For those who don’t know, I write for RogueCinema.com on a regular basis and have done so since the start of the zine. We cover pretty much everything but have slowly become a magnet for Independent cinema and a voice for the community. So every month I get a few screeners in and try my best to get to all of them for each month’s issue. So this month I covered the films Charlie Thistle, The Devil Lives in Hot Springs and Tossers. I’ll link RC here on the front page, but you can find my RC writings in my “articles” section here at the site as well.

Sometimes writing for Rogue Cinema turns out to be really rewarding. Although I can generally find something to appreciate about every independent film that comes through my doors, and do my best to get into the mind of the filmmakers and the unpaid friends who helped bring about this vision. Today, after watching the short film Charlie Thistle by Bragi Schut I feel as if I have seen something new and fresh from a filmmaker that could possibly be making big waves in a short matter of time. With a screenwriting credit on the new Nicholas Cage film Season of the Witch (no relation to Halloween III of course) it seems as if my gut feeling is turning into reality. Schut himself was the writer/director behind this short which he made in order to enter in the Doorpost Film Project where it apparently placed 3rd, but I can’t imagine the two other films that could have placed higher – as Charlie Thistle is one of the most well made and heartwarming short films I have seen since writing for Rogue Cinema. I’ve ran into quite a few classics as well, so that’s no small feat. At fifteen minutes in length, I simply fell in love with Bragi Schut Jr.’s visual form of storytelling and his beautifully silly world… Continue Reading Here

Independent cinema can be hit and miss, much like the majority of Hollywood productions. However, even when you’re dealing with Indie films that suffer from monetary issues during production, or actors who aren’t necessarily the most accomplished or experienced yet – there’s still so much heart to be found that the experience is almost always rewarding. The Devil Lives in Hot Springs is a little like that. It’s a film shot without a budget, but is still given a decent balance of style due to some interesting editing and post production work. Some of the performances are at times spotty, but not that it distracts from the overall film and the very structured script, which was what kept me so engaged in the film. We’ll go over that in a second, but overall I have to say Devil Lives in Hot Springs turned out to be a very interesting little cinematic trip. The kidnap/rape/revenge/home invasion genre is one that I have always been lured into. No matter what the film may be, if someone is chained up or torture is to take place – I’m guaranteed to see it one way or another. Although not an all out rape/revenge film, it does eat up a good portion of screen time and carries some of the strongest acting and becomes the central focus of the film. Continue Reading Here

The mockumentary genre is one of the toughest facets of comedy to really nail. It seems when you get a lot of gifted people around, everyone has no trouble entertaining themselves – but sometimes what entertains ones self during an improvisational moment isn’t necessarily as brilliant as you might think later on when watching it free of the giddy and fun-filled mood such an atmosphere puts you in. We’ve all seen at least one of the brilliant mockumentarys put on by Christopher Guest, such as This Is Spinal Tap, Waiting For Guffman, Best in Show and A Mighty Wind – and chances are you’ve stumbled across a couple of the really painful “oh my gosh, look how silly we’re being!” videos located on the net as well. Tossers is a short film however made with more of an inspired vision than some of the mess you’ll find out there in youtube land, and actually provides quite a few laughs along the way. What seems to work best with Tossers is the leniency towards absurdity, and playing it completely straight. This is a little more extreme than a character having two actual left feet, or an amp specifically made to go to 11 on the volume knob. We have werewolves and Vegetarians who hate people who even THINK about endangering animals – as well as shopping cart artistry. Whether or not you find it as enjoyable as I did, there’s no getting past the quirky imagination involved in the making of this short. Continue Reading Here