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Reviews374
PersianPlaya408's rating
I had the great opportunity to see this film at cinequest a couple days ago. First off I'd like to say, this is a unique concept that I haven't seen done like this before. its the story of a theatre/drama camp that only 6 or 7 kids sign up for, yet the founders (a couple), refuse to cancel the camp and proceed. Meanwhile the director, mr. Hoback teaches a class on film-making at the camp in exchange for being able to film a movie about the camp. Its not really clear how much of this is fiction or non-fiction, there are 3 layers of story telling with documentary, faux documentary and drama. THe concept is original, the script is rich with some great dramatic scenes as well as hilarious comedic relief. The acting is pretty inspiring, as everyone is basically playing themselves. I also had the great opportunity to hear the director elaborate a little more after the screening in a Q and A session, and i have to say Mr. Hoback is one up and coming director that i truly hope we will see a lot of in the future. Friction is a great cinematic experience!
This is a great story of 4 young men in Mexico on a random night out. Its interesting the things they come across and the turn the night takes, I don't really wish to give much a away, but think of it has a slightly less stylized Crash in Mexico City. I have to say the production values for this film were impressive, the look, the score and the editing were all very professional and not low-budget looking at all. The story and screenplay is also pretty interesting, and evokes some great emotion at times, although i do think that there could have been a bit more of a story there. The characters were very interesting, but if there was more going on, it would have been even better, though I'm not really complaining, because i enjoyed the film and thought it was still insightful the way it was.
I picked Passenger Side as one of the 15 films i would watch during Cinequest this year as its the closest film festival to me, and they usually do a good job of picking both independent American films as well as noteworthy films of world cinema. Anyhow im glad they showed Bisonnette's "Passenger Ride". Although compared to Apatow, i think Bisonnette brings fresh comedy with a different style than Apatow. The writer/director does a good job setting up the mood using effective cinematography and a cool soundtrack. I liked the fact that they are basically driving across Los Angeles from one hot spot to another, the acting and writing linked up well as the director's brother was perfect for the role which seems to be somewhat biographical, and Adam Scott delivered one hell of a performance as the main character. The story is about Michael(Scott) giving his brother(Bisonette) rides around town to handle some things, the true reason kind of vague until later. Overall this was a film that was enjoyable, meaningful, and at times downright hilarious, hopefully it gets proper distribution.