Time to 'catch up'....
The ice cream truck
A deranged Ice Cream vendor is terrorising the suburbs. Meanwhile, a woman who has moved into the area ahead of her husband and kids is at something of a loose end and struggles with an attraction to her neighbours son. It sounds like an odd mix and it is. It feels like an extended episode of Desperate Housewives re-imagined as a B movie for the direct to video market. The two plot strands don't really meet until the final twenty minutes or so and the film suggests that at least some of it is going on in the main characters mind. It's competently shot, has some murders but nothing exceptionally nasty. I'd be surprised if it gets anything over a 15 certificate. It's very watchable, competently shot and feels more like an American indy film rather than the generic poundland nonsense I thought it would be when I decided to watch it. Worth a look.
Dave builds a maze
A woman arrives home to find her boyfriend has built a maze in their living room. She quickly becomes annoyed when he refuses to leave. Calling their friends round they decide to go in and get him out. Inside however they discover it has a tardis effect and is much bigger on the inside. It appears Dave has somehow built a huge Labyrinth full of traps and monsters, including a Minotaur that begins to pursue the group as they attempt to rescue Dave.
While some of the characters are very much hipster-ish (to the point it could be an actual deal breaker) I'd happily recommend this. Its the directors first feature and plays a lot like a mix of Michael Gondry and Quentin Dupriex (wrong, wrong cops.) Its hugely inventive and feels fresh and original enough to be an antidote to the increasingly homogenised Hollywood output that clutters theatres. As a metaphor for hitting your 30's and feeling like you've not accomplished anything it works, and there is a deeper subtext to the film that's there if you want to explore. However you can just watch it as a straight up bit of weirdness and it works well enough.
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