queen_of_the_troubled_teen

So imagine if in Shaun of the Dead, Liz was 7 months pregnant, they'd just done their monthly supermarket shop and instead of going out, they'd decided to hole up in her block of flats. And the zombies don't bother to attack (there are no zombies in Phase 7, but it has the feel of a zombie film). But the rest of the apartment block goes a bit mental. That would kind of be along the lines of this film. It's funny (most the humour is pretty subtle but there are a few real laugh out loud moments) and it is quite bonkers but in a really enjoyable way. It's maybe not fair to compare it to SotD, it's not quite in that league, but it is a really enjoyable film with some great fun performances that's worth checking out if you get the chance.

Rather than just another depressive movie about the horrors of drug dependency, Street Days examines Georgian's middle aged 'lost generation' who failed to adapt to the post-Soviet age. Checkie emerges as the protagonist in the film and as his attempts to score lead him to get mixed up with a couple of corrupt policemen and the cocky teenage son of an old, now successful, school friend. Checkie's drug dependency, and his lip service to going clean, provides the background as he confronts a series of moral challenges as he tries to be the good guy that everyone remembers him as before he became an addict and as he tries to make things up to his financially struggling ex-wife and son. The actor playing Checkie, in his first film, is utterly compelling as he struggles with impossible dilemmas and the senior cop is deliciously malevolent. The film has a great streak of black humour running through it, and the near farce on occasion, rather than detracting from the drama, helps to keep the characters human and emphasise the hole that Checkie is digging, and being dug, into. All in all, a very interesting first feature and another excellent choice at the Edinburgh International Film Festival

I saw this film at the Edinburgh Film Festival, and after the film, the director was asked how much this film cost. His answer $15,000! Well I reckon that works out somewhere near the bargain of $150 per laugh. Now imagine if the next rubbish Hollywood remake of some 70s TV show managed to bring in the entertainment at the same value...... The Puffy Chair is a totally charming, funny road-trip movie. A friend felt that the character Emily was too much of a stereotype of soppy women. I took it to be ironic and loved the weird dynamic of Emily and Josh's relationship. Josh's near-obsessive tight-fistedness and Rhett's just darned weirdness were my favourite aspects of the film. The acting and the comic timing was absolutely brilliant. My only complaint was I was sometimes annoyed by too much zooming in and out since it was hand held characters. If the film makers were trying to go for a documentary feel, I'm not sure this was the best approach to take. However, most of the camera work added to the slightly surreal nature of the journey.

All in all, a highly enjoyable film and the biggest down is that it doesn't have a UK distributor so most my friends will probably never see it.