Next week I review yet another hard to find independent film. That is until its recent release on DVD. Now everyone will have the chance o watch and marvel over the combination of claymation and Edgar Allen Poe in a most perfect union. That’s because next week’s film is Ray Harryhausen Presents: The Pit and the Pendulum.

Since we are just finishing up the tail end of summer, I thought it might be fitting for me to finally get around to reviewing a superhero movie for the site. And while Super Fuzz was certainly tempting, I decided to go with a little known Canadian superhero film instead, called Sidekick. But since it is so little known it has proven quite difficult for me to find a trailer for the film, but thanks to the official site there is at least one way to watch the trailer.

Sidekick Official Site

Tags: Canada, independent film, movie, preview, Sidekick, Super Fuzz, super hero, superhero, trailer

Thanks to Switchblade Comb for the heads up on this. I only had the chance to catch one of the films in this series last time, and it was absolutely fabulous. Their are several more in this one I would like to watch, and hopefully a few more people will turn out to watch these locally [Minnesota] produced films. Also, after every screening their will be a Q&A with the cast and crew, while Pepitos will be running Homegrown Happy Hour specials next door. Come one, come all for a fantastic time of true Independent film making at its best.

Homegrown Cinema Series
Monday Nights, September 8 - October 13
The Parkway Theater
Minneapolis, MN
7:30 PM l $8

SEPTEMBER 8 - Married at the Mall & Whole, two early films by Melody Gilbert. Married at the Mall is a delightful documentary that features an assortment of lovebirds who tie the knot at the Chapel of Love in the Mall of America, while Whole takes you into the world of people obsessed with becoming an amputee.

SEPTEMBER 13 - Stimulus, directed by Jason Schumacher. For most people, the nebulous time between high-school and college is a prime opportunity to develop and implement a plan for the rest of their lives. For Simon and Bert, it is much easier to spend the time aimlessly taking courses at the local community college or serving coffee for minimum wage. As the summer goes on, however, they are forced to reconsider precisely what their friendship means, as well as what kind of people they are developing into.

SEPTEMBER 22 - When the Sidewalk Ends, directed by Joseph Larsen. Haskel travels the midwest in search of vengeance for past, unspoken crimes. His journey doesn’t go as planned, however, as he instead spends his time apathetic in anonymous hotel rooms. From bizarre anime conventions to a femme fatale who might be working for the enemy, Haskel’s directionless path wears him down to where his ultimate destination no longer matters. The film is a hypnotic tale about a road trip to revenge, and how lonely and tedious such a journey can be.

SEPTEMBER 29 - Murphy’s Law, directed by Todd Pitman and featuring local band Look Down. For three weeks in July of 2006, one camera followed Look Down cross-country in a borrowed van on their first tour. Things quickly unravel as they deal with canceled shows, car trouble, label problems, and simply trying to get across the country with as little fuss as possible.

OCTOBER 6 - The Reception, directed by Jason Mitchell. The Reception is a feature length narrative/documentary hybrid shot entirely in 12 hours. Guests of the faux wedding reception ate and mingled as if at a real reception, with cameras rolling. A screenplay worked as a framework for a film where everyone used their own personal background to improvise strikingly realistic exchanges. A small two-camera high definition video crew captured candid conversations in a documentary style along with the scripted narrative. The result is a film that is funny, honest, and at times uncomfortably real.

OCTOBER 13 - The world premiere of Love: A Documentary, directed by Dave Ash. In the fall of 2006, videographer Ethan Burroughs was working on location at Cratech Industries producing a promotional film about the company. While taping interviews of employees, Burroughs befriended John Stevens, a mid-level financial analyst that was unresponsive to direct questions about the company. Instead, Stevens spoke earnestly and passionately about how he believed that God had recently chosen him to spread love and happiness throughout an uncaring world.

Sunday, October 12 will also be a Homegrown Grab Bag Day of features playing from 11 AM until 4 PM. This line-up has yet to be finalized.

When I was growing up in Wisconsin I would often times kill time at my local video store. I would roam through the aisles, looking at the VHS boxes, searching for something interesting to watch. I was fascinated with genre mash-ups and Ralph Bakshi’s films and quickly immersed myself in them. But Waukesha wasn’t exactly stationed along the cutting edge of pop culture, so I had some rather sizable gaps in both my film knowledge and exposure.

It wasn’t until college that I began meeting people who were giving enough to introduce me to German Expressionism, Italian neorealism, and Turner Classic Movies. From then on I always have had great respect for people who introduce me to new and exciting things, especially when it comes to films.

Which brings me to my girlfriend, Anna. I found my first excuse to talk to her when she was reading Watership Down, which was one of my favorite books (as well as animated films) as a child. Much to my delight she had never read it before so it afforded me the perfect opportunity to lay down some serious knowledge, and from there we soon began introducing each other to all sorts of of new experiences. One interesting thing to note is she was far more open to trying out my recommendations early on then I was with hers. This is quite simply explained. She likes Bjork, Dogville, and Ayn Rand. I like cool crap.

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