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Sundance Day Two: The "Breakdown"

Today started early, but on a much cheerier note than yesterday. I arose before the sun did in order to get a good spot in the ticket line. My spot was decent, but thank God for ticket scalpers. Because of them, I was able to get myself a “Spring Breakdown” ticket (more on that movie will follow). I then purchased a ticket to the 11:30 PM showing of “Dare” tonight. Because of the late timing, my reaction to that movie will be in tomorrow’s post.

During the day, I went to a New Frontier exhibition. I saw a series of short films, met students (both college and high school) from across the country, and saw the future of editing films.

My lunch wasn’t as exciting as yesterday’s when I met and chatted with Ms. Hughes. It was an ordinary, quiet lunch. But afterwards was when the excitement came. As I walked up and down Main Street, searching for celebrities and industry insiders, I came across a tent. In the tent, stars like Woody Harrelson, Josh Brolin, Marisa Tomei, and Robert Redford read off from “Voices of American History” (which, I have no doubt in my mind, is the work of Howard Zinn. Unfortunately, I could not get in but I watched the action from afar and even got glimpses of a few faces.

I decided the only way I’d ever see any of these stars up close was to wait for them to leave. So, I proceeded to the back exit door and waited for the show to end so I could snap a few photos. I felt like a paparazzo. Indeed, two paparazzo stood at the side door waiting as well, hoping to take a few good photos. They were both slightly overweight, one was mild-mannered but the other was a stereotypical, obnoxious member of the paparazzi cult. He triumphed in getting footage of Michael Cera and Makuley Culkin while say that they were a bunch of d**ks. I stood and waited and waited. I realized then that I understood what it was like to be a paparazzo. They stand and wait for a famous person to walk by, stick a camera in their face, and then sell it for money. Sounds kind of pathetic, but i still like taking pictures of famous people.

I unfortunately never got those photos because I had to rush to “Spring Breakdown.” “Breakdown” was not as good as “Paper Heart” and felt pretty predictable at parts, but it was still a joy to watch and a slight diamond in the rough of a comedy. The story revolves around the lives of three best friends (Amy Poehler, Parker Posey, Rachel Dratch) who have lived as outsiders since college. One of them is forced to go on assignment for the senator she works for to keep her college daughter safe while she is on spring break. The trio, hitting a mid-life crisis, decide to go down together and redeem themselves for the years of fun they missed in college.

The story is the classic revenge of the nerds premise but from the female perspective. From the female rather than male perspective, it allows the film to parody the treatment of women in society. Most of the jokes hit, and the film boasts a fantastic cast of both recognizable and unrecognizable stars. Unfortunately, it is going straight to DVD. It makes me sad when studios will pick up a comedy like “Pink Panther 2″ and leave something as funny and original as “Spring Breakdown” to rot in direct to DVD infamy. Hopefully, some people will discover it and enjoy it while ignoring the fact that it pretty much had the same fate as something like “Friday the 13th XXXXVVVIIIII.” That number might be wrong though. I’m sure they’ve made more.

Since today was the Oscars I feel like I have to comment on it. I am glad for the victories of “Slumdog” and “Milk” as I put “Benjamin Button” and “Frost/Nixon” on my to list. Meanwhile, it is a shame “The Reader” got a best picture nod over so many other great movies this year (“The Dark Knight” or even “Tropic Thunder” deserved that spot). I am thrilled though to see Mickey Rourke in the running and “In Bruges” as well. The best song category is probably the worst. Although all three of the songs chosen were great, the Academy could’ve filled the other two spots. Bruce Springstein’s “The Wrestler” song being snubbed is outrageous. Also, showing a little love to “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”‘s three genius original songs, “Inside of You,” “Do Something” and “Dracula’s Lament” all deserved recognition. But unfortunately, I do not run the Academy.

So now I rest, and maybe do some homework or watch “Lost” (I’m leaning towards the latter) to prepare for my very late showing tonight.

Sundance (Official) Day One: Disappointments, Surprises, and Phone Calls with Publicists

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I will admit, for a film addict in the heaven that is Sundance, I was not too happy this morning. First off, I was two hours too late for tickets. That meant “Spring Breakdown,” “The Informers,” and “Brief Interviews With Hideous Men” amongst others were totally sold out. Then, I found out that Michael Cera and Charlyne Yi had left just one day earlier along with John Krasinski and Amy Poehler. Blurgh.

Then, I decided to stop moping around. Something cleared my mind. Maybe it was the mountain air. But whatever it was I suddenly began to realize that I was now amongst the Hollywood elite. Not just the actors, but the producers, directors, and even production managers. I met a girl named Karla from UCLA who has a stop-motion animation short playing in the festival which I should be seeing tomorrow. She is just one of the many who see the festival as a beacon of hope, where dreams of a future in Hollywood may come true (or “where wings take dream,” as George Bush would say. Man, I’m going to miss Bushisms). With her influences of Terry Gilliam and “Sesame Street,” she’s ready for anything.

Later at lunch, I sat with a group of strangers with a lot to say. One of them was Elizabeth Hughes, a Unit Production Manager (UPM) and had a documentary at the Festival entitled “We Live in Public.” Her job is to manage the budget and decide how to spend investors’ money.

Hughes had much advice for anyone aspiring to enter the film industry. It is no easy journey to the top. She offers three tips: internships, meet and talk to everyone, and prepare to be professional 100% of the time. Always follow up with everyone (that includes business cards) but don’t forget, you will always be working.

“The film industry doesn’t have hours,” said Hughes.

Things got even better when I attended “Paper Heart.” Sitting just a few rows behind me was Mike White. You may know White from “School of Rock” but he also wrote several episodes of “Freaks and Geeks.” I met him, took a picture with him, and told him how much I appreciated his work. I was so shocked/nervous I forgot to tell him the everlasting praise I had for him for being a part of “Freaks and Geeks.”

But, the real reason I was there was to see “Paper Heart.” The movie is directed by Nicholas Jasenovec and stars Charlyne Yi (who also co-wrote the screenplay), Jake Johnson, and Michael Cera. There is also a huge amount of cameos, but I won’t give them away. The film starts out slow, but once Cera joins in, the film picks up speed. I will try to not give so much away but what makes “Paper Heart” so unique is the way it is shot. It mostly abandons typical narrative style and becomes kind of a documentary within a mockumentary. It follows Yi (playing herself) as a version of herself who is awkward and unsure of what true love is. She goes all “Borat” and travels cross country to find out what random people believe love is. And then she meets Michael. I’ll give away not much else.

“Paper Heart” embraces the beauty of awkward humor. Cera is awkward as usual and Yi is just as awkward. Her body movements and long pauses may be painful but they’re also loveable. She is the female Cera and a new face to look out for in comedy. I predict by the end of this year she’ll become a huge star (one of the entertainers of the year? Maybe?).

I spoke with “Paper Heart” director Jasenovec after the movie ended. He explained to me that the movie really had no script and was basically just a five page outline. He believes it makes the story feel more natural and realistic. He couldn’t be more right. The final moments of the film remind me something of the final moments of “Lost in Translation.” He believed this style worked best because it helps the audience see the events through her eyes and that “the only way to understand love is to experience it.”

Later, I went to a restaurant called Bandits and had some buffalo wings with a side of steak covered nachos while staring at paintings of cowboys. My first truly western experience topped my first true experience in the film world. Tomorrow will be another adventure.

Tomorrow, I will be waking up very early in hopes of getting more movie tickets. I could be finding out what homework I should catch up on now. Or going to sleep. But then I remember, “the film industry doesn’t have hours.”

P.S. I unfortunately missed the season 5 premiere of “Lost” tonight. Hopefully, I will be able to watch it within the next few days and write about it. That means until then, keep your mouth shut about any twists, turns, and shifts in time.

P.P.S. Today was the first full official day of Obama’s presidency. As much as I like Obama and won’t miss Bush, I will definitely miss Bush’s very positive effect on humor in America. Here is one fine example and one last chance to show this clip while it’s still slightly relevant:

Sundance: The Arrival; First Impressions

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As I speak, I am now sitting in my hotel room in Park City, Utah waiting for the Sundance festivities to begin (for me, at least). Tomorrow, I will be seeing “Paper Heart” starring Michael Cera and if God is on my side, I will also be able to run into Cera and interview him. Throughout the rest of the week, I plan on seeing “The Informers,” “Spring Breakout,” “Rudo y Cursi,” “Brief Interviews with Hideous Men,” and “Humpday” amongst others. Hopefully, I will snag interviews with the stars and directors along the way.

It’s quite dark out but tomorrow’s daylight will hopefully reveal to me my first sights of the Rocky Mountains. But so far, I’ve driven by a McDonalds and an Olive Garden leading me to believe that the city of the independent film might not be so indie after all.

Side note: I saw “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” today on the plane and I believe that it’s one of the year’s best films. Hopefully, I’ll get a review in of it sometime. Oh yeah, Obama gave some sort of speech today.

Sundance Tommorow

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Tomorrow, I will be departing Westport and heading out west to Park City, Utah for the Sundance Film Festival. I will be there until the 26th and am sacrificing a whole week of school (including the start of the research paper) for this festival. I should have internet in my hotel so please check back every night from the 20th-25th for reviews of movies, interviews, commentary, etc. If I am lucky, I will try to snag interviews with the likes of John Krasinski, Amy Poehler, Michael Cera, Mickey Rourke, Alfonso & Carlos Cuaron, Greg Motolla, Gael Garcia Bernal, and maybe some names you might not even know of until they appear on the Oscar ballot a year from now. But, hopefully at least one of these people might want a word with me. So, enjoy your week everyone. And if you have a spare moment, please check back here. Until then, happy movie watching.

Movie Review: The Wrestler

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Around this exact same time last year, I walked out of the movie theatre after viewing “There Will Be Blood” on a cold January day. Seconds after it ended, I said to myself “Daniel Day-Lewis is the best actor of 2007.” Today, just seconds after “The Wrestler” concluded I found myself thinking that exact same thing, but this time it was all about Mickey Rourke.

“The Wrestler” begins following around a big, long blonde haired man with only the back of his head seen. He sits in a chair in what looks like a preschool wearing nothing but a pair of wrestling tights. We learn moments earlier that this man is Randy “The Ram” Robinson. “The Ram” was once a part of his name during his days as a professional wrestler. Once a star, Randy is now old and burned out. If you saw him now, you’d never know he was a wrestler. He’s got a bad heart, an ear piece, and can barely pay to live in his New Jersey trailer home.

He works at a butcher shop and occasionally still subjects himself to small, underground wrestling matches. He’s obviously outlived his wrestling days, but he does it just out of pure desperation. Throughout the movie, he tries to make a comeback all while trying to reconnect with his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) and forming a friendship with a stripper (Marisa Tomei).

Mickey Rourke, when given good material, can be one of those actors who steals every scene he is in from everyone else around him. He becomes the movie. He turns Randy into a broken down old dog with a sense of humor, compassion, and a longing for everything in his life to go right for once. One key scene with him and Tomei getting a drink in a bar. The song “Round and Round” plays and he encourages her to dance. In another scene, he walks out a bleak looking hallway, picturing crowds of fans cheering for him into the counter of a butchershop and delivers everyone’s food with such a huge sense of humor and enthusiasm that it’s not hard to understand why he was once a celebrity. After viewing these two scenes, I knew for sure that Rourke would win best actor this year.

Rourke’s amazing performance might make you forget that there’s an actual movie here, too. And it’s a good one. “The Wrestler” could’ve been that feel-good cliche sports movie that Hollywood loves so much but thanks to director Darren Aronofsky, “The Wrestler” has all of the frank, brutal violent realities of the underworld that he captured so well in “Requiem for a Dream.” Unlike the WWF matches they show on TV, “The Wrestler” captures all of the wrestling matches from right inside of the ring, in the two wrestlers’ faces. One wrestling scene that involves shattered glass and a staple gun is one of the most violent scenes ever captured on film. It’s so real that you want to look away, but so stunningly captured that you just can’t miss a second. Sport action hasn’t been this perfectly recreated since “Raging Bull.”

Many might have you believe that this an uplifting story. Yes, in the fact that it captures a comeback, but no in nearly everything else in The Ram’s life. Like his daughter tells him, he’s a f***up and he knows that nothing he can do will change that but since he’s got something he does well he might as well do it. Wrestling for him is an act of desperation and you can feel him so desperately clinging to life and trying to let it give him a second chance. Unlike Rocky, he’s not wrestling to be the winner, he’s just wrestling so he can carry on living.

While the film contains some flaws (dropping the storyline about his daughter too quickly, ending abruptly) it is really a beautiful story about a struggle for survival. A story about one man’s quest to let the American Dream give him one last shot. Arronofsky makes the wrestling scenes seem almost like gladiator fights and Rourke makes Randy into a true gladiator, just hoping to get out of another fight alive and breathing.

TV Review: Summer Heights High

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Here’s a new name to remember: Chris Lilley. He’s a comedian from Australia who within the next year, will likely become a household name. I (and many others) discovered Lilley with his fantastic TV comedy “Summer Heights High.”

“Summer Heights High” is probably the best representation of life in high school on television since “Freaks & Geeks.” It delves into a level of strange surrealism at times, yet still remains a frank look at high school from every perspective.

“Summer Heights High” is shot in mockumentary style like “The Office” but while “The Office” takes place in and around an office, “Summer Heights High” shows the characters’ lives solely on the school grounds of an Australian public school.

The story focuses on three different people, each one played by series creator Lilley. One is Mr. G, a flamboyant and pompous drama teacher. The next character is Ja’mie, a preppy girl (yes, he plays a girl) whose transferring from her private school to spend a semester with the “wife beaters and rapists” that occupy the public school system. The final, and best of his three characters is Jonah. Jonah is a Polynesian student with a love for break dancing, learning problems, and a knack for getting in trouble.

“Summer Heights High” doesn’t shy away from controversial subjects and is daring in its audacity to laugh at the kind of things that few do. A few examples include Mr. G’s attempt to make a musical about a girl overdosing on ecstasy and Ja’mie holding an AIDS themed fashion show.

Perhaps the most controversial subject covered on the show is Jonah. “Summer Heights High” contains much of Australian culture that may seem unfamiliar to most Americans but it is clear that Polynesian Jonah is the minority at Summer Heights High. Without care, Lilley’s performance could’ve come off as racist and something on the scale of black face. Despite the fact that Jonah might seem like a horrible stereotype of Polynesians with his cursing and illiteracy yet Lilley ultimately uses him to get a message across about the backward treatment toward minorities. Is placing Jonah in a program called Polynesian pathways where he is forced to hula dance in front of the entire school really helping him fit in better with the rest of the students? As Jonah might say, puck you, miss.

The reason I focus on Jonah so much is that he is not only the funniest but best developed of the show’s three main characters. His story becomes somewhat tragic in the finale and his transformation in the final scene is a little bit sad but even a little heartwarming. His final mark on Summer Heights High and break dancing in the middle of the street is nothing short of inspirational.

“Summer Heights High” is shot like “The Office” not just in its shaky camera movements or individual interviews, but also many shots of characters shot from a distance or maybe in a bush that gives the feeling of someone carefully following around a moment in the life of these people without breaking the natural order. Almost like viewing animals at a zoo.

“Summer Heights High” is also reminiscent of a Christopher Guest movie and Lilley himself has the potential to be Christopher Guest. Like Guest, he plays characters so distant from his true self with pitch-perfect precision. His stereotypical drama teacher Mr. G reminds me of the stereotypical southern bloodhound owner Guest portrayed in “Best in Show” just for the ability of convincing the audience that we’re not viewing an actor but an actual character.

Unfortunately, as of now “Summer Heights High” was only meant to be a one season show. It makes sense, because the final episode wraps things up nicely and makes it seem hard for the possibility of a second season. However, Lilley has done other short series with these characters including “We Can Be Heroes.” Hopefully, another spin off will be made sometime in the near future but I also can’t wait to see what other characters Lilley will create next.

“Summer Heights High” is groundbreaking without seeming like it. It’s a big f-you to modern education as both a mockery of the teachers who teach the kids and the kids who inhabit the classrooms. It’s groundbreaking not because of its style but how it shows high school from every single perspective, giving every possible character a chance to shine. Its style of humor can’t be defined. It’s black comedy that goes beyond the limits of usual black comedy and dry humor that is so amazingly deadpan that it’s hard to know when to laugh. If I had to choose I’d just say that it’s a style of humor all its own; totally original, totally new.

Recommended for fans of: The Office, Arrested Development, Freaks & Geeks, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, Waiting for Guffman, This is Spinal Tap

Golden Globe Awards: Who Will…uh…Take Home the Gold?

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This might be one of the few spare moments I have as I am currently under midterm study lockdown but I felt like at one point or another it was my duty to give you my predictions for who will take home the Golden Globes this Sunday.

Here are my predictions:

Best Picture Drama: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Picture Musical/Comedy (anyone want to explain why those two are categorized together?): Mama Mia

Best Actor Drama: Sean Penn, Milk

Best Actress Drama: Meryl Streep, Doubt

Best Actor Musical/Comedy: Dustin Hoffman, Last Chance Harvey

Best Actress Musical/Comedy: Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky

Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Best Director: Danny Boyle (Pictured), Slumdog Millionaire

Best Screenplay: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Comedy/Musical Series: 30 Rock

Best Drama Series: Mad Men

Best TV Actor Comedy/Musical: Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock

Best TV Actress Comedy/Musical: Tina Fey, 30 Rock

Best TV Supporting Actor: Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your MOther

Best TV Supporting Actress: Dianne Wiest, In Treatment

Best TV Actor Drama: Hugh Laurie, House

Best TV Actress Comedy: January Jones, Mad Men

Movie Review: Milk

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When “Milk” ended, I didn’t move from my seat. I just sat there and thought about everything that had just hit me. All of the thoughts and emotions and anger that had been evoked. What a fine movie I had just seen.

“Milk” chronicles the life of openly gay politician Harvey Milk (Sean Penn). The movie takes the shread of biopic formula by starting at a pivotal future point in the character’s life and working backward from there. However, in “Milk” this device feels much less forced. It begins in 1978 not long after Milk has been threatened with an assassination attempt. Fearing his life may soon be over, he leaves a recording of his life and accomplishments.

His first flashback comes from the days before he moved out west. He was a Jewish Long Islander working as an insurance agent on Wall Street, keeping his homosexuality secret until he met and fell in love with Scott Smith (James Franco). Milk, turning 40, realizes he has done so little with his life and decides to move with Scott out to San Francisco.

While living in San Francisco, Milk becomes known as “Mayor of Castro Street.” He helps fight against the oppressing homophobic forces of Anita Bryant and John Briggs. After many failed campaigns, Milk finally won city supervisor and became the first openly gay politician in America. His biggest achievement was fighting Prop 6, which makes Prop 8 pale in comparison.

“Milk” is directed by Gus Van Sant. Van Sant is openly gay himself, and you can see in the final product of the film the great respect he carries for Milk. Every character in it, both straight and gay, is treated with the same level of dignity. Milk was a man who saw that he had done so little in his life and now was a time for change. Van Sant loves the idea of a person turning their life around and seeing that everyone has the ability to change.

Van Sant also puts in his very strange yet creative directing style. Take special note of the phone conversation scene, which reminds me of many avant-garde scenes of “My Own Private Idaho,” yet at times the film is often shot like a documentary. Van Sant adds the same vibrance to the colorful neighborhoods of San Francisco as he did to the burnt out neighborhoods of Portland in “Drugstore Cowboy.”

Of course, what has been admired most in this film is Sean Penn’s performance. And what a performance he gives. He is the rare breed like Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, and Daniel Day Lewis who have the ability to get inside their character’s skin and be so convincing as them. When looking at footage of the real Harvey Milk, Penn doesn’t just imitate his voice or his look. He takes in every small detail about him whether that be the way he moves his mouth or says a certain word. Penn in this way can totally engulf Milk’s outgoing, one of a kind personality. This is the kind of performance that touches hearts and wins awards.

Penn might stand out, but he does not have the only great performance in the film. “Milk” carries a fantastic ensemble. Franco shows his budding dramatic ability as one of Milk’s boyfriends. Other members of the ensemble include Emile Hirsch as a once insecure gay man who went up to the front lines in Milk’s battle. With this and “Into the Wild,” Hirsch has proved himself to be one of the best young actors out there. Also great is Diego Luna (“Y Tu Mama Tambien”) as Milk’s tortured lover.

Besides Penn, the actor who stands out most is Josh Brolin. Brolin plays Dan White, a political rival who would eventually become Milk’s crazed assassin. Brolin plays the role with a Blagoyevich-like hairdo and a demeanor that seems awkward and harmless at first which then turns awkward, creepy, and very harmful. Brolin conquered George Bush earlier this year and has now conquered Dan White. Brolin deserves an Oscar for this performance.

“Milk” always feels like a Van Sant film, but also at times feels like a Kubrick film (IMDB claims that Van Sant’s favorite director is Kubrick). There is a very effective use of reflection shots. Perhaps those reflection shots represent Milk reflecting on his own life and constantly reflecting on what his purpose is in the world. Milk, for a large part of his life, felt he had no purpose.

The movie contains an operatic score throughout. This is partly because of Milk’s own interest in opera. The film’s use of opera turns Milk’s life story into an opera itself, letting the music inspire the story and the characters as well. It’s almost like how “Ride of the Valkyries” inspired Kilgore on his invasion in “Apocalypse Now” or how Alex felt the desire to commit his vile acts when listening to Beethoven and when Milk saw an opera, he was inspired to stand up for his rights.

“Milk” takes on a new relevance this year with the passing of Prop 8. When an ordinance like that is passed, one can only wonder where is Harvey Milk?

Milk so beautifully captures the great elements that made Harvey Milk such a legend. He became a man who was not afraid to show off who he was and had the sense of humor to enjoy getting pied in the face. We have gotten to know and love Milk so much by the end that his inevitable assassination may become one of the saddest things you’ll ever view on film. But in it is inspired a new hope. Here is a man who died for something. Died for a cause. Died fighting. Gus Van Sant has brought to light a crucial section of history in the battle for civil rights, a man who was truly like Martin Luther King to the gay rights movement. Try not feeling emotionally devastated by the staged and mixed with true life footage of the memorial service for Milk, highlighted by thousands of candles.

Ultimately, every bit of Harvey Milk’s personality can be defined by his reaction to the statement that homosexual relationships are ruining the traditional family and asked if two men can reproduce: “No,” he says, “but God knows we keep trying.”

Recommended for Fans of: My Own Private Idaho, Good Will Hunting, Drugstore Cowboy, Brokeback Mountain, Braveheart, American Beauty

Something Nice For New Year’s Day/Sundance

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Well, it’s New Year’s Day 2009. To many of you, I guess that means its National Hangover Day. I’d like to let you all know of the month ahead, because a very exciting event is coming. If you’re throbbing headache is making it impossible to even look at a computer screen, just here me out for a moment, because in a few weeks I will be heading on a trip to the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. There, I will see many new movies and hopefully get some interviews with the stars and directors who make the independent film world possible. I will be there from Jan. 20-26 so tune in to The Reel Deal all that week for updates.

Now, I have to go study SAT vocab like I promised. Now like I promised to you, here’s something nice for New Year’s:

Happy New Year!

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Happy new year everybody! This is the first official post of 2009. I’ve made a vow that this year I would try some things new. So far, I have, watching my first episode of “Chelsea Lately” ever (Handler’s book “Are You There Vodka, It’s Me, Chelsea?” is a must read) this moment. I also began “How I Met Your Mother” not long ago. I will also vow to see even more movies in the theaters and read some more books. Well, the former I think I can accomplish, the latter, we’ll just have to see.

For one last remembrance of 2008, here’s a great clip from this season of “Saturday Night Live” I just discovered that unfortunately no one is talking about:

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And to see a preview of what could be one of the great comedies of the coming year: