Gen Art had a focus on women directors last night The short film, Daughters, was presented with the feature Tanner Hall. It was a very good pairing. They both focused on young women growing up and making difficult choices in life and love.
The star of Tanner Hall, Rooney Mara, plays Fernanda, a mature and thoughtful young girl who goes to an all girl's boarding school. She's spent so much of her life away from home she feels disconnected from her mother and considers the school her home. She has two very close friends Kate and Jo who each have extremely different personalities.
Her dynamic at school is changed when an old childhood friend enrolls in the school. Victoria us rebellious and dark, and attempts to insert herself in the group while trying to exclude Fern. Along with that is a forbidden crush on Gio, played by Tom Everett Scott.
The movie was well acted and all of the characters were very believable. I can see Rooney Mara having a very successful acting career ahead of her. The story, however, felt a little uninspired and predictable. It was a very textbook coming of age drama that had been done in many films before. It wasn't a bad film, I was entertained and never got bored, but I wasn't surprised or inspired by the story. The directors/writers were very sweet best friends and seemed to really enjoy making this film, so congrats to them.
Daughters was filmed in China and is a subtitled movie. I can't even imagine the difficulties the director went through to get this movie made. Even more so considering the content of the film. It focuses on the two child rule and the difficult decisions a family has to make in that environment. The main character is the eldest daughter who future is being decided for her because her mother is pregnant with a son. Her struggle to choose between an unwanted marriage and her little sister's life is extremely moving.
One of the best shorts this week.
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Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Gen Art Film Festival: Night Four
Society's obsession with celebrities and fame is no secret. There are gossip magazines at every newstand and supermarket. There is an endless number of websites and blogs dedicated to breaking stories about celebrity couples getting together or breaking up. The red carpet photos, the late night parties, the trips to the grocery store or fast food joint. The continuous stream of photos has to come from somewhere or someone. That's where the paparazzi come in. We've seen the growth of the celeb photographer increase in recent years. Celebrities seem to be followed everywhere, everyday. It's gotten pretty ridiculous. The celebrities have shown time and again how annoyed they are with having their lives invaded by these people every waking moment.
But what do you do if you see a young boy taking your photo alongside the rest of the paparazzi? If you're Adrien Grenier, you stop and find out who he is. And them you make a documentary about him.
Teenage Paparazzo follows Grenier and fourteen year old Austin who is a paparazzi. Austin is an adorable kid who decided to enter the paparazzi business and became quite successful at it. There are lots of interviews with celebrities like Eva Longoria, Matt Damon, Lewis Black and Whoopi Goldberg among others. Paris Hilton has a larger part in the film than most of the other celebs as she helps Grenier with a pretty funny experiment and she seems to have taken a liking to young Austin.
There are also interviews with psychologists, professors and other professionals which give us a more in depth look into why we, as humans, feel the compulsion to want more and more info about the personal lives of celebrities.
It's interesting to see the dynamic between the celebs and the paparazzi. The way the paparazzi justify their actions and feel they have the right to invade every personal moment of their lives because of who they are and the career choices they've made. Some celebrities are more understanding than others. They also realize that the kind of life you lead as a celebrity also determines how much paparazzi attention you will garner.
But to see a young kid out until 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning just to get pictures of Lindsay Lohan or Paris Hilton coming out of a club, it doesn't seem right. Where are his parents? Why would they let him do this? His parents are actually quite nice, intelligent people who have let their child explore an interest. Austin is a very smart and self-sufficient child. He's also a product of the world we live in, fascinated with celebrities and the idea of fame.
The film is very well-rounded, showing different perspectives of this world. Watching Adrien being shunned by the paparazzi was quite interesting. Also seeing how Austin handled the idea of the cameras being turned to him was fascinating.
I think it's a great look at how pop culture has spiralled out of control. It's definitely worth watching. Even if you're just interested in seeing all of the different celebrities in the movie. You'll definitely walk away with a different perspective on those gossip magazines.
But what do you do if you see a young boy taking your photo alongside the rest of the paparazzi? If you're Adrien Grenier, you stop and find out who he is. And them you make a documentary about him.
Teenage Paparazzo follows Grenier and fourteen year old Austin who is a paparazzi. Austin is an adorable kid who decided to enter the paparazzi business and became quite successful at it. There are lots of interviews with celebrities like Eva Longoria, Matt Damon, Lewis Black and Whoopi Goldberg among others. Paris Hilton has a larger part in the film than most of the other celebs as she helps Grenier with a pretty funny experiment and she seems to have taken a liking to young Austin.
There are also interviews with psychologists, professors and other professionals which give us a more in depth look into why we, as humans, feel the compulsion to want more and more info about the personal lives of celebrities.
It's interesting to see the dynamic between the celebs and the paparazzi. The way the paparazzi justify their actions and feel they have the right to invade every personal moment of their lives because of who they are and the career choices they've made. Some celebrities are more understanding than others. They also realize that the kind of life you lead as a celebrity also determines how much paparazzi attention you will garner.
But to see a young kid out until 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning just to get pictures of Lindsay Lohan or Paris Hilton coming out of a club, it doesn't seem right. Where are his parents? Why would they let him do this? His parents are actually quite nice, intelligent people who have let their child explore an interest. Austin is a very smart and self-sufficient child. He's also a product of the world we live in, fascinated with celebrities and the idea of fame.
The film is very well-rounded, showing different perspectives of this world. Watching Adrien being shunned by the paparazzi was quite interesting. Also seeing how Austin handled the idea of the cameras being turned to him was fascinating.
I think it's a great look at how pop culture has spiralled out of control. It's definitely worth watching. Even if you're just interested in seeing all of the different celebrities in the movie. You'll definitely walk away with a different perspective on those gossip magazines.
Gen Art Film Festival: Night Three
Sebastian Guitierrez' film Electra Luxx had a great dry humor and campy quality to it. I was sure if I was going to like it when it first started, but I began to like it more and more as the movie progressed.
The movie was very well cast. Carla Gugino as the retired porn star was perfect. She is smokin' hot in the movie, and even better looking in person. Her big doe eyes lend her a vulnerability that comes through during the movie. Electra is a very multi-dimensional character. At first look she's a shallow sex symbol, but the more you watch, she becomes much more than that.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a sex blogger, Bert Rodriguez. This guy is super funny, mostly because he's trying to be so serious about his reporting on Electra. The fact that he video blogs from his bedroom in his mother's house makes for some hysterical interruptions to his reports. His sister, the aspiring Internet Pin-up girl, and Trixie the cashier, played by Malin Ackerman (this is her second film being shown at this film festival), add even more interest to his scenes.
The director and writer, Sebastian Gutierrez did a great job with this film. Listening to him discuss his film at the Q&A session after the film showed how passionate he is. I had not heard of the first movie involving these characters, Women In Trouble. After seeing Electra Luxx and hearing Gutierrez talk about the characters and his love of them, I will definitely put it on my list of movies to watch.
This was a fun movie to watch and is definitely something I would recommend it if you like any of the actors involved in the project or if you just like funny, sexy films.
The shirt film paired with this film was a perfect match. Blowing Bubbles was a very short film made for a 24 hour film race. Bubbles is a clown whose act is to, obviously, blow bubbles. But when his love, the Bearded Lady, leaves him he can no longer perform. The fantasticly raunchy twist is his problem performing has less to do with her leaving and more to with what she would for him before he had to perform. Definitely a great, original idea for a film.
Congrats to these film makers for a job well done, and for having their films showcased together in this film festival.
The major highlight of my evening had nothing to do with these two movies. It came after j left the theater and saw, gasp, Zachary Quinto in the lobby! Being the major geek that I am, I wanted to run to him and tell him how much I loved him as Spock. I pretty much chickened out, but luckily my hubby wouldn't let me walk away without for a picture with him. He was very nice about it, although he could have smoked a little for me.
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The movie was very well cast. Carla Gugino as the retired porn star was perfect. She is smokin' hot in the movie, and even better looking in person. Her big doe eyes lend her a vulnerability that comes through during the movie. Electra is a very multi-dimensional character. At first look she's a shallow sex symbol, but the more you watch, she becomes much more than that.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a sex blogger, Bert Rodriguez. This guy is super funny, mostly because he's trying to be so serious about his reporting on Electra. The fact that he video blogs from his bedroom in his mother's house makes for some hysterical interruptions to his reports. His sister, the aspiring Internet Pin-up girl, and Trixie the cashier, played by Malin Ackerman (this is her second film being shown at this film festival), add even more interest to his scenes.
The director and writer, Sebastian Gutierrez did a great job with this film. Listening to him discuss his film at the Q&A session after the film showed how passionate he is. I had not heard of the first movie involving these characters, Women In Trouble. After seeing Electra Luxx and hearing Gutierrez talk about the characters and his love of them, I will definitely put it on my list of movies to watch.
This was a fun movie to watch and is definitely something I would recommend it if you like any of the actors involved in the project or if you just like funny, sexy films.
The shirt film paired with this film was a perfect match. Blowing Bubbles was a very short film made for a 24 hour film race. Bubbles is a clown whose act is to, obviously, blow bubbles. But when his love, the Bearded Lady, leaves him he can no longer perform. The fantasticly raunchy twist is his problem performing has less to do with her leaving and more to with what she would for him before he had to perform. Definitely a great, original idea for a film.
Congrats to these film makers for a job well done, and for having their films showcased together in this film festival.
The major highlight of my evening had nothing to do with these two movies. It came after j left the theater and saw, gasp, Zachary Quinto in the lobby! Being the major geek that I am, I wanted to run to him and tell him how much I loved him as Spock. I pretty much chickened out, but luckily my hubby wouldn't let me walk away without for a picture with him. He was very nice about it, although he could have smoked a little for me.
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Thursday, April 8, 2010
Gen Art Film Festival: Night Two
Waiting For Forever, directed by James Keach was the movie chosen for night two of the film festival. The cast list was quite good for an indie film, Rachel Bilson, Richard Jenkins, Blythe Danner, Jaime King and Tom Sturridge. That, along with an interesting sounding blurb about childhood best friends who sort of lose touch, at least one if them does. Will (Sturridge) follows Emma (Bilson) around the country for years while working on his juggling career without her ever knowing how much he loves her.
I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn't what I got.
Will's character comes off as odd and slightly retarded along with being stalkerish and living in his own dream world.
Emma seems insincere and doesn't really connect with her parents. Her father is dying, which brought her back to her hometown in the first place, but she doesn't seem to really care.
Overall, it felt pretty disconnected and unrealistic in an awkward way, not in a "that would be great if it COULD happen" way.
Then there was Emma's boyfriend, who had no reason to be in the movie at all. He was used as some kind of plot device which was completely unneccesary to the story or the other character developments.
Blythe Danner did manage to bring some solid acting to the film as did Richard Jenkins, but that is to be expected from such high caliber actors.
In the end I walked away uninspired and untouched by the film.
The short film that was paired with this movie was called Extension directed by Tyler Byrne. The film was extremely insightful in it's simplicity. There was very little dialogue, but the expressions carried the message they were trying send.
Seeing a boy plugged in with an extension cord was an odd concept. Watching him try to break free was extremely touching. We are all tied to something in our lives, sometimes all we need to do is look to our loved ones to help us overcome our obstacles.
It was a great short film.
The after-party was at SL on west 14th. The Don Julio flowed once again and the place was packed.
Highlight of the evening? Seeing the beautiful Jane Seymour in person!
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I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn't what I got.
Will's character comes off as odd and slightly retarded along with being stalkerish and living in his own dream world.
Emma seems insincere and doesn't really connect with her parents. Her father is dying, which brought her back to her hometown in the first place, but she doesn't seem to really care.
Overall, it felt pretty disconnected and unrealistic in an awkward way, not in a "that would be great if it COULD happen" way.
Then there was Emma's boyfriend, who had no reason to be in the movie at all. He was used as some kind of plot device which was completely unneccesary to the story or the other character developments.
Blythe Danner did manage to bring some solid acting to the film as did Richard Jenkins, but that is to be expected from such high caliber actors.
In the end I walked away uninspired and untouched by the film.
The short film that was paired with this movie was called Extension directed by Tyler Byrne. The film was extremely insightful in it's simplicity. There was very little dialogue, but the expressions carried the message they were trying send.
Seeing a boy plugged in with an extension cord was an odd concept. Watching him try to break free was extremely touching. We are all tied to something in our lives, sometimes all we need to do is look to our loved ones to help us overcome our obstacles.
It was a great short film.
The after-party was at SL on west 14th. The Don Julio flowed once again and the place was packed.
Highlight of the evening? Seeing the beautiful Jane Seymour in person!
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Gen Art Film Festival: Night One
Opening night movie was happythankyoumoreplease (no spaces) directed by Josh Radnor. Starring Josh Radnor (How I Met Your Mother), Kate Mara, and one of the most adorable young boys I've seen in a movie in a long time, Michael Algieri.
The movie, set in manhattan, follows Sam (Radnor), a late-twenties not-so-successful writer whose mundane life begins to change when he finds himself stuck with a little boy who gets separated from his foster mom on the subway.
There are two other subplots to the movie. Sam's best friend, Annie, who has alopecia, and can't seem to choose the right guy. And a young couple trying to decide what the next move in their lives should be.
It's a great homage to New York. There's lots of references both visual and verbal to how great it is to live in NY and how LA sucks in comparison. Anyone who's from NY or who has been here long enough will most likely appreciate all of the anecdotes about surviving in this city and paying ridiculous rents to live in the city but not appreciating all it has to offer.
The whirlwind romance between Sam and Mississippi (Mara) is very cute, if a bit over the top. There's defintely a need to suspend disbelief with their situation and just enjoy it. But it's definitely worth it to do so.
Aside from the great writing and acting, what really caught my heart in this movie is Rasheen, Played by Michael Algieri. The nine year makes his feature film debut with a fantastic performance. After refusing to be left in the care of police or social services, this quiet character manages to get Sam to feel responsible for him and start to care enormously for his well being. Sam grows because of his interaction with Rasheen and becomes even more likable because he cares for this kid the best he can in his dysfunctional way. Algieri is now my favorite little boy in Hollywood. Watching him walk the red carpet like a pro was absolutely adorable.
This is a must see for any twenty something anywhere trying to find their way.
Radnor announced it will be released in select theaters sometime in August, so be sure to keep an eye out for this film.
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The movie, set in manhattan, follows Sam (Radnor), a late-twenties not-so-successful writer whose mundane life begins to change when he finds himself stuck with a little boy who gets separated from his foster mom on the subway.
There are two other subplots to the movie. Sam's best friend, Annie, who has alopecia, and can't seem to choose the right guy. And a young couple trying to decide what the next move in their lives should be.
It's a great homage to New York. There's lots of references both visual and verbal to how great it is to live in NY and how LA sucks in comparison. Anyone who's from NY or who has been here long enough will most likely appreciate all of the anecdotes about surviving in this city and paying ridiculous rents to live in the city but not appreciating all it has to offer.
The whirlwind romance between Sam and Mississippi (Mara) is very cute, if a bit over the top. There's defintely a need to suspend disbelief with their situation and just enjoy it. But it's definitely worth it to do so.
Aside from the great writing and acting, what really caught my heart in this movie is Rasheen, Played by Michael Algieri. The nine year makes his feature film debut with a fantastic performance. After refusing to be left in the care of police or social services, this quiet character manages to get Sam to feel responsible for him and start to care enormously for his well being. Sam grows because of his interaction with Rasheen and becomes even more likable because he cares for this kid the best he can in his dysfunctional way. Algieri is now my favorite little boy in Hollywood. Watching him walk the red carpet like a pro was absolutely adorable.
This is a must see for any twenty something anywhere trying to find their way.
Radnor announced it will be released in select theaters sometime in August, so be sure to keep an eye out for this film.
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Thursday, March 25, 2010
Movie Review: Leaves of Grass
Leaves of Grass had a red carpet premiere at the Sunshine Cinemas on Houston St in downtown New York tonight hosted by Gen Art.
The movie was directed by Tim Blake Nelson who had a featured role alongside Ed Norton. Norton played Billy and Brady, twin brothers from Oklahoma who grew up to live completely different and separate lives. Billy, a published writer and professor, lives an ordered life in New England while his brother lives a life of crime and growing marijuana.
The movie is filled with excellent actors including Richard Dreyfus, Susan Sarandon, Keri Russell and Melanie Lymsky.
It's a good film. Well paced and interesting with some good humor and touching moments. Ed, as usual, gives an excellent performance. It's funny to watch him playing an intelligent redneck, which he somehow manages to pull off believably.
Keri Russell, who plays Billy's love interest, is endearing. Although she seems a little too thin, she's very naturally pretty in the film. Her character is extremely insightful and poetic and leaves you wanting to embark on some introspective soul searching.
I'm not sure what kind of distribution this film will get, but if you have a good independent movie theater, then I'd suggest you go see this film. It's Ed at his versatile best.
The movie was directed by Tim Blake Nelson who had a featured role alongside Ed Norton. Norton played Billy and Brady, twin brothers from Oklahoma who grew up to live completely different and separate lives. Billy, a published writer and professor, lives an ordered life in New England while his brother lives a life of crime and growing marijuana.
The movie is filled with excellent actors including Richard Dreyfus, Susan Sarandon, Keri Russell and Melanie Lymsky.
It's a good film. Well paced and interesting with some good humor and touching moments. Ed, as usual, gives an excellent performance. It's funny to watch him playing an intelligent redneck, which he somehow manages to pull off believably.
Keri Russell, who plays Billy's love interest, is endearing. Although she seems a little too thin, she's very naturally pretty in the film. Her character is extremely insightful and poetic and leaves you wanting to embark on some introspective soul searching.
I'm not sure what kind of distribution this film will get, but if you have a good independent movie theater, then I'd suggest you go see this film. It's Ed at his versatile best.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Go go government
Health reform has passed! Finally!
There are many different angles that the health reform bill is being attacked or praised on. Mostly, I just can't understand why anyone would think it's a bad idea for our government to put a bill into place that would protect people from the greedy and immoral insurance business. This bill will allow millions of people to get medical insurance, followed by proper health care, that would never have been able to do so before.
Here's the thing, health insurance is supposed to help people get the care they need in the event that they fall ill. That illness can be anything, cancer, anemia, a heart attack or the flu. But it has become the practice of the insurance agencies to deny coverage to those people or drop them from coverage when they become sick. What's worse is that we the people have had to accept that as being okay because there was nothing else we could do.
This new bill speaks for the people, not the insurance agencies. Which, frankly, is something the government hasn't done in a long time. Year after year we've seen the politicians sitting in the pockets of big business. The auto industry, big oil, the banks, insurance firms, time and again get things passed in their favor because they have the deeper pockets. But we now have a president who was put in place by us, the constituents, and who does not have to worry about whether he will lose that financial backing from some huge firm.
Obama cares about the people of this country. It's a very strange concept to find on Capitol Hill. All those fat old men have been cut off from reality for so long they only see their own point of view and blindly believe it's what's right since they've been in place for so many years.
Hopefully this bill passing, and all the disgusting antics from the republicans that went on through the process, will show people that the government can change and actually achieve something great for our benefit. It should also show people the real faces of their republican politicians. The fact that they will vote No for no other reason than to spite the democrats. That's not what they are supposed to be there for. Elections are not supposed to be the reason for a congressmans actions. It seems as though they can't simply think on their own and do what they feel is right for the people they represent. Instead they do as they are told by the petty men who want their way and want do whatever they can to undermine the other party, even if it goes against something they themselves actually stand for. Where's the common sense in that. This is not high school. These are peoples lives they are messing around with and I hope those people realize it's time to put some fresh faces into those seats, even if they are still republican. I have to believe there are some good, smart and reasonable republican politicians out there. I know plenty of republicans and they aren't irrational people, they don't hate democrats and they are not opposed to every single liberal idea just because it's liberal.
I'm very excited about health care reform. I think it's definitely a step in the right direction to protecting people's rights to health care. If someone is willing to pay for insurance, then let them. They shouldn't be denied because they beat cancer five years ago. Every child should be covered. A parent shouldn't have to worry about whether they'll go broke if their child get sick or in an accident.
I can only hope that people will see how beneficial this will be to them and stop being so divisive. I'm tired of seeing the ugly things that people will do to get their point of view across. It's unneccessary and only makes you even more wrong when you attack people, verbally or physically.
This was a big win and now it's time to move on to the next issue. The republicans need to get over it and move forward to work on something new. And no, trying to repeal this bill is not something new.
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There are many different angles that the health reform bill is being attacked or praised on. Mostly, I just can't understand why anyone would think it's a bad idea for our government to put a bill into place that would protect people from the greedy and immoral insurance business. This bill will allow millions of people to get medical insurance, followed by proper health care, that would never have been able to do so before.
Here's the thing, health insurance is supposed to help people get the care they need in the event that they fall ill. That illness can be anything, cancer, anemia, a heart attack or the flu. But it has become the practice of the insurance agencies to deny coverage to those people or drop them from coverage when they become sick. What's worse is that we the people have had to accept that as being okay because there was nothing else we could do.
This new bill speaks for the people, not the insurance agencies. Which, frankly, is something the government hasn't done in a long time. Year after year we've seen the politicians sitting in the pockets of big business. The auto industry, big oil, the banks, insurance firms, time and again get things passed in their favor because they have the deeper pockets. But we now have a president who was put in place by us, the constituents, and who does not have to worry about whether he will lose that financial backing from some huge firm.
Obama cares about the people of this country. It's a very strange concept to find on Capitol Hill. All those fat old men have been cut off from reality for so long they only see their own point of view and blindly believe it's what's right since they've been in place for so many years.
Hopefully this bill passing, and all the disgusting antics from the republicans that went on through the process, will show people that the government can change and actually achieve something great for our benefit. It should also show people the real faces of their republican politicians. The fact that they will vote No for no other reason than to spite the democrats. That's not what they are supposed to be there for. Elections are not supposed to be the reason for a congressmans actions. It seems as though they can't simply think on their own and do what they feel is right for the people they represent. Instead they do as they are told by the petty men who want their way and want do whatever they can to undermine the other party, even if it goes against something they themselves actually stand for. Where's the common sense in that. This is not high school. These are peoples lives they are messing around with and I hope those people realize it's time to put some fresh faces into those seats, even if they are still republican. I have to believe there are some good, smart and reasonable republican politicians out there. I know plenty of republicans and they aren't irrational people, they don't hate democrats and they are not opposed to every single liberal idea just because it's liberal.
I'm very excited about health care reform. I think it's definitely a step in the right direction to protecting people's rights to health care. If someone is willing to pay for insurance, then let them. They shouldn't be denied because they beat cancer five years ago. Every child should be covered. A parent shouldn't have to worry about whether they'll go broke if their child get sick or in an accident.
I can only hope that people will see how beneficial this will be to them and stop being so divisive. I'm tired of seeing the ugly things that people will do to get their point of view across. It's unneccessary and only makes you even more wrong when you attack people, verbally or physically.
This was a big win and now it's time to move on to the next issue. The republicans need to get over it and move forward to work on something new. And no, trying to repeal this bill is not something new.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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