It’s a crazy, mixed up world and we are thankful for movies, excluding The Tooth Fairy starring The Rock, that offer proof. /Film’s Weekend Weirdness examines such flicks, whether in the form of a new trailer for a provocative indie, a mini review or…”what do you mean Merlin wasn’t real?!“ Attention hosers: it’s the return of FUBAR! And much more after the jump in this double-deep installment…
Read More »
It’s a crazy, mixed up world and we are thankful for movies, excluding The Spy Next Door and The Tooth Fairy, that offer proof. /Film’s Weekend Weirdness examines such flicks, whether in the form of a new trailer for a provocative indie, a mini review, or an interview. In this installment, new trailers and a review of the Red Riding Trilogy, a noirish triptych of serial killer dramas imported from British television and being released stateside in February by IFC Films.
During a screening of the entire Red Riding Trilogy, with one intermission allotted for lunch, I found myself pondering the irony in three directors, one screenwriter, one author, tens of actors and three separate crews realizing a project that depicts humanity and bureaucracy at its most foul and irreversibly corrupt. A recent poster for the trilogy forebodingly reads, “Evil Lives Here,” a tagline that would serve most of the work that exits Stephen King’s skull; instead the “here” in Red Riding is Northern England in the ’70s and early ’80s, when a serial killer known as the Yorkshire Ripper carved a trail of female victims and set a mood and mythos ripe for social reflection.
Read More »
In December, we made a post about a guy named Mike from Milwaukee, WI, who created a 70-minute video review of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. The 7-part dissection tore apart George Lucas’ first installment of the prequel trilogy, and was linked by almost every website known to man. In fact, the video now has over 1.25 million views on YouTube alone. Even geek celebs like Damon Lindelof commented on the review. If you are one of the few who hasn’t seen it - click here now!
Well, Mike is back, this time with a less elaborate 18-minute video review of James Cameron’s Avatar. Watch the two-part video review now, after the jump.
Read More »
Posted on Saturday, January 30th, 2010 by David Chen
David Michôd has had a pretty big year at Sundance. Hesher, which he wrote along with director Spencer Susser, was one of the most anticipated films of the festival (read Peter’s review here). He also directed Animal Kingdom, an Australian crime drama starring Guy Pearce, Ben Mendelsohn, and newcomer James Frecheville. I have no compunction about saying that Animal Kingdom was one of my most favorite films of Sundance. Hit the jump for some of my thoughts, as well as a video review I recorded with members of our blogger condo.
Read More »
Earlier today I saw a screening of Joel Schumacher’s Twelve, which stars Chace Crawford, Emma Roberts, 50 Cent, Ellen Barkin and Rory Culkin. Twelve takes place in a similar world as Gossip Girl, focusing mostly on super rich upper east side New Yorkers.
“A new drama chronicling of the highs and lows of privileged kids on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, in a tale that involves sex, drugs and murder. Written by Jordan Melamed (the director of 2001’s Maniac), the story follows a young drug dealer who watches as his high-rolling life is dismantled in the wake of his cousin’s murder, which sees his best friend arrested for the crime.”
While most people like to give Schumacher shit for his Batman films, many forget his better films, like The Lost Boys, Flatliners, A Time To Kill, and Phone Booth. Is Twelve a return to form? Or just a disaster? Watch the video blog review I recorded with Frosty from Collider, embedded after the jump.
Read More »
This week the Sundance Film Festival held a surprise premiere of Exit Through the Gift Shop, the first film by the renowned graffiti artist Banksy. I had heard amazing things about the doc coming out of the public screening premiere, so I decided to check out the film today at a press screening.
For those of you who don’t know, Banksy is a graffiti artist “with a global reputation whose work can be seen on walls from post-hurricane New Orleans to the Palestinian segregation wall in the West Bank. Fiercely guarding his anonymity to avoid prosecution Banksy has so far resisted all attempts to be captured on film.” Here is the official plot synopsis for Exit Through the Gift Shop.
Exit Through the Gift Shop is the story of how an eccentric French shop keeper and amateur film maker attempted to locate and befriend Banksy. Billed as ‘the world’s first street art disaster movie’ the film contains exclusive footage of Banksy, Shephard Fairey, Invader and many of the world’s most infamous graffiti artists at work. “It’s the story ofhow one man set out to film the un-filmable. And failed”. - Banksy. The story of how an eccentric French shop keeper and amateur film maker attempted to locate and befriend Banksy.
I recorded a video blog review with Frosty from Collider, which you can watch embedded after the jump.
Read More »
Posted on Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 by David Chen
Based on the novel by Jim Thompson, The Killer Inside Me tells the story of Lou Ford, an unassuming sheriff who finds himself surrounded by growing pile of murder victims. The film was directed by Michael Winterbottom, a man whose films have spanned many genres (some of which defy categorization). I was excited to see Winterbottom’s take on film noir and curious about reports that the film’s violence had sparked outrage among audiences. Hit the jump to hear my thoughts and to watch a video blog I did with Katey Rich from Cinemablend, in which we discuss the film.
Read More »
On Monday, I attended a press screening of Lucky, a documentary film about a bunch of lottery winners “as they navigate their newly found riches and a couple of extremely determined hopefuls.” Here is the official plot synopsis:
“The winners’ lives are undoubtedly changed forever but not necessarily in the ways we may expect. Life becomes complicated as attorneys, hired security guards, jealous friends, scheming family members, and desperate pleas for help from strangers pepper their new existence.”
I’ve always found the story of working class people who hit it rich and somehow lose everything interesting. I was mainly interested in this film because it was directed by Jeffrey Blitz, who helmed one of my favorite documentaries Spellbound, and also directed the feature film Rocket Science, which won him the Sundance Film Festival Directing Award in 2007. Both films are solid, with Rocket Science being a must watch (Up in the Air’s Anna Kendrick provides an amazing performance).
Did Lucky live up to expectations? Watch the video blog review after the jump, featuring David Chen, Frosty from Collider, and myself.
Read More »
Derek Cianfrance’s directorial debut Blue Valentine premiered yesterday at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival as one of 16 films selected from 1,058 submissions for the dramatic competition. Written by Derek Cianfrance, Cami Delavigne and Joey Curtis, the screenplay won the 2006 Chrysler Film Project contest, which came with $1 million of funding.
The story is about “love lost and love found told in two parallel moments in time.” Basically it’s (500) Days of Summer without the funny hipsterish style, instead replaced with depressing drama, and starring Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling. I recorded a video blog review with Brandon Tenney from FirstShowing (and Frosty from Collider makes a cameo appearance, providing the perspective of someone who hasn’t seen the film).
Read More »
Posted on Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 by David Chen
I loved the premise of The Perfect Host: a bank robber (Clayne Crawford) talks his way into the house of a well-to-do man named Warwick (David Hyde Pierce) by pretending to be the friend of a friend, only to find that Warwick is far more dangerous than he seems. So how was the film’s execution? After the jump, read some of my thoughts on the film and watch a brief video interview I did with the director and stars of the film.
Read More »
