After the Credits Episode 76: VIFF 09 Interview - Ryan Ward [ 31:09 | 28.51 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popuphttp://www.rowthree.com/audio/AfterTheCredits-Episode76.MP3
Marina speaks with Ryan Ward, the co-writer, star and director of Son of the Sunshine (our review).
Row Three:
RSS Feeds:
Subscribe to “After the Credits”
Subscribe to ALL the RowThree Podcasts on one feed
Subscribe to all posts and discussions
Category
After the Credits Episode 75: VIFF 09 Interview - Paul Saltzman [ 11:05 | 10.15 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popuphttp://www.rowthree.com/audio/AfterTheCredits-Episode75.MP3
Marina speaks with Paul Saltzman, the director of the documentary Prom Night in Mississippi (our review).
Row Three:
RSS Feeds:
Subscribe to “After the Credits”
Subscribe to ALL the RowThree Podcasts on one feed
Subscribe to all posts and discussions
http://www.rowthree.com/audio/AfterTheCredits-Episode74.MP3
Marina, Colleen and a few special guests discuss some of the highlights (and lowlights) of the Vancouver International Film Festival.
Row Three:
RSS Feeds:
Subscribe to “After the Credits”
Subscribe to ALL the RowThree Podcasts on one feed
Subscribe to all posts and discussions
Be sure to check out our VIFF Recommendations list and out VIFF Review Page!
Big props to studios who make big budget B-movies: extravaganzas of sex, action and blood that titillate the senses but keep the mind on the backburner while still managing to say something about our culture. Arguments that all Hollywood blockbusters are B-movies are somewhat valid but few films achieve the coveted status of “good B-movie” and though Ninja Assassin certainly tries to get there and almost succeeds, it simply doesn’t manage to be as fun as needs to in order to succeed.
That’s not to say it doesn’t try. The opening sequence in James McTeigue’s V for Vendetta follow-up is a spectacular feast of darkness, blood and mind bending martial arts, a spectacle that starts the film off on great footing and which mixes its action with a touch of wry humour but once the title sequence finishes and the story kicks into gear, the film goes from fun to serious much too quickly.
Over the last few years, the term “American Independent Film” has come to mean something very specific which often has little to do with independent. Indie cinema has turned into a huge business supported by many of the big studios and the result are films that feel more like blockbusters than indies and first time filmmakers are left with the decision to either buy into the machine or strike out on their own via the DIY route which usually leads to small films, shot on video and marketed on the web in hopes of finding the support to get them noticed. Once in a while, a film comes along that suggest the method, however broken is still producing great films and filmmakers (I have foremost in mind Lance Hammer’s brilliant Ballast) and then a true visionary comes along and smashes through every expectation.
Having seen Redland, it’s little surprise Asiel Norton is one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 new faces of Independent Film. Heck, there should be a category for Norton as the single greatest visionary to come out of the US film scene in decades because not only is Norton a talented artist with vision, he’s also a man willing to push the medium in a new direction.
Since 1962, Burma has been a ruled by a Military Junta. In 1988, the country saw an uprising of the people and led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and supported by the students, it looked as though Burma might return to democracy but the protests were met by brutal force and ended in bloodshed and the killing of thousands of protesters. In 2007, the country saw more protests the likes of which had not been seen since 1988 but with a country closed to outsiders, news of the brooding revolution were quenched by the military regime. A small group of citizen reporters, men and women with video cameras and computers took it upon themselves to chronicle the events which were unfolding inside of the country and their footage is at the centre of Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country.
In today’s technology rich world, it’s nearly impossible to believe that anyone could go “off the grid” for any extended period of time but in Nomad’s Land – Sur les traces de Nicolas Bouvier, Swiss filmmaker Gaël Métroz proves that it’s not only possible but fairly easy to do.
The adventure began as a self-finding mission. With the works of Swiss traveler Nicolas Bourvier as a guide, Métroz set off with a camera on a self guided tour of the Middle East and Asia, a trip that nearly killed him but which also provided the young man with an intimate understanding of humanity. A travelogue of intense power, Métroz shares much with his icon Bouvier and his deeply personal connection to Bouvier’s adventures affect both his choices and observations, providing an interesting and intimate account of life in that region of the world.
Life is good for Pietro. He’s a successful TV executive, happily married and has a beautiful daughter but while on vacation, a day which starts off with great promise ends badly. While at the beach with his brother, he risks his life to save a drowning woman while at home, his wife has a nasty fall and dies leaving his daughter frightened and alone. In shock at the loss of his wife, Pietro is now left with the task of raising his daughter alone, a daughter who seems to be taking her mother’s death too well. Concerned that she’ll break at any moment, on the first day of school Pietro offers to wait by the door until school is out and when he calls the office to say he’s out for the day, we realize that he wasn’t exaggerating.
A few years ago, South Korean director Joon-ho Bong was essentially mobbed by adoring fans after a screening of The Host. At the time, many of us knew nothing about the director other than the fact that he’d made a monster movie that was more than a monster movie but since then, he’s become a recognizable name (at least among film fans) and the announcement of a new project brought much joy to my heart.
As expected, Mother is more than a mystery. It’s a story of love, devotion and ultimately, sacrifice. Hye-ja Kim provides a tour-de-force performance as a slightly offbeat herbalist/rogue acupuncturist. She lives a meagre life with her son who appears to be a little slow on the uptake. When a girl turns up dead and her son is charged with the murder, Kim takes it upon herself to track down the true killer. Using her considerable skills and a knack for getting people to talk, she beings to pull back the layers of the mystery surrounding the girl’s death but what she finds at the end of the tunnel isn’t exactly what she expected.
If Lukas Moodysson has a style, I haven’t found it in the few films I’ve had the chance to see. I enjoyed Fucking Amal well enough (our Movie Club Podcast discussion was excellent) and I didn’t make it through all of A Hole in My Heart but with an international production starring Gael García Bernal and Michelle Williams in starring roles, I thought I’d give the director a chance to wow me. Sadly, it wasn’t meant to be.
The story of interconnected lives, Mammoth stars Bernal as Leo, a successful web entrepreneur married to Ellen, an equally successful doctor played by Williams. The two share a life in Soho with their daughter and the help of Gloria, their Philippine nanny. While on a business trip which isn’t going quite as smoothly as planned, Leo takes off on a mini vacation and ends up in a beach hut in Thailand where, after some moral interplay, he has a one night affair with a local prostitute. Back home, Ellen is going through some difficult times at work while at home she feels like her daughter is more attached to her nanny than to her mother. All the while, poor Gloria is working hard in the US while her children are missing her at home.
I don’t discriminate against film length but in a festival setting, when by 4 PM you’re on film number four of the day, a two and a half hour film could be a daunting challenge but when a film captures your attention as strongly (and quickly) as Jacques Audiard’s A Prophet, 2 ½ hours doesn’t seem long enough.
The film stars relative newcomer Tahar Rahim as Malik El Djebena. A youth offender, Malik’s latest lawbreaking is the first as an adult and he’s sentenced to six years of hard time. A pretty face with no one on the inside, he’s alone in a world of allegiances where looking at someone the wrong way is enough to get you killed but Malik isn’t stupid. He reluctantly takes on a job that aligns him with the Corsicans who rule the prison and instantly goes from no-one to protected guy. Over the years, he builds alliances and relationships while always being on the lookout for his next opportunity and when a deal leaves Luciani, the most powerful and influential of the inmates and the man who essentially saved Malik, alone, Malik becomes his right hand man until a series of events leaves Malik fending for himself.
