By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Creating a buzz at international film festivals, American Animals opens this weekend in neighborhood theaters. This independent film is reminiscent of “True Crime” television shows from the 1990s that were hosted by the late Robert Stack and William Shatner. Based on a true story, the film is part documentary and part fictional recreation about a theft from a special collections library.

Set in Lexington, Kentucky, this film opens with a quote from Charles Darwin. The opening credits are presented over John Audubon paintings and we see four teenagers playing dress-up as old men enter a special collections library on the Transylvania University campus. The film flashes forward to four older men — Warren Lipka, Spencer Reinhard, Chas Allen and Erik Borsuk, being interviewed about their criminal caper.

The preparation, the heist and the aftermath of the crime is reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino’s dialogue scenes from films like Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. We witness childhood friends Spencer (Barry Keoghan) and Warren (Evan Peters) rebel against their suburban environment, which feels like the Monkees song “Pleasant Valley Sunday.”

Due to a lack of security at the library, Warren and Spencer hatch a plan to steal the Audubon paintings and sell them to an international arts dealer. As their pipe dream becomes reality, Warren and Spencer recruit Chas (Blake Jenner) and Eric (Jared Abrahamson) to act as extra muscle.

For the most part, the humor of American Animals is watching four highly-educated teenagers perform actions with the same IQ as Jackass participants. When the actual crime is committed, the humor dissipates and the violence becomes painfully real. Does crime pay? Will there be redemption? American Animals has the answer at your local theater this weekend.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbling, Missouri is available for free at your local library on DVD. The winner for Best Screenplay Award at the Oscars, this film has become influential. After the [Grenfell Tower] fire in London and the shooting in Parkland, independent advocates created political (albeit electronic) billboards in protest.

Despite the impact of Oscar wins, Three Billboards Outside Ebbling, Missouri was only a modest success, despite an aggressive marketing campaign from the studios. The trailer presented a justified angry woman taking on a community run by stupid police officers, which probably alienated potential male tickets buyers. Perhaps if it was marketed against Hollywood’s political whims of the time, this good film would have enjoyed a stronger box office.

Unlike the simplicity of the trailers, Three Billboards is a nuanced drama that balances tragedy with comedy.

The three billboards are the catalyst that ignites the showdown between Mildred (Frances McDormand – Best Actress winner) and her conflict between the Sheriff (Woody Harrelson) and his Deputy (Sam Rockwell — Best Supporting Actor winner). With surprising character motivation, the story is unpredictable and filled with pain and redemption.

By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

As evidenced by last month’s screening of The Return of the Living Dead sponsored by Popcorn Frights, the horror movie community is an untapped market. This Friday, June 8, Popcorn Frights will follow up with a screening of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, directed by Tobe Hooper. Horror devotees are expected to drive from Orlando and Miami to catch this special screening at the Savor Cinema (503 SE 6 St., Ft. Lauderdale).

Released in 1974, a year after The Exorcist was released, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was considered rude, crude and socially unacceptable. Unlike the Hollywood embrace of William Friedkin’s direction of William Peter Blatty’s novel about a teen processed by an evil demon, this film was banned in many communities when it was released for Halloween. Whereas The Exorcist was instantly recognized as a classic, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a pure cinematic visceral experience that has grown in status after four decades.

The plot for the film is as old as the Boris Karloff thriller The Old Dark House. A group of travelers in Texas run out of gas and are forced to stop at a creepy community. Unlike The Old Dark House, which features a creepy family and a creepier butler, this film features a creepy cannibal family with power tools.

The film featured Marilyn Burns as the leading lady and Gunnar Hansen as the chainsaw wielding Leatherface.

Hansen later spoofed his role in the comedy Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers, which also featured local actress Linnea Quigley. Both Hansen and Burns passed away three years ago, within a year of each other. In their latter years, they held a place of honor within the horror movie convention circuit.

Steve Owens was also a regular patron of the convention circuit and my personal friend. Owens, who worked with Cemetery Prints and was also an instructor, passed away last week. After a full day’s work on the vendor floor at a convention, Steve could be found late at night poolside with a bottle in his hand and a quick joke. A celebration of life and laughter honoring Steve will be held this Saturday night, June 9, at Bru’s Room in Coconut Creek (5460 W. Hillsboro Blvd.), for those who knew him, starting at 6 p.m. (Don’t worry, there are plenty of television sets, so you will be able to see whether or not Justified takes the Triple Crown at the Belmont Stakes).

Starring Elle Fanning, Mary Shelley opens next weekend, June 15. A costume drama set in Elizabethan times, this film explores how a teenager is influenced to write a gothic novel about a man who made a monster.

Two hundred years later, the novel Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus is still in print and is required reading.

In two weeks, American Animals opens. A heist drama based on a true story, it features four friends who want to steal art work from their college library.

Also check out “The Amazing Mister A,” a magician/ventriloquist, this Saturday morning at 11 a.m. at the Deerfield Beach Percy White Library.