trnsndnt Reviews

Ginger Ale Afternoon (1989)

Watch this film

[12 March 2005]

A minor classic. A picaresque. A romantic comedy with people you'll like. Theater - made into a film, seamlessly. Nicely structured.

The first shot is brilliant. The verdant green, a pan, and then, what's this? The intrusion of civilization? And the shot plays on to it's logical conclusion, kicking off the film perfectly.

Alright they want more, but the poetry of the first shot must remain with the film, and not the reviewer. The acting throughout is the high professional standards we come to expect. Production wise, fairly good maximization of a very limited budget, which of course both ties into and rationalizes the minimal sets and moving around - like Hurlyburly, this is a one location flick.

10 on a get laid date movie. Saw it theatrically, do not know if it is out on DVD

Lotto Land (1995)

An enjoyable view within an established Genre.

[20 April 2002]

A small independent NY production. Acting was the highlight, production was satisfactory throughout, considering the limitations of time and production muscle. As with all films that are essentially "theatrical", that rely on a story and the protagonists, Lotto Land ultimately is no better than its script, which in this case is average. A comedy in the Greek sense - boy meets girl until the happy ending - is updated to a contemporary NY setting. Fatherless boy, alcoholism, the struggles to survive in the city. Successful in the detailing, the film can only mildly rise up to the emotion transcendence that is the aim of the genre.

However, for all movie buffs, certainly an enjoyable view.