Posted Jun 19th 2008 4:02PM by Peter Martin
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Drama, Foreign Language, Horror, Romance, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Mystery & Suspense, Shorts, Other Festivals, Images, Cinematical Indie
Forget about
Kung Fu Panda. Wash the memory of
Forbidden Kingdom out of your brain. Ignore the trailer for
The Mummy: We Love China, Yes We Do! (or whatever it's called). The real deal is on view this weekend as the
New York Asian Film Festival opens for business.
The 7th edition of the festival kicks off tomorrow afternoon at the IFC Center in Manhattan with the North American premiere of Masato Harada's
The Shadow Spirit. The first evening presentation features the world premiere of Ryo Iwamatsu's
Then Summer Came, with the director in attendance.
This year the festival will show 43 movies, plus two short film programs, their most ambitious outing yet. Organized and presented by
Subway Cinema, a "New York-based film programming, exhibition and marketing collective," as they describe themselves, the selections lean toward the pop side of Asian film culture, which happens to be my favorite kind; in fact, I've already written about
The Butcher and
Public Enemy Returns.
If you're a New Yorker, this should be etched on your viewing calendar, but even if you're an outsider looking in, like me, the program notes are very much worth reading. To give you a further taste, check out our gallery, and then visit the
NYAFF site to read and see more about one of the very best festivals in the world.
Posted Jun 13th 2008 8:02AM by Eric D. Snider
Filed under: Documentary, Foreign Language, Independent, Other Festivals, Columns, Cinematical Indie, The (Mostly) Indie Film Calendar
The incredible who? M. Night what? This is
The (Mostly) Indie Film Calendar, a weekly round-up of cool movie events taking place beyond the multiplexes. We cover things like festivals, retrospectives, and special screenings -- and if you know of something coming up that ought to be on the calendar, let me know! Just point your e-mail thingy at Eric.Snider (at) Weblogsinc (dot) com.
Today: You can see
Incredible Hulk, which is a biopic of the Jolly Green Giant; or you can see
The Happening, which is based on the '70s sitcom
What's Happening!!! -- or you can ignore those blatant mistruths and check out some of these...
INDIE THEATRICAL RELEASES
- Baghead is proof that the Mumblecore movement has arrived, because it's a spoof of it. Well, a spoof, and a thriller, and a straightforward Mumblecore, and -- well, just watch it. I reviewed it at Sundance earlier this year and liked it quite a bit. It opens today in Austin and will expand in the coming weeks.
- My Winnipeg comes from Guy Maddin, Canada's weirdest filmmaker, and it's sure to be a treat. Created in the style of a documentary about the snowy title city, it was described by Cinematical's Monika Bartyzel as hilarious when it debuted at Toronto last year. It opens today in New York, next week in L.A., and so on until it conquers the world.
After the jump, more indie theatrical releases, and a rundown of events happening all over the country....
Continue reading The (Mostly) Indie Film Calendar: June 13-19
Posted Jun 6th 2008 6:02PM by Christopher Campbell
Filed under: Festival Reports, Other Festivals, Cinematical Indie
A few international film festivals have announced their jury heads today, so here's a roundup, plus other fest circuit news:
- Chinese auteur Wong Kar-Wai (2046) will be replacing the late Anthony Minghella as the head of the jury at this month's Shanghai International Film Festival. Minghella, who died in March, will be honored by the fest, which runs June 14-22. Other jury members include filmmaker Bille August and Joan Chen, who once starred in a film co-written by Wong (1986's E nan).
- Actor Danny Huston (Children of Men) will head the Michael Powell jury at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, which runs June 18-29. He and others, including actress Joely Richardson and filmmaker Iain Softley, will be voting for the winner of the prestigious Michael Powell award. Last year's winner was Anton Corbijn's Control.
- Italian film critic Gian Luigi Rondi has been invited to be the new president of the three-year-old Rome Film Festival following a political shakeup that caused the resignation of former president Goffredo Bettini. Rondi was the artistic director of the Venice Film Festival between 1983 to 1986 and currently heads Italy's version of the Academy Awards, the David di Donatello Awards. He has so far declined that he will accept. The 2008 festival will run October 21-31.
- Jean-Luc Godard may be boycotting the Tel Aviv Student Film Festival, but other French filmmakers are set to attend another event, the Tel Aviv French Film Festival, which begins June 10. Those scheduled to appear include Alexandre Arcady, Diane Kurys and Laetitia Masson. Popular films set to screen include The Secret of the Grain and Love Songs, my review for which you can read here.
Posted Jun 6th 2008 8:02AM by Eric D. Snider
Filed under: Classics, Comedy, Documentary, Drama, Foreign Language, Independent, Shorts, Other Festivals, Columns, Cinematical Indie, The (Mostly) Indie Film Calendar
Good news, indie fans! With
The (Mostly) Indie Film Calendar, our weekly round-up of screenings and events taking place beyond the multiplex, it doesn't matter whether you mess with the Zohan. Forget those complicated rules regarding what you can and can't mess with, and come bask in the glow of festivals, retrospectives, and special showings. And if you know of something coming up that should be on this list, send me an e-mail at Eric.Snider (at) Weblogsinc (dot) com.
Today, you can watch Adam Sandler do a funny voice and make funny faces (he's really stretching as an actor!) on 3,000 screens. Or, in just a few locations, you can check out these...
INDIE THEATRICAL RELEASES
- The Promotion. It's here it's here it's here! You guys, it's finally here! A bunch of us saw this at South By Southwest in March, and since then we've been raving about it pretty much every chance we get. And now it's finally in theaters! And everyone we raved about it to will see it with too-high expectations and be disappointed! So, um, forget everything we said and just see it. It's, you know, kinda funny or whatever. No big deal. Opens today in New York, L.A., and Chicago; expands next week.
- Mongol is an Oscar-nominated biopic covering the early life of the world's most famous Mongol, a fellow by the name of Genghis Khan. (I believe the sequel will be called Mongol II: The Wrath of Khan.) Cinematical's me gave it a very positive review at the Portland International Film Festival a few months back. It opens today in New York and L.A.
After the jump, more indie theatrical releases, plus our city-by-city breakdown of special events.
Continue reading The (Mostly) Indie Film Calendar: June 6-12
Posted Jun 3rd 2008 8:32AM by Eric D. Snider
Filed under: Awards, Festival Reports, Other Festivals
I'm excited to return to the glittering Nevada desert for the 11th annual CineVegas Film Festival, which kicks off June 12 with Rainn Wilson's
The Rocker. One of the ways that the up-and-coming fest has sought to distinguish itself is to bring in as much star power as it can, thus providing some of the glitz and glamor that people expect from Sin City. And what better way to get celebrities to show up than to give them awards?
This year's top honor, the Marquee Award, will go to
Anjelica Huston, the festival has
announced, "for her accomplishments in the film industry throughout her esteemed career." By some stunning coincidence, Huston also has a film playing at the festival, the Chuck Palahniuk adaptation
Choke.
Continue reading Anjelica Huston and James Caan Are Big Winners at CineVegas
Posted Jun 2nd 2008 9:38PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Documentary, Music & Musicals, Exhibition, Other Festivals
With the murder of
Jam-Master Jay in Queens on October 30, 2002, one excellent part of Run-DMC was taken from us. There was word
last year that a biopic was in the works, and now we're getting a musical documentary, one that will open the Hollywood Black Film Festival on June 3, according to
The Hollywood Reporter.
2 Turntables and a Microphone, which was directed by Guy Logan, follows Jam-Master Jay's life and death, and contains information that the
HBFF website says could help solve his murder. The doc features the likes of Russell Simmons, Reverend Run, Jay-Z, LL Cool J, Method Man, 50 Cent and even more names in the hip-hop world, with the story following not only the rise of DMC and death of Jay, but also the world of hip-hop and mainstream rap.
If you're a fan of DMC and located in California, this will be a pretty cool night out -- and not just because you can check out the film. After the screening, there will be the usual Q&A, but along with the director and producers, "some of the cast" will be there. I would hope that means at least a few of the names mentioned above. The flick will screen on June 3, 8 PM, at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills, with a hip-hop-themed party to follow.
Posted May 30th 2008 8:02PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Documentary, Sundance, Festival Reports, Fandom, Exhibition, DIY/Filmmaking, Other Festivals
Last night I had the pleasure of attending the opening night premiere of
American Teen (in theaters July 25) as part of the third annual
Sundance Institute at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music). The Sundance fav launched an eleven-day festival of sorts, showcasing the best of the best from this year's Sundance Film Festival; 22 features and 36 shorts in total, plus filmmaker Q&As, parties, art installations and tons of Brooklyn hipster-watching.
The screening itself was completely sold out and held inside the gorgeous BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, where, conveniently, free popcorn and bottles of water were handed out at the door. And as my wife pointed out after we sat down: "They're smart -- free things always put a person in a good mood before a film." Indeed! Before the curtain rose on
American Teen, a number of folks approached the mic for some words, while the crowd cheered every time 'Brooklyn' was used in a sentence. The speakers included BAM President Karen Hopkins, Sundance executive director Ken Brecher, Brooklyn Borough President (and an awesome guy) Marty Markowitz, Katherine Oliver, Commissioner of the NYC Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting, BAM Cinema Club Chairs Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard, and, finally,
American Teen director Nanette Burstein (sporting a very pregnant belly) and one of the film's teenage stars, Hannah Bailey (pictured above).
Check out a gallery from the premiere, the film and the prom-themed after party below -- then head after the jump for my thoughts on
American Teen. (All pictures courtesy of the fine folks at the Sundance Institute and Paramount Vantage.)
Continue reading Sundance @ BAM: 'American Teen' Premieres to Cheers
Posted May 30th 2008 8:02AM by Eric D. Snider
Filed under: Animation, Classics, Documentary, Drama, Foreign Language, Gay & Lesbian, Independent, Other Festivals, Columns, Cinematical Indie, The (Mostly) Indie Film Calendar
Welcome to
The (Mostly) Indie Film Calendar, a weekly list of events for movie lovers who want to go beyond the mainstream and the multiplexes. If you know of something cool going on near you -- retrospectives, revivals, film fests, etc. -- send me the info at Eric.Snider (at) Weblogsinc (dot) com and we'll include it in the calendar.
Today, on about 3,000 screens, you can see a quartet of libidinous, superficial women drink and shop their way through Manhattan. Or, on just a few screens, you can see these...
INDIE THEATRICAL RELEASES
- Savage Grace is a true, tawdry story about a socialite (Julianne Moore) and her weird relationship with her weird son. Cinematical's Kim Voynar reviewed it somewhat favorably at Sundance; Nick Schager is less flattering in his review. (For what it's worth, I'm more on Nick's side on this one. It's icky.) Opens today at the IFC Center and Clearview's 62nd & Broadway in NYC.
- The Foot Fist Way, a low-budget R-rated comedy about a Tae Kwon Do teacher, premiered at Sundance way back in 2006, then might have slipped into oblivion had it not been noticed by Will Ferrell and his collaborator Adam McKay. They've championed the film into getting released, and by all accounts it's a pretty funny movie. Opens today in New York and L.A.; expands in the coming weeks.
(After the jump, more indie theatrical releases, and a city-by-city list of other events....)
Continue reading The (Mostly) Indie Film Calendar: May 30-June 5
Posted May 29th 2008 2:02PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Sundance, Festival Reports, Fandom, Exhibition, Other Festivals
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For those who live in and around the New York City area, tonight the Sundance Institute launches their
very popular series at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music), in which they'll screen a whole bunch of films (22 features, 36 shorts) from this year's festival over the course of the next eleven days. Yours truly will be in attendance this evening for
American Teen, followed by a prom-themed after party. A doc about teens? The prom? I'm soooo there!
Other films of note that will be screening include
Man on Wire,
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson,
Choke, Frozen River, Captain Abu Raed, American Son, Anvil! The Story of Anvil and
Ballast, among others. This Sunday,
Cinematical's Eric Kohn will be on hand for Sundance Shorts Sunday, featuring 12 hours of short film programs, Q&As with filmmakers and more. He'll report back on what he sees, hears, learns, etc.
They're screening some excellent films this year and I believe tickets are still available for most, so definitely
swing by the official website and check out the scene. Sundance Institute at BAM runs from May 29 through June 8. (And if you make it down there tonight, do say hello!)
Posted May 23rd 2008 8:02AM by Eric D. Snider
Filed under: Animation, Classics, Comedy, Documentary, Drama, Foreign Language, Independent, Seattle, Other Festivals, Columns, Cinematical Indie, The (Mostly) Indie Film Calendar
I know your mind is probably on a different Indy right now, but won't you spare a moment for
The (Mostly) Indie Film Calendar? It's our weekly round-up of movie events happening beyond the multiplexes -- and if you know of something that we should include in a future edition (special screenings, retrospectives, mini-festivals, etc.) let me know! Send links or info to Eric.Snider (at) Weblogsinc (dot) com.
First up, four indie films are hitting theaters this week, and none of them have snakes or Nazis.
- Postal is the latest video-game-based film from German attention whore Uwe Boll, whose most recent shenanigans involve declaring his inability to secure wide release for the film a "conspiracy." The film may be atypical, but it's definitely independent. It's opening today in just four theaters, in New York, L.A., Denver, and Austin.
- War, Inc. stars John Cusack, who also co-wrote it, and it's a scathing political satire about war profiteers. Most of the reviews so far are negative, including the one from Cinematical's Joel Keller, who really, really hated it. But I note that the critics who liked it really, really liked it. There doesn't seem to be any middle ground here. Opens in New York and L.A. today.
After the jump, two more indie film in theaters, plus our city-by-city list of special events....Continue reading The (Mostly) Indie Film Calendar: May 23-29
Posted May 16th 2008 3:02PM by Eric D. Snider
Filed under: Classics, Documentary, Independent, Other Festivals, Columns, Cinematical Indie, The (Mostly) Indie Film Calendar
Hey campers, it's time for another edition of
The (Mostly) Indie Film Calendar, in which we tell you about the non-blockbuster, non-studio offerings that you can find in theaters this week. In a world where the multiplexes are packed, we proudly say: Chronicles of what now? If you know about something cool happening -- a local festival, repertory films, retrospectives, etc. -- let me know and I'll put it in the calendar! You'll find me at Eric.Snider (at) Weblogsinc (dot) com.
First up, we have a few...
INDIE THEATRICAL RELEASES
- Reprise is a Norwegian film about two friends, both would-be authors, who submit their manuscripts on the same day and go through all the rigors of an artist's life together. Cinematical's James Rocchi lavishes all kinds of praise on it in his review. Opens today in New York and L.A.
- How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer is a comedy about three generations of Mexican-American women enjoying their sexuality (not with each other, gross) one summer. Girl power! Ugly Betty is in it, but the film is from before she became Ugly Betty: It premiered at Sundance in 2005 (!) and is just now finally being released. Opens today all over California, as well as in Chicago, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Amarillo, Phoenix, and Mesa.
After the jump, more theatrical releases, plus our city-by-city rundown of special events taking place this week.Continue reading The (Mostly) Indie Film Calendar: May 16-22
Posted May 14th 2008 9:02PM by Peter Martin
Filed under: Comedy, Documentary, Independent, Festival Reports, Shorts, Other Festivals, Images, Cinematical Indie
I spent three days at the very first
Marfa Film Festival, plus two days in transit -- more than 1,000 hard miles of driving -- and it was worth every effort to get there; even the post-fest illness that felled me for an entire week. I saw wonderful outdoor screenings, enjoyed some good docs and short films, and witnessed the debut of two music videos directed by Heath Ledger. Oh, and met many friendly local residents, talented filmmakers, and visiting film lovers.
Located in West Texas, roughly halfway between El Paso and San Antonio, the town of Marfa (population 2121) has the rare distinction of being the setting for two recent films that won Academy Awards:
No Country for Old Men and
There Will Be Blood. Some of the sets for the latter film are still standing, and I traveled there on a sunny afternoon with a small group of intrepid friends over a bumpy, curving, tail-bouncing dirt road that stretched for miles across a ranch just south of town. After depositing our load of bottled water for the opening night reception that would begin a few hours later, we wandered around the fictional town of Little Boston.
As authentically aged and real as the buildings look, it's not a real town, of course, it's a set, meant to evoke Bakersfield, California, circa 1911. Check out the gallery for pictures of the
Blood set, visiting filmmakers and other sights of the festival. Read on for more about the festival itself.
Continue reading Marfa Film Fest Gets on the Map
Posted May 5th 2008 1:03PM by Eric Kohn
Filed under: New Releases, Executive shifts, New Line, Warner Brothers, Warner Independent Pictures, RumorMonger, Distribution, Other Festivals
Near the end of last week,
Defamer spread the rumor that
Picturehouse, once the indie arm of
New Line Cinema and currently dangling from the edge of the hulking entity known as
Warner Bros., has its days numbered. Now that New Line is history and Warners, like many studios, has faced increasing cutbacks, it may give short shrift to the shingles responsible for handling artier fare. Along with Picturehouse, this also includes Warner Independent Pictures, whose recent release slate includes David Gordon Green's magnificent
Snow Angels.
Defamer suggested that Picturehouse president
Bob Berney might wind up at WIP or head up a new, currently anonymous company. On Friday,
Variety's Anne Thompson
put it in more coherent terms: It appears quite likely that WIP and Picturehouse will merge together as a single company, with current WIP president Polly Cohen working alongside Berney. Whatever happens, let's just hope that the final result still leaves room for the sharp selection of independent and foreign titles that Picturehouse has handled since its birth three years ago.
Defamer points out that Marion Cotillard's unexpected Oscar win for
La Vie en Rose matters less than the flop of
Run, Fatboy, Run, while the John Simpson-directed horror film
Amusement might get dumped on DVD. It was just last year, however, that the company helped edgy fare like
The Orphanage and
Rocket Science get the sort of release most studios would never try. Let's hope that bravery lives on, somewhere.
Posted May 2nd 2008 11:02AM by Eric D. Snider
Filed under: Classics, Comedy, Drama, Foreign Language, Gay & Lesbian, Independent, Other Festivals, Columns, Cinematical Indie, The (Mostly) Indie Film Calendar
Today is the semi-official start of the Summer Blockbuster Season, but don't despair!
The (Mostly) Indie Film Calendar is here to fill you in on cool stuff happening outside the multiplexes in the coming week -- the perfect antidote to mainstream ennui. If you know of something interesting going on near you -- retrospectives, special screenings, etc. -- please let me know! Point your e-mail thingee at Eric.Snider@Weblogsinc.com and I'll put it on the calendar.
INDIE THEATRICAL RELEASES
- I don't know if famed critic-hater David Mamet still counts as "independent," but I'm including his new film, Redbelt, here just in case. It's a heady drama about a martial-arts instructor who gets tangled up with a Hollywood film shoot, a misfired policeman's gun, and several other things. ME LIKEY. Opens today on a few screens in New York and L.A.
- Son of Rambow was, hands down, the best film I saw at Sundance last year. It was snatched up by Paramount Vantage, which for some reason sat on it until now. It's a funny, creative, and sweet story about two British kids in the mid-'80s who film their own homemade version of First Blood (aka Rambo I). Cinematical's James Rocchi reviewed it at Sundance 2007 and loved it too, in case my word isn't good enough for you. It's in a few theaters today, with more to come.
After the jump, more indie releases in theaters, and a list of special events happening around the country....
Continue reading The (Mostly) Indie Film Calendar: May 2-8
Posted Apr 30th 2008 8:03PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Documentary, Festival Reports, Other Festivals
Sturla Gunnarsson introducing Air India 182.Last year was the easy selection of Hot Docs. I got to see a ton of films, and most of them were pretty damned uplifting. I laughed at the sheer awesomeness of
Billy the Kid, cheered for
Girls Rock!, got a huge craving for tea with
All in This Tea, got some art on with
A Walk Into the Sea, gaped at
Seven Dumpsters and a Corpse, and was in awe of Jessica Yu's
Protagonist.
It wasn't a smile fest this year. This time around, the theme was death, tragedy, and all sorts of seriousness. Most of them were pretty damn good, but it's been an exhausting week and a half seeing these films, thinking about them, and then writing about them. I still wish scheduling had permitted me to dip into the worlds of Wesley Willis and Kathy Acker, and some of the other docs I was itching to see. I have a feeling they would've helped matters a little.
Continue reading Hot Docs 2008: A Bunch of Films and Sadness Later...
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