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From: owner-movies-digest@lists.xmission.com (movies-digest) To: movies-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: movies-digest V2 #82 Reply-To: movies-digest Sender: owner-movies-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-movies-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk movies-digest Monday, September 7 1998 Volume 02 : Number 082 Re: [MV] The Spanish prisoner Re: [MV] Mamet!!! [MV] 54 review [MV] REVIEW: ROUNDERS [MV] Mamet et al [MV] unsubscribe Re: [MV] Mamet et al [MV] Film Threat Weekly : 9-7-98 : Slate II, Take 37 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 07 Sep 1998 02:56:29 -0700 From: Jason Cormier <movieman@netcom.ca> Subject: Re: [MV] The Spanish prisoner Good call on every film mentioned here - Mamet certainly has a way with word which is most evident with his Pulitzer Prize winning play Glengarry Glenross - absolutely amazing - it gets better every time I watch it! I also loved Spanish Prisoner - as well as the performers. I can see how one would see that Pidgeon's (Mamet's wife) performance might be off - but I enjoyed the kwirkiness of it...Also check out Wag the Dog which was scripted by...you geussed it... At 10:14 PM 8/27/1998 +0100, you wrote: >>>> <excerpt> <fontfamily><param>Arial</param><smaller> </smaller></fontfamily> Leticia wrote... >> >> [Romero, Leticia] I loved House of Games!! Mamet is a closet grifter >> who loves putting one over on the audience, including passing his wives >> off as good actresses! The Spanish Prisoner is a very cool movie -- the >> performances are little off by everyone except Steve Martin... have you >> seen it yet? >> <bold><bigger>Not yet.......does'nt open here till tomorrow. Hope to see it next week. Talking of Mamet......another of my favourites is one he scripted called "Glengarry Glenross". An amazing cast and sharp dialogue make it a joy to watch. </bigger></bold>> </excerpt><<<<<<<< Jay the Movieman movieman@netcom.ca [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 07 Sep 1998 02:58:49 -0700 From: Jason Cormier <movieman@netcom.ca> Subject: Re: [MV] Mamet!!! Ah - another Mamet fan! I felt exactly the same way about Oleanna as well! I love William H. Macy (and he totally deserved the Oscar for Fargo - but i won't get into that right now!) Hip hip hooray for Mamet! (minus The Edge of course...) At 10:32 AM 8/28/1998 +0100, you wrote: >>>> <excerpt> <fontfamily><param>Arial</param><smaller> </smaller></fontfamily>>Yes!! We have so much fun in the supermarket, people staring at us as if we >were having an actual conversation.... evil I know, but I'm working on it... <bold><bigger>My God!! It was'nt the "Brass balls" speech was it! :-) Incidentally, have you seen "Oleanna" ? It's one of those films that starts poorly but then sucks you in totally. Very stagey but the plot evolves into a real "Shout at the screen" experience. You really should write longer posts, you are quite amusing. What are some of your favourite movies?~ Gerry T ~~~~~ I think I could turn and live with animals, they are so placid and self contained, I stand and look at them long and long. They do not sweat and whine about their condition, They do not lie awake and weep for their sins, they do not make me sick discussing their duty to God, not one is dissatisfied, not one demented with the mania of owning things, Not one kneels to another nor to his own kind that lived thousands of years ago, not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth. Walt Whitman. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </bigger></bold> </excerpt><<<<<<<< Jay the Movieman movieman@netcom.ca [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 07 Sep 1998 03:12:50 -0700 From: Jason Cormier <movieman@netcom.ca> Subject: [MV] 54 review Movieman's back and he's got a couple of reviews for ya... 54 is a movie about the 70's and that's about it. Not too much character involvement or plot - but the atmosphere it creates is certainly fun to watch. I was amazed by the sights of this club - so extravagant and outlandish. The best thing about this movie had to be Mike Myers performance - I really enjoyed his approach to this character and it didn't feel like he was Wayne or Dieter or Austin Powers - he really did some acting - pretty neat! I'd give this a mild 71%. The Opposite of Sex, however, had me on the edge of my seat. Not for the suspense or action (as there was not much of that!) but the sheer audacity of this movie's choices. It takes risks and I believe it pays off as we see things we don't see in conventional films. This movie is fresh, alarming and you'll never know what turn it'll make next...I give 'er an 88%. Jay the Movieman movieman@netcom.ca [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1998 09:11:35 -0600 (MDT) From: Scott Renshaw <renshaw@inconnect.com> Subject: [MV] REVIEW: ROUNDERS ROUNDERS (Miramax) Starring: Matt Damon, Edward Norton, Gretchen Mol, Martin Landau, John Malkovich, John Turturro, Michael Rispoli, Famke Janssen. Screenplay: David Levien and Brian Koppelman. Producers: Ted Demme and Joel Stillerman. Director: John Dahl. MPAA Rating: R (profanity, violence, adult themes) Running Time: 119 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw. In the ongoing tastes-great-less-filling verbal war of attrition between John Q. Critic and Joe B. Average Movie-Goer, a crucial common ground often gets overlooked. On the same fundamental level, every one of us loves to be taken somewhere we've never been before, to be told a story in a way it's never been told before. Movies are our eyes to previously unseen worlds, whether that new world is the surface of an asteroid, the deck of the Titanic, or behind the lines with World War II soldiers. At their most engrossing, movies offer the giddy thrill of the utterly new. At its most engrossing, that's exactly what ROUNDERS offers: a fascinating glimpse inside the world of high-stakes poker. Our tour guide is Mike McDermott (Matt Damon), a brilliant young rounder (i.e., a professional who makes the rounds at local poker games) who loses a $30,000 bankroll on one bad night. Nine months later, Mike is walking the straight-and-narrow, having sworn off the game at the insistence of his girlfriend Jo (Gretchen Mol) and devoted himself to his legal studies. But trouble is just around the corner in the person of Mike's old pal Worm (Edward Norton), just out of prison with an ever-accumulating gambling debt hanging around his neck. In order to save that neck -- and his own when he makes the mistake of vouching for Worm -- Mike has to get back into the game and use every trick he ever learned to win the biggest games of his life. And oh, how much we learn while he does so. Writers David Levien and Brian Koppelman use Damon's narration much the same way Ray Liotta's narration was used in GOODFELLAS -- as a sociology lesson. We learn why Texas hold-'em is the high stakes game of choice, how real players lure the amateurs into big pots, and how Mike spots the "tells" of his opponents to help make his playing decisions. It's utterly fascinating, whether the setting is a back alley card room or a gaudy Atlantic City casino. Damon anchors the story in a solid performance as a man beginning to understand that he has a gift, not a problem. Though hooked on the thrill of winning, he's no different than a performer hooked on the thrill of an audience's reaction. Through his eyes we see poker as an art, not an addiction. ROUNDERS has such a solid hook that it's disappointing to watch it drift into a handful of distracting sub-plots. The relationship between Mike and Jo is too vaguely defined for their fate to matter, yet director John Dahl (THE LAST SEDUCTION) lingers on their confrontations as though the obligatory love story were dramatically potent. John Turturro's role as the small-time gambler who acts as Mike's mentor is also under-developed, as is the potentially compelling interaction between Mike and an understanding law professor (a very good Martin Landau). Even the old-school chemistry between Damon and Norton -- full of almost-charming, can't-help-myself sleaze as the compulsively crooked Worm -- feels less genuine than it should. If anything positive comes out of these half-formed relationships, it's the sense that Mike's best friend is really the game. Damon's charisma is never more potent than in the climactic showdown with the Russian gangster who beat him in the game that broke him (John Malkovich, employing his dead eyes to perfect effect and a Boris Badinov accent with considerably less success). It's a confrontation where Mike's life is on the line, but the drama is always in the game, not the potential outcome. For that confrontation, the narration grows conspicuously silent at key points, trusting you to grasp the game to which you have been introduced. Viewers who used to think of poker simply as gambling may have to re-think their position after sitting through ROUNDERS. This tale shows us a different world entirely -- the world of card-player as tortured artist. On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 high stakes: 7. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit Scott Renshaw's MoviePage http://www.inconnect.com/~renshaw/ *** Subscribe to receive new reviews directly by email! See the MoviePage for details, or reply to this message with subject line "Subscribe". - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1998 20:38:33 +0100 From: "Gerald Taylor" <geeg@vossnet.co.uk> Subject: [MV] Mamet et al This is a multi-part message in MIME format. - ------=_NextPart_000_0014_01BDDA9F.7BA35980 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Jay wrote...... -----Original Message----- From: Jason Cormier <movieman@netcom.ca> To: movies@lists.xmission.com <movies@lists.xmission.com> Date: 07 September 1998 08:00 Subject: Re: [MV] Mamet!!! =20 =20 Ah - another Mamet fan! I felt exactly the same way about Oleanna as = well! I love William H. Macy (and he totally deserved the Oscar for = Fargo - but i won't get into that right now!) Hip hip hooray for Mamet! = (minus The Edge of course...) =20 At 10:32 AM 8/28/1998 +0100, you wrote:=20 =20 =20 =20 JAY......you obviously have taste. I finally saw "The spanish = prisoner" and thought it very good........very similar to "House of = Games" but I'm not complaining as it is still head and shoulders above = most films I've seen this year. As you appear to have seen a lot of = films.....care to tell me some of your favourites? =20 =20 ~ Gerry T ~~~~~ I think I could turn and live with animals, they are so placid = and self contained, I stand and look at them long and long. They do not sweat and whine about their condition, They do not lie awake and weep for their sins, they do not make me sick discussing their duty to God, not one is dissatisfied, not one demented with the mania of = owning things, Not one kneels to another nor to his own kind that lived = thousands of years ago, not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth. = Walt Whitman. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ =20 =20 =20 =20 =20 =20 =20 =20 =20 =20 =20 - ------=_NextPart_000_0014_01BDDA9F.7BA35980 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN"> <HTML> <HEAD> <META content=3Dtext/html;charset=3Diso-8859-1 = http-equiv=3DContent-Type><!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD W3 = HTML//EN"> <META content=3D'"MSHTML 4.72.2106.6"' name=3DGENERATOR> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff> <DIV>Jay wrote......</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE=20 style=3D"BORDER-LEFT: #000000 solid 2px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-LEFT: = 5px"> <DIV>-----Original = Message----- From:=20 Jason Cormier <<A=20 = href=3D"mailto:movieman@netcom.ca">movieman@netcom.ca</A>> To: = <A=20 = href=3D"mailto:movies@lists.xmission.com">movies@lists.xmission.com</A> = <<A=20 = href=3D"mailto:movies@lists.xmission.com">movies@lists.xmission.com</A>&g= t; Date:=20 07 September 1998 08:00 Subject: Re: [MV]=20 Mamet!!! </DIV>Ah - another Mamet fan! I felt exactly = the same=20 way about Oleanna as well! I love William H. Macy (and he totally = deserved=20 the Oscar for Fargo - but i won't get into that right now!) Hip hip = hooray=20 for Mamet! (minus The Edge of course...) At 10:32 AM = 8/28/1998 +0100,=20 you wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE> <?fontfamily><?param Arial><?smaller><FONT=20 size=3D4>JAY......you obviously have taste. I finally saw = "The=20 spanish prisoner" and thought it very good........very = similar to=20 "House of Games" but I'm not complaining as it is = still head=20 and shoulders above most films I've seen this year. As you = appear=20 to have seen a lot of films.....care to tell me some of your=20 = favourites? <?/smaller><?/fontfamily>~ Gerr= y=20 T ~~~~~ I think I could turn and live with animals, they = are so=20 placid and self contained, I stand and look at them long and=20 long. They do not sweat and whine about their = condition, They do=20 not lie awake and weep for their sins, they do not make me = sick=20 discussing their duty to God, not one is dissatisfied, not = one=20 demented with the mania of owning things, Not one kneels to = another=20 nor to his own kind that lived thousands of years ago, not = one is=20 respectable or unhappy over the whole=20 = earth. &nb= sp; &nbs= p; = ; = &= nbsp; =20 Walt=20 = Whitman. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <BR= > </BLOCKQUOTE> </BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML> - ------=_NextPart_000_0014_01BDDA9F.7BA35980-- [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1998 15:37:15 EDT From: RickH22@aol.com Subject: [MV] unsubscribe In a message dated 98-09-07 11:14:30 EDT, you write: << 0 EDT From: renshaw@inconnect.com (Scott Renshaw) Sender: owner-movies@lists.xmission.com Reply-to: movies@lists.xmission.com To: renshaw@inconnect.com ROUNDERS (Miramax) Starring: Matt Damon, Edward Norton, Gretchen Mol, Martin Landau, John Malkovich, John Turturro, Michael Rispoli, Famke Janssen. Screenplay: David Levien and Brian Koppelman. Producers: Ted Demme and Joel Stillerman. Director: John Dahl. MPAA Rating: R (profanity, violence, adult themes) Running Time: 119 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw. >> [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 07 Sep 1998 06:04:23 -0700 From: Jason Cormier <movieman@netcom.ca> Subject: Re: [MV] Mamet et al Some faves eh? Well I am currently into film noir...Double Idemnity is one great flick as well as almost any Fritz Lang movie - M, Metropolis, You Only Live Once, Fury, Woman in the Window, Scarlett Street...all amazing! Out of the more current type stuff...I enjoy Delicatessen and City of the Lost Children (French and amazing - sci-fi-ish), any Roman Polanski (The Tenant, Repulsion, Chinatown, Rosemary's Baby, Death and the Maiden, Bitter Moon, Frantic...), any Stanley Kubrik (Shining, Clockwork Orange, The Killing, Paths of Glory, Spartacus...), any Coen Bros (Fargo, Hudsucker Proxy, Raising Arizona, Blood Simple, Big Lebowski...) any Sam Raimi (Evil Dead, Darkman, Quick and the Dead and the upcoming Simple Plan) any Terry Gilliam (Brazil, Fisher King, 12 Monkeys...), any Woody Allen movie (Annie Hall, Bananas, Everyone Says I Love You, Deconstructing Harry, Take the Money and Run, Play it Again Sam...) as well as the more popular type movies like all Spielberg films, all Harrison Ford Films, almost all Steve Martin films, great action movies like the Indy series, Die Hard, Back to the Future, Terminators, as well as any scary movie - Thing, Shallow Grave, Misery, Dario Argento films (Suspuria, Terror at the Opera, The Church), Scream, Dead Zone, and The Shining! So that's it for me...how 'bout you?!:-) At 08:38 PM 9/7/1998 +0100, you wrote:=20 >>>> <excerpt><smaller>Jay wrote...... </smaller><excerpt> <bold><fontfamily><param>Arial</param><smaller>-----Original Message----- From: </smaller></fontfamily></bold><fontfamily><param>Arial</param><smaller>Jason Cormier <<<<mailto:movieman@netcom.ca>movieman@netcom.ca> <bold>To: </bold><<mailto:movies@lists.xmission.com>movies@lists.xmission.com <<<<mailto:movies@lists.xmission.com>movies@lists.xmission.com> <bold>Date: </bold>07 September 1998 08:00 <bold>Subject: </bold>Re: [MV] Mamet!!! </smaller></fontfamily>Ah - another Mamet fan! I felt exactly the same way about Oleanna as well! I love William H. Macy (and he totally deserved the Oscar for Fargo - but i won't get into that right now!) Hip hip hooray for Mamet! (minus The Edge of course...) At 10:32 AM 8/28/1998 +0100, you wrote:=20 <excerpt>=20 <bold><bigger>JAY......you obviously have taste. I finally saw "The spanish prisoner" and thought it very good........very similar to "House of Games" but I'm not complaining as it is still head and shoulders above most films I've seen this year. As you appear to have seen a lot of films.....care to tell me some of your favourites? </bigger></bold> ~ Gerry T ~~~~~ I think I could turn and live with animals, they are so placid and self contained, I stand and look at them long and long. They do not sweat and whine about their condition, They do not lie awake and weep for their sins, they do not make me sick discussing their duty to God, not one is dissatisfied, not one demented with the mania of owning things, Not one kneels to another nor to his own kind that lived thousands of years ago, not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth. Walt Whitman. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <bold> </bold> </excerpt> </excerpt> </excerpt><<<<<<<< Jay the Movieman movieman@netcom.ca [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1998 23:06:18 EDT From: FTWeekly00@aol.com Subject: [MV] Film Threat Weekly : 9-7-98 : Slate II, Take 37 FILM THREAT WEEKLY "Hollywood's Indie Voice of the New Millennium" ============================= Slate II, Take 37 : September 7th, 1998 ============================= http://www.filmthreat.com ============================= DEATH OF A LEGEND:Legendary director Akira Kurosawa died in Tokyo Sunday, at age 77, from a stroke. Kurosawa leaves behind such classics as "Seven Samurai", "Rashoman, "Ran", "Yojimbo" (Sergio Leone's inspiration for "Fistful of Daollars"), and "Hidden Fortress", (George Lucas' inspiration for "Star Wars"). Kurosawa's passing represents a tragic loss for the film industry. <===========Deluxe======Widescreen======Edition ===========> THIS WEEK "Right here, right now." =========================================== ùù> NEWS: Where objectivity is strangely absent. ùù> BOXOFFICE CHART: Who's number one at the boxoffice? ùù> PICKS OF THE WEEK: A load of plugs. ùù> BIG SCREEN: In theaters now! ùù> EDINBURGH FILM FESTIVAL: Festival Reviews from Merry Old England ùù> AN INDIE PRODUCTION DIARY: The adventure continues... SUBSCRIBE "Unless you already did." =========================================== Subscribe/Unsubscribe by sending an e-mail to FilmThreat@aol.com. CLASSIFIEDS "If you advertise, they will come." =========================================== Reach over 55,000 film fanatics on the net. For our reasonable ad rates, e- mail filmthreat@aol.com. NO DANCE FILM FESTIVAL The NO DANCE Film & Multimedia Festival is accepting entries for its 2nd annual alternative D.I.Y. festival in Park City, Utah January 1999. Seeking features, docs, shorts, and music videos. Screenings on DVD, VHS and internet streaming. Awards, prizes and parties. Deadline November 20th, 1998. Check web site (http://www.6161.com) for application, or send SASE to: NO DANCE Film & Multimedia Festival, 703 Pier Avenue #675, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254 http://www.6161.com ATOMIC HOLLYWOOD - $3.00 VIDEO SAVINGS! Hard to find videos at www.atomichollywood.com. Many titles. Readers of Film Threat Weekly will get a special $3.00 discount on all videos when they key "FTW". http://www.atomichollywood.com SIX STRING SAMURAI GALA PREMIERE SCREENING - YOUÆRE INVITED!!! The best indie film of 1998, "Six String Samurai" will screen in Los Angeles on Thursday, September 17th at 7:30 pm at the Sunset 5. Director Lance Mungia and star Jeffrey Falcon will be there giving away posters, soundtrack CDs and other goodies at the screening to benefit the Slamdance Film Festival. The $20 tickets also include admittance to the premiere party at Union. Get the details on the site. Hurry!! http://www.slamdance.com THE NEWS "Filtered and manipulated. Just like the real news." =========================================== Our top story... THE NEW GODS SCREENS AT THE 2ND ANNUAL HERMOSA BEACH FILM FESTIVAL "The New Gods" will screen as part of the second annual Hermosa Beach Film Festival September 10th -13th. The guerrilla-budgeted film made its premiere at the æ97 HBFF, winning the Audience Award for best feature. It is the debut film for writer/director James Boyd, and is produced by Slamdance Film Festival Director, Peter Baxter. Mixing elements of Jack Kerouac, Jim Morrison, and Kurt Cobain, "The New Gods" chronicles the struggle of an artist in the underground music scene of a small town, who uses his gift of poetry to escape the violent stomping grounds of his youth. The surreal drama was shot guerrilla-style on the streets of Los Angeles for $65,000, and includes a soundtrack from the Lordz of Brooklyn, Velvet Chain, The Drakes, and Pomegranate. The 35mm film was selected to the æ98 South By Southwest Film Festival, æ98 Cannes You Dig It? Film Festival, æ98 Texas Film Festival, and æ98 NO DANCE alternative Film Festival in Park City, Utah. "The New Gods" was also selected by Avid Technologies to take part in their 1998 Sundance Film Festival ôNew Mediaö exhibit, and their 1998 NAB technology conference exhibit in Las Vegas, Nevada. "The New Gods" website (http://www.6161.com) has been featured on the nationally broadcast television show WILD WILD WEB, and receives thousands of hits per month. Additionally, Boyd will take part in the HBFF independent film seminar moderated by Peter Baxter, and including Jason McHugh (ôOrgazmoö), Kai Schoenhals (Open Door Ent.), Kirk Harris (ôLoserö), and new hot indie director Robert Meyer Burnett (ôFree Enterpriseö). "The New Gods" is the first feature film from 6161 Entertainment, which also sponsors the NO DANCE Film Festival and fledgling indie DVD/CD-ROM distributor Gorilla Interactive. 6161 Entertainment attends most major markets including Cannes, AFM, MIFED, Toronto, and Park City, Utah. "The New Gods will screen on Friday September 11th at 10:00 p.m. at the Hermosa Beach AMC Cinema Avant-Garde (1617 P.C.H./Hermosa Beach, CA). The Independent Film Panel will take place Saturday September 12th from 6-8 p.m. at the Hermosa Beach Civic Theater. http://www.6161.com Look for updates this week at Film Threat Online in the Dailies section at: http://www.filmthreat.com/Dailies-Today.htm BOXOFFICE CHART "Hollywood's Horse Race... and they're off!" =========================================== Weekend of September 4-7, Source: Exhibitor Relations Co. 1/ 2 THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY $11.6/$130.9 (8) 2/ 1 BLADE $10.4/$49.2 (3) 3/ 3 SAVING PRIVATE RYAN $8.6/$168.3 (7) 4/New KNOCK OFF $5.6 (1) 5/ 6 EVER AFTER $4.4/$54.4 (6) 6/ 4 54 $4.0/13.0 (2) 7/ 5 WHY DO FOOLS FALL IN LOVE? $3.6/$8.8 (2) 8/ 7 SNAKE EYES $3.4/$50.5 (5) 9/ 8 HOW STELLA GOT HER GROOVE BACK $3.1/$32.1 (4) 10/ 9 THE PARENT TRAP $2.9/$60.1 (6) 10/ - ARMAGEDDON $2.9/$192.2 (10) - - / - YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS $1.4 - - / - SLUMS OF BEVERLY HILLS $1.1 PICKS OF THE WEEK "Stuff we wanna plug." =========================================== UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL: Euro Underground kicks off its Second Annual Euro Underground Film Festival this October 14-18 in Krakow, Poland. Euro Underground will be exhibiting films and videos with an international program this year. Euro Underground has collected a program that includes work from: Serbia, Germany, Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Latvia, Italy, Poland, England, France, Scotland, South America, Thailand The United States, Canada and Australia. Contact Euro Underground by email info@eurounderground.org or call toll free 888.864.9644 fax 773.292.9205 or write Euro Underground at 1658 N. Milwaukee Ave Suite 142 Chicago IL, 60647. http://www.eurounderground.org TOURING FILM FESTIVAL: FlixTour is accepting submissions of feature length and short subject, narrative and documentaries for consideration to travel to colleges all across America for the Spring æ99 national tour. You must hurry, the deadline is fast approaching! All submissions must arrive no later than October 31, 1998. http://www.flixtour.com INDIE FILM SERIES: The Griffith Place Film division has announced Hollywood Shorts, a monthly short film series that features new shorts and their directors to the Hollywood film community. Three shorts will be featured per month, and the next screening will be held on October 11 in Los Angeles. Film must be no longer that 40 minutes. Original film can be filmed in any format, and will be grouped in the following genres: drama, comedy, animation, documentary. Film must be submitted on VHS tape before September 15th. Contact: Kimberley Browning, grifplace@aol.com FREE E-MAIL NEWSLETTER FOR SCREENWRITERS: The Pro Screenwriter newsletter contains features on screenwriting, book reviews, tips, contests and more. Email request to Linkwrite@aol.com. http://members.aol.com/linkwrite/profwrt.html VIDEO GAME: War Games from MGM Interactive for PC and PlayStation features all of the action of the film from the 80s and NONE of the Matthew Broderick. Hurray! Actually BroderickÆs character, David Lightman ties into the story but doesnÆt get in the way of blowing things up. Good fun! http://www.mgm.com BIG SCREEN "Coming Soon to a Theater Near You" =========================================== From five stars "Perfect! * * * * *" to one star "Crap! *" here's the lowdown. THE COLOR OF A BRISK AND SHINING DAY (NR) * * 1/2 I could be a smartass and crack that this dreamy and poetic film by Christopher Munch was neither brisk nor in color, but I won't. It wasn't exactly shining, either, although the sun was attempting to peek through the clouds and even occasionally succeeding. James Lee is a young Post-War Chinese-American who desperately loves trains. On vacation with his family, he learns about the Yosemite Valley Railroad, a nearly insolvent line built by his forefathers and now being sold at salvage prices. James scrapes up an investor and buys the line, determined to return it to its lost glory, despite the fact that he has exactly zero years experience in the railroad business. Such is the surface story, at least; the backdrop for the film's look at racism towards Asian-Americans, James' romance with an attractive Native American National Parks worker, his homosexual stirrings towards his best friend, (played by REM's Michael Stipe) and a squeamish incestuous subtext between James and his sister. Not exactly beer and a pizza kind of stuff. This was a pretty film to watch, what with its beautiful black and white Ansel Adams-ish Yosemite landscapes and all. Unfortunately, most of those pretty pictures were, what we call in the business, "filler" because even with all the above-mentioned subplots and issues, not all that much really happens. Instead, the film chugs along at the same constant speed as the Y.V.R.R's outdated steam engines. In spite of its visual beauty, "Day" plays like a long student film, full of highly stilted and artificially-flat dialogue. I found myself checking my watch half way through the film's 87 minutes; an indication that rather than being brisk, leaping and shining, this "Day" was partially cloudy at best. - Merle Bertrand EDINBURGH FILM FESTIVAL =========================================== by Ilana Lindsey TITANIC TOWN (TBC) * * * Titanic Town tells the inspiring true story of a West Belfast housewife who had the courage to stand up to both the English occupying government and the IRA during the 1970's. Her initial na∩ve plea for a 9-5 cease-fire is misconstrued and Berni finds herself first vilified for daring to criticize "the boys," then used as a political pawn by both sides of the conflict. Meanwhile, her family's resentment grows at what they see as her selfish need for attention. The story approaches "the troubles" from the cinematically unique perspective of the everyday person. Anyone can identify with Berni's desire to allow her family to go about their daily lives without the fear of being shot. Surreal scenes of young soldiers crouching in the family's flowerbeds work well. Unfortunately, much of screenwriter Anne Devlin's witty dialogue is buried by choppy editing and Roger Michell's lackluster direction. The somewhat jerky narrative, along with stiff performances by the younger members of the cast, adds to the overall unimpassioned quality of the film, despite Julie Walter's engaging and charismatic performance. LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS (R) (http://www.lockstock2barrels.com) * * * * * Guy Ritchie, the 29-year-old writer/director of LS&2SB, is one of those rare creatures who possess a combination of talent, technical skill, and the ability to tell a smart yet accessible story. He's a new and improved Danny Boyle and makes Tarantino look like a corporate video director. If we're lucky Hollywood (who has already snapped him up along with his 26-year-old producer, Matthew Vaughn) won't grind him into dust and we'll be seeing more of him in the future. The film tells the story of Eddie, a young West End geezer who's speciality is card playing. Eddie and his three best mates, Bacon, Soap and Tom, pool together ú100k so Eddie can participate in porn king/gangster boss Hatchet Harry's high stakes game of three card brag. Harry, of course, has no intention of losing to this young punk and Eddie and his mates end up stuck with a ú500k debt due within a week. The way in which the boys go about "earning" the necessary cash brings them in contact with British criminals of all varieties. The cast, which includes some authentic gangsters, universally lives up to the quality of the script. Bad boy footballer Vinnie Jones does a fine job as a menacing yet very reasonable debt collector with a soft spot for his precocious young son. The film is hilarious yet also contains a good quantity of tension and drama. The fast paced, complex story involves numerous characters and about five different interconnected plot lines. Ritchie's screenplay, however, is logically sound and easy to follow. His dialogue is beautiful û it's musical and witty and skilfully captures the diverse speech patterns of a whole variety of Brits from posh stoners to daft Liverpudlians. One scene is even subtitled for those of us who aren't fluent in cockney rhyming slang. Ritchie, however, is not only an excellent writer. His use of the camera is fresh, creative and totally effective. Dextrous editing, in combination with David A. Hughes and John Murphy's sharp and catchy score, gives the film an enjoyable manic energy. The high produced by watching this film remains potent for several hours after the film has ended. URBAN GHOST STORY (TBC) (http://www.livingspirit.com/ugs.htm) * * * Urban Ghost Story is an ambitious yet not entirely successful film from the writing/directing/producing team of Chris Jones and Genevieve Jolliffe. It combines elements of The Exorcist, Poltergeist, Hideaway and Carrie to tell the story of Lizzie, a 12 year old Glaswegian girl. After surviving a car crash in which her best friend is killed, Lizzie becomes convinced that her family's flat is haunted. Her mother contacts a tabloid newspaper and soon their flat is overrun with reporters, scientists, spiritualists and anyone else who thinks they can make a buck out of the situation. Stephanie Buttle portrays Lizzie as a belligerent, expressionless adolescent. Her performance is adequate, but not particularly affecting. The shaky production values betray the low budget and inexperience of the filmmakers. While the ugliness of the setting is obviously intended to enhance the ominous mood and highlight the grinding poverty in which Lizzie's family lives, the unrelenting gloom and lack of creative visuals quickly becomes wearying. What initially seems to be a rather humdrum ghost story eventually develops into something more interesting. The story explores grief and guilt from the perspective of a girl too young to really understand what she's going through. The strange occurrences in Lizzie's flat could be seen as either evidence of a poltergeist or as external manifestations of Lizzie's internal turmoil. Unfortunately, the story is far too long and disorganized û any tension built up by the groaning pipes and throbbing front door is diffused during the murky and static second act. Certain elements û such as the romance between Lizzie's mother and a tabloid reporter û aren't entirely convincing. While the eventual climax is satisfyingly cathartic, it is also both predictable and formulaic. IF ONLY (TBC) (http://www.pathe.co.uk) * Clumsily executed piffle. If Only is a one-dimensional film covering similar territory to Sliding Doors (apparently both films were shot during the same time period.) Victor Bukowski breaks up with his girlfriend, Sylvia, regrets his decision, and is then sent back in time and given a second chance by some magical garbage men. The paper-thin, contrived and illogical plot scripted by Rafa Russo isn't helped by Spaniard Maria Ripoll's awkward, rhythmless direction. Her visuals are alternately bland and mysteriously distracting (why exactly is the pianist practicing Lamaze breathing techniques?) The script is poorly structured with stale, on-the-nose dialog. The actors do the best they can with their inconsistent, one-dimensional roles. Douglas Henshall ("Angels and Insects") is crustily attractive as the constantly unshaven Victor, but has absolutely zero chemistry with either pretty but vacant Lena Headey as Sylvia or PenΘlope Cruz as Louise. THE GOVERNESS (R) (http://www.spe.sony.com/classics/governess/index.html) * * * Commercial director Sandra Goldbacher's first feature is beautifully filmed and covers interesting thematic ground. Unfortunately, it also suffers from a somewhat incredible and melodramatic story. Minnie Driver plays Rosina, an adventurous young Jewess who is forced to pose as a Christian in order to secure a position as a governess with a gentile family living in a secluded Scottish estate. She quickly seduces Charles Cavendish, the patriarch of the family, while assisting him with his experiments in the budding science of photography. Complications ensue when her lover proves unable to give her the complete attention that she craves. When Minnie Driver isn't staring yearningly through gauze at the camera she puts in a typically energetic and engaging performance. The film is gorgeously shot in a lush, sensual style that owes quite a large debt to Jane Campion û several scenes appear to be directly lifted from The Piano. While the imagery adds to the mood it ultimately feels overdone and self-indulgent. The Cavendishes have an inordinate amount of candles, tapestries and cushions lying about in odd places. Additionally, it's not exactly clear why Rosina appears to be dressed in PVC and leather. Goldbacher's screenplay does an admirable job of exploring aspects of identity, grief and obsession. It also provides the characters with refreshingly complex minds. While the film contains some beautiful moments, the story isn't entirely successful. Rosina is a rather unsympathetic heroine who behaves like an irresponsible and over passionate teenager. She enters the Cavendish family and willfully destroys it showing no thought or compassion for innocent parties. The film's contrived ending leaves the story feeling incomplete and unsatisfying. LOVE IS THE DEVIL (TBC) * * * * * In his first feature length film music video, commercial and short film director John Maybury provides a virtually identical sensation to that of looking upon one of Francis Bacon's paintings. This is in spite of the fact that Bacon's estate forbid the production to use any image that bore even an implied similarity to Bacon work. In a style demonstrating the influence of Lynch, Goddard and Fellini Maybury communicates sensually, rather than logically, drawing one deep into the emotional vortex of Francis Bacon's turbulent sado-masochistic relationship with manic depressive gangster, George Dyer. The resultant film is exhausting and devastating but also deeply satisfying. Derek Jacobi gives a powerful performance as Francis Bacon. He imitates the late artist's mannerisms and mode of speech to an eerily accurate degree. Daniel Craig's portrayal of the more elusive Dyer is equally disturbing yet effective. This is no conventional biopic. Maybury set out to "create atmosphere, not historical detail." The narrative takes second stage to the visceral experience of absorbing the film. The performances, the sound effects and music, the set designs, the way each scene is framed, and each word of the rather sparse dialogue all contribute to making Love is the Devil is a nightmarish, sordid, claustrophobic, yet supremely beautiful and communicative film. AN INDIE PRODUCTION DIARY (OR WHAT WE DID ON OUR SUMMER VACATION) =========================================== by Merle Bertrand Thursday August 27, 1998 I never quite believe that a three week indie shoot will actually make it to its third week. Actually, it's far more likely that the shoot'll get to the third week, all right, but will be waaay behind schedule by the time it does. I'm extraordinarily relieved that not only did "Adam & Ollie" reach that elusive third week, but we were on target when we did. Relieved because our third week was loaded with land mines, starting with two days in one of the most vile and disgusting houses I've ever seen. This whole Austin "Slacker" thing has gotta go. Maybe I'm just getting old and crabby, but two days of filming in a hovel that reeked of toe cheese was a bit much. That Adam (Ryan Wickerham) and Ollie (Marie Black) were able to do their "First Date" scene there without hurling deserves some sort of medal. Conversely, we invaded a multi-million dollar mansion on Day 15; the kinda place where just having the grip carts on the driveway made me nervous. After using the place's inherent Art Design to enhance our production value, we escaped without breaking anything. The rains returned to wreak havoc on Day 16, because even though we were shooting inside, we had to set lights outside. Fortunately, the place had cable and, obsessively studying the First Look Doppler Radar, we managed to successfully dodge the storms. Day 17 turned into a soggy nightmare, however, as steady rain made shooting outside the Travis County Courthouse impossible. So, after an on- the-spot rewrite, presto!: The scene took place inside and we kept on shooting. Our last day was also our longest at 13 1/2 hours. But, running on pure adrenaline, we finished principal photography about 4:15 am Monday morning... then had our own private block party until dawn in the middle of the street. After some pick-ups and a handful of final EFX shots today, we wrapped up the three week shoot. "Adam & Ollie" is now officially in the can. NEXT WEEK: A Final Wrap-up END CREDITS "Written, produced, and directed by . . ." =========================================== Publisher / Chris Gore Executive Publisher / Victor Minjares Contributors / Merle Bertrand, Tom Meek, Anthony Miele, Ron Wells Send us films, videos, CDs, games, screening passes: FILM THREAT, 5042 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 150, Los Angeles, CA 90036 Website: http://www.filmthreat.com Edress: FilmThreat@aol.com FILM THREAT WEEKLY is published by The Gore Group, LLC. All material ⌐ 1998 Gore Group Publications. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reprinted without written permission of the author. 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