that also conveys a full narrative in under five minutes. It’s weird how much the fear of looking ignorant can often turn us in to clowns nevertheless, but Torres has a great sense of capturing how sometimes we’d rather feign knowledge no matter how stupid we look, than not admit to ignorance.