In Limited Release - I Will Follow

The much promoted indie film I Will Follow from filmmaker Ava DuVernay, opened last weekend with impressive stats: $11,428 per screen average from just 5 screens, making it a very successful weekend.

This weekend I Will Follow will expand to 22 screens in Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Houston, Dallas, Detroit, Oakland, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Charlotte and Jersey City. Be proactive and pre-ticket yourself.">
"One of the best films I’ve seen about the loss of a loved one,” is what legendary film critic Roger Ebert chimed in on the media blitzed I Will Follow. An official selection of AFI Fest, Chicago International Film Festival, Urbanworld, Pan-African and Bronze Lens Film Festivals, I Will Follow stars Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Omari Hardwick, Michole White and Dijon Talton, with Blair Underwood and Beverly Todd.

Get I Will Follow on your weekend calendar asap.

On DVD -- Sugar

How did I miss this one - Sugar? Sugar is really good film. Undoubtedly one of the best movies I have seen in very long time. How do you describe a sports film as elegant? Sugar is.

Sugar is the story of a young kid, Miguel "Sugar" Santos (Algenis Peres Soto), from the Dominican Republic who is recruited into the minor baseball league in America. Upon Sugar's arrival, were he encounters language barriers as well as sports injuries, racism and other Americanisms; however, Sugar keeps sight of his humanity in the face of potential cash earnings and celebrity status.
">This is not your father's baseball movie, rather Sugar is a wise look into what sport - and in many ways what the American dream - has become. For boys and girls around the globe, their athletic ability is no longer just a skill but a marketing tool for access into the American celebrity machine and the financial rewards of the dream.

Although Sugar veers clear of this tragedy in its plot and storyline, it is all the more evident due to its omission. This movie should have been a break-out blockbuster. It has everything except name brands and big celebrities. Sugar was written and directed by the talented filmmaking team of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck who brought Half Nelson to the big screen with much fanfare and acclaim, including an Oscar nomination for leading man Ryan Gosling.

I loved it! Queue up your Netflix! See Sugar now.

True Grit

The Coen Brothers definitely have a vision in cinema. The Coen Brothers consistently take classic elements in movie genres and storytelling and flush and explode all of these elements of the classicism out into expertly crafted filmmaking. This time around the result is a western, True Grit.

True Grit feels more like a dark drama but wants to be a story driven Western. Following the murder of her father, a 14-year-old farm girl Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) sets out to capture the killer Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). Very clever and effectively resourceful, Mattie hires the toughest U.S. marshal her money can buy, a man with "true grit" by the name of Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges). Against his wishes, Mattie insists on joining him in his trek into the Indian Nation in search of Chaney joined by Texas Ranger LaBoeuf (Matt Damon), who also wants Chaney for his own purposes. Once again Brolin sneaks in a great performance.

In another year when the Academy which gives out the Oscar awards and Hollywood has failed to integrate its imagines, stories, films, technicians, writers, directors, actors, editors, producers or otherwise with Blacks, it is a certain irony that Mattie is brought to recover her dead father’s body by a Black man. Mattie also purchases her horse with the assistance of a young Black boy. Finally she goes on to name the horse Little Black. Those darn Coen Brothers.

The western is a cinema genre of which I am not a big fan. I find it too steep in the Americana man and how the West was won without much said for all that was lost in the struggle. Nevertheless, True Grit has solid acting, the sets and locations are great and the story is engaging. Bang. Bang. Or ka-chang! Ka-chang at the box office.

Blue Valentine

Blue Valentine is the current darling of the independent filmmaking sect. It is the graphic and docu-styled portrayal of a young couple's entre into a serious and committed relationship. Cindy (Michelle Williams) and Dean (Ryan Gosling) are a couple who meet while Dean, a mover by occupation, is relocating an elderly war veteran into his new retirement home, while across the way Cindy, a nursing student, is visiting her grandmother who has retired at the same location.

The story unfolds quite cleverly going back and forth in time presenting bits and pieces of personal data about the couple's formative years granting the audience understanding of these characters current choices and behavior. Dean is a loving, confident, attractive, and artsy young man without a solid capitalistic foundation or future, which obviously makes him idealic and appealing. On the other hand, Cindy is the product of a dysfunctional nuclear family poised to enter the careered world of medicine and the emotionless world of white picket fences and "I think I can be" happily ever after.

When the couple, now married with a child, decides to spend a weekend away in the futuristic room of a nearby hotel, things slowly come undone. Alone together in the confines of the hotel room, Dean and Cindy cannot recapture the liberty which allowed them to unite in the beginning. You will care for the characters because we see these people not only in others but quite often when we look into our mirrors. Nevertheless, you simple want them to get it together, and not necessarily together as a family unit. It is more advice like, wake up and smell the coffee - it's done.

Blue Valentine is what is so good, and equally so bad, with the current state of independent filmmaking. On one hand, we have a great story - contemporary and affected. Great acting - Michellle Williams received an Oscar nomination for her performance, even though it is Ryan who truly shines as a loving committed young father, husband, and friend who attempts to make life pleasurable for all, if you simply work with him.">However, Blue Valentine has a the style and look, and it becomes clear instantly, that this is not indie at all. It is a farce, people with the capability to make a multi-million dollar Hollywood-style movie with young hipsters on display doing cool grown-up things. For those who are unfamiliar with the hipsters in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn it is like the hippies of the 60s and 70s except they brought ALL of their wealth, privilege, personal ambitions and artsy manifestos with them to capitalize on, while never giving a thought about race relations, social class, or world events. Where most of the hippies eventually got jobs and gentrified America, this new hipster generation has only cared about itself from the very start.

Another giveaway that this is no true indie film is the wardrobe. Both characters don clothing that is supposed to be thrifty - however it is more like Marc by Marc Jacobs the more affordable collection rather than authentic Goodwill or Salvation Army.

All and all, Blue Valentine is not so blue, rather it is Williamsburg styled hipster love story.

OVERLOOKED: Gigantic

If you loved 500 Days of Summer, you are going to be delighted with Gigantic. Gigantic is like the director's cut or probably a closer scripted version of 500 Days of Summer.

The story of a high-end mattress salesman in Manhattan from an affluent and lovingly goals oriented family, Gigantic is sure to keep you interested. There are so many great performances including a wonderful John Goodman as the father of the love interest, Happy, played by Zooey Deschanel. However, the real stand-out here is Paul Dano.

Apparently Dano absorbed a little Daniel Day-Lewis from their brilliant film There Will Be Blood. Playing Brian Weathersby, Dano is the patient and considerate youngest brother, who since age 8 has wanted to adopted an Asian baby. Dano is so like-able, you want good people around this sensitive young man. Scene after scene Dano fills not only the frame with a nice presence but enters the lives of normal everyday people who need his calming effects.

Gigantic is not a perfect film; however, it did win "Best Feature Film" at the Dallas International Film Festival for director Matt Aselton. In a great film decision making debate, there are two (2) things/scenes/scenarios that should have been left on the editing room floor 1 - Happy's visual conversation with her {absent} mother and 2 - Zach Galifianakis's homeless man shenanigans. Plot points that serve as restroom breaks.

In the end, Gigantic is a fresh, modern take on the boy meets girl genre. It is a story of one man's place in the lives of his friends, family, co-workers, work and personal goals that are unpredictable and often materialize when you least expect it.

How did I miss this one?

2011 Oscar Nominations are Announced

And who cares?

I am kind of speechless with the lackluster field of contenders in every category. Is there a recession in talent and thought not to mention creativity in Hollywood? After this anemic display of noms - surely Hollywood execs will come off the Sundance Film Festival slopes, the Cannes Film Festival yachts, the panoramic penthouse views of Berlin Film Festival and the bland back lots of Hollywood to embrace stories from Native Americans, Asian Americans, Latin/Hispanic Americans, Gay Americans and American Blacks.

Hollywood insiders - all of you should be forced to watch all of these films at a mega-multi-cinemaplex and also forced to watch the entire 2011 Oscar broadcast including all of the commercials.

February 27, 2011 will not be a night for celebration - just reading the list put me to sleep. WAKE UP HOLLYWOOD!

NOW PLAYING: The King's Speech

When the Oscar announcements are made on the morning of January 25, 2011, you are certain to hear the The King's Speech loudly, clearly and repeatedly. The King's Speech is the perfect Oscar contender. It has rich costumes, great acting, British history, the monarchy, scandal, moody cinematography, royal locations and just a pinch of humor.

The King's Speech is the true story of England's King George VI (Colin Firth) who stamers - in American English - he studders. While this maybe be fit for the King's brother; however, when it becomes apparent that he will ascend to the throne he must overcome this imperfection and restore nobility and hope to the monarchy and the people of England during wartime as older brother King Edward VIII (Guy Pearce) abdicates the throne in favor of love with a twice divorced American who the church will never allow to be his queen.

While there is plenty underlying dramas going on, director (Tom Hooper) does an excellent job of keeping the story on the love between George, his wife (Helena Carter) and their two young daughters juxtaposed his relationship with speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) and his family rather than embracing the scandal and gossip which ultimately makes him King George VI.

The costumes are superb. In cinema, often we tend to overlook men's costuming in favor of gowns and dresses worn by the women in a production; however in The King's Speech, it is the menswear which take center stage from swanky overcoats to tweed suiting the style is spectacular. Look for all of these trends in the Fall 2011 mens collections. You'll clearly know who heard The King's Speech. The cinematography is beautifully damp. One feels as if you are roaming about London.
The one performance that people are not talking about but should be talking about is Guy Pearce who portraits King Edward VIII. Pearce is always amazing and generally overlooked in favor of a more suitable potential celebrity to market and hollywoodize. Here, Pearce is brilliant in a supporting role. If he were on screen for another second he would have completely walked off with the entire production. Yes, he's that good. Nevertheless, it is Colin Firth who will understandably walk away with the Best Actor Oscar statue at this year's ceremony - if only because the Academy recognizes talent and it's own future demise in awarding Sandra Bullock and Jeff Bridges (beating Colin Firth for A Single Man) last year for what will ultimately be known as the year the academy awarded Most Popular and Most Liked rather than Best Actor and Best Actress of the year.

The King's Speech is great movie making. It all comes together nicely. Imagine, a royal historical drama being the feel good movie of the year. All hail the king!