06Currently watching: Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus (2010), dir. by Christopher Ray
It’s exactly as good as it sounds.
Trailer for Alps/Αλπεις (2011), dir. by Yorgos Lanthimos
Saw this the other night with my badd boy Chris at the Gene Siskel Film Center. As I just recently watched Lanthimos’s brilliant Dogtooth (also with my badd boy Chris), I immediately recognized Alps as not just a companion piece, but the other - albeit samely blackened and surreal - side of the same coin. I haven’t yet made time to do my write-up on Dogtooth, but I think I’ll make it a double and write about it side-by-side with Alps. I only wish I’d seen the former in theaters, as well - it was a sublime experience to see this sting of a film on a big screen with a mature and discerning audience (something I love about Siskel Center regs).
One thing I can comment on right now, though, is I’ve figured out what surrealism is. Of course I know and have known the definition, but to truly experience surrealism and understand it mentally, emotionally and even physically is, to me, elation. Lanthimos just gets it. Put our character - our ground and control - into a world that looks and sounds like our own, impose heavy social constructs upon this world involving (what we in “reality” recognize as) cardboard dialog and frigid interpersonal relationships, and have absolutely nobody acknowledge that anything is even remotely strange. Ever. In fact, have our main character be so detached that even when she chooses to rebel, she only further alienates us as the audience as she becomes conspicuous to those around her.
Is it chilly in here, or is that just my heart?
I honestly haven’t had such a visceral experience in a movie theater in I don’t know how long. If you see that Alps playing at your local moviehouse, please go see it. I want to hear what you all think after I write my review/analysis.
First on my go-see-at-the-theatres list:
Pariah (2011), written and directed by Dee Rees
Read the synopsis here.
Paradise Lost changed my life a little when I watched it in high school. What does it really mean, to be judged by our peers? And what if one’s life is on the line? How are we okay with our government ordering individuals’ deaths, often on impatient whims, often without evidence? After almost 18 years, the West Memphis 3 were released from prison in August of 2011, but are still not “free”. This documentary series is as much a semi-biography of Damian Echols, Jessie Miskelly and Jason Baldwin as it is a hard observation of our justice system.
Catch the premiere of Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory (2011), dir. by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky tonight on HBO, and/or read Ebert’s advance review of it by clicking above.
Trailer for one of three documentaries I watched last night:
Pearl Jam Twenty (2011), dir. by Cameron Crowe
Only recently did I start actually listening to Pearl Jam, and while it came as a surprise to me that I actually do like them, I was even more surprised at how absolutely terrifying Pearl Jam’s explosive rise to fame really was for the band. This documentary features personal dialogs with each band mate - including the megadreamydreamy Chris Cornell - supplemented by tons of archival footage of Pearl Jam dating back to the band’s earliest days.
I’ve noticed, after watching a couple band documentaries of grounded groups who’ve gotten big real quick (Wilco, Sigur Ros), that there is a look that one seems to adopt after their career becomes its own entity beyond their control. Jeff Tweedy and Eddie Vedder both communicate with very quiet gestures that no matter what they do, complete control of their art is now impossible. They carry the emotional weight of people who have loved them, hired them, helped them get noticed and get signed, followed them, stalked them, tried to kill them, killed themselves, killed eachother. It’s bittersweet, and really made me think about why “getting famous” is always the end-all when really the apex of one’s art comes from the meaning the artist finds in their own work.
This documentary’s obviously great for any Pearl Jam fan who wants a more personal take on the band’s evolution, but it’s also a solid rock doc in general. Highlights definitely include the Ticketmaster trial, the hair (oh my god, all that hair), and learning about the phases through which the members of Pearl Jam constantly changed and bettered themselves as a group. Highly recommend; catch it under Netflix’s “Critically-Acclaimed Documentaries” section.
Hafu is a film about the experiences of mixed-Japanese living in Japan.
Japan is changing. Meet the new generation of mixed-Japanese.Check out more about the upcoming film here: hafufilm.com
Also, film needs donations. Help if you can!
Japan’s long been one of my desired destinations for a total immersion culture study. The concept of Hafu (a loan-word from the English word “half”) is not only meant to explore this phenomenon occurring in what once was an almost completely homogenized society, but to also give us insight into how we take “mixed race” for granted. I’m pumped to see how this turns out. And if you have the means to donate, click the link above!
(via iscaro)
Totally old news, but I recently stumbled upon this and thought it was way cool. What do you do when you’re a live-action director and you agree to direct an animation? Play to your strengths. From what I’ve heard so far, the audio in this movie is awesome. I love the idea of recording sound on a soundstage with full cast and blocking - it not only allows the voice actors (who, let’s be honest, are always typecasted top-bill screen actors these days) to move around and really physically commit to their characters, it allows for proximity and spatial relationships between the actors themselves.
Behind-the-scenes clip of Rango (2011), dir. by Gore Verbinski
I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT WAIT TO SEE THIS. Ever since I read about it a year ago I’ve been so curious as to who these characters are. I love watching Sean Penn and Frances McDormand so much.
The premise, though, seems pretty ridiculous.
Teaser for This Must Be The Place (2011), dir. by Paolo Sorrentino
Trailer for Easy A (2010), dir. by Will Gluck
I was really against watching this movie for a while because - without knowing what the story was actually about - I assumed the point of the film was to draw a strong divide between the “slutty” girls and the “one of the guys” girls (and imply which of the two you definitely DON’T wanna be). Obviously, I was wrong. Gonna try to watch this soon.
Update: my initial reaction to this trailer was “oh, awesome, a legit cultural critique on slut-shaming!”, but after watching it again I worry that it actually isn’t at all. Back to feeling apprehensive.
A behind-the-scenes featurette on HBO’s new, very interesting looking series, Game Of Thrones, premiering this month.
From HBO’s official press release:
“Based on the bestselling fantasy book series “A Song of Ice and Fire,” by George R.R. Martin, the new series GAME OF THRONES launches its ten-episode season SUNDAY, APRIL 17 (9:00-10:05 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO. David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are executive producers and writers of the show, which was shot at the Paint Hall Studio in Belfast, Northern Ireland, as well as at various locations in Northern Ireland and Malta. The production received funding from Northern Ireland Screen and the Malta Film Commission.
GAME OF THRONES follows kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars and noblemen as they vie for power. As the series opens, King Robert Baratheon, who is married to Cersei Lannister of the wealthy and corrupt Lannisters, asks Lord Eddard “Ned” Stark to come south and help run his kingdom after the questionable death of his right-hand man. Meanwhile, there is a threat to the throne from the east by the exiled teenage Princess Daenerys and her brother Viserys, whose family ruled the Kingdoms for many years before their bloody ouster. And there are rumors of strange things happening at the edge of the Kingdoms, north of the Wall, where Jon Snow, Ned’s bastard son, goes to be part of the brotherhood of the Night’s Watch, which is sworn to protect the Kingdoms.”
Like I did with my Walking Dead nod, I’m going to make this an exception to my films-only format because of this series’ cinematic quality. Also, they’re releasing tons of behind-the-scenes videos which, all film lessons aside, are damn cool and super-relevant to some of the content we’ve been producing for MashPlant.com.
I hope this series is as awesome as it looks.
