Rocchi dug it, Jette-ski dug it -- and I did too! Coming soon is Bong Joon-ho'sThe Host, which is hitting North American theaters on January 26, courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. We've already covered the slimy, slithering hell out of this Korean monster epic, but I figured that anyone psyched to see the flick might enjoy sitting through a handful of clips from The Host. (Or maybe you'd rather NOT watch a bunch of isolated and semi-spoilery scenes from a film you're already planning to see. That's probably how I'd approach it.) Either way, the option is yours.
For those who plan to enjoy The Host in its entirety, I'll skip the clip synopses. Suffice to say the movie's about a giant mutated SOMETHING that rolls out of the Han River and turns all of Seoul into its own private buffet. A family of brave-yet-inept knuckleheads are the only thing that stand between "the host" and an eternity of Korean carnage. Oh, and there's some stuff in there about diseases and infections and archery, too. It's a really fun flick.
As the saying goes, "Nothing is certain except death and taxes," but a new documentary from James D. Scurlock is thinking we should add debt to the list. Magnolia has picked up the documentary Maxed Out, the film centers on the culture of debt and credit cards in America and the banks and companies that make a profit from it. Scurlock's film focuses on the people who have buried themselves in mortgages, loans, and credit card bills. The film also looks at the "debt industry" of bank collections and credit card companies. Scurlock has also written the book, Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders, that will hit bookstores in a timed release with the film. The book will stand alone and cover some different ground than the documentary. The film was screened at SXSW and generated interest as possibly the next big documentary hit.
Since Roger & Me, filmmakers haven't run out of subjects yet about the "plight of ordinary Americans." The film has been compared to Super Size Me and Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, and since they made a big splash in the press, Maxed Out will probably get a sizable theatrical release. Magnolia is planning on releasing the film this winter -- just remember to pay cash for those tickets.
This week on Coming Distractions, a special podcast -- an interview with Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing, co-directors of the controversial documentary Jesus Camp. Grady and Ewing spoke with Cinematical from New York, where they're currently prepping the Jesus Camp DVD -- and talked about how odd it can be when a marginal figure in your film becomes front-page news, as well as the reactions their subjects had to the finished film, and much much more. You can download the entire podcast here.
I wish I had more opportunities to watch short films. Erik's Eat My Shorts column isn't enough -- I always try to see at least one shorts program at film festivals (I'm especially fond of the animated films), and I'm usually thrilled when shorts appear before feature films. It's one reason why I look forward to Pixar movies: you get not only the feature but also a cool short. So you can imagine how pleased I am today to learn that once again, Magnolia Pictures and Shorts International are teaming up to distribute the 2006 Oscar-nominated shorts. Even better, the films will be shown in theaters before the Academy Awards ceremony, so we can actually make informed choices in the Oscar pool.
The unusual thing about the distribution deal this year is that it's so early -- no one knows yet exactly what the nominated shorts lineup will be. Last year, Magnolia announced a similar deal ... but not until February, after the Oscar nominations were publicized. It's a little weird to hear about distribution for as-yet-unnamed films, but I assume none of the filmmakers will object to this chance for wider exposure of their short films. The shorts will not only see theatrical release, but will distributed through Magnolia Home Entertainment (which I assume means a DVD release), and on other platforms. You may even be able to watch the films on your cell phone if that's your idea of a fun viewing experience. I prefer the theater myself. The shorts will appear in theaters in 20 cities (please please let one of them be Austin please) on Feb. 16, 2007, a little more than a week before the Oscars.
The controversy just won't stop swirling around documentary Jesus Camp, about children attending an Evangelical Christian camp. Just last week, we reported that Pastor Becky Fisher, who ran the Kids on Fire Christian Camp featured in the film, had shut the camp down after attacks of vandalism in the wake of the film's release. Yesterday came the more shocking news that Pastor Ted Haggard, president of the 30,000,000 strong National Association of Evangelicals, had placed himself on administrative leave from his church and stepped down from his position as president of the Association, in the aftermath of a stories on Denver talk radio and in the Denver Post that alleged the good pastor -- who has openly spoken out against homosexuals -- had been caught buying meth from a gay escort.
Haggard, who had recently attempted to distance himself from Jesus Camp (see the filmmakers' response to Haggard), at first vehemently denied the accusations made by Mike Jones of Denver in interviews on Denver talk radio and to the Denver post that he had had monthly sex with Haggard, who is married with five children, over a course of three years, and that Haggard used meth during their encounters. Just yesterday, Haggard's coworkers at his New Life Church were supporting him and declaring Jones' accusations to be patently untrue. Today, though, Haggard admitted to reporters that he had contacted Jones about purchasing meth, and that it is, in fact, his voice on the voice mail tapes that Jones had produced as evidence, but denied using the meth (see video of Haggard admitting to some of the allegations).
An email sent out by acting pastor of New Life Ross Parsley, printed in the Denver Post today, said in part, "the board of overseers has met with Pastor Ted. It is important for you to know that he confessed to the overseers that some of the accusations against him are true."
The best horror film I've seen all year is a documentary. Directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (The Boys of Baraka), Jesus Camp is about kids. They play. They talk. They love to sing and dance. And their parents want them to follow in the footsteps of the Lord. Nine-year old Rachael throws a bowling ball on an outing with her family and friends; then she crosses a few lanes and offers a Chick comic and some thoughts about God's love to an older woman at the alley. Ten-year-old Tori practices her leg-sweep dance moves to her favorite music, "Christian Heavy Metal Rock and Roll." Twelve-year-old Levi has rocker-kid hair and explains how "At 5, I got saved, because I just wanted more of life because there's just nothing that I thought was fun, that I thought was satisfying. ..."
There's no narration over Jesus Camp -- just the voices of Rachael and Levi and Tori, or people like Pentecostal children's minister Becky Fischer, or syndicated Christian talk radio host Mike Papantonio or Tori's mom, who says "Our kids are on loan to us from God, and someday we're going to have to answer to God about how we raised our children."
Jesus Camp, a documentary about kids attending evangelical Christian camps made by filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (Boys of Baraka), has already weathered one controversy about whether or not it would play at Michael Moore's Moorefest. As we reported in July, Magnolia Pictures acquired the film and wanted to pull it from Moore's festival, fearing that screening it there would mark the film as a Liberal touchstone, but Moorefest denied the request to pull the film and showed it anyhow.
Now another controversy is brewing around the film: It's not playing to the evangelical market the way Magnolia had hoped. In this video, Netscape's Karina Longworth interviews the film's directors, explores the film and why evangelicals might be turning away from it. You can watch the film right here, or download it over on Netscape.
Fay Grim, director Hal Hartley's follow-up to his 1997 cult favorite, Henry Fool, is just about as sharp, dark and funny as a Hartley fan could wish for. Henry Fool, in case you've missed seeing it, is a little gem of a film about a socially repressed young man, Simon Grim (James Urbaniak) who works as a garbage man to support his depressed mother and nymphomaniac sister, Fay (Parker Posey, in one of her best roles).
When Henry Fool, a vulgar, chain-smoking, self-styled intellectual takes up residence in the family basement to finish writing his "Confession" -- which he claims is so astounding it will turn the literary world upon its ear -- Simon befriends him, and Henry becomes his mentor. Simon eventually writes a book-length poem, which gets published and critically acclaimed, while Henry's confession is found to be inept and practically unreadable. When Henry accidentally kills their disgusting neighbor, Simon trades identities with Henry to help him escape.
When I started putting together my Toronto Midnight Madness wish list, the Korean monster mash known as The Host (aka Gwoemul) was at the very top of my list -- partially because I'd been hearing some really good buzz from other blogs and my Cinematical colleagues, but mainly because it's a flick about a genetically mutated fish-like mega-beast who invades the Korean streets and chomps down on civilians left and right. So after sitting down and enjoying the heck out of The Host, I was thrilled to jump across the street and shoot the breeze with director Bong Joon-ho, and here's how that conversation went down:
Scott: How hard is it to juggle multiple genres and have them gel into a cohesive whole?
Bong Joon-ho: To mix all those elements is not exactly like a bartender making cocktails. I don't say "I need 20% of this, 30% of that," but I try to stay faithful to the story, and hopefully the elements come out naturally. Just like my previous film, Memories of Murder, is a story about a serial killer investigation, the humor or the satire just comes out naturally.
As I was working on the screenplay and shooting The Host, I never thought I was "mixing up" those elements, but after the movie came out, people came to me and said "Oh, you mixed together all these different genres." I think the secret regarding this film lies with our actors. Whether they're doing the comedy, the tragedy, or the suspense, they do their best within the reality of the movie. They never overdo it.
That's definitely a testament to your actors. It's certainly not easy to balance broad comedy followed by horror scenes and heroic stuff and moments of sadness. So what monster movies did you love growing up, and which ones inspired you on The Host?
It wasn't a specific inspiration, but M. Night Shyamalan'sSigns focuses on the family as opposed to the aliens. So the core narrative of the film is focused on Mel Gibson's family, and that gave me some inspiration there. John Carpenter'sThe Thing, while not a specific influence on The Host, is a classic monster movie. Also Ridley Scott'sAlien.
In horror film -- as in so many things, really -- it's the small touches that count. Like while watching The Host,Joon-ho Bong's creature feature that's catapulted to the South Korean box office record books thanks to a mix of social commentary and serious monster action. I noted during a quiet moment with the monster that Bong's tadpole leviathan had a small bouquet of misshapen, deformed paw-lets sprouting from one of his feet. And I thought: Nice. After all, the thing is a mutant. ...
And it's a pretty mean mutant, too: Spawned by the careless disposal of formaldehyde from the U.S. Military base's morgue, leaping from the Han river to flash and slash through screaming crowds, stuffing humans into it's maw, retreating to a sewer-based lair to feast on victims dead and yet-living. It's a pretty unique creation, and all props go to San Francisco's The Orphanage FX house for creating such a nicely slick CGI beastie -- and to Bong for having the courage to set many scenes with the beast in full daylight.
It's my third consecutive visit to the Toronto International Film Festival, although I'm finding myself a bit more distracted than during previous trips Why? Well, because I have four of my Cinematical pals up here to hang out with, three amigos from Rotten Tomatoes, and a whole bunch of random friends that I get to see ONLY at film festivals. And if I have to choose between a 2.5-hour tearjerker from Romania, or having a semi-swanky meal with Rocchi, Fischer, Voynar and our new pal Alexia (videographer extraordinaire) -- well, that's not much of a decision, is it?
Which explains why I've only seen four films since arriving Thursday afternoon. Of course, three of those four movies hail from the Midnight Madness selection -- because that's my bread and butter, baby. Here's the scoop so far:
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan -- OK, so the initial public screening had some serious glitches (check out Kim's fantastic breakdown right here), but there was a press screening earlier this afternoon, and let me tell you fine folks something: I'm not prone to tossing out wild superlatives and giddy bits of over-praise, but wow -- this thing is easily one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. Seriously. Equal parts silly, sly, satirical and stunningly bizarre, this is a comedy that's going to be quoted and re-quoted for the next 15 years. Brazen, ballsy and absolutely brilliant. The Host -- Action, horror, comedy, adventure, sci-fi and drama all rolled into one (kind of overlong) package, The Host is a huge salad bar of a treat for the genre fans. It's about a giant tadpole-ish beastie who (literally) leaps out of Korea's Han River, chomps down on a few hundred people, and (allegedly) comes bearing a really nastily viral side effect. If Magnolia Pictures can find 20-ish minutes to chop out of this movie (and I'd happily tell them which scenes I think could be jettisoned), it'll be a cult classic before the end of next year.
Fido -- Whoops, my bad. Although it's definitely the kind of movie that would normally make Toronto's Midnight Madness line-up, this '50s-era zombie comedy falls under the Canada First designation -- because it's Canadian. Kim dug the flick just as much as I did, what with its crazy Zombie Knows Best approach and stellar cast. (Rocchi nailed it when he turned to me after the screening and said "It's George Romero meets Douglas Sirk!") Kim will have a full review up soon, and Lionsgate will be releasing the flick (relatively) soon, but so far the domesticated zom-com has earned three strong seals of approval from the Cinematicaleers.
Horror fans have lots of good reasons to admire Lionsgate. Say what you will about Saw and/or Hostel, but if you look back through LG's output over the last several years you're bound to find a fright flick (or six) you really admire. And although they have no problem putting together their own movies, some of the 'Gates' most colorful releases have been pick-ups from foreign lands -- High Tension (France), The Descent (UK), Undead (Australia), Ginger Snaps (Canada), Cabin Fever (North Carolina), etc.
But now it looks like another indie distributor has set its sights on doling out some of the foreign horror, and they're called Magnolia Pictures. Best known for supporting really solid titles like Dead Man's Shoes, Keane, Cavite and District B13, Magnolia is also the outfit that brought the original Pulse to American shores -- and now they're going back to the foreign horror well with a pair of highly-anticipated titles.
According to my gore-brothers over at BD.com, Magnolia will release Bong-joon Ho's enthusiastically acclaimed monster movie The Host on January 29th of next year, and they'll follow that up on March 9th with Severance, a "psycho in the woods" romp that comes from Christopher Smith, director of the generally underrated Creep. And here's the very best part: Both of these flicks will be playing at Toronto next month, so I don't have to wait for 2007! Oh wait, that's not the best part. That's the obnoxious part. My bad. In way of apology, please enjoy the Host trailer and the Severance trailer.
Anyway, if this keeps up I expect Lionsgate to just swoop in and say "Hey, good work, Magnolia. We're buying you."
As if being an indie-film lover in NYC wasn't already a dream come true, much of the city is going to be discounting the ticket price for independent films, too. Well, for a few days, anyway. In collaboration with the Independent Feature Project (IFP) -- which holds its annual market in September -- and its "Independent Film Week", 10 New York theaters will be reducing their admission on ALL shows (I am assuming this means non-indies, as well) from Monday, September 18 through Thursday, September 21. Many of the city's favorite art-house locations are included, although some are noticeably, and disappointingly, absent, such as Film Forum (I'll excuse them for being non-profit, and an otherwise wonderful establishment), the IFC Center, the Quad Cinemas and the Angelika Film Center. The fact that the Angelika isn't participating just goes to show that it no longer has any redeeming qualities left (and I'm not biased just because I used to work there). I mean, considering that it has been host to the IFP Market for most of its existence, one would think it should be included.
Anyway, if you don't mind seeing a movie for only $6 in a theater where you can't hear the subway roaring beneath your seat, you might want to hold off on seeing one of NYC's large selection of films until that special week. The places offering this deal are: Anthology Film Archives; Cinema Village; Landmark's Sunshine; Cobble Hill Cinemas; BAM Rose Cinemas; ImaginAsian; Museum of Modern Art; Walter Reade Theater; Brooklyn Heights Cinemas and Kew Gardens Cinemas.
Though it focuses on Milo (Zlatko Buric), a Yugoslav drug dealer familiar to anyone who has seen Pusher and Pusher II, the series' most recent installment takes place in a different world than the two previous films. Milo may only be a couple of rungs up the narcotics trade ladder from Frank and Tonny, but he lives the life of a respectable businessman, and as a result is light years from the hardscrable universe occupied by those men.
In place of the dingy, tiny apartments occupied by the characters in the previous films, Milo owns a spacious, pristine flat in the suburbs, complete with an enclosed backyard. When he drives through the city, the buildings literally look cleaner and more modern, and the sun a little brighter. Though he, like Frank and Tonny, relies primarily on drugs sales for his income, Milo also owns a small club, a business that seems stable and well-established. In addition, he actually has pocket money -- none of the day-to-day, hour-to-hour desperation experienced by those below him in the food chain for Milo. Instead, he pays cash for major incidental expenses, and can afford to both rent out a restaurant for his beloved daughter Milena's (Marinela Dekic) 25th birthday and hire what appears to be a party-planner for the occasion, as well.
Pusher III: I'm the Angel of Death opens somewhere the series has never ventured before: An NA meeting. Milo is there, reporting with absolute sincerity and commitment that he is on his fifth day -- this time -- without drugs. Though his focus at that moment is on Milena's upcoming party, he sincerely wants to be through with drugs forever -- when the meeting closes with the serenity prayer, followed by a shouted hope to return the following day, Milo's participation is full and heartfelt. Apart from a short interlude extracting smuggled ecstasy from a van just arrived from Holland, he looks for all the world like a normal, upper-class father, concerned about work and pleasing his spoiled daughter.
Frank (Kim Bodnia), the protagonist of Nicolas Winding Refn's debut feature Pusher, was a likable everyman who also happened to be a drug dealer in a lot of trouble. In that film, Frank's associate and sometime-friend Tonny (Mads Mikkelsen, soon to be seen as Le Chiffre in Casino Royale) seemed to be a bird of a different feather: His shaved head (complete with "RESPECT" tattooed across its back), lithe body and careless attitude suggested a man who wanted to be seen as a tough customer -- someone to be feared. In reality, though, Tonny was more interested in drinking with his friends and talking about sex than actually taking part in the violent, dangerous life that surrounded him. Despite his efforts to the contrary, he looked more like a naïve kid out for adventure than he did a hardened criminal.
In Pusher II: With Blood on My Hands, Tonny is forced to the foreground, and proves himself to be both more and less than he seemed. In the years between the two films, Tonny has grown from a scrawny, energetic kid into a strangely vacant adult, completely lost within his own life. The movie opens with him on the receiving end of a jailhouse monologue about how fear is the only thing that separates those who run the world from the sorry masses; once fear is conquered, one can do anything. Tonny listens blankly, the relevance of the story lost on him. Instead of comprehending what he hears, he simply stares until the speaker mentions the money Tonny owes him. Because the man knows and respects Tonny's father -- known to everyone as the Duke -- he's willing to work with Tonny to pay back the debt. Otherwise, he would not be so kind. The problem is solved when Tonny, clearly at his debtor's bidding, starts a prison-yard fight that results in him being outnumbered and badly beaten. Though Tonny's initial attack was brave, his wild flight afterwards was not; his fear remains firmly in control.
Rocchi dug it, Jette-ski dug it -- and I did too! Coming soon is Bong Joon-ho's The Host, which is hitting North American theaters on January 26, courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. We've already covered the slimy, slithering hell out of this Korean monster epic, but I figured that anyone psyched to see the flick might enjoy sitting through a handful of clips from The Host. (Or maybe you'd rather NOT watch a bunch of isolated and semi-spoilery scenes from a film you're already planning to see. That's probably how I'd approach it.) Either way, the option is yours.
As the saying goes, "
I wish I had more opportunities to watch short films. Erik's 
The controversy just won't stop swirling around documentary 
When I started putting together my Toronto Midnight Madness wish list, the Korean monster mash known as 
It's my third consecutive visit to the 
Horror fans have lots of good reasons to admire 
As if being an indie-film lover in NYC wasn't already a dream come true, much of the city is going to be 
