Savannah Film Festival Movie Reviews

This is my second trip to the Savannah Film Festival (SFF). It used to really upset me when the majority of the awards kept going to Indie movies at the Oscars. A number of years back, thanks to Ebert and Roeper constantly plugging independent movies that I had never heard of, I ventured out to my first Indie movie. I have been hooked ever since.

I quickly understood that Indie movies represent the exact opposite of big budget movies. They walk at a slower pace and often fill your heart with the fullness of what life is all about. I knew I was really onto something when I was finally able to get my brother to go see a movie with subtitles and then have him turn around and suggest that I go see, "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo."

Last year, I had the pleasure to see the final Indie film circuit screening of "The Hurt Locker." A then undiscovered actor, Jeremy Renner, took the the stage after the movie, along with the film's female producer and talked about how the movie came about. You all know what happened after that. At the Oscars, a movie America had never heard of came home with a number of the big awards. It is similar to what happened with my beloved Butler Bulldogs last year in the NCAA finals. You go from "nobody knows who you are" to worldwide recognition overnight!

I am now three days and six movies into the seven-day festival. For the coming week, I will, in addition to blogging about finance, also blog about some of the films I am seeing. We all need to live a full and balanced life.

The first film I will start with is one by Edward Burns. The "new normal" for the world is definitely making its way into the movie business. "Nice Guy Johnny" was filmed for $25,000 and will likely not make it into mainstream theaters. Instead, they are using viral marketing and social networking to launch the movie. It is currently ranked number seven on iTunes rentals and is available on Comcast via Video On Demand (VOD). This movie is a modern day, "The Graduate," and in my opinion a solid 8 out of 10.

Another "ah hah" moment happened Tuesday night while watching the first ever "slasher musical." It was a movie called, "Don't Go Into The Woods." The concept that came from Mark Twain was quoted that you need to "kill all of your darlings." More on the personal and business use of this metaphor as the week unfolds.

At this time each year at the SFF, there is a treasure trove of both emotions created by the magic of film and actual take aways that will impact both my personal and professional life. Stay tuned for the reviews that will follow.