'The Last Picture Show' and 'Black Narcissus' Wow at The 2017 TCM Classic Film Fest
Amidst all of the new and contemporary movies that we, here at Cinemacy, watch and share with our readers, there are always old classics that have been skipped, or just need to be to re-watched and enjoyed all over again. One event that celebrates the films of the past is the Turner Classic Movie Film Festival, held annually at the Hollywood Chinese and Egyptian Theaters, and running from Thursday, April 6th through Sunday, April 9th . This festival, in which this genre of movie lovers take in and discuss all things classic movies (sometimes walking about in full vintage dress to get into the fun), celebrated the theme, ‘Make ‘Em Laugh: Comedy in the Movies.’ Films shown included such classic comedies as Steve Martin’s feature film debut, "The Jerk," the 50th Anniversary screening and restoration print of Dustin Hoffman’s "The Graduate," and "Singin’ in the Rain," which honored the late Debbie Reynolds. This year there was a somber note in remembering Robert Osbourne, TCM’s famous host who passed away last year and who served as the channel’s most recognizable face. Osbourne’s presence was synonymous with the channel itself. Nonetheless, it was a wonderfully produced film festival where I even caught a few gems that I had not seen before.
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
Alfred Hitchcock’s feature film that got him recognized as a filmmaking talent by then-legendary Studio Head David O., was one of four films presented as part of TCM’s special nitrate film screenings. This new screening series in which four film prints that were shot on nitrate film stock – whose high silver content in the film stock made color contrast alluring, but also highly flammable and prone to theater fires – were played at the Egyptian Theater, whose projection booth was painfully retrofitted in order to play the film stock. As Martin Scorsese noted in the introduction of the movie’s amazing print quality, nitrate film was popularly used before the 40s until it was eventually phased out. The mystery of a family whose daughter is kidnapped and held ransom, played to enthused audiences. Peter Lorre’s English-speaking film debut was a stylish mystery that had me excited to watch the remake (the 1956 remake of the same name, starring James Stewart and Doris Day).
The Last Picture Show (1971)
Peter Bogdanovich introduced his most critically awarded film in "The Last Picture Show" before the Saturday afternoon screening. He was impressed that the packed house had shown up “that early” for the screening. Bogdanovich spoke candidly, speaking about the visual inspiration modeled after "Citizen Kane," in which friend Orson Welles advised that the only wayBogdanovich could capture the sharp depth of field that Citizen Kane had achieved years before, was to shoot it in a black and white format, which also places the film in its context of the period. The 50s-set movie about a small Texas town that centers around the local high school was a visual masterpiece, and became further cemented in film legacy when it took home Academy Award wins for Ben Johnson and Cloris Leachman for their Supporting Actor and Actress roles (this also marks Jeff Bridges’ first film debut).
Saturday Night Fever (1977)
John Travolta had a multi-picture deal with Paramount Pictures after starring in "Grease" when he was cast as Tony Manero, a young Brooklyn teenager who’s weekday work only serves to pay for weekend dancing and shenanigans with friends. The film, with Travolta’s disco-dancing and the Bee Gee’s iconic soundtrack, immediately entered pop culture and ended up making a quarter of a billion dollars. Directed by John Badhamm, who was on-hand to introduce the film, Badhamm recounted that Travolta was nervous about the dance scenes and that the iconic white suit (which there were only two versions) had to be dried off with a hair dryer between takes.
Black Narcissus (1937)
Closing the festival coverage was another nitrate film screening of the beautiful "Black Narcissus" (this film was buzzed about since Thursday’s screening of "The Man Who Knew Too Much" as the most anticipated of the nitrate films) – and it did not disappoint. Introduced by the Academy’s Film Archivist, this film was included for its beautifully preserved print, making it obvious why "Black Narcissus" won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography. The Technicolor picture, about a group of sisters who open a nunnery in the Himalayan mountains, was truly one of the most gorgeous films I had seen in a theater. It was a fantastic way to end the festival, so if you ever have the chance to see it on the big screen, jump at the opportunity to do so!
In fact, make a plan to rediscover great classic films as well as explore unknown gems, by attending the TCM Film Festival next Spring.
For more information, visit TCM Classic Film Festival 2017.
'Kong: Skull Island' Review: This Jungle Expedition Looks to Find Fun With New Beasts of Kong-sized Proportions
In "Kong: Skull Island," Skull Island is a remote, uncharted island in the Pacific, hidden away from the outside world by a stormy surface that has kept the island unexplored for years – which also keeps the mystery of who, or what, lives there as well. That is, until satellite photos – a new technology in the year 1973, of which this latest King Kong movie takes place – reveals the island (named for its foreboding topographical resemblance of a skull) and proves its existence to a team of scientists who set out to discover what unknown mysteries such a place could offer.
However, the mysteries that "Kong: Skull Island" tease as to what could happen hardly end up showing audiences anything they haven't seen before, as this popcorn romp ends up being a more familiar take of a crash-landing on a dangerous and exotic location. Although, in this take, all must survive not only the wrath of the enormous king primate but that of similarly colossal creatures of equally enormous stature which prove to be their biggest threat, until they are lifted to safety.
And yet, while the cash-out mystery is barely paid out to the audience, the film is hardly a disastrous time. This blockbuster, directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts ("The Kings of Summer"), made by Legendary Pictures and released by Warner Brothers, brings a large ensemble cast of cartoony characters who evoke the camp of B-movie seriousness along with a visually fun, 70s-drenched period piece reminiscent of the post-Vietnam era that the movie mines its story from. The light politicking that "Skull Island" enters into channels the original "King Kong" story (of the developed nation's Anglo man capturing and conquering the primal “other") as an allegory of the controversial U.S. involvement and entering into foreign lands for stakeholding.
"Kong: Skull Island" hardly tries to explore new territory, but has its fun as an ensemble movie that slides by with camp and charm.
Living in the silly-serious world of Skull Island are a lot of famous faces that, at just under two hours, make this outing a fun enough time. Leading the expedition is Bill Randa (John Goodman), an assumed crackpot enthusiast who gets last minute approval (and funds) to explore the mysterious Skull Island. Enlisted to lead the team are local guy at the bar James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston), a tracker whose T-shirt physique is more defined than his actual character, and Mason Weaver (Brie Larson), a sexy bombshell war photographer. Leading the team from a defense perspective is the now out-of-work Lt. Col. Preston Packard (Samuel L. Jackson), an American soldier whose post-war memories of losses on the battlefield fuel aggressions that extend to the island's native inhabitants, including the mighty Kong, being eventually made into this movie's real villainous and threatening character.
"Kong: Skull Island" is a large movie (about as large as this CGI'd Kong, the biggest of any King Kong in the movie's franchise), where, upon the group's arrival to the island and immediate encounter with the giant primate, three separate factions of characters get their own storylines, getting quite episodic early. While Randa, Conrad, Weaver, and more stumble upon the face-painted loin-cloth-laden natives and a few other wacky characters (Hey, John C. Reilly!), Packard grows further hell-bent. Consumed by his PTSD, he grows determined to conquer the King who, we learn from Reilly's kooked out WW2 pilot that lives on the island, is actually the protector of the island from an even greater (read: bigger) danger – "skull walkers" that look like two-legged slithery dinosaurs with the face of a bare skull. The consciences of all parties are tested when Kong is threatened by Packard and the "skull walkers," forcing the group to realize how saving Kong’s life will affect their own safety and chances of returning home (stay tuned for the sequel).
"Kong: Skull Island" hardly tries to explore new territory, but has its fun as an ensemble movie that slides by with camp and charm. The movie diverts from telling the traditional tale of men capturing the mountain-sized monkey (of which we've already seen in Peter Jackson's 2005 faithful re-telling of the 1933 classic film, "King Kong"), and instead puts a new spin on the Monster Universe, which also coincides with "Godzilla" (be sure to stay tuned after the credits for a post-movie teaser). It may drain you a little more than you'd like, but an alluring visual draw and list of enjoyable onscreen talent makes"Kong: Skull Island" a light-faired, playful time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44LdLqgOpjo
118 min. 'King Kong: Skull Island" is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and for brief strong language.
'Get Out' Review: A Horror Satire and One of This Generation's Most Important Films
It starts out as a movie send-up of the classic meet-the-parents awkwardness before dovetailing into the dread of discovering her family’s possible secret (or secret society) that feels like "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" meets "The Stepford Wives."
By now you've probably heard that the suburbia-horror satire "Get Out" is worth seeing in theaters, standing as one of the first big movie events of the year. In its fifth week in release, the genre-pic, with a budget of only $4.5 million dollars and a total gross of– as of this writing– just north of $133 million, has found its legs by being a horror movie for the twenty-first century."Get Out" is not only an edge-of-your-seat nutso head-spinning story, but a socially conscious movie that adds to the national conversation of race and safety championed by the Black Lives Matter protesting of post-Obama America.
"Get Out" is written and directed by comedian Jordan Peele, better known as one-half of the comedic duo of Comedy Central's former hit show "Key and Peele" (along with partner Keegan-Michael Key). The Universal Pictures release, produced by veteran horror producer Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions ("Split", "Insidious") has more than connected with audiences, this time being "Certified Fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes at 99% and opening at a record-setting 100%.
"Get Out" follows a typical horror film template, but Peele makes it fresh by slotting the perspective of the current African-American experience of living in a predominantly white middle-class America into the framework and then corkscrewing that premise into a full-tilt satirical terror. The story of a young man of color (Daniel Kaluuya) meeting his white girlfriend's (Allison Williams) family for the first time starts out as a movie send-up of the classic meet-the-parents awkwardness before dovetailing into the dread of discovering her family’s possible secret (or secret society) that feels like "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" meets "The Stepford Wives".
What can and should be said about the movie is that, while"Get Out" may technically be Jordan Peele's first credited feature film (and only his second writing effort next to 2016's Key and Peele-starrer "Keanu"), one shouldn't be surprised that Peele has executed a vision that so successfully blends all genres...
When young photographer Chris (Kaluuya) is brought by Rose (Williams) to meet her parents at their country estate for the weekend, he asks her if they know that her boyfriend is black – it's an early temperature reading that sheds light on those things that are still on the forefront of nonwhite's daily living. Rose's loving reassures Chris and the two are off to her parent's house in the backwoods, putting in motion the familiar story of horror movie isolated helplessness. At Rose's warning, her neurosurgeon father Dean (Bradley Whitford) and psychotherapist mother Missy (Catherine Keener) only evoke slight cringe-worthy conversations that mildly substantiate Chris' worries of meeting her all-white family, and it doesn’t help when he notices that the grounds worker and house-staff are all African-American (and act a little more than odd). However, the little tensions go fully bonkers when it's remembered that their weekend stay is also during the annual Armitage family gathering, where an entire drove of upper-class whites drive in for the afternoon and even odder occurrences reveal themselves to a freaked out Chris, who begins to wise up to the fact that things are definitely not what they seem, and that his safety may or may not depend on his "getting out."
It should be said now that"Get Out", as was this reviewer's experience, is best watched with little to zero pre-knowledge of the movie and no knowledge of what you're in store for (which makes writing a review of the film in which to sell the movie a trick in its own right), as it's effect is fully felt in the surprises that come around every corner. What can and should be said about the movie is that, while"Get Out" may technically be Jordan Peele's first credited feature film (and only his second writing effort next to 2016's Key and Peele-starrer "Keanu"), one shouldn't be surprised that Peele has executed a vision that so successfully blends all genres – horror, comedy, and wickedly welcome surrealism – as he's cut his teeth arguably making hundreds of original short films with wacky jokes and even wackier characters that made up his Emmy-Award winning television series.
Past the early year's stuffy Oscars season and now with the start of early summer blockbusters,"Get Out" has proven that it connects with audiences and has tapped into a very real message, both recent racial injustices as well as this country's history with slavery. It's an original scary movie that flips a script on the traditional scary set-up and will take you out of your comfort zone in more ways than one.
'Get Out' is now playing everywhere. Rated R for violence, bloody images, and language including sexual references.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRfnevzM9kQ
'Dying Laughing' Directors Lloyd Stanton & Paul Toogood on Truth in Comedy
"I know we sound identical," says Llyod Stanton in a thick British accent at the start of our phone interview. "Maybe I'll talk down here." "Ah yes, a Michael Caine, if you will," I reply. They laugh, and we're off to a great start.
Lloyd Stanton and Paul Toogood are the directing duo behind the film Dying Laughing, a documentary that gives an introspective look into the struggles behind the laughs in stand-up comedy. Both lifelong fans of the art form, I had the opportunity to chat with the directors, who shed light on their favorite comedians, the importance of sharing your truth, and how social media can affect a stand-up's future.
What makes the perfect joke?
PT: The jokes that work for me are the ones that work on several different levels. Louis C.K. is a perfect example. He tells an everyday story, [my favorite] is the one where he's playing monopoly with his kids. It's a really delicate take on the meaning of life, and it's very funny.
LS: All the jokes that I find funny are so sick I would never mention them in an interview.
You gave the film a very interesting title– "Dying Laughing." Usually, it's the audience that is dying laughing but here it's the stars themselves who experience a form of "dying" onstage that the audience is unaware of. What was your approach to the film?
LS: Yes, it's an investigation into what we think is an undervalued and underloved art form. Now obviously lots of people are crazy about standup comedy, but we wanted to take a step back and really think about what these incredible people do. It's actually really difficult, and we had heard from so many people about how difficult it was when they started out. Of course, when people do something really well, they often times make it look very easy. We learned it can take 10 years before you get any good at standup! Part of that process is developing as a human being and speaking your truth– this goes for all of us, not just comics– and that's how you develop your voice as a human. They confront the painful parts of life and find a way to laugh at them.
PT: It's a noble art. These people are the writer, director, and producer all at once and they don't seem to have any [work] to support them when they're not onstage, so it's a frightening thing. They create an extraordinary bond with their audience, which takes on an almost religious significance. Garry Shandling and Chris Rock are terrific examples of this.
Is the comedian's struggle something you discovered while making the doc or something you've been familiar with?
PT: I think we definitely had an understanding of it. We have friends who are comedians and have experienced it over the years. We both learned [during filming] lots about who these people were and how much personal investment goes into it– not only on a professional or technical level but on a private level as well– because of the nature of the job. It's probably the most anti-social job you could ever have. You're not in a band, you don't have anyone around you, it's often just you, on your own.
LS: Particularly in the U.S., you're driving several thousands of miles between very bad gigs, terrible hotels, and awful food. So over the time we made the film and the stories from the 120 comedians we interviewed, we got a full sense of what these people go through so that you can have a laugh on a Friday night.
So over the time we made the film and the stories from the 120 comedians we interviewed, we got a full sense of what these people go through so that you can have a laugh on a Friday night.
Let's go back to that number- 120 interviews! How did reach out to all of those people and, on the flipside, how did you it narrow down to the comedians we see on screen?
LS: When we sent a request to a comedian, they'll see the work we've done before and hopefully that will be an attractive proposal. We also asked friends of ours to come on board and serve as producers, and they had friends who were big talents. Then you get to a point where, after we interviewed Jerry Seinfeld or Garry Shandling, we found that people ran very quickly towards us to be a part of our film. Those people very often had ignored us the first time we reached out, haha.
PT: We had 120+ hour-long interviews, which gave us more footage than we could ever use in a 90-minute cut, and the challenge was to find the narrative in the stories they told us. That was a very difficult thing. It was a very hard-fought choice we made together. Certain people, how they spoke and what they said, fit that narrative better, and so that's how they ended up in the film. That's not to say the other people who didn't make the feature cut weren't fantastic in their interviews. So we're now in production on a 10-part spin-off television series where we get more time to investigate some of these stories, and we'll feature many of the people that we interviewed for the film. We're very grateful to all of them.
Some of the stories of bombing and heckling are pretty emotionally traumatic.
PT: There's something really extraordinary about a grown man who doesn't mind sharing his truth with potentially millions of people, and that is really at the root of this process– people who are prepared to tell the truth.
It seems like nowadays, a lot of comedians are getting famous online, through social media and the internet. Do you have any thoughts on this new medium?
LS: I think there's definitely a good and bad sad to social media. In the end, good stand-up comedy will continue to do what it's always done, whatever the delivery format, which is to make you laugh and at the same time maybe give you some information on how to live. The best stand-ups I know and love are the ones who are able to talk about issues that are taboo or culturally difficult, you can see how comedians are playing to politics at the moment. I think they all appreciate social media and recognize what it can do for them, as well as bemoan the fact that they can't do a warm up gig in a small town and try out new material... because it will be on social media that evening. Although I don't think [social media] will change comedy in the end.
I think they all appreciate social media and recognize what it can do for them, as well as bemoan the fact that they can't do a warm up gig in a small town and try out new material... because it will be on social media that evening.
(Cont.)
LS: I think there's never been a more important time for people to make jokes. Political jokes seem to take hold in Europe and America at the moment. I think it's really important that funny people speak out and speak the truth. I was talking to my daughter the other night, she's 25, and she wanted to talk about politics. I've never had a conversation with her about politics, so I asked her where this was coming from. She told me about an amazing stand-up comedian she'd been listening to on a podcast who was talking about the Brexit in the U.K. That's what got her attention! Not the newspapers, not the news, but a stand-up comedian.
How did you two come together to direct this film?
PT: We're best friends. We've been making things together for many years– 25 years ago it was pop videos, we've written lots of scripts together, and we'll be making many more things together until we kill each other.
Is there any seminal thing that opened your eyes to the world of comedy?
PT: Absolutely! As a teenage, white middle-class kid in England, having the Richard Pryor records– the live in concert ones– was genuinely extraordinary. I actually just watched it again the other night on Netflix, and it still is relevant and powerful. It feels so completely contemporary and yet it was made in the mid-70's and the world is a very different place.
LS: Me too, can I have that one as well?
(Laughter)
PT: Oh and anything at all by Eddie Murphy. Murphy, please come back!
Kris Avedisian and Jesse Wakeman of 'Donald Cried' Talk Unexpected Influences
A personal early favorite of 2017, "Donald Cried" is a little gem of an indie comedy whose sharp humor about deconstructing the notion of "arrested development" had me literally laughing out loud.
In this dark comedy, which was executive produced by David Gordon Green, Jody Hill & Danny McBride, former childhood best friends, Donald (Kris Avedisian) and Peter (Jesse Wakeman), are forced to reconnect under the oddest of circumstances. At its core, "Donald Cried" is a simple story about rediscovery and friendship while remaining bizarrely funny and, ultimately, universal.
I had the opportunity to talk to the stars of the film, whose talents extended far beyond just the front of the camera. Both guys, in addition to their friend, Kyle Espeleta, wrote the script, and this marks Avedisian's feature-length directorial debut. With so much time, money, and passion invested in this film, we talk about their prior filmmaking history, inspiration from the Coen brothers, and toeing the thin line between "Euro" and "Conventional."
What was your favorite movie of last year (2016)?
Kris Avedisian: I'm honestly going to say my most memorable experience is not a movie, but it was actually a video game called Inside. It is a small, independent dice-rolling game, like a David Lynch thing. I think that game was just as much a narrative experience as a movie could be.
Jesse Wakeman: 'The People vs OJ,' which was also not a movie, but I think it's amazing.
KA: Was "Green Room" from 2016?
Oh, it was, it made my "Top 10."
KA: Yeah, that's one I think about for sure.
I saw "Donald Cried" a few weeks back at the Cinefamily, and I went in not knowing what to expect. Turns out, it's hilarious! What is it like for you to take this movie on the road and hear the audience laugh?
KA: It's amazing that you can take [the film] to these different people in different places. I've shown it in colleges to younger folk and also people in Tallahassee, FL who are in their 60's who were really, really into it. It's been awesome. To be able to make strangers laugh like that is unreal.
JW: It's kinda sad, you spend all this time wanting exactly that to happen, and then it happens, which is completely incredible. But I'm just too fucked up and always worry what's wrong with the movie, or what's next still, unfortunately. Fortunately, it's been amazing.
How did you two meet and what was your first filmmaking experience together like?
KA: We met in the Bay Area through our other co-writer, Kyle Espeleta. Kyle and I were making shorts and eventually, Jesse came into the mix. We all got along pretty immediately and sort of formed this family.
JW: In retrospect, I feel so lucky that we did meet. I worked as an actor for a long time, before I met the crew. When we first met, I was like, 'Wow, our sensibilities really align.' This was about 17 years ago. We were just grinding, working on these short films. We made the Donald short in 2012, at that time we had a couple of feature scripts in the works and were trying to make our first feature, but after the short, we thought, 'Wow, these are characters we can work with and develop more.' Plus, we were both in it, so we could control it ourselves. We had to find a way to do it our way but with no money, and do it well. I guess that's what took us so damn long.
To be able to make strangers laugh like that is unreal.
You mentioned working on other projects before this one, what made you want to make your feature debut with 'Donald Cried?'
KA: We've always liked the comedy-drama mix, and the short film had all of the ingredients we needed– Jesse and I would primarily be in it, we could afford to make it, and it was funny which would be good commercially. Even writing the script, we were debating how "Euro" or "conventional" we should make it. We knew if it was too experiential or "Euro" it would have failed.
JW: I felt like in watching the performances, we weren't pushing. We had made a lot of shorts where the acting was close to the characters, but it wasn't quite right. Then we made 'Donald' and it was like, oh, I believe these characters.
Among other champions of the film are your executive producers, David Gordon Green, Jody Hill, and Danny McBride, who presented the movie at the Cinefamily screening. What did they say they responded to in the film?
KA: David said at the Cinefamily screening, which I think was the nicest thing he said about it, was that he felt like "Donald Cried" was a personal gift made for him. I don't want to speak for him, but I think they responded to the humor and the compactness of the story– how much it does in such a small amount of time.
JW: We have been watching their work for years now, they are huge influences on us, so having their approval was huge.
How do you work together, specifically during the scriptwriting process? Do you finish each other's sentences?
KA: For this particular project, we would just throw ideas around and build outlines. I would then write a draft based on that outline. We'd go through that, see what was and wasn't working, and then get back together and keep working on it from an outline standpoint. I think that's kind of our thing, the writing comes last.
JW: We'd look to other films, "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" would come up a lot. That one in particular, although it has a different tone, we'd ask "How did they do that buddy structure?"
KA: I just listened to a Coen brothers [interview] because I was curious how they operated. I forget if it was Ethan or Joel, but one of them writes just because they type faster than the other one. He just sits there and writes as they're both talking through it.
That's the scene that ended up being what I hoped it was when it was just in simple sentence form. Plus, people seem to really enjoy that scene, and you can't tell that we were actually really miserable.
When you look back on shooting, was there one moment that you remember fondly?
KA: I think the scene that we're smoking pot in. That was written as us going into the woods and kind of fuck around, and it just looked terrible in the script but I knew it was something we would improvise. During production, we shot a version of it that was really constricted and wasn't improvised, and it didn't really work. We had to reshoot [that scene] while it was snowing, and I thought the movie was a failure. Jesse wasn't feeling well but we just forced ourselves to do it, and that's the scene that ended up being what I hoped it was when it was just in simple sentence form. Plus, people seem to really enjoy that scene, and you can't tell that we were actually really miserable.
JW: Absolutely, it was tense. The snow came to us five days before we started shooting. We needed the snow, but were prepared to shoot without it, but it came. And then when we needed to do the reshoot, it came again.
Any last thoughts on the film before it hits theaters?
KA: I hope people see it in a movie theater, that's the best way to experience a movie. I need to see more movies in a movie theater.
JW: Yeah, we just feel so lucky and hope to make more things soon!
Best Picture Winner 'Moonlight' Sweeps at the 2017 Film Independent Spirit Awards
Each year, on the day before the film industry's biggest night that is the Oscars, the non-profit arts organization Film Independent hosts the Independent Spirit Awards, an annual event that brings out some of Hollywood's finest indie filmmakers and stars to a beautiful Santa Monica beach setting to celebrate the films that are made outside of the mainstream studio system. This year, Cinemacy's Editor-in-Chief Morgan and I covered the awards show from the press room. There was a diverse lineup of films being honored this year, from the Franco-Mexican drama "Chronic" to this year's Academy Award winner for Best Picture, “Moonlight" (who will ever forget the massive flub that initially and incorrectly awarded the film to "La La Land”). Despite their background or box office success, all nominees shared one common thread – a deep rooted passion and love for independent films.
In a politically-charged era that has viewers almost expecting Hollywood to comment on our nation's current political happenings, comedians Nick Kroll and John Mulaney co-hosted the event with no shortage of sharp-witted jokes. Their buddy breeziness set a perfect atmosphere for a relaxed and casual evening (along with house band Gary Clark Jr.). This, being the day before the stress-filled night that is the Oscars, is a much-appreciated thing.
The Indie Spirit Awards recognized "Moonlight" with six top honors, including Best Feature, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Screenplay, and Best Cinematography. The show brought out the film's stars Mahershala Ali (who went on to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor), Naomie Harris, Janelle Monáe, and more, who all cheered on director Barry Jenkins as he received the Robert Altman Award on the film’s behalf. Speaking about “Moonlight’s” impact on the film industry, Jenkins was humbled by the acknowledgment and considered it a "beacon of inclusivity,” noting that the industry has to tell “more stories that speak truth to power.” “Moonlight” is available to rent on iTunes now.
For our review of "Moonlight," click here.
Voters awarded Casey Affleck, who would also win Best Actor in a Leading Role at the Academy Awards the following night, with the award for Best Male Lead for his performance as a grieving janitor in "Manchester by the Sea” (available to rent on Amazon).
For our review of "Manchester by the Sea" click here.
Best Female Lead was awarded to Isabelle Huppert for her performance as a woman assaulted in the amazing, but little-seen, French film, “Elle" (available to rent on Vudu beginning March 14th).
For our review of "Elle," click here.
Winning Best Supporting Male was Ben Foster for his bank-robbing bad boy character in “Hell or High Water” (available to rent on Amazon).
For our review of "Hell or High Water," click here.
Best Supporting Female was an ecstatic Molly Shannon for her portrayal of a cancer-stricken mother in “Other People” (available to stream on Netflix).
For our review of "Other People," click here.
"Toni Erdmann" won Best International Film. Receiving the award was the film's director, Maren Ade, who spoke to the news of the film's remake, starring Jack Nicholson and Kristen Wiig, as "strange," but ultimately humbling. When asked if she was to have any part in the remake, she quickly answered, "No."
The award for Best Documentary went the seven-hour epic, "OJ: Made in America" (which was awarded the same honor at the Academy Awards the following day). Director/producer Ezra Edelman accepted the award, and made it clear that this was his first, and last, seven-hour long film.
Another independent film to be recognized was last year's Puritan horror film "The Witch," which saw writer/director Robert Eggers take home the awards for Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay.
For our review of "The Witch," click here.
The event's first award, Best Editing, went to Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders for "Moonlight." McMillon made history as the first African-American woman to be nominated for a best editing Oscar.
The theme of the day, celebrating both the diversity of filmmakers and the important stories they tell, resonated when more than a handful of winners thanked us, the members of the press, for their dedication to their job in a time when the media has faced so much attack from Washington. The feeling of unification we felt this day reminds us why stories are so essential to tell now more than ever, and independent cinema continues to prove that this is the place to do it.
Morgan and Ryan would like to express our sincere thanks to Film Independent and Ginsberg/Libby for our inclusion in the event.
'Dying Laughing' Review: Comedians' Pain Gets the Spotlight
There's a pain in life that comedians know all too well, which directors Lloyd Stanton and Paul Toogood shine a spotlight on in the new documentary, "Dying Laughing."
As Stanton and Toogood show in their documentary, a collection of interviews ranging from the Mount Rushmore of stand-up comedians such as Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, and Kevin Hart, to lesser known talents, it's actually often not the audience who are the ones dying from laughter. Speaking to a number of less than glamorous moments that every stand-up has to share, from disastrous early comedy sets (“bombing”), taking an act on the road and the loneliness it brings, audience “heckling” turning into insults and threats, to re-examining why they choose to do this in the first place, the documentary provides a unique behind-the-curtain look at these struggles and stresses that are so woven into these artists’ craft.
Running at just eighty-nine minutes, "Dying Laughing" shoots all of its famous faces in black and white against flat white backdrops, giving a unifying aesthetic to the whole film. This look, without much use of music or score underneath their emotionally vulnerable stories, lends a viewing experience that's more of a studied watch, an intellectual understanding of comedy, which gives this a bit more heft than other documentaries on the subject.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mWZeIgMO68
From Jerry Seinfeld observing that "comedy is purely a result of your ability to withstand torture," Sarah Silverman talking about needing the approval of strangers, Kevin Hart scrolling through pages upon pages of logged ideas and "bits" in his iPhone, to Amy Schumer talking about finding her comedic inspiration, to Cedric the Entertainer talking about being called the "N-word" on one such stand-up occasion, there is a vast amount of stories that the documentary features. "Dying Laughing" further contextualizes the role of the stand-up comedian in this modern age, with Chris Rock opening "we're the last philosophers - everybody that talks now is taking with a pre-approved scripts."
It's clear that the directors themselves are clued into the sense of self, spirit, and struggle comedians hold, usually coming from a real sense of internal struggle and depression. For those who would be just as interested in the existential crisis that accompanies comedians' craft as they would their jokes, this documentary has much to offer.
"Dying Laughing" will most appeal to those who aren't so much looking for actual laughs, but who are curious to learn more about the people who work their whole lives to earn them. The documentary also features an interview from the late and great Garry Shandling, who the film is dedicated to. "Dying Laughing" is at both times poignant and profound, and adds another layer to the truth about comedy and its crucial place in the world today.
Grindhouse Comedy 'I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore' Wins Grand Jury Prize
Cinemacy just came back from covering this year’s Sundance film festival (my and Morgan's first time!), and we were lucky enough to see the film that took home the top prize.
That film was Macon Blair's comedy-thriller I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore, which won the coveted Grand Jury Prize after leaving audiences in stitches with its raucous tonal mixings of genuinely side-splitting comedy and shock-violence action that plays like an indie grindhouse comedy.
I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore is built on the premise that the world is full of self-centered jerks. It’s certainly the world that Ruth (Melanie Lynskey) lives in, where minor violations like witnessing lifted trucks pumping out black exhaust, people’s careless discarding of items on the floor at the grocery store, and constantly not picked up dog droppings on her lawn, are a part of everyday life. The easygoing nice-person levee breaks when, after the discovery of a home invasion with personal affections stolen, Ruth decides to take matters into her own hands and track down the culprit, if nothing more than to confront the perpetrator for their moral wrongness. Ruth enlists the help of her quirky karate-obsessed neighbor Tony (Elijah Wood) to help find the burglar, but little do they know that they're tracking down a band of junkie nutso's led by slithery and vampiric Marshall (Tony Zow), who are planning an even bigger smash and grab job. This sucks them into an underbelly world full of bloodbath mayhem that puts them in way, way over their heads.
Even the notion of being one of the last few moral-defenders in a world run amuck by schmucks is a feeling that taps into the collective conscious that we all have (haven’t we all fantasized about confronting that jerk who uncaringly spoils a major twist in that fantasy novel??), making the cathartic and comedic effects here even greater.
As Ruth, Melanie Lynskey is great as an elder’s nurse turned homespun moral crime-fighter, playing the full comedic range of meekly expected disappointments in the beginning of the film, up through passing her tipping point and boiling over into DIY revenge, stealing back her grandmother’s silver from a seedy pawnshop in one of the film’s most jarringly and unexpectedly hilarious moments when the pawnshop owner tries to stop them. Even the notion of being one of the last few moral-defenders in a world run amuck by schmucks is a feeling that taps into the collective conscious that we all have (haven’t we all fantasized about confronting that jerk who uncaringly spoils a major twist in that fantasy novel??), making the cathartic and comedic effects here even greater.
Elijah Wood as Ruth’s nerdy, karate-loving loner neighbor Tony may have never been funnier onscreen. With his rat tail hair, old man specs, and nunchucks and ninja stars, Wood plays the punchline sidekick that keeps the filming motoring confidently on its screwy head. Wood gets rich deadpan dialogue at every turn from Blair’s original script (after struggling to pull out a ninja star from the wall, Tony surmises “That’s how hard I threw it”). But Wood’s sensitivity also conveys the introverted anti-social neighbor that makes Tony a perfect companion. The chemistry between them makes one wish what other adventures the two could get into.
I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore (its mouthy title comes from a Gospel LP that Blair received from director pal Jeremy Saulnier, whose name ended up fitting the tone of the film perfectly) is a true belly laugh of a film, and the perfect choice for when you want to watch a weirdly hilarious and insane hybrid of a movie. Director Blair, who Morgan and I had the fortune of actually running into while walking down Park City’s Main Street earlier in the day before his film would win at the Awards Ceremony later that night, could not have been a more pleasant and nice person- which just goes to show – as the film will be streaming on Netflix later this year – that nice people don’t always finish last.