Hollywood Set to Ruin The Raid: Redemption

If you are unfamiliar with the Indonesian film Serbuan Maut (which was renamed The Raid: Redemption for American audiences), I INSIST that you stop reading right now and watch this trailer:





This is the second film by Welsh director Gareth Evans to feature the Indonesian martial art known as Pencak Silat. The story is simple. A group of elite cops raid a rundown apartment building in order to take down a murderous crime lord who lives and works on the top floor. The building is protected by bloodthirsty goons and the cops must shoot, hack and brutally fight their way up, floor after floor.

The movie starts slowly. At first the men are heavily armed, and I found myself thinking "for a martial arts flick there sure isn't a lot of hand-to-hand combat." But when the bullets were spent, the real fighting began. It was the most vicious, intricately choreographed, mind-blowingly, ass-kickingly intense fighting I've ever seen on screen. The fights seem to be impossibly long and just when you think they can't get any more explosive, something will happen that makes you emit sounds you didn't know you could make. I watched the movie in theaters with a group of six men (my husband and his coworkers), who all fancy themselves martial arts movie aficionados. All six were squirming in their seats, shouting at the screen, clapping, gasping, oohing and aahing. As we walked out of the theater, they all agreed that this film raised the bar for all fighting movies that come after it. It has forever changed the game.

So, naturally, Hollywood wants it and will inevitably ruin it. Screen Gems is currently in negotiations to create an American remake, which makes my blood boil. There is absolutely no need for us to even attempt to create what Evans masterfully produced. His actors, most notably Iko Uwais, are professional martial artists trained in Silat. What American actor is going to be able to pull off the superhuman moves that these athletes brought to Raid: Redemption? Are Americans so against a few subtitles that they can't just watch the original? There really isn't much dialogue to begin with!

I urge you to see the original film in theaters, if possible. At the very least, catch it on DVD.

REVIEW: Cabin in the Woods

Cabin in the Woods is the horror film fanboys and girls have been waiting for. Joss Whedon, reigning King of Geeks and creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly, co-wrote and produced this film with longtime collaborator Drew Goddard. On the surface, it sounds like every cliched slasher flick ever written. A group of friends vacationing in a deserted cabin are greeted by some kind of monster hellbent on brutally slaying them. There's the innocent girl, the promiscuous girl, the jock, the smart kid, the stoner. The trailer even says "you think you know the story..." and "you think you know the place...". Trust me, you don't.  This is unlike any horror film you've seen before.

Whedon and Goddard tear the face off of the horror genre, attacking every horror movie trope we've been watching for years, and they do it with humor and ingenuity. Hardcore horror fans will be delighted by specific references scattered throughout the film (without giving too much away, I will simply say this: pay close attention to the white board scene). I do wonder how enjoyable the film would be to someone who doesn't watch a lot of horror and won't understand their tongue-in-cheek commentary on the genre.

The only flaw I found with the film is that it (quite literally) descends into madness in the third act, requiring a hefty suspension of disbelief to stay on board. I definitely had moments of "what the hell am I witnessing?" followed closely by "THIS IS FREAKIN' AWESOME!" It is by far the most creative horror movie I have seen.

Rental of the Day: Hatchet and Hatchet 2

Today I'm doing the Rental of the Day a little differently. This film comes with a personal back story! In 2010, I attended nerdvana, otherwise known as the San Diego Comic Con. In addition to wildly popular panels like those for the shows Big Bang Theory and True Blood (which had an audience of thousands), I also found myself in a tiny room at the hotel across from the convention center for a panel with Lloyd Kaufman, the creator of the infamous Troma Entertainment film studio and director James Gunn (Super, Slither). There was another director on the panel, Adam Green, with whom I wasn't familiar. Green showed a clip from film Hatchet 2, the sequel to his first film about Victor Crowley, a terrifying disfigured monster who lives in the swamps of New Orleans and hunts down tourists. The trailer was both gruesome and hilarious. Green proudly announced that the movie would be going into theaters unrated so that he didn't have to cut out any of the gore that earned the film an NC-17 rating. He urged us all to see it in theaters and tell our friends about it. If an unrated movie could be successful, we'd all be sticking it to the tyrannical MPAA. I was so excited about the film that as soon as I returned to Miami, I tracked down Hatchet 1 and watched it with friends. It was a deliciously campy gorefest. I was even more excited for the sequel.

On October 1, 2010, the film began playing in AMC theaters as a part of their independent film series. My husband and I made plans to see it on the 5th, but much to our dismay the film was inexplicably pulled from theaters October 4th. It found a home on Video on Demand and DVD, but we were disappointed that we'd missed it on the big screen and that the film wasn't given a fair chance to shake up the ratings game.

I highly recommend checking out both films. The first features a group of friends in town for Mardi Gras who decide to take a haunted swamp tour. When their boat crashes and sinks they are picked off by the murderous Crowley who calls the bayou home. Green gives us what the PG-13 horror movies today don't- truly disgusting gore. He balances the carnage with humor, making both films a really entertaining ride.

Both films are available on Netflix Instant, Netflix DVD or Blockbuster online.


**If horror is your thing, be sure to come back soon for a review of Cabin in the Woods!**

REVIEW: Friends with Kids

Friends with Kids is an ensemble film that calls itself a comedy when it's really a drama. Jennifer Westfeldt (Kissing Jessica Stein) wrote, directed and stars in the film about two friends who decide to have a child together after seeing how it destroys the romance and passion in their married friends' lives. Their reasoning is that they can have the best of both worlds- a child with someone they care about, plenty of time to themselves with only 50% custody, and they can still have romance when they meet that "special someone." If you've ever seen a romantic film you can probably guess where this story is headed. And you will probably be let down by how formulaic it is.

Westfeldt chose to star in the film, but her portrayal of Julie is entirely off-putting. She speaks in a strange whiny, breathy tone of voice that is irritating to listen to for 100 minutes straight. The film does have strong supporting cast. Adam Scott plays Jason, Julie's friend and father of her child. He plays the "charming womanizer" role very well. Kristen Wiig, John Hamm, Maya Rudolph and Chris O'dowd bring their comedic chops as Jason and Julie's married friends with children.



The problem was that the TV spots for the film claim that the four of them were as funny as they were in Bridesmaids, and that just isn't true. They were obviously hoping this film could piggyback on the success of Bridesmaids, when it's a much more dramatic film. As I walked out of the theater, I heard several people saying they were disappointed because it wasn't nearly as funny as Bridesmaids or it was a "different kind of comedy."

I'm torn. I want to suggest seeing Friends with Kids in the theater just to support independent film but the truth is, it's mediocre at best. Despite a few good performances, it's just too predictable, and not as funny as it claims to be. It's a good movie for a girl's night in, best viewed after 2-3 glasses of wine.

INDIE SPOTLIGHT: Elizabeth Olsen

If you watch a lot of TV, you've probably been bombarded with spots for the new film Silent House starring a fresh-faced but somehow familiar Elizabeth Olsen. You've probably wondered "why does that chick look so familiar?"* It's because the bears a striking resemblance to her older sisters, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, the twins who rose to fame in the 90s playing Michelle on Full House. The Olsen twins went on to sell books, fragrances, clothing and accessories to teen girls, resulting in their net worth of around $100 million.

While the Olsen twins are undeniable moguls, their younger (and arguably more talented) sister is making a name for herself as a serious actress. I first saw her in Martha Marcy May Marlene, an oddly titled film about a girl struggling to adapt to normalcy after escaping a dangerous and abusive cult.




After the trauma she encountered, Martha suffers from paranoia and hallucinations. The film blurs the lines between what is real and what she's imagining. Critics lauded Olsen for her subtle yet powerful performance, and the list of award nominations she received is quite impressive:

*via Wikipedia. Click to enlarge.

A graduate of the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU and the Atlantic Theater Company Acting School in NYC, Elizabeth seemed intent on being taken seriously as an actress and not simply riding her sisters' coattails.

Her new film Silent House is a horror film that uses the gimmick of "real time," suggesting you will watch every moment of the 88 minutes of horror that "befell Sarah Murphy and her father," minute by minute.



Her next few films have her starring opposite Robert DeNiro, Jane Fonda, Catherine Keener and Cillian Murphy. There's no doubt that her star is on the rise. If you haven't seen Martha Marcy May Marlene, I recommend checking it out. It's currently available at the Redbox kiosks or Blockbuster (what gives, Netflix?!).


*It could also be because while on-screen she also resembles a young Maggie Gyllenhaal, another great indie film actress.

Small Theaters Are In Danger Nationwide

Have you ever sat in the back row of a movie theater? After the lights go down you hear a hum and a faint click-click-click-click of the movie projector starting up. That is one of my most favorite sounds of all time, and it's soon to be a thing of the past. Film projectors are going the way of dial-up modems and cassette tapes. Soon we'll tell our children how wonderful it was to watch movies on 35mm film while they roll their eyes and mumble "geezer" under their breath.

What I didn't expect was just how soon the change would be happening and how it would affect smaller, independently owned theaters across the country. Michael Hurley, a small theater owner in Belfast, Maine who runs the Big Screen Biz website, recently wrote an article for Indie Wire, warning that the switch from 35mm to digital projectors might just be a nail in the coffin for smaller theaters. You may think that digital projectors would be a cheaper alternative, but as Hurley mentions, the cost to convert starts around $65,000 which is more than smaller theaters can afford.

So what does this mean for indie films? I don't know how it works in your town, but here in South Florida many independent films are shown at small art house theaters and university campuses. If they close their doors, we will lose access to so many wonderful films. Personally, I will be heartbroken. These theaters are always my first choice for a night out.

As it is, indie movies have a hard time finding audiences. AMC Theatres does a great job of showcasing independent films, and perhaps the other big chains will follow suit. But losing those small theaters will mean less screens available for filmmakers who rely on them.

I polled readers on the Indie Buzz Facebook Page and many of them stated that the reason they don't watch indie movies is because they are not available in their area.

Closing these theaters would make accessing films that much harder. What can we do to help? IndieWire makes a great point in saying we "live in a Kickstarter world." Perhaps if there's a small theater in your town in danger of closing, you can help raise the funds to help with their conversion!

Rental of the Day: LIKE CRAZY

TITLE: Like Crazy

STARRING: Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones, Jennifer Lawrence

ONE LINE SYNOPSIS: Jacob and Anna are a young couple in love but their relationship is tested when she violates the terms of her visa and is sent back to London.

WHY YOU SHOULD SEE IT: I like think this film is what most people imagine when they think of "indie films." Small cast, incredibly small budget, experimental cinematography, no discernable 3 act structure and an ending atypical to Hollywood standards. A lot of this can be off-putting to audiences used to fluffy big-budget romantic films like The Notebook or The Vow. But the performances here are worth seeing. Yelchin is no stranger to the indie scene. If you haven't seen Charlie Bartlett, you may want to consider making your movie night a double feature. In Like Crazy, he delivers a performance that feels so genuine, it will evoke memories of your own lost love(s). Similarly, Jones's honest portrayal of Anna makes her feel so familiar, as though you've known this girl all your life. The film is presented as a series of moments in time, relationship milestones, bits of conversation, random memories blurring in and out of focus. Again, this can be challenging for audiences used to the Hollywood formula, but the characters make the journey worthwhile.

Another reason to see this film is that it epitomizes how affordable DSLR cameras are revolutionizing the film industry. Like Crazy was shot on a Canon EOS 7D DSLR camera that retails for around $1500. The entire budget of the film was only $250,000. To put this in perspective, the big-budget films I mentioned earlier were shot for $29 million (The Notebook) and $30 million (The Vow). Like Crazy, on the other hand, was shot beautifully for such a low cost that it's an inspiration for independent, low-budget, no-budget or DIY filmmakers.

WHO WILL LIKE IT:
-Romance junkies
-People who don't mind films straying from Hollywood conventions
-Filmmakers with shallow pockets looking to be inspired

WHERE YOU CAN FIND IT: Redbox, Netflix DVD-only

Werner Herzog teams with Investigation Discovery

Those familiar with our sister blog Reel Geek Reviews may remember a review I posted for Werner Herzog's latest documentary, Into the Abyss which explores capital punishment by "sharing the stories of two convicted murders- Michael Perry who is on death row and Jason Burkett who is serving a life sentence for a triple homicide in Conroe, Texas."

What I didn't know when I wrote that was that Herzog had teamed with Investigation Discovery (I.D.), a TV network owned by Discovery Communications that showcases crime-related documentaries. I.D. asked Herzog to work with them to create a series about capital punishment called On Death Row. Their intention had never been to create a film. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, I.D. president Henry Schleiff recalls the creative process:

"After doing the research, Werner came back and said, 'There are just so many aspects to this, would you mind if we separate this out, do it as a film first, and then come back and do this television project? And again, we're not as easy as I want this to sound, but it seemed like a no-brainer for us. Our answer was, 'Of course.'"

And so Into the Abyss was made. After strong showings at the Telluride and Toronto International Film Festivals in 2011, the film went into wider release in November of that year. Now, I.D. has begun showing the four-part series on Fridays at 10pm.



We are fortunate that a documentarian of Herzog's caliber is making his work so accessible to the American audience. Now you no longer need to hunt down art house theater's showing documentaries in your area and pay to see his work. You can tune in from the comfort of your home (provided I.D. is part of your cable service).

If Into the Abyss was any indication, we can expect On Death Row to be a gripping, emotional, thought-provoking series. With a controversial issue like capital punishment and a fearless filmmaker and master interviewer like Herzog, how can you expect anything less?

You can use the Channel Finder feature on the series' website to find local listings.

Sneak peek of PFM and Iron Ora's new video

Miami production company Hungry Ants Productions is producing a video for the local hip-hop duo PFM & Iron Ora. The song is called "Space" and the video will be a parody of the great cult TV show, Mystery Science Theater 3000. Here's a 10 second sneak peek of the rappers fighting a giant mosquito on a faraway planet.



PFM and Iron Ora just released their new album "Pomegranate Sunset," available as a digital download on Bandcamp.

Joseph-Gordon Levitt Wants to Work with YOU!

Fans of indie films know Joseph Gordon-Levitt (JGL) from films like (500) Days of Summer or Hesher. Others may recognize from from huge blockbuster hits like Inception or the upcoming Dark Knight Rises.* What you may not know is that he is also the owner of hitRECord.org, what he calls an "open-collaborative production company."

So what does that mean exactly? HitRECord is a for-profit production company that invites anyone to join and collaborate with other artists. It's a relatively simple and yet revolutionary business model. Filmmakers, artists, writers, editors, photographers and many different creative types work together on "collaborations." After signing up with hitRECord, you can upload your work (all types of which are called "records"), download others' work, combine it, remix it, re-edit it, add to it, etc. When your group has a finished product, JGL uses his industry cred to try and get it sold. If it does sell, the profits are split 50/50, with the company getting 50 percent and the rest is split between everyone who contributed to the project. JGL claims that in 2010, he sent out checks totaling $49,849.70.

hitRecord.org also puts on live events at theaters and universities around the country, as well as festivals like Sundance, SXSW, and the British Film Institute London Film Festival. These events showcase the work of the online collaborators, and attendees are encouraged to film the event itself to turn it into a record that they can then collaborate on online.


Geektyrant.com filmed a bit of the live event at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival

In 2011, hitRECord.org released Recollection Volume 1, which contains a DVD of their films, a CD of songs, as well as a book. They also released The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories.

JGL, or RegularJOE as he's known on the site, wants to work with you. Signing up is free and it's a great way to work with creative people from all over the world. You can be inspired or inspire others with your creativity and ingenuity. And if you're lucky, maybe you'll earn a little cash for whatever you create!


*Of course, I can't help but think of him as Tommy Solomon, Information Officer on 3rd Rock from the Sun, and as Cameron in one of the best high-school flicks of all time, 10 Things I Hate About You.

Rental of the Day: TAKE SHELTER

TITLE: Take Shelter

STARRING: Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain

ONE LINE SYNOPSIS: A man suffers from apocalyptic visions that disrupt his life and threaten to tear apart his family.

WHY YOU SHOULD SEE IT: If I had to choose a single reason why you should see this film it would be Michael Shannon. He first blew my mind as John Givings, the troubled realtor's son in Revolutionary Road. In Take Shelter, he plays Curtis LaForche, a man falling victim to horrific nightmares and visions of an impending apocalyptic storm. Curtis's mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia around his age, so he struggles to understand whether he too is suffering from the disorder, or if his visions are a warning of things to come. The pace of the film is slow, but the terror and urgency builds as he begins to lose a grip on reality. Shannon plays Curtis with subtlety at first, but his tension rises to a climax that made me sit up in my seat, leaning in closer to catch every expression, both hands clamped over my mouth. His performance will undoubtedly move you.

His wife is played by Jessica Chastain, whose name you may recognize if you caught one of the six films she was in last year, including The Help, The Debt and The Tree of Life. She is slated to be in just as many films this year. It is as if Hollywood has suddenly taken notice of how effortless she makes her craft seem, and this role is no exception. As Curtis's visions alienate him from everyone around him, she struggles to somehow hold it all together.

Writer and Director Jeff Nichols has created what many are rightfully calling an instant classic. It is beautifully shot and brilliantly acted. Despite the two hour running time for a dramatic film, it will grip you until the very last frame. The film won the Cannes Film Festival's 50th Critics' Week Grand Prix in 2011 and was acquired for distribution by Sony Pictures Classics.

WHO WILL LIKE IT:
-Fans of psychological or character dramas
-Psych101 students
-People who enjoy interpreting and debating symbolism in film

WHERE YOU CAN FIND IT: Redbox, Netflix (DVD only), Blockbuster (in-store and online)

INDIE WATCH: God Bless America, the latest film by Bobcat Goldthwait

If you're my age, when you hear the name Bobcat Goldthwait, one thing immediately comes to mind:



For most of the late 80s you watched him play the delightfully bizarre and wacky Zed in Police Academy 2, 3 and 4. You may have even seen him in Shakes the Clown or as the talking stuffed bunny on the so-bad-it's-good TV series, Unhappily Ever After. It's hard to believe that the same Bobcat is now a writer and director, whose films Sleeping Dogs Lie and World's Greatest Dad were accepted into the Sundance Film Festival in recent years.

Late last year, his newest film, God Bless America premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. The black comedy is a political satire about a man fed up who is fed up with the country's obsession with the vapid and superficial. When he finds out he has a brain tumor, he snaps, befriending a deranged young girl with a shared bloodlust. Without having seen it, people are already intrigued and outraged. The film is being attacked in some blogs, lauded in others.

Last year, James Gunn's dark and demented regular-guy-turned-hero film Super whet my appetite for the twistedly funny. I look forward to seeing God Bless America and I will reserve any judgement of the film until then.

This is a Red Band Trailer, intended for mature audiences and is definitely not safe for work:


The film will be on Video on Demand April 6th before having a limited theatrical run starting May 11, 2012.

INDIE WATCH: SXSW Film Festival Headliners

Every year, Austin, Texas hosts the South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival. Widely known as one of the largest music festivals in the United States, it also features a popular film festival showcasing feature-length narratives, documentaries, shorts and animated films. SXSW recently released the schedule, including a list of Headliners, films with big name talent meant to "bring star power to SXSW." So if red carpets and rubbing elbows with industry folks are what you're after, consider checking out one the following films.




Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are headlining with their adaptation of the popular late-80s TV show, 21 Jump Street. The "big names" here are Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill, who also co-wrote the script Michael Bacall. Tatum and Hill play cops who are sent undercover into a high school in order to bust up a drug ring. I have to admit, I was skeptical about Channing's ability to be funny. Having seen him in films like G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and Dear John (don't judge me), I felt I'd seen more raw talent and emotional range in a plank of wood. However, after seeing him host SNL earlier this year I realized that perhaps he shouldn't be the action star or the chick flick love interest. He has a knack for comedy. His opening monologue alone changed my mind. Hill is a comedy pro, but it will be interesting to see how he tries his hand at writing. His short-lived animated series Allen Gregory fizzled out after only seven episodes. However, after several advanced screenings, the Twitterverse was buzzing with high praise for 21 Jump Street.



It's a tale as old as time. A group of friends, a cabin in the woods, inevitable horror ensues. But director Drew Goddard claims that if you think you know the story....think again. The films stars Thor's Chris Hemsworth and Glee's Jesse Williams. But it's writer/producer Joss Whedon who will undoubtedly bring in a crowd. Whedon, beloved creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly brings a certain amount of geek cred to anything he touches, and his loyal flock of followers will watch anything to which the Whedon name is attached. If I were attending SXSW, it would be at the top of my list.



The HBO series Girls is premiering it's pilot episode at SXSW. Lena Dunham, who created and stars in the series, won SXSW's 2009 Best Narrative Feature for her film Tiny Furniture. Girls is about three girls in their early twenties living in New York City. The "big name" attached to this project is comedy powerhouse Judd Apatow, who is co-executive producing the series. The show will air on HBO starting April 15, 2012.

A full list of film categories at SXSW can be found here.

The complete 2012 Film Schedule can be found here.

Rental of the Day: DRIVE

TITLE: Drive

STARRING: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Albert Brooks, Bryan Cranston

ONE LINE SYNOPSIS: After helping his beautiful neighbor, a getaway driver finds himself in trouble with the mob.

WHY YOU SHOULD SEE IT: Recently, critic Roger Ebert tweeted this about the film:

Despite not being nominated for Best Picture at this year’s Academy Awards, Drive has become a darling of the blogosphere. Most love it, some love to hate it, but we just can’t seem to stop talking about it.

Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn has crafted a thriller unlike anything you’ve seen in wide release in recent years. Ryan Gosling stars as a mysterious Hollywood stuntman and mechanic who moonlights as a getaway driver, offering petty criminals his impeccable skills behind the wheel. Things spiral out of control when he falls for his neighbor, played by Carey Mulligan, and agrees to help her convict husband settle a debt with a mob.

While it’s billed a thriller, the pacing of the film (with the exception of the frenetic opening sequence and a few other scenes) is often slow. Many scenes have sparse or no dialogue and are some are shot in slow-motion, but the pace is kept by a booming 80s style soundtrack and a talented cast whose expressions say more than any dialogue could.

But when the action does come, it is the kind of ultra-violence* that exhilarates and unsettles the audience. The elevator scene, and you’ll know exactly which one I’m referring to when you see it, is all at once the most romantic and disturbing bit of cinema I’ve encountered, possibly ever.

The supporting cast has some heavy-hitters in Bryan Cranston, Ron Perlman and Albert Brooks, who is the only “Oscar snub” I agreed with this year**.

WHO WILL LIKE IT:
-Open-minded fans of art house films, character dramas or slower-paced crime thrillers like “Taxi Driver”
-Ryan Gosling fans who enjoy looking at him for extended periods of time regardless of anything else happening on-screen

WHERE YOU CAN FIND IT: Redbox, Netflix DVD-only, Blockbuster in-store/online/select kiosks

* FUN FACT: Anthony Burgess coined the term "ultraviolence" in his classic novel A Clockwork Orange.
** How the Academy believes Jonah Hill's performance in the dreadfully boring Moneyball comes close to Albert Brooks in this film defies everything I believed to be true and good about cinema.