Paul Dano – Way Too Indie http://waytooindie.com Independent film and music reviews Fri, 02 Dec 2016 17:34:42 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Way Too Indiecast is the official podcast of WayTooIndie.com. Our film critics grip and gush about the latest indie movies and sometimes even mainstream ones. Find all of our reviews, podcasts, news, at www.waytooindie.com Paul Dano – Way Too Indie yes Paul Dano – Way Too Indie dustin@waytooindie.com dustin@waytooindie.com (Paul Dano – Way Too Indie) The Official Podcast of Way Too Indie Paul Dano – Way Too Indie http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/waytooindie/podcast-album-art.jpg http://waytooindie.com 2016 Independent Spirit Award Predictions http://waytooindie.com/features/2016-independent-spirit-award-predictions/ http://waytooindie.com/features/2016-independent-spirit-award-predictions/#respond Tue, 19 Jan 2016 14:04:04 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=42071 Predictions for the 2016 Film Independent Spirit Awards with category analysis.]]>

This year, instead of filling out that annual Oscar ballot for your office pool—which, lets face it, is always won by the person who never watches any of the movies—you should convince your co-workers to fill out an Independent Spirit Awards ballot. Your office will be the hippest on the block, and with my guide of winner predictions, you’ll finally be able to beat Henry from accounting. Plus, watching the Spirit Awards is infinitely more entertaining than the Academy Awards due to its layed back atmosphere and unstuffy attitude. In addition to my predictions below, I detail my reasoning for each category winner and also who to watch out for as a potential sleeper.

You can catch the Independent Spirit Awards live on IFC on Saturday, February 27, 2016 at 2:00 PM PT and see how accurate these predictions hold up.

2016 Independent Spirit Award Predictions

(Predicted winners are highlighted in red bolded font)

Best Feature:

Anomalisa
Beasts of No Nation
Carol
Spotlight
Tangerine

Reason Why:
There isn’t a sure-fire favorite to win Best Feature this year. While that makes watching the Spirit Awards interesting, it makes predicting this category challenging. But here is my logic. There are commendable elements in each of the nominated films; inventive stop-motion animation in Anomalisa, chilling sights and sounds in Beasts of No Nation, brilliant performances in Carol, and resourceful story and production work in Tangerine. But Spotlight is the most well-rounded of the group. The film features a well-paced controversial topic and is backed up with an amazing ensemble cast, each owning their role without stepping on others. It would be an ordinary, textbook procedural if it wasn’t done so insanely well.
Best Director:

Sean Baker – Tangerine
Cary Joji Fukunaga – Beasts of No Nation
Todd HaynesCarol
Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson – Anomalisa
Tom McCarthy – Spotlight
David Robert Mitchell – It Follows

Reason Why:
I have a feeling that despite Tom McCarthy’s Spotlight winning the top prize, Todd Haynes will be walking away with Best Director. The careful work Todd Haynes put in to Carol should be celebrated, and I think it will here.
Best Screenplay:

Charlie Kaufman – Anomalisa
Donald Margulies – The End of the Tour
Phyllis Nagy – Carol
Tom McCarthy & Josh SingerSpotlight
S. Craig Zahler – Bone Tomahawk

Reason Why:
Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer’s script landed on the Black List for good reason, it’s one hell of a screenplay! But I wouldn’t be too surprised if Kaufman’s name is called.
Best Male Lead:

Christopher Abbott – James White
Abraham AttahBeasts of No Nation
Ben Mendelsohn – Mississippi Grind
Jason Segel – The End of the Tour
Koudous Seihon – Mediterranea

Reason Why:
The safer pick might be Christopher Abbott or Jason Segel, but I’m going with Abraham Attah to win the award for carrying Beasts of No Nation with his brilliant performance.
Best Female Lead:

Cate Blanchett – Carol
Brie LarsonRoom
Rooney Mara – Carol
Bel Powley – The Diary of a Teenage Girl
Kitana Kiki Rodriguez- Tangerine

Reason Why:
A lot of people will be watching this outcome closely. It will be a fierce showdown between Brie Larson and Cate Blanchett, which will also happen on Oscar night. Kudos for the Spirit Awards to recognize Rooney Mara’s role as a lead and not support like most award shows.
Best Supporting Male:

Kevin Corrigan – Results
Paul DanoLove & Mercy
Idris Elba – Beasts of No Nation
Richard Jenkins – Bone Tomahawk
Michael Shannon – 99 Homes

Reason Why:
Paul Dano’s portrayal of a young Brian Wilson is spot-on and should land him with a trophy. I’m happy to see both Idris Elba and Michael Shannon get recognized here!
Best Supporting Female:

Robin Bartlett – H.
Marin Ireland – Glass Chin
Jennifer Jason Leigh – Anomalisa
Cynthia Nixon – James White
Mya TaylorTangerine

Reason Why:
Giving the award to Mya Taylor for Tangerine—which she totally deserves—would be huge not just for the Spirit Awards, but for the entire transgender community. I’m hopeful that happens.
Best First Feature:

The Diary of a Teenage Girl
James White
Manos Sucia
Mediterranea
Songs My Brothers Taught Me

Reason Why:
This one was so close for me that flipping coin was the best option. It landed heads so I’m picking James White. If it were tails I would have went with The Diary of a Teenage Girl.
Best First Screenplay:

Jesse AndrewsMe and Earl and the Dying Girl
Jonas Carpignano – Mediterranea
Emma Donoghue – Room
Marielle Heller – The Diary of a Teenage Girl
John Magary, Russell Harbaugh, Myna Josep – The Mend

Reason Why:
Picking Me and Earl and the Dying Girl here is a little bit from the heart, it was my favorite film from 2015, but I think it’s most deserving as well. Room should get some love in at least one other category. Watch out for The Diary of a Teenage Girl though.
Best Cinematography:

Cary Joji Fukunaga – Beasts of No Nation
Ed LachmanCarol
Joshua James Richards – Songs My Brothers Taught Me
Michael Gioulakis – It Follows
Reed Morano – Meadowland

Reason Why:
Despite plenty of critical backing, this might be the first award that Carol receives at the Spirit Awards (maybe the only if it doesn’t nab Best Director or Actress). But it will have to edge out Beasts of No Nation, which should be a worthy contender for cinematography.
Best International Film: (Award given to the director)

Embrace of the Serpent
Girlhood
Mustang
A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
Son of Saul

Reason Why:
Always one of the strongest categories at the Spirit Awards, and it’s always a difficult one to predict. I’m going with Son of Saul from Hungary, but don’t be shocked if the French film Mustang takes the award.
Best Documentary:

Best of Enemies
Heart of a Dog
The Look of Silence
Meru
The Russian Woodpecker
(T)ERROR

Reason Why:
2015 was a strong year for documentaries, and you could make a case for each film here to win. But The Look of Silence should walk away a winner. It wouldn’t be surprising if took home the Oscar as well.
Best Editing:

Beasts of No Nation
Heaven Knows What
It Follows
Room
Spotlight

Reason Why:
Spotlight is a fast paced film with a lot of different storylines going on at once, but thanks to its editing the film flows in a cohesive manner. It’s good to see It Follows and Beasts of No Nation listed here though.
John Cassavetes Award: (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000)

Advantageous
Christmas, Again
Heaven Knows What
Krisha
Out of My Hand

Reason Why:
It’s the only film in this category that has a nomination in another category, proving that Heaven Knows What is the strongest of bunch.
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Youth http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/youth/ http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/youth/#respond Thu, 03 Dec 2015 14:50:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=36734 A visual spectacle that is further proof of Luca Bigazzi being one of the finest working cinematographers in the business.]]>

Paolo Sorrentino’s Youth has the rare power to force recollections of the past as well as anticipations of the future, all the while keeping its viewer completely grounded in the present, grounded in its stunning and symphonic display of human emotion. Indeed, Sorrentino pulls the rug out from under his audience on several occasions throughout the duration of the film’s runtime, dragging them down into the depths of dejection only to raise them back up, just as quickly, into the heights of pure laughter and joy. Watching this film is like being trapped in a game of pinball, only Sorrentino is the game player and his audience is the ball that he’s whacking in every which direction without the slightest bit of hesitation. It’s clear, however, that he’s doing this out of love; if anything, Youth is undoubtedly the director’s most tender and heartfelt film yet. And also his most accessible to date.

Part of this accessibility can be attributed to Sorrentino’s decision, as primarily an Italian-language director, to direct the film in English (a feat which he attempted once prior with his overlooked 2011 output, This Must Be the Place). This immediately increases the number of people that will be interested in seeing it worldwide. Nonetheless, the chief reason why mainstream audiences will be drawn to this film is because of the big-name stars attached to the cast, including Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz, Paul Dano and Jane Fonda in an unforgettable cameo performance.

Much like a few of the other films in competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Youth is relatively light on plot and focuses more on conversations between characters, uprooted emotions and recounted memories than a concrete narrative. With that being said, the general storyline follows our protagonist, retired composer Fred Ballinger (Michael Caine), during his stay at a spa resort in the Alps with his daughter, Lena (Rachel Weisz), as well as his longtime best friend, illustrious film director Mick Boyle (Harvey Keitel).

While the cast does a wonderful job realizing their characters, the true star of the film is cinematographer Luca Bigazzi, who has worked on several of Sorrentino’s previous projects including the Academy Award winning, The Great Beauty. As he did with his previous work, Bigazzi seems to channel an aesthetic similar to that of Emmanuel Lubezki’s collaborations with the legendary director, Terrence Malick. Both Bigazzi and Lubezki place great emphasis on the visual composition of each scene, capturing an immense degree of detail through the movement of their ever-gliding cameras.

One particularly memorable example of Bigazzi’s skill can be found early in the film. During a dream sequence, Ballinger walks down a platform surrounded by a rising body of water as it slowly begins to engulf him. There are very few cinematographers that can place us smack-dab in the center of the world they’re shooting like Bigazzi and Lubezki, which is why I continue to enjoy their masterful work.

If there’s one area in which Youth falters a bit, it’s making the 118-minute runtime feel long. Youth would’ve benefited from removing a few unnecessary scenes from its later acts. Instead, the audience may find themselves completely enthralled by its beauty one minute, and then checking their wristwatches the next. Nevertheless, some excessive minutes doesn’t take away from the fact Youth is an enjoyable film with a varied soundtrack, gorgeous locations, spectacular visuals and a deeply philosophical screenplay.

Originally published on June 3rd, 2015 as part of our Cannes Film Festival coverage.

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Love & Mercy http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/love-mercy/ http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/love-mercy/#comments Fri, 05 Jun 2015 13:05:08 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=33834 Pohlad's Brian Wilson biopic sidesteps cliché, telling a stereophonic story of heroes and villains.]]>

In a 2011 CBC Radio interview, Beach Boys frontman Brian Wilson was asked why the sun was such a central theme in his famous pocket symphonies. His answer: “Because it’s California sunshine, you know?” (He then proceeded to sing an impromptu, acapella version of “Do It Again.”) It was a delightfully straightforward, almost childlike answer given by a man who wrote heavenly songs to bat away the demons that terrorized and ravaged him in his waking life.

Love & Mercy, an unconventional biopic based on Wilson, isn’t so much about sunshine as it is about his demons. The focus is the anguish and isolation that plagued him from his early days as a musical prodigy and deep into his adult years, when drugs and anxiety nearly reduced his mind to mush. It may be the best musician portrait of the millennium so far, for its artistic ambition, supreme sound design and chilling performances.

It’s a hard enough thing telling someone’s life story in two measly hours, but when your subject is Wilson, a man whose life is so legendary it could easily fill a 1,000-page book, the Wikipedia biopic approach simply won’t cut it. Bad biopics try to shove a life story into a bottle; good ones take on a life of their own. Director Bill Pohlad and screenwriter Oren Moverman get it: instead of going with the “rock ‘n’ roll rise ‘n’ fall” approach, they use two critical, defining slices of Wilson’s life to render a beautifully complex, abstract interpretation of the man who gifted us “Good Vibrations” and “California Girls.” Despite covering only two portions of Wilson’s life, Pohlad and Moverman’s film feels rounded, complete, and faithful to its subject’s soul and spirit.

The narrative is stereophonic, in a way. It tells two stories, phasing them into a larger arc with clever scene arrangement and seamless editing that echoes the fluidity of Boyhood‘s invisible time jumps. Paul Dano plays a young Brian in the ’60s, whose artistic awakening has coincided with the emergence of a debilitating anxiety disorder; John Cusack plays him in the ’80s, a chemically imbalanced mess who’s unsure of every word that escapes his lips.

’80s Brian is a man on a leash, held captive by Dr. Eugene Landy (Paul Giamatti), a shady therapist who’s taken charge of Brian’s life and, conveniently, his funds. (Landy’s moved into Brian’s Malibu mansion, moving Brian to a smaller house up the coast.) Brian meets his savior and future wife in Melinda Ledbetter (Elizabeth Banks), a savvy car saleswoman who he asks on a date while sitting in a car she’s in the process of selling him. Melinda and Brian’s romance and camaraderie and her efforts to liberate him from the imperious Dr. Landy drive their half of the film.

The earlier time frame covers the Beach Boys in their prime, topping the charts and competing for pop culture dominance with The Beatles. An early scene has the camera slowly circling Dano’s Brian, sitting at a piano and playing a kernel of a song that, as the movie progresses, turns into “God Only Knows,” which would become widely regarded as one of the best songs ever written. His gift comes with a curse: severe panic attacks begin to wreak havoc on his psyche, torturing him as he creates Pet Sounds, an album that would become his preeminent masterpiece.

Love & Mercy

Wilson led a turbulent life from the start, going from being the son of an emotionally and physically abusive father and straight into the arms of Dr. Landy. He didn’t live life on his terms, instead resigning himself to the role of peon for most of his adult life. The only time he had absolute control was in the studio, where he was notoriously meticulous about the execution of his musical arrangements. Pohlad recreates the famous Pet Sounds sessions in brilliant detail, in the same studio where Wilson and The Wrecking Crew laid down the classic record. Dano gets Wilson’s obsessive perfectionism down, well, perfectly, vocalizing to the musicians exactly how he wants each note played. He yells to the cello player from the booth: “Taka-ta-taka-ta-taka-ta-taka!”

Love & Mercy glides forward gracefully, flitting from side to side between the two time periods like a well handled hockey puck. Its shape doesn’t resemble any biopic I’ve ever seen, and that’s its strongest quality. It jumps forwards and backwards in time, but the story’s movement feels lateral, not linear. The way Pohlad accomplishes this is by letting the two stories breathe and develop on their own terms and on their own time, apart from each other. They’re weaved together with sharp filmmaking technique, but beyond that they’re completely discrete.

The most glaring proof of this is the fact that Dano and Cusack look nothing alike. Their interpretations of Wilson are unique, and there doesn’t seem to be any sense of continuity between their performances. This is a good thing. If they’d used makeup to make them look more alike, it would have soured the pot from the get-go.

Looper comes to mind: What sold Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a younger Bruce Willis wasn’t the creepy-looking makeup; it was his performance. It was the twitches, the way he spoke, the way he walked, the way he held his hands, the way he raised his eyebrow. Cusack looks nothing like Dano or Wilson, but when he’s in motion—dangling his arms at his sides, whispering like a child with a secret—he sounds and moves and feels just like Wilson. He had a steeper hill to climb than Dano (who’s a dead-ringer for a young Wilson in every way), but he makes it to the other side without the aid of prosthetics or CG tomfoolery. Impressive.

This is the most subtle, measured performance of Dano’s career. He’s always been a standout, but always seems to be aggressively trying to steal scenes in an almost competitive, selfish manner that occasionally undermines his on-screen partners (he does this in Looper to Gordon-Levitt, actually). The fact that he’s playing such an iconic man (who happens to still be alive) in this movie seems to have calmed him down a bit and allowed him to explore nuance in a way he never has before. As a bonus, he plays the piano and sings himself, an extra detail musicians will no doubt appreciate. (Nothing’s worse than the disconnect of hearing a lovely piano tune as an actor flails his fingers across the keys like a faulty marionette.

(Cue “Heroes and Villains.”) Banks and Giamatti’s contributions to the film shouldn’t be understated. They’re both phenomenal, and in fact share a handful of scenes together, one of which may be the film’s best. In the throes of a nasty legal battle (Landy was Wilson’s legal guardian for a time), Dr. Landy pays Melinda a visit at the car dealership, pounding on her locked office door like a threatened gorilla, screaming obscene threats. Eventually, Melinda swings the door open. The look on Banks’ face as she stares down Giamatti is more badass than anything you’ll see in any action blockbuster this summer. She’s killer.

Wilson devotees will likely be moved to tears by Love & Mercy (“God Only Knows” is waterworks material for me no matter the context), thought the experience of the uninitiated will be no less special. This man is a certified American icon, and for his legacy to be preserved in a way that comes ever so close to matching his artistry is a wonderful thing. The film’s only major obstacle is Cusack’s resemblance issue. If you can’t get past it, you may find yourself repeatedly thrown out of the movie every time he saunters into frame. If you can get past it (it took me a while, but I did), you’ll have a film experience to treasure for years to come.

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Bill Pohlad On the Soundscapes and Spontaneity of ‘Love & Mercy’ http://waytooindie.com/interview/interview-bill-pohlad-love-mercy/ http://waytooindie.com/interview/interview-bill-pohlad-love-mercy/#respond Thu, 04 Jun 2015 13:05:46 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=33836 Filmmaker Bill Pohlad shares his experiences working with and paying tribute to Brian Wilson.]]>

I’d been fearing for years that, once a film about Brian Wilson was made, it would be one of those painfully formulaic biopics that have become so stale as of late. The Beach Boys frontman deserves a more artful big screen tribute than that; aside from being a veritable musical genius, he’s lived one of the most turbulent, awe-inspiring lives in documented rock and pop history.

Bill Pohlad‘s Love & Mercy, I’m relieved to report, is no soup-to-nuts hagiography, but rather an abstract, moody interpretation of two very important slices of Wilson’s life. Paul Dano plays a young Wilson in the process of writing the songs that would become Pet Sounds. An older, more mentally damaged Brian is played by John Cusack. Paul Giamatti joins Cusack’s half of the film as Dr. Eugene Landy, who in the ’80s exploited Wilson’s wealth and health, overmedicating him while he shacked up in one of Wilson’s mansions. Elizabeth Banks plays Melinda Ledbetter, Wilson’s soul mate who attempts to wrest Brian from Dr. Landy’s poisonous grip.

The film’s fragmented approach allows it to reach a stunning level of intimacy with Brian and his mind. During his visit to San Francisco this past April for the San Francisco International Film Festival, I spoke with Pohlad about the film and his experiences with Wilson, as well as the shining contributions of the rest of his team. Love & Mercy opens wide tomorrow, Friday, June 5th.

Love & Mercy

What did you like about Oren Moverman’s script that drew you to the project?
To be honest, it happened the other way around. There was a script floating around about Brian called Heroes & Villains that came to us. I read it and didn’t really like it, but I liked the idea of doing a movie about Brian Wilson. I met with Brian and Melinda and got a sense for trying to tell this story in a different way. I was never really interested in doing a biopic. In meeting them, I learned that she actually did meet him without knowing who he was and was kind of attracted to him, even though he was a bit quirky and odd. Then, she learned who he was and that all this weird stuff was going on around him. I thought it was a great way to get into his story. I was intrigued by that chapter of his life and the Pet Sounds period when he was so super-creative. It felt like those two strands would be the way to go to tell a story. We interviewed a bunch of writers, but Oren was a standout. It was one of those things where you immediately connect with somebody. We got along very well. It kind of took off from there.

I remember in high school buying the big Pet Sounds Sessions box set. The green one. I loved it. I listened to it front to back over and over. It had all these different versions of songs and Brian getting annoyed with everyone. [laughs] It was emotional for me to see those studio session recreated.
I did the same thing, buying that box set and being entranced by it and listening to it all the time. It was exciting to think about trying to recreate that. It was a magical time during the shoot, and the whole shoot honestly had a magic to it that doesn’t always happen in film production. We shot that studio section first, and it was great to be able to be in that studio, which is the actual one he recorded most of Pet Sounds in. I wanted it to have this spontaneous feel that I had appreciated in years growing up with Let It Be or Sympathy For the Devil, films like that where you’re able to get an inside look at what it’s like in the studio when guys are creating music like that. We actually hired real musicians, not actors, and gave them sheet music like they would get in a session. Paul would go in after listening to the Pet Sounds sessions over and over to get a sense of how Brian works, and we’d just let him go. We had two 16mm cameras and shot it like a documentary.

At my wedding my wife walked down the aisle to “God Only Knows.” That scene where Paul’s writing that song at the piano killed me; I got very emotional.
Shooting that was emotional, but the whole project was emotional, to be honest. The second thing we shot was the scene when he’s writing “Surf’s Up” at the piano. Paul sat and played “Surf’s Up” for, like, three hours in front of the crew. He was amazing. That was really emotional because I knew what Paul and all of us had invested in this. We were kind of doing this shot-by-shot recreation from a documentary. The “God Only Knows” thing was equally emotional because, yes, I love that song. It’s such a great song. I wanted to capture this progression of moments. When you first see him it’s like he’s just coming up with this song, and then it develops. He gets more sure of it, and by the end he’s playing it for his father. Showing that progression was really special.

Is it tricky selling John Cusack as Brian Wilson since, frankly, he looks nothing like him?
First of all, he does kind of look like him.

You think so? I don’t see it.
He just looks like him from another period. If you look at shots of Brian from the ’80s, he’s this big, bearded behemoth, almost. Then, he’d look like this skinny, emaciated guy. He was working with Landy, and his weight was going up and down. We were really trying to figure out which look we’d go with and who would portray him. I watched the Don Was documentary I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times, which was shot in the early ’90s. There’s a shot early on of him in a leather jacket, and he looks like John. People say they don’t look alike occasionally, but Melinda and Brian say to them, “Yes he does!”

But I didn’t want them to be doing things like using prosthetics to make John look more like Brian or Paul. I also didn’t encourage John and Paul to work together. I wanted them to find their own, organic way into the character. You kind of let them find it. John did it by spending time with Brian and the Smile sessions. Paul did it by spending time with the Pet Sounds sessions and trying to get a sense for Brian back in that time. He said working with Brian wouldn’t have been as productive as John working with Brian.

John got Brian’s walk almost exactly, with his arms turned forward.
I’ve had psychologists and doctors say that the way John walks and the way he holds his hands are all indications of when somebody is over-medicated or getting the wrong medication.

Paul resembles Brian so much.
It’s spooky at times.

What was it like meeting Brian for the first time?
It was amazing. The first thing I’ll admit is that I grew up as a Beatles guy, and I think that’s good, in a way. There were a lot of people who wanted to be involved in the picture because they loved Brian, but it’s almost like they were too close, too big of fans. I’ve gotten more into Brian and his music over the years, and very into it about 15-20 years ago through Pet Sounds. But I think it’s good to have some objectivity. When I met Brian, it was a thrill, but I didn’t fall over. The key thing is to represent the human side of him. The celebrity and musical genius side is important, and we want to get that across, but what I want more than anything is to be able to relate to this guy. If you want to put him up on a pedestal and survey his life, you do that in a biopic. I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to relate to this guy. I think the mental health issues he went through carry a more important message than saying how great a guy he is. It’s about how we treat people and how we make assumptions about people who have those challenges.

Giamatti is killer.
It’s tough, because a character like Landy…[pauses]. I couldn’t find anybody who had anything positive to say about him. He’s dead, so we don’t have a lot to go on, but you don’t want to create a one-dimensional character. You want to relate to what drove him to this and brought him to this place. There are a lot of subtleties, and having Paul Giamatti navigate those waters is huge.

One of my favorite moments in the movie is when Elizabeth Banks opens that office door in Paul’s face. She looked like such a warrior.
All of that happened [in real life]. She was in the office with the door locked and he was yelling outside. Honestly, with Brian’s story, there are so many things that happened that you would just never put in a script because they’re unbelievable. [laughs] At the end when Brian walks out in front of Melinda’s car, we struggled with that for a long time. We thought, nobody’s going to believe that! It sounds like a movie thing! It literally happened that way. Brian walked out in front of the car and she almost ran into him. As a filmmaker, it’s hard to pull it off without people thinking it’s a movie convention or something.

Favorite Beach Boys song?
“God Only Knows.” But it’s tough. “Don’t Worry Baby” would be up there.

“Good Vibrations” is my number two.
“Surf’s Up” is really great. I could go on and on.

Love & Mercy

Talk about your approach to sound. I assume that’s high priority in a film like this.
Oh, totally. Brian has aural hallucinations, not visual. Your default thing in a movie is to put all these weird things on-screen and create a “trip.” But this is what he’s hearing in his head, all these disparate chords and harmonies. They’re a part of his genius, but he can’t turn it off, so it becomes part of his nightmare as well. I wanted to figure out a way to depict that so people understood it. I thought “Revolution Number 9” off the Beatles’ White Album would be a good model. We sat down with Atticus Ross and he got it immediately. Beyond the “mind trips,” the score itself is Brian’s music, just rearranged. We’ve taken the stems from the original recordings, taken one from one song and one from another, and weaved them together. I hope Atticus’ story of what he did on this movie comes out, because it’s extraordinary.

I loved how audacious those hallucinations are. You’ll hear a weird sound mixed very hard to the right, and then a loud chord all the way on the left. Crazy stuff.
Our sound mixer Chris Jenkins’ contributions are as valuable as Atticus’ or mine.

What was the hardest thing for Brian to watch?
Brian’s quite hard to read. He’s very asocial. It’s not his thing. But I wanted to make sure he was onboard and made sure the film [was credible], so we had a table read for him early on, just the script. At times I thought he wasn’t paying attention at all or that he was sleeping. An hour later, he’d come back with these really insightful notes. The guy was listening the whole time! When he saw a rough cut the first time, he watched it alone. I heard he liked it, but I didn’t get to watch it with him until Toronto. He never shared what the hardest thing about it was, but he says reliving that whole process is hard for him.

He’s a curious guy. if you ask him about Landy now, he’d say, “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Landy,” even though he knows everything Landy did to him. He still sees it in a childlike way, a purity that’s just fascinating. But then, for the rough cut, he said we were being too kind to Landy. He thought our portrayal was a little softer than he actually was.

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Way Too Indiecast 22: Critical Consensus & Favorite Music Movies http://waytooindie.com/podcasts/way-too-indiecast-22-critical-consensus-favorite-music-movies/ http://waytooindie.com/podcasts/way-too-indiecast-22-critical-consensus-favorite-music-movies/#respond Wed, 03 Jun 2015 13:09:07 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=36744 This episode of the Way Too Indiecast has Bernard and CJ discussing the lack of value in critical consensus and their list of favorite movies about music.]]>

Inspired by the passionate reaction CJ received for his Mad Max: Fury Road review, Bernard and CJ discuss the value and (un)importance of critical consensus on this week’s Way Too Indiecast. Bernard also review’s Bill Pohlad’s new drama Love & Mercy, starring both Paul Dano and John Cusack as Beach Boys frontman Brian Wilson at two separate junctures in his life. The boys also share their favorite music movies and offer up their Indie Picks of the Week on this jam-packed show.

Topics

  • Indie Picks of the Week (1:50)
  • Critical Consensus (10:22)
  • Favorite Music Movies (36:33)
  • Love & Mercy Review (52:16)

WTI Articles Referenced in the Podcast

Tu Dors Nicole review
This Ain’t No Mouse Music review
Chris Strachwitz interivew
Mad Max: Fury Road review

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http://waytooindie.com/podcasts/way-too-indiecast-22-critical-consensus-favorite-music-movies/feed/ 0 This episode of the Way Too Indiecast has Bernard and CJ discussing the lack of value in critical consensus and their list of favorite movies about music. This episode of the Way Too Indiecast has Bernard and CJ discussing the lack of value in critical consensus and their list of favorite movies about music. Paul Dano – Way Too Indie yes 1:00:16
SFIFF Capsules: ‘Love & Mercy,’ ‘Experimenter,’ ‘7 Chinese Brothers’ http://waytooindie.com/news/sfiff-capsules-love-mercy-experimenter-7-chinese-brothers/ http://waytooindie.com/news/sfiff-capsules-love-mercy-experimenter-7-chinese-brothers/#respond Fri, 08 May 2015 13:28:48 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=35930 A fresh batch of capsule reviews from SFIFF, including 'Love & Mercy,' 'Experimenter,' and '7 Chinese Brothers.']]>

Love & Mercy

Brian Wilson wrote some of the most beautifully complex pieces of music in history throughout his decades-long career with the Beach Boys and beyond. But as a person, he’s more beautifully complex than anything anyone could ever write. Bill Pohlad’s Love & Mercy explores Wilson’s psyche from two angles, focusing on the biggest artistic and personal turning points in his life. Paul Dano plays a Wilson as a young man in the Beach Boys’ heyday, in the midst of writing what would become one of the greatest albums of all time, Pet Sounds. Making up the other half of the movie is a more recent, frightening period in Wilson’s life (he’s played here by John Cusack), when he was under the (highly medicated) spell of unethical therapist Dr. Eugene Landy (Paul Giamatti), his only protection from whom being his beach blonde soul mate, Melinda Ledbetter (Elizabeth Banks).

Love & Mercy

Alternating between the two Brians is a welcome break from the typical biopic schematic. Dano’s resemblance is scary uncanny, and while Cusack’s isn’t so spot-on (I didn’t see it, to be honest), their commitment as actors is about level. Beach Boys fans will suffer uncontrollable geek-outs during the Pet Sounds studio session reenactments, but the real value of the film lies in the respectfully unkempt and fraught depiction of Wilson’s legacy as both a musician and a man.

Experimenter

Slipping between several planes of reality with the nimbleness of a jazz ensemble, Michael Almereyda‘s Experimenter, starring Peter Sarsgaard as late social psychologist Stanley Milgram, is more of a delectable treat than the dark subject matter might lead you to believe. It centers on Milgram’s famed contributions to the world of social experimentation, most notably his controversial experiment on obedience conducted in the ’60s. We see the Holocaust-inspired experiment—involving test subjects led to believe they’re remotely causing harm to a man in an adjacent room (played by Jim Gaffigan)—reenacted by a litany of strong players, including Anton Yelchin, John Leguizamo, Anthony Edwards, and others.

Experimenter

The film sees Sarsgaard’s Milgram periodically address us, the audience, in cleverly worded monologues that highlight the actor’s natural wit and intellect. It’s fun to see Sarsgaard given so much breathing room; he has a lot of fun with the role, and so we do as well. Almereyda lets loose too, with neat touches like utilizing rear-projection backdrops and employing a real-life elephant to stalk behind Sarsgaard down a hall as a fun metaphor. Winona Ryder stars as Milgram’s wife, Sasha, and gives the film an emotional oomph whose importance is clearest by film’s end.

7 Chinese Brothers

Jason Schwartzman is ridiculously funny in Bob Byington‘s 7 Chinese Brothers, a film created in the Wild West indie landscape that panders to no one (mainstream audiences will likely balk at the quaint, offbeat humor), but will please crackpot-comedy weirdos (like yours truly) to no end. Larry (Schwartzman) is a small-town schlub who drinks his way into and out of menial jobs he can’t stand. He’s got his romantically savvy friend, Major Norwood (TVOTR’s Tunde Adebimpe), his silvery grandmother (Olympia Dukakis), and his impossibly drowsy dog (Schwartzman’s real dog, Arrow) to keep him company most days. When he finds himself gravitated to his new boss, Lupe (Eleanore Pienta), he’s shocked to discover that, for once, he actually looks forward to going to work.

7 Chinese Brothers

A lot of the funniest stuff in 7 Chinese Brothers involves Schwartzman almost having a contest with himself, trying to come up with the most bizarre behaviors he can think of and making them as out-there as possible. It’s the little, absurdist stuff that makes you laugh, like Schwartzman throwing garbage into a garbage can, and then throwing said garbage can into a dumpster. Byington’s written a great script, too, each line of dialogue going in a different direction than you expected. Keep this one in mind.

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Beach Boys’ biopic ‘Love & Mercy’ Trailer http://waytooindie.com/news/watch-love-mercy-trailer/ http://waytooindie.com/news/watch-love-mercy-trailer/#respond Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=31324 The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson gets his own biopic with Paul Dano and John Cusack. ]]>

To say that John Cusack has been in a slump of late might be an understatement. The actor, who can be undeniably great when given the right material, has become something of a muted Nic Cage, with last year’s Drive Hard and The Bag Man (to name just two). But this year it looks as though the actor might be turning that all around with some far more interesting roles on the horizon. One of which arrives in the form of Love & Mercy alongside the ever great Paul Dano.

The film, directed by Bill Pohlad, is an unconventional portrait of Brian Wilson, the mercurial singer, songwriter, and leader of The Beach Boys. Dano and Cusack share the duties of portraying Wilson, with Dano taking the younger as he battles to preserve the vision of his music during the production of Pet Sounds, and Cusack the elder as he struggles to free himself from the oppressive thumb of Eugene Landy.

Love & Mercy left TIFF 20114 with some solid buzz, and now the teaser trailer is here so we can get a taste for ourselves. With the familiar faces of Paul Giamatti and Elizabeth Banks rounding out the cast, it’s safe to say we’re excited for this one.

Check out the trailer below:

Love & Mercy trailer

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Plot Revealed for Paolo Sorrentino’s Next Film ‘The Early Years’ http://waytooindie.com/news/plot-revealed-for-paolo-sorrentinos-next-film-the-early-years/ http://waytooindie.com/news/plot-revealed-for-paolo-sorrentinos-next-film-the-early-years/#respond Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=21000 Paolo Sorrentino, the director of last year’s Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, The Great Beauty, has revealed the cast and plot of his next film, The Early Years. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the film will star Michael Caine as a retired orchestra conductor who comes out of retirement at the request of the Queen. Those who saw The […]]]>

Paolo Sorrentino, the director of last year’s Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, The Great Beauty, has revealed the cast and plot of his next film, The Early Years. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the film will star Michael Caine as a retired orchestra conductor who comes out of retirement at the request of the Queen.

Those who saw The Great Beauty know that Sorrentino has very good insights on wealthy artists aging, so this basic plot tease has a lot of potential. Though not much else is known about the film at this time, we can certainly expect a good mix of humor and drama, as well as a beautiful film, as it is being shot in the Alps of Switzerland. Sorrentino is also no stranger to English-language films, as he previously released This Must Be the Place, known as the film where Sean Penn looked a lot like Robert Smith and hunted down a Nazi.

The Early Years will co-star Rachel Weisz, Willem Dafoe, Jane Fonda, Harvey Keitel and Paul Dano — a fine ensemble cast filled with veterans of three different acting generations. The film is expected to be released in 2015.

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12 Years a Slave http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/12-years-slave/ http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/12-years-slave/#comments Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=15285 With the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement’s march on Washington having just passed, and with the historically deplorable Columbus Day holiday upcoming, we can’t be reminded enough of the history of humanity’s tyranny over one another. Sobering and immensely difficult to watch, British director Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave, is to date […]]]>

With the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement’s march on Washington having just passed, and with the historically deplorable Columbus Day holiday upcoming, we can’t be reminded enough of the history of humanity’s tyranny over one another. Sobering and immensely difficult to watch, British director Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave, is to date the most unyielding film depiction of slavery in America ever released. With raw and heart wrenching performances from it’s cast, and a brutally honest artistic perspective from it’s director, this film deserves serious attention and veneration.

Based on the book published in 1853, 12 Years a Slave is the true story of Solomon Northup, a free African-American living in New York in 1841, who was torn from his life of freedom to that of slavery. Once a man of distinction and known for his musical talents, Northup is duped into taking a job with two men who drug him and sell him into slavery. Given the new identity of “Platt Hamilton” and forced to recognize himself as a runaway slave from Georgia, he was sold to and owned by several plantation owners in the Louisiana bayous. Unsure of whether he would ever see his wife and children back in New York, Northup is faced with the greatest obstacle any man can face: the revocation of his humanity and freedom.

Just as a slave in those days had no respite from the daily injustices they were subjected to, the film offers very little rest from the non-stop emotional and physical devastation of slavery. Indeed, in the way that Northup is thrown into and introduced to the severity of what it was to be a slave, so are we the audience forced into an uncomfortable understanding of what it would be to have all ones privileges and family stripped from them. Northup’s position as a free man is identifiable to us, and therefore his harrowing journey is all the more provoking. Through every hanging, every lashing, each panic-inducing escape attempt, McQueen uses the camera to show more than we’ve ever seen before and for longer than we’ve ever seen it. But aside from the physical barbarity we’re forced to witness, it’s the assassination of the soul that is hardest to watch.

12 Years a Slave movie

Chiwetel Ejiofor (Children of Men) IS Solomon Northup. Each wide-eyed look of disbelief when Northup encounters new injustices, and his eloquent speaking patterns, as a man both educated and wise, shows a complete immersion into the role. Michael Fassbender (an actor I often find myself not recognizing immediately in films because he seems so utterly different in every role he plays) epitomizes the very worst of men to emerge from white dominance in the slave-fueled South. As Solomon/Platt’s master, Edwin Epps oversees his slaves with a sort of controlled insanity that can only come from the drunkenness of entitled power. Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Giamatti, Paul Dano, and Brad Pitt also give pivotal and fantastic performances. Though, side note, it’s honestly unsettling how well Paul Dano seems to be at playing despicable people. The face to watch from 12 Years a Slave, however, is that of Lupita Nyong’o. This newcomer plays fellow slave Patsey, a woman subjected to the living hell of being the Master’s favorite. Arguably having the hardest content of the entire film to perform, she is mesmerizing and her performance is truly affecting.

McQueen has made two other feature films, Shame (2011) and Hunger (2008), each about difficult topics. He’s made it clear he isn’t afraid to challenge his viewers with disturbing content, but with this film he’s found the best outlet for his talent. He shows a masterful control of the subject matter, never letting it overwhelm the artistic focus of the film, and pairing every heightened moment with well-designed sound editing and an unsettling musical score.

While Tarantino’s vengefully satisfying Django Unchained showed far more blood, gore, and savagery than 12 Years a Slave does, it’s ridiculousness made it laughable and thus far easier to take. McQueen’s film is not easy to take, and this is what makes it an absolute must-see; in fact even elicits a feeling of significance while viewing it. This film, and others like it, will always be necessary. Serving as a reminder of all we have, and all that can be denied from us. The moment we stop thinking about the past, at it’s most truthful, may be the moment we lapse into old ways of thinking. 12 Years a Slave has set the bar in honest historical filmmaking, as well as just how emotionally connecting a film can be.

12 Years a Slave trailer:

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Prisoners http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/prisoners/ http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/prisoners/#comments Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=14702 Denis Villeneuve, the French-Canadian director of Polytechnique and Incendies, has seemingly hit the jackpot with his English language debut. Teaming up with a cast of terrific actors along with legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins, Prisoners sadly spends most of its time letting the incredibly talented people behind it build a hollow shell of a film. The […]]]>

Denis Villeneuve, the French-Canadian director of Polytechnique and Incendies, has seemingly hit the jackpot with his English language debut. Teaming up with a cast of terrific actors along with legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins, Prisoners sadly spends most of its time letting the incredibly talented people behind it build a hollow shell of a film. The mentions of spirituality, faith, and morally grey situations are laid out but never explored beyond the surface. Thankfully, with people like Villeneuve and Deakins at the helm, the technical mastery makes up for plenty lost in the lackluster screenwriting.

The film starts on Thanksgiving with two neighbouring families, the Dovers and the Birches, visiting each other for dinner. It’s only until well after the dinner that both families realize their youngest daughters, Anna and Joy, are nowhere to be found. Their concern eventually turns to panic as they realize someone took their children. Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) leads the investigation into finding the missing girls, while the two sets of parents grieve in their own ways. Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) is furious at the police for being ineffective, while his wife Grace (Maria Bello) constantly takes pills to stop herself from going into hysterics. Franklin and Nancy Birch (Terrence Howard and Viola Davis) simply co-operate and hope for the best.

Prisoners movie

The only suspect in the case at this point, the driver of an old RV the kids played around with before disappearing (played terrifically by Paul Dano), is mentally impaired to the point where it would be impossible for him to have successfully kidnapped two children. The police let him go, but Keller is convinced of the man’s guilt and kidnaps him. At this point the narrative cuts back and forth between Keller’s torturing of Dano for information and Loki’s attempts to solve the case through more traditional means.

The moral issues that come with Dover’s actions are touched upon only when Franklin and Nancy get roped into helping him. Keller never shows any sense of guilt for what he’s doing, but Howard and Davis do excellent work showing how their characters feel like there are no other options but helping Dover out. Most of the cast ends up doing the leg work for their characters, as writer Aaron Guzikowski mostly boils them down to one or two traits (Keller’s a doomsday prepper, Loki is the classic determined detective, Franklin plays the trumpet). Davis and Bello get the worst material to work with, as Nancy amounts to nothing more than a blank slate and Bello is reduced to frequently wailing. With characters defined so broadly it’s hard for the film’s themes to resonate.

Luckily there is a much better film within Prisoners, and it comes out when the focus turns back to a standard thriller instead of shallow introspection. Villeneuve creates plenty of tension, especially in the film’s dark final act, and Deakins is on top form as always. There are plenty of things going on stylistically, like the way Villeneuve plays with the violation of space throughout the film, however, it’s one of the only interesting things going on for the first two-thirds. Prisoners can be quite good when it chooses to be a regular thriller. Unfortunately it decides to try for more, and comes up short in doing so.

Prisoners trailer:

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Watch: 12 Years A Slave trailer http://waytooindie.com/news/trailer/watch-12-years-a-slave-trailer/ http://waytooindie.com/news/trailer/watch-12-years-a-slave-trailer/#respond Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=13506 Steven McQueen’s highly anticipated 12 Years A Slave is a follow up to his mesmerizing sex addiction film Shame, which also features Michael Fassbender, and the first trailer for the film has just been released. The most notable part of the trailer seems to be the stunning performances from the cast, some of which include; […]]]>

Steven McQueen’s highly anticipated 12 Years A Slave is a follow up to his mesmerizing sex addiction film Shame, which also features Michael Fassbender, and the first trailer for the film has just been released. The most notable part of the trailer seems to be the stunning performances from the cast, some of which include; Chiwetel Ejiofor, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Quvenzhane Wallis, and Brad Pitt. 12 Years A Slave will be out on October 18th, the perfect time for Oscar potential.

Watch the official trailer for 12 Years A Slave:

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For Ellen http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/for-ellen/ http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/for-ellen/#respond Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=11009 So Young Kim has placed a young child at the heart of the story for her second consecutive film. In her previous film (Treeless Mountain) two young South Korean sisters who were abandoned by their mother, in For Ellen a young child was never cared for by her father to begin with. While the focus […]]]>

So Young Kim has placed a young child at the heart of the story for her second consecutive film. In her previous film (Treeless Mountain) two young South Korean sisters who were abandoned by their mother, in For Ellen a young child was never cared for by her father to begin with. While the focus of For Ellen is around a directionless rockstar that never quite made it, the realization of losing his child leads to his long over-due first selfless triumph.

After spinning his car off an empty winter road, Joby Taylor (Paul Dano) must wait for a tow truck to come to his rescue before he can make it some appointment he is late for. This marks only the beginning of Joby’s problems at the moment. Not only is his career in jeopardy after an argument with a fellow band member, but this long-haired leather jacket wearing rocker has even more issues to worry about. They are revealed when he eventually reaches his appointment, a lawyer indicates that his wife wants to divorce him and take custody of their young six-year-old daughter Ellen (Shaylena Mandigo).

In the settlement agreement, it states that he would receive half of the house in the exchange of forfeiting custody of his child. But possession of the house means little to him compared to losing the ability to see the daughter, which he admits he rarely ever saw. He begs his lawyer (Jon Heder) to help him come up with a way to retain custody, but there is little that can be done.

For Ellen movie

Everything that is shown of Joby suggests that he would not make a very good father figure. He wakes up each morning with a massive hangover from the night before and seems to care more about his image (despite having an unkempt heavy metal rocker look) than anything else. But in a weird twist of irony, it is not until the threat of losing his child that he shows any interest in her. You would like to think that everything that is happening to him would serve as a wakeup call, and in a way it does. He realizes his flaws but whether or not he is able to fix them remains a mystery.

There will not be many who will argue that Paul Dano is nothing but spectacular in For Ellen. In fact, it is Dano who must carry the film’s bleak script on his back, which the film seems content with doing. He is in nearly every frame of the film, usually sinking further and further into depression as everything around him seems to be disappearing. His character is not a very likeable one, but thanks to Dano it is one that you find yourself caring about.

Aside from Dano’s performance, the other bright spot of the film is the beautiful cinematography. The entire film takes place in a rural town that seems inhabited by anyone, the roads are icy and empty and sky is never bright. This desolate winter landscape featured in For Ellen serves as a worthy backdrop to how Joby’s character must feel; lonely, cold, and depressed.

On the opposite side of the spectrum is everyone else who comes onto the screen, though it is not their performances that are problematic, it is their characters. Ellen is played well by the young actress but seems far too aware of the situation, often knowing more about what is going on than Joby, and certainly acts more mature. It was welcoming to see Jon Heder in a more serious role than he has been in previously but his character never is given the chance to truly develop. A subplot featuring Heder forcefully works its way in from the very beginning but quickly fades and subsequently disappears just as fast.

For Ellen could have hit more emotional notes if the script was not so underdeveloped, leaving everyone involved grasping for something to cling to but coming up empty handed. The brilliant Dano makes the slow moving film fly by, but even he can only carry the film so far with so little. Unfortunately, For Ellen is as flawed as much as the characters found within it.

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Little Miss Sunshine http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/little-miss-sunshine/ http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/little-miss-sunshine/#comments Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=8909 For a film based upon a dysfunctional family’s struggle across America to enter their daughter into a beauty pageant – Little Miss Sunshine should go down in history as a modern classic; an absolutely wonderful cinematic release. With an outstanding cast, Little Miss Sunshine hit home with an original storyline that delivered humour, real emotions and heartfelt relationships between the characters. By the end of this film you will have laughed and cried, gotten emotionally involved and maybe a little confused – and it’s one of my favourite films.]]>

For a film based upon a dysfunctional family’s struggle across America to enter their daughter into a beauty pageant – Little Miss Sunshine should go down in history as a modern classic; an absolutely wonderful cinematic release. With an outstanding cast, Little Miss Sunshine hit home with an original storyline that delivered humour, real emotions and heartfelt relationships between the characters. By the end of this film you will have laughed and cried, gotten emotionally involved and maybe a little confused – and it’s one of my favourite films.

At the very beginning of the film the family sit down for dinner, Olive (Abigail Breslin) finds out that she has been given a place in this year’s Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant – she lets out a scream of joy and runs around the house getting things together to take with her. Olive’s mom, Sheryl Hoover (Toni Colette) and her dad, Richard Hoover (Greg Kinnear) argue how they are to get there due to not being able to afford travel expenses. After a heated discussion they finally settle on driving the 1000 miles in their minivan.

Little Miss Sunshine movie

During the course of the family’s road trip the family experiences are both laughable and heartfelt, being comedic yet sometimes sad, you begin to fall in love with each character and relate to them on different levels. Little Miss Sunshine focuses on pushing forth the idea of living the American Dream – with Richard trying hard to become a motivational speaker, but failing – ironically, since his speeches are about winning. Olive is striving to become a beauty queen with the help of her WWII veteran, heroin addicted grandfather. Olive’s brother Dwayne (Paul Dano) has taken a vow of silence until he achieves his dream of becoming a RAF pilot and their uncle, Frank (Steve Carell) is being forced to stay with them whilst he recovers having just attempted suicide.

The inspiration of the story came from an article Michael Ardnt (who wrote the film) read in a newspaper, where Arnold Schwarzenegger was quoted speaking to a group of high school students: “If there’s one thing in this world I hate, it’s losers. I despise them” – Ardnt then began to develop the story for Little Miss Sunshine on this principle: “I thought there’s something so wrong with that attitude…I wanted to…attack that idea that in life you’re going up or you’re going down. So to a degree a child beauty pageant is the epitome of the ultimate stupid meaningless competition people put themselves through”.

Dwayne towards the latter part of the film memorably says, “You know what? Fuck beauty contests. Life is one fucking beauty contest after another. School, then college, then work…fuck that. And fuck the Air Force Academy. If I want to fly, I’ll find a way to fly. You do what you love, and fuck the rest.” – a speech that Ardnt will have made sure, made its way into the script in order to emphasise the entire meaning behind the film in a very subtle but obvious way.

Little Miss Sunshine was nominated for several Academy Awards, and came home with Best Original Screenplay for Michael Ardnt and Best Supporting Actor for Alan Arkin. “Grandpa” played by Arkin was well deserving of this award, however all characters played a vital role in the films success, each character being so important to the story and understanding the different relationships between the family.

I love Little Miss Sunshine, it’s a fantastic independent epic that demonstrated not only a shocking realism to dysfunctional family relationships, behaviours and hardships, but demonstrated it in such a way that it wasn’t miserable, it wasn’t depressing – it was moving, smart and very funny.

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Looper http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/looper/ http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/looper/#comments Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=8060 I am always skeptic when it comes to most sci-fi action films but Looper is the rare exception that proves from time to time excellent ones are made. Rian Johnson’s Looper is a smart and unique science fiction film set in the future about time travel that is controlled by mobsters. Looper is not your average science fiction film; it understands the importance of character development and explosions do not need to occur every five minutes in order to be entertaining.]]>

I am always skeptic when it comes to most sci-fi action films but Looper is the rare exception that proves from time to time excellent ones are made. Rian Johnson’s Looper is a smart and unique science fiction film set in the future about time travel that is controlled by mobsters. Looper is not your average science fiction film; it understands the importance of character development and that explosions do not need to occur every five minutes in order to be entertaining.

The film is set in Kansas in the year 2044. Time travel is not possible yet but it is invented a few decades from then. Even though time travel is possible it is illegal to do. However, large crime organizations use it to get rid of people. See, if they send someone back in time and they are killed, that person vanishes from existence in both present and future.

This is where Loopers come in. Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is informed when a person will appear from the future and it is his job as a Looper to be there to shoot that person immediately. Loopers blast their hooded targets with a powerful shotgun called a blunderbust from point-blank range. The range of the gun makes it impossible to hit anything beyond 15 feet but conversely impossible to miss anything closer than 15 feet, an important note that comes into play later in the film.

Eventually, when a Looper grows old enough, they will be sent back in time to be killed by his own younger self, which is called “closing the loop.” It is a clean process that only goes weary when the Looper fails to complete the loop. Letting your loop run when the person you are supposed to kill escapes is highly dangerous. Things start to go haywire when another fellow Looper named Seth (Paul Dano) sees himself as part of a closing loop and wisely decides not to shoot. Seth just so happen to recognize the song his future self was singing. By not closing his own loop, his future self was able to warn present Seth about what the future holds. Seth confronts Joe about this before their boss Abe has Seth killed for letting that happen.

Looper movie

Abe (Jeff Daniels) is from 2074 and is in charge of the Loopers for the crime syndicate. Abe criticizes Joe about his fashion style by preaching to be new and do something different. Which is precisely the advice that the film itself follows; to be something new and different. Joe has a plan to go to France after he is done as a Looper but Abe tells him, in a great scene, that he should go to China instead. Abe would know as he is from the future after all. Joe however is insistent about going to France and it starts to show just how ignorant his character is. He continues to study French between kills and saves up the silver bars he earns to travel there.

One day a man (Bruce Willis) appears late at the site without being tied up at all, two things that never happen. Joe freezes for a moment which gives this man enough time to escape. The man leaves a note for Joe that tells him he should leave town as soon as he can. After a short while you learn that the man who escaped is actually Joe from the future. Unlike all the others from the future, Joe willingly sends himself back in an attempt to save a loved one that wrongfully is murdered in the future. We are transported 30 years into the future to follow just how future Joe was able to show up not on time and not tied up.

Present Joe is very apprehensive about believing the man who claims to be him in the future. Or maybe it’s just his arrogance. We see a scar on future Joes arm of the waitress name that the present Joe often speaks to. Present Joe had just etched it into his arm, leaving a permanent scar that is seen on future Joe’s arm. This was likely done to try to prove that the older man is who he claims he is. Another detail that visually ties the two together is there is a bandage on present Joe’s ear and you can see that part of future Joe’s ear missing.

Jeff Daniels is only in a few scenes but he steals everyone one of them. The rest of the performances are not far behind with everyone pitching in making the film as a whole well performed. You could make a good argument that the young boy (Pierce Gagnon) is as equally superb and I probably would not argue. The filmmakers purposely made Joseph Gordon-Levitt to look physically different for his role to make him resemble Bruce Willis more closely. Which had me double-take a couple of times before I realized that it was actually Gordon-Levitt. The makeup team did an excellent job on altering his looks which apparently took 3 hours each day to do.

I kept seeing glimpses of Twelve Monkeys while watching this film. Bruce Willis being in both certainly had something to do with that but there are other reasons as well. Both are trippy sci-fi films that involve the main character coming from the future to warn people in the present about dangerous events soon to come. Both films do so by providing numbers or signs to watch out for.

Looper wisely tells the audience not to look too deeply behind the mechanics of the time travel because you are sure to find loop holes (pun intended). This high concept sci-fi keeps you guessing how it will end it until it does and suddenly it seems obvious. Backed with a unique premise, solid performances from the cast and a firm grasp on how to make a proper action film, Looper sets the bar on recent big-budget sci-fi action films.

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Giveaway: Win Ruby Sparks on Blu-ray http://waytooindie.com/news/giveaway-win-ruby-sparks-on-blu-ray/ http://waytooindie.com/news/giveaway-win-ruby-sparks-on-blu-ray/#comments Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=8252 We are giving away two Blu-ray copies of Ruby Sparks (from the directors of Little Miss Sunshine) to a couple of our Facebook and Twitter followers. See how to enter to win this giveaway here.]]>
Originally posted on Oct 24th

We are giving away two Blu-ray copies of Ruby Sparks (from the directors of Little Miss Sunshine) to a couple of our Facebook and Twitter followers. This charming film stars Paul Dano (also from Little Miss Sunshine) as a writer who creates a fictitious character named Ruby (Zoe Kazan) who ends up coming to life.

How do you enter the giveaway?

Step 1: LIKE Way Too Indie on Facebook

Step 2: Leave a comment on this page telling us what your favorite book is.

* Additional chance to win: Follow @WayTooIndie on Twitter. Then tweet: “@WayTooIndie (your favorite book) http://tooin.de/ruby”, to enter.

Details on the giveaway
Winners will be selected at random. Two (2) winners will win one (1) Blu-ray of Ruby Sparks. If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within two days of being contacted. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen. Must be in the United States to win. Entries can be submitted until November 2nd, 2012 at 11:59PM CT. This Sweepstakes is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook or Twitter. Good luck!

Ruby Sparks Blu-ray
AVAILABLE OCTOBER 30, 2012 ON BLU-RAY™ and DVD

From the directors of Little Miss Sunshine comes a “charming and delightful” (Marshall Fine) romantic comedy starring Paul Dano and writer-actress Zoe Kazan. Struggling with writer’s block and a lackluster love life, once-famous novelist Calvin (Dano) creates a beautiful fictitious character named Ruby (Kazan) who inspires him. But not only does this bring his work to life- it also brings Ruby to life- literally! Face-to-face with an actual relationship with his once virtual girlfriend, Calvin must now decide whether to pen this love story or let it write itself. Also starring Annette Bening, Antonio Banderas and Elliott Gould, Ruby Sparks is a smart coming-of-age story that proves true love can be remarkably magical.

DVD & Blu-ray Special Features:
● Behind the Story
● Real-Life Couples: Co-Stars & Directors
● Be Careful What You Wish For
● Theatrical Trailer
● Sneak Peeks of: The Sessions, The Blu-ray Experience and Lola Versus

Blu-ray Exclusive Special Features:
● Getting to Know the Cast
● Los Angeles: The Other Character

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Ruby Sparks http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/ruby-sparks/ http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/ruby-sparks/#respond Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=8338 From the directors of Little Miss Sunshine comes Ruby Sparks, a whimsical film about a struggling writer who falls in love with a character he makes up. The film was written by Zoe Kazan who plays the lead role of Ruby Sparks. It is slightly ironic considering the film is about a writer bringing a character to life; which is essentially what she has done here for herself. You might go in expecting a standard romantic comedy and if so you will be pleasantly surprised that it is more than just that.]]>

From the directors of Little Miss Sunshine comes Ruby Sparks, a whimsical film about a struggling writer who falls in love with a character he makes up. The film was written by Zoe Kazan who plays the lead role of Ruby Sparks. It is slightly ironic considering the film is about a writer bringing a character to life; which is essentially what she has done here for herself. You might go in expecting a standard romantic comedy and if so you will be pleasantly surprised that it is more than just that.

At one point (I will not say when) a character says “Just don’t tell me how it ends”, which is what I intend to abide. It is not really an easy film to spoil because the big “twist”, if you can call it that, is not really spoiling it. I do not believe it is a spoiler if that is what the entire film is about, enough to where they include it in the official synopsis and trailers. But thankfully, Ruby Sparks is much more serious than the trailers let on. However, if you are an absolute purist; which I would doubt you would be if you made it this far, then you should stop right here and read nothing more about the film. As always, I never try to ruin a film in my reviews for anyone who has not seen the film yet.

Calvin Weir-Fields (Paul Dano) is a famous writer who is struggling to find both inspiration for his next novel as well as romance in his life. The highly-acclaimed novel that made him famous is now ten years old and he has not made a very successful follow up since. So now he is currently working on what he hopes to be his next big hit and prove to himself that his career has not peaked. Not helping his confidence is his agent when he admits that living up to your first work is hard when it is a mega hit. And that “sophomore slump” syndrome does not happen when you are mediocre to begin with. Not wise words to tell someone when they are having a writer’s block.

Ruby Sparks movie

Calvin mentions early on that he does not want to use his fame to get girls because he knows that they would not really like him for who he is. Instead, he uses some clever tricks suggested to him by his therapist to meet people such as, getting a dog so people stop to talk to him on the street. He is inexperienced in the dating world as he has only had one serious relationship in his life. Add that fact that he is awkward and shy makes it hard for him to meet someone.

It is not until Calvin starts having dreams about the character he made up for his new book that he gets inspired to write. Calvin creates Ruby Sparks (Zoe Kazan), as the girl he has always wanted to be with, the perfect girl in his eyes. He gets so inspired that he cannot stop writing. Then he realizes that the reason he wants to write so much is because he fell in love with the girl he created. Which is healthy for his career but not for his personal life.

Ruby shows up in his dreams more and more until one day he no longer has to dream about her because she suddenly shows up in his real life. Of course, he believes she is imaginary because how could she exist? It is a writer’s fantasy to create someone who is perfect for you then magically you meet that person. As time passes he realizes that she may not be completely perfect as he was expecting.

The great moral of the film is that even the perfect girl from your dreams is going to have faults and to try to change them is both dangerous and wrong. As the old adage goes, be careful for what you wish for, it just may come true. There are major drawbacks to trying to play God. Calvin’s brother pointed it out to him at the beginning of the film when he said that the honeymoon phase of a relationship does not last; women are different up close.

There is a great scene where we see Calvin on a sofa talking to himself. Or at least that is what it appears. There is a deep voice that seems like it is coming from his head until it is revealed when he lays down and the shot opens up to spot the man who was sitting in front of him. The man ends up being his therapist. The reason why this short scene is so interesting is it is before we start seeing the character he makes up appear in his life. So it sets the stage, if you will, for what was to come later in the film.

Ruby Sparks could have been a very different film if it had chosen to focus on what I feel like a lot of filmmakers would have focused on, which is the gimmicky part of the film. Instead, it pleads with you not to try to make sense of it because it does not even bother to explain how it happens. Similar to what Midnight in Paris did, it just embraces the magic of it all and asks you to imagine what if it could be true. Besides, the best part of the film is not the person he creates but rather the person he becomes.

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There Will Be Blood http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/there-will-be-blood/ http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/there-will-be-blood/#comments Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=399 It is impossible to describe There Will Be Blood in one word but if forced to, I would say powerful. If I had to further describe in using just single words they would be; politics, greed, religion and morality. It’s a true instant American classic film whose technical aspects far exceed that of most other films out there.]]>

It is impossible to describe There Will Be Blood in one word but if forced to, I would say powerful. If I had to further describe in using just single words they would be; politics, greed, religion and morality. It’s a true instant American classic film whose technical aspects far exceed that of most other films out there.

Nearly the first 15 minutes of the film, aside from a few cries and moans, is without dialog. All you hear is the eerie soundtrack which was done by Radiohead’s Johnny Greenwood. A soundtrack that would earn him a Grammy nomination. Greenwood creates a soundtrack that works so well with the film, it would not have been the same without it. Mixing up classical sounds and making them haunting. Something that would rival what Stanley Kubrick would have chosen.

Essentially, There Will Be Blood is about a ruthless oil man named Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis). He learns that there is a small town which has plenty of oil resources. He convinces the town to let him set up operation there and begin drilling. He promises the town to build schools and cultivate their land to make the town boom. However, one person in particular is reluctant, the local preacher named Eli Sunday (Paul Dano).

There Will Be Blood movie review

Daniel Plainview and Eli Sunday’s relationship begins early in the film. Having being tipped off from Eli’s twin brother, Plainview arrives at the family’s ranch in search of oil. However, Plainview being the kind of man he is he tries to get a bargain for the land by claiming he wants the land for quail hunting. Thus giving the family prices for quail land and not land with oil. Eli knows that there is oil on the land, something his father doesn’t seem to know. While Plainview is trying to pull a fast one on the family’s father, Eli steps in during negotiation.

After buying the Sunday ranch Plainview soon realizes that Eli is going to be a nuisance. Eli is constantly making sure that this oil venture that has quickly taking over the entire town is in the best interest of his church. Eli approaches Plainview asking if he can bless the first drilling, which Plainview abides to without hesitation. But as the time approaches for the blessing, Plainview does not call Eli up to speak. Instead he does his own blessing but doing so in a way that makes him and his business look like they there are doing a charitable thing for this town.

Which one could argue either side for. On one hand he is providing the town new opportunities for irrigation which in return would provide food easier. He is also building a road for the town and a new school. Part of the agreement was that he would also contribute money to the church that Eli wants so desperately. On the other hand, Plainview’s drilling does bring death to one of the man, via an accident on the dangerous job. It even leads his child to lose his hearing and be permanently deaf.

Shortly after the incident is really the first time you get an intimate look into Plainview’s personality when he says, “I want no one else to succeed. I hate most people.” Also in the same conversation, “There are times when I look at people and I see nothing worth liking. I want to earn enough money that I can get away from everyone.” It is a very important scene because for the first time you see that he is self-aware that he has evil tendencies. He verbally admits of his hatred of people and that he has no room for compassion.

Plainview and his son are on a train when Plainview tells his son to stay put. He leaves the train with his son still on it. It was pre-arranged that another man takes the child. Plainview does this without any emotional tie with his boy. This becomes even more apparent in the next scene when he is in a meeting with a company looking to buy out his land. They tell him they will make him a millionaire if he chooses to sell. Plainview asks them, “What would I do then.” As if he does not know that there is anything else in life then work. They reply he could spend time when his boy, a reply that does not sit well with Plainview.

It is brought to his attention that there is one piece of land that has held out from the initial buying. This land is crucial to Plainview because it stands in the way of the pipeline he wants so that he can transport the oil. If he does not get this land, it’s a 50 mile detour that his pipeline would have to endure. That is just not feasible.

The land owner says he must wash in the blood of Jesus Christ and that’s the only way to salvation and the only way for him to get the land. Plainview tries to buy his way out offering him more and more money but the land owner wants him to be baptized. It is obvious Plainview does not care much for religion and even less for Eli Sunday, so this is no easy task for him.

The scene where Plainview attends Eli’s church is simply amazing. Eli knows exactly what Plainview is doing there and you can tell by the little smirk on his face that he is awaiting his chance for revenge and humiliation. Eli demands him to get down on his knees and scream out “I am a sinner” over and over. If that was not enough, he makes Plainview admit that he has abandoned his own child.

There Will Be Blood makes you question your own morality in the most chilling scene in the entire film towards the end when Plainview asks Eli Sunday to admit that he is a false prophet and that God is a superstition. Eli must choose between falsifying what he firmly believes in order to receive money for the church from Plainview. The film then comes full circle as Eli Sunday made a fool of Plainview earlier in the film when he makes Plainview scream “I am a sinner” many times in front of his congregation.

The irony in this is quite interesting, because Eli is in a catch-22, either way he loses, whether that will be money or faith. If he chooses not to falsify his belief then he won’t receive the money he wants to build a new church. On the contrary, saying so even though you may not mean what you say, brings self-guilt and shame. It begs the question, how much are you willing to sell your soul for? Or so to speak.

If you have seen the film, you know that ultimately it doesn’t matter what his choice is. This further perhaps expands the irony that there is no right answer. Plainview really has nothing to gain from this situation other than to get back at Eli and to humiliate him. Which for him is the only thing he cares about and nothing would bring him more satisfaction.

Paul Thomas Anderson typically uses two or more of the same actors in his films, however, There Will Be Blood is his first film that doesn’t include a member of the cast from a previous film. However, an element that is signature to PT Anderson that is present is his long takes of scenes. The film was shot beautifully which eventually earned an Oscar for Best Cinematography.

Daniel Day Lewis is fierce and relentless. Determined to be wealthy he will let nothing stop him. The first evidence of this is at the very beginning of the film where he falls down a mine shaft and breaks his leg. With determination on his side, he hauls himself back up from the mine. Once you see There Will Be Blood it should come to no surprise that Daniel Day Lewis won an Oscar for Best Leading Actor for his performance.

Paul Dano’s character Eli is marvelously haunting and extremely passionate. I got goose bumps when he preached to his congregation. He is just as determined and fierce as Plainview is but in his own way. He is not fueled by greed but instead it’s his religion which drives him.

There Will Be Blood combines superior acting, directing and storyline into a masterpiece. In my opinion a film that was robbed of it’s much deserved Academy Award for Best Picture. It should be considered an important American film that everyone should see, you would only be doing yourself a favor in doing so.

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Gigantic http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/gigantic/ http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/gigantic/#respond Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=279 An indie romantic comedy with a hint of drama revolving around a young mattress salesman and confused girl with a rich daddy. Directed by Matt Aselton, Gigantic deals with some fairly common life problems like dealing with family, friends, relationships and taking a close look at what you want in life.]]>

An indie romantic comedy with a hint of drama revolving around a young mattress salesman and confused girl with a rich daddy. Directed by Matt Aselton, Gigantic deals with some fairly common life problems like dealing with family, friends, relationships and taking a close look at what you want in life.

Brian Weathersby (Paul Dano) a 28-year-old mattress salesman, has a life long dream. This is not a normal dream for a young single man like opening a coffee shop or starting a band. No, since he was a young boy he has wanted to adopt a baby from china. The adoption process is long and grueling and to make matters worse he keeps getting viciously attacked by a homeless man (Zach Galifianakis). Now that we have established that Brian is a not so normal boy, let’s talk about a not so normal girl. Harriet or Happy (Zooey Deschanel) is the daughter of a wealthy customer of Brian’s (John Goodman). Happy works for her sister but doesn’t know what she is doing or where she is going in life. So boy meets girl, girl distracts boy from his life goals then girl freaks out and screws everything up when she realizes that they’re relationship might really mean something.

Gigantic movie review

I don’t know how this movie flew under my radar for so long, but I’m glad it finally made its way to me. After seeing Paul Dano in There Will Be Blood, I knew he was someone to watch. The character he plays is very likable but different and I think he was perfect for this part. Zooey Deschanel is VERY well liked in the indie world, for her singing and most of all just because she is so darn cute, but her acting has always been well… dull. So I was pleasantly surprised to see her do such a range of emotions. This was by far the best acting I have seen from her ever. John Goodman was amazingly funny and makes you feel like this part was written with him in mind. Really there wasn’t a bad performance in the movie. Well written and well directed, Matt Aselton executed this movie like a pro.

If you are looking for a movie with depth and emotion that will still make you laugh, Gigantic is it. A truly way too indie film.

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