Is this film ever going to see the theatrical light of day in Australia or will it join the increasing list of films heading straight to Video Ezy shelves without much publicity behind them?
Saturday, March 14, 2009
What Just Happened to "What Just Happened"?
Barry Levinson's What Just Happened screened at Cannes08 and Sundance08, earned average reviews and to the best of my knowledge is yet to see a DVD or theatrical release in Australia. Walking along Moady Road in Hong Kong I visited the "Cheapy" DVD store and found dozens of DVDs and VCDs of the film for sale - official HK region discs and not knock-offs.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Human-rights themed shorts on Youtube by Apichatpong, Jia Zhangke and others...
Over on YouTube there's a collection of UN short films available by Apichatpong (Mobile Men), Jia Zhang-ke (Black Breakfast) and a bunch of other directors.
Slight hitch for Jia's short: the video has been uploaded in 4:3 aspect ratio to the 16:9 frame so it does appear 'squeezed'. Best bet is to use a downloader program to convert it to QuickTime or something and watch it in normal ratio. Link to Black Breakfast below. Other videos are linked on that page.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTpX3LTXgbE&feature=related
Madonna: The Material Girl from Brisbane's Queen Street Mall
The Superficial is covering Madonna's entrance at a Kabbalah function and by the looks of it her new army of stylists are the girls who hang outside the Hungry Jacks in the Queen Street mall in Brisbane. Either that or she just bought shares in Hot Topic.
http://thesuperficial.com/2009/03/madonna_youre_50.php
Favourite Shorts of IFFR2009
Fall
Director: Visri Vichit-Vadakan
Thailand
5 minutes
Striking b/w experimental short loaded with sexual energy. A young woman and man meet in an American city. What follows is a quick, erotic runthrough of their relationship.
Suicidal Variations
Directors: Kim Gok and Kim Sun
South Korea
15 minutes
Typical cine-insanity from the brothers Kim. With what would surely need a pre-credits warning for epileptics, a young woman knocks the head off a mysterious intruder and then attempts suicide. A hyper-intense blast of flashing imagery and raucous sound follows.
The Presentation Theme
Director: Jim Trainor
USA
14 minutes
Very disturbing crudely-rendered animation of a Peruvian traveller who meets a blood-sucking priestess.
Myth Labs
Director: Martha Colburn
USA
8 minutes
A wild, animated ride through the introduction and impact of meth labs into America.
Coagulate
Director: Mihai Grecu
France
7 minutes
A visually striking exploration of man, liquid and physical space with imagery impossible to erase from the memory.
Six Apartments
Director: Reynold Reynolds
Germany
12 minutes
Formally bold tour of six apartments, their creepy occupants and the germs, filth and disease which surround us all. Firmly focussed on the earth’s dwindling resources and geopolitical instability.
Origin of the Species
Director: Ben Rivers
UK
15 minutes
Fascinating new short from former Tiger winner Ben Rivers which continues his interest in Darwin. A haunting portrait of a man who lives isolated in a forest.
Man and Gravity
Director: Jakrawal Nilthamrong
Thailand
10 minutes
Amazing new short from Jakrawal where a countryside worker rides along on his motorbike constantly defying the laws of gravity with his excessive load.
Viva Taiwan Moooooovie
Director: Zero Chou
Taiwan
12 minutes
A terrific homage to Taiwan’s film history and a downright entertaining piece in its own right. Zero Chou re-introduces the gangster into Taiwanese movie culture…
Next Floor
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Canada
12 minutes
Greenaway-ish, visually staggering short about man’s excessive consumption. A party of aristocrats continues to eat all manner of flesh, crashing through the floors of an abandoned building as they grow heavier.
Brises
Director: Enrique Ramirez
Chile/France
13 minutes
One amazing shot through downtown Chile as the ghosts of past repression hover just outside the frame. Incredible.
Purgatorio
Director: Lav Diaz
Philippines
16 minutes
From the king of lengthy running times comes a grungy, poetic short with strongly political overtones.
10,000 Copyrighted Images
Director: Richard Wright
UK
7 minutes
As the title suggests, a furious montage of 10000 copyrighted images.
Director: Visri Vichit-Vadakan
Thailand
5 minutes
Striking b/w experimental short loaded with sexual energy. A young woman and man meet in an American city. What follows is a quick, erotic runthrough of their relationship.
Suicidal Variations
Directors: Kim Gok and Kim Sun
South Korea
15 minutes
Typical cine-insanity from the brothers Kim. With what would surely need a pre-credits warning for epileptics, a young woman knocks the head off a mysterious intruder and then attempts suicide. A hyper-intense blast of flashing imagery and raucous sound follows.
The Presentation Theme
Director: Jim Trainor
USA
14 minutes
Very disturbing crudely-rendered animation of a Peruvian traveller who meets a blood-sucking priestess.
Myth Labs
Director: Martha Colburn
USA
8 minutes
A wild, animated ride through the introduction and impact of meth labs into America.
Coagulate
Director: Mihai Grecu
France
7 minutes
A visually striking exploration of man, liquid and physical space with imagery impossible to erase from the memory.
Six Apartments
Director: Reynold Reynolds
Germany
12 minutes
Formally bold tour of six apartments, their creepy occupants and the germs, filth and disease which surround us all. Firmly focussed on the earth’s dwindling resources and geopolitical instability.
Origin of the Species
Director: Ben Rivers
UK
15 minutes
Fascinating new short from former Tiger winner Ben Rivers which continues his interest in Darwin. A haunting portrait of a man who lives isolated in a forest.
Man and Gravity
Director: Jakrawal Nilthamrong
Thailand
10 minutes
Amazing new short from Jakrawal where a countryside worker rides along on his motorbike constantly defying the laws of gravity with his excessive load.
Viva Taiwan Moooooovie
Director: Zero Chou
Taiwan
12 minutes
A terrific homage to Taiwan’s film history and a downright entertaining piece in its own right. Zero Chou re-introduces the gangster into Taiwanese movie culture…
Next Floor
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Canada
12 minutes
Greenaway-ish, visually staggering short about man’s excessive consumption. A party of aristocrats continues to eat all manner of flesh, crashing through the floors of an abandoned building as they grow heavier.
Brises
Director: Enrique Ramirez
Chile/France
13 minutes
One amazing shot through downtown Chile as the ghosts of past repression hover just outside the frame. Incredible.
Purgatorio
Director: Lav Diaz
Philippines
16 minutes
From the king of lengthy running times comes a grungy, poetic short with strongly political overtones.
10,000 Copyrighted Images
Director: Richard Wright
UK
7 minutes
As the title suggests, a furious montage of 10000 copyrighted images.
The Ferrari Dino Girl (IFFR2009)
Veteran Czech director Jan Nemec once again uses vintage footage of the Soviet invasion of Prague (formerly used in Oratorio For Prague) in his quietly brilliant autobiographical documentary The Ferrari Dino Girl. Tracing Nemec’s shooting of the 1968 footage and its subsequent smuggling out of the country, Ferrari Dino Girl not only boasts a stunning, uninterrupted sequence of the original footage but also frequently amusing reconstructions of how it came about. This forms the final part of an autobiographical trilogy Nemec began with Late Night Talks With Mother and continued with Landscape of My Heart.
Here Karel Roden stars as Nemec, armed with a camera as Soviet forces push into Prague. He subsequently shoots footage which opposes the Soviet line that their forces are being welcomed into Prague with open arms.Given Russia’s recent muscular foreign policy and increasing aggression in the region, Nemec’s archival footage resonates strongly in today’s geopolitical climate.
The title refers to a female travelling companion Nemec met while smuggling the footage from Prague into Vienna. She was a beautiful Czech ‘Brigitte Bardot’ which led Nemec to label her the Ferrari Dino Girl.
A natural fit for documentary sidebars but also could sync with films-on-filmmaking section.
Here Karel Roden stars as Nemec, armed with a camera as Soviet forces push into Prague. He subsequently shoots footage which opposes the Soviet line that their forces are being welcomed into Prague with open arms.Given Russia’s recent muscular foreign policy and increasing aggression in the region, Nemec’s archival footage resonates strongly in today’s geopolitical climate.
The title refers to a female travelling companion Nemec met while smuggling the footage from Prague into Vienna. She was a beautiful Czech ‘Brigitte Bardot’ which led Nemec to label her the Ferrari Dino Girl.
A natural fit for documentary sidebars but also could sync with films-on-filmmaking section.
Telstar (Nick Moran)
A natural inclusion in music-themed sidebars, Brit actor Nick Moran’s helming debut Telstar is an amusing, energetic and informative biopic on 50s/60s record producer Joe Meek who wrote the eponymous mega-hit and pioneered numerous developments in pop-music SFX. Although the film adheres to a familiar rise-and-fall trajectory, Meek’s story is such a wild ride that audiences will no doubt get swept up in the rush of retro-details, rocking soundtrack and Con O’Neil’s terrific central performance.
Audiences are thrown right away into the chaos of Meek’s legendary townhouse recording studio as writer Geoff Goddard arrives to collaborate with Meek as both men bond over music and a shared interest in the supernatural. Thanks to superb production design, zippy editing and Peter Wignall’s sharp eye for capturing the anarchy of the Holloway Road studio, Telstar immediately grabs audience attention and provides a truly immersive tour of this locale which will feature heavily throughout and signify Meek’s unhinged personality.
From there the film takes in Meek’s achievements – most notably his smash-hit Telstar – while listing his struggles with sexual identity, terrible business sense, psychotic outbursts and increasing paranoia.
Aside from O’Neil (who reprises the same role he played in the theatrical version), all cast members acquit themselves admirably and further add to the film’s sense of period-authenticity. Kevin Spacey is tops as Meek’s business partner, an ex-major with all the business acumen his partner lacks. Elsewhere Tom Burke gets under the nervous skin of Goddard effectively and JJ Feild’s turn as pop-star Heinz is near-perfect.
Audiences are thrown right away into the chaos of Meek’s legendary townhouse recording studio as writer Geoff Goddard arrives to collaborate with Meek as both men bond over music and a shared interest in the supernatural. Thanks to superb production design, zippy editing and Peter Wignall’s sharp eye for capturing the anarchy of the Holloway Road studio, Telstar immediately grabs audience attention and provides a truly immersive tour of this locale which will feature heavily throughout and signify Meek’s unhinged personality.
From there the film takes in Meek’s achievements – most notably his smash-hit Telstar – while listing his struggles with sexual identity, terrible business sense, psychotic outbursts and increasing paranoia.
Aside from O’Neil (who reprises the same role he played in the theatrical version), all cast members acquit themselves admirably and further add to the film’s sense of period-authenticity. Kevin Spacey is tops as Meek’s business partner, an ex-major with all the business acumen his partner lacks. Elsewhere Tom Burke gets under the nervous skin of Goddard effectively and JJ Feild’s turn as pop-star Heinz is near-perfect.
The Strength of Water (IFFR2009)
Proving New Zealand is capable of producing dull, Sommersault-esque cinema-to-nowhere like their next-door neighbours, The Strength of Water represents yet another tired addition to the family-in-mourning sub-genre that’s high on mood and low on characterisations and narrative development. Unsurprisingly the film was developed in collaboration with Sundance and frequently resembles a New Zealand version of some of that fest’s most hackneyed indie-with-a-capital-I inclusions.
Sketching the emotional impact a young girl’s death has on her Maori family and their relations with the wider community, Water kills off its most striking sparkiest screen presence early to focus in on the strained (and cliched) tensions between siblings, lovers and parents left to deal with their grief. Bogumil Godfrejow’s crisp lensing demonstrates a good feel for the surrounding, moody locales and the majority of the cast acquit themselves just fine. Perhaps inclusion in an indigenous sidebar beckons but this truly by-the-numbers drama is hardly likely to turn heads.
Sketching the emotional impact a young girl’s death has on her Maori family and their relations with the wider community, Water kills off its most striking sparkiest screen presence early to focus in on the strained (and cliched) tensions between siblings, lovers and parents left to deal with their grief. Bogumil Godfrejow’s crisp lensing demonstrates a good feel for the surrounding, moody locales and the majority of the cast acquit themselves just fine. Perhaps inclusion in an indigenous sidebar beckons but this truly by-the-numbers drama is hardly likely to turn heads.
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