CANIPE LIVES!

I've known Bobby Canipe Jr. for the better part of a decade.  A decade?  Wait, that can't be right.  Let's say 5-7 years.  He directed the two films that I'm about to dissect, so I cannot claim sincere neutrality.  I'm a teensy bit biased, which is also why I'm dodging a traditional review.  No ratings.  Just incoherent balderdash.

If you know Bobby, you know that he's prone to slipping into a nostalgic stupor, aided by benzodiazepines and Mtn Dew Code Red.  I can relate.  My daydreams are typically set in the mid-90's where I can be found loitering at a mom 'n' pop video store.  And wouldn't you know it?  Bobby has just finished tweaking an early cut of Mom 'n' Pop: The Indie Video Store Boom of the 80s/90s, a documentary that focuses on...well, the indie video store boom of the 80's and 90's.  First things first.  I wouldn't be a cavalier grammar Nazi if I didn't implore that son of a bitch to fine-tune his title with a pair of apostrophes.  This may end our friendship.

Anyway, the production values are superb.  I love the way each interview is lit and framed.  The interviews themselves...wowzers!  I don't know how he wrangled his way into conversations with b-movie luminaries such as Lloyd Kaufman, Tim Ritter, and James Rolfe, but I believe that he should be open to selling their contact information.  Moreover, I appreciate the fact that he didn't allow nostalgia to cloud prudence or hamstring the truth.  No, video stores were not always beacons of bliss.  Late fees did suck.  Hindsight has been kind to Blockbuster, but in reality, they played an integral role in the cessation of the independent video store.

So that's one hearty recommendation from both myself and Robert Z'Dar.  I was also sent Intinction, a 25-minute short that, if I'm not mistaken, will be spliced into an upcoming anthology.  I wasn't exactly blown away by this gonzo take on cannibal nuns.  On the upside, cannibal nuns!  Yay!  On the downside, the audio levels are inconsistent and the acting is sketchy.  Sorry, man.  I must keep it real, as the kids say.  If it's any consolation, I caught Z'Dar pulling his pud throughout the entire ordeal.