The Social Network: Ahead of Its Time...Literally

After watching (most of) the trailer for The Social Network in the theater the other day, I was reminded of a recent discussion about it at Living in Cinema in which I wondered aloud why this movie is being made in 2010.

It's not as if there was a recent New York Times-bestseller about the founding of Facebook and David Fincher and Sony Pictures are cashing in on the hype. (Update: I'm an idiot. Apparently there was such a book, "The Accidental Billionaires", written just last year. Has anyone read it?) It's not as if Facebook has changed or significantly evolved in recent years, aside from a growing user base and some negligible dust-ups about privacy. It's not as if Mark Zuckerberg is some megalomaniacal, misunderstood genius that the walls of Harvard just couldn't contain, or that his behavior could be considered anything other than extraordinarily normal for a 26 year-old with $4 billion in his pocket. And it's not as if the story behind Facebook, such as it's publicly known, is any more special than the story behind, say, AOL or Google.

2010 P.O.V. Season Preview

 P.O.V. logo courtesy American Documentary, Inc.

The schedule for the 23rd season of PBS' acclaimed P.O.V. documentary series was released more than a month ago, and technically the season started with the broadcast premiere of the Oscar-nominated Food, Inc. in late April. However, the regular schedule does not begin until late June, giving you plenty of time to mark your calendars and sign up for email reminders for the titles that you don't want to miss.

On the Horizon: Movies in 2010 (Pt. 3: TBA & Documentaries)

Continued from On the Horizon: Movies in 2010 (Pt. 1: January - June) &
 (Pt. 2: July - December)

Wow, well I don't know about you, but even for somebody who's willing to see some bad movies, 2010 looks like a good year to concentrate on some other hobbies (or, in my case, such projects like my own wedding). There are still some movies I'm excited to see, but nearly all of them are outside of the mass-marketed wide releases I listed in Part 1 and Part 2. Thanks to Garth Franklin's list I mentioned in Part 1 (you really have to check out all eleven parts), I've got my eyes on the following award-likely titles, hoping they will be bright spots in the year ahead - if they are indeed released in the next 12 months:

On the Horizon: Movies in 2010 (Pt. 2: July - December)

Continued from On the Horizon: Movies in 2010 (Pt. 1: January - June)

JULY: Star-studded tent poles and Shyamalan's return

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse: I haven't read any of the books or seen either of the first two movies. So... 

Knight & Day: I've admitted my soft spot for Tom Cruise before, so it should come as no surprise that this doesn't look or sound nearly as bad to me as it does to most people. It's also worth mentioning that James Mangold (3:10 to Yuma, Walk the Line) is not your typical summer blockbuster director, so maybe, just maybe, this will be more than meets the eye.

The Last Airbender: M. Night Shyamalan's next movie. Also, the worst movie of 2010.

Inception: I have yet to see any 2010 movie forecast that does not list Inception as the #1 most anticipated movie of the year. Obviously much of this has to do with Christopher Nolan's last film, The Dark Knight (and Batman Begins before it, all three films are IMAX spectacles), but personally I'm hoping it's more along the lines of Memento and The Prestige. The short of it is that Christopher Nolan was probably the best director of the last decade, but I'm excited for this movie for different reasons than most people. 

Predators: Sequel. 1980's movie. Are you getting the picture yet? 

Salt: Ah, Angelina Jolie, peaceful ambassador off screen, half-naked ruthless assassin on screen, and always passing wise a good two decades beyond her years (all 34 of them). No, I don't have any respect for this woman and I don't feel badly about it. Expect her to save the world again and look perfectly put together doing it.

Dinner for Schmucks: If I have this correct, Jay Roach will be directing a Fockers sequel (below) as well as this remake of the 1998 French comedy, and both will be released in July? Whatever the timing, this will earn a lot of hype due to its cast alone: Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, and Zach Galifianakis. 

Little Fockers: I loved Meet the Parents and I absolutely loathed Meet the Fockers, so this one is a bit of a rubber match film. From what I know it will involve pregnancy and or infant care, so potty humor will likely be the foundation. Maybe I'll see Inception again instead.

On the Horizon: Movies in 2010 (January - June)

I don't know about you, but I had many more disappointments than pleasant surprises at the movie theater in 2009. Instead of looking back on all that could and should have been, I'll look ahead at all that could and should be. If last decade went out with a fizzle, let's hope this decade starts out with a bang. Then again, by the looks of things this year's movies include about a dozen 1980's remakes, so it's really one step forward, two steps back.

These are some notable wide releases for 2010 (not documentaries, foreign, or independent) that I've culled together from IMDb and ComingSoon.net. In other words, these are the movies that everyone will see that will overshadow all of the movies that everyone really should see. 

Release months are probably only 90% accurate, but this is what we have to go on at this time. Also, Garth Franklin at Dark Horizons has an insanely well researched forecast as well. Probably the best movies of the year will be from his bunch (I can only hope based on what I see below), but in the interest of time you can scan through my list instead, and then spend the rest of the year over there - it's so extensive it might take you that long.

Here's Part 1 - the first half of the year:

JANUARY: Big stars, big movies, little interest

The Book of Eli: Denzel Washington and The Hughes Brothers (From Hell, Dead Presidents) team up for a post-apocalyptic tale about some mysterious book. The trailers remind me of a particular section of Terminator Salvation, and anything that reminds me of Terminator Salvation already has a major strike against it. 

Edge of Darkness: I enjoyed Mel Gibson in Ransom, but I think I only need to see him as a vengeful father once. Director Martin Cambell has been awesome (GoldenEye, Casino Royale) and awful (Beyond Borders), so who knows what to expect. The real question will be whether anyone can stand Gibson's Boston accent for 30 seconds, let alone 108 minutes.

FEBRUARY: Dumping grounds for the pushed back releases

The Wolfman: Benicio del Toro in the remake of the 1941 classic horror film. I haven't seen that and I have yet to find a reason to need to see this. Universal knows this and they've delayed the release already once, but they're going to have to do some hard work to get me on board in time. 

Valentine's Day: Possibly the worst title of the year, this ensemble romantic comedy is, obviously about the big love day. About a million people star, most of whom I have little tolerance for (Julia Roberts, Ashton Kutcher, Anne Hathaway, Bradley Cooper, Topher Grace). Still interested? How about Taylor Lautner and Joe Jonas? Turn in your tween girl card, please.

Coens Set to Begin Raising Cain This Friday

My anticipation for A Serious Man is going to reach a fever pitch over the next few weeks with the opening of the Walker Art Center's 50th Regis Dialogue & Retrospective: Joel & Ethan Coen: Raising Cain, a nearly monthlong celebration of every film the brothers have directed, including receptions and a conversation with the Coens themselves next Friday, Sept. 25 (Tickets: $45, or $100 including admission to the private reception). No official word yet on a local premiere of A Serious Man as part of this series, which would be a little surprising. The film just premiered in Toronto but there's no chance I'm checking the pulse of the reaction. It'll be all I can do to avoid the trailer over the next few weeks.

Anyway, as if the appetite was not already thoroughly whetted for this series (via the Walker blog):

In other news, I saw Blood Simple for the first time this weekend and feel like I all of a sudden have a new appreciation for their work, particularly the shadows and shivers of No Country for Old Men. In fact, I'm laying out an ambitious plan to write at least some capsule thoughts on every Coen movie before this series wraps up at the Walker. Wish me luck.

Coens "Raising Cain": Thank You, Walker Art Center

Less than a month after I passively challenged the PR strategy for Joel and Ethan Coen's upcoming A Serious Man, out comes a press release from the always ahead-of-the-curve Walker Art Center that they are planning to turn the volume on A Serious Man chatter up to "Deafening" when they bring the brothers to town as part of a career-spanning, 50th Anniversary Regis Dialogue & Retrospective this September. It will be a Coen-anza like no other for the hometown heroes, who were profiled in this space last year.

Joel and Ethan Coen: Raising Cain kicks off on September 18th with a Director's Cut, 25th-anniversary-commemorating, 35mm screening of Blood Simple, followed by a post-screening reception (at Wolfgang Puck's 20.21? I suspect so). The next Friday, September 25th, the brothers will sit down to discuss their career in the 50th Regis Dialogue. Tickets are $100 and include access to the post-show reception, where, if you're lucky, you can ask the brothers themselves about the mystery behind Anton Chigurh's whereabouts at the Desert Sands Motor Hotel.

Here are the details from the press release:

"Minneapolis, July 28, 2009 — The Walker Art Center celebrates its 50th Regis Dialogue and Retrospective with Minnesota’s own Joel and Ethan Coen in conjunction with the 25th-anniversary year of their stunning debut, Blood Simple, and upon the release of their 14th feature, the shot-in-Minnesota A Serious Man. The Coen Brothers Regis Dialogue and Film Retrospective, entitled “Raising Cain” and presented September 18-October 17, will showcase all 13 of the feature films they have written, directed, and edited leading up to this newest release: Blood Simple; Raising Arizona; Miller’s Crossing; Barton Fink; The Hudsucker Proxy; Fargo; The Big Lebowski; O Brother, Where Art Thou?; The Man Who Wasn’t There; The Ladykillers; Intolerable Cruelty; No Country for Old Men; and Burn After Reading. The Regis Dialogue, featuring Joel and Ethan Coen in conversation, will take place Friday, September 25, in the Walker Cinema. The retrospective kicks off on September 18 with the directors’ cut of Blood Simple, shown on a special archival 35mm print. The event includes a post-screening reception. Dates for individual programs in the series will be released by August 18.

The Coen brothers’ singular and elaborate worlds reveal a distinct vision that combines pastiche and homage, referencing everything from musicals and old movies to Faulkner to pulp novels and comic books, along with dazzling cinematography and intricate design. Their unique sense of place is flawlessly conceived, right down to the distinctive jargon of the characters, reflecting a stylized form of American vernacular to fit the time and place and genre. As the New York Times described it, the Coens create “a postmodern cinematic world . . . where everything seems vaguely unhinged.” While they’ve mined many genres throughout their career, it is noir which they have done every which way, filtering its absurdity, sense of disorientation, alienation, and cynicism through their unique sensibility. Yet the Coens also toss a funny bone into their movies, employing brazen slapstick, deliciously clever banter, gallows humor, and even sight gags with relish. The films seem to embody the pure joy of their creators.

Once called “the Hardy Boys from Hell” (Rolling Stone), the Coen brothers have confounded and at times divided critics and audiences alike. While these genre-bending, period-twisting shape-shifters can be difficult to pin down, it’s abundantly clear that they are filmmakers whose love for the movies is matched by the vastness of their imagination."

To be honest I'm just as scared as I am excited for this series because lives may be lost in the battle for tickets. The Walker, in a brilliant membership development strategy, is giving August 17th priority ticket access to its Contributing Members ($250+/year), followed by a release to all Walker members on September 10th. Get the rub? If you're not a Walker member you can forget about getting tickets to the Regis Dialogue on the 25th, but you have a couple weeks to join before those tickets go on sale.

Maybe the most bizarre detail about this retrospective, of course, is that it does not include a local premiere of A Serious Man, which opens right in the middle of the month-long series. Why this could not be arranged I don't know, but needless to say the Walker might lose some audience that weekend of October 2nd as locals flock to the Landmark Uptown Theater, where I expect it will open in limited engagement.

For more information about the Regis series schedule as it becomes available, visit the "Raising Cain" page (everytime I hear that I'm going to think of that intolerable "Raisin' McCain" song...) on the Walker's website. When tickets go on sale, the stand-alone Coens section on the Walker website should be up and running.

Summer Nights with Newman - as Brick, Hud, Luke, & Fast Eddie

Considering the record cold temperatures hovering through the summer months in Minnesota, you almost have to think twice about what to wear outside. A jacket in July? Ridiculous. Hopefully, this spell is almost over since the Walker Art Center's Summer Music & Movies series, "Newman Rocks", is kicking off tonight. For the next four Mondays, enjoy free live music by indie rock bands (it's the Walker & The Current, what's new) followed by a free film screening in Loring Park (North end of the Whitney Bridge spanning Hennepin/Lyndale Avenues, across from the Sculpture Garden).

This summer's lineup will celebrate the work of one of Hollywood's most legendary stars, the late Paul Newman, who passed away last September at the age of 83. Newman earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his performances in each of the following films:

Monday, July 20th

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1959); Nominated for 6 Oscars
Musical act: Halloween, Alaska

"Plagued by secrets and financial ambitions, a wealthy Mississippi family wrestles with truth and desire in this lush Tennessee Williams adaptation that oozes old money and Southern charm. Newman, in his first of 10 Academy Award–nominated performances, plays ex-football star Brick—a sardonic, alcoholic, and impotent husband to the ambitious and conniving Maggie, “the cat” (Elizabeth Taylor at her sultry best)". Directed by Richard Brooks. 1959, 16mm, 108 minutes.

Having seen Cat on a Hot Tin Roof for the first time recently, I have to admit - I'd almost rather see it as a play. Like other film adaptations of stage productions (recently Doubt and Frost/Nixon), it just doesn't seem like much is added to this; almost the entire movie takes place in a few rooms of the house. Newman, Taylor, and especially Burl Ives ham it up pretty heavily, and I'm sure its themes were as controversial as advertised in 1959. But of the four shown in this series it's not Newman's most impressive performance, even if it was a significant marker in his career.


Monday, July 27th

Hud (1963); Nominated for 7 Oscars (won 3)
Musical act: Roma di Luna

"Newman demolishes the cowboy myth as Hud Bannon, an unprincipled, ruthless lothario in Texas’ windswept cattle country: “tremendous—a potent, voracious man, restless with all his crude ambitions, arrogant with his contempt, and churned up inside with all the meanness and misgivings of himself” (New York Times). And when disease threatens to wipe out the family’s herd, things definitely come to a head. Based on a book by Larry McMurtry, the film received seven Oscar nominations, including a nod to Newman and an award to Patricia Neal as Alma, their tough-talking housekeeper." Directed by Martin Ritt. 1963, 16mm, 112 minutes.

I couldn't be much less of an expert on Westerns, but watching Newman in Hud I can't help think that he influenced the attitude and style of "modern" cowboys for years to come, both on screen and in real life. He's an absolutely magnetic presence here; the kind of bad boy that makes you start to understand why women like bad boys so much. Another interesting note about Hud is that it's based on a novel by Larry McMurtry, who would win an Oscar more than 40 years later for another story about atypical cowboys: Brokeback Mountain.


Monday, August 3rd

Cool Hand Luke (1967); Nominated for 4 Oscars (won 1)
Musical act: Gospel Gossip

"Newman’s spirited portrayal of an unruly Florida prison camp inmate created a quintessential anti-hero of the rebellious late ’60s. With memorable lines such as “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate,” and the classic scene that sparked egg-eating contests among young Americans everywhere, Cool Hand Luke remains Newman’s most unforgettable characterization of youthful defiance that even now packs a gut-wrenching punch." Directed by Stuart Rosenberg. 1967, 16mm, 126 minutes.

Featuring what's undoubtedly one of Newman's most iconic performances, Cool Hand Luke also introduced him as the heartthrob of a generation. Here again, he plays the guy that every girl wants to be with and every guy wants to be like (except me since I think hard boiled eggs are disgusting). Although Cool Hand Luke only won a single Oscar for supporting actor George Kennedy, in 2005 it became yet another Newman film (The Hustler was another) to be added to the National Film History, verifying it as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".


Monday, August 10th

The Hustler (1961); Nominated for 9 Oscars (won 2)
Musical act: Times New Viking

"Newman’s 'Fast Eddie' Felson, an up-and-coming pool shark, meets his match in the legendary Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason) in a battle of skill and character. Awash in drink, the humbled Felson takes up with pretty alcoholic Sarah (Piper Laurie) and falls under the thumb of a crooked gambler (George C. Scott). With riveting pool scenes and hazy black-and-white cinemascope photography, “the characters one meets in the succession of sunless and smoky billiard halls... in the course of this tough film are the sort to make your flesh creep and whatever blood you may have run cold” (New York Times)." Directed by Robert Rossen. 1961, 16mm, 134 minutes.

I think the poster I chose for The Hustler is completely misleading (bringing to mind Gone With the Wind or some other sappy romance), but director Robert Rossen reportedly wanted to frame the film around the Eddie-Sarah relationship as much as the Eddie-Fats rivalry. He was rewarded with critical acclaim and saw The Hustler, also a commercial smash hit, earn nine Oscar nominations. Newman (who shows off some amazing pool skills) earned his second nod for Best Actor but did not win...until he reprised his role as Eddie Felson in The Color of Money (1986). The Hustler is also known for making pool cool in the U.S., and for inspiring real-life pool shark Rudolf Wanderone to begin using the name "Minnesota Fats".

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As a reminder, each of these four movies is free. The concerts will begin at 7 PM and the film screenings at dusk, or about 8:45 PM. Series sponsor Lunds will be selling "picnic fare" and, in the case of rain, the movies will be shown in the Walker Cinema instead.

These outdoor screenings actually take a lot of work to put on - the "Screen on the Green" series I highlighted in DC last year was even canceled this year before being saved at the last minute by new sponsors. We shouldn't take it for granted here (thanks to the Walker and the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board), so bring a blanket, some friends, some bug spray, and take in four classics starring the legendary Paul Newman.

2009 P.O.V. Series Preview

(POV logo courtesy American Documentary, Inc.)

I briefly highlighted the 2009 schedule for the PBS award-winning P.O.V. documentary series a few months ago, and since it starts this Tuesday, here's a more thorough preview of the 21st season. Remember that you can sign up for email reminders for one or all of these documentaries according to your local TV schedules, as well as read interviews and join the conversation at the P.O.V. blog throughout the season.

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Week 1 (June 23) - New Muslim Cool
*Puerto Rican-American rapper Hamza Pérez pulled himself out of drug dealing and street life 12 years ago and became a Muslim. Now he's moved to Pittsburgh's tough North Side to start a new religious community, rebuild his shattered family and take his message of faith to other young people through hard-hitting hip-hop music. But when the FBI raids his mosque, Hamza must confront the realities of the post-9/11 world, and himself. New Muslim Cool takes viewers on Hamza's ride through streets, slums and jail cells — following his spiritual journey to some surprising places in an America that never stops changing.

Week 2 (June 30) - Beyond Hatred
*In September 2002, three skinheads were roaming a park in Rheims, France, looking to "do an Arab," when they settled for a gay man instead. Twenty-nine-year-old François Chenu fought back fiercely, but he was beaten unconscious and thrown into a river, where he drowned. The acclaimed French vérité film Beyond Hatred is the story of the crime's aftermath; above all, of the Chenu family's brave and heartrending struggle to seek justice while trying to make sense of such pointless violence and unbearable loss. With remarkable dignity, they fight to transcend hatred and the inevitable desire for revenge.

Week 3 (July 7) - Life. Support. Music.
*In 2004, Jason Crigler's life was taking off. He was one of New York's hottest young guitarists, his new CD was due for release and his wife, Monica, was pregnant with their first child. Then, at a gig in Manhattan, Jason suffered a near-fatal brain hemorrhage. His doctors doubted he would ever emerge from his near-vegetative state. The astonishing journey that followed, documented by friend and filmmaker Eric Daniel Metzgar (The Chances of the World Changing, POV 2007), is a stirring family saga and a portrait of creative struggle in the face of overwhelming tragedy.

Week 4 (July 14) - The Reckoning
*Over 120 countries have united to form the International Criminal Court (ICC) — the first permanent court created to prosecute perpetrators, no matter how powerful, of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide. The Reckoning follows dynamic ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo and his team for three years across four continents as he issues arrest warrants for Lord's Resistance Army leaders in Uganda, puts Congolese warlords on trial, shakes up the Colombian justice system, and charges Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir with genocide in Darfur. Like a deft thriller, The Reckoning keeps you on the edge of your seat. Will the prosecutor succeed? Will the world ensure that justice prevails?

Week 5 (July 21) - The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)
*Filmed over 23 years, The Betrayal is the Academy Award®-nominated directorial debut of renowned cinematographer Ellen Kuras in a unique collaboration with the film's subject and co-director, Thavisouk ("Thavi") Phrasavath. After the U.S. government waged a secret war in Laos during the Vietnam War, Thavi's father and thousands of other Laotians who had fought alongside American forces were abandoned and left to face imprisonment or execution. Hoping to find safety, Thavi's family made a harrowing escape to America, where they discovered a different kind of war. Weaving ancient prophecy with personal testimony and stunning imagery, The Betrayal is a story of survival and the resilient bonds of family. Find my capsule review here.

Week 6 (July 28) - Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go
*Variety describes it as a film "mixing ferocity with tenderness, delicacy with tenacity" — exactly like the unusual school it explores. In Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go, one of Britain's leading documentary filmmakers takes a verité look at Oxford's Mulberry Bush School for emotionally disturbed children. Mulberry's heroically forbearing staff greets extreme, sometimes violent behavior with only consolation and gentle restraint. Kim Longinotto's unblinking camera captures an arduous process and a nearly unhinged environment, but it also records the daily dramas of troubled kids trying to survive and the moments of hope they achieve with Mulberry's clear-eyed staff.

Week 7 (August 4) - ( Encore presentation) Johnny Cash: The Man, His World, His Music
*In this classic 1969 documentary, the Man in Black is captured at his peak, the first of many in a looming roller-coaster career. Fresh on the heels of his Folsom Prison album, Cash reveals the dark intensity and raw talent that made him a country music star and cultural icon. Director Robert Elfstrom got closer than any other filmmaker to Cash, who is seen performing with his new bride June Carter Cash, in a rare duet with Bob Dylan, and behind the scenes with friends, family and aspiring young musicians. Johnny Cash: The Man, His World, His Music paints an unforgettable portrait that endures beyond the singer's 2003 death.

Week 8 (August 11) - (Encore presentation) Made in L.A.
*Follow the remarkable story of three Latina immigrants working in Los Angeles sweatshops as they embark on a three-year odyssey to win basic labor protections from a trendy clothing retailer. In intimate verité style, Made in L.A. reveals the impact of the struggle on each woman's life as they are gradually transformed by the experience. Compelling, humorous, deeply human, Made in L.A. is a story about immigration, the power of unity and the courage it takes to find your voice.

Week 9 (August 18) - P.O.V. Shorts Selection

Week 10 (August 25) - This Way Up
*This is a story about a wall — the separations it's meant to enforce, and the unintended ones it gives birth to. The security wall being constructed by Israel on the West Bank has divided Palestinian families and communities. It has also isolated the Catholic-run Our Lady of Sorrows nursing home outside of Jerusalem, leaving its feisty residents to face old age in the throes of one of the world's most bitter conflicts. With beautiful imagery, moments of laughter and use of a quietly eccentric older guide, This Way Up examines the social, economic and religious barriers that arise from physical ones.

Week 10 (September 1) - Ella Es el Matador
*For Spaniards — and for the world — nothing has expressed their country's traditionally rigid gender roles more powerfully than the image of the male matador. So sacred was the bullfighter's masculinity to Spanish identity that a 1908 law barred women from the sport. Ella Es el Matador reveals the surprising history of the women who made such a law necessary and offers fascinating profiles of two female matadors currently in the arena: the acclaimed Mari Paz Vega and neophyte Eva Florencia. These women are gender pioneers by necessity. But what emerges as their truest motivation is their sheer passion — for bullfighting and the pursuit of a dream.

Week 11 (September 8) - The English Surgeon
*What is it like to have power over life and death, and yet to struggle with your own humanity? This is the story of acclaimed British neurosurgeon Henry Marsh, who has traveled to Ukraine for 15 years to treat patients who have been left to die; of his friend and medical colleague in Kyiv who carries on the fight despite official hostility and archaic surgical conditions; and of a young patient who hopes that Henry can save his life. Tense, heartbreaking and humorous, The English Surgeon is a remarkable depiction of one doctor's commitment to relieving suffering and of the emotional turmoil he undergoes in bringing hope to a desperate people.

Week 12 (September 15) - The Principal Story
*The Principal Story tells two stories, painting a dramatic portrait of the challenges facing America's public schools — and of the great difference a dedicated principal can make. Tresa Dunbar is a second-year principal at Chicago's Nash Elementary, where 98% of students come from low-income families; in Springfield, Illinois, Kerry Purcell has led Harvard Park Elementary, with similar demographics, for six years. Tod Lending (Omar & Pete, POV 2005) and David Mrazek followed both women over the course of a school year, discovering each one's unique styles yet similar passions. The Principal Story takes the viewer along for an emotional ride that reveals what effective educational leadership looks like in the 21st century.

Week 13 (September 22) - Bronx Princess
*Rocky Otoo is the Bronx-bred teenage daughter of Ghanaian parents, and she's no pushover. She is a sassy high-achiever bound for college. With freedom in sight, Rocky rebels against her mother's rules. When their relationship reaches a breaking point, Rocky flees to her father, a chief in Ghana. What follows is captured in Bronx Princess, a tumultuous coming-of-age story set in a homeland both familiar and strange. Her precocious — and very American — ideas of a successful, independent life conflict with her father's traditional African values. Reconciling her dual legacies becomes an unexpected chapter in this unforgettable young woman's education.


Fall Special (November 11) - The Way We Get By
*On call 24 hours a day for the past five years, a group of senior citizens has made history by greeting nearly 800,000 American troops at a tiny airport in Bangor, Maine. The Way We Get By is an intimate look at three of these greeters as they confront the universal losses that come with aging and rediscover their reason for living. Bill Knight, Jerry Mundy and Joan Gaudet find the strength to overcome their personal battles and transform their lives through service. This inspirational and surprising story shatters the stereotypes of today's senior citizens as the greeters redefine the meaning of community.

Winter Special (December 30) - Patti Smith: Dream of Life
*Shot over 11 years by renowned fashion photographer Steven Sebring, Patti Smith: Dream of Life is an intimate portrait of the legendary rocker, poet and artist. Following Smith's personal reflections over a decade, the film explores her many art forms and the friends and poets who inspired her — William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Bob Dylan, Robert Mapplethorpe and Michael Stipe. She emerges as a crucial, contemporary link between the Beats, punks and today's music. Shot in lush, dark tones, featuring rare performance clips and narrated by the artist herself, Patti Smith: Dream of Life is an impressionistic journal of a multi-faceted artist that underscores her unique place in American culture.

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So there are the selections for Season #21. They might not beat "The Real Housewives" or "Jon & Kate Plus 8" in the Nielsen ratings, but I can almost guarantee they'll make you feel better about humanity.

REVIEW: Lovely By Surprise (B+)

Maybe the strangest thing about Stranger Than Fiction was that, despite all the gags and big stars preening for the cameras, the movie ultimately wasn't really about much of anything; it was simply an entertaining and decidedly quirky lesson on the perils of neuroticism.

Significantly more thought-provoking, but perhaps less polished, is writer-director Kirt Gunn's Lovely By Surprise, which naturally brings to mind a Charlie Kaufman-esque story about the tortured mind of a talented writer. Here, it's Marian (Carrie Preston), a novelist writing about "fictional characters who are affected by real life": brothers Humkin (Michael Chernus) and Mopekey (Dallas Roberts).

The infantile pair lives aboard a boat in a desolate field, and they survive on milk and cereal. It's clear Marian isn't willing to take many risks with her characters, consequently leading her mentor, Jackson (Austin Pendleton in a terrifically brief role), to convince her that no good story is complete without a tragedy: she has to kill off one of the brothers.

Meanwhile, in an apparently different (and real) place and time, lives Bob (Reg Rogers), a widower and helpless father to his traumatized daughter, Mimi. Bob is a car salesman who can't sell a car; his greatest talent is convincing people they don't actually need one. As Bob gradually works himself out of a job, we see Marian also gradually worrying herself out of a writing career. In a bizarre twist of fate, Marian's character, the clownish Humkin, escapes from her fictional world and shows up in Bob's actual life, thus setting into motions events that will change Marian and Bob forever.

Humkin makes a break for it...
(photos courtesy Trey Clark)

In addition to maintaining an effectively delicate balance between drama and comedy, Kirt Gunn deserves a lot of credit for keeping all of the moving pieces of this complex story together. What initially feels like a loosey-goosey plot with unnecessary tangents soon matures into a touching parable with a storyline as tight as a drum. Impatient viewers may become frustrated trying to figure it all out, but the unforgettable final scene ties things together in a powerful way. In fact in that way, watching Lovely By Surprise is kind of like reading a novel.

But books have the significant advantage of time to affect a reader emotionally. Movies need to draw you in quickly, and the fact that you can watch a significant portion of Lovely By Surprise without knowing what's going on somewhat works against its ability to move the viewer. Because it has so much more emotional potential than Stranger Than Fiction, I would have liked to get more out of it along the way, not just toward the end (especially since the cast appeared so capable).

Nonetheless, Lovely By Surprise offers a tender-hearted story with a focus on characters as intense as Marian's. If it doesn't feature as many laughs as Stranger Than Fiction, Lovely By Surprise is, at the very least, likely to provide for better conversation after viewing. Kirt Gunn's next film, Metalhead, sounds as bizarre (if not more so) than Lovely By Surprise, which means it's probably just as surprisingly lovely.

Grade:
Writing - 9
Acting - 9
Production - 9
Emotional Impact - 8
Music - 5
Social Significance - 4

Total: 44/50= 88% = B+

Lovely By Surprise is currently playing select cities in the U.S. and will be available via download and DVD (including Netflix) on July 7. More details at www.lovelybysurprise.com.

In & Out of Fashion: William Klein Retrospective at the Walker

Despite the onslaught of summer blockbusters over the last three weeks, there's still a lot of pretty decent stuff in Twin Cities theaters if you know where to look. Considering the abominable reviews Terminator: Salvation has received over the last few days, you could hold off and check out Anvil!, Goodbye Solo, Sin Nombre (@ The Parkway) or Tyson. Also, the Oak St. Cinema is going to have Three Monkeys and The Chaser this Fri.-Sun. only. I missed the recommended The Chaser at MSPIFF, but I did write some brief thoughts on the riveting Three Monkeys. Probably want to catch that one while you can.

On top of all of these, the Walker is right in the middle of their William Klein Regis Dialogue/Retrospective: "In & Out of Fashion". It actually started last Friday, so we've already missed Mr. Freedom, Who Are You, Polly Maggoo?, and Messiah. All tickets are in the Walker Cinema and only $8, or $6 for Walker members.

Here's the remaining schedule:

Friday, May 22, 7:30 pm

In & Out of Fashion

A documentary retrospective of Klein’s oeuvre, In & Out of Fashion combines his abstract paintings, revolutionary photography, books, and excerpts from his films in an autobiographical look at five decades of a multifaceted life and career. 1998, 35mm, in English and French with English subtitles, 88 minutes.

Friday, May 29, 7:30 pm

The Model Couple (Le Couple Témoin)

This pioneering sci-fi farce was startlingly prophetic regarding today’s reality television as well as issues of government encroachment on privacy. In an attempt to anticipate the desires of tomorrow’s consumer society, an average young couple is chosen by the French “Ministry of the Future” for a six-month scientific study. Filmed and recorded 24/7 in a high-tech apartment, they are besieged by behaviorists and psychologists who measure and test them, all in the guise of public service. 1975, 35mm, in French with English subtitles, 100 minutes.

Thursday, June 4, 7:30 pm, Free

SHORT FILM PROGRAM

Broadway by Light

An experimental meditation on Times Square marquees and iconic advertising, Klein’s first film captures the concurrently seedy and dazzling aspects of New York’s Great White Way. Illustrative of Klein’s transition from photographer to filmmaker, Broadway by Light was declared by Orson Welles to be “the first film I’ve seen in which color was absolutely necessary.” 1958, 35mm, 12 minutes.

Far from Vietnam (Loin du Vietnam)

Seven directors (Klein, Alain Resnais, Jean-Luc Godard, Agnès Varda, Claude Lelouch, Joris Ivens, and Chris Marker) present a searing indictment of U.S. involvement in Vietnam. In his segment, Klein featured Norman Morrison, the Quaker activist who, inspired by Vietnamese Buddhist monks, set himself ablaze to protest the war. 1967, 35mm, 20-minute excerpt.

Contacts

Klein dissects the contact sheet from one recent roll of film, deconstructing his editing technique and injecting a brutally honest assessment of his art. As the New York Times put it, “Half a century of work can add up to two blinks of an eye.” 1983, 35mm, 15 minutes.

Friday, June 5, 7:30 pm

Eldridge Cleaver, Black Panther

While in Algiers to cover the 1969 Pan African Cultural festival, Klein met Eldridge Cleaver, charismatic leader of the Black Panthers and a fugitive from the United States. For this documentary, made at the request of Cleaver and the Algerian government, Klein filmed Cleaver nonstop for three days, capturing a fascinating sketch of the controversial figure as he reflects on racism in America, the attempts on his life, the Vietnam War, and the relationship between the American Black Power movement and African liberation groups. “A wrenching piece of direct cinema” (Harvard Film Archive). 1970, 35mm, 75 minutes.

Saturday, June 6, 7:30 pm

Muhammad Ali the Greatest

Klein’s extraordinary, incendiary film provides a probing look at the legendary and polarizing Muhammad Ali, following his career from his breakthrough 1964 bout with Sonny Liston to the epic “Rumble in the Jungle” with George Foreman in Zaire a decade later. With unprecedented access, the film traces the boxer’s transformation from the clean-cut, loud-mouthed Cassius Clay to the outspoken antiwar revolutionary/Black Muslim Muhammad Ali to a seasoned, wily pugilist and international idol. 1974, 35mm, 120 minutes.

May 31–June 30

The Little Richard Story

Lecture Room; Free with gallery admission

Tuesdays–Sundays, 1 and 3 pm; additional screenings Thursdays, 5 and 7 pm

William Klein captures flamboyant entertainer Little Richard, “America’s black superman,” as he attempts to resolve the conflict between his divine calling and profane success. Acting on advice from his Bible-peddling managers, Little Richard walks off the film set, yet is barely missed as Klein quickly shifts focus from the man himself to the deconstruction of his status as cultural icon by way of a limitless array of impersonators and fans. As Little Richard says, “Elvis may have been the King, but I am the Queen.”

1980, 16mm transferred to video, 92 minutes.

Friday, June 26, 8 pm

Regis Dialogue - Director William Klein with Paulina del Paso

$15 ($12 Walker members)

Meet the legendary William Klein in conversation at the Walker with Paulina del Paso, filmmaker and associate programmer for FICCO 2009 (Festival Internacional de Cine Contemporáneo de la Ciudad de México). The Regis Dialogues and Retrospectives program, now in its 20th year, brings to the Walker the most innovative and influential filmmakers of our time for in-depth conversations about their creative process, illuminated by film clips, anecdotes, and personal insights.

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I haven't seen any of Klein's films, but the docs about Ali and Cleaver sound pretty interesting, as does The Model Couple. Now all that's needed is some bad weather to justify heading inside on an otherwise sun-soaked later spring evening. Take a walk around the sculpture garden and admire the freshly painted cherry and spoonbridge beforehand. I still don't understand this sculpture, but then I really don't "get" most modern art. Here's a shot I took with some weird clouds last year:

(Movie) News You Need to Know: MLK Movie in the Works?

For somebody who sees and writes a lot about new releases, I'm admittedly pretty bad at keeping up on industry news. I rarely read Variety or The Hollywood Reporter or the other industry dailies, and most of the buzz I pick up about movies in production is from other blogs (i.e., Craig Kennedy's indispensable Living in Cinema). The point is, I'm a few days behind on the news that Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks Productions just acquired the rights to a biopic about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

As you may remember, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of King's assassination last April I wrote a commentary about just such a film, even going so far as to audaciously begin the casting process (tragically, one of my selections, Bernie Mac, has since passed away) and listing possible directors. Now just because Spielberg is the face of DreamWorks doesn't mean he would be the man at the helm for this film, but of course had he been one of the people I listed I would be taking full credit...but nevermind that.

Despite this major development, don't expect to see this movie in theaters anytime soon, at least before 2011 or so. CNN is reporting that DreamWorks is threatening to drop the project unless King's three surviving children settle some family infighting. Apparently Dexter King has been on the outs with Martin Luther King III and Bernice King in recent years, and he settled the deal with DreamWorks without consulting them. The studio doesn't want to get involved in the family feud so they're waiting until everyone plays nice.

Here are the important details from the CNN article:

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" 'I think Mr. Spielberg is a great producer and we look forward to hearing from him about the scope of this agreement,' Bernice King said. 'We know nothing about the scope of this agreement. We have no details to say whether or not this particular one is a good idea.'

DreamWorks issued a statement Wednesday that suggested King family unity was essential for the movie to be made.

'The purpose of making a movie about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is to tell a great story which could bridge distances and bring people together,' the statement said. 'We remain committed to pursuing a film chronicling Martin Luther King's life provided that there is unity in the family so we can make a film about unity in our nation.'
...

'Although my communication with family members has been somewhat stymied by the current litigation, I have continued to reach out and I remain committed to working together with my siblings on projects to educate people about the life, leadership and teachings of our father, Martin Luther King Jr.,' Dexter King said.

DreamWorks is 'a company with unrivaled resources for making epic films of the highest quality, offers an unprecedented opportunity for educating the largest possible audience about our father's legacy as the leader of America's greatest nonviolent movement,' he said.

'Just as Sir Richard Attenborough's film, Gandhi, educated many millions of people all over the world about the Mahatma's teachings, I believe this project can do the same regarding the life, work and teachings of Martin Luther King Jr., and I sincerely hope my brother and sister will join us in supporting this urgently needed project,' Dexter King said.

Tom Houck, an Atlanta public relations agent who has known all three children since the 1960s, when he was their father's driver, suggested the dispute could be resolved.

'I don't think that either Martin or Bernice are opposed to having a megafilm done on the big screen by DreamWorks, but I think it's the mechanism and the way it was done that's got them upset,' Houck said."

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Alright, now a few points:

• I've actually cooled on the idea for this movie a bit over the last year because I'm just nervous that it wouldn't be "good enough", whatever that would even mean. I wouldn't want someone to do it just to do it, I'd want someone to do it because they've found a way to do it well - really well.
• I don't think Spielberg would put himself in the director's chair for this, and I also don't think he should.
• The term "megafilm" worries me.
• 369 people voted in the casting poll I put up as part of that post, and 31% of them chose Terrence Howard (see the full results at the end of the comments section). I still think the runner-up, Chiwetel Ejiofor, is the man for the job, but I would also take a talented unknown any day of the week.
• I don't think a studio with "unrivaled resources" like DreamWorks necessarily needs to take this on. It shouldn't be overproduced and sleek and glossy and packaged based on marketing research. You'll need a decent budget to recreate the period and some of the large crowd scenes, but there's plenty of room for this movie to be humbly produced with attention to character, mood, accuracy, and thought. Something resembling Che more than W., but with as much mass appeal as Milk.
  
• Hey, Spielberg, check out my post while you're in pre-production!
  

Listen Up Again: The Talkies Return With Guy Maddin

Next up, The Saddest Music in the World, June 18, 2009

Back in February, Jacksonville transplant Tim Massett brought John Cameron Mitchell to town for the first Minneapolis installment of The Talkies, his great idea to bring directors into the theater for live commentary about their celebrated films. That showing of Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the Heights Theatre was sold out, and also featured a rendition of the film's soundtrack played on the mighty Wurlitzer Organ. Judging by the trailer for the second installment on June 18, Guy Maddin's The Saddest Music in the World, the organ playing will only add to the surreal 1930's atmosphere.

I still regret missing Maddin's highly acclaimed My Winnipeg last year, so I hope to make this one and check out a filmmaker that by all accounts is one of the most creative in the business. The Saddest Music in the World is only five years old, but it appears to be more like 75 years old.

The opening of Roger Ebert's 3.5/4 star review: "So many movies travel the same weary roads. So few imagine entirely original worlds. Guy Maddin's "The Saddest Music in the World" exists in a time and place we have never seen before..."

And the end of the same review: "To see this film, to enter the world of Guy Maddin, is to understand how a film can be created entirely by its style, and how its style can create a world that never existed before, and lure us, at first bemused and then astonished, into it."

Check it out on June 18, and plan on buying your tickets in advance.

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From The Talkies website:

It may be cliché but what better way to ease our financial-minded woes than to gather round the silver screen to witness Baroness Lady Helen-Port Huntley’s contest to end all contests: who can produce THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD?

Blowing in from the northerly diabolic region known as Winnipeg, Guy Maddin’s live commentary marks The Talkies’ 5th installment. Uniquely gifted to push this nascent notion into uncharted waters Maddin, the maniac behind the expanded viewing spectacles such as Branded Upon the Brain and the beautiful essay My Winnipeg, innately understands how special the space in the cinema can be and will, on June 18th, transform The Heights Theatre into the best Talkies experience yet.

Arrive at 7p.m. on Thursday, June 18th for a 35mm screening of THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD starring Isabella Rossellini and Mark McKinney (of Kids in the Hall fame) . At 9:00p.m. this celluloid salvo screens again with the extra somethin' somethin' that only The Talkies provides: live commentary from Guy Maddin himself.

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7:00p.m. MOVIE ONLY - $7 advance, $8 at the door

9:00p.m. MADDIN TALKIES - $18.50 in advance, $22 at the door

Depression Special (BOTH SHOWS) - $20