By Lindsi Hebert, Staff Reporter.
Metalhead
Nominated for 6 Hell’s Half Mile awards and directed by Ragnar Bragason, “Metalhead” starts out with the horrific death of Hera’s (Thora Bjorg Helga) older brother. In the wake of the funeral Hera finds herself in her brother’s room, strumming her fingers on his electric guitar. She finds comfort in the death metal that her brother listened to, and begins to shape her life around it. She wears his old leather jacket, and his old Judas Priest, Megadeth, and Diamond Head t-shirts.
Blaming herself for her brother’s death, Hera grows up to be a rebellious and misunderstood trouble maker in her early twenties. She can’t hold down a job and she can barely function on her own.
If you like any kind of metal or hard rock, Metalhead is the movie for you. The soundtrack alone is worth paying for, with music from Judas Priest and Riot. It’s a big shout out to old school death metal. Hera is frustrating, abrasive, and slightly alcoholic, but you can’t help really liking her; you see her growing up on screen.
Though Hera’s the main character, throughout the movie you get some stories from Hera’s parents that show their life before owning a dairy farm and settling down to have children. This isn’t just a story involving great music, this is a story about growing up and dealing with grief.
The cinematography in “Metalhead” is awe inspiring. It’s set in Iceland in a small rural community. The genre is a drama, but there were a few parts that I chuckled at. Amidst all of the sadness that this movie shows there is still some humor in it all, and the ending is possibly one of the greatest I’ve seen in a while. The only problem I have with Metalhead is that there were parts which moved incredibly slow, and pulled me out of the story a bit. “Metalhead” is one head banging, hair flinging, voice screeching, mosh pit of everything that I happen to look for in a film and is well worth reading subtitles.
BFFs
Nominated for the Hell’s Half Mile Jury’s Award and directed by Andrew Putschoegl, “BFFs” tells the story of two best friends, Sam (Andrea Grano) and Kat (Tara Karsian). Kat is a woman who has a history of long running relationships that end in failure. At her birthday party she receives a gift from her mother for a stay at a couple’s spa, where they help failing relationships. Her best friend Sam, who goes through men about as often as she changes her underwear, has the idea that they should pose as a lesbian couple to get a free vacation. Shenanigans ensue, and somehow Sam and Kat realize that their feelings might just go beyond being best friends.
As a comedy, “BFFs” is on point. There were parts where you couldn’t hear what characters were saying because of all the laughter from the audience. The humor is smart, the dialogue flows well and none of the jokes seem to be there just for the the sake of it. Grano’s and Karsian’s performances are excellent and their chemistry on screen is great; it’s reminiscent of Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Grano or Karsian on Saturday Night Live sometime in the future. The absolute best part of the film is that it has a very touching story. You really feel something for all of the couples, not just Sam and Kat, and without any spoilers, there are some really heartfelt moments that just make you want to hug somebody.
All in all, this movie is great. It goes beyond what a comedy is supposed to be. I have a hard time thinking of something about “BFFs” that I don’t like. Going into this movie I thought it was going to be an hour and a half of sexist and homophobic jokes, but I got the exact opposite. “BFFs” was amazing. I had the opportunity to talk with Andrew Putschoegl for a bit after the screening, and aside from showering him with praise, I asked him where I could purchase his film. He’s still in talks with a distribution company, however. That being said, you can like “BFFs” on Facebook and I honestly think you should. It’s an amazing movie and it will be well worth the money to pay for a hard copy, not to mention you get the kudos for supporting a great independent film.
