Buzzard

This is the sort of film that kind of immediately grabs you from its opening scene, for no apparent reason really. It's not visually stunning or doing anything outrageous, it just has a very clear tone and seems to know what it's doing. The ride throughout is interesting, even if it has some parts that don't entirely work. The directing is smooth and has an off-kilter vibe that many would be proud of. I think this sort of film has the capacity to establish a real fanbase, and I wouldn't be surprised if it did. Overall, the running time also needed to be a little shorter, for such a limited story, but I recommend this uneasy, weird film.

Paranoia forces small-time scam artist Marty (Joshua Burge) to flee his hometown and hide out in a dangerous Detroit. With nothing but a pocket full of bogus checks, his Nightmare Power Glove, and a bad temper, the horror metal slacker lashes out.

The film starts off strong, great impression of the main character without even showing his face. We then transition to a clever, devious and hilarious bank scene. Which gets better as it goes... heck, the film could stop after the first five minutes and it would be a winner.

There is no doubt the creator of this film loves horror. There are references to horror classics like "Nightmare on Elm Street", "Return of the Living Dead", "Wicker Man", "Demons" and "Suspiria". Heck, there is even a full-sized poster for "Leviathan", which is a rare find.

In summary, the film is one great scene after another. Treadmill Bugles? Brilliant. The spaghetti incident? Brilliant. Scamming a McDonalds? Brilliant.

Some critic smarter than me says the film is "notable for reigniting the angry young man niche, both in aesthetic and voice." Now, whether or not that is true is beyond me. Seems it is hard to reignite anything by itself... would it not have to create a trend? But it does have a man fighting against his own futility -- a futility he largely creates. And there is a message in there somewhere.

This is not a bad movie if you like this sort of movies.

And what sort of movie this is? Well, think the original "office" series (the British version, not the American one) and you will be in the ballpark. But make no mistake because this movies is not a comedy...at least, not all of it.

The majority of the movie leans towards a comedy, but then you start realizing that the message on this movie is that there are actually guys like the main character, which may make you feel a bit umconfortable.

In fact, I am willing to bet that most of us know someone like him, or may have been him a while ago. It is a phase that we all have. A phase where life is a bit like a game, and it is hard to discern between fantasy and real world, between good and evil, between what is legal and what is not.

But while we are all supposed to end that phase as we enter adulthood, some people stay there permanently. That is hardly an spoiler as the main character makes that fact clear from the get go...

...then again this movie has a couple of tricks down its sleeve that you will not want to miss.

My complain about the movie is that some scenes are far too long, and while it works in some cases (one of them its really hilarious) in others you just wish the movie to be over already. Cutting this scenes to the necessary length, and perhaps expanding a bit more the end, would have a much better effect in my humble opinion.

Still its a movie worth watching if you are into "the office".

"No one will be seated during the thrilling, five-minute long spaghetti eating sequence."

The tone of this movie changes from funny, goofy characters in silly situations, to a really uncomfortable third act where our lead character descends into paranoia and violence. It is really hard to continue watching this movie once the setting changes to Detroit. The tone change does not work for me.

That said, the first two acts are great. They have clever scams and funny scenes. The acting is wonderful throughout.

"I may live badly, but at least I don't have to *work* to do it." Hitchhiker from Richard Linklater's Slacker.

The slacker, Marty (Joshua Burg), in his titular reference, Buzzard, is more socially disaffected than Napoleon Dynamite and scarier in a covert sense than Freddie Krueger. In all, this comedy drama is a witty allegory about teen anomie and an indictment of a society that constructs barriers through bureaucratic indifference.

Marty is a small time scam artist, mostly stealing checks from his temp work at a bank to trading in discarded McDonald's sandwiches from the garbage for fresh ones. All the while this metal meat head has a poster of Freddie and a glove with knives for digits. You guessed it: If director Joel Potrykus places the glove in a shot early on, chances are we'll see it later on in a far less sedentary shot.

Yet meanwhile, Marty is pulling little cons with motel room access and check kiting and generally avoiding the law. He is alternately lovable in his counterculture way and menacing when faced with authority he doesn't respect. Through most of the film, Marty is an amusing though disreputable slacker, a temp worker ripping off the bank he works for and a buddy only temporarily engaged while he thinks of his next low-level crime.

"Buzzard" should get the year's prize for the most accurate title in film. Marty feeds off the carrion of society while he literally does so in his McDonald's larcenies. Until the climax, he evades the authorities, who must by now be up to his game. Without focusing on his criminal activities, an inference could be drawn that society needs to be vigilant and proactive to help these Napoleons have meaningful lives. Otherwise, Freddie has spawned a most lethal buzzard.