Image = Summer 2015 Indie Film Rundown

Now that Memorial Day has come and gone, we can officially talk about the summer.  In the past, summer has been strictly about Hollywood blockbusters.  For this reason there have been entire summers in recent years when I didn’t go to the movies at all.  But the tide has turned and I am very excited for this summer of film which includes A LOT of great indies starring A LOT of great women.

I have already seen the very poignant 5 Flights Up starring Diane Keaton and Morgan Freeman.  It is far from the greatest movie ever made, but for me it’s all about the love of Keaton.  I am the type of devoted cinephile who will watch anything that an icon like Diane Keaton does, especially at this point in her career.  Seeing her on film in anything is a treat because she is one of the most unique talents we have ever had.  Even in an inferior movie (like last summer’s And So It Goes) Keaton is captivating. And did I mention Morgan Freeman’s in it too?

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival Me & Earl and the Dying Girl is one of the most funny, sincere and inventive films I’ve seen in years.  All 3 young leads give breakout performances, enhanced by brilliantly quirky turns by stalwart veterans like Nick Offerman, Jon Bernthal and Molly Shannon.  

 

And here is the LONG list of what I will be seeing this summer, with release dates in NY & LA:

  

The D Train (May 8) This movie came and went in theaters(!) but I intend to track it down because 1 - Jack Black is back! and 2 - I do not understand why James Marsden is not an ginormous movie star already.

I’ll See You in My Dreams (May 15) It is about time to see the glorious Blythe Danner in a starring role!  I hope she continues to get showered with acclaim and win a bunch of awards.

Aloha (TODAY!) Cameron Crowe has made his first movie in years and I cannot wait because I think there is much more to it than the trailers suggest... 

Love & Mercy (June 5) Two incredibly talented and underrated actors John Cusack & Paul Dano both play the legendary Brian Wilson.

Manglehorn (June 19) Al Pacino is making indies these days and I am in! I loved the affecting Danny Collins and admire him for doing interesting smaller projects when he could be sitting on a beach somewhere. This film also brings the phenomenal Holly Hunter back to the big screen, for which I am incredibly grateful. 

Irrational Man (July 17) A new Woody Allen film is the highlight of every summer for me and I am intrigued to see what two idiosyncratic talents like Woody & Joaquin Phoenix have done together.  I have never been a big fan of Joaquin's but this film may change my tune about him. 

Learning to Drive (August 24) This is the film that inspired this entire blogpost.  Patricia Clarkson is one of the greatest character & supporting actors ever and she is actually starring in a movie this time, opposite the always astonishing Sir Ben Kingsley. 

Paper Towns (July 24) After last summer's wonderful The Fault in Our Stars (and my favorite film of 2014!) I am eager to see the lighter side of writer (and now executive producer) John Green with his new muse, the irrepressible Nat Wolff.   

Ricki & the Flash (August 7) Penned by Diablo Cody, with Meryl Streep as a rock star (yes please!) and co-starring Rick Springfield.  That's my idea of summer fun!

And yes - I have to admit that there are a few non-indies (which interestingly star mostly men) that I am looking forward to as well: 

Entourage (June 3) I am not expecting greatness, but I am from Queens and I love the boys!  This movie is probably the equivalent of a guilty pleasure beach read.

Spy (June 5) So far, Melissa McCarthy & writer/director Paul Feig are 2 for 2 (Bridesmaids & The Heat) and 3's a charm.

 

Ted 2 (June 26) I laughed my face off watching Ted so if this sequel is even half as funny, I will be satisfied.

  

Magic Mike XXL (July 1) I am a red-blooded heterosexual woman. Enough said.

 

And last but definitely not least...  

Trainwreck (July 17) Amy Schumer is one of the most distinctive & groundbreaking talents around right now and the combination of her & Judd Apatow is a match made in film comedy heaven. I predict that Schumer will be a household name by the end of the summer...

 

 

Image = 'Tis the Season for Great Indies

I am more excited about this current season of films than I have been in a very long time.  It’s a wonderfully unusual year because it is chock full of indies with no big studio period saga in sight.  My how times have changed since the ‘80s…

It is also most definitely the year of the actor. 

Most of the buzz that has already come from festivals like Toronto & Venice is about films that feature a strong male lead – and there are many.  The one that I am most looking most forward to is Birdman – opening today.  I have always felt that Michael Keaton was incredibly underrated as an actor and Riggan in Birdman could be the role that changes this forever.

I’ve already seen St. Vincent, which is wonderful and I would be shocked if Bill Murray is not recognized for his multi-layered performance.

I can’t say that I am actually looking forward to seeing Foxcatcher (although I will most definitely see it!) because I know it will be dark & disturbing, but I am looking forward to hearing Steve Carell’s name A LOT during awards season.

On more than one viewing, I couldn't make it through the trailer for The Theory of Everything without sobbing and I am a sucker for a love story.  It looks like a gorgeous, heartbreaking tribute to a genius and Eddie Redmayne is a shoo-in just for the physicality of the performance.

It’s always good to play “gay for pay” and that’s what Benedict Cumberbatch does in The Imitation Game – yes a period piece, but still an indie.

And Whiplash could very well change the career & Hollywood status of already deeply respected character actor JK Simmons.

There may also be a few roles in very small films that get recognized.  Bill Hader is subtly great doing drama for the first time in The Skeleton Twins and Jenny Slate is one of my favorite performances of the year in Obvious Child.  Please don’t let me down, Independent Spirit Awards!

And it’s not technically an indie (or a small film) but I hope no one forgets about The Fault in Our Stars, one of the best written films I have EVER seen and a breakout performance by Ansel Elgort.  

The one & only film that has acclaim for an actress so far is Wild and Reese Witherspoon is already an Oscar winner so it’s tough to get too excited about that.  One film that may change this is Into the Woods.

But it’s all about the boys this year, which is fitting since the season kicked off with a little film called Boyhood.  

Image = Indie or what?

What is going on with indie film these days?  In the past few years there have been some truly great independent films.  Ruby Sparks, Jeff Who Lives at Home, Any Day Now, In a World…,  Enough Said and Nebraska - just to name a few.

Me with Lake Bell - Writer/Director of In a World...

I have been blown away by many films with a unique take on storytelling, a great effort by a first time writer/director and emotionally impacting characters and plots.  Lately though, I feel like every indie I see has a fatal flaw – like killing off a main character for no apparent reason.  Or – starting off as one genre, then becoming a totally different one and then changing back again.  WTF? 

I felt this way about everything I saw this year at Tribeca and the trend continues at subsequent screenings.  I just saw Words and Pictures which started off strong with many redeeming qualities.  Great script and powerful performances by Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche, but it was at least 15 minutes too long.  And the story - which starts off with an English teacher and an art teacher arguing the merits of words versus pictures (great concept!), became a dark, melodramatic love story based on the old chestnut of two characters who hate each other falling in love.  I would think that above all - indies would be much more economical with their exposition.  The budgets are small and the shooting days are limited.  Feeling that an indie is too long is absurd.  I come from the school that I don’t care how long a movie is – just as long as it doesn’t feel that way.  When it feels that way – and it wasn’t worth the wait – there’s a problem.

The other thing I don't understand is why are festivals like Tribeca showing films that already have distribution and/or major celebrity involvement?  There are so many tiny films that desperately need exposure, so why does Courtney Cox need to show her film at festivals? And what sense does it make that Jon Favreau, one of the biggest directors in Hollywood wins $25,000 (although Chef is absolutely wonderful and I heard Favreau donated the money to charity but that's beside the point) for his film when other unknown filmmakers are much more in need of financing?  The line between indie and mainstream is very vague these days and it makes me very sad.          

     

Image = Havana Film Festival

Alina Rodriguez & Armando Valdes Freire

In the last few years I have noticed that it's more difficult to see foreign films in the US - even for a cinephile like me.  Maybe it has something to do with the shrinking of the world economy and limited distribution - I don't know.  Regardless - it is always a treat to see something outstanding from another country to remind me that the world of film extends far beyond Hollywood.  

On the red carpet at HFFNY

I recently attended the opening night of the 15th Havana Film Festival in New York.  In addition to a great deal of Cuban pride in the air and a lively party at the Copacabana, I got to see the US premiere of an exceptional film called Conducta (Behavior) from Cuba.  Conducta is a coming of age story of a troubled young boy who has a close relationship with his teacher, who fights for him when no one else will.  It is a bold commentary, with a phenomenal script, about  on challenging the status quo.  The performances are also extremely powerful - helmed by veteran actress Alina Rodriguez and newcomer Armando Valdes Freire.  Without seeing any other narrative films in the festival, I was not at all surprised when Conducta won HFFNY's awards for both Best Picture and Best Actress.  It is one of those rare films that makes an indelible impression by inspiring you to think, making you laugh and tugging at your heart strings in an unapologetic way.  Those - I believe - are the qualities of a great work of art.    



  

Image = Indie Oscar Gold

Everyone has been asking me for my take on the Oscars and although I wasn’t planning to blog post-Oscar, I decided I would give the people what they want.  I don’t have a lot to say because astonishingly everyone and everything I wanted to win actually won.  This by the way has never happened before - ever. 

 

 

It is quite amazing that all four acting awards and Best Picture went to independent films.  That is definitely an optimistic statement for the present and near future of film making.  There is a contingent of the industry that is still dominated by big budget studio blockbusters with little artistic substance.  However – there’s a current wave of smaller films made possible by wealthy and powerful individuals who believe in the projects and the filmmakers.  In 2013, these people included Brad Pitt (12 Years a Slave), Megan Ellison (Her & American Hustle) and visionary producers like Cassian Elwes, who took a risk on a project like Dallas Buyers Club after it had been passed on dozens of times.   

Also - I find it wonderfully ironic that Matthew McConaughey received the highest honor in the industry for probably the smallest paycheck of his career.  Dallas Buyers Club was made for 5 million dollars so nobody made a lot of money up front.  But its critical success and 3 Oscars will help it earn a lot more in DVD sales and beyond. 

I am glad that the days of one movie sweeping the Oscars seem to be behind us.  Now it’s about the work and spreading the wealth – and that’s a very good thing.

Image = Best of 2013

With the Oscars just about a month away - it's time to declare my favorite films of 2013.  So here they are - in no particular order - except for 12 Years a Slave which is simply the Best Picture of 2013 because it is the most courageous & indelible.  All the films on my Best of list are great for different reasons.  My main criteria are a unique approach to film making (Gravity, Inside Llewyn Davis) and/or storytelling (All is Lost, In a World...), a great script (Philomena), sensational acting (Dallas Buyers Club, Blue Jasmine, Saving Mr. Banks) and a significant emotional impact (Enough Said, Last Vegas).  Most have more than one of these qualities.  2013 was an exceptional year for films - both big & small.   

 

12 Years a Slave

 

Before Midnight

 

Nebraska

 

Philomena

 

Lee Daniels' The Butler

 

Enough Said

 

Dallas Buyers Club

 

Bridegroom

 

All is Lost

 

Inside Llewyn Davis

 

Blue Jasmine

 

Gravity

 

In a World...

 

Last Vegas

 

Saving Mr. Banks

 

Image = Crowdfunding for Famous Actors?

Zach Braff has gotten a lot of publicity this week – both positive & negative.  He’s been criticized about his crowdfunding campaign but he’s also raised $2.5 million on Kickstarter for his new film Wish I Was Here.  Personally I am torn about Braff’s fundraising success.  In his Kickstarter video, Braff says he didn’t want private “money people” to have final cut or dictate casting choices.  This is a very good argument.  Woody Allen built an entire career based upon this after a horrible experience making What’s New Pussycat.  But there are a lot of indie filmmakers (Ed Burns, Noah Baumbach, Mark & Jay Duplass, etc.) who have commercial success and Hollywood connections (like Braff) and also make indie after indie without selling their souls.  But it also doesn’t say anywhere on Kickstarter’s website that one has to be starving artist to apply.   

It’s easy to criticize famous people – because they’re out there – visible.  I heard one criticism on TV (I think it was SNL?!) - “Hey Zach – here’s an idea - how about using some of that Scrubs money?”  But in his very funny, very persuasive video, Braff is very convincing about involving all backers in the process and also confirms that he is in fact contributing an “ass-ton” of his own money.  It’s an interesting process – based on how much you donate, there are benefits promised, from t-shirts to invitations to screenings.  And apparently backers receive a lot of updates during the process as well.  It sounds cool.  I’m actually thinking of kicking in (pun intended) $10 just to get emails from Zach Braff.  He’s a funny guy.                    

I think the idea of crowdfunding in general is creatively brilliant & just plain inspired.  People need money for something and they ask THE WORLD for help.  Love it.  Recently, actress Karen Black raised over $45,000 on Gofundme after she spent all of her money from making movies with Jack Nicholson trying to cure her cancer.  Essentially, the world can help save her life.  That’s damn cool.  Is making movies anywhere near as important as saving a life?  Maybe.  I personally can’t imagine my life if no one ever made another independent film. 

The world is changing very rapidly.  We live most of our lives online.  The economy sucks.  A lot of things are harder than they used to be.  Even Woody Allen left New York to make movies for a while because it was easier to get funding in Europe.  Zach Braff is very social media savvy.  Maybe this is the only way that he can conceive of doing this project.  Maybe he just doesn’t want to be alone.  Maybe Braff’s a trailblazer and this is the way of things to come.  All I can say is that Garden State is one of the most unique films I’ve ever seen and I’d like to see what else he has to offer. 

Let's continue a dialogue about this.  What do you think?