Quentin Tarantino's "Inglorious Bastards"

Featured Capsule: "Anvil: The Story of Anvil"

You don't have to give two cents about Heavy Metal music to appreciate Sacha Gervasi's joyous and touching documentary about charismatic Canadian musicians Steve "Lips" Kudlow and Robb Reiner who, for 35 years, have held onto their dream of making it big with their rock band Anvil. Credited with influencing a slew of successful hard rock acts including Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax, Anvil's success peaked in the mid-'80s when they played for huge crowds with the likes of Bon Jovi. The movie starts out with Lips working his day job catering food to Canadian public schools and dreaming of spending his nights performing in local dive bars for a few fiercely loyal fans. Lips and Robb look identical enough to be the biological brothers that their highly emotional relationship reflects. A European tour, albeit a mismanaged one, puts the band's musical skill and quirky personalities on display in candid scenes that inspire more than a few laughs. When a club owner in Poland refuses to pay for the band's performance, Lips grabs the unscrupulous guy by his lapels and threatens him with real bodily harm. It's an hilarious moment that reflects the way musicians all over the world are mistreated and is a testament to Lips' personal sense of ethics. The band recovers from the financially unsatisfying tour to record their 13th album "This is Thirteen" with Chris Tsangarides, the producer of their debut album "Metal on Metal," and discovers a new meaning of success. 'Anvil! The Story of Anvil" is an unforgettable documentary about loyalty, values, and an undying commitment to music.
Not Rated. 90 mins. (A) (Five Stars)

March 20 V-Log

Cole Smithey on March 26, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Stooges Surprise

What do Sean Penn, Jim Carrey and Benicio Del Toro all have in commom?

The actors are scheduled to play the Three Stooges in the Farrelly Brothers' written and directed feature-length production "The Three Stooges" (due out in 2010).

Penn will play Larry, Carrey will play Curly and Deo Toro will play Moe. Carrey is due to gain 40 pounds for the role of Jerome "Curly" Howard. Now if only the Farrellys could get Iggy Pop to play the butler.

Anne Hathaway to Play Judy Garland on Broadway and in Film

Gerald Clarke's Judy Garland biography "Get Happy" will provide grist for a Broadway stage production and a movie biopic, both of which will star Anne Hathaway as Little Miss Leather Lungs. The Weinstein Company is due to back both productions. The former Disney girl is also scheduled to perform on stage in Central Park's Free Shakespeare in the Park production of "Twelfth Night" later this summer.

Disney and Pixar's "Up" Opens the Cannes Film Festival

The upcoming 3-D animated comedy "Up," featuring Ed Asner as the voice of a 78-year-old man who ties balloons to his house and takes off for South America, will open the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. The premiere will mark the first time in the festival's 62 years that an animated, much less 3-D, film has opened the fest. The festival runs from May 13-24, and "Up" will open in wide release in the states on May 29.

Featured Capsule: The Escapist

Director/co-writer Rupert Wyatt deconstructs the typical prison escape story form to dramatically successful effect with the help of a strong ensemble cast. Brian Cox gives a compact yet dynamic performance as Frank, a long-term British penitentiary prisoner motivated by the recent near death overdose of his 21-year-old daughter to plot an urgent escape with the help of four other prisoners. Lenny (Joseph Fiennes), Brodie (Liam Cunningham), Batista (Seu Jorge), and Lacey (Dominic Cooper) are the inmates whose particular skills come into play during the daring prison break. Wyatt jumpstarts the movie with the getaway already in progress, cutting between foreshadowing events, to create a lean storyline unfettered by any tempo-dulling exposition. Benjamin Wallfisch's and Lol Hammond's percussive musical score solidifies the ever expanding and contracting suspense that crescendos with a plot twist that gives the film's title its true meaning.
(IFC Films) Not Rated. 103 mins. (B+) (Four Stars)

"500 Days of Summer" Opens This Year's Nashville Film Festival

Zooey Deschanel's and Joseph Gordon-Levitt's new romantic comedy "500 Days of Summer," from director Marc Webb, will officially open the 2009 Nashville Film Festival (April 16-23). Al Gore is scheduled to present the Reel Current Award to a film that provides exceptional insight into a contemporary global issue. Visit the festival site at: www.nashvillefilmfestival.org

March 13 V-Log

Cole Smithey on March 19, 2009 in Film | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

The Middle East International Film Festival Announces 2009 Dates

Abu Dhabi, 17th March 2009: A month after returning from the 59th Berlin International Film Festival, the Middle East International Film Festival executives have announced the new dates for the 2009 Festival. To be held at the Emirates Palace, the third edition of MEIFF will take place from October 8-17 and will have a number of exciting projects that will be announced over the next few months and which promise to bring an even greater slate of films to the UAE’s audiences. The call for entries for this year’s edition will open in May at a press conference to be held during the Cannes Film Festival.

MEIFF 2008 saw several changes to its program that will continue on in the third year of the festival. The ten days of screenings and events in had 182 screenings shown in five venues across Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE and saw an increase in audience interest with 50,000 tickets purchased.

Several initiatives were undertaken and introduced during the film festival in 2008 including Cinema Verite to raise awareness of socially conscious cinema with a star studded presence including, Jane Fonda, Susan Sarandon, Catherine Denuve and Carole Bouquet all attending to lend their support for the initiative. The Muslims on Screen and Television (MOST) initiative was launched during MEIFF in conjunction with the Brookings Institution at Georgetown University, Unity Productions Foundation, Gallup, and One Nation for All. The project aims to improve the image of Muslims in Hollywood by connecting production studios and executives with experts in Islam as well as hosting high-profile panel discussions aimed at the nature and importance of the project with film industry executives including Howard Gordan, Executive Producer of the TV series ‘24’ and Jim Berk from Participant Films.

MEIFF also projected a focus on the Arab film industry launching two initiatives, The Research Circle and MEIFF Book Conferences. The Research circle hosted a number of industry experts who presented their findings on the current state of the film industry in various Arab Countries. MEIFF also commissioned four books to be written about the film industry, two of which were translated from English to Arabic.

The 2008 Festival also saw the premieres of several films including seven Arab films from renowned Arab filmmakers and featuring the best talent in the region. For the first time, there was also a section of the festival concentrating on Environmental Films as well as a showcase of 16 hours of documentaries highlighting the 60 years since the division of Palestine in the retrospective program.

The prestigious Black Pearl Awards also returned in the second edition with the total prize money exceeding $1 million in cash in the categories of fiction, documentary, shorts and student films with the Best Narrative prize going to the film Disgrace by Steve Jacobs, an Australian-South African co-production receiving prize money of $200,000.

MEIFF, held in Abu Dhabi, is an annual event and a project of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH). The Festival is a cultural event dedicated to bringing a diverse slate of international films and programs to the community and introducing filmmakers from around the world to the resources of the region.

Che Underground at The Casbah in S.D.

Tribeca Film Festival 2009: Restored and Rediscovered

This year's Restored and Rediscovered series sheds new light on classic stories that shaped the first century of cinema.

This year's Restored/Rediscovered section explores and celebrates screened or newly-restored versions of films that shaped the first century of cinema. This year, the presentations include Inherit the Wind, a still-relevant, explosive 1960s courtroom drama by Stanley Kramer that pitted Creationists against Evolutionists; a restored print of Variety, the sexually-charged, controversial 1984 indie by Bette Gordon that challenged established notions about feminism and pornography; and a screening of The Boys in the Band, a seminal piece of queer cinema. In conjunction with the latter, the Festival will present a special work-in-progress screening of—and discussion around—Making the Boys, a documentary about the genesis of the film (and the play that preceded it).

David Kwok, Director of Programming, explains, “Restored/Rediscovered brings the cinema of the past into the present. We hope that cinephiles and long-time fans of these works will enjoy seeing them again as they should be seen—on the big screen—and new audiences will have the chance to discover them in the proper environment. In addition to two well-known classics, of particular note this year is our presentation of two works from Bette Gordon: one past and one present. A newly restored print of her influential Variety screens in this section, while her newest work—Handsome Harry—plays in Narrative Competition. She's also featured in Blank City, Celine Danhier’s documentary about independent cinema in NYC.”

Variety
Directed by Bette Gordon, written by Kathy Acker
(USA, 1984)

In Bette Gordon's newly restored, pioneering indie narrative about voyeurism from a female perspective, a young woman (Sandy McLeod) works as a ticket taker in a porn theater, and her curiosity leads her to shadow a male patron. This film features an unparalleled collaborative team of downtoTFF '09: Restored and Rediscovered
This year's Restored and Rediscovered series sheds new light on classic stories that shaped the first century of cinema.

This year's Restored/Rediscovered section explores and celebrates screened or newly-restored versions of films that shaped the first century of cinema. This year, the presentations include Inherit the Wind, a still-relevant, explosive 1960s courtroom drama by Stanley Kramer that pitted Creationists against Evolutionists; a restored print of Variety, the sexually-charged, controversial 1984 indie by Bette Gordon that challenged established notions about feminism and pornography; and a screening of The Boys in the Band, a seminal piece of queer cinema. In conjunction with the latter, the Festival will present a special work-in-progress screening of—and discussion around—Making the Boys, a documentary about the genesis of the film (and the play that preceded it).

David Kwok, Director of Programming, explains, “Restored/Rediscovered brings the cinema of the past into the present. We hope that cinephiles and long-time fans of these works will enjoy seeing them again as they should be seen—on the big screen—and new audiences will have the chance to discover them in the proper environment. In addition to two well-known classics, of particular note this year is our presentation of two works from Bette Gordon: one past and one present. A newly restored print of her influential Variety screens in this section, while her newest work—Handsome Harry—plays in Narrative Competition. She's also featured in Blank City, Celine Danhier’s documentary about independent cinema in NYC.”
 

Making the Boys in the Band
Directed by William Friedkin (The Boys in the Band) and Crayton Robey (Making the Boys), and written by Matt Crowley (The Boys in the Band)
(USA)

In commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, we are pleased to present two programs celebrating the seminal film The Boys in the Band, a cultural watershed that still resonates today. Join us for a free screening of the 1970 film—directed by William Friedkin and written by Mart Crowley, based on his groundbreaking play that debuted one year before Stonewall. (The Boys in the Band print courtesy of CBS Broadcasting, Inc.)

We also welcome to the Festival a special work-in-progress version of Making the Boys, directed by Crayton Robey. This documentary features the many people involved with the original stage play and film, including Crowley and Dominick Dunne, as well as Edward Albee, Robert Wagner and Paul Rudnick. After the screening there will be a discussion with Robey, playwright/screenwriter Mart Crowley, and other special guests.

 
Inherit the Wind
Directed by Stanley Kramer, written by Nedrick Young, Harold Jacob Smith
(USA, 1960)

Nearly a half-century ago, an all-star cast (including Spencer Tracy, Fredric March, and Gene Kelly) and director brought this fictionalized version of the infamous 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial to the big screen. Join us as we revisit this modern classic in recognition of Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday as well as the 150th anniversary of the publication of his seminal (and to some, still controversial) On the Origin of Species. Sponsored by Alfred P Sloan Foundation.wn artists from the early 1980s, including composer John Lurie, cinematographer Tom DeCillo, writer Kathy Acker, photographer Nan Goldin, and actor Spalding Gray. Variety was shot on location in New York City at the now bygone landmarks of the Variety Theatre, Fulton Fish Market, and Yankee Stadium, as well as an edgier incarnation of Times Square.

March 6 V-Log

Cole Smithey on March 12, 2009 in Film | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Featured Capsule: "Three Monkeys" ("Uc Maymun")

On first sight a strong contender for the Palme d’Or, Turkish director/co-writer Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s ("Les Climats") film is about a father, mother, and son caught in a web of corruption, betrayal, and murder makes thoughtful use of its see no, hear no, speak no evil, metaphor. Troubles begin when Servet (Ercan Kesal) an ambitious politician kills a pedestrian at night with his car and bribes his regular driver Eyup (played by popular Turkish folk singer Yavuz Bingol) to take responsibility and serve the nine-month jail sentence that comes with it. Eyup’s lazy teenage son Ismael (Ahmet Rifat Sungar) talks his mother Hacer (Hatice Aslan) into requesting an advance on the bribe from Servet, and the family spirals down a self-perpetrating path of depravity. This sparsely-told story speaks volumes with a cinematic poetry that you would expect to find at Cannes. "Three Monkeys" could just as easily have won the Palme last year.

Not Rated, 109 mins. (A) (Five Stars)

Can you guess the title of my upcoming Classic Film Pick?

Martin Scorsese called this John M. Stahl movie "a film noir in color."