Dave Franco's Directorial Debut 'The Rental' Will Make You Rethink Booking Your Next Airbnb
Quick Take: Dave Franco's psychological thriller is a paranoid traveler's nightmare, prepare for your heart rate to skyrocket.
Dave Franco wants you to rethink your summer vacation plans. Or at least, prepare you for the worst: your rental is not as safe as you think it is. In his impressive directorial debut, The Rental, Franco and his co-writer Joe Swanberg have not so subtly planted the seed that privacy is not guaranteed. Using classic horror tropes to tell a modern story, this unsettling thriller is a paranoid traveler's nightmare and perhaps a much needed cautionary tale that we should all be double-checking our next Airbnb for cameras and wire-taps.
What was supposed to be a celebratory weekend getaway to the Oregon coast turns into the trip from hell when two couples make a sinister discovery in their house rental. A couple of red flags appear when married couple Charlie (Dan Stevens) and Michelle (Alison Brie), Charlie's brother Josh (Jeremey Allen White), and Josh's girlfriend Mina (Sheila Vand) first arrive at the house but things just seem odd rather than illegal. Charlie and Mina also have a business relationship that, not surprisingly, has led to some sexual tension and predictable mishaps. Their one-time indiscretion risks getting exposed when Mina discovers a camera in the house, threatening their secret and ruining the lives of their partner's and themselves. Unfortunately for them, this discovery is just the tip of the iceberg, as the "oh shit" moments grow bigger, more invasive, and even deadly.
A fantastic ensemble cast and a clever script gave me the chills, although I initially felt unsatisfied with some of the film's ambiguity. It seemed like an easy way out of an otherwise well-executed and sticky plot. But as the credits rolled, something clicked. Ambiguity and anonymity are just as much of a threat -if not more so- than an "obvious" villain. Feeling on-edge without the ability to grasp hold of something tangible is an awful feeling, as seen in the mental unraveling of the protagonists. The psychological effects from The Rental will fall outlast the instant gratification of shock and awe horror films, making Franco's first foray into the director's chair a success.
Distributed by IFC Films, The Rental is available on VOD and over 250 drive-ins and theaters. For more information, click here.
'The Painted Bird' is Unbearable to Watch. That's Why It's Essential That You Do.
Quick Take: The Painted Bird is an evocative, painfully stunning cinematic achievement that celebrates the perseverance of the human spirit (if you're brave enough to watch it).
The only thing I knew prior to watching The Painted Bird was its infamous receptions from both the 2019 Venice and Toronto Film Festivals. At TIFF, The Hollywood Reporter claimed 40 people left the 522-seat theater during its nearly 3-hour runtime. I'm here to tell you that, after having watched the controversial historic drama based on Jerzy Kosiński's brutal novel, the film lives up to its shocking reputation.
Set in a desolate part of Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe during WWII, The Painted Bird follows a young Jewish boy (Petr Kotlár) as he singularly navigates through horrible circumstances in order to find safety with his family. After the death of his elderly caretaker, who was safeguarding him from the hideousness of the War, the boy is left to fend for himself as he bounces around from person to person, almost all of whom take advantage of his youth, body, naivete, and heritage. As one can imagine, the more the story unfolds, the harder it is to stomach, especially when you think about the fact that this narrative isn't that farfetched from the reality of those times.
Masterful in its composition and performances yet nearly unbearable to watch, The Painted Bird sees a possum set on fire, human eyeballs scooped out with a spoon, and sodomy with a wine bottle, and that's all just within the first hour. Director Václav Marhoul places heavy emphasis on the atrocity and brutality towards this young boy to show a mentality that despite how feeble and vulnerable one is, if he is "different," he is "worthless." Shooting on 35mm black and white film at a 1:2.35 aspect ratio offers a richly emotive format that brings out the film's strongest qualities: the performances. The slimness of dialogue is more than made up for in the close-ups and layered performances from newcomer Petr Kotlár and veteran actors Stellan Skarsgaard, Harvey Keitel, and Udo Kier. The Painted Bird is an evocative, painfully stunning cinematic achievement that celebrates the perseverance of the human spirit.
Distributed by IFC Films, The Painted Bird is available on VOD this Friday, July 17th.
'The Sunlit Night' Sees Jenny Slate Confronting the Crossroads of Life in Unending Daylight
Quick Take: Jenny Slate's dry humor and natural charisma make The Sunlit Night an enjoyable watch with a deep impact if you go in with an open mind.
The last time a movie was set in a Nordic country where the sun never set, a violent Pagan cult (and jilted girlfriend) wreaked havoc in horror master Ari Aster's Midsommar. Eternal sunshine seems like the perfect breeding ground for confronting demons and facing the unknown. In director David Wnendt's The Sunlit Night, Jenny Slate plays a struggling artist who faces her own personal horror on the idyllic Scandinavian coast– the fear of not living up to her full potential.
Francis (Slate) is struggling. Fresh off of a breakup, her sister announces she's engaged, her parents announce their plans to divorce, and the Japanese artist-in-residency program she dreamt about falls through. With nothing to lose, she accepts an apprenticeship with Nils (Fridtjov Såheim), a straightlaced Norwegian master painter in the Northern islands of Norway. Meeting his expectations proves challenging, but it's the tough love Francis needs to push her out of her comfort zone. Throughout her time on the island, she also meets an eccentric ex-pat who has dedicated his life to Viking re-enactments (Zach Galifianakis) and a New Yorker (Alex Sharp) who has come to give his father a proper and historical Norwegian burial. Through all of their interactions, Frances comes to realize that in death, and in this case the death of her expectations, is where true freedom lives.
Jenny Slate's dry humor and natural charisma make The Sunlit Night an enjoyable watch with a deep impact if you go in with an open mind. The Norwegian landscape is jaw-droppingly beautiful and juxtaposed nicely with the film's soundtrack curated by music supervisor Dan Wilcox. The Sunlit Night, based on the book of the same name by author Rebecca Dinerstein Knight, played at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.
Quiver Distribution will release The Sunlight Night on VOD this Friday, 7/17.
Spend Your Summer Nights at the Tribeca Drive-In
One of the perks of living in Los Angeles is the summer movie season when we roll out the blankets, pour a glass of wine, and watch films under the stars. If you've ever been to Cinespia or similar outdoor screening events, you know that it's a feeling unlike any other. While the 2020 summer season is undoubtedly still in flux (will Tenet come out or not?), Tribeca has curated a one of a kind experience with their summer Drive-In series.
Throughout the entirety of July, the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena will be hosting multiple films per day, ranging from cult classics like The Goonies and Do The Right Thing to last week's latest NEON release Palm Springs. In addition to the films, the series will feature some surprise elements including special filmmaker and talent introductions, live stand-up comedy, new teasers of upcoming releases, and more.
Incredible lineup aside, Tribeca is also using this platform as a way to give back to the community during these monumental times. For every ticket purchased, a percentage of proceeds will be donated to the Black Lives Matter organization, and by engaging vendors and restaurants across the country, the Tribeca Drive-In series is truly a community effort that will help support local businesses in communities nationwide.
Programming schedule and ticketing information can be found at www.tribecafilm.com.
See you at the movies, from 6ft away, of course!
Tribeca Drive-In Series Lineup
JOHN WICK – Thursday, July 16 at 04:15 PM
THE DARK KNIGHT – Thursday, July 16 at 07:45 PM
MEAN GIRLS - Friday, July 17 at 05:30 PM
SUPERBAD – Friday, July 17 at 08:45 PM
THE GOONIES – Saturday, July 18 at 12:30 PM
BE WATER – Saturday, July 18 at 04:30 PM
STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON – Saturday, July 18 at 08:00 PM
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS – Sunday, July 19 at 04:30 PM
WONDER WOMAN – Sunday, July 19 at 08:00 PM
MEET THE PARENTS – Thursday, July 23 at 05:00 PM
MEET THE FOCKERS – Thursday, July 23 at 08:30 PM
GIRLS TRIP – Friday, July 24 at 05:00 PM
BRIDESMAIDS – Friday, July 24 at 08:30 PM
THE LEGO MOVIE – Saturday, July 25 at 01:00 PM
INSIDE MAN – Saturday, July 25 at 05:00 PM
DO THE RIGHT THING - Saturday, July 25 at 08:15 PM
PEE-WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE - Sunday, July 26 at 05:30 PM
BEETLEJUICE – Sunday, July 26 at 08:45 PM
The Sound! The Color! 'We Are Little Zombies' Will Get All Of Your Senses Tingling
Bursting at the brim with color and sound, director Makoto Nagahisa's debut feature is one of the most imaginative and fun films of the year.
It's no surprise why We Are Little Zombies won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Originality at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Like an addictive video game come to life and bursting at the brim with color and sound, We Are Little Zombies is one of the most imaginative and fun films of the year. The protagonists may be dead inside, but I have never felt more alive than after watching this film.
We Are Little Zombies tells the story of four orphaned Japanese teens Hikari (Keita Ninomiya), Ikuko (Sena Nakajima), Ishi (Satoshi Mizuno), and Takemura (Mondo Okumura) who are void of emotion. It doesn't matter that their parents died in horrible ways - car crash, suicide, fire, and murder - the teens have never grieved, never even shed a tear. They decide that their new normal, which is now without authority, is a lifestyle they enjoy and with their newfound sense of freedom, decide to form a pop-electro band. What else would one do?
The teens' nonchalant attitudes give the film its darkly humorous energy and combined with the technically advanced camera movements and overly decadent and intricate sets, We Are Little Zombies is a cinematic feat. It's like Edgar Wright's Scott Pilgrim vs the World or a Wes Anderson film on acid. Hats off to Makoto Nagahisa, who not only directed the film but is also credited as the screenwriter and contributed the music. I would love to spend a day inside his brain.
With a runtime of two hours, We Are Little Zombies borders on a style-induced overdose that can leave more unadventurous viewers with a slight hangover, but that's a risk worth taking.
Oscilloscope Laboratories with release the film this Friday, July 10th on VOD.
If You Miss Your Local Dive Bar, Watch 'Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets'
I remember going out to bars, oh how I took those nights for granted.
In this current COVID-19 world, the simple pleasure of making small talk with a bartender or cheers-ing with new friends are only fond memories now. Filling the cinematic void of going out to a bar is the Sundance selected Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets, a hidden gem that gives you the feeling of debauchery, togetherness, and nostalgia from the comfort of your couch (and best viewed with a Gin & Tonic in hand).
It's 10:59 AM and the Roaring 20s Cocktail Lounge in a Las Vegas strip mall is in full swing, bittersweetly celebrating their last day in business. A local favorite among misfits and loners, the dedicated patrons consider the dimly lit, smoke-filled bar their safe haven. Society may not accept them, but at Roaring 20s, they're loved for who they are. As day turns into night, the small talk among bartenders and customers turn into more drunken, heartfelt conversations as they pay homage to the friends and memories made throughout the bar's long history. People sharing their stories of vulnerability and uncertainties are not only relevant in this current moment, but it also taps into our universal, timeless desire for comfort. For a film about a dive bar, Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets is so much deeper than I expected.
Directed by Bill and Turner Ross, the reason why Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets is a hidden gem is because of its cinéma vérité style within the subject matter. This unconventional mumblecore is so believable, and it's ensemble cast so terrific, it's as if we're watching a documentary. At certain moments you can even see the cameraman's reflection in the bar's many mirrors, adding to the loose, docu-style. In other instances, you can see the lavalier mic attached to a character's shirt. I'm not sure if these sightings were intentional, but it works for this film.
The stale, sticky, smoked filled image of the Roaring 20s Cocktail Lounge brings back memories of a time pre-COVID-19 when a night out meant a night of possibility. But all good things must come to an end, and Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets is an uplifting ode to the good times. It was fun while it lasted.
Special nationwide virtual event screenings will be held for National Dive Bar Day today, July 8th, benefiting USBG Foundation's Bartender Emergency Assistance Program.
Utopia Films will release Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets on Friday, July 10th, via Alamo Drafthouse and others.
Herzog Reveals That You Can Literally Choose Your Family, in 'Family Romance, LLC'
Romance is a business in Werner Herzog's latest, Family Romance, LLC.
Inspired by the phenomenon of renting actors to act as stand-ins during important events in the lives of their clients, the real-life Japanese company Family Romance has capitalized on a very niche market. "Family rentals" sound insane – because they are – but Herzog humanizes this need for connection and compassion. In one scenario, a single mother rents a father, played by Family Romance's founder Yuichi Ishii, to have an ongoing relationship with her preteen daughter Mahiro (Mahiro Tanimoto). Mahiro never met her real father, and this gives her the opportunity to feel a father's love, even if it's fabricated. The intention behind this rental is sweet, but things become more unsettling when actors are hired to play paparazzi for a wannabe social media influencer looking for fame, or a rail worker renting a stand-in to accept a reprimanding lecture by his boss. The whole thing is so bizarre but we can't look away.
A self-proclaimed return to "his filmmaking as a young man," Family Romance, LLC has the aesthetic and authenticity of a documentary, it shocked me to discover that this is actually scripted. Leaning towards mumblecore, even. We're not getting any classic Herzog narration here or spontaneous moments, although it may feel like it, this film is pure fiction (although the human for hire agency is, in fact, very real). This directorial approach creates what feels like a documentary/soap opera hybrid, bringing up a mixture of emotions that range from intrigue to uneasiness to fascination.
Family Romance is in the business of creating illusions to make their clients' lives better. However, those lines become blurred when real emotions start to develop, and "acting the part" starts becoming more harmful than helpful. By the end of the film, Herzog begs the question: How much is "fake" sometimes necessary for human survival?
Now streaming on MUBI.
'John Lewis: Good Trouble' Highlights a Congressman's Life of Fighting For Civil Rights
It's hard for me to understand why anyone would want to go into politics; the corruption, power trips, and inflated egos seem like enough frustration to turn any sane person away.
But seeing pictures of a 21-year-old Bernie Sanders protesting at a civil rights demonstration in 1963, and a young John Lewis – the subject of this film – marching with Martin Luther King Jr. from Selma to Montgomery in 1965, reminds me that there are some people who get into politics for pure reasons: to fulfill a life-calling to ensure liberty and justice for all. Directed by Dawn Porter, John Lewis: Good Trouble is a fascinating documentary that acts as a highlight reel of the career of Democratic Congressman John Lewis.
You may know the 80-year-old civil rights activist from his fight to end voter suppression (or his viral "Happy" dance), but even if his name is unfamiliar, after watching this film, John Lewis is one name you'll never forget. John speaks to the camera as he recalls life-changing moments throughout his 60-year (and counting) political career. There are moments when he watches footage from the 1965 Selma march and his jaw drops – apparently, he has never seen some of these images before. It's a powerful moment made even stronger with original compositions from musician Tamar-kali. High ranking political players, including Hillary Clinton and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, discuss John's vital contributions to social activism and echo the sentiment that he's an effective leader because he's lived through harrowing racial injustice.
His dedication to fighting a cause bigger than himself is inspirational, especially at this very moment. Keep protesting, don't be afraid to get into a little "good trouble," and most importantly, register to vote.
Help Register Voters In Areas With Voter Suppression:
Magnolia Pictures and Participant will release John Lewis: Good Trouble on-demand this Friday, July 3.