Blahblahblah making movies (or not)

You may have noticed that I've been away. You may recall I was taking a trip to England to make a no budget feature film. Now I'm back and I've got almost nothing to show for it.

Making a no budget feature film is a giant headache and relies on a lot of people doing a lot of work for next to no money or in most cases nothing except the experience and the pleasure of your company. In that kind of scenario you need to expect things to go wrong, or at least not as smoothly as you would like, especially in an industry that is as notoriously fraught with logistical nightmares and giant egos as film making.

I'm ready to accept that ultimately the failure of Good Times to get in to production is my own, as head of the production the buck stops with me but there's only so much one person can deal with and only so many times that person can be let down by broken promises before things reach tipping point.

During pre-production of Good Times I met some really great people who were willing to do anything they could to help my creative vision come to fruition but sadly they were few and far between and when it comes to outlining what caused my film to not get made they don't really factor in to the story, but just so you know, it wasn't all bad.

The majority of my experiences were bad, friends from film school who showed enthusiasm for the project, for finally getting out in to the world and making something that they trained for instead of sitting on the dole or in a call centre, were the first to let me down, from something "small" like not doing something they said they would do right through to taking back an offer of accommodation and leaving me homeless.

After that we move on to so-called industry professionals, and I'm talking about crew and actors here, people who didn't have the decency to return phone calls, text messages, emails or, you know, that other thing that people do when they can't make it to a meeting or simply changed their mind about a project, phone me and tell me so that I knew where I stood.

But most disappointing, from my point of view, was the equipment hire company who I was actually paying the majority of the budget to doing exactly the same thing. I can't see how a business can function with such bad service. Maybe this is just the way of the world and at 30 I'm old fashioned but to me this kind of behaviour is unacceptable in any walk of life.

So yes, no film to share, no trailer, no behind the scenes footage, nothing fun or exciting at all.

The trip wasn't a complete bust, I have one small video to share with the few of you who might care; I had the distinct pleasure of living with two members of the band The October Game whilst in England during the time they were preparing to release their third album, Balancing, and produced a promo video for them. Shot behind the scenes of the music video shoot for their first single We Built This Wall To Destroy It. I'm actually a big fan of the album and if you feel like checking it out you can find it on iTunes and direct from the label Scylla Records, something I highly recommend you do.

Movie Diary #13: July 2013

July went quickly. I've been working hard on pre-production of my debut feature film but still managed to watch 71 movies according to Letterboxd. That makes 539 YTD. 8 of those are rewatches bringing YTD total up to 67, I think my dream of limiting that number to 10% of my total is well and truly dead at this point.

I saw an incredible 23 new films in July, thanks in part to the Revelation Film Fest, this number accounts for over a third of the 2013 films seen this year. 67 is a good strong number and I think reaching 100 before January is well within my grasp. My end of year Top 15 has 11 strong candidates listed so far, despite my general disgust with the majority of new releases it's good to see that there's still some real quality finding its way on to screens.

In total I have 21 recommendations from the month, 6 that you should really stay clear of, believe me you're going to appreciate that with this bunch. 15 really great films that are close to being masterpieces and then 2 actual masterpieces, one an all time favourite and the other is possibly the best you'll see from the post-mumblecore scene.

For those of you interested in my film, it's called Good Times and it can be found at facebook and on twitter so far but there's some other social networking in the pipeline. I'd love it if you guys could like it and follow and stuff, any word of mouth on the project will be helpful.

Dire

The Croods (2013) Dir. Kirk De Micco, Chris Sanders

No. Just no. The trailer looked really stupid and I wasn't disappointed by the feature. It's oh so ugly to look at too.

Off World (2013) Dir. Emmett Callinan

A low budget sci-fi thriller that looks and feels exactly like a low budget sci-fi thriller, generic plot and dialogue, daytime soap level line readings and a really peculiar greyscale colorisation applied throughout. I wouldn't have been surprised if it was developed for syfy or whatever the channel is branding itself as these days.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013) Dir. Jon Chu

Was this one of those movies where Bruce Willis gets paid by 50 Cent to show up for a bit to try to give a really awful film some credibility? I'd say that's possible. I expected it to be stupid and fun but this is stupid and dull which is the ultimate crime when you have a bunch of guys running around shooting stuff really. I'd watch The Rock in anything and so this was guaranteed to show up in my life sooner or later, I wish it had been much later, like when I'm over my whole "I'll watch The Rock in anything" phase.

Pawn Shop Chronicles (2013) Dir. Wayne Kramer

This movie was originally written for FRED DURST to wear a backwards baseball cap whilst directing it. Wayne Kramer didn't save it although I'm certain he's a better director than Mr Bizkit.

Oblivion (2013) Dir. Joseph Kosinski

Possibly the worst big budget science fiction movie I've seen since Surrogates. Oblivion is a dull, unimaginative, ugly, derivative, obvious, grey, overly long Tom Cruise vehicle. I hope that this is forgotten about very quickly and never mentioned again. I really wanted to say consigned to oblivion but the film was so bad it didn't deserve the pun.

Sudden Death (1995) Dir. Peter Hyams

Almost unwatchable for non martial arts fans I would say. The action is poor anyway but some of the choices Hyams makes for purposes of "tension" or "suspense" left me quite bemused. The major fault lies with the script however. Written by the guy who wrote Police Academy 3, 4 and 5 based on a story idea by somebody else?! How do you have the story idea for this? I must assume it was "lets regurgitate Die Hard without what made it special" brainstorming sessions that accounts for her moment of genius.

Really Very Good Actually

Revanche (2009) Dir. Götz Spielmann

I feel like this was a major influence on the development of the far inferior and much less subtle Place Beyond The Pines. Instead of being violent or flashy it is just a simple, slow, study of humanity.

28 Hotel Rooms (2012) Dir. Matt Ross

A love affair between two people who only meet in hotel rooms, told only when they are in those hotel rooms. It's certainly a gimmick but 28 Hotel Rooms is much more than that, it's an exploration of how we love, why we love, the restrictions we place on love, it's funny, sweet, poignant, thought provoking, it recalls all those failed love affairs in your past and reminds you of the good and the bad but mostly it reminds you of why you loved in the first place.

The Fifth Season (2013) Dir. Peter Brosens, Jessica Hope Woodworth

50 movies and six months in to 2013 and The Fifth Season has become the frontrunner for movie of the year. As Ronan Doyle said in his excellent review it really is The Wicker Man as made by Roy Andersson. It's beautiful to look at, mesmerising at times, paced to perfection and almost so subtle that you might miss the apocalyptic overtones that would mark it as another product of 2013's Year of The End. Should I trademark that?

Supporting Characters (2013) Dir.  Daniel Schechter

Supporting Characters is another in the seemingly endless stream of low budget character and dialogue driven New York feature films linked to the slackervetes group of filmmakers. It's a witty low-fi romantic comedy starring one of the unlikeliest romcom protagonists you're ever likely to meet, Alex Karpovsky. But it's not just another film for the canon, it's one of the better examples of post-mumblecore on a restricted budget.

Modern Love Is Automatic (2010) Dir. Zach Clark

A nurse moonlights as a dominatrix, her room mate is a naive and enthusiastic aspiring model who is repeatedly taken advantage of in her quest to be successful. These are not the elements you might ordinarily associate with comedy but Zach Clark seemingly looks at the world in a different way to other writers and with the help of great performances from Melodie Sisk and Maggie Ross offers the viewer an insight in to an alternative take on modern American life.

Zach Clark has made this film available to stream for free at Vimeo. I highly recommend you check it out.

White Reindeer (2013) Dir. Zach Clark

White Reindeer is somehow the 500th movie I've seen in the first six and a half months of 2013. I just felt that landmark should have been announced somewhere. I'm so grateful that it was a very good movie indeed, worthy of a milestone such as this one. Over indulgence is a Christmas tradition right?
Films like this once confirm that I do not have what it takes to review or talk about movies professionally, when I truly enjoy a film I suddenly find myself with nothing to say at all that can do my feelings justice but rest assured list lovers White Reindeer will certainly feature high in my end of year list

Blind Shaft (2003) Dir. Yang Li

Part noir, part bleak social realism, all brilliant. Fans of everything I love in cinema should be ready to be wowed by this product of Mainland China that shares as much with the great cinema of the Romanian New Wave as it does modern neo-noir such as Winter's Bone.

Only God Forgives (2013) Dir. Nicholas Winding Refn

His films may not have reached masterpiece levels just yet but Refn is consistently a top quality filmmaker that is a pleasure to watch even on his off days. I asked the question previously, where are all the Refn copycats? The answer is nowhere, what he does with the crime genre takes vision, skill and talent compared to those Guy Ritchie and Quentin Tarantino wannabes churning out generic garbage. I can't wait to see what he does next.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) Dir. Shane Black

A first rewatch in 2 years and I'm pretty certain that Shane Black is some kind of insane genius, as that is what it would take to write and envision something as wonderfully playful as this without descending in to farce and still crafting a damned fine neo-noir thriller.

Outland (1981) Dir. Peter Hyams

It feels a little ordinary and conventional in 2013 but in a world where Alien was still new and fresh there should have been plenty of room for Sean Connery running around a space station with a shotgun taking down a drug smuggling ring with the help of a black man and an actual real female character that wasn't a plot device, a wife, or a love interest (played perfectly by Frances Sternhagen.)

No Distance Left To Run (2010) Dir. Will Lovelace, Dylan Southern

Damon, Graham, Alex and Dave were THE reason for my love of guitar based indie pop at a time when EVERYONE around me seemed to be in to some form of garage dance rave shit and to have this film as a document to refer back to that time in my life is wonderful, that' s actually an incredibly well made film that combines archive material, live footage and new interviews just elevates it to a whole new level. All of the new material is of such a high quality too.

Before Midnight (2013) Dir. Richard Linklater

I was incredibly sceptical about a third film in this series and yet incredibly excited at the same time. To witness Richard Linklater directing Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy as Jesse and Celine is something akin to perfect cinema as defined by Andre Bazin, everything about their lives captured on screen feels so honest, a truth often attempted but rarely achieved in independent American film and I am more than ready to watch this series every 9 years for the rest of my life.

More Than Honey (2013) Dir. Markus Imhoof

Much more than stunning wildlife photography, this fascinating documentary could be enough to make you a militant vegan, a depressed anti-capitalist, a staunch opponent of America and a dedicated Western Australian based cinematographer.

Oh how beautiful my country looks on film, oh how disgusting the practices of money hungry migratory bee farmers, oh those poor little magnificent creatures, oh how dumb Markus Imhoof allows those Americans to look on film.

Sin City (2005) Dir. Robert Rodriguez

Quite unsurprisingly after 8 years the wow factor has worn away from this incredibly faithful adaptation but what remains is still one bad ass noir graphic novel complete with some of the best performances of the casts career. Frank Miller's attempt at The Spirit shows that it's not just his superb graphic novel that's responsible for the inherent quality in this production, underneath all that shiny CGI Robert Rodriguez is one hell of a director.

Brick (2005) Dir. Rian Johnson

Rian Johnson's huge leap of imagination is just as impressive today as it was 8 years ago. This high school noir homage sets the tone from the opening shots and doesn't let up until the dame swings from her pretty little neck.

Masterpieces

The Limey (1999) Dir. Steven Soderbergh

Tell him I'm fucking coming!
Man I love this movie, one of the most important movies of my life, seeing this made me love Soderbergh, and you know how it goes from there. Between the Dobbs script and Soderbergh's direction a fantastically entertaining experiment in noir storytelling unfolds with a brilliant lead performance from Terence Stamp that breaks your heart by the time of denouement. Simply wonderful.

The Colour Wheel (2012) Dir. Alex Ross Perry

JR takes a road trip with her brother, they bicker and snipe like only siblings can. That's pretty much it. And it's a brilliant piece of American filmmaking. So incredibly and unexpectedly funny from start to finish, the double team of Altman and Perry have such incredible chemistry that they brought tears to my eyes with their mean spirited quips and barrage of inappropriateness. The grainy 16mm image and location shooting might lead you to think this is another offering from the Slackervetes school of naturalism but you'll either realise your error and go with the slightly surreal nature of the story quite quickly or hate this film completely for confusing your brain with its mixed messages.

So that's that, go right ahead and comment and tweet me and stuff, don't forget to show Good Times some love on the social networks. If you've got questions about the film or whatever I'm happy to answer them.

Movie Diary #12: June 2013

Half the year gone and I've seen 468 films. June was an odd month, after the craziness of May I took a break, only watching films occasionally, and I still managed to reach 71 over 30 days. 8 were rewatches bringing the YTD rewatches to 59.

The highlight would almost certainly be Spring Breakers which I saw twice in three days and whilst it's not something I would consider a masterpiece just yet it's certainly got something special going for it whilst at the same time being quite awful.

2013 continues to disappoint in general, 11 new movies seen in June taking the YTD count up to 44 but of those, 5 were contributions to this months 9 truly awful viewing experiences.

At the other end of the spectrum the ongoing Noir-a-Thon provided 4 of the 5 masterpieces for the month but sadly they were all rewatches. But there was a very healthy 12 films that come highly recommended. If you're looking for something great that you might not have heard of, these 12 are for you.

Dire

Hesher (2010) Dir. Spencer Susser

It's not funny, it's dumb. It's not dramatic or charming, it's dumb and incredibly obvious from the start. And dumb. If it wasn't for watching JGL have a good time as Hesher this would be completely unwatchable.

The Blood of Heroes (1990) Dir. David Webb Peoples

The idea of a David Webb Peoples scripted apocalyptic sports movie starring Rutger Hauer was too much to resist. I wish I had. It's boring and repetitive from the opening scene and the tedium doesn't lift until the credits roll. If you like violence in your scifi movie you might like this one.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013) Dir. Don Scardino

Every so often a movie comes along that is so bad you wish you could get arrested for downloading it. I deserve to be sent to jail for a very long time for inflicting this one on Leah but John Francis Daley deserves to be shot out of a fucking canon in to the Great Wall of China without a helmet for writing this shit. I used to feel bad that he was the only member of the Freaks and Geeks cast that didn't seem to make any impact as an actor but now after putting up with this tragic waste of Jim Carrey, Steve Buscemi, Alan Arkin and Steve Carrell for the past 100 minutes I wish him an anonymous painful, penniless death in a Hollywood skid row apartment that had its power and water switched off two years previously and a serious rat infestation.

Phantom (2013) Dir. Todd Robinson

I feel bad for every actor involved with this, especially if they worked for scale. It's not the worst movie of the year and as with Robinson's previous work it looks good but that is pretty much it.

I, Anna (2012) Dir. Barnaby Southcombe

There's no way this would have been made if the director wasn't Charlotte Rampling's son. It's a pretty poor noir that focuses on style without being particularly stylish. So much of the dialogue is dreadful in that trying too hard to be real kind of way that we've been inflicted with by sub-standard writers in a post-Tarantino world and isn't helped by actors who aren't good enough but then when Rampling and Byrne are struggling with it you can't really blame them.

Last Days (2005) Dir. Gus van Sant

Gus van Sant's Last Days occasionally threatens to be more than a bizarre series of scenes of Michael Pitt wandering around mumbling incoherently but constantly fails to deliver on its promise instead heading off in to a world of ill-considered moments of Lukas Haas forgetting the words to a Velvet Underground song. If there is meaning and understanding to be found in this film it was hidden pretty deep and I didn't find it.

Odd Thomas (2013) Dir. Stephen Sommers

A plot about the after life filmed in a completely lifeless way. Tries for a similar feel to John Dies at the End but fails miserably despite the much bigger budget. That is why Don Coscarelli is an under appreciated great and Stephen Sommers is a chump who makes boring movies.

Penthouse North (2013) Dir. Joseph Ruben

This is one star for Michael Keaton, the rest of the movie is a pile of shit that should never have been greenlit. Dreadful dialogue, awful direction, Keaton aside the acting is mediocre at best. There's an interesting enough heist concept here; two guys want to get back what was stolen from them in a doublecross, they hold a blind woman hostage in her penthouse apartment and attempt to torture the location from here, and yet that is the extent of the exploration of the scenario. What follows is at best generic, obvious and cliched and at worst painfully dumb.

Olympus Has Fallen (2013) Dir. Antoine Fuqua

So offensively bad in every way. I could criticise it for hours but what's the point? You're either an idiot like me who expects it to be bad and watches it anyway or you're an idiot who expects it to be good and can't wait to watch all 17 hours of this mess by Antoine Fuqua, either way we're all swimming through a sea of shit of our own making.

Really Very Good Actually

In Search of a Midnight Kiss (2007) Dir. Alex Holdridge

A charming and funny look at life and love in your late 20's. The witty script and great chemistry between the two leads sets it apart from all the other Richard Linklater and Woody Allen wannabes.

Stoker (2013) Dir. Park Chan-Wook

I can't imagine there will be a more intelligent Hollywood movie in 2013, or perhaps I should say one that treats the audience as if they have intelligence. Content wise it is far beyond my previous experiences with Park Chan-Wook but whether I enjoyed it as much is another matter. Bring on the rewatch.

Never Let Go (1963) Dir. John Guillermin

A quite brilliant late British noir that seems to have been unfairly forgotten. Peter Sellars as the villain is exceptionally evil whilst Richard Todd as the down on his luck everyman with nothing to lose finds his fighting spirit at last in a final showdown that wouldn't be out of place in Killer's Kiss. The use of expressionist light and shadow is up there with the best that Hollywood's emigres had to offer and the story is pure pulp goodness.

Hell in the Pacific (1968) Dir. John Boorman

Not as flashy as John Boorman's Point Blank but almost as impressive in terms of pure cinema. Two men who don't speak the same language, natural enemies infact, are stranded on a Pacific island. It works as an examination of the stupidity of war and a study of the strengths of man, it should have been a success and certainly deserves more than to be forgotten by new generations of moviegoers.

Le Fils (2002) Dir. The Dardenne Brothers

Very very impressive, four films in to the Dardenne filmography and this is my favourite to date. Their usual adherence to realism in cinema is enhanced by a bold and interesting choice in cinematography, their camera mimicking the protagonist in its sneaking and hiding, watching him almost like an obsessed ghost, framing that ordinarily might be considered odd (and just might frustrate a lot of viewers) gives a strange claustrophobia to Olivier's existence and left me fascinated and enthralled throughout.

Another Earth (2011) Dir. Mike Cahill

Quite nearly perfect. Cahill and Marling don't seem to make a bad decision between them for 90+ minutes in this low-fi "sci-fi" drama. Except like the greats of science fiction (as seen as props in the film) this isn't really about space and stuff, it's about humanity. There are a few wobbly moments where the low budget and sophomore director become obvious but beyond that it's simply great storytelling.

Mud (2013) Dir. Jeff Nichols

It was always going to suffer in comparison to Take Shelter and Killer Joe but Jeff Nichols manages to take 2012's Man of the Year a step in a different direction with this wonderful coming of age/teens left to their own devices as old customs are slowly dying story. If he is to replace Soderbergh as my favourite American filmmaker then this one will surely be compared to King of the Hill in years to come.

Bal (2011) Dir. Semih Kaplanoglu

Ronan's Something to Watch list strikes gold again!

Another simple and beautiful film that tells it's story with very few words whilst at the same time being a statement about the power of storytelling. Features a remarkable central performance from a child actor and a director who makes the most of his locations to magnify the power of his message.

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans (2009) Dir. Werner Herzog

There's a reason that I didn't remember my current favourite actor, Michael Shannon, appearing in this movie; he has two of the tiniest scenes imaginable whilst still getting a credit. Can you imagine a Werner Herzog film starring Cage and Shannon? It's an incredibly tantalising concept, well at least when the inner Cage is channelled in to producing something close to this recent career high. I really dig this film so the lack of Shannon wasn't too disappointing, it was always worthy of a rewatch. Even if you ignore the iguanas this is one batshit crazy film whilst still remaining a high quality mainstream crime film and character study of a good man battling his inner demons. The title is a bit of a mouthful though.

Funny Ha Ha (2002) Dir. Andrew Bujalski

The central performance from Kate Dollenmayer certainly elevates it above a lot of the other films associated with the mumblecore movement and the aimless meandering of her character Marnie combined with the awkward blathering conversations featured does hit points that others just can't seem to reach due to higher budgets or attempts to improve on the formula or simply ideas that are not as well realised.

Spring Breakers (2013) Dir. Harmony Korine

By far Harmony Korine's most accessible work, not sure whether that makes it his best or not. A giant horrible mess of images from the worst of American college life evolves in to something much better but I don't know what. A disconcerting viewing experience if only because you don't now what to make of it.

Big Night (1996) Dir. Stanley Tucci

Charming is usually a dirty word in this household, charming should never be the first word you use to describe a film as 99 times out of 100 it also usually means it's trite and cynical. Stanley Tucci's directorial debut is neither of those thing but it is most definitely a charming ensemble piece that highlights the absolute waste of talent that is both Tony Shaloub and Stanley Tucci when working minor character parts in mainstream Hollywood cinema. I don't think it's a secret to anyone who has been paying attention for the past 20+ years that both of these actors are almost always the finest performers in whatever they appear in but the sheer size and brilliance of their abilities is magnified astronomically when allowed the freedom to truly inhabit a role and a film for 90+ minutes.

Masterpiece

Twelve Monkeys (1995) Dir. Terry Gilliam

I've lost count of the number of times I've seen Twelve Monkeys now and it just keeps impressing me. Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt and Terry Gilliam have all got careers filled with great films but this one has to be considered in the top two if not the best of the bunch for each of them. Of course David Webb Peoples also wrote Unforgiven and Blade Runner so you can't say the same about him. Impressive.

The Darjeeling Limited (2007) Dir. Wes Anderson

A beautiful masterpiece of quirky familial drama and spiritual road movie. It is the most visually impressive of all of his films and in Brody, Wilson & Schwartzman the finest individual and ensemble performances too. I never get tired of watching it.

L.A. Confidential (1997) Dir. Curtis Hanson

Not only is L.A. Confidential a great adaptation but it is a great movie in its own right that fully deserved every single one of those nine Oscar nominations. That it lost to Titanic of all films is a complete and utter travesty.

Dark City (1998) Dir. Alex Proyas

Much less flashy than the similar themed Matrix this movie has aged like a fine wine compared to the other slightly more vinegary Wachowski brew. The screenplay from Dobbs and Goyer is the philosophical and thematic successor to the seminal Blade Runner whereas the direction of Proyas and cinematography of Wolski owe a lot more to Escher and German Expressionism, with a little help from some hard working talented set and costume designers.

The Blair Witch Project (1999) Dir. Myrick & Sanchez

Considering it avoids all temptation to have men in suits leaping out at you, gore spattering the lens or a score designed to make you jump Blair Witch really gets your heart racing by spending an hour making you empathise with all three characters despite the fact that they are truly awful people with the irritating habit of pretty much shouting everything. Seeing it as part of documentary theory class caused me to reassess my entire way of thought on the film, it's not just scary it's a wonderful exploration of what it means to be in front of or behind a camera, perhaps not on the same artistic level as Dziga Vertov but for the post-MTV handicam generation it's almost a masterpiece.

I'm up for discussions on these or any other film if you are. Get in touch via twitter, comment below or do something crazy like email me via the about page.