rettercritical A Bret Easton Ellis podcast with Kevin Smith as a guest lead me to a small Canadian film, made by 'kids', folk in their twenties, with handy-cams that may have been one of the biggest jolts of cool fresh air since Breathless. Kevin Smith, who helped distribute the film, dubbed THE DIRTIES "the most important movie you will see all year."You could go two ways explaining this film. A short answer is that the experiment works, while a long answer would go into deconstructionist theory, pastiche, social commentary, adolescent alienation and the availability of modern technology as subject matter. But the first answer is really the best, in that young-folk half-wrote and mostly-improvised a hilarious and thrilling picture in a way only 'da-yoof can.Why do they call it a royal with cheese?​ 'The f--ing metric system' answers an over-zealous teenage media-class student, dressed in 70s-pimp fur coat, pacing down the corridors of a high school. Their confused homage lacks irony in this film-within-a-film. The two virginal best-friends are plagiarizing and cringe-inducing their way through life. Shooting their own schlock movie, they may have just stumbled upon a genuinely new AND SICK idea, while simultaneously being filmed by a documentary crew..Rather than be mocked for their derivative short films and pushed around by jocks, why don't they take part in a high school shooting and film the whole process?​ of course, if they only shoot the bullies or 'bad guys', it shouldn't be a problem, should it?​ Do they mean this literally?I want to come back to my answer that this film works. Shot on real high school locations during school hours as a secret project, THE DIRTIES is a strange mix of being both an experimental and mainstream triumph. Some of the participants are unwittingly being filmed, such as lead-actor and director Matthew Johnson's mother in conversation at home. This 82min film is a two-for-one. The first half is a hilarious, chump slacker comedy and the second half descends into gripping will they/wont they nail-bight-er.. Which will surprise you. But what you also get is this innovative, multi-leveled film within a film ... within a film-thing, which strikes as utterly unique and unpretentious. An oblivious and accessible take on Godard's NUMERO DEUX via the Tarantino generation. Just as intricate as NUMERO DEUX but made on the ground-floor rather than ivory tower, it's an expression of young people's hyper-screen literacy. We, the audience, are regularly taken into the edit suite to view footage, while the devilish-duo play around and manipulate footage. What starts as a brilliant joke builds into something that is no longer funny and things become completely serious. A tonal shift like after the comedic training-montages of full metal jacket.But what these youngsters have pulled off isn't just a fantastically effective film, it's a snapshot of life only young people can make about themselves. In a few years time, their window would have been gone. So it's also filled with finite qualities you can only get from young people brave enough to commit to a project at such a young age. Rather than fall into the traps of web-series or just standard short-films, both inferior formats, director and lead actor Matthew Johnson just went and made a feature regardless of whether it has a commercial home. The gamble paid off. The film had a budget of $10,000 and won best narrative feature at Slamdance. If you want a big kick in the pants about what you are doing with your life and the earth shattering revelation that a masterpiece is just a few brainstorming sessions away - get this one into you like a slushy on a hot day. It really is a tasty burger. Perhaps see it before their soon-to-be-released follow-up film OPERATION AVALANCHE. Shot without permission on real NASA headquarters, a 'found footage' film about how the moon landing was faked.. Highly anticipated.Mike Retter

shawnflynn2010 "piece of crap" is a compliment for this endeavor. Documentary style film making seems to be in vogue and this might have worked if the director or producer had actually employed kids who were 17 or 18, not 25 and 26. Their mannerisms reflect their age and that completely takes the film far from watchable. 2 out of 10 only that I was able to view as long as possible. Do not waste your time on this trash. It is awful. poorly directed, poorly photographed, acting? no Oscars here. I would've preferred watching a Justin Bieber video...over this. Time wasted when life is so short should be a criminal offense. Have I posted the expected 10 lines yet? Let's see....

QueenCatia I watched this film on the recommendation of my 16 year old son. I love the reality of it. I work in a high school and this director (who is also the star of the film) hits the high school vibe spot-on! All of the actors playing students look and act like teenagers (unlike most Hollywood films). The light tone turns dark soon enough with an unexpected twist. This is an extremely low budget film done right. Kudos to the bicycle scene filmed playing Lissie's Kid Cudi cover of Pursuit of Happiness. You should expect to see more films directed by Matt Johnson in the years to come. Overall this little gem is pretty impressive!

ThoughtsOfJapan This is a movie that works to reveal the true life of a killer and what can lead that person to their decision. The film is a great promotional tool to use to show what bullying could create in the minds of a victim. I don't think that schools would be willing to show this film to a classroom (as the language may not be taken well). The film itself is written and directed like a found footage-esque film in which we follow the high school adventures of two protagonists. They go about their days trying to create a fake made-for-school film about a group of bad guys called "The Dirties" and two cops who stop them. This allows the two students to be filmed throughout the whole process (by a third character who is filming the two students but is never heard from or seen). As they are filming their school film, they are constantly being bullied by other students. It's the driving factor behind the eventual climax of the film. After their made-for-school project is rejected by their teacher, they are forced to re-shoot their movie. This gives one of them the idea to turn their movie into a real school shooting. This drives a nail in the friendship between the pair. They slowly move apart as the movie continues. Eventually the tragic day comes and one of the two students proceeds to bring guns to school and start a shooting spree. The film is used to show that not everyone is born thinking about killing their fellow students. Instead it's developed over time through harsh environments (bullying at school). The two characters are fun loving for the most part. They are slightly anti-social which leads to them having problems with other students. The character Matt is quirky and funny. He has a weird approach to life that could be off-putting but is generally innocent. He starts off as the average high schooler until the bullying gets to a breaking point. He slowly begins to contemplate using real guns to shoot the bullies for his film. As the idea grows inside his head begins to pursue it. He even considers himself crazy at one point. By the end of the film the quirky and funny guy is gone and a more serious and devious killer is left.On the other hand there is Owen who hides inside his own shell. He is quiet yet funny. Since a young age he has been attracted to a female classmate. As the film continues along, he continues to try to get to know the object of his affection. It puts a barrier in his relationship with Matt as Matt sees her as a distraction and potential nemesis. Eventually Owen begins to choose the girl over Matt which leads to the stand off at the end of the movie.Overall the movie has it's draw backs but it's genuine in it's attempt to reveal a new side to the school shooting pandemic. It's never going to be anything more than that movie you wish hadn't gone the way it had. You'll long after the movie wish that someone had been able to help Matt and keep him from the path he takes. The biggest factor that goes in the favor of this film is that you get attached to the characters so you don't want to see what you know is coming.