I’ve been home with a cold, watching movie after movie. This is my favorite part of being sick - alleviating the boredom of couch napping and coughing.

This weekend, I watched a range of movies, from “Sideways” to “Millions”. I noticed several key issues with the movies being produced inside the Hollywood system or its close, well-funded “independent” cousins (Miramax, etc). I also noticed something astonishingly fresh in films made low budget, foreign or on the fringe, topically.

First film up - “Sideways”. I have to admit I HATED this film. I hated it from start to finish. I hated the acting, the cinematography, the music, the characters, the story and the annoyed feeling of being desperately bored. In a business that last year alone included only 7 films made by women in the top 200, or that has yet to bestow an Oscar on a woman director (only 3 have ever been nominated), it still astounds me that Hollywood paid big bucks to make a film about two middle aged yuppie miscreants looking to get laid. (more…)

I saw The Passion of The Christ last night, with my friend, named appropriately enough, Christian.

I had mental overload at some points and literally fell asleep. Not out of boredom. Not because i was tired before i went to the theater. It mentally exhausted me, all that suffering. Christian kept me awake, shaking my arm from time to time. He seemed unaffected. I flinched and turned away, yelped and moaned at one point. It was too hard to watch. I think i have come to a point in my life where i can’t watch violence, its just too hard to brush off as entertainment. It felt like physical blows, like a psychic attack.

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In Theaters Now
Director: Asia Argento

My Fucked Up Life Starring Me

Asia Argento’s directorial debut burns across the screen in a haphazard rambling tale of sex, drugs and early twenties love/hate/angst. Art mirrors life mirrors art again in the films reoccurring references to her real life and real life imagined in nightmares and flash backs. Her father’s influence (giallo great Dario Argento) comes in the lighting, the pace of the film and the unapologetic nature in the way Asia attacks the plot points.

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In Theaters July 12
Director: Julio Medem
http://www.sexandluciafilm.com

Secreto, mi amor…

Wow…holy fucking wow.

This movie was a journey into the very darkness of love and betrayal. The title may be suggestive, and yes, there is plenty of sex, beautifully depicted. But that’s just the beginning. The movie is so much more.

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Day 1: Opening Night - April 29

Opening night at the Brooklyn International Film Festival included short speeches from Marco Ursino, the festival director, Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Borough President and Irwin Yablans, a local producer and Brooklyn native. Excitement oozed from Mr. Ursino, infecting the room with gleeful tension, and the first film of the festival rolled.

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The Brooklyn International Film Festival, previously known as the Williamsburg Film Festival, is launching its 5th year as an international draw including films from over 20 countries. The festival’s popularity has even surprised its director, Marco Ursino, who started the festival initially to promote his own film. The boom of artistic activity in Brooklyn over the past decade has augmented the quality of work the selection committees have seen. At the same time, digital filmmaking has increased the quantity of filmmakers submitting to the festival. International attention to the festival has increased its scope and popularity, making it a powerful destination for filmmakers wanting their work to be seen.

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Directed by Pete Jones
Miramax Films
USA, 2002 - 92 MINUTES
Starring: Aidan Quinn, Kevin Pollack, Brian Dennehy, Bonnie Hunt

A Lesson In Bad Filmmaking…

After all the hype of HBO’s series, Project Greenlight, and the 2.5 million dollars thrown at this first timer vehicle, I was greatly disappointed. This film was a lesson in what NOT to do when making a film - from the writing to the acting to the camera work, it was, sadly, a waste of time.

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Directed by Agnieszka Holland
USA, 2001 - 98 MINUTES
Starring: Giovanni Ribisi, Elias Koteas, Eric Bogosian

Bull’s Eye Sucker Punch…

Ninety-eight minutes of hard truths, urgent waiting and complicated family situations - a tour de force of acting and directing. The understated tone of the piece created a tension that one would have expected if this film had gone the obvious route. Brilliantly acted, Giovanni Ribisi and Elias Koteas go toe to toe in a verbal chess game where winning and losing isn’t clear-cut.

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New York Film Academy Screening
Feb 27/2002
Director: Constantine Valhouli

Is an A for Effort enough?

Slugging back free wine, I settled into a director’s chair, leafing through the press kit on my seat. Waiting to see Constantine Vahouli’s sophomore flick “Curves”, I sipped and waited and sipped some more and then the lights went out. Five minutes later, they were back on, as technical difficulties arose with the projector. To appease the restless crowd, Constantine rallied his troops to pour more wine into emptying cups. Initial grumbles died down - seems saucing the mob was a logistical stroke of genius.

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Homily to Mr. Jackson…

It’s Tuesday night, 11:30 pm and we are in line at Loews. “Frodo”, “Shire”, “Nazgul”, “Gandalf” and veritable litany is heard in the air. Unruly pilgrims at the gates, the theater uncomfortably warm, suspicion and envy snake around the double-backed line. People snap at each other like reptiles fighting for position on a seaside rock. Disbelief that tonight is actually here.

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