The full lineup has been announced for next year’s Sundance Film Fest and there is a lot to be excited for. Here are the films that jumped out at me right off the bat:

Boy This film (pictured above) is written and directed by hilarious NZer Taika Waititi, famous for his feature Eagle Vs. Shark. Formerly known as The Volcano, this film is closer in theme to his wonderful Oscar nom’d short Two Cars, One Night. I loved the script and am definitely looking forward to seeing this when it screens in the World Narrative Comp.

Blue Valentine Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams will very likely be incredible across from each other in this Narrative Comp entry from Derek Cianfrance.

Holy Rollers Another Narrative Comp entry, this film directed by Kevin Asch stars Jesse Eisenberg (Adventureland) as a Hasidic dude who becomes and international ecstasy smuggler.

Howl Rob Epstein’s period drama stars James Franco as Allen Ginsberg. Beside Franco are the likes of Jon Hamm, David Stathairn, and Jeff Daniels. This film screens as part of the main Narrative Competition.

Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child I have been fascinated with Basquiat since seeing him star in Downtown 81. So I am extra excited for the Docu Comp entry directed by Tamra Davis, director of Half Baked, Billy Madison, and CB4.

Lucky Jeffrey Blitz took the docu world by storm with his hit Spellbound. He then followed it up with the criminally under appreciated Rocket Science. This year he goes back to his docu roots with this Docu Comp entry about lottery winners.

Waiting for Superman Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth) tackles the US public school system in this Docu Comp entry.

Casino Jack and the United States of Money Alex Gibney is behind some of the most fascinating documentaries of the last decade (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Taxi to the Darkside, Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson). This new flick screening in the Docu Comp is all about Jack Abramoff. It had better be good to compete with Bill Moyer’s fantastic Capitol Crimes series.

The Killer Inside Me Personal fave Michael Winterbottom directs Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson, and Jessica Alba in this Prems section film about a killer Texas sheriff. Winterbottom is also co-director of another Sundance10 flick, Shock Doctrine.

Jack Goes Boating This film, also programmed in the Prems section, is the directorial debut of Phillip Seymour Hoffman. It co-stars Amy Ryan and Tom McCarthy.

Space Tourists This World Docu Comp entry is billed as a docu-comedy about the billionaires that pay to travel to space.

Buried I don’t know if I would be all that interested in this Midnight section screening about a guy who get buried alive if it didn’t star Ryan Reynolds. Something tells me this is a role he can make interesting.

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil I remember liking this wacky script about two hillbillies who are mistaken for mass murders. If they pulled it off, this will be a refreshing take on the slasher genre. This one, not surprisingly, screens in the Midnight section.

The Violent Kind This Midnight movie is by the dudes who call themselves The Butcher Brothers. Congrats on getting in.

Oddsac Screening in the New Frontier section, I’ll just let the press release describe this one: “An earthy, psychedelic experimental narrative infused with the band, Animal Collective’s aural and musical sensibilities.”

What are you excited for?

Peter Jackson steps to the plate with his first movie since King Kong (not LotR as I stated in my Fall Movie Review). And just as King Kong was pretty universally panned, so too is The Lovely Bones a bit of a swing and a miss. This film, based on Alice Sebold’s novel, is the story of a young murdered girl who watches the world go on without her. The problem with the film is that all the story happens in the first 30 minutes. Susie Salmon is a great character and while she is alive, things really move. But once the protagonist enters the afterlife, she basically just becomes a narrator. The characters that are left are boring and without a protagonist’s arc, the film just grinds to a halt. This is a fundamental structure problem that should have been addressed. That being said, I loved Saoirse Ronan as Susie and can see a serious career unfolding for this girl. Many have complained about the CG heavy visuals but they completely worked for me. It is the afterlife after all and the dreamy scenery reminded me of the wonderful alien-world-in-your-mind imagery in Contact. In the end, I can’t help feeling that while this might have worked well as a novel, as a film it suffers from some serious adaptation woes.

Mini-Reviews are back! With the run up to awards mania in full swing, I am going to try my best to bang out these short summaries of my thoughts on this season’s films as I catch them. I’m starting with one of the most talked about films of the season: Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire. I finally caught this last night and my general impression is that it is pretty much exactly what I expected. It is an excellent film with particularly excellent performances. It is also extremely intense and quite bleak. As is quite awkwardly announced during the film’s most out of place scene, the protagonist’s circumstances are unrelenting. The hope of the filmmakers is that you are already aware of the film’s intensity and have prepared yourself prior to entering the theater. If that is the case, then you will certainly appreciate the film. The performances are superb. Mo’Nique is the hands down favorite for Best Supporting Actress and Gabourey Sidibe seems a lock for at least a Best Actress nom. There really isn’t a weak link amongst the cast. The film is also a shoe in for a Best Picture nomination (helped in part by the fact there will be 10 noms this year), but my early prediction is that it will not take the award. I think the real story here is that audiences are flocking to see the film. After 4 weeks, the film has expanded to 663 screens and has already cleared $32M. That is truly exceptional for a bummer film that a year or two ago might not have made $5M. More than anything else this year, Precious‘s box office success shows that audiences are again interested in quality.

The Fall film flurry is well underway – but the biggest of the big have yet to appear. The Academy chose an odd year to introduce their new 10 film Best Pic category as it seems this year’s crop is a bit leaner than years past. Here is my take on what’s headed our way (and a bit of what’s already out there). Click the title to peep the trailer and look for more mini-reviews as I check the flicks off my must see list.

OUT NOW

Coco Before Chanel
Audrey Tautou (Amelie) stars in this very pretty looking period biopic about Coco Chanel’s early years.
(Sony Pictures Classics 9/25)

Bright Star
This period drama from Jane Campion (The Piano ughh) is the awards films that I am least likely to see this season.
(Apparition 9/18)

The Burning Plain
Guillermo Arriaga’s (writer of Babel, 21 Grams, and Amores Perros) directorial debut starring Charlize Theron is still limping along – but don’t expect it to be around much longer.
(Magnolia 9/18)

Pandorum
I am a bit surprised that this film didn’t catch on. What isn’t to like about Ben Foster in an intense sci-fi actioner? I liked the script and hope to catch the film before it disappears. Whoops! Too late.
(Overture 9/25)

A Serious Man
I’ll post my full review in the next few days, but in the mean time you gotta watch the trailer for this Coen Bros Jewish period dramedy immediately. It is maybe the most original trailer I’ve ever seen (and is far better than the movie).
(Focus 10/2)

Whip It
I’m not sure if you would call Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut a failure – but it’s no hit. I guess not that many people want to see a movie about rollergirls.
(Fox Searchlight 10/2)

Afterschool
Antonio Campos’s indie high school psychological thriller hasn’t quite broken out yet, but it might find an audience on VOD.
(IFC 10/2)

An Education
This coming of age story of a girl in 1960s London is a run away fave for early awards consideration. I guarantee it gets a Best Pic nom and Carey Mulligan gets an Best Actress nom. Go see it!
(Sony Pictures Classics 10/9)

Adventures of Power
Ari Gold’s Sundance hit comedy about air drummers opened on two screens and then shrunk down to one. Is this one DOA?
(Variance 10/9)

The Damned United
Every time Peter Morgan writes a screenplay it becomes one of my favorites of the year (Last King of Scotland, The Queen, Frost/Nixon) and any time Michael Sheen stars in it his performance is one of my favorites as well. Well the duo is back this awards season with this film about SOCCER! As long as Tom Hooper (John Adams) stays away from the crazy camera angles, this film is bound to be one of my faves of the year.
(Sony Pictures Classics 10/9)

Trucker
There has been some buzz about Michelle Monaghan’s performance as a mother trucker. But with a crowded Best Actress field, will this ultra indie find enough votes?
(Monterey Media 10/16)

New York, I Love You
We’ve seen the format before. This city love letter sports shorts from Shunji Iwai, Mira Nair, and Brett Ratner.
(Vivendi 10/16)

Black Dynamite
Yeeah sucka! This blackspoitation martial arts send up is one of the funniest flicks of the season. I hope a few people go watch it. You betta aks somebody.
(Apparition 10/16)

Where the Wild Things Are
Look for my write-up of Spike Jonze’s impressive fantasy tale here soon. I liked the film a lot, even if it doesn’t fit the normal narrative formula.
(Warners 10/16)

Amelia
This year’s big awards biopic stars Hilary Swank as Ms. Earhart and is directed by Academy sweetheart Mira Nair (The Namesake, Monsoon Wedding).
(Fox Searchlight 10/23)

Antichrist
Chaos Reigns!! This divisive film from Lars Von Trier is certainly going to make people talk… But how many will go see it?
(IFC 10/23)

Untitled
Adam Goldberg and Marley Shelton star in this pretty silly looking send up of the New York art scene.
(Samuel Goldwyn 10/23)

Week of October 30

Gentlemen Broncos
Ho boy this wacky comedy from Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite, Nacho Libre) is well worth seeing for Jemaine Clement’s performance alone. Plus it features a tiny role by Josh Pais. Josh Pais!
(Fox Searchlight)

Week of November 6

Precious
People have been talk talk talkin about this Harlem drama since it took every award at Sundance last January.
(Lionsgate)

The Box
I have very little in the way of hope for Richard Kelly’s (Donnie Darko, Southland Tales) new film starring Cameron Diaz. …or for his career while we are at it.
(Warners)

The Men Who Stare At Goats
Reviews have been a bit mixed for actor turned director Grant Heslov’s George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey and Ewan McGregor black comedy. But there’s no denying the trailer is great.
(Overture)

That Evening Sun
Hal Holbrook (Into the Wild) stars in the “Southern gothic” tale of an old man who just wants to see out his remaining years on his farm. The film did very well in the Southern festival circuit (heh).
(Freestyle Releasing)

Splinterheads
There is something that struck me as kinda charming about this little indie romantic comedy that no one is likely to see. I figured I would at least give it a shout.

The Other Side of Paradise
This is the first time I have heard of this ultra-indie comedy – but judging form the laurels flash at the beginning of the trailer it at least played at a bunch of fests. The trailer shows some promise from lead actress Arianne Martin.

Week of November 13

Fantastc Mr. Fox
Wes Anderson gets a lot of criticism for not trying anything new in his films. Well how about a stylistically animated film based on a Roald Dahl book? This will at least be something new.
(Fox Searchlight)

The Messenger
Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson star as Army officers charged with notifying family members – one played by Samantha Morton – when a soldier has been killed. This film is the directorial debut of Oren Moverman, who you probably know as the writer of the hit SKE film Married Life.
(Oscilloscope)

Pirate Radio
Phil Hoffman and Bill Nighy star in this film about 1960s radio DJ who broadcasted from a ship to bring Rock N Roll to England. This film is written and directed by Richard Curtis who wrote Four Weddings and a Funeral and then went on to write every other film like it (Notting Hill, Bridget Jones’, Love Actually, etc.).
(Focus)

Uncertainty
I think this JGL starrer is about some sort of alternate realities, but the trailer is too schizophrenic to tell for sure. I did spot Olivia Thirlby though! Good enough.
(IFC)

Week of November 20

Red Cliff
Tony Leung and Takeshi Kaneshiro star in this year’s big Chinese costumer actioner from “Legendary” director John Woo (seriously you can’t find John Woo written anywhere without Legendary before it, jeez man). The sequel is already out in China.
(Magnolia)

Broken Embraces
Almodovar returns with a another celebration of the talent and beauty of Penelope Cruz.
(Sony Pictures Classics)

Week of November 25

Ninja Assassin
From director James McTeigue (V for Vendetta), comes the craziest English language Ninja movie ever made. Could be cool. Could be quite lame.
(Warners)

The Road
Viggo stars in this adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic (and post punctuation) novel. The film is directed by John Hillcoat whose film The Proposition I was quite impressed by. The scenery is sure to be striking, but can the sparse and downer story sell the film?
(Weinstein Co.)

Week of December 4

Up In The Air
Jason Reitman follows up Juno with this George Clooney starrer. Apparently Jason Reitman is the real deal because anyone who has seen it is already talking Best Pic as well as Best Actor noms for Clooney and Supporting noms for Anna Kendrick and Vera Farmiga.
(Paramount)

Brothers
Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot, In America) directs Tobey, Jake and Natalie in this pretty awful looking family-war-romantic drama. It looks bad – but I can’t imagine it is as bad as that awful, awful trailer.
(Lionsgate)

Week of December 11

The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson returns with his first movie since Titanic… wait… no, since Lord of the Rings. The film stars Marky Mark and Rachel Weisz and I’m sure it is great, but I gotta say the trailer makes it look pretty pedestrian.

A Single Man
Julianne Moore and Colin Firth star in this film from fashion designer Tom Ford. After making a big splash at Venice, the film has people talking noms in all categories.
(Weinstein Co.)

Week of December 18

Avatar
James Cameron returns with his first film since Titanic and it stars blue people!
(20th C. Fox)

Did You Hear About the Morgans?
Now how is this for a premise: two New York city slickers (SJP and Hugh Grant) are having marital problems. But when they witness a murder they are forced to go into the witness protection program together and work out their differences on a ranch in Wyoming. The trailer was pretty funy… so I say Yee Haw!
(Sony)

The Young Victoria
Emily Blunt stars as Queen Victoria in this British costume drama. I caught an early screening of this pretty but rather average film and will post more thoughts in due time. You pretty much get the idea from the trailer (which ends by saying the film comes out in March 2009, heh).
(Momentum)

Week of December 25ish

Sherlock Holmes
Quite a lot to be excited about with Robert Downey Jr starring as the famed detective. Setting him next Jude Law and Rachel McAdams and then letting Guy Ritchie call the shots is just all the better.
(Warners)

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Check out my Fantastic Fest write-up for my thoughts on Terry Gilliam’s Heath Ledger et al starrer.
(Sony)

It’s Complicated
With a cast of Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, and Steve Martin, it really doesn’t matter that this is a middle aged romantic comedy. Plus no one knows middle aged romantic comedies better than director Nancy Meyers (Something’s Gotta Give).
(Universal)

Sometime before January

Nine
No one seems quite sure when this is coming out, but it will be a big awards film no matter when this musical unspools, just for sheer number of great actresses in it. Rob Marshall (Chicago) directs Daniel Day Lewis along side Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Sophia Loren, Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman, and (breathe) Judi Dench.
(Weinstein Co.)

Invictus
Here is what we know: Clint Eastwood directs Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman in a film about Nelson Mandela and rugby. Cool.
(Warners)

The White Ribbon
Michael Haneke’s (Cache, Funny Games) stylish period Palme d’Or winner will surely make it out in time for a potential Oscar nom.
(Sony Pictures Classics)

Get Low
Robert Duvall and Bill Murray star in this tale of a man who wants to attend his own funeral. There is Buzz around a possible nom for Duvall (it would be his seventh) – if it can make it out this year.
(Sony Pictures Classics)

That’s it for this Fall’s films – but there are a few holdovers that have a shot at getting Oscar noms – namely: The Hurt Locker, The Informant, Inglorious Basterds, and Up.

Looking forward there are a couple flicks coming out in January that have me pretty excited. I have already talked quite a bit about Youth in Revolt. The other January film with a lot of promise is the Hughes Brothers’ The Book of Eli. I loved this post-apocalyptic script which should provide a lot more ass kicking than The Road. And the casting of Denzel, Gary Oldman, and Mila Kunis gets an A Plus from me.

This list doesn’t cover much in the way of docus or foreign films. I’ll have more on this year’s crop Oscar contenders in those categories here soon.

The AFI Film Festival rolls out next weekend and they are trying something quite new this year. Namely, they aren’t charging for tickets (they have also moved the location from Arclight to the Mann Chinese) . You can still buy a festival pass which guarantees entry to screenings – but they aren’t selling any regular screening tickets. Instead they are asking festival goers to either sign up for the free showings the want to attend or just show up and stand in line. The order form for free tix is here – but whoops… looks like I posted this a bit late and the free tix are pretty much all gone. Well if anyone is interested in trying to wait in line for the following screenings, let me know.

Highlights

The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Fri. Oct 30, 7:00 pm
The fest opens with the premiere of Wes Anderson’s puppet-astic tale that hits theaters Nov 12.

City of Life and Death
Sun. Nov 1, 1:00 pm
This arty Rape of Nanking drama premiered at TIFF to great reviews.

Precious
Sun. Nov 1, 7:00 pm
Everyone wants to see the festival darling of 2009 before it comes out Nov 6th – and you can see it for free at AFI.

Youth In Revolt
Tue. Nov 3, 10:15 pm
This Michael Cera starrer is sure to have a fun little run in the theaters – but apparently not until January.

The Road
Wed. Nov 4, 7:00 pm
Scary scary Viggo comes to theaters at the end of November – but he’ll be in person a few weeks early for this Gala tribute to him.

Transcendant Man
Thu. Nov 5, 4:00 pm
This documentary about inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil sounds quite interesting – and I don’t imagine it will have too long of a line.

Looking For Eric
Thu. Nov 5, 7:00 pm
How about a light hearted euro flick from the normally serious Ken Loach (The Wind That Shakes the Barley)?

A Single Man
Thu. Nov 5, 7:00 pm
The closing night film is Tom Ford’s surprise hit from TIFF, set to hit theaters on Dec 11.

I just spent five great days at Austin’s Fantastic Fest and the experience was awesome. Aside form the 17 films I watched, the festival had plenty of other cool events on offer. This year founder Tim has opened up a bowling alley/party space called The Highball next to his amazing Alamo Draft House Cinema which offered the perfect place for the late night hanging and unlimited free skee-ball! The Fantastic Fest Debates were especially hilarious as after each debate (or roast) the contestants literally duked it out.

The cinema itself is something to behold. A 6 screen stadium theater with seats and sound on par with Arclight. But the real innovation is the full service restaurant built in. They have figured out the perfect system to keep the wait staff unobtrusive – you just write down your order on a little flag and they come by and pick it up. There is a long narrow table in front of each row to set your beer or burger and a little aisle below each row where the wait staff walks. I don’t know why no one has tried this in LA, but the formula is a winner.

All things considered it was a real blast. A world of thanks to Dan for making it happen. We’ll definitely do it again next year.

Now on to the film round-up (in order viewed):

FIRST SQUAD – Rating: 4 out of 10

This Russian animated feature is by the Japanese team behind Animatrix. The animation is cool but the horribly implemented documentary device of bad actors pretending to be history experts totally ruined the movie. This isn’t Waltz with Bashir, it is an action cartoon. There were a few cool story elements, but overall they weren’t enough to keep me awake.

GENTLEMEN BRONCOS – Rating: 9 out of 10

This new film from Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite, Nacho Libre) is as wacky as possible and genuinely HILARIOUS. Everything works, especially Jemaine Clement as one of the best characters of the year. It slowed down a tiny bit after the very strong opening, but the ridiculous fantasy sequences go a long way to smooth out the pace. This film certainly exceeded my already high expectations.

REC 2 – Rating: 6 out of 10

I was quite impressed by this horror-thriller’s clean look. The story works and there are some good thrills, but what is most remarkable is the first person narrative device that the filmmakers fully commit to with great success. More than any movie I’ve ever seen, this film feels like a videogame – and it is fun.

KAMOGAWA HARUMO – BATTLE LEAGUE IN KYOTO – Rating: 6 out of 10

This film is about college students who train little supernatural creatures to battle teams from other colleges. While it may have a pretty bizarre premise, it is actually a quite traditional story about a loser guy who falls for a girl who is out of his league. All things considered, the film works and is pretty fun.

HARD REVENGE MILLY – Rating: 5 out of 10

This is a super low budget Japanese blood and guts actioner. The skeleton of a story doesn’t provide much to chew on, but the film does succeed at finding new ways to splatter the camera with watery blood.

ZOMBIELAND – Rating: 8 out of 10

This flick is most definitely the top of the zombie movie heap. It is maybe not quite as hilarious as Shaun of the Dead, but it certainly provides a lot more zombie killing thrills. The film has some great set pieces, an amazing cameo, and Emma Stone is Bodacious.

VAMPIRE GIRL VS. FRANKENSTEIN GIRL – Rating: 8 out of 10

This is a really enjoyable wacky Japanese high school flick with some good acting and pretty decent effects. However, the real star of the film is the biting criticism leveled against fringe elements of Japanese society.

K-20: THE FIEND WITH 20 FACES – Rating: 3 out of 10

This big budget Japanese superhero film borrows heavily from every other superhero film you’ve ever seen. There may be some fun stunts and wire work, but the plot is just plain horrible. Worst of all, this film is sloooow and is far far too long.

UNDER THE MOUNTAIN – Rating: 3 out of 10

Two annoying kids save New Zealand from evil underground aliens whose story doesn’t make any sense.

YATTERMAN – Rating: 9 out of 10

Yet another genre mastered by Miike! This time it is the comic superhero comedy. The story is awesome with a lot of genuine emotion. The CG is top notch (as compared to the disappointingly low budget look of The Great Yokai War). The action sequences are fantastic and reminded me of playing the Dreamcast classic Powerstone. Overall this film in f*ing fun!

CLIVE BARKER’S DREAD – Rating: 5 out of 10

There wasn’t a whole lot wrong about this very indie thriller – but there wasn’t that much right either. I’d call it pretty damn mediocre and it is not helped by the generally unsatisfying ending.

VAN DIEMEN’S LAND – Rating: 7 out of 10

This story of a grueling prison camp escape in 18th century Tasmania is a bit slow and cerebral, but overall it is a well told story with some very nice cinematography.

MANDRILL – Rating: 8 out of 10

Mandrill is the Chilean James Bond and it is amazing! Ernesto Diaz-Espinoza follows up Mirageman by again directing the incredible Marko Zaror – who has got to become an action star around the world. The film is fun and funny and really does everything right. On top of that, the filmmakers and stars are very approachable and cool guys. Way to go.

THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS – Rating: 6 out of 10

Terry Gilliam’s Heath Ledger swan song was the only “secret screening” I caught. I liked the performances and the way it all came together but was turned off by the very cheap CGI (where were the magic visual effects of Brazil?) and overall I was unconvinced by the plot.

DISTRICT B13 ULTIMATUM – Rating: 2 out of 10

This film was very disappointing after the awesome District B13. There with no semblance of a story and almost no parkour! What the hell?

LOVE EXPOSURE – Rating: 7 out of 10

While there is a very different 100 minute movie somewhere in there (remake?), the 237 minute version is certainly an ambitious and generally successful undertaking. Melding a coming of age story with many Japanese sexual elements and borrowing a lot of themes from A Clockwork Orange, this film goes all over the map but is quite satisfying in the end.

METROPIA – Rating: 7 out of 10

This is a pretty cool sci-fi tale about big brother, all very stylistically animated.

The Toronto Int’l Film Fest kicks off in a few days with an incredible 336 films. Yikes. I’ve read the catalog and highlighted a mere 75 or so here. Many will make the fest circuit for the next year and a good number will see a theater near you. So even if you can’t make it up north (I can’t, btw) you can still find some flicks to keep an eye out for over the upcoming months.

The following 6 films are on display in the above banner, clockwise from the top left pic of Penelope.

Broken Embraces
Straight from Cannes, Penelope Cruz is again on display in the latest from Spanish master Pedro Almodovar.

City of Life and Death
Lu Chuan’s drama taking the viewer deep inside the Rape of Nanking is said to be one of the year’s best.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Terry Gilliam’s latest fairy tale will forever be known as Heath Ledger’s final role. His decision to bring in Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell to finish Ledger’s role may have created some controversy, but it has also certainly piqued interest. It is finally time to find out if Gilliam’s vision is a success.

The Trotsky
Jacob Tierney directs the hilarious Jay Baruchel as the reincarnation of Leo Trotsky in modern day Montreal.

The Young Victoria
Jean-Marc Vallee’s (C.R.A.Z.Y.) period piece stars Emily Blunt as Queen Victoria.

A Serious Man
It seems the Coen Brothers can’t take a vacation – not that I am complaining. This absurd comedy set in the 1960s is said to be one of their very best.

Continue on to read plenty more from TIFF’09

Steven Soderbergh’s latest feature distribution experiment The Girlfriend Experience has taken the non-traditional route of festival to video-on-demand to theaters. From my perspective, the buzz has all been around the distribution plan and the fact that the film features adult film star Sasha Grey in its lead role (check out her extensive and hilarious list of credits). I was a bit surprised to discover the film is actually quite excellent and has quickly joined my short list for best films of the year. Sasha does a very good job in the role of upscale call girl Chelsea, though the real credit quite obviously goes to the director. Soderbergh has crafted an emotionally honest character whose subtle insecurities paint a dynamic portrait. I was a big fan of the film’s unique style, which I would stop short of calling verite – yet employed a mixture of traditional and voyeuristic methods. There are a number of reasons that this style felt different (a big one is likely that it was shot on the RED camera which looks digital… yet beautifully digital), but what is most important is that all of the decisions WORK and actually add to the narrative instead of distracting from it. The same can be said for the choices made in mixing up the chronology in such a way that had me discovering elements of the plot until the very end. The film feels very relevant – like a snapshot of the times in the sense of topic (a lot about the economy, politics, etc.), but also definitely in its look and style. It will certainly be interesting to rewatch this film in ten years. Getting cohesive success from so many elements is quite a feat. Soderbergh should be commended – take a rich and dynamic character and put her in a simple yet topical story and then really nail a unique and appropriate style – and you end up with a great film.

Wow I had no idea that Mitch Hedberg had written and directed a film. Check out the Wikipedia on Los Enchiladas! (imdb) for proof. The film will be screening at LA’s Silent Movie Theater as part of a Mitch Hedberg tribute this Sunday. While I won’t be going – I sure imagine it will be a fun event.

Westwood’s LA Film Fest is upon us again – running this year from June 18 to 28. As normal, it is a rather svelte fest (at least compared to the bloated bastard still going on in Seattle). Most of the highlights seem to be Sundance hold overs but there are also quite a few interesting sounding int’l flicks that I’m hearing about for the first time. It would have been cool to see a few Cannes premiers make the quick turnaround debut but hey. Here are my highlights starting with a few I hope to catch. Lemme know if anything interests you.

We Live in Public
I mentioned this Ondi Timoner (Dig!) doc in my SIFF’09 write-up and now plan to check it out. This Sundance premiering story of a group of people living underground and in front of the cameras plays in the evenings on Sun. 6/21 and Weds. 6/24. Lemme know if you can make either one.

Ponyo
Mentioned way back in September, Hayao Miyazaki’s newest animated masterpiece is the closing night gala for this year’s LAFF. That means it costs $100 to go to. F-that! I’m just gonna have to do my best to finaggle my way in.

High-Rise
I’ve been fascinated by Brazil’s high rise upper class since watching Manda Bala a few years back. This film claims to focus on exactly that. It plays in the evening Sat. 6/20 and as a matinee Sun. 6/21.

It Might Get Loud
Davis Guggenheim’s latest doc gives the viewer an backstage pass for a jam session between Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White. Sounds Awesome. It plays Fri. 6/19 evening and Mon. 6/22 afternoon.

Sex, Booze, and Copywriting: Behind the Scenes of Mad Men
This conversation with Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner and some of the cast is sure to sell out. It happens at 7pm on Weds. 6/24. Lemme know ASAP if any of you MMMs (Mad Men Maniacs) wanna go.

More from LAFF’09 after the jump

It is time once again for the massive Seattle International Film Fest, and once again I find myself in Seattle as it kicks off. However, with 395 films (!!) over three weeks I will only be able to catch a flick or two towards the beginning. Still I have poured through the catalog in order to give NWers a few recommendations of films that might be worth checking out. The fest website is great this year with trailers for many of the films on their own slick embedded player. Click the film title for the SIFF page and Enjoy!

(500) Days of Summer
Quite possibly the film I am most looking forward to this summer is music video director Marc Webb’s feature debut. This Sundance hit stars Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in an offbeat romance. Fox Searchlight is set to release the film in mid-July but if you can’t wait (why would you?) then catch it at SIFF during the fest’s last week.

We Live in Public
Ondi Timoner, director of one of my favorite documentaries ever, DiG!, finally has a new film out and it looks incredibly interesting. The film goes inside a social experiment that put 100 people underground New York to live and party together – all in front of a ton of cameras. Anyone who saw DiG! knows Timoner is one of the best at letting his subjects tell the story and this is sure to be a first rate doc.

Il Divo
This award winning Italian film is the dramatization of the true story of a highly influential Italian politician with deep mafia roots. The film won a Jury prize at Cannes last year. SIFF says: “Sorrentino’s stylized portrait of Andreotti manages to be seriously political but wraps its message in an entertaining package featuring wicked wit and brilliant cinematography.”

Maradona by Kusturica
What film festival would be complete without a soccer documentary? This is award winning filmmaker Emir Kusturica’s examination of the life and career of one of the best footballers of all time, Argentine Diego Maradona.

Continue to plenty more of SIFF’09

There have been rumors of a long awaited Arrested Development movie swirling around even longer than the TV DVDs have topped the Amazon charts. If it will ever see the light of day is anyone’s guess. On the other hand, this documentary titled The Arrested Development Documentary Project (pretty lame site btw) seems to have come out of nowhere. With the trailer touting its rejection from this year’s big fests, there’s a pretty good chance that the movie is nothing special – but at least it exists.

Chalk it up to being out of the Sundance loop this year, but the amazing film Sin Nombre just about flew under my radar. This is an incredible story of loss and redemption set against a backdrop of gangland Mexico. Young actors Edgar Flores and Paulina Gaitan lead an excellent cast directed (and written) by up and commer Cary Fukunaga. It is easy to see how this film won both the directing and cinematography prizes at Sundance. It is still playing in LA (Laemmle’s Monica and Playhouse) and in Seattle (Egyptian) but with the big summer movies rolling in, don’t expect it to be around long. This one will surely end up on the end of year top 10.

Trailer – Showtimes

Wow – an extremely cool mashup of Tarantino flicks. Fantastic editing of music, sound and video. Worth watching all the way through (how cool is the drumming around 5′?!).

I haven’t checked out Eclectic Method’s other stuff but I’m gonna have to soon.

Awards season is officially over – and without any big surprises. Let us reflect now with Mickey Rourke’s wonderfully hilarious acceptance of his Indie Spirit award from Saturday night. Classic.

The Oscars are this weekend so I figured I better throw my hat into the prediction game ring. Predicting Oscars is really way more like guessing. Things like which studio has spent the most money and who has the most friends who vote are more important than the actual quality of the film (how else could Crash have won?). Now I’m not one of those jaded Hollywood types who complains about all this – I just think it is important to recognize the system that is in place. I mean, it is all subjective anyway, right? So I’ll try to focus a bit more here on who I would choose to win if I had a vote.

One other note – anyone notice that Hugh Jackman is hosting this year? Odd choice (and in a year when he has a big summer blockbuster coming, if you can believe it) – but I think the guy can be pretty funny so I am keeping my hopes up.

Best Picture All right I give in – Slumdog Millionaire is the year’s best picture. I know, both Milk and Frost/Nixon were on my Top10 – but I’ve gotten swept up in the fanfare and I’ve converted… but I’m not giving it any writing awards. I wouldn’t complain if Benjamin Button snuck out the win (please not The Reader) but I think it’s looking like this will be the final answer.

Best Supporting Actor Heath Ledger played one of the best villains ever on screen in Dark Knight and it would be a shame if he wasn’t awarded for it. All of these roles were just supremely played and any of them are deserving (especially Brolin in Milk) but this is Heath’s award.

Best Supporting Actress This category is a little less clear. I think the odds are on Penelop Cruz for VCB but I am giving my pick to Taraji Henson for her lifetime spanning role in Benjamin Button.

Best Actor Wow, what a category this is. This was a fantastic year for acting and I have to say the best performance I saw was Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler. He may get beat to the finish line by Penn, but Rourke’s role was so much more challenging both physically and emotionally and he certainly deserves the statue.

Best Actress This one is all me and I don’t care what Harvey Weinstein has to say about it. I loved Rachel Getting Married and I’d love to see Anne Hathaway get the award.

Adapted Screenplay The writing categories are a bit strange this year. Usually the writing awards go to the indie darlings that coudn’t squeak out awards/noms for the big categories. Isn’t this just all the Best Pic noms? Well fine – I guess my choice would be Benjamin Button then.

Original Screenplay I don’t like these noms much at all. The writing in Happy-Go-Lucky was atrocious (plot? character arc?) and the screenplay of Milk was its low point. But In Bruges was brilliantly written and deserves the award, even if Wall-e was seen by millions more people and probably a lot more Oscar voters.

Best Director …whatever wins best picture.

And the rest will go to movies that certainly deserve it (unless they go to The Reader). It isn’t the most exciting list of awards ever assembled (except the male actor categories). Heath winning a posthumous award could be a real touching moment, especially if Michelle Williams accepts the award. There is always the chance that Sean Penn will win an award and get another chance to talk about what a fine actor and man Jude Law is, no matter what Chris Rock says (it was a joke, dude). Or it could just be a night of getting way too drunk playing the game where you have to take a shot every time Slumdog wins an award. I’m just hoping I see people I know in the audience.

I did the Top 10 a bit different this year and went ahead and ranked them in order from 10 to 1. Since I have written about most of these in more detail over the last year, I’m just going to say a few words about why the film made the list. I’d love to hear why anyone agrees or disagrees with the choices.

10. Milk – Truly stellar performances by Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, and Emile Hirsch set this film as one of Gus Van Sant’s very best. The pacing was great and production design made the film a joy to watch.

9. The Bank Job – I loved the classic style of filmmaking on display from director Roger Donaldson. The story was intense and the resolution really worked for me.

8. The Fall – Tarsem’s imagery is just incredible and the story is odd but fun. I wanted to spend a week immersed in the fantasy world he created.

7. Frost/Nixon – Peter Morgan’s script is certainly one of the best of the year and an all around great cast lead by Sheen and Langella make this a definite top film.

6. Sugar – Hopefully this fantastic story of a Dominican baseball player’s immigrant struggle will get a theatrical release sometime soon. It is a very worthy follow-up to Half Nelson from Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, one of the best filmmaking teams working today.

5. The Wrestler – Mickey Rourke’s stellar performance and brilliant filmmaking by Darren Aronofsky should allow this film to find a place in just about everyone’s top 10.

4. Reprise – Joachim Trier’s touching Norwegian film about two friends has the perfect mixture of comedy and drama and above all else, narrative innovation.

3. Rachel Getting Married – Anne Hathaway’s performance is definitely her best and probably the year’s best. Jenny Lumet’s script is also great. But what really impressed me above all else was the flawless direction by Jonathan Demme.

2. The Wackness – Yes it is aimed squarely at me with its 90s coming-of-age theme and amazing hip hop soundtrack, but it works better than I ever would have thought a film like this could work. Jonathan Levine has set the personal story bar for our generation of filmmakers and Olivia Thirlby will forever be the girl that got away. It is a true shame that more people didn’t see this film in the theaters – but as a consolation prize, it has been near the top of the pirated movie charts for months.

1. Let The Right One In – Very rarely does a film come along that crosses genre lines so well – horror, drama, emotional angst, love. Give it to Swedish director Tomas Alfredson and writer John Ajvide Lindqvist for leaving us all stunned.

There you have it. There are some notable films that didn’t make my list. Flicks that didn’t quite make the cut: Slumdog Millionaire, The Dark Knight, The Visitor, Man On Wire, Benjamin Button, In Brouges, Iron Man, American Teen. I have yet to see Waltz With Bashir or The Reader. But all in all, with a bit of Scandinavian help, I feel like it was a rather solid year. More solid than last year? Here my 2007 Top 10. What do you think? 2007 or 2008?

A few years ago Tom McCarthy made a fantastic and touching movie called The Station Agent that, unfortunately, very few people saw. His follow up, The Visitor, is just as fantastic and touching, though this time much more topical. Richard Jenkins stars (what a year for him) as widower college professor whose life receives a much needed spark from the discovery of two wonderfully portrayed illegal immigrants living in his rarely visited Manhattan apartment. Just as he is coming out of his shell, one of the two is detained and a legal battle ensues. McCarthy has seriously got his shit down. The script is perfectly paced and every role is superbly acted. The world of secret detention centers and midnight deportations provides a terrifying backdrop, yet the story never loses its glimmer of light. The characters’ visions of America and its limitless possibilities juxtapose so well with legalities of post 9/11 reality. This juxtaposition creates a texture rich enough to be explored much further. But McCarthy should be applauded for reigning in the desire to serve up more than we can chew – instead giving us this compact and intensely personal story of how anyone can be touched by such events.

Italy’s entry for best foreign language feature is the modern day crime drama Gomorra. Writer/director Matteo Garrone jumped on the Italian film scene a few years back with a movie called The Embalmer, and this film is almost identical in tone. Garrone’s contemporary-realism employs long single handheld shots, sparse dialog, and virtually no score. This makes for an interesting, though not all that entertaining look at a town completely controlled by mafia. The Camorra (the title comes from a mixture of that and the biblical Gomorrah I imagine) is the oldest criminal org in Italy and the film portrays their world as pretty intense. We are talking like the favela of City of God or Elite Squad. This film has far less action than those, though, and jumps around a lot as it follows 5 pretty separate storylines. I would have liked to see a more central focus as I felt a bit alienated from the characters, never getting to know them all that well. The film is not without its flaws, but is certainly well put together for what it is.

Clint Eastwood’s second directorial foray this season is certainly a world away from the nicely polished Changeling. We are talking rough edges. Clint is fantastic as the grizzled old racist bastard – everyone else, not so much. The acting is truly atrocious. I have never been one for a movie being so bad it is good – but juxtaposing really amateur actors with a master like Clint was actually pretty entertaining. The script is one step better than awful, which kinda works with the super indie feel (I’d be shocked if the imdb budget number of a $35M is correct). I am interested in the way that the subjects of racism and specifically ethnic slurs are approached, but I’m not sure I totally agree with the basic message. Yes, I agree that it is dumb that taboos exist over certain words but that doesn’t make it okay to propagate stereotypes just because one disagrees with the taboos. Surprisingly, the tone of this film was pretty typical for Eastwood’s direction. I had hoped for a little more ass kicking and bit less morality. He is such a bad ass that you just want to see him let loose. But all in all I gotta admit I did enjoy it. Strange – but it is one of those rare cases where the whole is actually more than the sum of its parts.