Cesar's Last Fast (2014)

Directors: Lorena Parlee, Richard Ray Perez

Composer: Ed Barguiarena

Starring: Cesar Chavez

More info: IMDb

Plot: In 1988, Cesar Chavez embarked on what would be his last act of protest in his remarkable life. Driven in part to pay penance for feeling he had not done enough, Chavez began his “Fast for Life,” a 36-day water-only hunger strike, to draw attention to the horrific effects of unfettered pesticide use on farm workers, their families, and their communities. Using never-before-seen footage of Chavez during his fast and testimony from those closest to him, directors Richard Ray Perez and Lorena Parlee weave together the larger story of Chavez’s life, vision, and legacy. A deeply religious man, Chavez’s moral clarity in organizing and standing with farm workers at risk of his own life humbled his family, friends, and the world. Cesar’s Last Fast is a moving and definitive portrait of the leader of a people who became an American icon of struggle and freedom.

My rating: 7.5/10

Will I watch it again? No.

Sundance Film Festival 2014

What is the goal of this film?  If it is to educate, it succeeds. I learned an awful lot about this man I had only heard of.  I drove down the street named after him in San Francisco many times.  Anything else was lost on me.  We get modern interviews with Martin Sheen, Chavez's son and many of the people who worked with him, and every one of them is passionate about the man and his work.  I respect that.  Now maybe it's me but the film felt designed (music, visuals, withholding information (for a few minutes) to make a particular moment more powerful) to illicit the biggest emotional impact possible.  It's a highly emotional subject, I know, but I couldn't help but feel like the film makers were over doing it on the tugging on the heart strings scale.  That said, I still enjoyed the film and agree with what Chavez was trying to accomplish but it seemed tacky to see Martin Sheen sitting on a stool watching a TV on a table that's showing the moment when Chavez ate the first piece of food, ending his 36 day fast and then watching Sheen lose it and burst into tears.  It's that kind of tactics that I find distasteful. If it had been Sheen being interviewed and then suddenly turn to his emotions, that would be more acceptable.  I don't know, it's a good film but that one thing got to me in a negative way.  I guess when you're fed a highly emotional film for nearly two hours it can get to you sooner than you think.

Deadhead Miles (1973)

Director: Vernon Zimmerman

Writers: Terrence Malick, Vernon Zimmerman

Composer: Tom T. Hall

Starring: Alan Arkin, Paul Benedict, Bruce Bennett, Charles Durning, Hector Elizondo, Richard Kiel, John MIlius, Avery Schreiber, Loretta Swit, George Raft, Ida Lupino

More info: IMDb

Plot: The story involves Cooper (Arkin), a hijacked and beautifully spray-painted Peterbuilt, a woman chained to an iron wood heater, another woman with one eye and  a hitchhiker (Paul Benedict).  Yeah, it doesn't make sense to me, either.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again? Yeah, I think I would.

What a strange little film.  I didn't even realize it was written by Terrence Malick until it was over.  That explains a lot.  I must have blinked during the credits.  The picture is nothing more than a series of little adventures Cooper (Arkin) gets into.  He's not a good person.  He cheats everyone and steals everywhere he can.  He's also oddly played by Arkin.  His accents is very strange and ill fitting for his look.

So, if you just take it at face value, it's just about this dude who drives a semi across country.  That's the plot.  There is no character development.  None.  But that's OK because it's really fun.  There are TONS of cameos by known actors both established like Ida Lupino and George Raft...

and Loretta Swit, in her first motion picture role.

Look at the cast and you'll see a lot of now familiar names that were just starting out 40 years ago.  Known for bringing lots of funny, Paul Benedict plays the hitchhiker Cooper picks up near the beginning of the movie and takes him to the end only here he's not playing for laughs.  He has an interesting twist which I really dug.  And Bruce Bennett shows up to help them when their rig breaks down.  His is an interesting and unusual character.  There's lots of really neat and strange things going on here and it's surprising that this hasn't made its way to DVD considering Malick's involvement. 

Killers (2014)

Directors: Kimo Stamboel, Timo Tjahjanto

Writers: Kimo Stamboel, Timo Tjahjanto

Composer: Aria Prayogi

Starring: Rin Takanashi, Luna Maya, Kazuki Kitamura, Ray Sahetapy, Oka Antara, Epy Kusnandar, Mei Kurokawa, Tara Basro

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Inside every mind.

Plot: Mr. Nomura is an eerily handsome, sharply dressed, sociopathic serial killer who preys on the women of Tokyo. In Jakarta, a world-weary journalist named Bayu finds himself unexpectedly falling into vigilantism after brutally killing two sadistic robbers. When each posts videos of his violent sprees online, the pair find one another on the Internet and begin a toxic and competitive duel. While Bayu clings to the hope that he can resume a normal life, Nomura continues to spill blood without remorse. Killing, advises Nomura, is something everyone ought to consider.

My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again? Yes.

Sundance Film Festival 2014

Sure, it's got guys who dig on killin' folks and, yeah, it's got some GREAT violence but it's not your standard serial killer/thriller fare.  An Indonesian, Japanese and American co-production, KILLERS takes you on a leisurely paced and unpleasant ride into the world of these two men who have a taste for killing; one, Nomura, is a seasoned pro and the other, Bayu, is just getting started.   It's fun to watch Nomura guide Bayu like a master and apprentice. Bayu eventually gives in to it but it's not long before he realizes that this isn't his bag but then it doesn't help that one of his victims is in the Mob and they're not going to take it lightly.  What follows is an uncomfortable chain of events for Bayu and the people he loves and Nomura taking a more hands-on approach with Bayu's life.  The finale is worth the two hour and seventeen minute running time.  It really feels like it, too, because this isn't an desperate, edge of your seat kind of horror/thriller.  There are things that need to be said before we can really get the full impact of the final act and boy, oh boy, is it a doosey.  It's got a little bit of dark humor but you wouldn't know it by the young jackass sitting behind me who laughed at inappropriate times.  KILLERS is stylish, smart and well-made from the top down.  Keep your eyes peeled for the scene where, in the background while two cops are talking, something's happening to the hooker in the trunk.  Loved it.

Sundance Film Festival 2014 Day 4

Fuck! I've now got a cold and the Sudafed isn't working.  It's 11 PM and I FINALLY got back to the house after seeing KILLERS (2014), a pretty damn good (but overlong) Indonesian serial killer flick that ended shortly after 8.  I waited an hour an a half for my ride at a pub, eating mediocre fried trout and drinking tasty beer.  I was going to see WETLANDS (2014), a flick about some very active vaginas, at midnight but I'm too beat to go now.  After this I'm hittin' the sack.  Earlier today I caught LOW DOWN (2014) which was great.  The review for that is already up.  I have no idea what I'm going to have tickets for tomorrow (Friday).  Just three more days before it's all over and I head back home.  So far I've been very impressed by the quality of films.  I know I've only seen six but there hasn't been a bad one in the bunch.  One last thing, the awards ceremony ended about an hour ago for Slamdance and COPENHAGEN (2013) won the Audience Award for Narrative Feature.  I'm very pleased to hear that.  It's the best film I've seen out here so far.

Hopefully I'll have lots to carry on about tomorrow.  I'll at least have something written up about KILLERS. 

Low Down (2014)

Director: Jeff Preiss

Writers: Amy Albany, Topper Lilien

Composer: Ohad Talmor

Starring: John Hawkes, Elle Fanning, Glenn Close, Lena Headey, Taryn Manning, Peter Dinklage, Flea, Burton Ritchie, Tim Daly, Caleb Landry Jones, Billy Drago

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Junk, jazz, and other fairy tales from childhood.

Plot: A look at the life of pianist Joe Albany from the perspective of his young daughter, as she watches him contend with his drug addiction during the 1960s and '70s jazz scene.

My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again? Maybe.

Sundance film Festival 2014

Geez, this won't qualify for the feel-good movie at Sundance this year.  The story focuses on jazz pianist Joe Albany (Hawkes), his lifelong addiction to drugs and his relationship to the two women that meant the most to him, his daughter, Amy Fanning) and his mother (Close) but this isn't just another drug addiction film nor is it a bio of a great musician.  It's quiet and sad.  It's optimistic with dreams that won't come true.  It's a string of moments that, taken as a whole, paint a picture of despair and love.  It feels real.  Some scenes are out of order and some don't have a setup or resolution.  They aren't required.  Director Preiss takes that bold step and delivers a film that shows you that you don't need to be spoon fed with a definite beginning, middle and end.  The ONLY thing I was left wanting was more of the musician element.  As a musician I would really like to have seen any of the success he had for the two years John spent in Paris recording.  It's mentioned in the film but it's one of those "Two Years Later" title cards with a little bit of dialogue to fill in some of that gap.  I realize the impact that would have with the flow of the film and the two hour running time.  The performances are outstanding.  Everyone delivers the goods.  Everyone.  Impressive.

CAPTIVATED: The trials of Pamela Smart (2014)

Director: Jeremiah Zagar

Starring: Pamela Smart

More info: IMDb

Tagline: One woman's trail, a nation's entertainment

Plot:  A small-town murder in New England became one of the highest-profile cases of the twentieth century.  As the first fully televised court case, the Pamela Smart trial rattleed the consciousness of America.  From gavel to gavel, a nation tuned in , and reality TV was born.  Pulsating with sex, drugs, betrayal and murder, the trial inspired 20 years of television shows, books, plays and movies, including TO DIE FORE (), starring Nicole Kidman and directed by Gus Van Sant.

My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again? Nah.

Sundance Film Festival 2014

I was well into college when this happened which  means I didn't pay much attention to it.  Hell, I wasn't even watching TV during those years.  I vaguely remember something about it but it took watching this documentary at the Sundance Film Festival today to jog my memory.  The bottom line is she was convicted in the court of public opinion for the six months leading up to the trial.  The media in all of its forms took this ball and ran with it all the way to the finish line.  Anyone and everyone jumped onto this ratings booster and painted a horrific portrayal of Pamela Smart which may or may not have made a difference in her criminal trial.  There were a lot of questions raised in this film that, by the end of the picture, I was seriously wondering if maybe she was innocent of murder.  The film makers make a lot of valid points that indicate she might just be a victim of the media and, if so, this is a tragic story.

I really like the way Zagar presents the material. The media circus began in 1990.  A plethora of video footage of the news reports, trial and miscellaneous TV shows (Geraldo, Donahue, etc) are show on old CRT televisions in various locations (homes, bars, etc).  One of the jurors recorded her daily thoughts onto a microcassete which is used in much the same way to a great effect.  Of course there are lots of interviews with the principle players including Smart herself.  It's a fascinating picture and not just for raising questions of guilt or innocence but for how much of a role the media can have in shaping public opinion. The sad thing is, innocent or not, Pamela Smart has been exploited in every way, in all forms of media...including this film.

Sundance Film Festival 2014 Day 3

[Wednesday]  Well, I caught a documentary that I wasn't initially interested in seeing but I'm glad I did.  CAPTIVATED: THE TRIALS OF PAMELA SMART (2014) was very enlightening.  Before and after it was lots of hanging around the house with the internet down all day and then it was off to the midnight showing of DEAD SNOW 2: RED VS. DEAD (2014).  It really sucks, these midnight shows, simply because my body is still thinking it's 1 am back home so by the time I get out of the picture it's nearing 3 and I'm tired as shit.  Anyway, this trip is getting better by the day.  I was really worried that I would only see five or six films tops but the films are lining up nicely.