Movie: Tangerine (2015)*****

I copied this from my other blog, Sort of a Life, originally posted 08/08/15:

I slept all day today. After week of bullshit sleep and neighbors waking me up at 3:00 am, I think I deserved it. But I wanted to fit in a double-feature in at the Sundance, so I got my butt up at 4:30 pm, got ready and made it just in time to catch the 5:30 showing of Tangerine. I wasn't expecting much. I heard it was shot completely on an iPhone 5 and in a part of Los Angeles that I'm familiar with and that was the draw for me. The film was a fantastic surprise. Tangerine opens up with Alexandra, a transgender prostitute and aspiring performer sitting down to breakfast with her just-released-from-prison bestie Cindy, also a transgender prostitute. Alexandra reveals that Cindy's boyfriend has not been faithful while she was away, and from there the movie takes off on a hilarious, yet seriously emotional adventure. It was perfect from beginning to end. I appreciated the acting. I loved that section of L.A. (Santa Monica & Highland) as a character. Nothing felt unnecessary and it felt complete at the end. To boot, I found myself at a Q&A showing, so at the end the director, Sean Baker and one of the leads, Kiki Rodriguez, showed up and everything I learned, like why they chose the name Tangerine (Baker said it was just the visual tone of the movie or something like that, but Kiki said "looks like an orange, tastes like an orange, but it's not an orange!") made me love the movie even more. Anyway support this movie any way you can. It's a true indie, set in L.A. And it's good.

Addendum 02/28/16: You thought Boyhood was innovative?! Tangerine was shot entirely on an iPhone (With a special app and apparatus), without lighting, with real people on the real streets of the not-oft-talked-of side of West Hollywood streets and L.A. surrounds: Santa Monica & Highland.
I'm giving this movie five stars***** because it is now one of my favorites, I even went out and bought it so I can watch it over and over.

I saw this movie August 8, 2015 at The Sundance Cinemas West Hollywood.