Indie Game: The Movie

Indie Game: The Movie
2012 [Trailer]
Directors: Lisanne Pajot [IMDB], James Swirsky [IMDB]

I feel bad for kids born in the 90's, they missed out on the Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES for short. Sure they can go back now and download the games or even hunt down a console and hook it up, but nothing well ever give them the same feeling I had as a young boy watching video game history unfold before my eyes. So suck it... kids born in the 90's.

Synopsis: This documentary follows three sets of indie game developers on their quest for glory. What is an indie game you ask? Basically, a video game designed by independent developers, verses big studios.

Indie Game strikes at my nerdy nostalgic heart and makes me automatically want to go out and buy 'Super Meat Boy' and 'Fez', which are two of the titles being developed in the film. I think anyone that grew up with Nintendo or Sega will connect with these designers and their mission, but what I also enjoyed was watching their passion unfold on screen. It's not so much what they are making, but the process and the struggle itself that is interesting... it just so happens they are working on cool video games... so it's even better. I think out of three, the two guys that created 'Super Meat Boy' were the most interesting and I found myself pulling for them to make it big.

Technically the film is pretty solid as well. There's a lot of interesting cinematography, especially the scenes filmed at the boardwalk in Santa Cruz, which is one of my favorite places in California. The score is also really interesting and fits the film's aesthetic perfectly.

I'd definitely recommend this, it's one of the better documentaries I've seen this year and it's available on Netflix Instant.

Thriller: A Cruel Picture (AKA They Call Her One Eye)

Thriller: A Cruel Picture (AKA They Call Her One Eye)
(1974) [Full Movie]
Director: Bo Arne Vibenius [IMDB]

Synopsis: A young girl turns mute after being raped, then later in life she's abducted, drugged and forced into prostitution... and you thought your life was hard. She then decides to turn the tide and get revenge on the people who have wronged her.

This was supposedly a big influence on Tarantino when he was making Kill Bill and after watching it, I can see why. This movie is pretty fucked up and includes violence, drugs and nudity... I'm actually surprised it's on youtube (it's down below if you wanna watch it... hurry I'm sure it won't be up there long.) Thriller feels a little more elevated than your normal exploitation film, it has a lot of cool camera work and the score is pretty weird... in an interesting way. There are a lot of plot holes, so you'll have to suspend disbelief a little, but overall it's a pretty cool film. Check it.

Wake in Fright

Wake in Fright
(1971) [Trailer]
Director: Ted Kotcheff [IMDB]

Synopsis: A school teacher heads to Sydney for a holiday but has a stop over in a small town called Bundanyabba that lasts much longer than he anticipated.

Just in case you were wondering, Australia is a fucked up place... watch this film and find out why. Actually it's not, but Bundanyabba sure as hell is. If they were to do a remake of this film in the US, some shit town in the middle of no where Texas might kind of be a similar setting. Wake in Fright does a tremendous job at keeping the viewer unsettled, there are not very many moments where I wasn't expecting something bad to happen. It's cinematography and score help edge the film along a surreal path that also adds to the tension. There's a scene involving a hunt for kangaroos which is like something out of Cannibal Holocaust, it's pretty gnarly. The film is also extremely successful at narrating the protagonist's desperation, fatigue, and ultimate surrender to the situation he's been dealt.

This film's a winner in my book and if you can get your hands on it, I'd recommend you check it out.