If you have ever met me and Josh more than once then you have probably heard of the 24-hour film festival we have attended for the past 4 years. (Remember this, this, and this?) Well, it's that time of year again and our applications are done and submitted.
Each year the applications include some crazy questions and a required picture related to the theme. And this year's theme is "ThirTeen Wolf" (because it's the 13th annual BNAT, get it? No, seriously, do you get it?) So the pictures were Teen Wolf-related. We were told to either re-enact or re-imagine a scene from the movie.
This is what we ended up with:
How can a Teen Wolf get dressed without getting hair everywhere?
Being a teen wolf makes showering an awkward situation
Last year was the first that an optional video component was included. Remember this? Last year it was a video including the jingle for some Japanese cologne. This year it was one including a perfume jingle from the '70s. Josh did a lot of work for it. He even storyboarded the entire thing.
The puppets were my idea.
In Other News:
I'm in the middle of applying for internship, which explains why I haven't updated the blog in awhile. You can expect more of that. Sorry.
It's been nearly two months since we ventured to Austin, Texas to attend Butt-Numb-A-Thon (BNAT for short, pronounced "Bee-Gnat") for the fourth-straight year, and I've been meaning to write about it. Check out this previous post for this year's photo.
For the uninitiated, BNAT is a 24-hour, invite-only film festival held by and for the birthday of Harry Knowles, founder of Ain't It Cool News, a Web site I started frequenting back in college. Shortly after Em and I got married, Emily's sister moved to Austin, and I convinced Emily that we should apply to this film festival I'd read so much about over the years.
This year was the 12th edition, hence the title. Without further ado... here are the films we saw (in chronological order) on Dec. 11-12 (I know this post is quite late, but at the time, none of the new films had been released, so it was a pretty big deal to see them early):
Every BNAT we've attended has started with a vintage film, so we were really surprised when Harry started things off with the latest Coen Brothers film. Between the two of us, Emily and I have seen almost all of their films, and this one is definitely one of their best. It's also the Coen Brothers only remake of their career, the original being mostly known for netting John Wayne his only Oscar. It probably won't have the same effect for Jeff Bridges this year, but only because he won last year and is up against Colin Firth (who I'm 95% sure will win). This is a great Western film about revenge and redemption, and the precocious Hailee Steinfeld (just 14 when she shot this) is fantastic.
One thing I love about BNAT is getting to see films that I've never seen nor heard of previously. Such was the case with this glorious minimalist French noir film. I'll admit to having a bit of a bias toward French cinema in general, mostly because the language fascinates me (I understand a lot of it... but it's enough of a mystery to keep me intrigued). That, and French directors are known for their incredible use of staging, lighting, music and locations. This film features debonair Alain Delon as a no-nonsense assassin for hire who's life is upended by betrayal. Good stuff. According to Harry, the 35mm print we saw of this film is impossible to find from film rental companies, and this particular print came to us from the personal library of director Quentin Tarantino. Awesome!!
We've only seen a few musicals at BNAT, but I grew up watching some of the classics, as did Emily (although, curiously, it seems we've often seen different ones than the other, leading to many a "How could you NOT have seen that?" conversations. Yep... it happens, even amongst a couple of film geeks.). I, for whatever reason, had never seen this film. All you need to know is that it's about three sailors on leave in NYC for 24 hours. There's a lot of singing, dancing, canoodling and innuendo. And the BNAT crowd didn't miss ANY of it, rewarding the 61-year-old performances with plenty of laughter and applause. It was a real treat to see this with 200+ of the geekiest people on Earth.
During BNAT, we usually get at least a 5-minute break between films (which, when you add all that up, can easily add an extra 50+ minutes to the already long schedule). But right after ON THE TOWN ended, Harry said, "Nobody go anywhere. Everybody... give it up for Jon Favreau and Ron Howard."
If those two names don't mean anything to you, then perhaps we shall not be friends... (j/k... but really, you should [and probably DO]) know who they are. Click on their names if you want to check Wikipedia really quick to check.
My eyes grew wide as I watched JON FAVREAU and RON HOWARD walk through the theater door, along with producer Bob Orci (literally right next to where Emily and I were sitting... we're talking inches here.). Jon explained to us that he wanted to show us his next film, "Cowboys and Aliens," but it was still in post-production (movies are made in three phases: pre-production, principal photography and post-production), so he could only show us the first two reels, or roughly 40 minutes of non-yet-ready-for-theaters footage. Was that OK with us? The crowd roared it's approval and away we went.
Some of my friends and family have expressed doubt about this film. All I can say is based on the 40-ish minutes we saw at BNAT, I'm really excited to see the whole film. The plot is still kind of mysterious to me, not having seen more than a chunk of the film... but if you're a fan of Daniel Craig as James Bond and Harrison Ford as, well, anything... I think you'll want to check this out. And, that's about all I can say as we were asked not to reveal any plot details. Sorry, Charlie.
I will make a confession. As a 30-year-old adult who is not a parent, I'm usually not that interested in a lot of the current slate of CG-animated films, save those by Pixar that are not about talking automobiles and a few others (sorry, no "G-Force" nor "Gnomeo & Juliet" for me...). So, I was a little reticent when I heard that we were going to see a clip from "Rango," a CG-animated film directed by Gore Verbinski, best known for directing "The Ring" and the first three (but not the fourth) Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
But, when GV's face showed up on the screen in a personalized message for Harry and the BNAT crowd, I thought that this must be something interesting. And... in fact, it was. Rango (voiced by Johnny Depp) is a chameleon who lives in a terrarium... and ends up in an old West town. Through a series of hilarious events, Rango is deemed the Sheriff of this town. Based just on what we saw, I will definitely check this out when it hits theaters in early March.
SANTA FE TRAIL (1940) This truly bizarre film takes the Civil War and completely turns the tables by making the abolitionists (particularly, John Brown) the BAD GUYS!! It also shares three of its main cast members (Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland and Alan Hale) with the epic 1938 film, The Adventures of Robin Hood. It also stars a 29-year-old Ronald Reagan as a young George A. Custer. Most of the movie centers around Flynn (as future Confederate Army General J.E.B. Stuart) and Reagan trying to win the hand of Olivia de Havilland. It's available in various public-domain releases on DVD, so seeing it in stunning 35mm on the big screen was a treat, even with its gross inaccuracies and strange portrayal of the abolition movement (plus, Flynn's inability to lose his Australian accent for a Southern drawl). Still, this is a film I might never have seen were it not for BNAT, and certainly not in a theater.
THE FIGHTER (2010) Readers of this blog may remember that back in August 2009, Emily and I spent nearly two weeks in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. While in Philly, I insisted that we go to the "Rocky Steps" at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Her response to my since-childhood love of the Rocky films has always been that she doesn't like boxing movies. However... she does like Christian Bale. And, essentially, this movie is not a boxing movie; rather it is a "Christian Bale as a crackhead" movie... and there's plenty to like about that.
Bale plays washed-0ut fighter Dicky Eklund who is currently the subject of an HBO documentary, which he is certain will help him rebuild his career. Meanwhile, his younger brother, Micky Ward (played by the in-real-life-older-than-Bale Mark Wahlberg), whose boxing career is on the rise. It's a particularly heartwarming, true story about the drugs, talent and love... boxing plays a secondary role. As a result, Emily really enjoyed it. As did I. I'll be shocked if Christian Bale doesn't pick up the Oscar for this role. As for Wahlberg... he's good, but he always gets cast in this type of role.
For whatever reason, I've never seen any of the film adaptations of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, including the 1996 animated Disney version. I knew the basic story, but this film is considered the definitive classic. Charles Laughton is completely lost in the role as Quasimodo and the then-19-year-old Maureen O'Hara is stunning as Esmeralda. The film set a standard for makeup, set construction, lighting, stunts, etc., all in the same year that saw the release of The Wizard of Oz. Of Mice and Men, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Gone with the Wind, Stagecoach and Wuthering Heights!!! 1939 was an amazing year for the cinema, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a true classic.
CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT (1965) I've always enjoyed the films of Orson Welles, though, to be honest, there are so many I haven't seen, just for lack of focus in seeking them out. In the case of Chimes at Midnight (also known as Falstaff, the character played by Welles), it has never been made available in the United States on any home video format for a myriad copyright reasons. Harry told us that getting this print was a bit of a miracle in itself, and when the film stopped abruptly during the screening, everyone GASPED, for fear that we had been witness to the destruction of history. But, it turned out just fine.
Orson Welles said that this was his most favorite of all of his films, and he considered it better than Citizen Kane (well, Welles was an eccentric, for sure...). I've always had difficulty following Shakespearean prose in film, mostly because I've just always found it much easier to grasp through reading. Welles doesn't really help the viewer with his vague setups and hazy transitions. But, the action sequences are pretty impressive and have been cited as inspiration for films like Braveheart and Saving Private Ryan. If this ever makes it onto DVD or Blu-ray, I will definitely revisit it, as Welles' films are always worth multiple viewings.
When Harry announced that we were going to watch a comedy film, I was ecstatic. Emily always tells the story of how I tried to woo her with my cache of standup comedy DVDS back in our early dating days, but the truth is that she had shown some interest in them and I thought, "Awesome! I love standup." I grew up listening to Bill Cosby records on car trips, and as I got older, I loved trading standup CDs with my friends. Richard Pryor is one of the edgiest comics ever, and during his prime in the 1970s, he could get away with pretty much anything.
That said, this was an absolutely perfect pick for this early morning time slot (roughly 2 a.m.) as it had no real plot to follow, just an endless supply of jokes and physical humor. Comedy films like this don't really exist anymore... comedians still make DVDs, certainly, but this film played in the rotation in regular theaters. Now, we have Comedy Central, HBO, etc., so it makes little sense for distributors to spend the money to put this out in cinemas (plus, it seems like every standup comic eventually makes it to just about every corner of the world these days, so seeing someone live is less of a rarety). Pryor had me laughing so hard during this film that I couldn't help to clap, whoop and wail with the audience in front of him, suspended almost 40 years in the past!
THE GREEN HORNET (2011) I had a feeling that we would see either The Green Hornet OR The Green Lantern at BNAT 12... and my money was on the former, being that, at the time, it was only a month away from being released. The film was released in both 2D and 3D, but we only saw the 2D version. I've heard the 3D was quite good. Before seeing this, the only thing I really knew about The Green Hornet was that Bruce Lee had played his sidekick Kato in the short-lived 1966-67 television series. But, I had faith that Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg would do a great job with the script because I absolutely loved Superbad, which they also wrote.
Seth Rogen plays Britt Reid, a lazy rich kid whose rich dad dies, leaving him with his entire fortune and empire to run. Through a series of events, Britt and his dad's former mechanic, Kato, decide to become vigilante superheroes. If you're a fan of action and/or comic book movies, that's about all you need to know. What ensues is a crazy romp of explosions, gadgets, chases, etc. I really enjoyed it... more than I thought I would. I'm sure Emily would have preferred we had seen The Green Lantern, but only because she's in love with Ryan Reynolds (Not that I blame her... he is pretty dreamy.)
A Film that Shall Not Be Named (2011)
This film has a name. BUT... I can't tell you what it is. It played at Sundance... but we were asked not to divulge it's title nor anything about it, as it had yet to find a distributor. All I can tell you is that it was very bloody, super violent, fairly ridiculous... and also pretty cool. If you enjoyed films like Maniac Cop and Evil Dead, you'd enjoy this. For sure.
Two years ago at BNAT, we saw My Bloody Valentine 3D. It was one of the craziest 3D films I've ever seen, making the absolute most of gimmicky blood spatters and blunt weapons that appear to protrude from the screen, right into your face. I wasn't sure I'd ever see another film quite like it.
And then... we saw this. Now, I'll admit... I watch pretty everything Nic Cage does. He gets a bad rap sometimes because, like Christopher Walken, he'll pretty much do ANY film. Plus, he's such a versatile actor that you never know if you're getting crazy Nic Cage... or Academy Award-winner Nic Cage (hmm... probably not much of a difference there, actually). This film has crazy 3D effects... cars and bodies explode, shrapnel flies in your face, etc. There's a lot going on, including a plot involving an agent of Satan coming to collect the souls of the damned. I can't give it many points on substance alone, but if you enjoy mindless popcorn movies as much as I do, than you'll enjoy this. I certainly did.
TRON: LEGACY (2010; in IMAX 3D) At this point, Harry told all of us to gather our things and head outside, where charter buses would take us to a secret location. As soon as we boarded the buses, I told Emily, "I bet we're going to the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. Emily and I had actually already been there a few years before with her sister and kids, who live in Austin. It's a cool place no doubt... but, the one thing it has is a full-sized IMAX theater (for my friends who live in Portland and Eugene... I know that Bridgeport Village in Tigard and Regal Cinemas in Eugene claim to have [or soon will have, in Eugene's case] IMAX screens. That's true and false. What they have is IMAX Digital screens, which, for a $5-per-person surplus, offers a slightly bigger screen and better sound quality. It's what cinephiles like me affectionately refer to as LieMAX.).
But... a true IMAX screen is a mammoth. If you've been to the Pacific Science Center at the Seattle Center, you've seen one. OMSI in Portland has an OMNIMax dome, but that's also not a true IMAX screen, just an IMAX brand. The only true IMAX screen in the Oregon is at the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, and it doesn't show first-run films, just really cool educational films.
Anyhow... once inside the Bob Bullock museum, I knew what we were going to see.. and I was excited. We only saw it a week early, but that was good enough for me. I was only two-years old when the first TRON film was released in 1982, but I saw it plenty of times on video as a kid. I was always obsessed with video games and computers, so it was natural that I would dig it. Seeing TRON: Legacy in IMAX 3D was incredible. I enjoyed the movie so much that I've since seen it twice more in the other two 3D formats (RealD and Dolby Digital 3D).
Everything about this movie is super cool... the effects are amazing, the music is by the French electro-synth duo Daft Punk (one of my favorite groups), and Jeff Bridges reprises his role as Kevin Flynn, the master behind The Grid, a digital frontier wherein programs come to life in an arena of games, portals, light-cyles and circuits. It's pretty far out, man. If TRON: Legacy is your kind of movie... you've probably already seen it. As for me, I can't wait to watch it again on Blu-ray. The soundtrack is even on constant replay in my car. :)
AND... that was BNAT. Here a couple more little tidbits from our weekend in Austin:
Emily and I gave Harry a TRON: Legacy figurine and a pair of Mickey R2D2 ears from Disneyland. He seemed to really like them.
We've also become friends with Harry's wife, Patricia, over the past couple years. We managed to have lunch with her and some other BNAT veterans at Polvo's Mexican Restaurant. The enchiladas were incredible and the queso dip was fantastic.
One of the new BNAT attendees this year was Meghan McCain, daughter of the 2000 & 2008 presidential candidate, U.S. Senator John McCain. A few months earlier, I had just finished reading Meghan's book, "Dirty Sexy Politics," which is the story of her life on the campaign trail with her dad in 2008. It's a fun book to read, especially if you're with me in thinking that Sarah Palin is one of the most ridiculous people to ever grace the public stage. Meghan was super sweet and we chatted for a good 30 minutes or so before BNAT started. Later, I told her that a friend of mine from high school had worked on her dad's campaign, and she said she actually got to know him quite well. A cool connection indeed.
Knowing that she was coming to BNAT, I brought a copy of her book. When I asked her to sign it, I figured she could either be annoyed or flattered (I mean, if I wrote a book, I'd be thrilled if anyone even read it!). It turns out, she was REALLY excited that I read it and brought it.
We had a great time at BNAT 12... and we're already excited, anxious and nervous for BNAT 13. It's Harry's 40th birthday party, so I'm certain it will be amazing.
Josh and I have been applying to Ain't it Cool News'Butt-Numb-a-Thon (BNAT) every year since we've been married (so... to make it easy for you... this will be our fourth year). BNAT is a 24-hour film festival that takes place in Austin, TX. The films are always a mix of vintage and not-yet-released and there are usually a few actors or directors that do Q and As afterward.
Each year we have had to submit themed pictures. Last year's theme was THX 1138 so we submitted pictures of ourselves bald. This year's theme is The Dirty Dozenth BNAT and we had to submit pictures of ourselves doing things that should be punishable by death (not things that actually are punishable by death)-- like pet peeves. Due to The Dirty Dozen theme, wearing fatigues was a bonus.
Here is what we came up with:
Josh as Che Guevara taking DVDs out of their cases and not putting them back
Me as Fidel Castro playing on the power pad without first taking off my shoes
We also had to make a video of ourselves singing the jingle from a Japanese commercial featuring Charles Bronson for a product called Mandom.
It only took one take.
After we finished and it was edited, I realized it might have been a good idea for me to brush my hair or something. I'm always forgetting the details.
We find out in a few days whether we've been accepted. Fingers crossed!
UPDATE: We were accepted for the fourth year in a row!! So cool!!
As discussed in a post last year, Emily and I have been privileged the last few years to go to Butt-Numb-A-Thon (aka BNAT, pronounced "Bee-Nat"), a 24-hour film festival celebrating the birth of Harry Knowles, founder of Ain't Cool News. We were super excited to be invited again this year.
We had lots of adventures during our 11-day stay in Texas, the details of which we'll devote to a subsequent blog post. For now, we'll concentrate on the films we saw at this year's BNAT, held for a record 26.5 hours (starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 12 and ending around 1 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 13). Emily and I were seated front-row center, which gave us quite the view of all the festivities.
Josh and Emily looking back at the assembled BNAT crowd.
We watched this Bulgarian guy dance for Harry for... a while. You can see us cheering from our front row seats.
Harry assigns all of the seats and this was our second time in the front row. We had the added benefit of being right in front of Harry and his wife, Patricia, with whom we've become friends with over the past year).
We started with a lovely silent film by famed German director F.W. Murnau, who is best known for his 1922 film "Nosferatu," accompanied by Austin-based musician Graham Reynolds on the organ. The movie depicts the story of Faust, an eldery alchemist in a village that has been cursed with a plague by the Devil. Unable to stop the plague via prayers to God, Faust accepts a proposition from the Devil: He may use the powers of the demon Mephisto to stop the plague until the sand runs out of an appointed hourglass.
Unbeknownst to Faust, Mephisto had previously made a bet with an angel that he could corrupt a righteous man's soul. I'm not exactly sure why an angel would take such a bet (nor why he would have have any right do to so in the name of God and heaven...), but he does. Should Mephisto succeed, the Devil will take control over the earth. The brilliance of the film is in its many special effects, depicting all sorts of supernatural creatures from heaven and hell. Murnau used multiple cameras during takes and pushed the young film medium to new heights with his dedication to lighting, costuming, etc. "Faust" was Murnau's final film completed in Germany, as he made his way to Hollywood for the final few year's of his life. It was a great start to an amazing BNAT experience.
When Emily and I first got together, she asked me if I'd ever seen the 1994 Peter Jackson film "Heavenly Creatures," starring an 18-year-old Kate Winslet. I had not, so shortly thereafter, we watched it together. I was quite taken at Jackson's ability to capture the emotions and inner turmoil of two young women involved in a forbidden relationship. Having only previously seen his work in the large-scale blockbusters "King Kong" and "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, it was certainly surprising that he could also helm such a strangely beautiful film that included no dwarves, elfs or mystical lands.
Flash forward to 2009, and I had no doubt that Jackson would have something special to showcase in his adapation of Alice Sebold's 2002 novel "The Lovely Bones." Emily had read the book before BNAT, and had given me a heads up on the details of the script. Essentially, it is the story of 14-year-old Susie Salmon, a lovely girl who lives in Pennsylvania (circa 1973), loves photography and has a wonderful family.
There's only one problem: As Susie tells us from the very beginning of the story, she is speaking to us from beyond the grave, having been murdered by a neighbor. Given this knowledge at the beginning of the film, the audience is led by a "neither-on-earth-nor-in-heaven" Susie as she observes her family's attempts to cope and recover from her death. While some might find the film a bit syrupy, with its lush and vivid landscapes of Susie's not-quite-heavenly space, it was a beautiful film that showcases the enduring love of a family prematurely separated from one of its members.
I will admit that I have a bit of soft spot for the work of Judy Garland. On one hand, she was one of the most talented actors/singers of her generation; on the other, she lived a roller-coaster ride of a life, struggling with addictions to drugs and alcohol for a large portion of her 47 years on this earth. Hers is a story of triumph and tragedy, of achievement and incredible disappointment. Yet, 40 years after her death, we are left with her film legacy. And, while this film no doubt was seen as a Mickey Rooney vehicle, it is Garland who, of course shines as the real star (Rooney was two years older, but his small stature and prowess as a physical comedian make him appear younger).
The story is simple: Danny Churchill, Jr. (Rooney) is a young playboy whose frustrated, yet wealthy father sends him out West to an all-male college with no women for miles. Well, except for one... the dean's daughter, Ginger Gray (Garland). Hilarity, of course, ensues as Danny tries to woo Ginger, a task he finds quite difficult. With the legendary Busby Berkeley at the helm (at least temporarily... apparently he and Garland did not get along, and he was fired before the film was finished!), "Girl Crazy" includes plenty of song and dance, including a not-so-subtle cameo of Tommy Dorsey and his band. I'm hopeless for a good musical; combine that with a 21-year-old Garland (read: in her not-quite-yet crazy prime), and I was sold on "Girl Crazy."
When this film was announced, a chorus of "Awwwww!!!" could be heard throughout the theater, including from Emily, who had seen the film before. I'll admit that I'd never heard of it before BNAT, so the experience was completely fresh to me.
The film uses a story-within-a-story device by showcasing a ballet company's production of "The Red Shoes," based on the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. Vicky Page (played by the lovely Moira Shearer) is a young dancer who, through a series of serendipitous events, becomes the lead ballerina of the ballet company Ballet Lermontov, owned and run by the demanding and overbearing Boris Lermontov. Casting Vicky in the starring role in "The Red Shoes," Boris unwittingly introduces her to a young composer named Julian Craster. Vicky and Julian initially argue over their interpretations of how the music and dancing should combine, but before long, find themselves in love with each other. This infuriates Boris, who does not want Vicky distracted from her work.
The beauty of the film is in its incredible imagery, vibrant colors and, of course, the presentation of the titular ballet, which takes up the middle portion of the film. We watched a recently restored digital print of this amazing film, and I definitely look forward to seeing it on Blu-ray sometime. Just an absolutely fantastic cinematic achievement.
After we saw "The Red Shoes," Harry told us that he had planned to show another film in its place. However, he had recently been in conversations with Martin Scorsese in hopes of showing "Shutter Island" at BNAT. Scorsese finally agreed, but suggested that Harry show "The Red Shoes" beforehand. Harry, of course, agreed (it's probably difficult to say "No!" to one of the greatest directors of the modern film era, I imagine). Scorsese had been one of the forces behind the recent restoration of "The Red Shoes," and he has called it one of his most favorite films.
Now... "Shutter Island" was one of the films that Emily listed on her BNAT application, as she had recently the read the book. The film isn't slated for release until Feb. 19, 2010, so this was a real treat seeing what was, essentially, the first public screening.
The story is of U.S. Deputy Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his partner, Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), who are investigating the disappearance of one of the patients at Ashecliff, a psychiatric hospital located on Shutter Island.
And really, that's all you need to know. Nobody should spoil this film for you. But, I will say that Michelle Williams, Sir Ben Kingsley and Jackie Earl Hailey are great in this movie (Emily was less impressed with Ruffalo, but I thought he was just fine. But, I also haven't read the book.).
If you're a fan of mystery/thriller films, definitely check out "Shutter Island" when it hits theaters in February.
"Le Magnifique" is one of those crazy gems of '7os French cinema that I may have never seen if I hadn't gone to BNAT. It's not currently available on DVD in the U.S., but I've since read that it's a cult classic in France.
The story starts in the craziest of ways: A man is trapped in a phone booth that is then jettisoned into the ocean... where he is subsequently attacked and killed by a shark, in said phone booth. I kid you not.
French star Jean-Paul Belmondo plays James Bond-esque superspy Bob Saint-Clair, a man who lives a fast life filled with cars, women, explosions and more. Unfortunately... he's merely a character in the mind of popular paperback write François Merlin (also played by Belmondo). Nothing like his debonair doppelgänger, Merlin is a clumsy, hapless soul who barely makes a living. His neighbor, Christine, is a gorgeous college student who loves his novels, but to Merlin, she is his muse and love interest of Bob Saint-Clair. What ensues is a crazy, campy story that switches back and forth from reality and fantasy in ways only possible in '70s cinema.
But by far, the coolest part of the movie for Emily and me was when we saw this:
Yes, that's right... for the final 15 minutes or so of the movie, the lovely Jaqueline Bisset sports a University of Oregon t-shirt! Nice!
I had never heard of this upcoming film when Harry introduced us to its director, Adam Green. I'm not sure anything could have quite prepared me for it. "Frozen" tells the story of three college students who have come up to a small New England ski resort for a lovely Sunday on the slopes. Near the end of the day, they decide they want to go up for one more run before the lifts stop running; however, when they get to the lift, no more people are being let on the mountain. The kids beg to be let on, and the lift operator agrees.
Unfortunately, the lift operator is summoned to the office minutes later, leaving the lift in the charge of another employee, clueless to the three skiers who are still on the slopes. Before they can reach the top of the mountain, the lift stops and they are left stranded more than 50 feet above the frozen snow. The lights turn off, and they soon realize that they will be likely be stranded there for the next five days, as the ski resort is only open Friday-Sunday.
It would be a pity to spoil what follows, except to say that Green told us that he used no CG, green screen or any other cinematic tricks in making the film. In other words, the entire film was shot on location, with the actors actually situated high above the ground on the lift at an actual ski resort (the movie was filmed at Snowbasin near Ogden, Utah). This was a truly terrifying film and we were the very first audience to ever see the movie (It is debuting at Sundance in just a few weeks. It's gonna freak them out, for sure!). One woman even fainted during a pivotal scene (she recovered and was fine after being escorted to the lobby).
There's a tradition at Butt-Numb-A-Thon that pretty much guarantees that at least ONE film will be filled with images so grotesque and disturbing, it's bound to send people running out of the theater ready to puke. This year, this Hong Kong-produced film was the selection, and it was pretty intense. It's not that it was particularly bloody or violent; the title alone gives away the true horror of the film: centipedes. Real, live centipedes... covering everything, and everyone. Centipedes... again, REAL CENTIPEDES, emerge from ears, mouths, noses, swollen stomachs.
The plot is fairly non-sensical -- two Hong Kong teenagers go on a forbidden trip to South Asia and one is attacked by centipedes, but survives (hilariously, the other girl dies of a heart attack just from SEEING her friend attacked by centipedes!), only to later find out that her grandfather had once been cursed in that same part of South Asia for burning down an entire village -- and largely unimportant. I personally found the film a bit less disturbing than advertised (I later found out that an additional 10+ minute was missing from this particular cut of the film, and I was assured that those extra scenes were truly horrific.), but it's still not anything I'd recommend to anyone who is the least bit squeamish. Not that you can find it here in the States... but, truly, Centipede Horror was unlike anything I've ever seen.
In the '60's and '70s, it seemed that anyone could make a film with a little time and money. Enter the "exploitation" genre, wherein filmmakers attempted to lure in audiences with sensational stories that seemed more realistic than scripted. In the case of "The Candy Snatchers," that is definitely the case. In fact, the movie is so "realistic," it seems the producers didn't even bother really writing a script, hiring talented actors... or really doing much of anything else. And it shows.
The plot is thus: Three crooks (a brother and sister duo, and their husky companion) decide to kidnap the teenage daughter of a local jeweler and then demand he pay a ransom in diamonds. The bury her in a shallow hole covered by wooden boards in a rural neighborhood where no one will find her... except for a little kid named Sean. Unfortunately, when he goes home to tell his parents what he's seen, we find out that he doesn't speak (ever.). His parents hate him for this, and as much as he pulls and prods on them to show them where Candy is being detained, they don't listen. Meanwhile, Candy's dad could care less about the ransom or his daughter's life, completely bungling the kidnapper's plan. Or something like that.
To be honest, this is the type of film you might run into someone's old VHS collection or on some late-night B-movie programming on cable. The acting is terrible, the plot is predictable and/or incredibly thin throughout, and the production quality is bare bones. Still, there is something endearing about a film that was clearly made with ambition and vigor, even in the absence of money, talent, interesting dialogue, etc. (read: The stuff that makes a film enjoyable to watch). Plus, I gotta give the writer credit for an interesting (and ultimately ambiguous) ending that somehow made me glad that I stayed awake during the whole film, as this was the movie that seemed to offer so many BNAT attendees the chance to take a nap.
After "The Candy Snatchers" ended, I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew at this point we'd already seen the six vintage films we'd been promised, but only four of the new films we were to watch. Nothing could prepare me for what came next. Please watch this trailer to get a better idea of what we were oh-so-privileged to see:
Essentially, "Kick-Ass" is the story of Dave Lizewski, a nerdy teenager who wonders why no one ever tried to become a real superhero. In secrecy, he orders a green suit to use as a costume and goes out the streets to become a real-life vigilante. Within hours, he gets stabbed and ends up in the hospital. Once he recovers, he goes back onto the street, saves a man from being assaulted... and within minutes, a cellphone video of him in action hits the Web, and the legend of "Kick-Ass" is born.
Soon, he discovers he's not alone as a superhero when he meets the precocious (and deadly) Hit Girl. Trust me, you've never seen anything like this before, unless you've watched an 11-year-old girl slice and dice her way through piles of bad guys á la The Bride from "Kill Bill." The BNAT audience not only loved it, we started clapping in time with the soundtrack as the piano reprise of Guns N' Roses "November Rain" began playing, slowly building to Hit Girl's wave of destruction (at which point Joan Jett's "Bad Reputation" began to play). It's more awesome than I can actually describe.
Once the film ended, the very receptive BNAT audience erupted into a standing ovation. Director Matthew Vaughn and co-star Christopher Mintz-Plasse ("McLovin'" from "Superbad") were on hand to answer questions. Vaughn said he wasn't completely happy with the print we saw, as it had not yet been color corrected and there were still a few musical issues to work out (I took that as him being a perfectionist, as the film was amazing as we saw it). Being that we were the first audience anywhere to see it, he had to be somewhat pleased with our enthusiastic reaction. I got a chance to talk Chris during the subsequent break and he was both cool and tiny (seriously, I could have fit him in my pocket.).
This was, hands down, my favorite film of the entire event and I have already told my geeky pal John Hambelton that we have a ManDate to see this film together when it opens in April. Comic book/superhero fans rejoice... "Kick-Ass" is incredible (it his, however, strictly for mature audiences; kids may like "Spiderman" and "The Dark Knight," but this film is too much for them. Trust me.).
And finally... the ONE film that EVERYBODY thought we would see at BNAT. Although it opened to the public just a few days afterward, I was looking forward to seeing this and its amazing effects. It did NOT disappoint.
Since many of you have already seen this film (since, as always, it took me forever to post this not-so-brief synopsis), I'll spare you the details. "Avatar" is the story of the Na'Vi, a race of tall, blue humanoid creatures who live on a far-away planet called Pandora. Everything is going fine until people from Earth (aka the most selfish planet in the universe, according to this and most science fiction stories) come along to mine it for precious minerals, specifically, the absurdly named "unobtanium." Nope. Not making that one up.
Scientists, however, have devised a method by which humans can utilize life-sized "avatars" that are essentially giant clones of the Na'Vi. Through the use of operating chambers, the humans can interact with the Na'Vi through their avatars... and hilarity ensues.
Well, not really. The story of "Avatar", at its core, is not that original (some have called it "Dances with Wolves" on an alien planet). But, the effects are incredible and, well, revolutionary. This is a film that MUST be seen in 3-D, which makes me wonder how well it will do on DVD and Blu-ray, as those mediums cannot come close to recreating the experience. I truly enjoyed being swept up into the world of Pandora as its sweeping landscapes of trees, brush, waterfalls, etc. flew by. It was, by far, the coolest film I've ever seen in RealD 3D (and James Cameron was nice enough to send every BNAT attendee their own personal pair of nice RealD glasses, nothing like the cheap pair they give you at the theater) and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys being completely enveloped in the cinematic experience.
And... that was the BNAT 1138 lineup. While I've enjoyed all three events that Emily and I have attended this year was especially notable because I definitely enjoyed aspects of all the films and we were treated to some really satisfying surprises. Plus, I got to strut my awesome Mario pants and crazy Mario & Yoshi with Japanese lettering shirt for the 8 a.m. pajama contest, an image with which I will take my leave.
Josh rocks on with his bad self as Harry reminds the crowd that he's awesome. Wooh! (wooh.)
Well, it's that time of year again, where Josh and I apply for Butt-Numb-a-Thon, which is a 24-hour film festival held in Austin, TX. This is also, coincidentally, where my sister #2 (of 4) lives with her family. For the past two years, Josh and I have applied and been accepted to BNAT, but so many people apply (approx. 2,000 for 200 seats), it's kind of a nerve-wracking experience getting our applications in and waiting around for the results.
This year, the theme of BNAT is "BNAT 1138" in reference to the movie "THX 1138" starring Robert Duvall and because the guy who started it (Harry Knowles from Aintitcool.com) is turning 38. So for our applications, Josh and I had to submit head shots of us without hair (the characters in "THX 1138" are bald). It was an event that took a week of procrastinating and an hour of photoshop, but here are the results:
Josh thinks BNAT 1138 will be fun. . . and frightening!
I, like in most pictures, mostly look inconvenienced
It's been radio silence for the ShepAlders on this blog, I realize, but not because we haven't been doing anything! In fact, we've been doing too many things, so I'm not even sure where to begin. In the future, you can (hopefully) expect posts about our various travels, including DC, Philly, eastern Idaho, Anaheim, San Diego, and (coming in December) Austin!
UPDATE: We made it in to BNAT 1138!!! From a pool of more than 6000 applications, we were one of the 188 lucky people selected to attend. We're so excited and can't wait to go back to Austin. For a couple of die-hard film geeks like us, it's truly one of the coolest experiences out there. Now the training for a 24-hour movie marathon begins! Trust me... it's harder than you think it would be... like sitting through 6-8 double features, or watching the entire six-film Star Wars saga twice in one day. So awesome.
As mentioned in a previous blog post, Emily and headed to Texas last week to (1) visit her sister, Abby, and her family, and (2) attend Butt-Numb-A-Thon, an annual 24-hour film festival hosted by Harry Knowles, founder of Ain't It Cool News.
Emily and I are total pop culture nerds to the extreme. Many of our conversations involve us identifying actors on-screen as quickly as possible, and then saying, "When's the last time you saw [name of actor] in anything that wasn't [name of film that is considered representative of said actor]. It works really well when it seems like the actor hasn't been in anything for a while. For example, I might say, "When's the last time you saw Mark Linn-Baker in something that wasn't Perfect Strangers ?"
In these cases, Emily almost always says, "Well, he was in an episode of Law & Order..." and, naturally, the actor was indeed in one -- or more -- of the hundreds of installments of NBC's long-running legal drama. Sometimes I joke that I've actually been on Law & Order a few times. I bet we have, at any given moment, at least 10 Law & Order episodes on either of our two DVRs.
But, I digress.
My point is that Butt-Numb-A-Thon (aka BNAT) is an experience that is perfect for a couple like the ShepAlders. Between the two of us, Emily and I have probably seen several thousand films and we're always watching more. For most people, attending a 24-hour film festival probably seems overindulgent and painful; while it's arguably the former, for Emily and me, it's a glorious experience filled with laughter, excitement, new acquaintances, vintage trailers, awesome food and more.
Here's a brief look at the films we saw, including my impressions (now free from caffeine overload and sleep deprivation!).
This embellished account of the life of Mexican revolutionary general Pancho Villa was one of the Hollywood's last pre-Hays Code films, and it shows! Academy Award winner Wallace Beery is quite gregarious in the title role and Fay Wray adds a nice dash of old Tinseltown class to the film. Even better, the movie was mostly filmed on location in Mexico and includes a large collection of extras (and, judging from the lack of authentic accents from all the main cast, they were probably the only thing truly Mexican about this film...). Still, this is a great example of the kind of ambitious filmmaking that existed in the early, post-silent film era.
Going into BNAT, this was the one film I was certain we'd see. Although it doesn't hit theaters until Christmas Day, it's made the pre-screening rounds for critics and has garnered rave reviews. The story is fairly simple: Based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1922 short story, Benjamin Button is boy who is born with the body of a very old man. As he grows, he becomes younger and younger. The film is told through a diary he kept throughout the years, which is being read by the daughter of a woman who knew Benjamin since childhood. I won't spoil the film, but it is a tale of life, nostalgia, love and relationships... and, most importantly, how the people in our lives make up a lot of who we are inside. One of the Aint It Cool News writers warned us that the film would leave us in tears at the end. While I have no problem crying in public or during a film, I didn't expect to feel so emotionally connected. By the time the credits rolled, I had teared up completely. This is a wonderful film in the spirit of films like "Forrest Gump" and "Big Fish," and easily one of the best movies of 2008.
On one of our very first dates, Em and I watched "The Maltese Falcon," a classic example of film noir featuring one Hollywood's greatest actors, Humphrey Bogart. However, while I count "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" and "Casablanca" amongst some of my most favorite films, Em is admittedly not much of a Bogey fan. That said, it's hard not to like this thinly veiled WWII propaganda film, with its classically diverse and anti-German cast. In awesome 1940s fashion, the writers injected plenty of social commentary in the film on everything from racism ("Don't worry... his black skin won't rub off on your pretty uniform"), sarcasm ("Wipe that smile off your puss or I'll knock your teeth through the top of your head!") to the evils of fascism ("Do you know why we're able to do it? Because we are stronger than they are...I don't mean in numbers. I mean something else. You see, those men out there never knew the dignity of freedom.")
When Tom Cruise decided to revive the venerable Hollywood studio United Artists in 2006, many were skeptical that anything good would come of it. His first film, Lions for Lambs, ulimately posted losses of more than $50 million. I'm not certain if moviegoers will flock to Valkyrie in droves, being that Cruise's once strong fan base has dwindled some in these post TomKat years, but it's an incredibly intriguing film. Based on the true story of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, who led a group of Nazis in a coup against Adolf Hitler. I'm usually not a huge fan of films that are solely in English, when all of the characters should be speaking a foreign language (see "The Other Side of Heaven") and in this film, director Bryan Singer instructed the actors to use neutral accents rather than feign some type of German-English hybrid. Does it work? Eh... not really. Does it ruin the film? No. The story is quite thriling, so I was able to look past it. I highly recommend this film for any WWII history enthusiasts.
Based on the 2002 novella by British author Neil Gaiman and directed by Henry Selick (who helmed both "James and the Giant Peach" and "The Nightmare Before Christmas"), "Coraline" is the story of young girl who moves with her family to Ashland, Oregon, (although in the novella, her family lives in the U.K.) and finds a mysterious door in her house that leads to a parallel world where her family has buttons in place of eyes, and things are much stranger than before! We only saw a few clips from this stop-motion animated film -- which was produced by the Oregon studio Laika in Hillsboro -- but they were all presented in RealD 3D and looked absolutely fantastic! Vivid colors and weird, imaginative images are all I really took from those quick clips, but with a cast of Teri Hatcher and Dakota Fanning, this film looks like a winner!
I absolutely love Pixar. Last year at BNAT, Pixar reps brought exclusive clips from "WALL*E", several months before it opened. "WALL*E" proved to be phenomenal and one of my most favorite films of the year (the Blue-Ray versions of both it and "The Dark Knight" top my Christmas list...). This year, the good folks at Pixar brought us the first 45 minutes of their newest film, "Up." The film features an elderly man, Carl Fredericksen, who is lonely after the death of his wife. Having always wanted to travel the world with her, he embarks on an incredible journey to South America. I don't want to give to much of the film away, but having seen a good chunk of it, Pixar has hit another home run. The whole theater was filled with laughter throughout the screening and some phrases are destined to become favorites (i.e. "Squirrel!!"). This will also be the first Pixar film that will be available in 3D theatrically. I can't wait to see this!
This is one of those films that is considered a complete masterpiece from the silent era. Filmed 82 years ago in Germany, "Metropolis" is the story of a large city in the year 2026 where the rich live in fantastic, towering buildings, while the workers -- who keep the city running -- labor and live below. The film had a running time of 153 minutes when it premiered in Germany, but was cut down to 114 minutes for its American release (which, of course, did not help U.S. viewers understand the complex story). For years, it was assumed that the full-length version had been lost forever; however, in July a 16mm reduction negative was found in the Museo del Cine in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The film world is now waiting as the 210-minute print is restored.
The version we saw at BNAT was released in 1984 with a new soundtrack by Italian record producer Giorgio Moroder. Featuring a retro-80s lineup of artists including Freddie Mercury, Pat Benatar, Loverboy, Adam Ant and Bonnie Tyler, this version is both tinted (giving the film a splash of color) and truncated (it runs about 80 minutes). As a huge fan of 80s synth pop and films of the silent era (I'm a huge Chaplin/Keaton fan), this was perfect for me. "Metropolis" has been on my list of must-see films for a while, but I'd never sat down to view it (I'd even borrowed it from the library a few months ag0). I'm glad I finally got a chance to see this amazing film... and I can't wait until the newly discovered print is made accessible. This is a masterful film that is amazing in its detail, especially considering it was made nearly 90 years ago!
This film is a remake of the 1981 slasher/horror film, "My Bloody Valentine." This is pretty much like most movies of this genre -- thin plot, characters with questionable decision-making skills and morals, and lots of blood. If you don't like horror films, you'll hate this. In fact, you might even hate it more thanks to the tons of 3D imagery, courtesy of RealD. Having seen many horror films in my life -- from classics to some of the more recent, I feel that this film is rather tame. That said, the integrated 3D effects are quite fantastic and make the movie really enjoyable.
I was surprised that this comedy was on the BNAT lineup, but I loved it! The cast is stellar, with Paul Rudd and Jason Segel as the leads, accompanied by Rashida Jones ("The Office"), Jamie Pressly ("My Name is Earl"), Jon Favreau ("Iron Man") and Andy Samberg ("SNL"). Basically, Rudd gets engaged to Jones, but while she's busy planning for the wedding with her bridesmaid, Rudd realizes that he has no real guy friends. A chance meeting with Jason Segel at a real estate open house sparks a friendship, and the story continues from there. Fans of "Knocked Up" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," will love this film. As an official "Freaks and Geeks," er, freak, I have an obligation to watch everything involving that oh-so-shortlived show's amazing cast (in this case, that's Segel).
I'd never heard of this film, but it is truly bizarre. However, if Criterion deems a film worthy of release, it's almost always worth viewing. This movie stars then-20-year-old Kristy McNichol ("Family," "Empty Nest") as a young actress in Los Angeles. Driving along a dark highway one night, she accidentally hits a white German Shepard. Unable to find the owner, she keeps the dog to keep her company. After the dog attacks McNichol's friend, a black actress, she realizes that the dog has been trained to attack African-Americans on sight. She takes the dog to Burl Ives ("Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"), who runs an animal training facility. With the help of trainer Paul Winfield ("Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan"), they try to re-train the dog. This film was very controversial when it was released and pretty much killed the career of director Sam Fuller. It's less shocking in 2008, but the film still is interesting because it explores theories behind racism and the potentially fatal effects of instilling flawed human prejudices onto animals, who can be trained to do just about anything. I wouldn't recommend this film to a room of third-graders, but I do wish that my really hip high school pysch teacher had fished this out of the archives. He had the most bizarre take on everything... and I would have loved to see him react to something like this.
We see a lot of clips, trailers and oddities at BNAT. Sometimes, special guests even show up. This year's event had several guests, including Elijah Wood (Emily's sister didn't know who he is... I guess her kids are too young for the LoTR trilogy!). As a huge Terminator fan since adolescence, I've been quite excited for this new film starring Christian Bale ("Newsies," "The Dark Knight"). Hollywood filmmaker McG ("Charlie's Angels") made an appearance to show as some lengthy footage (and then teased us by saying he actually had a burned DVD of the entire film... but the Warner Bros. rep who had accompanied him refused to let him screen it!). He proceeded to show us around 7 minutes of clips from T4 (as the fans have dubbed it, naturally). This included unfinished CG effects, stunt work with cables and mats still in place and raw footage with time codes and such still in place. In other words, the film is still far from done, but it looks pretty awesome. This film is the first time a Terminator film takes place completely in the scorched, future world, so it will be interesting to see John Connor as an adult, leading the resistance... rather than a young boy/teen being protected from assasination. Fans of the Terminator series will rejoice... and those who don't care all that much might have their curiosity picqued by the prescence of Christian Bale. I'd be there, Bale or no Bale... but, honestly, he's one of my favorite actors of late, and I'm convinced he can basically do no wrong.
If you asked attendees before BNAT started, "Which film do you think you'll see?", hands down the answer would be, "Watchmen." This much-anticipated film, based on the venerable 12-issue comic book series (1986-1987), is directed by Zack Snyder ("300," "Dawn of the Dead"), who brought an early print of "300" to BNAT 8 and, apparently promised to bring "Watchmen" in the future. Unfortunately, the film is not finished (and, at this writing, is still mired in legal drama). Luckily, the powers behind the film saw fit to send the first 22 minutes along with actor Jackie Earle Haley ("The Bad News Bears," "Little Children"). The film is set in a parallel version of 1985 where Richard Nixon is still the U.S. President, Soviet-U.S. strife is at its most volatile point and superheroes are present and very real. As much as I love comic books and graphic novels, I haven't read the "Watchmen" series (I blame a lot of my gaps in pop culture to history to growing up in rural, Eastern Oregon...). After seeing this footage, I'm convinced that I will have to do so before seeing the film. I've always been a fan of everything involving superheroes, so this is really perfect for me. The film is scheduled to open in March 2009.
This was one of the films I thought we might see at BNAT. Hollywood makes very few "epic" films these days, mostly because most people only want to escape to the cinema for about 2 hours... not 4 or more! Since BNAT is already 24 hours long, I figured the film's 4½ running time was just too much. Well, I was wrong. At 8:30 a.m., Harry announced that our final films would be... "Che: Part I and II." First of all, I have to admit that this was a privilege, as this film has seen only limited release in New York, Los Angeles and various film festivals (i.e. Toronto and Cannes). That said, the film runs at a snail's pace, and never really allows the audience to connect emotionally. Unlike the fantastic 2004 biopic, "The Motorcycle Diaries," (which chronicles the 1952 adventures of Ernesto "Che" Guevarra throughout his native South America), this film provides very little insight into the life of a man who is esteemed by millions around the world as an example of social dissidence and revolution. It's not a bad film; in fact, at times, it's rather gripping. Many of our fellow BNATters had a difficult time with the film, having endured more than 20 hours of non-stop entertainment already. I was lucky, being fluent in Spanish, as I was not forced to expend a great deal of energy to read the subtitles. Still, it would be difficult to recommend this film to anyone unless they (1) were really interested in Gueverra's life; (2) really enjoy hours and hours of scenes with little or no dialogue; (3) want to submit themselves to an intense Spanish immersion experience. The film has a fantastic look and Benicio del Toro ("Sin City") is incredibly effective in the title role. Though I did watch nearly the entire film without slumbering, I might revisit it as a Blu-Ray rental and watch it again (in easy-to-swallow segments, of course!).
And, with that, BNAT was over. At the very end, as all of the attendees were gathering their belongings and massaging their sore derrieres, Harry said, "Hey... who is talkbacker Bob Loblaw Law Blog?" Emily looked at me and said, "Hey, that's you!" On Aint It Cool News, every story has a comments feature called "Talkbacks." This allows users of the site to post comments about the subject of the article. Every user has a handle (i.e. user name)... and mine happens to be "Bob Loblaw Law Blog." Apparently, Harry's wife, Patricia, really likes my posts, and, in Harry's words I'm "her favorite talkbacker." We went down and introduced ourselves to Patricia, who was very nice. We told her that we were married just 13 days after she and Harry in July 2007, which she thought was neat.
Hopefully we can go back to BNAT soon. Our niece, Jordan, said, "You wouldn't even come visit us if it weren't for Butt-Numb-A-Thon." What she doesn't realize is, more than likely, we wouldn't go to BNAT if they didn't live in Austin. It's been a real treat to attend the past two years... I hope we'll be able to go many times more in the future!
