Tag: SXSW film (Page 3 of 6)

SXSW 2011: Surrogate Valentine

March 12, 2011 / Jason Zingale

“Surrogate Valentine” isn’t the first movie about the life of a struggling musician, and it probably won’t be the last, but while there’s nothing particularly special about Dave Boyle’s latest film, it has an undeniably sweet quality to it that ultimately wins you over. San Francisco-based musician Goh Nakamura stars as himself, a soft-spoken singer-songwriter who’s barely scraping by when he reluctantly agrees to teach TV actor Danny Turner (Chadd Stoops) how to play guitar for an upcoming movie role. After all, he could use the cash. But when the two embark on a road trip to Seattle for an upcoming gig, Goh discovers that the movie in question is suspiciously similar to his own life – only this time, he might actually end up with the girl (Lynn Chen) he’s been chasing all these years.

Despite having no previous acting experience, Nakamura delivers a surprisingly solid performance that is both natural and charming. Granted, there’s no real acting involved when you’re playing yourself, but he still makes his co-star look like an amateur in comparison. Though Danny is supposed to be a bad actor, Stoops is so dreadful even when he’s not purposefully hamming it up that it stops the film dead in its tracks every time he’s on screen. The chemistry between Nakamura and Chen is much stronger, and it’s hard not to wonder how much better the movie could have been if Boyle had focused more on their relationship than the one between Goh and Danny. “Surrogate Valentine” is still mostly enjoyable thanks to Nakamura’s involvement, but at a lean 75 minutes, there’s no reason that Boyle couldn’t have dug a little deeper into his subject’s life.

External Entertainment, External Movies, Movie Dramas, Movies, Reviews

Chadd Stoops Dave Boyle Goh Nakamura Lynn Chen Surrogate Valentine Surrogate Valentine review SXSW SXSW 2011 SXSW blog 2011 SXSW film

SXSW 2011: Turkey Bowl

March 12, 2011 / Jason Zingale

On paper, Kyle P. Smith’s “Turkey Bowl” sounds like the kind of film that the Duplass brothers might have made – a real-time comedy about a group of friends gathering to play their annual game of touch football. It all takes place at a local park in the middle of July (for no apparent reason other than to make a joke about it not being Thanksgiving), with a Butterball turkey as the prize. Despite its promising setup, however, the film never manages to be as funny as it probably could have been in the hands of a more talented, improv-savvy cast. And by choosing to focus more on the game rather than the strained relationships between the longtime friends, Smith makes it difficult for the audience to become invested in the story.

It doesn’t help that none of the characters are very likeable, particularly Sergio Villarreal as a hot-headed stranger invited to join the game, who acts like such a dick to his gracious hosts that it’s hard to believe they wouldn’t have kicked him out in real life. Smith certainly raises a few interesting questions about the vitality of friendship and the primal competitive nature of men, but a lot of the conflict that is born out of that falls flat due to the lack of any background information. We never really know why everyone is acting so uptight, and just when it looks like they’re about to start strangling one another, they suddenly begin high-fiving and joking around again. It doesn’t feel very authentic, and it’s surprising that Smith wouldn’t want to further explore the relationships between his characters considering the movie is only a meager 62 minutes long. It’s the Thanksgiving equivalent of serving a turkey without any stuffing or gravy, especially when your guests were expecting a heaping plateful of both.

External Entertainment, External Movies, Movie Comedies, Movies, Reviews

Duplass Brothers Kyle P. Smith Sergio Villarreal SXSW SXSW 2011 SXSW blog 2011 SXSW film Turkey Bowl Turkey Bowl review

SXSW 2011: Source Code

March 11, 2011 / Jason Zingale

Duncan Jones was probably bombarded with a number of offers to direct a big studio movie following the release and cult success of his directorial debut, “Moon,” but there’s something about his decision to choose “Source Code” as his follow-up that tells you a lot about the kind of filmmaker he hopes to become. To some extent a companion piece to “Moon” in that they’re both morality tales about technology, Jones has succeeded in taking yet another high-concept premise and spinning it into a captivating thriller that’s both incredibly simple in execution and yet brain-teasingly complex the more you pick it apart. A thinking man’s sci-fi film with real mainstream appeal.

Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Cpt. Colter Stevens, a helicopter pilot stationed in Afghanistan who wakes up suddenly to discover he’s riding on a commuter train headed to Chicago. The twist? He’s in the body of a man named Sean Fentress, and before he can figure out what’s going on, the train explodes. But Stevens isn’t actually dead, and when he awakens in a strange capsule seconds later, he’s greeted by a woman named Goodwin (Vera Farmiga), who informs him that he’s part of a military experiment that’s trying to stop a terrorist attack in Chicago. Using a computer program called the Source Code, they can send Stevens’ consciousness into the body of Fentress for the last eight minutes of his life, granting him a unique opportunity to examine the scene of the crime before it even happens, in the hope that he can identify the bomber and prevent a second attack on the city. But as Stevens gets closer to tracking down the culprit with each new pass, he sets his mind on saving his fellow commuters (including Michelle Monaghan), despite the fact that the creator of the Source Code (Jeffrey Wright) tells him it isn’t possible.

That might sound like an awful lot of information to process, but “Source Code” isn’t nearly as confusing as it lets on. With the exception of one exposition-heavy scene at the beginning of the film that tells you just about everything you need to know, the rest of the movie is split between Stevens’ investigation of the train’s passengers via a time loop that always ends with him dying, and communicating with the people running the mission. Of course, there are several twists and turns along the way, but Jones doesn’t hide his hand particularly well. Two of the film’s biggest revelations are not only predictable, but pretty obvious if you just pay attention, and though it would have ruined a lesser movie, “Source Code” is still engaging even when you know how it will end.

You wouldn’t think that a film about a guy experiencing the same eight minutes over and over again would be very interesting (even “Groundhog Day” took place over the course of a day), but Jones manages to prevent the loop from feeling monotonous by making every trip into the Source Code unique. He also relies greatly on star Jake Gyllenhaal to keep the audience invested, and it’s one of the actor’s best performances to date, providing the character with an Everyman quality that allows him to be serious without being humorless. The rest of the actors are just pawns in the story, but Vera Farmiga does add some depth to the thankless role of Stevens’ sympathetic handler. Not that the movie requires especially strong performances to work, because the real star is Jones himself, who proves here that he’s more than just a one-hit wonder. Your reaction to the movie will ultimately vary based on how you feel about its ending, but for fans of the sci-fi genre and time travel in particular, “Source Code” doesn’t disappoint.

Action Movies, External Entertainment, External Movies, Movies, Reviews, Sci-Fi Movies

Duncan Jones Jake Gyllenhaal Jeffreey Wright Michelle Monaghan Moon Source Code Source Code review SXSW SXSW 2011 SXSW blog 2011 SXSW film Vera Farmiga

SXSW 2011: Girl Walks Into a Bar

March 11, 2011 / Jason Zingale

Sebastian Gutierrez’s new comedy, “Girl Walks Into a Bar,” may not be the third installment in the director’s much-talked about “Women” trilogy, but it very well could be considering the talent involved. Instead, it’s an entirely separate movie with a twist of its own – the first major motion picture produced exclusively for the web. It’s an interesting experiment that could revolutionize the way that independent cinema is distributed in the future, especially for those not fortunate enough to live in a major city. But while the movie makes good on its promise of delivering big stars and high-level production values, “Girl Walks Into a Bar” is Gutierrez’s weakest film to date – a movie that most people will probably only watch because it’s free.

The film begins, fittingly enough, with a girl walking into a bar. The woman in question is undercover private detective Francine (Carla Gugino), who’s there to meet with a nervous dentist named Nick (Zachary Quinto) under the pretense that she’s an assassin hired to kill his cheating wife, completely unaware that Francine is recording the entire conversation. But when she loses the evidence after a modish pickpocket (Aaron Tveit) makes off with her purse, Francine sets off a chain of events that connects a seemingly unrelated group of people, including an exotic dancer (Emmanuelle Chriqui), a retired criminal (Robert Forster), and a sex-starved student (Rosario Dawson) working part-time at a nudist ping pong club.

It’s essentially just a series of vignettes that take place in different bars and clubs throughout Los Angeles, with Gutierrez relying on the relationships between his characters to form the connective tissue of the story. He’s used a similar structure before in films like “Women in Trouble” and “Elektra Luxx,” but with “Girl Walks Into a Bar,” the breaks in between each section feel less like a transition than an opportunity for advertisers to plug their product. Granted, the movie wouldn’t even exist if it weren’t for these advertisers, but if the viewing experience is marred as a result of forced commercial breaks, then what’s the point of changing the system?

Gutierrez’s obsession with exploring the psyches of his characters via theatrical fantasy sequences also messes with the flow of the film. They look great in comparison to the static two shots that populate most of the movie (especially one featuring Chriqui as a stripper with a unique insight into the minds of men), but they’re a distraction at best. “Girl Walks Into a Bar” is much better off when it just lets its characters talk, because as Gutierrez’s sharp-witted script proves once again, he’s a far superior writer than a director. It’s no wonder he’s able to assemble such talented ensemble casts, because his dialogue is outstanding, and it makes the performances feel really natural. Unfortunately, it takes more than just great dialogue to make a good movie, and though “Girl Walks Into a Bar” isn’t bad for a film being offered for free, filmmakers will need to adopt a much better attitude than that if online distribution is going to succeed.

External Entertainment, External Movies, Movie Comedies, Movies, New Media, Reviews

Aaron Tveit Carla Gugino Emmanuelle Chriqui Girl Walks Into a Bar Girl Walks Into a Bar review Robert Forster Rosario Dawson Sebastian Gutierrez SXSW SXSW 2011 SXSW blog 2011 SXSW film Zachary Quinto

SXSW Film 2010: Keeping Austin Reel Weird

March 24, 2010 / Jason Zingale

One of the first things I heard after arriving in town for South by Southwest was “Keep Austin Weird.” It’s sort of the city’s unofficial motto, but it’s one that resonated with me over the course of my week-long trip. Though it’s hard to say whether Austin really is as weird during the rest of the year as it is during SXSW, the city exudes a certain energy that makes it the perfect place to hold such a unique event. It also helps to have some of the most passionate movie lovers in the country populating the streets, because while SXSW attracts cinephiles from all over the globe, it’s the locals (from the volunteers to the everyday attendees) who actually make you want to come back.

For anyone that followed my SXSW Blog throughout the course of the film festival, you already know that my experience was a rather positive one. In fact, of the 17 films screened during my time in Austin, there were only two that I didn’t particularly like. You’d think that would make selecting my personal favorites even more difficult, but my Top Three easily blows the rest of the competition out of the water. Here are some highlights from my reviews of those films:

micmacs

1. “Micmacs”

[Jean-Pierre] Jeunet’s latest film, “Micmacs,” may just be his best yet – a whimsical crime caper that boasts his trademark visual style, a classic Max Steiner score, and an ensemble cast filled with familiar faces. Though it likely won’t have the crossover appeal of “Amelie,” “Micmacs” is one of the most enjoyable moviegoing experiences of the year… It’s all done so effortlessly, and with [Dany] Boon and his co-stars so charming throughout, that you’d have to be in a pretty sour mood not to walk out of “Micmacs” with a giant grin on your face.

2. “Kick-Ass”

Director Matthew Vaughn clearly understands the world that [Mark] Millar and [John] Romita Jr. have created, and that familiarity resonates throughout, from the high-energy action scenes to the colorful performances from its cast… The end result is an entertaining blend of action and comedy that, despite falling short of its ridiculously high expectations, delivers everything that was awesome about the comic and more.

3. “Four Lions”

A pitch-black satire in the same vein as “Dr. Strangelove,” [Christopher] Morris has created a film so relevant to our current political climate that many will feel guilty just for watching it, let alone laughing at all the gut-wrenching humor along the way… “Four Lions” is one of the funniest, most provocative comedies of the last decade – and one that has more to say than any of the numerous self-important war movies that Hollywood has been cranking out for years.

Of course, one of the things that makes SXSW such a great place to watch movies is the venues. The theater experience in Austin is hands down one of the best in the country – from the historic Paramount Theater to the Alamo Drafthouse. While the Paramount is typically a more star-studded affair, complete with a red carpet and the opportunity to see a movie with its director and stars sitting just a few feet away from you, the Drafthouse (both the Ritz located on 6th Street and the South Lamar, which is a short drive from downtown) is a little more intimate. Star-crazed attendees will find little in the way of celebrity sightings, but the chance of seeing a hidden gem like Best Documentary winner, “Marwencol,” more than makes up for it. Plus, midnight showings of genre films like “Tucker and Dale vs. Evil” are usually more enjoyable when you’re watching it with a bunch of fellow cinephiles.