Four More Films
The Central Standard Film Festival continues--
Saturday, I was joined by a buddy from work. We had lunch at Kikugawa, in Riverplace. For those of you not from Minnesota, Riverplace was originally an upscale mall built next to the Mississippi back in the Eighties. Unfortunately, no matter what the Reagan supporters claim, trickle-down just didn't create enough rich people in Minneapolis to sustain it. In a desperate attempt to salvage the space, the owners of Riverplace bought out the remaining shops in one end of the mall, gutted them, and turned it into a huge nightclub with several dance floors. That idea tanked really, really badly, and most of the remaining stores in the other end of Riverplace went under as a result.
Fortunately, Kikugawa was good enough that it survived all this; Riverplace is now primarily office space, and there are enough workers to keep a nice Japanese restaurant going between influxes of visitors. Despite being a fancy place, Kikugawa is less expensive than Pracna for better quality food.
Then we went to four movies in a row.
"Security" is about two fumbling night watchmen at a candy factory. When prototype chocolate is stolen, these bumblers attempt to solve the case. All dialogue was improvised. Despite the very familiar premise (I known I've seen at least five films in the last ten years about two fumbling security guys) the downbeat, semi-realistic treatment made it interesting.
"Sex:Female" is another documentary set to appear on the Oxygen Channel. Women talk (all too) frankly about sex. Lots of laughs in this one, and be sure to stick around through the credits.
"The Dogwalker" features a young woman fleeing an abusive relationship, who is taken in by a crusty old dogwalker. It pretty much subscribes to the "all men are disappointments if they're not outright horrible" school of thinking. Which is not to say it's a bad film.
Last for us on the evening was "Black Cadillac." Three boys from Minnesota drive over to Wisconsin to do a little partying. A fight breaks out, and the boys flee. But is the black Caddy following them local fellows who want to continue the fight, or something rather more sinister? "Based on a true story." Good thriller, though the ending rather leaves some obvious questions hanging.
Saturday, I was joined by a buddy from work. We had lunch at Kikugawa, in Riverplace. For those of you not from Minnesota, Riverplace was originally an upscale mall built next to the Mississippi back in the Eighties. Unfortunately, no matter what the Reagan supporters claim, trickle-down just didn't create enough rich people in Minneapolis to sustain it. In a desperate attempt to salvage the space, the owners of Riverplace bought out the remaining shops in one end of the mall, gutted them, and turned it into a huge nightclub with several dance floors. That idea tanked really, really badly, and most of the remaining stores in the other end of Riverplace went under as a result.
Fortunately, Kikugawa was good enough that it survived all this; Riverplace is now primarily office space, and there are enough workers to keep a nice Japanese restaurant going between influxes of visitors. Despite being a fancy place, Kikugawa is less expensive than Pracna for better quality food.
Then we went to four movies in a row.
"Security" is about two fumbling night watchmen at a candy factory. When prototype chocolate is stolen, these bumblers attempt to solve the case. All dialogue was improvised. Despite the very familiar premise (I known I've seen at least five films in the last ten years about two fumbling security guys) the downbeat, semi-realistic treatment made it interesting.
"Sex:Female" is another documentary set to appear on the Oxygen Channel. Women talk (all too) frankly about sex. Lots of laughs in this one, and be sure to stick around through the credits.
"The Dogwalker" features a young woman fleeing an abusive relationship, who is taken in by a crusty old dogwalker. It pretty much subscribes to the "all men are disappointments if they're not outright horrible" school of thinking. Which is not to say it's a bad film.
Last for us on the evening was "Black Cadillac." Three boys from Minnesota drive over to Wisconsin to do a little partying. A fight breaks out, and the boys flee. But is the black Caddy following them local fellows who want to continue the fight, or something rather more sinister? "Based on a true story." Good thriller, though the ending rather leaves some obvious questions hanging.