Of Truth and Consequence

So, we're getting Horrorfest again.

I didn't think we'd get it last year, and then we did.

It's kind of a cool idea, really. Satiate people's love of craptacular horror movies with a barrage of them in a very short period of time.

After 20 minutes of digging around on the official site (www.horrorfestonline.com), I finally found the list of theaters, and lo and behold, it's coming to Dickinson Starworld 20, 10301 S. Memorial.

I think you've missed your chance to buy a festival pass, so you'll just have to get in and see the films individually while you can.

Looks like there are still eight of them, hence that whole "Eight Films to Die For" thing, I suppose. Anyway, the eight are Mulberry Street, The Deaths of Ian Stone, Nightmare Man, Unearthed, Borderland, Lake Dead, Tooth & Nail and Crazy Eights.

Mulberry Street has something to do with a wererat outbreak in New York City. Six recently evicted apartment dwellers hole up in their complex and try to survive.

The Deaths of Ian Stone is sort of a macabre version of Groundhog Day. Some monster finds Ian Stone and forces him to die horribly every day until Ian figures out what in the hell is going on.

In Nightmare Man, a woman who thinks she's being stalked by a horned monster that escaped from her husband while he was on the way to be committed. She ends up in a cabin in the woods with a bunch of her friends, and, as the saying goes, all hell breaks loose.

Unearthed sounds like a riff on Tremors. Someone digs up a monster that's been lying dormant beneath the earth for 900 years and it wants to, you know, eradicate mankind.

Borderland is apparently based on a true story. Three guys about to graduate from college take a trip to a Mexican bordertown and get captured by a cult looking for candidates for sacrifice. Yeah. Based on a "true" story. Given the definition of truth these days, sure, why not?

Lake Dead. Wow, what a lame title. The story sounds lamer. Three girls find out about a grandfather they didn't know they had after he dies.

In Tooth & Nail, post-apocalyptic cannibals terrorize a group of survivors just trying to start over. Why can't post-apocalyptic survivors just get along?

Crazy Eights makes me think of The Big Chill for some reason. Six friends reunite at the funeral and find themselves digging up a time capsule and tormented by a dead girl.

So out of those, I'd most like to watch Mulberry Street and The Deaths of Ian Stone. And maybe just the latter as it looks like it actually had some semblance of a budget and the premise is interesting, if recycled.

I wonder if you could make a career of that. Take a "concept" movie and tweak it into a horror film.

Anyway, something different for you horror fans. I'm still of the opinion if you're a horror fan and haven't yet, you should check out 30 Days of Night. Vampires should be scary, after all.

Horrorfest runs Nov. 9-18. Get 'em while they're hot.

Crime and Glory

Last weekend, I checked out American Gangster and For the Bible Tells Me So (which you can check out starting this Sunday at the Circle Cinema, 10 S. Lewis). Both are pretty good, which is always nice for a busy weekend. Nothing sucks more than squeezing in two movies in two and a half days and having them suck. Good is always welcome.

I'll do the "blockbuster" first, since the latter film is a documentary and much more of a discussion piece; it's meant to make you think, talk and reconsider rather than warrant any kind of synopsis on my part.

So let's go ahead and get all gangster on you. Yo.

It seems like every time someone makes a movie about organized crime in America, it has to be some period epic. They can't make a small movie about organized crime. It has to be set in the past and span time. The events in American Gangster take place over a period of six or seven years.

What's the deal? If it's shorter it automatically becomes a heist flick?

And what is it with these films with two big actors that they don't actually do any acting together. I guess Hollywood learned its lesson with Tango & Cash.

That was a joke.

Okay, but seriously. Take Heat. DeNiro and Pacino chew scenery for almost three hours and they have what, three minutes of screen time together? They talk over coffee for a bit, then they have the shootout. Three minutes might be generous.

So DeNiro and Pacino are old school, right? Both are considered masters of their craft. American Gangster stars two of our current masters, Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, and as it turns out, they share about 10 minutes of screen time together. Is that part of the plan to create dramatic tension?

Bah.

I think because of The Godfather, every "great" director wants to make a crime epic. They want to make a gangster movie. I don't know if it's the guns or why there seems to be a certain amount of prestige innate to the genre. Bah.

I'm not sure if that's why Ridley Scott made American Gangster. I think the guy is just experimenting with every genre he can get his hands on. Alien, Bladerunner, Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, Black Hawk Down, White Squall...

Most of the time, I like his movies. They're usually better than most, if not superlative. Pretty good is always better than crap, so I'll take it.

American Gangster is pretty good. It's ranked 115th on IMDb.com already. I wouldn't get that carried away.

American Gangster is the story of Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington), a black man in New York City who, in the late 1960s and early '70s, took over the heroin trade in the city and became one of organized crime's most powerful figures.

The film portrays him as a gentleman gangster.

At the same time Lucas was coming to power, police officer Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) was making a reputation as an honest cop in New Jersey, which wasn't necessarily a good thing. Shortly after the film starts, he finds a trunk loaded with $900,000 and turns it in.

By night, Richie works on his law degree. He doesn't want to be a cop forever. Richie's reputation as an honest cop comes to the attention of the Feds who want him to head up a special investigations unit. It's a job move that sets him on a collision course with Lucas.

Okay, so that's really you need to know storywise. It's based on a true story, so if you want, you can do some research on the whole thing. You'll discover Lucas and Roberts are both still alive, and that Lucas has served his time in prison.

What you get with American Gangster are two and a half hours of pretty good acting and competent directing. It's not The Godfather, but it's pretty good. You won't regret your ticket purchase. But I'd better not see it come up in any Best Picture discussions. If it does, then we've had a more pedestrian year than I've thought.

No Condemnation

And last but certainly not least, For the Bible Tells Me So. I've gotta admit, I think the Circle is pretty gutsy just for showing it. It's a documentary about the relationship between religion and homosexuality. More specifically, it's about how people use the Bible to condemn homosexuality.

The filmmakers interview several families, starting with parents whose children turned out to be homosexual. All of these families are religiously devout. One of the more compelling stories is that of Gene Robinson, a dedicated Episcopalian who became the first gay Bishop. Another of the stories is that of Chrissy Gephardt, daughter of Dick Gephardt, and how because of her father's bid for the United States Presidency she basically had to come out to the entire country.

These stories are coupled with interviews with heads of many of the various faiths around the country, Baptists and Catholics, Lutherans and Episcopalians. It's not a message of right and wrong, but one of education and tolerance.

It's a powerful doc. It's one of those films people need to see, but those likely to watch it are in no need of its message. People don't like to be challenged. They like for their beliefs to be reinforced. Validated.

As with any documentary, it's a one-sided affair. That side is one of tolerance. There is no condemnation on the part of the filmmakers. I hope this film, despite playing just three days in Tulsa, finds a broader audience. Give it a shot.

And I'll see you next week.