Category Archives: Indie Films

All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Indie Films, Like It, Quickie Reviews (<400 Words)

Mistress America (2015) Movie Review

November 14, 2015 Alex Brannan

Noah Baumbach’s Mistress America follows alienated college freshman Tracy (Lola Kirke). Tracy is a writer wanting to be part of the Mobius Literary Society, but, when she is rejected, ends up on her own.

Enter Brooke (Greta Gerwig, who also co-wrote the film). Brooke is Tracy’s sister to be, as their parents are scheduled to marry in the near future. Brooke takes Tracy under her wing, taking her around New York City and making her feel welcome.

Brooke is undergoing a major business venture: trying to open a niche restaurant. Tracy initially idolizes Brooke, but soon comes to realize that Continue reading Mistress America (2015) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Indie Films, Like It

Manson Family Vacation (2015) Movie Review

November 7, 2015 Alex Brannan

Manson Family Vacation opens on interview footage of notorious criminal Charles Manson addressing why he thinks he receives so many letters from teenagers each year. “I am those kids,” Manson says. “I never lived in your society.” He then engages in some interpretive dance, and the film takes off on that sentiment.

We see cross-cut events depicting very different lives. One, Conrad, a mangy tramp (Linas Phillips) sticking his thumb out on the highway for Continue reading Manson Family Vacation (2015) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Halloween Horror, Horror, Indie Films, Like It, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Gravy (2015) Movie Review

October 29, 2015 Alex Brannan

The horror comedy Gravy opens with Anson (Michael Weston) buying sorbet in a gas station on Halloween, where he has the most unrealistic, awkward conversation with Bethany (Sarah Silverman). It is charming in the characters’ simplicity, but it avoids realism entirely.

After this, we leave these characters in lieu of those working in a bar at closing time. The ensemble all work off of each other like Continue reading Gravy (2015) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Halloween Horror, Indie Films, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Circle (2015) Movie Review

October 29, 2015 Alex Brannan

Following an alien invasion, a diverse group of 50 people are sucked up into a black void space that is meant to be a spaceship. Each person is forced to stand on a red circle, or they’ll be struck by a killer lightning bolt. Touch one of the other people. Killer lightning. Do nothing for too long. Killer lightning. Turns out, each person gets a vote as to who gets killed every few minutes. It’s like some perverted democracy.

And that’s where the ethical questioning begins.

As the ensemble tries to logically break down the situation at hand, they bicker about Continue reading Circle (2015) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Halloween Horror, Horror, Indie Films, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Scout’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015) Movie Review

October 22, 2015 Alex Brannan

Scout’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse opens on Blake Anderson from Workaholics (here simply Ron the Janitor) dancing to an Iggy Azalea trap beat. Marvelous. Ron then single-handedly starts the zombie apocalypse. Double marvelous. The dramatic irony and use of space in this opening is great. It might be the best scene in the entire movie comedy-wise.

We then see a dated-looking boy scout recruitment tape led by the comedic styling of David Koechner. Scout Leader Rogers’ (Koechner) Boy Scout Troop 264 is comprised of three archetypal scouts: the brown-nosing overachiever Augie (Joey Morgan), the apathetic burnout Carter (Logan Miller), and the reluctant leader Ben (Tye Sheridan).

When Ben and Carter decide to ditch Augie for a rave that appears to take place in a warehouse (although it is labeled as a rec center, but this is all besides the point), the two boys stumble upon Continue reading Scout’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Halloween Horror, Horror, Indie Films, Like It, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

The Final Girls (2015) Movie Review

October 20, 2015 Alex Brannan

The Final Girls opens on a fake movie trailer for a B-movie horror movie called Camp Bloodbath. It is a solid comic send up to 80’s slasher franchises such as Friday the 13th.

Then we see the star of the film, Amanda Cartwright (Malin Akerman) and her daughter Max (Taissa Farmiga). She’s washed up but is just glad that she has her daughter in her life. Then, you know, she dies. Continue reading The Final Girls (2015) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Horror, Indie Films, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Willow Creek (2014) Movie Review

September 24, 2015 Alex Brannan

Caution: minor plot spoilers ahead

Indie found footage horror flick Willow Creek cold opens on nothing. Darkness all around as the camera sits idle in a patch of grass blowing lazily in the breeze. We sit in this moment for a tad too long, then the sound crescendos into the title card.

Next, we are in a car with a couple. Jim (Bryce Johnson) is testing out the sound equipment, goading his girlfriend Kelly (Alexie Gilmore) to speak into the microphone while she drives. She recites lines from a feminine hygiene product commercial that she failed to book. They joke about the Continue reading Willow Creek (2014) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Horror, Indie Films, Like It, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Queen of Earth (2015) Movie Review

September 8, 2015 Alex Brannan

In Queen of Earth, old friends Catherine (Elisabeth Moss) and Ginny (Katherine Waterston) escape to a vacation home for a second year in a row to relax and strip away the taxing nature of urban life. Catherine, having recently suffered a loss, is distraught and distracted. She goes on walks that last for miles and lays in bed for hours, complaining that her face is hurting. Depression looms over her head, and it seeps into the world around her. Behind that depression hangs a patiently waiting fury.

Alex Ross Perry makes what we would expect to see–wide open natural spaces and the tranquility of the rural world–anything but Continue reading Queen of Earth (2015) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Horror, Indie Films, Like It, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

We Are Still Here (2015) Movie Review

September 4, 2015 Alex Brannan

We Are Still Here begins atmospheric. Vacant. Long takes focus on empty sets. A homey living room. A snowy, rural yard. A stone-walled and dirt-floor basement. The house in the woods where a middle-aged married couple has just moved in following the tragic death of their son. A lonely picture of the boy rests on a table near the staircase. Some unnatural presence, or perhaps just an innocent rush of wind, knocks the picture face-down with a loud clap, and the ghost story begins.

The first thing that is noticeable in this film is its hyper-apparent score that come on strong in the early scenes. It meanders or drones, almost whirring a mechanical hiss at us. It implores us to Continue reading We Are Still Here (2015) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Indie Films, Like It, Quickie Reviews (<400 Words), Romance

[Quickie]: Slow Learners (2015) Movie Review

September 3, 2015 Alex Brannan

“I want to be sex-in-the-bathroom people,” could be the working thesis of Slow Learners, the comedy from Don Argott and Sheena M. Joyce. Platonic friends Anne (Sarah Burns) and Jeff (Adam Pally) aren’t successful in their personal lives. After many failed attempts at relationships, they decide to wholly change their image.

Sound conventional? Don’t worry, it is.

Continue reading [Quickie]: Slow Learners (2015) Movie Review →