(Originally from Facebook – December 26, 2013)

Another one that I thought from the buzz had a chance at my top 10 of the year. Let me tell you straight away–you will not like this movie. I did, but I don’t think I could recommend it to anybody. Or maybe I should say I was intrigued by it. I like films that really capture another time. I don’t mean digitally filmed period pieces, or films by Tarantino that want to have the best of both worlds; I mean films that feel like they were made in a different time; that have an almost slavish devotion to the period. It’s one of the reasons I really loved The House of the Devil (2009), even though most people I know hated it. This film feels for all the world like a documentary shot in the Eighties, from the black and white, artifact-ridden cinematography to the occasionally-out-of-sync sound. The story, though, is what will turn people off. It’s the story of a computer chess tournament, on the surface at least. But it becomes strangely surreal, and I’m not sure I mean that in a good way.

I guess it’s technically a mockumentary, but if you’re looking for something in the vein of This is Spinal Tap or Best of Show, you’ll want to look elsewhere. IMDB gives it a 6.3, and I gave it a 5. (running time 1:32)