Monday, January 23, 2012

Bellflower (2011) 4/5

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-Here we go! Wait, what if it blows up or something?
-Then we're gonna be on fire.


One of my biggest pet peeves about movies is the idea that it takes an enormous amount of money to make a quality film. Sure, I really dug Avatar, but Clerks was pretty freakin' fantastic too. It is especially upsetting when people use this mantra to defend an otherwise crappy movie. I use Facing the Giants as an example (but pretty much any Hallmark Hall of Fame flick will do). When I tell people that I didn't like it, oftentimes the response is: "But you don't understand, one church made the movie with no professional actors or directors and a budget of only a few hundred thousand dollars." Don't get me wrong, I respect that (and the motives behind the movie), but that doesn't make their movie any less BAD!

I preface this review with the above rant because Evan Glodell wrote, directed, built the cameras (and most of the props), and starred in this movie. He also made the film with his friends for around $19,000. The plot follows Glodell's character as he and his buddy pass the time by preparing for the end of the world by building flamethrowers and a souped up muscle car. Their journey is made all the more interesting as he falls in love, gets his heart broken, and embarks on a fantasy-fueled, brain-damaged, hyperkinetic grand finale that has the viewer so utterly awestruck that it doesn't really matter that reality is somewhat distorted.

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