Reviews film

I’m making sure the windows are locked tonight. Three consecutive films I viewed at the Los Angeles Film Festival, June 10-18, dealt with tying people up. Not in a nice way, but at least in two cases, a funny way. 'Caught' tells the tale of a teen having an affair with a married man who is kidnapped by the man’s wife and, among other things, tied up. In 'Shevenge', three BFFs fantasize about how to punish men, which involves tying them up. In 'Old Tricks', a burglar learns that you should never try to steal from a retired magician and escape artist. They’re kind of hard to tie up.

It fits perfectly in with any other film noir of this era and is an excellent addition to one's library.

With "Set Fire to the Stars," filmmaker Andy Goddard has constructed a layered film that is clear and intentionally muted.

Why do filmmakers create short films? Sometimes they are truly motivated to tell a story which only fits in a short format. Other times, it is to show off their skills in order to establish their credentials. Once in a while, they may make a short version of a film that they ultimately want to turn into a feature length production. At this year’s Dances With Films (DWF) festival, held in Hollywood in June, the selection of short films was impressive and contained examples which both fit into and transcended the above reasons. Three films I found impressive all dealt with our perception of what is real: 'Funny Love,' 'Waste Paper,' and 'Waiting for You.'

One of the amazingly enjoyable aspects of the Dances with Films Festival is the opportunity to see short films you might never otherwise never screen.

Wildlike, a film by writer/director Frank Hall Green, was shown during the eighteenth Dances With Films (DWF) indie-film festival in Hollywood. Dances With Films promotes itself as relying on “innovation, talent, creativity and sweat equity” rather than celebrity. All those good qualities are evident in Wildlike. The film has an intriguing story, great characters and an interesting production history.

Without doubt, the escapades of Allan Karlsson and his adventitious group of friends, will leave audiences reflecting on what it really means to grow old while attempting to retain the most valuable of all possible possessions.

Did you purchase a piece of clothing today or yesterday? Do you know that 1 in 6 people work in the fashion industry? Do you know that only 3% of the workers are in the US? Before Andrew Morgan made this film, he probably knew as much as you do about how clothes are made. We don't source our clothes, but maybe we should. This is a vital topic because every piece of clothing we wear is made by human hands and many of the workers go through a lot to make them.

If you were at the NuArt Theater in Los Angeles on May 15 or 16, you could have gotten a ticket for a tat. If that tattoo was based on the work of H.R. Giger, that is, and you wanted to see the premiere of 'Dark Star: H.R. Giger’s World.' H.R. Giger was a relatively obscure surrealist artist until 1979 when the world saw his design work in Ridley Scott’s 'Alien'. From that moment, the world of science fiction and horror, rock music album covers, punk and goth culture, and tattoos and fetish art was changed forever.

Assaya’s talent for cleverly depicting the complex insecurities of these women makes for mesmeric storytelling in 'Clouds of Sils Maria.'