Dollhouse is the most original idea for a show in the current era of television. DH focuses on a single underground house where living dolls are programmed to meet customer needs, at which point their individual handlers (and the cameras) then follow them on their assignments. The dolls are called "Actives" by those in charge, and Eliza Dushku (Echo) is one of them. The thing that surprised me the most about season 1 of DH is how multiple characters were profiled, and basically given their own episodes.
At the beginning of the season, I was worried, because it felt false to me that Eliza was the focus of all the attention, when you consider the amount of actives inside the house (Presumably 30-40 of them). As the season goes along, Eliza does get tangled up in every scenario, but many of the episodes then place the main focus on lesser characters, such as that of characters Sierra (Dichen Lachman) and Victor (Enver
Gjokaj). Those characters stand on their own, and there are also many more to be explored further within the house - many we've yet to meet. The cast for Dollhouse is tremendous, with many familiar faces, and just as many new ones - they're all realistically portrayed, no matter the scenarios they are put in. This show, while hard to categorize, has laughs, thrills and drama, without hitting sour notes. That's a great combination.
(Full episodes available on Fox.com, and on DVD & Blu-ray)
Spotlight: Emily Mortimer in Chaos Theory
Chaos Theory isn't the best romantic comedy of all time, because it follows a lot of the time-tested equations that most comedies in this genre do. I stand behind it more because it's a successful independent comedy, and those are extremely rare.
Chaos Theory is about a guy (Ryan Reynolds) who plans out his every moment, until one thing changes it all. He realizes that he has wasted too much time planning, and not done enough to be spontaneous. Though it'll be pigeonholed into the romance genre, it seems more like a comedic drama to me. In the movie, Ryan rethinks his life, his family (His wife is played by Emily Mortimer) and his job as some type of motivational speaker.
When Ryan has a momentary lapse in judgment, things go very wrong. Mostly the blame can be placed on Sarah Chalke's character, who unknowingly gets him into a lot of trouble with his wife.
This is a sweet story that is great at the beginning and end, but struggles a tiny bit in the middle. Ryan Reynolds delivers a solid performance here, and I'd recommend a watch if you can let go some of the cliches being used. It's certainly one of the top five films in terms of overall quality that Emily has been in.
On Netflix | On IMDB
Twilight
You'll have goosebumps even when you least expect it, in moments where the Cullen family is having an out of this world baseball game (What great casting decisions were made here... Emmett embodies Emmett. No one can argue with that, or any of the other family members for that matter), or perhaps when Edward takes Bella to the very top of a giant tree to have a moment of peace. I have never been more relieved with a book to movie adaptation. All it takes is to be respectful to the original work, no matter how you choose to depict it. Thank goodness there will be three more of these to savor.
On Amazon
| On Netflix How to Rob a Bank
Let's talk about that plot though. I'm not one to normally notice small plot holes and story problems, but this movie is so riddled with them, you can literally see nothing else. The vault that is the talk of the entire movie is made to seem like it can't be opened... and then it opens. The guy calls *69, and the person he calls about answers immediately... twice! You can hang up on people who are on hold and then call them back while they're still on hold! Police ignore dead people lying on stairs and don't secure crime scenes... don't worry, we won't contaminate the scene with our SWAT team boots! I appreciate the effort put in to this simple movie, but after watching, I still don't know how to rob a bank, and I don't think the cast does either. Find a better heist film.
On Netflix | On IMDB
Pop Quiz Friday - Guess Who!
Final Poster for The Wrestler released.
This week, the final poster for director Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler was released (As seen above, click for full size). The Wrestler is set for limited release December 17th, followed by a much wider release in January.
The Fox Searchlight film covers the late career of an aging professional wrestler (Mickey Rourke). The film also features roles by UF favorite Evan Rachel Wood and Marisa Tomei.
Rest assured, as soon as I get the chance, Uncovered Films will have a review up! Until then, you can save this great poster as your background.
POP QUIZ!
As you know, Uncovered Films is still in it's early stages, and as such, we've been rolling out new features week after week, in an effort to make this site the coolest bookmark in your browser. We certainly want to be the best source when it comes to independent films, an under-served market.
So, I feel like I should prep everyone for the next new feature... Pop Quiz. Pop Quiz is a fun item on UF where a picture of an actress, actor, DVD cover, etc. will take center stage for a day. No, of course that's not all... the picture will be heavily distorted, hopefully in the vein of such greats as Distortrait. Then, it'll be your turn to guess who the person or thing is, based off of the picture and the clue below it.
Hopefully you'll get a laugh out of this feature, and enjoy quizzing your film knowledge. Pop Quiz will cover a wide range of people and films, not just indie, so it'll be an easier puzzle than the NY Times Crossword. The idea is to have some fun. Comment on the pics, and send them to your friends to see if they can "guess who?"!
*To keep up with the Pop Quizzes as time passes, you'll be able to go to the sidebar and click on "Pop Quiz" for all of the posts. Easy!*
Sure, it's inspirational, but it's more about a girl who just wants to do what she grew up loving. It's not her fault that her school board decides soccer isn't for girls. The acting is great by all involved... you'll certainly come around with the dad - or not - in the story. Carly Schroeder as Gracie will knock you out with her performance.
There were only a few cheap jump scares that didn't scare me in the least - they were more of an annoyance. The ending welcomes a sequel, and I expect one, but I've also seen this ending in more than one recent horror film - it's textbook stuff. I would recommend you see this in 3-D only, to get the full experience, and appreciate the movie for what it is... pure entertainment.
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, starring Michael Cera and Kat Dennings as the titular characters has been officially announced for both a DVD and Blu-ray release. The film will hit store shelves February 3rd, 2009.
I was able to catch this "romantic comedy" from Columbia Pictures in it's original theatrical run, and found it to be a refreshingly fun film. We have a full UF review up for the film, see it if you want more of my thoughts on Nick and Norah.
Unfortunately, with a title like The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio, you'll never be able to recommend this to a friend because you probably won't be able to remember it's name. Forget the title, and you have an absolutely perfect movie. The kind of movie that is so well paced and directed that it just had to have been adapted from a book (And sure enough, it is). The story presented here is incredible, but completely true at the same time. It's very uplifting, and gives you more hope that you can actually win contests once and a while... though it probably meant a lot more back then.
I think the best part of the film had to have been Julianne Moore (as the greatest mom ever). Based on a real mother of many children, the person her character is based on had to go through a lot in her life, and her story is unlike anything I've ever seen depicted onscreen. Julianne is simply outstanding in Defiance, and reassures me that she is still one of the best actresses onscreen today. Thank goodness she brought this character to screen; hopefully you'll take the time to catch her in this role.
In 100 Feet, Famke Janssen plays Marnie - a woman who is finishing out a three year sentence (For killing her ex-husband, Mark, in self defense) by returning to her home. Back at home, Marnie is now confined with an ankle bracelet that gives her a 100 foot radius to move about, and no further (Or the police show up). Bobby Cannavale portrays her husband's former partner in the NYPD. He was very attached to his partner, and holds an extreme grudge against Famke for what he feels was an unjust murder.
Soon after returning home, things get very bad, very quickly, as the apparition of Marnie's dead husband shows up to exact revenge. Plates fly, as does Janssen, and soon, Cannavale is even more attune to the situation, assuming she's up to no good. Where the film goes downhill is mostly due to the computer generated ghost that is Janssen's husband. When CGI is used exclusively to create a character in a live action movie, it can really put a damper on things.
You don't feel as though characters are in danger until blood actually begins flying due to an invisible force. The only real thing left is the fire (Something the director was quick to point out)... and if fire upstages characters in a movie, priorities aren't where they should have been.
Ultimately, this is a good ghost tale with unexpected and surprising gory moments, and it partially makes up for the recent shortage of American ghost stories on screen, but it isn't perfect.
Dollhouse is the most original idea for a show in the current era of television. DH focuses on a single underground house where living dolls are programmed to meet customer needs, at which point their individual handlers (and the cameras) then follow them on their assignments. The dolls are called "Actives" by those in charge, and Eliza Dushku (Echo) is one of them. The thing that surprised me the most about season 1 of DH is how multiple characters were profiled, and basically given their own episodes.
At the beginning of the season, I was worried, because it felt false to me that Eliza was the focus of all the attention, when you consider the amount of actives inside the house (Presumably 30-40 of them). As the season goes along, Eliza does get tangled up in every scenario, but many of the episodes then place the main focus on lesser characters, such as that of characters Sierra (Dichen Lachman) and Victor (Enver
Gjokaj). Those characters stand on their own, and there are also many more to be explored further within the house - many we've yet to meet. The cast for Dollhouse is tremendous, with many familiar faces, and just as many new ones - they're all realistically portrayed, no matter the scenarios they are put in. This show, while hard to categorize, has laughs, thrills and drama, without hitting sour notes. That's a great combination.
(Full episodes available on Fox.com, and on DVD & Blu-ray)
In this film, Yonkers Joe has made a career of swindling people at the card table, and he just needs to roll a few more trick plays to afford a better future for his son. The acting in Yonkers Joe is tremendous, with Tom Guiry easily pulling off his role. His character alone makes the film, and the director doesn't sugarcoat Joey's genetic disease in any way. It's an emotional ride, with a great ending, and I would recommend it to anyone.
Yonkers Joe - out now on DVD.
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But being iMurders, things obviously go a lot further than that premise. The month's game is supposed to be a Survivor style game, in which chat members are "knocked off" one by one for saying the pre-determined code word. However, the host of this game is very quickly incapacitated, and the self-ordained replacement host decides the new rules of staying alive in this game.
This film struck me with the number of character actors present... it runs the gamut from Tony Todd and Frank Grillo to the wonderful Gabrielle Anwar. However, even though those names get first billing, the spotlight here is placed on the less recognizable actors, such as Terri Colombino (the lead in iMurders).
Ironically, Colombino bears a striking resemblance to Diane Lane, star of the similarly-themed (if much worse film) Untraceable.
So, with all of these familiar actors finally getting their due, does the film do them justice? For the most part, it actually does! The plot is very interesting, and more interweaving than it seems to be in the first hour of the movie. There haven't been many good movies made about the dangers of "cyber-friends" that you've never met in person. And while the line-writing struggles to express any character's knowledge of the internet (multiple characters stiffly insert the word "computer" in front of other technology-based words, just in case you don't know what a chat room or keyboard is), ultimately the plot matters more than the believability.
By the end, you only have so many options for who the chat room killer may be, and the reveal came way out of left field. It doesn't explain everything in the end though, which leaves you hanging with some plot gaps (such as the FBI's immediate knowledge of the chat room... the FBI didn't even know how to stop 9/11 from happening, so you can't tell me they caught on to the chat room the second its visitors started becoming victims), but I can forgive some things ultimately because the rest of the movie makes up for it easily.
From the outside, Cookies & Cream may seem similar to another film we've covered, named "One Hour Fantasy Girl". One Hour Fantasy Girl even follows a similar path - that of a girl on a struggle to find herself, while working an odd-job to pay the rent.
However, now I have a better frame of reference, having watched Cookies & Cream; and I can clearly see what is lacking in 1HFG that C&C has in abundance... heart.
Carmen (Jace Nicole) has an 8 year old daughter that she gets to see only three days a week. She has a high-rise apartment, but a lack of a substantial and steady relationship. The only men she sees are those she meets through work on her website. A decidedly adult web page featuring only herself, called Cookiesandcream.com. Every man she works with tries to take it further, but she won't allow it. They often spew pick-up lines out of a book, and Carmen wants a truthful person who will just be himself.
By chance, not too long into her story, Carmen meets a man who seems to fit all of her criteria... and she starts to fall for him. But the guilt hangs over her, as she tries to figure out how to tell her new boyfriend about how she makes a living (only going so far as to say she works with computers).
Jace Nicole is the biggest revelation amongst this cast. She shines in every scene, and just when you expect her to crack under the pressure of an emotional moment, she somehow keeps the conversation real - and believable. The director does a good job of getting into the head of most of the characters in the short span of the movie - rather than glossing over half of them in favor of quickly telling a story.
Perhaps my only real complaints are debatably minor, but I couldn't shake the thoughts of them even after the film ended. Several of the characters smoke cigarettes in plain view, without hesitation - something I thought we were getting away from in films. It really sullies the reputation of the actors to see them take something that's so important (their lives) so lightly.
And one other bother is the way some of the earlier conversations in the film are presented. Characters are filmed in the city streets of New York, and surrounding areas - but the problem is how they are recorded. They are shown from 100 feet away or more - with their voices sounding dubbed in, whether they are or not. When you're watching conversations in a film, you want to pay attention to the faces, the gestures - all things that need to be experienced up close and personal (not from the bushes across the way). When these cannot be seen, ranging from 30 seconds to a minutes worth of staring at their backs, the viewer becomes frustrated.
These moments do make you appreciate how important it is to see your actors when they deliver their lines. If there were many more moments that could not be seen, it could've ruined the film.
However, as it stands, I can easily say that this film presents a modern drama in a new way. If this had turned out to follow the methods of every romantic "comedy", while trying to pass as a drama, I certainly would've considered it horrible. But with the mantra of our main character Carmen being "The show must go on", It definitely does, and without the flaws of a big-budget production. This is the kind of film that can only ever exist in the independent realm, because no major studio would have enough guts to film the story of an adult film star in any way but a comedy.
Official Rejection is the true story of a group of filmmakers from all parts who are trying to accomplish a single goal: To get their film in a festival. The focused stars of this documentary find themselves quickly rejected by certain big-name fests, despite the effort required to even be considered for them. Disheartened, but not easily broken, the filmmakers keep sending out their films, to smaller screenings across the U.S.
The journey of this film achieves something big that is a rarity in the documentary genre. It's smirk-out-loud funny from beginning to end. With hilarious animated cut-scenes, to the visible struggles of average Joe directors, to astute observations from the front lines and the flashbacks of everyone involved; every piece of this film makes you grin from ear to ear.
So, it's strange that this same film is also one that tells the horrifying story of self-publicizing, penniless movie creators. O.R. is eye-opening, and easily bests all other attempts at revealing an inside view of the movie industry (notably This Film Is Not Yet Rated). It's one of the only films I know of that even mentions the independent film industry in a truthful light.
Painful it may be, but if your head stops shaking at the absurdity of the festival industry long enough to hear the story being presented, it will completely change your opinions on how you absorb and critique films.
From the opening scene of The Missing Person, you find yourself enveloped in the main character's world. John Rosow (played by Michael Shannon) is the character you're unwillingly stuck with for the length of the movie. He's an alcoholic and a habitual smoker. He's antisocial and can get wrapped up in his work, which he cannot do well while also partaking in his aforementioned full-time hobbies.
Rosow is a private detective in a world that rarely requires the use of an investigator. Turns out, he's a former policeman that thinks his job is far more worthwhile than it actually is. Amidst his drunken stupor, in walks Miss Charley (Amy Ryan), the second-in-charge for a new assignment being offered to Rosow. He reluctantly accepts, and instantly finds himself following a man he knows nothing about, from L.A. all the way to Mexico.
Rosow stumbles from place to place throughout his assignment, not bothering to stay invisible, and often finds himself in worse situations than the man he's following.
By the end of this film, we're presented an ending that goes against much of what we've been told leading up to that moment. So it takes time to reconsider everything, and see where it went wrong. The main issue I have with The Missing Person is Michael Shannon. He conveys absolutely zero emotion in this film. If I was told he had some type of nerve problem in his face, I'd believe it. He never exerts himself more than an eighth inch rise of his lip. And if I'm to understand who his character is supposed to be, I need to know that he's in fact human, and not a robot.
The last segment of the film attempts to hurriedly explain why all of the characters are the way that they are. But everything presented feels like a lame excuse by that point. The director forces the viewer to put up with a strange and lifeless main character for sixty-five minutes, only to wipe the slate clean.
You can't wipe memories clean though, so it'll be hard to forget the waste of time you've spent with this biography of an abuser.
In Theaters 11/20/2009
Now through the end of January, IFC.com is hosting a thorough week-by-week list of indie films to be released in theaters. Simply click a month, and/or click any week, and you'll be able to see the top indies hitting theaters in that schedule.
We mostly cover Home releases in our scrollbar (up top), so their feature may be just what you need if you're looking to get out of the house and away from your psychotic family over the holidays!
*Youth In Revolt (pictured) premieres the week of January 8th.
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