Movie Doc's Friday and Saturday

Running on fumes, I managed to watch four more movies on Friday and Saturday. Friday afternoon, I watched 3 back to back films. I began with BOB AND THE MONSTER, an interesting and well done documentary on rock singer Bob Forrest of the band Thelonious Monster and his battles with drug abuse and his eventual recovery and new calling as a drug counselor. I followed this film with the winner of the best narrative feature in both the Jury and Audience categories, NATURAL SELECTION. Writer/director Robbie Pikering presents a dark comedy which tells the story of Linda White, a barren, devout Christian housewife who discovers an ugly truth about her husband when he suffers a stroke. Pikering does a wonderful job with this film and Rachael Harris offers an amazing performance as Linda White. The film also earned awards for best breakthrough performances (Rachael Harris and Matt O'Leary), best screenplay (Robbie Pikering), best editing (Michelle Tesoro), and best score/music (iZLER, Curt Schneider). My last film on Friday was another dark comedy about a dysfunctional family. ANOTHER HAPPY DAY by writer/director Sam Levinson boasts an excellent cast of talented actors including Ellen Barkin, Kate Bosworth, Demi Moore, Thomas Haden Church, George Kennedy, Ellen Burstyn, and relative newcomers Ezra Miller, and Daniel Yelsky. Perhaps dysfunctional is an understatement when describing the family in this movie. This family has some serious deep seeded problems which Levinson presents with an unusual, but effective mix of humor and drama. This is one movie that should not be overlooked when released in theaters and hopefully come awards season. Saturday, because I had some family matters to attend to, I only made one movie. I finally got to see the movie which won the audience award in the Midnight Feature category. I say finally because when first considering which films I wanted to see this one was high on my list, but because of schedule conflicts, I missed all the previous screenings. From executive producer Edgar Wright (SHAUN OF THE DEAD, SCOTT PILGRIM) and director Joe Cornish, ATTACK THE BLOCK combines horror, humor, and non stop thrills is a film which deserves its audience award. Fans of Edgar Wright and horror/comedies with a small dose of sci-fi should take notice of this excitingly fun motion picture. A South London street gang is forced to stop terrorizing their neighborhood and defend it when a new terror in the form of space aliens attacks. Be sure to look for this film in theaters when it arrives. I get the feeling that this one might fly below the radar and could be easily missed. Mark Saldana The Movie Doc

WUSS Screening

The director and stars of WUSS at the Alamo South Lamar screening

Movie Doc's Wednesday and Thursday

It's time for me to play catch up now and post about the films that have kept me busy these past couple of days. On Wednesday evening, I went to the Paramount to watch THE BEAVER with director Jodie Foster in attendance. The film stars Mel Gibson as a father and business executive struggling with major depression. He finds an unusual form of escapism and communication by using a beaver puppet. I really did not know what to think of the movie when I first heard the premise and saw the trailer. All I can say is that the film is truly remarkable and something that film fans should experience. If you think you know what to expect from this film you may just be wrong. With all the bad press and personal problems Gibson's had recently, I am not sure how audiences will treat the film. Whatever problems the man has, there is still no denying his talent as an actor. Following this, I headed to the Alamo South Lamar for HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN. This grindhouse tribute/throwback was first conceived for a fake trailer contest held by Robert Rodriguez a few years back. He was seeking an additional faux movie trailer to play during his GRINDHOUSE collaboration with Quentin Tarantino. I LOVED the trailer when I first saw it. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the full length film treatment. The attempts at humor fail through most of the film. The structure and pacing of the plot is so uneven that I felt bored and unamused during the screening. The film lacked the sharp wit and cool writing and style which made the feature length MACHETE a perfect extension of its fake trailer. Thursday fortunately, I remained at the Alamo South Lamar for two screenings. I say fortunately because downtown has become so crazy congested with people and traffic ever since the Music portion of the festival began. I was grateful to get a break from this. The first film I watched was a Chilean romantic comedy called F*CK MY LIFE. While normally not a fan of romantic comedies, the film with its mix of relavant satire, screwball comedy, and likable characters kept me invested and entertained even if the plot was somewhat formulaic. Director Nicholas Lopez manages to take an often tiresome plot and refreshes it with well developed characters and rich humor. The final film of the evening was a movie called WUSS. Director Clay Lifford takes us into the sad and frightening world of Mitch Parker (Nate Rubin), a high school English teacher who gets attacked by his drug dealing student Re-Up (Ryan Andeson) and his cronies. Mitch has to decide how to handle this scary new development as Re-Up continues to torment him and also has to come to terms with his timid personality and arrested development. Speaking of which, ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT's Tony Hale has a hilarious role in the film as Mr. Crowder the band teacher. Lifford mixes dark comedy and real drama, which actually gets seriously disturbing at times. Nevertheless, the comedy does work tremendously well and had me laughing constantly. The acting by Parker, Anderson, and Alicia Anthony, who plays Maddie Worth, is excellent.

OTIS UNDER SKY INTERVIEW

Mark Saldana’s Interview with director Anlo Sepulveda and actors Roberta Colindrez, Anis Mojgani, and Jacqueline Leal from the film OTIS UNDER SKY Monday afternoon I was blessed with the opportunity to interview the director and lead actors from a film that is visually gorgeous, has characters who should win the hearts of any audience, and was achieved without a definitive script. This was no easy feat, but at the same time felt liberating and exciting for the cast and crew of OTIS UNDER SKY. Mark Saldana: How did this film idea come about? Is it based on any personal experiences? Anlo Sepulveda: Otis is loosely based on a guy I knew named Garrison. He was a bull rider who really got into Eastern philosophies and eventually moved to Morocco, grew a beard, and learned Arabic. In the movie, Otis is not a bull rider, but his interest in Eastern religions and philosophies were inspired by Garrison. MS: You’ve directed shorts and documentaries prior to this film. How did this film differ from your previous work? AS: The whole production spanned over a larger period of time. It was much more time consuming than shorts. My work in documentaries did prepare me for the task, though. I took this approach to OTIS in that I shot it much like a documentary is. MS: Would this fall under the category of guerilla style filmmaking. AS: Exactly MS: How challenging was it to produce a film unscripted? AS: Very challenging, but my wife Mandi who produced the film kept everything organized and on track. MS: How challenging was it for you the actors? Anis Mojgani: Challenging, but beneficial and fun. Roberta Sepulveda: Very liberating without the structure of the script. Awesome, but stressful MS: I have not seen the film yet. What should I expect going into this film if you could describe in a few words? AS: It is a gentle tale of love and loss, a struggle for connection in a often disconnected world. AM: It attempts to be sincere without being cynical. RC: There is a theme of growth, a duality of connection and disconnection, growth and learning Jacqueline Leal: Visually beautiful. MS: Anis, tell me about your career as a poet and spoken word artist. AM: I have been writing poetry for 12-15 years now and doing spoken word for 5 or 6 years. I have done shows at schools and colleges. It comes from a quieter and organic place very much involved in the imagination. MS: Roberta, I read in the press kit that you are currently a cast member for the Neo-Futurist. Tell me about this. RC: It is a unique Avant Garde aesthetic in NYC. 18 artists write, direct, perform about 30 plays within 60 minutes. MS: What projects do you all have next? AM: I’m getting married, planning a wedding. After this I will be working on a children’s book and finishing a script. RC: I just hired an agent and plan to seek more work with the agent’s help now. Until then I will continue with Neo-Futurism and I have started writing a screenplay. AS: I started working with Paul Collins on a documentary on the San Marcos River. Also will continue to seek distribution for OTIS UNDER SKY JL: Will act in a surfer film and a film thriller in Uganda.

Mark Saldana The Movie Doc

Liz at SXSW- From horror to romantic comedy and dramas

Wednesday was an interesting day of films for me as I stayed in the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar area for most of my business from 9:30 am to almost 6pm.

I was able to attend another one of the SXFantastic film screenings, selected by the Fantastic Fest folks. I viewed 'Kill List' and it is a very good film and great departure from the previous film I saw, Jez Jerzy (George the Hedgehog). 'Kill List' keeps the viewer very much intrigued with the characters and their actions, as compared to one about a hedgehog. Both hail from different countries, but I prefer the film with humans over the one about a hedgehog, who somehow thinks and acts as if he is a human, including getting the girl; a human girl at that!

I took a break over at Casa Garcia's and had some yummy food to keep me going for the rest of the day. The staff is always very attentive to me and give me a quiet space to think, or just get refueled while I run from one screening to another during this city's film festivals (this is my fourth since September 2010).

Later that afternoon, I was glad to catch the film from Chile, 'F*** My Life' (Que Pena Tu Vida) and it is a film that connects the viewer with the man-boy who has his ups and downs in life. Typical to some people, he does not know what he has until he gives it up, then he crys about it- almost forever. It is funny to see the protagonist go from day to day in his pursuit of whatever he is chasing that day. There are some very funny scenes and if a romantic comedy is your fancy, there is another screening tonight at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar Theater at 8pm. There are still single ticket sales available to the films, but I would advise to arrive early to secure tickets.

Just as a reminder, Sudor Frio (Cold Sweat), from Argentina, is also screening tonight at the Alamo South Lamar Theater tonight too, starting at 11:30pm. This is part of the SXFantastic films presented, so it will be a drastic change from the romantic comedy of 'F*** My Life'.

I ran back into the Capital area looking for parking in order to try to get into the film screening of 'The Beaver' by director Jodie Foster. How lucky I was to find a free space close enough to get into the badge line and join my friends and fellow critics. I am so glad I did not miss this film and throughly enjoyed the film with the cast that includes Jodie Foster, Mel Gibson and Anton Yelchin. The Q&A after the film was also quite informative. I certainly hope this has a theatrical release in the near future.

Jodie flew in from Paris where she is shooting another film and was flying back to finish the project. The audience in attendance was very lucky to have had the opportunity to hear from her during SXSW, considering her other current film work. Keep your eyes open for this drama, based on a screenplay by Austin based writer, Kyle Killen.

Hope the rest of this day is a good one for you. I am wearing green just in case for this holiday.
Feliz Dia de San Patricio!
sub-title= Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Liz

Riley's Paul and Bridesmaids recap

Sunday was another exciting night at SXSW, a long night. Simon Pegg, Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz), and Kristen Wiig (SNL), all sowed up in Austin, for the US premiere of their new movie Paul, followed by Wiig's new film Bridesmaids. The theatre was packed; everyone in the audience went crazy and started screaming when Paul's writers and main stars, Frost and Pegg, along with co star, Wigg, and Directer Greg Mottola (Adventurland), came onto the stage to introduce their new movie. Practically everyone whipped out a camera or phone, and started taking the talents' pictures. About fifteen minutes later, everyone took their seats, and the movie begain.
I loved Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, and had high expectaions for Paul, but honestly, the movie is just "okay." The Film's comedic timing is spot on the special effects are very believible for CGI, and the acting is quite good. Unfortunitly, other than a few random scenes, not necessary to the plot , the movie is quite predictable, and a bit chiche. The Film makes many different references to alien films, much of which I enjoyed, but have been done before. The only moments which could surprise the audience have already been previewed in the movie's trailer. Instead of being a spoof on the genre of alien films, it was nothign but lots of overblown,hackneyed references to these more remarkable films. It's as if the writers made a list of all the memerable moments in their favorite alien films, and then tried to incorporate these moments into a script, without much plot attached. While the humerous style of the Brits worked very well in Shaun of the Dead, it did not translate well in Paul. The Main feeling this film left me with is one of nistalgia for the better films it mocked. An okay film- not a great film.
After the film was over Pegg, Frost, Wiig, and Mottola returned to the stage for a quick Q and A. Pegg and Frost were hilarious. they joked about the Spielberg cameo, sayingthat they auditioned many big nameed directors before settling for Speilberg. A few members of the audience kept asking Frost of he would eat crazy, gross things, like chocolate jerkey, a waist of a good question. They wraped up the Q and A, passed out "Paul" masks to everyone in the audience, and then, wearing the masks, we all took a group picture with the cast. It was AWSOME!
A little bit after midnight the second movie, Bridesmaids, staring and co- written by Kristen Wiig began. I was seriously surprized by how much I enjoyed this film. I was afraid this movie would be overdrapatic, like last years film MacGruber, but instead I saw Kristen Wiig give her most subtlest performance to date. She gives a very natural performance, and while the film has still has some quirk, overdramatic, situations, perfect for SNL, the acting is much more realistic, not allways going for the laughs. But this is a great , feel good, hillarious (my friends and I could not stop laughing), girl bonding movie, with some very sincere moments, in case you can't tell- I really liked this film.

Laurie's NEXT Blog - The Other F Word, Beaver, Win Win and MORE!

Smack in the middle of SXSW, my beautiful granddaughter, Leia Anne Roselyn Coker was born. I typically am more on top of my blogging and reviews and while I have managed to make several screenings and a few red carpets, I have neglected the writing aspect. Shame on me, I suppose, but my new little angel and her wonderful parents and of course, my adorable grandson, take top bill with me.

Jumping right in, however, I'd like to mention a documentary that I saw called 'The Other F Word,' about punk rockers from the eighties (from bands like Pennywise, Blink 182, Red Hot Chili Peppers and others), who are fathers now (thus the "other F word"). Honestly, the day I saw the film, I was exhausted, sleep deprived really, but colorful characters, perfect editing and excellent direction kept me engaged and entertained. I had opportunity to speak to the film's producer, director and editor the next morning and I truly enjoyed the visit (which I will write more about later). They tell me no one has picked up the film yet (I am thinking IFC, HBO, VH1 or MTV should). More than a film about punk rock dads, 'The Other F Word' is about all fathers and the way men can grow up and out of past bad experiences and become fathers if they want to bad enough and about how no one is perfect, no one. These father just do the best they can and they love unconditionally. Most has rough childhoods and most has lousy or absent fathers, so being better dad holds priority to career even and the irony of singing about how authority sucks and dropping anti-establishment credos and every foul word in the world and then turning around as authority figures for their children is not lost in the film, in fact was suppose to be the focus, but there is so much more to this dads. I cannot say enough good about 'The Other F Word,' which will screen one more time at the festival, (Thursday 17th March) and I do really recommend it and hope that some smart company executive does pick it up. Dads from all walks of life, heck all parents, will appreciate the candor and honesty of the film.

My festival favorite so far and holding firm, is Win Win, starring Paul Giamatti and Amy Ryan and directed my Thomas McCarthy (who gave me my festival favorite two years ago with The Visitor). 'Win Win' will hit theatres soon and I was lucky enough to catch it at the Paramount (even if it was 8:30 am) with only two other people. I loved it. McCarthy has a way of capturing people - real people in real, not always perfect situations and in this case, we get a laywer who business is waining, a boy who hates his mother, a wife who loves her family and a mother who is terrible at the job of parenting. HUMAN, REAL and MOVING to watch. The film introduces us to newcomer

Alex Shaffer (a high school wrestler) and I sat down with Alex to ask about his transition into acting. Because of a back injury, he is dropping wrestling (he is GOOD) and focuing ALL his energies on acting - and I will say, he is a natural. I spoke to Paul and Amy on the red carpet and Thomas McCarthy and all are so gracious and sincere. I see Paul, like I do Richard Jenkins (The Visitor) as quiet, gentle and yes, sexy men and love them in leading roles. I will be writing a longer review when the movie opens and more about my red carpet experiences and conversation with Shaffer, but for now, know that 'Win Win' is a WINNER!! Wonderful film!!

I also saw 'Beaver,' starring and directed by Jodie Foster and co-starring Mel Gibson, a film about a man's battle with depression, his family's struggles and a beaver puppet. As weird as it sounds, Foster's take on depression and the hold is has over all involved is moving. I felt the film was too short (just over 90 minutes) and I don't say that every often, but I needed more character discovery and with a side story involving the son, Foster rushes out too soon. Still, I did enjoy and appreciate the film's message.

For now I am going to call it quits and head once again to the festival and the Alamo South. 'The Dish and the Spoon is on my list today, so off I go.

Update from Liz on Cold Sweat (Sudor Frio) screenings

Cold Sweat (Sudor Frio) is one of the five Fantastic Fest films to be screened during SXSW 2011.

I went to see the film from Argentina on Tuesday night at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar and can safely say it had me on the edge of my seat! I was able to listen to the Q&A with Tim League and the director, Adrian Garcia Bogliano, who traveled from Argentina to screen his film as an International Premiere. The Spanish language film has sub-titles.

I had the pleasure of an interview with the director this afternoon and if you are a fan of this genre, I think you will not be disappointed in staying up late night for this one.

The film from director Garcia Bogliano will screen tonight, Wednesday the 16th, at the Alamo Ritz Theater at 11.30pm. In case it is too late for today, the third SXSW screening will be on Thursday at the Alamo South Lamar Theater, also starting at 11.30pm.

Stay tuned to films that will be showing soon at the Alamo Drafthouse Theaters, in case we have an update if the film will have a theatrical opening here in Austin.

Gotta run, as I am off to catch another screening. Be back soon to let you know how things have been going on the other films and interviews. This is tiring, but what fun and opportunity to meet people.

Liz

FOO FIGHTERS Documentary

The band arrived to introduce their film. They later performed a concert for their premiere party at Stubbs

PAUL SCREENING AT THE PARAMOUNT

Director Greg Mottola with actors Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Kristen Wiig at the screening for PAUL on Sunday night.