Why So Blu?

Encapsulated Movie Reviews – Three New Indie Titles

A mere trio of Indie outings critically covered this time (rest easy film fans – there are ten in the following week!), but there are some diamonds in the lesser-known movie rough.  Docs on difficult musicians, plus flicks about the struggles of criminal families and a guessing game of who is the serial killer cover the three flicks via this edition of Encapsulated Movie Reviews.  Check out the short opinions on 40 Years In The Making: The Magic Music Movie, Night Comes On and The Forest Of The Lost Souls all below.

 

40 YEARS IN THE MAKING: THE MAGIC MUSIC MOVIE
(The Orchard)

A delightful doc rife with melancholy musical moments and raw candid conversation one would come to expect from the writer/producer of Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory, helmer Lee Aronsohn’s passion project chronicling an elusive Boulder, Colorado band that never was is a real cinematic page turner.  Seeking out the truth behind a talented group he saw in college called Magic Music who never released an actual album, Aronsohn cleverly constructs a detailed cautionary tale involving everything from over-inflated egos to eventual self-destruction.  (Though all under the creative umbrella of damn fine inspired music!)  An examination that pulls no punches yet does it with love and admiration, there’s magic in both the movie and the music here.

NIGHT COMES ON
(Samuel Goldwyn Films)

A moving tale of family life gone askew by talented filmmaker Jordana Spiro, Night Comes On hits some very effective dramatic  notes.  A story of a troubled teen recently released from juvenile detention who must face her ailing little sister, her homicidal but never convicted father and the demons in her own past feels incredibly authentic and is elevated by a gaggle of poignant performances.  From young Tatum Marilyn Hall as the abandoned sister Abby to John Kelks as the broken father, all work terrifically in tandem to bring the reality of the piece to the forefront.  (Watch for a nice turn by NYPD Blue alum James McDaniel as a surly parole officer!)  But it’s the unforced yet focused turn by lead Dominique Fishback as the conflicted Angel that is the icing on this movie cake – she’s one to watch.

THE FOREST OF THE LOST SOULS
(Wild Eye Releasing)

While a tad bumpy in its construction, there are nevertheless some interesting ideas and even some great visual savvy within the Portuguese import The Forest Of The Lost Souls.  Writer/Director José Pedro Lopes matches some mesmerizing moments (the opening is right out of a David Lynch dream!) with a ‘who is the killer’ storyline for a film that inspires both wonder and darkness.  (Even in black and white!)  Plus as the two strangers inside a suicide forest, the spirited Daniela Love and sullen Jorge Mota make for an interesting odd couple.  So while the film does have issues at times in projecting a cohesive time frame that’s easy to follow, there are enough notable nuggets that make this forest flick stand tall.