The Book of Henry premiered last night at L.A. Film Festival. The movie, from Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow, has been carrying bad buzz for a while, and now that I've seen it ... well, I can see why. A bad movie by any measurement, it's also a fairly audacious one, about a single mom (Naomi Watts) who's raising two kids, one of whom is a genius. Few films try to combine the tearjerker and the Hitchcockian thriller: The Book of Henry gets points for being bold, I suppose. But as I explain in my Screen International review, this movie is still a mess.
Dear White People was one of the more highly-anticipated debuts at this year's Sundance. I missed it there, but I was able to catch up with it at the Los Angeles Film Festival. Smart, funny, a little undisciplined, full of ideas: This very much feels like a talented newcomer's first film. My review is up at Screen International.
Director Debra Granik previously made Down to the Bone (which launched Vera Farmiga) and Winter's Bone (which launched Jennifer Lawrence). Her new movie is her first documentary, about a Vietnam vet named Ron "Stray Dog" Hall. It's called Stray Dog, and it's quite lovely. (Incidentally, it would make a fine double-feature with Rich Hill, and not just because they're both set in Missouri.) My review of Stray Dog is up at Screen International.
On Sunday, the Los Angeles Film Festival revealed this year's prize winners, which included audience awards and jury prizes. (You can see all the winners here.)
I was part of the short film jury with Sandi Tan and David Fenster. Before the festival, I had not met either of them, but I couldn't have asked for better folks to spend a few days watching and debating movies with. We had such a fun time.
As for our picks, we were pretty much in complete agreement, and I'm quite pleased with our choices. Below are the descriptions we wrote for our winners....
Best Animated or Experimental Short
Several
of the animated shorts at this year's festival were inventive and
startling, but our winner was a truly exceptional piece of work. This
humorous, moving and ultimately sublime short tells a story of life,
death, and rebirth with wobbly thighs, vomit, breastfeeding, space
travel and bunny rabbits … all against the backdrop of a nudist colony.
The winner of Best Animated or Experimental Short is Oh Willy...
Best Narrative Short
Great
storytelling comes in many different forms, and like an ancient koan,
our winner is deceptively simple and surprisingly playful. It features
the epic odyssey of one man, seemingly poised against the forces of
modernity as he advances--silently, deliberately--from day to night,
from tiny alleys to towering skyscraper avenues, across the frenetic
city of Hong Kong. At journey's end, we, too, are transformed by the
sweet moment when denial morphs into glee: Walker from Tsai
Ming-Liang.
Best Documentary Short
Documentaries
can expose us to the world's harsh realities, but they can also reveal
the beauty and mystery of the everyday. The latter is very true in the
case of our winner for Best Documentary Short, which is only seven
minutes long
but is filled with character detail and suspense. Consisting of only
one shot, this short introduces us to an unnamed street hustler as he
bets onlookers that they can't find the ball hidden underneath one of
three caps, our winner is filmmaker Kevin Jerome Everson's Stone.
I've been a fan of Kevin Jerome Everson's for a while now, so I was glad to see him win the documentary prize from my jury. (However, I was sad to miss his The Island of St. Matthewsduring the festival.) Picking such an unconventional (but striking) narrative entry was not something we did to be provocative -- we simply liked Walker that much. And as for Oh Willy..., it was my favorite short of the entire festival. Directors Emma de Swaef and Marc James Roels have come up with something rather wondrous. I sincerely hope it's in the running for Best Animated Short at next year's Academy Awards. It's good enough to win, easily. Here's a taste:
Inspirational true stories are catnip for movie producers: When done well, these sorts of movies can be incredibly uplifting, an emotion that audiences can't get enough of. But when done badly.... Sadly, the latter is the case with Life of a King, a well-meaning movie about an ex-con named Eugene Brown (played by Cuba Gooding Jr.) who got out of prison and helped at-risk youth by teaching them chess, a sport that helped him while in the slammer. Noble intentions for a movie, to be sure, but the execution isn't so good. My review is up at Screen International.
One of the better horror films in a while, The Conjuring may be familiar in its contours, but its execution really is something else. Endlessly tense and filled with good performances, the movie could be a summer sleeper. I reviewed the film for Screen International.
When is a horror movie not really a horror movie? When it's Berberian Sound Studio, a psychological drama that's about a sound engineer (Toby Jones) who finds himself working on a low-rent horror movie in Italy in the 1970s. But as we'll soon learn, something seems to be amiss. Or is it all in his head? This is the follow-up film from writer-director Peter Strickland, whose Katalin Varga (I'm proud to say) the Los Angeles Film Critics' Films That Got Away committee programmed a few years ago for the Los Angeles Film Festival. That movie was darn good; Berbrian Sound Studio is even better. My review is up at Paste.
I was quite flattered to be asked by David Ansen to serve on the shorts jury for this month's Los Angeles Film Festival. In the last few years, one of my favorite annual traditions has been writing about the Oscar-nominated shorts, which gave me a fresh appreciation for condensed, innovative storytelling. So to be on this particular jury is a treat.
I'll be joined on the jury by author/filmmaker Sandi Tan and filmmaker David Fenster. (You can read more about Ms. Tan here and Mr. Fenster here.)
It's going to be a fun time, and I'm much looking forward to it. For the full announcement of all the juries, here you go. And if you're in Los Angeles, seriously, attend the festival. You'll be glad you did.
Last night's opening film for the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival was Richard Linklater's Bernie. Starring Jack Black, it's based on a true story too bizarre to believe: A kindly assistant funeral director befriended a recent widow and ultimately killed her, much to the shock of their small-town Texas community. For Screen International, I discuss why I think the movie's just OK.
It can be a bit of a double-edged sword when a filmmaker speaks after his or her movie during a festival. Sometimes, you end up wanting to leave because the director's obnoxious personality counteracts your warm feelings for the film you've just seen. Other times, the filmmaker is such a warm, gracious, down-to-earth person that you wish his or her movie was better. That latter scenario happened last night at Night Catches Us, which is an exceptionally well-meaning and thoughtful film that just doesn't work. Writer-director Tanya Hamilton seems like a good egg, though. Still, it's my duty to report on the film's flaws, which I do over at Screen International.
Mahler on the Couch takes its inspiration from a true story: In the early 20th century, Gustav Mahler went to visit Sigmund Freud for some psychiatric advice. Directors Percy Adlon and Felix Adlon turn that encounter into a florid romantic drama full of canted angles and wall-to-wall Mahler music. Alas, the film is really just an overheated biopic. My review is up at Screen International.
Writer-director Aaron Katz's Cold Weather was a big hit at this year's SXSW, but, hey, so was Kick-Ass, right? Cold Weather screened as part of the Los Angeles Film Festival, and my review is up at Screen International.
This is not meant in any way to be a comprehensive overview of all the great films showing at the Los Angeles Film Festival. But in case you need some encouragement to check out a flick or two, here are some glowing reviews from yours truly:
Waiting for "Superman" is a movie inspired by guilt: Oscar-winning director Davis Guggenheim knew that he was lucky (and rich) enough to send his kids to good schools that other people couldn't afford. So he decided to make a documentary about the U.S. school system and all the ways it fails students. It's a very affecting film, and it's playing at the L.A. Film Festival. My review is up at L.A. Weekly.
"Films That Got Away" is a special sidebar that runs during the Los Angeles Film Festival that is put together by members of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association to highlight remarkable movies that, for one reason or another, never got a release in the Los Angeles area. Last year's trio of films -- Musica Nocturna, United Red Army, and especially The Silence Before Bach -- were all exceptional, which inspired me to become part of the LAFCA committee that selected this year's sidebar. The 2010 installment only has two movies, but they're both definitely worth your time.
On Saturday, June 19, we'll be screening The Happiest Girl in the World, a Romanian comedy that, no, isn't just another of those long, boring Romanian films that critics absolutely love. (And, hey, what's your problem with The Death of Mr. Lazarescu and 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days anyway?) This is a warm, smart, great film that's part coming-of-age drama and part social satire. Plus, it's funny.
Then, on Wednesday, June 23, I'll be presenting Katalin Varga, a dark British/Hungarian/Romanian character piece that gets more interesting and absorbing each time I see it. I absolutely hate using the word "challenging" to describe a film -- particularly one I want you to see -- but this is an uncompromising little movie. But it's also a haunting film -- and at 82 minutes, it doesn't overstay its welcome. I'll have more to say about Katalin Varga during my opening remarks before the film.
I'm not due for another Consumables column for about a week, but I've seen so much good stuff lately that I decided to publish the new one now. I review The Hurt Locker, The Girl From Monaco and Soul Power, but the real highlights are the three movies included in the Los Angeles Film Festival's "Films That Got Away" series: Musica Nocturna, United Red Army and especially The Silence Before Bach.
