Black Knuckle and Deputy Maltese (Short 2018)

Black Knuckle and Deputy Maltese: Directed by Jason Phillips. With Lane Compton, Gabriel Sousa, Kym Wilson, Bernadette Perez. In the western town of Coal Ridge, a deputy keeps his love a secret until the outlaw who stole his heart is taken hostage.

“Zach Braffu0026#39;s u0026quot;Garden Stateu0026quot; manages to accomplish something that very few films have been able to do throughout the history of cinema. It is a film that speaks to an entire generation. 1947u0026#39;s u0026quot;The Best Years of Our Livesu0026quot; spoke to our grandparents. u0026quot;The Graduateu0026quot; spoke to our parents. u0026quot;Fight Clubu0026quot; spoke to our older brothers working dead-end jobs in the 90u0026#39;s. But it is with the arrival of u0026quot;Garden Stateu0026quot; that our generation is spoken to, those of us born in the early-mid 80u0026#39;s who are in our late teens and early twenties trying to make it by in a environment that seems all at once to strange and yet so familiar.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHomecoming is the theme of Garden State. Andrew Largeman (Zach Braff)) has been away from his hometown of New Jersey for the past nine years and returns to attend the funeral for his mother. While having been gone, Andrew has been on lithium and other forms of anti-depressant medication all prescribed to him by his psychiatrist father Gideon (Ian Holm). Upon his homecoming Andrew has decided to take a vacation from his medication and take some time to re-connect with himself. From there the plot grows as he connects with old friends and makes new ones and discovers the joys of life and love mostly thanks to the arrival of free-spirited Sam (Natalie Portman). u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBraff has written and directed scenes that qualify to go down in the movie history books along such moments as Pulp Fictionu0026#39;s dance sequence, and The Deer Hunteru0026#39;s Russian roulette scenes. Two of said scenes that come to mind are when Sam takes Andrew up to her room for the first time and does something u0026quot;totally original that has never been done before in this location and will never be copied again throughout the rest of human existence,u0026quot; in order to ease the pain of an awkward situation. Another scene occurs late in the film when the three principals stand at the edge of a seemingly endless abyss and scream at the tops of their lungs into the gorge. It is this moment that defines, with one pure act, the epitome of what it feels to be in your late teens, early 20u0026#39;s looking out at life. Standing at the edge of life and screaming. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhile all the acting is noteworthy, including a hilarious cameo by Method Man (yes, thatu0026#39;s right Method Man), it is Natalie Portman who steals the show. Sam is in essence the adult version of her character from Beautiful Girls. Sheu0026#39;s 26, but an old soul. It his in her that the movie comes out the realm of quirky off-kilter comedy and gains heart, soul, and intimacy all to rare to achieve in films these days. Bravo Ms. Portman. In addition, Peter Sarsgaard is becoming one of my new favorite actors, after having seen him in this film, Shattared Glass, and Boys Donu0026#39;t Cry within a matter of approximately three weeks. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI will go on record an call Garden State a masterpiece. It does exactly what films are supposed to do, take from all areas of art and incorporate them into one. It is a passionate mixture of visual flare, tremendous dialogue, hip music, and heart-warming pathos. I encourage anyone who is young to see this film. See it with the people you care about, this is your film, this is OUR film, and it couldnu0026#39;t be better.”