 |
|
The idea of two men directing a documentary about a summer camp for pre-teen girls might inevitably raise some red flags. But Arne Johnson and Shane King use their outsider status to craft an incredibly thoughtful and creative film about the Portland-based Rock'n'Roll Camp for Girls. The result, Girls Rock!, is a moving portrait of (to quote the luminous philosopher, Madonna) what it feels like for a girl, holding equal appeal for documentary film lovers, parents, fans of rock'n'roll and anyone who grew up as a weird kid in a town without pity Erin Donovan spoke with co-director Johnson about the film as it opened around the country this past weekend. Read the full article >> |
|
|
In This Dispatch:
- What's New: No Country, Lake of Fire, and much more.
- What We're Watching: Congorama, Summer Palace and Appleseed EM.
- Explore: SXSW podcasts
|
|
|
Here it is, friendo, fresh off its Oscar run - Best Picture, Director(s) and Screenplay for the Coen Bros, along with a Best Supporting Actor nod for Javier Bardem, truly unforgettable as the killer Anton Chgurh. "Many of the scenes are so flawlessly constructed that you want them to simply continue," wrote Roger Ebert, "and yet they create an emotional suction drawing you to the next scene. Another movie that made me feel that way was Fargo. To make one such film is a miracle. Here is another." Or, as Time's Richard Schickel put it, "You are simply hypnotized by the damned thing." |
|
|
|
Tony Kaye, the volatile director of American History X, shot his documentary Lake of Fire, about the abortion debate, over the course of quite a few years in the 90s. "This surprisingly fluid and continuously engaging two-and-a-half- hour movie, which Kaye shot himself in luminous black-and-white and almost entirely in 35mm, is at once monumental and ghostly," wrote J Hoberman in the Voice. "For a movie that shows the unshowable and might well induce a migraine given the pounding conviction with which God's will is invoked, Kaye's jeremiad is remarkably non-judgmental." "There's a madness [here] that goes hand-in-glove with its staggering achievement," adds Scott Tobias at the AV Club. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This filial drama from writer/director Philippe Falardeau reveals the bizarre story of Belgian engineer Michel Roy who learns at age forty-one that he was adopted and actually born in a barn in rural Quebec. Played by Oliviér Gourmet ( L'Enfant, Les Fils), Roy embarks on a journey to uncover his lost familial roots. Humor and poignancy intermix as Roy begins to learn the truth about his birth through a series of unlikely serendipities. Out of respect for your enjoyment of Falardeau's brilliantly woven divulgences, I dare not reveal anything more of the plot. Suffice it to say, this cinematic puzzle deserves more than one viewing, if only to admire the deft way Falardeau uncovers its many-layered secrets. It is no wonder that Congorama won a Genie for Best Screenplay from the Academy of Canadian Cinema... read review here >> |
|
|
| |
Sixth Generation Chinese filmmaker Lou Ye's fourth feature Summer Palace feels very much like a French New Wave film. Using China's turbulent political years as a backdrop, the movie focuses on a small group of students - focusing on the country girl Yu Hong - attending Bejing University in the late 1980s, and the different (sometimes even conflicting) emotions they experience as the careless enthusiasm of their youth gives way to life's disenchanting realities. Emotions, it should be noted, are conveyed accurately, and most importantly non-pornographically, in the film's many explicit sexual encounters..... read review here >>
|
|
|
|
A follow-up to the popular first new Appleseed movie (there was a halfway decent 1988 cel-animated Appleseed as well), which was based on the characters created by Masamune Shirow in the manga of the same name. If you haven't seen the first one, don't fret - a quick, expository narration covers all the basics at the beginning. For the most part Ex Machina's a slight improvement over the original, which also looked terrific and yet featured even clunkier dialogue and plotting... read review >> |
|
|
|
|
|
Covering all that's new, unknown, or inexcusably under-appreciated, Thrillist sifts through the crap to find the best food, drinks, gadgets, events, gear and services Nationwide. Recent discoveries include the world's first Marijuana ATM, an online shop for t-shirts worn by 80's movie characters, and a speakeasy accessible through the most All-American of secret entrances -- a phone booth inside a hot dog joint.
Get on the list for free here. |
|
|
| |
For St. Paddy's Day
Our sponsors:
|
|
