Take a chance is what I say.  I’m not one to live dangerously out there in the world full of people and tangible consequence…but….at the video store I am the movie watcher’s equivalent to Evil Knievel!  Oh yes my friends and foes I walk through the isles on the prowl and go where no one else dares to tread…the single DVD release you’ve never even heard of.  And although the back cover blurb is poorly written and almost always dissuades my better judgement I say nay, nay to playing it safe…I rent the lone release and TAKE A CHANCE!

Which brings me to what will be our weekly TAKE A CHANCE REVIEW.  This week’s gem is a British crime flick called The Crew.  To my pleasant surprise (and to the surprise of my pleasant company while watching) this film turned out to be nothing short of fantastic.  The storyline, acting, and directing were really strong in this film.  I think we’ve all become accustomed to a cheeky version of the crime film so wonderfully portrayed by Guy Ritchie that we take for granted the gritty reality of crime in the UK.  This film by Adrian Vitoria is funny at times in an uncomfortable sort of way because it’s not meant to be and the rest of it makes you uncomfortable and intrigued for very different reasons all of which you will simply have to see for yourselves. 

What I will say with out hesitation is that the pace of the film is perfect.  The violence is portrayed in a way that is human if that makes any sense to anybody.  We often have the image of bad men doing bad things with little if any remorse.  This film shows a wide array of supposed "bad men" and shows that not all react to their lives of crime in similar fashions nor do they deal with the stress of said lives in exactly the same ways.  What you find by the end of this film is that there’s as many versions of the criminal as there are of the regular Joe which brings us to a very strange and unwilling conclusion: there is no difference between the criminal and the regular Joe.  We all do what we feel we can and must…when I say we I mean they as my Evil Knievel is limited to the isles of video rental facilities. 

Stephen Graham you will remember as Tommy The Gun from Snatch and you should note that his rendition of Franner in this film is the complete antithesis to Tommy in Snatch.  Scot Williams plays Ged in this (the crew boss) and his performance is very strong and seducing at times not that I mind saying so.  Also, one guy I saw in this and kept thinking "I know you" not in a "I think you went to my high school" sort of way but more in a "I think I’ve seen you in another film" sort of way…and that guy was….Kenny Doughty .  Who is Kenny Doughty?  In this he plays Ratter the ambitious psychotic criminal but back in the day he played Andy MacDowell’s love interest in Crush.  Another versatile actor in this lot.  So if sexy boys, violence, drugs, guns, and a good old crime story don’t suit you I really can’t help you.  My advice: take a chance, you just might like it.

Release Date: Friday October 2, 2009 Genre: Comedy Running Time: 88 min.Director: Ruben Fleischer Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Abigail Breslin, Emma Stone, Amber Heard

Here’s a film I really didn’t want to go see but a friend of mine did and because I missed his birthday party I took him to see Zombieland. Now, he didn’t know I didn’t want to see it and I wasn’t about to tell him.  In the end I was really glad I went to see this movie as it proved to be really funny and made me jump in my seat several times.  There are some great lines in it and the cameo by Bill Murray is just amazing.  Just an aside, when I watch men like Bill Murray perform I wonder to myself (and often out loud) "Why don’t they make’em like that anymore?  Why can’t I meet a man like that?" …then I proceed to cry helplessly damning the saints as I curse the skies.  Okay, maybe I don’t go quite that far…but I’m sure you know what I mean when I say what I say or write what I write as you read what you read.  Nonetheless, Ruben Fleischer was able to win me over with this killer soundtrack that paved the wave for some super performances by some seriously talented players.

Jesse Eisenberg really knocks this one out of the part as an overly uptight and obsessive compulsive survivalist in the apocalyptic times of Zombieland. Woody Harrelson plays the Id incarnate as the ultimate zombie killer with out remorse in this hell on earth.  The two sisters played by Abigail Breslin and Emma Stone are a priceless bunch of tricksters sticking together to get to an amusement park so that the younger of the two can finally "be a kid".  This unlikely quartette forms some semblance of a nuclear family while fighting zombies and roughing it out while on the hunt for Twinkies…you’ll have to watch to catch that bit.  What would you do for a taste of humanity when humans is what the world is short on?  Enjoy the simple things is a lesson for all–not just those in Zombieland. 

I really enjoyed this picture because of its simple nature and wonderful executing.  It’s a combination of cinema of the absurd and a good old fashioned shoot’em up action flick with a hint of horror.  I highly recommend it as it will give you a peculiar warm and fuzzy feeling as you leave the cinema.  Just don’t confess you didn’t want to see it to begin with…you might feel like a bit of a jack ass…I know I did!

Gangster Exchange is officially on my list of super cool action movies.  I got to see it at the Mississauga Independent Film Festival  2009 and was totally blown away.  This movie is original, has a great look, an amazing sound, and is packed with punches (literally), and is accompanied by a killer soundtrack.  I was watching and just relishing in the quality of the production and story telling.  I sat there and felt vindicated by this film thinking "I’ve been right this whole time…Canadian directors can make kick ass movies about something other than snow and crying."  I don’t care I said it!  I’m so glad Dean Bajramovic (the writer/director of Gangster Exchange) made this movie because it’s a very important example for Canadian filmmakers short on money but long on talent and creativity.  This film proves that talent and perseverance can win the battle with mediocrity even if that battle seems impossible.  The audience reaction to the film was self-evident in the long applause after the film along with the excitement and constant praise of the audience during the
Q&A.  

Gangster Exchange is a film about "Guns, thugs, and toilets made of drugs" as the tag line promises.  Essentially what you have is an east meets west of the old world in the "new world" context within the sub terrain world of organised crime.  The film starts out with the difficulty in getting heroin out of Japan and into America undetected…solution….chemically alter it and voila a heroin toilet.  The problem seems to be solved but then the movie would be over and that wouldn’t be very good.  So what happens?  What always happens when people who deal in the dark shadows and fringes of the law get greedy: the shit hits the fan.  Murphy’s Law ensues turning this seemingly cut and dry story about Okuza and Bosnian mobsters into an insanely action packed "on the run" movie that affectionately slips in and out of a buddy comedy.  How is this possible you might ask?  The writing and directing genius of Dean Bajramovic and his killer cast.  The odd couple find themselves in loads of trouble looking for a chemist to process the dope so they can sell it.  After dodging some bullets and getting hit by one or two the Okuza gangster and Bosnian enforcer turned odd couple finds a sexy chemist named Kenny who works her magic; the toilet is no more and the heroin is in tact.  I will tell you no more as it would spoil the rest…and I’ve left out enough details for you to sit in amazement when you finally get around to watching this bad boy.  

If I had to describe this movie experience in metaphoric terms I’d have to say it’s a real thrill ride from beginning to end.  It’s got a great look to it courtesy Kevin C.W. Wong
(Cinematographer) and a wicked soundtrack scored by Whitney Baker.  I hope we see a lot more from Dean in the years to come as I am eagerly looking forward to all his future projects.  I’ve told you a bit about the film but below you can get a feel for the man himself.  I got to interview Dean at MIFF and he is extremely funny, articulate, and a really down to earth guy.  

AnnieG: Hi I’m AnnieG and I’m here with…

Dean: Dean Bajramovic the Writer/Director of Gangster Exchange.

AnnieG: Tell me a bit about your film, uhm, just a quick synopsis.

Dean: The tagline is "Guns, thugs, and toilets made of drugs". It’s about a couple of Yakuza dudes that come over from Tokyo with a toilet made of heroin and their smuggling it to New York City where they meet up with the Bosnian mob and of course everything goes haywire. This crazy little cyber punk yakuza gangster and a giant muscle-mountain Bosnian thug enforcer type; they team up and steal the toilet go on the run from all their gangs. There’s snipers, there’s shootouts, there’s guns, there’s thugs, and there’s toilets made of drugs. And that’s the movie.

AnnieG: Excellent. How did this story come to you?

Dean: Uh well, it’s actually a documentary that I’d done originally about my own life as a yakuza gangster. No, I’m kidding. (laughs)

AnnieG: (laughing)

Dean: No, I’m joking. How did it come to me? Well they say you should write what you know so I lived in Japan for a couple of years so that’s where the Japanese angle comes from. My family’s Bosnian so that’s where the Bosnian angle comes from. I read an article actually about how the Columbian gangs were smuggling cocaine in different kinds of ceramic. They were encasing it in to ceramic and they were putting it into bathtubs and sinks and stuff like that and I just thought a toilet would be kind of funny. It’s kind of that Cheech and Chong vehicle where they smuggle you know the van, they drive the van across the border made of weed and I thought a guy carrying a toilet around would be hilarious. So that’s kind of where it came from.

AnnieG: How is it you found out about MIFF and what is it that brought you to this festival?

Dean: Right. I met Matt and Jeff at TIFF. The Toronto Film Festival which s this other insignificant festival compared to the power of MIFF really but uhh (chuckles). No, I’m kidding TIFF was great as well. We met at TIFF, I was not in TIFF I don’t they were either but anyway we were Toronto based guys, Toronto area based guys, and we just started talking at one of the parties and we just sort of talked and I heard about their festival and wanted to apply and they were kind enough to have our film here.

AnnieG: What’s the experience been like at this festival? Give everybody a rundown of what it’s been like at MIFF.

Dean: Okay. The blogging has been sub par. But other than that.

AnnieG: (laughing out loud)

Dean: (laughing) Other than that it’s been great. If there’s one Achilles heal of the festival its weak blogging but it’s been. (laughs). No (laughs) everything’s been great, everyone’s really friendly, I really enjoyed myself, there’s been some great movies. I was at a couple of workshops that were really useful as well. I’ve got one film done but still lots to learn always. What else can I say? Everyone’s been super friendly, super nice, and I’ve had a good time here so far. There’s been some good movies and I’ve just been sitting around and watching movies all day which is my idea of heaven really so there you go.

AnnieG: Let us know, you got into the festival and this is your first feature am I correct?

Dean: Yes this is my first feature.

AnnieG: So tell people who think this festival’s inaccessible, tell them what you feel about it. Is it accessible to indie filmmakers?

Dean: Oh definitely. This festival is 100% accessible to indie filmmakers. I mean I understand where people are coming from where a lot of the larger festivals are very difficult to get into; a festival like Sundance or TIFF or Cannes or something like that there’s a very difficult procedure of getting into those festivals even ones that are labelled as independent festivals have gotten to a size where getting in is a complicated procedure. But, that’s certainly not the case for MIFF and apart from a couple of the organizers who are pricks I don’t (laughs) yeah, no, (laughs as a Campagna brother informs him films are starting). No, I’m kidding Jeff just walked in. This festival is one that is very accessible and they seem to be great at promoting local Canadian talent which is spectacular.

AnnieG: Lastly, what does a festival like this mean
for you?

Dean: Well, a festival like this is great because we do have to get our movies out there and a film like ours is not going to have a theatrical release. I mean we’re not going to be competing with Transformers or The Proposal or whatever. So it’s great for us to be able to reach an audience and be able to get people to participate in the movie and want to see the movie; to give them a forum to come and see it and to get out there. I mean this is one of the ways we can really get our film out to the audience and hope that it finds an audience. I think festivals like this are really, really important to filmmakers like myself.

For more information about Gangster Exchange check out the films website @ http://www.gangsterexchange.com/  The website is full of info about the cast and creators of this screen gem. 

© all photographs provided by AnnieG and all related media is the property of Gothic Raygun Pictures and their respective associates/copyright holders. This is a transcribed interview conducted by AnnieG at the 2009 Mississauga Independent Film Festival. This work may not be transmitted via the Internet, or reproduced in any other way, without written consent from AnnieGMovies.

I met Allan Ungar at The Mississauga Independent Film Festival this summer and got around to seeing his film Annulment as well.  It’s a non-linear action/drama short shot on digital. (say that one five times really fast) It’s a tall order for an aspiring indie filmmaker but Ungar turns this one out pretty good if you ask me.  An interesting story bordering on the philisophical and highly invested in the emotional elements of action and violence.  I must say that I really enjoyed this short and found it to be visual proof that short films can be just as satisfying as features if they are done rig; needless to say Allan Ungar did this right.  I’ll also have to say that I really enjoyed talking with Allan Unger as he’s a real sweet heart and a bright young man.  I suspect this film is the beginning of something for Allan; whether it be a style, a genre choice, or simply a unique method of storytelling he will embark on I don’t know–but I do like it.  By the end of this short you’ll be guessing and guessing about who’s who and who done it.  For now you can get a taste of Annulment in the trailer to your left and a dose of Allan Ungar below–enjoy!

AnnieG:  Here we are at Mississauga Independent Film Festival with…

Allan Ungar:  Allan Unger.

AnnieG:  From…

Allan Unger: The film Annulment.

AnnieG:  Tell me a bit about your movie.

Allan Unger: Annulment is kind of a race against time story about  guy who is trying to get to this girl and he’s being pursued by a group of other people and it’s set in a non-linear series of events.  So as we’re kind of jumping back and forth between present and past we kind of learn more about what’s going on in the present.   

AnnieG:  Excellent.  What does it mean to be a part of this particular festival and why is it important to you?  

Allan Unger:  Makes me feel important.  (giggle) Just period, makes me feel important. It’s actually interesting to just kind of mingle and just be in the same atmosphere of people who like doing what I do.  Who want to do the same things I want to do and I think it’s a great environment to kind of be out there supporting each other. People trying to makes films especially independently in Canada where I mean it’s tough.  

AnnieG:  What are your aspirations after being in this festival?  What do you hope to get from this festival in terms of marketing, communicating with people/getting in touch, talent, etc.? 

Allan Unger: Well, I mean you can always be open and never know when you’re going to meet someone else.  People usually meet and then end up collaborating some where down the road.  So, I mean, at this point I haven’t really thought about it like that and I’m just playing it by ear and seeing who I meet, seeing other films,  and hopefully making a couple of contacts.  Hopefully come back next year with something new.  

AnnieG:  What’s the best thing about the Gala here tonight?  

Allan Unger: Well is it politically incorrect to say free alcohol?  No, uhmmm, it’s just a nice, classy, high society vibe where people come and their show casing different talents and you’re mingling with people who are in the same industry as you.

AnnieG:  Are you interested in any of the workshops offered?

Allan Unger:  I actually just found out about the workshops when I looked at the little access pass they gave me.  I am, whether or not I’ll have time to get around to it is another story.  But, I think it’s actually a very smart idea that they’re incorporating it into a film festival.  I mean most people think you come to a festival to watch certain things by adding workshops they’re adding more and are catering to a broad audience to attract people to
come.  

AnnieG:  Would you say this festival is the most accessible to your generation in terms of where they are policy wise and in terms of where they are in accessibility?

Allan Unger: It’s definitely accessible.  One thing I noticed is that they are trying to cater to the independent filmmakers which not  a lot of festivals do.  We’re starting to see a bit more of it now but I mean I’m a lot younger than most people here so to me it’s kind of exciting to be here because everyone’s a lot older than I am.  I know I look old but I’m not (giggle).  It’s definitely very convenient because I was reading today that it’s the Mississauga Festival but it’s open to the Greater Toronto Area and even Ontario in general.  So I think it was a smart decision on the promoter’s part to make a choice to open it up to everybody. 

AnnieG: Any last words to filmmakers like you who want to get involved with this but think they can’t?

Allan Unger:  Just keep trying.  If you’re passionate about something don’t stop.  It’s better to go out and make something than wait for it to come to you.  Keep trying keep going. 

AnnieG:  Thank you very much.  It was great talking to you and have a great night.

Allan Unger:  You too-thank you. 

For More information about Allan Ungar and Annulment you can check them out at http://www.annulmentshortfilm.com/ Just one of many gems I found at MIFF this year.

© all photographs provided by AnnieG and all related media is the property of Allan Ungar and his respective associates/copyright holders.  This is a transcribed interview taken done by AnnieG at the 2009 Mississauga Independent Film Festival.   This work may not be transmitted via the Internet, or reproduced in any other way, without written consent from AnnieGMovies.

This is one of those movies that pushed one star in the trailer (Christian Bale) and wound up pushing another soon to be star (Sam Worthington) in the actual movie.  I can see why Bale was cast as John Connor.  An A-list star on the "action guy" list was needed to reinvent this franchise and given the success of the new Batman franchise Bale can clearly carry a big budget action film.  So we know why McG opted for this lead who necessarily isn’t a lead because through out the narrative the audience is far more interested in Marcus Wright’s story than they are in John Connor leading the resistance against the machines.  

The story construct for this film is quite interesting as the principles of life and death and what it actually means to be dead or alive are at the centre.  What will be lost on many due to the big bang action are the subtle comments about humanity and what it is that makes us human.  The film puts emphasis on freedom of choice (the mind) and emotions (what we relate to the heart).  In essence the film poses much more than this because there is a question that the film addresses in subtext:  Can we keep our sense of humanity in a quickly changing technological world?  I wouldn’t call this a techno phobic film but rather I would seriously suggest it is a film about the fears attached to human kind’s inability to connect on a universally conscious level; this film suggests that this is perhaps what will lead to our demise.

Some may look at this film as a metaphor for the supposed free world becoming a police state.  The machines are the ultimate "order" eliminating free thinking, adversity, and diversity as the machines are uniform in thought and direction.  I can see why the film can be viewed and criticized with this as the central focus because both the context and the subtext of the film allots for this rational to emerge. 

Overall the film is worth watching.  It was advertised as a different kind of story which is why initially one may feel cheated when watching the film.  I do think it will be one of many "resistance" based films to come over the next 2-5 years in the mainstream.  Whether or not they will get addressed as such is highly unlikely.  What is important about this film and what makes it different from most man against machine films is that this film really stresses that being human is deeply rooted in CHOICE, and choice is INTRINSIC.

Firs off, never have I sat in the cinema with heart in hand waiting for the utterance of dialogue in a film–that line I so desperately awaited was "Beam me up Scotty".  I was gravely disappointed this did not happen for me, but, other than that miniscule fraction of disappointment the film was PHENOMENAL.  Star Trek was everything the nerd in me hoped for and so much more.  J.J. Abrams did an excellent job of updating the franchise and making it more palatable for a 21st century audience.  The look and sound of this motion picture is true to both the nostalgic notions of Star Trek and a contemporary vision in terms of how we imagine the future today as opposed to how past generations may have.  At the end of the day Abrams was correct when he said he made the film for movie goers and not just Star Trek fans.  With out this attitude he never would have been this successful. 

Let’s move on to the cast.  All for the new James Tiberius Kirk say "hell yeah"…ohhhhhhh helllllll yeahhhhh!  Chris Pine is the new Kirk and that’s all there’s to it.  A stunning, swaggering, and very emotionally present actor who brings a multi-layered nuance to this character.  I love that you really get a feel for what Captain Kirk must have been like as a young man via the performance of Chris Pine.  I remember Chris Pine as that "killer dude" from CSI Miami sitting across an interrogation table from David Caruso.  And even though I’ve seen him in a few movies since where he’s never played the same kind of character that particular one sticks with me.  From time to time I do think of him in Smokin’Aces as one of those sick and twisted Tremor Brothers and perhaps I flirt with the idea of him as the clumsy yet very sweet Jake Hardin in Just My Luck I must say nothing quite captivates me like that psycho killer in CSI Miami.  Fast forward to 2009 and he’s the Captain Kirk the Y Demographic has been waiting for–even if they didn’t know it.  You simply can’t miss Chris Pine in this performance, it would be a film-goer faux pas in my opinion.

The cast is stalk chalked with talent.  You have the best version of a young McCoy that anyone could have ever hoped for portrayed by Karl Urban.  I was inamored with this performance and so very pleased with straight from the introduction of this character on that cadet ship all the way to the end of the picture.  Zachary Quinto did not disappoint as Spock.  I am not a Heroes watcher nor am I a big fan of the Sylar character but Quinto doesn’t let you down with his rendition of a young Spock.  There’s a twist in the Star Trek story this time’round with Uhura that you shouldn’t miss as Zoe Saldana portrays her as a very spunky, smart, and sultry young woman.  Anton Yelchin is Pavel Checkov and does a fantastic job as does John Cho as Sulu and Simon Pegg as Scotty.  These three aren’t on screen the entire time but they do keep us entertained while living up to the expectations of their very engrained and endeared characters.  Eric Bana is the bad guy Nero (Romulan bad guy) and Bruce Greenwood is (the Canadian cutie) Captain Pike who takes one for the team while held captive by said bad guy.   All of this wrapped up with a Leonard Nimoy reprisal of Spock inspires one to ask: Could this movie get any cooler?  Clearly, Abrams knew exactly what he was doing when he cast this film with this roster of actors who are so beloved by audiences in the cinema that I hope they manage to lock these folks into a deal for a follow up.  They all did a great job at maintaining the niche elements that we all love about these characters while updating them for a new audience.  I couldn’t have been more pleased…but…I am still heart broken that I did not get to hear "Beam me up Scotty."

The verdict is that regardless of your age or sense of Star Trek nostalgia this movie is going to get right under your skin and take you on the ride of your life.  After X-Men Origines: Wolverine and Underworld: Rise of the Lycans this was my most highly anticipated action flick of the year.  So far it’s a three for three and I just can’t wait for the DVD’s.  Get your butt to the cinema and watch this bad boy.  You might even see me there as I intend to take my geek-butt back to see it again; probably on a Sunday matinee if anyone was wondering…highly unlikely–I know.