Happy Clothes: A Film About Patricia Fields (2023) opens Friday

A Look at the life of Patricia Field, the costume designer, stylist and shop owner best known for her work on SEX IN THE CITY.

Seemingly made to tie into the recently released autobiography of Field, the film is largely a look at Field working on several TV series, working on her book and visiting with friends. It's a film that is very much in the now. 

That the film is really is mostly focused on the now is a large wound in the film. While we see snippets of the past and there is discussions of her family and long lost friends, most of what we see is Field working on her present projects. She does not look back and doesn't make any effort to link the present to the past, Field is simply moving ahead. After a while the fact that neither Field nor the filmmakers don't look back, nor seek to give context or explain what we do see and hear beyond talking about SEX AND THE CITY makes this film kind of dull. 

Worse it all remains unordered. All sorts of people are mentioned but unless they appear there is zero attempt to explain who they are. Her family life is only fleetingly mentioned. Anyone who is dead or out of her life are phantoms. More damning there is no order to her past its all thrown together into a lump. It's like sitting talking to someone as they throw random tales from their life at you without rhyme or reason. Without an order or a context there is no reason to see this story other than to listen to people say how wonderful she is.

While not really a bad film, Field is a sweet woman, but I have no idea why we are being told this story.

For friends of Patricia Field only

Fantastic Fest 2024 runs 9/19-26

The ever wonderful Fantastic Fest starts this week.

The festival shows some of the best genre films from across the globe and it acts as the launching point of many of the biggest horror and science Fiction films of the year. For years it was a fest I always wanted to cover but never could because it bumped up to the New York Film Fest.  Now however there is an ability to cover remotely so I’m all over it.

As it stands now we’ve previously covered 10 films and I’m waiting for some films to come in. I’m planning on seeing as much as a can- more so since the fest is the week before the NYFF.

If you want to know my thoughts on what we’ve covered below.

BABADOOK
BABY ASSASSINS NICE DAYS
THE FALL
PARVULOS
RESPATI
SHE LOVED BLOSSOMS MORE
SPERMAGEDDON
STEPPENWOLF
UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE
FACES
U ARE THE UNIVERSE
PLANET B
MALDOROR
RAZE

For me more information on the fest go here.

And for our thoughts on the films we see- keep reading

Cheat (2024)

A woman begins an affair to fill the hole in her marriage. However she made a bad choice and soon finds herself in danger and fighting for her life.

This is a good little thriller  that holds our interest by taking a few extra twists and turns with things. I mention this because erotic thrillers of this sort  have been done to death over the years and its nice when you get one where  a twist are two are not anything that you can see coming. Sure you’ll see some of this coming way ahead of the  characters but at the same time you probably won’t see them all.

To be honest while I like these sort of thrillers when they are done right, I don’t often a lot to say about them because I tend to use them as palate cleanse after I’ve been watching weightier stuff. In the current  case this was the cleanse after Venice and TIFF.

I had a good time with CHEAT and if you like these small scale thrillers with a nasty edge, I recommend you take a look,

UNTOLD: SIGN STEALER (2024)

Latest entry in the Netflix UNTOLD series. This time it focuses on Conner Stallions who was the focus point of the Michigan sign stealing scandal. It seems that the ever top of the heap THE Ohio University gave the NCAA all the information to get Stallions pitched....

...but as the film makes clear while there are some questions as to what exactly happened, Stallions was so obsessive that he had worked out a lot of the signs on his own. Additional Coach Harbaugh revitalized the team and even when both Stallions and Harbaugh were gone, the Michigan team still won.

One of the really good UNTOLD films, it wonderfully brings us into a story and shows us a bunch of things we didn't realize we didn't know. Yea some of what Stallions did was hinky, but it wasn't as bad as the NCAA made out.

I had a good time.

Recommended.

Brief Thoughts on Your Tomorrow (2024) Toronto 2024

Portrait of Ontario Place, which is a public space  that looks like an amusement park. When it was created it was a happening place where everyone went to get away. Over time people drifted away. The film charts the space over 100 days as an effort is made to redevelop the property as a private spa and water park.

This is a good observational doc that is probably going to play best for those who know of the Ontario Place going in. I say this because the film is largely observational so we are mostly left to get the context of the park from the bits we pick up.  As some one who knew nothing going in I enjoyed the film on some levels, but because I am not from Ontario I never could grasp the larger context of the place or what was happening. Everything remained isolated.

Worth a look for those interested.

Zombie Wedding (2023)

A New Jersey couple decide to marry despite it being the zombie apocalypse and he is a zombie and she is a human. Of course the tabolids are there and we see everything through the eyes of a film crew from the Weekly World News.

This low brow comedy is either like the humor that you enjoy or you its something that is going to make you crazy. It's the sort of thing that you you know where the jokes are going to land. That isn't always a bad thing but after a while I kind wished it tried to be a little more clever instead of repeating similar jokes about the differences between zombies and humans.

What saves the film is the cast  who play it more or less straight and sell it to the point that you are willing to go with it even though the film isn't doing anything new. Hell, anything that Kevin Chamberlain can never be all bad.

Though thinking about it, I think I would have liked the film more if it was played straighter and less like a live action cartoon.

¡CASA BONITA MI AMOR! (2024)

This is the audience award winner for best documentary at Tribeca. While I would be lying if I said I agreed, I do think it's a really good film.

The film is the story of how Matt Stone and Trey Parker took some of the money they made with South Park and Book of Mormon and used it to buy their favorite childhood restaurant Casa Bonita, which is like a Mexican themed indoor theme park masquerading as a place to dine. They thought it would take around six million to buy it and fix it. They are now well over 40 million in the hole and it's still not full open.

This is a wild ride that goes in unexpected places and shows us unexpected things (They use the theme to the Alain Delon Zorro film as a music cue for reasons that elude me even if it delights me). Its a film that will make your mouth hang open as you try to figure out why. It's a film that will make you gasp at the insanity and smile at the delight Matt and Trey find in the whole thing. 

While I want to tell you everything that happens- I won't, because like the actual Casa Bonita, you just need to see it for yourself.

Recommended

WINNER (2024)

The story of Reality Winner a former soldier and NSA translator who tossed into jail after leaking a report that the Russians interfered with the 2016 election.

This is a nicely entertaining little film. It's a film that tells gives us Winner's story in form that isn't particularly taxing. No matter what happens there is always a humorous edge to the proceedings.

I think how you are react to the film will depend upon how you feel about the film's humor. I mention this because having seen several other versions of Winner's story which were very serious about the events, I found the light touch a bit at odds with the story. It's not bad but it takes a bit of the edge off  the tale.

Don't get me wrong, this is a really entertaining movie, it just doesn't have the weight it probably should have.

ANYWHERE ANYTIME(2024) Toronto 2024

Illegal immigrant  loses his job working in a market. He takes a job working as a bicycle delivery person using the identity of a friend. His bike gets stolen and he has to scramble.

Driven by one of the best scores I’ve heard this year, it seems to be primarily jazz but it mixes in other styles, this little drama was not one I was certain I was going to like. I’ve seen three other seeming variations on the BICYCLE THIEVES in the last few months and another one was not on my list of things I wanted to see.  Fortunately like two of the three earlier versions this film stakes its place as its own wonderous thing.  Helped not only by the score but a great cast and most importantly a sense of life and of place ANYTIME moves at it’s own pace and pulls us in.  Sure we have seen similar tales before, but director Milad Tangshir​ very forcefully makes the case that we haven’t seen this tale with these people and we had better sit up and pay attention.

This film is a stunner. One of the best at TIFF.

Highly recommended when it plays near you.

So Surreal:Behind the Masks (2024) Toronto 2024

One of the best docs playing at TIFF this year, SO SURREAL: BEHIND THE MASKS (co-written and co-directed by Neil Diamond and Joanne Robertson) is a look at the masks used by Native Americans in rituals, as well as their connection to the surrealist artists who collected them.

This film is a joy. It's a film that is so alive that it makes us feel that way by the end.

Focusing on director Neil Diamond's journey to understand why and how the surrealists became interested in the masks, it's a film that opened my eyes to how the masks were collected and used, and the power they contain (I did not know that masks were often burned after ceremonies because it released the magic and spirits).

Using differing styles to tell the story, SO SURREAL transcends the typical doc form to become something truly special. This is told in the manner of the best raconteur you've ever heard - one who changes things up as the story changes. I was enraptured. 

Honestly, I was watching this film late at night and figured I would watch a little bit before going to bed, and instead found myself wide awake and leaning in, wanting to know more. When it was done, I was popping online to do more reading.

Yeah, the film is that good... and then some!

Highly recommended, not only for anyone who is interested in the subject, but for anyone who wants a great story expertly told.

QUOTA (2024) Toronto 2024

Wicked short film about everyone being told that they now must watch their carbon output which will be monitored by a phone app- and what happens when it runs out.

This is a very clever little film with a nasty sting in its tale. Running a breezy three minutes it’s kind of hard to write on since there isn’t much I can say without spoiling it.

That said, this is destined to be kicking around the festival circuit so definitely make an effort to see it.

Brief thoughts on THE PARTY'S OVER (2024) Toronto 2024

 

A Senegalese woman tries to sneak into Spain. Caught on the beach by police, she breaks free and ends up hiding in the garden of large home. The woman living there takes her in, but there are complications.

Comedy of manners and biting social commentary mix in a look at how we see each other. It’s a frequently amusing tale that, while not always successful (it’s a bit too obvious in the points it’s making) does entertain.

I don’t have much to say beyond that.

Brief thoughts on Wolves Always Come At Night (2024) Toronto 2024

Documentary/narrative hybrid about a shepherd in Mongolia forced to change his life and move to a village because of climate change.

This is an uneven film. The documentary parts of the film are an eye opening look at the life herding animals in Mongolia.  However the mixing of life on the plains with the story of a forced change doesn’t wholly work. While it’s not bad but the inclusion of created narrative results in some moments that don’t feel natural. The ending didn’t work for me for that reason.

While not bad, the film isn’t what it could have been if it was either purely a narrative or purely a documentary.

The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent (2024) Toronto 2024

Based on a true story this short film follows what happens when a group of paramilitary soldiers stop a train in the Balkans hoping to ethnicly cleanse it.

This film is way too short for its subject. Telling the vitally important story of one man who was willing to speak up the film stands as a testament to those fighting not to let us slip into darkness.  Thi is too big a story and we need to see more because a feature version would break us

Recommended

Sad Jokes (2024) Toronto 2024

 

Fabian Stumm’s SAD JOKES never clicked with me. The story of a filmmaker, played by Stumm, trying to deal with his career, single fatherhood (his son’s mom is in a hospital for depression)  and romance always kept me at arms length.

The problem is that Stumm isn’t that an engaging actor. He is a good looking guy who never really seems to have anything going on beyond looking good. His expression rarely changes. This is problem when the first person we see is Sonya played by Haley Louise Jones whose whole being is on display in everything she says and does. You can feel the waves of emotion washing over her and into the audience, you don’t get that from Stumm. You want to follow Jones or any other character other than the one played by the writer director.

It might have worked for me if Stumm had shot the film differently. Shot in longer takes with few close ups the film trades the intimacy of close ups and varied shots for sequences playing out in real time. If you have actors to pull it off it can result in emotional moments, but Stumm never manages to pull it off.

I never really cared.

A miss.

Sweetheart Deal (2022)

Sweetheart Deal is really good. I’m still working on how good, but for now that’s enough to get assure that you make an effort to see it either in person or streaming when the film plays Hits theaters Friday.

The film is the story of four women who are doing sex work along Aurora Avenue in Seattle. The quartet are desperately trying to get their lives together, get off drugs and deal with the things that life is throwing at them. The area where they are working is becoming more and more dangerous and their options are becoming complicated.

There was a moment early on in Sweetheart Deal where I wasn’t sure if I liked the film or not. It was a moment early on where the rawness of the presentation had me wondering what I was seeing. This seemed to be an almost too intimate sort of a film where we are watching someone’s home video, I was wondering if I should be seeing this because the moment didn’t feel entirely like a “movie” moment. It felt like I was intruding on real life. And then reality and reason crashed in and a I leaned forward into the film because I realized that it was this sort of raw “you are there” moment that made the film transcend being just another documentary.

I know some of you are going “no duh” but when you see as many documentaries for review as I do every year you tend to do a couple of things. First you often get lazy. You want things to break a certain way so you can breeze through it before you move on to the next thing.  At the same time, you want films to surprise you and do the unexpected, so you engage more fully. They are exact opposites of each other and there are times like the present when a film doesn’t do what’s expected and surprise you in such a way that you are thrown off until you can find your way. It took me a moment to find my way and then I did, and I found myself in a really cool cinematic place.

I really liked this film a great deal. I liked that the film takes a side. Directors Elisa Levine and Gabriel Miller are clearly on the side of the women, and they want us to be. While normally there should be some detachment in a documentary, there are times when a film should take a side. It should rally for its subjects so that we feel more for the women and their plight.

Co-directors Elisa Levine and Gabriel Miller have made a super film.

Recommended.

Brief thoughts on Lazaro At Night (2024) NYFF 2024 Toronto 2024

Three friends all try to get the same acting job. Afterward they get together and discus when they first met.

Dry art house comedy is not going to be for all audiences. Its a low key film  about largely bland people. Well except for Lazaro who is a bit of dick. He's the sort of a guy  you wonder how he he has any friends. 

To be honest I didn't much care for this. I kept  waiting for something exciting to happen or for me to feel something for someone on screen. it never happened.

For art house hounds only.

VIKTOR (2024) Toronto 2024

Deaf man who loves samurai films  wants to fight for his home land Ukraine after the Russian invasion, but his lack of hearing keeps him out of the army.

Moody expressionistic black and white cinematography mix with a soundtrack put together to mimic Viktor’s hearing to make a film that plays more as a cinematic essay than documentary. It’s a hypnotic and compelling viewing experience that is even more so in a darkened theater with no distractions.

The problem is that as a documentary the subject gets overwhelmed by the presentation and there comes a point where you want the cinematic tricks to stop and just focus on Viktor. I’m not certain if the film tells us enough or not because there are some facets to this story about which I want to know more and others aspects we get to know too much. The film doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be.

While I think the film is worth a look for the presentation It’s not a must see.

NIGHTCAP 9/8/24: Brief Festival News: the Camden FF starts this week in person and runs September 16-30 online, NYFF notes, and I'm skipping Drive-in Monsterama

The always wonderful Camden International Film Festival starts this week. It's just over two weeks of some of the best documentaries of the year. I'm hoping to get some coverage up.

Right now I've seen:

REAS

DRIVER

For information on the fest either in person or online go here.

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The press schedule for NYFF was released this week and I ran into the problem of being able to see most of the films I want to see at the press screening and not needing the ticket package I purchased. There was only one film that was a real conflict and I'd need a ticket. 

Yea I know that's a "bad" problem- but I spent a chunk of change on the package- now my problem has become what do I see that doesn't leave 4 to five hours between screening.

It's going to be a weird year and such I'm not sure where there will be time to actually write up the films.

Keep reading because this could be interesting

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I am not going to the Drive-In Monsterama this month. They bumped the dates back a week and it complicated things- and the life complicated things even further.

The real problem is the first night is all Roger Corman films and 3 were in heavy rotation as part of tributes. We are not going to drive 8 hours to sit and not watch films.

Hopefully April will be okay.

Querido Tropico (2024) TIFF 2024 San Sebastian Film Festival 2024

In Panama a caregiver for the elderly takes a job working for a rich family in order to care for the matriarch who is slipping away with Alzheimer’s.

I am not going to lie an say we haven’t seen this story before. We have, but that’s okay. The reasons that it’s okay, actually much more than okay are the performances of the cast, particularly Paulina Garcia and Jenny Navarette who set this film way above most other films of this sort.  These are performances for the ages.

What makes this film work is that this is a film where the performances take what is said and amplify it. Sure we can see what is happening and the bond that forms between the women. However at the same time it’s the small things, the tiny gestures, the looks, a shift in posture or a change in walk that says so much. A late in the game thank you is crushing, not for what is said but for the welling up of tears in the eyes. Nothing is said but the depth of emotion damn near broke me.

If there is justice this film  will result in the leads winning many many awards.

This is as good as film acting gets.

Highly recommended.

Shepherds (2024) Toronto 2024

Shepherd should not work. Everything about the this film should make this just an okay film that is exactly the sort of thing we’ve seen before in other forms, and yet director Sophie Deraspe and her crew have made a film that you will fall in volve with and want to see over and over again, especially on a big screen.

Based on a true story SHEPHERD is the story of a marketing writer who “goes on vacation” to France, never intending to go home. He falls into becoming a shepherd, falling in love with a beautiful civil servant he meets along the way.

As I said at the top this film hits so many of the  expected notes for a story like this and yet this so well done it is a perfect example of how important an artist is in creating a work of art. Deraspe takes a great script, a note perfect cast and some of the most beautiful images you’ve ever seen and mixes them together into a film that is like a siren song for your soul. When one character says late in the game “I don’t want to go back” you feel the exact same way, you don’t want to go back to reality, you want the film to go on forever. Barring that you want to jump on a plane and fly to France to herd animals.

You need to see this film as soon as you can, preferably on a he screen, not just because it’s a great film but because it will leave you feeling like me, with no words, only with emotions.

One of the truly great films of 2024.

Go see it.

A pointer toward There WIll Be Dust (2024) Toronto 2024

This is a pointer toward THERE WILL BE DUST. It's only a pointer because the subject matter and it's handling were not remotely anything I would have willingly watched. I say this because I have unprocessed issues with the death of my dad.

THERE WILL BE DUST is the story of an older couple toward the end of the of their lives. When she is diagnosed with a terminal condition the couple decides to travel to Switzerland where they will end their days together. It is never really maudlin, and is frequently funny. And if I didn't have personal baggage I think I would have really liked this.

Sadly the personal has put a wall up between myself and the film.

Don't let my issues stop you from seeing this. It raises some important issues and it has some great performances.

U ARE THE UNIVERSE (2024) Toronto 2024

Ukrainian space trucker Andriy takes cannisters of nuclear waste to one of Jupiters moons. When the earth is destroyed (seemingly by nuclear war)  he is left all alone with limited time since the fragments of the destroyed earth are coming towards him. Unexpectedly he gets a call from Catherine who is on a distant space station orbiting Saturn. Deciding to change his fate he switches course to get to her- uncertain that he will make it.

Containing several stunning sequences, one of which is one of the most soul stirring and beautiful endings I have ever seen in any film, U ARE THE UNIVERSE is probably destined to be hailed as one of the great genre films ever made. Sure it’s bumpy and bits aren’t perfect but the emotional impact of it’s sound and images have left me grasping for words.

No lie this film is an absolute stunner. Sure it may remind you of other films about a lone man in space, but what writer director Pavlo Ostrikov has done with this is simply to transcend the genre. This is a film that proves if you give us characters we like and sense of genuine humanity we will follow you anywhere.

I am truly somewhere beyond words.  Sure this is a film I shouldn’t like, it’s a film about the possible end of humanity, but the story is so full of life that when the end credits rolled I couldn’t help but feel connected to everything and everyone.

And as for that ending- WOW.

I’m sorry if I don’t say more. I need to sit with it and sit it again- but I am in a festival crush and all I can do is record my first impressions.

One of the tip top best films of 2024- if for now other reason because of how far I was moved, U ARE THE UNIVERSE is a film you must see on a big screen.

Highly recommended.

A pointer toward Seven Days (2024) Toronto 2024

An Iranian activist is quietly released from prison so she can get medical treatment and to see her family. During the trip the woman has to decide if she is going to flee.

This is a good political drama involving Iran that has the unfortunate problem of being one of an increasing number of similar films.  On it’s own terms it’s a solid piece of filmmaking, however if you are someone like me  it is also similar to a number of recent films (Including other films also playing at TIFF). Because of this I can’t honestly say anything that this is a good film and if the subject interests you it’s worth seeing.

Worth a look

MR K (2024) Toronto 2024

 

Crispin Glover gives a surprisingly affecting performance as a magician who ends up trapped in a hotel from which he cannot leave.

This is a great looking film which contains some great performances. It’s a film which moved me and caused me to lean in because not only does Glover give one of his best performances, but also because the film gives us some truly magical moments. It’s a film where the  filmmakers move us a long in a typical Kafka-esque way misleading us in some way or another , only to drop a truth bomb or show us a fleeting bit of magic that suddenly make us see the world and the film in an entirely new way.

What is killing me is that I so want to tell you what all the little great bits are, but at the same time I don’t want to point out what I think you should be seeing. I mean if we were traveling to a place of wonder I wouldn’t spoil the scenery for you.

It is appropriate that the main character is a magician because there is so much magic and wonder in MR K.

This is great example of what movies can do in the hands of a master filmmaker.

Recommended.

A pointer toward EXILES (2024) Toronto 2024

A mother and daughter  circle each other after the death of the patriarch. Both are hurting but neither can come to terms to reach out to the other to start the healing process.

This is a good low key drama.

Forgive me if I don’t say a great deal on the film, but being a guy and raised in a house with two other brothers I don’t always connect to mother daughter stories. I can tell you this is a good film but I also am very aware that I did not get some of the resonances that are at play.

My reservations or not , this is worth a look.

Space Cowboy (2024) Toronto 2024

This is a look at cinematographer Joe Jennings who makes his living by throwing things, like living room sets and cars, out of planes and shooting footage as it falls to earth.

To really appreciate this film its best to see this on a big screen so that Jennings images can overwhelm you.  The thought of seeing all of the sky diving footage on a truly big screen is truly compelling…

…largely because it will overpower the rather run of the mill story telling of the whole affair. Don’t get me wrong this is a good story with lots of great images, but the director doesn’t really do anything with it. He thinks that the images will carry the film, and they largely do, but after a while there is only so many images of flying cars and things that shouldn’t be falling from the sky before the novelty wears off and you are forced to ponder if there is anything here. It’s too much of the same thing.

While not bad, a little goes along way.

Worth a look on a big theater screen. Less so on TV

Wineville (2023) hits VOD Tuesday

When I was asked to take a look at WINEVILLE, I was in the middle of any number of big festivals. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to fit it in, but the film was described as a throw back to the horror films of the 1970’s and I figured, why not. Additionally I was seeing a number of 1970’s set films that were hitting all over their targets so I decided to give it a go.

The film has a single mother and her son returning home to the family vineyard following the death of her father. She does not want to deal with the past and has to come to grips with the darkness of the past.  Arriving she finds that her stern aunt and the young man who helps out are running the vineyard and are wondering about the future. As the mother ponders what to do with the land weird things and disappearances begin to occur.

This is a glorious throwback to 1970’s horror of the sort that filled drive ins and grindhouse theaters before Halloween and the slasher trend changed the face of horror. This was a time before we were just getting a catalog of mindless kills and instead had plot driven suspense. This a film where plot matters and the moves of each character drive the plot.  This is not  about the kills but about everything else and as a result we are better for it.

This film is just a great deal of fun.  It’s a film that is a perfect reflection of the films it is copying. It doesn’t mess with the form, it simply replicates the rhythms  with the result we have a film that has some chills. While it isn’t perfect, that’s quite alright since the source films weren’t either.

If you love old school drive in fare you should make an effort to see this.

This is the perfect film to watch on a rainy night with popcorn and a beverage of choice. 

The Witness (2024) Venice 2024

A woman sees a politically connected man kill his wife, a dance instructor. However because of his connection the cops they won’t do anything. Will she give up or search for justice.

Damning portrait of Iranian society is a long pained scream. This is a film where men  are constantly complaining about how the women can’t do anything without their say lest it ruin their standing. Women are abused and literally killed because they are less then men. This is a film that shows just how stacked against women Iranian justice is.

Unfortunately THE WITNESS is so set on making it’s point that that film slips from compelling drama into being a polemic. This is a film that very much wants to make it’s point and it does so loudly, repeatedly. After a while I kind of tuned out as the filmmakers didn’t make their points but yelled them at me at volume.

And then strangely the final scene came…and I was completely shocked. I’m not going to say what happens but the ending sequence is truly one of the greatest endings of the last decade. It is so unexpected and note perfect  that it makes watching the rest of the film worth it. I don’t know if it’s remotely realistic but god damn it is emotionally dead on.

It really is a stunner.

If you want to see a great ending and get really pissed off at Iran I recommend THE WITNESS

HOLD BACK THE TIDE (2023) opens Sept. 6th in New York (DCTV) and Oct. 4th in Los Angeles (Laemmle Theatres)

I saw HOLD BACK THE TIDE in November of 2023 when it played at DOC NYC. I saw it in the middle of seeing close to 100 films.  It was a beautiful film that haunted me but which left me with more feelings than words so my review ended up very brief and as part of a multi-review piece. My review was simply:

This is Poetic look at oysters in and around New York. Full of stunning imagery and telling a story of clams and clamming in the city the film is a delight for the eye and ear. Recommended

With the film returning to New York Friday at DCTV and then  hitting LA at the Laemmle Theaters on October 4  I wanted to put the film on your radar.

Go see it- especially if you can see it on a big screen where he images with burn into your soul

TWST / Things We Said Today (2024) Venice 2024 NYFF 2024

TWST is a profound head scratcher.  Andrei Ujică's found footage film looks at the Beatles arrival in New York City and the surrounding area up to their performance at Shea Stadium and it is oddly lifeless. How the great filmmaker could make a film this dull boggles the mind, more so when it it playing two of the biggest film festivals in the world.

The film is a mix of documentary footage mixed with some fictional characters (inserted via drawings). It's a film aiming to to recreate a moment in time and make it alive for today by mixing by mixing old footage and the words of some people who were there and some new material. 

Unfortunately it just sort of lies there.

The problem with the film is that out side of the voice over and the inserted drawings a great deal of this material is material that we've either seen or seen a version of. Specifically if you are a Beatles fan you've seen this before. This is especially true  if you are from New York.  While the film stitches a great deal of the footage of the arrival of the group to NYC and the insanity and press conference together it's nothing particularly exciting. Its a lot of people screaming and the Beatles cracking wise. Why are we being shown this? I'm not certain.

Once the press conference is over the film switches gears and we get sequences in the city, at Jones Beach and else where, and while we get some voice overs that attempt to stitch the material together into a faux narrative, nothing really sticks. There is little excitement. Worse some of the constructed conversations feel fake. While I can blame Ujica's not being from New York in the 60's for some of the clunkiness of the dialog, the truth is the words feel artificial and not anything anyone would say. For example the girl's discussing shooting of the World's Fair Pavilions footage is structured not so much to be the actual talk of two young women, but rather to explain what we are seeing.

None of it is bad as such, but rather it's incredibly dull...and worse it never seems to give us a reason as to why we are seeing this. Honestly I have no clue, none, as to why we are seeing any of this.

Personally outside of getting to hear the radio broadcasts of WMCA, WABC and others I really could have cared less.

A boring bust.

MALDOROR (2024) Venice 2024

This 1990’s set thriller based in part of actual events when the police organizations in Belgium were all competing with each other and trying to catch a psycho who was kidnapping young women. The film focuses on a young cop assigned to a task force who ends up taking things into his own hands because his superiors let things get away from them.

MALODOROR is a frequently tense little thriller. A tale of frustration as the cops desperately try to get their man, the film is going to have you sitting on the edge of your seat during several sequence…including the opening credits which is highly surprising.

Unfortunately the film is going to frustrate you. It’s not that the film takes any bad turns, more that the film is trying to cover a lot of ground. We aren’t just following the cop, but his wife, her family, and other people as well. The result is a film that appears to be juggling a lot of balls and isn’t always focused. Instead of a laser focused film the film feels rambling as there is an effort to give the film a broader  background.

There is so much to love in this film that I wish the film cut tighter and more focused because by the time you get to the end of two and a half hours you feel the wrong sort of beaten up.

My reservations aside, there is enough here both narratively and thematically that the film is worth a look.

THE GOLDMAN CASE (2023) NYJFF 2024 opens Friday

I saw this film in January as part of the New York Jewish Film Festival and told not to review the film until the film was released. With the film being released Friday here is my review.

Recreation of the retrial of Pierre Goldman, the son of Polish Jews who was a political activist, convicted of several robberies, which he admitted to, and to two murders which he denied. Sent to prison on several consecutive life sentences, wrote a book and was granted a new trial.

I'm going to keep this short and sweet, This is a very well made film that is going to mean absolutely nothing to you if you don't know the Goldman case or it's context with in French history. Focusing on the retrial and only the retrial (we are only fleetingly outside of the courtroom) there is no context given of any sort. There is no indication as to why the case was big news or why Goldman mattered.  There are references to the book being a big seller but outside of him attacking the establishment we don't know what the big deal is.  Even the end crawl left me still wondering who Goldman was and why I should care. (My reading of his Wikipedia page filled in the details but not the reason why he was so important)

While not a bad film, I was curious enough to stay to see how it played out, it is not a film that is going to to mean anything to you unless you go in knowing who Goldman was.

A pointer toward Taxi Monamour (2024) Venice 2024

The friendship of two women trying to get by. One is an Italian cab driver, the other a Ukrainian woman yearning to go home despite the war.

This is a good little drama with some great characters…which didn’t connect to me. Perhaps if I had been a woman I could connect to this more but for the most part this film never meant anything.  I know part of the problem is that the film seems to be kind of unfocused for about half it’s run time. Yes we are getting to know the women, but to me it just seems to be unfocused.

Don’t get me wrong what is here is very good, I just didn’t connect to it.

Worth a look if it interests you.

Ties That Bind (2024) Venice 2024

This film has unexpected become one of my favorites of  2024. The story of how a group of people come together to form a family is just heart warming and moving and wise beyond words.

The plot of the film begins when a young boy is left by the his parents with a neighbor. They have to rush to the hospital because the mom's water has broken. When the father returns the next day tragedy has struck. The baby is fine, but the mother has died. Over the course of the film two years pass, marked by the age of the baby, we watch as the father, the son and the neighbor come to terms with the situation.

Before I say anything else I have to say that this isn't a romance. This isn't a film that goes as you expect. It';s a film that is messy and real and very human.

What makes the film work are the performances. Everyone inhabits their characters. They are so perfect that you are with them from the very first frame until the very last.  And then the end credits rolled I groaned because I couldn't spend more time with everyone.

I love this film to death.

I'm not certain its technically one of the best films of 2024 but everyone on screen makes it one of my absolute favorites.

Highly recommended.

Mother of All Lies (2023) opens Friday

This is a repost of my DOC NYC review

A young woman, her father an neighbors build a scale model of their neighborhood and use it to attempt to come to terms with the Riots of 1981.

This film is kick in the ass. It’s a film with a clever trick to suck us into it- which is to watch Amae El Moudir and her dad put the sets together for the film. We lean in as w try to really see what they are doing. At the same time we listen to them simply discuss what they are doing and get hooked as they turn that conversation into the story itself. By the time we realize what they did we are too far down the rabbit hole to ever turn back.

This is a magnificent film. It’s taking what could have been a run of the mill tale and turning it into an emotionally stunning (in the true sense of the word) film that gets under our skin and moves us.  If you want to know what the magic of the movies is all about see this film. I say that because through the use of sets, puppets, talking heads and genuine magic, THE MOTHER OF ALL LIES bypasses our heads and hearts and burns itself on our soul. It’s a film that shows us that there are no rules when making a film other than doing whatever is necessary to tell your story.

In al seriousness this is a film that anyone who loves film or the movies must see, even if they are not interested in the story because it is so amazing….so much so the story being told will move you

This is truly a great film- buy a ticket and see it.

Red Rooms (2023)

A model becomes obsessed with the trial of a serial killer. She ends up going on line  in order to find the video of the killer killing one of his victims.

Focused purely on one obsessed "fan" RED ROOMS pushes the killer to the background. He is locked up and remains almost motionless and entirely silent through the whole film  We only get what we know from him from the court room testimony and the discussion by the other people on screen. It's an intriguing way to look at things since it firmly makes the monster at the center a cipher.

At the same time the construction of the film is such that it really isn't a thriller. Yes the first time through it plays as a thriller, but at the same time the film is more a character study and a look at an unhealthy obsession. I say this because the film doesn't behave like a thriller and instead creates tension by are no being certain how this will play out.

The result s a tense little thriller that will keep you staring at the screen until the very end.

Recommended.

THE MOHICAN (2024) Venice 2024

Joseph a goat herder in Corsica refuses to sell his land to the mafia. They think he is just being cagey and will eventually sell. He doesn't plan to. When he kills one of them men who was supposed to intimidate him he has to flee.  While the mafia tries to hunt Joseph down so they can force him to get revenge and sign his land over to them, his daughter refuses to back down and spreads Joseph's story.

Not what you expect thriller, travels closer to reality than pretty much any other similar story. This is not a film full of big action sequences, but small tense encounters that have weight because we are dealing with real people.  Even the bad guys have a realness to them. It's a film that you feel in your gut.

Beautifully shot, with a score that drives things forward THE MOHICAN is a film that grabs you early and keeps you watching to the end. More importantly it's a film that is going to make you wonder where events go after the fade out. Yes,  there is an ending, but you still want to know what happens to the characters past that.

While this is a small gem of a film, I don't want to over sell it. As I said above this isn't full of big action sequences. Instead this is a film where the characters carry the tale. If you want to see a super little thriller  THE MOHICAN is recommended.

Nightcap 9/1/24: Don Hertzfeldt's ME and A Sunday Rant:Fanboys

 I am officially credentialed for the New York Film Festival.

Expect mayhem...largely because I can't get to everything I want to see.

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As coverage of the Venice Film Fest continues, we are going to be sliding right into TIFF. There are some great films at both of those fests so keep reading.

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Trying to write up Don Hertzfeldt's new film ME but he made a film I simply can not describe or find words to do it justice to in a review. It's a one of a kind marriage of music &image with a "narrative" of dream logic that is wickedly cool. 

The film was originally made as a music video for a rock group but the project fell apart and Hertzfeldt had to put new music to it- not that you'd ever know or care because the film works so wonderfully on it's own terms.

See it in a theater with big  image and bigger sound

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Spending time on Twitter the last few weeks, I find my tolerance for fanboys has diminished. I'm annoyed enough to pull out something I wrote two years ago and never published.

I kind of wish we could do away with basements so that we could force all the fanboys out into the light of day and force them to reconnect with reality. If not could we,at the very least ,fill the basements in with cement while  the people living there quietly sleep. 

I'm sorry I hate fanboys.

I mean I’m truly tired of these entitled pissants whining and complaining about meaningless shit in order to get their own way about another big Hollywood blockbuster. What sort of life of entitlement do they have that they can sit in a dark corner of their parents home and decide what is and is not a good  film? More to the point how myopic are they that they can only see the narrowness of their obsessions and nothing else? They do realize that there are other things out there that are worth seeing and discussing rather than the latest  MCU, Star Wars, Fast and the Furious or what ever over hyped and produced film Hollywood has made them think is THE GREATEST THING EVER.

More importantly  these nimrods do understand that if the were really that keyed into things that they would be working for the studios.

While I love and obsess over films I don’t just do it about one film or one franchise or one type of film. I know there is more to life than, say just Star Wars. I mean I’m not deranged enough to be out there formulating fake trailers and putting up YouTube posts about what is going to happen in the next film in a series when it hasn’t even started filming yet (I’m looking at you Godzilla and Dr Who fans). I mean there are people who will do a 45 minute You Tube video about what is going on in the next film in a series that hasn't even been green lit yet. These are the same people who will do an hours long break down of a two minute trailer showcasing all the Easter Eggs that may or may not be there

And as bad as  the deranged fans are, the studios are worse. They are like these kids parents, who have given the little turds whatever they want so they will shut up. I mean the studio listening to the fanboys effectively killed the Star Wars Franchise because they ended up making films that ultimately pleased no one and had no creative vision. They are so afraid of what the fans will do, they do things half-assed and change their plans based on a whim. As much as I hate the prequel trilogy they at least has a narrative through line where the most recent trilogy  had a decent first entry and then a total mess for the next two since they changed visions  and directions with each of the following films because there were complaints.

And were the fan boys happy- oh hell no. They were upset that the new films weren’t what they wanted. How is it that they demand that that they want to see their chosen directors' or gods' vision and then turn on it when it isn't their vision. Personally  if they want to see their vision on screen they should make their own films.   Of course they won't because it would require them to actually do more than pontificate. It's so much easier to stay at a computer and complain about whats wrong than it is to create. 

Familia (2024) Venice 2024

This is a heavy look at a family broken by an abusive patriarch and how the sins of the father infect his son and future generations.

I’m not going to say a great deal about FAMILIA because I don’t want to be in the headspace it creates. I have a day job in the legal field and I see this sort of tale play out on a daily basis. While I can keep a wall up in order to do the job that pay the bills, FAMILIA kicks the walls down and makes us feel just as abused as the people on the screen.

The story starts as a matriarch attempts to cut the connections to her abusive husband who is getting out of prison after  a long stint. He abused her and everyone else and she wants nothing to so with him. Unfortunately he gets back with the family. Over time her son gets in with a bunch of skinheads who want him to be part of their criminal plans.

This is hands down one of the best films I’ve seen at Venice. It’s a raw and real film that leaves welts on our psyche. Watching the film I was shocked that it hadn’t been picked up by some of the other big fall festivals because it is a film that not only is a down and dirty  emotional one, but is also a film that forces us to think about a lot of different subjects.

One of the great films of the year, you need to see this ASAP.