Er zijn de laatste tijd weer heel wat nieuwe trailers op het net verschenen. Ik heb er enkele uitgekozen die volgens mij zeker de moeite waard zijn om te gaan bekijken. Omdat het al een tijdje geleden is zijn het er extra veel.

1. Exam

2. Salt

3. Date Night

4. Kick-Ass

5. Greenberg

6. Brothers

7. Grown Ups

As we all know, the Berlin Wall came down 20 years ago this year and it is therefore no real surprise that there are some films dedicated to this event during this year’s German Film Festival at the Irish Film Institute. Equally, the current fascination of German film directors with the country’s troubled recent political past also features significantly.

As is my wont, here is a cursory magpie of a rampage through some of what is on offer this year.

Berlin ‘36

This is the season’s opening film and tells the true story of the Jewish high jumper Gretel Bergmann (Karoline Herfurth) who was coerced into training for the 1936 Olympic Games when the Nazi regime came under international pressure to include Jewish athletes. Amazingly, it was all a charade and the regime replaced her at the last minute with a cross-dressing male athlete.

Germany 09

This is an anthology of 13 short films from some of the country’s best directors, each taking a look at what has happened to their country in the twenty years since the Berlin Wall came down. Political commentary, satire, and oddity are all promised in an eclectic overall offering.

German Souls

Arguably the most disturbing sounding film in the festival is this documentary from Matthias Zuber and Martin Fark about a commune in southern Chile that was established by a group of German ex-pats. It has been a secretive and fenced-in society for nearly forty years. Moreover, it is said to have facilitated the torture of opponents of the Pinochet regime and, more recently, it has been at the centre of some shocking child abuse allegations.

Long Shadows

Valerie’s father was killed by the Red Army Faction in this drama from director Connie Walther. When one of the possible perpetrators is released from prison, Valerie (Franziska Petri) comes up with a complex plan with which to take her revenge. A thoughtful thriller is promised, with former RAF member Peter-Jürgen Boock getting a co-writing credit for the script.

Anonyma: A Woman in Berlin

Director Max Färberböck takes on the still highly controversial subject of the mass rape of German women by Russian soldiers at the end of World War II. In this dramatisation of the only known diarised account of what took place, the anonymous protagonist is played by Nina Hoss. The story is then about how she sought out the protection of a senior Russian officer to protect her from worse possible atrocities.

John Rabe

It is thought that John Rabe saved the lives of up to 200,000 people – Chinese employees of Siemens and their families – by agreeing with the brutal advancing Japanese army in 1937 for the establishment of an exclusion zone that they could continue to live in. Like Oscar Schindler, Rabe was a member of the Nazi party and used that position to save the lives of others. However, his story has taken longer to come out, as his diaries were only discovered a decade ago. An impressive cast of Ulrich Tukur, Daniel Brühl, and Steve Buscemi make this sound quite promising.

The fesitval runs from 3-13 December 2009. More information, including how to book tickets, can be found on the festival website! Viel Spaß!

2006 yılında Steven Spielberg yönetmenliği ve Gil Kenan yapımcılığındaki,müzikleri Dougles Pipes tarafından yapılan Worner Bros imzalı güzel bi animasyon filmi.Seslendirme kadrosu da en az film kadar güzel;Steve Buscemi,Kevin James,Maggie Gyllenhaal,Mitchel Musso ve Özden Ayyıldız …Çocuklukla ergenlik arasındaki 12 yaşındaki DJ Walters’ın caddenin karşısında huysuz ihtiyar Mr.Nebbercracker’ı ve canavar evini gözlemlemesini ve devamındaki olayları konu alan,izlemesi keyifli bi animasyon filmi canavar ev…Diğer animasyon filmleri gibi seslendirme ve müzik konularıyla öne çıkıyo ama sonunda verilen ÖZGÜRLÜK mesajı da çok anlamlı bence… İYİ SEYİRLER

Gar nicht so leicht aus so vielen großartigen Dialogen ein Zitat auszuwählen.

Mr. Pink sounds like Mr. Pussy. How ’bout if I’m Mr. Purple? That sounds good to me. I’ll be Mr. Purple.

Mr. Pink / Reservoir dogs

This is pretty much the same as the first trailer.  And I’m excited in the same half-hearted way.  I just miss Arrested Development so much that any movie with actors from the show gets me excited.

This trailer reveals a few more actors, Steve Buscemi, and Justin Long.  Neither of these actors interest me (I wonder if anyone gets excited about a Steve Buscemi movie, hmm).  They do give Zach Galifianakis more scenes, that’s always a good thing.  Mr Galifianakis makes me happy.  I love to see how far he came so quickly.

Click on poster to watch trailer.

From MySpace.

- izi

Quentin Tarantino may be many things — perverted, profane, whipsmart, cocky, a little too enamored with his own cleverness — but subtle he is not. He’s not even in the ballpark. Matter of fact, if that ballpark blew up, he wouldn’t hear the sound for another three days. Nah, Tarantino’s a guts-glory-chicks-and-explosions kind of director, and that imagination of his? In the name of Le Royale with Cheese does it dream up some wild-n-twisted trips.

Mark ”Pulp Fiction” down as one of the wildest. Every nanosecond of this humdinger’s 154 minutes contains something warped/crazy/effortlessly cool to behold: philosophical discussions about foot massages, the nature of miracles and a gold watche that has been places no watch should go; murders both coolly calculated and comically accidental; a frightful drug overdose; kinky sex (think S&M with an Alabama drawl and a gimp); and, last but not least, a sinfully delicious $5 milkshake. Random as this catalogue seems, Tarantino’s film is far more scattershot. The action doesn’t adhere to a simple timeline; instead, there are three stories that run parallel, then smash together, then diverge only to reconnect in ways that boggle the mind upon repeat viewings. “Pulp Fiction” is a genius noir/gangster combo that keeps us guessing. Guess long enough, though, and patterns start to emerge from the madness.

Sort of. Since Tarantino makes it nearly impossible to understand how these stories pool into a cohesive ending, let’s tackle one beast at a time. First, there’s “Vincent Vega and Marcellus Wallace’s Wife,” the tale of L.A. hitmen Vince (John Travolta) and Jules (a perfeclty cast Samuel L. Jackson) heading to do a job ordered by their loose-cannon boss Marsellus (Ving Rhames). Since Marsellus recently threw a guy out a high-rise window for giving his wife Mia (Uma Thurman) a foot massage, Vince has the jitters about taking her out on the town. His plan is simple: “Chew my food with my mouth closed, laugh at her fucking jokes, and that’s it.” Of course, trouble has a tendency to follow Vince, so things don’t go that smoothly.

Smoothness doesn’t much like Butch (Bruce Willis) either, which we discover in ”The Gold Watch.” A talented boxer with a sweetly innocent girlfriend (Maria de Medeiros), Butch shovels some dirt on his own grave by winning the fight Marsellus paid him to throw. But his neat double-cross turns messy through a series of freak coincidences, the most interesting involving two pawn shop owners who plumb forgot to pack their manners (not to mention their morality) when they left the Deep South. ”The Gold Watch” leads into “The Bonnie Situation,” a conclusion of sorts where Tarantino himself shows up as Jimmie Dimmick, a pal of Jules who begrudgingly agrees to help him clean up an accidental hit (“my gun went off! I don’t know why!” insists the a brain matter-spattered Vance) with help from Winston Wolf (Harvey Keitel). What’s on Wolfe’s business card we can’t be sure, since the terse mystery man only offers “I solve problems” as his job description.

It’s offhand comments like these that demonstrate one of Tarantino’s greatest strengths: revealing character traits with one or two stray lines of dialogue. He’s a student of human nature, and he knows the ways people fill time by arguing over whether foot massages are sensual or wondering what cheeseburgers are called in France (see above). And yet everything these characters say tells us something about themselves or the story. Christopher Walken, in his lone scene, delivers a howling-good speech that seems like comic relief, but the subject — the gold watch — comes back into play. Jules spouts a nonsensical version of Ezekiel 25:17, but it reveals his own moral code. Thurman, who finds jumpy loneliness in Mia, parlays a terrible joke about tomatoes into a real connection with Vince. Haphazard though they seem, these lines are the threads that knit everything together.

What else dazzles about “Pulp Fiction”? There’s the abundance of lurid violence — much of it comical (including an uncomfortably funny rape scene), some of it truly shocking, none of it gratuitious. Jackson and Travolta are one hell of two-man team, while Willis registers a pulse and Eric Stoltz has wit to burn. Ultimately, though, it’s the manic, fearless force of Tarantino that makes “Pulp Fiction” a sweet, sweet joyride, indeed.

Grade: A

- por Bernardo Brum

A era hippie acabou e agora todos estão trabalhando. Mas você sabe, às vezes tem um homem que pode mudar tudo isso.  Sem comunistas, agora no máximo podemos acreditar no discurso deste republicano ou daquele democrata. Mas às vezes existe um homem para provar como nós todos estávamos enganados. Tudo agora é baseado no dinheiro para a caridade, para as artes plásticas ou para fortalecer a máfia da pornografia em videotape, que não sabem mais o que é cinema. Só que as vezes tem um homem que não liga, chega e destrambelha tudo.  E esse homem que eu não conheço não é ninguém importante, mas você sabe que às vezes tem um homem que… Hum, perdi o fio da meada.

Eis Jeffrey Lebowski, O Cara, exímio jogador de boliche que junto de seus incapazes amigos – o cardíaco Donny e o psicótico ex-combatente do Vietnã Walter – é tirado do seu mundo de baseados, white russians e calorosos debates nos clubes onde bolas rolam e pinos caem para fazer as vezes de Sam Spade. Ou de Philip Marlowe. Para aqueles sombrios anos pós-depressão,  o homem era Bogart, gel no cabelo, terno impecável, cigarrinho no canto da boca e frases ferinas. Nesses anos de incrível ressaca moral, nós temos que deixar isso pra lá e buscar compensação por nossos carpetes mijados e nossas fitas do Creedence.

Esse é o dilema moral do Cara. Tomado por um milionário homônimo, tendo seu carpete mijado e tendo que sair por aí atrás de uma ex-atriz pornô casada com o tal Grande Lebowski – que, segundo o próprio foi raptada por uma gangue de… niilistas? E, claro, no meio do caminho tendo que aguentar moleques arrogantes, a filha excêntrica do milionário, o síndico afetado, o pederasta mothafucka’, agiotas do mundo pornô, a polícia, um taxista que é fã do Eagles, os ataques de Walter, e lá vamos nós.

Predileção dos Coen, O Grande Lebowski é um grande filme sobre o nada, a desinformação, a estupidez e a fragilidade da vida. Só O Cara que não parece ligar sobre isso, e em momento algum ele reina soberano – o mundo faz gato e sapato de um pobre vagabundo metido em uma conspiração digna de um O Falcão Maltês ou À Beira do Abismo que, no final das contas, surgiu apenas por causa do caos que faz de nossas vidas grandes campanhas em nome de coisa alguma e que só foram empreendidas, afinal, porque nós somos estúpidos demais para fazer qualquer coisa útil. Ou preguiçosos, talvez.

Aí, uma bola de feno sendo empurrada por aí pelo vento logo transforma-se em sonhos psicodélicos envolvendo garotas gostosas vestidas de viking em uma pista de boliche, ou cinzas de um defunto sendo jogadas em nosso rosto. É tudo muito frágil, ridiculamente frágil. E é tudo muito estúpido, hilariamente estúpido. O planeta é tão rico em oxigênio quanto em burrice, e assim segue o balaio das grandes epopéias dos inúteis, por gerações. Por que, às vezes, tem um Cara para nos mostrar tudo isso. Às vezes, tem um cara para acender uns baseados e ouvir uns rockzinhos safados antes de terem a cabeça afundada na privada. Às vezes, tem… um Cara.

5/5

Ficha técnica: O Grande Lebowski (The Big Lebowski) – 1998, EUA. Dir.: Joel e Ethan Coen. Elenco: Jeff Bridges, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Tara Reid, John Turturro, Flea

Nic Cage takes a ride with a bunch of convicts featuring Dave Chapelle, yeah this is a movie.

When the government puts all its rotten criminal eggs in one airborne basket, it’s asking for trouble. Before you can say, “Pass the barf bag,” the crooks control the plane, led by creepy Cyrus “The Virus” Grissom (John Malkovich). Watching his every move is the just-released Nicolas Cage, who’d rather reunite with his family. John Cusack plays the creator of the plane and stands by as his whole dream turns into a nightmare.

Con Air combines elements from many other films such as Airplane!, The Rock, The Dirty Dozen, and a little bit of Silence Of The Lambs. Now all of this may seem like a weird combination for a film, but it turns out to be one of my favorite action films of all-time.

First of all, the great thing about Con Air is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Scott Rosenberg’s ultra macho script knows it is having a lot of fun with the writing, and it brings in a lot of good laughs. The tongue-in-cheek approach that this film had never really dies out, cause although some of the lines may be cheesy, they are still hilarious and well worth it.

The action that takes place in this film isn’t so bad either. I liked how it was fun but it wasn’t non stop to the point of where there’s no room for a story to take place. The things that happen in this film seem very believable and the action is never too dumb to where its unbelievable.

The only problem I really had with this film was that it was working out really well by the end, and it loses itself in a routine explosive third act. Yeas, it was very good and fun to look at, but it just didn’t seem like it was needed for this film. I liked how the action took place in that scene, but when it was all said and done I felt like everything else sort of was lost cause of it.

The acting in this film is pretty good but mostly from Malkovich. He plays this slick, witty, and actually pretty smart villain that you want to hate cause he’s so crazy, but you can’t help but to love cause of his amazing apporach to the lines and the events that happen. Cage, I thought could have done a lot better, but his accent by the end just got really annoying for me, and by the end I just couldn’t stand it. Steve Buscemi plays a little side character in this film that is really funny, and by the end of the film, he turns out to be the most-liked character from the whole film.

Consensus: Con Air is full of energy and humor, that is fun to be a part of and does hit the right spots every time throughout the movie. Though the ending was a little bit out of hand, the film still holds a great place in my heart.

9/10=Full Priccee!!!

Everyone has their own take on Mr. Pink’s tipping policy in Reservoir Dogs.  If you’re one of the few people who has not seen it, here’s the scene:

If you’ve ever worked as a server, I’ll bet you can’t make it through that scene without shaking your head at Mr. Buscemi.  Well, before you unleash your anger on a fictional character; get a load of these two assholes.

To those of you who still scoff at “tipping automatically,” please allow me to school you.  First of all, one big part of Mr. Pink’s argument is false, at least it is here in Milwaukee: Most waiters and waitresses do NOT make minimum wage.  In fact, their hourly rate is well below it.  These people depend on tips to get to minimum wage, not just for extra cash.

As for those two retards in the second video, they should’ve known that gratuity would be added to their check.  It’s common knowledge that most restaurants slap you with an automatic gratuity charge (usually 15 to 20 percent) for all parties of six or more.  If you’re not prepared to pay it, stay home and stop ruining other people’s lives.

In case you couldn’t tell, I know a lot of people who work in the service industry, and I have the utmost respect for their jobs; mainly because I fucking hate dealing with people and would probably lose my shit after an hour in their work shoes.  And it’s because of this that I typically over-tip.  Well, that and to offset the actions of Mr. Pink, Douchey McCollege, and his “soon-to-be-overbearing-pageant-mom” girlfriend from the aforementioned videos.

So the next time you’re thinking of going out for a bite, remember…

If you can’t afford to tip, you can’t afford to go.

Me encontré este fake trailer de las Reservoir Turtles, la verdad es que YO sí pagaría por ver una película así jaja:

My foot did NOT go over the line! It counts as a strike!

(Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Steve Buscemi, Jeff Bridges and John Goodman)

Picture by: dunno source Caption by: Darklion via Our LOL Builder

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Big Lebowski, The (1998)
★★★ / ★★★★

I usually don’t like screwball comedies because the characters are stupid without any sort of redeeming qualities, the jokes are rude and sometimes mean-spirited, the story has no idea where to go, and I quickly get bored watching them because they fail to get me to think. Strangely enough, I enjoyed “The Big Lebowski,” written and directed by the Coen brothers, because of such qualities except for the fact that it is far from mean-spirited. Jeff Bridges stars as The Dude, whose real name was Jeffrey Lebowski, a guy who was mistaken by two miscreants as the millionaire Lebowski. Since the two didn’t get what they wanted from The Dude, one of them decided to pee on his carpet. What started off as a story about a slacker who wanted compensation for his carpet ended up being about a lot of things: a kidnapped woman (Tara Reid), an artist who had intentions of her own (Julianne Moore), nihilists who craved money, and the dynamics among bowling buddies (Steve Buscemi and John Goodman). All of such disparate elements came to together in a way that didn’t necessarily make sense–in fact, sometimes I had no idea what was going on–but it was very funny because each character was driven by well-defined motivations (no matter how strange they might have been). I did not expect this kind of movie from the Coen brothers because I’m more familiar with their thrillers (“No Country for Old Men,” “Blood Simple”) and dark comedies (“Intolerable Cruelty,” “Fargo”), but after watching the film I was glad that I got a taste of their lighter side. The only real complaint I had with this picture was it had no reason to run for almost two hours long. Somewhere after the half-way point, I began to wonder when it was going to be over because at that point it still did not try to put the pieces of the puzzle together. The characters were still too busy running around like children and it made me restless. Nevertheless, despite its flaws, I still enjoyed watching this movie because of the characters’ funny fixations and interesting mistaken identities. And considering I detest stoner comedies, I think it’s a solid accomplishment.

One of the very early Digital Shorts, long before the Samberg days.

Spend 4 minutes, you can thank me later

The adventure

BIG FISH
Director: Tim Burton
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Steve Buscemi
Released: 2003
IMDB
Trailer (opens in a new window)

Synopsis: Throughout his life Edward Bloom (Ewan McGregor) has always been a man of big appetites, enormous passions and tall tales.  In his later years, portrayed by five-time Best Actor Oscar® nominee Albert Finney (Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Erin Brockovich, 2000), he remains a huge mystery to his son, William (Billy Crudup).  Now, to get to know the real man, Will begins piecing together a true picture of his father from flashbacks of his amazing adventures in this marvel of a movie. (From the DVD cover)

Why watch this? I see absolutely no reason for why you shouldn’t. This is a colourful, fascinating, crazy, fantastic fairy tale for adults. Tim Burton is easy to recognise, and this is no exception, although it’s not as dark as Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, Sweeney Todd etc. This is the story of a son trying to find out who his father really is, behind all the amazing stories. The editing, music, dialogue and general impression is just wonderful, and if you haven’t watched this yet – then I really don’t know what you are waiting for.

The horror movie

[REC]
Directors: Jaume Balagueró & Paco Plaza
Starring: Manuela Velasco, Ferran Terraza, Jorge Serrano, Pablo Rozzo
Released: 2007
IMDB
Trailer (opens in a new window)

Synopsis: REC turns on a young TV reporter and her cameraman who cover the night shift at the local fire station. Receiving a call from an old lady trapped in her house, they reach her building to hear horrifying screams – which begin a long nightmare and a uniquely dramatic TV report. (From IMDB)

Why watch this? It’s hard to find a good horror movie. At least I think so. [REC] is very satisfying, considering the challenging genre. The story is pretty good, and you’re (quite literally) left in the dark not understanding what’s actually going on for a long while. Through the camera man and the ambitious reporter’s eyes, a nightmare unfolds, and due to the ‘panicky’ filming (Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield), you’ll probably find yourself dragged into the story. Remember to pick up a copy with subtitles unless you speak Spanish!

The chick flick

THE HOLIDAY

Director: Nancy Meyers
Starring: Jude Law, Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jack Black
Released: 2006
IMDB
Trailer (opens in a new window)

Synopsis: Iris is in love with a man who is about to marry another woman. Across the globe, Amanda realizes the man she lives with has been unfaithful. Two women who have never met and live 6000 miles apart, find themselves in the exact same place. They meet online at a home exchange website and impulsively switch homes for the holiday. Iris moves into Amanda’s L.A. house in sunny California as Amanda arrives in the snow covered English countryside. Shortly after arriving at their destinations, both women find the last thing either wants or expects: a new romance. Amanda is charmed by Iris’ handsome brother Graham and Iris, with inspiration provided by legendary screenwriter Arthur, mends her heart when she meets film composer Miles. (From IMDB)

Why watch this? Right, listen guys. If your girlfriend is making you watch a chick flick, it might aswell be this one. This is a charming love story, involving all the usual complications and twists a chick flick should include, without getting too cheesy. I find myself  smiling and aww-ing through most of it, and both my brothers and my boyfriend seemed to be okay with this movie.

The documentary

MARCH OF THE PENGUINS

Director: Luc Jacquet
Starring: Lots and lots of penguins
Released: 2005
IMDB
Trailer (opens in a new window)

Synopsis: The cycle of life the Emperor’s penguins is disclosed in this wonderful documentary. Every autumn, these animal leave the safety of the ocean and march along twenty days to a place called “Oamack”. Once there, they select their mates, they procreate, protect and feed their offspring and after months they return to the sea. Later, their progeny go to the ocean, where they stay for four years, and when they reach their adult life, they follow the same pattern of their parents. (From IMDB)

Why watch this? I’m not gonna lie to you. I adore penguins. And this is the best documentary I’ve EVER seen about them. The camera team has spent ages out there in the extreme cold with them, and made an amazing documentary of it. This is more than your average documentary, you really do get involved emotionally in this one. The music is amazing, and footage is crisp and close to what’s happening. (As a side note, I put this movie on when my boyfriend was sleeping, and tried to wake him up through all of it – but only managed in time for the mating. Now he definately thinks I have an awkward penguin fetish.)

The disaster movie

DOOMSDAY

Director: Neil Marshall
Starring: Rhona Mitra, Jeremy Crutchley, Cecil Carter
Released: 2008
IMDB
Trailer (opens in a new window)

Synopsis: A lethal virus spreads throughout the British isles, infecting millions and killing hundreds of thousands. To contain the threat, acting authorities brutally quarantine the country as it succumbs to fear and chaos. The quarantine is successful. Three decades later, the Reaper virus violently resurfaces in a major city. An elite group of specialists, including Eden Sinclair, is urgently dispatched into the still-quarantined country to retrieve a cure by any means necessary. Shut off from the rest of the world, the unit must battle through a landscape that has become a waking nightmare. (From IMDB)

Why watch this? If you have a thing for nasty disasters, this is a good example. I do love a good disaster movie, especially the ones involving a crazy epidemic/pandemic.

Much of LA becomes consumed with the buying and selling of features this week as 8000 gather at the American Film Market which kicks off W 11/4 and runs through W 11/11 concurrently with AFI Fest. Ground zero is the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel where 400 distributors are getting ready to rumble.  As the distributors are there to sell, the first half of AFM belongs mostly to the buyers.  You need a full market badge ($895) for access to the upper floors during this time, but its free to linger to the lobby and lounge by the pool putting together target lists which many do in prep for half badge face time ($345) starting Su 11/8.  Day badges $275.  To see the market in action check out these videos from Film Specific’s Stacey Parks, UpsideDownTV’s Johnny Neurotic and Variety’s Michael Jones.

Here is the list of IFTA members where you can dig deep for contact information, slate and budgets. You can also pick up free in the Loews lobby the AFM directory in the bumper copies of Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Screen International and The Business of Film.

On the Variety & THR list of AFM targets are Akin Gump ($600mm for 60 films), Endgame (3-5@$10-40mm), Exclusive Media ($100mm for 2-3 films), Incentive Filmed Entertainment ($100mm for 10@$15mm each), Liddell (3-4 films@$5-20mm each), Magnet Media (Jeanette Buerling & Magie Monteith), Natural Selection ($100mm for 20 films@ $5mm+ each), Overnight Prods (3@$10-40mm), Sheppard Mullin ($65mm), Social Capital (2-3@$2-20mm each), Stroock Stroock ($5-100mm), Tic Tock (2-3 films@$10mm each), WestEnd Films (Maya Amsellem & Eve Schoukroun), Winchester Capital (3-4 films@$10-40mm each), plus those in bold above.

Some are speaking at the AFM seminars:

F 11/6 9-12:30
AFM Finance Conference
with Media Rights Capital, Hyde Park Entertainment, NatGeo..
Fairmont Miramar, 101 Wilshire
2008 Videos

F 11/6 4-5:30
FILMART/HK Co-Production Partners
with Screen International, Distribution Workshop, Imagi Studios
Le Merigot, 1740 Ocean
2008 Videos

Sa 11/7 9-12:30
Pitch Me!
Producers for Bee Season, Capote, Nurse Betty
Fairmont Miramar, 101 Wilshire

Sa 11/7 9:15-5:30
Distribution U
9:15 Breakfast/Introductions
10:15 Fans, Friends, Followers – Scott Kirsner
11:15, Break
11:30, New World of Distribution I – Peter Broderick
12:30, Lunch with Adam Chapnick, Distribber.com, Thomas Mai, Festival Darlings, Jon Reiss, Thinking Outside of the Box (Office), Adrian Belic, Beyond the Call, Genghis Blues, Justine Jacob, Ready Set Bag
2, New World of Distribution II – Peter Broderick
3, Case Studies/Anvil!, Good Dick
4, Booksigning/Thinking Outside the Box (Office)
4:15-5:30, Pitch Workshop
USC, Davidson Conference Center, 3415 South Figueroa

Sa 11/7 2-5:30
Produce and Sell Your Film with Dov S-S Simens
Topics include: Theatrical Deal Memo Points, 7 Major Revenue Sources, Profit Participation Scenarios, Cable/TV/DVD Licenses, Publicity & Festivals, On-Demand vs PPV, Global Revenues, Foreign Sales, Private Placements, Investor Offerings, Gross vs Net, Split Rights & 50-50 Deals, Production-Distribution Agreements, plus Producer’s Workbook/Directory
Fairmont Miramar, 101 Wilshire

Su 11/8 11-12:30
Changing Indie Distribution Strategies
Ted Mundorff, Landmark Theatres, Jon Reiss, Think Outside the Box (Office)…
Le Merigot, 1740 Ocean

Su 11/8 2-3:30
DIY Distribution Playbook
with Adam Chapnick, Distribber.com, Matt Tyrnauer, Valentino, Sacha Gervasi, Anvil!, Scott Hamilton Kennedy, The Garden, Lisa Smithline, Trouble The Waters
Le Merigot, 1740 Ocean
2008 Videos

Su 11/8 4-5:30
SAG/A Filmmaker’s Resource
Le Merigot, 1740 Ocean

M 11/9 11-12:30pm
WGA/Writing for the Genre World
Mick Garris, Larry Cohen, Juliet Snowden, Stiles White, Stephen Susco
Le Merigot, 1740 Ocean

M 11/9 2-3:30
DGA/Online Piracy
Brad Beutlich, DtecNet, Darcy Antonellis, Warner, Jonathan Dayton, Little Miss Sunshine, Andrew Horton, Mark Monitor, Alann McNeil, Deluxe’s Web Watch
Le Merigot, 1740 Ocean

M 11/9 4-5:30
PGA/Package and Finance Indies Oversees
Aurora Productions, Akin Gump, Endgame Entertainment, The Film Department, Paradigm
Le Merigot, 1740 Ocean

Tu 11/10 11-12:30
Indie Marketing with Ondi Timoner, We Live In Public…
Le Merigot, 1740 Ocean

Tu 11/10 2-3:30
WIF/New Hollywood Movie Studio & Social Networking
Le Merigot, 1740 Ocean

Tu 11/10 4-5:30
ASC/Film or Digital
Le Merigot, 1740 Ocean

Sa 11/7 – Tu 11/10 9:30-5
Favorite Film Pitch
Le Merigot, 1740 Ocean

For newbies, there are AFM first-timers guides on working the market at:
IFTA , FilmSpecific, and IndieGoGo.

As for AFM Hotels, many were booked by 10/2 but feel free to try:
- Georgian, 1415 Ocean 90401 ($242-384) 310-395-9945
- Ocean View Hotel, 1447 Ocean 90401 ($224-272) 310-458-4888
- Hotel California, 1670 Ocean 90401 ($260,299+) 310-393-2363
- Hotel Shangrila, 1301 Ocean 90401 ($319-489) 310-394-2791
- Le Merigot Marriott, 1740 Ocean 90401 ($365+) 310-395-9700
- Viceroy, 1819 Ocean 90401 ($348+) 310-260-7500
- Fairmont Miramar, 101 Wilshire 90401 ($324+) 310-576-7777
- Hotel Casa del Mar, 1910 Ocean 90405 ($459+) 310-581-5533
- Sheraton Delfina, 530 Pico 90405 ($267-320) 310-399-9344
- Doubletree, 1707 4th 90401 ($270-$282) 310-395-3332
- Holiday Inn, 120 Colorado 90401 ($248-258) 310-451-0676
- Hotel Carmel, 201 Broadway 90401 ($175-232) 310-451-2469
- Ambrose, 1255 20th Street 90404 ($192-227) 310-315-1555
- Best Western, 1920 Santa Monica Blvd 90404 ($170) 310-829-9100
- Shutters, One Pico 90405 ($575+) 310-458-0030
- Huntley, 1111 Second, 90403 ($350) 310-394-5454
*There is a shuttle for the AFM hotels, parking lots and screenings.

Film Catalogue/445 screenings, 73 premieres including:
- American Sunset (Global Universal) – Corey Haim, Frank Molina
- Blue Seduction (Global Universal Pictures) – Estella Warren*
- Bobby Fischer Live (Amadeus)
- Chloe (StudioCanal, budget $10-25mm) – Julianne Moore
- Dorian Gray (Ealing Studios, budget $10-25mm) – Colin Firth
- From Time to Time (Ealing Studios, budget $5-10m) – Maggie Smith
- Get Low (K5) – Bill Murray
- Glorious 39 (The Works International) – Julie Christie
- Harry Brown (HanWay) – Michael Caine
- Hawaii A Voice For Sovereignty (ITN)
- Junkyard Dog (Epic) – Vivica Fox**
- Kill Speed (Epic) – Nick Carter, Tom Arnold**
- Life During Wartime (Fortissimo) – Ally Sheedy & Paul Reubens
- Love & Other Impossible Pursuits (Essential Ent) – Natalie Portman
- Mama I Want to Sing! (Vision Films) – Ciara & Billy Zane
- Mao’s Last Dancer (Celluloid Dreams) – Kyle MacLachlan, Joan Cheng
- Rounds (Global Universal) – Billy Drago, Mark Attenza
- Saint John of Las Vegas (E1) – Sarah Silverman & Steve Buscemi
- Snowmen (MPower) – Ray Liotta, Christopher Lloyd
- Stay Cool (American Cinema) – Wynona Ryder, Hilary Duff
- The Making of Plus One (New Films) film market wheeling and dealing
- The Meaning of the 21st Century (WWFilmEnt, bud $3-5m) – Michael Douglas
- The Next Three Days (Mandate Intl) – Russell Crowe
*no screening, ** got picked up by Independent Feature Films

And more:
- AFI Fest - free tx to screenings, red carpet events, details here
- IBM/USC Imagine The World in 2050 invite-only event
- TromaDance Film Festival press conference
- 8th Samurai screening at the Consul General of Japan

Events that recap AFM:
- 12/1 Distribution U, San Francisco
- 12/8 DMW/Variety’s Future of Film, Sheraton Delfina

Halloween movie night, part 1 of 2

Data
Title: Monsters, Inc.
Year: 2001
Length: 92 minutes
Directors: Pete Docter, David Silverman & Lee Unkrich
Writers: Andrew Stanton & Daniel Gerson, with Robert L. Baird, Rhett Reese & Jonathan Roberts, story by Pete Docter, Jill Culton, Jeff Pidgeon & Ralph Eggleston
Starring: John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Mary Gibbs, Steve Buscemi, James Coburn
Music: Randy Newman
Distinctions: Oscar for Best Song (“If I Didn’t Have You”); currently #242 on IMDb’s Top 250

My reaction
Synopsis: a human toddler sneaks through her closet into the monster world
How I saw it: in the theater, 2001; on video many times (have on DVD), most recently yesterday
Concept: Indifferent.
Story: Great.
Characters: Great.
Dialog: Great.
Pacing: Great.
Cinematography: Great.
Special effects/design: Great.
Acting: Good. Okay from the voices, great from the animators.
Music: Good.
Subjective Rating: 9/10 (One of my favorites). It’s remarkable how re-watchable this remains after all these years.
Objective Rating: 9/10 (Very good).

…right here:

MOVIES

“The New York Ripper” (Blue Underground)
New York City’s finest follow a trail of brutal murders to track down a killer who’s going after–GASP!–young and beautiful women from the Big Apple! (Note to those considering a profession in murder: Go after the old and ugly, because apparently nobody cares about them.) Shot on location in New York in the early eighties, this film from Lucio Fulci is, in parts, exceptionally vicious. Unfortunately, in other parts, it’s also exceptionally slow. It’s a fine slasher film, but I found myself getting distracted in between the murders. But, hey, isn’t that always the case! An interesting DVD extra shows the film’s shooting locations as they appeared back then, and how they appear now. Gentrification, anyone?

“The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue” (Blue Underground)
Also known as “Don’t Open The Window” (an inferior title) and “Let Sleeping Corpses Lie” (a superior title), this mid-seventies zombie flick follows a duo of travelers who just happen upon a small town of cannibalistic zombies! Fun for the whole family! Unlike most zombie films that feature some ridiculous excuse for the invasion, “Manchester Morgue” offers up a completely believable reason: radioactive farm equipment! But that’s a perfect example of what makes this movie great. It doesn’t take itself too seriously and offers up all of the required gore and violence that one expects from a quality piece of seventies horror schlock.

“Rage” (Liberation Entertainment)
More than a dozen actors make up this film’s stellar cast (including Steve Buscemi, Eddie Izzard, Judi Dench and Bob Balaban, to name a few), each performance serving as both a compelling character study and a pivotal role in a clever storyline. When an accident on the catwalk during New York’s fashion week leads to a murder investigation, suspicious eyes fall on the show’s participants. Directed by Sally Potter (who was nominated for “Orlando”), “Rage” is a successful example of what potential exists when a director breaks out of the normal restraints of film and has the freedom to experiment. To be honest, I couldn’t see a major distributor picking “Rage” up… and that’s exactly why you should see it. Oh, and to see Jude Law rocking some flamboyant drag. Awesome.

“Secrecy” (Docurama)
Scarier than any horror movie I’ve ever reviewed, “Secrecy” looks into the terrifying world of government… well, secrecy. What’s best for American citizens and what our government thinks is best for us is often two different things, especially when it comes to the facade that is the war on terror. “Secrecy” could have taken the easy road out and concentrated only on Bush-era atrocities (because, Christ knows, there’s enough material there to fill a 148-part PBS documentary series), but instead chose to look back deep into America’s sordid history of keeping information from its citizens… for our own good, of course. A must-have for anyone who doesn’t believe the crap being force-fed to them on a daily basis, “Secrecy”… what was that noise? Did you guys hear that? Hello? Is someone there? AH! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE! HELP! SPREAD THE WORD, PEOPLE! DON’T LET THEM FOOL–

ALBUMS

Brazos “Phosphorescent Blues” – The brainchild of a solo artist (Martin Crane) that eventually became a four-piece ensemble, the Austin-based Brazos brings jazz and folk together in a way that’s reminiscent of some of the more melodic work from Andrew Bird’s Bowl of Fire days. Brazos is less polished than Bird, more chaotic and raw in their sound, but it works to their advantage in every way. If you can, hunt down the track “We Understand Each Other.” If that doesn’t make you pick up the album, nothing will.

Nick Cave & Warren Ellis “White Lunar” – A two-disc set that features the collaborative soundtrack work of Nick Cave and composer (and fellow Bad Seed) Warren Ellis (no relation to the author). Deeply dark and richly layered, collected here are tracks from “The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford,” “The Girls of Phnom Penh,” “The Proposition” and many more. How good is it? Next year you’ll be able to find it on this list. Yep, it’s that good.

The Blind Boys of Alabama “Duets” – I’ve often said that only two good things ever came out of religion: art and music. The Blind Boys of Alabama have proven the former to be true with their Grammy-winning gospel. Collected on this anthology are fourteen tracks of the group’s collaborative work. Most of the tracks have already been released on the albums of other artists; however, there are three previously unreleased tracks, including a great song titled “Jesus” which finds the fellas teaming up with Lou Reed. Most of the tracks hit (“None Of Us Are Free” with Solomon Burke; “Take My Hand” with Ben Harper; etc.), but there is a miss or two (“Nothing But The Blood” with Jars of Clay). Still, those couple of misses are because of the collaborator the Blind Boys are working with, not because of the work the guys themselves are contributing to the track. The rest of the album is such a solid collection that it almost makes me want to believe.

BOOKS

The Good Neighbors – Book Two: Kith by Holly Black & Ted Naifeh – I admit, this hardcover graphic novel isn’t my cup of tea, but I don’t think I’m exactly the book’s target audience (ages 12 and up). Written by Holly Black (“The Spiderwick Chronicles”), the book’s story about a girl heading out into an unknown realm to save her faerie mother is a solid read, and artist Ted Naifeh’s black-and-white illustrations add an appropriately dark element to the story. If you’re into fantasy, faeries and all things fantastical, pick it up. If you’re a balding Hungarian in his mid-thirties, maybe not so much; but least you can take comfort in knowing that you’re not alone.

Critically yours,

-Shady

Já caiu na rede o trailer do curta ”Rage”, que trás Jude Law no papel de um travesti russo da diretora Sally Potter, narra a história onde um estudante que usa a câmera do seu telefone celular para filmar entrevistas íntimas com as pessoas que trabalham em uma casa de moda de Nova York e, secretamente, posta esses videos na internet.
Estrelado por Jude Law, Steve Buscemi, Judi Dench, Bob Balaban, Eddie Izzard, e pela top Lily Cole, têm sua estréia prevista para esse ano, mas que será feita direto em celulares. A diretora e roteirista admite que não deve ganhar dinheiro com o filme, mas está lançando o curta em uma nova plataforma para testar novas tecnologias.

É esperar pra ver…

Yes this movie is about a gay couple, in case you couldn’t all ready tell by the title.

Firefighters Chuck Ford (Adam Sandler) and Larry Allensworth (Kevin James) are guy’s guys, loyal to the core — which is why when widower Larry asks Chuck to pose as his gay lover so that he can get domestic partner benefits for his kids, his buddy agrees.

This is one of the most offensive stereotypical films I have seen ever. I thought I was bad sometimes but this movie has definably got me beat. The plot is so dumb, because since Larry is a firefighter he could die at any moment and he believes that his kids would become orphans, yeah ok. So in order for us to have a movie they need to be gay.

The film really does play both sides, no pun intended. Throughout the whole film there are so many ignorant and offensive remarks to gay people and at the end of the movie it tells us we should respect them and be nice to them. Holy contradiction Batman! The f word, no not that one the gay one, is used so excessively and for some reason they want us to stop using that word.

This whole movie is just filled with all the stereotypes. Ving Rhames’ character who gave the film lifeless laughs is scary to everyone else cause he’s a big black guy, and so he ends up being gay in the end too. There’s a gay party they go to and almost every guy there is dressing as a woman and fondling each other which is totally what they do right? Also Rob Schneider, of course, plays a huge stereotypical Chinese person and does a really bad job at it too.

The premise is actually OK but it just seems so tired. There are barely any inventive jokes. There are jokes that are just about being gay, and having gay sex. Which is actually a line from the movie. The writer of this film wrote Sideways which was very witty and this film is nothing like it at all.

Sandler and James should ashamed of themselves for appearing in a movie like this. I do like Sandler and I have always supported him with every movie he’s done, and I almost consider myself a die-hard Sandler fan but even fans of him such as myself won’t even find a chuckle from this. Jessica Biel as sexy as she is can’t win this movie over with her body and she plays a really dumb advisor of the couple.

Consensus: Bad, Bad, Bad!!! This film is not funny, very offensive, and down right dumb. Don’t see this because I can promise you, you will not come out happy!

0/10=BADDD!!!!!

“Who are those guys?”  – Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

As a filmmaker, it takes enormous guts to keep experimenting even after tasting success. Filmmakers know this. More so do the filmmakers who actually taste success.  So it is all very logical to question what the fuck were the Coens smoking to follow-up “Fargo” with a film like “The Big Lebowski”?  But I am glad that they did else I would’ve had a lesser film as my all-time favorite comedy. Oh! The joys of watching this film. It seems that with every passing view I find something to enjoy, a delicious little detail, a humorous little scene to savor, a matter-of-fact line which hitherto had been an obscure dialogue but one that now tickles a bone I never knew existed.

All in all, a perverse exercise to derive order from those seemingly incomprehensible equations of chaos. The very same drive that relentlessly lends itself to figure a formula or an equation that can ultimately explain art. But can art be thus expounded into theories or formulae? Isn’t that a contradiction unto itself? Isn’t that like saying we can weigh our emotional responses, and I believe that art is an emotional response, by some lab experiment. I would even extrapolate this  phenomenon to the eternal search of truth and….uh…. Woah! Woah! I really got lost in my own thoughts there. I know what you’re gonna say: “Dude, what are the fuck are you talking about?” I wish I knew.  The same question keeps recurring all through this movie.  The characters too have no idea. That’s the beauty of it. Utter dissonance.

That’s what makes this film “cool”. You don’t have to know what anyone’s talking about because no one in the film is trying desperately to make sense. I mean, no one. They’re all trying to make a point, yes, but not one of them makes any sense. In any other movie, this kind of silliness would be caricatured and exaggerated making the humor look loud and slapstick-y. But the Coens are OK with the characters being inconsistent, they let them flourish in their own idiosyncrasies and contradictions. In fact, it’s these contradictions and the ease at which the characters accept these contradictions separates this film from the others. It makes the movie feel “real”. I mean, that’s how people are in the real world, they are a bundle of contradictions.

Take for example, the Dude. He’s the dude whose cool and calm and doesn’t give a fuck which side the world revolves. He abides, right? Then why is he the first to panic every time he’s stressed or when he’s pushed into a tight situation? He’s clever enough to figure that the Big Lebowski traded a “ringer for a ringer” but is so stupid that he doesn’t know which way his door opens. Contradictory character development? You betcha. Not only the Dude, take other characters. Walter, for instance, is a devout Jew, the one who gives a shit about the rules and yet at the first given instance, he flaunts a firearm in a public place. The Big Lebowski who chides the Dude asking him to go find a job and yet in the end we find that he himself is a bum looking for a handout (from the Lebowski foundation).  The Nihilists, who don’t give a shit about anything but would go to the extremes ( like cutting one of their gang-member’s toe off) to get “Ze maaney fram Ze Lebawzkee”. I could go on and on but I hope you get my point.

The plot? It so happens that there is a rich old man with a young “trophy” wife (also a porn star) who owes money all over town and never pays back. The goons, in turn, try collecting money by force but they mistake the Dude for the rich old man due to an unfortunate similarity in their names. Also they pee on the Dude’s rug which “really tied the room together”. This triggers off a series of events, each of which starts running in a random direction and the film goes chasing after all of them. Confused? Relax, that is how it’s supposed to be. The people who didn’t like the movie are those that tried to read too much into its plot, they tried to make sense out of it. But that is not how this film works.  This is a film you give time to grow and license to meander, sit back, relax, hang out with the Dude and his friends and try having a good time.  Only then will you see a that it also is a subtle social commentary of the 60s,70s,80s and 90s, only then will you see it also serves as an allegory to the Gulf War and only then will you see how this movie is a tribute to ‘em old crime-noirs.

I keep coming back to the characters because rarely have I seen such meticulous character development in any movie. Every character is “fleshed” out so very well.  Each and every one of them has his/her own way of communicating, own ideologies, own indulgences/personal preferences.  In fact, you can make a separate film outta each of the support characters and it’d still be interesting. The friendship between the Dude and Walter stands testimony to this fact. Every time Walter goes off the tangent with his goofball theories and connecting almost every other thing to Vietnam, the Dude in frustration, retaliates calling him a moron or an asshole. When confronted thus, Walter never ever gives a direct response but vents his anger on a passer-by or any other harmless witness (most of the time its Donnie). It may look all too easy or all too random on screen, but to maintain such complex group dynamics and bring it out so effortlessly is quite a task. John Goodman deserved an Oscar nomination, at least.

Speaking of missed nominations, did I mention the wonderful camera work?  Roger Deakins is a modern master in the art of cinematography. His best work , in my book, is “No Country for Old Men” but this film comes a close second. He has expressed himself so freely and uninhibitedly in this film, the camera feels so fluid and so agile. It runs, jumps, swerves, slides and slithers through the bowling alleys,  all this without the slightest hurt to the eyes. There are many so I’ll limit myself to three instances. a) opening credits  b) the wonderful sequence that introduces “Jesus Quintana”  and c) The Dude’s meeting with Jackie Treehorn ending with the “Gutterballs” montage.

A comedy like “The Big Lebowski” doesn’t come often. Hell! I doubt that there ever will be a film like this again. So much of effort, both technical and artistic,  painstaking packed into a film and yet it remains  unassuming,  a very light at heart film whose existence isn’t dated by the passage of time. It’s a film which compels you to watch it multiple times and every time you watch it you grow a  bit more partial towards it because the jokes become “inside humor” and people in it become friends. It’s one of those rare experiences when you don’t stop at relating to a “buddy” movie but you go ahead and actually end up being its buddy.

A true “feel-good” movie.

Power From Within (PG-13)

2072: America reaches the tipping point where there are more prisoners than not.

Life-long criminal Sal Bergen (Kurt Russell) leads a revolution, organising fellow prisoners across the country to vote in bloc to elect an unscrupulous lawyer (Steve Buscemi) as their puppet President. Soon after election, a series of legislative measures are swept through so that people outside the prison walls become outlaws.

Ted and Ruby Eggert (Tim Robbins & Susan Sarandon) lead a group of angry senior citizens who won’t give up their freedom without a fight.