27 May 12
Someday I’ll actually go to Cannes but until then I’ll continue to watch from the sidelines and pick the handful of movies I’ll see when they’re eventually released. And honestly, most of the lineup usually ends up playing at the New York Film Festival in the fall.
1. Killing Them Softly Brad Pitt stars as a mob enforcer in this ensemble thriller from filmmaker Andrew Dominik (“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”). More than just your standard genre fare, The Playlist says, “Brilliant and angry ‘Killing Them Softly’ is the anti-thriller for our times.”
2. Sightseers After “Kill List” pretty much blew my mind last year, I’ve been extremely curious as to what Brit helmer Ben Wheatley does next. Instead of following his cult chiller with another frightfest, he decided to make a dark comedy about a couple gone hitchhiking. The Playlist says, it’s “a pitch-black comedy made with skill, will and brains.”
3. Holy Motors Pegged by many as the best of the fest, this French WTF film follows a day in the life of a mysterious man riding in a limo, who stops to ‘become’ different characters along the way. Yeah, it sounds pretty out there but comparisons have been made to David Lynch’s masterpiece “Mulholland Drive” which definitely piques my interest. Just watch the trailer.
4. Lawless Tom Hardy and Shia Labeouf star as bootlegging brothers in this 1931 set western, which marks the third collaboration for writer/composer Nick Cave and director John Hillcoat (“The Proposition,” “The Road”). Ensemble cast includes Guy Pearce, Gary Oldman, Mia Wasikowska and Jessica Chastain and contains “violence coming in Hillcoat’s typically unsparing bursts throughout.”
5. On The Road Sam Riley (excellent in the Joy Division biopic “Control”), Garret Hedlund (the unfortunate “Tron: Legacy”), Kristen Stewart and Viggo Mortensen star in Walter Salles (“The Motorcycle Diaries”) long anticipated adaptation of the “un-filmable” novel by Jack Kerouac.
More: Rust & Bone, Cosmopolis, Antiviral, Amour, Mud.
cannes
film
listomania
23 May 12
21 May 12
16 May 12
There are Wes Anderson haters, Wes Anderson apologists and then there are those people who are correct in thinking that Anderson was at one time one of the most exciting and unique filmmakers working but these days he seems to be as much of a parody as he is an director. Sadly, his latest “Moonrise Kingdom,” shows he has no interest in proving otherwise. (Please keep in mind this is coming from somebody who willing wrote up a 2200+ word essay on the trailer.) Set in 1965 - though one puzzles to imagine why, since it doesn’t seem any more period specific than his other features - the story concerns two 12 year old’s: Sam Shakusky (Jared Gilman) and Suzy (Kara Hayward) who run away to be together on a small island off the coast of New England. The film opens with the camera panning all throughout the Bishop household, laying out a geography that would basically prove to be useless later in the film. The opening of “Panic Room” does the same thing except it does it for the express purpose of establishing the spatial relation of the rooms which becomes important later in the story. This camerawork just wants to draw attention to itself.
After an introduction that establishes all of the major townspeople - Scout Master Ward (Edward Norton), Police Captain Sharp (Bruce Willis) and Suzy’s parents Laura (Frances McDormand) and Walt (Bill Murray) - we’re finally introduced to our young lovers. After a brief flashback (the “What kind of bird are you?” shown in the trailers) the two set off on their adventure. There are fleeting moments that capture the awkwardness of adolescence and infatuation of young love but for the most part those emotions are buried. Anderson has lost his grip on character, story and sadly even humor. The adults are all posturing and the kids do their best line readings delivering dialogue that is neither realistic for that age nor as clever as it had ought to be to justify the stylization. To steal a page from the Red Letter Media critique of the “Star Wars” prequels, it would be difficult to describe the personality of one of the characters in “Moonrise Kingdom” without describing what they look like or what their profession is. They’re all window dressing.
We’re told that Willis’ sheriff is dumb but we’re never shown anything in his character that leads us to this conclusion other than the dialogue. And because the characterizations are so thin, there’s no real catharsis here or scene that packs the emotional punch of Ritchie’s attempted suicide in ‘Tenenbaums’ or Max’s rejection in ‘Rushmore.’ Despite all the stylistic trappings of the earlier films, there was still real emotion there and moments that cut through the arch humor. Anderson proves to be his own worst enemy here, undercutting the intended emotions by not allowing anything to play realistically. And he also indulges some of his worst tendencies: Bob Balaban’s onscreen narrator (no doubt cribbed from some French New Wave film or old TV commercial) is probably the most egregious. Despite the 60s setting Anderson has opted to stay mostly away from the pop music from the era that he’s used in all his other films, opting instead for some classical music and score by Alexandre Desplat that has traces of (a less sinister) “Suspiria.”
Future generations look back at the downward arc of Anderson’s film career and ask, ‘What happened?’ The answer is a simple one: he’s surrounded himself with Yes People, who confirm that everything he’s doing is great and that has allowed him to block out any criticism, even when it may be true or for his own benefit. This unchecked ego led to many of the great filmmakers of the ’70s to start making lesser films as because they started believing their own hype and it has ossified Anderson as a storyteller. Unfortunately as long as his fans continue to support him, it doesn’t look like any kind of wake up call is on the horizon for him. His idea of growing is simply changing the setting of his films (New York, Italy, India, the 60’s). And while you have to admire him for completely ignoring his detractors, one would have hoped that somewhere along the way he would have found his own way to evolve as so many others of his generation did. If it sounds like I’m being harsh, maybe I am. The movie is pleasant, certainly not a chore to get through, but for someone who has invested so much faith in a filmmaker who showed such promise, it’s an incredibly frustrating thing to watch idly.
film
review
moonrise kingdom
wes anderson
9 May 12
8 May 12
According to his site, “Dan Hipp has created illustration and design work for Cartoon Network, Real Simple, Wired, DC Comics, Image Comics, Random House, and others, while maintaining his zombie survival training in Southern California.” (via Badass Digest).
http://mrhipp.blogspot.com
Previously: Tyler Stout, Josh Cooley, Neil Kellerhouse, Stanley Chow, Lou Romano, Martin Ansin, Olly Moss, Sam Smith, Grzegorz Domaradzki, Phil Noto.
dan hipp
inspiration
artist
7 May 12
I can’t help but give some movies credit for having their heart in the right place because I’ll take an admirable failure any day of the week over a bland safe bet. “The Five-Year Engagement” marks yet another collaboration between co-writer/star Jason Segel and co-writer/director Nicholas Stoller who had previously scripted “The Muppets” and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” together. The latter film struck me as a very promising debut, straddling the line between your standard broad rom-com (with a cavalcade of wacky supporting characters each vying for attention) and the more interesting dramatic territory being pursued by producer Judd Apatow with his own directorial efforts. While the semi-sequel/spinoff “Get Him To The Greek” was maybe a step backwards for Stoller (who wrote and directed) - except for every scene featuring Elizabeth Moss, who was great - I had high hopes that their latest endeavor would deliver on their earlier promise.
The film features Segel as Tom, a San Francisco chef who meets and falls in love with Violet (Emily Blunt) at a Halloween party. Within a year the couple are engaged but what follows is an unforeseen set of obstacles that impede their trip to the altar. On the sidelines are Violet’s sister Suzie (Alison Brie, always wonderful) and Tom’s best man Alex (“Parks And Rec” scene-stealer Chris Pratt) who have a shotgun wedding after a one-night stand turns into an unexpected pregnancy. This couple’s unplanned and inexplicable happiness makes it more apparent for Tom and Violet that they may not know each other quite as well as they had hoped. Overcoming issues like relocating to freezing Michigan and putting your own career aside to support your partner begins to tear them apart as do temptations like professor Winton (Rhys Ifans). The story five years as plans change, beards are grown (and shaved) and the couple’s once rock-solid romance starts to deteriorate.
The supporting cast is large, filled with many funny men and women sometimes showing up for just a scene or two including Mindy Kaling, Kevin Hart, Kumail Nanjiani, Tim Heidecker, Molly Shannon, Chris Parnell and Brian Posehn among others. Unfortunately these sidebars combined with the loose shambling structure lead to an unfocused bloated midsection that I thought the film would never recover from. Somehow impossibly, they manage to bring things together for an ending that ties things up nicely (if improbably). While I have no doubt that Stoller and Segel were inspired by films like “Annie Hall” and “When Harry Met Sally,” both stories about complicated romances told over a long period of time, “The Five-Year Engagement” fails to reach those impossible heights. With just too many storylines/sidelines/side characters going on the film loses its focus and misses the mark on what I had hoped would be a step up for the duo. Enjoyable but a bit of a mess.
film
review
the five year engagement
4 May 12
Well, “The Avengers” is out today which must mean that Summer Movie Season is once again upon us. For the next 3 months multiplexes will be pummeled with all manner of potential blockbusters (with the occasional arthouse counterprogramming). While I’ve also seen a handful of Summer releases which I’d recommend including “The Avengers,” “Beasts Of The Southern Wild,” “The Loved Ones” and “Safety Not Guaranteed” there are still plenty of films left to go. Some I couldn’t be less interested in (“Battleship” “Men In Black 3” etc.), some I’m more curious about than anticipating and some I’m really, really looking forward to (see below!) Alright, May to August here we go!
1. The Dark Knight Rises (July 20) Christopher Nolan returns to finish his epic Bat-trilogy. I walked out of “The Dark Knight” thinking it was an impossible act to follow, but 4 years later I’m starting to think that if anyone can do it, Nolan can. Watch the trailer.
2. Prometheus (June 8) This quasi-prequel to “Alien” marks director Ridley Scott’s first foray into sci-fi in 30 years. It looks incredible but can it possibly live up to the trailer?
3. Moonrise Kingdom (May 25) Despite a decade of diminishing returns for the celebrated auteur I remain hopeful that his latest - a 60’s set tale featuring two 12 year old runaways - will mark a return to form. Wes Anderson, I just can’t quit you. Watch the trailer.
4. Brave (June 22) After punishing America last summer with a film whose name I dare not speak, Pixar look ready to apologize to us. I haven’t been blown away by the trailers but am still hoping that my blind faith in the studio will pay off with another classic.
5. The Amazing Spider-Man (July 3) It may seem too soon to push reset on the “Spider-Man” series but the 3rd entry was a “Batman & Robin”-level disaster that really called for it. Add Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone and some unexpected talent behind the camera and I’m definitely curious to see what they do with it. Watch the trailer.
6. ParaNorman (August 17) From the studio that brought you “Coraline” comes another dark and beautiful looking stop-motion tale. This one features a misunderstood boy who can speak to the dead. Watch the trailer, be convinced.
7. Snow White & The Huntsman (June 1) Though I’m not really interested in the whole fairy tale re-imaginings (started by Tim Burton’s odious “Alice In Wonderland”) I have to say I’ve been curious about this one since I saw some visuals last year at Comic-Con. Watch the trailer.
8. Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World (June 22) A dark comedy about the end of the world starring Steve Carell and Keira Knightley. Doesn’t that sound like something you would want to see? Watch the trailer.
9. Neighborhood Watch (July 27) Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill and “Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace“‘s Richard Ayoade in a Seth Rogen/Evan Goldberg scripted, Akiva Schaffer (Lonely Island) directed comedy about suburban dads who defend their neighborhood from aliens. Watch the trailer.
10. The Campaign Will Ferrell v. Zach Galifianakis as rival politicians. (August 10)
11. Ted (July 13) From the creator of “Family Guy.” But just watch the trailer.
12. The Dictator (May 16) The first trailer was very bad but the new one is much better!
13. Ruby Sparks (July 25) From the directors behind “Little Miss Sunshine” comes their long awaited sophomore feature which could be too precious or it could be cute.Watch the trailer.
Also: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (June 22), The Bourne Legacy (August 3), Dark Shadows (May 11), Magic Mike (June 29), Savages (July 6).
film
listomania
the dark knight
prometheus
moonrise kingdom
brave
the amazing spider-man
paranorman
snow white
seeking a friend for the end of the world
neighborhood watch
the campaign
ted
the dictator
ruby sparks
2 May 12
1 May 12
28 Apr 12
27 Apr 12
25 Apr 12
Compared to other mega-selling bands like say, The Beatles, the story behind Queen is not quite as widely known. Formed in London in the early ‘70s, the band was responsible for a slew of hits over the two decades or so, traversing genres from rock to opera to disco sometimes within the same song, before singer Freddie Mercury died of AIDS in the early ‘90s. Told through archival footage and interviews with two of the band’s principal members guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor (bassist John Deacon has quietly refused to participate in any of the band’s recent activities since retiring a few years ago), “Queen: Days Of Our Lives” is a compelling overview of the classic band’s career.
Check out my review at The Playlist/Indiewire
film
review
queen
tribeca film fest
