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Reviews
Agent (2017)
GoPro made me a cinematographer
A GoPro, a drone, and some guns spent a weekend in Joshua Tree and this is the result. A plodding, plot less pastiche of random sci fi tropes linked only by triple threat Ting's ambition and love of gadgets, this drone wreck of a video never gets off the ground. There is no plot, just 59 minutes of ultra high definition landscapes, clouds, bushes, ants and lots and lots of guns. The remains 21 min have some decent fight scenes and steadi-cam shots, but are unmoored to anything interesting, plot wise. When the camera isn't strapped to a drone shooting empty landscape, it is usually sitting motionless on another rock, facing a bush. Ting clearly watched enough films to want to make one, but doesn't seem to grasp the niceties of visual storytelling, or editing, or human emotion, the things that make films (as opposed to this 80 minute string of video clips) compelling to humans to watch. There is no alien threat, just red CGI dust, and instead of telling a story everyone shoots everyone else. The actors generate no tension, dramatic, sexual or any other sort, while the video camera lustily devours other gadgets. Slow mo cartridges fly out of the steaming orifices of hot, hot guns, and creosote bushes languish in the hot, hot sun, while ants scurry and aquariums snails gaping maws nibble sea weed. Visually exquisite and as emotionally barren as the infertile protagonist, this video at 80 minutes feels as endless as the desert it was shot in.
Viva (2007)
Beyond Brilliant
VIVA is so good that most will likely mistake it for an actual example of the stereotypical 70's genre sexploitation flick it so perfectly mimics. Nothing could be further from the truth. The real thing never looked so beautiful, or was so meticulously composed, or lovingly rendered. Daring, quirky, personal, utterly unique, the film transcends and surpasses the works it pretends to send up. Anna Biller's new and original voice, and incredible artistry make this an unforgettable feature length debut. If you can look past the blue eye shadow and filmy vintage negligees, you may discern a genuine aesthetic master. An amazing technical achievement, like watching a feminine Guy Madden photographing herself for a vintage centerfold pictorial. Neither period exploitation nor modern commercial multiplex filler, this film will no doubt baffle many, possibly most casual viewers.