Blogcritics Author: K. Wilson

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

Chicago International Film Festival: Less Hype, Better Indies

K. Wilson — Sun, 29 Oct 2006 07:09:46 EST

An enduring gem of the film festival circuit is the less glitzy but audience-centric Chicago International Film Festival. In its 42nd year, North America’s oldest competitive film festival focuses on showcasing the best films on the festival circuit in contrast to the hyped "World Premieres" of Toronto and Cannes.This year’s fest started with a bang, an opening night ceremony hosted by Spike Lee at the historic Chicago Theatre. The event honored Dustin Hoffman with a Career Achievement Award followed by a special screening of his upcoming film, Stranger Than Fiction, a new Chicago-based comedy directed by Marc Foster (Monster’s Ball, Finding Neverland). Over two weeks, the festival showcased nearly 100 feature films, 14 documentaries, and 34 short films originating from 38 countries.The AMC River East 21 and AMC Landmark theatres hosted the majority of the screenings. Earlier this year, AMC Entertainment, Inc. announced the launch of their AMC Select program, committing one screen in selected theatres to screening Independent features. AMC’s support of this year’s festival marked another stride toward honoring this commitment. AMC’s type of corporate support for the festival stands in marked contrast to the City of Chicago’s lack of subsidization. This year, Chicago contributed about $11,000 to operating expenses and sponsored advertisements throughout the area. However, the City denied the Festival’s request for a city-subsidized office space for a permanent facility. Perhaps this disparity in funding, compared to festivals such as Toronto, has been the factor holding Chicago’s festival back from reaching a higher status in the industry. While it can’t boast the glamour factor of what the film industry considers "A-List" festivals such as Cannes, Toronto, and Sundance, the CIFF still attracted plenty of luminaries. Following their premiers, directors treated audience members to question and answer periods. Director Stephen Frears (Dangerous Liaisons, High Fidelity) participated in an interview at the October 11 screening of The Queen, a critically acclaimed look behind palace walls during the week following Princess Diana’s death. In addition, directors Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu and Darren Aronofsky were also on hand to present their features: Cannes favorite Babel and romance The Fountain, respectively. Rounding out the festival were several out-of-competition, theme-centered categories including Black Perspectives, Cinema of the Americas, and Destination Greece. The largest of these themes, World Cinema (offering 42 features), proved a draw with Chicago’s large immigrant community as well as the average Joe looking for a foreign film fix. There was no lack of controversial offerings in the mix this year. Eric Steel’s The Bridge offered discomforting footage of 23 suicides from San Franscisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. Filmed over a one year period, his documentary raised questions with both viewers and critics about the ethics of the crew documenting these deaths without intervening. As the festival neared its final days, Michael Kutza, founder and artistic director, announced the winners of this year’s Feature Film Competition. Iranian director Asghar Farhadi`s complex tale of middle class infidelity, Fireworks Wednesday, bested 18 other features in the main competition to win the coveted Golden Hugo Award for best feature film. The Silver Hugo Award went to Hungarian director Gyorgy Palfi's Taxidermia, a darkly comic exploration of three generations of a Hungarian family. Other films recognized with major awards included James Longley’s Iraq in Fragments (awarded the Gold Hugo for Best Documentary), and directors James Anderson and Robert Postrozny’s Forgetting Betty (winner of the Gold Hugo in the Short Film Competition). While unlikely to displace industry-friendly festivals as the place to hold hyped premieres, the Chicago International Film Fest is finding its niche as an exciting alternative for the average filmgoer. You can find more information about year-round events and next year’s festival on the Cinema Chicago website.

Founder of Independent Film Critics a place to find fresh opinions from independent film critics: movie reviews, dvd reviews, news and editorials about the film industry and upcoming releases.

DVD Review: Insomnia (Criterion Collection)

K. Wilson — Wed, 2 Aug 2006 16:09:57 EDT

Within the first 30 seconds of watching Insomnia you get the impression that it is one of those Criterion releases that is worth the higher DVD price. Opening with a grainy montage reminiscent of Seven, Norwegian Erik Skjoldbjaerg’s impressive directorial debut is a darker and more intelligent film than the later remake starring Al Pacino with which Americans are familiar. The original Insomnia stars Stellan Skarsgard as Jonas Engstrom, a disgraced but talented Swedish detective. After being caught in an “intimate conversation” with a witness, he seeks a transfer to Norway as a means to escape the scandal threatening his career. Along with his partner, he is sent to investigate the murder of a 17-year-old girl in Tromso, a small Norwegian town above the Arctic circle. One of the greatest distinctions between the two film versions is the depiction of the central character. The original film isn’t scared to show us a darker side of the detective. Unlike the later toned-down depiction, he’s far less likeable, and at times cruel and self-serving. Ultimately, this dark anti-hero proves to be a more convincing vessel for the film’s theme of disintegration. Engstrom is suffering from a severe bout of insomnia, caused by the unrelenting 24-hour sunshine in Tromso. The film’s near monotone visuals reflect his distorted perspectives as sleep deprivation takes its toll. After accidentally shooting his partner, he panics, making a series of disturbing decisions calculated to deflect suspicion from himself. He hopes to blame his partner's death on the killer they were pursuing when the accident occurred. Unfortunately, the killer has witnessed the shooting and knows the truth. Using this information to his advantage, he forces Engstrom to embark on a sinister game of cat and mouse. As Engstrom is drawn further into a web of deception, he begins to morally decay before our eyes. Tortured by his inability to sleep and guilty conscience, each moral compromise Engstrom makes further blurs the line between the himself and the murderer he is hunting. Insomnia’s strength lies in Skarsgard’s low-key portrayal of the detective. He was in his mid-forties when he played Engstrom, yet looks much younger. His attractive, quiet demeanor masks his inner turmoil perfectly. Not surprisingly, it was Skarsgard’s powerful back-to-back performances in Lars Von Trier’s Breaking the Waves and Skjoldbjaerg’s Insomnia that opened the doors to a series of roles in Hollywood films. While once virtually unknown outside Scandinavia, he has since become an Internationally acclaimed actor. The Criterion release boasts a beautiful 16x9 anamorphic transfer with good sound quality. Its lack of commentary is disappointing but it still remains a must-have DVD to those that appreciate European film noir. Reviewer Rating:

Founder of Independent Film Critics a place to find fresh opinions from independent film critics: movie reviews, dvd reviews, news and editorials about the film industry and upcoming releases.

DVD Review: Gus Van Sant's Last Days

K. Wilson — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 21:47:28 EDT

Every decade has a transitional period, the time before that pivotal moment that defines the new decade and distinguishes it from the last. American pop music in the early 90s was no exception. It languished in the stale, formulaic offerings of the 80s until one song changed everything. Nirvana’s 1991 single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” marked the birth of a new era in popular music. Soon after the song’s video hit the airwaves, the dominant genres of glam rock and dance pop gave way to the ascendance of “grunge.” As Nirvana’s frontman, Kurt Cobain was dragged along for the ride. Cobain, a reluctant celebrity in life, was elevated to icon status upon his death. Gus Van Sant’s Last Days is a fictionalized account of the days preceding Cobain’s apparent suicide in 1994. The most surprising thing about this film is that it took 10 years to materialize. Despite the specter of litigation from Cobain’s widow, Courtney Love, the near absence of films about Cobain is surprising. Last Days marks the third and final installment of what director Van Sant refers to as his “death trilogy,” consisting of three interpretations of man’s isolation. In Gerry, two men are physically isolated when lost in the desert, while Elephant documents a tragedy resulting from the social isolation of two teenagers. Last Days attempts to convey the loneliness and despair of a rock star whose superficial social status masks his growing mental isolation. Van Sant’s minimalist approach strips away most of the elements of a conventional story. Dialogue and a linear plot structure are sacrificed in an attempt to achieve an emotional purity. This technique has worked with varying levels of success in the previous films but ultimately fails in Last Days. The film follows Blake (Michael Pitt), a rock musician, as he leaves rehab and meanders to his crumbling mansion, a perfect setting for his disintegration. It soon becomes apparent that many people are trying to track Blake down. A series of encounters and phone calls illustrate his disillusionment from his “friends,” many of whom seem only interested in convincing Blake to do things for their benefit. Oblivious to his torment, his housemates ignore the signs that something is terribly wrong. Their indifference is best demonstrated in the scene where Asia (Asia Argento) finds Blake collapsed on the floor clutching a rifle. She simply props him back up and tells no one about what she has seen. In another pivotal scene, Luke (Lukas Haas) sees a mysterious figure in the greenhouse but simply drives away without investigating. This foreshadowing is a reference to the theory that Cobain was murdered, as the figure is clearly not Blake. The kindest way to describe the pace of Last Days might be languid, but truthfully the label monotonous might be more appropriate. Perhaps this was a deliberate move by Van Sant to communicate the ennui of Blake’s real life versus the usual perception that rock stars live more exciting lives than regular people. Ultimately, the outwardly banal dialogue of Elephant was effective in gradually exposing many of the petty injustices and cruelties of high school. Elephant’s use of that commonality of experience with the viewer helped to make its characters real and sympathetic. In contrast, the incomprehensible mumblings of Blake in Last Days are less than illuminating. Where we should feel sympathy we gradually become disinterested and impatient for something to happen. The sole redeeming quality of Last Days is its masterful use of experimental cinematography. The lengthy abstracted shots convey a sense of easedropping on the participants. The gloomy interior scenes produces a palpable sense of depression and doom. Unfortunatley, while great technique will usually enhance a movie, it isn’t enough to make up for Last Days other flaws. <a href="/archives/2006/03/09/044041.php"><img src="/images/stars/3-out-of-5-stars.gif" width="80" height="18" border="0" title="3 out of 5 stars"></a>

Founder of Independent Film Critics a place to find fresh opinions from independent film critics: movie reviews, dvd reviews, news and editorials about the film industry and upcoming releases.

DVD Review: Wonderland

K. Wilson — Fri, 2 Jun 2006 02:04:18 EDT

"John Holmes was the first porn starhe was called "The King."According to legend,he starred in more than 1,000 adult films.he gained worldwide notoriety.he slept with 14,000 women.This is the story ofwhat happened once the legend was over." (Opening frame of Wonderland)Welcome to the disintegrating world of John Holmes. Once a legendary porn star famous for his astonishing 14 inch penis, he hasn’t worked in years and can’t escape the stigma of his past. The drug habit that killed his career and squandered his fortune now threatens to consume him completely.After exhausting his credit with every dealer in town, Holmes (Val Kilmer) is desperate to maintain his supply of drugs. Beholden to the proprietors of a drug den on Wonderland Avenue, he formulates a reckless plan that will culminate in the grisliest murders since the Tate/LaBianca killings over a decade before.Wonderland offers two versions of the events leading up to the murders through a series of flashbacks from individual characters.David Lind (Dylan McDermott) is the only resident of 8763 Wonderland left to refute Holmes' account of the days preceding the murders. Returning from out of town, he is confronted with the news that four of his roommates have been beaten to death and another is in critical condition. Distraught over the death of his girlfriend, he angrily relates his suspicions of Holmes' involvement to the LAPD. While Lind insists that Holmes must have set his friends up, Holmes attempts to minimize his role to the police. Painting the murder victims as inept criminals who invited their own doom, he insists he was powerless to prevent the murders. Seeming to revel in the detective's attention, he shows no sympathy for the dealers who treated him like a circus freak, forcing him to show his 14 inch appendage to strangers at gunpoint. The most significant memories may be those of Sharon (Lisa Kudrow’s strongest performance to date), Holmes’ long suffering, estranged wife. She feels disgusted and betrayed by his porn career but can’t bring herself to cut him out of her life completely. Her recollection of a bizarre visit from Holmes shortly after the murders provides valuable illumination on what really happened that night on Wonderland Avenue.Excellent performances and creative editing elevate Wonderland from what could have been a typical exploitation movie. The two-perspective mystery element is engaging enough to make you abandon your preconceptions and get engrossed in the storyline.Special features include Wadd: The Life and Times of John C. Holmes (A documentary about John Holmes rise to fame in the porn industry) and a truncated version of LAPD video of the Wonderland crime scene. The crime scene video features none other than Tom Lange (LAPD detective of O.J. Simpson trial fame) and is extremely graphic and not for the weak of stomach.Reviewer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Founder of Independent Film Critics a place to find fresh opinions from independent film critics: movie reviews, dvd reviews, news and editorials about the film industry and upcoming releases.