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Sundancing
 From Chicago/Milwaukee, this is Filmspotting... I'm Sam Van Hallgren.
As many of you know by now, Adam and I will be at Sundance Jan.
20-26. (
Visit our Sundance page
for details on how to find us.) I'm suffering from what I imagine is
a common condition among first time attendees: a fear that no matter
how many screenings I get to, I'll somehow manage to see all the
clunkers and none of the future Summer Sleepers and Oscar Nominees.
This fear is exacerbated by the fact that the films have all been
given the most lovingly crafted synopses ever penned by unpaid
interns. The write-ups for the films playing at this year's festival
are probably the best reviews that many of these films will ever get.
Here's one I picked at complete random: "With raw, exacting
performances by a top-notch cast ... "Adrift In Manhattan" wields
fertile metaphors and a sophisticated sense of psychology to
penetrate the subtle process of human transformation and the
possibilities for meaningful interchange lying otherwise dormant in
contemporary life."
Every single write-up is like that. It's obscene. Apply the above
description to "Taxi Driver" and it still sounds like the insane,
hyperbolic ravings of A.O. Scott on ecstasy.
So trying to choose even three films that I'm most excited to see
is nearly impossible. That being said, here are my picks -- which you
will surely hear Adam and I discuss next week:
Snow Angels -
David Gordon Green
I've been keeping my eye on this one for a while. After being
completely knocked out by "George Washington," I'd been let down by
Green's follow-ups "All The Real Girls" and "Undertow." I still think
he's one of the most interesting young filmmakers making movies
today, and this latest film has Sam Rockwell in the cast.
Black Snake Moan - Craig
Brewer
"In a small Tennessee town, two unlikely souls meet at the sticky
crossroads of rage and love." The two unlikely souls: ex-blues
guitarist Samuel L. Jackson and nymphomaniac Christina Ricci. Very
interested to see Brewer's follow-up to "Hustle and Flow," one of my
favorite films from 2005. I caught the trailer for "Black Snake
Moan" a while ago, which makes me think the film was scheduled for
release and then pulled. And if you'd seen the trailer, you'd
understand why. From what I remember, Ricci spends the bulk of the
film in a halter top and undies chained to Jackson's bed. Should be
fun. Note: We are currently scheduled to interview Brewer at Sundance.
Son Of Rambow - Garth
Jennings
Jennings made his directorial debut with "The Hitchhiker's Guide
To The Galaxy." Back in April, 2005 - on
Cinecast #10
- I gave the movie my first 5-star rating. I'm not sure the movie
deserved 5 stars, but it reflects my enthusiasm for Jennings.
Watching the movie, I felt I had discovered the next Spike Jonze or
Michel Gondry. The movie was wonderfully imaginative and playful and
I've desperately trolled IMDb ever since for information on his next
project. Well, here it is.
[NOTE: Due to Sam and Adam's Sundance trip, there will be no Dope
Sheet next week. The Dope Sheet will return the weekend of February
2.]
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[Maybe] the last thing I'll ever say about trailers
About a third of the way through
"Children of Men,"
I realized that I had no idea what was going to happen next. It's
not that I didn't have a notion of where the story was headed; it's
that I couldn't picture what was going to happen. In other words,
the trailer hadn't revealed anything past that point in the film [as
far as I could recall]. I had no visual reference for where the
story was headed. And I had a feeling of palpable relief.
A couple of weeks ago on the Filmspotting Message Boards --
dramatically new and improved, by the way!
-- Marty M wrote this:
--
What I find interesting is how most of A & S's reviews are
"pre-shaped" by their reactions to the trailers...by this standard I
am starting to believe I should leave the theater during previews. I
want to maintain the highest level of objectiveness possible... :?
It really all comes down to expectations doesn't it? I mean if
you have built a film up in your head to an extreme point - you are
almost always let down. I think we have all had some sort of cinema
nirvana experience that will rarely, if ever, be repeated and,
unfortunately, that's the one we hold up to compare all others to.
Taking that in the opposite direction - low expectations means
any returns on them are usually amplified and made to seem to be more
than what they are.
Adam, Sam - no more trailers for you guys.
--
Okay, Marty. No more movie trailers. You convinced me. [Not
Adam, he'd like to note, simply because he has no plans to close his
eyes or leave the theatre until the feature starts.]
The fact is, movie trailers are just advertising to get people to
go to the movies. And I'm going to the movies anyway, whether I've
seen the trailer or not. So effective immediately, I'm on a movie
trailer boycott. Which kind of feels like giving up popcorn. But
I'm willing to give it a try. Oh, sweet, sweet [illusion of]
objectivity.
Has anyone else made a concerted effort to avoid trailers to
allow for maximum suspense and surprise at the movies? I'm curious
to know your experience. Send me an e-mail.
dopesheet@filmspotting.net
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Overlooked DVD Pick: The Devil's Backbone
 Somehow I reached the [incorrect] conclusion that I'd built up some
kind of immunity to horror movies. It's not that I'd seen so many
that they no longer affected me [in fact, as Adam and I have
discussed on the show, I tend to avoid them]; I guess I just figured
that my cold, critical mind would come to my defense when it was
beset by irrational fear. I was wrong.
Watching
"The Devil's Backbone"
-- Guillermo del Toro's thematic prequel to
"Pan's Labyrinth" --
alone in my empty house had me wincing with terror and curling myself
up into an embryonic ball on the couch.
The scares in "Backbone" are pretty conventional [young boy
following mysterious shadow into a dank cellar; unexplained footsteps
in some spilled water], but that doesn't make them any less
effective. In fact, I just got the chills when I wrote "mysterious
shadow into a dank cellar."
As he does in "Pan's Labyrinth," del Toro exploits the
conventions of a familiar narrative as a means of spinning a
political allegory that condemns the actions of the country's fascist
regime in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War. "Pan's Labyrinth"
is a fairy tale. "The Devil's Backbone" is a ghost story.
del Toro's achievement in both films is his ability to satisfy
every aspect of his ambitious narrative. "The Devil's Backbone" is a
great ghost story. And it's a very effective anti-fascist allegory.
But it's also a great coming of age story that's equal parts "Lord of
the Flies" and "Stand By Me."
I recommend "Backbone" and "Pan's Labyrinth" equally. "Pan's" may
be a greater achievement emotionally and imaginatively. But "The
Devil's Backbone," with its great cast of young boys, has an
exuberance to it that "Pan's" doesn't quite match.
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Dope Links
Critics Talk About Top 10 Lists
The New York arts foundation Makor hosted a panel of NYC critics
discussing the best and worst films of 2006. TheReeler.com moderated
the event, and their coverage in this article focuses on the part of
the discussion in which the critics openly discuss the psychology,
philosophy and instincts behind compiling these lists. And as an
added bonus, The Reeler gives its
Top 10 of 'Top 10 Lists of 2006'.
And the Nominees Should Be...
If next Tuesday's Oscar nominations were up to NY Times critics
A.O. Scott, Manohla Dargis and Stephen Holden rather than Academy
members, here's who the nominees would be in the eight major
categories. Sam will love Scott's final choice for supporting
actress, and Dargis's fifth pick for Original Screenplay is
particularly bold.
Going Out On A Lynch
David Lynch's films don't make any sense to you? After this
interview they... well, okay, they still may not. But he might. A
very open and (at six webpages) lengthy conversation with Wired
magazine gets us into Lynch's head -- and it's a more positive and
beautiful place than you may have imagined. Thanks to Dope Sheet
reader Anthony R. Harris for sending this in.
-- Jeff Huston
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I'm telling you this so I won't back out
I'm running a marathon in June. I've never run one before. I've run
casually for a couple of years, but never in an organized race aside
from the occasional 5k [and when I say "run a 5k" I guess I mean
"stumble along with a bunch of drunk people for 3 miles."]
The marathon I'm committed to is, unfortunately, one of the most
difficult in the country [or so I've been told]:
the Steamboat Springs Marathon
in Steamboat Springs, CO [elevation at start of race: 8,128 feet
above sea level].
Trust me, I wouldn't have voluntarily picked this particular
marathon as my first. My brother turns 30 this year and this is what
he wants for his birthday: me and a bunch of his friends to risk
permanent serious bodily harm by running for four or so straight
hours.
And I can't really say no. Because for my 30th birthday he
promised that the Red Sox would win the World Series and that we
would be there when they won it. Miraculously, he delivered on his
promise. [And if you think about it, it's literally miraculous, as
the Sox hadn't won a World Series since 1918.]
Marathon training tips from experienced first-timers are
encouraged. Send e-mails to
feedback@filmspotting.net.
And anyone who'd like to join me in Steamboat on June 3, 2007 is
welcome. We can cry and vomit together at the finish line.
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