Milwaukee Film Festival 2014: An Honest Liar

When I first get the Festival Program I read through every movie to see what sounds interesting. And because I believe that the film festival offers something for everyone I try to figure out what my friends would like. When I came across An Honest Liar I immediately thought of Chris. His dad was a magician and ran a magic shop so thought he would be interested. Little did I know how excited he would be. While I have never heard of The Amazing Randi I soon found out he is one of the most famous magicians. Also on a whim we thought we would see if we could get an interview with him while he was in town. Luckily we got the opportunity. 

The movie covers a lot of ground in a short 90 minutes. It starts with his career as a magician and escape artists. He quickly became one of the most prominent magicians picking up where Houdini had left off. There is even a clip from one of his first television appearances at the early days of TV.  After injuring himself trying an escape he semi retired from performances and devoted his time exposing psychics and charlatans. His main nemesis was Uri Geller who would go on TV shows and bend spoons. Randi's friendship with Johnny Carson led to a memorable show when Geller was scheduled to appear. Randi had instructed Johnny's prop department how to set up a true test for Geller. When Geller was unable to perform any of his "psychic" abilities everyone thought he was done. But still people believed and the two would go on butting heads for decades. Randi continued his crusade exposing faith healer Peter Popoff and showing how even scientists can be fooled when he hired two young magicians to fake psychic abilities in The Alpha Project. 

Each event is really interesting and could almost be a whole documentary by themselves. 

In addition to his professional career the movie gives us a glimpse into the man himself. And as one would expect he is just as fascinating in his personal life. He met his partner Jose Alverez in Florida one day and the two formed an incredible relationship. They have been together for a long time and in 2010 Randi came out and in 2013 when Gay marriage became legal federally the two got married in Washington DC. 

The movie is a fascinating look at Randi's life. Again the word amazing comes to mind. In a scant 90 minutes they cover a whole lot of ground. And if I have one complaint it's that there is so much they only briefly touch upon or leave out completely. It's understandable given the time constraint and as the director told us a good documentary leaves you wanting more. And that it did. I have now watched tons of YouTube videos featuring Randi. And the more I learn the more I am fascinated by the guy. 

Overall: 5/5 if you never heard of The Amazing Randi this is a great introduction. Even if you know about him there will be a few surprises that you didn't know.

Milwaukee Film Festival 2014: The Imitation Game

Heading into The Imitation Game there were lots of high expectations. It's already played at multiple festivals to lots of praise and is an early front runner for multiple Oscar awards. So,I was glad to be able to get an early peak at it during the festival. But the question was would it live up to the hype? And for the most part it did.

The Imitation Game is based on a true story of Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) who during World War II cracked the Enigma Code the Nazi's were using to send secret messages.  The Enigma Code was thought to be unbreakable due to the randomness of the code and the fact it changes every day.  Turing enlisted a bunch of puzzle solvers from the street including a female Joan Clarke (Kiera Knightly) to help him. With their help he builds a machine he calls Christopher, which might be the worlds first computer, to help break the code.

But the movie is than just about Turing breaking the Enigma Code. The movie is told with three simultaneous timelines. There is Alan in school, Alan in WWII, and Alan in the 1950's. The three timelines represent turning points in his life. In the school timeline we learn about how he fell in love with his classmate Christopher and how those feelings will affect him for the rest of his life.  Then we have the Enigma timeline where not only is he breaking codes to reveal secrets but also trying to protect his own secret. And even though at one point he becomes engaged to Joan it's more out of circumstance than love. In the 50's he raises the suspicion of an investigator and his secrets are threatened to be exposed again. 

While the story might seem familiar it is the way it is told that makes it feels different. We are use to seeing on screen geniuses that have no social grace and are very blunt. But here jumping back and forth between different timelines makes the story seem fresh. The screenplay by Graham Moore manages to use each timeline to build on the suspense of the others and they each have a three act structure and work as stories of their own. While it might sound like it would be confusing it works really well.  The actors also help in making the movie work. Cumberbatch and Knightly give great performances as does the supporting cast.  The entire ensemble is well cast and everyone plays their roles perfectly. The score by Alexandre Desplat really sets the movie apart also.  I appreciated the unique sound it had and was the perfect addition to the action on screen. 

Of course all of this is thanks to the great direction of Morten Tyldum.  I have never heard of him before and I think we will be hearing much more from him.  He seems to be able to get amazing performances from the cast as well as knowing how to manage the drama and still have it be funny.  That was the other thing that surprised me was how funny the movie was. He managed to tell a heartbreaking story at times while still keeping it light and throwing in a few laughs.  

The biggest problem with the movie is it feels very familiar.  You will probably see lots of comparisons to A Beautiful Mind.  Both are true stories about geniuses that don't fit in and both have secrets that get revealed.  At points in the movie it feels like Cumberbatch is just redoing what Russell Crowe did so well.  But again this is where the structure and score help the movie.  While it always feels like it has something in common with A Beautiful Mind it somehow manages to feel unique.  

Overall: 4.5/5 Great movie with great cast.  And even though it does manage to set itself apart from similar movies there are parts that make it feel like it is just repeating that same thing we have already seen.  

Milwaukee Film Fest 2014: The Priest's Children

Once upon a time there was a young, green priest, Don Fabijan. (Kresimir Mikic) He was saddened by modern ways, like people having sex for pleasure rather than procreation. As such, he felt called to stem the decay of the Croatian island community he sought to lead to the light, a place where the death rate was greater than the birth rate. Then again, this feeling may have been exacerbated by the other older, universally adored priest who excelled everywhere Fabijan was awkward. So when a sheep from his flock named Petar (Niksa Butijer) came and asked him if selling condoms was a sin, he decided to cleanse the sheep of (some of) their sins. How? Well, he decided to use a needle and pierce an imperceptible hole in all the condoms sold in the community. That way, a pregnancy would truly be God's will, not man's. Along the way, they are assisted by a pharmacist and Bosnian war veteran whose time spent in Serb and Muslim camps had left him less than sane, as well as a passionate believer in increasing the Croatian population.

Stop me if you've heard this before. No? Well, I'll keep going then. Naturally, this has consequences for the island. Some they forsee, such a whole lot more pregnancies and marriages. Others they don't, such as an increase in visitors to the island, since it is believed that the high birth rates are due to currents. But darker, more tragic, consequences are also unavoidable.

As those consequences continue and pile up, what begins as laugh out loud comedy soon ends up sparking a less than comedic domino effect. A baby is abandoned in front of the church, leading Petar and his wife Martha to fake a pregnancy so they can pass it off as their own. But the giggles stop when one young woman becomes barren and another dies.

It all leaves the once idealistic Fabijan disillusioned and eager for his end, and us with a harsh indictment on a church, especially the Papacy of the former Benedict XVI, which shows us an institution and the shepherds that represent it imposing its values and the consequences thereof on the rest of the world while literally getting away with murder themselves.

It's all pulled off with excellent performances and exquisite comedic timing, while also making great use of the location and history. The problem is that the more absurdist tone at the beginning of “The Priest's Children” feels like too stark of a contrast for the much bleaker one at the end, especially for a movie that passes itself off as a comedy. Nevertheless, it stands as a very well executed cautionary tale for how our judgments against others become sins in themselves.

Grade: B-

Milwaukee Film Fest 2014: Family United

Ah, weddings. Is there any other event where the reality is so consistently different from the shiny, Perfect Day shoved down our throats by powerful propaganda machines? Hmm. Maybe birth. Or childhood. Or rather, anything to do with kids and family in general.

That said, the buildup to the wedding in “Family United” starts sweetly enough. We are introduced to the happy couple as adorable little ten-year-old moppets. Efraín, the catalyst for all the chaos and disorder to come, explains how he is the youngest of five brothers, and how life has disappointed his father (Héctor Colomé). Apparently, Dad's (Héctor Colomé) favorite movie was “Seven Brides For Seven Brothers,” and believed his life was destined to resemble it. He dreamed of having seven sons and a lifetime of happiness with his wife and one true love. But he only got five, as his wife left after Efraín was born.

After Efraín recounts all this, he proposes to a girl in his class, Carla, so they can fufill his father's dream. She accepts, and quicker then you can say, “Aww,” the movie flashes forward eight years, where we learn that Efraín (Patrick Criado) is indeed marrying the now very pregnant Carla (Arancha Martí). Few are pleased about him marrying so young, and even fewer are actually happy to actually be at the wedding, seeing as how it's not only the same day as the 2010 World Cup, but their own country, Spain, is one of the finalists.

But while Efraín is confident about his decision, there are a few unsettling omens thrown his way, from a plank of wood that crashes through their van's window to a black cat at an otherwise charming ceremony where guests dance down the aisle to “Feel So Close.” But the party comes to a screeching halt when Colomé's heart fails, and he is left in a delicate, uncertain condition.

But as people are forced to learn time and again, when you plan on your life resembling a set picture, or rather a particular fiction, life is bound to fall short of your expectations. Real life tends to complicated; bad things happen for no reason, and there is nothing to do but adapt. So while the wedding is in limbo, the fault lines in everyone's lives are revealed. One brother is dating the ex of another, who has learned a shocking secret from his family and isolated himself from them. Another wants to get in the family safe and “borrow” money.

Then there's the would-be bride and groom themselves, or more to the point, Carla's twin sister Monica (Sandra Martín), who begins to form more of a connection with Efraín. Turns out, even Efraín's adorable proposal is more complicated than it initially appears, since apparently both sisters have been such a huge part of his life that he can't imagine it without both of them in it. Having a guy in the middle of a love triangle is difficult enough, so getting us to take this seriously, and tackling it in a such a sweet way (with the sisters in particular never losing sight of their bond and their love for each other) is really the film's major accomplishment. More than that, it's nice to see cinema finally approve of something different than the same old family arrangement. Here's hoping more mainstream American films follow suit too.

Grade: B+

Milwaukee Film Fest 2014: Still Life

In classic, reticent English fashion, “Still Life” does a lot with a little. It's what we call a little gem of a film, where even the colors are subdued, and, much like the Michael Haneke films “The White Ribbon” and “Amour,” a hushed tone doesn't mean a lack of passion.

“Still Life” is the character study of a council worker named John May (Eddie Marsan of “The World's End”), who has the job of finding a person's next of kin after they've passed away. When none can be found or refuse to make an appearance, he attends and oversees the funerals himself, often taking care of such details as writing the eulogy and even choosing the music that's played. He is devoted to his work and investigates each case thoroughly and exhaustively. It's remarkable to see, yet understandable, since he has much in common with the lonely people he devotes his time to: he lives a very solitary life himself, with no friends or family that we see.

May is not only the focus and center, he embodies the film's beliefs, its tone, its quiet stoicism that does what it believes is right and decent and tries to persuade others to do the same. But the outer world does not share his concerns, and he is told that his current case will be his last. It's a fitting finale, seeing how the now-deceased man lived right across from him, and the high personal and professional stakes make May more determined than ever that some friends or family must attend the last funeral he will ever devote himself to.

While sharing a similar tone to the aforementioned Haneke films, “Still Life” could also be seen as a more agnostic companion to the film “Calvary,” wherein Brendan Gleeson played a Catholic priest. Both films serve as a profound, moving meditation on death and our views of and rituals around it, as well as the lack of reverence today's world has for it in the rush for money and cutting costs. In their own ways, both argue that the lack of appreciation has profound consequences for the living, and sooner or later leads to a devaluation of them as well.

May knows he can't stem this tide, but he refuses to allow his efforts to become meaningless. Remarkably, “Still Life” never gives in to pity or maudlin displays. Its message is that of respect and empathy. Yet the movie refuses to turn away from the tragic emptiness that life can bring. May's efforts and the subsequent fruits of his labors unfold in a slow burn that culminates into one of the most touching and beautiful final scenes that I have ever seen on film. It's powerful enough that it actually upsets me that “Still Life” doesn't have its own Wikipedia page. Something this perfectly executed should have more of an audience.

Grade: A+

Milwaukee Film Fest 2014: Young And Beautiful

One thing you really have to admire the French for is tricking its audiences into believing that the softcore porn they're watching is actually an art house film. Take “Farewell, My Queen,” which appeared non-exploitative even while tossing in a lesbian romance that apparently wasn't even in the book it was based on. So I certainly have to tip my hat for almost making “Young And Beautiful” look like anything other than what it is: a male fantasy which is a mere money shot away from any run-of-the-mill Internet smut.

The title is very apt, however. The girl, Isabelle, (the very talented Marine Vacth) is certainly young, only seventeen. And she is certainly, almost impossibly beautiful. So beautiful it almost seems natural that she would want to profit from it. When we first meet her, we see more of her than we expected (in the first two minutes anyway). Indeed, the film quickly forces its audience to become voyeurs, since she is framed through an onlooker's binoculars, making us vicarious spies as she removes her top to sunbathe. Plus, the person who was spying on her? That was her little brother, who also peeks in when she happens to be, um, pleasuring herself. Soon, we see her lose her virginity to a boy she's not even particularly fond of, which leaves her cold and disillusioned. When she returns home, she also accidentally sees her stepfather naked. It all seems like a bit much.

Since “Young And Beautiful” aims to show, not tell, the character development will be a bit light, but it shouldn't be so nearly nonexistent. Right after Isabelle loses her virginity and leaves her family's charming vacation spot, we next see her heading to a motel room for her first paid tryst. So yeah, this girl just decides to become a prostitute, and we don't see when she made the decision, how she got the idea, or why she decided to take such an extreme step. To the film's credit, she's not depicted as sick or suffering from daddy issues, and she's still a somewhat inept 17-year-old even when she gets some experience under her belt.

And you wonder why conservatives are so afraid of the French. Heck, after seeing this, I'm almost afraid of the French.

But the beautiful thing about these types of French films is that they simultaneously take sex so seriously and so casually that it makes us forget our hysteria over an act that is as much a part of our lives as breathing. But by placing so much emphasis on the act and on Isabelle's outer rather than inner life holds “Young And Beautiful” from becoming the thoughtful, intelligent film it was obviously meant to be. Instead, you'll be baffled when that little brother mentioned above helps her with her makeup, and sleeps in her bed so he can press her for details about her date. Also, will she ever stop pouting and smile? And smirking doesn't count!

Writer-director François Ozon previously explored illicit, unsettling desire in a previous film, and another Milwaukee Film Festival alum, “In The House.” But “Young And Beautiful” left me feeling confused about what he was trying to accomplish. When Isabelle eventually does get discovered and has to face the consequences of her choices, even that isn't depicted well. How is it, exactly, that only her parents and a few of their friends find out, while no one at her school does? That seems far-fetched, especially in our new digital age, where a single remark can quickly spread to thousands or millions of people via social media. The intentions are good, even fascinating, but they don't even come close to being fulfilled.

Grade: D

Milwaukee Film Fest 2014: The Overnighters

One constant throughout history is that someone always has to be the scapegoat, particularly when times get tough. That's when such ugly beliefs like Hispanic immigrants steal American jobs, and other charming bits of racism, gain wide circulation.

It's often the poorest among us who are blamed the most. The rich may occasionally lose their jobs, sometimes even go to prison for their crimes, but those who have the least have fewer defenses, connections, and resources, and thus are easier targets. And giving into the vices that haunt their class is a constant temptation for the extremely rich and extremely poor.

Solutions are rarely easy, especially when the gulf between the two widens and becomes embedded in everyday life. And when there's an influx of new poor, things become that much more complicated.

“The Overnighters” shows what happens when one small town is forced to grapple with such forces, which are inevitably bigger than everyone caught in the midst of them and can prevent the best of us from seeing clearly. Such is the situation of the residents of Williston, North Dakota, which becomes a prime destination for desperate men who hear of well-paying jobs in the oil fields. Naturally, they are the subject of fear and suspicion among the locals, and not all of their fears are unwarranted. Desperate times tend to breed similarly desperate men, and the local paper tells of the worst of their actions.

So when local pastor Jay Reinke decides to use his church to offer some of the men a place to sleep and eat, it doesn't go over well. Unasked for new things are particularly scary, particularly when they come to a small town that's only used to one set of people. It leads to one of the more humorous scenes where Pastor Reinke advises one of the men to cut his hair so he'll be less offensive to the locals.

“Did Jesus have short hair?” the man asks.

“Jesus doesn't have our neighbors,” Reinke replies.

While many of the locals aren't depicted well, the camera spares no one, even those most in need. Assisting them is sometimes made more difficult by the men themselves, and when Reinke is forced to cut ties with a few of them, some of them even decide to seek revenge. Then it's discovered that some of these men are even sex offenders.

However, others aren't even homeless. They come to Williston with no place to go, but many have left behind homes, even families, that they cannot support in the towns they come from. One talks about how well things are going for him in his sparser than sparse surroundings. Keegan Edwards, from Antigo, Wisconsin gets a good job, then is sidelined by an injury, and his father tells him not to come back home to the lack of opportunities that drove him away. The heart is broken again and again when stories such as these are told.

But much of the focus is put on Pastor Reinke himself, who at first is depicted as almost saintly, but there's even a few shocking revelations in the documentary's third act that gives us a much more complex man, as well as more insight into why is able to empathize with broken men so completely.

This refusal to sugarcoat anyone makes “The Overnighters” all the more poignant as an examination of the best and worst we are capable of. The end result is a thoughtful, intelligent documentary with no easy answers, or really any answers at all. Rather, it is writer-director Jesse Moss's shout into the void that is global economics, a call that pleads for empathy and tolerance for those who cannot speak for themselves (even with all their flaws on full display) and rarely have a voice when such issues are discussed.

However, the film's focus on even such a compulsively watchable man as Reinke has its drawbacks as well. The end credits, where some of the more overlooked men introduce themselves to the camera, indicate an even greater story. Some of these men hail from places as far away as Africa. How many of these issues are due to racism as well? How does a man journey from Ghana to Williston, North Dakota? It made me wish the camera had lingered on more of the overnighters, since their presence indicates there's even more to the story than even the humane treatment here covered.

Grade: A-

Movie Review -The Other One- Milwaukee Film Fest

My first attempt to write a short screenplay I wanted to try to capture the feeling of depression. Josef Steiff set out to do the same thing in his screenplay for The Other One and succeeded. On the surface it's a creepy ghost story but as he explained at the Q&A after the film at it's heart  it really is the story of four women dealing with grief and depression. 

The movie is about Amber (Grace McPhillips who also produced) a high school teacher who after a traumatic event that inured her and killed her husband moves back home to take care of her mom.  Her mom Vera (Nancy Sellers) is suffering from dementia and is a pathological liar. When Amber starts to uncover secrets from her families past it's hard to tell if what Vera says is another lie or part of the dementia. Also who are the spirits that seem to be haunting the house? Being home also brings up other issues. Amber must now confront her in-laws for the first time since her husband died. All of this while she is still processing her own loss and feelings about what happened. 

The movie is slow and deliberately paced. It is not your typical ghost story. The beginning of the movie is almost exclusively Amber and Vera. Then other characters are slowly introduced.   It manages to keep the intensity and has a few jump scares. The lady next to kept gasping and everyone was on the edge of their seats. The mystery keeps you wondering and thinking as the movie only gives you a few clues at a time and lets you piece it together.  But it's always the relationship between the women that moves the story along.

At the Q&A it was also mentioned that this movie is meant for multiple viewings to pick up all the details. While I admire that, I wish there were a few more details explained better. There is a fine line between having the audience figure things out and force feeding the audience the information. Unfortunately I think it just barely misses the mark. I am not sure general audiences will have the patience to think about it or be willing to revisit the movie. For me it works and had me thinking about it for days. All of the details about her family secret is never fully explained but if you pay close enough attention you can figure it out. 

Overall: 4/5 I really liked this movie. The mood and pace were on target. The actors all did a great job and the score matched the movie perfectly.  The mystery was interesting. Just wish there were more clues to help us piece everything together. 

Movie Review "Hairy Who and the Chicago Imagists" Milwaukee Film Festival 2014

Day 2 of the Milwaukee Film festival saw me going with my artist friend to see the movie about the Hairy Who.  Not really being into the art scene I had no idea who they were and what they did so I was going into the movie blind.  Which is one of the reasons why I love film festivals to see movies I normally wouldn't see and step out of my comfort zone.

So who are the The Hairy Who and the Chicago Imagists? Well they are a collection of artists with various styles who got together in Chicago in the 60's.  With influenced that range from abstract and surrealism, to comic books and advertisements.  Their artwork was like something people had never seen before and even though there were some graphic pictures they became popular with local collectors.  The incubator for the Imagist was the New Hyde Park Gallery which celebrated local and upcoming artists.  The Hairy Who was just the start and a few other collectives followed.  Their work separated them from other contemporaries in New York and San Francisco and came to represent the Midwest.

The movie is a very informative art history lesson and the artists themselves are very interesting.  But not having an interest in art I felt a little bored.  There were a lot of things that influenced these artists but not having that background  knowledge of who they were talking about it didn't mean much to me. While I can't appreciate the technical aspect of the craft I can appreciate the aesthetics. While some were bizarre there were some that looked really cool. So I do admire them for doing what they wanted to do and not compromising.

Overall: 3/5. An art history buff would love this movie but just wasn't for me. My artist friend who saw it with me loved it. So if art is your thing then this is worth checking out. But if art isn't your thing you might want to skip it.   

Jim Wirsum-Screamin' Jay Hawkins-1968

Ed Paschke-Minnie-1974

Add caption

Milwaukee Film Fest 2013: The Perverts Guide to Ideology and Google and the World Brain

I saw these two movies back to back and both are movies that are designed to make you think and ask big philosophical questions so I decided to give them one review.

Lets start with The Perverts Guide to Ideology.  This documentary features Slavoj Zizek and uses movies to explain his theories on ideology.  Google and the World  Brain is very different but asks some big philosophical questions.  When Google attempted to scan every book in the world to make a world library accessible to everyone it sounded like a great idea at first but soon people became suspicious.

Slavoj Zizek is an interesting person.  He has a fun and interesting way of describing his thoughts on what ideology is.  The movie starts with him using the classic horror movie They Live to describe how ideology makes us blind to how things really are.  From there he moves on to other movies like The Sound of Music, West Side Story, Taxi Driver, The Dark Knight, and Titanic.  One of the more interesting connections he made was when he discussed what Jaws had in common with Nazism. That really blew my mind.  The movie is over 2 hours and even though he makes it fun and interesting it does feel like a 2 hour philosophical class.  The other problem with the movie is he has such a strong accent I didn't understand some of the things he was trying to explain.

Google and the World Brain is a fascinating documentary. The movie gets its name from the H.G. Wells concept of a world brain.  Wells concept was a where all the worlds knowledge was in one place and anyone could get access to it.  Well with the internet we are one step closer to the world brain concept then ever before.   When Google decided it would scan every book in the world into Google books they were taking it one step closer. But ethical and legal questions began to arise.  Was it legal to scan books that had active copyrights? Is it ethical for a private for profit company to be able to control access to the worlds books?  Obviously Google didn't think they did anything wrong but several lawsuits were filed and the legal battle began.  The documentary was interesting. At first it sounds like a great idea.  Everyone in the world should have access to whatever information they want but who should be the ones providing that access?

Overall  two documentaries that make you think. One about philosophical questions and the other about legal and ethical questions.
The Perverts Guide to Ideology - 3 out of 5
Google and the World Brain -4 out of 5

Milwaukee Film Festival 2013: Short Term 12

Every year during the Milwaukee Film Festival they have one screening that is just for members and they don't tell you what it is until right before the movie starts.   This super secret screening is usually one of the best movie of the festival.  This year they amazed us with the great film Short Term 12.

Short Term 12 refers to a group home for troubled teenagers.  The daily activities are overseen by Grace (Brie Larson) and her boyfriend Mason (John Gallagher Jr.).  Every day is an adventure for them as they never know what to expect.  But when a new girl Jayden (Kaitlyn Dever) joins the home it stirs up emotions from Grace's past.   To make  things more complicated Grace is pregnant and other ghosts from her past are coming back to haunt her.

The movie manages to balance all the drama with comedy.  It is heartbreaking at times but lighthearted at other times.  The main focus is on Grace and her struggles but everyone in the movie has a complicated back story. We learn about some of the kids and their stories all feel real and never slow the movie down.  As Grace heads to her breaking point we wonder what she will do but as dark as the movie gets it never gets too dark.  And that is all thanks writer and director Destin Cretton.  In  his second feature film he has proven he is a force in the future of film.

The other credit for how good this movie is goes to the incredible cast. Brie Larson does such an amazing job of keeping the character grounded. While we don't know her history at first we understand that there is something going on in her head. As we learn more we begin to empathize with her.  Look for her to get an Oscar nomination come award season. She is surrounded by a great supporting cast. John Gallagher Jr. Plays her loving goofball boyfriend to perfection and Rami Malek has some of the funniest scenes as newcomer Nate who is way over his head. Of course the movie wouldn't be what it is without the talented child cast lead by Kaitlyn Deever as the troubled Jayden and Keith Stanfield as Marcus who is about to turn 18 and be released on his own.

Overall: 5 out of 5. Great cast and great story. The balance of drama and comedy is just right and it never lets you get too depressed and treats each character with respect.   

Milwaukee Film Festival 2013: Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me

I will have to admit I didn't know much about Elaine Stritch before hand.  All I knew of her was she played Alec Baldwin's mom on 30 Rock which turns out is just a small blip in her storied career.

The documentary follows the 87 year old through the highs and lows of what it means to be an aging performer.  There is archival footage of her past to give those of us who know little about her career at little background but the majority of the film is a candid look at her life now.  From struggles with alcoholism and diabetes to the joys of performing on stage.

What made this movie truly great was the openness and unfiltered access we get to her.  The film does not shy away from showing the non glamorous side.  We see her as she gets frustrated with forgetting song lyrics and as she becomes confused when her blood sugar drops.  The most touching real moment in the movie is when we see her being discharged from the hospital after being there a few days for her diabetes. But then we also get to see her talking and hanging out with other celebrities like Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, and John Turturro. Elaine is blunt and calls it like she sees it and creates some funny moments.  One of the sadder moments was when she was hanging out with the late James Gandolfini.  He seemed to have such great admiration for her and it is sad that he is no longer with us.

Overall: 5 out of 5.  It feels refreshing to see a movie about a celebrity as raw and unfiltered as this.  It was great to have Elaine at the film and do a Q&A afterward.  She was exactly how you would expect her to be, gracious and funny.

Milwaukee Film Festival 2013: The History of Future Folk

Day 3 of the Milwaukee Film festival brought me into a fantastic world of aliens and folk music.  Sound ridiculous?  Well it is a whole lot of fun.

The History of Future Folk is the story of aliens from the planet Hondo that come to earth to destroy everyone on it.  Before General Trius (Nils d'Aulaire) can release the virus he hears music for the first time.  Falling in love with music and believing that a race that can put sounds to for music must have some good he spares the Earth.  But the people on Hondo are not happy. He was supposed to kill everyone so their world can be spared.  They send the Great Kevin to Earth to assinate General Trius.  But Trius who now goes by the name of Bill has been on Earth for a while and has gotten married and had a kid.  When the Great Kevin catches up with him Bill plays music for him and they end up starting a folk band together.

My synopsis doesn't do the movie justice.  There are so many little quirky and funny bits in the movie that it is hard to summarize.  Needless to say the leads are great and their songs are hilarious.  The movie zips along fairly quickly and keeps everything moving. It is funny and has a little romance, action, and music.

Overall: 5 out of 5. Some movies at festivals make you think or challenge your beliefs and some are just fun.  This is the later. It will have you laughing at the shear ridiculousness and tapping you feet to the catchy tunes. 

Milwaukee Film Festival 2013 Shorts: Stranger than Fiction

Even though this was the second day of the Festival it was the first day I was able to attend.
Decided to start my festival experience off with the documentary shorts.

Documentary shorts are one some of my favorite movies.  There are so many interesting people and things in the world that short films can highlight.  And spending 10 - 15 minutes learning about them is perfect.  This is the first year that I have been going to the festival that they have had a whole program of documentary shorts and it did not disappoint.

First up in the program was The Flogsta Roar. This 18 minute documentary is about a university in Uppsula Sweden.  Every night at 10 pm the students yell out their window.  This is a ritual that has been going on for over 20 years.  We meet some students and teachers that live there and learn about their anxieties.  The movie brought back memories of my college experience.  There are ups and downs and just weird people.  There is some one stealing food from a fridge, a teacher that is obsessed with the pots and pans and also a student who had someone in the dorm room next to her commit suicide.  But they all get a chance to release their anxieties and tensions at 10 pm when they yell out their windows.  It's ridiculous, humorous, and sad all at the same time.  It manages to capture that unique environment that is college.

Next up was the short Pouters. This short was about pigeon enthusiasts in Scotland. I honestly had no idea what was going on. It appears that there is some kind of weird competition where you try to get someone else's pigeon to come to your coop.  These people are odd and extremely obsessed with pigeons.  This was one of my least favorite of the shorts but definitely interesting.

This was followed by Vladimir Putin in Deep Concentration. This 9 minute doc quickly goes through the life of Vladimir Putin.  I have to admit I know very little about him and his rise to power.  What this movie does it tells some of his backstory but comes to the conclusion that we know very little about him personally and he is a master at image control.  For a short doc I learned about one of the most powerful man in the world and this is one person that probably deserves a full feature doc.

From Russia to Christmas.  Mr. Christmas tells the story of a man who every year puts on one of the most extravagant Christmas light displays.  It is a fun and touching story as we learn his process of putting up the lights and his motivation.  This is a fun charismatic guy who loves Christmas, misses his wife, and loves his cat.  A fun enjoyable short.

After celebrating Christmas the next stop on our short film road trip was to India for Unravel.  Every wonder what happens to clothes that are sent to be recycled?  Well they are sent to India where they are sorted, torn up, and made into thread to be used for blankets.  The movie focuses on the India women who work at the factory that tear up the garments.  These women live in a small town and try to imagine what kind of people wear these clothes and why they would just throw them away.  The movie makes you think about our love of clothing and the excesses we have.  It is funny to see how they imagine the Westerners.

Back in the US we head for We Will Live Again. This is a fascinating doc and a little disturbing that challenges some of our beliefs.  We have all heard of Cryogenics but I have never see the inside workings of one.  This short takes us on a tour of The Cryonics Institute from the delivery to the freezing of their "patients".  The manager doesn't consider them dead just "metabolically challenged" and refers each one as a patient.  A perfect example of what a documentary short can be.  Takes us to a world we have never seen and challenges us.

For the last short we head to Saigon in 1968.  Eddie Adams: Saigon '68 tells the story of a single iconic picture from the Vietnam War.  The amount of power a single picture can have is amazing.  We learn about the famous photographer Eddie Adams from his diary and interviews from those that knew him and were there when the picture was taken. The picture in question is the Pulitzer Prize winning image of a South Vietnamese police officer shooting a Vietcong prisoner in the head.  The story of who the officer was and who he shot is told as well as the effects the picture had on support of the war and on Eddie Adams himself.  A powerful look at how one picture changed many lives and a discussion if a single picture can tell the whole story.  Definitely my favorite doc of the program.

The 8 Movies I am Most Excited for at The Milwaukee Film Festival

Every year I impatiently wait for The Milwaukee Film Festival to release their program book. I then flip through and look to see what they have in store for me.  What I love about the film festival is that there is always something for everyone.  I am not going to say these are the eight movies you should see at the festival but these are the ones that most intrigue me.  One of the great things about film festivals is that you get to experience movies that you have never heard of.  I really recommend looking through the program guide finding a movie that sounds interesting and see it. You can download the guide from their website here http://mkefilm.org/docs/Programs/MFF2013_ProgramBook.pdf .  I guarantee it will be an experience you will not forget.  Good, bad or bizarre it will leave an impression on you so don’t be afraid to go out of your comfort zone and see something. 

As far as my picks go most of these are movies I have already heard of but I will be checking out many more that I haven’t.  Movies like The History of Future Folk, The Crash Reel and The Perverts Guide to Ideology have caught my eye.  Also movies with Wisconsin connections like Free the Mind, The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete, and Citizen Koch might be worth checking out. 

In Alphabetical Order The 8 Movies I am Most Excited to See

1     The Act of Killing – The first time I heard of this movie it was from an interview with Werner Herzog and Error Morris two of my favorite documentarians.  So when they recommend a movie I listen.  This is a documentary about the mass killings in Indonesia told from the perspective of the people that did the killings.  Where this movie takes on a life of its own is that the director Joshua Oppenheimer has the people that committed these atrocities reenact them. Which they excitedly do.  The movie promises to blow you mind and leave you in awe.

2.     August: Osage County – A big time cast with lots of Oscar hopefuls. The movie is about a family from the Midwest in crisis.  When the strong willed women are forced to live together and take care of their mother you know there will be meltdowns and some dark comedy.  And when you got Meryl Streep in your movie you almost guarantee Oscar talk.  So when I saw that this was going to be playing at the festival I was excited. This is your opportunity to see it before the buzz really takes off and you will be able to say you were one of the first people to see it. 

3.     Billy Club – This is actually a movie I had not heard of before the festival but it looks amazing.  Every year one of the highlights of the festival is its horror program and what makes this movie even more exciting is that it was made by Milwaukeeans.  Billy Club looks to bring some of that awesome 80’s slasher movie vibe back.  About a group of friends that reunite 15 years after the murder of their Little League teammates.  Even if we weren’t partnering with this movie it would be a must see but since we are partners with this movie I have to tell you that you ABSOLUTELY MUST SEE THIS FILM.  

4.     Earth – Another highlight of the film festival has been their ability to get silent films and get an orchestra to play a live score.  This year it is the Soviet Silent Classic Earth. A movie I know very little about but with the 18 piece Milwaukee based orchestra Altos playing the score makes this an event not to be missed for both film and music lovers. 

5.     The Milwaukee Show –The first year I attended the festival I had no idea what exactly the Milwaukee Show was but it now a must see.  The Milwaukee Show is a collection of short films from local filmmakers.  You never know what will be there. Last year we had everything from touching documentaries to trippy music videos.  But the highlight is always the film that came from the collaborative cinema program. The program is for high school students who want to get into filmmaking.  They attend workshops to write a screenplay and one screenplay is selected to be made and shown during the festival.  This event always draws large sellout crowds so if you want to go get your ticket early. 

6.     Shorts: Stranger than Fiction – Having volunteered on the shorts selection committee for the past couple of years I can attest to the great quality of documentary shorts each year at the festival.  Every year I always ask if they will have just a short documentary program. And this year they do.  What I love about documentary shorts is that they give you a quick glimpse at things or people you wouldn’t know about.  Sometimes these people would not make great subjects for feature docs so these short docs are the best way to learn about them. 

7.     Stories We Tell – Sarah Polley first broke on to the scene as a young actress on the Disney show Road to Avonlea and movies like Go and Dawn of the Dead. But recently she has been getting rave reviews for her directing and writing.  She was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay academy award for Away From Her and her film Take This Waltz got great reviews also.  Now she is back with her first documentary (is there nothing she can do).  This movie has been making the festival circuit for about a year and have been hearing only good things about it.  I am glad it is finally coming to Milwaukee.    In the movie Polley takes a look at her youth with interviews from friends and family with reenactments mixed in. 

8.     Which Way is the Front Line from Here: The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington -  Tim Hetherington was a photojournalist that liked to risks and photograph some of the most violent places. He teamed up with Sebastian Junger and they co-directed the Academy Award nominated documentary Restrepo.  Shortly after Hetherington was killed while photographing the Libyan Civil War.  Junger directed this movie about his good friend and the loss of a talent that was on the cusp of really breaking out. 

The Movies that Shaped My Obession

I figured if you are going to read my movie reviews, which I hope you do, you might want to know a little about me and the movies I like.

People always ask have I always wanted to be a film critic? The answer is no. My passion and obsession with movies grew gradually. I have always like movies. Even as a kid I would watch movies all the time. The Goonies and Stand by Me were some of my favorite movies as a kid. But it wasn’t until my college years that movies became an obsession.

I decided to make a list of movies that played an important part of shaping my passion. This is not a list of my favorite movies because it is a movie that I didn’t like that probably had the biggest impact. But I will start with the movie that had a big impact on me as a kid.

 

 

The Stuff- I am sure very few people have even heard of this movie, but it does play an important part in my movie history. While it is not the first movie I saw in the theatre (my parents took me to see E.T. at a drive in but I fell asleep) it is one of the first horror movies I saw. At a sleepover when I was in 4^th grade my friend rented a bunch of horror movies and the first one we watched was The Stuff. For those that don’t know it is about this stuff that looks like marshmallow fluff that turns people to zombies. Stupid premise but to a nine year old it was great. That night we also watched A Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween 2. While A Nightmare on Elm St. has become one of my favorite horror movies The Stuff still holds a special place as the first horror movie I saw. After that my and my friend would rent all the horror movies we could. I think this disturbed my mom a little because she would always say “Why don’t you get something nice like a Disney movie” Don’t worry mom I turned out ok even after watching all those horror movies.

 

 

Titanic- OK I know what you’re thinking “Titanic really?” Well yes. For a movie I didn’t like very much it had a big impact on my relationship with movies. This is when my obsession really started. The two main effects of the movie had little to do with the movie itself and more to do with the way it was received in the world. The first effect was the box office. The amount of money it made was amazing and the number of weeks it spent at number 1 unprecedented and has yet to be matched. It intrigued me to why a movie that I felt was mediocre at best (at the time I would have said it was awful) was doing so well. Because of that I started checking the box office results weekly. I found a website and would read it a couple of times a week. I was fascinated by why some movies made a lot of money and others didn’t and why movies that made a lot opening weekend weren’t the ones that were number 1 all time. For a while I had the top 10 grossing movies of all time and the top 10 opening weekends memorized. The second big effect Titanic had on me was my obsession with The Oscars. Which is still somewhat inexplicable why I am so obsessed to this day. I remember watching the Oscars with my mom as a kid and we would always try to guess who was going to win even though we hadn’t seen any of the movies. But when Titanic was getting all the Oscar talk about best picture I couldn’t believe it. So, I made it a point to watch every other movie that was nominated that year (I still think Good Will Hunting should have won). But after that it was all over. I have seen every movie nominated for best picture since then. I now follow the Oscar race closely and always have an idea of who the favorites are to be nominated. Every year I try to see all the nominees before the nominations are even announced so when the Academy gets it wrong I can authoritatively say who I think should have won. My obsession with the Oscars culminated with me watching every movie that won best picture and blogging about it. Check out that blog at www.stevesmoviepage.blogspot.com.

 

 

Men in Black- While Men in Black was a good movie the reason it is on here is because it was the first movie I ever saw by myself in the theatre. There was something always a little weird about going to see a movie by myself. One summer day in Boston it was hot and I was bored. Most of my friends went home for summer break so I decided to see a movie by myself. The first time it felt weird and like everyone was looking at me. And even after the first time it was a while before I did it a second time. Then I met someone who was also a big movie buff and he said he goes to movies by himself all the time. This made me feel a little better. When I moved to Wisconsin and didn’t have any friends in the area it became commonplace to see a movie by myself. While most of the movies I see now are by myself there are times when it does get depressing and I say I won’t go to another movie by myself. But that doesn’t usually last long.

 

 

Super Size Me- This is the movie that opened my eyes to how good documentaries could be. It was funny and informative. Before it I always thought that documentaries were boring educational movies. But after seeing Super Size Me I was hooked. Documentaries are now one of my favorite types of movies. I try to convince people to give them a chance that they are not all as boring as some people think they are.

 

 

Casablanca- You might be wondering why an old movie is on this list. Well this is the movie that made me realize that old B&W movies can be good. I am ashamed to admit that I use to think that old movies were just boring and if it wasn’t in color it wasn’t worth watching. In 1998 the American Film Institute (AFI) released their 100 Greatest Movies of all time. After I moved to Wisconsin I had a lot of free time and Blockbuster was still around and had this deal where you could rent one new movie and get an older movie for free. Well never one to pass up a deal I decided to watch all the movies on the 100 Greatest Movies of All Time list. Casablanca was listed a number 2 and I couldn’t believe how great that movie was. Bogart is amazing the dialogue was great. I loved it. And I went on to watch the rest of the movies on the list thanks to Blockbuster and TCM. After that was done I watched the 100 Greatest Thrills and started watching movies that were on IMDB Top 250. I now have a pretty good list of favorite older movies. Even though the AFI Lists are criticized for not having foreign film’s on it. I credit it and Casablanca with introducing me to great old movies.

 

Stephanie Daley- A movie I am pretty sure no one has ever heard of but it in 2006 it was the first movie I saw at Sundance. Going to Sundance in 2006 was a complete fluke. My dad invited me on a ski trip to Salt Lake City and while I was looking into the trip I discovered that Sundance was going to be going on the same time he was planning on going. I figured it would be impossible for me to get tickets but it turned out that it is not that hard. So, I flew in a few days before my dad and saw a couple of movies including Stephanie Daley, and I was hooked. I have been back 3 times since and now watch a larger variety of independent films. One year I got tickets to the documentary short program and that has become one of my must sees every year I go now. It also led me to being on the Short Film Selection Committee for the Milwaukee Film Festival. 

Like to talk about movies?  Come "like" our facebook page www.facebook.com/milwaukeemovietalk
doesnt matter if your from Milwaukee or not lots of great stuff. 

Milwaukee Film Festival Day 9: Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God

A highlight of the Film Festival Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God is a great documentary which is even more impact full because of the Milwaukee connection.

The movie is about the sexual abuse of children by Catholic Priests. It starts with the stories of boys that were molested by a priest at the St. John's School of the Deaf in St. Francis, Wi. While the story starts here in Wisconsin it gradually moves up to the church as a whole and a massive cover up by the Vatican.

While the movie does talk about some of the crimes graphically the focus is the conspiracy and about the victims feeling like the church does not care. The fact that the church knows this goes on and has known for a while but does not punish the perpetrators is sad and disturbing.

The screening was made even more emotional since a few of the subjects in the film were in attendance and did a Q&A at the end.

Overall: 5/5 Stars. Very Emotional

Milwaukee Film Fest Day 7: Goodbye

The first of three movies I saw on day 7 was Goodbye about a pregnant Iranian woman. 

Zareh is a lawyer in Iran who works to defend human rights.  After her husband got in trouble and is gone Zareh must cope with being alone and pregnant in a country that does not value women's rights.  Her law license is revoked and she forced to seek help from from a "fixer" to try and get a visa so she can leave the country and have her baby someplace else. 

The acting is good and the story is interesting but the movie just moves very slowly.  Maybe I shouldn't have watched it after getting little sleep.  I had a very tough time trying to stay awake. 

The interesting part of this movie is the story of the director Mohammad Rasoulof.  Like the Zareh in the movie he was trying to find a visa to leave the country, but was arrested for protesting the government.  After being released from jail he made this protest movie while being monitored by the government.  So the fact that the movie got made is a miracle. 

Overall 2/5 interesting story but too slow for my tastes. 

Milwaukee FIlm Fest Day 5: Compliance

 



One of my most anticipated movies at the film fest Compliance did not disappoint. 

 

The movie is about a fast food manager who gets a phone call from "Officer Daniels"  claiming that one of her employee was caught stealing.  The "Officer" then explains that the girl is in big trouble and that they will have to hold her in the back room till his team arrives.  Of course this is all one big prank and the caller is no police officer just a guy who gets off on power trips. 

 

The movie is very well done and will keep you in a state of shock as the caller sees how far people will go.  Once they strip search her you think they can't go much further, but they do.  What makes this even more disturbing is that it has happened at fast food restaurants and more then once. 

 

Some people have trouble watching this movie and walk out.  I think that is because they don't like being challenged, or they just rationalize it and say these people are stupid and thin they could never fall for that and dismiss the movie as dumb.  I love this movie because it does challenge the viewer.  Would you do something like that?  Of course everyone will say no, but until you are in a situation you never know.

 

With great performances that are already getting Oscar Buzz and a disturbing and challenging story I think this is one of the best movies of the year and a must see.

 

5 out of 5 stars. 

  

 

 

 

Milwaukee Film Fest Day 3: Planet of Snail

Day 3 of the film festival and Planet of  Snail was the movie of the day.

Planet of Snail is about Young-Chan a deaf blind man living in South Korea.  He is married to Soon-Ho who has a spinal disability.  The two communicate through  special tapping. The movie is a glimpse into their daily life as simple things like changing a light bulb becomes very difficult. Young-Chan is a poet and we here snippets of his poetry throughout the movie. The movie is told observational style and there is not much background info given. We learn about how they met during a conversation he has with old school buddies.  It really is just a snippet of life for these two. 

The movie is inspirational as we watch this amazing couple through out their day.  You can see they really love each other as they have their funny moments and serious moments.  The biggest problem I had with the movie was that it is slow at parts and it just didn't keep my attention. 

Overall 3 out of 5.  Inspirational but slow.