Bellflower

I almost didn't watch this movie because its IMDb plot summary (something about 2 guys building a monster car in preparation for the apocalypse) made it sound like Beavis & Butthead vs. Road Warrior. That couldn't be further from the truth. True there are a couple explosions, flame throwers, firearms, a few pints of spilled blood, and a super souped-up Buick Skylark 1972 that would make James Bond hop on his tricycle and pedal furiously away. But essentially this is a love story. The apocalypse here is not a literal one but a personal one. Writer/director/principal actor Evan Glodell says he wrote it while in the painful haze of a bad breakup. Indeed, I would say this is one of the best post-breakup films to watch, because it perfectly captures the feeling of emotional desolation, hope & obsession associated with that mixed bag we call "love". The story centers on 2 friends Woodrow (Evan Glodell) and Aiden (Tyler Dawson) who, contrary to their pastime of blowing things up, are NOT Beavis & Butthead type morons. They're just a couple of average-to-nerdy 20-somethings who live life one day at a time on the outskirts of LA. They drink a lot of beer. They try to pick up girls at the local bar (unsuccessfully most of the time). And when all else fails, they build the car of their dreams. Enter Milly (Jessie Wiseman) who becomes Woodrow's love interest. In a very sweet way, Woodrow & Milly develop a charming relationship. But then things get complicated. Very complicated. I'm talking flame thrower complicated. The 2nd half of the movie is a suspenseful, tense, explosive ride that comes to a powerful climax with great, passionate acting. The story is from Woodrow's point of view, the male point of view. Female characters seem peripheral, and I figured the IMDb demographic would show "Bellflower" to be preferred by males. Surprise: it's evenly split down the middle. Perhaps it's because, even though it's from a male perspective and has a lot of "manly" things like beer, whiskey, guns and cars that slurp a gallon of gas to pull out of the driveway, it's still a very sensitive film that can be appreciated by anyone. It exposes the vulnerabilities of heartbreak, the thrill of obsession, and the nature of friendship. And these things are not gender-specific. A word about the cinematography: wow. As the story becomes increasingly complicated, the visuals become more expressionistic and hallucinatory. This is the masterwork of Joel Hodge, director of photography. Visuals are often very striking, with heavy color saturation, hazy filters and occasional lens grit, making it a very dreamlike presentation. I read that the cameras they used were mostly home made, scrapped together from cheap parts... much like the car "Medusa" which was actually built for this film. "Bellflower" was nominated for the 2012 Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography, but lost to the blockbuster Academy Award Winning "The Artist". Another highlight: the music. Beginning with a dark acoustic guitar & vocal piece, the film keeps the soundtrack minimal (no melodramatic symphonies here) and toward the end throws in some powerful trip-hop, industrial house stuff. I didn't recognize any of the bands on the soundtrack, but it felt similar to maybe Jeff Buckley for the acoustic/vocal pieces and Portishead or AWOL Nation for the heavy stuff. Undeniably cool stuff. "Bellflower" is an artistic, slow moving film that keeps gaining momentum all the way to its roller-coaster finale. There aren't any popular movies I can compare it to. But if you've seen the indie flicks "Entrance" (2012) or "The Tracey Fragments" (2007), or my favorite "Buffalo 66", then you can expect a similar off-kilter approach to filmmaking that makes this a challenging and ultimately satisfying movie.

How come after watching this odd fantasy called "BELLFLOWER," I get the impression the Director/Writer/Star Evan Glodell was on the ground, back to a telephone pole while inhaling a massive amount of pot upset he hadn't come up with a title for his film and the movie had been in the can. He can barely lift his spinning head enough to see the street sign: 'BellFLower' and he exclaims: "Oh, man, that's it. Dude. It's art, bro. F'ng art." I can't explain this trip of a movie's title other than that scenario. It starts off as a dead-weight Mumblecore film, but at least in our reality and slowly transforms into a dark haze as if the audience was just as stoned. We have two loser BFF's who's obsession with Mad Max, his flamethrowin' dude car and the possibility of an impending apocalypse goes a tad bit far. In fact, we really don't know if either of these adult males work – we only know they're pimping their Road Warrior car named Medusa and their flamethrower and they like to hit on girls. One does hook up with one and things go sour from there. Sorta. Kinda. Admittedly, the film's odd style, jumping all over the place and the dead-end lives you witness leave an impression, but since barely a thing happens worth repeating nor is there any point, it's not recommended. Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars

"I just don't need none of that Mad Max bullsh*t!" I gave this film a try on account of several good reviews, but I was seriously disappointed. Far from being fresh, the camera effects were excessive, giving you the feeling a toy camera filter had been added to every frame. The characters were thoroughly unappealing, with no depth. It was hard to find the patience to sit through all the screen time that was devoted to their self-absorbed, hipster fantasies. The emotional response and life and death consequences late in the film seem extremely disproportionate to what caused them- a breakup in a relationship that was boring, shallow, and doomed from the start. The constant hipster fantasy elements attempt to mask what is essentially a very hollow movie.

The most interesting aspect of Bellflower is the soundtrack. The storyline and structure is completely disjointed. The advance word was about a flame throwing car in a Mad Max type of apocalyptic world. The car is a very small part of this character driven film. The writer, director and star is Evan Glodell, who uses a hand held camera shots and quick editing which becomes very tedious. Glodell plays Woodrow and Tyler Dawson is Aiden, his best friend. The pair are Beavis and Butthead come to life, with constant "hey dudes" every minute; script writing is not Mr. Glodell's strong suit. The two leads are constantly drinking and neither seems to have a job. The use of flashbacks from beginning to end and made me wish for the finish. Bellflower looks as if it was done using a cheap video camera with Glodell and his friends on a weekend binge.

My friend and I took a leap of faith and rented this movie with no prior knowledge other than that it got relatively good reviews (ebert gave it 3 out of 4). The summary on the back seemed interested: two guys trying to make a flamethrower. Can't go wrong with that, right? Because this movie isn't really worth a deep analysis I'm going to explain my disappointment in bullet points. -What I was expecting: An interesting, off the beaten path indie film containing flamethrowers -What I got: A shitty version of Garden State -Why the film falls flat: poor acting, bad writing, no direction, low budget, and horrible characters It's hard to describe my hate for this movie. It's like listening to a relatively good band that has an extremely pretentious and untalented singer. It's not so bad that it's laughable, it's just bad.

This movie had me completely enthralled the entire time. It takes your brain and emotions and rips them in two. The story is a crazy jumble of two friends lives and how dramatically things change when love becomes tangled in them, and how much losing love destroys people. The way the movie is filmed and edited gives it a dreamlike yet plausible view of life. It's easy to relate to the sense of adventure and heartache this movie represents because of how real it all seems. The acting was amazing, the writing was amazing, everything about this movie screams amazing. If you have the chance to see it, do yourself a favor and do.

"I just don't need none of that Mad Max bullsh*t!" I gave this film a try on account of several good reviews, but I was seriously disappointed. Far from being fresh, the camera effects were excessive, giving you the feeling a toy camera filter had been added to every frame. The characters were thoroughly unappealing, with no depth. It was hard to find the patience to sit through all the screen time that was devoted to their self-absorbed, hipster fantasies. The emotional response and life and death consequences late in the film seem extremely disproportionate to what caused them- a breakup in a relationship that was boring, shallow, and doomed from the start. The constant hipster fantasy elements attempt to mask what is essentially a very hollow movie.

... this movie stunk. I have a self imposed rule never to walk out on a movie no matter how bad it is. However, this sorry excuse of a film came very close to me making an exception. This, for me, has been one of the worst film experience I have ever had to sit through. With all the accolades given to it from the film festivals and film reviewers, I made the mistake of taking their assessments to heart and attended a recent showing. Big Mistake! What could these people be thinking? As for "Bellflower" the title should be changed to "SMELLflower"...OR, Amorphophallus titanium, better known as the Corpse Flower. A big Peeee-U.

I'm not an expert on Directors and such, but I do know a bad movie from a good movie. This movie started slow and I waited and waited for it to pick up, and it didn't. I had to (painfully) keep watching to see if their was more to this movie, and before I knew it it was over. I am very perplexed that this film has a score of (6.3) on IMDb as to me its rating was closer to (2). I am starting to not trust the rating system here to help me find good movies. I would rate this as movie to watch if there isn't anything else to do....