Reviews
Mountain Monsters (2013)
One of the Greatest Comedy Shows In TV History
Unfortunately, when this show first aired, I believed it was trying to be a legit monster hunting show like Finding Bigfoot and Monster Quest. After a few episodes it became painfully clear that this was not real and I honestly thought the show was trying to pass it off as real. I was dead wrong. Starting in episode 1, the clues are abundant and obvious. (Their leader doesn't even know what bipedal means!) The show gives us everything we need to pit the clues together- this is a mockumentary reality show. If I had kept watching, I would have seen storylines start to converge into a grand conspiracy a la X-Files. Everything from facial expressions and cheap CGI effects are played for laughs. Pretty soon, I found myself laughing at everything as I got to know the characters better and I even started getting caught up in the very effective mythology story lines of the show. I began rewatching for the laughs, but stayed to see where the hilarious story lines go. I don't know if the show runners were to come out and say explicitly that it was all fake that it would help the show any, because part of the shows design is its unwillingness to come out as fake, adding to the atmosphere- not because they're trying to pull the wool over everyone's eyes. Know before you watch that this is making fun of shows like finding Bigfoot, borrowing from their structure, and giving audiences tons of laughs in the process and delivering actual story arcs over the seasons. I love it.
All the Real Girls (2003)
10/10 A Masterpiece; Ebert was the Only Critic to Get It
Judging by the reviews here and the critics on Rotten Tomatoes, this is a so-so movie with a few good moments. Ebert seems to be the only critic who loved it and understood the film. It's not hard to understand and has no secret hidden meaning or anything; the movie is poetic, subtle and perceptive.
The setting for the film, a small factory town in North Carolina during autumn, adds so much character to the movie. Every character we follow, each one fully fleshed out and given a satisfying conclusion to their roll, has grown up in this town and they talk of life and all it's uncertainty. Some talk of their new found happiness, others reflect on their silly youthful behavior and the new life coming with eagerness to be grown up. Each scene is masterful; framed so effectively for each conversation taking place. Take the opening scene for example- two lovers behind an out of focus brick building during a cool fall night, pipes in the background quietly emitting steam into the air, our characters talking quietly of romantic inhibitions and not being caught. It's pure art and the entire movie is like this.
I had recently watched David Gordon Green's George Washington, Undertow, and Joe. Each one is excellent and I thought this would also be good, but I didn't expect it to do to me what it did. I think I get why some people don't like it, they have probably never been in love or are jealous of others who are. This movie is for every hopeless romantic or anyone who felt the raw emotion that comes with a chilly late night rendezvous on the river bank, curled up, staying warm, and talking of life's riddles with the one they love.