Ink is one of those rare small Independent films that has garnered quite a bit of attention and a fan following from just some impressive word-of-mouth and a dynamite trailer. Building on the buzz, director Jamin Winans has been touring with his film along with his wife (Producer and Art Director Kiowa Winans) along with several of the actors, turning the film into a bonafide grass roots phenomenon.
Andrew and I are both fans of the film, so it was a pleasure to sit down with Jamin and Chris Kelly as they talk about the film and the difficulties in making a big budget action/fantasy epic for pennies on the dollar and trying to get their film out to the masses.
I just got the word that the 2nd Annual Flyway Film Festival has announced that the Independent science fiction film Ink will be one of two opening night films for their festival this fall. Word is the screening will be held at the Stockholm Opera House in Stockholm, WI which seats 150. The screening is expected to sell out so be sure to buy your tickets and/or festival passes soon.
As for Ink, for those that remember it was previously showcased as part of our One to Watch films, and I am happy to say that their are few Independent films I have been more excited to see.
And if that isn’t enough, over the coming weeks I’ll have more announcements to make about this upcoming film festival. They’ve got one heck of a lineup planned, and this is looking like this will be an outstanding film festival for those of us living in the Midwest.
I’m always on the lookout for decent werewolf films. Thanks to Anna’s irrational fear of werewolves it has become quite the enjoyable quest to find a movie that will scare the crap out of her. So when I caught wind of a potential showing of the Minneapolis filmed werewolf film Living Arrangements at The Uptown, I knew that I had a chance to combine my love of watching Indie films with my love of terrifying my girlfriend.
Sasha (Joe Noreen) and Billie (Alexandra Glad) are recently engaged and struggling to find their first apartment together. That is until they find the perfect apartment. It has everything, a great location, a ton of space and a werewolf that lives in the attic that is just dying to be fed. Just how far will these two die-hard vegans go to support their unlikely and unwanted roommate’s meat eating habit? It is a great apartment after all.
True Independent films always need to be entered with a certain amount of lowered expectations, especially if you are only used to Hollywood fare. The casts are typically populated with non-actors, the shooting schedules are often spur of the moment and the budgets are typically non-existent at best. I wasn’t sure what to expect with Living Arrangements, I had the impression that it was going to be a splatter comedy, but other then that knew little about what awaited me. So I figured it would be best to lower my expectations and hope for the best. Thankfully, Living Arrangements made sure to routinely best them, and on a few occasions, by leaps and bounds.
Perhaps one of the more pleasant surprises of the film (if you are into this kind of thing) is that it has a much darker tone then I expected. Oh sure it has its fair share of puns, wacky moments and gore induced site gags, but Living Arrangements always has a rather disturbing reality bubbling under its seemingly cheery facade. This “cute” couple slowly unravels during the course of this ordeal, and while the werewolf certainly is the primary antagonist, Sasha and Billie are passive aggressive enough that it is hard to see them as surviving any difficult test for any length of time. These were once likable people, but as they fall prey to their darker desires it is hard not to root them on to even lower depths of depravity.
The star of the film is clearly the special effects, which range from sufficient at worst to outstanding at best. The werewolf suit is obviously the key to the whole film, and the design, resulting from what appears to be a rather perverted and unholy union between an alien and a wolf, is quite creepy. Granted the effect doesn’t hold up quite as well in some of the close ups, but when the werewolf is lingering in the shadows the image is downright horrifying. The gore effects are just as impressive, if not more so. From the dripping entrails of a crushed squirrel to a jaw dropping severed arm sequence that can scarcely be believed. The gore effects may not come early and often, but when they do show up they are all universally outstanding.
This isn’t to say Living Arrangements is without its faults, the acting isn’t the greatest, and while I love Mark Borchardt (American Movie) I think we can all agree he can’t really play anyone other then Mark Borchardt, Man. Though Mark’s limited range is counter balanced by Paul Cram who plays Colin, the skeevy gay friend who has eyes for Sasha, and is quite willing to put his paws all over him. It’s a great role, and Cram nails it, so to speak.
Living Arrangements also has some pacing issues and a few script quirks that are a little too noticeable (Sasha and Billie hem and haw over a place that costs $800 but are gung ho for another that costs $950?), but as the film progresses and separates itself from the cheery gooeyness of the opening act and descends into depravity it begins to become quite the enjoyable, twisted ride.
Living Arrangements will have its World Premier on March 19th at The Uptown Theater. The Show will be at 7pm and is $8. Along with the screening their will be a free raffle, with various prizes and giveaways.
Now I know I should be suggesting people go support Independent film by watching The Class at The Uptown this weekend, but I have to admit I’m not all that excited about the movie. I’ve heard from a wealth of people that it is fabulous and I know I will watch it eventually, but it just isn’t the movie I am excited to see this weekend. No, that movie would be Tom Tykwer’s new film The International. Now I’ve heard from a wealth of people that the film is less than good but I don’t care. I’ve loved nearly every one of his films and at this point in time he is to me a must see director, no matter how awful the reviews or the trailer is.
On DVD the selections are a bit eclectic between the big budget blockbusters being released and the smaller Independent films. While I would avoid the blockbusters, Changeling is worth a watch, even if it is a half hour too long, Flash of Genius looks interesting and for those of you who really have been dying to watch that one movie where Dakota Fanning gets raped and was a big hit at Sundance but never got a decent theatrical release, Hounddog is now on DVD. But my selection this week is Choke, a film based on the book by Chuck Palahniuk and starring Sam Rockwell. I saw it at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival last year in a tiny and packed theater, crammed uncomfortably in the first row that was almost underneath the screen, yet I still enjoyed it quite a bit. Which is saying a lot because I didn’t really enjoy the book at all.
I bet you think running this site is all fun and games. Oh sure, I have an unhealthy addiction for Mahjong that I have been trying to pass off on Anna, but that is besides the point. I don’t get to just lay around all day, watching whatever I want whenever I want. I have, like, a system. A rigorous, temperamental system.
When I first started this column it was meant to be an excuse for me to finally watch certain films I had always wanted to watch when I was younger, but for whatever reason, had simply never gotten around to doing so. But while that selfishly worked well as an initial idea, that wasn’t going to be enough to fuel a column, let alone an entire site. So thus my initial idea inevitably began to expand.
Soon I began to look for films that would push me out of my comfort zone, as well as those that would have appealed to me when I was a youth. From there it was just a hop, skip and a jump to include reviews of true independent films and hard to find foreign films as well. Finally, I began to track down movies that were out of print or simply never released in the US. And as I added on each new group of films, the list of movies I planned to watch and review grew increasingly larger and more daunting.
Flyway Filmcast - Director Jamin Winans & Lead Actor Chris Kelly (Ink) [12:40m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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