Public Enemies - What Did You Think?
Right now, geeks are having difficulty formulating their conflicted emotions about pics of a 15-year-old Dakota Fanning on the set of The Runaways, the 2010 girl-punker biopic. At times like this, I think the guttural proclamation, “Um, that’s racist like a robot!” will suffice. But yeah, Just Jared via Chud has posted a bevy of publicity-stunt pics of Fanning, as jail-bait lead-singer Cherie Currie, tangling around with Kristen Stewart, as leather-clad guitarist Joan Jett. Like a bearded Michael Musto, writer Devin Faraci predicts the movie could spark a fashion revolution amongst teen girls. I could see that happening. Maybe. I mean, the cover of Nylon magazine and exposure in Urban Outfitters is prob a lock. And Warped Tour would definitely be up for a lame “interactive” meet and greet. A new, recommended pic of Stewart, in a Stooges tee no less, after the jump…
Movie Review: Visioneers Starring Zach Galifianakis (Man Vs. Office Culture Continues)
Posted on Friday, July 3rd, 2009 by Hunter Stephenson
Thirty minutes into Visioneers—a high concept indie dramedy that is, well, brand new to the public—I was consumed by the thought that I, most likely, will never see the movie for sale in a really choice record store. (Don’t worry, this movie review will not serve as a wistful rant on the music industry courtesy of a wannabe Nick Hornby or Chuck Klosterman.) The realization got me down for a half-a-second. Nevertheless, calling Visioneers a “prized would-be staple of the ‘choice record store movie genre’” is a tidy complement that sums up how I feel about it.
In the mid/late ‘90s and early ‘00s, one could find a softly-curated section of DVDs in many independent record stores. Browsing the small selection was a welcome, habitual cool-down after hours spent listening to and considering albums. Generally, the selection amounted to: concert films like Ziggy Stardust, The Show, and Bill Hicks Live. Drug movies like Easy Rider and Neco z Alenky. Godzillas. Tromas. “OG”-flicks like New Jack City and Fresh. Usually a movie starring Natasha Lyonne that wasn’t American Pie. Docs like Grey Gardens and The Corporation. And odd movies starring great comedians like The Magic Christian and The Razor’s Edge. Right, Visioneers would be bunched in with those two.
Of course, “cult movies” is a broad umbrella term for these films, then and especially now, but their location under a roof housing infinite great music birthed the silent notion that the works belonged to a cinematic family. The odd symbiotic relationship is perhaps why the DVDs were rarely purchased; another reason is that, while the DVDs were new, the hands of countless gross nerds, junkies, and patchouli weirdos had flipped them over in states of blank studiousness and after many months of this they felt second-hand. Yet another reason is that most of the diehard culture addicts were shopping for music and…had already seen the majority of these films multiple times.
So, this trailer for RoboGeisha is NSFW, upper-level ridiculous, and almost necessitates a /Film After Dark sister-site. We should tell you now that it features fake skyscraper blood, pervy voiceover, and entertaining death by: tempura shrimp, “futuristic” lactating, and bootie swords. And lots of tawdry geisha action with carnage on top.
Due for international release this fall, the film is the exploitative brainchild of Noboru Iguchi and Yoshihiro Nishimura, the sadistic director and special effects madman who brought the world Machine Girl and Tokyo Gore Police. Respectively. Let’s hope Tarantino stays out of the closets tonight, just saying. Express your awe or disappointment (from jail) in the comments.
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With characters that included a titular, homeless-footed superhero with a fan for teeth and a pot-bellied, psycho-analyzing mass-rapist in a tiki mask, MTV’s The Maxx definitely has its fans. The cartoon—an adaptation of the feted and trippy Image comic book by Sam Kieth—originally aired in ‘95 and remains officially unavailable on DVD. This week, MTV posted six full episodes for free streaming, and they are a great refresher and/or requisite viewing if you dig slightly-adulterated, “offbeat” animation.
Watching The Maxx kabob an endless wave of his primary adversary, an otherworldly critter species called The Isz, never gets old. But it’s the episodes’ stream-of-consciousness editing and alternating narration, which borders on an open-mic bohemian poetry night, that sticks with you. We’ve included the first episode after the jump, but episode three (cow-udder shaving cream) and episode five (Beavis cameo, teenagey writer pains) are personal faves.
With only two feature films and one TV show to his name, writer/director Jody Hill, is now synonymous with ignoring the boundaries and “genre rules” of modern comedy and creating anti-heroes that laughably burble with nihilistic rage, scary faux pas and hot-air egos. But there is also an internal depth to these macho doofuses played by Hill’s longtime pal and writing partner, Danny McBride, and comedy star Seth Rogen, to surpass the high art of a perfectly-timed and pronounced “fuck.”
Hill’s work on Observe & Report, The Foot Fist Way, and his cultural breakthrough, HBO’s Eastbound & Down, contains more glass-darkly social commentary and life-lived expression than the work of any hotshot young novelist in recent memory. Rather than document the cold realities and indulgent pleasantries of another big city with bright lights, Hill is set on exploring the very place that so many creative-types vacate upon the arrival of their first Visa card or college acceptance letter: the American South. Moreover, as many middle-class and broke white American males face sobering, if inevitable, realizations and disillusions about the future, laughing at Hill’s moronic, unhinged versions as they champion outdated movie/sports star heroics atop small-town kingdoms is like homemade medicine. When it comes to countering the monotony of the average day-to-day? Eastbound is harder to beat still. The sight of Kenny Powers “dancing” in a middle school gym under the influence of eggrolls and ecstasy or ejecting a topless broad from his Jet Ski is priceless. Like cheetah-spotted gold or “a bulletproof tiger, dude.”
A native of North Carolina, Hill is the latest progeny of the North Carolina School of the Arts, alongside McBride and creative partner Ben Best, fellow EB&D director David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express), and EB&D cinematographer Tim Orr. In the first part of my interview, we discuss the show in-depth, including some of the surprising and vile admissions and special features on the Season One DVD. We also talk about what it’s like to be a young director coming from, and staying in, the South, why so many comedians today are from there, and why the region was overdue for a proper comedic depiction.
Hunter Stephenson: Hey Jody, how are you?
Jody Hill: Hey Hunter. Good, good, good. Hey man, I wanted to say that I was sorry I wasn’t there when you visited down in Wilmington [Eastbound & Down set, 2008]. I remember the piece you wrote, and it sounded like a really good time. [laughs] Sucks I couldn’t there, man; I was editing my film (Observe & Report), and Warner Bros. wouldn’t let me go. When you have to do a director’s cut, they want to lock you up for 10 weeks. [laughs] Everybody said they had a blast…and I was editing.
Yeah. I expected to interview you there. And I didn’t know about the change, that David Green was now directing the majority of the episodes while you were in L.A. But it all worked out, he killed it. My first question: Legend has it that when you, Danny [McBride], and Ben [Best] first conceived of Kenny Powers you were sitting in a kiddie pool in North Carolina drinking beers. [laughs] Is that accurate?
Jody Hill: [laughs] Yeah, this was before we made Foot Fist Way or anything. We were trying to come up with ideas for shows. I was between jobs; I had been working this really shit reality show job, doing motion-control for Behind the Music and shit like that. [laughs] It was pretty lame. And so, yeah, we were in Charlotte, in the backyard of Ben Best’s house. And yeah, we were literally sitting in a kiddie pool with a case of beer. And Kenny was one of the ideas that, uh, we came up with. [laughs]
Exclusive Interview: Paul Scheer on Piranha 3-D, Its Surprising Jaws Connection, “Rambo-level gore,” and Nude Wild Wild Girls
Posted on Friday, June 26th, 2009 by Hunter Stephenson
This summer, /Film considered traveling to the set of Piranha 3-D. Witnessing unlikely co-stars Richard Dreyfuss, Christopher Lloyd, Adam Scott, and completely naked bimbos battling (or getting devoured by) killer fish at the command of horror director Alex Aja is what the season is all about, no? Alas, it wasn’t meant be to be. The STD-insurance alone in the spring break hotspot of Lake Havasu, Arizona—where the film is shooting and set—is friggin’ outrageous. After informing us that we were not worthy, Piranha 3-D co-star and Human Giant comedian, Paul Scheer, offered up lots of funny, obscene and insane deets about next March’s horror flick. He also sent over this exclusive photo of his morally bankrupt character.
At times, our conversation went off the record into darker territory—a la shark viscera spilling onto a pier—but much is said below about a production that aspires to be the goriest and craziest 3-D movie ever. Paul discussed his role (it required method-acting and method-oogling), the precise amount of blood (a shit ton), Lake Havasu memories, and why Richard Dreyfuss’s sage character will seem, erm, pretty damn familiar. Chomp, chomp, chomp…
Hunter Stephenson: So Paul, I assume you wanted to do a broad family film and then you were offered Piranha 3-D. It was a matter of good timing, serendipitous.
Paul Scheer: [laughs] Yeah, well, I was trying to get Imagine That Too off the ground, where I become Eddie Murphy’s brother, and have my own adventure with my daughter. It was actually crazy, because when I first heard about this movie, it was like, “Elizabeth Shue is in Piranha 3-D, she’s awesome!” And then, you know, the title sounds cool and it sounds campy…
Weeds Session: Episode “Su-Su-Sucio” Offers Jokes, Hugs, Voyeurism, and Blood Relief
Posted on Thursday, June 25th, 2009 by Hunter Stephenson
In our latest wrap-up and discussion of Weeds—a show where it’s increasingly rare to see characters puffing the titular herb, mind you—we take a look at season cinco’s third episode, “Su-Su-Sucio.” After we found ourselves not so much stunned as exhausted and turned-off by the previous ep’s k-hole of casual misery (and forced entry), we were glad to kick back with a breezier follow-up. “Sucio” was filled with hugs, laffs, morning sex, and welcome family admission and reconciling between the MILFy sisters above. (Wait, we didn’t mean they had sex.) Sure, there were a few splotches of mysterious blood, but as with Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker), any blood in this ep came to symbolize relief (her blood) and a fast break (that dude’s). Spoiler alert from here on. I’ve included the plot synopsis for next week’s ep, “Super Lucky Happy,” at the bottom…
From the start of the ’00s, musician and motivational speaker Andrew W.K. has been jumping around the planet promoting the benefits of partying the human heart out. So relentless is his dedication that he’s been consulted on the topic by entertainment zeitgeisters like Jackass, Conan O’Brien, and The Daily Show. His music and modus operandi were forever immortalized—in one of the first crossovers of then-nascent youth culture with the summer blockbuster—in Old School. As the decade closes out, 2009 finds Andrew W.K. overseeing one of the best major nightclubs in New York City, Santos Party House, a brand new record label, and…a new kids gameshow on Cartoon Network that entails firing bazookas and setting off enough C4 to make John McClane grind a roll of Tums.
Entitled Destroy Build Destroy, Andrew W.K. serves as a white-denim ringmaster on episodes pitting two demolition squads of barely-teens. Last weekend’s premiere saw a team of Mathletes take on a team of Skaters. Pass the safety goggles and get your awkward on. The show’s grandiose objective is to build massive machinery and Road Warrior-esque makeshift vehicles, throw down the gauntlet on a bizarre stunt course, and then blow up the losing team’s creation. Big time. As we discuss below, the show plays like Michael Bay 101, utilizing military tanks and firearms in a novel—arguably thought-provoking—positive means to an end. If you’ve never read an interview with Andrew W.K., caution: you may find yourself hypnotized by his “punk rock feng shui” philosophy, as if lost amongst flowing robes accented by a stream of signature blood in the name of fun.
Hunter Stephenson: Andrew, what do you make of the critics who already say that your show, Destroy Build Destroy, will lead to a kid being accidentally blown up?
Andrew W.K.: Well, that’s certainly always a concern when you’re presenting potentially hazardous situations to anybody. This could be a show about senior citizens and I’m sure there would almost be as much concern about them injuring themselves. Whenever you’re venturing into the exciting part of the world and want to present it, there tends to be risk there. But, I always have a lot confidence in the intelligence of young people to be safe, to do what they want to do. Just because there is someone out there who might end up hurting themselves doesn’t mean that everyone else needs to have all that excitement taken away. That’s how I’ve been thinking of it…
One can be forgiven if graphic fantasies of Bob Barker spiraling around with a chainsaw become impossible to ignore by the two-minute mark of the trailer for Cat Ladies. The documentary by newcomer Christie Callan-Jones is currently touring the indie fest circuit to generally positive, if unsettling, reviews. However, the doc’s mission statement seems to snarf at the inevitable snark: “[Cat Ladies] unravels the real story behind the oft-ridiculed ‘cat lady’—a cultural stereotype and figure of ridicule for women of a certain age with too many furry companions.” Let us know what you think in the comments, lurking LOLcatters temporarily welcome. Full disclosure: we’ve had too much coffee already and the sunlight-on-dander-and-catpiss visual style of the film quickly sent us up one of these.
Today, a lame goblin knocked on the door of Hulu’s offices and left a slime-colored, flaming bag of shit on their doorstep. That’s right boils and ghouls, Troll 2, the worst movie ever made according to the world, is now available free of charge. This cult-classic movie is a total dealbreaker, so if your girlfriend or boyfriend won’t watch it with you, promptly dump them in the inexplicable name of Stonehenge Magic Stone.
And after the movie’s over (scariest ending ever?), be sure to check out /Film’s recent interviews for the awesome Troll 2 documentary Best Worst Movie with Michael Stephenson (the whiny kid) here and George Hardy (the dad, protector of hospitality) here. Cheers to young ’80s girls who can’t dance wearing Garfield horoscope nightgowns and saying, “Take it or leave it!”
Is Weeds Getting Too Sinister? We Recap Season 5’s “Machetes Up Top” and Jennifer Jason Leigh’s Welcome Introduction
Posted on Thursday, June 18th, 2009 by Hunter Stephenson
Two episodes deep into the fifth season of Weeds, let’s take a look at where Nancy Botwin is headed—it’s disturbing and bleak, and involves being forcibly bent over a table. And what of her dysfunctional brood? Spoilers ahead. /Film will consider posting regular Weeds wrap-ups if there is enough reader interest. Let us know.
Over the last three days, I’ve read complaints online from a number of Weeds viewers who feel that the second episode, “Machetes Up Top,” is simply too dark. To be honest, I’m surprised I haven’t come across more of these sentiments; but we’re now in the fifth season, and the majority of viewers who have stuck around expect such testy slaps. For many, pleasurable guilt is part of the show’s appeal: Weeds is famously a love/hate series in and outside the tube. Since its debut in 2005, the series has embraced the modern, twisted anti-hero, one named Nancy Botwin molded in the fresh and hot shape of a drug-peddling MILF. Four years later, the television landscape is peppered with all kinds of charming killers, drug-pushers, gluttons, and sex fiends. And for better or worse, Weeds has confronted the trend and its anti-hero competitors by playing likability limbo hardcore. In 2009, the show’s writers appear dead-set on subjecting her to masochistic, highly self-destructive behavior and situations. How low can a mom get.
Platinum Dunes Says Friday the 13th Sequel is Snowbound? 3D? Admit to Disappointing First Entry
Posted on Monday, June 15th, 2009 by Hunter Stephenson
Update: /Film commenter, Infrafan, points out that a “snowbound” setting opens up the following scenario: Jason finds himself on a frozen lake. Jason then “plays hockey” with the decapitated head of an AXE body spray model or a fake breast. Knowing Platinum Dunes, we could actually see this happening.
Even though last February’s Friday the 13th opened to $44 million domestic but failed to crack the $100m milestone due to underwhelming word-of-mouth and stunted effort to make a definitive and fun entry, Platinum Dunes made a killing on the $16 million budget. Semi-good news: The horror company’s go-to director Marcus Nispel will not be back for the previously announced sequel. Uber-bad news: Unfortunately, Nispel will take his exhausted MTV-metallic sheen and ridiculously back-lit atmospherics to Conan instead. Ryan Rotten at STYD spoke recently with PD producer, Brad Fuller, who felt the need to fess up to fans’ criticisms of the first film and reveal the “hook” for the sequel.
