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Reviews
The Arbor (2010)
Amazing and Innovative
By using actors who are lip-syncing interviews of actual people in Andrea Dunbar's life, this film pushes the documentary genre completely into the dramatic cinema field, with very interesting and moving results. Mix in stagings of her plays in the actual British housing projects where they were set, and vintage TV footage, you get a fascinating very creative mix.
It's also a very enlightening portrait of a woman who used art and the written word to pull herself out of the slums, but failed to change as a human being, basically living the life of the housing project trash that she wrote about, abusing her children as a result.
A fresh and very cinematic take on the documentary form. Check it out.
Land of the Dead (2005)
A worthy successor
Just as Day of the Dead was lambasted when it came out, only to grow in respect, Land of the Dead is a smart, well written take on Romero's Zombie mythology, full of interesting social commentary and worthy of repeated viewings, that will be considered a major addition to Romero's filmography. As the Zombie genre he invented has exploded into all manner of sub genres and stylish and money making spins, Romero remains true to using the Zombie as a way to explore what's happening in modern society, as an allegory, and stressing the human elements in his horror creations.
The two following Romero Zombie films are limp, and the film lacks the gritty low budget almost documentary look that made his earlier films so unnerving, but don't let that taint your enjoyment of Land of the Dead. It's engrossing, thoughtful and creative.
UFOria (1984)
One of a kind American Gem
I watched this on youtube (illegally, but where else can you see it). I heard of it years ago. If better known, it would be considered a minor classic. It's similar to Melvin & Howard or other early Jonathan Demme movies. It's funny, always interesting, got a great soundtrack, good performances all around, a thoughtful quote worthy script, and unlike a lot of similar "indie" quirky movies that came later, it never puts it's small town characters down for their goofy beliefs or marginal lifestyles. Check out UFOria and tell your friends. It's amazing that a major studio made it. The director sadly never made another feature as a writer director. He's got a good light touch, and Cindy Williams holds her own as a movie star.