Brand Upon the Brand (Guy Maddin, 2006)
Similar in structure to Maddin’s Cowards Bend the Knee, Brand Upon the Brain is “a remembrance in twelve chapters” featuring Guy Maddin (Erik Steffen Maahs) returning to his childhood home—an orphanage his parents ran on a remote island; a gothic setting if ever there was one. Much of the tale is told in flashback, recalling the early days of young Guy (Sullivan Brown) and his Sis (Maya Lawson) who both experience crushes on teen detectives Chance and Wendy Hale (Katherine E. Scharhon). They’re embroiled in a mystery surrounding Guy and Sis’s parents and the immoral experiments being performed on the orphans.
This brooding tale of misbegotten love and overbearing parents is told in split second edits, cutting in the occasional flash of color into the beautiful black & white. The action on screen lives in a world of its own though it’s placed into another realm when screened. At various times and locations, Brand Upon the Brain has been narrated by the likes of Isabella Rosselini, Crispin Glover, Eli Wallach, and more. Scored with live music and foley, the film becomes a cinematic event that will morph into something quite different for home viewers.
Playing like an O’Henry version of Lord of the Flies, Brand Upon the Brain exemplifies Maddin’s brilliant cinema.
300 Spartans Stopped the Persian Invasion...
So what will 300 fans of "Roller Derby Saved My Soul" do? The petition just cross the 300 mark! Keep marching, soldiers! And be sure to get anyone else you know that loves good music and/or roller derby to sign up!
Hey Sweden! (They're Norwegian, Mac)
Let's Get Out of Here
Key Words Don't Understand Irony
Keying off of the term "Tom Cruise," the ad for "TomCruise.com" came up on What Would Tyler Durden Do? tonight, not understanding irony whatsoever.
Clone Confusion
Okay, I'm feeling like a real dumbass here. I gave up on Star Wars a few years ago but vaguely recall a cartoon called "The Clone Wars" showing on The Cartoon Network in 2004. What's the difference between that and the theatrical Clone Wars? I need to find out soon or they might revoke my Geek Card.
OTM Blew My Mind
I'm a fan of "On The Media" on NPR. The latest show was one of the best I've heard. It included two stories about 3-D films (past and present) and a terrific piece about plagiarism -- a subject dear to my heart.
After blatantly ripping off countless authors, the editor of The Bulletin -- a free local weekly from Montgomery County, TX -- inappropriately strikes the 'little guy versus the system' pose in a hilariously misguided diatribe that completely misses the point. Your jaw will drop! "Congratulations on breaking an already fragile soul."
Read the transcript here.
Addendum: I just read that The Montgomery County Bulletin has closed up shop. I can't say I'm too surprised. I imagine that advertisers might have been a might ticked if they found they were paying for, um, "recycled" content. Here's more on the story:
- The Montgomery County Bulletin Plagiarism Scandal
- Dude, You Stole My Article
- R.I.P., Plagiarizing Montgomery County Paper
- Nation of Mice - Conroe's "The Bulletin" Watchdog
- Slate Article Causes Copying Texas Alt-Weekly to Quit in a Huff
- The Slate, The Bulletin and The Plagiarist
Bob Le Flambeur Podcast Now Available!
I've been chatting up the podcast series Out of the Past for months—ever since I met podcasters Richard Edwards and Shannon Klute at the 2008 NoirCon. I spent the early weeks of the summer gorging on their dozen of episodes, enjoying their thorough discussions of films noir old and new.
The well-spoken pair have been steadily creating a conversation about this misunderstood style cum genre through discussion of a motley collection of movies. They've taken on the pillars of noir such as Detour, The Killing, Murder My Sweet, and The Big Sleep as well as underappreciated flicks including He Walked By Night, The Hitchhiker, and I Wake Up Screaming.
Thus, I was honored to be included onto the playing field to speak about one of my favorite films, Jean-Pierre Melville's Bob Le Flambeur. I asked author/screenwriter/mensch Howard A. Rodman to save me from being alone with a microphone (I know how dangerous that can be, having listened to old tapes of me on WCBN). Not only did Howard save me but he came through with flying colors. He's wonderfully eloquent and perceptive in his commentary on the French crime classic. Even if I wasn't involved in this episode, I'd be recommending it for Howard's compelling discussion.
Get to it right here.
Subscribe to Out of the Past via these methods:
The audio editing of this episode is remarkable as I don't sound like too huge of an idiot. I thought I spoke a lot faster and made a lot less sense. I suspect that there's some kind of filter that was used to de-stupefy me.
I highly recommend checking out all of the Clute & Edwards podcasts including their Behind the Black Mask series which takes on crime writing, boasting interviews with several of my favorite authors including Duane Swierczynsk and Megan Abbott (who's hosting the next Out of the Past with a discussion of Nicholas Ray's In A Lonely Place).
The website for both podcasts is NoirCast.net.
Lights, Camera, Detroit
There's a great list of productions going on in Detroit over at MotorCityRocks.com. Kind of nice to see so many stars in Detroit -- instead of Toronto or Baltimore (What? Barry Levinson is in town?) -- though none of them have come over for barbecue yet Bastards.
Still hoping to deliver the petition to Drew Barrymore to use "Roller Derby Saved My Soul" in Whip It! -- Please be sure to sign!
Another Great Goodis Article!
Writer Max Goldberg recently penned a great article on David Goodis for MOMI - read it here and prepare to be blown away!
(Oh, and because I'm such a geek, I created a "Fan Page" for Goodis on FaceBook)
Anything Vous can do, Moi can do better...
Someone call the police! I just found out that there's a crime wave happening in New York City!
From August 8 to September 11, the city of New York will be victim to rabid French criminals. All activity is centered on the Film Forum at 209 West Houston. There victims will succumb to masterful works ranging from Riptide to Muderous Maids with no end of nefarious characters in between. For the full schedule click here.
Again, I bemoan that when I was in NYC earlier this year it was a fucking Godard retrospective--not something you could pay me to attend--but here's a whole group of films that I'd love to see on the big screen (with the exception of Breathless, Band of Outsiders and Pierrot Le Fou, of course), especially the Melvilles (Bob Le Flambeur, Un Flic, Le Circle Rouge, Le Doulos)! And, guaranteed, it's going to be the same lovely print of Shoot The Piano Player recently shown at the Goodis film series at BAM/PFA.
How I wish I was in New York for these six weeks, enjoying the gunplay and heroic bloodshed!
Numbers Going Up!
The numbers for the "Roller Derby Saved My Soul" online petition just keep going up! Thank you to everyone who's signed. And, if you haven't signed, why not? Please take a minute and do so!
This morning I sent off letters to a few of the film's producers and emailed the fellow Detroiter Jim Diamond of Ghetto Records who's recording the film's soundtrack. Now's the time to really make a push for this tune! It's rockin'! (evidence below)
Now, go sign that petition!
Trying Something New
Hey Facebook peeps, I'm trying a new app over there that integrates the blog with FB. I need fifteen people to sign up for it before it will work (otherwise the demand is too low that they won't even turn on the service). If you're willing, please check out the Facebook Blog Network. Much appreciated!
Hancock - Aw, Hell No.
As the credits rolled for Peter Berg's Hancock I was overcome by a feeling of loss. The film didn't feel complete.
The story of John Hancock (William Smith), a super being squandering his life in alcohol and a badly decorated trailer (he's just up the way from Martin Riggs's digs), he means well but keeps screwing up little things that are costing the city of Los Angeles far more in property damage than he's saving by fighting crime.
Fate steps in when Hancock saves the life of Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman), a starry-eyed public relations man. He helps instate the "great responsibility" part of the equation to Hancock's great power. He talks the soused superhero to pay for his "crimes" by going to jail and undergoing counseling. When a bank is taken over by heavily armed baddies (think Pacino's crew from Heat), the major relents and calls for Hancock's release.
He saves the day, of course. Then how the people love him as they shouted out with glee, "Hancock, the super-powered smart ass, you'll go down in history!"
It's around this point where the film runs out of gas. Instead of rolling credits, it goes on for another half hour, treading into some fairly ridiculous territory. This is when the big "twist" that you may have read about occurs. I won't let the cat out of the bag as I went in without knowing and it actually surprised me. Surprised and then, ultimately, disappointed me.
Worse than the twist, Hancock failed for me because it--like the title character--didn't live up to its potential. There are few comic books that succeed at really investigating the notion of superpowered beings in the "real world" ("Marvels", "Watchmen", "Astro City", etc). There are fewer films that attempt to tackle this notion, often with dismal results (My Super Ex-Girlfriend, anyone?). Hancock doesn't so much miss the mark as aim for something else.
The first half of the film feels like the description for a better movie. More incidents of Hancock's wrong-headed heroics would have better set the stage for the public's hatred of him. Moreover, in this cynical age it'd take more than one redemptive act to get back into the public's good graces. Exploring the public relations challenges of marketing a superhero could have made for a far more interesting film. There aren't many movies where I really think, "I hope there are a bunch of deleted scenes on the DVD," but this was one of them -- just because Hancock needs more meat on its skeletal structure. Fade it out after Hancock finds his footing and that's the movie. The rest of it, including the utterly unconvincing antagonist, should be trimmed and burned. Don't let me down, fan editors!
My Weekend With Roku
I got my Roku Netflix Player on Friday. As promised, here's my feedback.
It was easy as heck to hook up and configure. Took me all of five minutes. It's got a wide variety of output jacks and even worked with my old school TV/VCR. As soon as it powered up it detected my wireless network and signed in without a problem. I was given a short code that I plugged in to Netflix and, voila! I was off to the races.
The interface was intuitive. Downloading movies was a breeze, and relatively quick via cable modem. My only hope is that Netflix can finagle some more titles for their Instant choices. I've been enjoying "Quincy" and "Dead Like Me" episodes though there are some weird gaps in things like "Columbo" where the first two discs of Season Three aren't available to view but the rest are.
Also a problem is that only the "primary" Netflix account holder can see the Instant Queue. Andrea can't see them at all when she logs in. That's not a good thing. She isn't even given the option of instant views at all. Very odd. I wonder if I should ask her to leave the room when I fire up the Roku...
I have yet to watch anything not voiced in English. That said, I miss the option of having English subtitles on films that offer them on the actual DVD. I tend to watch anything and everything with English subtitles on if they're available.
Is it worth $100? At first blush I might say "no" but I can hope that the service catches up with the technology, providing more of an "on demand" style service. This seems like the beginnings of the long-promised "you can watch any movie you want to see any time you want it" dream. For now, keep dreaming.
The Hottest Thing On Wheels!
Keep up the great work! It's been 24 hours and we've gotten 70 signatures on the "Roller Derby Saved My Soul" petition! If you know a roller girl (and who doesn't?) please put her in a full nelson until she agrees to sign the petition. And you should, too!
I've looked up the producers of Whip It! and intend on badgering them next! The more signatures, the more they might take this request seriously!
Hey Drew!
I'm not one to get really political but I made an online petition in hopes that Drew Barrymore uses the song "Roller Derby Saved My Soul" by Uncle Leon & The Alibis for her upcoming film, Whip It!.
An adaptation of roller derby memoir Derby Girl by Shauna Cross (AKA Maggie Mayhem), this movie needs Uncle Leon's catchy tune. That the movie's being shot in Ann Arbor, a stone's throw from where Uncle Leon grew up and went to college, is another good tie-in.
Please take a few minutes and sign the petition. Your email address is a required field but it is not visible to anyone nor will it be used for marketing (or so Petition Online promises).
- Uncle Leon's website
- Uncle Leon's MySpace Page
- "Roller Derby Saved My Soul" The Album
- Derby Girl Book
- Whip It! IMDB entry
- Drew's Site (with info on being an extra)
- Sign the Petition
Figuring Out TIFF
The first day in Toronto for the Toronto International Film Festival is always a crazed one for me. I run around the city, checking into my hotel, picking up my press pass, and plunking my butt down with the Press/Industry schedule and the big, honkin' programme book to juggle a slate of "must sees", "sounds goods", and "hrm, I guesses".
In order to make this September 3rd task a little easier, I've been trying to sort through the TIFF website and came up with this rough list of some titles I am most likely going to see (if the schedule permits):
- Acolytes (Jon Hewitt)
- American Swing (Mathew Kaufman and Jon Hart, USA)
- Appaloosa (Ed Harris, USA)
- Blind Loves (Juraj Lehotský, Slovakia)
- Burrowers, The (J.T. Petty)
- Chocolate (Prachya Pinkaew)
- Deadgirl (Marcel Sarmiento Gadi Harel)
- Detroit Metal City (Toshio Lee)
- Dungeon Masters, The (Keven McAlester, USA)
- Eden Log (Franck Vestiel)
- Fear Me Not (Kristian Levring, Denmark)
- Ghost Town (David Koepp, USA)
- Good, The Bad, The Weird, The (Kim Jee-woon, South Korea)
- In the Shadow of the Naga Phawat (Panangkasiri, Thailand)
- JCVD (Mabrouk El Mechri)
- Martyrs (Pascal Laugier)
- Not Quite Hollywood (Mark Hartley)
- Rachel Getting Married (Jonathan Demme, USA)
- RocknRolla (Guy Ritchie, United Kingdom)
- Secret Life of Bees (Gina Prince-Bythewood, USA)
- Sexykiller (Miguel Martí)
- Tony Manero (Pablo Larraín, Chile/Brazil)
If anyone has any early feedback about these or any other TIFF flicks, please drop a comment bomb.
Terror in the Aisles
Sometimes it's really tough to live in Detroit, especially when I see all of the cool things going on in sister cities like Toronto and Chicago. This morning I got word of two amazing events:
- Toronto - Phantascope keeps coming with great "underground" screenings. Today they announced their latest... members only, though. More details here
- Chicago - The Movieside Film Festival presents "Terror in the Aisles," a 13 hour marathon of flicks. More details here
If there are cool things like this going on in Detroit... I don't know about 'em.
More on Shoot the Piano Player
Michael Guillen of The Evening Class graciously reprinted the notes from which I worked on Saturday night in my introduction for Shoot the Piano Player. You can find them here. (I was determined not to read anything but talk through things instead, meaning that I derivated quite a bit from my notes but they provided a good way for me to collect my thoughts beforehand.)
Thanks, Michael!
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