The Nance

Some of the best news I’ve heard recently was that the Broadway show The Nance had been filmed and was going to be run on PBS sometime in the next TV season.

I had seen the show during its run and my reaction was to state that it was not only great but it also restored my faith in theater. What I meant by that last statement was that as lapsed frequent theater goer my desire to go to the theater was killed by too many big budget movie retread musicals, Family dramas that are essentially the same or the theatrical equivalent to inde mumblecore films. There are more complicated reasons, not to mention the fact that the cost of going has shot out of control, but for the most part I’ve stopped going to the theater because I stopped being entertained or entranced or made to feel anything.

The Nance entertained me, It entranced me, it moved me.

The story of the Nance is that of Nathan Lane’s burlesque comedian. He is a gay man who makes his living playing a highly effeminate character type known as a Nance. As the film opens Lan is drifting into a relationship with a young man who has just arrived in the city. As his personal life is improving, dark clouds are on the horizon professionally. The city is looking to close down the burlesque theaters because they are dens of iniquity (hookers plied their trade in many of them) and anything off color or not normal (hints of homosexual characters) are targets.

What transpires is the show.

What transpires is theatrical magic and look into humanity that had been lacking in most recent Broadway shows.

I loved it on every level. It’s a joy to behold, even as it breaks your heart.

Nathan Lane is a revelation. Don’t get me wrong I love Lane, but having seen him on stage any number of times I find that unless he loves a role he walks throw his performances. He not only is capable of phoning it in, but phoning it I from three states away. With the Nance Lane is spot on and real. You can tell he loves the role and it means something and so he invests it with something from every fiber of his body If you’ve ever wanted to know why Lane is often considered one of the greatest actors working today- look no further.

I love that the show shows us Burlesque for what it was. I love that it shows us classic routines that started there and ended up in the movies.

Mostly I love the shows heart. I love that even though its about Burlesque and a gay man, it also is a human story that could work transplanted elsewhere. This is the story about not only finding love, but also what we will do if people tell us that we can't do what we love to do. Yes this is a story based on what happened in New York in the 30's but at the same time its a story with bigger implications for all of us.

I absolutely loved this play a great deal. I know when it was done all I could think was that it had to be made into a movie. Its too good a story not to be seen by as many people as possible. Thankfully it has been recorded and will be broadcast in the New Year.

Maybe the play that restored my faith in theater can restore my faith in TV as well.

See The Nance when it plays on PBS.

Carry on Sargeant

As a bunch of new recruits comes in a drill sergeant bets his comrades that he will produce the top platoon before he retires in ten weeks time. Unfortunately for him he ends up saddled with a grand bunch of losers who are probably drive him in sane well before he ever retires.

This is the first of the Carry On films, the long running series of low brow British comedies that poke fun at everyone and everything. Most of the jokes are secondary to the plot, or rather the plot is simply an excuse to move the cast from one gag set up to the next, and really isn't important.

I had never knowingly watched a Carry On film until I sat down and watched this film. I'm not sure if thats a good thing or a bad thing. Certainly the cast is game, its lead by William Hartnell as the Sergeant of the title. Hartnell is best known as the first Dr Who, and he made a career out of playing this sort of part. He is joined by a stalwart cast of British comedians,who are all expert at what they do, which is produce a great many laughs (I have no idea who any of them are even though all of their faces are very familiar from other films and TV shows.)

I'm torn about the film. Taken as a series of set pieces this is a screamingly funny movie. The jokes are the sort that are not only laugh out loud funny, but will make you laugh so hard that you'll go light headed. On the basis of the jokes its easy to understand why this film spawned 31 films, several TV specials and stage shows. Unfortunately as a movie, with a plot this film is the pits. Its awful. None of it really hangs together as the numerous character plot lines cross and recross to very little effect. It almost sinks the movie since the good stuff clashes badly with the bad stuff.Still I haven't laughed this hard in a good while, which makes rating this movie difficult.

If you're a fan of British comedy its worth a look. Its also worth a look if you like military humor or don't mind a comedy that has a a bad plot line, but very funny jokes. Rent it or borrow it, but don't buy it (at least until you've seen it an know if you like it).

The Jewish Cardinal (2012) New York Jewish Film festival

Excellent look at Jean-Marie Lustiger who was born Jewish and became a cardinal in the Catholic Church. He had converted to Catholicism in 1940 in order to keep him safe from the Nazis. It kept him safe but it caused splits within his family (his father couldn’t see how he could become a priest) and within himself (he still considered himself Jewish despite following in Christ’s footsteps)

Beginning just before he finds out that he has been made a Bishop and taking him to his death in 2007 this is a moving portrait of a man just trying to find his place in the world and his path to God. It’s a path filled with road blocks, confusion and uncertainty as he has to struggle with what he feels is right, what the church tells him is right and how the world perceives him to be.

Made for French television the film isn’t a huge epic story but a small scale story of one man on the road. Its a story that is firmly focused on Lustiger and his inner conflict. That the film works so well is do wholly to Laurent Lucas as Lustiger. He manages to sell the character/the man much better than many of the other actors playing other high ranking Church officials. He manages to let us in on both the humor and the conflict in the man. He allows us to see his choices and reflect upon them. As good as Lucas is some of the others seem to be walking through their roles with Aurélien Recoing as Pope John Paul coming off as weird and in one or two scenes as if he were aping Roberto Benigni.

This is a super little film. I really liked it. It was so good that when it was done I ended up much too late reading on the life of Lustiger on line. For me what set sets the film apart is that it isn’t really about being Jewish or Catholic or both, but its about finding one’s self spiritually, it’s the reflection of the journey that makes this a great film since it’s a journey that we all, to some degree make.

This is one of the best films at the Jewish Film Festival. This is definitely worth seeing when it plays tomorrow afternoon, the 14th and the 20th

New York Jewish Film Festival Capsules : BEFORE THE REVOLUTION, UKRAINE BRIDES 13 YEARS LATER, THE WOMEN PIONEERS and RITA JAHAN FOURZ

More Capsule reviews.

Before the Revolution (2013)
Dan Shadur and Barak Heymann's film on Israeli's in Iran before the Islamic revolution is a must see. The now seemingly way out story of how the Shah and Israel once were friendly is hard to imagine. Its the story of how many went to Iran to make some big money only to fail to realize the trouble that was brewing around them.

Like the best documentaries this absolute gem of a film shows us something we never knew and does so in such away that it alters everything you thought you knew.

This is possibly my first big Wow of 2014.

The film plays on January 20th and 21 and is worth getting you butt down to Lincoln Center to see it.

Ukraine Brides:13 years Later (2013)
Director Nili Tal looks in on the lives of some Ukrainian women who married Israeli men in a kind of mail order bride situation. Tal had first encountered them in 2000 and then stopped in to visit them several times over the years. This is the latest installment and its film that provokes a wide range of emotions from smiles to tears.

I really like the film a great deal however I kind of wish I had been following the stories all along since there were several times I sensed that there was stuff I missed by not seeing what had gone before. That said this is a super little film that's playing on January 22nd and is worth your time.

The Women Pioneers (2013)
Portrait of the some Eastern European women who in the early part of the last century traveled to Palestine to build a new life and "create a new woman". Using archival footage and excerpts of the letters and diaries of the film explores the difficult lives the women chose to lead. An earnest and heart felt film, it didn't particularly connect with me. I know its the result of the film seeming to be a bit too somber for my tastes.

It plays January 21

Rita Jahan Fourz (2013)
Companion piece of sorts to Before the Revolution (see above) about singer Fourz who left Iran when she was a child and moved to Israel. Convinced to record an album in Farsi we watch as Fourz records the album and interacts with her family. A wonderfully messy film that bounces from feeling professional, a home movie, a family drama to making of documentary to concert film, this film is strangely alive in a way that many other films aren't. To be certain some pieces don't work, but others kind of transcend the moment and become something wonderful.  While I did not walk out loving the film I did like it enough to start looking up on line for some of Fourz's music.

This film plays January 16 and 19

For tickets and more information on any of the films go to the FilmLinc website here.

Otelo Burning (2011)

True story of several friends who found escape from Apartheid in surfing. Unfortunately while thre is hope the evil spectre of the foul institution that separated black from white is lurking.

Wonderful film is exactly the sort of thing that Unseen Films was set up to highlight. This is a small scale gem of a film. This is the sort of a film that will play better the less you know about the twists and turns of the plot

The thing that I love about this film is that it all feels real. Watching the film you get this wonderful sense that you are watching events transpire right before you. This is due in no small part to the ensemble cast of actors who seem to be living the story instead of acting it. The performances are so good you wonder why more actors can't be this natural.

This is a wonderful little film and you really should make some effort to try and see it.

OTELO BURNING makes its digital premiere on January 14, 2014 on iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Microsoft Xbox, Sony Entertainment Network, SundanceNOW, VUDU and YouTube. The film is available for pre-order through Sundance Institute’s Now Playing page, as a result of the partnership between Sundance Institute and IFP, who release several of their alumni films a year through this collaboration.

The Congress (2013) The New York Jewish Film Festival 2014

It's all in your head- repeated refrain in The Congress

Let me be up front about this, you will either be madly in love with this film or running to the exits. The screening I attended had some people people leaving once things got really weird and others such myself leaning forward trying to suck in every frame and word into our brains.

The next thing I should say is I'm not sure if this is the last best film of 2013 or the first best film of 2014. Either way it's one of the best films I've seen in some year.

Loosely based on a novel by Stanislaw Lem the man who wrote the source novel for the Solaris films (Andre Tarkovsky's and Steven Soderbergh's) the film follows Robin Wright who plays a version of herself. She is offered a deal from a movie studio a 20 year deal to use her likeness. They will pay her a large fortune and then scan her so they can use her likeness anyway they want (with some restrictions) but she will never be able to act again. She takes the deal.  20 years later she's called back to renegotiate the deal at the time of the Futurist Congress...that's when things get animated-literally.

I'm not going to lie,this film has problems. The film takes a while to get going and then once it comes gloriously to life, it leaps 20 years into the future and has to get traction all over again. The film also suffers from a plot line and logic that sometimes comes and goes- which is annoying but keeping with the It's all in your head refrain that we hear repeated-since this film is all in someone's head.

Personally I forgave the bumps and burps, but some people left the screening shaking their head unsure of what they were seeing.

The styles of the animation are said to be based on those from the Fleischer Studios (Betty Boop, Popeye amongst others) but there are wild riffs on animators such as Ralph Bakshi, Rintaro and his Metropolis and Satoshi Kon and his Paprika, not to mention comic and fine art steals. There are riffs on various films (Dr Strangelove being the most obvious) and movie stars. I also see literary references including Michael Moorcocks Dancers at the End of Time and it's changing reality. The film is full of references and I can't wait until some one annotates the whole film.

For me the brilliance of the film comes from two places. First the film places you in a world of its own devising and it makes you believe its real. Yes its drug induced animation but something about the set up makes it all real.  Some how I really think I could buy that this sort of insanity would be possible.

The other place the film scores heavily is in all of the ideas it has floating around in it's demented little mind. Not only does it rip apart the entertainment industry but it examines the cult of self, the nature of reality (its all in your head), drugs, how we perceive each other (I don't want you to see me as I really am), the notion of love(I've loved you since I started animating you), story telling and I don't know what else. Joyously once we get animated ideas and thoughts and notions keep getting thrown at us.  So much came my way that I thought I was drowning.  There are simply too many ideas floating around in the film.

This is a film that needs to be seen multiple times before it can really be discussed. I stopped taking notes at a certain point. I had to, there simply was no way to write and process what I was seeing. More so I began to catch things in the later part of the film that referenced stuff from the beginning. Had I seen this on DVD or Bluray I would of gone back and checked the reference, but I couldn't do so.It was me and the film and one go through.

I should mention that there is so much visual information in the film you'll want to see the film as big as possible simply to have some sort of chance to catch everything that is going on.

Good god what a glorious mess. I would gladly sit through a flawed film such as this that touched my head and my heart and was carried with me out of the theater to the point where it colored the whole world after seeing it then sit through a super slick damn near perfect film from mainstream Hollywood. When the film ended and I hit daylight I started calling and texting friends to go see this film.

What a way to start a new year (or end an old one).

If you are willing to see something special, something far far from typical give The Congress a try. You may not love it like me, but I would be willing to take a white out pill to bet that you'll come out feeling you've seen something truly special.

Lorcan Finnegan's Foxes (2012) is incredible

FOXES - short film from LORCAN FINNEGAN on Vimeo.

I picked this as one of the best films of 2012 and it's a must see. Do yourself a favor and go to Vimeo and play it full screen- trust me.

Here's my Tribeca 2012 review:

FOXES
I want to really talk about this film, but I don't dare. I don't want to ruin it for you. This is a film of mood and of surprise that you just need to see. These hair raising 15 minutes are best experienced rather than wrecked by careless words.

This is a chilling short film from Ireland about a couple living all alone in a lonely row of houses. She becomes obsessed with the foxes that wander the neighborhood. Where her obsession goes is the story, and it will mess with your head. Seriously this is an eerie film of the highest order. The end sent a genuine chill through my body.

Put it on the list of best films of any length at Tribeca and possibly of the year. Absolute proof that great things come in small packages.

New York Jewish Film Festival 2014 Capsule Reviews REGINA, WHEN JEWS WERE FUNNY, LONELY PLANET, ZIGZAG KID and AMY WINEHOUSE THE DAY SHE CAME TO DINGLE

While I've seen many of the films at the New York Jewish Film Festival some of the films have defied my efforts to turn in full reviews. To that end I present some capsule reviews:

Regina (2013)
Hour long portrait of Regina Jonas (1902-1944) the first female rabbi in the world.  The film is a very good portrait of a specific time and place and a person I never knew existed. One has to admire  her drive to do what she felt was God's work. My sole complaint film about the film is that there is too much slow motion imagery which I know was used to evoke a time gone by but what it does is simply slows the film way down do that it feels much longer than it's 63 minutes. Worth a look.

Plays January 13 and 15

When Jews Were Funny (2013)
Alan Zweig's discussion about the influence of Jewish comedians in popular culture. Full of interviews and clips of comedians over the last several decades the film is frequently funny.

Unfortunately the film  suffers in two areas. First if you have any sort of interest in the history of comedy you probably know most of the history here. Yes, there are are new stories and jokes but odds are you know most of this already.

The other problem is that director Zweig makes some major missteps. First he isn't a good interviewer, asking frequently obvious questions or questions that just lie there or get non-answers (I don't have an answer for that or I don't know what you're asking me is a frequent refrain). At other times his subject berates him for not listening to what they are saying. Personally I wanted to smack him.

A funny film but I'd wait for TV.

Plays January 9

Lonely Planet (2011)
A documentary crew investigates the story of Mishka Zilberstein who spent three years living with wolves during the Second World War.

Strange blending of fact and fiction is the sort of film you either buy into or you don't. Gorgeous real life images of traveling through along the Trans Siberian Railway mix with sequences that are staged. It plays like a weird found footage film where some sequences are very much head scratchers or knowingly obtuse. Its a kind of absurdist documentary.

To be honest 20 minutes in I was done and tuned out much of the rest of the film. While I was enjoying the scenery the staged material left me cold. For whatever reason I simply couldn't click with the film.  The mixing of real and stage material just didn't work for me.

I have no idea what your reaction will be but I suggest proceeding with caution.

Plays January 9

Amy Winehouse: The Day She Came to Dingle (2012)
BBC Arena documentary about when Amy Winehouse went to Dingle in Ireland to record an episode of the The Other Voices TV series.Wonderful portrait of not only a singer and her music but also the village of Dingle. I don't know what to say other than if you are a fan of the late Ms Winehouse you owe it to yourself to see this short documentary (it runs an hour)

It plays January 14 and 15

Zigzag Kid (2012)
Amusing family film about a young boy who is being trained by his police inspector father to follow in his footsteps. When he’s sent away by his dad on the eve of his bar mitzvah he soon finds himself on the trail of a mystery which will impact his life. Better than most recent American family films of the last few years this romp is a great way to spend an afternoon at the movies. Might I suggest January 12 when this plays?

Friends from France (2013) New York Jewish Film Festival 2014

Opening night film of the New York Jewish Film Festival has me scratching my head. What is this film about, really?

The plot of the film has two cousins, pretending to be an engaged couple traveling from France to Odessa in the old Soviet Union.  They are there to bring material to various refusniks who want to leave the country for Israel. As the pair sneaks about delivering their goods they meet various people and circle closer to each other.

Feeling like an ambivalent spy film with some awkward humor mixed in this film doesn't seem to know what it's about. For much of the film I was wondering where this tale of the cousins was going.  Once the film shifted toward romance as the cousins try to avoid crashing together the film seemed to stumble. Is that what the film really about doomed romance? Weird gyrations in the plot seem to be there simply to have the film be about more than just clueless kids giving things to the refuseniks. Just before the film shifted forward ten years I just threw up my hands and went with it. Characters started to do strange things that make no sense (why is one character so damn angry?) Clearly the film wanted to to be sensational for no really good reason and it had to move toward an ending that feels completely contrived.

It's not a bad film, it's just nothing special, though perhaps a tad sleazy.

What is special are the performances, in particular Soko, a singer who I first saw in Augustine which played Rendezvous With French Cinema last spring. A stunning young woman, I'm guessing that she'll be snapped up by Hollywood very shortly and winning an Oscar or two not long after`that.

Should you see Friends From France? Yea, maybe, but I wouldn't go out of my way.

Linnea Quigley's Horror Workout (1990)

See Linnea shape up the Living Dead through Zombiecise! See sexy young girls die in a Slumber Party Massacre Workout! As if the title was not enough to sell you, Linnea Quigley's Horror Workout is a quintessential wrap up of everything that was great about 80's b-movies. Oh and it's exercise video to boot!

One of, if not THE biggest name for scream queens during the 'slasher' era, was Linnea Quigley. Forever in the minds of young men everywhere, Linnea starred in such classics as The Return of the Living Dead, Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers & my personal fav Night of the Demons. So why not capitalize on her popularity, and perhaps the fact that she was always willing to show some skin with a home video workout tape.

After a (mocking) disclaimer on how the producers are not responsible for any injuries that may occur while watching the video, our fun begins with an impromptu shower scene as Linnea prepares for her tedious workout. The short intro is then followed up by a visual aid of movie clips, introduced by Linnea herself, a day in the life of a scream queen if you will. The actual workout begins with various stretches as Linnea performs in front of a fireplace in her finest 80's heavy metal video attire, and of course a commentary filled with all sorts of double meanings. The only thing missing here is the laugh track.

After a short jog through a cemetery which seems to wake the dead from their eternal slumber, Linnea and a cast of zombies meet up at the backyard pool of her house....because, why not. What comes next may not have the same production value, choreography, or anything else featured in let's say Michael Jackson's Thriller, but it sure is entertaining.

And what workout would be complete without a slumber party.  Pillow fighting, popcorn eating, horror movie watching & exercising in skimpy PJ's with your friends to cheesy music. It all ends with the girls being picked off by a masked killer. After all it was billed as a HORROR workout.

From our star to the film crew, no one is trying to pull the wool over anyone here. This is not for fans of Jane Fonda, every second of Linnea Quigley's Horror Workout is incredibly self aware. It's strictly for b-movie or hardcore Linnea enthusiasts only. Besides with a running time of less than 60 min, what do you have to lose.

Ain't Misbehavin (2013) New York Jewish Film Festival 2014

This life and times of Marcel Ophüls, his father Max, and cinema history marks the returns of Marcel to film making after 18 years away. It also is a must see film for any film lover.

Put together from various interviews and film clips Marcel Ophuls talks about his life,in all it's aspects. Its a giddy trip down memory lane as he talks about growing up watching his father direct, converting to Catholicism in order to stay safe from the Nazis, fleeing to Switzerland, going back to France, going to Hollywood, returning to Europe after the war and  his personal life. There is way more than that and I realized quite early that I was going to have to go back and see this again because I wasn't catching everything.

And thats kind of the flaw in an otherwise wonderful film, there is a great deal spoken about in the film and if you aren't at least a little conversant in Ophuls's life and times things may not connect with you completely. Bits and pieces flew over my head as I realized I wasn't fluent in some of the films that have clips appear.

That said I pretty much fell into this film and was dragged along. I may not have recognized all of the scenery on the trip, but I was having a blast watching it go by. By the time the film ended I was ready to start over and do it all again.

What a great trip through a life and through film history. Anyone who loves film and it's history really owes it to themselves to get to Lincoln Center and see this film on Wednesday.

What a wonderful way to start The Jewish Film Festival and 2014

The New York Jewish Film Festival starts Wednesday

New York Jewish Film Festival, a co-presention of the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Jewish Museum starts Wednesday at Lincoln Center and all I can say is go. I’ve been spending the better part of the last couple of weeks wading in and sampling a good number of the films screening and I have to say that there are some really good films.

While the festival has only been around for 23 years I only started attending it in 2012 when I went to see some interviews that had been trimmed from Shoah and a documentary on artist and film maker Joann Sfar (The Rabbi’s Cat). Last year I saw three films and this year- I’ve seen a good many more and there are some real winners here (Favorites so far include The Congress, Amy Winehouse, Ain't Misbehavin and Before the Revolution).

I know some of you are backing off going because you think the films are going to be all about Jewish subjects, but that's not the case. In the case of something like The Congress the film is being included because it was made by a Jewish filmmaker. Other films touch on Jewish subjects but aren't just about being Jewish, Ain't Misbehavin is about Marcel Ophuls's life and films, some of which had Jewish subjects. The Amy Winehouse film is about a singer who just happens to be Jewish. This is a festival many good films with only lose connections to Jewish life. Mostly it's just a festival of good films which is why I'm covering the festival.

Over the course of the festival we'll be doing lots of reviews. Tomorrow we begin a week of reviews from the festival. Monday,Tuesday and Thursday will be full on reviews of films, while Wednesday and Friday I'll have some capsule reviews (some reviews didn't move me to do full write ups).  After that there is going to be some more reviews scattered through out the run of the festival.

For tickets and more information go to the festival website here.

Red Planet Mars (1952)

Red Menace story about radio signals from Mars being detected. The scientist (Peter Graves) who has discovered them has to contended with people questioning whether they are real or not (Mars is a "red" planet after all-they could be commies.) Will the scientist discover what is really going on before it’s too late?

This is a talky low budget film that has dated very badly since the fall of Communist Eastern Europe. Most of the Red Menace films from the period drifted farther and farther into silliness once we got into the 1960’s , 70’s and so on. The lines between good and evil are simply too black and too white. It doesn’t help that the film is full of earnest performances that try much too hard to sell the situations. And it’s also full of many laughable exchanges about the Godless nature of the Commies. Were we really that naive back then?

It’s not a bad film, but it’s not really a good film either. Its more an okay red menace sci-fi tinged film. It’s a film that was made at a specific time and place and has become a film that has survived well past that time and place. Odds are you'll probably laugh at the proceedings more than a few times. It’s the laughter that makes me recommend the film because without it the film would just be too stridently dopey to be believed.

Worth a look if you're a a fan of 50's sci-fi or a fan of films you can laugh at.

The Next Voice You Hear (1950)

What a strange yet somehow compelling film. I mean who thought this was a good idea? More importantly how did they get it to actually work?

The plot of the film has the voice of god being heard on radios across the globe all at the same time and speaking in the language that can be understood by the hearer. Over the course of the week that the voice is heard we watch how his messages upset the lives of believers and unbelievers (including those pesky commies)

I should point out that we never actually hear the voice or the message, we simply see how the nightly messages shake up things.

James Whitmore and Nancy Regan star as Joe Smith and his wife and we watch how the voice of causes ripple in their relationship and those around them. It’s pure soap opera and the sort of thing that nowadays would cause chuckles even on a religious TV channel… and yet once you get past the silliness the film becomes strangely compelling. Obviously it’s going to move into the spiritual and heartwarming territory but once you’re hooked you won’t care. There is a wonderful throwback nature to it all. Actually it’s a throwback to a time that never existed even in Hollywood, I mean no major studio was ever this hokey.

I remember growing up and talking to my cousin Anthony. He had stumbled on the movie (this was in the days before the internet and Turner Classic movies) and he was kind of blown away by the film. Who had they made the film for he wondered? I didn’t know, I had never heard of it and I had to keep it on my list of films to find for a couple of years before I saw it.

When I finally saw it I was kind of dumbfounded. As I said at the top, who did they make the film for? I suspect that this was an attempt to spur a movement in film toward the spiritual, as well as slap the godless commies. It was a film I laughed at, for a while anyway. I laughed because it was so over done, but then I wanted to know how it wa going to come out. What was going to happen.

When the film was done I was amused and ready to move on to the next film, and I did. However unlike many other films this one hung with me. Its been decades since I first saw it and the whole act of seeing this film, and of seeing the strangeness contained within has hung with me. It a film I’ve recommended to many people over the years simply because it has this power to stay with you.

Is it a great film? Not even close. It is however a good one and perhaps best of all a unique one. See the film and I doubt you'll be able to claim its like any other film you've ever seen

On other 2013 films and my year end mad dash to catch up.....

As is my year end norm, the final couple of days  of 2013 became a mad dash to try and see as many films from the year as possible. This involved mad dashes to the theater, long hours in front of the DVD player and scouring cable. I'm trying to see as many films as possible so I can have som part in the year end discussions.

Unfortunately this year I missed a whole lot. I just didn't have the time to get to Her, Walter Mitty, Wolf of Wall Street or some of the other big films. The time I had to watch stuff between Christmas and New Years was much less than I thought. Then again time has been a factor all through out 2013, I just didn't have the time to see everything- or rather everything I wanted.

I should point out that I saw a good many films in 2013 that never got mentioned. Many didn't warrant mentioning (remember the focus of Unseen is supposed to be recommending good films-with the exception being our film festival and new release coverage), however there are a bunch I'm going to review them down the line. I have a whole week of animated films from 2013 that has been bounced around the calendar since October and now seems to have landed in March. My review of the Hugh Jackman thriller Prisoners is due for posting in a few weeks, as is my piece on the surprisingly good Enders Game (this film has been improving in my memory since I say it). A review of the second Tales From The Dark, the first  world premiered at the New York Asian Film Festival, will be part of our Chinese New Year series. Gofrey Reggio's Visitors will finally be reviewed (I saw it back in the fall and I've had to wait until it's theatrical release to review it). And of course I have a whole slate of 2013 films that will be playing at the New York Jewish Film Festival starting Monday.

In order to give you an idea of some of the stuff I was racing through (and in some cases it was racing) I'm going to give you some quick reviews:

Snitch- good but a tad too preachy film about Dwayne Johnson making a deal with prosecutors in order to save his son from jail time.

Free Birds- animated turkeys on the run tale made money simply by being a new choice in theaters. I had been warned by parents and kids that it wasn't good...but I saw it anyway and regretted it. Not bad as such, but not good and a real time waster.

Baggage Claim- Woman wants to get engaged before her youngest sister gets married. Been there, done that film is the sort of film that needs to be stopped- women don't need to have a man to be successful.

Over 21- I love it when a film puts its IQ in the title. yet another film about drunken debauchery that would be okay if it didn't try so hard and be so stupid.

Fun Size- Weird film about high school senior  who has to watch her brother on Halloween. He goes missing and she goes looking...it has moments but they are the exception.

Battle of the Year- Okay dance film with great dance sequences and run of the mill everything else.

Getaway-Paycheck film for Ethan Hawke and John Voight. I had hopes since several small films Hawke has been in lately (Sinister, The Purge) were winners. The was just stupid.

Madea Christmas- Typical Madea  insanity but set at Christmas. As Medea films go it's one of  the better recent ones.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone- Amusing comedy has Steve Carell and Steve Buscemi as Las Vegas magicians battling street magician Jim Carrey. This was much better` than I expected.

Runner Runner- I heard this described as one of the worst films of the year. While I wouldn't go that far, I think the script for this tale of a college student getting mixed up with a shady on line gambling mogul was some how better than the film that resulted from it. It kind of almost works, but mostly if all falls flat.

Hours- One of Paul Walkers final films is a flat footed attempt to a touching drama as Walker must keep his new born safe in a hospital being struck by Hurricane Katrina. Contrived, poorly paced little rings true. It doesn't help that Walk is much too stoic in the face of his wife's death and his daughter predicament.

Spring Breakers confounds me. I’m not a Harmonie Korine fan but there is something about this film which kind of almost works. James Franco is frequently really good as a slimey guy who hooks up with a bunch of girls who are too stupid to know better. It’s a wildly uneven film with great moments and crappy ones. I don’t have any clue as to what the point of it all is.

Young Detective Dee and the Rise of the Sea Dragon - Tsui Hark's epic follow up to Detective Dee and the Phantom Flame is a spectacular piece of film martial arts mystery madness. A great deal of fun I regret not seeing it on a big screen (A review is coming during our Chinese New Year celebration)

Fruitvale Station heart breaking story of the final day in a life of a man like any other which makes it even more tragic.

Thor The Dark World- Just okay follow up to the first Thor and Avengers film.  Not bad but nothing special.Its big, loud and kind of dumb

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom Idris Elba is scary good as the man who changed the world. A very good film who's only flaw is that it  occasional dips into docudrama. Give it points for being warts and all.

Out of the Furnace-great cast gives great performances in a low key crime drama full of ugliness. It's good but I was completely in the wrong head space for the film but I will revisit it down the line


Of course this isn't to say that I'm done with 2013, only to say  that the mad dash is done for this year. Now it's time just to go back and write about good films where ever and whenever they come from.

Lee Daniel's The Butler (2013)

I’ve been running up against a great deal of material relating to the Oscar push for Lee Daniel’s The Butler. Personally I don’t think it has a chance in hell of winning anything, but it’s nice to know that the Weinsteins still have enough cash to throw at what will amount to a losing cause (Actually if they want to actually do some good they could throw money my way and I will use my questionable talents to speak glowingly of the film).

Snarky comments aside having seen the film I’m a bit puzzled by what the Weinsteins hope to get out of the Oscar push. Frankly it’s not that good.

Based on a true story, Lee Daniels’ The Butler (that really is the title thanks to legal action that won’t let them call it simply the Butler) is the story of a young man who learns to be a butler and then raises up from rich family to swanky hotel and eventually to the White House. He quietly battles racism in high places while his son openly and vocally battles it in the street. It’s a film full of big name cameos that give us fleeting looks at the people he meets.

The Butler isn’t really a bad film. It’s a good film that is much too earnest for its own good. It tells it’s story with an intensity and seriousness that we don’t really get much these days.

On the other hand it feels like it was made by rich white folk who are trying to do good by slumming to tell the story of poor blacks. You can kind of feel that its heart is I the right place, but its more good intentions gone bad. My feelings come from two places, first the film marches through events with a speed that is frightening. We get a few minutes in one time and place before we jump a couple years ahead. We’re being shown the important bit instead of allowing characters and situations to grow.

The other problem is the cameos. While I applaud them going against type (John Cusack as Nixon) or the irony (Jane Fonda is Nancy Regan) most of the appearances are so fast that we never get past the “hey look it’s---“ feeling. It’s a feeling doubled with some of the head scratcher choices (Cusack).

Again it’s not a bad film, but it is far from special. Certainly it’s light years ahead of Lee Daniel’s last film The Paperboy which may have been one of the worst big studio films of the last five years, certainly one of the most confusing (I mean one would have thought the actors and actresses would have have better sense than to appear in that)

My question is do people actually think it’s going to get Oscar nominations? And if not why are they throwing good money after bad by trying to promot it as such?

Putting the Treefort Film Festival and the Salt City Horror Fest on your radars

I know the year has barely started but I want to let you know about a couple of film festivals that will be happening in a few months. I know you’re wondering why am I telling you now? Simply if I don’t tell you now you can make the effort to try and go.

First up is the Treefort Film Festival in Boise Idaho. Those of you who know me know I will frequently use Boise as the name of a far off place so it’s some how karma that I’m telling you about a film festival there.

The festival, which runs March 19-23 is part of Treefort Music Festival which is a and arts festival. I’ve been in contact with some of the organizers and it sounds really cool. I know I’m not going to make it to the fest this year, I have the run up to some obligations already slotted. I’ll be providing information as it become available but for now if you’re looking for a new festival to try this may very well fit the bill (If you go to the music festival you can go to the film festival). For more details go here.

The other festival is Salt City Horror Festival  in Syracuse New York. A one day horror marathon running on April 19 this is a really cool festival. The line up of films is incredible and were I not going to be at Tribeca it would have been a road trip.

The film list is as follows:
LOST BOYS
INVISIBLE MAN (original)
13 GHOSTS (William Castle using Illusion-O vision viewers)
PUMPKINHEAD
John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN 2
CANDYMAN
SLEEPAWAY CAMP
STORY OF RIKI-OH
ERNEST SCARED STUPID
Jack Ketchum and MODERNCINE 2007 Horror Film: THE GIRL NEXT DOOR.

All are 35mm prints

For information on advance sale tickets please call 315-436-4723
The Facebook Page is here

Further details:
The Palace Theater
2384 James Street
Syracuse, NY 13090

Doors open at 11am
First film at noon

Alcohol served to those over 21 years of age. Lobby will be filled with vendors and more surprises TBA

Additional websites:
www.palaceonjames.com
http://www.filminsyracuse.com/
www.syracusefilm.net

R100 (2013) Toronto 2013

I’m a huge fan of Hitoshi Matsumoto I’ve reviewed every film he’s made here at Unseen. He’s one of those truly gifted filmmakers who take things in unexpected directions and forces you to rethink how you approach films and storytelling. With that in mind you can imagine my excitement when I was given the chance to see his newest film R-100 weeks before it’s world premiere in Toronto. It was Christmas four months early.

Once more Matsumoto proves he's one of the best filmmakers working today, say what you will about the film, and I can say a great deal, no one is doing what he's doing. Others may try but god damn it no one can hit it out of the box like he can. R100 is as off the beaten track as you can imagine. Its film that plays with your expectations and shakes them up.(The title comes from the Japanese movie rating system meaning no one under 100 can see the film)

The premise of the film has a salary man trying to get by with his young son. His wife is in a vegetative state in a hospital. Looking for a little excitement he joins an exclusive club that send out dominatrix to dominate him. The ladies will appear periodically and somewhat unexpectedly and he will have to go with things. He also can not under any circumstances cancel the service until the yearlong contract is up. All is going along well until the sessions begin to get closer and closer to his home and professional life so he decides to cancel...

Let me get two things out of the way, first I think the film is a masterpiece of sorts. As I said above Matsumoto is once again playing with conventions and expectations and shaking them up in ways I don't think anyone has ever thought of.  Its something that he's done with every film he's made, BIG MAN JAPAN  turns the giant monster Ultraman genre on it's ear. SYMBOL is a long winded ultimately very funny cosmic joke (That funnier each time I see it and its damn funny even unsubtitled). SCABBARD SAMURAI turns the Samurai genre upside down and makes what seems like a one joke premise into one of the most moving films you'll ever see. R100 also twists expectations in ways you can't anticipate. It is, like his other films, a work of genius.

That brings me to my second point- I honestly don’t know what I think of the film. Its one of those films where I can recognize that I've seen something special but at the same time I know I have to see the film again to really form an opinion. Yes I know that's a weird thing to say but if you've ever seen a film by Matsumoto you'll understand what I mean.

And at this point I have to add that if you've ever seen  a film by Hiroshi Matsumoto you'll understand when I say there is a only so much I can talk about concerning the film with out ruining it. What I mean by this is that the way Matsumoto constructs his films is that he makes them as an ever building puzzle box.The plot moves along and we are taken through a series of doors that surprise us at each turn. Its like an ever building joke with a set up that leads to what we think is a punchline, but is just more set up, and then there is another and another. If I tell you too much you'll know the "punchline" of the movie or a great deal of the movie which will distract you from really watching what is happening. You have to watch the directors films the first time in not knowing anything because how you react depends on seeing everything in the proper order.

 The short version of my problem with the film is that after a moody, very funny but dry first half the film shifts gears in the second. There is a point where the film shifts gears and changes from a portrait of a salaryman into something else. It does follow logically, but the tonal shift and a much too long S&M sequence breaks the, up till then, carefully woven spell. Yes what happens is funny and a bit scary but I’m not sure that it adds up to much. With the spell broken, I’m left to ponder if it’s a great deal of work for what seems to be an okay punchline.

This is not in anyway meant to sound like I don't like the film, oh dear god no. Hell the first half of the film is quite simply one of the best first halfs I've seen all year. And even the second half is light years ahead of 99% of the other films I've seen this year. It's just that I think it’s more of a let down after the heights of SYMBOL and especially SCABBARD SAMURAI which were tightly wound and perfectly constructed films.. Trust me on this, even with my reservations it’s a film that is better than most films coming from anyone anywhere in the world. Hiroshi Matsumoto pushes the envelope in ways no one is attempting and even his missteps but him ahead of everyone else.

An absolute must see for anyone who loves films, especially ones that break the rules and defy expectations.

Looking Back: The Best and Favorite Films of 2013

A few words of explanation-

I can't conform to typical the best of the year requirements. I see so many films from all over the film map that it would be impossible just to have films from one year on a list. Instead I group all the films I see in a year together because that's when the film came into my view. These are the best films I saw in 2013, released, unreleased whatever.

The number of films here is way more than ten. I can't try to clip everything to an arbitrary number. These are the films I think are best or if not the best the ones that are my favorites and which hung with me, which is probably about the same thing.

I've also made a list of some of the best moments and pieces of the film year.

Actually the best part of any film year is just going to the movies with my friends. Going to the movies with my friends tops any movie. In all seriousness you can give me a bad movie but if I get to hang with any of the Unseen Films crew and it's extended and growing family of film fans I'm thrilled. You see the names in the sidebar and you see them mentioned in the reports and going to the movies is infinitely better for having them around to kibitz with before during and after every film. I love everyone dearly and I wouldn't trade them for the world (or even a new puppy)

The best film related moments:

Kathleen Hana sitting down with the the high school girls after The Punk Singer screening at DOC NYC was wonderful. She had engaged the girls during the Q&A and then sat down with them when it was over as if she was one of them. All celebrities should be like that.

Getting to interview Donnie Yen with Hubert was something I still can't believe happened. He's a hero for me and one hell of a nice guy. It was the second time meeting the great man and it was joy.

I saw Jackie Chan three times in two days. I was inches away from someone I admired for decades and he was as charming and as wonderful as I hoped. Yea I'm a fanboy some times

The post film discussions at Tribeca and every other film festival. Who said movie going wasn't a social activity?

The best film bits:

The intermission of Holy Motors is great music- what a great interlude

The end of Les Miserables makes what doesn't work on stage work on film. Feel the goose bumps.

Final moments of Zero Dark Thirty- too bad it took two and a half hours to get there

The Discovery of Simon Yam as film director

Anthony Wong in Ip Man Final Fight. And of course Oscar won't notice.

Tony Leung Ka-fai-in Cold War. Another performance that Oscar will ignore.

The Best Films of 2013 in no particular order

Padak- thoughtful animation about life and death and a whole lot more. Sure it will scare the kids but it will move the adults.

Libido from ABC's of Death talk about dark and disturbing and really really wrong.

Ernest and Celestine- Charming and wonderful and one of the best animated films of the last 10 years- at least. Lets hope Oscar notices...

Day of the Crows- Out Ghibliing Ghibli that kicks ass and takes names at the end. The best Ghibli film they never made and better than most of their production from the last few years. Would someone please release this film in the US?

Flying Guillotine 2/Return of the One Armed Swordsman- These sequels out did the originals (Yes I know Flying was last years list  but I'm doing it as a paring)

Before Midnight Third in a series works completely independent of the series. One of the best films on relationships you'll ever see. Don't worry that you haven't seen the first two films, just see this because its that damn good

Byzantium- is the vampire film that Interview With A Vampire should have been. It puts to shame every recent film, and many going back decades. Its all character as it should be and less interested in style and bloodletting.

Trials of Muhammad Ali-The greatest film on The Greatest I've ever seen.

Frankenstein's Army one of the best monster films ever made.

My Afghanistan- the real situation in Afghanistan filmed by the people who live there. What the hell are we doing there? They don't need us.

Camp 14 life in and out of a North Korean prison camp. The reality will curl your hair.

Hank and Asha A lovely romance all by video letters, yea it get a tad messy at the end but its still wonderful.

The Day God Slept proof great things come in small packages. A mind bending thought provoking film is as good as filmmaking gets.

Behind the Camera- what happens when a director decides to direct a film in Korea while staying in Los Angeles. I can't say enough about the OH WOW factor of this cool documentary.

Decelerators is a film that single handedly ends the debate as to whether a film has to be long to be great.  Its five minutes long and simply one of the greatest films I've seen...ever. (Which kind of puts it past being quantified or ranked)

Sion Sono's Bad Film is an almost 3 hour tone poem that is just god damn amazing. Its just a must see.

Burning Buddha Man- There is nothing like it- anywhere, ever. And if it there its never been this compelling.

Thantomorphoes-gross disgusting and disturbing. Talk about body horror

Captain Phillips- Tom Hanks is just- WOW.

Europa Report- to hell with Gravity, this is the real deal. The best space film you've never seen

1 - The history of Formula One through the need for safety. Its just one of the best racing films I've ever seen

The Immigrant when you hit that final image and it all comes together you realize how wonderful and weirdly hopeful it all is your jaw drops and you realize you've seen magic. When is this getting a release?

Last Safari-the images from this film on the big screen will blow you away

Broken Circle Breakdown- I refused to put this on my best of Tribeca because this was too damn sad. On the other hand it is too damn haunting not to say its one of the absolute best of the year. Even the soundtrack breaks my heart

Touba- what a fantastic experience-its like being there

A World Not Ours- It's as if Woody Allen does a film about Palestine and makes you think

Things Left Behind- THE BEST FILM OF THE YEAR HAND DOWN and one of the greatest anti-war films I've ever seen

Beautiful Waste- The beauty under the streets on NYC

Flutter- the story of a man who love butterflies. A perfect marriage of sound and image.

On:Blooming Art Portrait of an artist

The Act of Killing not sure if this should be here because it's been over-hyped but its damn good

Revenge of the Meekons- Still debating where this belongs but consider a room full of critics applauded when it ended.

Big Joy- The Adventures of James Broughton- a beautiful explanation as to why we all need to twirl more often.

Better Things: The Life and Choices of Jeffrey Catherine Jones is a great look at an artist who did what he/she had to do to be happy. Its a great look at creativity and how we all must follow our own path. I did do a piece to help finish the film be funded back in October but there has been no formal review due in part to battles as to who was going to review it and stalled interview with the director that was to run in tandem with the review. Its getting, I was told, a release in 2014 and you owe it to yourself to see it.

Late addition to the list is Another Day Another Time:Celebrating the Music of Llewyn Davis- a damn close second best film of the year played on Showtime. a chronicle of the concert at New York's Town Hall of music from Inside Llewyn Davis and that inspired it. It makes me glad I missed the concert because this has random jam sessions in the halls and dressing rooms.... pure musical joy.

I'm not sure if I should put The Congress on the list for 2013 or the on for 2014. I saw the film in 2013 for a film festival for in 2014. Ari Folman's follow up to Waltz with Bashir is a flawed masterpiece.  A heady film about reality, media and life this film has enough food for thought for about 80 other films. Based, loosely, on a novel by Stanislaw Lem who gave us Solaris, this is a film that is easily matches up to Tarkovsky's Solaris and Stalker. I'm going to review the film in a couple of days- but until then if you're going to be in New York on January 11 you may want to consider going to see this at the New York Jewish Film Festival.

Bending Steel - Marvelous film about finding what you're good at and thus finding yourself in bending steel.  The best thing I can say about this film is I don't know anyone who doesn't love it.

That's it for 2013- onward and upward to 2014

Girl Walk//All Day Take 2

New Year’s day and while most people look ahead I have to look back at one of my favorite films ever. If we need to start the new year on good foot I’ll start it with a great movie.

Back in 2012, thanks to Mr C I ended up covering the Korean American Film Festival New York (KAFFNY) where I was made aware of Girl Walk//All Day. The film is a dance film that is choreographed to Girl Talk’s All Day album. The link we were given was to the film’s website where the film is viewable in multiple parts on You Tube. I fell in love with the film and then began send the link to anyone and everyone who I thought would like the film. I went out of my way to arrange an interview of sorts with the director. I liked it so much that I bought a ticket to see the film at the festival screening where it was it was going to screen at the White Box Gallery in the Lower East Side of NYC.

Seeing the film complete with no breaks with pretty much the entire audience dancing was a revelation. I knew the film was good, I just didn’t know how good.

It was a feeling that was intensified when I saw the film on DVD at home.

Yea its great in parts-yea it’s a great happening film- but what most people don’t realize is that it’s a great film on it’s own terms.

I should point out that over the course of the last year and a half I’ve probably seen the film about 70 times. Yes 70.

Anytime I feel a little down or need a pick me up I take an hour plus and pop the film in and instantly I feel better. There is something about the joy in the film, the joy of dancing, of music, of doing what one loves despite being pushed aside, as the girl frequently, that brings me to a happy place.

I think the reason the film works is the marriage of music and image. I've seen sections of the film with the sound off and it looks really strange. On the other hand turn on the music and it's pure magic. Likewise the music is a wonderful long mash up of songs, and as good as it is its lifted up by the addition of the film.  The music is no longer just random songs linked together but the story of three people's lives as the come together and apart and dance their way across New York City.

I am in awe of this film. How can a film I've seen so many times, and know so well move me with each viewing. I've never been moved by any movie after every screening, the way I am moved, nay lifted by this film. More amazingly how is it that a film I know so well reveals things in each viewing. Little bits of interaction, background details even plot details all pop out in each go through.

No the film isn't perfect. For one thing the way the film bounces back and forth through the city isn't logical, then again 99% of the people seeing the film never would notice. There are also weird background things as people run from the camera, which is understandable since the film was done on the sly and without permits as the ejection from Yankee stadium reveals.

This is a magic film.

This is probably as close to pure cinema, pure emotion on film as I have ever experienced.

I love this film without question and with out reservation.

It is perhaps my favorite film of all time.