celluloidnotes

I recently reviewed RFK Must Die: The Assassination of Bobby Kennedy over at Film-Forward. So I thought I’d provide a link to it.

I couldn’t help but notice the similarities (in subject matter, timing, and approach) to Robert Stone’s documentary on the JFK assassination Oswald’s Ghost (which I also reviewed at the same site). But the major difference was that Robert Stone really explored all of the conspiracy theories throughout the bulk of the film, without providing much bias. He attempted to reveal the reasons why people believe any of the many theories on the assassination. But by the end of the film he begins providing the reasons why Oswald may have actually done it by himself. This is where his bias is revealed (I wouldn’t try to argue that the film lacks bias).

There is a similar approach at the beginning of RFK Must Die. Director Shane O’ Sullivan seems to be exploring different theories on the assassination. Where it begins to differ is that the viewer becomes aware that you are really following Sullivan’s personal journey through the assassination. And that there has been a bias all along, because it has such a personally exploratory approach. It is an interesting method he has chosen, and it’s effective in it’s own way. Many of the questions the viewer may develop throughout the film seem to coincide with the questions Sullivan is asking as well. In that way he draws the viewer into his own experience and you almost go on the journey with him. But this is clearly a flawed approach. And by the end of the film I become frustrated with the lack of gumption on his behalf to question his own ideas. He never really explores the possibility that Sirhan Sirhan did do it, by himself, sans conspiracy. Whether not he (or I) believe that is irrelevant, because it is a question that needs to be asked. Similarly it seems reasonable, it such an exploration, that the filmmaker needs to not only criticize the LAPD and FBI investigation of the assassination, but to try and reason if there is a possibility of human error in their investigation, or whether they actually came to the conclusions in their respective reports. Sullivan never attempts to do this. He mentions the investigations, but only to say that they were flawed. Even for the sake of clarity he never, not for a moment, supposes that maybe there was a real investigation and not a cover-up. In this sense the film ultimately fails to be convincing, there are too many simple questions that go unasked. It’s really a very interesting, well researched film, I don’t want to insinuate that it was terrible because I have a problem with aspects of Sullivan’s investigation. But there are holes in his approach, and that keeps the film from ever becoming great.

You can read my review here.

Most of the criticism surrounding Be Kind Rewind seems to deal with expectations. The expectation that Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep) will always provide films that deal with the inner workings of the human psyche, that he will always provide cutting edge visual candy. The expectation of seeing whether or not Mos Def can really continue his cross over into acting, if Jack Black can start to break free of his traditional character with anger issues and occasional bouts of over animation.

I’d like to say that this is an unreasonable way to view a film, but it is the reality of such a collaboration. There are always expectations and this film is weighed down with them, any project from the pseudo-cult phenom Michel Gondry is bound to have expectations placed upon it by the cinephiles of the world. Gondry represents an independent mind working within the studio system to create a unique cinematic experience, one of only a handful of true auteurs in the modern cinema.

Be Kind Rewind focuses on Mike (Mos Def) and his best friend Jerry (Jack Black). Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover), the proprietor of the video store Be Kind Rewind, leaves town for a small convention on jazz luminary Fats Wallar and leaves Mike in charge of the store. Jerry’s plan to destroy the local power plant, which he is sure is controlling their minds, winds up only giving Jerry a permanent magnetic charge. This leads to all of the tapes at Be Kind Rewind being erased and Mike and Jerry’s desperate attempt to refilm everything in the store so it doesn’t go under.

If this sounds complicated don’t worry, it’s a little convoluted. But, despite a lot of harsh criticism, the film is a charming visual feast. If you come to it burdened with expectation it can be a little disappointing, there is a lot less of the standard psyche probing psychedelia that characterizes much of Gondry’s work, yet it retains his unique visual stamp.

But that’s the nature of the film, this is outside of Gondry’s usual realm and he still manages to make it his own. The sequences where Mike and Jerry are re-shooting the films are particularly engaging and filled with beautiful, complex cinematography. It’s of the type that really draws the viewer into the filmmaking process to recognize the difficult maneuvers that are being pulled off (this self realization is no coincidence since much of the film seems to deal with the art of creating, more specifically filmmaking - though the film makes great attempts to extend this metaphor into all forms of creation).

The story, while having it’s low moments, is generally fairly upbeat, that has that summery feel-good-ness to it. It’s a unique comedy that goes to great lengths to rise above mere comedic routines and engages the viewer in the process of independent art. It speaks to that part of everyone that wishes they would see more films, more plays, read more books; it speaks to that part of everyone that wishes they were more a part of the community and realize where there part in the play exists.

It’s not a perfect film, and a lot of the criticisms are justified, but there is something special about the way Gondry can engage an audience in any genre. With Be Kind Rewind he proves that he still has the ability to provide intriguing cinema working from within the studios, and without his usual psychological mind games.

NPR recently did a feature piece on the Nina Davenport’s new documentary Operation Filmmaker - which I reviewed here. If you didn’t hear that piece it is included in this week’s NPR: Movies podcast.

But it was an interesting piece that takes a look at what is happening now to the people involved in the film. It didn’t just talk about what the film is about and play some clips, they allowed Muthana to express his regret about his involvement in the project (he is still living in London, waiting tables).

I think the most interesting part of this feature was how they portrayed the clashes between Davenport and Muthana as a filmmaker’s worst nightmare. Which, of course, they are in a way. She had to take on her subject on a personal level of conflict. Which lead her to express some regret about the film. She talks about how it saddened her that she wound up portraying an Iraqi youth as an unsympathetic character, and that had she known at the outset of Everything is Illuminated that events would progress the way they did she would have never made the film.

I know I’m paraphrasing a longer piece here, but it was really interesting to hear the aftermath of a very powerful documentary. And I think that this sense of regret and the unexpected happening is what makes this documentary so powerful. It, on a micro level, reveals the complexities of international conflict (particularly the war in Iraq) on both a personal and international level. The notion that if she would have anticipated the difficulties of this multi-cultural project she would have never embarked on the journey is a somewhat poignant coda to the parallels of the film and the war. It’s a difficult situation that doesn’t lend itself to easy solutions, as much as we like to divide all political thought into a binary of yes or no (Democrat or Republican), it’s never really that simple. Especially in an election year where many of the issues are codified in this manner (for or against the war, pro-life or pro-choice, Democrat or Republican, Universal health care or privatized health care) it’s very easy to lose sight of that, as much of the media often does.

Operation Filmmaker is out in theaters this week. Highly recommended viewing for cinephiles looking for an alternative to the next big superhero flick.

To be completely honest I had a brief love affair with Woody Allen. Films like Sleeper & Bananas made the subtle comedy of his great mid-period films so much greater it was difficult not to fall in love with Allen’s cinema. But as you dig deeper and deeper into his filmography the romance falls away. His comedic brand, which seems so intelligent and cutting at first, but it unravels as you see more of the films. There is a lack of daring, a lack of political edge; it’s so passive and so thin that the love affair ends. That is why it was a great moment when Allen released Match Point, it seemed as though he reinvented himself and it somehow felt as though he had lent some legitimacy to his body of work again. In Cassandra’s Dream I anticipated that same step forward for Allen into a much more psychologically depraved Hitchcock.

In reality I got something else. Critics didn’t exactly pan the film, but their reception was so luke warm that it bared no mention. For the most part it’s an intense, taut thriller that has a certain amount of intelligence to its structure. Its main flaw was that, like much of Allen’s writing, it thought it was cleverer than it was. If the film had really been played as a thriller, straight up, instead of a misguided Shakespearean tragedy with a thriller cloak, it would have been an interesting film. The conclusion wouldn’t have seemed forced. The structure and plot trajectory are crafted in a way that at some point it has become so complex that no conclusion is surprising or satisfying.

To it’s credit it’s a beautifully shot film, with moments of brilliance. Master cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond is still at the top of his game. Every movement of the camera is so loaded with beauty and potential that it enhances the script exponentially. The script is really solid, except that at moments it gets too involved in itself, creating these archaic scenes were the characters become self-reflexive and ponder aloud to the darkness, as though this was Shakespeare. The actors seem to struggle in these moments and the film loses all of its momentum. Though, McGregor and Ferrell give astonishingly good performances. I wasn’t convinced on the casting, but it turns out that given a decent film Colin Ferrell has the ability to act. Who knew?

Cassandra’s Dream is a solid film. It’s not great, but it is a positive addition to the Allen catalogue, and gives more hope yet for Allen’s future as a filmmaker. A new phase that may reinvent the way people look back at his work. Maybe there is even a truly brilliant film in the works from him, something that has been seen in a while from Mr. Allen.

WALL-E

This looks to be the big winner for the week, and possibly the biggest kids film of the year. Early word is that Pixar is back in top form with Wall-E. With all the hype and money spent on advertising it’s hard to imagine that this film will fail financially. the big question mark for Pixar is whether or not it will out gross Dreamwork’s new foray into the world of CGI animation, Kung-Fu Panda, which did surprisingly well for an early summer kid’s pic.

WANTED

Russian filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov’s first venture into Hollywood looks to be the big action blockbuster of the week. The studio and crew are already talking sequels (plural). It appears to be visually in line with Bekmambetov’s horribly mismarketed Night Watch trilogy (the third is yet to be released). With star power like Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman, and James McAvoy it’s hard to imagine that this won’t be the big film of the week, possibly coming in second behind Wall-E

LEGEND OF GOD’S GUN

With a script that sounds like an adaptation of Robert Rodriguez’s trailer from the Grindhouse theatrical release, this story of a vigilante priest sounds like it should be a comedy thriller. But the trailer doesn’t really give any true indication where this is headed.

FINDING AMANDA

Matthew Broderick is generally considered a hit and miss actor. Sometimes he’s hilarious (the season finale of 30 Rock), sometimes he’s terrible (almost everything else). This looks like a bloated Ferris Bueller going to find his junky cousin (though it’s actually his niece…). Anyhow, no early reviews on this one yet, but I’m skeptical.

ELSA & FRED

GUNNIN’ FOR THE #1 SPOT
(limited release)

HANNARI: GEISHA MODERN
(limited release)

LAST MISTRESS

TRUMBO

This looks like it will be a great film about the screenwriter who went under investigation during the Hollywood communist withhunt. See this film.

Last week’s top ten films:

1. Get Smart
2. The Incredible Hulk
3. Kung-Fu Panda
4. The Love Guru
5. The Happening
6. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
7. You Don’t Mess With the Zohan
8. Sex and the City
9. Iron Man
10. The Strangers

Darkon is a fascinating documentary that I have not been able to shake for the three days since seeing it. It has stuck with me not because it was so brilliant, but because it is one of those unbiased studies of a subculture that gives you pause on the scope of human experience.The film explores a community of people who participate in the live action game called Darkon.

The participants form countries, dress in full armor, and do live battles with padded swords and arrows. (This is obviously something of a simplification; it’s game with complex rules and traditions that would necessitate a separate essay to define).

Darkon is the type of documentary that ultimately highlights some of the fundamental differences – experientially – between documentaries and narrative features. While the filmmakers have created some interesting battle sequences and have brief moments of incredibly, atypically, beautiful shots, the film ultimately fails on a technical level. It’s difficult to understand the exact regulations of the game, and how it functions, and they never delve into other questions any viewer who is unfamiliar with the game would have. Where did it come from? How did it start? Who is the governing body that runs the events across the country? How do I join?

Nonetheless, the film actually works, revealing how a documentary is fundamentally constructed in a different fashion. It’s interesting, despite the frustration that it causes, the subject matter is absolutely fascinating. The characters in the film are interesting, portrayed intelligently, and reveal an interesting subculture that most of the world will never be familiar with. Despite the somewhat thin documentary work, what is there is fantastic. 

 This week  the Vatican laid out new ground rules for shooting in Rome. This has occured largely in response to the filming of Ron Howards The Da Vinci Code sequel, Angels & Demons.

Continuing this summer’s tradition of planning a sequel the week of a film’s release Terrence Stamp has revealed that Bekmambetov and the crew of Wanted are talking sequel a week prior to the release of the Angelina Jolie fronted action thriller. No confirmation on this rumor, but it seems to make sense amid the rumors of a new Austin Powers, Hulk, Avengers, Iron Man, Narnia, etc.

Another rumor crushed. The Silver Surfer spin off of the hugely unsuccessful Fantastic Four films appears to have been shelfed.

Legendary special effects master Stan Winston has passed away this week.

YouTube is opening a “screening room” for independent filmmakers. I can only say that it’s about time this tool is being used for something interesting rather than videos of your dog farting.

Notoriously difficult legend Steven Spielberg is close to penning a deal between Reliance and DreamWorks. After his fallout with parent company Viacom (for somehow not giving him freedom to do the projects he wants. really? Spielberg is doing to say that he doesn’t have any freedom?). It appears that in the near future Reliance will be funding his future flops.

Rumor of the week: The word is that for the upcoming Avengers film, which will star Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Edward Norton’s Hulk will be brought back to the screen, as the villain. Marvel will likely not only be the big winners this summer, but for many summers to come with the new franchises they are setting up. I’ll be there. Shamefully. But I’ll be there.

The Academy of Motion Pictures has changed the rules on the Original Song category for the Oscars. Now only two songs from any given film will be allowed to be nominated for the prestigious prize. A film may enter as many songs as it would like, but will only be allowed two that are nominated.

The trailer for the upcoming Punisher sequel has been released online.

Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.I.Am has revealed some details on the plot of the upcoming Wolverine Origins film.

I felt the need to reinstitute my old trailer of the day posts (though not every day, it’s just the trailer of today, maybe of the week, maybe of the month, who knows).

The new Coen Brothers film Burn After Reading had a trailer released a couple weeks ago (I provided a link then, but now it’s on YouTube). I think this film looks like a return to the old Coen Brothers humor that was notoriously missing from some less successful recent projects like The Ladykillers & Intolerable Cruelty. There is a great cast with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, and many others. I’m reposting to try and contain my excitement for what could be the best comedy of the year.

I believe the film is going to start doing a festival or two (or so I have been told) in the next month or so, which means reviews should start popping up around then. Maybe it’s a bloated attempt to find that Big Lebowski kind of success, but this looks like a script and cast that could pull off what the Coens are famous for, black comedy with an edge. Who knows. Here it is:

So this post isn’t intended to be an expansive inquiry into the topic, but merely raising this issue (though a longer piece may shortly follow).

I just saw Semi-Pro, and I have to say, even though I think Ferrel lis hilarious, I am so tired of his films. The formula is getting worn out. Now the rumor almost appears real that Ferrell and Adam McKay are working on Anchorman 2, and this only makes me want to cry, “WHY?” As annoying as Ferrell can be to many, and even to fans at times, he is a talented comedian and has a far greater potential than films like Talladega Nights would reveal.

I think one of the hinging points of this argument would be Woody Allen’s Melinda & Melinda. Now this film wasn’t all that great, and certainly wasn’t up to par for a Woody Allen film, but Ferrell was great in it. It was a small role and it wasn’t necessarily a role that was intended to produce a lot of laughs, but he was funny in this role and drilled the part. it revealed in him the potential to do some more intelligent comedies than films where he is puking inside of a mascot uniform (though that did make me laugh).

I don’t think there are many directors who do intelligent dark comedies that would deny the opportunity to have Ferrell appear in their films (and not only because he is a cash cow). If he sought out more challenging work that expanded the rather narrow horizons of his comedy I think that his more slapstick routines would benefit and it might bring people back to him as they seem to becoming less and less interested in his work (much in the same way Adam Sandler still draws but has seen a major decline in box office appeal). Sandler even pulled this maneuver and was great in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch Drunk Love, I think Ferrell should follow his lead and try a few more challenging roles that would probably bring a whole new audience to his work.

Eh, not that it’s really all that important, but it is something that bothered me throughout the painfully mind numbing experience of watching Semi-Pro.

PICK OF THE WEEK:LOVE AND HONOR

For some cinema-goers (like myself) we have been waiting for the newest samurai film from Yoji Yamada to finally wash ashore. This weekend it does in a very limited release (hopefully with a wider release in the weeks to follow). This looks to be another great offering from the Japanese director who is bringing a Kurosawa-esque, tasteful, period pieces back into the cinemas. His last two (The Twilight Samurai & The Hidden Blade) were two of the best films to come out of Japan in a long time. (I say this as an pseudo-aficionado of Japanese cinema) This is easily my pick of the week. Yamada hasn’t made a boat load of films, but everything so far has been gold. The film centers on a young blind samurai and a woman set on avenging her husband’s death (Zatoichi update anyone?). 

Sorry the only embeddable trailers have Spanis subtitles but you get the idea…GET SMART

The updated version of the old TV show is sure to be the big release of the week. This Steve Carrell vehicle is sure to be pretty much like every other Steve Carrell film… The studio has put an incredible amount of money behind this and people who were on the fence with this film probably won’t even show up as they’ve surely seen the best lines in the relentless trailers that have filled the space between sequences of every show they’ve watched in the last three months. 

THE LOVE GURU

The new Mike Myers vehicle has started up the rumor mill on a possible Austin Powers 4, but that will likely be contingent on the success of The Love Guru. Likely to break the top ten over the weekend, yet unlikely to be a real hit over the weekend. This seems like the kind of half hearted comedy the studios are leaning on between releases of the summers real blockbusters. This was also probably poorly marketed. I don’t think that advertising throughout the NHL playoffs because there are scenes that involve the Toronto Maple Leafs was necessarily a logical conclusion. God knows I was tired so seeing a Love Guru emblazoned puck come at the screen between every face off of the Stanley Cup. Dear lord, leave us alone. If that wasn’t enough Mike Myers somewhat comical accent in the trailer starts to get a little old by the end of the trailer, can an audience actually put up with more of Mike Myers zany voices for an entire feature? 

KIT KITTREDGE: AN AMERICAN GIRL

This appears to be the film of the week focusing on women and young females. It has been three weeks since Sex and the City, it’s about perfect timing for the studios to try and draw the female demographic back into the theaters with a character that should remind them of everything feminine about childhood. All predictions point to flop. 

BRICK LANE

A woman from Bangladesh travels to London to fulfill an arranged marriage to a middle aged man in this drama. The report cards from the festival circuit have been largely positive on this film. It looks interesting, but the Tomatometer on this film is skeptical post-reviews.