Ten dark, disturbing, entirely screwed-up (and yet still romantic) films for Valentine’s Day
By Devin D. O’Leary
We don’t hate Valentine’s Day around here. We’re not that jaded. Really. But we do have a very different idea of what constitutes romance. Sappy Hollywood rom-coms in which Julia Roberts or Jennifer Aniston or (God forbid) Katherine Heigl eventually falls in love with some guy she allegedly hates is not our idea of love. Real love is painful, messy and frequently fatal. Love, to quote Def Leppard, bleeds. Just ask Romeo and Juliet.
At Super Bowl XLVI, car companies clearly ran over beer companies. Anheuser-Busch—normally the King of Commercials—fumbled in 2012. The Budweiser brewer tossed off a couple of forgettably nostalgic spots before bottoming out with the introduction of Bud Light Platinum, which ... has a higher credit limit than other beers? I have no idea. Car companies, however, pulled out the stops with a string of notable ads. Hot babes made a good showing, as always, hawking cars, more cars and domain name registration. Dogs also had their day, starring in five spots (six if you count Snoopy in the MetLife commercial). Monkeys, bears and babies, on the other hand, seem to have worn out their welcome. Good riddance to them.
After a successful screening at the state Legislature’s New Mexico Film and Media Day, Brent Morris and David Jean Schweitzer’s Made in New Mexico will be shown at Albuquerque’s KiMo Theatre on Thursday, Feb. 9. The documentary explores the burgeoning film industry in New Mexico and the impact our state’s various tax incentives have had on the business of making movies. In addition to the documentary, there will be several shorts by New Mexico filmmakers. This includes the premiere of Governor’s Cup-winning Director Ramona Emerson’s “Opal,” about an 8-year-old Navajo girl taking on a town bully. A Q & A with filmmakers follows the screenings, which get underway at 7 p.m.
