Archive for September, 2010

  • 30 Sep

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    Cinecast Episode 184 – Death Lottery

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    The 4 hour barrier is broken as The Documentary Blog’s Jay Cheel joins Kurt and Andrew on the longest Cinecast ever – you know it is even longer than the previous epic length TIFF show. What do we talk about? For starters, Kurt & Jay examine the Let The Right One In remake, Let Me In (*SPOILERS*), in painstaking detail, and how not to process American remakes of foreign language films. Next we move along for a solid hour on Never Let Me Go (*SPOILERS*) which keeps going on the vibe of comparing source material to eventual film adaptation and why you probably should not do that. More Carey Mulligan talk as Andrew skims and sums up Wall Street 2 with out spoilers. Then, a spoiler-free discussion on Catfish follows, although only Jay caught it, so it is more of a discussion on fake/faux-Documentaries, and ‘narrative-ethics’ which leads to more more talk on I’m Still Here, with a little Last Exorcism and The Blair Witch Project to round things out. Next we move along to the avant garde and barely-narrative Cannes Palme D’Or winner, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, and a lot of other films we watched: An overview of the “Middletown” documentary series, a bit of Daybreakers-Redux, a bit of Season 6 of “LOST” (you guessed it, with *SPOILERS*), and more avant garde cinema with Last Year At Marienbad. We also debate the finer points of Steve Buscemi and the cast and crew of HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire.” Finally (finally!) at around the 4 hour mark, our DVD picks round out a show that carried us well into the wee hours of the night recording. We hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed chatting. It may be long, but it is a solid and whip-smart show this time around, although we are biased on that front.

    As always, please join the conversation by leaving your own thoughts in the comment section below and again, thanks for listening!

     
     

    Cinecast Episode 184 [ 4:20:01 | 148.78 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popup
    To download the show directly, paste the following URL into your favorite downloader:
    http://rowthree.com/audio/cinecast_10/episode_184.mp3

    ALTERNATIVE (no music track):
    http://rowthree.com/audio/cinecast_10/episode_184-alt.mp3

     
    Full show notes are under the seats…
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  • 30 Sep

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    More than just ads. VIFF 2010 takes marketing to the next level

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    VIFF 2010 Banner

    Every year I take great joy in sharing with our readers a slice of what we VIFF attendees get to enjoy for two weeks in the form of festival trailers. Though the trailers are always fantastic (have a taste with 2008s attendee reels and 2009s batch of odd yet very real movie moments) the complaints are always the same, especially from folks that see a lot of films: there aren’t enough of them and we have to see the same one over and over again!

    Not this year.

    Oh no. Always ones to push the envelope, VIFF is going all out this year. The folks at TBWA who are behind the great material from the previous years, decided that they were going to do things a little differently this year by creating their own short film. Titled The Warden, the film has been divided into 16 parts and each part will play during one day of the festival. At the end of the fest, attendees will have seen one full short film. Convinced that festival audiences are smart cookies, TBWA has also revealed that the parts will not be shown in order and the first scene, which is already online, is actually the closing scene of the film.

    So what happens if you miss a day or two? You can catch up. The instalments will be available for viewing at http://www.thewardensixteen.com/.

    Now, I can’t tell you what the short is about because I don’t know but if the first clip is any indication, it’s not going to be a laughing matter.

  • 30 Sep

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    VIFF 10 Review: Mighty Jerome

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    VIFF Reviews Headline

    MIghty Jerome

    In 1959, runner Harry Jerome was a bit of Canadian hero. A Vancouver boy who started breaking records in high school, Jerome was headed to the Olympics under the pressure of a country that, fuelled by a media frenzy, expected gold medals and the breaking of world records. A leg injury cost him the medal and everyone assumed Jerome was down for good but determined, the young runner set off to stage what legendary coach Bill Bowerman called “the greatest comeback in track and field history.”

    Mighty Jerome, Charles Officer’s first documentary and the follow-up to the great Nurse.Fighter.Boy, provides a glimpse into the life of a Canadian track star and a local hero who seems to have been forgotten by time. Tracking the burgeoning career of Jerome from his early rise to fame in the high school circuit to his time at Oregon State University and his early passing, Officer builds the story of a young man full of determination and a drive to win.

    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 30 Sep

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    Final Saw 3D Poster

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    final saw 3d posterNo matter what I might think of the Saw series, I really dig this poster as being something different and cool. Just click on the poster to the right for the full large size version of the poster.

    It isn’t going to get me out to the theatre as I gave up on the series after the third movie but I would be willing to put it up on my wall and in some weird way I even dig the animated version which is below the seat.

    Perhaps I just like the animated version because it is not in flash and it does not have any annoying sounds attached to it. I will give major props to the Saw series for having some interesting posters. My favorites have always been the Blood Drive ones.

    Are you still interested in the Saw series and do you agree or disagree with me on the posters?

    SAW 3D hits theaters October 29th!

    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 30 Sep

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    Arthur Penn (1922-2010)

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    It seems that the front page is dominated by Obituaries. Arthur Penn died at 88 two days ago of heart failure. Most known as the director of Bonnie and Clyde, Penn was all over the map directorially, but certainly had a good run following the crazy success of B&C with Alice’s Restaurant, Little Big Man and Night Moves until the Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando western, The Missouri Breaks (reportedly a fiasco of the highest order) more or less derailed his A-list director status. Nevertheless, I have weird soft-spot for his 1980s work, Dead of Winter (with a creepy Roddy McDowell and a Gothic sensibility) and Penn & Teller Get Killed (which is surreally unhinged, a la a European art film, at times) two films you should probably check out if only because they are so radically different, both from one another as well as Penn’s previous more lauded work.

    NJ.com has much more.

  • 30 Sep

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    Tony Curtis (1925 – 2010)

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    Iconic and quite prolific actor, raconteur, matinee idol and father of actress Jamie-Lee, Tony Curtis passed away yesterday of a heart attack at age 85. Were you a fan of comedic Curtis (Some Like it Hot, The Great Race) or dramatic Curtis (The Defiant Ones, Spartacus) or late-period horror Curtis (The Manitou, Brainwaves)? Or all of the above. We seem to be running out of Hollywood legends as of late.

    The Guardian has more and lots of video clips.

  • 29 Sep

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    VIFF Contest: Win “A Drummer’s Dream” tickets

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    The Vancouver International Film Festival kicks off tomorrow morning and we’ve got a bit of a treat for our readers.

    Considered by many to be one of the best cinematographer/directors in Canada, John Walker returns with a new documentary A Drummer’s Dream, a music documentary which brings together some of the finest drummers in the world.

    A feast for the ears, this energetic doc records a gathering of master drummers on a remote island in rural Canada. In veteran John Walker’s film, they’ve come together to bond, share secrets, teach enthusiastic young prodigies and jam like hell. It’s a wonderfully multicultural mix – African-American, Cuban, Filipino and Caucasian players, all speaking the same universal language. There’s a profusion of styles on display here, from Latin grooves to pounding rock beats.

    We hear from all the main drummers about their origins as musicians: their fumbling first steps, their moments of revelation, the secrets of their techniques, their philosophies of musicianship. All of them are quite articulate about what drives them and how it took shape in their lives. “There’s no big secret,” says one virtuoso with decades of success behind him, “Effort is all.” It’s an inspiring message: that the dream is open to anyone with a strong will.

    A Drummer’s Dream is playing twice at the festival (showtimes and locations) and we’ve got a double pass to the screening of the film on Monday, October 4th at 6:30PM at the Empire Granville 7 Th 2. To enter, simply leave a comment below before Saturday, October 2nd at midnight.

    Winner will be drawn from all entries and contacted via email with details of picking up their prize.

    Trailer for the film tucked under the seats.
    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 29 Sep

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    After the Credits Episode 89 – October Preview

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    Dale (Digital Doodles), Colleen (Mary Ostler Wood Butchery & Other Stuff) and I talk about the movie opening in October.

    After the Credits Episode 89 – October Preview [ 1:08:10 | 62.4 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popup

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    Show Notes:

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  • 29 Sep

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    The Lightbox gets another Dose of Bruce McDonald’s TRIGGER.

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    The film that opened LightBox, the multiplex/gallery/condo-tower/festival-headquarters in the middle of this years edition of TIFF, was Bruce McDonald’s Trigger (Rot’s Review) which went a long way toward adding a scrappy spirit, and a bit of the old T-dot love, to all the pomp and circumstance of a project that was hyped for years around Toronto. The best eulogy-film since Robert Altman’s A Prairie Home Companion, Trigger is a film about community (using many of the McDonald-regulars) and relationships and the spirit of keep on keepin’ on. Tracy Wright’s star has never shone brighter than her all night bickering, conversation and reflection with her friend and rival Molly Parker. Equal parts Before Sunset, My Dinner With Andre and good old fashioned Rock n’ Roll, Trigger is getting a full run at Lightbox starting September 30th, and the first few screenings, McDonald will be on hand to intro the film and Q&A with the audience. If you are in Toronto, check out McDonald’s entertaining look at death and friendship to come along in a while.

    For a local cinema-goer, the new TIFF LIGHTBOX, is a weird mix of ultra-corporate polish, über-arthouse-fare and down-and-dirty cinema (such as Colin Geddes’ upcoming Grindbox presentation). It is an odd mix, that sort of is the spirit of the TIFF-group in general. They have their five screens running year round, giving full releases to films that do not often get that treatment (case in point with Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives), and often they get the directors (especially when they are local) to come and intro the films, a la the local festival environment.

    Full show times September 30th – Oct 6th

    Thursday 12:30, 2:45, 5:15 (with intro and Q&A by Bruce McDonald), 7:30, 10:00
    Friday 12:30, 2:45, 5:15, 7:30, 10:00, 11:45
    Saturday 12:30, 2:45, 5:15 (with intro and Q&A by Bruce McDonald), 7:30 (with intro by Bruce McDonald)
    Sunday 1:00, 3:30, 7:30, 9:30
    Monday 7:30, 10:00
    Tuesday 12:30, 2:45, 5:15, 7:30, 10:00
    Wednesday 12:30, 2:45, 5:15, 7:30, 10:00

    The 60 second teaser trailer is tucked under the seat.

    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 29 Sep

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    Skyline Trailer

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    I know nothing about this one but what it shows in the trailer and I have to say I am so going to be in the theatre on opening night for this one…

  • 28 Sep

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    Freakonomics Opening Scene Suggests Ignoring Your Real-Estate Agent…But see the movie ASAP.

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    I am normally not a fan of ‘clips’ to advertise a movie over, for instance, a well cut trailer. The fact that a clip out of context of the narrative is usually quite boring. But sometimes the a clip comes along that plays better for capturing the tone and essence and overall reason to entice someone to see the film. The opening three minutes of Freakonomics, the movie based on the populist economic theory applied to real-world problems Malcolm-Gladwell-esque book, is exactly one of those times. The opening scene plays like a full endorsement on why you should bother with an evening out to catch this. The nice animation and ‘type-set titles’ are merely a bonus.

    Taking Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner’s popular non-fiction page-turner of the same name and handing it over to some high profile names in the documentary world – the directors of Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (Alex Gibney), Jesus Camp (Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing), Super Size Me (Morgan Spurlock), Why We Fight (Eugene Jarecki), and (a personal favorite) The King of Kong (Seth Gordon) – and connecting the dots with talking heads segments of authors themselves riffing on how simply following incentives (like any good economist) can challenge a lot of the assumptions we hold as sacrosanct.

    The clip is tucked under the seat.

    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 28 Sep

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    The Secret of Kells Blu-Ray and DVD

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    I still haven’t had a chance to check out the gorgeous looking Best Animated Feature from last year’s Oscars but now is my chance. I’m sure The Secret of he Kells on Blu-Ray is going to look just fantastic. Both the DVD and the Blu-ray will be in stores on October 5th.

    In a remote medieval outpost of Ireland, young Brendan embarks on a new life of adventure when a celebrated master illuminator arrives from foreign lands carrying a book brimming with secret wisdom and powers. To help complete the magical book, Brendan has to overcome his deepest fears on a dangerous quest that takes him into the enchanted forest where mythical creatures hide. It is here that he meets the fairy Aisling, a mysterious young wolf-girl, who helps him along the way. But with the barbarians closing in, will Brendan’s determination and artistic vision illuminate the darkness and show that enlightenment is the best fortification against evil?

    DVD Features

    The Secret of Kells DVD (SRP $29.95) and DVD/Blu-ray combo pack ($39.95) feature two hours of fascinating exclusive bonus content, including audio commentary with the director, co-director and art director; a special “The Voices of Ireland” segment that includes voice recording sessions with Brendan Gleeson, Evan McGuire, Christen Mooney and Mick Lally; a director’s presentation of pre-production sketches and inspirational images, and more. In addition, the DVD/Blu-ray combo includes a special collectible 24-page full-color prequel graphic novel by Mr. Moore that follows Aisling’s and Brendan’s adventures that took place before the story in the film begins.

    Awards

    2010 Academy Awards: Best Animated Feature Film of the Year Nomination; 2009 Annecy International Animated Film Festival: Audience Award Winner; 2009 Edinburgh International Film Festival: Audience Award Winner; Official Selection Berlinale International Film Festival; Official Selection New York International Children’s Film Festival

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