I’m Ken Plume, and soon you’ll be listening to “A Bit Of A Chat” with me, Ken Plume.
In this episode, I have another chat with the Screenwipe/Newswipe/Gameswipe, Happy Finish, and Funny Or Die director, Al Campbell, as we fear Skynet, text Charlie Brooker, & wear silly hats for money.
Hope you enjoy…
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You can also find more of my interviews by clicking HERE.
I’m Ken Plume, and soon you’ll be listening to “A Bit Of A Chat” with me, Ken Plume.
Directors Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas just had to answer one question for me, just one, when it came to the fame and popularity of Bill Hicks when he was still walking back and forth across the stand-up stages: What made him so popular in the UK?
His long form ideas connected because, politically, you have things here in the UK where you have a very oppositional structure where institutions are questioned, regularly. Whereas in America it seems to be about blending into one of two parties and when Bill came over here he was much more well received because we, frankly, are used to questioning those is power.
He was fascinated with his heroes, the Stones, Hendrix, and he could see how they experimented with things to alter their consciousness and he went on a path of wondering what would happen if he did that as well. But, after a while, you could see that it became more like a crutch than it did as something that could tell him something spiritually and you can tell that there was a time when he thought they were useful in exploring who he was and, when they became not so useful, he was lucky enough to know how to stop. He was able to come back from that really dark place and was able to be honest and open about it which just led to the second phase of his career where he became more intimate and more focused than he ever was.
After the massive success of Sgt. Bilko, creator Nat Hiken moved on to birth another of my absolute favorite comedies, 
Want your geekiness to shine through even when the lights go out? Perhaps you should use a 
I was delighted when I heard that the producers of the Harry Potter film series would be splitting the 7th book into two movies, as it meant the rather sprawling conclusion of JK Rowling’s epic would be allowed to breathe, and breathe 
While we’re still missing Finding Nemo, the penultimate Pixar flick to make the transition to a high definition special edition is Brad Bird’s 
Warners continues to be tops when it comes to preserving and presenting their massive library, and it’s releases like the 10-disc 
If ever there were a film made to appeal to my good buddy Dana Snyder, it’s the documentary 
It’s probably for the best that 
I’m a sucker for the “Art Of” books that usually accompany the release of most animated films these days, and that extends to a pair of new releases that aficionados should add to their collection – 
It’s one of those cult favorites that belongs to a generation after mine, but I know its fans will be delighted by the new release of the complete 1st & 2nd seasons of 
Rather than abandon them as unfinished releases, Disney’s ABC arm thankfully decided to license some of their TV shows to the fine folks at Shout Factory to release, including the 5th season of 
Long out of print on DVD, the Richard Lester satire 
The original Ewing family saga wraps up with the release of the 
The 80’s were certainly an… odd time for sitcoms. In what other generation could we have 
Make no mistake about Fubar: Balls to the Wall, it is hilarious. It is downright funny in a way that Jackass 3 was funny with the exception that the talent of David Lawrence and Paul Spence, who play Terry and Dean, respectively, are comedic actors who are so in tune to these characters that they feel like second skin that’s easily gotten into. They sell their performances by leaning on their abilities and it’s not really the story that’s compelling about this film, it’s them.
CS: Right off the bat, you are really diverse with the way you built your career. You came on the scene with Fubar, moved on to the really wonderful It’s All Gone Pete Tong. Then you did some television and now you’re back to features again. What is it you look for when you are looking for projects to do? Are you just looking for something diverse or do you get into whatever might strike your fancy?
DOWSE: We really compliment each other well. We don’t write any dialogue so we really just work with what looks like a script without dialogue. We all bring our own strengths to the table. I like to think I understand the structure of a film better. And Paul’s fuckin’ hilarious. We all add different things to it and we all compliment each other very well. We come up with an idea and we all laugh at it then we know it’s gold. It’s an interesting relationship for sure but it’s very rare. I’ve worked with a lot of writers where we don’t share the same style of humor and it’s extremely awkward when it’s not the same.
DOWSE: Yes, when you do more films you realize the reality of if you want your film to look good cinematically you’re going to have to deal with the timing and the infrastructure of it. There’s a big upside to that. It’s always a balancing act. Getting your film to look good, and giving your actors time on the floor to make it funny and honest is always a battle for me. Sometimes a more hands on approach works very well where if you want a bigger shoot you just fuck the monitors and go out behind the camera and talk to the people and that’s sometimes the way to go ““ just speeds everybody up. Lighting can be the biggest antithesis towards honesty and performance. It eats up so much time sometimes you’re just left with five minutes to get a performance so you have to make sure all that stuff is balanced and I think great directors do that or they just don’t give a shit and they go into overtime. I’ve got to gross a hundred million before I start doing that.
CS: And this is not anything like false praise but David and Paul, I wish I could see them in more things together. They have this relationship that doesn’t feel like acting. It just feels so natural and so honest it doesn’t ever come across as fake or false or put on. Do the two of them, do they realize they have that kind of chemistry together?
As mentioned before, there were so many good films to choose from at the Phoenix Film Festival, dubbed the friendliest film festival to independent filmmakers, that it was extremely hard to catch them all. There are four specific films I will attempt to get screeners of and give a review later next week. From what I’ve heard, you’ll want to hear about them.
Speaking of praise; a memorable film performance at the festival was Carlos Larkin’s turn as a cold-blooded mobster in David Dilley’s “Suspicion”. Let me start off by saying that director Dilley has come through with a good tight human drama laced with a “Sopranos” vibe and a dash of compassion. The story of an aging ex-mobster dying of cancer who strikes up an unusual relationship with an attractive young law student is engrossing with all its twists and turns. Brad Blaisdell as Darrell Jacobs and Suzanne May as Alicia Foret have a wonderful chemistry and what appears to be a genuine concern for each other. Blaisdell comes across part curmudgeon, sage (in a street sense way), threatening and vulnerable.
Jenna Fischer plays Laura Pehlke, a literal punching bag of low self-esteem who tries very hard to change her meek and often misguided ways. She finds herself controlled by her husband, 11 year-old son, older sister and her domineering mother (played deliciously by Lesley Ann Warren). We continuously root for Fischer’s character, because she is not portrayed as a victim but as someone who is consistently trying to improve herself and her situation. Fischer tackles the role with spunk and verve and makes us laugh and tugs at our heart all the way through.
A film that played to pack houses every night was “The Whistleblower,” starring Rachel Wiesz. This is a powerful true story that does not flinch from the ugly realities of human trafficking and all who were involved in it during post war Bosnia. Rachel Wiesz plays Kathryn Bolkovac a Seattle police officer who after several failed attempts at a transfer to be closer to her son, and after a difficult divorce, opts to transfer as a peace officer in Bosnia for a private company that was hired by the United States. The pay is too good to pass up; $100,000 for six months.
I end this diatribe of highlights with my own personal favorite “Terri” which either had people indifferent or embrace it. The growing pains of puberty with the added problem of a dysfunctional family life and the burden of being overweight are told with a wonderfully deft touch by writers Patrick Dewitt and Azazel Jacobs. Jacobs also directs with a quirky set of humor and a lighthearted way of handling the subject matter.
I didn’t think I would like the new TRON film. The original was a childhood favorite, even though it’s not a terribly good flick, and everything I’d seen and heard about the sequel gave me a massive feeling of “meh”. Well, the sequel, while flawed, is entirely watchable, at times even good, even if it suffers the same kind of story malaise that affected its predecessor. You can get both films via the 5-disc 
We’re entering into the rainy season as spring begins to dawn, and what better way to pass the time than constructing a pair of Harry Potter LEGO sets – the wonderful 
You know what doesn’t hold up? The original 
While it’s not the complete season sets fans have been hoping for, at least 
While I still prefer its more oddball sequel, there’s still much charm in the original 
If you’re still breaking in your 3-D TV or computer and desperate for content with which to do so, a pair of films made for 3-D IMAX theaters are available for your exhibition pleasure – 
Another of those “must-have” classic musicals has made its way into the high definition realm with the arrival of the 40th anniversary edition of 
The massive Roger Corman collection coming out of Shout Factory gets a pair of new releases that amount to 5 more films, the first of which is the triple feature 
If you thought you had the complete run of Abbott & Costello’s theatrical flicks after getting that big Universal set a few years back, best think again, as the Warner Archive Collection has released a clutch of films the boys made for them, including 
The most I can say about 
The best of both worlds and a real treat for film lovers was the combining of two film festivals even though it proved to be a little confusing at times. But what they had to offer was a dynamite line up of talent that may be pegged as the best yet. In fact, there was so much offered I could not possibly see it all, hence breaking this review up. What I did see throughout both festivals was very ambitious or exciting talent that blew away audiences at the screenings.
Iskander’s “Jesus”¦” has a black and white look that I have not seen since the days of David Lynch’s “Elephant Man”. It’s not just the way it’s filmed but the images he conjures are absolutely wonderful. The story of an unexpected guest at an underworld poker game is highly entertaining especially with the cast of uniquely acted characters Iskander has assembled.
There have been comparisons to George Romero’s, “Martin,” but Scott Leberecht’s, “Midnight Son” is way beyond that cherished classic. Leberecht has fashioned a real ghoulish show that we have not experienced in many years. The way he slowly and unnervingly rolls out this macabre tale is a joy to behold for fans of the genre.
“Absentia” is a cross between “Carnival of Souls” and a haunted house ride with a tinge of H.P. Lovecraft thrown in for good measure. But do not mistake it as a grab bag of horrors. This is a carefully crafted tale that easily gets under our skin and leaves us with goosebumps. Director, Mike Flanagan, has delivered a twisted tale of a woman, Tricia, which has mourned the loss of her husband for seven years. He disappeared one morning and never came back. In the interim, she has become pregnant, has possibly found a new beau in a police detective and has decided to have her husband declared “dead in absentia.” But she starts seeing extremely frightening images of him appearing in all sorts of strange places, nearly driving her to a breakdown. Tricia enlists the help of her sister (who has a tainted past) to help her to pack and move on with her life. But soon after Tricia decides to get on with her life, hubby shows up emaciated and wearing the same clothes he disappeared in. He then starts raving about creatures and being trapped inside. Tricia’s sister soon discovers that a nearby tunnel may hold many a mysterious answer. Flanagan plays with our senses and has us jumping at nearly every sound and unsettling us when we enter the dark. The actors are spot on in their portrayals and the special effects, though minimal, are very effective. “Absentia” is an evil funhouse ride that leaves one with the chills.
There isn’t a more appropriate time to watch a movie like this than right now.
Michael Winterbottom, the man behind The Killer Inside Me, has a movie that is filled with a little sentimentality, some romanticism, but has a genuine soul to it that simply should not be overlooked.
