Independent Film News

Cinematical Reviews Tribeca

The team of bloggers at Cinematical make it a habit to review the latest films; no movie site would be complete without a few opinions tossed in now and then. When a festival time comes around, they take a break from featuring the wide releases that are opening in order to share thougths on what's popping up on smaller screens. This week, the site's been rife with Tribeca Film Festival reviews, and the Fest doesn't even open until April 26th. That's how cool Cinematical is.

None of the reviews are necessarily glowing; in fact, a few are just not so good.

Martha Fischer didn't really care for Encounter Point--a story about Israeli/Palestine conflict--and it's lack of cohesiveness. "...by the end of Encounter Point, it’s impossible to believe that he and the other assorted fighters have any chance to succeed." (Review here)

The Odd Couple-ish story of Bruke and Wills fared a little better, though Fischer contends that what started out promising ultimately finishes with less than a bang. She'd hoped for a glimpse at a talented first-time filmmaker; she found "a mess."

Among her the films she did enjoy was the Croatian Two Players from the Bench, a multi-layered drama that turns enemies into friends, and 37 Uses for a Dead Sheep, a documentary that uses dramatic recreations to tell the story of the nomadic Pamir Kirghiz of Central Asia. Both succeed where the others failed, in keeping an audience in mind while relaying important stories.

Fellow reviewer Christopher Campbell looks at Follow My Voice: With the Music of Hedwig and The Sci-Fi Boys, neither of which impress him. The Sci-Fi Boys, he says, "The Sci-Fi Boys doesn't work as even a broad look at sci-fi film history...nor does it work completely as a tribute to Ackerman thanks to all the additional figures represented." And of Follow My Voice? "The problem with so many documentaries is a lack of cohesive focus, the result of too many ideas and intentions -- linked but incongruent -- for any certain purpose to be conveyed."

What does this tell us? Perhaps what is true of film in general: not every movie can be a gem, but you'll always get an A for effort.

---

Tags:

---

Posted by Lisa on April 10, 2006 09:33 PM
Permalink | Email to a Friend | Add to del.icio.us | Digg This

Got something to say? Post a comment:

Subscribe to this post's comments feed   (What's this?)

Name:

Email Address:

URL:


Remember personal info?

Comments:

More Recent Stories:
• Palm and Netflix Pen Messy Deal for Rockumentary
• ShoWest Panel: How Indies Got Their Groove Back
• Tribeca Announces 2007 Lineup
• Casting News: Howard in "Teardrop Diamond"
• Two Spanish Films To Find U.S. Screens
• Director Craig Brewer Talks to IFC
• Friday Festival Frenzy: HotDocs and AFI Dallas
• Casting News: Ethan Hawke in "Staten Island"
• Film Racing: How Fast Can You Shoot?
• 2007 Independent Spirit Awards: Sunshine Sweeps