Exclusive Interview: Jordan Vogt-Roberts, DIrector of The Kings of Summer

        In the mid-1990s there was suddenly a shift in the style of filmmaking, and many purists laid blame at the feet of MTV and the music video generation. This was not unfounded, especially once MTV began to list the name of the director along with the song information in November of 1992. Visually prolific directors had long been created from the world of marketing and commercial advertisements, but the new medium added an avenue to success. There was a sudden influx of directors who had honed their craft as an entirely visual medium, which created filmmakers with a distinct style and newfound celebrity. Lasse Hallström built a career upon his work with Abba, Michel Gondry with Björk, Spike Jonze with Weezer and The Beastie Boys, and Gore Verbinski started out making punk music videos for Bad Religion and NOFX.

        Eventually these filmmakers were absorbed into Hollywood and it was business as usual, but twenty years later we are witnessing a new generation of filmmakers with all-new avenues of work experience brought by online media. It was less than ten years ago that the video sharing website Vimeo was created, the name itself being an anagram for movie. Four months later, YouTube followed suit, and by October of 2007 Vimeo became the first to offer support for the playback of high definition quality video. This laid the groundwork for filmmakers to begin sharing their content online, both amateur and professional. Suddenly there was a format to suitable for the previously dismissed short film, and now we are seeing filmmakers emerge from this medium.

Vogt-Roberts and Nick Offerman at Sundance

        Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts is one of these up-and-coming filmmakers. Although The Kings of Summer is Vogt-Roberts’ first feature, he approached it with years of experience and a collection of valuable professional connections. Vogt-Roberts created a website with an assortment of comedian friends to showcase videos he had produced and directed, which led to direction of web content for FOX, Sony, and Warner Bros. He then created an hour-long special for Comedy Central and directed episodes of HBO’s “Funny of Die.” While the music video directors of the 1990s built their careers upon the success of the musicians they were known to work with, Vogt-Roberts utilized the comedians he has built relationships with throughout his many online projects (and the offline television off-shoots of and online video sharing site) in order to create an impressive ensemble debut.

I sat down for an exclusive conversation with Vogt-Roberts a week before the home video release of The Kings of Summer, in order to pick his brain about the film’s influences, improvisation, and the difficulties shooting in the woods. 

Ryan Izay: So, I watched the film two times last night, back-to-back. I think I’m ready to write a dissertation on this thing.

Jordan Vogt-Roberts: I feel like I have to apologize for you having to watch it twice.

Izay: The second time was actually with the commentary track. The first thing I want to know is what kind of dynamic is going on with you and Gabe (Gabriel Basso)? You rip him a new one in the commentary track.

Vogt-Roberts: (laughs) I actually haven’t listened to that commentary. We all just developed that dynamic on set. We’re all really close and Gabe was just kind of a bully to everyone, and he just took over that role of telling everyone they were doing a terrible job. And so now we’ve all flipped it on him and we just give him a lot of shit.

Izay: It made for a very entertaining commentary. I can tell you all have a real friendship by the way you talk.

Vogt-Roberts: Yeah, we had a lot of fun. Those kids are great.

Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias and Nick Robinson (left to right)

Izay: I would love to hear how this film came together. I know that Chris’ screenplay was on The Black List in 2009. How did it come to be something you were attached to direct?

Vogt-Roberts: It was on the black list and the company that bought it, Big Beach, they were trying to figure out if they were going to make it. It’s an interesting script. It’s not a film people were in the business of making, the way it’s about kids but sort of for adults. I’d been looking to make my first feature. I’d been making shorts and TV commercials for awhile. I have a couple short films with characters that approach the material in a similar way; dark but funny, sad but in an uplifting way. They came to me and I fell in love with the script immediately.

Izay: You’ve got a lot of great bit parts filled with extremely talented actors; Nick Offerman (“Parks and Recreation”), Craig Cackowski (“Weeds”), Megan Mullaly (“Will & Grace”), Mary Lynn Rajskub (“24”), Kumail Nanjiani, and even a very brief appearance from Tony Hale (“Arrested Development”).  How did you get all these great people involved?

Vogt-Roberts: The whole idea to me, to some degree, was that I wanted to make an ensemble. I wanted to create a world where everything is slightly left of center, and in order to do that I felt like every small part needed someone who could elevate the role a little bit. A lot of those actors I had worked with in the past on different projects: Tony Hale, a lot of the comedians like Hannibal Buress, friends of mine I called up and said “Hey, would you fly into Ohio for a day and shoot this small little scene.”

Alison Brie, Vogt-Roberts, Chris Galletta, Robinson, Megan Mullally, Arias and Basso  

Izay: How much was improvised on set with so many small roles filled with such talented comedians?

Vogt-Roberts: It was a mixture of both. Chris’ script was really great and there is stuff that is verbatim on screen as it is in the script, and I also encouraged a lot of improv. I encouraged a lot of riffing and playing around if we wanted to loosen it up, but that’s only because I’m not fourteen and the writer isn’t fourteen. I wanted the film to feel a little softer, and to have the kids speaking like a fourteen or fifteen would speak like.

Izay: I think I heard you mention something about improv lessons in the commentary.

Vogt-Roberts: Yeah, I put them through improv training, not so that they would be super quick and witty but because I wanted them to feel comfortable enough to bring themselves to the roles. I wanted them to feel invested and I wanted them to be able to show up and elevate each of the roles. And they did. A lot of my favorite stuff was improvised.

Izay: I’d love to hear what it was like filming in the woods. It may have just been the way it was shot, but we really do feel immersed in wilderness for much of the film. What was that like on set? Was it a pain in the ass?

Vogt-Roberts: (laughs) Yeah, it was kind of madness, but it was pretty great. A lot of those are cheats, where there’s a busy road or a house right behind camera that you can’t see. But a lot of that stuff is pretty deep into the woods, and… (laughs) It was a little maddening. It really was out there, it’s sweaty and hot, and you’re getting eaten by bugs. I think there was a whole period of the movie where I don’t think I went to the bathroom once because I was sweating out all the water I was taking in. It was kind of horrible and then also kind of great, just thinking, “I can’t remember the last time I was in the woods for a month at a time.” It just forced you to bond, which was nice. Everyone was going through the same shit together, so it was definitely a good exercise in team building.

Izay: Any nightmare days that stood out in the shoot? Anything you would go back and do over differently, if you could?

Vogt-Roberts: I wouldn’t change much. There are a few scenes that I would change coverage on, but nothing major. The movie is the movie. We had a couple difficult days. On the one day we blew up that truck we were shooting in this dried lakebed and a tree collapsed. It crushed one of our trucks, and then half of our crew got stung by bees all in the same day. We had some pretty insane, biblically hard days. I wouldn’t change too much. It was a sort of rite of passage.

Izay: What about preparation for this film? Did you watch any other films for inspiration? I know a lot of critics have been comparing it to Stand By Me, Son of Rambow, and I definitely saw a little Wes Anderson in there.

Vogt-Roberts: Before we started making it, I didn’t watch a lot of films. Before I started pitching on it, that’s when I watched a lot of stuff. It was sort of a post-modern Stand by Me, to some degree. The kids of that generation were capable. Our generation, we’re kind of wusses. We couldn’t survive the way they could. A lot of it was about the differences between those generations of kids. Stand by Me was obviously a reference; John Hughes was also a huge influence. In the first two minutes of the movie, there are references to John Hughes, Kubrick and Terrence Malick. The movie as a whole is a variation on a mash-up, but I think it wears its influences very clearly on its sleeve. And it’s really influenced by Malick, just because I was obsessed with seeing if I could make a really dumb Terrence Malick movie; can we combine really ethereal images, and then make jokes effectively? I also wanted to make a throwback to old Amblin movies, but that still felt fresh, original, and contemporary.

Izay: I absolutely got the Malick as I was watching it. I’m glad you said it though, because I thought it was just in my head. So, when did you first realize you wanted to be a filmmaker?

Vogt-Roberts: I was the type of kid who would make stop-motion movies with my action figures. I always loved watching behind-the-scenes specials and I just loved movies. I was one of those kids. Star Wars blew my mind. I didn’t really think it was possible until much later. It wasn’t until I was going to college that I was like, “maybe I should give this thing a shot.” I just kind of went ahead, and said “let’s see what happens.” Since I was a kid I was pretty obsessed with the world of movies. I loved going to the movie theater, making little shorts, and just building things. I just loved the world creation of it all.

Izay: What are some of your favorite comedies? Desert Island picks.  

Vogt-Roberts: My favorite comedies are Ghostbusters, Annie Hall, Boogie Nights, Three Kings. Some of them aren’t even necessarily comedies but they’re the things that I laugh the hardest at.       

Izay: And what’s next for you, Jordan? Are there more feature films lined up or are you planning to go back to making more shorts?

Vogt-Roberts: I’m making some TV stuff right now; a couple different pilots. But I’m in the process of setting up a few features at different places. It varies, but I just want to work in all different mediums. I love making shorts, and I love commercials because they are a lot of fun to film. I love all of them.

Izay: Thanks for talking with me, Jordan. I really did enjoy the film. Two times was not as difficult as I imagined when I started the commentary track. You’ve got a good movie.

Vogt-Roberts: I haven’t even heard that commentary, so I have no idea how it holds up.

Izay: You guys run a little silent towards the end, but it is solid track before you run out of things to say. And then you get a second wind when the credits start to roll, almost like you’re ready to start the film over again and keep going. Especially Moises Arias.

Vogt-Roberts: (laughs) Well, we had recorded two commentary tracks that day. So Chris and I had just recorded it once and the kids showed up, and I think I do remember us running out of steam a little bit at the end. We might release the other commentary track as a bonus for people online. That one’s a little more straight and informative, whereas this one with the kids was definitely a little goofier and weirder.

        The Kings of Summer is available on DVD and Blu-ray today, September 24^th.

       

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The East Blu-ray Review

 

Actors: Brit Marling

Format: AC-3, Blu-ray, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen

Language: English (DTS 5.1), French (DTS 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Dubbed: English, French, Spanish

Rated: PG-13

Studio: Fox Searchlight

Release Date: September 17, 2013

Run Time: 117 minutes

 

        The premise for The East is promising, albeit simply a more socially aware variation of the much better German film, The Edukators. The most frustrating aspect of the film is not the wasted concept, however, but the self important way with which the material is approached. The left-wing agenda is not even as strong as the filmmaker’s arrogant airs of self importance in filmmaking. Even with a strong visual style, director Zal Batmanglij doesn’t have enough narrative convictions to tell a convincing story, a flaw which I would attribute to the fact that he continuously allows his star to co-write screenplays with him.

 

        When attending a screening of The Sound of My Voice, Batmanglij’s debut feature which was also co-written by lead actress Brit Marling, I witnessed an interview with the director and his co-writer. It was clear by the manner in which he deferred everything to Marling who has control in the filmmaking process. I don’t know what Batmanglij’s relationship is with the actress, but Marling appears to have far too much influence at the detriment to each project, all the while Batmanglij seems content to follow along like a lost puppy. This is as much of a problem as the narrative’s detours into unnecessary romantic relationships between the terrorists. The minute-long scene where we watch Marling do nothing but cry on a bridge with some of the film’s sloppiest camera work to the tune of a emoting pop song is a perfect example why an actor should not be allowed this much vain control in the filmmaking process.

 

Marling stars as an agent for an elite intelligence firm, Sarah Moss, though her approach to going undercover to investigate the enviro-terrorist group is treated as though she were an F.B.I. agent. Clearly this would be a stretch for the young actress, so instead she is working for some unknown firm of rich executives. Since Sarah is on the side of the rich 1% in her investigation, she must also be naively Christian in order to enforce even more of the film’s asinine stereotypes and melting pot of half-baked ideas. This film is filled with nonsensical script additions such as this, which must not have appeared to be a problem for Marling as long as she made herself look good and wrote her character into every scenes of the film. One of the movie’s more obnoxious moments is when Sarah checks into a hotel in order to dye her brown hair peroxide blonde in order to fit in better with the hippie terrorists. Not only does the dye job seem contradictory to her cover, but the bottle job is followed up by shots of her perfectly highlighted hair, complete with brown roots which mysteriously grew in a matter of minutes.

 

 

This is a thriller which takes itself far too seriously, especially considering there is not a single scene without a glaring plot-hole to tear down the illusion of self-declared sophisticated entertainment. Like the group of wannabe modern hippies calling themselves ‘The East,’ there are so many attempts at forcing random elements together that the result is nothing more than a large unorganized mess. Though the film looks fantastic, the structure offers as much stability as the rundown shack the group hides out in for much of the film. The only thing worse than a stupid movie is one filled with the disillusion intelligent, and The East is the most self-important thriller in years.    

 

The Blu-ray includes several making-of featurettes about the script and the cast, as well as some agenda-minded features that discuss the left-wing ideas inserted into the film’s screenplay. None of these features are recommended for anyone who felt the way I did about this film, unless you need more proof of the filmmakers’ sense of self-importance.

 

Entertainment Value: 5/10

Quality of Filmmaking: 4/10

Historical Significance: 3/10

Disc Features: 6/10

 

 

Exclusive Interview: Damian Lee, Director of Breakout

 

        Not every filmmaker got their start through a prestigious film school, or by maxing out credit cards to make their first feature. There are many avenues of life experience which can easily become a valued asset to the art and business of filmmaking, as I discovered from my interview with Canadian writer/director Damian Lee. As a former athlete, Lee’s filmography has had the type of stamina hard training sports might require; completed with years with patience and dedication. Breakout, a backwoods thriller starring Brendan Fraser, Dominic Purcell (“Prison Break”), and Ethan Suplee (“My Name is Earl”), is the latest release from writer/director Lee in a career of filmmaking that spans over thirty years. An athlete never stops training, developing and growing, and this is the work ethic that Damian has clearly brought with him into his career in film production.

 

         

Ryan Izay: Damian, I’ll get to Breakout in a minute but first I have to ask about a rumor I heard about you. Is it true that you used to be a bare-knuckle boxer in Peru?

 

Damian Lee: (laughs) Well, I started out as an athlete. I actually had a couple of sports that I participated in professionally. One of them was boxing, for a little bit. At one point I fought Trevor Berbick, Heavyweight champion of the world, in Jamaica. There was some bare-fisted fighting that went on for awhile, but it wasn’t as extensive as perhaps you’d imagine. But there was a lot of boxing. It’s a sport I got into when I was pretty young, and I liked it. And did it for quite a while. Some of it got pretty brutal, but it was an adventure and I had the privilege of fighting some pretty notable fighters. Not that I did that well, I’ll tell you.

 

Izay: How does one go from being an athlete to a filmmaker?

 

Lee: Well, one of the things that I did was ski professionally for quite awhile, and the ski racing was broadcast on television a lot. So, I was around that and around television production. When I quit ski racing and all the other sports I was doing, I started to produce, direct and write those television shows. And that got pretty boring after a couple years, because there’s no plot. You’d show someone running, or kayaking, or something, but it gets pretty boring. So, then I made my first movie. I made a very low-budget movie for $125,000, and it was Jim Carrey’s first movie. It’s called Copper Mountain. I made it at Copper Mountain. It had Alan Thicke in it. There was literally no plot to it; it was just two guys going to Copper Mountain to ski and pick up girls. So that’s how I segued into the production business. And there was a natural rhythm that I liked in production. There was a gearing up, not unlike athletic events. And I find that a lot of athletes translate pretty well into the production industry. There’s a similar work ethic, and actually producing a film can be pretty physically demanding. Boxing and other sports really helped me in terms of physical dynamism, so that was a big asset, actually. So, that was the transition.   

 

Izay: You’ve got quite a few writing credits, as well as directing. Have you always been a writer or is just that you wanted the control that comes with creating your own story?

 

Lee: Both are probably correct. I was writing a lot before I started writing for films. I always enjoyed writing and then when I started writing for films, I found the writing aspects, in many ways, is the only true creative aspect of the process. The rest of the process is quite interpretive.  Actors interpret, directors interpret, production designers interpret; we interpret the words on the page. It’s one of the aspects of the process that you are left to your own devices, and vices, so that you can actually work quite freely. It’s probably the most liberating aspect of the entire process. Of course, there is control. You can design a picture before you shoot. Or if you think of actors you’d like to work with, or actors who can capture the moment that you’re envisioning on the page. So, that very much is a control thing, but for me, I enjoy the freedom of creating a vision. I very much enjoy that.

 

Izay: Do you have cast members you would like as you’re doing the writing?

 

Lee: I definitely have archetypes in mind. And from the archetypes, whether it’s subconscious or conscious, the archetypes begin to manifest themselves in the articulation of particular personas and names. But I think you write in archetypes first, before thinking of particular actors, whether we consciously do it or not. Because the archetypes represent a particular type of energy, or device, or momentum, and that exists for the story. And if that device needs to be represented in a human form, I begin to envision the particular face of an actor.

 

Izay: A Dark Truth had political issues in the screenplay, and Breakout has environmental ones. Are these issues which have a personal significance as you are writing? Do you intentionally integrate issues into your genre films?

       

Lee: Very much so. What I like to do is take issues of importance, be it spiritual, political, sociological, monetary, whatever, and I like to find the heaviest issue you can deal with and then tell it in the most physically dynamic way. For example, if you had a scene discussing politics with a person, if you take the extreme dynamic level it could be two officers interrogating, water-boarding, a member of Al Qaeda. Then the political views are articulated as a physical thing within the scene. I like to find those moments of friction, and explore what the film wants to say in the realm of the frictional conflict.    

 

Izay: What was the seed of inspiration for Breakout?

 

Lee: I think there it was the idea of ends versus means. To what extent are we willing to put ourselves. For example, Nelson Mandela. How many years was Nelson Mandela in prison for? 27 years. He had chances when he was in prison; if he had capitulated, in a signed statement he was wrong, he would have gotten out. But he believed so strongly in what he was doing that the objective justified the means in which he was suffering. That was one of the themes in Breakout that I wanted to explore. There was a great film called Witness with Harrison Ford, many years ago. That film started out as an episode for “Gunsmoke.” Witness started out as a single episode, but it was never made for “Gunsmoke,” and it morphed into this Academy Award-winning film. Another film I’ve always really liked, that I wanted to explore in this, was Deliverance. The thing I find interesting about that movie… the rednecks, they weren’t doing anything wrong. It was acceptable morality in their world, right? I love Dominic’s character in Breakout. When he’s trying to kill the kids and their father, he sees it as God’s will. I really like he can embrace a religious philosophy that no matter what they are doing, he thinks they’re right. Look at Islamic extremism. Look at Catholic extremism! People think the Spanish Inquisition was just a few years; it lasted almost 700 years. The final person put to death in the Spanish Inquisition was in Mexico City in 1850. It’s pretty amazing. So, anyway those were the themes I wanted to explore in Breakout. And stories I wanted to tell. Deliverance is an amazing film, and that scene is an amazing scene. And Witness is an amazing film. So, those are themes I wanted to explore, and also the aspects of ‘ends-versus-mean.’ Those are all important to me, in terms of looking at this film.

 

Izay: What was it like filming in the woods? I spoke to Jordan Vogt-Roberts, director of Kings of Summer, this past week. He was telling me many of the shots were cheated, but it was still a pain. Was this your experience?

 

Lee: It was, just in terms of humping the gear around. We were humping a lot of hills and rivers and stuff. Even if we weren’t that far in, a half-a-mile or whatever over woods and rocks, it was basically just the movement of gear that was difficult. And also having the cast, in some of the shots, move over distances. It’s difficult to coordinate moving the cast back into position ‘A.’ So, if I’m like “Let’s do that take again,” if the canoes were at point ‘A’ and they’ve moved 500 yards down the river, to get that canoe back up the river takes a lot of time and energy. So…patience, patience, patience. There’s a lot of dead time when you’re doing something like that. If you’re doing the big master take, you can’t hurry that. Getting into position in the morning took longer, getting out took longer, and the individual master takes took time themselves.

 

Izay: As far as casting goes, I noticed that you worked with Dominic Purcell again in your upcoming film, A Fighting Man. Can we hear a little about that? It isn’t based on your days as a bare-knuckle boxer, is it?

 

Lee: (laughs) No… I really like this film. It’s basically all set in the ring. Dominic plays an older fighter, 43 years of age, whose been retired for four years. He’s not a very good fighter; he’s just never been knocked down. And he’s proud of that one thing. He comes back because he needs the money; his mother is dying and he wants to take her back to Ireland one last time. And he ends up fighting this young kid, 20 years of age, called King Solomon. It’s a story of the old and the young meeting in the ring, and what they come to mean to each other. It’s a story about them earning the respect of each other in most brutal of circumstances.

 

Izay: What boxing films influenced your making of A Fighting Man?  

 

Lee: I like Raging Bull a lot. The boxing in that, at least from my perspective, leave some things to be desired. But it’s a great boxing film and very much influenced me in many ways. Also, The Champ, a Jon Voight film, another great film. But again, if you look at the boxing by today’s standards, seems to be lacking. But the heart is very substantial. That was a big film, in terms of significance of heart and spirit in the ring. The first Rocky was a great boxing film, and then I think a lot of the other ones were less boxing and something more of an event. The first Rocky was influential in many ways, and Dominic Purcell’s character certainly has echoes of Stallone’s Rocky.

 

Izay: What about your stylistic influences when it comes to the actual boxing? Are there films in which you do like the way they approached it?

 

Lee: I think I like aspects of the films. I like certain aspects of Raging Bull; I liked certain aspects of the first Rocky. Those are films that I liked certain aspects of, stylistically. I wanted to make the film quite real in terms of the coverage of the fighting. I had the fighters training in the ring, learning the choreography of the boxing four months out before the filming started. So these guys knew the boxing so well, I could film this in its entirety in a wide shot and the boxing would actually play. The trainer who was working with both fighters and acting as the primary choreographer was a great fighter himself, and I used him as the referee in the fight.

 

 

Izay: Any other projects you are working on right now?

 

Lee: Yeah, there are a few films. A film called Christian Soldier, which is in development. It deals with ethics in extremely violent situations. I like the potential of that, though not a lot of work has been done on that yet; and I think the title is compelling. Also a film that David Peoples wrote, that I did the last draft of. David Peoples, of course, who wrote Blade Runner and Unforgiven, so that’s a pretty substantial film. There’s a film I’ve been working on with the United Nations for the last four years; it deals with water deprivation. The word ‘news’ comes from North, East, West, South, and so I took that as a template for this film, in which there is water deprivation in different parts of the globe that become interconnected. And we have A Fighting Man in the post stage right now and my editor is Bill Steinkamp. Bill did Scent of a Woman, A Time to Kill, The Firm, The Fabulous Baker Boys; he was Sydney Pollack’s editor for twenty-years. I consider it a great privilege to be working with him as my editor and co-conspirator.

 

Izay: When can we look forward to seeing A Fighting Man?

 

Lee: I would imagine next spring. We’ll be finished before the end of this year. I think we start to mix it two months from now, and then the picture should be completely finished and we’ll be working with Sony for distribution. It’s a hell of film, really moving story. Famke Janssen is in the film, Dominic is in there, of course, James Caan, Kim Coates, Louis Gossett Jr., Adam Beach…It’s a pretty impressive cast.

 

Izay: I look forward to seeing that.

 

Lee: I want you to see it. And after you watch it, call me and let’s talk about that film.

 

        Breakout was released on DVD on September 17^th through Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Also, A Dark Truth is available now on Instant Netflix, Redbox, and on DVD and Blu-ray.

 

 

RMN Quick Critique: Frenemy

 

 

 

 

Frenemy tries desperately to advertise itself as a film starring Zach Galifianakis, an actor only in one scene of the film. This is horribly frustrating and caused me to hate the film much more than I should have. Callum Blue and Matthew Modine star as friends and unsavory characters that witness and participate in a strange porn shop robbery. The film spends most of its time meandering, attempting to have the same clever and meaningful dialogue Tarantino fills his films with. Despite all of the dialogue, we never actually know anything about the characters in the film.

       

       

Entertainment: 2/10

Quality: 2/10

Availability: DVD

Throwback Thursday Review: A Reason to Believe

 

Actors: Jay Underwood, Allison Smith, Danny Quinn, Georgia Emelin, Kim Walker

Director: Douglas Tirola

Writer: Douglas Tirola

Producer: Douglas Tirola, Christopher Trela, Ged Dickersin

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1

Rated: R

Studio: Lions Gate

DVD Release Date: April 5, 2005

Run Time: 109 minutes

 

 

                Although things have improved greatly, when this film was made during the early nineties, rape often went unreported. Making a statement against letting sleeping dogs lie, A Reason to Believe takes a strong stance against the abuse of women. It almost makes a strong stance for women’s rights as well, falling short only because of hypocrisy.

 

        Charlotte is dating a guy in a fraternity and has gotten to know all of his friends well, so when he leaves town for a funeral, she naturally assumes that she will still be safe at a party with them. When one of her boyfriend’s fraternity brothers rapes her at the party, she feels ashamed and tells no one. When her boyfriend returns and finds out, he turns his back on her. Finally she decides to go forward and bring charges against the guy, which also attacks the fraternity as well. Soon all of her friends have turned on her and the only people on her side are the women’s rights group on campus, who are merely using her to take down the fraternity.

 

        A Reason to Believe is a straightforward drama with little else to offer, making it difficult not to expect the film to feel like a TV special. Somehow it holds, however, never seeming too cliché or trite. One of the elements of the film which bothered me the most also helped to make it more dimensional and real. The women’s rights group wanted desperately to let everyone know that they had the right to do whatever they wanted, but at the same time they would not allow Charlotte the simple right of making the choice to come forward on her own. They pressured her into it, eventually leaking the story into the school newspaper just to force her into the spotlight. They had no concern for Charlotte’s individual rights even though that is what they claim to be defending the entire film.

 

        There are many other interesting questions in the film, all concerning truth, loyalty, and choices. Much of the struggle seems to come in Charlotte’s decision, but there are other people who know she is telling the truth and choose not to come forward. Others simply lie in the rapist’s defense. Charlotte quickly learns who her true friends are, and how few of them there really are. The other good thing about this film is its willingness to allow things to end unfinished. It understands that rape is not something that simply disappears regardless of how the person was punished.

 

        With a surprisingly large amount of special features for a film this old and small, A Reason to Believe is a rarity among new-to-DVD releases. There are ten mini-featurettes, documenting the making of the film and examining the issue of rape further.

 

       

Entertainment Value: 6.5/10

Quality of Filmmaking: 7/10

Historical Significance: 5/10

Disc Features: 7/10

The Wizard of Oz 3D Premiere Marks the Re-Opening of Historic TCL Chinese Theatre

        In all of my higher education, there was only one class that I dropped rather than face the task of attempting to obtain a passing grade by semester’s end. It was a history class, which had never been a problem for me in the past. I am a lover of stories, and history is simply a collection of significant true tales. My problem with this particular class was the detached methods from the professor, who had little interest in history having any personal significance to his students.

Ruth Duccini cutting ribbon for re-opening of TCL Chinese Theatre

        It is easy to forget how young the art of filmmaking actually is, and it takes an event like the premiere of The Wizard of Oz in Imax 3D to remind us. The opening night event was held Monday evening at the newly reopened TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX, the same location as the film’s original premiere on August 15, 1939. Among the many guests to fill the 932 seats for this special event was Ruth Duccini, one of the two surviving Munchkins of the 124 in the cast.

 

        The Wizard of Oz is the oldest film ever to be converted to 3D and Imax 3D, and I will admit that I had my hesitations over this endeavor. The process took nearly a year-and-a-half, thousands of jobs, and all for an exclusive one-week engagement in just over 300 films in North America, and it took me all of three seconds behind those ridiculous glasses to realize that it was all worth it.  

 

"Modern Family" stars Ariel Winter and Rico Rodriguez

 

        The 3D does not attempt to bring much movement off of the screen, but instead gives depth to the picture in a way which brings the audience in without becoming a flashy distraction to the film we love. In many ways it is the restoration which is most impressive, and this format works extremely well in showing the hard work. I feel as though sometimes 3D can detract from the clarity of image, but the presentation of The Wizard of Oz in 3D IMAX was the sharpest I have ever experienced this film. There was so much detail in the picture that it felt as though I was seeing it for the first time. Judy Garland’s freckles, the burlap texture on the face of The Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), the metallic make-up and rivets on the Tin Man (Jack Haley), and the whiskered moustache upper lip of The Cowardly Lion (Bert Zahr) can all be seen like never before in my lifetime.

 

        As well as the 95-year-old Duccini, the premiere evening for this special 3D IMAX presentation was also attended by Danielle Wade, who is currently starring in the national tour of the Broadway adaptation by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Other guests in attendance included Marcia Gay Harden, Molly Ringwald, Drew Carey, Kevin Sorbo, Ariel Winter, Sierra McCormick, Mario Lopez, and with an introduction by Wizard of Oz historian John Fricke. There was one other special guest; my nine-year-old sister.

 

Molly Ringwald and entourage

 

        Watching my sister as she placed her hands inside the cement imprint made by the eight-year-old hands of Jackie Cooper in the courtyard outside what was formerly known as Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, it was clear to me where my university world history professor had gone wrong. His lessons and tests had been all about dates and geography, but history is something you should be able to see and feel for yourself. Sometimes this is only possible with remnants held in a museum, or through our imagination in the telling of a story. We are fortunate to be witness to an early age of cinematic art, where I can still bring my sister to sit in the audience with one of the original cast members from a film released in 1939, and during a time where the technological advances of restoration and an IMAX 3D presentation bring this beloved classic to renewed life.    

 

        On October 1^st, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will debut a limited The Wizard of Oz 75^th Anniversary 5-Disc Collector’s Edition which will include a Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, DVD and Ultraviolet versions of the film, along with plenty of new and old special features. The IMAX 3D presentation of The Wizard of OZ will be available at 300 select theaters for one week, starting this Friday, September 20^th.

 

 

       

       

 

 

The Last Tycoon Blu-ray Review

 

Actors: Chow Yun Fat, Sammo Hung, Francis Ng, Huang Xiaoming, Yolanda Yuan

Director: Wong Jing

Format: Blu-ray, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, THX, Widescreen

Language: Cantonese

Subtitles: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Rated: Unrated

Studio: Well Go USA

Release Date: September 17, 2013

Run Time: 107 minutes

 

 

        Jing Wong’s The Last Tycoon is a reasonable entertaining film. There are more than a few engaging sequences, though they are buried enough amongst many forgettable and vaguely familiar moments to make The Last Tycoon feel like the echo of better films from recent past. Despite a jarring editing style which jerks the audience back and forth in time, there are few surprises to be found and little distinctly memorable. With that being said, The Last Tycoon is still a reasonably entertaining film.

 

        Action star Chow Yun-Fat plays the seasoned older version of the film’s main character, Cheng Daqi, and it almost feels as though the editing was a choice made in order to keep the film’s largest star equally dispersed amongst the narrative. First played by Huang Xiaoming, Daqi is a young man working for a fruit stand owner in the early 1920s when he is framed for murder and forced to flee  to Shanghai where he becomes the right hand to a triad boss, Hong Shouting (Sammo Hung).

 

He is forced to leave behind childhood sweetheart, Ye Zhiqui (Feng Wenjuan followed by Yuan Quan), only to meet up with her later in life as a powerful gangster. She is married to Mao Zai (Francis Ng) whose involvement in the battle against Japanese occupation doesn’t always take her best interest at heart. Daqi takes it upon himself to protect his long lost love, despite her marriage to another man, forcing him to risk all that he has for something he has lost. The film’s narrative actually shares a great deal with Casablanca, but this does not help the film’s uneven editing.

 

The Blu-ray release includes a making-of featurette and a trailer.

 

       

Entertainment Value: 7/10

Quality of Filmmaking: 6.5/10

Historical Significance: 5/10

Disc Features: 5/10

 

 

War of the Buttons Blu-ray Review

 

Actors: Jean Texier, Ilona Bachelier

Director: Christophe Barratier

Format: NTSC

Language: French

Rated: PG-13

Studio: ANCHOR BAY

DVD Release Date: September 17, 2013

Run Time: 87 minutes

 

        War of the Buttons could have made a lovely little coming of age film, had it been set during any other time period. Instead, it is a strange movie which doesn’t exist in reality while trying to tackle serious issues. Even the humor found in Life is Beautiful was not at the expense of the gravity in the situation, but the Holocaust is a mere story contrivance in War of the Buttons. There appears no attempt to show an accurate depiction, while the film’s narrative is weighed down on the insistence that it be central to the story.

 

        War of the Buttons comes from filmmaker Christophe Barratier (The Chorus), who once again returns to the classroom for much of the film’s structure. The teacher is played by Guillaume Canet, though the film’s protagonist is class clown and leader, Lebrac (Jean Texier). Lebrac leads the rest of the boys in his class in a war against boys from an opposing village, with buttons being the ultimate sign of conquest.

 

        The story is adapted from the novel by Louis Pergaud, which has previously been adapted several times, including another adaptation set in the 1960s which was also released in 2011, and one set in Ireland from 1994. The elements of Nazi-France within the story simply feel out of place amongst the other issues the children are facing, despite all the best efforts to blend them together.

 

        The DVD includes a making-of featurette, as well as deleted scenes and a blooper reel. 

       

Entertainment Value: 7.5/10

Quality of Filmmaking: 6/10

Historical Significance: 5/10

Disc Features: 6/10

 

 

Two Men in Manhattan Blu-ray Review

 

Actors: Jean-Pierre Melville, Pierre Grasset

Director: Jean-Pierre Melville

Format: Blu-ray, NTSC

Language: French

Subtitles: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1

Rated: Not Rated

Studio: Cohen Media Group

Release Date: September 17, 2013

Run Time: 84 minutes

This lesser known classic from Jean-Pierre Melville was a turning point in the career of the famed French New Wave filmmaker. Although Two Men in Manhattan (Deux Hommes dans Manhattan) was considered a failure at the time, it must have been one which had a great impact on the filmmaker because he was met with intense national success in the films that followed this one. At the time Two Men in Manhattan may not have been widely appreciated, but it is one of those buried gems that now appear ahead of their time.

 

        The film takes place over the course of a night in Manhattan as a journalist searches for a missing French diplomat. Melville stars as Moreau, the man given the task of hunting down French UN delegate Fèvre-Berthier, a man infamous for his many extramarital affairs. Utilizing the seedy nature of his photographer friend, Delmas (Pierre Grasset), Moreau is able to track down each of the delegate’s mistresses.

 

        Much of the film is Melville and Grasset driving around a beautifully photographed New York City, all the while making clever conversation with each other. As they drive from beautiful woman to the next, they are followed by a mysterious car. The end result of this evening search provides an opportunity which may be too tempting for the bottom-feeder photographer, a type which would later come to be known as paparazzi.

 

        Two Men in Manhattan is significant because of the manner in which it was filmed, with many real locations and on a low budget. This style would come to be defined as French New Wave, but Melville was more than just a footnote in film history’s stylistic approaches; he was a lover of cinema and Two Men in Manhattan is an entertaining movie, first and foremost.

 

        The Blu-ray features include a conversation between critics Jonathan Rosenbaum and Ignatiy Vishnevetsky and the booklet has a new essay from Melville scholar, Ginette Vincendeau.

 

Entertainment Value: 7/10

Quality of Filmmaking: 8.5/10

Historical Significance: 8/10

Disc Features: 7/10

 

 

 

Shanghai Calling DVD Review

Actors: Daniel Henney, Eliza Coupe, Alan Ruck, Bill Paxton, Zhu Zhu

Director: Daniel Hsia

Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English

Rated: PG-13 

Studio: ANCHOR BAY

DVD Release Date: September 17, 2013

Run Time: 101 minutes

        Shanghai Calling is a lighthearted romantic comedy with an original premise. There are not many surprises within the screenplay, but the genre doesn’t require there to be. All that is necessary is the romance and a moderate amount of laugh-inducing jokes. Shanghai Calling never completely delivers on either, but despite minimal romantic chemistry between cast members and jokes which are lucky if they are mildly amusing, I found myself entertained for the film’s 101 minute running time.

 

        One of the film’s more difficult storytelling techniques is the voice-over narrator which opens and closes the film. It doesn’t quite fit, not to mention the jarring feeling that the narrator’s return causes after being absent a majority of the picture. The supporting character Awesome Wang (Geng Le) is the narrator, telling the story of a New York attorney sent to China for business. Sam Chao (Daniel Henney) is American, but his Chinese nationality makes him an ignorantly obvious choice when his firm needs someone in Shanghai.

 

        The fish-out-of-water narrative is given extra punch with a character everyone assumes will fit in because of his appearance. Sam doesn’t speak the language, but a blonde relocation specialist (Eliza Coupe) is able to despite her deceiving looks. Their romance is meant to be at the center of the film, but whether it is lacking chemistry or too many other sub-plots, this romance never seems entirely believable. The film co-stars Bill Paxton and Alan Ruck.

 

        The DVD includes a behind-the-scenes featurette.

 

         

 

Entertainment Value: 7/10

Quality of Filmmaking: 5/10

Historical Significance: 3/10

Disc Features: 4/10