Post Sundance Pow Wow

That was a fun day! I was successful in getting into both of the movies I intended to see, which meant showing up like three hours before hand to wait in line, but, whatever. It was worth it. It was a great experiencing the festival and all the craziness and fun that comes with it. Chatting up fellow movie goers in line is a treat. I talked with a few people about the films they had seen, and then, before I knew what had happened, the topic of conversation had switched to a graffiti artist that had tagged a few places during the festival. It was awesome. The movies weren't half bad either.

Welcome to the Rileys

Welcome to the Rileys begins with a marriage on the verge of collapse after a tragic accident that took the life of their daughter. Doug (James Gandolfini) is a philandering, depressed man, worried sick of his own immortality. Lois (Melissa Leo) is an agoraphobic shut in. When Doug goes to New Orleans for a convention he meets a down on her luck, under age stripper named Mallory (Kristen Stewart). Sensing a chance to play the father figure again, Doug stays in New Orleans to rehabilitate and take care of her, while Lois attempts to overcome her own fears to be with her husband. After a painfully boring opening act, the movie really picks up, and gives you the chance to really invest in the characters. All three of the leads imbue each of their performances with a good measure of pain, sadness and anger, especially Stewart. I'm not full of shit! Kristen Stewart can act well, when the material that she is presented is not drawn from one of the worst books ever written. Sure, some of the stuff she has to say could be boiled down to a constant slew of curse words, but she brings such energy to the role, that you can forget all about Bella Swan. Her trademark, biting of her bottom lip, angst ridden style is perfect for this role. Gandolfini and Leo as the married couple are also a match made in heaven. Gandolfini is great as the sad Doug, bringing a lot of anger to the role, but keeping it repressed until it comes boiling over. Leo also fairs well. Initially, she's stuck with the comic relief, as the scenes of her attempting to start her husbands car are quite funny, but these scenes are quickly done away with a series of moving scenarios that show her overcoming her fears in order to make her marriage work. It's great. The director, Jake Scott (son of Ridley) starts off the film at a snails pace, but quickly picks up momentum when he tosses Stewart on to the screen. With help from a truly minimalist score that does a great job capitalizing on the bleak existence of the characters, he has created a solid piece of work that could not be more different then that of his father's. He is hamstrung by the aforementioned slow start and an occasionally weak script, but he manages to transcend them. It's not a perfect movie, but one that you won't regret seeking out when it comes to theaters. If anything, you'll see that I'm right about Stewart.

Jake Scott following the Q&A

Teenage Paparazzo

On a very different note, Teenage Pararazzo. Directed, and narrated by Entourage star, Adrian Grenier, this documentary examines celebrity and the public's fascination with it. It all starts with Grenier's discovery of a teenaged, paparazzi photographer who is obsessed with the lifestyle and the thrill of chasing celebs. Grenier follows him around, hoping to get the inside scoop on the paparazzi and what it is that makes them tick. Along the way, he reveals big truths about how the public view celebrities, It's an interesting little doc that will probably have a small run on HBO, and then fade into obscurity. If it's on, I'd say it's worth a look, but it's not going to speak to any big truth. I filmed the Q&A with Grenier following the screening, which should give you a better sense of what the film is about then I can. It's good, but not great.

The crown at Teenage Paparazzo

So. Two films. Not bad, considering I had nary a ticket in my hand when I woke up this morning. Had I been here for the whole festival and not one little weekend, I'd have seen a whole ton of other movies. Top of my list to see when it comes out in theaters is Hesher, starring my love, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who plays the sociopathic, mean spirited title character. I've heard great things about it, and I can't wait to see what my boy can do again. Next on the list is Howl, with James Franco as Alan Ginsberg. Reviews of this one have also been stellar, and, c'mon, it's a film about Alan Ginsberg. What's not to like. Also on my list is The Runaways, starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning as rockers Joan Jett and Cherie Currie, and The Company Men, starring the likes of Ben Affleck and Tommy Lee Jones as men trying to survive a year of corporate downsizing. All these films, given the pedigree of the people involved will most likely be bought by studios and receive wide releases; The Runaways is already slated for a March 19th release date. I'm just glad I got to experience one day of the Sundance life. It's great, and I can't wait until I can fully take in the whole deal.

Eat It Up!

Brace yourselves! I'm about to delve deep into myself in yet another one of my many attempts to show you that I have a soul! I know you don't want to believe it, but come on! Give credit where credit is due! I just got out of Where the Wild Things Are almost on the verge of tears. I didn't actually let a teardrop go, as I was with friends, and that would have looked weird. But, that still didn't stop me from feeling an overwhelming sense of wonder and emotion with Where the Wild Things Are. Indeed, this is easily one of the best movies of the year, and, as my friend so succinctly put it, the first book-to-movie adaptation that is actually better then the source material on which it is based!
If you have read Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are, then you already have a general idea of what this movie is about. If you haven't read it, then close out of this page, turn off your computer and do so. For those of you who don't read, it boils down like this. There's a kid named Max, who is going through that phase of childhood, where everything he does is misunderstood, where the smallest things can lead to huge confrontations, and where the imagination is an untamed and wild beast! One night, Max is sent to bed without dinner. Instead of following his mother's orders, he runs away to the ocean. There he finds a small boat, which takes him to a far off island. Upon landing on the island, Max discovers that it is inhabited by giant "wild things", who, upon close inspection, are not that different from himself. He makes his presence known and is soon crowned the king of the wild things. As he befriends and plays with the creatures, he let's his own fantasies play out like he never could back home! The book Where the Wild Things Are was only made up of ten sentences. Co-writer/director Spike Jonze was faced with the, almost, impossible challenge of adapting the book into a feature length movie. Boy, did he live up to the task! To say that Where the Wild Things Are stays true to the spirit of the book is a gross understatement. It is such a beautiful story that is so masterfully written... I can't think of anything to say that will do it justice!
Max Records plays Max (go figure). This performance will probably go down in the annals of exquisite performances by a child actor. Records so brilliantly captures the juvenile spirit that made Max such and interesting character in the book, and does a great job translating it to the screen. He is simply wonderful! The rest of the cast is made up of, primarily, voices from the likes of James Gandolfini as the main and most troubled wild thing, Carol, Lauren Ambrose as the carefree and kind KW, Forest Whitaker and Catherine O'Hara as lovebirds Ira and Judith, Paul Dano as the lonely, sad Alexander, Chris Cooper as the yes-man Douglas, and Michael Berry Jr. as the quiet and shutoff Bull. All the voice actors do a great job, with Gandolfini and Ambrose shining the brightest! The layers of emotion that the voice actors give to their characters is so unique these days, it makes wish more people would give a damn! Catherine Keener and Mark Ruffalo show up briefly as Max's mother and her boyfriend, respectively. This is one of the best acted movies of the year! No question about it!
Back to Spike Jonze. Here is a director who has consistently turned in wonderfully quirky, very heartfelt films, from Being John Malkovich to Adaptation. Where the Wild Things Are is a big change of pace for him, but he handles the project as if he had been making movies like this for decades. He stays so true to the message and ideas of the book, whilst expanding the plot so that it would be interesting on screen, it is mind boggling! He so masterfully captures what is like to be kid, and all the confusion, imagination, innocence, playfulness, and mystery that goes with it! Despite this movie being a "fantasy" tale, it is very realistic. I don't think anyone can walk out of this movie and say that they didn't relate to Max at least once throughout the entire screening. They would be lying! Everything that we see Max contend with on the island with the creatures is a reflection of what every kid goes through at some point in their lives. Good luck not feeling that hard to find swelling in your chest when the movie reaches its heartbreaking-uplifting-at-the-same-time ending!
Words cannot adequately express how good Where the Wild Things Are is. I could talk all day about how great the cinematography is, how the almost dialogue free opening scenes are sublime, or how the mix of costumes and CGI to create the wild things could not have been done better. But, then you'd still be reading this and not going to see Where the Wild Things Are. So, that's all I have to say! Close out of this page, turn off your computer, and go see Where the Wild Things Are! To quote KW, "I could eat [it] up, I love [it] so!" A

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