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Much Ado About Nothing | SXSW 2013

Directors Film Festivals Moviewallas News Opinion Review Sneak Peek SXSW 2013

Is it already time for yet another rendition of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing I hear you ask? Well, when that version is a slick and stylish black and white contemporary one directed by Joss Whedon (yes, the same JW who just directed last year’s blockbuster The Avengers), one should take note and take note we did on day 2 of SXSW 2013. The lines were long for this one and despite the fact that there was a torrential downpour in Austin; we waited patiently in a line that wrapped multiple times outside the building and around a long corner.

I wasn’t disappointed by this exquisitely directed light and frothy, bubbly and joyful movie, which at its core remains a romantic comedy that explores barriers that stand in the way of love. Shot in 12 days at Whedon’s own house that was designed by his architect wife and co producer Kai Cole, (whilst he should have been on vacation with his family following the wrap of Avengers), I was drawn into the modern day world where Beatrice and Benedick hate, question and then fall in love with each other.

William Shakespeare’s words from yonder year come alive quickly and although I think one could be easily distracted by Ye Olde English and some may even find the juxtaposition between non-relevant language (anachronisms to the hilt) a little jarring and non believable, once you allow yourself to be immersed into the story and the great acting by a terrific cast, you will quickly see that this latest edition of Much Ado is a testament to the fact that the human condition stays the same even though time and technology move on.

My only criticism of the movie (and I had to dig deep for this mind you) is that at times, some scenes (especially those at the “Police station”) came across a little too much like an SNL skit and at times the movie felt a little precious and over stylized.

Much ado About Nothing Panel at SXSW2013

Following the movie, we were treated to a Q and A with a panel of 13 of the cast members and Mr. Whedon himself. As you can imagine, most of the audience were die hard Whedonites who asked questions about how the movie was cast and shot and how much they love his work and so on, but it was most touching when a young lady stood up and nervously stated that she had promised herself that if she ever got to talk to the man himself, she would tell him how thankful she was for all his work through the years and how much watching his movies through some hard times had helped and inspired her personally. She really tried to hold it together but was extremely emotional and remarkably, even though I rolled my eyes to start with, I along with most of the room felt a little lump in my throat as she sat down having shared a very heartfelt and very personal outpouring; aahh, the power of film. Yes, Joss Whedon, I too am thankful that a new generation of moviegoers will get to experience Shakespeare albeit in a non-conventional way and even if one of them is inspired to pick up an original version of this wonderful play, that would be an achievement. PS I loved the women’s wardrobe so if you are reading this Joss, please let me know where it came from.

Much Ado About Nothing stars the talented Amy Acker and the very charming Alex Denisof in the lead roles with a superb supporting cast. Release is planned for June 2013

Visit the official movie site to watch the trailer

Greedy Lying Bastards | Review

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I am sure that there is nothing more frightening than looking outside your car window and watching a fire coming towards you. When that fire is engulfing yours and your neighbor’s homes as it does so is a nightmare that I cannot even begin to fathom.

The movie Greedy Lying Bastards sets out to inform us that climate change is no longer a prediction for the future, but a startling reality of today by citing examples such as wildfires in the west, Hurricane Sandy, “Brown-Outs” in the east and farmers losing crops to the worst drought since the Dust Bowl. By effectively showing us a very human face of such tragedies and the incredible loss that these families have had to face, the movie challenges us to no longer ignore what is happening to our environment.

We are told that even the U.S. Pentagon believes it to be a matter of national and international security. Yet, as the evidence of our changing climate mounts and the scientific consensus proves a human causation, there continues to be no political action to thwart the warming of our planet.

“Greedy Lying Bastards” investigates the reason behind stalled efforts to tackle climate change despite consensus in the scientific community that it is not only a reality but also a growing problem that is placing us on the brink of disaster. The film details the people and organizations casting doubt on climate science. Filmmaker and political activist Craig Rosebraugh, in association with Executive Producer Daryl Hannah, documents the impact of an industry that has continually put profits before people, waged a campaign of lies designed to thwart measures to combat climate change, used its clout to minimize infringing regulations and undermined the political process in the U.S. and abroad.

Some of the arguments made in the movie are effective and compelling; indeed, when we are presented with graphics and archival footage that show the millions that are spent each year by oil and related interests to fund the think tanks, groups, scientists and politicians waging what the film deems a campaign of deceit regarding the science of climate change and its dire impact on the planet, it will make you question how these conglomerates get away with it all and may even make you feel like you may want to do something about it; I certainly felt emotion and a call to action by the filmmakers.

In my opinion however, the movie fell short of great for the following reasons: firstly it was a little one sided apportioning most of the blame at one or two doorsteps i.e. not ours. The movie seemed a little blinkered when it came to how obsessed the man on the street has become with consumerism and how much our desire to accumulate as much as we can materially may be contributing to the overall problem and hence the need for fossil fuels in the first place. Secondly, although it legitimately draws parallels between the tobacco and energy industries in their denials of issues squarely aimed at them, it felt like it meandered off at times making the movie feel a little unfocused. Lastly, it felt a tad dull overall.

In summary, this is an admirable endeavor with an important message which we need to take note of. Unfortunately the fact that the movie proposed no solutions (other than for us to wage war on Corporations especially those in the energy sector) left me feeling a little unsatiated. Better pacing and attention to some potential solutions may have made this a little more entertaining and less like a public service message

GREEDY LYING BASTARDS opens nationwide on March 8^th. Check local listings for show times

A Place at The Table | Review

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A good documentary should both educate and entertain and Directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush fulfill both of these criteria in their newest movie A Place at The Table.

poster

If Participant Media’s exceptional 2008 documentary Food Inc. asked us to take a closer look at where our food comes from then their new documentary A Place at the Table, takes a look at the issues that face an estimated 50 million men, women, and children — described by policy makers and advocates as “food insecure.” Hunger is not just a third world problem. One in four children in the US don’t know where their next meal is coming from. This issue is examined through the lens of three people struggling with food insecurity: Barbie, a single mother who grew up in poverty and is trying to provide a better life for her kids; Rosie, a fifth-grader who often has to depend on friends and neighbors to feed her and has trouble concentrating in school; and Tremonica, a second-grader whose asthma and health issues are exacerbated by the largely empty calories her hardworking mother can afford. In addition, we have the benefits of insights from sociologist Janet Poppendieck, author Raj Patel and nutrition policy leader Marion Nestle and activists such as Witness to Hunger’s Mariana Chilton, Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio and Oscar-winning actor Jeff Bridges.

This documentary manages to infuriate the viewer at the lack of action being taken and ask the larger question about how hunger poses serious economic, social and cultural implications for our nation. More importantly it makes one wonder how this can be happening in 2013 in a first world country. Although not a highly political movie, this does make you question politics and the use of hungry people as pawns in a complicated chess game.

The movie is well constructed and well paced and manages to stay focused on the hunger issue versus opening up the larger can of worms around why poverty even exists in this century in the US. Any movie that can succeed at making a crowd want to take action is one worth watching and I certainly felt roused enough to at least check out the website and find out more at www.takepart.com/place-at-the-table

A Place at the Table opens in theaters 1^st March 2013. Check local listings for showtimes

Starlet | Review

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What would you do if you found a stash of cash and you thought you knew who it belonged to? This is the moral question that is explored in Sean Baker’s Starlet (follow-up to the acclaimed Prince of Broadway),

In this movie we meet 21-year-old Jane (Dree Hemingway) who strikes up an unusual friendship with an 85-year-old Sadie (Besedka Johnson). The two women’s worlds collide in California’s San Fernando Valley when Jane buys a thermos from Sadie’s yard sale. When Jane gets the thermos home, she uncovers a significant hidden stash of money inside this relic from Sadie’s past. Jane attempts to befriend the caustic older woman in an effort to solve her predicament about whether she should return the money or not and as their relationship grows, secrets emerge.

http://www.impawards.com/2012/starlet_ver2.html

This movie does a reasonable job of exploring the moral question at the core of the movie and begs the viewer at times to pass judgment and even question our own morals. However when it comes to the exploration of the cross-generational friendship between these two unlikely women, the relationship simmers a little too slowly for the first two thirds of the movie and never really comes to a boil. There is little payoff at the end and not much to hold on to along the way with respect to the friendship which seems at times a little contrived and even marginally overacted

As the movie progresses, we get to see how Jane really earns her money and meet her dysfunctional roommates, Melissa (Stella Maeve) and Mikey (James Ransone) along with other salacious characters along the way. I give props to Baker for attempting to explore the underbelly of the sex industry, however this seems in complete dichotomy to the core theme of the movie and hence makes for a movie which seems all too choppy and uncohesive. Overall the viewer is left not knowing what the goal of the movie is or how we should be feeling about what is going on at any given time.

Hemingway (daughter of Mariel and great-granddaughter of Ernest) gives a satisfactory performance but clearly is still green. The tenderest moments of the movie come from the adorable relationship between Jane and her delightful Chihuahua Starlet who is clearly the star of this movie and worth watching for.

Starlet is Directed by Sean Baker and written by Sean Baker and Chris Bergoch  and Stars Dree Hemingway, Besedka Johnson, Stella Maeve and James Ransone

Starlet opens in theatres on November 9^th 2012 at the Sundance Cinema Sunset 5 in West Hollywood, Laemmle’s Playhouse 7 in Pasadena, Laemmle’s Town Center 5 in Encino, and the Regal University Town Center in Irvine. Check local listings for availability and showtimes

Backwards I Review

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I am not a fan of sports movies per se but with Olympic fever just starting to die down Backwards written, starring and produced by Sarah Megan Thomas and starring James VanderBeek amongst others comes to cinemas at a perfect time.

Abigail Brooks played by Thomas has spent her lifetime trying to win an Olympic rowing medal, sacrificing friendship, love and a “normal life” along the way. When she is named an alternate on the Olympic team she quits in haste. Defeated, Abi moves back home with her widowed, workaholic mother played by the adorable Margaret Colin. Tension builds as Abi’s mother urges her to “move on” from the rowing life that Abi’s father, a coach, introduced her to. Unable to do so, but needing an immediate job, Abi seizes an open crew coach position at her alma mater, Union High. There, the head of athletics is her old boyfriend, Geoff (James Van Der Beek). Abi trains her high school rowers in an obsessive fashion, taking two girls, Hannah (Alexandra Metz) and Susan (Meredith Apfelbaum) under her wing. After the girls lose an important regional race, Abi reinvents herself as a coach, and in the process, learns to have fun again both on the water and off.

This film boasts great rowing footage and is clearly made with love and care. The attention to detail leads me to believe that input from someone who is extremely passionate about rowing has been sought. The cinematography on the water is breathtaking at times and enables us to become one with the racers and experience the fight to the end. This film also does a fine job of showing us the sacrifices that hopeful Olympians make on a daily basis when they are faced with complex choices. Where the film falters a little is in the shallow subplots which get introduced and resolved rather quickly and often in one scene. A little less subplot with more time spent on them may have made for a more powerful experience.

Thomas has written a sweet and heartfelt inaugural movie that may have benefited from someone a little feistier in the lead role. Her laid back style which allows us to get onboard in the first half of the movie doesn’t make for such a character arc in the second half and I found myself not quite being able to make it over the finish line with her. The romance is predictable which isn’t a problem however, I think the film could just have done with more tension overall. Despite that, it is great to see James VanderBeek with his puppy dog eyes. He reminds us why the perennial teenager in us still years for a date with Dawson.

Backwards opens Friday 21 September in Los Angeles at Laemmle’s Music Hall 3. Check local listings for show times

The Ambassador | Review

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Picture this – secret meetings, corruption and the business of selling diplomatic titles in one of the most dangerous places on the planet: the Central African Republic (CAR). How many of you would be tempted to enter this danger zone for the sake of your art? Not so may I think – enter Filmmaker/journalist/provocateur Mads Brügger (Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner for The Red Chapel) who has developed a new documentary style that he calls “Performative Journalism” in which he creates an absurd caricature of a corrupt diplomat and arms himself with a phalanx of hidden cameras, black-market credentials and razor-sharp wit. It’s part performance art and part investigative journalism resulting in humor, shocking revelations and above all a tragic picture of a failed and corrupt state.

“I want to show an Africa stripped of NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations), Bono, child soldiers and kids with bloated bellies, to show the kind of people you never see in the documentaries: white businessmen and diplomats, the fat cats in the urban centers, all the people who are in post-colonial Francafrique (French Africa) having a great time.”

The Ambassador is less fly on the wall and more immersive journalism as Brügger disguises himself as a rich white business man with diplomatic credentials pursuing all the perks that follows this title (reckless diamond hunt, practicing power misuse etc.), and became a respected member of their society.

This is a dark, intriguing and very funny documentary that has you on the edge of your seat as you watch Brügger go from one absurdly terrifying and hilarious situation to the next as he pulls back the curtain on ongoing corrupt practices that infiltrate many countries and levels of power. At times you could be mistaken for thinking that you are watching a seventies era Bond movie.

Overall, I found myself oscillating between scared for Brügger as the walls often close in on him to shock as he uncovers the craziness of what is going on in war torn Africa. One thing is for sure; I was definitely entertained and even educated.

The Ambassador is now playing VOD and out in theaters 29 August. Check local listings: