What if instead of a light, family-friendly comedy, Harold Ramis’ beloved Groundhog Day was a raunchy teen sex comedy? That’s what director Dan Beers must have been thinking about when setting out to create Premature. The film takes the living the same day over and over mechanic and transplants it into an R-rated sex fest filled with dirty jokes and bodily fluids. For what it is, is mostly works and is at times laugh out loud funny, but the gimmick wears out its welcome and the humor loses steam as it progresses.
Steve James’ Life Itself is an impossible film to criticize in an objective way. It’s a poignant, funny, and heartbreaking documentary about one of the most influential film critics ever, and someone that I’ve looked up to my whole life. Thankfully, the film itself is actually quite well made, something we’ve come to expect from the director of Hoop Dreams.
Life Itself chronicles the life of prolific film critic Roger Ebert. Although it’s structured like any typical talking dead doc, there’s enough variety with the interviews, photographs, and clips to keep everything fresh and interesting throughout.
The opening shot of Mike Ott's third and final installment of his Antelope Valley Trilogy, Lake Los Angeles, glides into his narrative arch from the center of an open road, the dust trail illuminated in a flurry. A young girl's voice can be heard over the quietly stunning image, whispering a story which settles, along with the camera, on the rabbit in the moon. From the dusty floodlit haze, we break to the image of the back of a man's head, precisely lit and composed, seen trying to alleviate his solitude with a prostitute. It’s an emotionally gripping film with a naturalistic tone, following the interwoven stories of its two star-crossed protagonists. The subtle forces at work in this echoing tale are a concoction of the way images accumulate meaning, using Malick-esque narration sequences and repetition of phrases and spaces, all to the gain of the understated story.
After one already unnecessary sequel, it seems that there’s still some interest in creating some sort of franchise out of Eli Roth’s directorial debut, Cabin Fever. Although the latest iteration, Cabin Fever: Patient Zero, is superior to the train wreck that was Cabin Fever 2, this is still just another forgettable, implausible and laughably bad horror sequel.
Part romantic comedy, part cool and sometimes-condemning reflection, writer/director Benedikt Erlingsson's Of Horses and Men is both comedic and stoic. Shot against the moving landscapes of his native home of Iceland, an ensemble cast blunders its way through a series of small stories that often end with death, either human or equine.
If you’re setting out to make a documentary about art, you’d be wise to follow Jeffrey Durkin’s lead and make sure that the caliber of your film’s visuals match that of art being depicted. Everything in Durkin’s Art as a Weapon, a short but stunningly beautiful 76-minute doc, is meticulously shot and framed to perfection. A film about art should look artful, and this film excels on all fronts.
Since first discovering MTV’s The State as a child, I’ve been a fan of David Wain’s irreverent yet clever style of comedy, and Wain’s Wet Hot American Summer remains one of my personal favorites. In Wet Hot, Wain took on the ’80s summer camp film and made what would later become a cult classic. Now, he’s set his crosshairs on the dreaded rom-com and aiming to deconstruct everything that makes the formulaic genre tick in his latest film, They Came Together.
1971 is one of the more interesting documentaries I have seen in some time. Largely told by the people involved with some recreations when necessary, the film tells the story of eight individuals’ break-in to a local FBI field office in Media, Pennsylvania, in 1971. What the uncovered would cause more embarrassment to and distrust of the Bureau though not brining it or its long-time chief J. Edgar Hoover exactly to its/his knees. The film’s opening includes a statement about Edward Snowden’s recent high-tech appropriation of numerous National Security Agency (NSA) documents as well as Daniel Ellsberg’s release of the so-called “Pentagon Papers” in 1971.
Rarely does a director exhibit such a proficient understanding and application of nearly every cinematic aspect within their debut feature as Katrin Gebbe undoubtedly showcases with Nothing Bad Can Happen, inspired by true events revolving around staunch religious beliefs and various maltreatments in one young man's quest for pure altruism. Heavy subject matter for a new director to attempt to tackle with their first film, for sure, but Gebbe brilliantly balances the triumphs and the trouncings, offsetting moments of unflinching brutality with moments of graceful tenderness.
Many people not steeped in the tech world may know who the prodigious Aaron Schwartz was, but Brian Knappenberger’s documentary, The Internet’s Own Boy, aims to shine a light on one of the most innovative and forward thinkers of this generation. In addition to being one of the creators of RSS and the popular information site Reddit, Schwartz was a strong believer in an Internet free from the bounds of corporate overlords. Although he tragically took his own life in 2013, his influence caused a ripple effect through policy changes and an outcry of support that the Internet should remain open to the world.
We, as Americans, have always had a morbid fascination with the concept of gawking at “freaks.” Be it from a circus sideshow, or more recently, from whatever the latest TLC reality program is, we just love looking at those different than the norm. In Leslie Zemeckis’ documentary, Bound by Flesh, two of the most famous sideshow performers, conjoined twins Violet and Diasy Hilton, are profiled. The film explores their lives, from their early exploitation, to their later years as independent, but struggling women trying to stay relevant after the fall of vaudeville.
Unsubstantiated speculation inevitably leads to a downfall, or at least that's the viewpoint that Michôd presents with his latest effort The Rover (co-written with Joel Edgerton), a seemingly straightforward quest film set in the post-apocalyptic Australian outback, ten years after an economic collapse. The straightforward aspect of the film resides on the surface of what looks to be a simple story of one man's unrelenting attempt to receive his recently stolen vehicle, but there's much more thought-provoking weight buried underneath this slow-burn, occasionally dialogue-absent, road trip.
Outside of being known as “the coldest spot in the nation,” there doesn’t seem to be much else going on in the sleepy town of Cut Bank, Montana. It’s the sort of small town where everyone may know your name, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they really know who you are. It’s the sort of town where news travels fast, especially when you’re trying to keep things quiet.
Coherence is a paranoia-laden independent sci-fi thriller by writer James Ward Byrkit, making his debut feature as a director. The unknowns really make the film all the more intriguing; and the core actors truly inhabit their roles.
The story opens on a house with eight friends having a dinner party. We get to know each of the eight friends better, but we do not know them well enough to set our sights on any one in particular. This is wise on Byrkit’s part because there is no protagonist or antagonist; at least, arguably, not until the film’s last ten minutes.
Ashim Ahluwalia’s Miss Lovely is the type of tragedy that starts off grim and never lets you come up for air until the credits roll. Set in the seedy underground film scene of Bombay in the 1980s, the film spins a gritty yarn about two brothers who work as smut peddlers, shooting and distributing z-grade horror/sex flicks to the rural grind houses. Everything about this film feels dirty – the cinematography, the settings, even the characters themselves – an appropriate pairing, given the film’s heavy subject.
That dreaded and unexpected trip to the emergency room. All sorts of thoughts and anxieties will likely run through your mind should you find yourself there. What’s wrong with me? Am I going to catch somebody’s germs? How long am I going to be here? Can I afford this? Will my insurance cover it?
5.5
