Forgotten Indie Films

Back in 2007 i watched a danish movie called Dark Horse, about a week later i had sadly forgotten it existed. Luckily my keen memory collaborated with my tingling indie sense and i found myself in front of the DVD, i decided to buy it and headed off to watch it with an eclectic group of friends. generally it was liked and it was actually as good as i remembered which was nice.

here's the trailer:


Positives:
it's unique for it's story and style, but it also has something that i find makes me love this for more than just the arty black and white shots. It can make you laugh when you least suspect it. I love when movies are clever enough to throw in a punch line before your even realize your being told a joke, it's a gift!

Negatives:
Perhaps for some, it's a little too arty. It may not feel like it's trying to be arty but it's obvious in a throughout the movie that a lot of work has gone into each shot. it's also very character driven, which is the nice way of saying that not a lot happens.

if i was where to score it i would give it 70%

Indie Movie Reviewed: Waltz With Bashir

An animated anti-war documentary... don't think i've ever said that before. Can you really show the truth and ruthlessness of war through animation? wouldn't the animation just remove the idea of war even further from reality?
It was quite a brave movie to make. but it worked. After the movie i thought hard about why it had worked so well.. war seemed more truthfully nightmarish in this realistic animation then it ever has in filmed live action documentaries.



As the film maker searches for his hidden memoires of war, i thought animation is certainly the closest anyone could come to seeing into his thoughts. I imagine that any memories of war would have to be be painted with a pallet far removed from reality, how else could anyone cope with them?

Living the Indie Dream

Listening to indie music and watching indie films are the corner stone of what makes me better than the average rabble. Arguably it could be said that the only thing that could make me even more Indie would be if I had some part in creating either the indie movies or music which keeps safe and sound in my pretentious bubble. But it's crazy to think that someone could have enough Indie juices flowing around them to be able to produce consistent indie gold through two different mediums, unless of course your name is Jason Schwartzman, and you look like this:



This guy has shown up in some of the most loved indie movies in the last 10 years. like Rushmore (1998), I Heart Huckabees (2004) and The Darjeeling Limited (2007). He also showed up in an episode of Freaks and Geeks, A show that was tragically cancelled after it's first season (WHY, why do the best shows die so young).
If this quality indie material wasn't enough to make him an Indie God then his indie rock band Coconut Records is probably enough to push him into Deity territory. The band (which is more or less him with the odd celebrity friend thrown in) released their first album Nighttiming last year and it's really good example of what a good indie rock album should sound like, give it a listen on it's last.fm page.
What a guy...