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Oxford Film Fest: Voices 'Ole' and New
Filed under: Comedy, Documentary, Drama, Independent, Festival Reports, Fandom, Oxford Film Festival
According to a detailed manifesto on its website, the Oxford Film Festival began in 2003 "as a project of the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council... committed to celebrating the art of independent cinema." What the festival actually is, however, is so much more: a four-day celebration where filmmakers, industry professionals, critics, and cinephiles gather together, get to know one another, and share in a community's collective appreciation for film in all of its forms. Cozily entrenched in the businesses and residences of Oxford, Mississippi, the town that the picturesque college Ole Miss calls home, OFF is a modest, maturing sibling of mainstay festivals like Sundance and South By Southwest whose smalltown charm bypasses superficial spectacle in favor of more substantial rewards.
The festival runs four days and features more than 80 different offerings, including narrative features, documentaries, short films, animated works, and experimental projects. I was enlisted at the last minute to serve as a member of OFF's documentary jury, so I was unfortunately unable to attend the Opening Night screening of director Joshua Goldin's Wonderful World, but took a break from some 20 hours of verite filmmaking to attend a party at Oxford's Southside Gallery. In attendance were several of the filmmakers who brought their movies to the fest, as well as an array of other participants and locals without whose presence the festival simply wouldn't have its singularly intimate feel.
Spin-ematical: New on DVD and Blu-ray for 2/9
Filed under: Classics, Drama, Foreign Language, Independent, Romance, New on DVD, Home Entertainment, Cinematical Indie
A Serious Man
Coen Brothers. Academy Award-nominated. Need more? "The culmination of their lives, reminiscent both of their own suburban childhoods in the '60s, and of their cinematic successes over the last twenty-five years." Michael Stuhbarg stars as "a man utterly at a loss to explain his life's severe turn for the worse; he is a man desperate for answers." (Monika Bartyzel, Cinematical.) Buy it.
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Couples Retreat
Shameless it may be, but "you end up laughing more than expected," I wrote in my review. Vince Vaughan, Jon Favreau, Jason Bateman, Faizon Love, Malin Akerman, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell and Kali Hawk star. The comedy is broad and silly, but harsher truths occasionally emerge. Rent it.
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The Time Traveler's Wife
Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams star in an adaptation of the novel by Audrey Niffenegger. "Adds up to a mildly successful time-passer, though one too concerned with trying to target its audience rather than with trying to figure out where it's actually coming from." (Jeffrey M. Anderson, Cinematical.) Rent it.
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The Stepfather
"The most intense Lifetime Channel Original Movie that the Lifetime Channel never made. ... [It] just isn't enough." (Peter Hall, Horror Squad.) Skip it.
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Also out: Serious Moonlight, Free Style, Emma, Dante's Inferno: An Animated Epic.
After the jump: Indies on DVD, library titles on Blu-ray, and Collector's Corner!
Rock 'n' Roll Girl Chaos Gets a Canadian Kick
Filed under: Independent, Music & Musicals, Casting, Scripts
Old-school rock is hot these days. We're quickly approaching the release of The Runaways, full of Joan Jett, Cherie Currie, and rock chaos, and now another project is on the horizon. But this time, however, it's a modern look back. Twitch found out that Bruce McDonald is heading back to his days of Hard Core Logo rock with a new film called Trigger -- news that's a nice way to finish off a week with two McDonald retro pieces (Elimination Dance and Pontypool).
According to New Real Films, Trigger was written by Marion Bridge scribe Daniel MacIvor and will star Molly Parker and Tracy Wright as two "rock 'n' roll women who once shared a friendship, a band, and a whole lot of chaos. Now, a dozen years later, they meet again, and over the course of one evening rediscover friendship, remember rock 'n' roll, and reignite chaos." Somewhere in that new chaos, Don McKellar factors in as the third star. So, not only a return to Hard Core Logo form for the female set, but also another feature for Elimination Dance and Monkey Warfare stars Wright and McKellar.
The above picture is only one of the many New Real shares of the production right here. And don't worry -- Parker might look all sweet and awkward with that peace sign, but the gallery also includes a shot of Parker rocking out with an air guitar. I guess rock 'n' roll isn't dead!
'Death of a President' Director Works With 'Last King of Scotland' Writer
Filed under: Documentary, Drama, Foreign Language, Independent, Thrillers, Casting, Celebrities and Controversy, Cinematical Indie
In spite of all its controversy and its Emmy and Toronto Film Festival awards, the faux documentary Death of a President was not worth all the hype it received four years ago. I won't say it was terrible, because I've come around to respect some of the positive things said about its purpose, but I certainly did not enjoy watching the film, which depicted the hypothetical assassination of George W. Bush using real footage of the former U.S. president. However, I'm willing to give director Gabriel Range another shot, especially now that I've learned his next film comes from a script by one of the writers of The Last King of Scotland, Jeremy Brock. Though Peter Morgan may have been the better screenwriter involved in that adaptation, Brock's involvement with other decent British films, such as Charlotte Gray and Driving Lessons, which he also directed, are indicative of his talent. He also scripted Kevin Macdonald's upcoming sword-and-sandals flick The Eagle of the Ninth.
Eric Bana Will Be The Father of Assassin 'Hanna'
Filed under: Action, Independent, Thrillers, Casting, Focus Features, Newsstand
I'm very intrigued by Hanna, Joe Wright's hitgirl film that starts his steely-eyed Atonement star, Saoirse Ronan. Even if it's a bit of a Leon / Kick-Ass story, Wright hasn't really let me down yet (though I never did see The Soloist -- maybe I speak too blindly), and Ronan is a force to be reckoned with. Now she's landed a brooding hunk of a costar, as Heat Vision reports that Eric Bana is in line to play her nemesis and father. Hanna centers around a 14-year-old Eastern European girl who is groomed by her father to be a cold-blooded killing machine. She finds a loving connection with an ordinary French family, but is dragged kicking and screaming (I imagine that's no hyperbole) back to her father's brutal world. She then discovers that she's one of many such killer children, born and bred in a CIA training camp. If she wants to be free, she's going to have to fight her way out. Cue the blood and brutality, I hope.
An actor who has never quite made it huge on this side of the Pacific, Bana seems to be destined for darker roles in Hollywood films. He's capable of very funny and very nuanced work. (Have you seen Romulus, My Father? If not, go rent it now.) I can't imagine Wright is going to give us a one-sided bad guy, and will let Bana play someone who is loving and cruel. Given the way he's bolstered so many British careers, maybe Wright and Hanna will be the film that launches Bana into a more respected stratosphere.
Cinematical On Demand: Pontypool
Filed under: Horror, Independent, Thrillers, Fandom, Home Entertainment
Welcome to Cinematical's new On Demand, where we review the latest in home entertainment -- on demand, on disc, on the web -- and detail the must-sees, maybe-sees, and never-sees available from the comfort of your own home.
Pontypool is the best recent film you haven't seen.
Adapted from Tony Burgess' novel by Canadian filmmaker Bruce McDonald, Pontypool arrived on the scene during the Toronto International Film Festival of 2008. It slowly hit markets and enjoyed a limited release last Spring, while slipping onto IFC Midnight, Canadian DVD last July, and finally U.S. DVD just last week. It dances just out of reach of the mass movie-going conscious, but it's a terrible shame. This psychological thriller offers thrills and bloody viral chaos for the horror folks, verbal banter and literary cues for the linguists and English fiends, tensions and oddities for those who like to think and question, and the irreplaceable Stephen McHattie to entertain us all.
Danny McBride and Jody Hill Team for 'L.A.P.I.'
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Independent, Casting, Deals, Scripts, DIY/Filmmaking
If there's one man not lacking for work in this economy, it's Danny McBride, but we're cool with that. He's signed on to yet another movie, but according to Variety this one is more special than most because it's the debut production of Rough House Productions, the shingle McBride heads up with Jody Hill and David Gordon Green. The film is an action comedy titled L.A.P.I., and the plot is being kept under tight wraps. All that's known is that McBride will be playing "a beaten down, hard boiled P.I." Hill will be directing, and the script is being penned by Michael Diliberti and Matthew Sullivan. If you follow the screenwriters' Black List, you'll recognize their name immediately. They're fast up-and-comers, and hitching themselves with Rough House Productions can only help their upward climb.
The talent accumulated on this is enough to make any comedy fan excited. Because I'm a dork, I always associate private investigators with the 1940s, so my mind has put McBride in a fedora. I doubt that's the case, but I can certainly wish for it to be a 1940s action comedy. Something tells me it'll be more in the vein of Tropic Thunder and Hill's Observe and Report -- a modern day P.I. who has a bit of a dark, scary edge to him. It's something to look forward to, anyway, and I'm anxious to see who they recruit for McBride to bounce off of.
'Menstruating Ghost' Haunts Indonesian Clerics
Filed under: Comedy, Foreign Language, Horror, Independent, Newsstand, Cinematical Indie, Trailers and Clips
Hmm, why would religious leaders be disturbed by a horror / comedy movie that features sex, large-breasted women in lingerie, plenty of bloodshed, a beheading, and zombies ripping still-beating hearts out of chests? The Menstruating Ghost of Puncak (AKA Hantu Puncak Datang Bulan) has come under fire by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), which is asking the government to ban the film, according to The Jakarta Post.The Council fears that the movie could "hurt the younger generation's morality" and are appealing to Muslims not to see it. (Indonesia reportedly has the world's largest population of Muslims.) However, the Film Censorship Board claims they have not received any such request, with one board member telling Jakarta Globe: "More than likely this latest rumor is some kind of promotional gimmick for the film." Still, the clerical Council insists on their concerns: "it's violating social norms. It's okay to have freedom of expression but without violating the norms [of decency]." The film opened in Indonesia yesterday and, as far as know, it's still playing.
Andi Soraya and members of the pop group Trio Macan star; Steady Rimba )?!) directed. The trailer, which is posted after the jump, is NSFW due to partial nudity and numerous bloody bits, including the beheading. It looks like a somewhat routine, low-rent, soft-core horror flick, the kind that could be a lot of fun if you're in the right mood and atmosphere -- and if your morals have already been damaged. You decide!
Carrie Underwood to Make Film Debut in Surfer Flick
Filed under: Drama, Independent, Casting, Cinematical Indie
Jennifer Hudson set the bar very high for American Idol contestants. Hudson may not have won the competition, but she earned a singing career and then won an Academy Award for Dreamgirls, her big screen acting debut. Carrie Underwood won American Idol in 2005 and promptly blazed a trail to country music stardom. Now she wants to make movies too.Instead of appearing in a splashy, big-budget musical, however, Underwood will take on a supporting role in the indie drama Soul Surfer, reports Variety. Based on the true story of teen surfing champion Bethany Hamilton, who had one of her arms bitten off by a shark, Soul Surfer stars Anna Sophia Robb (Race to Witch Mountain) as Hamilton, with Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt as her surfing parents. Filming has begun in Hawaii under the direction of Sean McNamara (3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain, Bratz).
Hamilton's religious faith is clearly very important to her -- she even has a "Daily Devotional" on the front page of her web site -- so Underwood's supporting role as a church youth leader is likely to be an important one. Underwood's a gifted musical performer, and while that doesn't ensure commensurate acting talent, this sounds like a good role for her to get her feet wet. Maybe she'll sing a song or two. And, hey, it's gotta be better than From Justin to Kelly, right?
Doc Talk: Why Remake a Documentary as a Dramatic Film?
Filed under: Documentary, Drama, Independent, Steven Spielberg, Remakes and Sequels, Columns, Cinematical Indie, War
What constitutes a remake of a documentary? Would you consider Milk to be based on The Times of Harvey Milk? Rob Epstein, who directed the latter, was thanked in the credits of the former and his film was surely an inspiration. His footage was even lifted or recreated for parts of Gus Van Sant's dramatized version. But Milk was ultimately deemed an original work, at least as far as the Academy Awards are concerned.
If you were to argue the case that the biopic is based on the documentary, where then would you draw the line? Is Monster based on Nick Broomfield's first Aileen Wuornos film (he too is thanked)? Is part of Munich based on One Day in September? And speaking of films by Kevin Macdonald, is The Last King of Scotland at all a remake of Barbet Schroeder's General Idi Amin Dada? It does feature footage from the doc, after all.
There's no denying Cate Blanchett's segment of I'm Not There is lifted from D.A. Pennebaker's Don't Look Back, but it's easier to say the latter was merely used as reference. Frederick Wiseman meanwhile insinuates Stanley Kubrick stole much of the first half of Full Metal Jacket from his own boot camp film Basic Training, which was indeed used by Kubrick as uncredited research material. The later fiction film is considered solely based on an autobiographical novel by Gustav Hasford.
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'Big Top Pee-Wee': The Original Benicio Del Toro Wolfman
Spin-ematical: New on DVD and Blu-ray for 2/9
Watch This: Brilliant Oscar-Nominated Short 'Logorama'
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