Nico Cirasola’s film, sold as a documentary but more of a fictional take on a real story, sounded like it had potential. You see, Cirasola was going to enlighten us on the story of the little shop owner and the town who took down the big corporation.
It all happened a few years ago when McDonalds moved into the Italian town of Altamura. The company sought to take over and turn everyone into burger lovers but the majority of residents of Altamura didn’t agree. Instead, an unspoken agreement was made and folks chose to support a local bread maker rather than the big corporation. The result: McDonalds was forced to close.
It’s a great story and one that’s never really been told (though it did make splashes in various news papers around the globe) so you bet it was exciting to see a documentary about the take down of the big guy by the little guy sadly, Focaccia Blues is not that movie. Actually, it’s not quite clear what Cirasola’s film is but what ever it might be, it falls somewhere between a bad joke and a sad truth. The bad joke is the acting, the scrip and sadly, nearly everything about the film. It’s exceptionally bland, painfully unfunny and so poorly conceived it’s nearly impossible to image how it managed to get made. But alas, the sad truth is that it has been made and a few have even suffered to see it.
“Shorts Program” is a semi-regular column highlighting a short film that is well worth your time. If you have a short film you would like to share, drop us a line at marina@rowthree.com.
Last year, Film Independent announced a partnership with Banana Republic and Vanity Fair called “Project:Involve.” The idea behind the project is to provide filmmakers from culturally diverse backgrounds with funding and mentorship to create a short film. The theme of the competition was “City Stories” and there wer two major limitation: tell your story in under three minutes and the film has to be shot in the French New Wave style. One of the film makers selected for last year’s competition was Jarrett Lee Conaway.
Conaway recently shared his short, a romance titled Foolishly Seeking True Love, with the world at large and boy, am I happy he did. It’s a sweet, charming and beautiful looking story that left me smiling. Take a 3 minute break from the Oscar chat to check out this great up-and-comer.
Director: Scott Stewart Screenplay: Peter Schink, Scott Stewart Producer: David Lancaster, Starring: Paul Bettany, Dennis Quaid, Tyrese Gibson, Doug Jones, Jon Tenney, Charles S. Dutton, Lucas Black, Kate Walsh, Adrianne Palicki, Kevin Durand, Willa Holland MPAA Rating: R Running time: 100 min.
(1.5/5)
There were a number of good reasons to be excited for Scott Stewart’s directorial debut, a film of biblical apocalypse titled Legion. The trailers for the film suggested some serious awesomeness and with Paul Bettany on board as the protector (and perhaps savior) of mankind, there was no way to avoid seeing this. Sadly, Stewart creates a dull, mindless film that doesn’t even manage to be entertaining.
God is angry. He’s not even really angry, he’s just pissed off and tired at the dumbassery of humanity and so he decides to wield his mighty power and set the apocalypse upon the human asses. Rather than simply exterminating us with some doom and gloom that will kill us off instantly, he decides to take his time, letting loose evil and in an Agent-body-take-over way right out of The Matrix, much of the world is taken over and controlled by some sort of evil entity. To the rescue comes Michael (yes, as in the Archangel) who has decided that God isn’t right this time around and needs some help seeing the light. Disobeying a direct order, he removes himself from heaven and falls to earth to yield guns and swords against the possessed in an attempt to save humanity’s only salvation: an unborn child getting ready to pop in the middle of bum-fuck-nowhere.
Conor McPherson’s The Eclipse (review) is a murky gem. Part ghost story, part thriller and part romance, it doesn’t traverse deep enough into any one of its genre’s to make it easily classifiable and perhaps that’s the film’s appeal. Walking away I was impressed by some aspects and underwhelmed by others but I must admit that it’s a film that I’ve thought about on occasion in the months since seeing it and one I’ve been looking forward to seeing again.
The film stars the great Ciarán Hinds as a widower living on the Irish coast who, every year, volunteers at the local writer’s festival. He strikes up a relationship with a Lena (Iben Hjejle), a visiting author who writer about ghosts. What stars as a casual friendship develops into awkward romantic one that goes sideways when a pompous American author (the fabulous Aidan Quinn) decides to grace the small town with his presence.
I’m still not quite sure how I feel about the film but it does have a lot going for it, namely the haunting score, beautiful cinematography and great performances from Hinds and Quinn. It’s a fascinating melding of genres and one I’d like a second chance to experience.
Magnolia is releasing the film on VOD, Amazon and XBox live on February 26th followed on March 26th with what I can only assume will be a limited release.
Andrea Arnold is one of the most well respected, up-and-coming female directors of the past few years and for good reason. Though Red Road still alludes me, having seen Fish Tank I can’t help but think it too is nothing short of a masterpiece. But we’re not here to muse over how outstanding her career is shaping up to be but rather to share some news which frankly, have me a little surprised.
Arnold has built a reputation for herself by telling stories of strong, female protagonists so it may not come as too much of a shocker that she’s been hired to adapt Emily Brontë’s “Wuthering Heights.” For those who may not have read the classic it’s the tragic love story (many argue it’s actually a tale of revenge) which follows the life of Heathcliff, a mysterious gypsy-like person, from childhood to his death in his late thirties. Heathcliff rises in his adopted family and then is reduced to the status of a servant, running away when Cathy Earnshaw, the young woman he loves decides to marry another. He returns later, rich and educated and sets about gaining his revenge on the two families that he believed ruined his life.
It’s a rough book, one I really disliked the first time I read it but I can see why it would be appealing to Arnold. It’s a difficult love story which, at its very center, focuses on something at the core of both of her films: class divide. I’m a little disappointed to discover that Arnold isn’t adapting the novel herself but rather taking on a script written by Olivia Hetreed. Either way this is starting to shape into a not-to-be-missed period romance and knowing Arnold, one that doesn’t rest solely on its good looks but which will also provide more than a few uncomfortable moments.
Here’s something I wasn’t expecting. Like, at all.
Remember Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck? If you’ve been around these parts or have good taste in film outside of our fabulous recommendations, you may recognize the name as that of the Oscar winning director who a few years ago took home gold for the brilliant The Lives of Others.
I’ve been tracking the director since he first captured my attention with the heartbreaking story of life behind the East German state in the 1980s. The talented director had been rather reclusive after the win and there had been no announcements as to what his next project would be but the veil of secrecy has been lifted and his follow-up is not exactly what I’d expected.
News now is that Domnersmarck will be stepping behind the camera to direct the remake of the French thriller The Tourist. Apparently Domnersmarck was already attached to the project but walked away after creative differences with Sam Worthington who was set to star in the project. Reports now are that Worthington has stepped away and has been replaced by Johnny Depp who will star alongside Angelina Jolie.
When The Young Victoria (our review) played in the UK early last year, I was a bit disappointed to find it would be agonizing months before we ever had a chance to see the film in North America. I had my chance to see it at VIFF and the film has been going through a slow roll-out over the last few weeks gaining a fair bit of attention, and for good reason too.
Canadian director Jean-Marc Vallée’s take on Queen Victoria’s life is less history and more drama but it handles its subject with delicacy and care, creating a package that is gorgeously shot and which manages to stay with you for the long run; not bad for a little costume drama. Yet, for some reason, the film seems to be passed over by many of the major sites. Here’s my sincere plea for attention for a little film that really should be getting more love.
Aside from great performances from Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend and Paul Bettany, what I loved most about the film is how it portrays Victoria as a very real and strong woman, one who wasn’t about to be pushed around. Not a bad message for young, impressionable girls.
If I had a camera mounted on my computer monitor and had it streaming a few seconds ago, you would have seen a very happy girl grinning from ear to ear with excitement. What could possibly be so awesome? Spark FX that’s what!
ACM Siggraph is back with another year of awesome movies celebrating special effects and wow, what a line-up. As per last year’s run (where I managed to see Tron and Close Encounters of the Third Kind on the big screen), this year’s line-up is even more outstanding – hard to believe but true! So what’s on offer? Here’s a taste: E.T., the original classic The Day the Earth Stood Still, Peter Jackson’s King Kong, The Wizard of Oz and to top it all off, the awesomeness of Jaws (I can already hear the music!).
Along with the films, there’s also a great line-up of speakers and presentations from industry professionals, including one on creating the aliens for District 9.
If you’re in Vancouver (or area) and want in, check out the official website for details on screenings and to buy tickets. These sell quick so get them while you can!
And the first thing that comes to mind after seeing it is: it doesn’t totally suck.
Around these parts, the general feeling about an A-Team movie is that it’s unnecessary but I have a feeling I’m not alone in my secret wish that the movie (which is going ahead regardless of what we think) doesn’t completely suck. I liked the first promotional image from the production and having seen the trailer, I’m not sure this is going to be a runaway success (the show worked because of it’s 80s cheesiness) but it looks to be heading in the right direction. Liam Neeson is doing a pretty good job of channeling Hannibal as is Sharlto Copley as Murdock. Heck even mixed martial arts artist Quinton Jackson seems to be doing well as Mr. T (mind you, Mr. T never did much talkin’). I’m just not sure why we’re getting so much Bradley Cooper in this trailer. Sure, he’s a looker (though he’s got nothing on Dirk Benedict) but I hope this isn’t going to be the Cooper show.
Either way, I admit to getting a little giddy at the first few notes of the theme song. This looks like you’re typical big action blockbuster but hell, I’ll give it a shot.
So admittedly this is a few years old but when a short is this good, it’s worth attention regardless of how old it is. Created by a team of digital artists who are collectively knowns as Junk Works, these guys are creating nothing even remotely resembling junk.
The crew has been making short films for a few years but it was their 2008 effort titled E.T.A. which really caught a lot of attention. The film played at BreakPoint ‘08 in Bingen, Germany where it won a first place finish with a strong recommendation from the jury that their next project be a full length feature. Obviously, that’s a lot easier said than done but I can’t help but agree.
E.T.A. is only four minutes long but darn it if it’s not the most entertaining four minutes I’ve had this week. Unexpected and a whole lot of fun. I look forward to director Henrik Bjerregaard Clausen’s next project.
As someone who loves, and I mean loves, film scores, I can’t wrap my head around this.
According to the good folks at Soundtrack Geek, Brian Tyler, one of Hollywood’s hottest composers, has had no less than 6 scores disqualified from Oscar contention by the academy. Also disqualified, Marcel Barsotti’s great Pope Joan score, Nicholas Hooper’s Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Carter Burwell’s Where The Wild Things. That’s a few big contenders out of the running which brings up the question, what’s left? Quite a bit actually.
SG has a complete list of the eligible scores and there are some great ones left on the list. Michael Giacchino’s Star Trek score is epic, Danny Elfman’s Terminator Salvation score has some pretty impressive pieces but I must admit one of my favourites of the year is Alexandre Desplat’s score for The Twilight Saga: New Moon which is full of both romance and suspense.
Sadly, my favourite score of the year is no where to be seen. The one in question: The Countess. The film written, directed and starring Julie Delpy also features something else: a gorgeous score composed by Delpy herself. It’s pretty impressive and you can get a taste of it here. Not sure if this is an just an oversight or if the score simply wasn’t entered. Either way, not long to wait for the final list.
I may not have been the biggest fan of Kari Skogland’s 50 Dead Men Walking (our review) and though I was in the minority, I stand by my initial thoughts that the film was simply too scattered to be truly great. That said, I still have quite a bit of admiration for the director who is working out of two minority groups in Hollywood: she’s a female director and she’s Canadian.
Skogland did get a bit of international attention for the Irish drama but I’m happy to see that her next project is another Canadian production, and yet again, she’s defying expectations. THR reports that Skogland has signed on to direct Prisoner of Tehran, a film based on a 2007 best selling memoir about a “16-year-old Christian girl forced in 1982 to convert to Islam and marry a prison guard who rescued her from an Iranian firing squad.”
This sounds like an apt project for Skogland who is returning to her roots in a more subdued drama. It’s not clear how much the story will focus on the Islamic revolution which preceded this event but I expect we may also get another glimpse of Skogland in action mode. I’m hopeful that at some point, she’ll find the perfect balance for the two much as Kathryn Bigelow has.
God is angry. He’s not even really angry, he’s just pissed off and tired at the dumbassery of humanity and so he decides to wield his mighty power and set the apocalypse upon the human asses. Rather than simply exterminating us with some doom and gloom that will kill us off instantly, he decides to take his time, letting loose evil and in an Agent-body-take-over way right out of 
If you want to watch it onl1ne for free,...
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