Pass the popcorn, please

I’m not a movie review writer, I’m not a writer. That being said, please bear with me as I stumble through passing along my thoughts on the two movies I finally sat down and watched.






MirrorMask really was like a cracked out (but cool) version of Labyrinth. Well, minus David Bowie’s spandex clad unit (read: penis outline) (just making sure we‘re clear). Not much to say here other than it was a sweet film and I’m sure at 9 or 10 I would have named it a “favorite”.



Moving on…




American Movie (check out the website) was excellent! It is one of the best Indy films I’ve seen in ages. As David (Spiderbites, not Bowie) mentioned, the film really is about a modern day Ed Wood.

Directed by Chris Smith and co-produced by Michael Stipe (yeah, the lead singer in REM), this movie is an actual biography/documentary (which is hard to believe at times) that follows aspiring film director/producer/actor Mark Borchadt as he struggles to make his version of the “American Dream” a reality. Filmed in their hometown of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, we follow Mark for two years through his day to day trials and tribulations with not just himself and his attempt to obtain his dream but his family, friends and finances.

Within the first twenty minutes of the film’s start I had an overwhelming urge to give this poor guy a hug (and that’s saying a lot because I am so not a touchy feely person). I guess it’s because I know so many people like Mark (“the lead“) and I (at times) feel a lot like his friend, Mike Schank (“main supporting“)- a recovering drug/alcohol addict who would obviously walk through the gates of hell if Mark, his closest friend asked him to. Simply because they are friends and Mike believes in Mark’s vision.

The movie is at times heart wrenching- because it’s so easy to become attached to the cast of “characters” which are Mark‘s relatives and friends. But there lies the quandary- it’s not a movie and there are no “characters“ so to speak, you’re continually (but gently and seamlessly) reminded of the fact that it’s a biographical documentary. The old, crotchety, tight fisted, pessimist “Uncle Bill” isn’t an actor and he definitely isn’t acting. He really is Mark’s uncle. He really is an old, crotchety, tight fisted, pessimist. He’s real, in a very mortal sense.

Even though it’s heart wrenching at times to watch these struggles take place, it’s consistently real which aided it in being consistently laugh out loud funny. So it’s consistently really funny. I’d rob the film of what I believe was its intention if I didn’t mention that it was also incredibly inspiring…in a really weird way.

To sum it all up in a sentence: “I laughed, winced and laughed some more“. In a word: charismatic.