A studio that never sleeps

This week I saw the fantastic new Pixar film Toy Story 3. I think I saw more adults in the audience than kids. In fact, when I bought my ticket, the 40-something lady behind me confessed that she was going to watch it with her girlfriends.

Why is this movie so popular with adults? Well, why is Pixar the object of our affection? The answer is obvious. We adults miss our childhood and desperately try to re-live it by watching these animated films. With all the crap we have to deal in our everyday lives (i.e. work, kids, husband), Pixar is our little escape.

But like any curious film-goer, I really wonder about the behind-the-scenes. The finished product is inspiring. How did it happen?  In fact, how did any of it happen? These ponderings remind me of a documentary I saw earlier this year at the Dallas International Film Festival called Waking Sleeping Beauty. And if you grew up in my generation and were enamored with anything Disney, you will definitely have to see this one.

Waking Sleeping Beauty kinda plays like a western. You have your “good guys” and your “villains”. As this movie focuses on the state of the company back in the 80s and 90s, one of the main players is, of course, Michael Eisner. I think of him right away because of the "Disney Sunday Night Movie" where he would tell us some warm and fuzzy anecdote about the film he was about to present. There he was, that sweet smiling face talking about Jiminy Cricket or Donald Duck.

I would have never guessed (at the age of nine) that Eisner was a calculating businessman, who cared, but was mindful of  the bottom line. But Eisner is not the “bad guy” in this documentary. Look behind you Mickey! It's Jeffery Katzenberg! Let’s just say Katzenberg made Ursula the sea witch look like Beatty White.

And the audience will recognize most of the players--names like Tim Burton, John Lasseter, Roy Disney, Rob Minkoff, Ron Clements and Roger Allers. Documentary filmmaker Don Hahn and screenwriter Patrick Pacheco are not shy about exposing the political wars that almost destroyed this empire.  

The documentary is as entertaining as the movies they produce. And you will receive an education (this is something all aspiring animators should watch).

And don’t worry…in the end, the company comes full circle… much like Woody and Buzz did at the end of their journey.

        

An ode

Dennis Hopper.
The nomenclature of badasses of American film.
Today cinema mourns.
A rough dude on an angry bike.
The anti-hero.
The lovable joker.
A poker-face.
And a surly voice.

Mr. Hopper.
With speed.
An easy rider.
The man who crashed.
And blue velvet mischief.
Never met a bad guy he didn't want to be.
Gun slinging SOB.
Everyone loved him.
Yes, indeed.

You see, Mr. Hopper was--is,
More than the cliche star.
More like the teacher.
Who beat you with a stick.
Until you got it right.
Until he was satisfied.
And then you, actor, could go out in the world.
And perhaps carry what he did.

Dennis Hopper.
It is a sad day.
Perhaps I will watch you.
Perhaps True Romance for kicks.
Or when we barely knew you.
Like Cool Hand Luke and Giant?
You were--are, a giant.

        

Remember to breathe 

I took my mom to see the award-winning (SXSW Audience Award, Dallas International Film Festival Narrative) locally made film Brotherhood . So finally after missing it at SXSW in Austin and the first screening at the DIFF (and was scolded for it by my good friend and filmmaker Mac) yes, I finally enjoyed the 90-minute film.

To say that the story is intense is a gross understatement. Director and Arlington native Will Canon (Threefolks Pictures ) shows the audience the ugly side of the frat. It begins when some good old-fashioned hazing goes awry. And you would think that Canon gives us a moment to relax, or, at least, enjoy the popcorn. Mine remained untouched as I didn't want to miss a blink.

I digress.

The cast of characters are pretty much on the dark side. You know what those crazy kids do when they go off to college, drink until their kidneys look like Swiss cheese and have a little too much imagination. In Brotherhood, the combination pushes frat brothers Frank-the leader (Jon Foster), Adam-the newbie (Trevor Morgan), Kevin-the sheep (Lou Taylor Pucci) and outsider Mike-the scapegoat (Arlen Escarpeta) to do unbelievable things.

I'd say this movie questions real honor and real brotherhood. As the situation becomes impossible, friends turn on friends and the outrageous becomes justified.

I was floored by the cast. Film students can study the delicious tension between Frank and Adam. They hate each other even though they are on the same team. Foster and Morgan who are hot up-and-coming actors deserve accolades for the meticulous performances. Pucci and Escarpet are also excellent as they play the vulnerable counterparts.

Brotherhood gets attention wherever it goes. And hopefully it will find distribution and come to a theater near you. I highly recommend and look for it next award season!

Update: Brotherhood was just picked up for US release by Phase 4 at the Cannes Film Festival.

        

Proves that Mexican films are still golden

You don't have to search across the sea to find good foreign films.  My friends, Mexico is making a comeback.  I think, though, it started in 1999 when the indie film Sexo Pudor y Lagrimas got enough attention to win some awards.  Then a year later director Guillermo Arriaga put Mexico back on the film radar with Amores Perros.  Since then it's been hit and miss.  More hits though.

I'm mention this because I encourage movie-lovers to pay attention to Mexican cinema. Last week I had the privilege of attending the screening of Sin Ella, directed by Jorge Colon.

Sin Ella (Without Her) is a story about Gaston (Luis Roberto Guzman) a man who loses his ex-wife and is left to deal with his children whom he has never had time for.  He is compelled to bring them to his home and his fast-paced world.  But there are so many challenges along the way.  His children Gaby (Zuria Vega) and Lucas prefer to live with their step-father Fabian (Francisco Gattorno), the man who raised them.  Because of pride, Gaston forces the lifestyle change leaving his kids miserable.  It seems that Gaston's job in the television industry never allows him the time to pay attention to what is important.

Without giving too much away, Gaston and everyone else around him adapt to the situation primarily because he feels guided by his ex-wife Carmen (Lola Duenas).  The end will leave you breathless.

The acting is incredible. As they say in Spanish que barbaro!  The performances by Guzman, Vega and Duenas are so touching, I was crying!  It takes a lot for me to cry during a movie.  I have a heart of stone.  But I digress. I also love the comic relief characters, like Shine played by the charismatic Fernando Ciangerotti.  I think he's pretty underappreciated.  I've been watching his career since the age of 13 and was delightfully surprised to see him in front of a camera again.  I also liked Gaby's love interest Andi (Luis Arrieta).  He has the skills (and face) for quality indie films.

So you know what to do when this film comes out.  Go watch it!


Cast, director and producer of Sin Ella

-- Liz Casanova

        

They come home broken

What happens to soldiers when they come back from war?  This question is answered in the independent film directed by Ryan Piers Williams, The Dry Land.

Jack, played by up-and-coming actor Ryan O'Nan (The Unusuals), comes home from Iraq.  He struggles to resume a normal life with his wife Sarah (America Ferrera).  But unfortunately for him and his loved ones, the traumas of war have left him scarred and unable to adjust. 

On the brink of a meltdown and unable to remember what happened to him during an attacked that happened in his unit's humvee, he decides to take a road trip with his friend and fellow soldier Raymond (Wilmer Valderrama). Jack and Raymond drive to Walter Reed to visit another soldier who was also in the explosion.

The journey of a soldier from the miseries of war to the dry lands of Texas is captured in this film with brute reality.  The performances by O'Nan, Ferrera and Valderrama are powerful.  One performance I especially loved was Jack's mom Martha (Melissa Leo). 

The only negatives in the film are technical.  Some of the editing and sound is not that great.  But the story makes up for it and the message is important.

"We wanted to make a film that wasn't political and that honored the soldiers", Valderrama said at the Q&A session after the screening.

Keep this one on your radar.


Ryan O'Nan, America Ferrera, Ryan Piers Williams and Wilmer Valderrama

-- Liz Casanova

        

Nosotros los pobres

I thought I was red carpet ready when I picked my outfit today. I guess I chose the most unflattering outfit for the opening night of the Dallas International Film Festival (DIFF).

Of course with me there is always a little drama.  I like to mix it up.  Or maybe it's my procrastination/lazy personality. Nah, not lazy.  I digress.  I get to the Angelika for the red carpet and I relize that my camera's batteries are still at my house.  So I had to walk half a mile to CVS to get some back-ups.  By the time I arrived at the check-in table I was sweating like a 14-year-old pubescent. It gets worse.  Someone actually asked me if I was the lady running on the bridge over the highway. 

This is my third year at DIFF but the red carpet never gets old.  I always feel a little intimidated because I underdress.  It never fails; there are always ultra skinny fashion-model-wannabes wearing dresses that barley cover their butts and accentuate their fake breasts.  I like to call them Dallas Barbies.  And there is always some old dude trying to create a meet-cute.

This year the big celebrity was Bill Paxton.  You might know him from a little film called Twister and the hit cable series Big Love.  Paxton was nice this year.  He took some time with the press and gave great advice to aspiring filmmakers. The other big star was Kelly Monaco (General Hospital).  I had mixed feelings about her.  When she got to our section she backed off and looked extremely uncomfortable.  Until finally the press assistant asked her if she could talk to the press.  She didn't look too happy about that.  I'm sorry, did I get leprosy?  Or did we look too "little people" for her?

The Most Charming Red Carpet Couple award goes to actors Gabriel Horn and Julie Erickson (who started her career in the 1963 film Beach Party).  

Guess who else I saw?  Drew Waters from the Oliver Stone movie W.  He remembered me and gave me a nice long hug.  Everyone loves Drew. 

Spotted--Amanda Seyfried sporting a terrible outfit and pretending that she is not an actress but a mere mortal. Don't take her picture; she's too good for that!

After the red carpet, I went off and saw a classic Mexican film called Nosotros Los Pobres starring Pedro Infante.  It was showcased and Infante received a Star Award. I haven't seen this one in like 15 years and I think it has to be the best Mexican film of all time.  It's the equivalent to Casablanca. 

The real drama was reserved for the Opening Night Party, and I hung out with Dallas filmmaker Cliff McClelland and some of his peeps. McClelland and I go back. He will probaly kill me for publishing this, but Mr. Mac (as I have to call him) was also my high school theater teacher.  Yeah, but I give him props for being my first "arts" mentor.  I made As in my college film classes because of him.

So speaking of drama, the Most Inappropriate Drunk Couple award goes to the nasty couple on the second floor of the Angelika.  The girl was wearing a short dress that really didn't cover her nalgas and she had her back against the glass.  The party was downstairs in the outside area in front of the theater so we got a good peek up her dress.  Everyone started cheering and whistling.  And the couple put on quite a show by making out and pressing their bodies against the glass.  Finally, a kind DIFF volunteer had to walk up there and tell them they had an audience. Bravo!

And I had an "oops" moment when I thought I recognized my friend's husband.  So I went up to him and asked "hey, you're *Belinda's husband right?"  And he sneered and and said "no, I am not".  But the dude was lying. It was Belinda's husband!

The grand finale was the drunk lady who tripped over an invisible gnome and fell on her (okay ya'll, you know the word by now.  I'm teaching you Spanish).

What's next?  I can't wait to see Carried Away and Dry Land.

*Belinda is a made-up name to protect "Belinda's" identity and cover her husband's ass.




Bill Paxton and Tom Huckabee

        

Well it begins. Well it continues.

Today I picked up my press badge for the Dallas International Film Festival (lets call it DIFF).  And they really know how to throw a press party.  I have never been to the Palomar Hotel near SMU.  But there she was all bright and shiny.  To the 9th floor I went excited as a bird in the Spring.

But the party really got started when the electricity went out and us press folk were left in the dark sipping martinis and gabbing with our peers.

I felt a little like a duck out of water but then got loosey goosey and I chatted with Peaches from the Steve Harvey Show.  I had no idea he lives in Dallas. 

I also found a SCOMPA peep, Katherine Robertson.

And another familiar face in the crowd Mark from102.1 The Edge.  He's a local favorite and I saw him last week to at Battle of the Bands.

Movies and red carpet

Tomorrow I'll stand on the red carpet like I do every year and hopefully take some pictures of Kelly Monaco, Bill Paxton and (heart be still) Billy Zane. 

And of course I'll do some film watching.  I can't leave you wondering what movies you should watch this year.  That's why you have me...to guide you.  Silly lost sheep. 

Keep reading or they won't pay me!

        

Those boots were made for kicking your ass!

I was suppose to watch Saturday Night, the documentary about Saturday Night Live.  I asked the elderly lady at the Paramount Theater on Congress Street in Austin, and she gave me a funny look.

"No darlin' this is Lemmy," she said.

"What the hell is a Lemmy?" I asked.

She told me it was a documentary about the band Motorhead.  Turns out she had it wrong too.

I followed the tattooed, dark-haired, heavily-painted faces to the theater and felt like an outsider in my neatly ironed jeans and crisp blue shirt.  But I take the words of poet Robert Frost seriously-- I always take the road less traveled.  And if I'm a fish out of of water, it means that something spectacular is about to go down.

Lemmy is not really about Motorhead at all.  Turns out Lemmy Kilmister is the founder, lead vocalist and bass guitar player of the popular metal band.  In fact, I found out that Lemmy is the godfather of metal.  They all say so.  They being rockers David Grohl, Alice Cooper, Slash, Lars Ulrich and Mick Jones to name a few. 

The documentary starts out "a day in the life" of Lemmy.  Directors Greg Olliver and Wes Orshoski give the audience a peek of this complex man.  Sometimes the clichés are there and beat you in the face like a VHI Behind the Music special.  But the footage is edited well and we see the dynamics of the Lemmy lifestyle.  For instance, several scenes in his messy apartment made me wonder if the guy actually makes enough money to hire a maid.  But then the shots of his performances on stage, from Europe to the States, clearly highlight the incredible following he has.  His fans are die hard.  What's impressive too is that he is a musician's musician.  In the industry he is a god.

The most genuine moments are the interviews with his son Paul and his fondness of history (especially World War II memorabilia).  And even on stage at the Q and A (after the screening) with his friends (like wrestler Triple H) there cheering him on, someone asked the directors "what is the most surprising thing they discovered about Lemmy?".  And Orshoski told a story about Lemmy changing radio stations in the car one day. 

"He kept saying "this band is crap" and "this is terrible" but then he stopped on the Daniel Powder song "Bad Day" and he listened for a bit and then said "nice chorus".  Okay how can you not love a tough guy who is man enough to admit that?

Lemmy has a scary bad ass shell and can tear you apart with his chunky black boots and intense stare.  But, in fact, he is a rocker with a heart of gold.  Lemmy is a sweet man, a loyal friend, and an extraordinary musician.  Just don't tell him this is my conclusion.

-- Liz Casanova

Lemmy-- Liz Casanova

        

It's so hard to say goodbye

The curtain has fallen on SXSW 2010. It’s kinda sad looking at my official Film Pass; for a week I relied on it for my livelihood and now it’s nothing more than a piece of paper. I still had a great time, I hope ya’ll did too.

The last movie I saw was Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields. As a fan of the band, I sought the movie out even though by that point in the week no one was particularly interested in the film festival anymore. I showed up an hour early for the screening and really didn’t need to. I was the first person in line, which is unusual to say the least.

Strange Powers gives those who have never heard of the Magnetic Fields an introduction to one of the great unsung American bands of the last 20 years. Merritt is a fascinating man. He’s got a low-key, archly bemused take on life. The rumors have it that he’s nasty and difficult, but that doesn’t come across in the movie at all. He’s clearly a serious songwriting genius. His house is filled with notebooks of songs/lyrics, obscure albums and self-made instruments like a chime rack made of plastic cups and something called a “frog collar.”

The movie also focuses on Claudia Gonson, the pianist, backup singer, manager and longtime Merritt collaborator. One great scene shows the working relationship between the two. They argue over a tricky musical section. Gonson: "But that’s not how you said it went, Stephin!" Merritt: "Yes it is, you’re just doing it wrong." Merritt’s soft-spoken, well-read nature comes across in his songs. People say he never reveals himself in his work, that he’s a stylistic provocateur only, but once you know the man it’s impossible to listen to “Papa Was a Rodeo” or “Three-Way” and not think of Merritt writing them in a darkened gay bar with a cocktail (his favored mode of composing).

In the end the film comes off as a bit slight because no real trials and tribulations have come The Magnetic Fields’ way in their 20 year history. They’re a great band, they’ve always made really good music and they will continue to be successful. As a portrait of Merritt, not a public figure by any means, it’s an unqualified success. People who love his work will find something new to appreciate and those who don’t will be interested in checking out 69 Love Songs. But when compared to the incredible journeys described in other rock docs like The Fearless Freaks and Meeting People is Easy, Strange Powers lacks a dramatic hook.

Now, for my end-of-SXSW picks.

Best Movie: Cold Weather. Aaron Katz’s third film is his most focused and strongest directed effort yet. An oddball mystery with a very warm relationship at its center, I’m really hoping it gets picked up for theater distribution.

Best Performance: Robert Duvall in Get Low. Duvall takes his eccentric southern coot persona to its natural end as Felix Bush, a man empowered and imprisoned by his isolationism and mysterious past. Look for Duvall to pick up award nods.

Best Surprise: MacGruber. Totally expecting this to be bad, I went in with low expectations and was entertained by the most raucously vulgar comedy in years. This looks to be a hit.

Biggest Disappointment: Other than some of the audiences’ questions, my biggest disappointment is that I missed Tiny Furniture, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and And Everything Is Going Fine. That’s the nature of SXSW, though. There’s so much going on it’s impossible to get everything in. I didn’t even attend any of the music events. Maybe next year. I’ll see ya’ll then!

-- Jack Frink

        

Performances that sizzle

Way back in 2006, when I was a college sophomore, I attended the SXSW film festival (with a Badge…man, my parents were nice to buy that for me) and saw a movie called Dance Party USA. It was an ultra-low budget debut feature that I sought out on a whim because I was doing a lot of partying at the time and wanted to see if the movie captured the feeling I was so familiar with. This little 65-minute movie, with half its dialogs obviously improvised and its image rendered grainy by digital film, was one of the best features I saw that year. It had the heart and feeling and believability so many mainstream movies featuring young people at parties totally lack. I stayed afterward for the Q&A with writer-director Aaron Katz, and even asked him a question. I thought afterward “I hope that director gets to make more movies. He’s very talented.”

Katz returned to SXSW this year with his third film, Cold Weather. It was at the top of my list of movies to see at this year’s festival and I finally got to at the final screening Thursday at the Alamo Lamar. “You’ll be the last audience to see this in a theater for some time,” composer Keegan DeWitt said in his pre-screening comments. Now I get home and see online that there’s been some interest from studios in distributing the film. I can only hope. Cold Weather may be my favorite  movie of the festival so far.

The qualities that drew me to Dance Party USA are even more prevalent now. Naturalistic performances, contemplative silent passages and a ramshackle humanity are all over Cold Weather, but Katz marries them to a plot that is tighter and more driven than his episodic debut. Reading the internet articles I came across a comment by Katz that before the movie evolved into a mystery it started as a brother-sister relationship story. That certainly seems to be the case at the beginning, when we are introduced to Doug (Cris Lankenau) and Gail (Trieste Kelly Dunn). She works at some anonymous office job and he once studied forensic science but has since dropped out of school. The best compliment I can pay to Lankenau and Dunn’s performances is that they seem totally comfortable around each other – as they should be, their characters have known each other their entire lives.

Doug gets a job at an ice factory and meets a new friend, Carlos (Raul Castillo). Castillo is one of the best things about Cold Weather. Carlos is self-effacing and agreeable, but the depth and personality of the character surprises you as the movie’s opening third plays out. Someone from the major cast disappears about 25 minutes in, and Doug finds himself inspired to investigate. What he finds is a crime that fits the movie’s modest world view. This is not Chinatown, but it is nonetheless rather tense. It’s never exactly clear exactly what type of people Doug, Gail and Carlos are dealing with. But the brother-sister relationship remains the heart of the story.  The drama of the mystery at the plot’s center just brings it into sharper relief.

Katz narrative approach could be denigrated as “mumblecore,” but that would be reducing his nuanced, unique statement into an empty genre exercise. There’s too much truth about the human condition and legitimate concern for the characters in Cold Weather for it to be summed up in a pithy catchphrase. If it makes it to theaters, the cineplex will be a more interesting place for a few weeks.

P.S. I’m pretty sure Aaron Katz is going to hit it big soon, so I’m claiming indie cred right now on telling ya’ll about him before he got famous.

-- Jack Frink