WashingtonHiker14
Lifetime Total
1+
Lifetime Plot
1+
IMDb Member
17 years
Reviews
Bonneville, Arizona (1989)
Good tension building set up but ultimately disappointing
Shot on a very low indie budget, Bonneville Arizona, starts out intriguing, some guy is walking out in the middle of a dry hot desert, wearing a tuxedo and carrying a case holding a manual typewriter. The image is striking and unusual and the photography in the desert is really nice. He eventually wanders into a small town called Bonneville Arizona, but everyone acts kinda weird. There is a really cute auburn haired girl, a free spirit, Charlie, who acts like she is getting a crush on this guy, Max Willer. There is another cute blonde girl, Laura, but she has her eyes on a kind, handsome local boy called Bobby Crossroads.
The town is under some sort of spell. They all exist under the iron grip of the town patriarch, an angry old man called Mister Dee. What control Mister Dee has over the town is not clear, but the 'good people' of the town resent it. Mister D's nemesis was The Old Man, another elderly man who wears a wartime uniform and is wheeled around in a wheelchair. He never speaks and has never spoken since an apparent conflict with Mister D in which he lost. Apparently there is a power struggle, and the arrival of Max Willer introduces a wild card into the mix. However all of this is hints and innuendo. We never see any real struggle, however, there is a real sense of unease in the town.
SPOILER ALERT >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The entire movie seems pointless until you understand what Max Willer is and where he is. Everything is a metaphor. There is a sense of mystery to the town, which seems exist in the middle of nowhere with no infrastructure to speak of, filled with people who just don't seem to belong there. But Bonneville is purgatory, Max Willer is a mortal man who recently died but cannot release his grip on his mortal life. He was a writer in his previous life and he still sits at his typewriter, writing his memories, thoughts and stories, even in purgatory. Mister D is the devil, however there is confusion as to who 'the old man' is. He holds a lot of sway in the afterlife, but I'm not sure who he is supposed to be since he's not God (see below). Bobby Crossroads is an Angel and to have an angel fall in love with the daughter of the devil (Laura) is unusual at best, but ultimately love wins over all and he takes her with him to 'Los Angeles' (always referred to in the movie as 'the big city', and only at the end of the movie called by the name 'city of angels' by Max Willer). Bobby Crossroads is obsessed with flying and plays 'pilot' in the wreck of an old airplane in the desert. It is pretty obvious that he has lost his wings, but why? Because of his romance with Laura? Is that why is he in Bonneville? The strangest twist, and most unbelievable one, is that the young girl, Charlie, who loves Max Willer is God, and she is the one who ultimately banishes Mister D from Bonneville. But why? Why would God be manifested in the form of a young girl and why would God have a crush on a mortal human? It would have made more sense to follow the theme of Bobby Crossroads, a high ranking Angel who falls in love with a non-angel. It is awkward and somewhat sacrilegious. Ultimately it also violates one of the canon laws of God's omnipotence (not just in religion but in popular culture, books and movies) in this hierarchy, there seems to be a power higher than God, and to this viewer ... that doesn't make any sense.
Ultimately Max Willer is made to realize that he is dead. Bobby hands him a newspaper with the notice of Max's death printed on the front page, but death apparently is not the end. The film is truly ambiguous about 'second chances'. There is a strong sense that one can 'return' to the physical world if you really wanted, which is strange. The lines between Life and the Afterlife are really blurred and one comes away with the sense that the barrier of death isn't such a big deal.
END SPOILER >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The film has a great sense of tension throughout. Simple conversations with creepy people have the viewer on edge, primarily because you expect something to happen. There is a strange, slow deliberateness to the film, which is ultimately sabotaged by it's ending, which doesn't really wrap up anything to any sort of satisfactory conclusion. One of the marks of great indie cinema is when the audience is free to create their own answer and back stories, based on the barest of suggestions by the film. However, Bonneville Arizona is all buildup and no pay off. You end the film scratching your head and saying to yourself 'that's it?', 'what the hell was that?'
A great score by composer Douglas Pipes is the highlight of the movie. It is ethereal and elegantly simple. He creates and enhances 99% of the atmosphere and emotion of the movie.
The town is under some sort of spell. They all exist under the iron grip of the town patriarch, an angry old man called Mister Dee. What control Mister Dee has over the town is not clear, but the 'good people' of the town resent it. Mister D's nemesis was The Old Man, another elderly man who wears a wartime uniform and is wheeled around in a wheelchair. He never speaks and has never spoken since an apparent conflict with Mister D in which he lost. Apparently there is a power struggle, and the arrival of Max Willer introduces a wild card into the mix. However all of this is hints and innuendo. We never see any real struggle, however, there is a real sense of unease in the town.
SPOILER ALERT >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The entire movie seems pointless until you understand what Max Willer is and where he is. Everything is a metaphor. There is a sense of mystery to the town, which seems exist in the middle of nowhere with no infrastructure to speak of, filled with people who just don't seem to belong there. But Bonneville is purgatory, Max Willer is a mortal man who recently died but cannot release his grip on his mortal life. He was a writer in his previous life and he still sits at his typewriter, writing his memories, thoughts and stories, even in purgatory. Mister D is the devil, however there is confusion as to who 'the old man' is. He holds a lot of sway in the afterlife, but I'm not sure who he is supposed to be since he's not God (see below). Bobby Crossroads is an Angel and to have an angel fall in love with the daughter of the devil (Laura) is unusual at best, but ultimately love wins over all and he takes her with him to 'Los Angeles' (always referred to in the movie as 'the big city', and only at the end of the movie called by the name 'city of angels' by Max Willer). Bobby Crossroads is obsessed with flying and plays 'pilot' in the wreck of an old airplane in the desert. It is pretty obvious that he has lost his wings, but why? Because of his romance with Laura? Is that why is he in Bonneville? The strangest twist, and most unbelievable one, is that the young girl, Charlie, who loves Max Willer is God, and she is the one who ultimately banishes Mister D from Bonneville. But why? Why would God be manifested in the form of a young girl and why would God have a crush on a mortal human? It would have made more sense to follow the theme of Bobby Crossroads, a high ranking Angel who falls in love with a non-angel. It is awkward and somewhat sacrilegious. Ultimately it also violates one of the canon laws of God's omnipotence (not just in religion but in popular culture, books and movies) in this hierarchy, there seems to be a power higher than God, and to this viewer ... that doesn't make any sense.
Ultimately Max Willer is made to realize that he is dead. Bobby hands him a newspaper with the notice of Max's death printed on the front page, but death apparently is not the end. The film is truly ambiguous about 'second chances'. There is a strong sense that one can 'return' to the physical world if you really wanted, which is strange. The lines between Life and the Afterlife are really blurred and one comes away with the sense that the barrier of death isn't such a big deal.
END SPOILER >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The film has a great sense of tension throughout. Simple conversations with creepy people have the viewer on edge, primarily because you expect something to happen. There is a strange, slow deliberateness to the film, which is ultimately sabotaged by it's ending, which doesn't really wrap up anything to any sort of satisfactory conclusion. One of the marks of great indie cinema is when the audience is free to create their own answer and back stories, based on the barest of suggestions by the film. However, Bonneville Arizona is all buildup and no pay off. You end the film scratching your head and saying to yourself 'that's it?', 'what the hell was that?'
A great score by composer Douglas Pipes is the highlight of the movie. It is ethereal and elegantly simple. He creates and enhances 99% of the atmosphere and emotion of the movie.
Night of the Chupacabra (2005)
The worst - A mindless and complete waste of time
The worst - A mindless and complete waste of time When I first saw that this was showing, I was excited. An indie about the Chupacabra, the Mexican Goat Sucker. I sure hoped that this would be a good solid film about this North American mythological creature. Boy was I wrong. This was described as 'action packed and a thrill ride'. Perhaps the writer got drunk and mistakenly jumped onto the Indiana Jones Ride at Disneyland, bumped his noggin and in a "coma induced stupor" thought he was reviewing "Night of the Chupacabra". Imagine the words, ACTION PACKED and THRILL RIDE, and now imagine the exact opposite
. for what seems like an eternity.
I saw this film (yes, you can call it a film, it was shot on 35mm(?) and the quality of the medium shows) at a festival and all I could do to keep from screaming and running for the door, ripping my eyes out and taking a long shower after seeing this train wreck, was a constant and naive belief that it could get better. So I watched and watched, and to my utter horror, it never got better. So some stoner kids who are never truly introduced so we're never clear as to who they are, go out and drink beer and see a 'meteorite' crash into the earth. Except it is an alien spacecraft carrying a midget in a rubber mask. So we are introduced to the legendary 'Chupacabra'. So we are introduced to a myriad of new characters, some men in black, some other guys, some TV show producers, Some reality TV game show contestants, some fugitive Russian serial killer who I suppose is innocent (?), some girl who one of the stoner kid's sister who happens to be some sort of investigative reporter, some other characters that pop in and out for no reason, a hapless sheriff and his hot wife, and, did I mention, numerous other really annoying characters that no one knows who the hell they are, who arrive talk inane and pointless dialogue and leave for no apparent reason.
The most obvious problem here is that there is no story structure, none, nada, zip. Just half a dozen or more plot threads that pop up, spew toxic fumes and then trail off like the dying emissions of a old fart. The character banter on and on, ad nauseum, about stuff no one cares about, and it all ends up leading nowhere. It was like the writer/director didn't know what he wanted, so he threw everything in, but not one thing meant anything, so it is a languid mélange of loosely connected vignettes of people talking.
You could have got a more cohesive story by taking your video camera to the mall and surreptitiously recording random conversations, and jumbling them all together in the editing room.
Oh, and another thing. One of the lead actors plays TWO major characters. But his voice (and his appearance) are so distinctive that you think it's the same guy. That one lead actor had so much screen time (and he got two roles) made me think "Is he related to the director?" I kept on thinking that there was some brilliant twist to all of this, but what was I thinking. Talk about confusing the hell out of your audience! Avoid at all costs. I'm not kidding. The official running time is 89 minutes but it seems like 89 hours. I'm not going to quote the clichéd "89 minutes of my life and I want it back" line . This is a complete and total waste of 35mm film stock. Valuable chemicals were used and natural resources were expended in the making of this movie and the EARTH wants them back! Whoever worked on this should be embarrassed. This is a major black mark on anyone who was associated with this film. Plan Nine from Outer Space is a masterpiece compared to this tripe.
I saw this film (yes, you can call it a film, it was shot on 35mm(?) and the quality of the medium shows) at a festival and all I could do to keep from screaming and running for the door, ripping my eyes out and taking a long shower after seeing this train wreck, was a constant and naive belief that it could get better. So I watched and watched, and to my utter horror, it never got better. So some stoner kids who are never truly introduced so we're never clear as to who they are, go out and drink beer and see a 'meteorite' crash into the earth. Except it is an alien spacecraft carrying a midget in a rubber mask. So we are introduced to the legendary 'Chupacabra'. So we are introduced to a myriad of new characters, some men in black, some other guys, some TV show producers, Some reality TV game show contestants, some fugitive Russian serial killer who I suppose is innocent (?), some girl who one of the stoner kid's sister who happens to be some sort of investigative reporter, some other characters that pop in and out for no reason, a hapless sheriff and his hot wife, and, did I mention, numerous other really annoying characters that no one knows who the hell they are, who arrive talk inane and pointless dialogue and leave for no apparent reason.
The most obvious problem here is that there is no story structure, none, nada, zip. Just half a dozen or more plot threads that pop up, spew toxic fumes and then trail off like the dying emissions of a old fart. The character banter on and on, ad nauseum, about stuff no one cares about, and it all ends up leading nowhere. It was like the writer/director didn't know what he wanted, so he threw everything in, but not one thing meant anything, so it is a languid mélange of loosely connected vignettes of people talking.
You could have got a more cohesive story by taking your video camera to the mall and surreptitiously recording random conversations, and jumbling them all together in the editing room.
Oh, and another thing. One of the lead actors plays TWO major characters. But his voice (and his appearance) are so distinctive that you think it's the same guy. That one lead actor had so much screen time (and he got two roles) made me think "Is he related to the director?" I kept on thinking that there was some brilliant twist to all of this, but what was I thinking. Talk about confusing the hell out of your audience! Avoid at all costs. I'm not kidding. The official running time is 89 minutes but it seems like 89 hours. I'm not going to quote the clichéd "89 minutes of my life and I want it back" line . This is a complete and total waste of 35mm film stock. Valuable chemicals were used and natural resources were expended in the making of this movie and the EARTH wants them back! Whoever worked on this should be embarrassed. This is a major black mark on anyone who was associated with this film. Plan Nine from Outer Space is a masterpiece compared to this tripe.