Luke Y. Thompson

John Donvan and Caren Zucker’s IN A DIFFERENT KEY brings their autism research to the screen — Austin Film Festival review

By Luke Y. Thompson 4 years ago

Like so much else that simplistic forces in society try to force into a binary, autism is a spectrum. And while we may have heard the phrase “on the spectrum,” internalizing what it means is another thing. Donvan and Zucker take pains to show both ends, emphasizing that while it’s unfair and prejudicial to assume high-functioning autistic people can’t function just fine, it’s equally misguided to neglect just how much help those on the other end need, in some cases to keep from physically damaging themselves regularly.

Justin Wang Powell’s FALLING SPARROW is an indie-budgeted debut film short that also happens to be a martial arts epic

By Luke Y. Thompson 5 years ago

Justin Wang Powell’s “Falling Sparrow”, which recently won a Special Jury Award at Waco’s Deep in the Heart Film Festival, offers something one doesn’t expect to see in a film festival short. Elaborately choreographed martial arts…to the death. And that’s not the only unexpected aspect. It begins in what could easily be the Old West, albeit one where a menacing man in samurai shoulder armor shows up to retrieve a family sword and is rebuffed. Years pass, but at first it seems like centuries, as the action cuts to a modern MMA gym. But no…the time period was always modern, and the man now has the sword, and runs the gym. But his niece is grown up, and she has no qualms about bloody vengeance for all that has transpired in the meantime.

Paolo Mancini and Daniel Watchorn’s Bloodshed Deliver Scares for 2021 Deep in the Heart FF’s Horror Shorts Program with scares, dread, and some fresh talent

By Luke Y. Thompson 5 years ago

Ever since the likes of Saw, Mama, and Lights Out went from being short films to high-profile features, filmmakers and fans have increasingly seen the potential for horror shorts to create interest in longer versions. Who knows when Guillermo del Toro will next be on YouTube, deciding he wants to pay for 80 more minutes of the nifty, scary video he just watched? Numerous horror shorts in the Deep in the Heart film festival appear to have this in mind, leaving the viewer either wanting further explanation, or just more time with the same great premise. Indeed, when the entire shorts program ended, I was not ready, and wanted it to keep going. Considering that so much studio horror feels lethargic at present, it’s a blast to be energized by the scares of the likely next generation.

Randall Okita’s SEE FOR ME at Tribeca 2021 Review: turns the tables on everyone – us included – in home invasion thriller

By Luke Y. Thompson 5 years ago

But See for Me is no simple “good women versus bad men” escapist shoot ’em up. Sophie is a pragmatist above all else, and will switch sides however many times it takes in order to stay alive. Okita, along with writers Adam Yorke and Tommy Gushue, not only look to shatter stereotypes about the disabled as they relate to their abilities, but also their perceived nobility. They’re not afraid to have their heroes be seriously flawed, in ways that major studio executives would probably insist on sanding off.

Marq Evans’ CLAYDREAM: Tribeca 2021 Review — explores the career and creativity of animation legend Will Vinton

By Luke Y. Thompson 5 years ago

As an animator, Vinton could certainly compete with Disney or anyone else. His elaborate clay-sculpted characters rival any seen before or since for detail, and the way he would transform them, melt them, and turn them into other things onscreen evinces a kind of imagination rarely seen in most studio animation…and the influence of psychedelics in his youth, to which he freely confesses.

Dorie Barton’s WELCOME TO THE SHOW at Big Apple Film Festival Review: takes you on an journey defined by your own imagination

By Luke Y. Thompson 5 years ago

Now imagine that instead of having those conversations inside a dorm room, you find yourself inside a world made entirely of such questions. That’s what this movie calls The Show, initially presented as an experimental theater piece but soon proving to be far more encompassing than that, like some adult conceptual version of The Phantom Tollboth crossed with extreme haunts like McKamey Manor or Blackout.

Antonio Pisu’s EST: SEEfest 2021 Review; keeps you guessing with its matter-of-fact approach to dramatic misdirection

By Luke Y. Thompson 5 years ago

If this were a typical American movie, one of two paths would likely be followed next. Let’s call them Hostel and Eurotrip. Under the first scenario, the danger gradually escalates until it becomes impossible to escape. Under the second, absurd situations escalate until things get ridiculous, and the guys probably get laid.

Erdem Tepegöz’s In the Shadows: SEEfest 2021 Review; horror film for today’s Amazon-addled world

By Luke Y. Thompson 5 years ago

The most obvious interpretation of writer-director Erdem Tepegoz’s film is that it’s allegorical communism. Factories, labor, generic outfits, total disrepair, and so forth. Still, in the era of Amazon, is it all that different from capitalism? As seen in Nomadland, Amazon would probably claim they offer “freedom”…freedom, that is, to live in a van and be seasonally employed. But In the Shadows’ factory offers room, board, and guaranteed work. Neither is big on healthcare. All workers are replaceable. And constantly monitored. The warehouse Cold War counts no real winners among the employed.

I. Fan Wang’s GET THE HELL OUT: Oxford Film Festival 2021 Review; manic and creative GET THE HELL OUT delivers crazy zombie politics

By Luke Y. Thompson 5 years ago

Genre fans can have a field day debating whether or not this counts as a zombie movie, since the rabid move fast and technically are not dead. Because they’re mindless, and spread the infection by biting people, this seems close enough for horseshoes. In a notable departure from the standard walking dead, however, it’s not so much a shot to the head that finishes them, but a slicing of the neck artery, hosing everyone in the vicinity down in crimson spew. And it doesn’t necessarily take something like a chainsaw to get the job done. A pair of nailclippers proves extremely versatile.