Reviews

MARY WANTS TO KILL is an amazing twenty (or so) minute journey through a small section of the life of a frustrated gal having a particularly bad day. The cinematography is completely within the realm of professionalism, the music selections are priceless, the performances second-to-none, and the story unique and imaginative. After a creepy molestation in a public bathroom, following which her keys are flushed down the toilet, and an uncooperative grocery store clerk gives her a hard time, Mary escapes to the places she knows she can count on to treat her kindly--the local fish pond, her knit goods stand at the local market, and most importantly, her imagination. Deeply flawed? Maybe I'd consider it that if it'd had a budget of more than a few hundred bucks--for what it is (one of the greatest student shorts I've ever seen), it remains flawless. Confusing? Maybe if you've only ever seen movies that were spoon-fed to you by big studios. Unfunny? Maybe if your sense of humor is founded in thinking TV shows like "Friends" are great. This movie totally rules. Shamefully, it's rarely been seen publicly outside of the St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase (NOT a Student Film Festival, as you might have read) as it so deserves to be.

Call me partial as a (marginal) member of the cast and crew, but this movie was the movie to which I was looking forward the most, and the one that delighted me more than any other, at the St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase 2005. Congratulations are in order to Anne Freivogel for making sure this awesome film was achieved. Bravo!

*For Jimmy Brown,* a short student film from filmmaker Brian Jun, tells the poignant story of a young white man, Gabriel (played by Jun himself) and an old black man, Jimmy Brown, in a hospital. Through daily meetings and conversations, the two cross barriers of age and race to form an unlikely relationship. Some excellent cinematography as well (in appropriate black-and-white) by Ryan Samul.

I was fortunate enough to see this film at one of its world premieres as part of the St. Louis International Film Festival. Unfortunately, Harry Shearer could not come and talk to us about it, as was scheduled, but from what I hear, his make-up Q&A session a few days later was riotous.

Naturally, this comes as no surprise. In the fashion of earlier works such as *This Is Spinal Tap,* *Waiting For Guffman,* and *Best In Show* (not all of which had anything to do with Shearer himself, necessarily), the comedy relies heavily upon quirky yet somehow realistic characters in situations to match. Improvisation and satirical exaggeration combined with portrayal of bizarre characters by some unexpected performers and comic pacing that only someone like Shearer could pull off make this one of the better comedies of the year. While I'm unsure of how well-distributed the film will be, all fans of the aforementioned films should make an effort to see it.

Charles and Ray Eames were, literally, all over the place. Whether making scientific, even classroom-appropriate films (such as "Powers Of Ten"), or creating some of the most popular furniture ever (you've almost definitely seen it yourself, even probably sat in it, and just don't know), they were truly a Renaissance couple (Ray, a woman, was the wife of Charles).

This (approximately) seven-minute, fifteen-second film in particular is a documentary of sorts on spinning tops. No narration or speaking of any kind occurs in the film, and the delightful score by Elmer Bernstein captures well the essence of the material presented. Within the film, several different types of tops (some of them makeshift tops, e.g. a thumbtack) are shown, and spun, and come to rest. As one small boy said upon seeing the film, "Tops are born, they live, and then they die." A fascinating visual excursion through the wonderful world of tops, and a mesmerizing and peaceful stress reliever as well, this film should be seen by all who have access thereto.