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As Aaron Hillis' annual Austin adventure finally comes to an end [see his recap below] he leaves us with one last podcast, and it's a fine one. Quickly becoming one of the go-to heroines of screen comedy, Anna Faris ( Smiley Face, The House Bunny) handily and hilariously steals each of her scenes in writer-director Jody Hill's Observe and Report, which screened as the centerpiece film at SXSW. Like others who have pointed out the similarities, it really does play like the comic analogue to Taxi Driver, its disturbing "jokes" provoking mostly nervous laughter, with a doozy of a punchline. Aaron's chat with Faris is now up as a podcast on GreenCine. More >> |
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In This Dispatch:
- What's New: Quantum, Careful and more.
- What We're Watching: Cake Eaters, Electric Mist, Japan, Japan.
- Explore: SXSW films in review.
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Reviews were decidedly mixed for this follow up to the hit Bond film Casino Royale, the first with Daniel Craig as the superspy, but on its own terms what it lacks in 007 style it makes up for in adrenaline. "Thanks to a deft blend of exotic escapism and bare-bones modernism, [Quantum] is more than strong enough to be judged on its own," claimed Premiere. "In fact, it's the perfect Bond film." Adds the AV Club, "It's dark and exciting, but with little breathing room." |
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Inimitable Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin's third film is now remastered for DVD. Writes TCM's Michael Atkinson: " Careful is nothing if not a masterpiece of ersatz style and fully imagined writing over budgetary limitations... an impish movie-movie no less hilarious and gorgeous for its often astounding technical somersaults and authorial jerryrigging." Includes new commentary by Maddin and screenwriter George Toles, the 1997 documentary "Waiting for Twilight" (about the shooting of Maddin's offbeat fantasy " Twilight of the Ice Nymphs"), and Maddin's short 1995 film "Odilon Redon" (aka "Eye Like a Strange Balloon"). Look for a review on Guru this week. |
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Twilight gets all the hoopla this week, but another, very much under the radar Kristen Stewart film features the young actress in a much stronger performance in this genuinely sweet indie. Here she plays a high school student who suffers from a degenerative muscular disease that not only makes life more of a struggle but makes her in a rush to live life. The Cake Eaters also marks the directorial debut of Mary Stewart Masterson, herself no stranger to being a young actress on the rise, and, says Roger Ebert, "Masterson, like many actors, is an assured director even in her debut; working with her brother Pete as cinematographer, she creates a spell and a tenderness and pushes exactly as far as this story should go."
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Is Japan Japan (as used to be claimed about New York, New York) "so nice they named it twice"? Not really, although there is a kind of duality to the movie: For every good thing you encounter, there's something equally bad. Let's start with the rumor that the production budget was a mere $200. Amazing -- but, as they say, you get what you pay for. What about the hard-core stuff? It's there, all right, but completely un-integrated into the rest of the film. On the other hand, the entire film lacks much integration, so maybe you can appreciate the snatches of... read review >> |
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Between the beginning of the year and the end of the fest, GreenCine Daily's Aaron Hillis can officially weigh in on 31 of the features that screened at SXSW in Austin. Some of his favorites include David Lowery's lovely, lived-in, slow-burning debut feature St. Nick and the awesomely gonzo Make-Out With Violence. For his full-on recap, go here >>
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Anime We Like
Special Promo
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