4 posts tagged “film”

Every year a bunch of friends from Las Vegas come up for Sundance. This year they were wise and rented a hotel room in Prospector Square right around the corner from Eccles Theatre, which is where all the movies we saw were at. This year wasn't as lucky as last. We got into 4 of the 7 movies we tried to see. We saw Humpday, Spread, Rudo y Cursi, and I Love You Philip Morris. Those are IMDB links if you want summaries/photos of the movies.

Humpday - During a getaway at a sex-positive commune, best pals Andrew (Joshua Leonard) and Ben (Mark Duplass) find their friendship tested in strange new ways when a dare leads them to contemplate filming a live sex scene for an amateur porn festival. As the shoot date looms, our heroes must contend with two major logistical difficulties: Ben's wife, Anna (Alycia Delmore); and their heterosexuality. The tension between friends is palpable and it's filmed in a way that translates the tension to the theatre. I love the contrast between the two people as they are essentially exposed to be leading fraud lifestyles. It's a fun movie that will, unfortunately, never make it to mainstream theatres for it's content.

Spread follows the life of Jason (Ashton Kutcher) who has made a career out of targeting older women and using them for anything and everything … in exchange for a little sex. But the player gets played when he meets Heather (Margarita Levieva), a pretty waitress who knows every trick. Before Heather came along, Jason had a foolproof arrangement with Samantha (Anne Heche), a successful attorney who was happy being "friends with benefits." But now he might actually be in love. Spread made me want to punch Ashton Kutcher in the dick even more than I already want to. Ashton Kutcher pulls off the role that his entire life essentially is - being the pretty boy of the group. His character mooches on everyone until they give up on him. This movie took a great stance in not following the traditional Hollywood story line and shows his character some real growth.

Rudo y Cursi is probably my least favorite of the 4 we saw. Stuck working on a banana ranch, two super competitive soccer-playing brothers dream of getting off the farm and finding stardom: Beto (Diego Luna) as a pro goalie and Toto (Gael García Bernal) as a singer -- but it might break them. When a professional soccer team ignores Beto's goalie skills in favor of Toto's fancy footwork, Beto signs on to a rival team, and the battle between brothers is on. It was a relatively unpolished film, in my opinion that left me wondering why I cared about these two idiots. It was funny, but sort of bland.

I Love You Philip Morris - When upstanding Texas cop Steven Russell (Jim Carrey) realizes he's gay, he changes his entire life and pulls a series of bold con jobs that lands him jail -- where he meets his one true love, cellmate Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor). When Morris is transferred to another prison, lovesick Russell mounts a series of jailbreaks just to be with his beloved soul mate. This movie was hilarious. Jim Carrey plays the life of an oddball who has some serious con skills. This one was probably my favorite simply because it worked so well and kept me guessing till the end.

As a result of attending these, I took some videos of the actor conversations following the film. My favorite has to be this story from Ewan McGregor following the screening of I Love You Philip Morris:

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So this afternoon I logged into my Netflix account and opened up their home page to see this:

Ufy

Am I so unlike the rest of the world that I would give this an excellent rating in my gay/indie movie watching stupor? I don't know if I should be insulted that I am, as they say, "unique" (which is a modern/PC way of saying "special" as in short bus special) or if I should be happy that I deviate from the movie watching masses. I am a divided man Netflix.

Then again, Netflix suggests I should watch that god awful Kate Hudson/Matthew McConaughey dreck of a movie "Fools Gold", to which I reply Not Interested. So maybe those little red starts shouldn't torment me as much as they do.

So about 6 weeks ago I joined NetFlix. Like TiVo, I am soon realizing that this is one of those things I couldn't have lived without. How exciting it is to open my mailbox and to find some red envelopes in there. In fact, I just increased my subscription from 2 to 3 movies at a time. It's fantastic!

Because of this new found supply of DVDs that doesn't involve bandwidth, I've been able to increase my consumption of movie titles. Here's a list of movies that I've enjoyed recently, and some thoughts.

Imagine Me & You

Imagine Me & You, 2004
This movie was surprisingly decent. Let's just face facts - A movie that I hadn't heard of (doesn't mean anything given the fact that I was detached from US media for 3 months) just seemed to pull out okay. Granted it wasn't the best of movies I'd seen, it was a moderately amusing way to kill a night.

Requiem for a Dream (Director's Cut)

Requiem for a Dream, 2000
This movie is quite simply f**ked up. It's given an NC17 rating, and while I think the MPAAs rating system is a load of crap, this one is deserved. Most movies for NC17 are rated that way because of excessive gore or sexual content. This one is simply rated this way because it's psychologically twisted. With that said it's an excellent piece of film, a must for anyone who's psyche is built to endure the downward spiral ride that this movie takes you on.

Good Night, and Good Luck (Widescreen Edition)

Good Night, and Good Luck, 2005
George Clooney won best actor for this movie, and deservedly so. It's a wonderful insight into the media's attack on the McCarthy era politics that scared the country into getting their neighbors and others blacklisted. It's also frightening given that the same climate exists in America today but no media organization dares to question the authority for fear that the power would be turned against them. This movie does a wonderful job of transporting you back to that time, with a wonderful Jazz soundtrack by Dianne Reeves. Pick it up for a good time.

Thank You for Smoking (Widescreen Edition)

Thank You for Smoking, 2005
This is a wonderful comedy about the secret life of lobbyist Nick Naylor and how he can use argument to get his way with not only politicians, but with women, his family, and everyone around him. It has a wonderful human element to it too, given that by the climax of the movie you're hoping that the lobbyist for big tobacco pulls through and wins a victory in the senate.

This Film Is Not Yet Rated

3 comments

This Film Is Not Yet Rated, 2006
This documentary shows a spotlight on the mysterious MPAA rating board, a secret committee that can destroy a film's chance of being seen in America. While this film has a definite Michael Moore style to it, it deviates from the subject matter with an attack on the rating board member's personally. I would have preferred this film to direct it's excellent efforts towards the MPAA itself instead of the individual board members. But alas, a final product it is. Watch it if you're interested, ignore it if you're not.
Another note of excitement - the MPAA is in some trouble lately for priating this video to show internally. Source

THX 1138 - The Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition)

THX 1138, 1971
As George Lucas's first production piece, you can get a sense of his originality and growth as a producer over time. This is a mystical piece that focuses on a dystopian society where humans are no more than the means of production in a pointless existence. Similar to the Island, the society is unaware of their situation. Unlike the Island, we never see who is the puppet master of this society. Instead, we see the world THX lives in as eternal - it has always been like this, and forever will be. Humans purpose in this world is to create more humans and maintain life. There is no ultimate goal other than carrying on the species. THX becomes enlightened and therefore is outcast. This movie is filmed wonderfully and you'll wonder if it's a modern piece due to the realism. A must see for any futurist or fantasy/fiction geek.

As usual, I'll leave you to find the benefit in things on your own. But trust me. If you are looking for an amusing and enlightening way to brighten your day, make sure there's going to be a red envelope in your mailbox when you come home.

*Edit* - I should also have mentioned that I don't work for NetFlix and I don't gain anything for people who join. I just like their service and thought I'd share.

Some states have 'leafers.' Others have annual chili cookoffs.. We have the Sundance Film Festival. Yes it's that wonderful time of year when our poor little city is overrun by tourists flocking to come see the films. Don't get me wrong - I love the attention that it shines on our city and the benefits that having such events brings. It's more of the fact that for 2 weeks around the festival all of my prices go up at restaurants, the roads get congested, and Paris Hilton is in Utah that irritates me. Oh well.

I'll still be smashed in a small 'artsy' theater to watch what is most likely going to be a feminist coming of age movie where they smash pickle jars. I'm not making that up - that was one of the films I got to see last year. After that, an overpriced latte and another feature film about two gay politicians running against each other or a nice film about suicidal angst. As most people in the film industry know, there are only so many plots that can be explored.

If you're coming to Salt Lake, I welcome you with open hands. And if you think the Sundance Film Festival happens in Park City (or god forbid at Sundance Ski Resort where it started 25 years ago) you're only kind of right. While the festival offices are in Park City, there are all of 2 theaters in Park City that hold more than 25 people. Instead it spills over into Salt Lake where we have the venue capacity that such an event demands. So come one come all.

Sundance Film Festival, 2007
January 18th - 28th
http://festival.sundance.org/2007/