Snowtown

Snowtown is based on the true story of the serial killer, John Bunting, and his accomplices in the run down suburbs of Adelaide, Australia. It’s a tale of influence centered on a boy, Jamie, as he gets dragged in to a horrific universe of murder. It is possibly the most disturbing film, but also one of the most well crafted pieces of cinema I’ve seen. The thing that makes this film so effective is it’s simplicity and honesty. Everything you see is so real and matter of fact and believable, and yet so terrible, you don’t want to believe it. Snowtown‘s intensity is unrelenting.

The film is beautifully shot; stylized but still evoking the realism essential to the story. The performances are flawless. The music is powerful. Everything about the film is masterful. It is not for the faint of heart though. While it is based in the psychological and dramatic, it is the story of a deranged serial killer so you should know what to expect going in.

While I know it’s not for everyone, I can’t recommend Snowtown enough. It totally blew me away.

Kill List

Dear readers, I am now going to ask you to have complete blind faith in me when I tell you that you must see Kill List. I want to tell you all about how fantastic it is, but I also don’t want to spoil a thing about it. I’m going to keep the chatter to a minimum and you’ll just have to trust me.

Here are the basics; it’s a film about a hit man, but one who outside of being a killer, is pretty much you’re average guy with a family and a bad back. He’s been out of work for the better part of the year when he reluctantly takes a job with his former partner. Then things get crazy. Really crazy.

I just loved this film and thought it was so well executed. It managed to be a perfect thriller wrapped neatly inside a character study with a few treats thrown in there for good measure. Kill List has already been released in the UK, but expect it early next year in the US. Seriously, go see it.

The Voyagers

Hello my dears, I’ve been gone a bit. Did you miss me? As I mentioned before Shawn and I spent the majority of last week at AFI Fest. We saw over 14 films and a handful of shorts. It was a transformative experience for both of us. Even though we were still here in Los Angeles, we were transported to the dream world of cinema for a week. We saw by far some of the best films I’ve seen all year and in the theater surrounded by people who love film.

It was inspiring to say the least to be able to see such touching films with honest and creative storytelling. I feel so lucky to have been there. The coolest thing was that the whole thing was free and open to the public. While some screenings, like the gala events, were harder to get into, nearly everything was easy for the public to see.

We did manage to get tickets to the gala screening of Shame shown in the majestic Grauman’s Chinese Theatre (where Shawn worked as a projectionist back in the day). It was touching to see the director, Steve McQueen, nervously repeat how big the theatre was. As the movie started, there was murmur of crunching popcorn and it hit me how important it is to see movies in the theater with an audience on a gigantic screen. There’s something powerful about seeing a film with others, something about experiencing it in a group that is untouchable and important.

The whole experience really lit a fire in my heart to be true to my love of film in whatever form that may take. And I have some ideas.

Over the next week I want to share with you some of the films that I saw that I believe are not to be missed. I’m not here to critique them, I just want to give some attention to the ones I thought were truly amazing.

To start, I wanted to show you my favorite short film from the selection we saw…

The Voyagers by Penny Lane is a beautiful piece about space and eternity and love and the unknown. The film is constructed mostly of amazing stock footage from NASA overlaid with a narration by Penny Lane. I found it captivating and touching. It has the perfect balance of beauty, science and romance that makes me swoon. Lucky for you, you can watch it above. I hope you love it as much as I did.

Pumpkins

I know Halloween has past, but I couldn’t help but share a few of the amazing carved pumpkins and decorations we saw this year. Oh and an adorable black cat.

November is here and already our month is full of big things. Over the next few days we’ll be trying to see as many film as possible at AFI Fest. There is such an amazing selection and so many that I want to see, I can’t wait. Then, in a few weeks our two good friends, Baxter and Alicia, are getting married. Hooray! Then it’s my birthday. Then it’s Thanksgiving. That’s pretty much all of November! It’s going to be a busy month.

Halloween Tidbits

October has almost come to a close and we’re having a very relaxed final weekend. It’s nice to celebrate without feeling pressure to indulge in too many festivities. In fact, I haven’t even truly made a costume this year.

I did realize I never shared all of our decorations, like our veiled lady, which I think we’ll keep up for the rest of the year as well. Or our floating pumpkins.

We spent Friday evening watching more horror movies while I made a black velvet cape for Shawn.

I’ve had the same black cape for the past 14 years and it’s served me well (I even wore it to our wedding), now Shawn has one of his own that will surely last longer as my sewing skills have improved in those years. There is something wonderful and comforting about being able to shroud yourself in a cloak. I hope to make more, different capes to wear on a more regular basis.

We wore our matching capes to the Hallovegan event at Verdugo bar this year. I was pleased that they played The Shining all evening. Not to mention the delicious vegan food they had.

Looking forward to going to check out one of the most beautifully decorated neighborhoods in Los Angeles tomorrow. It’s so exciting to see all the kids trick or treating. Can’t wait to dress up some kidlets of our own.