Tag: what to watch

Categories
Cinema entertainment entertainment news

2023 at Tribeca

Tribeca

The 21st Tribeca Film Festival kicked off on June 7th. The New York City cinema gathering spools a mixture of indie and mainstream titles. What I like about this festival is the slick production values of entries or debut directors can have well-known performers.

I do not review Marvel films because Superhero works are review proof and I have nothing to add to the conversation. With that in mind, I was hesitant about viewing David Gelb’s STAN LEE is an extremely pleasant documentary on the visionary comic book creator of Spiderman, Hulk, Thor, Ironman, to name a few. Just to go to a local movie theater, certainly one of his creatures is playing on the big screen.

Putting the hero worshiping aside, the dark side of the film shows a man naive when it came to the business of intellectual property. Secondly, sharing creative credit with colleagues Jack Kirby and Steve Kirby placed a cloud on his some creations. What is the expression, “Success has many Fathers”. Lee’s other talent was his uncanny way of self branding to all the super human characters. Even up to his death in 2018 at 95, Stan made numerous cameos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Shifting to a more series tone, RATHER, or the film on the life of journalist Dan Rather. To a generation, Rather was the epitome of journalism and news. From his stories covering Civil Rights, embedded in Vietnam, White House chief correspondent during the Nixon Years, 60 Minutes and the CBS evening news anchor, the Texas native had embraceable credentials becoming a voice of reference for two generations.

Tribeca Rather

Frank Marshall getting to the root of what makes a great journalist, shaped by many of 20th centuries biggest events. What resonates today is the level of past professional competence along with assurance missing in today’s 24-hour branded news cycle or YouTube commentators.

I have watched other films dealing with climate change and its affects on the impoverished. Utamar from Bolivia and Pepples from India told stories of environmental desperation. This year, BETWEEN THE RAINS from Kenya caught me off guard. I wasn’t looking for but thankfully found this documentary.

Tribeca Between the Rains

Directors Andrew H. Brown and Moses Thuranira document the life of a young sheep shepherd facing deadly conflicts in a world of either prey and predator. Kolei dreams of another life, but is trapped by one of encroaching violence because of a lasting drought. The striking landscape shot by Brown doesn’t disguise a sense of growing unease for the principal characters or the viewers.

Stay tuned for more coverage

Tribeca Film Festival runs until June 18th.

For interviews and news on entertainment check out Chat Cinema Podcast

Categories
Cinema entertainment entertainment news

When Mail Was FUN!

ALL MAN-International Male The Film

Before Amazon and shopping online, mail order catalogs dominated the long distanced retail landscape. Buyers browsed pages for merchandise before purchasing. Specialty catalogs rose from the advent of targeting certain customers. International Male was one such catalog. The menswear label from INTERNATIONAL MALE launched in 1976 from a beach shack in San Diego. Founder Gene Buckard’s homoerotic masculinity vision of fashion became an instant success. An aspirational fantasy of gorgeous men with a six packs covered the pages.

International Male-The Film
International Male-The Film

Writer Peter Jones and directors Byran Darling and Jesse Reed document the story of the rise and fall of a once trend setting catalog. ALL MAN-THE INTERNATIONAL MALE STORY is fun to watch for the nostalgic feeling of getting a fun piece of mail.

ALL MAN-THE INTERNATIONAL MALE STORY was screened at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival. From Giant Pictures. Running time is 83 mins. Available on digital platforms June 6th.

Categories
Cinema entertainment

Reeves is Back as WICK!

Keanu Reeves from John Wick

Actor Keanu Reeves returns to theaters this weekend as Super Assassin John Wick in the third sequel of the hit franchise.

Keanu Reeves

In 2020 we produced a Chat Cinema episode on the actor trying to dissect the appeal of the actor.

Categories
Cinema entertainment news

CALLED IT!

Short FIlm ROY

For Chat Cinema Podcast guest filmmakers Tom Berkeley and Ross White talked about their well received film ROY, character driven story of loneliness. The duo looked poised to make the next step. Fast forward to March 12th, Tom Berkeley Ross White won the Best Film Short at the 95th Academy Awards in Hollywood for AN IRISH GOODBYE.

Categories
Cinema entertainment news Fashion

Green Fashion Credentials

Fashion Reimagined.

Brands are brandishing green credentials for the sake of being caring, or at least on the surface. Green is the new Black Dress in fashion. Suddenly, designers and labels have become Earth Conscious. Walk down any main street or shopping mall, retailers are bragging about sustainable clothing lines.

During the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival, Fashion Reimagined unspooled at the New York cinema gathering.

Becky Hunter’s documentary follows rural born designer Amy Powney’s quest searching for sustainable materials. The London based fashioner practices what she preaches, all the more remarkable because in the times of long, at times untraceable, long supply chains.

“Passion is the bridge that takes you from pain to change”. Frida Kahlo. How does an independent label afford costs associated sustainability? As the story unfolds, compromising seems to be the easiest solution. Amy and her Mother of Pearl fashion label team go from supplier to supplier with with hens teeth questions and requests for green goods. The quest leads to a South American supplier for wool. The viewer has to give the fashion designer a high mark for effort.

Hunter and Powney are on a stretch of terrain going from compelling to bordering on molly coddled righteousness for a moral cause. A wool sweater from Mother of Pearl retails for $500, not exactly affordable for many consumers.

Is Fashion Reimagined a soft commentary on disposable culture? No. More, a personal story about trying to be true to ones beliefs in the face of globalization and harmful production practices. Given the headlines about disposable fast fashion, cheering a dedicated fashion designer searching for an ethical way to produce clothes may not be a bad thing. Meanwhile, go online to buy a Mother of Pearl sweater on sale.

Screened online at 2022 Tribeca Film Festival

Running Time 92 minutes

Categories
Cinema entertainment news Feature

Personal Favs From The Berlinale

Berlinale

After the announcements of the main awards of this year’s Berlinale, other films also deserve recognition. In the Encounters section, The Klezmer Project was directed by Leandro Koch and Paloma Schachmann. Although it did not win (Here, by Bas Devos, took the prize), The duo’s work deserves stand-alone appraisal. Leandro, a frustrated Jewish wedding cameraman in Argentina meets and falls in love with a clarinetist. To spend time with her he contrives a documentary project commission for television. This project will take him across the remotest parts of Eastern Europe.

The Klezmer Project is original in that it adds a linear fictional narrative onto what is otherwise a documentary. It also manages to do this very seamlessly to provide double interest and entertainment. The quest to find the lost klezmer melodies that have been safeguarded by the Romani people both educates and fascinates. The film was recognized by winning the GWFF society Best First Feature Award. The prize of 50,000 € guarantees the safeguarding of Film and TV rights. A Special Mention from the GWFF was also given to The Bride, directed by Myriam U. Birara and in the Forum Competition section.

Berlinale
The Klezmer Project-From Encounters Section

Tótem, directed by Lila Aviles, played in the Competition section failed to win any of the main awards. However, this Spanish take on melodrama both charmed and delighted. A family celebrates the birthday of a young father, also a painter. Sadly, he is also facing his impending mortality. The child protagonist, played by newcomer Naíma Senties, could easily have won the Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance. The award went to another child protagonist Sofía Otero for 20,000 Species of Bees. Tótem, however, won the prize of the Ecumenical Jury. The well received work finished ahead of Golden Bear winner On the Adamant, awarded Special Mention at the festival.

One film in the Competition which surprisingly failed to win a prize was Limbo, directed by Ivan Sen. A detective called Travis Hurley arrives in a small Australian outback town. Staying at the Hotel Limbo, he has come to investigate a 20-year-old unsolved homicide of an Aboriginal woman. The only evidence he has is a number of tape recordings. Meanwhile, the victim’s family is reluctant to give much information, particularly to a white cop.

Berlinale
Limbo-From Competition Section

With patience, Travis will uncover some unpleasant truths, highlighting the injustice faced by Aboriginal Australians. Indigenous Australian film director Ivan Sen had previously won the Premiere First Movie Award at the Berlinale in 2002 for his first film Beneath Clouds. In Limbo he has created a hypnotic “desert noir” that makes excellent use of the landscapes. The choice of black and white further enhances the backdrop and static progress of narrative resolution.

A personal nod also goes to the following films: Blackberry, The Shadowless Tower (Main Competition); Boom! Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker, Kiss the Future (Berlinale Special – Out of Competition); Calls from Moscow, Notes from Eremocene, Cidade Rabat (Forum Section).

By Steve Yates

Categories
Cinema podcast

Bridgerton-The Look

Bridgerton on Chat Cinema Podcast

The second segment of the Chat Cinema Podcast with Jeff Jur from the Anamorphic Cafe Lounge in Berlin. The award-winning cinematographer answers questions about achieving the overall look of the hit Netflix show.

Click below for the episode.

Categories
Cinema podcast

Those Wigs on Bridgerton

Bridgerton

The hit series BRIDGERTON is known for inclusive casting, sexy Victorian Age storylines and those wigs.

In the first in a series of quick conversations from the Anamorphic Cafe Club, award-wining cinematographer Jeff Jur talks about he shoots the Netflix show to get the hairpiece details.

Click to see the video.

Categories
Cinema entertainment

A Balancing Act at the Berlinale #73

Berlinale

The 73rd Berlin International Film Festival is the first fully in-person Berlinale event since 2020. 

Before the festival, Executive Director Mariette Rissenbeek and Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian spoke about their objectives this year. Overcoming the impact of the pandemic and closer ties with the U.S. are two such challenges. Meanwhile, there has also been a funding boost from the German government. The pair also explained how their program selection attempts to balance harsh realities with escapism. 

The festival opened on February 16th with a grand red carpet ceremony. The television and stage show was produced by the German public broadcaster ZDF/3Sat. Their filming included the exterior red carpet, the hallway of the Berlinale Palast, and the theatre interiors. The ceremony started at 7.30pm local time. Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian were joined on stage by Jury President Kristen Stewart and further speakers.   

The Rebecca Miller directed She Came to Me was the special opening ceremony screening. A composer in a creative crisis meets a tugboat captain by chance in a Brooklyn Bar. From here a seemingly unlikely strong bond grows between the two. This funny and sophisticated comedy drama is set against a backdrop of a socially divided America. Peter Dinklage, Marisa Tomei and Anne Hathaway are the leading stars who shine in their roles. Ultimately, this was a heartening and entertaining way to begin the festival. 

Eighteen films from around the world will compete in competition for the Silver and Golden Bears. There are also sixteen films also in the second competition, Encounters. The program conspicuously omitted films from Russia this year. However, Sean Penn’s documentary Superpower represents the omnipresence of the Ukraine conflict. Otherwise, films like Honary Bear inductee Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans are intended to be a lighter affair. 

One film in the main competition, Blackberry, is adapted from the bestselling book “Losing the Signal”. Directed by Matt Johnson, it chronicles the rise and rapid fall of the world’s first Smartphone. Glenn Howerton and Jay Buruchel are the central characters who play the fallen business partners. Commendable in art direction is the authentic period detail from the early 1990s to the late 2000s. Moreover, Blackberry humorously portrays the world of fast-paced business, corruption, and the pressure of staying ahead

This year’s Berlinale Award Ceremony will take place on Saturday 25th February. 

By Steven Yates      

Categories
Cinema podcast

Which Decisions?

The Red Suitcase

Iranian Luxembourg filmmaker Cyrus Neshvad’s work THE RED SUITCASE recently received an Academy Award Nomination for Best Short Film. The Paris educated director’s somber story of forced decisions builds a subtle rush.

Click below for the Chat Cinema podcast.