Change Your Image
mzwechsler
Reviews
The Marshmallow Chef (1990)
Marshmellow Chef is more than FLUFF
If you want to see a short film that will stoke your nostalgia for The Little Rascals and nearly every Buster Keaton movie, you must see THE MARSHMELLOW CHEF. Writer/Director Terry Keefe made this as part of his 480 thesis at USC film school in 1990. I found myself laughing and waxing silent film nostalgia the entire way through. How does a movie like this not jumpstart a career is anyones guess, though I see Mr. Keefe's resume has included a slate of respectable and compelling indie films, so clearly his talent has not gone unnoticed. My favorite part of the short film is when the Marshmellow chef finds that his recipe for marshmellows has been pilfered. The tragic-comedy of this moment reminds me of Chaplin in the Gold Rush. Miss this and you are not the cineaste you think you are.
Odd Brodsky (2014)
Just what the doctor ordered for tough times: Laughs!
I went to this movie in a relatively foul mood. Nothing seemed to help me get in better spirits until I saw this adorable, charming and whimsical film. Not only is it funny through and through, it's offbeat and off-kilter. It had shades of "Napoleon Dynamite" with eccentric characters who fall nothing short of lovable. Left the movie and my wife was like "I guess we know what puts you in a good mood" Yes, a hilarious film! I noticed it's won many awards at film festivals and I hope and expect that this will find its way to the general public who, like myself, needs a strong cinematic "upper." Kudos to the writer and director and the cinematographer who I realized shot "Waitress" His touch was just the right blend of pathos and whimsy.
Auteur (2006)
Simon is a smart as a whip writer
I will admit I'm a tough audience when it comes to satires about film-making, so when I saw this at a fest in Denver, I was a convert. Just when you think that material has been wrung dry, along comes a creative force so strong, energetic, and original that the genre is redefined and your disposition overturned.
Though I loved everything about the acting and direction, I was particularly impressed by the screen writing of Alex Simon. Instead of falling back on the genre's conventions, Simon goes balls to the wall painting an unlikeable character whom we enjoy watching trip and fall on land mines as he struggles to make his piece-De-resistance. Simon doesn't get all misty on us with making this about the difficulty of swimming with sharks. Instead he makes a compelling story about artistic hubris and arrogance and the price that "Auteurs" pay for their reckless abandon of morals and dignity.
I simply loved watching every frame of this film and can't wait to hear more about what's brewing in Mr. Simon's upcoming work.