Agile, Mobile, Hostile: A Year With Andre Williams
Speaking of the SLIFF (and huge kudos to Jason Rerun for pointing this out), but this Andre Williams documentary will be playing there this coming Wednesday night! And for god’s sake, if you’re reading this blog, I hope to hell you know who Mr. Rhythm is, but just in case, I’ll attach a couple MP3s below…
Agile, Mobile, Hostile: A Year With Andre Williams Tricia Todd & Eric Mathes, U.S., 2008, 86 min.
Wednesday, Nov. 19, 7:15 p.m., Tivoli 3
Known as “Mr. Rhythm,” Andre Williams has recorded hit records (“Bacon Fat”), written hit songs (“Shake a Tail Feather”) and worked with such legends of the industry as Berry Gordy, Ike Turner and Stevie Wonder. But throughout his 72 years, Andre has also struggled with addiction, poverty, homelessness and the legal system. The film follows the alternately charming and maddening Andre on a fascinating, funny and distressing journey. Andre makes a declaration to the filmmakers – “I’m going to show you the right way, because I’ve gone so many wrong ways” – but as he moves from gig to gig, the mercurial singer all too often succumbs to temptation, risking dire consequences.
Tonight at the Tivoli, the St. Louis Int’l Film Fest is showcasing Shadowland, a low-budget horror movie produced by an old friend of mine from high school and shot entirely in the St. Lous area (including Old Town St. Charles). The movie features music from St. Louis musicians including The 75s (”Finders Keepers”) and the 7 Shot Screamers (”Vampire”). Time is 10:30 p.m.
Laura crawls from a pit at a construction site, beaten and bloody, apparently left for dead. With no memory of who or where she is, she sets off into the night, looking for answers and a way home. She soon finds herself hunted by a mysterious young man named Julian, and it isn’t clear if he intends to help her or kill her. Another of the highly polished homegrown productions featured in this year’s SLIFF, this fast-paced supernatural thriller prominently showcases the talents of St. Louis’ actors and crew members, and the diversity of its locations. With director Weed and producers Robert Clark and Gayle Gallagher.
Hey look! I’m doing a movie review! OK, I decided to watch Fido last night after Milo went to bed, too late of course, after his exciting night of Halloween activities that spanned from our house in Tower Grove South to a kids-oriented street festival on Cherokee. This one was recommended by my good friend Matt Bug on the TIRC List recently, so I quickly added it to the top of my Netflix queue. So around 10:45 p.m., (I know, I know… must work the next day. But I couldn’t resist the temptation of watching a zombie flick on Halloweeen, so sue me.) I popped the DVD in and grabbed a fresh bottle of pumpkin ale. From the opening scenes of the neighborhood (set, it appeared, in the early ’50s) and the classroom (where the kids were getting a visit from the head of the big zombie-control corporation, Zomcon), I could tell it was going to be a winner. With some movies, you’re not quite sure. Some start off great and end up being duds, while others might look terrible from the opening scenes but actually end up being quite good. But with this one, I knew from the get-go that I was in for a treat.
It’s true there seem to be an awful lot of zombie movies coming out lately, but to me, that’s not an entirely bad thing, as long as they don’t continually try to remake Dawn of the Dead or Return of the Living Dead every time. You’ve gotta really bring something new to the mix, and that’s exactly what Fido does – it envisions a society where zombies, with the assistance of special collars and close monitoring from Zomcon act as servants or even pets after the living capture and control them after the “Zombie Wars” (presented with appropriate WWII-style newsreels). Carrie-Anne is a mom who buys a zombie – played by the great Billy Connelly – so that hers is not the only family on the block without one. Her son, Timmy, names the zombie “Fido” and the two create a unique bond, but when the zombie’s control collar goes on the fritz, things get hairy.
I honestly enjoyed every minute of this film. And the scenery – in fact the entire continuity – is perfect. The acting is great, and it’s a unique, funny story to boot! I feel pretty good about highly recommending this one. Enjoy!
I just wanted to post that I’m very proud to not have ever read one word of, nor seen one minute of, any Harry Potter story, and I’m OK with that. Very content, as a matter of fact, thankyouverymuch. This cultural phenomenon just goes right over my head, sorry.
Ya know, it’s kinda funny in that odd-feeling in your stomach kinda funny, not HAHA/HOHO/HEHE/ROFL/LMFAO/LOL kinda funny… but walking out of the movie theater a couple of weeks ago after going to see Ratatouille with my wife and son, I saw “Potter” above one of the other theater doorways, and a long line of people stretched out from it. The first thought to come to my mind was to blurt out, “Oh, look, they made a movie about Jason Potter!” Then I realized what it was and I was suddenly very sad and embarrassed. Fuck you, Harry Potter. Fuck you.
Hey look! I’m doing a movie review! OK, I decided to watch 
