Hey all, i thought i would start off todays blog by giving a little bit more information on Independent Films. Independent or "Indie" films refer to films produced mostly outside of a major film studio. They also refer to art films that are different from most of the mainstream mass marketed films we see today. Today the major film studios, often refereed to as the "Big Six", are Warner Brothers Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures, Walt Disney/Touchstone Pictures, and Universal Studios. Now they all have many other divisions under those, but these are the main ones today. Now there are many independent movie producing studios, but in a nutshell independent films are made away from the mainstream film studios, or an artsy film made away from mainstream ideas.
I saw a great movie last nigh called Knucklehead. Created by Samuel Goldwyn Films, and WWE Studios, and directed by Michael Watkins, Knucklehead came out in 2010. The brief story line is that of a con artist type MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) trainer Eddie Sullivan who acquires a large debt with a local mafia type leader Memphis Earl. In efforts to find a means of paying off his debt, Eddie stumbles across a gentle giant of a man Walter Krunk who is a 30 year old orphan and roughly 7 ft tall weighing in at 450 lbs give or take. After an unfortunate incident the orphanage that walter is living at is in desperate need of funds, so Eddie convinces Walter to be his fighter and work their way to the MMA championships in New Orleans. They have many adventures in this comedy/drama of a film, each person finding out who they truly are inside. Walter becoming a hero in his efforts to save the orphanage, Eddie finding his conscience, and of course the multiple love stories throughout. I wont give anything more away, you will just have to see it for yourself. Movie critics were a bit rough with this movie giving it a 4.8 out of 10. I liked it and would give it a 6.5 out of 10. It is rated PG-13 for some crude humor, language, and fighting action. I would recommend it to anyone who likes to laugh and enjoys a simple comedy.
I would just like to start off by saying that I love Independent movies. I think there are so many great ones out there and I'll give them at least a chance, which usually leads to me loving it. I could not say that about this movie.
ReplyDeleteAfter hearing that you've seen the movie Adam, I knew you probably have a great taste in movies. I had to check out the movie Knucklehead, for this very reason.
To be honest, I could only get through about twenty minutes of it. It did not catch my attention, to say in the very least.
However, just because I did not enjoy this movie, does not mean that I won't enjoy other movies that you happen to review. I'm excited to see what other ones you will.
Hahaha i guess i should be more specific in my reviews for i have a varied and different taste in Independent films. I love artistic films which in my view there are two types; one, films that use unique cinematography, animation, effects being camera angles, lenses and other techniques to bring a strong visual effect, and the other type of artistic independent film being one where the focus is more on the development of the characters.
ReplyDeleteI do also love seemingly stupid and pointless comedies, Knucklehead for example. Another one of my favorite independent comedies is Gentleman Broncos, which many people have not enjoyed but i love.
To give a list of some of my favorite Indie films to build my credibility up again (I will be talking about many of them in future blogs) are (500) Days of Summer, Paper Heart, Into the Wild, Lars and the Real Girl, Adam, Once and Paris, Je T'aime. Just to name a few. Hopefully my credibility will be built up once again so that people will continue to read my blogs.
I just saw my first indie movie ever recently and i have to admit it was one of the best films i have seen in a long time. The title of the film is "Another Earth" and it is directed by Mike Cahill. It won the Best of Fest at Sundance. The film starts out with a 17 year old girl who kills a family in a drunk driving accident. After her stay in prison she deals with getting her life back on track. Also simultaneously scientist have discovered an exact replica of earth in our solar system. It sounds totally out there but everything ties into the end. The final scene was extremely powerful and i really recommend it! Have you seen it?
ReplyDeleteSo I admit I thought I had commented on this blog a long time ago, but apparently it didn't go through. haha If it did though you get to hear what I have to say again! I am just being extra safe and making sure all five comments get posted. haha Anyway, when I read about the movie Knucklehead it made me think of Nacho Libre. In Nacho Libre, Jack Black resides at an orphanage and ends up fighting to provide a better life for the orphans, etc... You said that in Knucklehead Walter's orphanage is in desperate need of funds, so he starts fighting to save it. They sound kind of similar. haha Is it somewhat like Nacho Libre? Haha I obviously have never seen Knucklehead, but if it's like Nacho Libre then it would probably be good! =D
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