Review: 'Danny Says' is a Larger Than Life Look at Rock and Roll Legends
In 1980, The Ramones released their fifth studio album, End of the Century, which included the love ballad Danny Says, a departure from their typical sweaty rock and roll hits. Danny Says went on to become one of the band's more well-known songs and was covered by artists such as the Foo Fighters and Tom Waits. The titular "Danny" in the song, and in director Brendan Toller's documentary of the same name, is Danny Fields– the charismatically flamboyant manager of the Ramones, the self-appointed press agent of The Doors, and an all-around legend in the 1960's music scene.
"Danny Says" follows the career highs and lows of a self-proclaimed homosexual Jewish boy from Queens, NY, who dropped out of Harvard at 19, while pursuing a law degree. Danny had always gone against the grain as a young boy, after catching an impromptu performance of Nina Simone, he fell in love with the energy of live music. From there, he found himself rubbing shoulders with Andy Warhol and Edie Sedwick at the Silver Factory, to feeding drugs to Jim Morrison and signing The Stooges and MC5. Danny's live fast, play hard attitude makes for an incredible story which is made even more powerful with the abundance of archival footage.
Since some of the stories Danny tells don't have an actual video component, director Brendan Toller uses mixed media in the form of cartoons to better explain the narrative. This works so well on two levels; one, the cartoons are stylistically engaging and beautiful works of art even as stand-alone pieces. The second is the fact that these stories are so radically wild, the simpleness of the cartoon lets the audience focus on the story rather than get distracted by the visuals on screen. One story, in particular, is extremely effective with this directorial storytelling. Danny admits that while working at a magazine during the early part of his career, he was the one who put John Lennon's infamous comment about "The Beatles being more popular than Jesus" on the front cover, effectively responsible for the chaos that ensued which included album burning, Ku Klux Klan demonstrations, and radio boycotts all aimed at the most popular band of the times.
For as many interesting stories as Danny and the film tell, it can get a bit frustrating to battle the spotty audio quality. There are times when we are straining to hear past the interviewee's echo, and that can test the attention span. However, one should definitely look past those brief moments for maximum enjoyment. The film is very conversational in nature, similar to the 2013 documentary "Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon," giving the audience the opportunity to see Danny Fields in his true form, up close and personal.
Fans of the short-lived HBO series "Vinyl" will definitely enjoy seeing this real life Richie Finestra retell his stories of drug-infested parties and late night shenanigans with the biggest stars in rock and roll. In the beginning, Fields was just another Silver Factory party boy who thought he had made it big when Nico crashed his house party. To hear and see his evolution to one of the most influential names in rock and roll history is not only an entertaining watch, it is an essential one.
"Danny Says" is not rated. 104 minutes. Opening at Sundance Sunset Cinemas and VOD this Friday, September 30th.
Movie Stars Captured by Their Biggest Fan in 'The Lovers and the Despot'
In May of 2015, episode #556 of the podcast This American Life, host Ira Glass told a story about two South Korean nationals, both celebrities in the filmmaking world, and the harrowing tale of kidnapping and brainwashing at the hands of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il, and also their Hollywood-style escape. Listening to the podcast, my mind raced with thoughts– mostly second guessing every other sentence because there is no way this could be a true story, right? Directors Ross Adam and Robert Cannan take this fascinating historical case and add visuals and firsthand accounts to the story, making it one of the year's most terrifying films in "The Lovers and the Despot."
The lovers, in this case, are South Korean filmmaker Shin Sang-ok and actress Choi Eun-hee. They met on a movie set in the 70's and fell in love, however, relationships in the film industry are hard to sustain (just ask Brangelina), and the two eventually divorced after Shin fathered two children with his mistress. As their relationship is crumbling, across the water in North Korea, movie buff and despot Kim Jong-il complains about the state of his country's film industry, particularly the excessive crying scenes. "This isn't a funeral. Is it?" he demands. Upset that North Korean films have been overlooked by the global film festival circuit, he asks how he can get the famous Shin Sang-ok and Choi Eun-hee over to his country to rebrand the flailing movie business. It is then that their fate has been decided.
What follows is an outlandish story that seems like a script to a Hollywood blockbuster rather than the actual account. Choi and Shin were kidnapped separately, sent to Kim Jong-il, where they became his personal filmmakers. The duo always planned to escape, but necessary for their survival, it couldn’t be until the time was right. In the meantime, they knew they had to adhere to his fascist regime. The duo went on to make 17 feature films before they finally found an opportunity to escape.
Perhaps the craziest thing of all is the fact that what makes all of this true hangs on one piece of evidence: taped recordings of Kim Jong-il planning the capture of Shin and Choi. We hear those tapes for the first time and it is enough to send chills down one's spine. Without saying how the tapes were obtained, we are told it was a "source" who smuggled them out which adds another layer to the mystery!
With a story like this, the interviews should carry the film with very little reliance on distractive filmmaking. For the most part, Adam and Cannan stick to this method of cinematic subtlety. Interviewees include Choi, her adoptive son and daughter, and other government and undercover officials. To visualize their journey, the directors use clips from Shin's previous films, which can get confusing at times as to whether or not what we're watching is a dramatization or the actual footage. Gaining access behind North Korea's guarded gates is a rare feat on its own, and the glimpses of daily life seen in the film are some of the most powerful visuals. Out of control weeping at Kim Jong-il's funeral, manic zealousness at Kim Jong-un's inauguration, it is all so absurd and must be seen to be believed.
"The Lovers and the Despot" is not rated. 98 minutes. Opening at the Laemmle in Santa Monica on Friday.
'Miss Stevens' a Satisfying Film in Front Of and Behind the Camera
Coming off of a successful festival run, including a Best Actress win for Lily Rabe at this year's SXSW Film Fest, "Miss Stevens" is finally hitting select theaters Friday, September 16th. This tightly knit independent film is Julia Hart's directorial debut, and although she may not have many hits on her IMDb page (past credit includes screenwriter of "The Keeping Room"), Hart puts her uniquely understated directorial style on display in "Miss Stevens."
29-year-old high school English teacher Miss Stevens (Lily Rabe) is clearly going through a personal crisis, but nevertheless, is obligated to chaperone the drama club as they enter a weeklong competition. Trying not to let her worries bring her down, she actively engages in conversation with the three students during the hours-long car ride. Margot (Lili Reinhart) the overachiever and Sam (Anthony Quintal) the flamboyant talkative one, begin to develop a special personal relationship with Miss Stevens, but it is Billy (Timothée Chalamet) the slacker, who ends up taking his feelings to the next level. With her emotional guard down, Miss Stevens finds comfort in Billy's charm. Despite not being romantically interested in him, she soon realizes that this source of happiness is causing the lines betweenstudent/teacher relationship to get blurred.
The storyline is simple enough, and no, Miss Stevens is not a modern day Mrs. Robinson. She is a woman with troubled thoughts, although it takes well over the first 50 minutes to figure out just what her struggles are. Until we reach that clarity, there is consistent questioning as to what her story is, which becomes a bit tiring. Stevens often comes off as disinterested and distracted and if our main character doesn't even seem to be invested in her life, it’s difficult for the audience to care. However, the film does hit its stride after the revelation and subsequent reactions from those around her. Strong performances from Chalamet and Reinhart add liveliness and charisma, a perfect balance to Rabe's passiveness.
For as relatively little experience in the industry as Julia Hart has, she's managed to create an emotionally palpable movie that is relatable to anyone who remembers their favorite grade school teacher. Realizing that teachers had lives outside of the classroom (and even first names!) was a concept that seemed incomprehensible, and Hart executes this feeling exceptionally. With an underlying theme of lack of funding for the arts, this film hits all the right notes. It may not come off as very warm or funny despite its being billed as a comedy, yet “Miss Stevens” is a satisfying film both in front of and behind the camera.
"Miss Stevens" is not rated. 86 minutes. Opening at the Sundance Sunset this Friday and will be available on VOD September 20th.
'The People Garden' is a Quietly Somber and Arresting Art Film
Often times when films take place Japan, we are thrust into a bustling neon city with undeniable infectious energy- think "Lost in Translation," "Kill Bill Vol. 1," and "Black Rain" to name a few. Rarely are we given the opportunity to see the lush, green forests and wildlife that take up about 67% of the country's landscape*. Writer/director Nadia Litz captures this unspeakable beauty in her film, "The People Garden," yet turns the fairytale imagery on its head by drenching the woody oasis in mystery and death.
Sweetpea (Dree Hemingway) lands in a Japanese airport with only one small suitcase in tow, it is obvious that she is not planning on staying long. She is here to break up with her boyfriend, Jamie (François Arnaud). Jamie is on location filming a music video deep in the woods, and her calls to him go unanswered. After getting a ride from a guy named Mak (Jai West), and befriending a local girl to help her navigate through the dense forest, she finally arrives on the film set and immediately becomes very uneasy. Not only is Jamie missing, everyone seems to be hiding something. Determined to figure out what is going on, Sweetpea takes matters into her own hands.
"The People Garden" is a quietly somber yet beautiful art film that bubbles with emotion; from the beginning scenes up until the very end, we are engaged and wondering what will happen next. Starting out with a clever twist, Litz makes it clear early on that this film is not going to be predictable or straightforward by any means.
Dree Hemingway is the perfect choice for the role of Sweetpea, the way she carries herself is engaging to watch on screen (and her model looks don't hurt). She runs the full emotional gamut in the film's 80-minute runtime, from anxious to scared, daring to devastated. A rising star in the indie film circuit (her great-grandfather is Ernest Hemingway), Dree certainly proves that she deserves to be here and is more than just a famous last name.
Also returning to the screen is Pamela Anderson, who plays the role of Jamie's music video muse, Signe. She doesn't have many lines, but her performance is spot on, even slightly reminiscent of Lina Lamont from 'Singin' in the Rain.' Just the way she dangles from wires high above the forest's grounds is a breathtaking thing to see.
'The People Garden' is getting a very limited distribution, which is a shame because films like this deserve to be seen by all. Everyone who watches this film can take something away from this cinematic experience, from admiring Litz's directorial choices to lusting after Hemingway's wardrobe, do try to put 'The People Garden' on your list of under the radar, must-see movies.
* Taken from Save the World's Forests evaluation of protected and natural forests in Japan.
'The People Garden' is not rated. 80 minutes. Now playing at the Downtown Independent in Los Angeles, as well as VOD platforms.
Your First Look at Dree Hemingway in 'The People Garden' (Exclusive)
We scored an exclusive clip from director Nadia Litz's independent film, "The People Garden." When Sweetpea (Dree Hemingway) flies to Japan to break up with her rockstar boyfriend, she suddenly realizes that nothing is as it seems. Her boyfriend, Jamie, is missing, and nobody seems to be giving her a straight answer as to why. So, she takes it into her own hands to figure out what happened to Jamie.
An arresting performance from Dree Hemingway, this drama/mystery is coming to select theatres and VOD tomorrow, September 13th.
'Kicks' is a Cinderella Story for Sneakerheads
In a place where your shoes determine your status, you better believe that everyone will be doing whatever it takes to get their hands on the latest kicks.
Some will spend every last penny of their hard-earned cash on a brand new pair of shoes, while others will literally steal them off the feet of a child. It's a jungle out there in the Bay Area, or so Justin Tipping leads us to believe, in his directorial debut Kicks, an urban coming-of-age film loosely based on Tipping's experience growing up in West Oakland, where the unfairness of life seems unwavering and survival means learning how to stand up for yourself.
Brandon (Jahking Guillory) is convinced that a better pair of shoes will lead to a better life, and when he finally scores a brand new pair of rare Air Jordans, he couldn't be happier. He gets attention from girls and respect from his friends, Rico (Christopher Meyer) and Albert (Christopher Jordan Wallace–son of Notorious B.I.G.), but best of all, he escapes the reality of his impoverished life in Oakland. That is, until notorious local thug, Flaco (Kofi Siriboe), takes the shoes right off of his feet. But Brandon is not one to go down without a fight and, after enlisting his very hesitant friends, they set out to retrieve the stolen sneakers and teach Flaco a thing or two about messing with their crew.
There is no denying that Kicks will draw comparisons to other recent films, like this summer's release The Land or last year's Sundance hit Dope, but what Kicks offers in terms of variation are the surreal fever dreams that visit Brandon throughout the course of the film. His thoughts of escaping his reality and finding serenity become embodied in an astronaut that follows his character, much like a guardian angel. These pops of surreal visual effects are sprinkled throughout the film's overall hyper-naturalistic aesthetic, and the result is a beautiful achievement. Yes, all three films have killer soundtracks (Kicks enlists some heavyweight performers like Wu-Tang Clan, RJD2, and Charles Bradley) and share similar thematic threads of a young boy on a mission to get out of the ghetto. But it is the passion Brandon exudes over one pair of shoes, his only pair of shoes, that makes his story much more empathetic.
Kicks is a Cinderella story for a new generation, one in which a boy's transformation happens when he loses his shoes rather than slips his feet into them and the result is one powerful piece of work.
"Kicks" is rated R for violence, drug/alcohol use and language throughout, and sexual content - involving teens. 80 minutes. Opening in select theaters on Friday, September 9th.
Like Its Protagonist, 'White Girl' is an Alienating and Chaotic Watch
This review previously ran on August 17, 2016, during the Sundance NEXT FEST
After screening "White Girl" on the second day of the Sundance Next Fest film festival, director Elizabeth Wood sat down for a Q&A with famed director Catherine Hardwicke ("Thirteen," "Twilight") and moderator Jen Yamoto, a journalist from The Daily Beast. One of Jen's questions piqued my interest: In so many words, she asked Wood if any of the reviews had upset her – after all, "White Girl" is a very divisive film and so I would have expected Wood's answer to sound well-rehearsed and politically correct. What she responded with shocked me. She said the reviews that cast "White Girl" in an unfavorable light must have been written by men, men who are lacking in their own sexual conquests to give her film an unbiased review. Well, I'm here to say that I am a white girl, and hold the same critiques that have followed "White Girl."
"White Girl" tells the story of 18-year-old Leah (Morgan Saylor), a New York City transplant, who finds both love and trouble in gangbanger Blue (Brian 'Sene' Marc), the neighborhood drug dealer. While Leah herself is far from a virgin to the world of narcotics, falling for Blue leads her down a self-destructive path of zonked-out drug-fueled sweaty nights. When Blue gets busted for selling cocaine – his third strike – Leah naively tries to get him out of jail in any way she can, which ultimately ends up being a spiraling mess of destruction.
The association to Larry Clark's "Kids" is inescapable; whereas Clark's portrayal of impoverished NYC youth stands as a time capsule of adolescent life in the 90s, Wood's "White Girl" doesn't penetrate the thematic surface nearly deep enough to warrant essential viewing. This type of "Live Fast, Die Young" mentality that "White Girl" embodies results in a thinly felt story that tries too hard to look cool to be anything substantial. Although I have to say, the ending was the most powerful part of the entire movie, but maybe that's because it's just in those final moments when Leah finally processes her actions and the unjustifiable insanity that has just occurred.
I also just don't see how "race" plays into this film at all, a poor mark on this director's effectiveness to relay its meaning to this film. Arguably, Leah could have been of any ethnicity and the situations she found herself in would have been no different. There are no "implications of her being white or female," the only struggle she faces is when she is high out of her mind and making terrible decisions. Her interracial relationship with Blue is never seen as taboo, aside from the fact that he sells drugs, and Leah certainly doesn't act like there is any racial tension in her daily life. She has an internship at a predominately white culture & fashion magazine (along the lines of Nylon Magazine) with an attractive white boss (Justin Bartha), lives with a white roommate (India Menuez), and seeks help from a white lawyer (Chris Noth). Now the relationships she has with the above characters are not healthy ones, in fact, this is where I feel like the only social issue comes into play and that is peer pressure: pressure to snort drugs, sell drugs, and have sex. If more attention had been focused in this direction– an 18-year-old college student facing peer pressure from every which way– that would have been a more pertinent issue facing young girls today.
Yes, with its overtly explicit nature this subject matter is bold and has won fans since its Sundance debut, but unfortunately, so many of the directorial choices seemed purely for shock and awe. Other films with similar subject matter, such as "Bang Gang," and "Heaven Knows What," found a way to avoid falling under the "ostentatious" category. Elizabeth Wood has stated that "White Girl" had been a therapeutic project for her, a sort of biopic from her early college years. I'm hopeful that with this out of her system now, her next film will better utilize her voice and talents as a strong female director.
"White Girl" is not rated. 88 minutes. Opening at select Laemmle Theaters on Friday, September 9th.
Canadian-Set 'Yoga Hosers' is 'Eh'-Mazingly Absurd
One of the more wildly talked about movies from this year's Sundance Film Festival that is finally hitting theaters today is the flamboyant comedy-meets-fantasy film, "Yoga Hosers," directed by Kevin Smith. Set in a small Canadian town where the accents are as thick as maple syrup, two 15-year-old best friends, with extremely unhealthy cell phone addictions, discover that horrifying demons are taking over their workplace and threatening to ruin their late night plans. But what are these terrifying little creatures? Turns out that they're Nazi sympathizing sausages from Canada's past, appropriately called "Bratzis."
Colleen Collette (Lily-Rose Depp) and Colleen McKenzie (Harley Quinn Smith) are yoga enthusiasts by day and convenience store clerks by night. They work after school dead-end jobs at Eh-2-Zed, the local corner store that sells everything from toilet paper to "Pucky Charms" cereal. Their overall bratty attitude changes to excitement after senior heartthrob Hunter Calloway (Austin Butler) invites the girls to a totally awesome "Grade 12" party. However, things don't go according to plan when they get stuck working a late shift, and discover not only is Hunter not the sweet guy they thought he was, but that they have bigger fish to fry, or in this case, sausages. Enlisting help from Guy Lapointe (Johnny Depp), the girls are forced to defeat the meat that is threatening to kill them.
As one can safely assume by this point, "Yoga Hosers" is a wacky and wholly original moviegoing experience. The cheesiness factor is through the roof, but that is one of its biggest charms. Seeing a movie that is technically sophisticated with a top notch cast (scene stealer Ralph Garman's insanely spot-on impressions of Sylvester Stallone and Adam West draw the biggest laughs), yet one that does not take itself too seriously on screen, is a rare occurrence these days and should be recognized. Think "Bad Milo" meets "Sausage Party" in terms of the thematic guideline. However, one of my biggest critiques is how anti-climactic the ending is in comparison to the outlandish storyline. There is no stopping this crazy train and the ending could have followed through with the same emphasis.
What really makes "Yoga Hosers" great is the familial full-circle connections off-screen. Firstly, and most obviously, director Kevin Smith cast his actors close to the vest with his daughter Harley Quinn as the lead character, Colleen M. Another fun connection is between Lily-Rose Depp, who not only acts alongside one, but both of her parents in the film. Her mother Vanessa Paradis plays Ms. Maurice, the school's history teacher who tells the girls of the Nazi origins in Canada. Her father, Johnny Depp, brings his signature Mad Hatter/Inspector Clouseau-kookiness to his character Guy Lapointe, the legendary man-hunter from Montreal whose accent is as wacky as his bushy brows. Finally, a subtle but interesting connection comes from the airheaded yoga instructor Yogi Bayer, played by Justin Long. Not to venture into gossip magazine mode, but until recently, his longtime girlfriend was Amanda Seyfried, who also appears on the cover of the town's hottest magazine.
The biggest misfortune as an audience member would be to walk into "Yoga Hosers" unprepared; not in terms of knowing the plot twists and turns, but in being unable to appreciate this unusual cinematic presentation. It is a film that will provoke you to immediately either love it or hate it. Yet, despite its critics, there is no denying that "Yoga Hosers" is certainly one of the wildest films of the year. Here's a hint– you definitely want to stay through the end credits just to see Johnny Depp shred on the guitar during the closing song.
"Yoga Hosers" is rated PG-13 for crude humor, sexual references, comic violence, and brief drug material. 88 minutes. Now playing in select theaters.