Luke Y. Thompson

Aimee Long’s A SHOT THROUGH THE WALL: SLO Film Fest 2021 Review; an Asian cop shooting a black man

By Luke Y. Thompson 5 years ago

Everything is told from Mike’s point of view, which admittedly risks minimizing the shooting victim’s story. We barely know anything about the guy who took the bullet. But the stories of such victims are often told elsewhere – the focus here is on the soul of the perpetrator. Can he be exonerated? Does he deserve to be? How much punishment is enough? There’s a heavy subtext of “There, but for the grace of God, go I.” Give enough people guns, and the likelihood increases that at least one will fumble in a critical moment, with stakes that are not properly prepared or trained for.

Loretta Todd’s MONKEY BEACH: SLO Film Fest 2021 Review; indigenous story and spirituality like you rarely see

By Luke Y. Thompson 5 years ago

Adapted from the award-winning first novel by Eden Robinson, Monkey Beach is a family drama full of literary devices that might arguably work better on the page, like flashbacks in multiple time periods, ghosts, and magical spirits. Having to literalize such things on a non-studio budget must be challenging, and some effects feel just like effects. However, this helps to anchor the story in the real world, where fancier CG creations might have thrust it into fantasy. It might be more accurate to call this a faith-based film, except that unlike in most movies thusly described, the faith in question is not Christian, but Haisla spirituality.

Lauren Noll’s HONOR can barely bottle the tension as a young woman lands on a religious hot seat after she is outed

By Luke Y. Thompson 5 years ago

At the end of the day, the events of the film are fictional and didn’t all happen in my own life, but Laine’s fears and conflicts were my own when I was a student at BYU. That scene is just simply the truth for someone in that moment of their journey. As a performer, I did initially try to reign it in and keep it smaller for fear of too much ugliness showing, but my wonderful on set acting coach (who also served as the film’s editor) coached me into the performance that made its way into the final cut.

Maverick Moore’s MY DINNER WITH WERNER knowingly, and lovingly spoofs Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski

By Luke Y. Thompson 5 years ago

Our goal from the beginning was for the film to be a good time at the movies – whether or not you catch the references. We wanted it to be fun for everyone – both for folks familiar with Herzog and Kinski, and for folks that have no clue who they are. So, it was very important that the movie would be understandable to all audiences.

Britt Lower’s CIRCUS PERSON: Review; Utilizes a circus of images, moments and animation in tale of a woman finding herself after a breakup

By Luke Y. Thompson 5 years ago

But as Ava becomes a circle, so too does the movie around her. Interspersing realism with vintage circus footage, dreamlike moments, mime, and stop-motion animation using both Lower’s full body and animated paintings on her body-as-canvas. There’s also a talking fish…sort of. Lower intends the short to be the start of something more, and with this level of visual flair, it’ll be exciting to see what happens to Ava once she moves past her break-up.

Chelsea Christer’s BLEEDING AUDIO at SOUND UNSEEN Film Fest REVIEW: updates the “Behind the Music” doc in an album-less world

By Luke Y. Thompson 5 years ago

They built a fan base by regularly putting n streaming showcases in the early days of online music, and bonded with them by playing acoustically outside the video with post-show stragglers after every concert. While an aspiring David Bowie or Axl Rose type might steal your girlfriend, these are guys you could totally double-date with.

Joshua Y Tsui’s INSERT COIN: Lake County Film Festival REVIEW: delivers a history of violence in arcade games

By Luke Y. Thompson 5 years ago

Joshua Y Tsui’s Insert Coin, which recently screened at the Lake County Film Festival, doesn’t offer a ton of surprises to anyone who’s been clued in to video game culture for a while, but it does put everything together in entertaining fashion to tell the story of the Williams-Midway merger, and what it meant for arcade games thereafter.

Ondi Timoner’s Coming Clean at NAPLES INTERNATIONAL: Film Festival REVIEW: effectively shines a light on the opioid crisis

By Luke Y. Thompson 5 years ago

The focus of Coming Clean is opiates, which, as several talking heads point out, leave a trail of bodies that would be deemed a life-changing national emergency if caused by terrorism, plane crashes, or anything more visual and camera-friendly. Hence, perhaps, all the visual flair Timoner uses to get us watching and listening. And yet, while this seems to be a new problem, it’s not. Oxycontin and Fentanyl constitute a third wave, following those that originated with opium and morphine.