I’m extremely saddened by the news of the truly independent filmmaker Charles B. Pierce passing in Tennessee at the age of 71.
It was only a month or two ago that I finished a DVD of an award ceremony in his honor, the director could not attend due to his ill health.
I will have more to say in my column out this week.
Community Cinema (AETN) is screening the fantastic documentary “The Eyes of Me” tonight, Tuesday, March 9, at 6 p.m. at the Arkansas School for the Blind.
“Directed and edited by Keith Maitland, “The Eyes of Me” follows four teenagers at the Texas School for the Blind over the course of one year as they learn how to deal with the limitations, frustrations and emotional issues their disability brings.” (AETN)
We screened this film at the Little Rock Film Festival and it made a real impact not only on me but everyone who saw it. The filmmakers Keith and Patrick were in attendance and were truly great guys. You shouldn’t miss this film.
I have been saying this ever since I saw The Hurt Locker back in July: “This is Oscar-worthy.” I don’t think you could say that for some of the Best Picture Nominees. There being ten, I was sort of OK with that. Just think how many films last year after seeing them did you say “This is Oscar-worthy.” Mo’Nique’s performance in Precious, Christoph Waltz as the “Jew Hunter” as one loud, drunk woman kept screaming at the table next to us at Oscar Night America, and the whole film The Hurt Locker.
I don’t really know if Avatar is Oscar Worthy, definitely in the category of special effects and technological breakthroughs. The film is an important landmark to innovative cinema but is that the touchstone of the Oscars or “great” films in general. I think not. Think about the very underplayed “No Country for Old Men.” The Coen brothers won big a couple of years ago with this bleak, sparse adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel of the same name. Crash might have tipped the scales to populist melodrama paving the way for films like Blindside or Precious (the latter I found Oscar worthy). Titanic and Lord of the Rings basically gave a template for the like-minded blockbuster Avatar getting on the Oscar ballot.
There was a pit in my stomach when the Best Director award was being given out by Barbara Streisand but if you know Streisand’s work as a director, her being the presenter gave it away. Kathyrn Bigelow made history as the first female Oscar winning Director. Maybe its not as groundbreaking as the first African American President, or the first animatronic sex doll in Japan, but it moved me to tears.
You could say the Oscars are more like the Queen of England, a figure head of the film industry rather than any impact on the industry. But look what happened to Reese Witherspoon after winning Best Actress for her role as June Carter in Walk the Line. After her win she became the highest paid actress in Hollywood. Jamie Foxx had a similar experience after his win for Ray. So what does this mean for Dir. Bigelow and the tiny engine that could, and did? Hopefully it means making more riveting, honest and compelling films and not selling out and becoming another convert to the presto-chango integrity crusher that Hollywood and big Studios have become.
When I first found out that Tim Burton was making “Alice in Wonderland,” it didn’t come as much of a surprise. Burton has a knack for taking supremely dark and surreal children’s stories and applying his own quirky and unique vision to them. Adopting “Alice in Wonderland” as his own made perfect sense. As I wasn’t necessarily blown away by “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” I was hoping this new endeavor would be a sort of comeback, a success equal to the likes of “Sleepy Hollow”, which I believe to be Burton’s best interpretation of a children’s story.
Well, “Alice in Wonderland” is all right. The main thing that seemed to be glaring me in the face the entire time was how rushed it seemed. Now I know Burton’s idea was to make Alice herself feel like the story, instead of the movie just bouncing from one strange circumstance to another. He wanted a decisive plot and all of the familiar faces like the Cheshire Cat and the Blue Caterpillar to simply fall in line with the story. However, I feel Burton’s changes in that regard may have had the opposite effect of what he was originally hoping to achieve. The movie plows full force ahead, without much down time to learn about the characters and even Wonderland itself. The opening sequence with Alice before she falls down the rabbit hole is probably my favorite part, because it’s decidedly more gradual than the rest of the movie. Once she’s in Wonderland though, all bets are off. Alice is thrust forward into a maze of scenarios that seem to have been given little thought and development. Johnny Depp is wacky as usual, but even his character falls flat and then only resurfaces from time to time to make us “laugh.” Which leads to another problem, the wit. Tim Burton’s concoctions usually have a lot, but here there isn’t much in the way of humor, except obvious things — such as the size of the Red Queen’s head.
The effects are not much to comment on either and I wondered to myself if the movie would have looked better had I seen it in 3-D, although I’ve received some feedback saying it doesn’t seem to make much of a difference. Something that did surprise me though was Anne Hathaway. Her character was interesting enough, with a few delightful quirks. It was also nice to see Crispin Glover in person instead of just hearing his voice, as that’s pretty much all we get from him these days. So, the movie barrels from one thing to another until it’s reached the end and the final battle sequence which leaves one going, “Well, okay…” So, all in all, that’s the taste we’re pretty much left with. An okay movie, significantly less than what I was expecting. I wanted to love it, but 2010 has thrown me yet another film that I kind of wish I would not have seen in the first place so I could just hold onto naïve anticipation instead.
Grade: B-
(A generous rating, mainly due to the fact that even if the movie didn’t meet my expectations, I still love Tim Burton dearly and will just have to look forward to what he does next.)
Hannah on the Radio
Anybody know how this camera compares to the HV30/40? Canon Vixia HF S11 Camcorder - G4tv.com Looks pretty sweet but I’m not sold on its lens or its low light capability.
Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Nicholas Cage) thinks before he writes his script in Adaptation.
Ozark Foothills FilmFest celebrates the third annual Screenwriting Competition with a free public program featuring many of the contest entrants discussing their work. The program will also feature the presentation of the three cash awards.Batesville, Lyon College, Brown Chapel (Bevens Music room). Thursday, March 25,
8:15 p.m. www.ozarkfoothillsfilmfest.org
Super proud of the SoLost section of the Oxford American Website getting nominated for an Ellie. Must check out this section. My buddy Jonathon worked on it.
One of the reasons Little Rock can be seen as a thriving art culture centric city is the great improv troupe Improv Little Rock. I caught their Improv Strikes Back not too long ago with the wife and it was hugely entertaining. Here is a message from Josh Rice about their return:
March is here, and while we’re all more than ready for a change in seasons, don’t forget that you’re smack dab in the middle of Season V of ImprovLittleRock! And with the decreased likelihood of Mother Nature chiming in this time, we’ve got the type of full improvised weekend you’ve come to love and expect. For your consideration:
Friday March 12th at 10pm: The Harold
Long-form improv returns to the Public Theatre, but you won’t be waiting long for the laughs. Watch as we take a few simple suggestions from the audience and weave them into a rich tapestry of hilarity. Kind of like that movie Wanted, but way more believable. There’s no way to know where this night will take you comedically, so jump aboard and hang on.
Sautrday March 13th 10pm: ILR’s Comedy Throwdown
The Throwdown saw it’s Season V debut wiped out by ice and snow, so let’s try this again, shall we? Ahem… ImprovLittleRock’s most tried and true format returns for 2010 with two-teams, one hard-to-please judge, and an audience inspiring us with ideas while they witness the battle for comic supremacy. Who will win? (Hint: It’s you! The competition is just an allegory and vessel for your amusement!)
Tickets to each show are $8 at the door, and take place at the Public Theatre, 616 Center St, between 6th and 7th in downtown Little Rock. Call 374-PLAY for more information.
It’s our own version of March Madness, so: Come Get a Taste!
Sweet— Local DP Guy Galloway gets a shout out for his contribution to a swivel viewfinder mount to the RED camera system. I hope to get him on the show to talk cinematography and especially the RED. Galloway, aside from his work at Dempsey Film Group, is actively involved with the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival.
I’m only writing this review because a lot of people have been asking me what I think. So don’t consider this a review but just my thoughts on the film. Hannah liked the film a lot so hopefully she’ll do a write-up to give another opinion.
The Crazies is not a bad movie. It’s just not a good one. I wasn’t blown away but that’s no reason to pan a film. For some of the piffle “zombie” movies I’ve seen, Crazies is a head and shoulders above the rest. In context The Crazies is an entertaining flick. But that’s about it. Yea there’s a couple of minor chords and jump out moments every ten minutes but I can get that on youtube. Maybe I’m belittling the movie unfairly because there’s already some great zombie flicks out there.
1. Night of the Living Dead (End All Beat All original via Romero)
2. Dawn of the Dead (The original by Romero and the remake by Zach Snyder)
3. 28 Days Later (A great fun/artsy zombie (infected) thinking man’s thriller
4. Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright/Simon Pegg/Nick Frost’s spoof that would be funny even if it was the first zombie movie ever)
We could go on and talk about The Crazies isn’t a zombie flick (Hannah: “ But zombies eat people…crazies just straight up murder your ass.”
Theatrical Commentary: Joe Anderson (Across the Universe) needs to start playing Brit characters. It’s too much to concentrate on the performance and dropping his vowels.
Timothy Olyphant is the old Sam Worthington.
Will we ever be able to watch a Zombie movie where the government/military has no role in the film?
John Carney, the director of the amazing Once, has made a new “lo-fi sci fi” comedy entitled Zonad about a rehab patient who escaped and is mistaken for an alien in a small Irish town after a comet sighting. This clip starts out kind of kitschy but I think builds to something that looks very promising. Also if any of you spot the 2003 short film starring Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later) please link it.
