Going the Distance

 Images

Going the Distance may not exactly rock the conventions of the rom-com, but it is a refreshingly vibrant addition to the genre. So while the meet-cute, montages and requisite emotional rollercoaster (or are dodgem cars a better metaphor?) follow a route as familiar as the one our couple criss-cross between New York and San Francisco, the saving grace is chemistry. It can’t necessarily have been a given that real life on-and-off again couple Drew Barrymore and Justin Long would be able to spice up the silver screen, and yet admirably and oftentimes hilariously, they manage to do so. Playing [insert your suitably yuppie professions here], Erin and Garrett share a delightfully drunken one-night stand before agreeing to casually keep seeing each other for Erin's final six weeks in the Big Apple.

No points for guessing what happens next, but here's where credit must go to debut screenwriter Geoff LaTulippe and especially director Nanette Burstein (American Teen), for keeping up the pace and mixing the many phone montages with a solid supporting cast. Christina Applegate is a great addition as Erin's protective sister Corinne. The character may be derivative of Leslie Mann’s turn in Knocked Up, yet she and Barrymore share some of the film's funniest scenes, filled with raunchy girl talk. In fact, one of the most delightful aspects of Going the Distance is the (all too rare) eclectic array of blue, silly, witty comedy the script gives the women to bash around.

As Burstein's first foray into feature filmmaking, Going the Distance benefits from her documentary background. Bearing a light touch and a fine ability to juggle an ensemble, she has succeeded in injecting new vigour into an increasingly desperate genre. And regardless of whether or not Barrymore and Long make it off-screen, their youthful frivolity and rapid-fire repartee are skilfully wedded together on film.

Published on Concrete Playground
Australian release date: 2 September 2010

Trailer: I'm Still Here

Image

Great news Australia! Roadshow has just announced that Casey Affleck's directorial debut I'm Still Here will be coming to (limited) cinemas on September 16th.

The jury's still out as to whether or not Affleck's film is an actual portrait of Joaquin Phoenix or something more in the vein of Banky's Exit Through the Gift Shop. I'm leaning towards the latter, mostly so I can look upon Phoenix's appearance on David Letterman as a piece of inspired performance art rather than, well, a train wreck.

What say you? And mockumentary or no, how brilliant is the film's poster?

Official synopsis: 

With remarkable access, I’M STILL HERE follows Joaquin Phoenix as he announces his retirement from a successful film career in the fall of 2008 and sets off to reinvent himself as a hip hop musician. Sometimes funny, sometimes shocking, and always riveting, the film is a portrait of an artist at a crossroads. Defying expectations, it deftly explores notions of courage and creative reinvention, as well as the ramifications of a life spent in the public eye.

Australian release date (limited): 16 September 2010

Gleeful Emmy Opening

 Genius.

The People Speak

Watch this:



Does it not give you goose-pimples? What a remarkable, awe-inspiring use of history. Bravo, Howard Zinn, bravo.

Here's the blurb for The People Speak

Using dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries and speeches of everyday Americans, The People Speak focuses on the concept of democracy based on the lives and experiences of ordinary Americans who, through their words and actions, changed the course of history. Narrated by Howard Zinn and based on his bestselling book, A People's History of the United States, and Voices of a People's History, this groundbreaking documentary film illustrates the relevance of these passionate historical moments to our society today, reminding us that democracy is not a spectator sport and to never take liberty for granted. A journey from the founding of this country to the civil rights movement and beyond, The People Speak uses star power to celebrate democracy: executive producer Matt Damon reads from The Declaration of Independence; Bruce Springsteen performs Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land"; while other accomplished performers, including Morgan Freeman, Marisa Tomei, Josh Brolin, Viggo Mortensen, Kerry Washington, Bob Dylan and Eddie Vedder lend their voices to help re-create the emotional impact of these moments in history. 

This is such a simple, empowering idea, and one that will hopefully inspire viewers to delve a little further into their nation's history. What's even more heartening is that this idea has caught on and a British version will take place on September 19th, to be co-directed and narrated by Colin Firth. According to Marc Fennell (who brought this brilliant video to my attention), The History Channel will be doing an Australian version in 2011.

Bring. It. On.

A Place in Time

 Image

With all this talk of Angelina Jolie's upcoming feature directorial debut it's intriguing to look at her first attempt behind the camera with the documentary A Place in Time. Calling on a raft of celebrity friends, including Anne Hathaway, Ling Bai, Wyclef Jean, Jude Law, Colin Farrell, Johnny Lee Miller and Hillary Swank, Jolie set out to capture three minutes of life on January 11 2005 at 12 noon GMT from more than 25 countries around the world.

The experiment reminds me of Benedict Anderson's Imagined Communities, with Jolie no doubt seeking to show the simultaneity and interconnectedness of the world. The documentary premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2007, and may be distributed through high schools by the National Education Association.



Read a gushing review of the documentary HERE.

Father of My Children (Le père de mes enfants)

 Images

The French love of cinema is given vibrant new depth in Mia Hansen-Løve's reverent ode. The writer-director's sophomore film follows charming film producer and joyous family man Grégoire Canvel (Louis-Do de Lencquesaing) as he quietly struggles to juggle his raft of projects, each with their unique creative and financial pressures. With one of two phones constantly glued to his ear (and a cigarette forever at his lips), Grégoire's passion for his profession is warmly reflected in his effusive love for his beautiful Italian wife (Chiara Caselli) and their three delightful daughters (Alice de Lencquesaing, Alice Gautier, Manelle Driss), as Hanson-Løve captures the chiaroscuro of life in a frank, honest and refreshingly unsentimental fashion.

Hanson-Løve also has a clear talent working with young actors, for the performances she realises from the Canvel girls is nothing short of remarkable. So too is De Lencquesaing's larger than life role, and though Caselli is comparatively silent, she is by no means less powerful. Alice de Lencquesaing (acting with her father), who owned the closing scene of Olivier Assayas' luminous Summer Hours, profoundly impresses here again with the awkward grace she brings to the teenager — just watch for a scene in which she attempts to order a coffee. Such fresh-faced performances and tender writing makes for a family who jumps straight off the screen and into your heart.

Published on Concrete Playground
Australian release date: 26 August 2010

Giveaway: Boy

I'm absolutely delighted to be giving away tickets for the Kiwi coming-of-age hit film Boy. It was one of my favourites from the Sydney Film Festival (click here for my review) and it's now New Zealand's highest grossing local film of all time.

The official synopsis reads:

The year is 1984, and on the rural East Coast of New Zealand “Thriller” is changing kids’ lives. Boy (James Rolleston) is a dreamer who loves Michael Jackson. He lives with his brother Rocky (Te Aho Aho Eketone-Whitu), a tribe of deserted cousins and his Nan (Mavis Paenga).

Boy’s other hero, his father, Alamein (Taika Waititi), is the subject of Boy’s fantasies, and he imagines him as a deep sea diver, war hero and a close relation of Michael Jackson (he can even dance like him). In reality he’s “in the can for robbery”.

When Alamein returns home after 7 years away, Boy is forced to confront the man he thought he remembered, find his own potential and learn to get along without the hero he had been hoping for.

Boy is coming to Australian cinemas on August 26th, so to win one of ten double passes, email me (subject: BOY Competition) with your name, address and a quick line on why you want to see Boy. The competition will run until Sunday 29th August and winners will be notified by email.