Who Is The March King?

Life Itself: It's Just Good

2015-03-29T14:19:00.001-07:00

I think everyone can agree that Life Itself is a damn fine film.

Life Itself is the 2014 Roger Ebert documentary that, so aptly named, covers his entire life and miraculously gets you in and out in two hours. That's a lot of information to cover in such a short time... and to cover so damn well. If I'm being honest, I was pretty much a blank slate when it came to the man's life before this film. Sure I knew about his show and had some small awareness of his later life troubles and blog. But this film really took me on a journey... It opened my eyes to this incredible human being that I unfortunately didn't give enough of my attention to while he was still alive.

It's a strange feeling to go through such an incredible journey with a person that you thought you knew and come out with a completely different perspective on them in the end. And I'm just thankful that Steve James managed to finish this project.

Life Itself is streaming on Netflix right now, so I suggest you catch it if you haven't already.

Let's Talk About Get On Up

2015-03-29T14:06:00.001-07:00

I had always intended to catch Get On Up, the 2014 James Brown docudrama, in its first weeks of release. But as I worked through the opening weekend and heard little worth repeating on the film, I pretty much just let it go. Was this the wrong thing to do? As I continue down this rabbit hole of film criticism that has become such a demonstrative piece of my life, I've begun an inner struggle between the merits of spending literally all of my time at the movies in an impossible attempt to catch everything, or allowing myself to not go to films that seem to be missing some aspect that would make me truly love them.

Get On Up, for the record, is very good and vastly underrated. It tells the James Brown story (it's about damn time) in a more kaleidoscopic manner than I am used to. The events of Brown's life swirl around and try to attain clarity while being represented hand in hand with other decades. What Brown represents and what he learns are not linear ideas... and the film picks up on this and allows the heavy questions to resonate across his life in a fashion I had not witnessed before.

Essentially what I'm trying to say is, Tate Taylor directed a very interesting film that actually affected me. Chadwick Boseman and Nelson Ellis (his leads) gave excellent performances that both encapsulated an understanding of the people they played and the time which they so bombastically inhabited. These guys managed to make a film of quality, and while certain aspects of James Brown's life may draw snickers from many people, there is still a clear message that this is in fact just a man, like any other man... he makes mistakes from day one. He is imperfect. But for a brief time on this earth, he did manage to make something fresh and new... something that no one ever expected to hear... something beautiful.

Now I sit here wishing I had caught this flick a long time ago, because I could have fought for it in conversations. I don't know what the naysayers of Get On Up saw, but it clearly was not the same film I watched that unequivocally kept my interest from start to finish and consistently had me thinking, "that was perfectly done" or "that was impeccably acted." For any negative review or lack of award consideration that may have kept you away from this film, I'm here to tell you, I really liked Get On Up.

It Follows: Looking Forward

2015-03-25T13:51:00.001-07:00

Writer/Director David Robert Mitchell's second feature has been receiving a great deal of positivity from critics, which is surprising given the nature of the film and particularly its genre: Horror. However, in the limited time It Follows has been in theaters, it has failed to make much of a mark on the box office. This may change in the coming weeks as a more intense ad campaign has been rolled out given the films critical success. But let's analyze what the hell is going on with this thing.

It Follows has a great jumping off concept. This is that dark childhood nightmare that there is some nameless thing that will always be walking towards you... personified in a feature film. Yet for all of Mitchell's attempts to give credence to the lack of knowledge we would have about such a being, he still chooses to play with those old tropes that the Horror genre has frequently tripped on over the course of its existence; running up the stairs instead of out the door, running in heels rather than kicking them off, a big final battle in an indoor pool... Yet these are part of the film's charm and don't directly take away from its overall quality or enjoyment.

I think, for me, It Follows' weakness lies in the creature itself (an old argument, but still quite valid). Such a creature could or should eventually show up in whatever its true form is. This film is a monster movie after all. One would be hard pressed not to desire some monster to appear by story's end. The transformative human nature of the creature is certainly fun, but it is not enough and likely will not get the job done for mainstream audiences...

Hence the lack of box office draw thus far. The trailers for this thing have been weak at best, and I can see an obvious lack of interest from mainstream America given that there is no proof or even real promise of any kind of creature. Don't get me wrong, mainstream America is not really the goal for a quality Horror flick, and this film likely did not hope for such an elaborate reception. This is simply food for thought.

More importantly, I think, is that the ads need to gather up an element of the film's actual nature... which in a rather critical sense is that of a very dry Dark Comedy. It Follows embraces certain cliches in the hope that they will bring us back to the days of 70s Horror and the like... the heyday of Horror as an art from. It's a cool concept and actually very well done. The pacing is on point (something that is frequently ignored in Hollywood) and the film doesn't simply live on jump moments as many of its like have failingly done over the last twenty years.

It Follows is surprisingly fun. It's not perfect, but it's the kind of stone in a river that perhaps can change the water's trajectory given enough time. If the studio finds a way to market this thing and it begins to pick up sales at the box office, we may be headed towards more intellectual Horror films in the future.

The Wrecking Crew Seriously Lacks Focus

2015-03-25T13:00:00.002-07:00

The more I see these Kickstarter funded documentaries the more I begin to realize what it takes to get enough people interested in helping to fund a smaller project like this... You need a huge reaching idea. Unfortunately, if you're crowdfunding such a big idea, you most likely will not actually receive enough money to give said subject a truly thorough treatment. The subject is too big.

The Wrecking Crew is just the most recent crowdfunded documentary to come out. We'll see many more like this since crowdfunding isn't going anywhere. Though hopefully people start to recognize what ideas actually have clarity and which are farther removed from a central focal point. But in theory Denny Tedesco made this flick sound like it did have that center... until you learn the reality of what "The Wrecking Crew" was. Rather than a small group of 5 to 10 people, it's something like 30 to 40 different musicians that were brought in to do all of the studio recordings for over a decade's worth of rock and roll (The Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, Elvis, Bing Crosby, The Mamas and The Papas, Sonny and Cher, The Monkees). Essentially, these guys were playing the band's parts... inventing the bands parts... and playing them better than the band themselves.

If there were an actual story at the heart of this thing, it could be very powerful. But the film succumbs to its oversized, globular, ever-changing center. This was not one band doing all of the work as the ads seemed to imply. It was an entire industry of inside musicians. It's a film that tries to be about too many people. And that's where it fails to grasp the necessary focus to become a truly compelling movie.

I don't mean to knock it too much however. The Wrecking Crew tried to pay these musicians their due. And they clearly deserve some recognition for what they created back in the day. It just falls flat whenever something interesting could be brought up. Tedesco's film really plays like an overextended infomercial for a record that never gets a chance to breathe and play out since so much is being crammed into it. Ultimately I'd say, wait for it to come out on Netflix. These guys already got your money a long time ago.

I Don't Get 20,000 Days On Earth

2015-03-21T13:09:00.000-07:00

Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard made a very interesting "documentary" last year. It's called 20,000 Days On Earth and it tells the story of writer/musician Nick Cave. But there's a catch. This film is a reenactment of sorts... with the actual people rolling through a fictitious "day in the life" scenario.

The film looks beautiful and this quality of camera work and lighting could only be achieved in a predetermined sequence. But it still strikes me as odd. For each of 20,000 Days On Earth's positive qualities, there are several negatives that seem to interfere. For instance, the scenes that take place in Cave's car where he is interviewing ghosts from his past may seem surprisingly open and direct in their subject matter. But of course one could not get negative personalities from Cave's life into such a car, so the conversations had within always grapple with too much lightheartedness. And if I'm being totally honest... the music (which is the main subject of the film) does nothing for me.

Now this flick was nominated for a BAFTA which is the only reason I wound up watching it. But I tend to disagree with the British Academy's choice. This film is not, in my opinion, eligible for the label of "documentary." 20,000 Days On Earth is a very interesting film... but I personally don't get what purpose such an exercise in vanity can achieve. This flick will likely always exist in my mind as a strange kind of mystery. A puzzle without a solution.

This New Cinderella Has Consistency

2015-03-21T12:47:00.002-07:00

I haven't been in much of a filmgoing mood this last month. I suppose that's a sign of the season more so than anything else. Films in February and particularly March are usually the final backwash of the previous year... the stuff the studios felt didn't have a shot in hell at winning awards or making much money. However, Disney did find it worth their while to put out a live action adaptation of one of their most respected classics...

Kenneth Branagh's Cinderella is a surprisingly accurate adaptation of the Hans Christian Anderson story... well, minus the blood and the birds pecking peoples eyes out and all that. It doesn't suffer from the ridiculously painful flaws that sent Maleficent astray. The fact that Cinderella sticks so closely to the original story works highly to its advantage. For instance, the aesthetic is so vibrant and joyful... and the viewer can actually focus on this element as the classic story sort of lazes down the river. Harris Zambarloukos' pallet is so significant in its leveling of sheer beauty that the eyes are struck with a mad sort of giddiness.

Yet I would be remiss if I did not comment on the film's surprising weakness. It comes in the form of action, and it is the only real action in the whole flick. The carriage scene at the end... after the stroke of midnight... feels rushed, awkward, and unnecessarily stuffed into a film without need of such a moment. So I am left wondering who thought this scene needed to exist in said format. The old Disney animated movie felt no requirement to include a potential drop off a cliff or anything along those lines. So why try to falsely pull a sense of dread out of an audience that's guaranteed to know what's going to happen regardless?

Lily James is an excellent casting choice. Her smile makes me happy and she proves that she's got some acting chops as well. You'd better have a few tricks up your sleeve if the majority of your scenes are set against Cate Blanchett... who by the way (I know you're SO surprised) is wonderful in this film. Richard Madden is also pretty good, though he doesn't have a lot to do here. My greatest note about him in this film comes more as a commentary on Lucy Bevan's decision to cast him in the first place... You're casting Robb Stark in a film where his character makes the same decision that ultimately gets him killed in rather disturbing fashion in that other very well known fantasy series. It just feels like an odd but laugh-worthy choice.

Cinderella is a good enough film to stretch your legs in during the slow season. It's just enjoyable enough and all of the moving parts tend to work more often than not. If you've got any love for classic Disney and you want that magic feeling, you'll probably find it here for a brief time.

Kingsman Rocks!!

2015-02-27T18:02:00.000-08:00

While everyone was flocking to theaters to see a movie I hope never to have to sit through on Valentines Day, another film came out to appeal to the more sensible audiences of world.

Kingsman: The Secret Service is the latest by Matthew Vaughn of Kick-Ass (just the first one) and X-Men: First Class fame. It's the classic spy thriller story taken up a notch to fit in with this over-actioned comic book heavy film parade we've grown accustomed to over the last decade and a half. But this time, that old spy thriller takes a few extra (I'm not gonna say unexpected, cause they were still pretty obvious) turns in much the same fashion as that first good Kick-Ass movie.

What Kingsman really has going for it is an excellent cast and a very entertaining style of quirky yet hard-nosed action. Colin Firth finally plays the action hero role he was born for... and does so with the utmost of style. Taron Egerton holds his own against some of my favorite actors and still manages to make an impression, which is a very impressive feat for someone with so few credits to his name. He proved he'll be someone to watch out for in the future. Sophie Cookson was also a welcome new face. She took what little part she had to play with and made a meal of it. But then you add on these names: Mark Strong, Jack Davenport, Mark Hamill, Samuel L. Jackson, and Michael Caine... and no one can deny just how much star power this film carried.

There's not a lot more I can say about this film. It was thoroughly entertaining. It took the villainous plot to a different level and allowed its audience to revel in the insanity of said plot. And it proved to be just the right kind of ride to help take the edge off another otherwise excruciating start to a new film year. But films like this give me hope that studios may still come around about releasing quality products during, what they have deemed "dead seasons."

Kingsman is an excellent action adventure with a nice dose of comedy. I'd definitely recommend it.

Wetlands Is Pretty Gross

2015-02-27T17:27:00.002-08:00

I know I'm late to the vomit orgy on this one, but damn... If you're a queasy personality, you should probably stop reading now, and forget this movie even exists.

Wetlands is the story of Helen, an 18-year-old girl who's been suffering from hemorrhoids her entire life... her mother is a piece of work who tortured her as a child with cleanliness accidentally pushing her so far in the other direction that Helen intentionally sits on and rubs up against any toilet she sees... and she intentionally makes messy work of it every time she shaves. This latter item leads her to the hospital as she accidentally knicks her annus just over one of those hemorrhoids. But as she wakes up from surgery, she realizes this just may be the perfect way to get her divorced parents back together. How one can come to such a conclusion, I really couldn't tell you but that's the plot.

But for all of that grossness, it's not a terrible movie. Though it does lose its grip on its characters towards the end and ultimately fails to give a real concise final thought or finale. Helen is just a difficult character to get on board with, and while I appreciate Carla Juri's performance, a solid actress who looks great naked does not prove to be enough to take the ick factor and make it digestible. Still, I suppose this film says a great deal more about life in Germany than it possibly could say about America.

If you've really got a morbid curiosity, Wetlands is the right flick for you. It's interesting enough, but damn is it sick to watch. Just recognize, you may want to keep an empty bag nearby.

So I Watched The Interview...

2015-02-27T17:06:00.000-08:00

Man, this was a weird movie.

If you don't know by now (where have you been??), The Interview is the comedy about the attempted assassination of current North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. It embodies a very common American sentiment of late, and one that no one has really been particularly shy about articulating in the media or elsewhere... However, for whatever reason this intentionally stupid comedy of all things managed to gain the attention and ire of the dictator himself.

So a lot of really pointless questions come to mind about whether or not the film was worth it... or whether or not free speech has come into question in our country (SPOILER: IT HASN'T). But then there is a more direct question to be asked. Did this movie even remotely deserve the attention it wound up getting because of this whole "mess?" I gotta say, it didn't. Sure I laughed a little here and there... and the film even managed to make me think it was gonna make a real point about halfway through... before it totally decimated that point and threw all of its cards on the table in an attempt to force its audience to feel like 52 card pickup was actually a fun way to pass the time.

Seth Rogen and James Franco are a couple of fun and funny guys. But the more they do films together, the less the overall content of said film seems to matter. This Is The End was a surprisingly good time... but I don't think I'd call it a good movie... and I definitely did not enjoy it as much as their first endeavour, Pineapple Express. Well The Interview is an additional step down even from that. It's clumsy and poorly paced. And unfortunately, the relevancy it found in the one scene where Sook (Diana Bang) speaks out against murder in the name of change was almost immediately ruined by the events that followed. But perhaps that's just me. It seems Rogen and Franco really would prefer to just make action movies. They keep claiming these are comedies, but I'm starting to think as time goes by that that just isn't true.

The Interview is an intentionally stupid film. But under the surface of that, it is unintentionally even dumber. And while I admire the filmmakers' attempts at the very end to "tie everything together" this film as a whole just doesn't work. It's a bad idea made worse by poor planning... and it's really not worth your time or money. Oh well.

What We Do In The Shadows Works!!

2015-02-27T16:37:00.000-08:00

If you haven't had a chance to catch the new mockumentary What We Do In The Shadows, you've been missing out.

The film by Jemaine Clement (of Flight of the Conchords fame) and Taika Waititi recalls memories of old Christopher Guest comedies... the kind you used to stay up with friends till ungodly hours watching and laughing your asses off at. This is not Spinal Tap, but it's humor exists in the same ballpark.

What We Do In The Shadows is shot from the perspective of a camera crew that has been invited (with immunity) into a den of vampires "living" in New Zealand as the vamps prepare for an annual meeting of demons and spirits... a veritable monster mash. But these vampires are much more... shall I say... down to earth than the kind we're used to seeing in films. These guys are just a bunch of dudes. They make mistakes and want to party, though they can't get into the human bars without a direct invitation. And even the oldest and wisest of the bunch still has certain issues using their powers. These guys are not the sexgods that Hollywood has accustomed us to. They are a far cry to be sure.

Jemaine Clement has made a real name for himself outside of his two-piece band. Scoring roles in films like MIB3 and Muppets Most Wanted. And he always brings the whammy. He's funny and his timing is always on point. I'm a bit newer to Taika Waititi, though he is the real lead of this flick. And he impressed me. His awkward but direct approach to vampire living was almost always funny and there was a very compelling element of cleverness to every misstep and quirk he showed us.

Sure the rockumentary fourth wall kind of broke a few time. And while the film could have done with at least one more strong female presence, the lack there of didn't hinder the concept. As I said above, this is a film about dudes... dudes out of place in this modern world. And the circumstances just allow for dude comedy to take a more specific and silly kind of turn. What We Do In The Shadows was a very welcome surprise in this very young 2015 film season. And hopefully it is a sign of other good things to come.

Exploring Gett: The Trial Of Viviane Amsalem

2015-02-24T21:57:00.001-08:00

This was one of those Oscar hopefuls that just didn't get enough of a push to make it to the awards. However it was found worthy by other awards shows. And I can understand why.

Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem tells the story of one woman in Israel who desperately wants to part with her spouse only to be run through the ringer by the court system and the Jewish laws that essentially give the husband all of the rights in the matter. This is a film of attrition, so beware upon entering... you will get incredibly frustrated and want to shout at the screen. For the sake of all the other moviegoers around you, please don't.

Perhaps this doesn't connect back directly to the current feminist situation in America, but in theme one can easily draw lines from the one issue to the other. Equal wages for equal work and equal power and justice in a courtroom share similar places in my mind. And certainly there is a heavy feminist element to this film. It is just trapped in an even more archaic way of living. There is much that I commend about the Israeli way of life, but in this capacity... any time a religion is allowed to strangle a court, that is a failure on the government's part. Actually, there is an even deeper metaphor there considering the awkward state of our court system in this country.

But enough of metaphors for now. In Gett I found a truly interesting concept for a film. We are never allowed to leave the halls of the court house... as her life constantly forced back by those constraints. We never get a clear view of what their home life may have been like... simply the "he said she said" that the judges would be forced to witness. It's a rather exciting and impressively inexpensive way to make a feature film and I can't commend Ronit and Shlomi Elkabetz enough for keeping it interesting almost completely to the end. Still, it is not a perfect film and the retake after retake of the same argument does in many ways get stale by the final scene. But I don't dislike the film for going on too long as I so frequently have argued in other cases. In fact, the nature of Viviane's predicament seems to ask for such an overextension. It feels right even if a little tedious.

If you like courtroom dramas... and you feel up to watching one specific case get argued to death when the correct answer seems obvious... rather if you wanna agree with a film for its entire runtime, give Gett a shot.

Dear White People Is A Worthy Successor...

2015-02-24T21:30:00.000-08:00

...to Do the Right Thing.

I feel foolish for not having caught this flick in theaters. But when it came out, that was a very busy time in my life. Regardless, I have atoned and managed to watch this quality piece of cinema. Dear White People is a tale of racial (and sexual) ignorance. It is very much a politically motivated comedy of sorts. And it mashes together a series of very necessary thoughts and realizations about the way we as a nation have taken to simply sweeping race issues under the rug... at times even stating the inane idea that racism doesn't exist anymore in America. It's the story of a number of college students vying for political control at their ivy league school, the negative stereotypes being informed at said school upon all of them, and eventually an incredibly ignorant "viral generation" idea for a race themed party...

The saddest thing about Justin Simien's film comes in the end credits when it is made apparent that the concept for this film came from many many actual events that have been quite similar in nature. To say racism doesn't exist in America these days is to have the critical thinking skills of an old broom.

Tessa Thompson gives an exquisite performance bringing harsh reality to an overtly preachy role. And she proves capable of harnessing a soft side amidst all of this. Teyonah Parris surprised me playing a part I would morally be forced to detest if it weren't for the level of humanity she was able to impart... she plays a media-whore reality tv hopeful. In any other situation I would likely be destined to ignore this character, but she brought it to life and Simien's script made the person actually serve a purpose... Bravo! I liked Tyler James Williams a great deal as well, though his role was a lot more showing than telling.

Dear White People is rife with positives. And I really wish I had managed to see it before award season... just so I could complain with everyone else about it not getting nominated. Still it has similar flaws to Do the Right Thing (hence the comparison). The lengths it seems that the leads are forced to go to in order to insight any kind of a reaction from the white members of the student body feel overwhelmingly excessive. The argument stands on radically different legs depending on which film we're referring to however. Do the Right Thing simply targets the wrong people. Dear White People targets the right people, but does not give enough examples of those people actually willingly acting out to deserve our distaste. Perhaps I am being nitpicky on two films that I very much enjoy, and perhaps I can never completely understand every aspect of the moral... though I have been trying and do not intend to quit. But that's my two cents for what it's worth.

If you haven't seen Dear White People yet, I definitely recommend it.

Gold Rush 2015 (Part 2)

2015-02-21T12:00:00.000-08:00

This is the second part of an annual Oscar conversation between Walter of The Silver Screening Room and Caleb of Who Is The March King? To find Part 1, VISIT THE SILVER SCREENING ROOM HERE.

Hahaha Darling I'm so much more interesting and charming than everyone else,
I couldn't care less that the Academy constantly leaves me off their ballot...

Silver Screener: Let's talk about something incredible, like THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL, which is sure to win at least four Oscars

March King: I'm down. I would be totally okay with THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL winning Best Picture.

SS: Me too.

MK: For me it's that or BIRDMAN... or WHIPLASH.

SS: THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL, BOYHOOD, and SELMA made it to my Top Ten. But THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL, yes, my God! Even though it truly deserves to be in Adapted Screenplay, I think it's going to win for Original; I expect it to score for Costume, Production Design, and Score; and if it won Picture, I would stand, applaud, and squeal!

MK: That'd be cool, right? Though I have to respectfully disagree about score.

SS: You don't think so?!?!

MK: Don't get me wrong, Despalt did an awesome job. But for me that category was a tossup between MR. TURNER and UNDER THE SKIN. And since UNDER THE SKIN didn't even get so much as a sniff from the Academy, MR. TURNER gets my vote.

You hear that?! They think we deserve an Oscar!!

SS: I agree that MR. TURNER's score is great -- and my personal vote would go for INTERSTELLAR -- but I think the Academy will go with THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL.

MK: I wonder if it'll be another of those weird situations where the votes get split... after all, Alexandre Desplat is also nominated for THE IMITATION GAME.

SS: Oh shit that's right!

MK: But I guess this is one of those, we'll just have to wait and see kind of things.

SS: Well isn't it always?

MK: Well, if THE LEGO MOVIE had gotten nominated... I think I've made your point for you.

It's best not to count your Lego chickens before they're mounted on the baseboard.

SS: Hopefully, this means THE BOXTROLLS, which was always the Best Animated Film of the Year, gets the Oscar.

MK: Disagree. But I did like it. That's gonna be a tough category without the frontrunner. BIG HERO 6 was pretty cool. And THE TALE OF THE PRINCESS KAGUYA was beautiful if not a little too weird. But HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 (while not as good as the original) was dark and moody and a totally interesting expansion of that world. And who's to say SONG OF THE SEA doesn't deserve to be there? I can't find a single theatre showing it, so how could I know?

SS: Is it even real? What is it?

MK: I don’t know! Still THE LEGO MOVIE was so original and fun and interesting. There's nothing else out there quite like it. And it so meticulously captured what it's like to play with your favorite toys. That's my biggest snub.

SS: True! I did love THE LEGO MOVIE, don't get me wrong.

MK: That brings up a fun question Walter... What would be your biggest snub of the 2015 Academy Awards?

SS: PRIDE for Original Screenplay, Picture. THE HOMESMAN for Cinematography, Score.

MK: THE HOMESMAN deserves some serious credit.

Don't worry about me guys! I've been through far worse than blatant Oscar snubbery, in fact in my day they used to hang me up by my pajamas and let the entire town walk by and laugh at my absolute humiliation... So you know, no Oscar don't mean much to me.

SS: THE HOMESMAN is so fucking good! Or did you mean movies that had a shot going in, where the snubs were shockers? Because in that case, GONE GIRL in Adapted Screenplay.

MK: No... anything in any category. My second biggest snub is Jake Gyllenhaal for Best Actor.

SS: Uggggh still stiiiiings.

I would've just pawned that statuette anyway.

MK: My third... Micachu (Mica Levi) for UNDER THE SKIN.

SS: Yeah, the score was great for UNDER THE SKIN. Can't deny, even if the rest of the movie fell flat for me. Timothy Spall for Best Actor!

MK: He was fucking amazing!!!!! MR. TURNER may have lost me towards the end as a film, but his performance never waned.

SS: I love what Mike Leigh gets out of his actors. You never doubt them.

MK: They are my favorite ensemble of the season. Everyone in that film knew exactly what world they were in. And they played it to the rafters.

SS: I heard they spent, like, a year rehearsing the movie before they started filming. Which is typical Leigh. And I think we see the work on-screen, and the fact that none of it is nominated anywhere -- not even the BAFTAs -- is insane!

MK: Just blatant ignorance from the cinema community. Though, on another note... Dick Pope did get nominated for Cinematography... and he should win.

SS: Really? Over BIRDMAN?

MK: Well... then again... any other year... he should've won…

SS: I mean, I agree, but I figured I was in the minority…

MK: You’re right. Emmanuel Lubezki probably has that category all kinds of locked up.

SS: oh yeah

MK: That's a strong category too. THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL and IDA are legitimately beautiful flicks. And even UNBROKEN... which thank god it didn't get nominated for the big stuff... does look pretty good.

SS: I wouldn't have minded a supporting actor nom for Miyavi...

MK: Yeah. He was a shining light in an otherwise bland and recycled movie.

SS: But at the same time, I could have sacrificed UNBROKEN's spot for THE HOMESMAN.

MK: True. THE HOMESMAN looked better. I guess it just didn't have enough of a push during For Your Consideration season. That's a real shame.

SS: Siiiigh...but why live in the past? The big Question: who walks away with Picture and Director? BIRDMAN or BOYHOOD?

I got this guys.

MK: BIRDMAN... but it's close… Or BOYHOOD… I don't know. I honestly… Don't… Know. I thought I knew, but when you put the question so bluntly like that... and when I see how wrong the Academy's gotten it in the past I fear it's gonna go to something weird... like AMERICAN SNIPER... because Eastwood fucking owns the Academy.

SS: Or THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL!

MK: That would be great! I would totally love that. But do I trust them to make such a right move? The answer is... probably not.

SS: Honey, if Eastwood owned the Academy, they would've been a lot kinder to J. EDGAR and HEREAFTER and INVICTUS and GRAN TORINO and... I won't be surprised if it's a BIRDMAN night.

MK: None of those movies were even remotely good enough...

SS: Since when has that stopped the Academy?

MK: Since they realized how much of a public shit storm was raining down on them after CRASH! Somehow it always comes back to fucking CRASH!!! Fuck CRASH!!!! But fortunately it hasn't happened since then... we should never forget our history... lest we repeat it.

It's happening all over again ain't it?

SS: Yeah. CRASH. Terrible night. But there is no CRASH equivalent this year, thankfully. I think the expanded Best Picture list helps that -- I think the fact that the industry seems to be embracing BIRDMAN helps even more.

MK: You know, I think you're right. I have high hopes for these Oscars. There's more than enough quality material up for nomination to make this year a respectable one in the history books.

SS: I always have high hopes for the Oscars!

MK: I wish I could say the same.

SS: I honestly find they get it right, or close to right, more often than not.

MK: Yeah. I suppose. I should try to stop getting so held up on the unwarranted snubs and give them more of a chance. But when you get such a large group of people together with so many differing opinions, you're gonna end up with a few questionable calls in the end... particularly in Best Picture. The Academy uses a totally baffling voting scale for that one category. And the members really have been getting confused. You don't just pick the one film you think was the best... you rank each film that's been nominated... and then the film with the most number one rankings still may not get the ultimate prize... because maybe another film got more second and third rankings... It's totally awkward and already a very antiquated system.

SS: I love it because it goes to the picture that most people like…

I think.

(Laughs.)

MK: Alright. Well I guess we'll leave it at that for now. This year's gonna be a good one for the Oscars. And I really am excited to see what happens.

The 87th Annual Academy Awards air tomorrow, February 22nd at 4pm PST.

Sponge Out Of Water Makes This The Weirdest Weekend In Film History

2015-02-06T20:31:00.002-08:00

Between Jupiter Ascending's insane world building and culture creation and the new SpongeBob movie, I can't imagine any other weekend this year will host nearly the same level of overall insanity. I honestly can't think of any two movies in existence with quite this level of ridiculousness... not ever in all of the films I've watched.

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water eludes definition... it is a post apocalyptic, time travel, interdimensional, animated comedy... about a sponge, a plankton, a squirrel, a crab, and a star fish chasing down a pirate with aspirations to be the greatest food truck proprietor in the land. Um... what?? Yeah, I will admit my brain felt at least three times smaller after watching this flick, but it was constantly laugh inducing and overwhelmingly eye popping... this film may actually go down in the records as the first feature known to clinically cause ADD in young children. But damn if it wasn't a fun ride.

I know the ads have made this flick out to be the craziest thing you've ever seen... and well... Let me just put it this way, I imagine that Hunter S Thompson would probably celebrate this film for its high level of artistic integrity... and its fair justifications of reality.

Whatever the case, I would recommend this flick as heartily as I recommend the first SpongeBob movie that came out back in 2004. Though I must admit, this one somehow managed to be even weirder. But that's what Nickelodeon has always been able to do so well with their films... kids are weird, so kids movies should be weird. I really do believe Nickelodeon made the right movie once again, though I can't hope to imagine how children will respond to this thing.

Mark it: Friday, February 6th 2015... by far the weirdest day in film history.

I'm Amazed By The Sheer Scope Of Jupiter Ascending...

2015-02-06T20:11:00.002-08:00

...if only The Wachowskis could've kept up the same level of complexity with the plot.

I heard a rumor that the original screenplay for Jupiter Ascending was 600 pages long... no you didn't read that wrong. That's the word on the street anyway. So how the hell did that translate into a two hour film?? I have simply no answers for you. I could try to make something up, like half of that page count went into describing the insane world that The Wachowskis were creating. And believe me it is insane! Don't believe me?

A Mog (obligatory Spaceballs reference) wearing anti-gravity rollerblades fights a dragon with a laser gun over an imploding factory that exists (I don't really know why) within the noxious atmosphere of a gas giant. Still don't believe me? Well I don't know what else to tell ya.

Jupiter Ascending is a brave film. And an expensive one. And while the final picture lacks much in the way of suspense or real character development, the world building is second to only perhaps JRR Tolkien... Yeah, it's that well detailed. The locations and overall concept for the Galactic force that currently exists there all feel really well constructed. The ideas are simply awe-inspiring. But Mila Kunis (for as much as I like her) just doesn't sell it. She can't get the job done in a film like this, or perhaps she needs a director as skilled as Darren Aronofsky. And while I loved The Wachowskis' Cloud Atlas and will defend Speed Racer to any critic that comes along, I am very much aware that they are not actors' directors. Their MO is FX. And that's perfectly alright by me.

Look, we need bigger than life films from Hollywood... films that change the game and set new bars. So we need to allow mistakes and films with growing pains like Jupiter Ascending to exist. If we let flicks like this fail, we may never get another chance to see something as groundbreaking and original as Star Wars (the first one) or The Matrix (also the first one). I know it seems unfair to ask this of the film community, but this is a movie you really should see just to keep the studios honest. I promise there's more than enough here to keep you in your seat. And even if you don't like it (there's a good chance you'll have some disagreements with the filmmakers), Jupiter Ascending sure is an excellent conversation piece... and the kind of project that ultimately paves the way for stronger, more creative films to come.

It's kind of up to us guys... just saying.

The Green Prince Is Eye Opening

2015-02-06T19:34:00.002-08:00

I walked into The Green Prince blind to the documentary's overall plot and found myself completely enthralled in the true story that unfolded.

The Green Prince tells the story of unlikely friends Mosab Hassan Yousef and Gonen Ben Yitzhak, one the eldest son of a high-level Palestinian extremist and the other an Israeli Shin Bet secret agent. These two form an incredible bond in the face of a hateful adversity that I can't even begin to imagine. And through their many efforts, they almost made the world a much safer place to live. This is a compelling story told directly from the perspectives of the men who lived it.

Nadav Schirman has made an excellent film on only his third try. It's one of those stories you owe it to yourself to know more about.

If You Like Great Sports Docs, Check Out Red Army

2015-02-04T14:18:00.001-08:00

One subject I'd never considered looking further into in the past is the Russian athletic program of the Cold War... mostly because I assumed there wouldn't be much written about it given the iron curtain of said time. But damn if it isn't a compelling piece of history.

Red Army is Gabe Polsky's latest, and his first documentary feature. It chronicles the rise and fall of Russian hockey back when the USSR was still a thing. And that program's incredible level of dominance is something deserving of remembrance... Rather, those players are deserving of much recognition. While the system that built them is responsible for getting them to that level, those players had to fight through the most adverse of circumstances to gain any sense of value from their achievements. When your country doesn't allow individual recognition, it can clearly hover over the people who are accomplishing great feats like a rain cloud. And their mentality will not always stick to the system that has kept them in check for all of those years when they learn of examples of other ways of life.

The obvious lead of this film is Vyacheslav Fetisov, a one-time captain of the Red Army team who currently holds a high-ranking position in the Russian government. He holds more accolades in hockey than you can count, so it's cool that he was willing to sit down for a documentary like this. Sometimes the world seems to get warmer when individuals prove themselves to be brave enough to discuss matters that at one time seemed shrouded in secrecy, you know? And to learn his story in such a succinct manner, with so much character attached, I felt a huge relief come over me to be living in the age I am now.

Polsky's Red Army may not be Oscar bound, but it's up for several other awards, and deservingly so. The film that made it to screen is just plain good. If you like sports documentaries, you'll definitely like this. But even if you're not normally a sports fan and perhaps (somehow) don't enjoy the occasional history lesson, I still suggest you give Red Army a chance. It's just damn good.

Art And Craft Is An Excellent Example Of Character Study...

2015-02-04T13:53:00.002-08:00

...in real life figures.

Mark Landis is a strange personality. He has broken no real laws, yet his persona is left shrouded in negativity and expletives from the people he has fooled and affected over the past thirty years. Landis is a forger of fine art. And he has been overwhelmingly successful in his ability to get curators of museums to actually hang his art beside real works for people to "admire." Mark Landis is a liar and a con artist. But he may also be an exceptional fine artist in his own right if he were to just choose that path rather than the one he has set for himself.

In Art and Craft, Sam Cullman, Jennifer Grausman, and Mark Becker have created a truly provocative argument about the qualities of a man who's only accomplishments have lain in tomfoolery and misdirection thus far. Their film feels fluid and cinematic at every turn. And the manner with which they approach their subject is never with a malicious intent. And while Mark Landis is likely a lost soul at this stage in his life, the question always lingers: can his odd set of skills be turned to good?

When you experience Landis' personality and level of ability for an hour and a half, it may seem difficult to understand where he's coming from, but it is clear that he is someone who needs help; a lost soul. Every path he's taken has been from the perspective of a child playing games and building arts and crafts. But he is an aged man who has been left to live on more psychological meds than he can count. And while there may be no happy ending to this story, I found Art and Craft to be a compelling exploration of one of the more bizarre real life characters in recent memory.

You're Gonna Wanna See The Internet's Own Boy

2015-01-28T14:21:00.002-08:00

Censorship is never a good thing. It's amazing that we've made it as long as we have as a society while still allowing people to censor us... sure censorship is a complicated subject dealing with the ideas of where power lies and how control can be attained. But some individuals are better formed to combat such convoluted issues than others.

The Internet's Own Boy is the true life story of a real genius, Aaron Swartz... cofounder of reddit and all around do-gooder. This is a guy who saw big problems from a very unlikely position... if an individual can chip away at the big stuff, eventually they'll be able to expose the soft underbelly... and clean out the bugs. If one person stands up the right way, the rest will inherently follow. Aaron was clearly an amazing thinker. It seems he could see problems from more sides than most and could work through them with unparalleled abandon. His tool and most powerful weapon was the internet itself. But then the justice system came in and decided they wanted (not even needed) to make an example... and because of a far more broken system than I usually like to admit, we'll now be deprived of one of the most brilliant minds of our generation.

I know it's a real downer. But if you don't know the story of Aaron Swartz, you owe it to yourself to learn. This is a fascinating documentary with a very relatable perspective. Brian Knappenberger found a very compelling way to give an unjustly sad story a necessary and hopefully positive message. While most of us may not be computer geniuses or the like, I think this film certainly proves that one man CAN make a difference. And that's the kind of thing American's need to be reminded of on a regular basis... before infringements into our rights go too far.

If You Like Jazz Or Positive Stories, Check Out Keep On Keepin' On

2015-01-28T14:03:00.000-08:00

If you're more interested in a positive story out of your documentaries, this film'll likely get your goat.

Keep On Keepin' On is the true life story of legendary Jazz musician Clark Terry. But rather than tell us all about his storied career, the film intentionally veers off to focus in on the amazing work that Clark Terry has been doing as a teacher. Sure he's made more albums than you can count and he probably hasn't done too bad financially, but his real mark will likely come in those myriad students he personally took the time to coach and help up into the professional Jazz fold... Miles Davis... Quincy Jones... that's the caliber of student this guy's raised. So this is the story of Clark Terry's mentorship of a young, blind piano player named Justin Kauflin. And it's a very cool example of what this Jazz master has been up to, particularly in his later years.

Frankly, I'm a little surprised the Academy didn't nominate this thing for best documentary. The film's approach to its subject is just different from most docs that are out there. And it has a very clear, concise story to tell from an angle that no one's seen before. Clark Terry is the ultimate badass, and he deserves to have more films made about his storied career. But this is a rare glimpse at the man after all of his success, and the proof that not everyone who makes it big necessarily has to lose themselves to the darker side of celebrity.

I really enjoyed Keep On Keepin' On. If you like music, or just a positive take on humanity, this is a pretty good flick for you. Alan Hicks knocked it out of the park on his first try.

Unfortunately, Leviathan Falters When The Going Gets Tough

2015-01-25T17:25:00.001-08:00

Looking at the impressions of the Academy, other awards organizations, and the vast number of critics who have seen Leviathan, I get the impression my opinion on this film will hold up as a very unpopular one. Still that seems just as good a reason to say it as any.

Andrey Zvyagintsev's latest film is an impressive portrait of the corrupt nature of Russian politics. The mere fact that Leviathan was so heavily chosen by the country of Russia as its representative film says a great deal, because the content of the film attempts to be, and for the most part is rather damning. Of course, a film like this could be set in many countries (the United States included) but it informs so very much that the location of this particularly film be in a communist state. Regardless, for all of that praise that I give to the country for allowing this piece to exist and be widely distributed, the final film still manages to fall quite short of its lofty expectations.

Leviathan tells the story of Nikolai Kolya (Aleksey Serebryakov), his wife (Elena Lyadova) and son. When the Mayor of their small town (Roman Madyanov) goes after Kolya's land for his own personal gain, Nikolai brings in his old wartime friend and now Moscow lawyer Dmitriy (Vladimir Vdovichenkov) to help save his home. But this new visitor only creates more problems. This is a film about overwhelming corruption, injustice, and well... poetical nonsense. And for ever element that it manages to get right, the last quarter of the film manages to get just as much completely wrong.

I'll begin with the run time... two hours and twenty minutes was just outrageously too long for this flick. It easily could have made its point within an hour and a half and left me wanting more... but instead (and I usually advocate allowing a film time to breathe) Zvyagintsev and his writer Oleg Negin opted to just let scenes of little import linger and disassociate the audience from the actual subject being discussed. Similarly, the film's ultimate payoff could have been reached at least a half hour earlier without several useless plot additions... but then I suppose this is the nature of the Russian novel and will always find its way into the art of that country.

But if the concept is that corruption has become the way of things, and that a man alone is too small to take on the rising tide of his own government in a just and fair manner, the film does eventually manage to make this point. Unfortunately, for all of its concise and quality plot weaving through the first hour and a half, it manages to become just as uncertain and awkwardly metaphorical toward the end. I don't mean to hammer this idea to death... but there is a real chance I would have loved this film had the church metaphors not taken such a profound control over the ending leaving the characters, who were so well drawn and acted, ultimately in the dust. Yes there is an element of this in the concept of the title... it's all too big for individuals, but the payoff becomes almost secondary to the attempt at a much broader and poorly explained or exemplified idea.

In time I believe I'll only recall Leviathan as a profound misuse of an excellent theme. It will linger in my mind for a while yet as that film that easily could have been perfect, but came unhinged just when it could have reeled it in. It's unfortunate. But these things do happen I suppose. After all, artists and filmmakers are only human.

Two Days, One Night Is The Kind Of Film We Should Be Making In The States

2015-01-21T17:14:00.003-08:00

One of the better surprises of the 2014 season will have to be Two Days, One Night... the latest film by the Dardenne brothers.

Two Days, One Night or Deux jours, une nuit is a Belgian flick about one woman's struggle to convince her coworkers to let her keep her job after the bosses had put her position up against a pretty big bonus. It's an incredible study on human nature and what happens when people are forced to show their true colors. And since the ultimate decision that the company is asking its employees to make for it is an incredibly unfair one, I can't help but look at it as a quality metaphor for any country's workforce... I live in the United States... so the comparisons come to mind particularly of the surrounding work expectations of my home. It's a keen look into how inhuman a corporation can be without anyone's help... though people seem liable to help the negative effects far more than one would expect. Yet, there are always little rays of hope.

Marion Cotillard shocked the world with her most recent Oscar nom. And she certainly gives an Oscar worthy performance. It was so compelling to watch her change her perspective bit by bit from hopeless to hopeful to lost to won... to finding her own dignity when most others seemed resolved to let theirs go by the wayside. I appreciate that the Oscars (in spite of many other major oversights both past and present) were willing to give one of the better performances of the season a fighting chance.

If you are lucky enough to get the chance to see Two Days, One Night I suggest you take it. This is precisely the kind of subject we need to be talking about in this country.

What Does Altman Mean To You?

2015-01-21T16:57:00.000-08:00

In 2014, Ron Mann put out a documentary about the life of famous film director Robert Altman. And it was good.

That's as blunt as I can be without telling you to just watch the damn movie. Altman is an interesting experience. It's compelling like few documentaries can be because it has so much footage from the man himself just lying there waiting to be used. It captures a weird counter-culture nostalgia and attempts with some level of desperation to uncover the purpose behind each of Altman's films. And you can really see the trends.

It's so interesting to get this kind of perspective on one film director's life. Robert Altman was one of those strange cases... everything he did was intended to be contrary, and everything he did in one way or another managed to change the way people watched films. He was a trend setter and an artist, and this film exemplifies all of that. Altman gives us his highs and his lows and more or less allows us to understand what the man was really about at heart.

Still Alice Is Heartbreakingly Good

2015-01-21T16:44:00.000-08:00

I know I've been pushing Reese Witherspoon for Leading Actress until now, but I always had to leave an asterisk. I hadn't seen the frontrunner... Julianne Moore. And her performance was well worth the wait.

Still Alice is the painfully sad story about Alice Howland, a linguistics professor who develops Early Onset Alzheimer's, throwing her and her family's lives into disarray. Now when you hear that summary you're probably wondering why you'd want to go see something so heart-wrenching and painful to watch. Why in the name of god would you ever even consider forcing yourself to feel this pain? Well Still Alice is so dense with quality performances, abstract and interesting camera work, and a truly compelling screenplay that I can't find a solid argument against giving it a shot. Sometimes it's worth feeling the pain in a fictional setting so you can open your eyes and start living. You know what I mean?

Julianne Moore trumps every other performance this season. Her take on the pains of living with Alzheimer's is both shocking and awe-inspiring. I've always known she was a great actress, but sometimes I need a film of quality to remind me just how great... Still Alice, fortunately, is that film. Alec Baldwin is as interesting to watch as ever, and I really enjoy it when he takes on these more serious kinds of roles. Kate Bosworth was just perfect. Her attempts at overcoming the realities of her and her mother's situation feel so genuine and intellectually motivated... And then there's Kristen Stewart. I've tended to question her celebrity in the past because her biggest movies have clearly not been made for my demographic. But she delivers as good a performance as anyone in Still Alice. If you were wondering where all the great female performances of the 2014 season went to, most of them were being saved for this flick. I'm honestly surprised it didn't get more nominations.

Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland made a hypnotically heartbreaking film. And they should be very proud of their work. Still Alice is finally in theaters now, and it was damn worth the wait. Check it out quick, cause it'll likely come home with the Best Actress Oscar.

Don't Scoff, Paddington Was Really Good

2015-01-21T16:22:00.001-08:00

The truth is, I would have never seen Paddington had it not been for its myriad BAFTA nominations this year. The trailers looked cheesy and without purpose... and it really felt like it was just gonna be another family film massacre of a previously beloved children's book series.

So what's the deal? Paul King of The Mighty Boosh fame came along and rather masterfully crafted a film that's actually worth seeing. If you don't know the story, Paddington is a talking bear that lived with a family of other talking bears in darkest Peru. The bear family had previously learned the English language back in the 1950s when an explorer came through and made fast friends with them. But one day and earthquake comes along destroys Paddington's home... and with his aunt going to stay in a home for retired bears, he is forced to seek out a new place to live. So of course he goes to England in hopes of finding the explorer he had heard so much about. Well he ends up staying with a very kind family, the Browns, and their search for the explorer begins.

The cast feels spot on. And the CG is just swell enough. And the action of the flick moves just about right. The pacing is never off... and as the movie pushed forward I felt myself getting more and more comfortable with the world as a whole. Things just began to sink in. Paddington has a flavor all its own. It's a story about human kindness, young ingenuity, and learning to trust one another. These are lessons worth learning, and I'm very appreciative to have gotten a chance to see it. Amongst all of these serious Oscar films, Paddington becomes a very welcome change of pace.

Check it out. I was more than pleasantly surprised.