Zepfanman has written 16 reviews for films during 2021.
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Seleone 2018
Thanks to the "Pacific Community" and UNDP for putting together this short overview of a French territory I had never heard of. Traditionally the home of three chiefdoms: Uvea (Wallis), Sigave (western Futuna), and Alo (eastern Futuna & Alofi). This is part of a series on YouTube: "The Wake up! Project engages youth and empowers them to communicate, using their own language and creative thinking to craft messages through arts and media that contribute to addressing NCDs [non-communicable diseases]." 1080p: youtu.be/RuiCcoy8USk
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Our Marine World Heritage 2010
FOR CLARITY: This is the 2010 short, co-written by Gail Osherenko and posted on her Vimeo channel (480p): vimeo.com/16514572
While similar, the 2014 version was written by Tory Read and posted on the UNESCO YouTube channel (1080p): youtu.be/LQlDpZJa49s
Both are beautiful films that give us a glimpse of our rapidly-changing world. The images shown here are a record of what once was.
UNESCO maintains a "Marine Programme" playlist, updated several times a year here: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWuYED1WVJINiO910dflHngyFRubDk5l_
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Robin Robin 2021
Aardman never goes wrong with their animation - this short looks fantastic.
But I was a bit disappointed by the songs and the story. This made me think about why people steal. I don't think this is a spoiler. Is it weird that I was annoyed that they stole and destroyed so much of the "Who-Mans" things? Doesn't seem like the best message for children.
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Lost Emulsion 2016
I want George Willeman's job (Nitrate Film Vault Manager) at The Library of Congress. LOST EMULSION is a fascinating 2016 state-of-the-archives look at film history. Andreiev is currently at work on a follow-up, FOUND EMULSION: www.gofundme.com/f/4mvrh-found-emulsionfinishing-film-restoration-story
LOST EMULSION available to rent: vimeo.com/ondemand/lostemulsion
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The Little Story of Gwen from French Brittany 2008
This short dramatized biography appears to have been released after the COMPLETE FILMS box set. The American Cinematheque "premiered" it on YouTube in April 2020: youtu.be/dySwfrzAEeI
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Blind Husbands 1919
TIME SENSITIVE NOTE: Arte was streaming a brand new restoration of the film FOR FREE from December 2021 to January 11th. Original English intertitles with German or French subtitles. www.arte.tv/fr/videos/095074-000-A/la-loi-des-montagnes/
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Rocky IV 1985
The original film remains one of my all-time favorites. The 2021 Director's Cut is truly a different movie, so I've reviewed it on its own page: Rocky vs. Drago. I'm sure at some point, I'll write a review of the 1985 original cut.
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Tool: Vicarious 2007
As mentioned in the making-of documentary on the 2007 DVD, Tool create art that is never clear-cut with an obvious message. The video for Vicarious is a prime example. Watched on its own, with no context, one can get lost in the lyrics, music, or visuals. It takes a lot of digging onto the back-stories of the artists, and personal soul-searching, to arrive at a more satisfying meaning.
I won't spoil the meaning with any theories here, but I am…
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Rad 1986
Saw this at the one-time 35th anniversary Fathom event yesterday and all my childhood BMX memories came flooding back.* There's no way I can be objective about this film. I hadn't seen it in at least 10 years, but I watched it all the time on VHS in the 80s. My friend and I even built an 8-year-old-kids version of Helltrack in his back yard.
On this watch, the main thing that strikes me is how whitebread American the film…
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Buried News 2021
*Time-sensitive review* [Reportedly] thru November 21st, 2021, the Arts Letters & Numbers website is streaming 6 of Bill Morrison's shorts from the past two years: artslettersandnumbers.org/six-short-films-by-bill-morrison-2020-2021/
Buried News is may favorite from the bunch. Like many of Morrison's projects, it uses films from the Yukon Territory - what I refer to as "buried treasure." Four of these, between 1917 and 1920, are in Buried News. I won't provide any other spoilers about the plot, but as the title suggests, these are…
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La Pointe-Courte 1955
Another mind-blowing work from the 2020 "Complete Films of Agnès Varda" set. (This one is from a nearly-pristine 4K scan in 2013.) The special features include - like most of the films in the set - a short segment of Varda explaining the film. She always does so with confidence and pride, without seeming to be boastful. *La Pointe-Courte* was her first feature film, and it's clear that even at 26 years old, she had a talent for - and…
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Cripple Creek Bar-Room Scene 1899
Watched this because the title reminded me of an awesome song by The Band. Ended up enjoying the feisty characters in this short, comical "western" scene. Also had me looking up the history of Cripple Creek, Colorado. This clearly was referencing the gold rush of the 1890s, in the heyday of the "Independence lode" mining community around Cripple Creek.