Review: 'L.A. Slasher'
I’ve always thought that the best genre satires are created by filmmakers who are, at the end of the day, fans of the material they poke fun at. Horror satires prove no different. 2012's Cabin in the Woods is a lovely homage to horror cliches and goofs, but no matter how spiteful or pointed the satire, a filmmaker still needs to care. Or else, why bother?
In Martin Owen’s horror satire L.A. Slasher, the title character kills in the fashion of reality TV stars and utilizes hashtags and tweets to convey his maniacal messages to America. There’s not much more to say about the plot here, other than how much of a missed opportunity this film is.
For the most part, Owen plays with meta-narrative and meshes the horror genre with the L.A. of someone like Bret Easton Ellis, but Owen’s result is much less effective and thought provoking. The characters are often stripped of their names and simply given titles, such as Mischa Barton as, "the Actress," Eric Roberts as, "the Mayor," etc. As someone who is not only into horror but also the worsening but highly addictive headache of tweet culture, I wanted to love L.A. Slasher with all my heart.
As someone who is not only into horror but also the worsening but highly addictive headache of tweet culture, I wanted to love L.A. Slasher with all my heart.
The first big problem for Owen’s slashfest is a man named Wes Craven. Scream is a franchise that is already well developed in the horror canon, and handles slasher satire with mastery. Owen’s piece doesn’t even come close to being as effective, and feels pointless in this regard. Funny enough, MTV is remaking Craven’s masterpiece into a TV series, which I can guarantee will end up as ultimately shallow as Slasher.
Slasher makes the mistake of focusing a bit too much on the meta elements of its own narrative, and at this point in modern society, the play on celebrity culture and hashtags at this basic of a level just seems stale and painfully conventional. Technology moves fast, while trends move faster. This film might’ve been more ripe a few years back, but only slightly so. This film simply feels outdated and out of style, in the most bizarre way possible.
Fortunately, there are a few positives, including Dave Bautista, who comes through again with some nice comedic acting chops, as seen in Guardians of the Galaxy. The film’s neon vibe marketing was also a neat tool, and makes me wish it lived up to that promotion. Some of the synth-jams in the film are also slightly dance-in-your-seat-able.
L.A. Slasher missed some big opportunities to explore deeper into the celebrity subject matter, as well as take a more artistic approach stylistically to the genre. If you're a die hard fan of slashers, you may want to check this out for a small bit of fun. Otherwise, it feels like a stale satire on the tweet generation, reality TV models, and big time L.A. stars who can’t help but get into loads of drugs and trouble. Meh.
L.A. Slasher opens this Friday in Los Angeles at Citywalk Stadium 19 and AMC Atlantic Times Square 14.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzWs3YO3Avo
'Hungry Hearts' Review: An Artfully Composed Italian Drama
Considering the opening scene of Hungry Hearts involves a rather comedic and bizarre circumstance involving bowel movements, one might be expecting a bit more of a light-hearted romantic comedy going into this film. This is definitely not the case.
Hungry Hearts is an Italian drama by Saverio Costanzo. Based on the novel “The Indigo Child,” by Marco Franzoso, Adam Driver and Alba Rohrwacher play Jude and Mina, two seemingly likeable newlyweds in love. Soon it is revealed that Mina, who is strangely obsessed with purity and non-traditional medicine, is having complications conceiving a child. Since she doesn’t believe in doctors and thinks their baby is some sacred, mystical ‘indigo child,’ the rest of the film pits husband against wife, as Jude attempts to ensure his son is safe and grows properly. Meanwhile, Mina does everything in her power to keep the child away from modern medicine. Things only escalate from here, folks.
After watching this film, I fear that a large amount of viewers may find Hungry Hearts an unpleasant viewing experience, which may possibly overshadow its artful direction, in a similar vein to movies like Blue Valentine. Though nothing of extreme shock value occurs in this picture and Costanzo isn’t aiming to be inherently provocative, Hungry Hearts is a somewhat tough watch. It is wonderfully rewarding, but nevertheless, a tough watch. Costanzo’s film has an intriguing sense of dread to it, and at times, made me think of the 1981 horror gem Possession, though it never ventures that far into crazy town.
...I fear that a large amount of viewers may find Hungry Hearts an unpleasant viewing experience, which may possibly overshadow its artful direction...
From the very first scene of the film, Constanzo shoots in surprisingly long takes, showcasing two absurdly talented actors who are quite dedicated to their performances here. As far as the cinematography, the film is painfully gorgeous, which isn't a surprise given that it was shot on 16mm by the incredible Fabio Cianchetti, who shot Bertolucci’s The Dreamers among many other classics. Costanzo’s choice to shoot in cinema verite style proved to be one of the strongest points of the film. There are many scenes where Jude and Mina argue and walk through the house as the shaky handheld camera follows them, and this proves to be so intimate it almost feels intrusive.
While both leads in Hungry Hearts won high awards and praise at the Venice Film Festival for their work, it is Driver who shines as the more endearing character. Though Rohrwacher’s performance was quite heartbreaking, it almost feels cheap how she never has a chance. By the end of the film, she’s quite detestable and there isn’t much wiggle room on that. Indeed, the problem lies within her mental illness, but I felt that the filmmaker was on Jude’s side, which could just be a problem within the source material.
If audiences can see past the overall gloom of this film, they will be rewarded. Hungry Hearts has a unique sense of dread going for it, perhaps capturing a bit of a Polanski vibe throughout. In the end, I thought the director was going to push a bit more of a provocative button, but for the most part, it’s dark and tragic, but never veers into absolute depression mode. Costanzo’s piece will surely be of a divisive nature but it is also one of the most thoroughly well-crafted gems of 2015. Though the film may not end up getting the distribution or praise it deserves, Costanzo’s absolute mastery in directing is not something to be overlooked.
Hungry Hearts opens this Friday, June 12th, at the Sundance Sunset Cinema.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8CfnaUjMDM
Review: 'The Ocean of Helena Lee'
The Ocean of Helena Lee is musician/writer/director Jim Akin’s ode to solitude, childhood and the very fleeting nature of life. The film revolves around Helena (a debut performance from Moriah Blonna), an almost suspiciously existential twelve-year-old who sleeps in her father’s closet in Venice Beach and dreams of being a writer. While her dad Mickey (Tom Dunne) is a strip club-drumming, womanizing beach bum, he is also an inexplicably charismatic and quite serious philosopher when it comes to his pontifications about life.
Right away, the film starts out with voice over, which is always a pretty tough sell and rather difficult to use compellingly. Blonna’s voice is almost like music itself and she does give a genuine reading, stumbling over words at times and speaking ever so softly. While it is clear Akin wanted this voice-over to mimic Helena’s inner monologue and thoughts, the dialogue is rather clunky and awkward. At one point, the picture freeze frames and more voice over occurs, a la Scorsese, which just feels severely out of place. It seems clear to me the film calls for voice-over, it just isn’t handled in a careful enough fashion.
As a narrative film, Helena Lee also falls flat. The script doesn't allow for scenes to be fleshed out enough for viewers to care. There are a lot of moments here and there that feel quite nice, but the film goes back to daydream and montage pieces too frequently and at random. Scenes don’t last long enough for us to invest and then Akin hastily moves onto the next montage.
There are a lot of moments here and there that feel quite nice, but the film goes back to daydream and montage pieces too frequently and at random.
The development of Mickey, which could have easily gone cliche and awry, was actually a better point of watching. The only huge opportunity that feels missed when it comes to Mickey is a better showcase of his drumming, at least aesthetically. Something like Whiplash comes to mind in the sense of a filmmaker making the viewer feel emotion through a character's instrument.
The film does, fortunately, have some positives. The cinematography is lovely and Akin has achieved some gorgeous sequences of Venice Beach, but the camera does a lot of fast paced wandering and tracking through rooms almost in the vein of Paul Thomas Anderson, which feels wildly out of place. Another highlight is Akin’s ability to get two wonderful performances out of his leads. The film, at least, is a great showcase for Blonna, and the fact that it is her debut is pretty startling.
In the end, The Ocean of Helena Lee fails to find its true aesthetic and feels rather unpolished. In addition, the writing, especially the voice over dialogue, feels inauthentic. Helena speaks in unbelievably poetic terms, especially for a twelve-year-old. The film does have some darker themes, and I do applaud the director for handling these well, but I just couldn’t get behind the film as a whole. The Ocean of Helena Lee could have been a tightly crafted ten minute short, but there isn’t enough here to sustain ninety minutes.
The Ocean of Helena Lee opens at the American Cinematheque today at the Egyptian Theatre, May 9-13 at the Steven Spielberg Theatre (within the Egyptian complex) and on May 14 at The Aero Theatre in Santa Monica. Oscar-nominated screenwriter Josh Olson (A History of Violence) and actress/writer/director/producer Illeana Douglas will be moderating the Q&A on Friday, May 8.
Jim Akin’s wife singer/songwriter Maria McKee (Lone Justice) who is also a producer on the film will perform following its opening night at both theatres.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QTtJt49P2w
Review: 'Effie Gray'
The release of Victorian period piece Effie Gray was initially delayed due to a lawsuit claiming that the screenplay (written by Emma Thompson, who also stars in the film), was plagiarized from other sources. Though Thompson won the cases, she has since opted out of promoting the film’s U.K. release. It is truly a shame that the film’s legal victory doesn’t change the fact that this is a misguided and missed opportunity for Hollywood pictures about female liberation.
A passion project of Thompson's, Gray is the true story of 19-year-old Euphemia Gray and her marriage to famous art critic and watercolorist John Ruskin. Directed by Richard Laxton, the film spans six years, in which we quickly we learn that Effie’s relationship with her husband is just about the worst marriage we’ve ever seen on the big screen.
Dakota Johnson plays the lead role in the film, and while she looks the part (due to a great art and makeup department), she often seems confused and unsure of her performance, like a wide-eyed deer who was not given clear enough idea of how she should embody her character, resulting in a clunky leading character dynamic from the get-go.
Laxton’s collaboration with Thompson results in a much too timid interpretation of this true story, a tale of sexuality and art that could have been much more compelling with different casting and direction choices.
Laxton’s directorial choices are questionable at best, with scenes often playing off like awkward tales of Victorian soap opera. Laxton decides to go full on melodrama and almost completely disregards the concentration that should have been placed upon character study, in a probably unconscious decision that nonetheless destroys the film’s chance to be brave, full bodied, and decisive.
Tom Sturridge does a decent job playing the third wheel in the film’s lifeless and dull love triangle, but, unfortunately, the audience never comes close to caring about who any of these characters end up with. While Greg Wise’s take on John Ruskin is commendable, as soon as the film begins to depict him as an unpleasant man-child, the tone becomes lost due to audience laughter that clearly shows the aspects of the film that just simply don’t work.
Cinematographer Andrew Dunn throws just a bit of life back into the film with some nice shots and a pleasant color palette of dim grayish blues that looks best in the scenes where the characters are around the gorgeous stream. Effie Gray is sure to bore most away within the first act, and for its runtime it seems to last an eternity. Laxton’s collaboration with Thompson results in a much too timid interpretation of this true story, a tale of sexuality and art that could have been much more compelling with different casting and direction choices.
Effie Gray opens this Friday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BLzK1z0EII
Review: 'The Salvation'
The murdered family. The quiet, but enraged protagonist out for revenge. The damsel in distress. The ill-tempered, tobacco spitting evil villain. The little shootout. The big shootout. The final shootout. Most of us are so familiar with the tropes and cliches of a Western, we could watch the first five minutes of any film in the genre and predict how it ends with ease. The question is: does The Salvation bring anything new whatsoever to the table when it comes to the classic American Western?
Directed by Dogme95 member Kristian Levring, The Salvation immediately introduces us to our action-hero protagonist, Jon (Mads Mikkelsen), a Danish soldier who has returned to America to reunite with his wife (Nanna Fabricius) and son (Toke Lars Bjarke). But upon this happy reunion, Jon’s family is kidnapped by a couple of drunken men carrying big attitudes and even bigger guns. From here, Jon tracks down the men by himself, only to find his family already dead. Jon kills the men, not knowing their relation to local gang leader Delarue (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). What happens next can be classified as a Liam Neeson-style “one vs. all” Western revenge thriller.
The one character who is so bizarrely underutilized its almost hilarious is played by Eva Green, as the only thing she gets to do in this film is run away and try not to get raped by the gang members.
The Salvation is a film that is all about paying tribute to, and playing on, the overused tropes of revenge westerns, calling to attention certain films in the canon starring Clint Eastwood. The film also seems to be making a subtle homage to the successful video game “Red Dead Redemption” with its similar aesthetic, feel, and the fact that the lead protagonists share certain mannerisms and the same first name.
As far as the cast is concerned, Mikkelsen does a pretty good job with his character, managing the action hero as minimally cliched as possible. The script criminally underused Jeffrey Dean Morgan, however, and even though he is the villain, he gets absolutely zero chance to really show his stuff. Films like Watchmen prove his worth as an almost charming bad guy and this film missed the mark severely. The one character who is so bizarrely underutilized its almost hilarious is played by Eva Green, as the only thing she gets to do in this film is run away and try not to get raped by the gang members. She literally never speaks a word, as her character is mute.
The Salvation throws together all of the classic western tropes and uses some nice cinematic shots, but offers nothing new to the genre. The film ends quickly and with a whimper. The only high point of the film is the score by Kasper Winding, which feels like it added to the dark, moody atmosphere in a positive way. I don’t doubt the passion behind this film. The actors, at least, seem to care about doing the best they can with what they are given. But there is no excuse for taking all of the painfully dull cliched tropes from a genre and adding nothing new or of value to the discussion. Some filmmakers are still making the western work in rather unique ways. Just look at Kelly Reichardt’s Meek’s Cutoff. It can be done.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwBS3a9HOWI
Review: 'Sweet Micky for President'
There is no denying that most political documentaries tend to be a bit of a hard sell, at least when it comes to the mainstream audience. Many 'talking heads' documentaries put the viewer to sleep immediately. Filmmakers must strive to go above and beyond in this sub-genre if they want to create a sense of urgency and care within the viewer, as opposed to one who just mindlessly absorbs political facts. Luckily, director Ben Patterson has found a way around these issues and has succeeded in creating a documentary film which makes us care deeply for its characters and their many plights.
Patterson’s Sweet Micky for President begins with a summarized recap of the last century of Haitian politics, underlining the corruption and unjust actions of its leaders. The country is presented as primarily divided between families who support the old, traditional rule and the families who require an immediate change in leadership. The narrative then shifts to the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in 2010, with the implication that someone new and fresh must attempt to pull Haiti out of its rut and begin a new saga of hope. The film introduces us to one its leading players, former Fugees band member Pras Michel, as he begins his campaign to help former Haitian superstar Micky Martelly run for President of Haiti.
Even for someone with no background in the political issues going on in Haiti, the film evokes emotion and informs with minimal subjectivity.
From here, the film takes a curious leap and begins to concern itself with its many ties to music. Haitian rapper and former Fugee Wyclef Jean joins the race, and the rivalry between Michel and Jean is revealed. Martelly serves as a middleman between the two, demonstrating his ease with achieving peace within a group. Iconic film star Sean Penn also pops up in the film, seemingly out of nowhere, in support of Martelly’s race. The film showcases many concert scenes of Martelly, Michel and Jean, which makes for a nice, quick break from the politics presented.
Some of the most interesting parts of the film explore a somber Pras Michel, as he faces various difficulties in the election. His cathartic moment when he performs on stage during a Fugees reunion is surprisingly touching. Michel has an interesting drive to him that could have been explored further, in my opinion, and he seems to disappear at random points in the film. That being said, this makes sense, considering the documentary is primarily about Martelly and Haiti, not Michel.
Sweet Micky for President is a thoughtful and emotional documentary that took me by complete surprise. While its primary focus is the well-being and political success of Haiti, it tackles a number of different issues including real-life rivalries, fame, and music. Even for someone with no background in the political issues going on in Haiti, the film evokes emotion and informs with minimal subjectivity. Director Ben Patterson uniquely combines music, peace, love and unity with politics and its filmic product is very pleasing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHgcOcUYZ9g
Review: 'Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles'
A documentary about one of the most legendary men in all of cinema could go one of two ways: on one hand, the filmmaker has an enormous archive of material to pull from, but on the other, is there really anything left to say about Orson Welles that hasn’t already been said a thousand times? The new documentary Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles by Chuck Workman is a light-hearted, but nifty little film recounting the career of the big man himself.
For years, Workman has cut together many montages for the Academy Awards. In Magician, he implements a similar ‘clip show’ style. The film’s most entertaining clips are snippets of Welles’ speaking at various events and interviews. Documentarians should always tread lightly when it comes to talking heads, as too much of this can quickly become dull, but luckily, Workman brought together some of the most distinguished scholars to discuss Welles, including biographers Joseph McBride and Simon Callow, and renowned critic Jonathan Rosenbaum. The most sentimental bits of the film come from a conversation with Welles’ partner Oja Kodar, who emotionally recounts the sacred time she spent with the Magician.
Workman’s Magician isn’t the defining Welles’ documentary, as it is rather short and not packed with too much information, but it’s a nice place to start for filmgoers who don’t know much about Welles.
Magician begins with Welles’ youth and personal growth as a young man, but grazes through this semi-quickly to make its way up to his successful cinematic years. To the everyday film-goer who shares an average interest in Welles, the information provided here will seem fresh, relevant and fairly entertaining. However, due to the ‘highlight reel’ nature of the documentary and swiftness at which it glances Welles’ career, any film school veteran or hardcore cinephile nerd will find much of the information repetitive and simple.
In many ways, Magician barely scratches the surface, which isn’t surprising considering the scope of its subject. While the film contains a few ‘exclusive’ interviews, it uses a large amount of old footage of Welles’ which has long been accessible via YouTube. The film also touches on Welles’ many unfinished films like Don Quixote, as well as some of the leading factors as to why he was somewhat troubling to the studio system in his later years.
Workman’s Magician isn’t the defining Welles’ documentary, as it is rather short and not packed with too much information, but it’s a nice place to start for film-goers who don’t know much about Welles. It’s essentially a highlight real, but a pretty good one at that. The film leaves the viewer with the concept of Welles as a mysterious and brilliant man, who was somehow living in a creative space decades ahead of his time. We do see some canonical clips from films like Chimes at Midnight and The Third Man, but most of all, we get a very flattering and touching portrait of Orson Welles- one of the most influential men to ever set foot in Hollywood.
Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles is in theaters today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN8L7TsjfDk
Nightcrawler
Jake Gyllenhaal lost nearly 30 pounds for his leading role in Nightcrawler, and the result is terrifying. His eyeballs are massive like they’re about to pop out of his skull. His cheekbones are sharp enough to cut a man, and his entire face looks as though it is being pulled down towards the underworld (Read our interview with Jake Gyllenhaal, who spoke of the transformation and more, here).
Nightcrawler is the directing debut from Dan Gilroy, who has written screenplays for several Hollywood pictures including The Bourne Legacy and a story credit for Real Steel. The film centers around Lou Bloom (Gyllenhaal), a skeevy but cunning thief, as he rises to power in his new field of crime journalism. Bloom’s job involves arriving early at crime scenes in order to shoot video of the gore and violence, with the ultimate goal to sell footage to news stations. It’s basically a violence-based paparazzi type of gig. Lou follows one rule that was given to him by the local news network: if it bleeds, it leads.
But Bloom isn’t a regular cameraman. His personality is obsessive, his conversations inhuman, and his methods pure genius. His movements and actions are carefully planned, and he knows how to manipulate everyone around him. His human interactions are lacking true emotion. Lou Bloom simply cares about doing his job well.
As a directing debut, I am blown away by Gilroy’s work here. Right off the bat when the movie begins, we are granted some of the most stunningly gorgeous shots of L.A. that I’ve seen. Robert Elswit (who regularly works with Paul Thomas Anderson) shoots iconic locations in L.A. like Venice Beach and Santa Monica Boulevard with sleek minimalist style. Cross streets and intersections seem deliberately chosen in an effort to force the viewer to point out and scream, “I know that street!” Elswit shot Nightcrawler both digitally and on film.
The real show here lies within Gyllenhaal’s performance...(primarily due to the weight loss), Gyllenhaal disappears and all we are left with is Lou Bloom, who is wild eyed and a complete lunatic.
Rene Russo (also Gilroy’s wife) plays Nina, the maniacal and shameless boss that graciously accepts Lou’s graphic videotapes in order to receive higher ratings on the network. Russo truly shines here as Bloom’s strangely masculine teammate. In ways, Nina is very similar to Bloom, in that she knows she has to do unpleasant things to get what she wants.
The real show here lies within Gyllenhaal’s performance. Now, Jake has been fantastic in films like Zodiac, Enemy, and Prisoners, but he’s always still the ruggedly handsome Jake Gyllenhaal when you freeze the frame. But here in Nightcrawler (primarily due to the weight loss), Gyllenhaal disappears and all we are left with is Lou Bloom, who is wild-eyed and a complete lunatic. What Gilroy and Gyllenhaal have created here is a truly captivating character to watch on the screen. There isn’t a single film lover out there who won’t be completely enamored with Lou Bloom’s slow descent into darkness.
Nightcrawler is a remarkable debut from first-time director Dan Gilroy. While the film’s media satire trumps David Fincher’s Gone Girl with ease, this picture is all about Jake Gyllenhaal and his opportunity to disappear for once. It’s a stylish L.A. Taxi Driver with a hint of 80’s detective drama. Nightcrawler is the only film of 2014 that caused me to sit in the theater with a dumb grin on my face for two hours straight. It’s my favorite of the year, with its only possible rival (perhaps) being Inherent Vice.
Nightcrawler is in theaters this Friday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1uP_8VJkDQ
Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, and Damien Chazelle on 'Whiplash'
Whiplash is a film that’s been buzzing since it snagged both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award in the drama category earlier this year at Sundance. It is filmmaker Damien Chazelle’s debut feature film and quite a remarkable work that will easily make its way into the canon of brilliant films depicting musicians. While the relationship between the lead characters of the film, a jazz student drummer and his demanding music teacher, is as tense as can be, costars Miles Teller and J. K. Simmons could barely mask their real life friendship as they bantered back and forth throughout the interview. Simmons could barely answer a single question without playfully poking fun at Teller, resulting in endless laughs from the press. We begin:
DO YOU THINK ARTISTS ACTUALLY WANT THE KIND OF PRESSURE THAT TERRENCE FLETCHER PUTS ON ANDREW?
J.K. Simmons: (to Teller) What do you think, bitch?
[Laughs]
Miles Teller: For me, the greatest success that I’ve had on any project comes through collaboration. I wouldn’t want to do a movie where after everything I do, the director just says ‘good job.’ At the same time, I’ve been on movies where I wasn’t able to do the stuff I wanted to. It’s a fine line, but at the end of the day, I do need somebody to oversee what I’m doing. I like directors that will inspire me and give me ideas.
J.K.S: God, he goes on, doesn’t he?
[Laughs]
J.K.S: But to answer your question: God, I hope not. Masochists, I guess. I agree with the benefits of being pushed and directed, but that kind of manipulation and abuse has no place in life.
MILES, YOUR PUT YOUR BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS INTO THIS ROLE. CAN YOU GO INTO THE DETAILS OF THIS PROCESS A LITTLE? IS WHAT WE HEAR ALL YOU ON THE DRUMS, OR WAS THE SOUND SWEETENED IN POST-PRODUCTION?
MT: I hope it was sweetened a little bit, because at the end of day, Andrew is a much better drummer than I am. But I have a pretty good skill set. When I read the script, there’s all this talk of blood splattering on the drums. I thought it was too much, but Damien said to me, ‘When I played, all my drumsticks were covered in blood. This is truthful.’ I got real blood blisters and we bandaged them up. Filming a movie like this in 19 days with intense drum sequences, a lot of that sweat is real. And that’s great because you don’t have to act when you’re actually playing to exhaustion. I remember J.K. told me to hold back, he said, ‘We’re gonna have a couple takes, you should save some.’ So a lot of it was life imitating art.
Damien Chazelle: We did a lot of work in the editing room. But a lot of [the drumming] is either raw stuff on set or pre recordings. But everything you see in the movie, pretty much, is Miles.
HOW MUCH REHEARSAL PREP WAS THERE? HOW MANY TAKES DID YOU NEED WHEN YOU SHOT THAT?
DC: With this kind of schedule, we didn’t have that many takes at our disposal. We also didn’t have time to rehearse. Everything was very short changed, and you worry about that in the moment. But when you have [actors] like this, they brought it everyday. There’s a lot of stuff in the movie we knew we had to get in one or two takes. The scene where J.K. circles through the three drummers was done as a single take multiple times. We did probably 12-15 takes of that, and it’s about a 5 minute scene, I think Miles was pretty pissed by the end.
[Laughs]
FOR MILES AND J.K., WHAT DID YOU DRAW UPON FOR INSPIRATION TO CREATE THESE AMAZING CHARACTERS?
J.K.S: There was no conscience role model I used. It was all there on the page. I understood it and I knew I was the guy to lift it off the page. Miles and I really settled into a rhythm and had a good time.
MT: Same thing for me, people asked me if I asked Damien for advice, since it was autobiographical, but not really. I asked him a few technical drumming questions, but it was very clear on the page what Andrew was all about. Andrew wants to be the greatest drummer of all time.
"Even as a script, there were different reactions. People who hadn’t been in this world, the immediate thought was: it can’t be like this. But when I showed it to drummers, they thought it didn’t go far enough. They thought it should be worse. There’s a whole side to this world people don’t know about." -Damien Chazelle (Director)
THE END OF THIS MOVIE IS SO REMARKABLY CATHARTIC. HOW EAGER ARE YOU TO SORT OF ROMANTICIZE THE NOTION OF BEING SUBJECTED TO SOMETHING THAT YOU NOT ONLY SURVIVE BUT ARE ABLE TO REACH ANOTHER ARTISTIC LEVEL?
DC: It’s tough because the movie operates on the screen way differently than it did on the page. When [I was] writing it, in my mind it was a more tragic ending than victorious. Almost like someone gladly returning to an abusive relationship. But on the screen, you film a great drum solo to that type of music and it does something. My hope through the scene was to give you a kinetic rush but leave you with a question that makes that rush a little more troubling.
I KNOW IN THE DRUM-CORE WORLD, WE HAD INSTRUCTORS WORSE THAN YOU, J.K., AND IT MADE US BETTER DRUMMERS. DAMIEN, HOW IMPORTANT WAS IT TO CONVEY THAT?
DC: Even as a script, there were different reactions. People who hadn’t been in this world, the immediate thought was: it can’t be like this. But when I showed it to drummers, they thought it didn’t go far enough. They thought it should be worse. There’s a whole side to this world people don’t know about. A lot of music movies fit into a certain mold, but it was important that this movie showcased things that hadn’t been seen before. I had a teacher like J.K., and it made me a better drummer. But as a humanist, I can’t condone what he does. I wanted to make the character as monstrous as possible. But there’s this streak of tyranny leading to great musicianship in jazz history.
J.K.S: When I met Miles, I wanted to go farther.
MT: Bring it on, bitch.
[Laughs]
J.K.S: Damien and I have similar philosophies there. I love that this movie inspires debate. How far is too far? This kind of relentless abuse might be necessary if you’re training navy seals, but I don’t know if it's appropriate in music school. But it’s there, and it can be productive, there’s no denying it. But I would rather have a pretty girlfriend than make my hands bleed all the time.
DAMIEN, WERE YOU NERVOUS FOR THE PREMIERE AT SUNDANCE?
DC: Movie screenings remind me of being a drummer on stage. It’s my new form of stage fright. Except you have no control over it. We were opening night at Sundance, it felt like a tough spot. But it was great. It was a fun week of sleeplessness.
MILES, IN TERMS OF HOW IMPORTANT "CARAVAN" [A PRESTIGIOUS JAZZ ENSEMBLE] WAS TO ANDREW IN THE FILM, HOW IMPORTANT DO YOU THINK THIS ROLE IS FOR YOU WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR ACTING CAREER?
MT: I have not read a script that has demanded so much from a character. I was happy that Damien had me in mind for the role. This is a movie that’s almost shot like a boxing movie. You’ve got two characters going head to head. I thought it was cool, man. It has everything that I want to be part of. It’s unapologetic, it pushes the boundaries, and it will create discourse. This is everything I could’ve asked for in a project.
Whiplash opens in theaters this Friday.
Review: 'God Help The Girl'
Grab your thick rimmed glasses, a nice button up cardigan, some fancy socks, and get ready to sing and dance your butt off.
God Help the Girl is the feature debut from Belle & Sebastian frontman Stuart Murdoch. Clearly a passion project for Murdoch, his debut film is all about youthful energy and pure emotion. God Help the Girl begins with the escape of Eve (Emily Browning), who is being kept in a mental health facility due to an eating disorder. Upon freeing herself, she soon meets up with the dorky, yet loveable, James (Olly Murdoch), who is an exceptional musician as well as a pool lifeguard. As James swoons over Eve’s songwriting capabilities, he allows her to shack up in an available room at his place. Eve and James complete their freewheeling love trio when they decide to form a band with the ditzy Cassie (Hannah Murray, paying tribute to her Skins character of the same name), who is the “kind of, sort of” musician type.
From there, we have our film. The three young stars begin to run about Glasgow singing, dancing, ranting and learning about life. There are quite a few moments in the film that are just quiet interactions between the trio, which are always a joy to watch. The chemistry between the three actors makes the film much more enjoyable, and one can easily tell that these three share an immense love for Murdoch’s material. The script is well written, and we are treated to some stylish shots, but what Murdoch has really created here is an outlet for some incredibly memorable songs. From the great opening tune to the larger, epic ones, Murdoch’s music is great all around and serves as the bulk of this film’s appeal.
The script is well written, and we are treated to some stylish shots, but what Murdoch has really created here is an outlet for some incredibly memorable songs.
The choreography in the film seems a bit plain at first, but after a while, it seems fittingly so. It doesn’t distract from the music nor the intimacy of the characters. More positives that the film has to offer: the set design and wonderful wardrobe design. Although undeniably hipster, the wardrobe feels genuine, and not cheap. The general film aesthetic feels like the love child of Wes Anderson and Zooey Deschanel, in the best way possible. Murdoch also throws in some clever winks to The Beatles as well as A Hard Day’s Night.
God Help the Girl knows where its strengths lie: within the music and cast. Unlike other musicals such as Across the Universe that focus more on visual cues that melt and blend together with the music, God Help the Girl is mostly significant in that it features Murdoch’s classy tunes. It doesn’t try too hard, it doesn't delve too far into its own quirkiness, which many films with this aesthetic mistakenly do. Murdoch knows when to be serious and when to be silly, and also how the two can, at times, sit side by side. God Help the Girl succeeds in almost every goal it attempts to achieve.
Murdoch’s debut is fantastical and whimsical. It’s a light-hearted and warm film that proves itself with talented songwriting by Murdoch and a great cast that obviously cared dearly for the film’s heart and soul, which is often hard to find.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jc2gHpNbyc
Review: 'We Could Be King'
In 2013, the Philadelphia school board closed 37 schools, in addition to introducing mass budget cuts and staff layoffs. Among the affected parties were Martin Luther King High and Germantown, two high schools which rivaled each other in sports, as well as social circumstances, often resulting in violence. We Could Be King is a documentary that chronicles the lives of both schools' students and staff as they are all forced to join as one, and overcome the rivalries of the past, both on the field and in the classroom. In his newest film, director Judd Ehrlich provides viewers with a compelling and surprisingly emotional tale of human beings simply attempting to overcome adversity in light of countless setbacks which are out of their control.
Ehrlich is clearly interested in one thing in King, and that is sheer human determination. Different circumstances plague each of our heroes, whether it’s Dontae Angus, a gifted and massive athlete who struggles with school work, or Ed Dunn, a laid off teacher who volunteers as the head coach for the newly conjoined football team. Of all the talented athletes and faculty in the film, Coach Dunn is particularly fascinating to watch. Everything from his peppy mannerisms to his harsh but ever-loving coaching style can be seen as an uplifting force in this sea of darkness that Philadelphia natives face. Dunn is often seen in the film telling his kids to “pick each other up.” About halfway through the film I began to wish that I had a high school coach as inspirational as Dunn.
We Could Be King is a documentary about a group of people who are put to the test by extremely unfortunate circumstances, and by the end of the film, one feels the pride and strength in each character as they succeed.
The film also touches on the struggle that young Salvatore Henderson faces, who spends much of the season behind bars, and then under house arrest. When Henderson gets to attend school with his ankle bracelet and jumps into his first practice, one can’t help but feel for him after seeing the look on his face when he gets back on the field. Moments like this will most certainly catch you off guard and hit you right in the feels.
Though the film primarily focuses on the plight of the school’s football team, it also touches upon parent-teacher relations, as well as the transitional period where students have to learn how to adapt to their fresh surroundings, which isn’t an easy feat as a teenager in a new high school.
King is fairly wide in its reach when it comes to subject matter, and not to say style comes anywhere near content when it comes to documentaries, but it is also exceptionally shot and filled with gorgeous camerawork of the school grounds and the surrounding urban area.
We Could Be King is a documentary about a group of people who are put to the test by extremely unfortunate circumstances, and by the end of the film, one feels the pride and strength in each character as they succeed. The story not only enthralls everyday football fans, or the Friday Night Lights viewership, but even those who know nothing of sports. It’s a film about education, budget cuts, economic turmoil, family struggles, and much more. It is truly a fascinating documentary and one of the most heartfelt films of the year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKLzuNALfrQ
Review: 'About Alex'
Just face it: ever since you graduated college, your tight knit group of friends have all moved back to their respective homes, and now all you share in common is the Facebook group message or GroupMe that attempts to connect everyone in that familiar, special way; but ultimately, fails.
About Alex is the debut feature from writer/director Jesse Zwick, and the film centers around Alex (Jason Ritter) and his recent attempted suicide. This tragic event prompts his old group of college buddies, who are admittedly not as close as they all used to be, to come together for a little reunion of sorts. The group then plays catch up and tries to keep an eye on Alex to ensure his safety. The core family consists of Ben (Nate Parker), the writer who hasn’t worked on his book in over a year, his girlfriend Siri (Maggie Grace), the anxious, Xanax queen Sarah (Aubrey Plaza), the cynical doctoral candidate Josh (Max Greenfield), and Isaac (Max Minghella) the friend who brings his new 22 year old girlfriend Kate (Jane Levy) to the group.
The plot of About Alex, as well as the character archetypes, is far from original. In fact, the film even gets a bit self-aware and points to the fact that it feels like an “old 80s movie,” referencing The Big Chill, among other siblings. But even though the film is aware that it’s paying homage as opposed to breaking new ground, things border on groaning cliche at a few points.
The plot of About Alex, as well as the character archetypes, is far from original. In fact, the film even gets a bit self-aware and points to the fact that it feels like an “old 80s movie,” referencing The Big Chill, among other siblings.
With decent performances from most of the core cast, including Grace, Parker, Minghella and Levy, the strongest performances come from indie starlet Aubrey Plaza and New Girl star Max Greenfield, which doesn’t come as a surprise. While Greenfield as Josh is perhaps the most interesting character to watch on screen, his intelligent cynicism unfortunately becomes cringe-worthy, more than occasionally. At this point in cinema, the character who bashes on technology with the same measly “put your phone down and live in the moment” argument is a tad trite. Films like Boyhood make the same complaints and observations about technology, but in longer, more elaborate ways that make more sense than the plain, cliche statements you hear everyday in the office.
Without giving too much away, one quickly begins to realize that the core group in the film are pretty similar to ensemble groups seen in Friends or How I Met Your Mother. That is to say that they are playing relationship musical chairs; everyone has slept with everyone, and it doesn’t seem to negate the closeness or openness of the group, but rather, seems to improve it.
Zwick could have done a tad better job with character development and arcs as opposed to throwing in “juicy” yet meaningless pseudo-dramatic events like small car wrecks, etc. On the plus side, the film’s soundtrack is hip and hits all the right spots and, when appropriate, fills you with the appropriate emotion. In the flashback scene that concludes the film, I was taken aback by how sentimental I became.
About Alex does not break any new ground in cinema whatsoever, but it doesn’t attempt to. It’s a surprisingly emotional debut from writer/director Zwick, and though the film feels extremely familiar, as do most of the characters that appear in it, it’s a warm, comfy way to spend 90 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGraucjOUGI
Review: 'What If'
Can men and women truly interact and be noble acquaintances without the pressure of romantic interest and relations? Many films have attempted to provide us with an answer to this infinitely important question, but few have succeeded. One thing is for certain, however; few men can bear to hear the statement “I think we should just be friends” without slowly self-destructing on the inside.
What If was previously titled The F Word (which implies “friends”, not the other word) when it made its festival circuit, and stars Daniel Radcliffe as Wallace, an introverted and slightly damaged young man who is still recovering from his last big breakup, along with the fact that he dropped out of medical school. One night at his friend Allan’s (Adam Driver) party, he runs into a hip, quirky, young lady named Chantry (Zoe Kazan). After Wallace finds out Chantry has a boyfriend, they agree to be friends. Fortunately for us, these characters do what movie characters often do: get themselves entangled in a bunch of complicated relationship shenanigans.
The screenplay, though fairly predictable, is solid in its heartfelt comedy and earnestness. Adapted from a play by T.J. Dawe and Michael Rinaldi, the script made the Black List back in 2008. The dialogue and cultural aesthetic in the film is somewhat similar to HBO’s Girls, which isn’t a bad thing at all. Radcliffe and Kazan have plenty of hilarious zingers to deliver here, and these clever one-liners will hit home among fellow quirky twenty-somethings. While Kazan’s performance is playful and sweet, Radcliffe shines and proves himself a true comedic talent. The two leads have excellent chemistry together as well, and many film-goers will recall When Harry Met Sally when they hear Radcliffe and Kazan banter on screen.
Radcliffe and Kazan have plenty of hilarious zingers to deliver here, and these clever one liners will hit home among fellow quirky twenty-somethings.
The soundtrack is another standout in the film, as are these small moments where Chantry’s illustrations come to life on the screen in a mystical way. These few moments of magical realism are a nice touch and add greatly to the overall warm feel of the film, but the best part about What If is the undeniably wonderful supporting performance by Adam Driver. The man steals every single scene he appears in, and I daresay he outshines Radcliffe in terms of comedic timing and charm.
What If has a simple, sweet and effective quality about it that makes the film wildly stand out among its other recent rom-com counterparts. With wonderful performances from the cast all around, especially Girls breakout star Adam Driver, the film offers fun and realistic interactions between twenty-somethings and their obsession with dry wit and sarcasm. What If also offers an incredible soundtrack that packs heavy emotion in unexpected moments. The film is incredibly self-aware of its place in the cinematic universe of romantic comedies, and this is yet another plus that makes it worth watching.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A86JGbBEaBk
Review: 'Child of God'
James Franco is a man of many intriguing hobbies, one of which is choosing novels that are usually regarded as “unfilmable” and adapting them into feature films. Lately, Franco is on a roll when it comes to adapting rather difficult literary content. Franco now has two Faulkner novels under his belt, As I Lay Dying and The Sound and the Fury, both of which were nontraditional in narrative and form. His latest adaptation is based on a Cormac McCarthy novel, Child of God, which is a short book filled with beautiful minimalist prose and a protagonist who does not fall under the usual hero archetype.
Child of God opens with a voiceover that is pulled directly from McCarthy’s text and jumps in immediately with a scene that introduces us to the isolated and mentally unstable Lester Ballard (Scott Haze) as he faces off against an entire mob of citizens, ultimately getting his head bashed with a rifle. Franco’s vision in Child of God is very close to the source novel and does not shy away from any of the dark subject matter, that is often uncomfortable but oddly humorous.
Franco is not interested in flashy cinematic shots here, more so in the minimalist style and honest character study of Lester Ballard, which is where Child of God really shines. Newcomer Scott Haze’s performance as Lester is phenomenal in a scary way. Variety even named him one of the top 10 “Actors to Watch” back in 2013. Haze reportedly fled to Tennessee to prepare for the role as soon as Franco offered it to him, and spent many nights sleeping in caves in an attempt to emotionally and physically embody Ballard. It’s safe to say that Haze’s preparation truly paid off here in one of the most serious performances in a film all year.
(Newcomer Scott) Haze reportedly fled to Tennessee to prepare for the role as soon as Franco offered it to him, and spent many nights sleeping in caves in an attempt to emotionally and physically embody Ballard.
Every facet of the lead performance here, from the way Haze drags his body around, to the animalistic yelps and screams, Lester Ballard is an absurdly compelling figure to watch on the big screen. In a strange but funny moment, we even see Lester defecate in the woods and wipe himself. Moments like this would never see the light of day in a big budget studio film, yet they add to the entire aesthetic here in bizarre, unexplainable ways. Lester’s eyes are wild and he doesn’t speak like a human. He carries corpses with humorous unease, lugging them around unsuccessfully for the most part. Lester is a monster roaming 1960s Tennessee and is ultimately looking for human love, just in different ways than we are used to seeing on film.
Speaking of love, the scenes of necrophilia are handled with surprising maturity here, though it isn’t Franco’s first attempt at necrophilia on film (see his short film “Herbert White” starring Michael Shannon). Regarding these particular scenes, some viewers will find them unpleasant to sit through, but I truly believe Franco navigated this subject without being the slightest bit “icky.”
In the end, the audience does not get to see Ballard pay for what he’s done. Child of God is the antithesis of a Hollywood film and solely cares about being true to McCarthy’s art. Regardless of what you think about Franco and his ever-growing collection of books, films and artwork, one has to compliment him on making a film that would otherwise never be made by any studio. If anything is certain, it is that Franco has an immense passion for literature and can be absolutely trusted with an otherwise “unfilmable” source material.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KnbqSf9eWE
Review: 'Mood Indigo'
As Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of my favorite films of recent years, I was looking forward to director Michel Gondry’s latest surrealist project. I even found myself squirming with anticipation in the viewing room and audibly giggling before the screening began. But upon finishing Mood Indigo, I had mixed feelings about this French visionary’s most recent work.
Gondry’s latest surrealist affair is an adaptation of the previously regarded “unfilmable” novel, Froth on a Daydream, which is written by French polymath Boris Vian. Mood Indigo focuses on Colin (Romain Duris), a happy-go-lucky and rather proper man who resides in a lively little apartment with his chef and lawyer, Nicolas (Omar Sy). Soon enough, Colin meets Chloe (Audrey Tautou) and falls in love almost immediately, as most fictional characters do. The two then partake in lovey dovey adventures throughout Paris, and what follows is an immensely imaginative and quite colorful experience, including a scene where Chloe and Colin ride through the sky on a cloud. But unfortunately, Mood Indigo quickly begins to focus too much on spectacle rather than emotion, tone, and compelling romance.
Mood Indigo quickly begins to focus too much on spectacle rather than emotion, tone, and compelling romance.
For instance, our two leading protagonists seem to jump onto the altar together before one can even begin to become emotionally invested in either character. The wedding scene is rather entertaining and memorable, luckily, with a split screen showcasing rain on one side and radiant sunshine on the other. But their honeymoon comes to an end when a doctor (played by Gondry himself) tells Chloe that she has a flower growing in her lungs and she will die unless she is kept close to fresh flowers.
Interestingly, as Chloe’s condition begins to worsen, the apartment itself changes as well. Colin’s apartment serves as a living, breathing organism in the film, and things such as color and size, and even small details often reflect Chloe’s personal state of health.
Mood Indigo’s visuals are quite the wondrous feat. A mixture of homemade special effects and stop motion, creativity is something Gondry excels in once again. But even so, the surrealism starts to become exhausting and even distracting mid-film. I found that I was completely detached from the characters and that I was simply watching wacky surrealist interactions occur on all corners of the screen at all times.
Whether or not the source material is to blame here is questionable, suffice it to say that I sure do miss a writer like Kaufman collaborating with Gondry, because Mood Indigo is like a never ending set of cute stunts, which feel more like a series of music videos than a narrative film. Even with the American cut, which is down to 90 minutes, the film seemed too long.
While certain images and set pieces from the film have definitely become unstuck in my mind, for instance a piano that makes cocktails or the room full of typists who are writing out Colin’s life on endless typewriters, the story is too emotionless and full of sensory overload for anyone to care too much about this Gondry flick, which is truly tragic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh3V-dFlmyk