Mindy Bledsoe writes, directs, and co-stars in The In-Between, her first feature, a road trip drama about complex friendships and dealing with grief. Junior (Bledsoe) and Mads (Jennifer Stone, TVs The Wizards of Waverly Place) are extremely close, bonding over shared tragedies and chronic illnesses. They embark on a multi-purpose road trip toeing plenty of baggage (both psychical and emotional) as they go the long way from L.A. to Portland. What sets this film apart from other road trip dramas is the fact that Mads and Junior both suffer from chronic illnesses that color their lives and make adulting a challenge. Bledsoe’s debut is a beautiful tribute to sisterly bonds and learning to let go.
Mads, a diabetic, likes to return to her childhood home in South Dakota every 4 years to renew her drivers’ license and ruminate over her upbringing. For Junior, the trip is a sort reenactment of one she took with her sister, Victoria, that ended in tragedy just short of their final destination. Only Junior survived the car accident, but she came away with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (Type 2) – a chronic condition that painfully debilitates her arms and hands without a steady diet of painkillers and weed…
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The plot of Shannon Murphy’s debut dramatic feature, Babyteeth is familiar: A spirited teen is diagnosed with terminal cancer and then falls in love with an eccentric boy who renews her lust for life or whatever, while her dysfunctional parents look on disapprovingly. But Murphy’s film, based on the hit play by Rita Kalnejais, is basically the antithesis of melodramatic schmaltz like A Walk to Remember or The Fault in Our Stars.
Not enough is made of how insane cruises are as a concept. Think about it. According to The Independent, 3 out of 10 people have, at some point, paid exorbitant amounts of money to sail a behemoth across the ocean with roughly 3000 strangers, consumed obscene amounts of ostentatious-but-mostly-mediocre food and entertainment, slept in tiny boxes, and tried to make the most of the stuff that’s included (like free soft serve ice cream) whilst getting nickel-and-dimed to death over the stuff that isn’t (alcohol). My brain has so much trouble reconciling this phenomenon that after going on a cruise 10 years ago, I have had countless recurring dreams set on an ocean liner.
The Carnivores isn’t about meat. But it’s not, not about meat. The plot of Caleb Michael Johnson’s (Joy Kevin) sophomore feature involves a couple who struggle to maintain their relationship because of their terminally ill dog, Harvie. Brett (Lindsay Burdge, The Invitation) is more emotionally invested in keeping Harvie alive for as long as possible despite the fact that his treatments are taking them beyond their means. Meanwhile, Alice (Tallie Medel) obsesses over their negative finances and how often she and Brett are intimate (not very). Flesh is a recurring theme in this surreal psychological romantic horror film co-written by Johnson and Jeff Bay Smith. What does it mean that we both consume flesh and are made of flesh? Why is some meat precious and other meat food?
Effed by the Wind 