girls rock Tagged Articles at Cinematical

She may look like she's 'just' a girl singer, but an electric guitar stands at the ready just behind her waiting for the moment when this ... girl ... will ... rock ... !!! I've been itching to see Girls Rock! ever since I caught a trailer for it eons ago; something about its rough, DIY musical spirit was very appealing. Now you too can watch Girls Rock!, which recently became available for free online streaming, courtesy of our friends at SnagFilms.

The starting point for the documentary is a trip to the annual "Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls" in Portland, Oregon, observed our own Jeffrey M. Anderson. "For their week in camp, the girls, ranging in age from 8 to 18, must form bands, write songs, learn to play instruments, learn to play together and perform their original songs for a crowd of 700 by the last day. ... The best thing Girls Rock! has going for it is the fact that it discards the stagnant PBS documentary formula in favor of a more homemade, exploratory feel. And though it has roughly the same depth and breadth as a 3-minute song, it also has a real rock 'n' roll attitude."

Monika Bartyzel noted the surprising fact that the doc is directed by two men, Arne Johnson and Shane King. "Yet it doesn't really matter," she wrote in her review, "because they understand their subject perfectly. With the driving sounds of notable female rockers from Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon to Veruca Salt, the documentary is an intensely intimate, yet respectful, portrait of the pressures and releases of a group of dynamic young women." More information about the film is available at SnagFilms.

Watch Girls Rock in its entirety -- absolutely free -- after the jump!

Pictured (clockwise from upper left): Pride and Glory, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, RockNRolla, Hulk Vs.

I'm shocked -- shocked!! -- that I can recommend a rental on all four featured titles. I'll search more diligently for titles to skip in coming weeks.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Woody Allen's sojourn across Europe continues in this critically-praised comedy / drama / romance, featuring the Academy Award-nominated Penélope Cruz, plus Javier Bardem, Scarlett Johansson, and Rebecca Hall. James Rocchi called it "a bright, cool comedy of manners and mores, as refreshing and subtly intoxicating as a tall drink of sangria." Also on Blu-ray. Rent it.

Pride and Glory
Though some unfavorably compared it with We Own the Night, I much preferred Gavin O'Connor's striking, stirring New York City police 'brothers and father at odds' drama. Sure, it's familiar territory, but it struck me as piercing and emotionally authentic. With Colin Farrell, Edward Norton, Jon Voight, and Noah Emmerich. Also on Blu-ray. Rent it.

RocknRolla
As a friend surmised, Guy Ritchie returns to form with another fast-paced criminal misandventure. Ritchie at top form is still not my favorite cup of tea -- this movie slid out of my memory as painlessly as it went in -- but Ritchie die-hards and fans of Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Thandie Newton, and incomprehensible slang can satisfy their curiosity. Also on Blu-ray. Rent it.

Hulk Vs.
Two new animated features: Hulk vs. Wolverine and Hulk vs. Thor. Let me repeat: Hulk vs. Wolverine! Hulk vs. Thor! Hulk vs. Wolverine! Hulk vs. Thor! Total running time: 78 minutes. Also on Blu-ray. Rent it.

Also out: Closing the Ring (the one with Mischa Barton naked), College, Lakeview Terrace, The Lucky Ones, Open Season 2, The Rocker, and Sharks in Venice.

After the jump: Indies on DVD, New on Blu-ray (Bourne!), and Collector's Corner.

Back in April of 2007, Girls Rock! premiered at Toronto's Hot Docs Film Festival. I was fortunate enough to be at that screening and was blown away -- not because it was a shocking, gut-wrenching film that tugs at your emotions or a perfect example of cinema, but because, like the title suggests, it was about girls rocking. And it reveled in it. These girls had problems, which we got to witness, but they also had crazy strength and wonderful energy. They were the sort that I hoped would bring a new era to girl-centric cinema.

Unfortunately, that hasn't come quite yet. (I hold out hope!) But finally -- you can check out the trailer above, and see the film for yourself on DVD when the film hits shelves on January 27. The documentary, which follows girls attending The Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls, shows how kids from 8-18 learn how to write songs, play guitars, and rock in just one week. One week! The girls rock -- both in the music they create and the strength they possess, so check it out!

Little bits for you:

• I'm happy to report that Hal Hartley's Fay Grim is finally getting released this May. The film, which premiered at TIFF, was reviewed by Kim Voynar last September. I was able to see it as well, and the movie was so very worth it. Film Ick and a number of other sites had rumblings of a trailer online, but it is locked. However, assistant editor Kyle Gilman's film reel isn't, and the first 2 minutes are Parker Posey in all her Grim trailer glory. I almost forgot how much I liked the movie until I saw the trailer. It's fun, quirky and has Posey at her strange best. There's even an explosion in there, if you need something less wordy and more flashy.
• The above title is not a typo. This bit is about Noearsbunnies (direct translation of Keinohrhasen), the latest German film from actor/director Til Schweiger. You might remember him from Keira Knightly's King Arthur, when he played Cynric, or perhaps you've seen his last written/produced/direct/star feature, Barfuss. Schweiger will also star in movie, which is a romantic comedy about a womanizer who has to do community service in a kindergarten. His female co-star will be Nora Tschirner, who plays a teacher at the school. While the plot sounds run-of-the-mill, I'm interested in what inspired this title...
• I've got one more trailer to wrap this up -- Girls Rock, a documentary that is headed to Hot Docs this Spring. Forget Hanson and all their bubbly pop annoyingness, this film is about The Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls that lets young girls rock out and gain self-esteem in the process. The girls are cute, real and varied. On one level, it looks fun and terribly cute to see young girls composing and performing hard music, on another, it's great to just see real girls doing more than mainstream media would lead us to believe. You can rock out with them in the trailer here, or on their MySpace.