I've heard good things about Doug Block's doc 51 Birch Street (a flick about his parents' marriage) & it is being distributed in a new/interesting/kinda DIY way (with the help of Landmark's Truly Indie program). Here is the Washington City Paper showtimes listing for the flick. Go check it out at The Avalon tomorrow DC doc fans.
Review - doing difficult things well - making a period movie about the early 1980s with teenagers - Blake Calhoun's CASEY MAKES A MIXTAPE
By Sujewa Ekanayake * Blake Calhoun is an experienced indie filmmaker - but, it's very difficult to do period movies well - movies set in another era - on a low indie film budget, and it can be difficult to have several teenagers in your cast as the main characters - to get great performances. Calhoun has managed to do both things well in his new movie CASEY MAKES A MIXTAPE. The early 1980s Texas in Calhoun's movie looks - and more importantly feels - believable. Great cinematography and color grading work. And his teen actors do a great job bringing their characters to life. I think the movie is being promoted as a mainstream accessible, realistic, light comedy-drama. And perhaps it is also being marketed to a teenage audience. But, as an old person in NYC, I found the movie to be almost an observational movie - documenting a summer in the life of the main character (played in a low key, somewhat dramatic, and overall an entertaining way by the excellent Presle...
