Sundance. Weapons.

"A slow, hazy hip-hop trip through screwed-up young America, Weapons is the anti-Boyz n the Hood," writes Anthony Kaufman at indieWIRE. "Less concerned with character development, social statements, and climatic revelations, director Adam Bhala Lough's sophomore effort is a woozy mood-piece about dead-end teens and the cycle of violence in contemporary life." Ultimately, though, "the movie - somewhere between Larry Clark, John Singleton and Gus Van Sant - loses whatever measured momentum it begins with."

"Lough is about as bashful as Gaspar Noé or Larry Clark, both of whose prurient influences Weapons reflects in spades," writes ST VanAirsdale, reporting on the post-premiere Q&A for his Reeler. As for the film, "the ambiguity of its tragedy is perhaps Weapons' most devastating quality. Lough's talent is itself quite formidable, his camera seeming dislocated from its subjects yet seemingly the only record of their existence... and his skill with actors hinting at a hands-off benevolence."

Both praise the heck out of that opening shot.

Earlier: Craig Phillips, right here.

Update, 1/24: Mike D'Angelo walked out after 40 minutes, "bored with its macho cretins and its fashionable game of chronological hopscotch. But I do want to quickly note my revulsion for its celebrated opening shot, which even people who dislike the film overall seem to find impressive."

Coverage of the coverage: The Park City Index.

Update, 1/25: Scott Weinberg at Cinematical: "I'd like to say that the film, for all its grunge, grime and bleakness, is a well-intentioned piece, but I never really got that impression from Weapons. It's basically another 'teens hate everyone, especially each other' story, not very much unlike River's Edge, Mean Creek or the collected works of Larry Clark - only not nearly as good."

Updates, 1/29: "[M]y least favorite narrative film this week," writes Bryan Whitefield for ScreenGrab.

IndieWIRE interviews Adam Bhala Lough.

Posted by dwhudson at January 23, 2007 2:56 PM