Neighbors
SimilarAmélie (2001), Bed and Board (1970),
Bend It Like Beckham (2002) Bring It On (2000), Charlotte's Web (2006), Election (1999), Go (1999), Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), Look Who's Talking (1989), Look Who's Talking Too (1990),
Mary Poppins (1964) Mary Poppins Returns (2018), Meet the Robinsons (2007), Party Monster (2003), Valley Girl (1983), Wonder Boys (2000),
Josh Forbes’ uneven horror-comedy goes nowhere after a while, but has fun getting there.
Apartment life means having to give up most expectations of peace and quiet. I’ve had a neighbor who spent most of his days listening to disco music set at eleven on the volume dial, occasionally letting out a joyful “woo!” Another would tunelessly noodle on a keyboard for hours at a time. A third sounded as if he offered Irish step dancing lessons for extra income. Some people talk a good game about not putting up with noise, but most of us just learn to deal with it, usually by grumbling about it and making our own noise to cover it up.
Every now and then, however, a person will just snap, and then you end up with Destroy All Neighbors, a likably silly horror-comedy that compensates for a lack of plot and character development with gory practical effects and a memorable performance by Alex Winter. Continue Reading →
SXSW Comedy with Natasha Leggero
Our final SXSW 2023 dispatch features a diverse selection of documentaries and features focusing on the search for a sense of place in a chaotic world.
The title of Petter Ringbom and Marquise Stillwell’s dazzling documentary, The World Is Not My Own, could be the epigraph for this year’s South by Southwest Film Festival. Each film I saw was about people trying to find their place in the material or metaphysical world. They are about the things we share and reject in our societies. They are about the spirits and forces that live amongst us. We come into an already-made world organized by institutions. If you’re lucky, you’ll find your fit. But for many of the artists behind and within these films, it’s easier to make a world of their own.
Ringbom and Stillwells’ film opens on a world of miniatures. With a dash of CGI, a wise woman in her magical garden comes to life. Switching between this recreated world and contemporary Atlanta, their documentary about Black folk artist Nellie Mae Rowe (1900-1982) honors the late legend and her times by celebrating her connection to a place and community. Alongside the multitude of mediums Nellie worked in - plastic, paper, textiles, and chewing gum, Stillwell and Ringbom always return to the historical events that shaped Nellie and, thus, her art. Continue Reading →