easier with practice Tagged Articles at Cinematical
CineVegas Review: Easier with Practice
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Independent », New Releases », Theatrical Reviews », Festival Reports », CineVegas »
It's a rarity for a director's first film to be as confident and effective as Easier with Practice is. And for any film, let alone a debut, to address difficult subjects with this much insight, humor, and humanity is almost miraculous. There are filmmakers who couldn't produce something this good on their tenth try, and here Kyle Patrick Alvarez has done it right out of the gate.
Alvarez's screenplay is based on a GQ article by Davy Rothbart, and it concerns an introverted 28-year-old writer named Davy Mitchell (Brian Geraghty) who is driving around the southwest United States with his brother, Sean (Kel O'Neill), to promote his book of short stories. This book hasn't actually been published, mind you, but self-produced copies are available after the readings.
While at a hotel in Albuquerque one night, Davy gets a random phone call from a woman named Nicole (Kathryn Aselton) who seductively asks what he's wearing. Nonplussed, he replies, "Clothes, I guess." Apparently quite skilled at this, Nicole soon has Davy engaging in a bit of steamy phone sex with her. She gets his cell number (this first rendezvous was on the hotel phone) and says she'll call again.
It becomes a regular thing. Every night, while Sean sleeps in a hotel bed, Davy stays out in their station wagon and talks to Nicole. It's mostly about the sex, but it becomes a relationship of sorts, too, with post-coital conversations -- the equivalent of cuddling, in Davy's words. Nicole's primary interest is dirty talk, though, and she won't ever give Davy her number, which is blocked from his caller ID. Everything is on her terms. Davy is smitten, and stuck.
Live from CineVegas: Even the Zombies are High-Energy
Filed under: Festival Reports »
In the past, the CineVegas Film Festival has spanned nine days, starting on a Thursday night and running through the following Saturday. This year, though, the fest has been compressed -- streamlined, really -- so that it started Wednesday and will run through Monday. The number of films has decreased only slightly, meaning we're essentially getting the same amount of content in six days rather than nine. It's hard to overstate how much this decision, which was partly due to economic concerns, has improved things. Screenings start earlier in the day and run later into the night. Where you used to have only two movie options in a particular time slot, now there are three, which means less downtime if you've already seen (or really don't want to see) something. The overall energy is higher. There's more hustle, not to mention bustle.
I've noticed a lot more Sundance-style promotions, too. There's a zombie film on the docket, called The Revenant, and several beautiful, scantily clad women have been all over the place handing out fliers to remind people about it. And when I say scantily clad, I mean they're in tiny little tops and tiny little shorts, both parts very tight-fitting. They are practically nude. In Vegas, no one notices. This is how people dress to go to church.
Exclusive: Clip from CineVegas Premiere 'Easier with Practice'
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Independent », New Releases », Trailers and Clips », CineVegas »
One of the titles at the upcoming CineVegas Film Festival that has piqued my interest is Easier with Practice, about a man who falls in love with a woman he knows only over the phone. The limitations of telephone communication notwithstanding, their relationship is sexual in nature, as suggested by the film's slightly NSFW trailer.
We also have a brief clip from the film, showing the inevitable conversation that the main character, Davy, must have with his brother, Sean. The two (played by Brian Geraghty and Kel O'Neill) are driving around the country to promote Davy's novel. Sean, needless to say, is skeptical about Davy's new "girlfriend." (There's a little PG-13-rated language.)
The CineVegas Film Festival runs June 10-15 in classy Las Vegas, Nevada, and Cinematical will be there to cover Easier with Practice and many other titles, so stay tuned.
Jeremy Renner Wants To Be An Avenger
Directors We Love: Jim Jarmusch
Indie Roundup: 'Sweetgrass,' 'Clarkworld,' 'Broken Embraces'
Shelf Life: Fight Club_thumbnail.jpg)
Watch: Famous 'Matrix' Scene Re-Created with LEGOs
_thumbnail.jpg)
