"SMILE AS YOU KILL" is now available on VOD. If you like contained crime thrillers with dark comedy, this one is for you. STORY: A sick man kidnaps a hotshot advertising director and forces him to create an online campaign for treatment. With both of their lives at stake. Please consider renting or purchasing it. Yes, there are tons of free movies to stream, but none feature two men bickering over a crowdfunding ad at gunpoint. I got to work with a talented team of people, and we completed the entire shoot in 12 1/2 days. The two co-lead performances got recognized for their intensity, and we also picked up several "Best Feature" awards on the regional festival circuit. If you enjoy the film, please give it a rating, leave a review on @letterboxd, @RottenTomatoes, @IMDb, and consider sharing it with others. Word-of-mouth is the only way indie films like this one can get noticed. With the recent assassination of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, I believe the film certainly captures the anger and desperation shared by far too many people. Thank you for checking it out, if you've made it this far. Film is available on @PrimeVideo, @FandangoNOW, @GooglePlay, @AppleTV, XBox movies, and DVD. "there's room at the top they are telling you still but first you must learn how to SMILE AS YOU KILL" - John Lennon, 'Working Class Hero' #filmtwt #FilmTwitter #WritingCommunity

RIP Béla Tarr. His films, particularly starting with “Almanac of Fall”, perform like magic. For most filmmakers, I understand how their movies work. Storytelling beats, editing rhythms, characterizations. Not with Tarr. I still cannot place why his films are so engrossing, so instantly captivating. The way his work transports the audience into rich worlds with a unique tone of dread and existential irony that is all his own. Sometimes, those worlds are dirty and muddy and real. Other times, those worlds are dirty and muddy and allegorical. But I still cannot explain why a ten-minute shot of cows or a 6-minute death march of a horse is such effective filmmaking. Of course, Tarr also had his top-notch collaborators. Hranitzky, Vig, Krasznahorkai. That doesn’t take away from the pure vision that infused his work. His films not only captured the mystery of the human condition, they captured the mystery of filmmaking itself.

I do wonder what it’d be like to write something and not have to worry about how much the location might cost.

“Sorry, Baby” balances between poles at precisely the right moments. Specificity and universality. Awkward dry humor and honest pathos. Unconventional chronology and perfect story construction. Real deal indie filmmaking.

“Werckmeister Harmonies” Encapsulates the tone, theme, setting, pace, and lead character in a single masterpiece of a scene with perfect blocking and choreography.

Schrader was an influence, but I beat him to it.

Timely.

We are so back.

You can only eat cuisine from one of these regions for the rest of your life. What kind of cuisine are you?

One of my best theater experiences. In 2008, lost footage was discovered for Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis” almost 80 years after the film released. In 2010, the film was restored. I saw the North American premiere of that cut at the Chinese Theatre with a live score by the Alloy Orchestra.

Sometimes I’m watching a movie, and it’s so good by the midpoint that I get anxious if it’ll stick the landing. Pleased to report “Valley of the Bees” lands the plane. What a picture.

Two from “SMILE AS YOU KILL”

Yeah, I know how you feel.

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When I was unemployed, I would go to Barnes and Noble every day looking for the latest Film Comment, Sight and Sound, and Film Quarterly to read. Huge source of discovery for me and an essential part of my film education. I’m optimistic about the potential for discovery with platforms like Letterboxd, but a one-line dismissal or “joke” can certainly hurt.

Should class inequality within healthcare be a topic for entertainment fodder? Sounds morally dubious… But everyone should check out “SMILE AS YOU KILL” the indie thriller about a sick man who plots a kidnapping to raise money online! It even predates Luigi. Streaming free.

Hooray! Not only is Eclipse back, they are doing Blu Ray upgrades. Mizoguchi set first please.