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Liza, Liza, Skies are Grey
USA 2015
produced by Terry Sanders, Steven Chao, Ann Dickinson, Richard Purington, Patricia Seely, Suzanne Deal Booth (executive)
directed by Terry Sanders
starring Mikey Madison, Sean H. Scully, Kristin Minter, Kwame Boateng, John-Paul Lavoisier, Valarie Rae Miller, Marina Michelson, Sonya Eddy, Robert John Brewer, Matthew Thomas Lange, Avi Rothman, Kris Park, Thomas Archer, Bryan McGowan, Kathryn Jurbala, Sarah McElligott, Kendall Rucks, Madison Iseman, Cathy Prince, Kristofer Miller, Dave Jurbala sr, David Jurbala jr, Adele René, Russell Buddy Helms, Cathy Javier, O.C. Rodriguez, Jessica Bues, Samira Izadi, Larrs Jackson, Nandini Minocha, Eric Henry, Nicole Olney, Shamar Sanders, Logan Loughmiller
written by Terry Sanders, music by Charles Bernstein
review by Mike Haberfelner
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The West Coast, 1966: The Vietnam War is still young and not yet that
monster it will soon come to be, the sexual revolution has only just
begun, mainstream America is still slow in taking the race riots seriously
- and Liza has only recently turned 16, and her hormones are kicking in.
Now Liza comes from a wealthy family, but her father has committed suicide
not too long ago, and her mother (Kristin Minter) has grown distant so she
has actually a better relationship with their black maid (Valarie Rae
Miller) than her own mum. Liza has a boyfriend, Brett (Sean H. Scully),
who has a bit of a bad boy attitude, but with Liza he's the perfect
gentleman - so much so that Liza at times wishes he'd push her more in
terms of sex. Then though he tells her he has to move to the East Coast in
a few weeks, and when Liza tells him she wants to lose her virginity to
him beforehands, the two spontaneously decide to go on a road trip along
the coast together. But it turns out to be not that easy for our
youngsters to just have sex, out on a deserted beach she seems to
vulnerable, at a hippie party they get to stoned, at a motel they're
interrupted by a drunk and horny manager (Robert John Brewer), and so on.
But all that only strengthens their love, so much so that sex is
eventually inevitable - but then they're arrested as teen runaways ...
Liza, Liza, Skies are Grey is above all a really sweet
film, and achieves being just that by not trying - basically everything
that happens here is told in a very unexcited way, as slices of life
rather than spectacle, which even includes the 1960s backdrops, props and
costumes that don't feel forced or try to overwhelm the audience with
authenticity. Also our heroes attitudes seem properly (but very likeably)
naive and neglect any put upon hindsight period pieces often have - and as
a result of all of this, this movie just feels very real and
down-to-earth, very much comparable in approach to some of Eric Rohmer's
best movies, where the director chose a very laid-back approach and
quietude over sensationalism. And also, the very natural performances of
the two leads make one really feel the movie that in all its
understatement is sure to go under one's skin.
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review © by Mike Haberfelner
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Robots and rats,
demons and potholes, cuddly toys and shopping mall Santas,
love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill Your Bones to is all of that.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to -
a collection of short stories and mini-plays ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle,
all thought up by the twisted mind of screenwriter and film reviewer Michael Haberfelner.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to
the new anthology by Michael Haberfelner
Out now from Amazon!!! |
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