pjbrubak

Around the Sun is a two-character drama in the French countryside. Because of its secluded setting, it develops a kind of intimacy not seen in most contemporary movies. We simply observe two people tour a chateau and wax poetic on philosophy and love, among other things. There were moments that surprised me, but throughout I enjoyed being in that charming world.

You will know very early in this low-budget, underground comedy if it is the kind of humor you find funny. I find it freaking hilarious. It is the sort of comedy where the plot is something you might see in an actual cop movie, but the performances, action and dialogue are all absurdly ridiculous. Which is quite a feat - I mean, while the movie comes across as being completely silly, you can tell a lot of intelligence went into making it seem so incompetent. The "plot" as it were, concerns Kip White (perhaps the whitest cop to ever grace the silver screen?) who is attempting to bust a ring of criminals in Chicago. But the plot is really just an excuse to have throbbing dream wave music accompany slow-mo drug busts, deranged sex scenes and even a swanky yacht ride. The filmmakers behind 'White Cop' are part of the comedy theater scene in Chicago and you've got to hand it to them for a film that seems so crazy it's quite consistent. It's the funniest movie I've seen all year, and I would definitely place it in my top ten for 2014. I'm glad to have seen it at Geeksboro Coffeehouse Cinema here in Greensboro, NC, because it's important to support indie filmmaking; even the kind that never makes it to an art house chain theater. The filmmakers behind 'White Cop' succeeded in making me and the whole theater howl with laughter throughout the whole screening. I look forward to future films from director Jake Myers and his irreverent team of ragamuffins. There's more to movies than just the multiplexes, people.

Philip Brubaker

I really needed this movie when I saw it. It's a bittersweet tale of a young man who can't differentiate between his dreams and reality, and the girl he pines after. The dream sequences are totally enchanting and I found myself beguiled by Michel Gondry's ingenuity. There are many funny parts, but overall it's a fantastic story full of vintage special effects that Hollywood would surely shun in favor of some CGI crud. Science of Sleep explores the dream world with such vividness and detail, you'll think you're dreaming while you watch it. Sensitive, artistic young men (like myself) can definitely relate to pursuing an object of affection who is out of reach, but close enough to fantasize about. This is a worthy successor to Gondry's previous masterpiece: "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."

8/10