Dave Made a Maze (opens August 18th at the Cedar Lee Theatre and the Nightlight Cinema]

[DAVE MADE A MAZE opens Friday August 18^th at the Cedar Lee Theatre in Cleveland, OH and The Nightlight Cinema in Akron, OH.]

Review by Bob Ignizio

It’s rare these days to find a movie as original and imaginative as DAVE MADE A MAZE. Writer/director Bill Watterson (not the Calvin and Hobbes guy, but rather an actor and voice actor originally from Cleveland, OH) has crafted a bizarre fantasy that feels like part BEING JOHN MALKOVICH and part low budget cult horror/sci-fi fave CUBE.

The premise is that Dave (Nick Thune), a thirty-something artist who seems incapable of finishing anything he starts, builds a massive box fort in the apartment he shares with his more responsible better half, Annie (Meera Rohit Kumbhani). Annie comes home from a weekend trip to discover this cardboard monstrosity, which Dave claims he has been trapped in for 3 days. He also claims he can’t find his way out.

Annie is, understandably, flummoxed by this. Why not just tear the fort apart? But Dave refuses to do so, and also warns Annie against coming in after him. The fort is bigger and more dangerous on the inside than it appears.

My Life as a Zucchini (opens today at The Nightlight Cinema in Akron)

[MY LIFE AS A ZUCCHINI opens in Friday March 24th in Akron at The Nightlight Cinema.]

Review by Bob Ignizio

There's an unfortunate notion in America, perhaps not as prevalent as it used to be but still fairly widespread, that animated films are for kids. Certainly many are, and that's fine. But they need not always be, and in fact in other countries animation is frequently used to tell more adult stories. Just ask any fan of Japanese anime.

But Japan isn't the only country to make animated films with more mature subject matter.

MY LIFE AS A ZUCCHINI hails from France. It's not a kid's film, but not quite what most viewers would think of as an "adult" film (I mean that in the grown-up sense, not the X-rated one), either. The closest easy comparison for American audiences might be the "Young Adult" genre of literature. Something along the lines of a Judy Blume book for teens that deals frankly and honestly with subject matter some parents might find uncomfortable.

Kedi (opens March 10th at the Cedar Lee Theatre and The Nightlight Cinema)

[KEDI opens in Cleveland on Friday March 10th at the Cedar Lee Theatre in Cleveland and The Nightlight Cinema in Akron.]

Review by Bob Ignizio

Attention cat lovers, your movie of the year has arrived. The documentary KEDI takes audiences on an exotic journey to Istanbul, where felines are given free reign of the city. These are not feral cats, keeping their distance from humans and surviving on the fringes. Nor are they pets in the usual sense of the word. Instead, they exist somewhere between those two points, enjoying food and attention from humans while still maintaining a level of independence and staying true to their animal nature.

Directed by Ceyda Torun, the film is part travelogue, part nature film, part history lesson, and part study of human nature as it susses out the various reasons why Turks have chosen to co-exist with cats in this way. Sure, the cats get food and love, but the relationship is symbiotic as humans benefit, too. But then, if you're a cat lover, you already knew that.

The 2017 Oscar Nominated Live Action Short Films

[THE 2017 OSCAR NOMINATED LIVE ACTION SHORT FILMS opens in Cleveland on Friday February 10th exclusively at the Capitol Theatre, in Oberlin at the Apollo Theatre, and in Akron at The Nightlight Cinema.]

Review by Bob Ignizio

The first notable thing about this year's Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts is that none of them are from English speaking countries. "Silent Nights", from Denmark, has about a third of its dialogue delivered in English, but other than that, it's subtitle city. Not an issue for this viewer, but I know it is for some, so if that's you, you've been warned.

Beyond that, there are a couple of themes that recur in the nominees. Two of the nominated films deal with immigrants and/or refugees. It's hard to imagine a bigger issue both here in American and abroad, so that's hardly surprising. On the lighter side, there are also two films about people connecting in unusual ways. In one film, modern technology helps facilitate the connection; in the other, modern technology is scorned, at least at first. And finally, we have one film which celebrates rebellion against an authoritarian figure. My thoughts on each film individually follow.

The 2017 Oscar Nominated Animated Short Films

[THE 2017 OSCAR NOMINATED ANIMATED SHORT FILMS opens in Cleveland on Friday February 10th exclusively at the Capitol Theatre, in Oberlin at the Apollo Theatre, and in Akron at The Nightlight Cinema.]

Review by Bob Ignizio

When the first Oscar for animated short film was awarded at the 5th Academy Awards in 1932, short form animation was a standard part of the moviegoing experience. Warner Brothers, Disney, MGM, Max Fleischer, and others were all churning out multiple cartoons a year to play on the big screen. But as animation has increasingly migrated to television, the animated theatrical short has all but disappeared.

Still, there are enough of the things being made and shown today to keep this category alive, if just barely. Some are mainstream fare, playing in multiplexes alongside animated feature films from Disney, Pixar, and others. Others are edgy and/or arty, aimed at the more mature filmgoers who attend arthouse theaters like Cleveland's own Cinematheque and Cedar Lee. Both strains are represented in this year's nominees. My thoughts on each follow.

Hunter Gatherer (January 12th and 13th at the Cleveland Cinematheque. Also opens January 13th at The Nightlight Cinema)

[HUNTER GATHERER screens Thursday January 12th at 6:45 pm and Friday January 13th at 9:30 pm at the Cleveland Cinematheque. It opens in Akron on Friday January 13th at the Nightlight Cinema.]

Review by Bob Ignizio

There isn't much in the way of plot in HUNTER GATHERER. It's more of a "hang out" film, in which we tag along with eccentric ex-con Ashley (Andre Royo) as he goes through his day to day life in inner city America. But this isn't the usual inner city film that revolves around drugs and/or crime and/or violence. It's a lighthearted character study, mainly of Ashley, but also of the various other quirky characters who find themselves in Ashley's sphere.

Chief among these other characters is Jeremy (George Sample III), a young man recruited into being Ashley's friend and partner whether he likes it or not. Jeremy works as a human guinea pig. His most recent gig involves wearing multiple, rubbery patches in order to determine what, if any, side effects they might have.

Creepy (opens in Akron October 28th at the Nightlight Cinema)

[CREEPY opens in Akron on Friday October 28th exclusively at The Nightlight Cinema.]

Review by Bob Ignizio

There are times when a gifted filmmaker can take subpar material and elevate to a higher plane. But there are also times when the combination of skilled director and mediocre screenplay just becomes infuriating as we are forced to see talent wasted . Sadly, the latter of these two scenarios is the case with Kyoshi Kurosawa's CREEPY.

The plot is very much by-the-numbers Hollywood thriller tripe. Police detective Koichi Takakura (Hidetoshi Nishijima) retires from the force after things go very wrong with a serial killer he has captured utilizing his skills as one of Japan's only experts in criminal psychology. A year later, Takakura has found a new calling as a professor, but he still has the old itch to investigate crimes.

A Man Called Ove (opens in Akron October 28th at the Nightlight Cinema)

[A MAN CALLED OVE is now playing at the Cedar Lee Theatre and opens in Akron on Friday October 28th at the Nightlight Cinema.]

Review by Bob Ignizio

While watching the Swedish film A MAN CALLED OVE, it's not hard to envision the American remake. Just swap out Rolf Lassgård in the title role for Bill Murray, give the character a more American sounding name, and tweak a few minor cultural differences. You'd have a likely indie hit and Oscar contender on your hands.

In the film by director Hannes Holm, Ove (Rolf Lassgård) is a crusty old curmudgeon who wants nothing more than to kill himself and join his recently departed wife. But he's not particularly good at suicide, and besides, he's too busy quarreling with his neighbors and outside bureaucrats (just about anyone who happens into his sphere, really) to die just yet. In particular, Ove is annoyed by the new family that has moved in next door: a pregnant Persian woman named Parvaneh (Bahar Pars), her husband, and two daughters.

Miss Hokusai (opens in Akron October 21st at the Nightlight in Akron)

[MISS HOKUSAI opens in Akron on Friday October 21st exclusively at the Nightlight Cinema.] 

Artists are pretty self-centered and borderline-dislikable people. Kind of a-holes, once you really get down to it. Consider the Japanese printmaker and draftsman Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849). Among his most famous works is the iconic The Great Wave. We’ve all seen it. Now, back several years ago when one of my books on Great Lakes paranormal phenomena came out, I campaigned for the old Cleveland Free Times newspaper (it still existed then) to run an excerpt, my disquisition on the Lake Erie Monster. Editor Frank Lewis agreed…but that wasn’t enough for me. Even though I hadn’t drawn with pen and ink for decades, I sat down and for days and days did a painstaking takeoff on Hokusai’s Great Wave just to illustrate my Free Times book excerpt. I reproduced Hokusai’s wave, all right, but to give it the proper Cleveland twist I included the Lake Erie Monster (as a Chinese dragon), two floating drums of toxic waste, dead fish, and a homely and fat chainsmoking Japanese mermaid in a LeBron jersey.

When Frank Lewis – who probably had no idea I could draw – got the thing in the mail, he said it was the damndest thing he ever beheld. Here’s the weird part, though: I never knew if the drawing ran. The Lake Erie Monster article did, oh yes – it was findable online while the Free Times still existed. But in all the years I wrote for the paper, that was the one issue of which I could not locate one printed copy on the street.

What does this all have to do with artists being self-centered a-holes. Well, this review is supposed to be about a wonderful and offbeat new movie about Hokusai. But I’ve just gone on rambling about myself. And how I did a Hokusai takeoff. Hence, for a while here I am an artist. And, therefore, a self-centered a-hole.

The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years (now playing at the Cedar Lee Theatre. Opens in Akron at the Nightlight 9/23)

[THE BEATLES: EIGHT DAYS A WEEK – THE TOURING YEARS is now playing in Cleveland at the Cedar Lee Theatre and opens in Akron on Friday September 23rd at the Nightlight Cinema.]

Review by Bob Ignizio

The idea of a band playing up to 8 hours a day in clubs seems unfathomable today, but that's what The Beatles did early in their career. And they did this for about 3 years in their home town of Liverpool and, later, in Hamburg, Germany. At first the band included drummer Pete Best and bass player Stu Sutcliffe (Paul was on rhythm guitar at the time). But by August of 1962 they had coalesced into the soon to be "Fab Four", with Paul moving to bass and Ringo Starr replacing Best on drums. And they were a finely tuned live music machine.

Multiple Maniacs (opens in Akron on September 23rd at The Nightlight Cinema)

[MULTIPLE MANIACS opens in Akron on Friday September 23rd exclusively at The Nightlight Cinema.]

Review by Bob Ignizio

John Waters has always been interested in shocking people with his films. But as he writes in his aptly titled memoir 'Shock Value', there's good bad taste, and bad bad taste. It's not enough just to be offensive. Waters believes, to quote his book, that, "good bad taste can be creatively nauseating but must, at the same time, appeal to the especially twisted sense of humor, which is anything but universal." That pretty well sums up MULTIPLE MANIACS, the black and white feature length atrocity that preceded his infamous, career making breakthrough PINK FLAMINGOS.

In MANIACS, bored suburbanites are lured in to a twisted circus of sorts called "The Cavalcade of Perversion." Mr. David (David Lochary) serves as master of ceremonies, introducing such performers as, "the puke eater. He'll lap it right up for you, he loves it," also promising, "you'll see two actual queers kissing each other on the lips. These are actual queers!" And the price is right: free! What bored bourgeoisie could resist?

Little Men (opening September 9th at the Cedar Lee Theatre and The Nightlight Cinema)

[LITTLE MEN opens Friday September 9th in Cleveland at the Cedar Lee Theater and in Akron at the Nightlight Cinema.]

Review by Bob Ignizio

After the death of his grandfather, adolescent aspiring artist Jacob (Theo Taplitz) and his family move into the building left to them by the deceased. Since Jacob's actor dad Brian (Greg Kinnear) doesn't make much money, leaving psychotherapist mom Kathy (Jennifer Ehle) as the only breadwinner, the fact that the building comes with a paying tenant is a nice bonus. Another nice bonus: the tenant's son, Tony (Michael Barbieri), an aspiring actor, becomes fast friends with Jacob.

Brian's sister (Talia Balsam) is also part owner of the building, and she feels the rent being paid by the tenant is too low. Brian agrees, and goes to Tony's mother, Leonor (Paulina Garcia), with a proposition that he sees as a compromise. Although it would triple what she is currently paying, what he's asking for is still below the market value of the property.

Yarn (July 23rd and 24th at the Nightlight Cinema in Akron)

[YARN screens Saturday July 23rd at 5:00 pm and Sunday July 24th at 8:00 pm at the Nightlight Cinema in Akron, OH.]

Review by Candice Lee Catullo

YARN is the real-life global story of art, sheep and fuzzy string. But mostly it’s about people.

The fascinating study, which debuted at SXSW from Icelandic filmmaker Una Lorenzen, is a colorful treat for the crafty or the curious among us. Since I aspire to be both crafty and curious, I’ll admit to being predisposed to appreciate this documentary. That said, I think this film really does have a captivating and rosy quality that everyone can appreciate.

High-Rise (opens in Akron May 13th at the Nightlight Cinema. Screens May 19th and 22nd at the Cleveland Cinematheque.)

[HIGH RISE opens in Akron on Friday May 13th at the Nightlight Cinema. Screens Thursday May 19th at 8:20 pm and Sunday May 22nd at 8:05 pm at the Cleveland Cinematheque.]

Review by Bob Ignizio

HIGH-RISE opens in what looks like a post-apocalyptic wasteland out of a ROAD WARRIOR movie in which our protagonist, Dr. Laing (Tom Hiddleston) walks unaffected through squalor and carnage to reach his balcony, where he roasts a dog leg over an open fire. We then flash back 3 months prior and discover this is not some dystopian future, but rather England in the 1970s. What could possibly have driven the residents of the swanky apartment building built by Anthony Royal (Jeremy Irons) into such savagery?

Based on the novel by J. G. Ballard published in 1975 and set in more or less the same time, Ben Wheatley’s film certainly captures the look and feel of that era’s pop art cinema. The retro-futuristic set design looks like something out of Radley Metzger’s CAMILLE 2000, and the lighting and color palette feel era appropriate as well. The problem is, one of the film’s central themes, of how living in the isolated environment of a high rise apartment building might negatively alter the psyche of those living there, seems just as retro. Only not in a good way.

Repost: 45 Years (opens in Akron on March 11th at the Nightlight Cinema)

[45 YEARS opens in Akron on Friday March 11th at The Nightlight Cinema.]

Review by Bob Ignizio

Even after almost half a century spent married to someone, do we really know them? In his 45 YEARS, writer/director Andrew Haigh seems to be saying, “no”. The title of the film reflects how long retired teacher Kate (Charlotte Rampling) and retired factory worker Geoff (Tom Courtenay) have been married. In fact, they are getting ready to celebrate that fact with a party. But in the final week leading up to their anniversary, Geoff gets some shocking and surprising news.

Before he knew Kate, Geoff was in love with a woman named Katya who died in a mountain climbing accident in Switzerland. Her body was trapped and frozen in a crevasse where it remained, seemingly irretrievable. Now, thanks to global warming, her perfectly preserved corpse has been found, and since Geoff was listed as her next of kin, the authorities have notified him.

Boy and the World (opens in Akron February 5th at the Nightlight Cinema)

[BOY AND THE WORLD opens in Akron Friday February 5th at the Nightlight Cinema.]

Review by Bob Ignizio

There are some movies that I admire and respect far more than I like them. Ale Abreu's BOY AND THE WORLD is just such a film. It’s the kind of imaginative, highly artistic animated film that seeks to push the boundaries of the form. No anthropomorphic animals or vehicles or toys rendered in the all too familiar CGI style we’ve come to expect from Disney/Pixar and their imitators. This is animation with a distinctive artistic style and voice, rendered largely by hand (although these days, at least a computer assist is all but certain) that looks like nothing else you’ve ever seen on screen.

So what’s the problem? For this reviewer, it’s all far too abstract and boring. And I almost hate myself for writing that, given how cookie cutter most animated kids fare is. This is something truly original, I feel like I should be singing its praises. But I can’t, because as I sat there watching the film’s impressionistic critique of modern life, all without any dialogue, nothing was connecting with me.

Labyrinth (January 24 at 8:30 p.m. and January 25 at 7 p.m. at the Nightlight, Akron)

For a film that received wildly uneven critical reactions in its time - some critics were crazy about it, some thought it was an embarrassingly pretentious piece of pop-music/fairytale - the Muppet epic LABYRINTH ...probably still would receive wildly uneven critical reactions in this time. Probably for the same reasons (plus, not enough swag, bribes, prostitutes and drugs given by studio PR to the bought-off internet critics during the all-expenses-paid press junket).

For what it's worth, I am one of this film's admirers, and I've always wanted to write about it. Now it's in revival thanks to VIP cast member David Bowie tragically dying. I am sure his fans will blame me.

Before you gender-confused glam-rock types on heroin and/or nostalgic baby boomer yuppies come after me with your sharpened artificial fingernails and gold-plated pitchforks, listen to me: Bowie was not right-off-the-bat cast as Jareth the Goblin King in the fantasy. I have it on good authority a number of musical icons were under consideration for the role back in 1986, including Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson. I guess if you want to lynch anyone, it's director Jim Henson; HE'S the one you want! If it weren't for him, Bowie might still be alive today! Death to Jim Henson! Death to Jim Henson...oh, right, I forgot. (sigh)

Heart of a Dog (opens in Akron December 4th at the Nightlight Cinema)

[HEART OF A DOG opens in Akron on Friday December 4th exclusively at the Nightlight Cinema.]

Review by Bob Ignizio

Most documentaries fall into one of two categories: either “you are there” cinema verite that exists in the moment, or “talking heads” type films that blend interviews with old film clips and photos. But there is a third, much rarer kind of documentary that aims for a more abstract, poetic approach. It should probably come as no surprise that when performance artist Laurie Anderson decided to direct a documentary, it would fall into this last category.

HEART OF A DOG is a film about loss. Overtly, Anderson talks about the loss of her mother, and of her dog, Lolabelle. The recent death of her husband, rock legend Lou Reed, isn’t addressed directly, yet it pervades the entire film.

Repost: House by the Cemetery (October 9th at the Nightlight Cinema)

[HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY screens Friday October 9th at 11:30 pm at the Nightlight Cinema.]

Review by Bob Ignizio

Trying to explain my love for Lucio Fulci's early 1980s horror films to any rational person is a losing proposition. I realize I'm defending the indefensible, and my attempts to explain away the director's trademark incoherence as “nightmare logic” have the ring of desperate rationalization to them, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Even by Fulci's loose standards, though, HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY is especially shoddy work. Like most Italian movies made from the sixties through the eighties that weren't directed by Fellini or Antonioni, this is nothing more than a cheap attempt to cash in on the popularity of another film or genre. In this case its something in the ballpark of THE AMITYVILLE HORROR meets THE SHINING, only with considerably more gore and considerably less artistry than Kubrick's film. Hell, it even makes Stuart Rosenberg's workmanlike direction on AMITYVILE look good.

The Kindergarten Teacher (opens in Akron October 2nd exclusively at The Nightlight Cinema)

[THE KINDERGARTEN TEACHER opens in Akron on Friday October 2nd exclusively at The Nightlight Cinema.]

Review by Bob Ignizio

Israeli kindergarten teacher Nira (Sarit Larry) is an artistic soul married to a working class guy who has little interest in or understanding of her passions. Nor does she stand out much in her poetry club, her own writing talents being minimal. Things change when Nira discovers one of her students, Yoav (Avi Shnaidman), is a child prodigy of sorts who, when struck with sudden inspiration, goes into a trance like state and begins reciting poems for his nanny (Ester Rada) to write down. Nira “borrows” one of Yoav’s poems for her poetry group, gaining newfound respect from her the group leader, and a greater confidence in herself. But things soon escalate from mere plagiarism into something far more disturbing as Nira goes to increasing extremes to “protect” Yoav from a modern day Israel, and a modern world, she views as being hostile to poets.

On the one hand, THE KINDERGARTEN TEACHER is a creepily effective portrait of obsession in which a woman who seeks to escape the banality of her own existence by appropriating the genius of a child prodigy, and ultimately by appropriating the child himself. On the other hand, it’s meant to be an allegory for a world that has no use for poets and artists, the need to protect such individuals from being stifled, and the futility of doing so. Both aspects of the film are undermined by a subdued, realistic tone that clashes with the film’s growing implausibility, culminating in a final act that veers into “B” thriller territory, yet still tries to be taken seriously. It also doesn’t help that there’s an awful lot of padding in the film’s two hour running time. 2 ½ out of 4 stars.