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Well Water (2017)
Well Water
Well Water is deceptively simple. For its entire runtime, it follows various conversations between Cora (Katraya Wier) and Ben (Marcus McDermott). Playing like a series of vignettes, the individual scenes are brief and the discussions are relatively eclectic. They talk about everything and nothing, jumping between tender moments, fights, casual conversations, and random tangents that make up the random chats one has with a true friend. Dating and planning their future together, the pair are on the cusp of adulthood and staring down the barrel of the rest of their lives. What will do they next? Where will they be? In all this dreaming, one can see them avoiding the discussion and implication of: what does this mean for them?
It is readily apparent how different the two are with Cora hoping to go to New York City for school while Ben is content to stay in his small-town, work a job until retirement, and have a nice, quaint life. The fact these are two divergent paths is obvious to both, yet they talk around the subject. As with many doomed young romances, they desperately try to exact some measure of control as they try to mold one another into who they want them to be. Cora wants to go to New York City, but Ben tries to convince her to stay. Ben wants to wait to have sex, but Cora tries to convince him to just give into the temptation. The growing tensions leads to fights over absolutely nothing, arguing over what is on the radio, how to stack dishes, or the playful tone the other adopts. The love they had fostered is still there, but the fraying at the edges is noticeably starting to weaken the bonds. Katraya Wier and Marcus McDermott are impressive in capturing the subtlety and nuance of this emotion, showing two young adults who genuinely love one another but are realizing there may be a limit to this relationship.
There is an understated beauty to watch this romance unfold. Well Water is littered with relatable content and discussions, whether the heavy or the inane. One can find themselves laughing along as they reference something silly from Deadline or going through the "rants" that one unleashes on a friend about something in the world they find annoying. As they discuss the future with a particular uncertainty, it is not hard to see oneself in their fears over fitting into the adult world. It is perhaps this honesty and this rawness that helps Well Water to make such an impact. It sneaks up on the viewer, stringing together this random assortment of scenes that add up to mean so much. One can see it clearly in the end as Cora declares to Ben that she, "loves him so much," snuggling under his arm and holding him tight. The ticking clock of this relationship - one that will demand difficult conversations and decisions in the future - is ever-present as she openly wishes that, "time would stand still." It is easy to see her hopes that, perhaps if she holds him tight enough or long enough, things will change and their paths will converge in a way that satisfy both. Yet, it time will not stand still and their increasingly fractured relationship will likely not be forever, hitting a universal and understandable pain over the way in which adulthood alters relationships of all kinds.
Though it may be a bit rough around the edges due to technical limitations, Well Water is a promising short film for writer/director Sharisse Zeroonian. It hints at her potential, while being an enrapturing film in its own right. It easily touches on universal feelings, encapsulating the awkward transition from youth to adulthood and its impact on a romantic relationship. Two strong lead performances lend it believability and authenticity, leading to a subtly emotional experience.
Logan Lucky (2017)
A tight and smart heist film, Logan Lucky delivers laughs and thrills
As a filmmaker, Steven Soderbergh is incredibly difficult to pin down. Greatly experimental (Bubble, The Girlfriend Experience), indebted to classics (Full Frontal, Solaris, The Good German), daring with his approach to narrative (Schizopolis, Traffic), ambitious (Che), and mainstream (Erin Brockovich, Ocean's trilogy), Soderbergh is a man who can seemingly do just about anything and do it well. A swiss army knife of a filmmaker, Soderbergh's latest effort, Logan Lucky, brims with the same comedic energy as his Ocean's trilogy and his other more commercial efforts, yet feels wholly unique. Returning to the heist genre that he has found great success with in those very same Ocean's films, Soderbergh explores the South and a vastly different way of life that often gets mocked by the coastal cities or simply forgotten. Hitting on elements that typify the Southern way of living – NASCAR, county fairs, child beauty pageants, a love of cars, country music, and hard-working blue collar Americans – Soderbergh is able to make this a film that firmly grasps its genre elements, but has an unspoken depth and honesty about the South that is too often marginalized in film. Funny, thrilling, and packed with great characters and acting, Logan Lucky marks a very welcome return to film for Soderbergh.
The titular Logan family – Jimmy (Channing Tatum), Clyde (Adam Driver), and Mellie (Riley Keough) – has long been plagued by the "Logan curse", a belief on the part of Clyde that the family is always doomed to be broke and destitute due to a curse on the family. Thus far, this newest trio of Logan's seems to typify this existence with Jimmy being a failed NFL hopeful due to injury and, after working in the mines of West Virginia, was just fired from his job at the Charlotte Motor Speedway for not disclosing his previous injury. Clyde joined the Army and lost part of his left arm from the elbow down. Mellie, for her part, has had nothing bad happen to her but nobody can mention it because, well, knock on wood. Now, with a scheme to rob the Charlotte Motor Speedway with the help of notorious safe cracker and prison inmate Joe Bang (Daniel Craig), the Logan family hopes to finally hit on a good streak of luck.
Read the full review on Cineccentric: https://cineccentric.com/2017/09/09/logan-lucky/
Detroit (2017)
Gripping and horrifying, Detroit is a horror film dressed up as a thriller
As a child, you are told that the police are there to protect you. If ever you should find yourself in a sticky situation, calling the police is the safest option as there is always an obvious line between the good guys and the bad guys. Upon closer examination however, this isn't as true as one might hope. As part of the civil rights movement, blacks demanded justice in reaction to incidences of police brutality targeted upon members of their race. Many whites turned a blind eye as experience told them that only the guilty fear the police or are arrested. When police brutality began spilling into the public eye and into the suburbs- their suburbs- deniers were finally exposed to the reality of police brutality.
In the fifty years since the 12th Street riot and in light of events in recent years, the viewpoint that police are not to be trusted has not disappeared. Riots in response to police brutality still happen. Innocents are still slaughtered by prejudiced and violent psychopaths in police uniforms. Helpless and frightened, victims in Detroit are just a few of the many that police have lashed out against without provocation. When it comes to a bad cop, they will opt to "protect and serve" themselves first no matter how innocent those they interact with may be. Over the course of a near two and a half hours, Detroit brilliantly depicts this as black men and white women are violently tortured by white and black cops alike, all the while other officers extend a helping hand in the midst of the darkness. It is a surprisingly balanced and reasonable approach to such a hotly contested issue, yet it never shies away from showing the truth in every bloody detail.
Read more: https://cineccentric.com/2017/08/19/detroit/