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Olive Films at the Quad



***Check back for the review of WHO KILLED PIXOTE?***

Slavoj Zizek: The Reality of the Virtual- Directed by Ben Wright. As filmed lecture of philosopher Slavoj Zizek’s theories regarding belief and reality, this documentary feels like one of those long college lectures where the lecturer essentially talks to himself throughout the whole time. Zizek has interesting things to critique about Western culture, movies, religion and politics, but he doesn’t do a great job of explaining himself. One of his beliefs is that The Sound of Music is actually about fascists taken over by Jews rather than the other way around—that’s the “reality of the virtual” to him. If you’ve seen last year’s documentary Zizek, you already know Zizek is quite a character—loud, talkative and fearless. However, here, he just talks and talks and talks without being asked any questions—and repeating himself over and over as if it’s going to be on the exam. Entertainment Value: Low. Spiritual Value: Moderate.


50 Ways of Saying Fabulous-Directed by Steward Mann. 12 year-old Billy (Andrew Patterson) comes of age when he meets Jamie (Michael Dorman) and Roy (Jay Collins). This comedy/drama from New Zealand is difficult to watch because it often feels stilted and awkward. Billy, the main character, comes across as sweet but mostly annoying. He is good friends with his tomboy cousin Lou, played by Harriet Beattie. Unfortunately, not only does the plot meander often but the musical score feels out-of-place and equally redundant. Entertainment Value: Low. Spiritual Value: Low.


Woodenhead-Directed by Florian Habicht. Gert (Nicholas Butler, voiced by Steve Abel) escorts beautiful princess named Plum (Teresa Peters, voiced by Mardi Potter) to her wedding, he goes through a strange adventure with her when he gets lost in the woods. With purposefully unsynchronized sounds and images, Woodenhead feels somewhat funny and unique, but quickly becomes tiresome and just too weird. The visuals are reminiscent of Guy Maddin’s style but without any real surprises. To add to all of the chaos of images and voices, there’s also some even stranger musical numbers. At best, this is a weak experimental film which tests your tolerance of excessive weirdness. Entertainment Value: Low. Spiritual Value: None. Raymundo-Directed by Florian Habicht. Directed by Ernesto Ardito and Virna Molina. A documentary abour Raymundo Gleyzer, an Argentinian who made revolutionary, anti-war documentary films to create social and political change in Argentina during the 1960's and 70's. He was abducted and murdered by the Argentinian military in 1976. This powerful, informative and timely documentary includes many interesting clips from Raymundo's short films and fascinating interviews with those who knew him--family, friends, and instructors. The ending is particularly moving. Entertainment Value: High. Spiritual Value: High.





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