Review

Second night of KC FilmFest going strong

The buzz was strong and on-going, as an impressive crowd descended upon the brand new AMC Mainstreet Cinemas in the P&L District to support some of the entries offered by the new KC Film Fest.

As I mentioned in an earlier post:  The sell-out chances on screenings are very high. Get there early to purchase tickets or go on line to www.kcfilmfest.org.

Thursday night's film of note was Bonnie and Clyde vs. Dracula. If the title alone doesn't tell you of the genre twisting going on in this film, witnessing it certainly will. This unique and off-beat fare features the psychopathic legendary robbers Bonnie and Clyde creating their havoc across the countryside, while somewhere in a mysterious mansion, a whole other breed of entropy is bubbling, as a bizarre doctor readies to unleash his captured Count Dracula himself to the world. Invariably, after one of their gang is injured, Bonnie seeks help the help of the only known doctor in town, invariably colliding both forces in a chaotic ending with a voluminous body count. This film is another home-grown production, brought to us by the St. Joseph-based filmmaker Timothy Friend, and the folks at Outpost Productions. Director of Photography Todd Norris creates an array of spooky eye-candy and I thought Tiffany Shepis particularly drove each scene with her portrayal of the fetching and oh-so-dangerous Bonnie.

I have also found the short film entries to be very impressive this year, which is no surprise since festival director Fred Andrews has programmed the shorts-driven KC Filmmakers Jubilee for so many years.  I enjoyed immensely the This American Life shorts program, and particularly Kelsey Amara's Reaction, which features a nice twist that nobody saw coming.

The fun and festivities continues at what is becoming one of the most fun places to hang out in Kansas City, The Czar Bar — a very filmmaker-friendly venue where Billy and Chris kept the drinks and music flowing.

Tonight:  I'm looking forward to The Brothers Bloom, a follow-up film by director Rian Johnson — who brought us one of my recent favorites, the high-school noir Brick. Johnson will be in town for his film and attend a Q&A-session moderated by Jeff Goldsmith, of Creative Screenwriting. Afterwards, we will head to Nara for the after-party.

Tickets and full schedule can be found at www.kcfilmfest.org.

See you at the movies!

-re-

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