Decayed Contrast: "The Great Flood" Review

As I sat in a theater filled with mostly middle aged festival goers, halfway through The Great Flood, I came to some conclusions:

• Bill Morrison is THE filmmaker who could possibly settle the digital vs. film debate.
• People make their own stories, with or without a camera being present.
• Intent isn't always relevant.

It's amazing the kind of work and study that went into this movie - hours upon hours of footage, carefully chosen sequences edited in specific order, music scored along with it all, etc. When I add the three bullet points above, the images presented take on startling depth. Who is responsible for this depth? The original cameramen? The modern editor? The people and objects depicted? The effects of time on the film stock itself?

All of the above.

St(alk)ing and Occupying: "Buzzard" Review

"What do you do at Wal Mart?"

"I'm a night stalker."

At this point in the film Buzzard, our "hero" Marty has been living off of his skills as a scam artist for a few
days, on the run from trouble with a previous con. He's been caught by the manager of a check cashing place, and is being held in the back office until the cops arrive. During some chit chat, he comes up with several stories, one of them about a job at Wal Mart. In passing, it's not all that important, as he just wants out of the building. But, when asked the specifics of his job, he pronounces stocker as "stalker".

This takes the manager back a bit, who responds with a what and a smirk. To us, it was only a matter of time.

#cineNOLA Weekly - Episode 2

On this, the second episode of #cineNOLA Weekly, I rundown some more film screenings and review one of the few movies to get New Orleans right, Flakes. The editorial segment will return next week.

If you have any comments or suggestions, feel free to write one below. Be sure to follow the conversation on twitter using the hashtag #cineNOLA: