Indiefest preview

~ Lincoln Spector

I’ve now screened another three films that will play at Indiefest. You’ll find two more in my original Indiefest report. Here’s what I thought about the new three:

B+ Superpowerless

The plot sounds like a promising farce: A superhero, suffering a mid-life crisis, loses his superpowers. But Duane Andersen turned it into a surprisingly effective drama. Bob used to be Captain Truth, but now he’s just an alcoholic, suffering from depression. He’s living off of his girlfriend, Mimi, who’s hoping to get a promotion. But Mimi isn’t sure she wants the corporate life. Their problems, which include a very strong temptation to infidelity, cover issues of maturity, freedom, courage, and excepting one’s own normality. Andersen and co-writer Dominic Mah don’t focus entirely on the two leads; almost everyone seems fleshed out. And yes, there are a few superhero jokes.

B Hunky Dory

An irresponsible, undependable, perpetually broke man has parental responsibilities dropped in his lap, and he has to adjust. You can’t help caring for Hunky Dory’s protagonist even while you’re glad you don’t have to deal with him in real life. Sidney wanted to be a rock star, Instead, he performs as a drag queen in a small bar (he’s a bisexual cross dresser). Frequently stoned, he spends much of his free time visiting friends and borrowing money from them – often after sex. Than his ex-wife drops their 11-year-old son into his lap and disappears. Of course he’ll have some growing up to do, and it’s not always easy.

  • Roxie, Saturday, February 11, 9:30
  • Roxie, Wednesday, February 15, 9:30

D Fear Itself

This documentary presents clips from horror movies – new, old, American, foreign – while actress Amy E. Watson provides a largely monotoned narration about the things that scare her in films and in life. Or maybe they’re the things that scares writer/director Charlie Lyne, who presumably penned the narration. Lyne used the same basic idea in 2014 with the much better Beyond Clueless, about teenager movies. But disembodied clips from horror movies (and some that aren’t really horror movies) get tiring after a while, and this time the narration rarely says something insightful or interesting.

Published by Lincoln Spector

Lincoln Spector writes about cinema, technology, and cinema technology. From 1986 through 2008, he wrote Gigglebytes, the first technology-oriented humor column. From 1977 through 2016, he wrote PC World's Answer Line column and blog.