Movies by the Fireplace with Swan

Primer
(Shane Carruth, 2004)





Primer isn’t everyone’s cup of coffee, but for me it’s the perfect blend. When talking about films that I personally connect with, Primer is one of the first films that come to my mind. It's a flawed film for sure, but that comes with the territory of being a $7,000 directorial debut by someone without any previous experience in filmmaking. In fact, with that in mind, I personally consider Shane Carruth - who directed, wrote, starred, produced, composed the score, and sound edited the film - something of a filmmaking genius. He's one of my filmmaking heroes, because he is a one man moviemaking machine.

And I feel Primer is the perfect example of genius in terms of low-budget creativity in storytelling. Using $7,000 dollars and almost no special effects, Carruth manages to tell a believable, engaging, intelligent and thought-provoking time travel film by very economical means. I've read criticisms of the film and none of them have changed my personal feelings toward it. I love it wholeheartedly and it's one of those films I can watch an endless amount of times and still love. There's just something about it. It appeals to my sensibilities in nearly every way.



Unfortunately, unless it looks like a movie you would like, don't expect a recommendation from me. I would recommend it to engineers and mathematicians and scientists more than anyone. I recommended it to my mechanical engineer cousin and he dug it. But cinephiles always seem to focus too much on it's flaws and don't just try to enjoy the experience.

And it's all about the experience of the film. I am close to understanding the film - as much as you can. Carruth purposefully leaves out some information so it's impossible to know 100% what's going on. But personally, I don't care that much to figure it out. That's a fun little game, but whenever I watch it, I just sit back and let the film take me over. I experience it's magic. It's inspires me in every way.



I wish I will one day make something as creative and intellectually stimulating. But if I never do, I can always just watch Primer.

Pontypool
(Bruce McDonald, 2008)





Pontypool blew me away. It was absolutely stunning. I was captivated – at the climax I literally had to sit up, the definition of “edge-of-your-seat”. It’s been so long since I’ve had this kind of experience with a movie. I thought I never would have. But Pontypool, this little underseen horror flick from 2008 came along with little expectations from me, and absolutely rocked my world.

It wouldn’t have been possible if the cast didn’t kicked ass. Stephen McHattie owns this film as Grant Mazzy. This movie will no doubt become something of a cult classic, and its star will no doubt be the icon. The two gorgeous actresses, Lisa Houle and Georgina Reilly, are nothing short of great in their own right. I totally bought into all their performances. After a while, I forgot I was watching a movie.



I’m probably going to be in the minority on this. While the film seems to be well-received among horror fans, the general public doesn’t seem as enthralled for some reason. I was talking to my oldest sister about it today, in fact, and the impression I got was that while she liked it, she wasn’t blown away like I ended up being. She called it “too talky,” which I thought was a weird criticism. But I thought I would have to find out for myself.

The film takes place entirely in one building, a radio station, and it is pretty much all talk. This is funny and ironic if you’ve seen the film. The way they play with the talky one-room scenario we’ve seen more than a few times is absolutely genius. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I was quite taken by the script and it’s execution.



It’s a great example of a film getting progressively better, too. I recently watched Alyce Kills, which I felt was the opposite – a film that, as it went on, just got worse and worse. This was different. As it started, I expected maybe a 3.5 film. As it kept going, it began creeping up to a 4, then eventually went all the way up to 5 with the stunning climax.

I’m just not crazy about a lot of modern horror films. My dad buys a lot of them, these new movies that come out and are no good, and I used to watch them with him. Those, as well as most of what comes to theaters… horror seems to have lost a bit of steam. But every once in a while, something great comes along, something like Pontypool. Maybe I’m too hard on modern horror. After this one, I certainly would like to seek out more of those newer horror ventures that are respectfully rated by horror hounds. Because, like I said, every once in a while something good, or even great, comes along.



Back to what I was saying about being in the minority. If my glowing review gets people to watch it, I have a feeling they will like it but won’t be absolutely gobsmacked by it. I hope I’m wrong and that’s not the case – I’d love for people to love this movie like I loved it. I would love to do a commentary on it, perhaps. But if not, I will have no problem watching this gripping and fantastic film by myself.