[Review: IN THEATRES] CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (8/10)

Captain Phillips from director Paul Greengrass is absolutely riveting, Greengrass, a former documentarian is excellent at putting the audience directly within the action employing often a handheld camera (and high ISOs – I saw this in 4K and it was noticeable). The film, despite the presence of movie star Tom Hanks attempts to strip out the artifice, like the filmmaker’s United 93 he uses actors who are little known or unrecognizable. Opening in a quiet New England hamlet, Phillips (Hanks) foreshadows what’s to come in a conversation with his wife Andrea (played by Catherine Keener).

Hitting the high seas he sees piracy warnings and orders a piracy drill which quickly becomes a real world situation – Greengrass is excellent at balances perspectives and often orienting us within the ship. He’s one of the few blockbuster filmmakers with the clout to tell this story in this way – often pushing the limits. Consider thrilling sequences that happen virtually in the dark later in the film, Greengrass is the man for this job.

The ship goes into lockdown after it’s boarded by a band of pirates (thankfully not headed by Johnny Depp) in several sequences that are truly terrifying. The leader is Muse (Barkha Abdi) who doesn’t play any civilized rules. The ship is an unarmed freighter with only $30,000 on board (offered initially to the three pirates – four skinny teens with guns and nothing to lose). It’s perhaps the nothing to loose that’s the scariest – even as the crew fights back in small ways (including leaving broken glass on the floor for the bare foot one).

Thrilling the story kept me engaged right up and until its third act after a somewhat slow opening. Phillips played by Hanks is a likable family man, much like Hanks – and here’s the challenge: it’s hard to de-Tom Hanks, Tom Hanks. In a Greengrass film with often first time actors his casting is engaging but a tad distracting because, well quite frankly, he’s a too damn good and too damn iconic.

The film is quite strong in a number of ways including its performances, direction and writing. This hasn’t been a great year for films at sea, in 2013 we had the headache inducing ethnographic (torture) film on a fishing boat documentary Leviathan, the georgeous yet slow Kon-Tiki, and thankfully now Captain Phillips – the best of the bunch.

Screening: Dipson Flix, Dipson Market Arcade, Regal Transit, Regal Quaker Crossing, Regal Walden Galleria, Regal Hollywood 12

OPENING THIS WEEK: 10/4/2013

In addition to the Buffalo International Film Festival, the Queen City welcomes six new titles - including two sports documentaries, three films with all-star casts and a Bollywood title. An awful lot to see - including the expansion of Metallica: Through the Never seeding its IMAX screen and heading down the hall to a standard theater in Real D 3D.

at the Art House

Ballin' at the Graveyard - Not sure about this one, a pick-up basketball documentary hitting Dipson Amherst (which would seem more fitting down at Market Arcade) - hopefully its better than its trailer suggestions - the filmmakers will be in attendance on Friday night.

Screening: Dipson Amherst

Parkland - An all star cast including Zac Effron, James Badge Dale and Paul Giamatti start in a docu-drama that bowed last month in Toronto. Centered around the Parkland hospital moments after JFK's assassination and shot with what looks like period-accurate 16MM.

Screening: Dipson Eastern Hills

at the Multiplex

Gravity - Another title with significant buzz out of TIFF this year, Alfonso Cuaron's thrilling (looking) space saga has been called by Forbes a movie that can save the multiplex experience. Hitting IMAX 3D (probably where it should be seen) this looks amazing.

Screening: Regal Elmwood, Regal Walden Galleria, AMC Maple Ridge, Regal Quaker Crossing, Regal Transit, Dipson Flix, Hollywood 12

Runner Runner - What looks like a classic kind of B-Movie thriller with Timberlake, Affleck, and (I hate to admit this - someone I've got a crush on) Gemma Arterton centered around an off-shore gambling racket. It could be fun.

Screening: Regal Elmwood, Dipson Flix, Regal Transit, Regal Hollywood 12, Regal Walden Galleria, Regal Quaker Crossing, AMC Maple Ridge

Generation Iron - From the producers of Pumping Iron comes a new look at body building - will director Vlad Yudin ask the hard questions and catch someone injecting horse seman into their ass? Who knows.

Screening: Regal Quaker Crossing, Regal Walden Galleria

Bollywood in Buffawood

Besharam - A comedy about a street smart mechanic in love - oh Bollywood - you're often just as original as Hollywood.

Screening: Regal Elmwood

A Guide to the BUFFALO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

The 7th annual Buffalo International Film Festival reaches screens in Amherst and Buffalo with four nights of films - including several local works including the features Brandonwood and Buffalo Boys making their WNY debuts. Also local are several shorts - screened throughout the festival and in a shorts block on Friday at 4PM, two local documentary including one about Allentown's Theater of Youth and another about climate change.

There is something for everybody including the festivals' most intriguing film - The Thief and the Cobbler - Recobbled Cut which attempts to complete a never completed epic.

The Galas

While maybe not as glamorous as a TIFF outting at Roy Thompson Hall - the festival none the less features an opening and closing night Gala including a little scene film from French filmmaker Luc Besson (director of The Family)  - The Extraordinary Adventures of D'Adele Blanc-Sec and the Theater of Youth documentary Long Live TOY: Defending Children's Theater in the Nickel City.

Trailer for Defending TOY on Vimeo

The Locals

Brandonwood and Buffalo Boys show Friday and Saturday night at 9PM respectively. Buffalo Boys by Raymond Guarnieri has screened at Indie Gathering at the Manhattan Film Festival where it took home several honors. Brandonwood by John J. Fink, will have its world premiere at BIFF after revealing its trailer earlier last month. Both look like strong works - with Buffalo Boys selling out several days in advance - the festival announcing a rush line for those without tickets. Local shorts play before both shows.

Docs

The festival has a strong line up of documentaries including the kid friendly Magic Camp, the Long Bike Back from Buffalo born filmmaker Julia Wrona, the story of a Reverend Gary Davis - a rag time singer in Harlem Street Singer, and Dear Mr. Watterson, an exploration of comic strip Calvin and Hobbs by Joel Allen Schroeder. Comfort Zone: The WNY Climate Change Movie also aims to shine a light on several important air quality issues - gee - thanks Tonawanda! 

A block of Made in Buffalo documentaries also screens on Sunday at 4:30PM.

World Cinema

Earning its title as an INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL - let us not forget several titles the festival is showcasing that otherwise would slip through the cracks (not that Squeaky Wheel and Dipson aren't trying their hardest). Amongst those include the Bollywood dance flick (luckily without the Bollywood running time, the festival quotes it at a lean 95 minutes) - Aayna Ka Bayna, the Chinese sex shop comedy Red Light Revolution - which looks hilarious, and the controversial Turkish film When Darin Falls. 

Also don't forget to check out Casa De Arte (on Elmwood Avenue in Allentown) which will be home to the festival's tribute to Mexican actress Maria Felix, featuring a different Felix film Friday-Sunday at 8PM. Admission to the Felix tribute is free.

The festival offers various ticketing options with general adult admission $10 - with discounts for students, seniors, children and members of the Buffalo Film Society. All tickets on sale at www.buffalofilmfestival.com. 

[Review: IN THEATERS] DON JON (7/10)

Don Jon is a very strange directorial debut for Joseph Gordon-Levitt, in a role he’s now always known for playing. Here he is a New Jersey Guido who interestingly enough (perhaps the film takes places in the spring) doesn’t venture to the shore. Jon Martello cares about a few things in life: his apartment, his car, his family, his church, his boys, his girls, and – his porno. A sex addict porn ruins perhaps his most meaningful relationship with Barbara (played by Scarlett Johansson). Yet, do they share an emotional connection? I’m not so sure – the film attempts to have it both ways and for much of the first act is an interesting portrait of what the hell is wrong with Gen Y – or as a friend of mine says “thirty is the new twenty”.

Of course The Economist once found that friends with benefits has had a negative economic impact for prostitutes – why buy the cow when you can get the milk for a few shots on Jameson. But sex isn’t what Don Jon is after – he seeks sex as good as that in a porn flick, while he’s more than happy to bed a random “8” or “9”, it’s the “10” he keeps around until it doesn’t work.

Enter his most meaningless sexual relationship – Esther (played by Julianne Moore), an older women in crisis Don Jon finds himself annoyed and entranced. A weird path in a very strange film – it seems rather fitting.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is on to something here: the film is at once real and foreign – liberated and frustrated. Jon is charming: we see why women happily agree to go to bed with him and Scarlett Johansson has never looked sexier as a strong independent women who slightly nags her man to be better. She’s perfect in this role.

Will the movie be a hit? I’m not so sure – it reminds of Saturday Night Fever which is one of the ballsiest movies ever – it’s a crowd pleaser that ends in a rape and quickly finds redemption. It’s been called one of the most feminist films of all time. Don Jon is perhaps a film just as strange – in fact it does find its way into a confidently feminist ending where Jon gets exactly what he wants – and then some. It’s the kind of ending that could have used a little more time to really develop but then again Jon doesn’t need more time – he’s living in the now.

Screening: Dipson Amherst, Dipson Flix, Regal Transit, Regal Quaker Crossing, Regal Hollywood, Regal Walden Galleria.

[Local Trailers] ELIZABETH BATHORY (+8 Questions with Elizabeth Nixon)

With no shortage of local diverse local indies hitting Buffalo screens this fall, add Elizabeth Bathory from siblings Elizabeth and Andrew Nixon to the list. Set to bow on October 19th at the Dipson Market Arcade, Elizabeth (both the film and director) released its first trailer - tickets are available via the film's Kickstarter campaign. The film looks excellent, well shot and well acted, the cast is lead by Tilke Hill and co-stars Kathleen Denecke and Adah Hagen. Attempting more psychological thrills (rather than the typical B-Movie horror films that Buffalonians love to make), the trailer to what looks to be a contained thriller - an arthouse version of Saw if you will - and made me ask "just who is Elizabeth Bathory monster!"

From the filmmaker:

Two women find themselves in a dark dungeon tormented by distant memories of the horrific legend of Countess Elizabeth Bathory and looming feelings of sinister forces as they struggle to find an escape.


                         

Elizabeth Bathory is the second outing for the Nixons and Tilke HIll - last year they released Plumb (currently available to stream online). In honor of Elizabeth Bathory's upcoming screening and their second kickstarter campaign to fund post-production and sending the film out into the world, we chatted with director and co-writer Elizabeth Nixon:

-What is it that brought you to filmmaking?
I began directing plays in the backyard throughout middle school with a group of friends and that's where I developed interest in directing in general.  As high school sophomores my friends and I thought it would be fun and hilarious to make a movie, but it turned out to be a ton of work and time.  Most were turned off by that, but I loved it.  I loved the intensity of production and the creativity and challenges that came along with it.  I've been making films ever since.       


- What was the inspiration to make a film about Elizabeth Bathory?
I read an old theory that the myth of the vampire came about to explain a blood disorder that members of royalty inherited genetically in eastern Europe.   They exhibited many of the symptoms we now associate with vampires like paleness and sensitivity to light and their consumption of blood may have been an archaic attempt to relieve their symptoms.  Names like Vlad the Impaler and Elizabeth Bathory were mentioned as possibly sufferers.  Whether this theory is accurate or not, I thought it would make an interesting premise for a movie- a true biological vampire.    

-Is this first time you've worked in psychological horror?
Most of our films from our early shorts to our last feature "Plumb" to "Elizabeth Bathory" explore psychological turmoil.  Our characters are usually in some type of inner distress and it gravely affects how they interact with the world around them whether that distress is based in reality or pure delusion.  I find it interesting that there is no difference between perceived danger and actual danger in human minds.

- Can you talk about the process of working as part of a team of filmmakers?  
For me the most important part of working as a team is to have the support of another person you trust throughout the very trying process of filmmaking.  My brother Andrew Nixon and I are a filmmaking team from the start of pre-production to the end of post-production.  When you get writer's block or when you suddenly think that everything you're doing is crap or you're overwhelmed because of the tasks ahead of you it is crucial to have someone there who is equally invested in the project to put things in perspective, remind you of your ultimate goal or balance out your emotions.  

After we develop an idea and a script we split up the pre-production tasks of marketing the film for crowd funding, planning production, etc.  "Elizabeth Bathory" was co-produced by Tilke Hill so she also had influence on casting and marketing in addition to her acting role.  During production we each play our designated parts, me as director, Andrew as sound director/technician and grip which helps us to stay organized and focused.  Then in post-production we split tasks up again and create a film we are equally proud of and connected to.


-Can you describe some fights you refer to in your Kickstarter video?
When things get tense (which they inevitably do in filmmaking-time constraints, financial constraints, creative disagreements) that is when discussions get heated and with your sibling you don't really hold back or behave diplomatically necessarily.  So, a simple discussion about how to handle color correction can turn into "I'm doing more than you!" or "I care more about the film than you do!" or "I have the final say!" which of course just aren't true and we usually end up laughing about it.


- How did you cast the film?
With "Elizabeth Bathory" we did not do an open cast call like we've done in the past.  We cast Tilke Hill as the lead having worked with her and developed this project with her in mind.  And as a co-producer Tilke recommended many of the other actors for the main roles, like Kathleen Denecke.  

- What were some of the biggest challenges to bring this story to screen?
Doing a period film with a micro-budget is challenging because of costume and set requirements.  It took a while to find a cheap location that looked like a dungeon of the renaissance.  And we eventually found it in a South Buffalo basement!  It also makes sound difficult because there's no way you can write-off airplanes, lawn mowers and car motors as part of a 16th century Hungarian sound world.  

- What's the future plans for the film - screenings, festivals?  
Our goal is to submit "Elizabeth Bathory" to as many film festivals as we can on a local, national and international level and have it recognized not only as a psychological horror, but also a compelling, complex story for everyone.  It explores theme seeds like abandonment, faith or lack of it, the meaning of virginity, and trust.   

We are in the final stretch of this film process and are holding a kickstarter campaign to cover the final costs of post-production.  Because of the support we've received from our fans and backers we raised enough money in our production campaign to highly improve the technical quality of this film compared to our previous films.  And with a little extra boost in our post-production campaign we will have a enough to raise "Elizabeth Bathory" to its full potential.  




We are looking for anyone interested in the DVD or premiere tickets or other rewards to make a contribution to help us finalize this project and make it as strong as it can be.  They can contribute at http://kck.st/17wq2yi. 

Elizabeth Bathory screens on October 19th - Kickstarter contribution levels include tickets to the premiere, a DVD and even acting lessons and videography services. More information at Kickstarter.

Elizabeth Bathory on Facebook.

OPENING THIS WEEK: 9/27/2013

Lots of new movies to check out this weekend - with six new films hitting Queen City screens with something for everybody - quite literally. For the dudes we get Ron Howard's Rush (sadly its got nothing to do with a certain Canadian band), Don Jon - as if one movie about sex addicts in town wasn't enough, and Metallica: Through the Never in IMAX 3D. For the kids it's Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. Finally the ladies get two flicks - Baggage Claim with a hilariously bad quotable trailer ("I need your pockets, out your pockets" and "that man could have had INTERGALACTIC travel booty") and the much smarter looking (and more mainstream looking than her previous films) Nicole Holofcener's Enough Said. See you at the multiplex (and arthouse!)

at the Arthouse

Enough Said - Nicole Holofcener is one of the most preceptive directors working in Indiewood, Enough Said may be her breakout film. Featuring James Gandolfini in one of his last roles and Julia-Louis Dreyfus as empty nesters who start dating, unfortunately her new pal (played by Holofcener alum Catherine Keener) is his ex-wife. 

Screening: Dipson Amherst, Dipson Eastern Hills

at the Multiplex

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 - Filling in a missing family film niche is really more of the same, in 3D of course. 

Screening: Dipson Flix, Regal Elmwood, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Regal Quaker Crossing, Regal Hollywood 12

Rush - With buzz coming out of Toronto this looks like an exciting, handsomely made action film from Ron Howard and writer Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon). 

Screening: Regal Elmwood, Regal Transit, Regal Quaker Crossing, Regal Hollywood 12, Regal Walden Galleria, 

Don Jon - You've seen the internet meme - a picture of Joseph Gordon Levitt - the caption "Writes, directs and stars in a movie as a sex addict - girlfriend played by Scarlett Johansson". To be fair his dad is played by Tony Danza. Even after Thanks for Sharing (a flawed but interesting) this Sundance hit looks great, with buzz that its far more charming than it ought to be.

Screening: Dipson Amherst, Regal Elmwood 16, Regal Walden Galleria, AMC Maple Ridge, Regal Hollywood 12, Dipson Flix, Regal Quaker Crossing,

Baggage Claim - Paula Patton (Mrs. Robin Thicke) stars as a flight attendant haunted by ex-boyfriends. This could either be hilarious or terrible, or a little bit of both (my vote is for the later). Get ready for some international - no - intergalactic travel booty. Trey Songz as co-stars as her ex, and in like real life, he's leaning on his successful girlfriend ("she crazy.....cra...zy"). Ugh.

Screening: Dipson Market Arcade, Regal Transit, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker Crossing, Regal Walden Galleria, AMC Maple Ridge, Regal Hollywood 12

Metallica Through the Never: An IMAX 3D Experience - A young man is entranced into a world of violence in a kind of Wizard of Oz, metal style. Could be fun - in addition to Lars it stars Dane DeHaan. Directed by the very stylish Nimrod Antal.

Screening: Regal Transit

in the Cheap Seats

Monsters University (7/10)

The Heat (4/10)

White House Down (7/10)

The Conjuring (7/10)

The Grandmaster (7/10)

You'r 

Continuing

Lee Daniel's The Butler (8/10)

Blue Jasmine (8/10)

Elysium (7/10)

We're The Millers (6/10)

The Family (7/10)
Insidious: Chapter 2 (4/10)
Prisioners (8/10)
Thanks for Sharing (6/10)

[Review: IN THEATRES] THANKS FOR SHARING (6/10)

Uneven, messy, yet an interesting examination of addiction, Stuart Blumberg’s Thanks for Sharing is a Mark Ruffalo-led ensemble comedy about a group of sex addicts in recovery. Ruffalo plays Adam, a green packaging executive who has gone five years without sex or masturbation – and he’s not even married!! (Zing!) He’s mentor is Mike (Tim Robbins), who lives with Katie (Joely Richardson) – Mike; we learn had quite an abusive past. His son, Danny, also a recovering addict played by Patrick Fugit re-enters his life leading to that age old paradox: father and son hate each other because deep down they’re very much a like. 

Josh Gad and Alecia Moore (P!nk) play new comers (I just said..….oh, nevermind, I’ll keep this a family blog) – Neil and Dede. Neil is a self-destructive med student with a strange relationship with his mom (played by Carol Kane), he enjoys touching and looking at anything and everything. Dede feels like having sex instead of dealing with her problems. The goal of the group therapy is not to live like a monk as Robins tells Ruffalo, but to remain faithful – no sex outside of a committed relationship and no masturbation.

Ruffalo can’t trust himself, he carries a flip phone that’s not capable of sexting or web, has an assistant who puts parental blocker on his laptop, and asks hotels to remove the TV from his room. Unfortunately for him he meets the lovely Phoebe (Gwyneth Paltrow in a very sexy role) and they engage in a very real romance. Somehow though, the film doesn’t quite gel – Josh Gad is perhaps a little too over the top even if I have no doubt his performance and character is inspired by actual research into sex addiction.

Still Blumberg keeps an interesting and light touch: perhaps at times the tone gets away from him. The arcs of each story are a tad all over the place and while this material is rich it perhaps could use a little more focus. The performances are all quite good including Ruffalo and Paltrow who are excellent together. Patrick Fugit and Tim Robins work well as father and son and I enjoyed P!nk in her first role, she’s perfectly cast.

 

Thanks for Sharing has smart and useful moments – it turns out all addiction is a like, it’s a disease. Redemption is found even if it’s a tad artificial and the story beats all play as predicted including moments of relapse. An awareness of film’s construction and how it plays as it’s showing is a problem – great movies kind of just wash over you. Thanks for Sharing is more mature and thoughtful than many films currently in general release, but it feels a little too neat for a movie this smart.  

Screening: Dipson Eastern Hills