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Reviews
Haunted Boat (2005)
Debut Effort Keyed on Adolescent Fears Raises Questions
Haunted Boat, Olga Leven's first feature, keys on the fears of six adolescents as they become stranded out in the ocean. Production values are amazingly good for a low-end video production. The sound design and the music lead us nicely through the story and bumps up our fears and expectations at the right moments. The story is a bit convoluted and not for those expecting a rational linear tale. Yet when one gives into the fragmented nightmare structure, the story takes on an interesting form. It's a journey of survival for Christina, the lead character played by Courtney Scheuerman and we began to empathize with her fear, that of dying alone. These six people are marginally dysfunctional and this adds to the conflict. The sudden drowning of weak-hearted David (Travis Hammer) breaks up their close ties and turns them against one another. Divided, one by one they succumb to their worst fears. In the end, in spite of the turmoil and chaos, there will always be friends on who you can rely -- whether they are real or only exist in our imagination.
This is a film with multiple interpretations and leaves the viewer in the precarious position of having to figure what happened and how it ended. Haunted Boat is a heady film with an eerie underbelly that embodies many of the problems and fears young people face. It's the type of film that should generate a healthy word-of-mouth as well as discussions about our own fears, philosophies, and attitudes. And for the young male adolescents there's plenty of bikini-clad eye candy and brief nudity.
George Bush Goes to Heaven (2006)
Stimulating and provocative satirical look at George W.
"George Bush Goes to Heaven" is a satirical look at the reign of George W. To fully appreciate this movie requires an awareness of the political, economic, social and environmental turmoil facing this nation and the world. At the screening I attended, the story resonated deeply with the news-savvy members of the audience. They got the humor, the jokes, and the irony that played out on a theme "What would happen if the President had to tell the truth". For the less aware, this movie stirs up questions about the future of their country and the integrity of the present administration.
The story is about dissent and the consequence there of. Larry Sparks, an angry Republican, frustrated by the antics of his own political party, vents his anger on the web. When the Feds monitor his activities and warn him to cease, he launches his one-man campaign with a satirical community play. The movie mirrors the fears many people have suppressed that to question this administration's policies is somehow un-American, disloyal, and anti-Christian. The witty humor used in this film unlocks those fears and encourages productive and rational discussions. At Starbucks following the movie, on the talk-generating scale, we rated it as a Caffe Grande, Latte, of course. Stimulating and provocative.