All About Movie

Rabu, 08 Mei 2013

April at the Movies: 10 Films You Must See This Month

Pain-and-Gain-Poster-Header

Rather then tell you details about every single movie opening every single month, we’re gonna switch things up around here and instead help you plan your month at the movies by picking the nine most notable films of the month and one we proudly award our Turkey of the Month. This month, indie movies outweigh studio movies and we rejoice!

ARPIL 5

“Jurassic Park 3D”

This should require no explanation. “Jurassic Park” is back in theaters 20 years after its initial release with what’s being called the best 3D conversion yet. The effects hold up, the terror feels just as real, the music is as transportive as ever, and the list goes on and on.

“Evil Dead”

The rumors are true. The “Evil Dead” remake, produced by original team Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert and Bruce Campbell, might be the goriest movie this side of NC-17 you will ever see. If that is your kind of thing, you’ll want to make sweet sweet love to this movie, and frankly, you probably will. The dialogue? Meh. The story? Double meh. But a remake of “Evil Dead” should be a little bit so bad it’s good. You should cringe just a tad when the characters deliver their wooden exposition or somehow the film would feel untrue to the original. In any event, it’s a great and wholly disturbing time at the movies. Get a group together and scream/cover your eyes/throw up together.

“Upstream Color”

Shane Carruth (“Primer”) premiered this mind binder of a film at Sundance to great acclaim / confusion. Now, just a mere couple months later, it opens in limited release before it hits home video in May. Watch what you read about this film – even the SXSW plot summary was deemed by many to be a massive spoiler. In order to experience it properly, go in cold and see what happens.

APRIL 12

wonder_2488480b

“To The Wonder”

Doesn’t it kind of seem like all of a sudden Terrence Malick was like “And now, another movie!” and “To The Wonder just appeared? Well whether Malick actually shot this movie, or simply willed it into existence, his first feature since the Best Picture nominated “Tree of Life” comes to theaters in a couple weeks. The movie follows a couple, Neil and Marina (Ben Affleck and Olga Kurylenko) who move to small town America to start a life together. Soon after, Marina befriends a struggling priest (Javier Bardem) and Neil reconnects with a past love (Rachel McAdams) and things get complicated. Any and all explorations of any and all types of love and relationships have my name written all over it, so even if this movie just ends up being four actors frolicking around beautiful landscapes surrounded by an army of buffalo, I’ll still probably adore it. Especially if Britney Spears is involved. I mean one of the quotes is “You feel your love has died, perhaps it is waiting to transform into something higher.” MUST NEEDS SEE NOW MUST.

“It’s a Disaster”

If you follow my overly loquacious twitter account (get it?) you’ve probably caught on by now that I LOVE THIS MOVIE. Oscilloscope picked up the doomsday comedy after it premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival last year, and the film has perhaps become best known for pulling an epic prank on the internets by being the first movie to be “distributed” on the popular App, Vine. The film is about eight friends who gather for couples brunch as a disaster occurs outside, forcing them to remain indoors even as their personal lives implode. It’s fast paced, with a unique tone and original sense of humor, and the ensemble, which includes Julia Stiles and David Cross, shines. Stay tuned to Film.com for an interview with writer/director Todd Berger next week.

Check out our LAFF Review.

“Antiviral”

Another little film that could that impressed on the festival circuit last year, “Antiviral” is the first effort from David Cronenberg’s son, Brandon. This unsettling body shock sci-fi film is about a world where people are so obsessed with celebrities, they buy and purposefully contract their diseased cells, and eat masses of “steak” created from their healthy ones. While the film’s narrative may falter here and there, the world it falters within is so strong, visually and viscerally, that you can’t help but appreciate the vision behind the camera and the potential for the rest of Cronenberg’s career.

Check out our AFI Review.

APRIL 19

Oblivion movie HD Wallpaper

“Oblivion”

Yeah, remember this movie? I don’t. Has there been a marketing campaign? Is it even real? Did someone at Universal see it, freak out at its awfulness and decide to just pretend it never happened? The fact that this film is directed by Joseph Kosinski (“Tron: Legacy”) means chances of it being worth anything beyond having an amazing soundtrack and being kind of cool if are on pot brownies, aren’t too great. Plus Tom Cruise is in it. So, muh.

APRIL 26

'Pain and Gain' - Film Set

“Pain & Gain”

Mark Wahlberg and The Rock play body building criminals in this action dramedy directed by Michael Bay. And it actually looks kind of awesome. Wait. What? Based on a true story, the film follows three gym rats (the third played by Anthony Mackie) who decide to extort money from a mob boss (Tony Shalhoub) and all kinds of shenanigans ensue. Also featuring Rob Corddry, Rebel Wilson and Ken Jeong.

“Mud”

Two boys find a man named Mud on a Mississippi island played by Matthew McConaughey in Jeff Nichols’ follow up to 2011's “Take Shelter”. Word is McConaghey’s performance is top notch, even surpassing his strong work in a slew of films last year (“Magic Mike”, “Bernie”, “Killer Joe”) and the film itself has been receiving the highest of praise since premiering at Sundance. Considering how fantastic “Take Shelter” is, it’s nice to have confirmation that it wasn’t a fluke and talent like Nichols’ is here to stay.

Check out our review here.

TURKEY OF THE MONTH

“Scary Movie 5?

Wait, these are still happening? These still make money? Who is going to see them and why?! Although this edition does feature both Charlie Sheen AND Lindsay Lohan, so it does have that trainwreck ON TOP of a trackwreck factor. This time, the franchise is sending up “Paranormal Activity”, “Mama”, and “Sinister” and the cast also features Simon Rex, Mike Tyson and Ashley Tisdale. Sigh.

Others to keep in mind:

“Trance” (4/5) Danny Boyle’s next film, starring James McAvoy. Our editor is not a fan.

“Simon Killer” (4/12) From the producing team behind “Martha Marcy May Marlene.” Dark, troubling, fascinating. Check out our thoughts from AFI.

“The Brass Teapot” (4/12) This comedic fantasy about a teapot that creates money when you hurt yourself starring Juno Temple, Alexis Bledel, Michael Angarano and Alia Shawkat, hit my radar because of a booth at Wondercon – the indie film is based on a comic book series!

“The Reluctant Fundamentalist” (4/26) Mira Nair’s (“Monsoon Wedding”) new film based on the acclaimed book of the same name, playing early at the Indian Film Festival of LA

“The Big Wedding” (4/26) From the director of “The Bucket List”, Robin Williams back on the big screen

“At Any Price” (4/26) Played at Telluride, Venice and Toronto, featuring Zac Efron attempting to prove himself again. Will it work?

Categories: Features

Tags: Antiviral, Evil Dead, It's a Disaster, Jurassic Park 3D, Mud, Oblivion, Scary Movie 5, To The Wonder, Trance, Upstream Color

Selasa, 07 Mei 2013

GANGSTER SQUAD (2013)

Tanggal Rilis : 11 January 2013 (USA)
Jenis Film : Action | Crime | Drama
Diperankan Oleh : Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone

Ringkasan Cerita GANGSTER SQUAD (2013) :

In 1949, when gangster Mickey Cohen seems to have an iron grip of Los Angeles. And no one is willing or alive to testify against him. So Police Chief Parker decides to form a special unit whose mission is to take down Cohen. He chooses Sgt. O’Mara, a World War 2, vet to lead the unit. O’Mara chooses 4 cops and asks another cop and WW2 vet, Jerry Wooters to join him but Wooters is not interested. But when he witnesses the murder of a young boy by Cohen’s people, he joins them, and they decide to take apart Cohen’s organization. Cohen wonders a rival is going after him, but eventually he realizes it’s the cops.

[IMDb rating : 7.0/10]
[Awards : - ]
[Production Co : Langley Park Productions, Lin Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures]
[IMDb link : http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1321870]

[Quality : WEB-DL 720p]
[File Size : 675 MB]
[Format : Matroska >> mkv]
[Resolution : 1280x528]
[Source : 720p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H264-HDClub]
[Encoder : nItRo]

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Senin, 06 Mei 2013

It Runs in the Family: Six Great Directors whose Parents Were Great Directors

antiviral

Brandon Cronenberg, son of Canadian body-horror master David Cronenberg, is hardly the first child of a famed filmmaker to follow in his father’s footsteps, with everyone from Rob Reiner to Nora Ephron making a name for themselves with a little help from parents in the business. But with the release this week of his debut directorial outing, the celebrity culture satire “Antiviral”, he’s proving himself much more indebted than most to the style and character of the family legacy. Where most kids struggle to step out from under the shadow of their parents, Brandon Cronenberg seems to enjoy staying well within the shade, working in such a similar register to the films of his father that it’s impossible to avoid the comparison.

That said, the younger Cronenberg remains in good company: some of the cinema’s most well-regarded filmmakers had to contend with parental legends of their own, emerging on the other side of acclaim with their own unique artistic voices in tact. And so to celebrate Brandon Cronenberg’s coming out party—and to wish him the best in more singular endeavors—we’ve come up with a list of 6 notable directors whose parents, directly or by example, taught them the rules of the game.

SOFIA COPPOLA
Parent: Francis Ford Coppola
Best Film: “Somewhere”

Though her father is responsible for some of the most well-regarded films of the 1970s, Sofia Coppola has proven herself over the course of just four films—with a fifth, “The Bling Ring”, due out in June—to be as important a cinematic voice to her generation as Francis Ford was to his. She made her name with the Oscar-winning tourist picture “Lost In Translation”, but it’s her last film, the masterful “Somewhere”, that confirmed her talent beyond reasonable objection. And where many the elder Coppola’s films, particularly “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now”, were steeped in a kind of exaggerated hyper-masculinity, Sofia is a veritable icon of modern feminist filmmaking.

OLIVIER ASSAYAS
Parent: Jacques Remy
Best Film: “Irma Vep”

Spoiler Warning? This is the last scene of “Irma Vep,” though it hardly *spoils* anything)

Perhaps the major figure of the contemporary French cinema, Olivier Assayas is, rather appropriately, the son of one of the classic French cinema’s most important screenwriters. Jacques Remy wrote for everyone from Rene Clement to Roger Vadim; and while his predates the nouvelle vague, his popularity in the mainstream during the 40s and 50s no doubt helped compel a young Olivier to seek out most radical alternatives. In his wonderful new film “Something in the Air”, Assayas dramatizes himself as an impressionable teenage falling into a crowd of rebels and experimental cinema enthusiasts, and it’s not hard to imagine the spectre of his father’s success looming in the background.

SERGIO LEONE
Parent: Roberto Roberti
Best Film: “A Fistful Of Dollars”

Roberto Roberti isn’t exactly a household name anymore, but the father of spaghetti western auteur Sergio Leone was a central presence in Italy’s burgeoning silent cinema, producing more than fifty films between 1912 and 1926. It wouldn’t be a stretch to suggest that the silent film grammar in which his father was fluent had an indelible impression on Leone’s sensibility, whose defining western style—he favored long takes and faces held in wordless close-up—strongly recalls an earlier era.

JACQUES TOURNEUR
Parent: Maurice Tourneur
Best Film: “I Walked With A Zombie”

It’s heartening that Jacques Tourneur, a long-standing purveyor of low-budget RKO horror films, is finally beginning to receive a degree of retroactive (and well-deserved) critical due, because films like “Cat People”, “The Leopard Man” and, of course, “I Walked With A Zombie” are as important to the b-movie canon as any picture you’d care to name. Jacques was also the son of Maurice Tourneur, whose oeuvre has always been regarded as more plainly respectable; after immigrating to America in 1914, he became a prolific director of silent films, and is now remembered as one of the most cherished (if minor) filmmakers of the period.

JOHN HYAMS
Parent: Peter Hyams
Best Film: “Universal Soldier: Regeneration”

Peter Hyams made a career out of ludicrous action, bestowing the cinema which such vaunted modern classics as the Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicles “Timecop” and “Sudden Death”, but it’s his son, rising star John Hyams, whose transformed the raw materials of that legacy into something like pop art. Like his father, John works with low-budget action heavyweights like JCVD and Dolph Lundgren, and, like his father’s films, John’s are often excessively violent and jubilantly vulgar.

The difference is one of approach: where Peter was a reliable but unexceptional craftsman, John fancies himself more the self-styled artiste, taking as many cues from Gaspar Noe and David Lynch as he does the old-school action canon. His recent “Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning” was well-received by critics for pandering quite conspicuously to the arthouse crowd, making a show of its “Lost Highway” references and relying on strobe lights and atmosphere as much as guns and fists.

AZAZEL JACOBS
Parent: Ken Jacobs
Best Film: “Terri”

Azazel Jacobs has taken more or less the opposite strategy to careerism as Brandon Cronenberg. His father, Ken Jacobs, is a widely respected experimental filmmaker of the purest variety, the kind of avant-gardist whose opus is a seven-hour found footage installation. Azazel, on the other hand, has found considerable excess making mostly accessible independent dramedies. His most recent film, the critically acclaimed Sundance hit “Terri”, seems a kind of directorial calling card for a filmmaker clearly on the rise, and it suggests that Azazel’s ambitions are considerably more commercially oriented than his father’s ever were.

Categories: Features, Lists

Tags: Antiviral, Brandon cronenberg, Calum Marsh, Jacques Tourneur, John hyams, Sergio leone, Sofia coppola, Somewhere

Sabtu, 04 Mei 2013

VIKINGS (2013) SEASON 01 [AIRING]

Tanggal Rilis : TV Series (2013– )
Jenis Film : Action | Drama | History
Diperankan Oleh : Travis Fimmel, Clive Standen, Katheryn Winnick

Ringkasan Cerita VIKINGS (2013) SEASON 01 [AIRING] :

Vikings follows the adventures of Ragnar Lothbrok the greatest hero of his age. The series tells the sagas of Ragnar’s band of Viking brothers and his family, as he rises to become King of the Viking tribes. As well as being a fearless warrior, Ragnar embodies the Norse traditions of devotion to the gods, legend has it that he was a direct descendant of Odin, the god of war and warriors.

[IMDb rating : 8.6/10]
[Awards : - ]
[Production Co : Irish Film Board, Take 5 Productions, World 2000 Entertainment]
[IMDb link : http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2306299]

EPISODE 1: RITES OF PASSAGE
Synopsis

A Viking warrior seeks approval from his community’s leader in the opener of this series chronicling the medieval adventures of a band of Norsemen.

[Quality : HDTV 720p]
[File Size : 300 MB]
[Format : Matroska >> mkv]
[Resolution : 1280x720]
[Source : 720p.HDTV.x264-2HD]
[Encoder : nItRo]

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EPISODE 2: WRATH OF NORTHMEN
Synopsis

This week’s episode “Wrath of the Northman” opens on a secret meeting between Ragnar and some men he thinks he can trust. Ragnar is fully committed to the decision to sail west, now he just needs a few recruits! He assures everyone that there will be plenty of riches to the west in England and that he has a new way of navigating (that fancy sun board GPS system we saw last week). The others agree to defy the Earl and go with Ragnar on his trip west.

[Quality : HDTV 720p]
[File Size : 300 MB]
[Format : Matroska >> mkv]
[Resolution : 1280x720]
[Source : 720p.HDTV.x264-2HD]
[Encoder : nItRo]

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EPISODE 3: DISPOSSESSED
Synopsis

A monastery in Lindesfarne is about to get a firsthand look at how the Vikings operate. In and out in a flurry of violence and terror, Ragnar and his crew raid the monastery for everything it contains from treasure to monks who can be sold as slaves. Unable to ignore the riches this unsanctioned journey has returned, Earl Haraldson has no choice but to agree to let these warriors undertake a second trip out. The west has now been opened for the taking by Ragnar Lothbrok and the world of the Vikings will never be the same.

[Quality : HDTV 720p]
[File Size : 300 MB]
[Format : Matroska >> mkv]
[Resolution : 1280x720]
[Source : 720p.HDTV.x264-2HD]
[Encoder : nItRo]

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EPISODE 4: TRIAL
Synopsis

The Vikings head back to England to see what other treasures this new world has to offer. This go round Ragnar and his crew sail out with Earl Haraldson’s permission….and also with Earl Haraldson’s spy. After bloodshed on the beach, the Vikings choose the Sabbath to invade the town of Hexam and unleash a flood of violence and panic. In the midst of the terror, Ragnar and Lagertha discover that there are consequences for every action and Earl Haraldson is always watching.

[Quality : HDTV 720p]
[File Size : 300 MB]
[Format : Matroska >> mkv]
[Resolution : 1280x720]
[Source : 720p.HDTV.x264-2HD]
[Encoder : nItRo]

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EPISODE 5: RAID
Synopsis

In the Great Hall of Kattegat, a seer reads Earl Haraldson’s future and tells him that Ragnar Lothbrok searches for his death. The unanswerable question is whom do the gods favor more? As a man willing to defend his power and status to the death, Haraldson intends to take precautionary measures. Ragnar, his home and farm burned by the Earl is hurt but hidden safely away. He must now choose the path that will lead him back to his freedom.

[Quality : HDTV 720p]
[File Size : 300 MB]
[Format : Matroska >> mkv]
[Resolution : 1280x720]
[Source : 720p.HDTV.x264-2HD]
[Encoder : nItRo]

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Kamis, 02 Mei 2013

The Short Shrift: Ramin Bahrani’s ‘Plastic Bag’

plastic_bag_ramin_bahrani

Welcome to the first installment of The Short Shrift, a new feature on Film.com that will highlight and stream a short film at high noon. Every weekday. Every week.

We’re going to begin by highlighting some of our favorite short films (both new and less new) in order to illustrate what it is we love about the format, and why it’s worth celebrating. The idea that a movie has to be roughly 90 minutes long is a commercial construction more than anything else, and we’d love to play some small role in encouraging people to give short films the love and attention that they deserve. So check back every afternoon at 12 P.M. sharp (EST, unless we’re slacking) for a short blast of great cinema.

Oh, and before we kick things off, a quick shout-out to Scott Beggs and the gang over at Film School Rejects, who have been doing a stellar job of highlighting great shorts for a while now, and have amassed a screening library that is well worth your time.

TODAY’S SHORT: “Plastic Bag” (directed by Ramin Bahrani) 2009

RUNNING TIME: 18:33

WHY WE LOVE IT: After much hemming and hawing, we decided to kick things off with a relatively popular and widely seen piece of work (so far as these things go) from an established filmmaker. It’s not exactly the precedent that we wanted to set for a space dedicated to the wonders of discovery, but we also wanted to launch The Short Shrift with a film that illustrated why the format is so vital.

“Plastic Bag,” commissioned by Independent Television Services as part of their Futurestates series, chronicles the endearingly poetic saga of a plastic bag (whose voiceover narration is provided by Werner Herzog, natch) who helplessly floats around the United States in search of his “maker.” It’s part “Pinocchio,” part “A.I.,” and entirely anathema to the demands of feature filmmaking, which would stretch this rich but fleeting story to the breaking point and beyond. The brief running time allows Ramin Bahrani (“At Any Price,” “Goodbye Solo”), to shape it like a fairy tale or a bedtime story, a plea for us to consider our impact on the environment that never allows its blunt metaphors to overwhelm the sweetly cathartic tragedy of its polyethylene hero. By the time you hear his final thoughts, you might finally be convinced that a plastic bag is the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen.

And you will cry. In public. Sorry about that.

Do you have a favorite short film that you would like us to feature on The Short Shrift? Whether it’s something you love, something you made, or both, send it along to Filmdotcomshorts@Gmail.com and you might see it on the site!

Categories: Features

Tags: American beauty, Plastic Bag, Ramin Bahrani, Short Film, The Short Shrift, Werner herzog

Rabu, 01 Mei 2013

SPECIAL 26 (2013)

Tanggal Rilis : 8 February 2013 (India)
Jenis Film : Crime | Drama | Thriller
Diperankan Oleh : Akshay Kumar, Manoj Bajpayee, Anupam Kher

Ringkasan Cerita SPECIAL 26 (2013) :

Special 26, also known as Special Chabbis, is a 2013 Indian heist film directed by Neeraj Pandey. The film stars Akshay Kumar and Kajal Aggarwal in the lead roles with Jimmy Shergill, Manoj Bajpai and Anupam Kher in supporting roles. The film is inspired in a real-life heist on March 19, 1987 where a group posing as CBI officers executed an income tax raid on the Opera House branch of Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri in Mumbai.

Senin, 29 April 2013

‘Oz’ Steals ‘Burt Wonderstone’s’ Box Office Magic

It was expected to be the biggest wizard’s duel to grace the box office since Harry battled Voldemort, but it turned out that “Burt Wonderstone” was nothing more than an expensive illusion, as the new Steve Carell comedy was completely crushed by returning champ “Oz the Great and Powerful” this weekend.

How bad was it? “Burt Wonderstone,” which cost an estimated $32 million and which co-stars one of the biggest box office comedy draws of all time in Jim Carrey, bombed out with just $10.3 million despite being boosted by a Thursday night pre-release and a massive rollout to over 3,100 screens. Even worse, “Burt Wonderstone” scored just a C+ Cinemascore with viewers while also racking up a brutal 25% fresh rating on Rottentomatoes.

Meanwhile, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, because he’s busy laughing all the way to the bank. Thanks in part to “Burt Wonderstone’s” epic collapse, returning champion “Oz the Great and Powerful” cruised to its second straight box office win, collecting another $42.2 million to push its 10-day total to $145 million domestically and $281.8 million worldwide.

Even the surprise success of Halle Berry’s kidnapping thriller “The Call” couldn’t put a dent in “Oz the great and Powerful.” But Berry appears to have a bona fide hit on her hands, as strong word of mouth pushed the film to an estimated $17.1 million opening, which reportedly is already enough for the low budget film to turn a profit.

Next week, of course, “Oz the Great and Powerful” will face some legitimate competition at the box office, as the DreamWorks animated epic “The Croods” opens alongside the Gerard Butler action piece “Olympus Has Fallen” and Tina Fey’s new romcom “Admission.” But for now, magic rules Hollywood — and “Oz” is the greatest and most powerful wizard around.

Here’s a look at the full box office top ten, courtesy of Hollywood.com:

1. “Oz the Great and Powerful” – $42.2m (our review)
2. “The Call” – $17.1m (our review)
3. “Burt Wonderstone” – $10.3m (our review)
4. “Jack the Giant Slayer” – $6.2m (our review)
5. “Identity Thief” – $4.5m (our review)
6. “Snitch” – $3.5m (our review)
7. “21 and Over” – $2.6m (our review)
8. “Silver Linings Playbook” – $2.6m (our review)
9. “Safe Haven” – $2.5m (our review)
10. “Escape from Planet Earth” – $2.3m (our review)

Categories: News

Tags: Box office, Oz: The Great and Powerful, The Call, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

Sabtu, 27 April 2013

Trailer: ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’

From our pals at NextMovie:

In the classic “Star Trek” series, the U.S.S. Enterprise was on a continuing five-year mission to seek out new life, new civilizations and to boldly go where no one has gone before. But with “Star Trek Into Darkness,” director J.J. Abrams appears to be on his own four-year mission: To boldly blow your little mind.

And based on this new teaser trailer from YouTube, it looks like it’s going to be mission accomplished on May 17.

Usually, teasers pretty much just give a small taste of a film or simply rehash scenes and elements from earlier, full-length trailers. But don’t let the brief duration of this clip fool you: The new “Star Trek Into Darkness” teaser, which has been screening before showings of “Oz the Great and Powerful,” is absolutely jammed to the hilt with action, drama and new sequences that will have your inner Trekkie squeeing with glee.

So check it out. And when it comes time to decide which movies you’re going to see at the box office this summer, remember: Go bold.

Categories: Trailers

Tags: Benedict cumberbatch, Chris pine, Jj abrams, Star Trek Into Darkness, Trailer

Jumat, 26 April 2013

Filminism: Pro-Life Thriller ‘The Life Zone’ Began to be Terrible at Conception

Filminism is a smart-ass (but occasionally silly) bi-weekly column about the intersection between film and feminism.

I’d love to kick off this column with something a bit more pleasant, but Filminism is ultimately a forum to discuss and reflect upon what’s happening in our culture, and “The Life Zone” unfortunately fits the bill. Of course, it’s easier to engage with problematic material when that material is genuinely provocative, but when something as legitimately terrible as “The Life Zone” comes around, it raises questions as to whether a poorly conceived issue film can actually do its proponents more harm than good.

When I pitched this article, the angle was simple.

What happens when a vehemently pro-choice feminist (hi!) watches a “pro-life” horror movie? I pictured my head exploding, my eyes bleeding, my fingers nimbly racing across the keyboard after sitting through “The Life Zone,” a movie I’d seen the trailer for way back in 2011. I was expecting a fetal freak-out along the lines of David Cronenberg’s “The Brood,” where pretty young Samantha Eggar gives birth to horrible eggs that hatched murderous child-things, or “Inside,” a French film with such unabated gore and terror that it actually prompted a full-on panic attack. I’ve never seen the rest.

I was ready to be grossed out by “The Life Zone.” I was ready to be upset. I wasn’t ready to be bored (it turns out that the trailer was a bit misleading; it’s more of a thriller than a horror movie, but … It wasn’t too thrilling, either.) After all, abortion is one of the most hotly contested topics in society today, and although horror movies often use the female body as a stomping ground to play out our fears and desires, few dare touch something as dicey as abortion in any outright way. Sure, there are symbols and allusions, but even Juno turns away from Planned Parenthood after a picketer — another high school girl she knows — tells her that her baby has fingernails. Movies like “Vera Drake” and “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” are few and far between.

If a small company like Justice for All Productions cares enough to make a movie with a message about abortion, you think they’d bring their big guns, right? Screenwriter/producer Ken Del Vecchio even gave up his career as a judge in New Jersey to pursue his life as a filmmaker (well, only because a NJ judicial panel ruled that it “created an ethical conflict,” but still.)

Nope, even going to a real “Hell House” sounds scarier (and perhaps more persuasive) than “The Life Zone.” I mean, just look at the amazing poster.

Three young women wake up in a grimy-looking room and discover they’re prisoners of the icy Dr. Wise, played by Blanche Baker (she was the blonde older sister whose nuptials overshadowed Sam’s birthday in “Sixteen Candles”). They were kidnapped from “the operating table” at the abortion clinic of their choice and carted away to this nameless place where they will be forced to carry their pregnancies to term (the only legitimately scary aspect of the film might be its sneaky rhetoric). To add insult to injury, each woman has been chipped with something like an RFID tag with the ability to shock and drug her should she wander too far from the flock; it was placed in the back of each woman’s neck with “minor laser surgery,” because that’s how medicine works. With lasers!

Each woman has her own story of how she ended up at a clinic. Lara Posey, a tough criminal lawyer and former homecoming queen played by Angela Little, wanted to put her career first. Natalie (Nina Transfeld) is a sweet-faced twenty-year-old whose boyfriend pressured her to have an abortion. We don’t know why Staci Horowitz (Lindsey Haun) chose to have an abortion, or wanted to anyway, and we don’t know if she’s related to Cher Horowitz, but what’s important is she’s the one that Dr. Wise and Mr. Lation can’t break. Oh, Mr. Lation? That’s just Oscar nominee Robert Loggia playing a creepy old man who occasionally Skypes in to growl at our heroines. His best line is probably “Pregnant women! Always eating, never thinking!” It’s crazy how women have to eat more so their bodies have enough nutrients to grow extra humans inside of them.

Lara, Natalie and Staci are forced to watch brain-numbingly boring videos that are supposed to encourage discourse and even create what Dr. Wise refers to as an “abortion think tank,” because think tanks are comprised of hostages and a bitter OB-GYN who declares that the worst drug of all is true love. True love! It’s the worst. Almost as bad as pregnant woman, right, Mr. Lation? (Free TV show pitch: “Breaking Love.” Love instead of meth. Just as addictive, but you lose less teeth in the long run. Free for the taking!)

It’s revealed in a very emotionally moving flashback that Dr. Wise is jealous of these brooding broads because she is unable to have children herself. After her husband left her for some hot young thing whose loins were juicier and ready to party, she tried to kill herself, but the worst was yet to come. Her parents, who are with her in an examination room for some reason, lecture her on all of her failings: She waited too long, she didn’t exercise or eat the right foods, and worst of all, she enjoyed the booze! “You could have stayed away from those cocktails and that red wine,” her mother reminds her. With parents like that, I’d probably sterilize myself.

The ending has a twist that other viewers could have probably seen coming, although to be honest I didn’t. I was busy wondering how Dr. Wise could help pry a baby out of Staci’s vagina, and also if Staci is Cher’s daughter, maybe (no one comes right out and says she’s the most left-wing feminist of them all because she’s Jewish, but come on, if you’ve ever met a gentile named Horowitz, I’ve got some gefilte fish I’d like you to taste). So far as plot twists go it’s not on par with, say, “Safe Haven,” but it’s still pretty wackadoodles. Still, I won’t spoil it in case you decide to enter “The Life Zone” yourself.

The idea of being trapped and held against your will by religious extremists is pretty damn scary, and the idea of losing total bodily autonomy is certainly the thing of nightmares. You might say it is a rather fertile topic! The only nightmares that these women have are of the evils that await them if they abort. Images of ground chuck, swastikas, bugs and people shooting heroin are dancing like sugarplums in their heads. One particularly inspired nightmare shows all of the people in the “documentaries” that were pro-choice chanting “Abort the fetus!” and “Abort the baby!” in different languages, which is I guess what it was like when all those kids were playing Judas Priest records backwards except not as cool.

If you engage in the sort of semantic acrobatics that characters like Natalie do to argue against abortion — a serious theory she proposes is that just because something is legal doesn’t make it moral, like slavery! — you might even say that being held against your will and forced to carry a fetus to term under bodily threat is a violation on par with physical or sexual assault. You might. If you wanted to. Since we’re making giant leaps of logic and all.

The general lighting and tone of the film is a callback to horror franchise films like “Saw” and “Hostel,” and although Mr. Lation isn’t a creepy puppet or a cadre of shadowy businessmen who peddle voyeuristic violence for fun, “The Life Zone” certainly has enough earmarks of the so-called torture porn genre that a lingering threat lurks just below the surface. The movie really gives us that pay-off, though, because the people you’d assume are the bad guys are just doing the work of the Lord. And it’s not like the way crazy people think they’re doing it in movies like “Se7en,” because even though a rational person would realize that kidnapping a pregnant woman and forcing her to remain pregnant against her will is seven shades of effed up, it’s somehow admirable in the eyes of the filmmakers. Like, obviously, this is what you get, little women! You get to hang out with sad old Dr. Wise and Mr. Lation and watch crappy movies forever!

You might wonder why it’s important to engage with a movie like “The Life Zone” at all. There are so many movies that are deemed critic-proof, which doesn’t mean a damn thing except those movies will make a lot of money and probably spawn sequels like bacteria. Very few people will see “The Life Zone,” and it’s unlikely that we’ll ever see a sequel. Its production values are poor and its arguments are so devoid of nuance that the film might ultimately have a deleterious effect on its cause — “If my beliefs were worth defending,” an anti-choice viewer might think, “Perhaps they wouldn’t make for such repugnant drama?”

Categories: No Categories

Tags: 3 Weeks, 4 Months, And 2 Days, Filminism, Issue films, The Life Zone

Rabu, 24 April 2013

Director’s Cut: Leslye Headland on ‘Bachelorette’

Considering the dearth of female directors these days, it takes, well, balls for a woman to finagle her way into getting her film made.

Leslye Headland, director of last year’s “Bachelorette,” is most certainly packing a pair. Not only did she manage to get the feature (which she also wrote, adapted from of her stage play of the same name) produced and wrangle big-name stars such as Kirsten Dunst, Isla Fisher and Adam Scott into headlining, she made a hit. The indie grossed about $418 thousand in theaters, but made more than ten times that, $5.5 million, through VOD and iTunes rentals, sparking hope for small-time filmmakers hoping to reach an audience.

We caught up with Headland before the Blu-ray and DVD of “Bachelorette” hit shelves across the country Tuesday, touching on everything from “Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion,” the future of filmmaking and which ’80s stars she’d cast in her movie, given the chance.

KASE WICKMAN: What’s the thing that’s most surprised you between the movie actually being released and now, months later, when it’s coming out on DVD?
LESLYE HEADLAND: I guess I’m just so surprised when women recognize me…which is weird because I feel like as a writer/director that doesn’t happen very often. But, like, I’ll be in a bar or on the street and somebody will be like “Oh my god, I love Bachelorette!” and they’ll quote the movie to me or they’ll say, “Oh, that dance that those girls do at the rehearsal dinner, we did that at our girlfriend’s wedding,” and I’m like this is what I hoped for for the movie. All I ever wanted to do was make like “Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion,” you know? The movie that women would quote to each other and reference all the time, and that the movie would sort of become part of the language of their friendship, so I’ve had a couple of experiences where that’s actually happened which is cool.

That’s so cool. Where do they recognize you, just walking down the street?
Yeah, one of them was on the street and she was like “Hey, are you Leslye Headland?” and I was like, “What? Are you f**king kidding me?” I was like, “I am! That’s amazing, how did you know who I was?” That’s crazy!

Like, “Am I being served?”
Yeah exactly! Like oh no, here we go…here it comes.

You said you’ve had great reactions. Was there anything that either resonated with people or upset people that you didn’t expect?
I’m trying to think if there was a negative one. I’m sure there are, I just haven’t heard about them. I feel like…I don’t know…I feel like at least the people who have talked to me about the movie, I feel like they really got it. I’m sure there are some people who fucking hated it, but I’m just not talking to them.

They’re not seeking you out.
They’re not seeking me out to let me know, I’ll put it that way. Yeah, I haven’t gotten any hate mail about it.

“I have strong feelings about this and I need to let you know.”
And I need to let you know every single detail of it, yeah. I’m trying to think if something that’s surprising. I mean, really, I think the biggest shock was the iTunes download that first weekend. That was just shocking. Obviously, even before we were picked up for distribution, I assumed that we would be doing a VOD iTunes release before theatrical because that was where the climate was heading, that’s where we’re going. But to have that kind of success the first weekend, I was totally shocked by it. I still don’t quite understand it.

Do you think it was a lot of word of mouth? That was crazy, it was a total sneak attack on iTunes.
Absolutely! Yea,h it must have been because obviously the girls and I did a lot of press and all of that, but it seemed like people were really anticipating the movie in a good way, whether it be because the cast or the subject matter or because of the success that it had at Sundance, or whatever it was. It really sort of soared. And for me, the excitement about that is not — well, it’s twofold: one, you’re just excited about it for your project, because you’re just like well that’s great, people are responding to it and they’re interested in watching it. Two, I really do believe that this particular distribution platform is the way that young filmmakers like myself — I’m not that young, I don’t want to misrepresent myself — but for especially first-time filmmakers, that’s really where we have a shot to prove our validity in the market space. So that made me very happy because it made me feel like some other filmmakers might feel more comfortable about what they’re gonna do or how they’re going to go about distributing their movies or maybe they’ll self-distribute, whatever it is, a success story like that, I think, helps everybody, not just me or my movie. I think it’s really good.

When you do your next movie, would you go by the same model?
I’d like to. I think so because I think that I would like to always be writing stuff that’s maybe not something a studio wants to immediately greenlight because it might be touchy or might be dangerous — and I think that “Bachelorette” is very dangerous. And then I think when it succeeded in that platform, it sort of proved that it may not be a mainstream movie but it’s a profitable movie and it can find an audience. So there’s more of a reason for people to take a chance on scripts like that. So I’m a big fan of that plan.

Sadly, it’s not super common to see female directors. Do you think there’s something that needs to change or something that’s holding more women back from making movies?
Oh no, it is really sort of dire isn’t it?

Yeah. Diablo Cody said that one of the things that she hopes is that women will feel encouraged to make crappy movies also, just like men do.
Right, I know, men do make some s**tty movies, don’t they? And no one stops giving them jobs based on their gender. Yeah, I think the best advice that I could give — I don’t know if that’s really answering your question, but I think the best advice I could give to a budding female director…it’s what’s in the movie. It’s like, fuck everyone, don’t let the bastards get you down. Don’t think about how people are perceiving you, just do good work and tell your story, and don’t get discouraged when people lump you into a group or are sexist of you. It’s like the phrase “The first guy through the wall gets bloody.” We’re all gonna get bloody going through this wall and charging ahead so if we keep going it will make it easier for everybody else who are coming a year after us, five years after us, ten years after us. Just keep going and do not let anybody discourage you.

But it’s sort of fun though, the fact that it’s challenging, isn’t it? It’s sort of fun…I don’t know, I like a challenge, so I’m sort of into it. Like when you get it done, you’re like, “yeah, I mean, f**k you guys, I made a movie!” Doesn’t help my dating life at all though, I’ll tell you that much. If you’re dating unproduced directors, they’re not really excited that you’re a female filmmaker.

You’re like c’mon guys! And they’re like ughhh.
They’re like, “ugh god, that f**king chick.” I don’t know if that’s like a joke or not actually, it’s sort of sad.

You’ve written for TV, film, and stage. Do certain stories lend themselves to a certain medium? Or is it just kind of what you’re feeling or what’s available? How do you decide?
I’m somebody that’s been a pretty avid viewer of all of those mediums and also definitely venerates writers who can sort of move in between all of them, like David Mamet and Aaron Sorkin did the same thing. And I also love actors that do that. Krysten Ritter, who’s the star of my pilot that we’re prepping and shooting now, she’s done film, television, and theatre, she goes within all of those. I think what’s exciting about that is that it makes you better, and it makes you use muscles maybe that you wouldn’t always use if you were in one medium. For me, the reason that I leap at the opportunity to work in a new medium or in a different medium or to switch it up is because it’s challenging, because I have to put a different hat on and I have to grow and adapt and change. I think if I get too comfortable, I’m gonna get boring really fast.

When you’re adapting your own work, like you did from stage to screen for “Bachelorette” and stage to TV for “Assistance,” is enjoyable because you’re more comfortable with the characters? What’s that like?
Oh, I love doing that! Because I had great fun doing it on the film and great fun doing it on the pilot as well because…I have a healthy — I don’t know how to put this in a positive way, but it’s like a healthy disrespect for my own writing. Do you know what I mean? I really respect my characters and I always want to service them, and I’ve said this before, especially with “Assistance,” what TV show do these characters want to be in? And I think what ends up rising to the top and what ends up being most muscular about it is the characters and their journey as opposed to my funny jokes. Like who cares? If I’m a good writer, I should be able to come up with another one. So I think if you’re skeptical of your own skill, it’s good to stay on your toes and to really challenge yourself. I think if I were adapting someone else’s work I would be much more reverential for sure. But not with my stuff.

You’re like “Oh, I need to respect their work,” and then you look at your own stuff and you’re like “This asshole, however…”
Yeah, I’m like, what was I thinking?! Especially too because the adaptations of these plays — this is a little too much backstory — but I was much younger when I wrote those. I wrote the play of “Bachelorette” when I was 26 and I wrote “Assistance” the following year. So there’s a good five years between the genesis of the characters of the project and where they’re becoming and sort of moving out into different mediums, so it’s actually very exciting to grow with them. And I don’t think that’s something that writers get a chance to do a lot. A lot of times they’re enshrined and they’re there and they stay. Whether it be television, or film, or theatre, they’re sort of enshrined and that’s it. I’ve actually gotten to go to essentially different worlds and different countries and different environments with my characters and see how they survive, and since I don’t have any friends it’s really great because my characters are my friends. I bring my own friends, they’re in my head, they’re imaginary and I’m just gonna hang out with them all day. God, I’m really sounding depressed aren’t I?

When the movie first came out, you said how much you hate weddings, you were in your sister’s wedding and you just did not enjoy going to weddings. And it’s funny because I saw you quoted in a wedding magazine with tips.
Oh god right, “The Knot”! I know, that was crazy! And a friend of mine was getting married that summer and she was like “I just read your interview in ‘The Knot,’ it was amazing,” and I was like oh my god, what did they write? I can’t even remember what I said!

Were you surprised to be asked? Were you like, “have you seen the movie?
Well when I was doing the interview for that, I was trying to be as honest as possible, but not negative. Because I think that weddings are almost like a production in and of themselves, like making a pilot or making a film, and so it’s almost like I was sort of approaching their questions for brides to be or people that were planning weddings, it’s almost like I sort of approached it as if somebody had asked me like how do I make a film. It’s like if something goes wrong, which it will, don’t lose your shit. Because it’s gonna go wrong, it’s not gonna be perfect. It’s gonna be a process, and some things are gonna be beyond your wildest dreams, which the movie absolutely was, and the process of making it, there are going to be rises and falls and you’re gonna be like “Wait, why am I doing this?” and then you’re gonna be like “I can’t believe I get paid to do this.”

The IMDB plot keywords for this really made me laugh because they were “high school,” “stripper” and “bulimia.”
That’s awesome.

What keywords would you choose? Or do you like those ones?
I like those! Those are good. Maybe I would just throw in “abortion,” like just for fun. Just to see, just to fuck it up. Or “boobs,” just throw in “boobs” there, just in case.

If this movie had been set in the ’80s, or made in the ’80s, who would your dream ’80s cast be for the movie?
Are you kidding me?! Oh god, that’s such a good question! S**t. Oh my god, that’s good. Well, I’ll start with the guys because I think they’re easier. I think [James] Marsden would be played by James Spader, obviously. I think Adam Scott would be played by Michael J. Fox. I think Kyle [Bornheimer]…I think I’m gonna give Kyle…Cusack. I’m just gonna go there, I’m just gonna say f**kin’ we’ll make him [John] Cusack, fuck it. And for the girls, I think Lizzy [Caplan] would probably be Phoebe Cates, Isla [Fisher] would be Molly Ringwald, and then Kirsten [Dunst] — that’s a tough one. I wonder who Kirsten would be in the ’80s. It’s hard because the character that she plays in my movie, I just love her so much. I’m just so proud of that character because I just feel like you haven’t seen it before. There isn’t a doppleganger that you can go “Oh, it’s like blahh!” But I guess, I think at the time she was a little young but I bet Jennifer Jason Leigh would’ve pulled it off. Bridget Fonda actually, I’m gonna go with Bridget Fonda! I think Bridget Fonda would’ve done it. That’s a great question, that’s f**king awesome. And Rebel [Wilson]! Oh s**t, who’s gonna play Rebel? S**t, I don’t know.

Rebel may just have to travel back in time.
I think, honestly, we would just have to have her. We’d have to create a time machine out of a DeLorean and then send Rebel back to the ’80s because I don’t know how you replace Rebel.

Categories: Interviews

Tags: Bachelorette, Director's cut, Interviews, Leslye headland, Leslye Headland Bachelorette, Leslye Headland Interview

Senin, 22 April 2013

‘Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey’ Filmmakers Discuss Storytelling at the Apple Store

Love the legendary rock band Journey and documentary filmmaking and examinations of the American Dream from an outsider’s point of view? Man, have we got a movie for you.

“Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey” is a documentary telling the story of Arnel Pineda, a Filipino man whose voice sounds almost exactly like that of former Journey frontman Steve Perry. In a true example of modern technology changing lives, members of Journey found Arnel through YouTube videos and brought him to the U.S. to audition. Eventually, he nailed the gig and became an official member of the band, touring and recording with his jukebox heroes.

Director Ramona S. Diaz and producers Joshua Greene and Capella Fahoome were there recording every step of Arnel’s journey to Journey (ahem), and chronicled it in the movie, which is available now in select theaters and on demand.

Diaz, Greene and Fahoome joined Film.com’s own Kase Wickman at the Apple Store in New York’s SoHo neighborhood for a chat about the film, including audience questions from filmmakers and Journey superfans. Check out the video podcast of the event at the iTunes Store.

To learn more about the film and where you can see it, check out the website for “Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey.”

Categories: News

Tags: Don't Stop Believin', Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey, Journey

Minggu, 21 April 2013

Movies On Demand This Week: ‘The Hobbit’ and More

This week is headlined by the release of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” on iTunes and other streaming providers. So let’s get our Elf ears and Gollum voice ready for another trip to Middle Earth. There’s also the crime drama “Killing Them Softly” starring Brad Pitt as a different kind of hitman, Marion Cotillard giving a powerful performance in “Rust and Bone” as well as Mary Elizabeth Winstead in the indie gem “Smashed,” while Sean Penn shows us his weirder side in “This Must Be The Place.”

NEW RELEASES

‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’
Peter Jackson’s return to Middle Earth is filled with the usual colorful characters he so perfectly brought to life adapting Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. Along with a group of Dwarves on a journey to reclaim what is theirs, Ian McKellen returns as Gandalf as well as Andy Serkis as Gollum.
Why Watch It: Martin Freeman as Bilbo is a perfect choice as his comic timing and sheepish disposition is perfect when playing a Hobbit.
Available On: iTunes, VUDU, Amazon Instant [On Demand 3/19]

‘Killing Them Softly’
Following their teaming in the masterful “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” Brad Pitt and director Andrew Dominik try to make lightning strike twice with this slow-burn thriller of a hitman who his hired to clean up the mess two amateurs left after robbing a Mob-protected card game.
Why Watch It: If you’re tired of the usual crime drama, try this one on.
Available On: iTunes, VUDU [On Demand 3/26]

‘Rust and Bone’
Marion Cotillard gives an Oscar-worthy performance as an amputee who after losing her legs falls in a deep depression and struggles with day-to-day life, though her casual relationship with a man she met before her accident soon builds into something more and causes her to rethink her life.
Why Watch It: Cotillard proves why she should be considered one of the top talents working today.
Available On: iTunes, VUDU [On Demand 3/19]

‘Somebody Up There Likes Me’
This indie comedy follows two friends (Keith Poulson and Nick Offerman) and a woman they both adore (Jess Weixler) as they navigate through unfulfilling relationships and realize that things aren’t getting easier the older they get.
Why Watch It: Offerman give you a different performance that what you’re used to seeing every week on “Parks and Recreation.”
Available On: Cable On Demand

‘Smashed’
Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Aaron Paul play a married couple who enjoy the bottle a bit too much. But things change drastically when Kate (Winstead) wants to get sober leading to a disastrous end to their relationship.
Why Watch It: Mixed with hilarious highs and depressing lows, Winstead gives one of the best performances of her career.
Available On: Cable On Demand, iTunes, VUDU, Amazon Instant

‘This Must Be The Place’
In won of his more puzzling performances, Sean Penn plays a retired rock star living in Dublin who returns to the States for his father’s funeral which leads to him going on a manhunt for the Nazi responsible for denigrating him during World War II.
Why Watch It: You’ve never seen Penn in such a vulnerable role.
Available On: Cable On Demand, VUDU, Amazon Instant

‘Wuthering Heights’
After an Oscar win for her short film in 2003, which made her not just another actor turned director, and two successful feature films, Andrea Arnold now is the latest to take on Emily Brontë’s legendary novel. However, taking inspiration from Brontë’s description of Heathcliff, Arnold cast the first back actor every to portray the role.
Why Watch It: A fresh take on an old classic.
Available On: Cable On Demand, iTunes, VUDU

OLDIES BUT GOODIES

‘Manhunter’
One of Michael Mann’s least recognized films from his filmography, before Anthony Hopkins made Hannibal Lecktor a iconic movie character, Brian Cox played the role in this thriller starring William Petersen as Will Graham, an FBI profiler who comes out of retirement to track a serial killer who’s been dubbed the “Tooth Fairy.” Needing help he calls on the psychotic doctor Lecktor for help, whose attack on Graham led to his retirement.
Available On: iTunes, Netflix, VUDU, Amazon Instant, YouTube, Google Play

‘Back to School’
Rodney Dangerfield brings his brash, Long Islander no respect shtick to college in this ‘80s classic. In the film he plays an extremely rich businessman who decides to enter the college his son attends and teaches him more about partying than hitting the books (and how to do the “Triple Lindy.”)
Available On: iTunes, Netflix, VUDU, Amazon Instant, YouTube

‘Hustle & Flow‘
Recently added to Netflix, Craig Brewer’s breakout film follows a Memphis pimp (Terrence Howard) who uses his struggles to create a demo in his hopes of becoming the next big Southern rap star. The film also earned Howard an Oscar nomination and the group Three 6 Mafia an Oscar win for their song, “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp.”
Available On: iTunes, Netflix, VUDU, Amazon Instant, YouTube, Google Play

Categories: Columns, Streaming, Streaming/On Demand

Tags: Amazon Instant, Andy Serkis, Back To School, Brad pitt, Brian Cox, Criag Brewer, Google Play, Hustle & Flow, Ian McKellen, ITunes, Jess Weixler, Keith Poulson, Killing Them Softly, Manhunter, Marion cotillard, Mary elizabeth winstead, Michael mann, Nick Offerman, On demand, Peter jackson, Rodney Dangerfield, Rust and Bone, Sean penn, Smashed, Somebody Up There Likes Me, Streaming, Terrence howard, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, This Must Be The Place, Three 6 Mafia, VUDU, William petersen, Wuthering Heights, YouTube

Jumat, 19 April 2013

Review: ‘Eden’

For 44 minutes I was ridden with guilt. Not because I felt culpable for any of the wretched, revolting acts on display in “Eden,” a based-on-a-true-story tale chronicling one woman’s nightmare of sexual slavery. It was because I thought I was going to have to give this movie a bad review. And how could I, a good liberal, not champion this shocking story of patriarchal oppression? How could I, a human being, not at least open my arms to Chong Kim (Jamie Chung), a teenage Korean-American kidnapped and subjected to two years of mental and physical torture, and hold her in the warm embrace of the only thing I could possibly grant her, an uptick on her Rotten Tomatoes percentage?

Thankfully, at the half-way mark, the movie shook off its odd tonal dissonance – an unflattering mixture of afterschool special tsk-tsking mixed with lurid exploitation – and became a fascinating portrait and a good story. It is with much relief, therefore, that I can look you in the eye and say that “Eden” is a unique and thought provoking picture on a subject that ought to send you into a good old fashioned blood-boiling rage.

We open in 1994, so when the smooth talker in the firefighter’s uniform has to stop his car to make a call at a payphone it isn’t as much of a red flag as the fact that he’s also got a police uniform with a different name on the badge. Chong Kim, the daughter of hardworking grocers who’s out for an innocent night of underage flirting, never has a chance. Before the young woman knows what hit her, she’s bound and gagged and waking up in a storage facility deep in the desert.

Living in container units are about three dozen women wearing nothing but underwear and ankle monitors. They are cuffed and dragged around to porno shoots and hotels and private homes. It’s unclear if the johns are aware of the non-volunteer nature of the prostitution, though some of the girls are clearly under the age of 18 (some are so young that, even though nothing explicit is shown with them and you know the footage to be faked, it’s still enough to make you queasy).

The first half of “Eden” repeatedly bangs this nightmare chord. Frankly, if it weren’t for the “based on a true story” opening card, many scenes might remind you of exploitation films in the ilk of “Ilsa, She Wolf of the S.S.” Since there is that pivotal disclaimer, all you do is feel horrible and want to warn all teenage girls to never even think of talking to a man at a bar. Then the twist comes.

As Chong — now called Eden — gets used to her indignity, she starts slipping into routine. She recognizes that Svetlana, another of the girls that is closer to 20 than 15, kisses up to the bosses (played by Matt O’Leary and Beau Bridges). As such, she gets to wear a silk nightgown, own a cat and keep the jewelry impounded from the other girls. Chong’s lifetime at the grocery shop gave her a mind for figures, and soon she’s helping the constantly stoned O’Leary with the books and giving him tips to maximize profit.

Out of nowhere “Eden” turns into “GoodFellas,” with Chong Kim as Henry Hill, willing to rat out her friends to help her secure an even more lenient attitude from her keepers. The key thing is, we’re never quite sure just how much of it is true Stockholm Syndrome, if the environment has awakened a nastiness inside of her, or if she’s really working a master plan for liberation.

As a result, each moment of the film’s second half is fraught with tension, keeping you in a true grip. The unknowable characters grow even richer as you try to figure out how they can suddenly be so chummy, knowing what they’ve put this woman through. We also regard the group’s sole woman enforcer – an emotionless physician – as a potential harbinger of our lead’s future.

The film’s resolution is exhilarating and rewarding, with multiple thrilling sequences. Labeling any of this entertainment, of course, brings my guilt full circle. Putting faces, names and familiar domestic locations to the vile world of sex slavery is such a profoundly upsetting endeavor that to recommend you “check this one out” just feels inappropriate. Nevertheless the remarkable storytelling that eventually emerges in “Eden” is something you should see, providing you feel that you can stomach it.

Grade B

“Eden” opens at Film Forum tomorrow.

Categories: Reviews

Tags: Beau bridges, Eden, Film Forum, Jamie Chung, Jordan hoffman, Review

Kamis, 18 April 2013

SORORITY PARTY MASSACRE (2013)

Tanggal Rilis : 1 May 2013 (USA)
Jenis Film : Horror
Diperankan Oleh : Marissa Skell, Eve Mauro, Ed O'Ross

Ringkasan Cerita SORORITY PARTY MASSACRE (2013) :

In danger of losing his badge, a big city detective agrees to aid a small town sheriff in a routine missing persons investigation only to discover that at least one girl has gone missing in this sleepy fishing town each year for the last twenty years. When a body finally emerges on the lake and suspects literally crawl out of the hills, the two lawmen realize they’re being toyed with and to make things worse, the killer seems to have set his eyes on a group of sorority girls who are not only isolated by the lake, but have their own nefarious plans in mind. Outnumbered and out of options, the two lawmen must solve the mystery of the missing girls or suffer the same fate.

Rabu, 17 April 2013

Review: ‘Spring Breakers’

Review originally published on September 8, 2012 as part of Film.com’s coverage of the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.

“A girl should be two things: who and what she wants.” – Coco Chanel
“B*tches ain’t sh*t but hoes and tricks.” – Dr. Dre.

Years ago, I saw a cartoon in an alt weekly that’s stuck with me. A performance artist is doing something absurd. Someone shouts something to the tune of “you can’t hide your lack of creativity by intentionally acting dumb.” The artist cheerfully fires back, “all response is valid!” It’s a can’t-lose proposition, and that’s what Harmony Korine has on his hands with his brilliant/putrid satire/pornography. It’s shallow, it’s boring, it’s poignant, it’s clever, it’s poorly acted, it’s intentionally poorly acted, it has no story, it has marvelous scenes, it is artful, it is hallucinatory, it is shoddily put together. All response is valid.

“Spring Breakers” is the story of four nearly nude, nubile girls bored with their deadbeat college, so they rob a diner to pay for a trip to Florida. Once there, they get high and get laid (which is kinda what they were doing up at school) but now they do it on the beach. The cheap hedonism is an epiphany for them and it gives them a purpose in life.

It would be easy to dismiss “Spring Breakers.” Lord, I’d like to. Anything that exploits women this ruthlessly begs to be dismissed. (And, sorry, Disney Girls Selena Gomez, Ashley Benson and Vanessa Hudgens, you may think this is your ticket to an adult career, but this isn’t “Ruby in Paradise” and none of you are Ashley Judd.) Unfortunately, there are moments, somewhere in the cannabis haze of day-glo bikini buttocks and cocaine-topped nipples where an abstract expressionism starts to seep off the screen. The swirl of horny jocks, skanky girls and inadvisable behavior mixed with booze, bongs, bling and ridiculous signifiers like wiggers and bronys all starts to become. . .beautiful.

Luckily, for Korine’s sake, nothing in this tale of three bad girls and their one wayward Christian friend on a crime and promiscuity bender is meant to be taken literally, or all that seriously. At times the jokes are obvious – like an appearance before the bench in quite skimpy bikinis. How you’ll take some of the other flourishes, like the fact that most of the girls’ dialogue simply describes the action that just happened, or the endlessly repeating vague platitudes (a technique also seen in Korine’s “Trash Humpers” and “The Fourth Dimension”) will be entirely up to the viewer.

Also Check Out: Stars Take the Red Carpet at the 2012 Toronto Film Festival

“Spring Breakers” is the type of movie where you wonder when it’s actually going to kick in and start, then you check your watch and see it is nearly over. The first third of the movie is just a curvy rear-end of bad behavior shaken in your face. Then the girls get busted. (They spend a lot of time with dozens of hot young boys and girls writhing and destroying hotel rooms.) They are bailed out by James Franco, an absurdly cornrowed gangsta with platinum teeth.

“Look at my sh*t!” is his mantra, as he excites the girls with his conspicuous consumption. It is a wonderful, dreamy monologue, the inner voice of a grunting, illiterate barbarian.

Twice on the soundtrack, we hear Gomez’s call home to her grandmother. “We found ourselves here. It’s so beautiful.” The juxtaposed images the first time are of lewd prurience, and it is up to you to decide if this is to be tskked or accepted as just “kids having fun.” The second time, however, the adventures have turned more dark, more surreal and more violent. By the end, our spring breakers are wearing pink ski masks and gunning down drug kingpins in a blood ballet.

The big question is if this is art or if this is b.s. I guess I’m an easy mark, cause I’m inclined to call it art. Some of the sequences, with evocative music by Cliff Martinez and Skrillex, really work. Other times, however, it fails and fails hard.

The acting is quite poor. Korine may be nuts, but I don’t think he intentionally asked for bad performances. Also: the shtick of repetitive dialogue sometimes feels like he only shot a few lines from different angles and decided he needed to use all of them to pad this flick out to 90 minutes. Gomez’ character just up-and-disappears and, I swear to you, I would not be surprised if it was because the actress only had a few days for “Spring Breakers” and had a prior commitment. The film’s scenario (I won’t even call it a script) is so free-form that changes like this don’t really matter. “Act like you are in a movie, or something,” the girls tell one another.

The odd thing is, for a picture like this, one whose purpose, I believe, is to be critical of our consumptive culture, a film that’s eating itself is kinda perfect. All response is valid.

Grade: B-

Categories: Reviews

Tags: Harmony Korine, James franco, Jordan hoffman, Selena gomez, Spring Break Forrreevverrrr, Spring Breakers, Toronto International Film Festival, Vanessa hudgens

Senin, 15 April 2013

House Hunting (2013)

Tanggal Rilis :1 February 2013
Jenis Film :Thriller
Diperankan Oleh :Marc Singer, Art LaFleur, Hayley DuMond

Ringkasan Cerita House Hunting (2013) :

House Hunting adalah sebuah film horor psikologis yang dibintangi oleh Marc Singer, Art LaFleur, Paul McGill, Hayley Dumond, Janey Gioiosa, Ribka Kennedy, dan Victoria Vance. Ditulis dan disutradarai oleh Eric Luka , fitur indie adalah eksplorasi kontemporer gagasan bahwa “neraka adalah orang lain” dan terinspirasi sebagian, pada 1944 bermain eksistensial filsuf Jean-Paul Sartre “Tidak Keluar”. House Hunting adalah campuran dari cerita hantu tradisional dan thriller psikologis. Ini merupakan cerita dari dua keluarga saat mereka turun ke kegilaan sementara terjebak di dalam rumah yang sepi. Tim produksi meliputi produser eksekutif Amy Carney , produsen Pat Cassidy & Erica Arvold, Bryan Bieber, Deanna Gould, direktur fotografi Todd Gratis & Luka Eric, produksi desainer Tim Beyerle, dan casting director Erica Arvold. Eric Luka juga dikenal untuk memenangkan DNC dan Mengorganisir untuk itu America: Kesehatan Reformasi Video Challenge.

Sabtu, 13 April 2013

New Directors / New Films: Movies Without Borders

“Did you ever imagine yourself in a world where there is nothing at all?” In some ways this is the essential query of “Leones,” to the extent that the film even has a definable essence. Jazmín López’s debut feature is as enigmatic as it is bold, forging new cinematic ideas from the vastness of the natural world and brief flirtations with character and philosophy. López is interested in the “in-between,” exploring the often hazy landscape amid life and death and the gaps of time itself. It’s like nothing we’ve ever seen.

Yet at the same time, it is only one of a mighty handful of films at this year’s installment of New Directors / New Films to deal with borders and borderlessness, the spaces in between. Like many current film festivals, ND/NF is awash with international productions that explore human migration and the pores that have grown between nations. “Die Welt” is a particularly strong example, a debut feature from Alex Pitstra that looks into the life of a young man coming of age in Tunisia. Northern European tourists and American films filter in and out of Abdallah’s life in Tunis, until he finally decides to make the leap out into the world. Its narrative style is choppy but occasionally insightful.

Even a number of the shorts build from a similarly international context, taking single locations and giving them cross-border dimensions. Sofia Babulani’s “What Can I Wish You Before the Fight?” is a snapshot into the life of a French farmer and his adopted daughter, an Eastern European girl who remains mute despite years of therapy. An intrusion from a new outsider causes a sudden eruption of the family dynamic, and seems to argue for a Europe that is hardly settled within its borders. The French farm, historically crucial piece of that nation’s national definition, is here presented as node of European migration.

“Leones”

Both Babulani’s film and Jordi Wijnalda’s “Southwest” succeed in large part due to their willingness to remain vague, to only scratch the surface of vast human movement. The latter takes place on the Aegean coast of Turkey, where a middle-aged Dutch woman helps travelers sneak across the sea and enter Greece (and thus the European Union). Again, the past is only hinted at with the arrival of her son, while the complexity of the present takes a backseat to the prosaic Turkish landscape and the minutia of a treacherous and illegal arrangement. The presence of the “in-between,” the line between developed Europe and its fringes and the ominous continental implication therein, weighs over the proceedings with such import that to do more than even suggest it might come across as pandering.

These border spaces are the territory of relativity, legal and moral. Daniel Hoesl’s “Soldate Jeannette” doesn’t exist on a physical, international frontier but rather concerns itself with gleefully breaking down the barriers of moneyed European society. Fanni (Johanna Orsini-Rosenberg) is a wealthy socialite in Vienna who is running out of cash, mostly through her own lack of care. She purchases and immediately tosses away extravagantly expensive clothing, ignores her financial commitments with a head-in-the-clouds lack of concern (including rent) and seems to enjoy the thrill of theft. As she is driven out of Vienna by her creditors, she makes her way to the idyllic countryside, a change of circumstance rather than character. Fanni is unbound by the borders of society, without even an emotional attachment to the wealthy circles from which she hails. The anarchic spirit of Hoesl’s film (introduced as “A European Film Conspiracy”) is driven by the thumping rhythms of Bettina Köster and Orsini-Rosenberg’s unadorned, idiosyncratically ruthless performance.

From physical and social boundaries, the ND/NF selection turns to cosmological margins. “Emperor Visits the Hell” is a contemporary retelling of the Chinese classic “Journey to the West,” with Emperor Li Shimin as a high-ranking bureaucrat. The story necessitates a trip to Hell, as the title of the film suggests, when the Emperor dies suddenly of a combination of illness and guilt. His return to life can only be arranged through a corrupt manipulation of paperwork, perhaps a less-than-subtle critique of current Chinese governing practices. Yet director Luo Li doesn’t rely on the standard stylistic rendition of the fires of Hell, choosing rather to avoid differentiation altogether. The magic of the original narrative is effortlessly combined with the trappings of 21st century bureaucracy, and no effort is put into making the underworld look much different. This cosmological and religious borderlessness is the most audacious element of the film, an unadorned refusal to separate the corruption of the living and the lost souls of the dead.

“L’Intervallo”

When speaking of spaces in between, one has to mention the sole Italian film in the festival, Leonardo di Costanzo’s “L’intervallo.” The title, which literally translates to “The Interval,” is the simplest of these films. A timid teenaged ice-cream vendor (Alessio Gallo) is ordered by a local mob boss to guard a young girl (Francesca Riso), awaiting punishment for romantic involvement with a member of a rival gang. Both kids are about fifteen, quite literally in the adolescent interval of their lives. As they spend the day together they begin to understand each other, and this Neapolitan crime film begins to resemble “Before Sunset” much more than “Gomorrah.” Riso plays her character’s inherent frankness with shaky confidence while Gallo’s quiet uncertainty serves as a perfect counterpoint. With his open and calmly expressive face, the boy is a dead ringer for Falconetti. These two performances and their devotion to an unhurried script are in tune with Isabel’s query in “Leones”; for a brief hour, it seems that “L’intervallo” has found a “world where there is nothing at all” in the loud and violent context of Naples.

And that brings us back to López and “Leones.” This Argentine debut feature is easily the most intriguing film on the ND/NF program, and arguably the best. The plot is simple, at least as it opens. A group of teenagers are hiking through a breathtaking forest of epic proportions, ostensibly on a short vacation. The camera follows them from behind, building stunning long takes that wind through the trees with an almost cosmic patience. As we slowly learn more, López’s vision becomes progressively bolder up until what is easily the most stunning final shot of the last few years. The substance of the film? These characters are wandering through the in-between, a forest of metaphysical portent. They play word-games that open up the symbolic implications of the film with the brief audacity of Ernest Hemingway. Their youth is central, López understanding its inherent freedom. This is aspirational filmmaking at its best, a new director driving her art forward into an ill-defined frontier.

Categories: Features

Tags: Daniel Walber, Emperor Visits the Hell, Film festival, L'Intervallo, Leones, Lincoln Center, New Directors / New Films

Jumat, 12 April 2013

Comedown (2012)

Tanggal Rilis :23 August 2012
Jenis Film :Horror
Diperankan Oleh :Adam Deacon, Jessica Barden, Sophie Stuckey

Ringkasan Cerita Comedown (2012) :

Dari direktur Kidulthood (Menhaj Huda) dan dibintangi aktor, sutradara, dan merekam artis Adam Deacon (Anuvahood, Kedewasaan, Shank, Jack Falls), comedown adalah horor British perkotaan yang paling menakutkan dan brutal. Dalam pertukaran untuk obat terlarang dan uang tunai, enam orang teman sepakat untuk mendirikan sebuah antena di atap blok menara titik ditinggalkan Mercy untuk stasiun radio bajak laut lokal Dikunci FM. Setelah berhasil menghindari pihak berwenang dan membobol gedung yang terkutuk, mereka mulai mengomsumsi obat yang berlebihan, minuman keras dan lagu-lagu keras. Tapi titik Mercy tidak kosong karena mereka awalnya pikir ada seseorang bersembunyi di kegelapan yang menyebut tempat ini rumah, seseorang bertekad untuk membunuh semua orang yang menyusup.

Rabu, 10 April 2013

SXSW Q&A: Joss Whedon and His Cast Make ‘Much Ado About Nothing’

One of the most anticipated events of all of SXSW was undoubtedly the US premiere of Joss Whedon’s “Much Ado About Nothing”, the screening of which was immediately followed by an hour-long Q&A with the entire cast save for Sean Maher, Riki Lindhome, and Reed Diamond. The line for the screening was the festival’s longest (at least until “Spring Breakers” blew the roof off of the Paramount Theatre last night), and chairs had to be brought in to line the sides of the auditorium, accommodating as many audience members as possible. And it was all worth it: The movie is fantastic, perhaps the most accessible Shakespeare I’ve ever seen – and this ain’t my first Shakesprodeo (see what I did there?). The panel that followed was lively and filled with little nuggets of wit and wisdom. Below, we’ve shared our 10 favorite things that we learned from Whedon and his friends.

1. You Don’t Say No To Joss Whedon

Both Alexis Denisof and Nathan Fillion were nervous about tackling Shakespeare, but they both subscribe to the belief that if Joss Whedon asks you do something, you do it. Fillion even came close to dropping out completely until Whedon’s wise words kept him attached. When Whedon reached out to Nick Kocher and Brian McElhaney to inquire as to whether they would fly themselves out to work on his movie for very little pay, they didn’t even hesitate. As Kocher put it, “Of course we came out – what do you think we do all day?!”

2. Wanna Work With Joss Whedon? It Could Happen

Over and over, situations came up where Joss discovered someone and incorporated them into the Whedonverse. Danny Kaminsky was hired as Joss’ assistant for “The Avengers”, and they worked so well together that Danny ended up becoming the editor and co-producer of “Much Ado”, thus “winning the best lottery of all time” (Kaminsky’s words, though I share the sentiment). Similarly, Jillian Morgese, who makes her feature debut in the film, was discovered by Joss after working on “The Avengers” in a minor PA/Extra role. He was taken by her as she “ran around looking scared”, and found her particular brand of ingenue to be exactly right for Hero, so he asked her to audition. Kocher and McElhaney were cast because Whedon is a huge fan of their sketch comedy group BriTanicK. Now, with their foot in the door, all of these people are here to stay. Moregese even went so far as to say that they had all become like family, something none of them would have thought possible just a couple years ago. The cherry on top? Rather than have any old extras, Whedon specifically brought in film students to fill out the main party scene.

3. Skype Auditions Are Really A Thing!

Whedon’s hunch about Morgese was proved correct when she auditioned for him over Skype and immediately got the role, no in-person callback required.

4. The House That Kai Built

It’s been widely discussed that the film was shot in Whedon’s house over 12 days. What hasn’t been circulating as much is the fact that his wife Kai, also a producer on the film, is an architect by trade, and actually designed their entire home from the ground up. As soon as it was completed, they thought to themselves, “Okay, what are we going to shoot here?” Though their dream finally came true with “Much Ado,” Whedon wishes they had used even more rooms and incorporated a steady cam to fully capture the flow of the space and do it justice. Spoiler alert: Joss Whedon lives in a really nice house.

Also check out: Our review of “Much Ado About Nothing”

5. The Kenneth Brannagh Much Ado About Nothing Did Play A Tiny Tiny Role

Though Whedon is a huge fan of the Brannagh version of “Much Ado”, he purposefully did not rewatch it before starting work so as to avoid either emulating or running away from it. But he did keep thinking about Patrick Doyle’s memorable score from the film, so much so that during Alexis Denisof and Amy Acker’s first filmed kiss — the moment their lips touched — the climax of Doyle’s score immediately filled Whedon’s head, confirming for him that this was working.

6. Joss Whedon Has Never Seen Lost

He noted, “You either make TV or watch TV.”

7. Even With Shakespeare, There’s Room For Improv

Although the text itself was immoveable, Whedon encouraged his actors to follow their instincts and improv physically, resulting in fantastic bit after fantastic bit. Especially keep an eye out for Nathan Fillion, Tom Lenk and a gag involving car keys.

8. The Sexiest Thing Whedon Has Ever Done

“Including having sex!” exclaimed Whedon after moderator Adam B. Vary offered his two cents on the sexuality present in the film. While “Much Ado” features multiple sex scenes that are obviously not present in the text, they don’t feel the least bit gratuitous, and in fact do a great deal to contribute to the darker tone Whedon imbued in this adaptation. He found that so many of the developments in “Much Ado” are actually kind of creepy – a guy really thinks of a plan to deceive someone based on the fact that he is confident he could get a girl to dress up in some other chick’s clothes IN this other chick’s bedroom and sleep with him?! That’s messed up. So Whedon embraced the play’s subtext and in doing so, takes the play to exciting new places.

9. Nathan Fillion Has Found The Perfect Way To Describe Shakespearean Text

“It’s just flowery and a little bit like yoda!” Correct.

10. You Don’t Need Professional Shakespeare Experience To Rock Shakespeare

You wouldn’t know it from watching the movie, but only two or three members of the large cast have actually performed Shakespeare professionally. For the most part, Whedon approached the film from an angle of “Why can’t we do this too?”, rather than being so reverent with breath marks and original meaning that it wouldn’t translate to today’s audience. Many moments almost subvert the text, but in a way that actually enhances and proves the timelessness of Shakespeare’s work, rather than demeans it. Whedon truly proves that Shakespeare can still be brilliant through a wholly modern lens.

Categories: No Categories

Tags: Alexis denisof, Amy acker, Interview, Joss whedon, Much Ado About Nothing, Nathan fillion, Q&A, SXSW, Sxsw 2013, The avengers

Selasa, 09 April 2013

Cinematographer Christoper Doyle Thinks ‘Life of Pi’ is a Disgrace

Recently, the gifted and infamously belligerent cinematographer Christopher Doyle (“Hero,” “Chunking Express”) became embroiled in a wee bit of controversy , which wouldn’t be such a big deal if he wasn’t, you know, so clearly wrong-headed on the topic of discussion. So, if only for the sake of Best Director winner Ang Lee and Best Cinematographer winner Claudio Miranda, let’s break down some of the juicer bits, and offer up our stinging refutation.

[Re: Claudio Miranda] “I’m sure he’s a wonderful person, I’m sure he cares so much. But what it says to the real world is it’s all about us, we have the money, we put the money in, and we control the image. And I say f**k you, wankers. Are you f**king kidding? That’s not cinematography. That’s control of the image by the powers that be, by the people that want to control the whole system because they’re all accounts. You’ve lost cinema. This is not cinema and it’s not cinematography. It’s not cinematography.”

First off, Best Cinematographers choose the Oscar nominees in their respective category before they turn it over to the approximately 5,900 Academy voters to determine the winner. Which means around 200 of Christopher Doyle’s peers felt “Life of Pi” was a wonderful example of cinematography. Of course, none of Christopher Doyle’s peers share his history of public nudity (thanks for the tip, Bill Murray!). So at least subjectively it sure as hell is cinematography, in the same sense that a duckling nominated for Best Actor would then be an actor. All of art is subjective, but the ruling bodies get to make some calls, or else it’s sheer chaos. For the record, Claudio Miranda was also nominated by the American Society of Cinematographers, so it’s not as though the Oscar nomination was completely out of left field.

But what of the other emotional argument Christopher Doyle wants us to consider? The key part is:

“That’s control of the image by the powers that be, by the people who want to control the system because they’re all accounts. You’ve lost cinema.”

There are actually a few separate arguments in here, the first of which alleges that Claudio Miranda didn’t have control of his own cinematography. This can immediately be struck down by any honest broker simply by noting Doyle has no idea of what went on during the shooting of “Life of Pi,” nor does he know who was in the editing bay or “controlling the image” after the shoot. Certainly Fox 2000 could have hired 45 cinematographers and CGI mavens to work on “Life of Pi,” but that’s pure speculation, and Doyle clearly has no insider knowledge other than his own crackpot theories. Absent of compelling facts to the contrary, we have to assume that the final look of “Life of Pi” was heavily influenced by Claudio Miranda, and that Doyle’s offhanded remarks are completely specious.

The next thought on the runaway Doyle verbal train is that we’re losing cinema, ostensibly due to CGI work. This is tricky, because on some fronts we certainly are losing cinema. You could watch any of the hundreds of poorly handled films released each year and get a little worried. You could note only 10 percent of the domestic audience buys a ticket to the theater these days, down from 30 percent a mere decade ago. But is this something we lay on the shoulders of cinematography? Are CGI-created shots ruining cinema? I’d have to say no. Of the multitude of elements strangling cinema, cinematography is way down the list.

Doyle continues:

“Lincoln”! Oh! Let’s talk about patriotism. Do you not f**king realize the rest of the world just sits back laughing. Do you not realize that you poor old f**k with your Academy bullshit, you’re just sitting back, holding onto straws. You’re holding onto straws. Let’s get on with it. I don’t give a f**k what you think about me. Some of us have to engage with the real world. And it happens not to be about the history of Mr Lincoln freeing the slaves – which was the most disgusting first three minutes of a film I’ve ever seen. Oh, Mr Lincoln, oh, but you understand… stop f**king fluffing yourselves.

The notion of The Academy being woefully out of touch is not a new one. However, “Lincoln” didn’t win Best Picture, and history is worth considering. Also, this could not be the most disgusting three minutes he’s ever seen because my guess is he’s watched a few Lars von Trier films. These comments are pure hyperbole and pot-stirring, and everyone has to engage in the real world, or else they’re likely in a mental institution. But nothing is obnoxiously stupid as what comes next, the very moment when Christopher Doyle begs not to be taken seriously:

“I didn’t watch the Academy Awards but I’ve had a lot of feedback from people, including people from the ASC [the American Society of Cinematographers], by the way, and then you see, you give an award to a totally digitized image. I may be wrong, because I haven’t seen the film, because I don’t give a s**t.”

There it is. “I haven’t seen the film.” That’s totally ridiculous! He has no idea of the ratio of CGI to practical, he has no concept of the depth of field or angles utilized, other than perhaps a trailer, which is like someone judging what pizza tastes like based on a commercial. You cede the right to critique if you don’t actually SEE the thing you are critiquing. There aren’t many pre-requisites to criticism, but attendance is mandatory.

The award is given to the technicians, to the producers, it’s not to the cinematographer … If somebody manipulated my image that much, I wouldn’t even turn up. Because sorry, cinematography? Really?”

Of course, maybe that’s better than what happens when Christopher Doyle does show up. (warning: NSFW language).

Okay, sure, but what is the definition of “too much”? Should no computers be used? And aren’t cinematographers technically technicians as well? Doyle continues maligning Claudio Miranda’s win with:

“It has no relevance to the way film is going. It’s just these old people wanking. Do you know the average age of the people who vote? Sixty-five. Check it out. I may be wrong. It may have dropped to 64. [According to a 2012 report by the LA Times, the Academy is 94 percent white, 77 percent male, and has a median age of 62.]

That Los Angles times report was certainly damning, but this is a total false equivalency. He doesn’t know the median age of the Cinematographers branch, nor does he ever cede that change is inevitable, and it’s often a failing of older generations that they hate change, just as Doyle is doing here, he’s the very problem with The Academy writ wmall. You could have looked at the Pacific Ocean and said “No one should ever cross that!” You can look at space and think “We need to avoid that area, it’s not real life or true Earth!” But his is idiotic, because it simply is happening. Cinematography is changing, and no amount of Christopher Doyles will change that. One can choose to accept it and adapt or one can choose to ignore it and be run over. But let’s not give credit for tilting at windmills simply because the subject curses a lot.

Just for kicks, because we’ve rented the studio for an hour, let’s look at a few of his other examples of Christopher Doyle fool-talk:

[Re: "Lost in Translation"] “It’s articulating the Bush doctrine of how to engage with the rest of the world. Let’s all be Americans, that’s what it’s saying.”

Totes. They were definitely showing “Lost in Translation” to the guys headed overseas for combat tours. Genius.

[Re: Hollywood cinema]“I think what we’re doing here [in Asia] is much more valid. We’ve got half the world’s population here.”

Yes, because total population always contributes to artistic merit. Sorry Hopi Indians, your art is invalid!

“I say there’s only three people in cinema, which means the actor, the audience and me in-between…the energy has to be transferred directly to the audience between what is presented on the screen and what the audience is engaging in. So our job as cinematographers is to be that bridge, that conduit.”

Which “Life of Pi” clearly does. Also, there are no writers or directors in cinema. Clever.

[Re: America and its movies] “And every single person in the real world looks at this, and that’s why we make our films the way we do. Because you don’t have the freedom, you don’t have the integrity, you have to remake everything we’ve done anyway. I go to see Martin Scorsese, and I say, Don’t you think I should tell you about the lenses? And he says, What do you mean? And I said, Well, you’re remaking my film, which is Infernal Affairs. Infernal Affairs was probably written in one week, we shot it in a month and you’re going to remake it! Ha ha, good luck!”

And with that let’s close the book on anything Christopher Doyle says going forward, instead focusing on his work, a field where he does fine work. Christopher Doyle is a talented guy, and he certainly has a knack for making the news, but he should probably leave the sweeping judgements of cinema to the professionals. I speak, of course, of Harvey and Bob Weinstein.

Laremy wrote the book on film criticism, a book which is, oddly enough, ranked #1 among all Kindle Cinematography titles.

Categories: Features

Tags: Ang lee, Christopher Doyle, Claudio Miranda, In the Mood for Love, Laremy legel, Life of pi, Opinion, Quotes, Wong Kar-wai