Sometimes, as I lug my baby’s heavy and ergonomically disastrous carrier in and out of the car for yet another trip to the mall with every other mom in town, I find myself wishing I lived someplace with foot traffic, where we could stroll about outside on a sidewalk to centrally located stuff to do.
Then I realize that I do live in such a place and I head downtown, where we can go to galleries and get coffee and used books and snacks or lunch from several fun places, particularly as our fine weather dips below the 90s. Our downtown is getting better all the time and events like the biannual
Arts Alive! are helping to make it so. I am particularly excited about the November 3rd Arts Alive! because it will focus on film with some exciting screenings and events.
To celebrate the theme, “Lights! Camera! (Inter)action!” the seventh incarnation of this downtown arts festival will feature a Short Film Showcase of works by local filmmakers. To be considered for this event, films must be 10 minutes or less in duration, appropriate for viewing by all ages and produced in South Alabama or by a filmmaker from our area. Entries can include music videos, commercials and other promotional material.
The official deadline for entering was Friday, October 6 but Lagniappe readers with films too good to miss, or those that might not fit those parameters but should still be seen, should call Charlie Smoke at the Mobile Arts Council and inquire about entering their films (251-432-9796 ext.11.) Along with a number of other film-and-video-related activities still in the works for Arts Alive!, the Short Film Showcase will be an excellent way to savor our local film flavors. Film lovers with short attention spans, rejoice.
Another fun way for filmmakers to participate is by joining the Film Scramble. Participants will have one weekend to make a five minute film and all films must fulfill certain guidelines, which will be revealed to filmmakers the weekend of the film shoots. Think “Project Runway” except you make a movie downtown instead of a skirt out of tin foil. Detailed instructions will be revealed at a meeting on Friday, October 27th.
Viewers will vote on their favorite at Arts Alive! If you’d like to participate in the Film Scramble, please email csmoke@mobilearts.org by Fri., Oct. 13. Don’t let the date scare you. Change your bad luck by making a good little movie.
Speaking of luck, “Lucky Number Slevin” was a surprisingly good flick of the ultra-violent, snappy dialogue order. The requisite complicated plot actually hung together nicely, despite the gimmicky title of which I’ll admit, I was suspect. So many of those movies are just arbitrary, hiding their thin concepts behind fast pacing and blood.
This one has some fun merits, however. Josh Hartnett, who usually brings a bland anonymity to his work, was actually well cast as the snide Slevin, a victim of mistaken identity that brings him in contact with warring gang kingpins. There was zippy chemistry between him and Lucy Liu, who has the decency to only make dozens rather than hundreds of movies a year. Which is more than you can say for Morgan Freeman, predictably good but exactly the same as he always is. At least that’s better than predictably bad (ahem, Nicolas Cage.)
In addition to decent dialogue, compelling concepts, and Sir Ben Kingsley, there was a visual stylishness to this movie. The apartments had fascinating wallpaper and the floors were visually stunning. These details elevated this movie, so that it might be worth watching again after you knew the big plot surprises. But I’ll withhold them, just to be on the safe side.
“Lucky Number Slevin” is currently available to rent.
Contact Asia Frey at afrey@lagniappemobile.com.
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