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SXSW Film 2016 Honors the Past While Facing an Exciting, Gaudy and Uncertain Future

Anne Thompson — Sun, 13 Mar 2016 18:23:29 GMT

The night before the SXSW Film Festival got under way, Michael Barker, co-president of Sony Pictures Classics, defended his communal love of film in theaters. "In pursuing the new future, we cannot decimate the past," he said in his acceptance speech as one of the honorees at the Texas Film Awards, the annual benefit for Richard Linklater's now 30-year-old Austin Film Society.

Watching the Sony Classics reel, the crucial art films I grew up on over the decades sped past. From Truffaut's "The Last Metro" and Merchant/Ivory's "Howards End" to more recent Oscar-winners "Blue Jasmine," "Alice" and "Son of Saul," I felt a twinge of loss. SXSW is all about change, and forward motion. But in our rush toward digital immediacy, we lose something too.

While Barker and partner Tom Bernard's Sony Classics remains the very model of a theatrically driven and adaptive studio specialty subsidiary, the world is changing around them. 35 mm is no longer a viable exhibition format, directors have to fight to shoot with celluloid, and distributors are increasingly challenged to lure consumers away from mobile and home-viewing options in favor of a theater.

Also fighting the good fight is Linklater. He announced construction on the Austin Film Society's new two-screen theatre, "showing repertory, international and arthouse films every day of the week," which will boast a 35 mm projector. Meanwhile, more local exhibitors are turning to alternative content like TCM Classic Movies to grab their customers—most of whom are well over 30, if not 60.

Linklater has enjoyed an enviably idiosyncratic career since his pre-SXSW 1991 Sundance breakout "Slacker" (picked up by Barker and Bernard). He's moved through a wide range of budgets and subjects, from animated "Waking Life" and the walking and talking "Before Sunrise" series to "Dazed and Confused," which Alphaville's Sean Daniel and Jim Jacks made with Universal chairman Tom Pollock. Universal couldn't figure out how to sell a Texas coming of age film with a young indie filmmaker and no-name cast (including Ben Affleck and Matthew "all right, all right" McConaughey) at the box office; "Dazed and Confused" eventually emerged as a cult homevideo classic.

After Linklater made commercial hit "School of Rock" in 2003 at Paramount, the studio developed the 1980 Austin film that became "Everybody Wants Some!!" And, as he said at his New York pre-SXSW party, it was still tough to get it made. The film took a decade to go into production, just as "Boyhood" hit big and headed for awards contention. However, it may be deja vu all over again: Cast with unknowns, the movie is hugely entertaining, shot with the same "Dazed and Confused" aesthetic (and many of the same crew, including long-time Linklater editor Sandra Adair), and Paramount is hedging its bets: "Everybody Wants Some!!" will go out via platform release April 1.

It's a struggle that speaks to why, these days, emerging film directors tend to find more work in television, from SXSW stars the Duplass brothers, who keep their film budgets low, to director-actress Amy Seimetz ("The Killing," "The Girlfriend Experience") and Lena Dunham, whose HBO series "Girls" launched SXSW Film's move into television premieres. These are now major draws, from "Broad City" panels to the outdoor preview exhibit “Welcome to Annville," which ties to AMC’s supernatural comic-book drama, "Preacher" (November) starring Dominic Cooper (from executive producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg); that will premiere at SXSW March 14.

As for the movies at SXSW, buzz has started as film buffs spread the word on opening-night titles like Joey Klein's bleak romance "The Other Half," starring real-life couple Tatiana Maslany and Tom Cullen. But it can be tough for the film side of SXSW to grab attention from the rest of the festival — even after President Obama had left town.

At SXSW 2016, everyone hovers on street corners searching for their Uber or Lyft drivers. Downtown Austin resembles San Diego's Comic-Con with its countless showrooms, meet-up tables, and brand marketing opportunities like the "Mr. Robot" ferris wheel, Capital One House, and pedicabs bedecked with HBO's "Game of Thrones.

As at Comic-Con and Sundance, the noise of the corporate world trying to nab a piece of the smart digital-driven demo at SXSW has gotten a lot louder. Interactive was SXSW's growth engine for four years, but attendance stabilized in 2015 and 2016 (2015 attendance included 30,000 music, 33,000 interactive and 20,000 film participants). "'Twas the night before SXSW and all through this hotel lobby bar there are Interactive nerds drinking wine talking about Macs and Minecraft," tweeted The Daily Beast's @jenyamato.

SXSW attendees lined up around the block to get into fashion and lifestyle site Refinery29's opening night high-school-themed "The School of Self Expression" party, serving miniaturized high school snacks on molded cafeteria trays to guests including Kate Bosworth.

"SXSW is about youth and the future," eight-year SXSW veteran and Refinery29 cofounder Philippe von Borries told me. "It's forward looking, but it's a dude-centric world. SXSW events used to attract diehard geeks who love technology. It then became about big marketing events, as brands started coming in. That's blown up in the last few years. Now there’s a much larger female presence, more style, more creativity in the air."

Targeted to millennial women, Refinery29 lures 150 million visitors a month with content ranging from horoscopes to in-depth interviews with Hillary Clinton, pushed out via social platforms like Facebook and Instagram. "It's about self-expression and empowering women, bringing content from incredible female voices from around the world: style, fashion, beauty, global issues, health, wellness," said Von Borries.

And it may be companies like Refinery29 that will shape the future of SXSW. Video is driving Refinery29's next evolution; at Sundance, it announced the "Shatterbox Anthology," a 12-part series of shorts directed by women. Produced by Killer Films' Christine Vachon and Pam Koffler, it will debut this spring with "Kitty," the directing debut of actress Chloe Sevigne. And Von Borries is proud of Jill Soloway's darkly irreverent six-part comedy series "The Skinny," about a young woman with an eating disorder, which "goes to places other media companies are not going."

April 2015 Film Preview

Tory Kamen and Becca Rose — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 14:00:00 GMT

Summer blockbuster season is just around the corner, but there's no need to wait until then to see a great movie. April brings us a wide variety of women-centric projects, as well as quite a few films helmed and/or written by women.

The month starts off with "Woman in Gold," starring Helen Mirren as a Jewish woman on a journey to recover her family's heirlooms, which was stolen by the Nazis. It's based on a true story, and Mirren roots the film with her powerful presence. "Closer to the Moon" is another WWII-era drama set for an April release, this one based on the crime capers of a group of Jewish resistance fighters a few years after the end of the war. "Marie's Story" is another period piece, centering around the efforts of a 19th-century nun to help a girl born blind and deaf.

There are a few more women-focused dramas being released in April, including the much-buzzed "Clouds of Sils Maria," which garnered Kristen Stewart the prestigious Cesar Award for supporting actress. Stewart has made waves for being the first American actress to win the French award, and the film looks to capitalize on that with its American release. “Félix & Meira" is another award-winner coming out this month. The Best Canadian Feature from the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival aims to make its mark with the story of an unconventional and radical love affair, one that reaches across racial and religious lines. "About Elly" also confronts cultural biases with its depiction of Iran's upper middle class.

"Effie Gray" tackles the sexual politics of the Victorian era, and with a screenplay from Emma Thompson, it's sure to be intriguing as well as quick-witted. Speaking of intriguing, "The Age of Adaline" follows a woman who mysteriously stopped aging eight decades ago. Blake Lively centers the film as Adaline, struggling with love and trust and all the other things that might follow when one lives seemingly forever.

Courteney Cox makes her big-screen directorial debut (the actress has previously directed episodes of "Cougar Town," which she stars in) with "Just Before I Go," and screenwiter Gren Wells makes hers as well with "The Road Within." Director Mia Hansen-Løve ("Goodbye First Love") directs Greta Gerwig in "Eden," a look at the rise of French electronic music in the 90s.

The month will also see the release of a few very different documentaries. "The Hand That Feeds" focuses on undocumented immigrants struggling to form an independent union, while "Iris" follows 93-year-old Iris Apfel, a flamboyant New York City fashion icon. "Antarctic Edge: 70° South" is focused on the changing climate of the Antarctic's Peninsula and was made with the collaboration of Rutgers University students and scientists.

We'll also see comedic projects featuring Mary Elizabeth Winstead ("Alex of Venice") and Rose Byrne ("Adult Beginners"). Nia Vardalos returns to the screen with a role in "Helicopter Mom," which promises an outrageous performance from the "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" star. "Sweet Lorraine" and "Farah Goes Bang" round out the women-centric comedy offerings of the month.

Here are all the women-centric films opening in the month of April. All descriptions are from press materials unless otherwise noted.

April 1

Woman in Gold

"Woman in Gold" is the remarkable true story of one woman’s journey to reclaim her heritage and seek justice for what happened to her family. Sixty years after she fled Vienna during World War II, an elderly Jewish woman, Maria Altmann (Helen Mirren), starts her journey to retrieve family possessions seized by the Nazis, among them Klimt’s famous painting "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I." Together with her inexperienced but plucky young lawyer Randy Schoenberg (Ryan Reynolds), she embarks upon a major battle, which takes them all the way to the heart of the Austrian establishment and the U.S. Supreme Court, and forces her to confront difficult truths about the past along the way.

April 3

The Hand That Feeds (doc) - Co-Written and Co-Directed by Rachel Lears

At a popular bakery café, residents of New York’s Upper East Side get bagels and coffee served with a smile 24 hours a day. But behind the scenes, undocumented immigrant workers face sub-legal wages, dangerous machinery, and abusive managers who will fire them for calling in sick. Mild-mannered sandwich maker Mahoma López has never been interested in politics, but in January 2012 he convinces a small group of his co-workers to fight back.

Risking deportation and the loss of their livelihood, the workers team up with a diverse crew of innovative young organizers and take the unusual step of forming their own independent union, launching themselves on a journey that will test the limits of their resolve. In one roller-coaster year, they must overcome a shocking betrayal and a two-month lockout. Lawyers will battle in back rooms, Occupy Wall Street protesters will take over the restaurant, and a picket line will divide the neighborhood. If they can win a contract, it will set a historic precedent for low-wage workers across the country. But whatever happens, Mahoma and his coworkers will never be exploited again.

Effie Gray - Written by Emma Thompson

In her original screenplay “Effie Gray,” Emma Thompson takes a bold look at the real-life story of the Effie Gray-John Ruskin marriage, while courageously exposing what was truly hiding behind the veil of their public life. Set in a time when neither divorce nor gay marriage were an option, “Effie Gray” is the story of a young woman (Dakota Fanning) coming of age and finding her own voice in a world where women were expected to be seen but not heard. “Effie Gray” explores the roots of sexual intolerance, which continue to have a stronghold today, while shedding light on the marital politics of the Victorian era.

April 8

About Elly

As with director Asghar Farhadi's better-known films, “About Elly” concerns the affluent, well-educated, cultured, and only marginally religious members of Iran's upper-middle class. Elly (Taraneh Alidoosti), a pretty young woman invited as a possible romantic interest for one of the newly single men among this group, disappears suddenly without a trace. The festive atmosphere quickly turns frantic as friends accuse one another of responsibility. Plot-wise, Farhadi's drama has been compared to “L’Avventura”; but the film is less concerned with Elly's disappearance per se than with exploring the intricate mechanisms of deceit, brutality, and betrayal which come into play when ordinary circumstances take a tragic turn.

April 10

Clouds of Sils Maria

At the peak of her international career, Maria Enders (Juliette Binoche) is asked to perform in a revival of the play that made her famous twenty years ago. But back then, she played the role of Sigrid, an alluring young girl who disarms and eventually drives her boss Helena to suicide. Now she is being asked to step into the other role, that of the older Helena. She departs with her assistant (Kristen Stewart) to rehearse in Sils Maria; a remote region of the Alps. A young Hollywood starlet with a penchant for scandal (Chloë Grace Moretz) is to take on the role of Sigrid, and Maria finds herself on the other side of the mirror, face to face with an ambiguously charming woman who is, in essence, an unsettling reflection of herself.

The Sisterhood of Night - Directed by Caryn Waechter and Written by Marilyn Fu

Based on the short story by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Steven Millhauser, "The Sisterhood of Night" is a story of friendship and loyalty set against the backdrop of a modern-day Salem witch trial. Shot on location in Kingston, NY, the film chronicles a group of girls who have slipped out of the world of social media into a mysterious world deep in the woods. The tale begins when Emily Parris (Kara Hayward) exposes a secret society of teenage girls. Accusing them of committing sexually deviant acts, Emily’s allegations throw their small American town into the national media spotlight. The mystery deepens when each of the accused takes a vow of silence. What follows is a chronicle of three girls’ unique and provocative alternative to the loneliness of adolescence, revealing the tragedy and humor of teenage years changed forever by the Internet age.

Farah Goes Bang - Directed by Meera Menon, Written by Laura Goode and Meera Menon

A road-trip comedy that centers on Farah (Nikohl Boosheri), a twenty-something woman who tries to lose her virginity while campaigning for John Kerry in 2004. Farah and her friends K.J. and Roopa follow the campaign trail to Ohio, seizing this charged moment in their lives and the life of their country.

April 17

Closer to the Moon

Set in 1959 Bucharest, “Closer to the Moon” opens as the crime is hatched and executed by old friends from the WWII Jewish Resistance, who seek to recapture the excitement of their glory days. Led by a chief police inspector (Mark Strong) and a political academic (Vera Farmiga), the quintet also includes a respected history professor (Christian McKay), a hotshot reporter (Joe Armstrong), and a space scientist (Tim Plester). Their postwar influence fading amid an ongoing Stalinist purge of Jews and intellectuals, the disillusioned gang retaliates by hijacking a van delivering cash to the Romanian National Bank, staging the robbery to make it look like a movie shoot. Caught and convicted in a kangaroo court, the culprits, with help from an eyewitness (Harry Lloyd) to the robbery, are forced to reenact their crime in a devious anti-Semitic propaganda film.

Felix & Meira

Winner of Best Canadian Feature at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival, “Félix & Meira” is the story of an unconventional romance between two people living vastly different realities mere blocks away from one another. Each lost in their everyday lives, Meira (Hadas Yaron), a Hasidic Jewish wife and mother, and Félix (Martin Dubreuil), a Secular loner mourning the recent death of his estranged father, unexpectedly meet in a local bakery in Montreal's Mile End district. What starts as an innocent friendship becomes more serious as the two wayward strangers find comfort in one another. As Felix opens Meira's eyes to the world outside of her tight-knit Orthodox community, her desire for change becomes harder for her to ignore, ultimately forcing her to choose: remain in the life that she knows or give it all up to be with Félix.

Alex of Venice - Co-Written by Jessica Goldberg and Katie Nehra

In “Alex of Venice,” workaholic environmental attorney Alex Vedder (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is forced to reinvent herself after her husband (Chris Messina) suddenly leaves the family. Dealing with an aging father (Don Johnson) who still aspires to succeed as an actor, an eccentric sister (Katie Nehra), and an extremely shy son (Skylar Gaertner), Alex is bombarded with everything from the mundane to hilariously catastrophic events without a shoulder to lean on. Realizing she will thrive with or without her husband, Alex discovers her hidden vulnerability as well as her inner strength as she fights to keep her family intact in the midst of the most demanding and important case of her career.

Cas & Dylan - Written by Jessie Gabe

When 61-year-old self-proclaimed loner and terminally ill Dr. Cas Pepper (Richard Dreyfuss) reluctantly agrees to give 22-year-old social misfit Dyland Morgan (Tatiana Maslany) a very short lift home, the last thing he anticipates is that he will strike her angry boyfriend with his car, find himself on the lam, and ultimately drive across the country with an aspiring young writer determined to help him overcome his own bizarre case of suicide-note writer's block. But as fate would have it, that is exactly what happens. Suddenly Cas's solo one-way trip out West isn't so solo. With Dylan at his side, the two take off on an adventure that will open their eyes to some of life's lessons -- both big and small.

Antarctic Edge: 70° South (doc) - Directed by Dena Seidel

Dena Seidel’s documentary not only offers rare, beautifully shot footage of West Antarctic Pennisula's rapidly changing environment, studying the connections that reveal the concrete impact of climate change; it is also a one-of-a-kind collaboration between the Rutgers University Film Bureau and the Rutgers Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences and contains interviews and insights from some of the world’s leading ocean researchers. It is a fascinating look at their life’s work trying to understand how to maintain our planet.

The Road Within - Written and Directed by Gren Wells

Vincent (Robert Sheehan), a young man with Tourette's syndrome, faces drastic changes after his mother dies. Because his politician father is too ashamed of the disorder to have Vincent accompany him on the campaign, Vincent is shuttled off to an unconventional clinic. There he finds unexpected community with an obsessive-compulsive roommate and an anorexic young woman, and romance eventually -- and uneasily -- follows.

One of Variety's "10 Directors to Watch," screenwriter Gren Wells makes her directorial debut with this ambitious yet light-hearted coming-of-age tale about the potent medicine we all carry within ourselves. The film is packed with a talented ensemble, from emerging talents Zoë Kravitz, Dev Patel, and Sheehan to beloved veterans Kyra Sedgwick and Robert Patrick.

April 23

Sweet Lorraine

The double life of a Methodist minister's wife (played by Tatum O'Neal) catches up to her, as her husband campaigns for mayor in a small New Jersey town.

April 24

Just Before I Go - Directed by Courtney Cox

Ted Morgan (Seann William Scott) has been treading water for most of his life. After his wife leaves him, Ted realizes he has nothing left to live for. Summoning the courage for one last act, Ted decides to go home and face the people he feels are responsible for creating the shell of a person he has become. But life is tricky. The more determined Ted is to confront his demons, to get closure, and to withdraw from his family, the more Ted is yanked into the chaos of their lives. So, when Ted Morgan decides to kill himself, he finds a reason to live.

The Age of Adaline

After miraculously remaining 29-years-old for almost eight decades, Adaline Bowman (Blake Lively) has lived a solitary existence, never allowing herself to get close to anyone who might reveal her secret. But a chance encounter with charismatic philanthropist Ellis Jones (Michiel Huisman) reignites her passion for life and romance. When a weekend with his parents (Harrison Ford and Kathy Baker) threatens to uncover the truth, Adaline makes a decision that will change her life forever.

Adult Beginners - Co-Written by Liz Flahive (Simultaneously releasing to VOD)

A young, hipster entrepreneur (Nick Kroll) crashes and burns on the eve of his company’s big launch. With his entire life in disarray, he leaves Manhattan to move in with his estranged pregnant sister (Rose Byrne), brother-in-law (Bobby Cannavale), and three-year-old nephew in the suburbs – only to become their manny. Faced with real responsibility, he may finally have to grow up – but not without some bad behavior first.

Eden - Directed and Co-Written by Mia Hansen-Løve

The film follows the life of a French DJ who's credited with inventing "French house" or the "French touch," a type of French electronic music that became popular in the 1990s. Greta Gerwig costars. (IMDB)

24 Days - Co-Written by Emilie Frèche

January 20, 2006: After dinner with his family, Ilan Halimi (Syrus Shahidi) gets a call from a beautiful girl who had approached him at work and makes plans to meet her for coffee. Ilan didn't suspect a thing. He was 23 and had his whole life ahead of him. The next time Ilan's family heard from him was through a cryptic online message from kidnappers demanding a ransom in exchange for their son's life. (IMDB)

Helicopter Mom - Directed by Salomé Breziner

An overbearing mom (Nia Vardalos) decides that college would be more affordable if her son were to win an LGBT scholarship, so she outs him to his entire high school. However, he might not be gay. (Rotten Tomatoes)

April 29

Iris (doc) (Opening in New York City)

"Iris" pairs legendary 87-year-old documentarian Albert Maysles with Iris Apfel, the quick-witted, flamboyantly dressed 93-year-old style maven who has had an outsized presence on the New York fashion scene for decades. More than a fashion film, the documentary is a story about creativity and how, even in Iris' dotage, a soaring free spirit continues to inspire. "Iris" portrays a singular woman whose enthusiasm for fashion, art, and people are life's sustenance and reminds us that dressing, and indeed life, is nothing but an experiment. Despite the abundance of glamour in her current life, she continues to embrace the values and work ethic established during a middle-class Queens upbringing during the Great Depression.

April 30

Marie’s Story

At the turn of the 19th century, a humble artisan and his wife have a daughter, Marie (Ariana Rivoire), who is born deaf and blind and unable to communicate with the world around her. Desperate to find a connection to their daughter and avoid sending her to an asylum, the Heurtins send fourteen-year-old Marie to the Larnay Institute in central France, where an order of Catholic nuns manage a school for deaf girls. There, the idealistic Sister Marguerite (Isabelle Carré) sees in Marie a unique potential, and despite her Mother Superior's (Brigitte Catillon) skepticism, vows to bring the wild young thing out of the darkness into which she was born. Based on true events, “Marie's Story” recounts the courageous journey of a young nun and the lives she would change forever, confronting failures and discouragement with joyous faith and love. (Film Movement)

So Long, and Thanks for All the Films!

Christopher Campbell — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 21:47:42 GMT

I'm not sure if the headline works, but I always love a good Douglas Adams reference when appropriate, even if changing the word "fish" to "film" makes it just look like a simple, generic goodbye. Anyway, the point is that Spout is shutting down once again, and I'd like to thank SnagFilms, Indiewire and all the readers and filmmakers out there who allowed me to run this blog for the past year and change.

I know it hasn't always been the most focused place and I still feel bad about disappointing all those old Spout fans who lost their cinephile-centered social media outlet when the site made the transition over here to IW. But I appreciate the discussions and reads from those of you who rode along or stopped in with us for short visits. I had a lot of fun managing and writing for the blog and I hope you enjoyed it too.

I also want to thank our old intern, Daniel Walber, for all the work he put into the site last year. I urge you to follow him at his short film blog, ShortStack, and Movies.com as well as on Twitter @DSWalber.

You can also find me continuing to write for Movies.com and the Documentary Channel Blog as well as on Twitter @thefilmcynic.

And of course you should still keep reading the rest of the Indiewire main site and blog network. They've got great stuff continuing and being added all the time.

Thanks again, and goodbye!

Christopher Campbell

Interview: Don Argott and Demian Fenton on "Last Days Here"

Christopher Campbell — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:10:38 GMT

It’s always a treat when great documentary filmmakers are as prolific as Don Argott and Demian Fenton are. Since their first feature, 2005’s "Rock School," they’ve churned out another four films in only six years. Their highly engaging art world doc, "The Art of the Steal," was one of my top 10 of 2010. And their surprisingly uplifting crack-addicted rocker film, "Last Days Here," was listed among my picks for best docs to look for in 2012. And they’ve already unveiled their next film, the nuclear power expose, "The Atomic States of America."

I’m excitedly anticipating that new doc, which is currently on the festival circuit, but for now I’m primarily excited that Last Days Here is finally hitting theaters this Friday (I saw it literally a year ago this week). The doc is about the fall and rise of little-known heavy metal legend Bobby Liebling, singer for the influential yet forgotten band Pentagram, and it’s the rare film of its kind that captivated and moved me.

This week I talked with Argott and Fenton about this transcending “rock doc,” the problems and benefits of nonfiction films being lumped into classifications and compared to narrative works, and how they’ve been so successful with such varied and obscure subject matter. Here is our conversation:

How did you guys find this subject and project?

FENTON: Don and I am both huge rock fans, heavy metal fans, and totally been digging into ‘70s rock. And when you start to dig into more of that second-tier ‘70s rock you run into Pentagram. I heard Pentagram, thought they were awesome, and when you do a little more digging you hear about the legendary Bobby Liebling. And you hear all these stories about how he’s maybe going to have his arms amputated because he was doing heroin so much. Or you hear that he died on stage at one point and was revived.

So I’d always heard about this guy, and I had a couple beers one night at a metal show outside of Philadelphia and met Pellet, which is Sean Pelletier, the guy in the film. We got into talking about what it would be like. He was in contact with Bobby, had been helping him for a little while with his career and trying to get the music out. We just started chatting about making a movie. We were just eager to make it on our own terms and we just started shooting a little bit.

Continue reading this interview at the Doc Channel Blog.

The Doc Option: Instead of "The Lorax" Watch Dr. Seuss' "Your Job in Germany" and "Our Job in Japan"

Christopher Campbell — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 23:29:10 GMT

Do you think the new animated feature, "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax" is liberal propaganda? Lou Dobbs does, and I'm so sure it has nothing to do with this latest animated Seuss adaptation being at Universal instead of Fox (like the previous one, "Horton Hears a Who"). Regardless, though, if you'll be avoiding this "tree-hugger" cartoon for political reasons, I have some conservative-minded Doc Options for you:

"Your Job in Germany" and "Our Job in Japan" are examples of real propaganda, the kind that makes me wonder how anyone (let alone many people) could possibly refer to another new film, "Act of Valor," as such. Or a cute kid film like "The Lorax," either, for that matter. These two shorts were written by Dr. Seuss back when he was better known as Ted Geisel and working with/for Frank Capra at the First Motion Picture Unit at the United States Army Air Forces. Following his infamous Private Snafu animated shorts, he worked on these ironic and hypocritical documentary films aimed at soldiers who'd be occupying Germany and Japan after the war ended.

"Germany" was actually begun long before the Nazis surrender, rather optimistically. Its main point is that the German people are not to be trusted or befriended because we'd already been duped by their "fake peace" after the first World War, and so we need to stay on guard and keep the country from rising up again with their ideas of superiority and world domination. The strange thing is that Seuss/Geisel is the grandson of German immigrants. Still, he had more allegiance to the American way, which also ironically is claimed in the film as being accepting of other races and creeds. Speaking of respect, the film also trashes German history and tradition and then orders the occupying troops to be respectful of their culture.

Sadly the film's narration, which was nearly read by Ronald Reagan, isn't written in rhyme like Seuss' later children's books. But there is a playfulness, albeit of somewhat offensive nature, that does sound Seuss-like if you're watching with the knowledge that he's indeed the one who wrote it. He was aided by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Anthony Veiller ("The Killers") and Oscar-nominated director Anatole Litvak ("The Snake Pit") as well as Capra, who oversaw the recording of the voice-over, which was performed by John Beal. You can watch the short in full below, and if you think it's "bullshit!" then you're not alone. That's allegedly what General George Patton yelled after screening it for approval (other generals liked it more).

A few years after the enlisted were treated to "Germany," it was reworked by Warner Bros. as a slightly longer short titled "Hitler Lives?" produced for public view. The narration was redone by Knox Manning and the film was now credited to director Don Siegel and writer Saul Elkins. But if you watch it after watching the earlier version you can be damn certain that much of Seuss/Geisel's words were kept in. It's no shocker that the future "Cat in the Hat" writer was pissed when "Hitler Lives" won an Oscar and his desire for recognition was dismissed. (By the way, if you think the Academy Awards are bad now, how about their celebration of blatant racism and xenophobia 70 years ago?)

The same thing wouldn't happen with "Japan," which was made as a companion piece to "Germany." Again, he worked with Capra on the post-WWII occupation propaganda piece, which like the first film hypocritically condemning of the Axis power's own brainwashing media and corrupt exploitation of the Shinto religion. When this film was reworked for a public and commercial version, titled "Design for Death," Seuss/Geisel retained credit as screenwriter, along with his wife, Helen Palmer Geisel. Not that they took home trophies when the film won the Oscar in 1948 (however, they did get to attend the ceremony).

Unlike "Germany," though, "Japan" was never released, not even to military personnel, until the '80s. While there's no legendary cursing attached to the complaints, this second occupation propaganda film was squashed by General Douglas MacArthur (he'd previously recalled a feature film Seuss/Geisel worked on called "Know Your Enemy -- Japan"). Compiled by Oscar-winning editor Elmo Williams ("High Noon"), it is a harsh documentary even if you've heard about Seuss/Geisel's prejudicial dislike for all Japanese and Japanese-Americans alike. But it's especially upsetting if you only know of the writer for his more liberal-minded works (just another instance of the very conservative Capra working with the enemy, a New Deal Democrat). Watch it in full here:

The Oscar-winning "Design for Death" is unfortunately not available online, as far as I can find, though it hasn't been lost entirely, as was once thought. Also not online, the short doc "The Costume Designer," which Seuss/Geisel wrote for the Academy Awards in 1949. As for his continued indirect success with the Oscars, a 1951 animated short based on "Gerald McBoing-Boing" won an Academy Award, while Ron Howard's live-action "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" picked up a win for Best Makeup, which wouldn't have been possible were it not for Seuss' wild character designs. He also wrote George Pal's 1943 Oscar-nominated animated short "500 Hats of Bartholemew Cubbins and Roy Rowland's Oscar-nominated musical "The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T." Perhaps the new "Lorax" movie will be nominated next year, especially since everyone knows the Academy is filled with liberals.

As for other Doc Options relative to the work of Dr. Seuss, there's the PBS doc "The Political Dr. Seuss," which I can't find even a clip of, and the episode of A&E's "Biography" titled "Dr. Seuss: Rhymes and Reasons." Check out the part of this doc only slightly addressing the writer's propaganda work here:

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Short Starts: Watch "Lorax" Director Chris Renaud's Oscar-Nominated "No Time for Nuts"

Christopher Campbell — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 19:27:24 GMT

Short Starts is a column devoted to kicking off the week with a short film, typically one tied to a new release. Today we look at the directorial debut of Chris Renaud, who co-directed "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax," which opens Friday.

I love when there's a new animated feature opening because so many of their directors have helmed short films on their way from other animation tasks to the big time. The makers of "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax" are good examples. Co-director Kyle Balda worked as an animator for ILM and then Pixar before joining Universal's Illumination Entertainment for the studio's first feature, "Despicable Me." And he got his first three directorial credits in a lump sum helming (with Samuel Tourneux) the subsequent "Despicable Me" shorts "Home Makeover," "Orientation Day" and "Banana," which are included in the feature's home video releases (you can also see them all online if you do a quick search).

Then there's the new film's primary director, Chris Renaud, who started out as an illustrator and graphic designer before venturing into animation work with the Disney Channel and then Fox/Blue Sky, where he did storyboard art for films like "Robots," "Horton Hears a Who!" and the second and third "Ice Age" movies. He now has a deal with Illumination and made his feature directing debut with "Despicable Me." But his first job at the helm was back at Blue Sky for the "Ice Age" spin-off "No Time for Nuts," which he also wrote. This excellent sci-fi cartoon, which recalls classic Looney Tunes as well as "Twilight Zone," Ray Bradbury and (for me) "Time Bandits," earned Renaud an Oscar nomination (with Mike Thurmeier, who continues co-directing "Ice Age" works). Watch it in full here:

I love this short a lot, which is interesting since I don't really care much for the "Ice Age" franchise otherwise, and this includes the other shorts starring Scrat. His endless pursuit for an acorn can get old, especially if you think of the gag as just a copy of many classic cartoons starring Wile E. Coyote and other obsessives. But shorts like "No Time for Nuts" and those "Despicable Me" supplements deserve some credit for their cute and amusing visual storytelling -- for the most part they're silent films -- involving supporting, scene-stealing characters originating in so-so features. I especially love "No Time," though, for its dark humor involving death, war and disaster, presenting the past and the future as easily marked and illustrated with quick bits of catastrophe and tragedy. Y'know, for kids!

Fitting, I suppose, that Renaud has now directed a new version of "The Lorax," which Fox News is already criticizing for being liberal, tree-hugging propaganda (I'm sure it has nothing to do with this Seuss adaptation being from a competing studio, unlike "Horton," which was at Fox). The punch-line in "No Time" being that Scrat is trapped in a future without trees (or at least oak trees) definitely links the short with the environmentalist plot of "The Lorax." I haven't seen this new film, but I figure "No Time" will prepare you just a tiny bit. Of course, you can prepare more by watching another short, the 1972 Hawley Pratt-directed, Seuss-scripted, Friz Freleng-produced version of "The Lorax" for CBS. Watch the 25-minute adaptation featuring narration by Eddie Albert below:

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"Act of Valor" is Actually TOO Authentic, Yet Not Real Enough

Christopher Campbell — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 20:26:45 GMT

After "Act of Valor," we can no longer complain about inaccuracies and inauthentic material in action movies. This relatively fictional and dramatized look at the work of a U.S. Navy SEAL team is unquestionably the most realistic portrayal of the special ops branch in a "narrative" motion picture, and having employed actual active duty SEALs in the lead roles of the main characters, that's obviously the intention of stuntment-turned-filmmakers Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh. But action movies aren't really meant to be realistic, and this one just proves why authenticity isn't necessarily a positive thing when it comes to entertainment.

This is something understood by another actual (retired) Navy SEAL, who I had the chance to interview recently regarding cinematic depictions of his community over the years. "It may turn out to be a very good movie," he told me of his high expectations for "Valor," "Whether it’s something that the public will think is a good movie, I don’t know." He believes at least the SEALs will appreciate it, if only because it's a rare instance of Hollywood not doing a disservice to this misunderstood section of the military, however they're a very small audience to cater to.

As for the general public, they should be able to get over the wooden acting, which honestly isn't any worse than many genuine action movie stars, and some of the convincing set pieces (an early extraction sequence involving Navy SWCCs in particular) are as spectacular as any in a major summer blockbuster. But the simple terrorism plot employed to string together these action scenes feels forced and yet also lacking in the kind of imagination we expect from the movies.

Part of me wants to classify "Act of Valor" as a documentary, albeit one consisting completely of "reenactment" material. Thinking about the broad scope of documentary qualifications, it's not too different from hybrids like Lionel Rogosin' "On the Bowery" (which hit DVD and Blu-ray this week), which employ real life subjects and are set against genuine backdrops but involve technically fictional stories, based in truth to an extent, in order to dramatically engage viewers and introduce them to a world that's both veritable and relatable.

Yet most people today wouldn't qualify this as a doc, so it's possibly relegated to the opposite of a hybrid, falling somewhere outside both documentary and narrative film as a kind of failure of cinema altogether. It's not so much a film as an attempt to sell a feature length SEAL recruitment ad as a "film product" (equivalent to fake, processed goods like "cheese product" or "wine product"). It may not be a disservice to the soldiers but it's a disservice to moviegoers.

Still, I think it could have been passable entertainment if only it had been directed more clearly and competently. The extreme close-up framing employed for so much of "Valor" is unacceptable for many reasons, but mostly for the way it goes against the very intent of the picture. How are we to appreciate authenticity if we don't get a good look at it? For the same reasons you don't crop or edit too much with real dancing talent in musicals, you want to show as wide an angle on legitimate stunt work and action as possible (see "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" and probably "Haywire," which I haven't yet).

Given my experience watching true documentaries, I accept that a drawback to filming realistic material in real time is that you don't always get the most controlled camera work, let alone the widest coverage possible. I also think it is probably with some purpose that a lot of "Valor" looks like a first-person video, with all the narrow and messy vantages that aesthetic allows. The plot itself is very much like a game, each big action sequence correlating to the end of a level on the way to finishing the total objective. Each of these sequences indeed ends consistentlywith expository dialogue explaining that "the mission is not over yet."

Unfortunately, possibly an effect of authenticity, the final battle isn't really as climactic as you'd expect from either an action movie or a video game. In a major way, the mission to figure out how to produce a genuinely accurate action movie isn't over yet, either, nor is the goal of bringing back the concept of exciting adventure-based documentaries (see my Movies.com column on "Doc-Busters" from last year). Looks like we still have a few levels to go on both ends.

"Act of Valor" opens this Friday in wide release.

Recommended If You Like: "Navy SEALs"; neo-realism; the miltary recruitment ads that play before the movie in some cinemas

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Do the Oscars Still Matter - Even for Documentaries?

Christopher Campbell — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:19:02 GMT

Once again, as we near closer to another Academy Awards ceremony, people are asking the same old question: do the Oscars still matter? It’s a silly question by itself, because we must consider whether they’ve ever mattered, and if so to what extent. To address the debate in full would take a lot of thought and a tremendous amount of words. Fortunately for my sanity this column is specific to documentaries -- not that focusing on the Academy’s treatment of nonfiction films is anything but one of the most complicated topics associated with the Oscars.

The discussion has been especially heated this year following the snubbing of Steve James’ "The Interrupters," one of the most acclaimed docs of 2011, and the subsequent -- yet not directly related -- announcement of changes to the nomination process for the Documentary Feature category (for which Academy doc branch representatives Michael Moore, Michael Apted and Rob Epstein recently provided a handy FAQ to help us understand). Last month, the Academy Awards was the talk of the Cinema Eye Honors, which I found disappointing given that the Cinema Eye Honors exist in part so we doc fans don’t have to be so concerned with the Academy Awards.

At that event I found myself arguing with people about the significance of the Oscars for documentaries in this day and age. Most of the people, particularly the non-doc-obsessed, I know discovering great nonfiction films do so through streaming sites like Netflix and Hulu and either the recommendation components of these services or from social media acquaintances or via an increasing acknowledgment of docs on the various movie blogs and websites (including Movies.com) around the Internet. A lot of what’s watched and what’s popular is unrelated to what wins awards, including Oscars.

Continue reading this column at Movies.com.

Review and Interview: Joshua Marston's Very Impressive "The Forgiveness of Blood"

Spout — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:24:03 GMT

One of our favorite films we saw at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival is "The Forgiveness of Blood," the second feature by "Maria Full of Grace" director Joshua Marston. Film critic Daniel Walber, who was impressed with many aspects of the Albanian-language teen drama, reviewed the film from the fest, calling it an honest, universal and surprisingly non-exoticizing work by an outsider filmmaker who respectfully overcomes the language barrier for a nuanced piece of global cinema. Here's some snippets of that review:

Marston, for the second straight film of his career, has done everything right. Just as “Maria Full of Grace” is built on a foundation of compassion and understanding, “The Forgiveness of Blood” tells the story of two Albanian teenagers caught up in an ancient form of conflict without ever losing sight of their humanity. Nik and Rudina are brother and sister, high school students thoroughly rooted in the 21st century. The have Facebook accounts, they text, and they play video games. Yet when a conflict between their father and the next-door neighbor turns bloody, their lives turn completely upside down. [...]

Marston has created a work that builds upon human commonalities, empathy and recognizable experience. His extraordinary research (including learning the Albanian language) allows for profoundly true narrative details that vindicate rather than exploit his subject, while his emotional focus will connect any audience to these characters without needing a single ounce of intermediation. It’s extremely impressive cinema and I can’t wait to see where he goes next.

Daniel also chatted with Marston during the festival, talking to the filmmaker about his research process, putting together the music for the film and having to learn Albanian in order to tell a story in that language. Here's one bit from the interview concerning Marston's avoidance of coming in and being an exploitating foreigner:

Are you ever concerned that your films will be, if not necessarily exploitative, more along the lines of tourist cinema than a truthful and honest portrayal of your subject matter? How do you avoid that?

I worry about it every minute of every day that I’m making the film. It’s constantly on my mind. That’s why I told the story about the mayor. We were trying to meet families who were in isolation, and the government says, “Well, there aren’t any” or, “Their numbers are dwindling.” Then we’d get a mediator to take us to a family that’s in isolation. After five hours of being in their house, while shaking their hands and leaving we’d say “Well, at least the problem is being resolved,” and they’d say “what do you mean? There are three families across the valley who are living in isolation.” It wasn’t until I had that conversation with the mayor that I felt legitimate making a movie about this. I didn’t want to be exploitative, I didn’t just want to hop on the bandwagon with journalists who just want to do something easy and need something to write about so that they can further their career. I wanted to make sure that I was genuine.

The more I learned about the subject, the more I could figure out if someone in Albania actually knew less than I did. They might know one specific case, because of a family member or a friend involved, but beyond that they only knew what the rumor was. Whereas I had gone and been in the houses of a dozen families living in isolation, so I had all this first-hand knowledge. In a way I think that concern that you raise drives me to keep asking more and more questions, to constantly make sure that what I’m doing is honest. It’s not just in the research stage, it’s also when making the film and working with the actors. Making sure that any given scene or line of dialogue rings true and honest. So the answer to your question is yes, I’m super-paranoid about it.

"The Forgiveness of Blood" opens in NYC and Los Angeles Friday, February 24.

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Short Starts: Watch "Wanderlust" Director David Wain's 1991 Film "Aisle Six"

Christopher Campbell — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:12:37 GMT

Short Starts is a column devoted to kicking off the week with a short film, typically one tied to a new release. Today we look the first film by David Wain, who directed and co-wrote "Wanderlust," which opens Friday.

Ads for the new comedy "Wanderlust" mention that it's from the director of "Role Models," a relevant yet insufficient claim which is like touting the next Woody Allen movie simply as being from the director of "Midnight in Paris." I get Hollywood's need to be contemporary for the short memories of the mainstream, but for those of us who are big fans of David Wain's earlier, sillier work, it doesn't have the same weight as including "Wet Hot American Summer" at least somewhere among the marketing materials.

Does this mean that "Wanderlust" will again be too conventional a comedy for people who prefer the anarchic, surreal and satirical humor that Wain's been well associated with since being a part of the MTV show "The State," as well as subsequent projects "Stella," "Wainy Days" and his sophomore feature, "The Ten"? We'll see. For now, we can look back at the beginning of his career with his award-winning NYU student film from 1991, "Aisle Six." You can see this absurd 18-minute, 16mm short, which is also included in the new "Wainy Days" DVD, in full (in two parts) below, courtesy of New York Magazine:

You should recognize a couple actors in that film who went on to continue collaborating with Wain. Thomas Lennon and Joe Lo Truglio were also on "The State" and have appeared in other works by the director. Lo Truglio even appears in "Wanderlust." And in turn Wain (and Lo Truglio) has also appeared with Lennon on the show "Reno 911!" Partly because it features a couple of guys from "The State" (plus it's produced by Michael Patrick Jan, who later directed much of the "State" filmed skits before helming the underrated movie "Drop Dead Gorgeous," and features music by Craig Wedren, who did the "State" theme song and has scored Wain's other films, including "Wanderlust"), this short definitely has the feel of being like an extended sketch from that show. It makes me wish the once-promised "State" movie would actually come to fruition.

Other people involved with "Aisle Six" are a mystery. Wain co-wrote the film with an H. Michael Feldman (also a co-editor), who doesn't seem to have any other credits afterward. I'm also curious what became of producer/editor/cinematographer David Kramer, as well as most of the other actors. If you're a child of the '80s, you may recognize the guy who plays the subject of the mockumentary, Brad. That's Kipp Marcus, who played the son of the Beav' on "The New Leave it To Beaver" (he can also be seen in the "Friday the 13th" movie "Jason Goes to Hell"). One casting credit I'm also curious about is that of the "announcer," which was performed by voice actor Larry Kenney ("Lion-O" from "Thundercats"), whose daughter, Kerri Kenney-Silver, has been part of "The State," "Reno 911!" and many other Lennon and Wain collaborations and now also co-stars in "Wanderlust." I wonder why she wasn't also in the film herself.

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The Doc Option: Instead of "Bullhead" Watch "Bigger Stronger Faster"

Christopher Campbell — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 22:05:56 GMT

Usually I aim this column at a mainstream studio release, but sadly there are no documentaries about antihero motorcyclists with flaming skull heads or tiny people who live under the floorboards or spies involved in love triangles (That I know of anyway. If I've missed them, please let me know, because those sound like great doc topics). Instad this week I have an alternative to the Oscar-nominated foreign film "Bullhead," which opens in limited release today. If you're wondering if you should see this slow and terribly unsatisfying Belgian crime drama, I have a Doc Option for you:

Chris Bell's "Bigger Stronger Faster*" is not at all like a real-life version of "Bullhead," which focuses on a castrated cattle farmer mixed up with a local "hormone mafia," but it did come to mind while I was watching the latter. This 2008 doc looks into the debate about anabolic steroids with emphasis on their use by athletes for performance enhancement, and it's centered around Bell's own brothers' experiences with and abuses of such drugs to benefit their wrestling careers.

The main character in "Bullhead" also injects hormones, though it's initially a medical necessity due to the literal ball -busting he suffered as a kid. However, the overstressed parallel between this hulking eunuch and his cattle, which are also shot up with chemicals, is what made me recall this specific part of "Bigger Stronger Faster*" involving, as it turns out, a Belgian Blue, the genetically modified cow breed that doesn't need any outside enhancement:

And here's a deleted scene from the movie featuring the filmmaker eating some Belgian Blue beef (there's steak cooking scenes in "Bullhead" too!):

"Bullhead" is being called a tragedy, but I'd only use that word in relation to how disappointingly boring and awkwardly scripted it is. "Bigger Stronger Faster*" is a true tragedy if you take into account the death of one of Bell's brothers months after the film opened. The doc is also a lot more fascinating, thought-provoking and entertaining than the foreign drama. It certainly left me a lot more unsure of my stance on the issue of anabolic steroids. And even though it's already a four-year-old film, the discussion within "Bigger Stronger Faster*" is ongoing and the questions it raises are still left unanswered.

"Bigger Stronger Faster*" is currently available to rent on DVD and streaming on Amazon Instant. You can also wait shortly to stream the film free on SnagFilms. The digital rights to this doc were acquired recently along with a number of other titles, but it hasn't yet appeared on the site. For now, check out "Bullhead" if you're curious -- many critics are bigger, stronger, faster fans of the Oscar contender than I am -- and watch the doc's trailer below:

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"Undefeated" is a Good But Not Great Underdog Sports Film

Christopher Campbell — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:57:09 GMT

It’s very hard not to like “Undefeated,” the underdog sports film that is currently also considered the underdog among the 2012 Oscar nominees in the feature documentary category. I’m not exactly sure why it’s thought to be a long shot, though, since it is a gorgeously shot, expertly edited and very accessible movie with a familiar narrative and appealing characters. Also it’s got distributor backing from Harvey Weinstein (not that he’s ever bagged an Oscar for a doc before, as far as I can recall). Is it the crowd-pleasing quality that has people thinking it’s not serious enough to win? Or, is it truly a dark horse because it deserves to be, since it’s not anywhere near as significant an achievement in nonfiction filmmaking as the other four contenders?

I do believe it lacks a certain amount of substance and hardly has what it takes to remain memorable down the line, but the same could have been said about 2006 winner “March of the Penguins,” and look at that movie. It shows up in one of this year’s Best Picture favorites with the apparent status of family film classic. But “Undefeated” is basically just a common inner-city-set football film and would seem rather cliche and too dramatically forced if it were a narrative feature. I have to liken it to animated feature nominee “Chico & Rita” because both films seem to get a pass by the Academy this year for not being a “regular” movie. Why? Neither animation nor nonfiction should excuse a film for being otherwise conventional in its storytelling or hollow in terms of what it’s bringing to the field.

Directed by T.J. Martin and Daniel Lindsay, who also shot and edited the doc themselves, “Undefeated” tracks a potentially monumental year for the Manassas Tigers of Memphis, considerably the worst high school football team in Tennessee, under the leadership of their highly devoted, respectful and patient volunteer head coach, Bill Courtney. Their struggles in the game and out are primarily based in their lack of discipline and confidence. One prominent player has just returned from juvie and has anger issues. Other athletes are said, right off the back, to have been shot or shot someone at the start of the season. But the team also suffers the usual sporting obstacles. At least one character is badly injured, of course, although -- spoiler? -- he heals just in time for the last game of the season.

“Undefeated” could very well be remade one day, probably with Philip Seymour Hoffman in the lead, and I’m sure it would be criticized far more harshly even if (or especially if) it ended up a Best Picture hopeful with easy comparisons drawn to “The Blind Side” and this year’s divisive drama “The Help.” I don’t actually have any issue with a story in which white people are helping black people, and that’s not my problem with either “The Help” or “Undefeated,” particularly the latter since we’re seeing a true story unfold instead of a fictional adaptation. Still I think the documentary shields its black characters too much behind Courtney, the film’s admittedly inspiring, charismatic star. His arc as a fatherless father-figure to other fatherless boys while leaving his own kids relatively fatherless is interesting enough, but I would have liked to see more attention given in this nearly two-hour film to more of the players’ home lives.

Not that we get a whole lot of Courtney’s own life away from coaching, either. He does mention again and again, to the point of overkill, that he’s neglecting his home and family to lead the Manassas team. Yet aside from a little interview with Courtney’s wife and a scene with his kids in which he is indeed inattentive, we really just know that side of this story through exposition. And that’s actually how a lot of the narrative is told -- after the fact and courtesy of the many one-on-one rides-along with Courtney in his truck. Between these talky moments we get lots of well-pieced-together montages of football games, practices and other bits and pieces of school activity. And then there are the other concentrated and connective monologue scenes of the coach giving lectures, pep talks and stern speeches. Seriously, “Undefeated” could just as easily be adapted to the stage, with all the football action projected between acts (or not), as it could be redone as a dramatic movie.

I have to say, though, I genuinely enjoyed the movie for what it is, and I even got teary eyed at one of the emotion-heavy scenes in the third act. I might have been manipulated by the cutting of this scene and also afterward by the tense, neck-and-neck playoff game sequence employed for the film’s finale. For the most part the doc is very choppy so it wouldn’t be a surprise to learn that some games are presented with dramatically tweaked pacing and selective footage. Meanwhile many of the best-looking shots in the film occur during games and look like they’re the product of a day spent lighting the characters and blocking the compositions. But these are all brief shots and likely are just carefully pulled from the hours of lesser cinematographic material. All of this is totally understandable and here the chiseled down editing and the music score -- a mix of churchly organs and soldierly snares -- are immensely effective at keeping us immersed and engaged. That’s what one aspect of documentary directing is all about, as it is with any kind of cinema, maintaining the audience’s attention and interest to the end.

After the credits I don’t really care what happens to these people, which isn’t a fault. In fact, I wish more documentaries were so comfortable in being isolated stories, regardless of them being nonfiction and as a rule ongoing. We don’t have to take into consideration what either Courtney or this film has done for the kids beyond the story that’s on the screen. We don’t have to think about how it’s made or why, nor what it could affect beyond what our eyes, ears and heart experience in those 113 minutes. It’s just a good, entertaining sports movie. Still, it’s not the most exciting sports movie I’ve seen in the past year let alone in a long time. “Undefeated” is very comparable to the recent high school basketball doc, “Prayer for a Perfect Season,” for instance, in spite of that film being about one of the best teams in the nation. And so I couldn’t help but wish this Oscar nominee was a more riveting and kinetic work. I guess it favors emotion over energy, which probably will appeal to many viewers, especially those not into football.

But I wanted a bit more from this movie, and that’s possibly to do with its Oscar nomination and all its audience awards and the tremendous buzz I’ve seen on this doc since it debuted at SXSW last year. I probably could have praised its positive aspects a lot more had I seen it earlier. I still do like and recommend it. It’s just hard not to come down on it at this point in the game or from this vantage point from the sidelines. I’ll just say it, “Undefeated” is extremely overrated. And it will be defeated at the Academy Awards next weekend.

"Undefeated" opens this Friday, February 17.

Recommended If You Like: "Friday Night Lights"; "Mooney vs. Fowle"; "Go Tigers!"

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Amir Bar-Lev on His Latest Documentary, "Re:Generation Music Project"

Christopher Campbell — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:42:05 GMT

After directing the very significant and highly successful feature documentaries "My Kid Could Paint That" and "The Tillman Story," as well as serving as a co-producer on the Oscar-nominated "Trouble the Water," the very talented Amir Bar-Lev found himself being recruited for and hired on to helm an interesting new doc called "Re:Generation Music Project," which I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys music of any kind.

This film, which follows five separate pairings of DJs (Premier, Skrillex, Pretty Lights, Mark Ronson and The Chemical Brothers) with traditional music genres (classical, rock, country, jazz and soul) for mash-ups featuring the likes of The Doors, LeAnn Rimes, Erykah Badu and Martha Reeves, is in theaters nationwide only tonight and February 23 (it will also screen at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin next month).

I talked briefly with Bar-Lev about the experience of being brought on as a director-for-hire, what it was like to shoot these amazing collaborations and how he crafted such an enjoyable feature film that shows absolutely no sign of having been a sponsored effort under the partnership of a car company and the Grammys.

Check out our conversation below:

This is a different kind of documentary in more ways than one. How were you brought on to this project, and what’s it like to be hired for a film as opposed to coming up with the idea yourself?

It’s quite a different experience being hired rather than being part of a documentary project at the inception. I like to flex different filmmaking muscles, and I think it’s a very worthwhile challenge learning to listen to other people’s ideas and figuring out how you can manifest or express them. The filmmaker/editor relationship is such a fruitful and dynamic relationship, and I thought about that relationship a lot as I was directing this film. There’s a sweet spot where you’re bringing a lot of different ideas to the table and not attaching yourself necessarily too much to any one and being very receptive to what the mandate for the project is. And in this case the mandate was a complex one. They wanted it to function as a feature documentary. It’s also a marketing tool. And therefore it had to check a lot of different boxes. I found it a really useful challenge trying to check those boxes.

Continue reading this interview at the Documentary Channel Blog.

The Only Live-Action Remake of "Lady and the Tramp" We'll Ever Need

Christopher Campbell — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 18:46:42 GMT

While Disney's animated classics continue to get live action remakes, whether of the studio's own doing or via some other production company digging into the same fairytale source materials, it's nice to see that "Lady and the Tramp" will probably be left alone. At least in feature form, that is. Instead of announcing another movie in the vein of either 1996's "101 Dalmations" or "Maleficent," the upcoming reworking of "Sleeping Beauty," Disney has gone ahead and shown us what at least one iconic scene from "Lady and the Tramp" looks like redone in live action form. The following video was produced by the studio itself as both a Valentine's Day treat and part of its promotion of the new DVD and Blu-ray releases of the 1955 film. Enjoy:

And that's it, that's all we need. As much as I'm certain a fully realized live action version of "Lady and the Tramp" would do ridiculous box office, thanks to the perpetual entertainment value of real animals made to seem like they're talking and doing human things, nobody really needs more than this one memorable spaghetti dinner bit. Whereas films like "101 Dalmatians," "Sleeping Beauty" and others have great villains to be portrayed with immense camp appeal by Hollywood stars, as far as I can recall there's not much in "Lady" that could spawn such fun incarnations. It might just come off as a generic talking animal movie, like "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" or "Cats and Dogs." Which of course doesn't mean it wouldn't be popular, just unncessary and sort of a backtracking of what's magical about the original. Even this video would seem like another tired spoof if it weren't from the hands of Disney themselves.

Thankfully no other studio or company could remake "Lady and the Tramp" either since it's one of the few Disney animated classics not based on an old literary work presently in the public domain, like the ever-revisted tales of "Snow White," "Peter Pan," "Beauty and the Beast" and "Robin Hood." Though loosely inspired by a short story published in Cosmopolitan, it was "adapted" as a fairly original story. Warner Bros. can parody the spaghetti bit in one of its cartoons, as can this scene be spoofed by "The Simpsons" and plenty other shows, but that's about it. Disney has also already done the inevitable direct-to-video sequel, which I'm sure is enough of an offense against the first movie for its fans.

But who knows, maybe this video will actually end up a teaser, or a testing ground, before Disney really announces a remake. It's expected that in the future everything will eventually be redone anyway. Maybe I should go back and add "Lady" to my list of Disney classics Tim Burton will inevitably remake.

[via Film Drunk]

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Short Starts: Watch the Hayao Miyazaki-Scripted "Panda! Go Panda!" and "On Your Mark"

Christopher Campbell — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:55:37 GMT

Short Starts is a column devoted to kicking off the week with a short film, typically one tied to a new release. Today we look at three shorts from the mind of Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki, who co-wrote "The Secret World of Arietti," which opens Friday.

Just as we get close to this year's Academy Awards and wonder which nominee might win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature (as much as I love "Rango" I think I'd like "Kung Fu Panda 2" to win), a new movie partly spawned from the mind of Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki is about to hit cinemas. "The Secret World of Arietti" is based on Mary Norton's novel "The Borrowers" and is the directorial debut of Studio Ghibli animator Hiromasa Yonebayashi (with help from Pixar director Gary Rydstrom for the U.S. version). Miyazaki co-adapted the novel with Keiko Niwa, while the U.S. translation was handled by Karey Kirkpatrick ("Chicken Run"; "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"). I wouldn't be surprised if it's one of the Oscar nominees next year.

If so it would be the first nomination for the studio not directed by Miyazaki, who won in 2002 for "Spirited Away" and was nominated again in 2006 for "Howl's Moving Castle." Surprisingly, Studio Ghibli has never been nominated in the animated short category, though it's probably not often that they qualify. While a few do make their way to the U.S. and some can be found on hard-to-get DVD collections, shorts by Miyazaki, Yoshiyuki Momose, Kazuo Oga and Naohisa Inoue can be seen at the Ghibli Museum just outside Tokyo. Some of them, such as the "My Neighbor Totoro" sequel "Mei and the Kittenbus," are currently exclusive to this site. And before the 2000s, Miyazaki at least was really only involved with three shorts, one of which is technically a music video.

The video is for the 1995 song "On Your Mark" by Japanese rock duo Chage and Aska and was written and directed by Miyazaki at their request. Functioning fine as a short film on its own (and with either "On the Mark" or the duo's English-language alternate version, "Castles in the Sky"), it did get a theatrical release in Japan as an accompaniment to Yoshifumi Kondou's "Whisper of the Heart." The basic plot involves a futuristic domed city where two policemen, drawn to resemble Chage and Aska, save a winged girl (an angel?) during a raid on a cult and return her to the radiation-infected world above ground. Given last year's nuclear crisis following the major earthquake and tsunami disaster, the Chernobyl-inspired video now seems scarier, more potentially prophetic. Watch it via Vimeo below:

You can read an interview with Miyazaki about that video on Nausicaa.net.

Now for the two other shorts he worked on earlier, much earlier, back in the 1970s. The two films are the adorable "Panda! Go Panda!" (1972) and its sequel, "Panda Kopanda Rainy Day Circus" (1973). Both were conceived and scripted by Miyazaki and directed by Isao Takahata, more than a decade before the two would co-found Studio Ghibli. Miyazaki had previously been an animator on Takahata's 1968 feature "The Little Norse Prince." He is also credited as art/screen designer, key animator and layout artist for these two "Panda" films. About a little girl (modeled after "Pippi Longstocking") living by herself while her grandmother is away who befriends a panda daddy and baby (and in the sequel a tiger baby), the shorts fit perfectly into the Japanese culture of cute known as kawaii and they aesthetically and narratively somewhat anticipate the now classic 1988 Miyazaki feature "My Neighbor Totoro." Watch the two films together below via Hulu:

Follow Christopher Campbell on Twitter: @thefilmcynic
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Review and Ranking of the 2012 Oscar-Nominated Live Action Shorts

Christopher Campbell — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:59:56 GMT

I wasn’t too thrilled with last year’s Oscar nominees in the live action short category. It was my first time seeing and reviewing all the films, though, and I wasn’t aware that it was such an off year. The 2012 nominees, on the other hand, are all excellent. Whether this is evidence of a typical year for short film or an inverse fluke of this being an especially on year I can not say. But I’m happy to genuinely recommend the annual theatrical release of this category’s contenders, a program that hits cinemas nationwide this Friday.

Having seen all five of the nominated films, I still haven’t a clue what will win or even what should win. They’re so different and each is really great in their own way. Still, I can -- with some difficulty for the same reasons -- rank them in order of my favor with review and preview notes for each. Fortunately if you go see the program in a theater you won’t need to worry about which are better than others in order to decide which to see, because you’ll see them all. Hopefully you enjoy them collectively as much as I did.

1. “Tuba Atlantic”

Technically this has already won an Academy Award, which isn’t that surprising. Like last year’s winner, “God of Love,” and my personal favorite of last year’s nominees, “The Confession,” this hilarious Norwegian film received a Student Academy Award before qualifying for the big time. “Tuba Atlantic” won the Gold Medal for foreign film, while the next nominee in this ranking, “Raju,” received the Bronze Medal in the same category. I wonder if that will have any bearing on which short will win the Oscar on February 26. I would be surprised if one of the other three get it, actually, so maybe this is indeed the front-runner.

Written by Linn-Jeanethe Kyed and directed by Hallvar Witzo, the 25-minute film is about an old man (fittingly named Oskar) who has been given six days to live and assigned a young “death angel” whose job is to help him cope with his final moments. She also encourages him to make amends with his estranged brother in America, but he’d much rather gun down and bomb seagulls with his remaining time alive. It’s beautifully shot, scripted with just the right balance of quirkiness and heart and its climax is utterly fantastic.

To give you some idea of its tone, if Hollywood ever remade foreign shorts I’d see them easily casting Rutger Hauer as the lead for this story. I guess it just reminds me a bit of “Hobo with a Shotgun” where the hooker with a heart of gold is now a public service agent and the things being comically slaughtered are birds instead of human scum. This isn’t to say it’s in the retro style of an exploitation flick, though. It’s a bit more naturalistic, though only a bit.

Check out the film's trailer:

2. “Raju”

As I mention above, this won a Bronze Medal in the foreign film category at the 2011 Student Academy Awards, meaning it took third place to “Tuba Atlantic”’s first. As far as serious dramatic shorts go, it doesn’t get much better than this. It’s not too heavy, not too over-the-top and not too preachy in its address of the real world issue or the moral dilemma it tackles. And unlike many dramas set in India it doesn’t really deal in poverty porn or overt orientalist attitude.

The 24-minute film was directed by newcomer Max Zahle and written by Zahle and Florian Kuhn. It’s about a German couple who are in Kolkata to adopt a four-year-old boy named Raju, who quickly goes missing in that huge West Bengal city in his first day under care of his new parents. The search that ensues reminds me a lot of Lodge Kerrigan’s exceptional 2004 dramatic feature, “Keane,” while some other things that occur are reminiscent of the more material moments of “Slumdog Millionaire.” It’s the one film in this bunch that might possibly break your heart.

Check out the film's trailer:

3. “Time Freak”

Here’s one for the movie geeks who don’t normally pay attention to short films (shame on them). It’s also a very funny, clever and smart fast-paced sci-fi comedy that anyone else will enjoy just as much. The premise is kind of like “Groundhog Day” but where the character living in constant repeat is doing so intentionally -- and quite obsessively. Michael Nathanson (“Young Adult”) plays the neurotic inventor of a time machine with the dream of traveling back to Ancient Rome. Unfortunately he gets a little sidetracked along the way, and it’s easy to think any one of us might act the same way with the same means and circumstances.

It’s hard to do a short time-travel piece without resorting too much to a central gag or seeming somewhat derivative. In a way you could consider “Time Freak” as a comical 11-minute version of “Primer,” for instance. But writer-director Andrew Bowler does an awesome job of making a fresh, firm and flawless short that doesn’t feel like either a Funny or Die skit or a foundation for a feature (let’s be clear that any such stretching of this story for a long-form adaptation would be a mistake). I’m not sure I’m fully satisfied with the ending, but that’s to be expected for this sort of narrative. It’s hard to think of any better conclusion than what we’re given, as relatively anticlimactic as it is. At least it doesn’t finish with a punchline.

Special points go to “Time Freak” for being cut by the ever-extraordinary documentary editor Geoffrey Richman, of “Murderball,” “God Grew Tired of Us,” “Sicko,” “The Order of Myths” and “The Cove.” Hmm, maybe “Time Freak” is actually a nonfiction film... That would be nuts. But we'd never know!

Check out the film's (honestly, too revealing) trailer followed by a cute reaction video of the filmmaker finding out he got nominated (it will make you root for it to win):

4. “The Shore”

This lightly funny and emotional short comes with the most familiar and prestigious talent involved. The writer/director is Terry George, who was nominated for an Academy Award twice previously, first for co-writing Jim Sheridan’s “In the Name of the Father” and then for co-writing his own film, “Hotel Rwanda.” For this 30-minute work he returns to his roots in IRA-related subject matter, though it’s not anywhere as heavy as his past collaborations with Sheridan, including “Father,” “Some Mother’s Son” and “The Boxer.” This is more of a sideline look at the effects of “The Troubles” on people who weren’t directly involved. One character (“Game of Thrones”’ Conleth Hill), for example, lost his arm after being shot while merely an innocent bystander.

“The Troubles” are also explained, not the most clearly, as the reason for why that character and his “blood brother” were estranged for the past few decades. There’s a coincidental parallel with fellow nominee “Tuba Atlantic” in that idea of friends/siblings divided socially as well as physically. Now that Joe (Ciaran Hinds) is back in Northern Island, visiting from America with his adult daughter (“Rome”’s Kerry Condon) in tow, the chance to reconnect with his best friend and an old flame provides the gist of a familiar story that isn’t cliched nor is it as over-dramatic as some of George’s feature films. You definitely get the sense that it’s a very personally significant work, confirmed by the fact that it’s shot on location at the filmmaker’s home and employs his friends and family, including daughter Oorlagh George, who as producer shares in the Oscar nomination here.

Check out the film's trailer:

5. “Pentecost”

At first I thought this was just the Academy’s token “cute” live action short involving a British or Irish kid in some sort of miniature coming of age tale, preferably dealing with the church and often concluding with a stinger of an ending. Last year’s comparable nominees “The Crush” and “The Confession” immediately come to mind while watching it. It does tell the story of a young altar boy and is mainly set in a church, and it’s a short, 11-minute coming of age story that builds up to a near-gag of a finale. But I really like it’s basic idea of equating a big day for the young altar servers, in the protagonist’s mind, with a big game for his favorite football team.

It’s a fine directorial debut for Irish actor Peter McDonald (“The Damned United”) with perfectly moody cinematography from Patrick Jordan and an adequate non-precocious child actor performance and is really only the least favorite of the bunch because there has to be a last pick and this one is just one of the shortest and slightest works of the five. If they were all this good it would still be a wonderful year for live action short nominees.

Check out the film's trailer:

Once again, this five-film live action short program will be released in theaters nationwide Friday, February 10, 2012.

Also check out my review and ranking of this year's animated short nominees.

Follow Christopher Campbell on Twitter: @thefilmcynic
Follow Spout on Twitter: @Spout

"If a Tree Falls" Director Marshall Curry on His Second Oscar Nomination, What He Looks for in a Subject and What Keeps Hollywood Interested in Remaking Docs

Christopher Campbell — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:53:08 GMT

Since his debut in 2005 with "Street Fight," documentary filmmaker Marshall Curry has remained one of the most acclaimed nonfiction directors working today. That first film, about the 2002 Newark mayoral race, went on to receive many major festival awards before snagging nominations for an Oscar, an Emmy and a Writers Guild award. His next doc, "Racing Dreams," about young NASCAR hopefuls, won the Best Documentary honor when it premiered at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival. It also quickly attracted the attention of DreamWorks, which announced plans for a dramatic feature adaptation.

And now his third film, "If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front," which profiles a radical environmentalist, has followed the course of his first, winning major festival awards before garnering Curry his second Academy Award nomination in only seven years (it’s also been nominated by the Writers Guild and will likely get an Emmy nod later this year). It’s a remarkable achievement and already a remarkable career, but much deserved as he’s only churned out remarkable documentaries.

After the nominations were announced, I chatted with Curry about the honor, the new Oscar changes, what he looks for in a subject and why Hollywood is so interested in remaking nonfiction films.

Were you surprised by the Oscar nomination?

Yes. I was very surprised. It was a really good year for docs and kind of an odd one for the nomination. Some of the big movies didn’t get shortlisted and didn’t get nominated. But I was very pleasantly surprised.

Was it very different for you this time than when you were nominated for "Street Fight"?

Yes it was different, but it’s not something you get used to by any stretch. So it was still thrilling and surprising. With "Street Fight" it was my very first film and it was really just something I made in my apartment. I’d shot it and edited it. With this one we had a strong theatrical distributor and PBS was supporting it. But still, it’s definitely a huge surprise.

And honestly, the night before the [announcement] I looked at some of the lists of what people were predicting. A number of lists said, “here is what we think are the top five, and here are the three possible spoilers,” and we weren’t even on the list of possible spoilers. So I think other people were surprised too.

Continue reading this interview at the Documentary Channel Blog.

Review and Ranking of the 2012 Oscar-Nominated Animated Shorts

Christopher Campbell — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:42:36 GMT

Curious which Oscar-nominated animated short film will win the Academy Award on February 26? Well, I'm no prognosticator and I honestly don't really care which little-known filmmaker takes home the golden statue. But I am happy the Oscars exist and have the animated short category because it means that moviegoers have at least one chance a year to see at least five (supposedly) exceptional animated shorts in the theater. There's usually at least one in the bunch I'm not that in love with, but even 4 out of 5 makes for a great program, especially when the best films are really something special. And maybe you, like the Academy, will enjoy them all.

This year's Oscar-nominated shorts will be released to theaters this Friday, February 10. I've seen all five of the animated shorts and have ranked them in order of my favor below with review and preview notes.

1. “La Luna”

I know it’s somewhat obvious and boring to name a Pixar short as the best, but I’m no constant Pixar champion. I do think they produce some really weak ones, including those that get nominated (“Boundin’” for example), and anyway they don’t win all the time. In fact, they haven’t won the Oscar in this category in a decade. Last year they did actually deserve it with the clever 3D piece “Day & Night” and now they deserve it again with this 7-minute Italo Calvino-inspired short written and directed by Enrico Casarosa, previously a story artist on “Cars,” “Ratatouille” and “Up” and head of story on an upcoming Pixar feature.

So what makes the short so wonderful? It’s the most basic, timeless and magical kind of storytelling, and cinematographically, with its blend of computer animation and watercolor/pastel backdrops, it’s the one short among these nominees that I wish I’d seen on the big screen (I still can, I suppose). It features three generations of males in a family of moon sweepers. I guess I shouldn’t give away entirely what that entails, but it involves a fresh yet familiar kind of myth about the moon, something that could be as lasting, at least for the sake of children’s wonder, as the lunar deities and the Man in the Moon. With its kinship to Georges Melies’ “A Trip to the Moon,” I think this is to “Hugo” what the next film is to “The Artist” (maybe that means the next film will actually win?).

Watch the trailer:

2. “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”

Keeping somewhat with the theme of celebrating old movies, this hybrid of miniatures, computer animation and 2D animation fits well in this year’s Academy Awards roster. The 15-minute work begins in New Orleans as a Katrina-like storm busts through the French Quarter while the title character, a bit of a mash-up between Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin’s tramp, is reading a book. Even the words are blown off the pages and eventually an obvious “Wizard of Oz” allusion brings Mr. Morris Lessmore through the air and then grounds him in a now-black-and-white disaster area. But soon the playful Katrina stuff is gone as the man comes across a house filled with flying, clapping, piano-playing, life-giving books of all shapes and sizes. Think of it somewhere between the extremes of Disney’s “Alice in Wonderland” and “The Pagemaster” with a touch of “Pleasantville” thrown in.

While I appreciate its ability to tell a story without dialogue, I think it helps too much that the story here has little sense or reason behind it. And is it saying that literature will fix all of the Big Easy’s problems? This short does look great, however, and you can tell this film is written and directed by a veteran author of children’s books and producer of animated features such as Louisiana’s own William Joyce, who has worked for Pixar, Disney, Fox Animation and now (for an upcoming feature adaptation of his series “Guardians of Childhood”) DreamWorks Animation. Co-directed by Brandon Oldenburg, a conceptual artist who previously worked with Joyce on “Robots.”

Watch in full:

3. “A Morning Stroll”

Continuing the streak of relatively dialogue-free shorts with homage to old cinema, this is an amusing cartoon inspired by a very short story by Linda Elegant titled “The Chicken,” which is allegedly real and therefore included in Paul Auster’s “True Tales of American Life” (also posted in full here). The original tale simply involves the sighting of a chicken on what seemed to be an independent morning stroll down the street and up to its residence, where the bird knocked on the door and was subsequently let inside.

In only 7 minutes, Grant Orchard (2003’s “Welcome to Glaringly,” which you can watch here) expands on the surreal idea with three separate reenactments in three different time periods, each rendered in a corresponding animation style. The end of the third bit provides a kind of punchline for the whole thing after climaxing with a post-apocalyptic zombie attack. The first act is the classic cinema tribute in that it’s very simple animation presented as if projected with old-timey flicker. I’d love to see the rest of Auster’s crowd-sourced collection adapted with such fun and inventive bits.

Watch the trailer:

4. “Wild Life”

I’m sure I should like this one a bit more than I do. And I actually do think it’s quite good, but it’s directed by Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby, who really captivated us with their 1999 Oscar nominee,“When the Day Breaks” (watch that one here). Tilby also was nominated in 1992 for “Strings,” which I also find stylishly superior (watch that one here). I figure this sleepy, somber western tale of an Englishman trying to make it in the Wild West of Alberta in 1909, as an analogical comet flies by overhead (I assume it’s meant to be Halley’s), is not really worthy of being the work that finally gets the filmmakers’ their Academy Award unless it’s really for career achievement purposes.

Watch the trailer:

5. “Dimanche” (“Sunday”)

My least favorite of the five is this crudely drawn and slightly morbid tale of a little Canadian boy’s Sunday, which consists of church, company and coins, the last of which he flattens on the railroad tracks. Also squashed is a dog run-over by his family car and what appears to be part of his imagination. I lost interest in the story and the skewed traditional animation quite early in the 9-minute short, which was directed by Patrick Doyon, and I was disappointed that it didn’t at least have a cheap gag thrown in at the end. I’m just as upset that I would even wish for such a thing.

Watch the trailer:

Follow Christopher Campbell on Twitter: @thefilmcynic
Follow Spout on Twitter: @Spout

Short Starts: Watch Two Tim Burton-ish Films by "Journey 2" Director Brad Peyton

Christopher Campbell — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:16:04 GMT

Short Starts is a column devoted to kicking off the week with a short film, typically one tied to a new release. Today we look at two early films by director Brad Peyton, whose latest feature is the sequel "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island."

So far the Hollywood career of Canadian filmmaker Brad Peyton has been limited to low-anticipation sequels. For his feature debut he helmed "Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore" and now this Friday we get the opening of his next effort, "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island." While it's not too surprising given his background in animation that he's become a director of family-friendly and CGI-heavy fantasy films, it would be a mistake to think his past works were similarly kid stuff. In fact, his "Addams Family"-ish CBC claymation series "What It's Like Being Alone" (which you can watch on YouTube) came with a disclaimer each episode noting that the show was for adults only.

What's more shocking is the kind of family films he's making now. His short films and series are so comparable to the style of Tim Burton (one interviewer also once described him as "looking like a Tim Burton character") that you could almost call it a rip-off. Not that he's hiding from the obvious. When his 2002 Genie-nominated thesis film, "Evelyn: The Cutest Evil Dead Girl," premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival he acknowledged that it is "very, very Seussian and Tim Burtonish." Indeed it is a bit like "The Grinch" meets "Edward Scissorhands," "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Beetlejuice." I would not be surprised if he was recruited for the next live-action Seuss adaptation. Are there any of his books that particularly appeal to the Hot Topic crowd?

Watch the award-winning 8 1/2-minute short, which co-stars "Diary of the Dead"'s Joshua Close and reportedly cost $16,000, below:

That film, which Peyton made while a student at the Canadian Film Centre, was basically the director's calling card. It got him a deal with Tom Hanks' production company, Playtone, where he was supposed to write and direct an animated feature film based on the children's book "The Spider and the Fly." I'm not sure of the status on that project, but it took a while longer before the filmmaker actually got to work on a feature (the "Cats & Dogs" sequel).

In the meantime, before creating "What It's Like Being Alone," Peyton made another short film titled "Bad Luck." It's basically a music video for the band Royal City, but it works on its own as a stop-motion film about a teddy bear who selfishly abandons his doll girlfriend when a tornado approaches. It's not unlike "Evelyn" in that it's another gothic love story with dead characters finding romance. Watch this 3 1/2-minute short, which screened in competition at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival and reportedly cost $15,000 (Canadian), below:

Though I find "Evelyn" a tad too mall-goth for its own good, and we probably don't really need another Burton wannabe, I would love to see Peyton get to direct something more of his own, something dark, funny and creepy. Maybe he could reboot the Lemony Snicket movies or something even. Otherwise, if he could continue making some fun shorts on the side while earning those Hollywood paychecks, that'd be cool too.

Follow Christopher Campbell on Twitter: @thefilmcynic
Follow Spout on Twitter: @Spout

The Doc Option: Instead of "Big Miracle" See "The Whale"

Christopher Campbell — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:40:30 GMT

I can understand the appeal of "Big Miracle," the cheesy looking new movie about a whale trapped in Arctic ice. I was once a preteen kid obsessed with marine life and I definitely would have gone to see it. Now I'm a thirtysomething kid obsessed with documentary so I have other films to see. If you're with me on wanting a more grown-up alternative, I've got another Doc Option for you:

"The Whale" is a new documentary from celebrity producers Scarlett Johansson and her ex-husband Ryan Reynolds, who also narrates. I reviewed the film here at Spout back in September, and it's surprisingly still in theaters in spite of the disappointing amount of attention it has received and the disappointing gross it has accumulated. I shouldn't be that amazed that it's not more popular since neither "Project Nim" nor "The Cove" were blockbuster level documentaries either and each deals, differently, in similar subject matter to "The Whale." People want to see cute animals in uplifting stories, not complicated contemplations of man's treatment of other species.

And "The Whale" is especially difficult for people who like whales. The preteen me might have had trouble with the notion that whales, especially orcas (killer whales), are not to be looked at as a friend, pet or entertainer. As I wrote previously, there's an irony to the fact that this film could easily be adapted into a narrative feature along the lines of "Big Miracle" (it seems one film "Luna: Spirit of the Whale" is based on the same story), yet its whole point is to de-dramatize, de-cutify and de-anthropomorphize wild and captive animals. It tells us the hard truth that even animals who seem to want and enjoy human interaction should not receive our affection and attention.

The film is thematically very different than "Big Miracle," which presents the true story of a rescue effort to physically save three trapped gray whales from pack ice. In "The Whale," the attempt to get Luna, a killer whale, out of Vancouver's Nootka Sound, concerns physical dangers but there's so much more. Luna is trapped more by her isolation and misunderstanding than by any material obstruction. She just won't leave the sound and nobody knows the best way to get her to leave or the best reason why such an effort is necessary. If you go in thinking you know the best solution, you'll probably come out with another idea or with utter uncertainty.

"The Whale" is one of the most underrated docs of the past year and deserves to be seen. It is currently playing in Daytona Beach and continues to expand to other cities. Check its screenings listing page for engagements presently booked through April (you should also follow my weekly Docs In Theaters column at the Doc Channel Blog for updates) or contact them to request it be shown near you. And hopefully it will be released to DVD sometime soon. Check out the trailer below:

Follow Christopher Campbell on Twitter: @thefilmcynic
Follow Spout on Twitter: @Spout

Short Starts: Watch "Ghost Closet '07" - Written by "Chronicle" Screenwriter Max Landis

Christopher Campbell — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:48:04 GMT

Short Starts is a column devoted to kicking off the week with a short film, typically one tied to a new release. Today we look at an earlier film by screenwriter Max Landis, who wrote "Chronicle."

I can't say I particularly like the short I'm showcasing this week. Titled "Ghost Closet '07," it's too random and pointless, even for me. The premise involves four guys who go to a house party, and that's about it. Oh, except that one of them enters a hall closet leading into a paranormal dimension filled with ghosts of all kinds. It's weird. But not really in a good way.

So why did I select this short? Aside from there being a great lack of appropriate shorts available this week, there's also the matter of it maybe being connected to the new movie "Chronicle." In addition to both films being written by Max Landis (son of John Landis), they also both feature a character named Brett Gaines (here played by director Alex Montilla). At least, this is the claim of IMDb, and I won't be able to confirm until I see "Chronicle" this week.

Even if there's only a mention of that character, who in this short is the arogant, preppy guy who is somewhat of a nemesis for one of our four protagonists, perhaps the name itself is just the young Landis' trademark. Like his father's recurring "See You Next Wednesday" thing. And if there's no mention at all and IMDb is incorrect, I guess the only link is that it's another film about a group of friends. And as meaningless as this very film.

Watch "Ghost Closet '07" in full, in two parts, below:

"Chronicle" is in theaters everywhere this Friday.

Follow Christopher Campbell on Twitter: @thefilmcynic
Follow Spout on Twitter: @Spout

Sundance 2012: Reviews of "The Other Dream Team," "The Law in These Parts" and "Love Free or Die"

Christopher Campbell — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:30:46 GMT

As a documentary fan and critic who discovered so many great nonfiction films at Sundance last year, including some of 2011’s very best, it’s been extremely painful not being in Park City this week. To make things easier I could have tried to ignore the festival, stayed off Twitter, not read reviews, definitely not researched and talked about films ahead of time let alone written about the resulting most anticipated docs in my last Doc Talk column. Hearing enormously positive buzz on "The Imposter," "Searching for Sugar Man," "Detropia," "The Queen of Versailles," "The Ambassador," "West of Memphis and others is driving me absolutely bonkers.

It’s like being a comic book geek under house arrest while "The Dark Knight Rises" hits theaters, hearing that it actually exceeds expectations and knowing it will be months before you have a chance to see it. Yes, right now, "The Imposter" is my "Dark Knight Rises." "Searching for Sugar Man" is my "Hunger Games" -- I guess the hunger issue doc "Finding North" should be my "Hunger Games," but I’m not seeing enough hype on that one. Here’s an appropriate one: "West of Memphis" is my "Hobbit." I could go on and on. "The Ambassador" is my "The Dictator."

Thanks to some gracious publicists and filmmakers, I haven’t been totally in the dark this year. While it’s difficult to maneuver due to sales agents and potential or eventual distributors, I managed to acquire access to a number of docs screening in Park City this month. Most are Slamdance titles, which I rounded up in a preview at the Documentary Channel Blog. Never underestimate the smaller fest, which spawned some of our favorite docs, such as "Dear Zachary" and "The King of Kong."

Continue reading this roundup at Movies.com.

Slamdance 2012: Alexandra Berger Talks “Danland,” Finding a Narrative in Verite Style and Being a Woman Documenting the Porn Industry

Christopher Campbell — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:13:38 GMT

One of the highlights at this year’s Slamdance Film Festival is the documentary "Danland," which follows the romantic pursuits of a well-known producer and star of amateur pornography. The film begins with this man, ‘Porno’ Dan Leal, on his wedding day, but we can’t really see who the bride is. Then we go back a few years and watch his relationships grow and die, some resurrected, others gone for good. It’s truly a movie for equal enjoyment among couples. There’s the porn stuff for the guys and the romance for the girls. And for just general doc lovers it’s an entertaining look into a strange and complicated world.

Although I was unable to make it to Park City this year, I managed to talk with "Danland" director Alexandra Berger from miles away. A veteran of the film industry, this is the filmmaker’s feature directorial debut and it displays a great new voice in the doc community and promise of wonderful things to come. Below is our conversation, in which we discussed inception of narrative in verite documentary, the benefit of being a woman documenting this subject matter and the difficulty to market a film that really should appeal to everyone.

How did you become involved with Dan and decide to make a film about him?

I had a friend who moved from New York to D.C., and when he did so he told me that he felt invisible, so he joined a Yahoo! Group of black men who fulfilled women’s fantasies of having multiple partners at once. And that Yahoo! Group was discovered by Dan Leal —‘Porno Dan’ — and Dan said, “hey, why don’t you guys come do your fantasy sex acts in my basement and I’ll shoot them and give you snacks and sodas, and if you don’t want to show your face you can wear a mask.” That group agreed and allowed Dan to do that. So then my friend confessed to me at one point that he had been performing in porno films. From there, first I was shocked, and then I became very interested. I was intrigued by these men who wear masks having sex with women, just the anonymity. That’s what lured me initially.

Continue reading this interview at the DOC Channel Blog

Sundance 2012: Managing Cynicism - This Year’s Great Crop of Sundance Online Shorts

Daniel Walber — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:15:00 GMT

Maybe I’m a bit cynical. That’s not true. I’m excessively cynical. I could claim it comes naturally once you’ve seen too many movies, but that doesn’t seem like a good enough excuse. And the 2012 Sundance Film Festival’s online shorts are a perfectly illustrative example of why any exhausted approach to new movies is a bad idea.

American independent film has arguably hit a point of stylistic ferment. There’s a ton of exciting and innovative new work produced every year, but there’s also a growing list of aggravating indie film trends. Documentaries about cute old people doing something unexpected en masse, raucous banter-heavy family comedies, quirky teenagers that talk like cynical 30-somethings. It’s true that each of these styles initially caught on because of some genuinely excellent films, but that doesn’t make the inferior ones any less irritating. If I were to say “oh, it was just another bad Sundance movie” a lot of people would have a pretty clear stereotypical image, though it might vary based on the individual.

All of that drives the cynicism. You can sense a dreadful movie in its first few minutes; it’s so easy to put it into a box. Yet take heed! Apparently it doesn’t always work that way (I know, duh). Sometimes that instant recognition is right (see "Jesus Henry Christ"). But often it’s totally wrong. Seven of the nine Sundance online short films had me convinced for a good 1-3 minutes that they were going to be predictable and frustrating. Each one of them proved me wrong.

Continue reading this review at ShortStack.

Sundance 2012: Top Online Shorts "Long Distance Information" and "The Debutante Hunters"

Daniel Walber — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:23:39 GMT

All of the nine shorts Yahoo and the Sundance Film Festival have put on the web are pretty good. It’s an impressive crop, and I’d say more consistent than a lot of the stuff festivals have put online in the last year. Yet in any batch of films a few rise to the top. I’ve rounded up the other seven, and the oddly consistent problem they have. Here are my two favorites and some gushing about why I think they’re absolutely worth your time.

"Long Distance Information," by Douglas Hart

I suppose it doesn’t reflect too well on my attention span that one of my picks is the shortest film on the list, but oh well. While it may not be excellent because it cuts out before the eight minute mark, that comparatively small running time makes the brief screenplay even more noticeably tight. There’s not a single wasted second.

Writer/director Douglas Hart’s film is one of subtle relationship shifts. That applies not only to the emotional connections between the father and son at the center of the story, but also the physical structure of the set. Are these two rooms in the same building, or are they not on the same continent? Is this a tightly-knit family, or has it been years since they’ve spoken to each other? We spend the entire film changing our minds.

Continue reading this review at ShortStack.