Jeanne Goes to Sundance

This is my last post on this website because I have moved everything over to my new webpage, Writeousness. Come visit me over there. I have a whole section dedicated to film.

I was out of town so much that I didn't get to the movies as much as I'd like. But I have seen some good ones that, if you don't get to see, you should add to your Netflix list or run out to the video store this fall to rent.

Last night, I saw Garden State. It was a subtle, heart-warming, charming and romantic film about a man coming to grips with himself and his humanity.

Zach Braff not only wrote and directed Garden State, he starred as the lead character, Andrew "Large" Largeman. The film starts when Large is told that he has to come home to New Jersey from Los Angeles for his mother's funeral and he leaves behind the meds that he's been on for depression since he was 10.

As the film unfolds, we discover who Large is so slowly it doesn't hit you until the end of the film that he has transformed into more of who he really is. Zach is brilliant in his role as actor.

Zach's directing is fresh with his still-life shots throughout as well as his use of color to show us the main character's transformation.

I've only seen Natalie Portman in the Star Wars films and I was unimpressed, to put it mildly. She was stunning in Garden State and her performance told me two things: that Zach Braff is skilled and that George Lucas is not. Natalie shows us what real vulnerability and real strength look like in this film.

All-in-all, Garden State is not only worth going out of your way to go to it, it's definitely worth $8.

Other things I've seen this summer include:

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring. A quiet tale of a young boy who grows into a young man then an old man and his transformation through his life. The film's cinematography as used to tell us the tale (much more so than the dialogue) is stunning. Definitely worth $8 but you'll probably have to rent it. That is too bad because it's worth seeing on the big screen.

Napoleon Dynamite. This film is a funny, quirky tale of a geek who in the end shows his true colors. I would describe it like an artsy, intelligent "Revenge of the Nerds". Definitely worth a matinee.

Love Me If You Dare. I would recommend avoiding this one. It's about two young kids who dare each other to do precocious things. The dares get more dangerous as they get older and as they each refuse to acknowledge that they love each other. It had no redeeming value whatsoever. My rating? I want those two hours of my life back. Don't waste your time.

This list keeps getting longer and longer. More fun this summer instead of the usual McMovies:

Love Me If You Dare. Maybe it's because we're going to France and I want all things French this year. But maybe because I'm intensely curious about the story.

De-Lovely seduces me into wanting to see it just because it's an official selection of the Festival de Cannes.

The Mother looks absolutely intriguing. And it's not about a white, straight man for a change.

I fell in love with documentaries at Sundance. Lost Boys of Sudan is one I won't miss. Click on the title and check out the trailer.

...and then there are more possible McMovies that I want to see....

The Manchurian Candidate might just be a fable for our times....

It really is hard to resist Tom Hanks sometimes. He has a new one this summer that looks very McMovie-ish, but he's just so adorable and skilled. I'm going to see The Terminal.

Don't forget to check the post below for my full list of summer recommendations! See you at the Movies!

If you're like me, you stay as far away from certain films and theaters with valet parking as you can get during the dry summer months. But take heart. I have found some secret, lush oases that I can't wait to visit (for the first time or again). Won't you join me this summer? If for no other reason than to nourish your minds and hearts while you get out of the heat.

Run, don't walk to see Saved! You will not be disappointed by this light hearted comedy but you may have to see it twice because you'll miss a good 10% of the film from raucous audience laughter and applause. It's about a teenage young woman at a Christian high school who feels led by Jesus to sleep with her boyfriend to save him from being gay. She becomes pregnant and spends the school year trying to hide it from her friends who in turn try to "Save" her. Its uproariously funny and far, far better than some other crap coming out this summer. Jeanne's rating: Definitely worth $8, twice.

If you have an art theater in town, don't miss this quiet gem of a film, Elina, As If I Wasn't There. It got best of fest award at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival and rightly so I would add (and I saw 26 films during the festival so I should know). Our hero is a 10 year old girl who refuses to submit to a system that would prefer to keep her silent. A rare thing in film these days, I'd say. Jeanne's rating: Definitely worth $8, more than once.

You've heard me talk about The Corporation before so I won't bore you with my raving reviews. But I saw it a second time at the Minnapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival. I'm looking forward to seeing it again. See it. Jeanne's rating: Definitely worth $8 and a 4 hour drive out of your way.

Another quiet but captivating film that I loved from the MSP International Film Festival was Beautiful Memories. It is about a young woman who goes to day treatment for memory problems and falls in love with a man who has lost his memory of his wife and children dying in a car accident. She's losing her memories to Alzheimer's and he's gaining his back. It's a tremendously tender and sweet story about their love, her loss and his healing. I want to see it again if it ever makes it into theaters. Jeanne's rating: Worth $8 more than once.

Lest you think that I am recommending mostly obscure films, here's my list of films that I really want to see this summer instead of the usual fast-food fare:

Napoleon Dynamite looks fun and I heard good buzz about it at Sundance.

I heard at Sundance that Garden State was funny in a "The Graduate" sort of way.

"The best cinematography of all of Sundance" was what one Sundance person said about Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall and...Spring. That's enough to intrigue me.

I heard nothing about Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself at Sundance but it looks intriguing.

Last but definitely not least

Lest you think that I'm a complete and utter film snob, here are the McFilms I can't wait to see:

i robot (this geek really can't wait)
Shrek 2 (this ugly princess really can't wait)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (this fan who misses LOTR horribly already can't wait)

See you at the movies!

Here's what I'm hoping to get to! If you're going to any of these, let me know and we can sit together and talk about it afterwards!

Saturday, April 3

1:00 Wolf Summer, Oak Street Cinema, 81 minutes

3:00 Mon Idole, Bell Auditorium, 113'

6:45 The Corporation, Riverview Theater, 145' (I saw this at Sundance and am excited to see it again...you have to see it! Go here to see my review.)

Sunday, April 4

1:00 The Python, Bell Auditorium, 88'

2:45 Eyengui, The God of Dreams, Bell Auditorium, 91'

5:00 Granny, Oak Street Theater, 97'

7:15 Invisible Light, Macalester College, 94' (I might miss this one because it starts barely more than a half an hour after Granny ends.)

Monday, April 5

5:45 Screaming Men, Macalester College, 76' (Another one missed at Sundance--because it was by and about white men. But I heard good buzz about it so I'm seeing it here!)

Tuesday, April 6

5:15 The Color of Happiness, Oak Street Cinema, 87'

7:15 Beautiful Memories, Oak Street Cinema, 110'

Wednesday, April 7

5:00 Eila, Oak Street Cinema, 94'

7:30 Dying at Grace, Riverview Theater, 148'

Thursday, April 8

7:15 Jesus, You Know, Oak Street Cinema, 87'

9:15 Some Secrets, Oak Street Cinema, 100'

Friday, April 9

9:15 Twin Sisters, Oak Street Cinema, 129'

Midnight Erotic Tales Shorts, Oak Street Cinema, 112'

Saturday, April 10

1:00 Story of the Weeping Camel, Crown Theater, 90'

5:30 Tupperware, Bell Auditorium, 99'

8:30 Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, Oak Street Cinema, 76' (Normally, I wouldn't go see a film like this, but there was a lot of positive buzz about this film at Sundance. I wanna see what I missed!)

Sunday, April 11

2:45 James's Journey to Jerusalem, Bell Auditorium, 87'

4:45 Heir to an Execution, Bell Auditorium, 99' (Missed this one at Sundance, but wanted to see it. Heard good things about it at Sundance.)

7:15 The Letter, Macalester, 76'

Monday, April 12

7:00 Native Voices Shorts, Macalester, 133'

9:30 Veils Uncovered showing with My Body, Macalester, 60'

Tuesday, April 13

This is an iffy day. I'd like to see all these films, but I may only see one or two.

5:00 Traveling Light, Oak Street Cinema, 90'

7:00 Strange as Angels, Macalester, 96'

9:00 Saturday: A Real Time Movie, Macalester, 65'

Wednesday, April 14

7:00 Asshak: Tales from the Sahara, Riverview, 114'

9:30 Surplus: Terrorized into Being Customers, Bell Auditorium, 64' (I really want to see this one--it sounds similar to The Corporation, which I saw at Sundance.)

Thursday, April 15

9:45 Girlhood, Bell Auditorium, 111'

Friday, April 16

7:15 Conversations with Barrie Osborne, Riverview, undetermined time/live event with Academy Award winning (for Lord of the Rings: Return of the King) Producer Barrie Osborne (I may skip this one).

9:30 Crimson Gold, Bell Auditorium, 95' (This one won the Un Certain Regard award at Cannes in 2003)

Saturday, April 17

11:00 Elina: As If I Wasn't There, Oak Street Cinema, 97'

7:30 Saved!, Riverview Theater, 92'

Closing Night Party at Sawatdee? Admittance to party with closing show ticket or Gold Pass only.

Here's the brief version of what I had to say about all the movies I saw at Sundance.

CSA: Confederate States of America: Definitely worth $8. The good news is that IFC has purchased it so you might be able to see it in a theater near you soon.

Evergreen: Worth at least a matinee (though I will pay $8 to see this quiet film again). I contacted Enid Zentellis and she said that they are currently in talks with some people about distribution and that they are hopeful.

Brother to Brother: Should be required viewing for all. Worth $8. The good news is in! The director tells me that he has five bids for theatrical release so it’s probably a done deal. Look for it soon. Or, if you’re lucky enough to be at the Berlin Film Festival this week, check Brother to Brother out.

Sky Blue: Worth a matinee only if you like animation but I won’t be seeing this film again.

Redemption: Another one I can’t wait to see again. People who feel ambiguous about the death penalty should watch this one on FX on April 11th. Definitely worth your April’s cable bill & TiVo subscription.

Edge of America: Worth a matinee at least. I’ll see this one again. It’s a Showtime film and if it’s only going to be there….I’m out of luck because I don’t have cable.

D.E.B.S.: Worth throwing a queer women’s only party for and paying $8 each to go see it together. Word from the director is that Sony Screen Gems has this film and is planning on a May release date. I can’t wait! Be on the lookout you fabulous queer women out there.

Easy: A little long-ish but worth $8. I’ll see it again but at matinee prices. Haven’t heard anything about whether this one has been picked up or not.

Silent Waters: You’ll have to find a place that shows foreign films for this one but it’s worth the drive and the $8. The distributor tells me that this one isn’t yet going to be distributed in the US. The key word is yet. My fingers are crossed.

The Control Room: Definitely worth $8 and I’d pay more than that to see it again. No word from the director or producer about it’s possible release. My guess is that the media big whigs don’t want you to see this one.

The Land Has Eyes: Skip this one. I wanted my money back (but not those two hours of my life back).

The Corporation: I am still reeling from this one and need to see it again. Glad to hear from their website that it’s currently playing in Canada and “poised for US release”.

Primer: Definitely worth $8 as many times as you need to figure out the plot. I’m going again when it comes out and it will since it won Grand Jury Drama prize at Sundance. I heard from Shane, the writer and director, that it looks like Primer is coming out sometime in November!

Super Size Me: I feel very mixed about this movie. I think this film, with The Corporation and The Control Room, would make a good part of a trilogy. But by itself, it lacks depth. See it, but don’t pay full price.

If these films appear in theaters, I want to see
Eulogy (Susan said, “Funniest movie I’ve seen in a long time”), Napoleon Dynamite, Spring Summer Fall Winter…and Spring, Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, Goodbye Lenin, Garden State, Seducing Dr. Lewis, Heir to an Execution, Investigation into the Invisible World (yes, the link is to a French site…it’s all I could find), and The Woodsman (buzz is that New Market Films has this one so you should see it this year or next).

That’s all folks. This website is going down in a few weeks, hopefully by April 1st. Hate to take up valuable web property and server space! See you at the movies sometime!

I saw The Corporation, Primer and Super-Size Me today. It couldn’t have been a better last day.

The Corporation is a documentary about Corporations—their development in the early part of the 20th century, their “psychosis” and hope for the future. I understand from our MGM friend that this has been picked up by United Artists so hopefully you’ll get to see this one soon.

It was 2 ½ hours but it didn’t feel like 2 ½ hours. The story keeps getting worse and worse until towards the end you see that people can change the world and keep corporations from buying everything, including rain in Bolivia. See this if you want to know why people protest the World Trade Organization or Wal-Mart or Slave Labor. See it if you work for a corporation or own corporate stocks or if you think all that I’ve said is a bunch of hooey. It’ll be an education.

Primer won the dramatic grand jury prize, much to many people’s surprise because many didn’t like it, and many didn’t understand it. Primer was on my list of things I wanted to see but it was lower on the list because it was by and about white men. I wanted to see it because the plot seemed interesting.

Primer is about four young (20s or 30s) men who are tech industry workers (perhaps engineers) trying to start a business. Two of them end up building a time machine that goes only backwards. They come up with a scheme about how to deal with the paradox of going back in time by taking themselves out of the equation by shutting themselves into a hotel and trading stocks they had researched the first time around on that day. From there, I couldn’t tell you exactly what happened because I don’t completely understand it. I hope it gets distributed because I want to see it again.

Primer was an amazing film given that it was made for $7,000. (D.E.B.S. was made for $3.5 million and was considered “low budget.) Not only do I want to see Primer again, I would pay $8 to see it again. This film isn’t for everyone because the plot line is challenging. But I was engaged and look forward to trying to figure it out later.

There was all sorts of buzz about Super Size Me. Before I came to Sundance, tickets for Super Size Me were selling on eBay for $450. People were turning down offers of $250 for their ticket. It was the hottest ticket in Park City. Wait list lines were very long and hardly anyone got to see it who didn’t have a ticket to it.

So of course when it won the documentary directing award, I had to go see it because I didn’t need a ticket with my Awards weekend pass.

Super Size Me is about the director, Morgan Spurlock, who ate nothing that wasn’t on the McDonalds menu for 30 days. He also limited his exercise to 4000 steps each day, or just a little over a mile. Morgan is accompanied on his journey by three doctors who think the only effect of this binge will be elevated cholesterol and some weight gain. I won’t tell you how it ends, but the doctors were wrong.

Morgan Spurlock’s stated intent with the film is to figure out whose responsibility it is that America is the fattest nation in the world. Where does personal responsibility end and corporate responsibility begin? He was inspired by the two young women who sued McDonald’s for their obesity.

While his images were compelling, I found that Morgan’s analysis of this issue is shallow and one-sided. He (mostly) demonized obese people by showing almost all of them without a face and used them as humorous notes in his film. He focused on McDonald’s as the cause of his health issues at the end of 30 days and blamed his weight game on the food, rather than the combination of his food and lack of exercise. I bet if he’d exercised as much as he normally did (living in New York City he says he walked 4-5 miles/day), he wouldn’t have become so sick.

To his credit, he did show two young obese women (both in their teens) who talked about how hard it is to be obese in our culture and how much the images of super-thin people keep these women in shame. He should have talked about eating disorders, though. Another great part of this documentary was his look into school lunches and how corporations are training young people to eat proccessed foods. It was scary, actually. (When I was a kid, we didn't have lunches like this at William Penn High in New Castle. In the film, kids were taking HoHo's and chips and soda for their lunches. )

Martin exposes Mickey D’s marketing tactics and shows how terrible a fast food diet really is. But again, this analysis was shallow because after the movie, Susan and I went out to dinner at a very fine restaurant. Their entrees were not called entrees but “Big Plates”. I had half a salad but that was enough to just about fill me up. They brought dessert to the next table and it looked like a large piece of chocolate cake. It was their brownie. Martin Spurlock should have tried eating three squares a day for thirty days at any restaurant in the US and I bet that he’d have had the same or worse effects.

I emailed the International Size Acceptance Organization's Director because I was surprised to see their name in the credits. Apparently, the director interviewed them in February of 2002 but they were not in the film and were surprised to hear about the content. They have requested an advanced copy of the film to review. I'm curious about what they will think about having their name on such a film.

I’d say Super Size Me is worth renting and parts of it should be required viewing in junior and senior high schools. Certainly not worth $450 or $250 or all the hype it got at Sundance. I saw better films this week.