dorenemlorenz Reviews

Go Ganges! (2012)

Go Ganges!

[10/10 · 5 April 2013]

Any time you get Seward homeboy Josh Thomas and National Geographic's J.J. Kelley together on a little trip you know you need to buckle up for a laugh-outloud adventure film.

The dynamic duo certainly know how to tickle the Alaskan funny bone on their third feature, Go Ganges! The official word: Set in a stunning background of colorful landscapes, the film captures the danger, joy and significance of the mighty Ganges River. J.J. Kelley and Josh Thomas, creators of the award winning "Paddle to Seattle", decide to travel the 1500 mile length of the Ganges from its source to the sea.

They employ several different means of transport (including rickshaw and a scooter) along the way. The filmmakers provide colorful testimony to the stress the river endures, and convey both the beauty and horror of this sacred river.

What they don't tell you: it is difficult to determine what is more shocking - what they find on the river banks or in the bathrooms. A must-see film for anyone needing a little light show in the darkest month of the year.

Wolves Unleashed (2011)

Wolves Unleashing Howlingly good

[10/10 · 5 April 2013]

I think the Anchorage International Film Festival programmers really missed the mark with this film by screening it at the museum and the Alaska Experience Theater - this one really needs to be a double feature with Go Ganges! at the Beartooth Theater.

Alaskan audiences are going to find this film extremely relateable - not only because of the similarities of the dramatic extremes of Siberian landscape but also for very base human delight at discovering the complexities of Native Siberian vs Canadian honeybucket choices.

Far warning: Dog Whisperer Ceasar Milan disciples are going to be completely blown away when they see how pack leader Andrew Simpson gets his alpha male wolf to stand on his mark on cue.

Public knowledge: Wolves Uunleashed takes you behind the scenes of the filming of French film "Loup (Wolf) " in bitterly cold Northern Siberia. Director Andrew Simpson is a world-renowned animal trainer who takes his crew to Siberia to make the biggest wolf film ever attempted. Together with their pack of wolves, they live in a remote camp for five months, dealing with temperatures as low as 50 below zero.

The documentary shows that Simpson's wolves are graceful, caring, affectionate, trusting and capable of expressing different emotions. Intensely engaging, Wolves Unleashed captures the production of the film and shows just how deep the bond is between the trainers and the wolves – a bond that occasionally must be put at risk for the sake of filming a scene.

Not to be missed is the newly released companion book of the same title. As a professional animal trainer for the film industry, and having worked for almost every major Hollywood studio on over 100 productions, Andrew deals with numerous species on a regular basis. Pick it up at Barnes & Noble or Amazon.

At its core, Wolves Unleashed is a novel about Simpson's deep connection with the wolves he loves. The story reveals his emotional struggles as he wrestles with the decision to use his unique relationship against the animals and jeopardize the years spent building trust. As the pack overcomes their wild instincts in order to perform, it becomes clear that the bond between wolf and man is a testament to their mutual dedication and love.

I found the film to be a strong representation of the director: an intelligent, articulate, meaningful discussion of a passionate, beautiful, adventurous world where common sense is the rule of law in the center of a galaxy of chaos.

Liars, Fires and Bears (2012)

Liars, Fires and Bears

[8/10 · 5 April 2013]

Liars, Fires, and Bears is Director Jeremy Cloe's tale of Eve, a precocious 9-year-old orphan who runs away in search of her absent brother crosses paths with Dave, a man-child accidentally on the run from the law and together they may find that the quickest root to their destination is through each other.

Eve and Dave make a compelling pair of characters who are rooted in the sincerity of well intentioned people whose moral compass is off a few degrees. Their journey to find true north takes the viewer on a walkabout that ends in a clearer understanding of the most basic of human elements: forgiveness, understanding, and personal responsibility.

Join Screenwriter Lundon Boyd on Alaska Political Insider on Monday, December 3rd as we discuss this entry in the Anchorage International Film Festival. Lundon look kinda familiar to you, well could be because he's won awards as a theater actor at the University of Anchorage, Alaska and the Valley Performing Arts.

Passionflower (2011)

Passionflower

[10/10 · 5 April 2013]

I'm calling bullshit on this one. Director/writer Shelagh Carter's compassionate feature is easily one of the top three shown at this year's Anchorage International Film Festival - yet it isn't cued for competition.

I understand that everyone appreciates something different in film, but audiences should be able to rely that the films that are in competition are those that would be considered amongst the finest by the general population - and that simply isn't the case this year.

Bluntly, Shelagh Carter was robbed, and audiences will be also if they shy away thinking that this film isn't all that it is. Insightful, thought provoking, heart wrenching - the subtext of this film is "Mommy has issues" and the performances by Kristen Harris and Kassidy Love Brown are outstanding.

Official Billing: On the brink of puberty in 1962 suburban Winnipeg, Sarah Matthews is increasingly challenged and confused by her mother's instability and sexual power. While her father refuses to acknowledge that the family is fracturing under the stress of his wife's mental illness, Sarah uses her creativity, inner strength, and a new friend to discover her own identity. With courage, Sarah bears witness and demands truth from the adults around her, demonstrating love's capacity to endure.

Shouting Secrets (2011)

Shouting Secrets authentic and meaningful

[10/10 · 5 April 2013]

It takes a certain degree of craftsmanship in the storytelling to get me rooting for the wife-cheating pedophile at the end of a movie.

It takes a great deal of suspension of disbelief for me to get past the continuity pain of the plot driving conveyance of a women on life support fighting for her life in the hospital who, visually, is obviously not on life support...and still keep me dialed in enough to see the film through to the end because I am vested in seeing how things end up. Director Korinna Sehringer's latest film manages to do both.

Shouting Secrets carries the ghost track of "John Wayne's Teeth" dancing beneath it's storyline, its winding plot takes us on a journey across the breath of reservation life that one doesn't often get access to.

The official word is that Wesley, a young, successful novelist, long ago left Arizona and the San Carlos Apache Reservation in his rear view mirror. He remains close to his mother but alienated the rest of the family with his autobiographical bestseller.

He has no intention of returning for his parents anniversary party but finds himself pulled back into the fold. Coming home only underlines what a mess Wesley's life has become, but he's not alone in that. Shouting Secrets tells a present day story about a Native-American family with unique struggles but universal truths.

Sehringer put on her casting director hat to collect a family of high profile Native American actors for her film: Lakota Chaske Spencer and Gil Birmingham have been swooning hearts around the world in Twilight; Quechua-Huachipaeri Q'orianka Kilcher starred as Pocahontas at the age of 14 (Great Land Alert: rumor has it that Q'orianka's mother is a Swiss national who grew up in Alaska); General Hospital heart throb Tyler Christopher makes a show; heart-stopplingly-beautiful Wind-in-his-Hair Rodney A. Grant and Black Shawl Tantoo Cardinal cross time from Dances with Wolves; joined by Tongva-Kumeyaay Tonantzin Carmelo whom we recall as Into the West's Thunder Heart Woman.

Shouting Secrets has been bringing home the hardware with seven wins and three nominations in the last year, including Best Film at the American Indian Film Festival, Best of the Fest at the Arizona International Film Festival, Golden Honu award at the Big Island Film Festival, the Audience Award at the Breckenridge Festival of Film and the Grand Prize at the Rhode Island International Film Festival.

I found this film authentic, meaningful, heartfelt and relatable.

The Beekeepers (2010)

Buzz is good for Beekeepers

[10/10 · 5 January 2011]

What John Hughes captured in the 1980s with movies like The Breakfast Club, writer/director Bryant Mainord discovers with his first feature, The Beekeepers.

This feel-good film embodies the hopes and dreams of a generation. Must see feature for anyone under 25 and over 15.

It isn't Animal House, it is far more clever and introspective. The super seniors of Statham Country University (which looks remarkably like Anchorage Alaska) Barrett Meeks (John Whitlock) and Gary Rudolph (Bryant Mainord) get into a contest with Reggie Massey (Josh Lowman) to see if they can nail the hits on the internet.

Comedy breaks out, including stand outs John Norris as Randall Keyes and Joey Weaver as the stuttering Dale Burkalter. Matt Collins, who pops in a Mattman also earns his keep.