The Center

Movies to See Right Now

by
MINE 9

I’m deep into the 2019 Cinequest, running through March 17. Here’s my Cinequest preview; I’m recommending the world premieres of Mine 9 tonight and Saturday for Auggie. Throughout the festival, I link my festival coverage to my Cinequest page, including both features and movie recommendations. Follow me on Twitter for the very latest coverage.

 

OUT NOW

  • In They Shall Not Grow Old, Lord of the Rings filmmaker Peter Jackson has, for the first time, layered humanity over our understanding of World War I. By slowing down the speed of the jerky WWI film footage and adding sound and color, Jackson has allowed us to relate to the real people in the Great War. This is a generational achievement and a Must See.
  • Roma is an exquisite portrait of two enduring women and the masterpiece of Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity, Children of Men and Y Tu Mama Tambien). It won multiple Oscars. It is streaming now Netflix.
  • Green Book: This is the Oscar winner for Best Picture.  Tony Lip is a marvelous character, and Viggo Mortensen’s performance is one of the great pleasures of this year in the movies.
  • Vice: in this bitingly funny biopic of Dick Cheney by writer-director Adam McKay (The Big Short), Cheney is played by a physically transformed and unrecognizable Christian Bale. A superb performance, pretty good history, biography from a sharp point of view and a damn entertaining movie.
  • Stan & Ollie: Steve Coogan as Stan Laurel and John C. Reilly as Oliver Hardy deliver remarkable portraits of a partnership facing the inevitability of showbiz decline.
  • Pawel Pawlikowski’s sweeping romantic tragedy Cold War is not as compelling as his masterpiece Ida.
  • The Favourite: Great performances by three great actresses, sex and political intrigue are not enough; this critically praised film didn’t work for me.

 

ON VIDEO

My Stream of the Week comes from the 2015 Cinequest. The ever-absorbing The Center explores how someone of sound mind and normal disposition can be completely enveloped by a cult. The Center can be streamed from Amazon (included with Prime), Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

 

ON TV

On March 14 on Turner Classic Movies: The Blue Gardenia presents a 1953 view of date rape, with lecherous Raymond Burr getting Anne Baxter likkered up into a blackout drunk with Polynesian Pearl Divers. There’s a very nice twist on the whodunit: when she wakes up, she doesn’t remember killing him, but he sure is dead. There’s even a cameo performance by Nat King Cole.

THE BLUE GARDENIA
THE BLUE GARDENIA

Stream of the Week: THE CENTER – sliding into a cult

by
THE CENTER
THE CENTER

I’m kicking off Cinequest week with a stream from the 2015 festival. The ever-absorbing The Center explores how someone of sound mind and normal disposition can be completely enveloped by a cult. The Center is writer-director Charlie Griak’s first feature, and it’s a very impressive debut.

We meet Ryan (Matt Cici), a talented guy with low self-esteem. He is highly functional and ultra-responsible, but it seems like nobody is in his corner. The first six minutes of this screenplay paint a detailed portrait of a guy who is crapped upon more than Job. No one encourages Ryan to do anything for himself, and he ends each night alone, with a beer and late-night TV. Then someone else shows personal interest in the hang-dog Matt, and he gradually slides into what at first seems the appreciation of his potential, but which is revealed to be a web of exploitation.

The audience recognizes some red flags before Ryan does, but every step in this story is credible – and there isn’t a cliché in sight. The keys to The Center’s success are the crafting of the Ryan character and the believability of the story. Ryan’s journey is compressed into a taut and compelling 72 minutes.

Matt Cici, who is in virtually every shot, is perfect as Ryan – a guy with plenty to offer, but whose lack of self-confidence sets him up for exploitation by everyone else. The acting is strong throughout The Center. Ramon Pabon is especially memorable as a twitchy loser who has been sucked into the cult. With piercing eyes, Judd Einan nails the role of the uberconfident, emotionally bullying cult founder. Annie Einan is excellent as Ryan’s world-weary sister, so burdened by their mother’s care that she can’t be there for Ryan until she spots the crisis in his life.

Just after The Center’s premiere at Cinequest, HBO released documentarian Alex Gibney’s (Taxi to the Dark Side, We Steal Secrets, Client 9, Casino Jack and the United States of Money) expose of Scientology – Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief. Going Clear will be a big deal, and will beg the question, “How can smart, able people fall into this stuff?”. The Center should become the perfect narrative fiction companion to Going Clear.

One more thing – The Center was shot in St. Paul, Minnesota, a city that I’m not used to seeing in a movie. The Center’s sense of place (a place fresh and unfamiliar to many of us, anyway) adds to its appeal.

With The Center, Charlie Griak has shown himself to be a very promising filmmaking talent and has left a serious professional calling card. I can’t wait to see what he does next.

The Center can be streamed from Amazon (included with Prime), Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

GOING CLEAR: THE PRISON OF BELIEF: a devastating expose

by
GOING CLEAR: THE PRISON OF BELIEF
GOING CLEAR: THE PRISON OF BELIEF

Going Clear: The Prison of Belief, documentarian Alex Gibney’s devastating expose of Scientology, originally shown on HBO in April, is opening theatrically tomorrow. The indictment of Scientology as dangerous cult is stunning. Gibney is sunshining an amazingly rich reservoir of source material: we hear from several former Scientologists, including the former chief spokesperson, the former top deputy to the Chairman of the Board, along with former believer director Paul Haggis and the John Travolta’s original Scientology handler.

Gibney begins by tracing the journey of Scientology’s founder, L. Ron Hubbard and reviewing the organization’s history. Now I knew about the science fiction writer Hubbard, his book Dianetics and even the E-meter. But I sure didn’t know about the Sea Org with its billion-year employment contracts, the Scientology Navy and the bizarro theology with invisible Thetans, volcanos and H-bombs. Nor had I seen the North Korea-style cult-of-personality spectacles featuring Chairman of the Board David McCavige. And I hadn’t heard about the church’s opposition to same-sex marriage.

Then come the really scary stuff. We hear from former Scientology officials who testify that they have been incarcerated in the Rehabilitation Project Force – a concentration camp on a top floor of the Scientology’s Los Angeles HQ and in what is essentially a prison camp in Florida to “re-educate” suspected heretics and backsliders. And there is testimony about the prisoners being separated from their children, who are shunted off to Cadet Org. One official offers personal testimony of his assignment to break up Nicole Kidman’s marriage to Tom Cruise and to alienate her children from her. It’s horrifying stuff. And it’s a riveting viewing experience.

Alex Gibney is one our very, very best documentarians. He won an Oscar for Taxi to the Dark Side, and he made the superb Casino Jack: The United States of Money, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Elliot Spitzer and Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God. (He can’t seem to pass up a really long movie title – but Going Clear etc., came from a book title.)

If you’re asking “How can smart, able people fall into this stuff?”, then I recommend finding a film that I reviewed at Cinequest 2015 – The Center. Upon its release, The Center should become the perfect narrative fiction companion to Going Clear.

GOING CLEAR: THE PRISON OF BELIEF: a devastating expose

by
GOING CLEAR: THE PRISON OF BELIEF
GOING CLEAR: THE PRISON OF BELIEF

HBO is airing Going Clear: The Prison of Belief, documentarian Alex Gibney’s devastating expose of Scientology.  The indictment of Scientology as dangerous cult is stunning.  Gibney is sunshining an amazingly rich reservoir of source material: we hear from several  former Scientologists, including the former chief spokesperson, the former top deputy to the Chairman of the Board, along with former believer director Paul Haggis and the John Travolta’s original Scientology handler.

Gibney begins by tracing the journey of Scientology’s founder, L. Ron Hubbard and reviewing the organization’s history.  Now I knew about the science fiction writer Hubbard, his book Dianetics and even the E-meter.  But I sure didn’t know about the Sea Org with its billion-year employment contracts, the Scientology Navy and the bizarro theology with invisible Thetans, volcanos and H-bombs.  Nor had I seen the North Korea-style cult-of-personality spectacles featuring Chairman of the Board David McCavige.  And I hadn’t heard about the church’s opposition to same-sex marriage.

Then come the really scary stuff.  We hear from former Scientology officials who testify that they have been incarcerated in the Rehabilitation Project Force –  a concentration camp on a top floor of the Scientology’s Los Angeles HQ and in what is essentially a prison camp in Florida to “re-educate” suspected heretics and backsliders.  And there is testimony about the prisoners being separated from their children, who are shunted off to Cadet Org.  One official offers personal testimony of his assignment to break up Nicole Kidman’s marriage to Tom Cruise and to alienate her children from her.  It’s horrifying stuff.  And it’s a riveting viewing experience.

Alex Gibney is one our very, very best documentarians.  He won an Oscar for Taxi to the Dark Side, and he made the superb Casino Jack: The United States of Money, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Elliot Spitzer and Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God.  (He can’t seem to pass up a really long movie title – but Going Clear etc., came from a book title.)

If you’re asking “How can smart, able people fall into this stuff?”, then I recommend finding a film that I reviewed at Cinequest 2015 – The Center.  Upon its release, The Center should become the perfect narrative fiction companion to Going Clear.

Cinequest 2015: festival recap

by
THE CENTER
THE CENTER

A pronounced overall success, Cinequest 2015 delivered hearty audience-pleasers from a varied and satisfying menu that featured some real gems from the indie, documentary and world cinema categories.

The fest kicked off with two huge popular successes: the feel-good BATKID BEGINS and the hilariously dark WILD TALES, and kept up the pace throughout the first weekend with an assortment of successful premieres.

Cinequest’s Director of Programming Mike Rabehl presented a fest especially rich in first features, including:

  • THE CENTER: An absorbing and topical American indie drama about the seductiveness of a cult; and especially promising debut from filmmaker Charlie Griak.
  • ANTOINE ET MARIE: A brilliantly constructed French-Canadian drama with two unforgettable characters (actually a second feature).
  • IN THE COMPANY OF WOMEN: Unexpectedly sweet, this starts out with a Boys Behaving Badly set-up and then morphs into a tribute to enduring love.  A festival surprise hit.
  • FOR SOME INEXPLICABLE REASON: A good-natured Belgian comedy containing some very innovative nuggets.

 

CORN ISLAND
CORN ISLAND

Cinequest’s international film scout Charlie Cockey came through once again with the fest’s best film, the transcendent Georgian drama CORN ISLAND, which won the Jury Award for Best Narrative Drama.

 

ASPIE SEEKS LOVE
ASPIE SEEKS LOVE

This 2015 fest was the strongest recent Cinequest for documentaries. The well-deserved Jury Award for best Documentary went to ASPIE SEEKS LOVE, the story of a surprisingly sympathetic subject. Other excellent docs included:

 

Not every film was a home run.  Director John Boorman’s personal appearance was a hit, but his QUEEN AND COUNTRY was only moderately entertaining.  And the eagerly awaited  CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA (Cesar-winning Kristen Stewart) and the Sundance award-winning SLOW WEST were clunkers.

Richard von Busack, the highly respected local film critic, picked Tuesday night’s L’ATALANTE:, rarely seen on the big screen. It’s the 1934 masterpiece of French writer-director Jean Vigo, who died at age 29 soon after its completion. A packed house agreed that this was one of Cinequest 2015’s top experiences.

Other highlights included the Belgian romantic dramedy THREE HEARTS, the French comedy GEMMA BOVERY and the exceptionally well-directed Kosovan drama THREE WINDOWS AND A HANGING.

The most underrated movie at Cinequest? Somehow, the biting darkly hilarious Mexican social satire LOS HAMSTERS is flying under the radar. I think this tale of a dysfunctional family is both very smart and very funny.

BARCO Escape showcased developing three-screen technology to envelope the audience in the cinematic experience.  I have reservations about the BARCO experience, but the short film WITHDRAWAL was a definite winner.

Here’s all my Cinequest coverage – with several features and comments on over twenty-five movies – conveniently linked on one page.

WILD TALES
WILD TALES

Cinequest picks for Tuesday, March 3

by
THE CENTER
THE CENTER

The final (scheduled) screenings of these gems are today:

  • THE CENTER: An absorbing and topical American indie drama about the seductiveness of a cult.
  • DIRTY BEAUTIFUL: An American indie comedy that is decidedly NOT a by-the-numbers battle of the sexes.
  • FACTORY BOSS: I haven’t yet seen this narrative about the manager of a Chinese sweatshop factory getting squeezed, but I’ve hearing good things around the fest. One of my friends, who has been to factories in Shenzen, entered a screening a little late and initially mistook it for a documentary.

Tonight is the eagerly awaited L’ATALANTE, rarely seen on the big screen. It’s the 1934 masterpiece of French writer-director Jean Vigo, who died at age 29 soon after its completion. Richard von Busack, the highly respected film critic for Metro, will receive a Media Legacy Award at the screening.

I also liked the documentary THERE WILL BE NO STAY, a powerful examination of American capital punishment from the perspective of the executioners.

See you around the fest. You can find my festival coverage, including both features and movie recommendations, on my Cinequest page. Follow me on Twitter for the very latest.

Cinequest 2015 at mid-festival

by
CORN ISLAND
CORN ISLAND

We’re halfway through Cinequest 2015. What are the biggest hits and the most delightful surprises?

Cinequest’s Director of Programming/Associate Director Mike Rabehl was definitely right: he predicted BATKID BEGINS and WILD TALES to be among the biggest audience pleasers. The opening night audience reveled in BATKID BEGINS, and WILD TALES, the darkly comic Argentine collection of revenge stories, rocked the California Theatre.

And how about those surprise gems?

  • CORN ISLAND: This exquisite and lyrical Georgian drama is a Must See for Cinephiles. If it doesn’t turn out to be the best contemporary art movie at Cinequest 2015, I’ll be shocked.
  • ANTOINE ET MARIE: A brilliantly constructed French-Canadian drama with two unforgettable characters.
  • THE CENTER: An absorbing and topical American indie drama about the seductiveness of a cult.
  • IN THE COMPANY OF WOMEN: Unexpectedly sweet, this starts out with a Boys Behaving Badly set-up and then morphs into a tribute to enduring love.
  • FACTORY BOSS: I haven’t yet seen this narrative about the manager of a Chinese sweatshop factory getting squeezed, but I’ve hearing good things around the fest. One of my friends, who has been to factories in Shenzen, entered a screening a little late and initially mistook it for a documentary.

The most underrated movie at Cinequest?  Somehow, the biting darkly hilarious Mexican social satire LOS HAMSTERS is flying under the radar.  I think this tale of a dysfunctional family is both very smart and very funny.

It’s also been a notably strong year for the documentaries at Cinequest:

  • ASPIE SEEKS LOVE: A surprisingly sympathetic portrait of a guy looking for love like anyone else, but whose social skills are handicapped by Asberger’s.
  • MEET THE HITLERS: Tracking down real people burdened with the Fuhrer’s name, this successful doc weaves together both light-hearted and very dark story threads.
  • SWEDEN’S COOLEST NATIONAL TEAM: A character-driven take on the sports movie takes us into a Nerd Olympics.
  • THERE WILL BE NO STAY: a powerful examination of American capital punishment from the perspective of the executioners.

Most promising film yet to come? I’d say Tuesday night’s L’ATALANTE:, rarely seen on the big screen. It’s the 1934 masterpiece of French writer-director Jean Vigo, who died at age 29 soon after its completion. Richard von Busack, the highly respected film critic for Metro, will receive a Media Legacy Award at the screening.

See you around the fest. You can find my festival coverage, including both features and movie recommendations, on my Cinequest page. Follow me on Twitter for the very latest.

IN THE COMPANY OF WOMEN
IN THE COMPANY OF WOMEN

Cinequest Picks for Sunday, March 1

by
CORN ISLAND
CORN ISLAND

Cinephiles need to see the exquisite and lyrical Georgian drama CORN ISLAND. If it’s not the best contemporary art movie at Cinequest, I’ll be shocked.  Today’s other best picks:

  • CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA: The ever-radiant Juliette Binoche plays an actress now relegated to the older role in her breakthrough play, with her younger role going to Kristen Stewart (All About Eve, anyone?). And Stewart just became the first American actress to win a César (the French Oscar) for this performance.
  • THE CENTER: An absorbing and topical American indie drama about the seductiveness of a cult.
  • DIRTY BEAUTIFUL: An American indie comedy that is decidedly NOT a by-the-numbers battle of the sexes.
  • ASPIE SEEKS LOVE: A surprisingly sympathetic portrait of a guy looking for love like anyone else, but whose social skills are handicapped by Asberger’s.

  • THE CENTER
    THE CENTER

Cinequest Picks for Friday, February 27

by
LOS HAMSTERS
LOS HAMSTERS

Here are my picks for Friday at Cinequest, starting with three of my favorites:

  • THE CENTER: An absorbing and topical American indie drama about the seductiveness of a cult. WORLD PREMIERE.
  • LOS HAMSTERS: A biting darkly hilarious Mexican social satire.  NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE.
  • ASPIE SEEKS LOVE: A surprisingly sympathetic portrait of a guy looking for love like anyone else, but whose social skills are handicapped by Asberger’s.  WORLD PREMIERE.

I also like SWEDEN’S COOLEST NATIONAL TEAM (a character-driven take on the sports movie takes us into a Nerd Olympics) and the innovative and good-hearted Hungarian comedy FOR SOME INEXPLICABLE REASON and I’ve heard great things about these following films:

  • GUARD DOG: dark and violent Peruvian thriller. US PREMIERE.
  • MILWAUKEE: US indie sex and relationship comedy. WORLD PREMIERE.

See you around the fest!

Cinequest 2015 – festival preview

by

CinequestIt’s time to dive into the 2015 version of the San Jose film festival Cinequest running from tomorrow through March 8.  This year’s program looks GREAT.  You can find my festival coverage, including both features and movie recommendations, on my Cinequest page (which you may wish to bookmark).  Follow me on Twitter for the very latest.

Here are my 18 best bets at Cinequest 2015:

  • WILD TALES: the darkly comic Argentine collection of revenge stories. Wild Tales has been a festival hit (Cannes, Telluride, Toronto and Sundance) around the world and was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar.  One of its vignettes features one of my favorite screen actors, Ricardo Darin (the Argentine Joe Mantegna).  See it at Cinequest before it gets to Bay Area art houses on March 6.  Ann Thompson (Thompson on Film) will be receiving a Media Legacy Award at the screening.
  • CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA:   The ever-radiant Juliette Binoche plays an actress now relegated to the older role in her breakthrough play, with her younger role going to Kristen Stewart (All About Eve, anyone?).  And Stewart just became the first American actress to win a César (the French Oscar) for  this performance.
  • ’71:  Everybody says that this thriller about a British soldier trapped overnight in a hostile Northern Ireland neighborhood during the Troubles is pedal-to-the-metal intensity.
  • SLOW WEST:  This offbeat Western with Michael Fassbender won a prize at Sundance.
  • QUEEN AND COUNTRY:  Director John Boorman’s Korean War-Era quasi-sequel to his Hope and Glory.  Boorman (Deliverance) will appear at the screening.  Silicon Valley release on March 6.
  • L’ATALANTE: The 1934 masterpiece of French writer-director Jean Vigo, who died at age 29 soon after its completion.  Richard von Busack, the highly respected film critic for Metro, will receive a Media Legacy Award at the screening.

Here are my pre-festival picks from among the films that I’ve seen:

DRAMA:

  • ANTOINE ET MARIE: A brilliantly constructed French-Canadian drama with two unforgettable characters.
  • THE CENTER: An absorbing and topical American indie drama about the seductiveness of a cult.

COMEDY:

  • LOS HAMSTERS: A biting darkly hilarious Mexican social satire.
  • DIRTY BEAUTIFUL: An American indie comedy that is decidedly NOT a by-the-numbers battle of the sexes.

DOCUMENTARY:

  • ASPIE SEEKS LOVE: A surprisingly sympathetic portrait of a guy looking for love like anyone else, but whose social skills are handicapped by Asberger’s.
  • MEET THE HITLERS: Tracking down real people burdened with the Fuhrer’s name, this successful doc weaves together both light-hearted and very dark story threads.
  • SWEDEN’S COOLEST NATIONAL TEAM: A character-driven take on the sports movie takes us into a Nerd Olympics.

I’ve also gotten tips from insiders about some other very promising films (that I haven’t seen yet):

  • CORN ISLAND: Reportedly transcendent Georgian drama.
  • FOR SOME INEXPLICABLE REASON: Hungarian comedy.
  • GUARD DOG: dark and violent Peruvian thriller. US premiere.
  • MILWAUKEE: US indie sex and relationship comedy. World premiere.
  • THREE WINDOWS AND A HANGING:  Searing Kosovan drama.

Take a look at the program and the passes and tickets. (If you want to support Silicon Valley’s most important cinema event while skipping the lines, the $100 donation for Express Line Access is an awesome deal.) You can download the Festival Guide from this page.