Designer Labels - with a designer price

I know I’m joining the fray late but I just saw Star Trek in a digital IMAX venue and I have to say – digital IMAX is nothing special. It’s 2K digital, nothing more, nothing less – on a larger screen than some. The picture actually didn’t fill up the entire screen either, but that’s probably a problem with the construction of the theater. Digital IMAX combined with smaller, retrofitted screens, while offering good sound, will be the death of IMAX unless more 3-D features are produced in the format. 3-D is a justification to spend more money, sure, but the IMAX part, not so much.

 

Digital 3-D of coarse has been done well in certain cases, but it’s not the greatest thing ever, there is still a loss of light. The best use of it I think was in an awfully sub-par (and would have been bad in 2-D flick My Bloody Valentine where a packed house jumped at the horror/slasher images – and had a great time). However, some films don’t work no matter how they’re shown (Monsters Vs. Aliens would have been awful in any format). Star Trek is an engaging film, but I have a feeling I could have the same experience seeing it in a non-IMAX theater.

 

And here’s where I add something new to the conversation: at one point I thought IMAX at one point was going to change cinematic storytelling. The large screen could allow you to do much more and some filmmakers were using 3-D to create experimental works, documentaries and short narratives. Stan Brakhage even made a film on the IMAX format (I would love to see it on a real IMAX screen, but haven’t had the chance).

 

I knew it was only a matter of time before a feature film was made in that format, and one that would play with the confines of what you could do on a much larger canvas. We did get that – Fantasia 2000, which combined live action, animation and restored classic animation into a visual tapestry that created an emotional and visceral experience.

 

The next one we got was The Matrix Reloaded, a good movie, but a movie-movie. The IMAX presentation was an afterthought. It would continue to be as such in the entertainment film arena, save for a few large format documentaries but no new visual ground in the format has really been broken since MacGillvray Freeman pioneered the large format documentary. A few experiments have come from major studios, including Warner Brothers who made short subject documentaries on a variety of subjects including space, underwater and NASCAR, but these were fillers until the studio product dominated the weekend. These films because they are special to see in IMAX and are intended to be exhibited in the format, have a much longer shelf-life than the studio features.

 

This is not to say studio product is bad, but the fake IMAX digital set-ups are basically to push only studio product. The Omimax domes at the science museums will probably continue to show the science documentaries and specialty programs; perhaps with the studio films at night once the museum closes (perhaps the new Night at the Museum can play there).

 

There is so much product now on the IMAX screens that the traditional focus on the new cheapo-fake IMAX retrofitted sites is a second screen for its regular product. Now with digital IMAX it’ll become more accessible to any major studio film, even independent film – which would be nice for certain documentaries (think how cool it would be to see a Matthew Barney film in IMAX), but I doubt they’ll get to play on the multiplex screens. The real issue is how small the screens are and how poor quality the digital experience is. I can tell digital apart from film most times, here it was a dead give away from frame one. The image lacked the depth and grain of film, you might not like film grain – but then again you’re an idiot. The image, like early digital lacks life.

 

I don’t mind seeing a documentary produced on a shoe-string budget on video at the Quad Cinema, I understand that (most of the time those films are shot in DV anyway), but this is IMAX, come on. IMAX is the gold standard for presentation and digital isn’t ready for prime time yet. 4K digital is an improvement over 2K digital IMAX, why not wait until the technology is ready and you can do amazing things in digital, you could see details and clarity you could never see in film. Instead they’ve chose the cheap option, they’re charging you more for a sub-par experience, I doubt, however there will be wide spread outrage over this practice.

 

What I really think is a horrible practice is new theaters opening retrofitted IMAX auditoriums, this is a terrible way to build credibility when a major attraction to your complex is an afterthought. I’d be curious to see if an “original” sized, large IMAX screen could be digital, even on a retrofitted screen like the one at City Center in White Plains, the image wasn’t that great. It’s a shame, when I saw The Dark Knight here, on film, it was nearly perfect. Now a days, it’s just a bigger than average screen with a digital picture.

 

It’s a shame AMC and Regal have really committed to this new format, and hopefully it’ll be a regrettable one. IMAX hasn’t addressed the issue of small screen size, citing numbers. They are a brand now more than an experience. They’ve compared themselves to Starbucks, which offers both an experience and a high quality product. The junior IMAX, in 2D is just offering a brand, no experience and product that’s comparable to any screen in a large auditorium, it barely caries the excitement of seeing a film at a major film festival. Theaters would be better equip to figure out how to bottle the energy and excitement of a film festival – get em’ hooked by giving them a great experience instead of selling them a brand name that means virtually nothing, like THX.

 

Chains departed from THX because people don’t care about a certification, in fact most auditoriums are probably well designed anyway in that they qualify for certification, why pay George Lucus for nothing but a brand with minimal value? Same thing with IMAX – retrofit a theater with giant screen and digital projection and call it something else – oh wait, Cinemark and AMC have started doing that too, already. (And charging more for the “experience”) If they get away with it, I blame all of you, John Q Public.

Summer Projects

So I’m announcing officially the start of two new projects - really, this time no bull shit - I’ve been writing quite a bit lately, most scripts I can’t green light myself but these two I can. More details to follow.

The first: a documentary that I expect to be shot, over the next few summers about a very strange and rather dangerous water park we had here in Northern New Jersey - I’m looking to recruit a DP and someone to work the sound. Anybody interested.

The second: a narrative short film I’ve been writing that will be filmed in the Pompton Lakes area - it’s on par with my film Dwell in terms of scope/production time, in that it’ll be about 25 minutes long. The film is a drama with some comic moments, but a meditation on small town life that goes hand in hand with this Districts cycle I’ve been conceiving.

Districts - as told in the experimental film struggles to make sense of the identify one forms from their surroundings and how where you grow up can influence who you become. The second film in the cycle was P L A N S. This new flick - Hollow Spaces confronts a mother/son relationship when the son, after breaking up with his finance moves back home from Columbus, OH.

And for this I’m seeking a lot of actors - some to function as extras, others to star in lead roles. This one I want to make quickly on the weekends (probably two full weekends) with a small crew and natural lighting (a lot of it takes place in well lit rooms, not like that  dark Blood Sweat and Brando picture), it’ll be shot on HD. I feel good about this one, I think it’s a step in the right direction for me in that while it still retains some experimental threads in that it’s a study of time, space and dimension and will be carefully framed, ect - that it moves me towards more professional and I think more story-based filmmaking. Story is everything, I forgot that for a while, even experimental films have stories, so now I’m going to try to make a real film that captures the emotional intensity that I’ve strived for, while containing an actual plot. See, Ercan Bas - when you yell at me enough about plot, I respond - now you owe me.

Going Green in THE GARDEN

Last night I saw the compelling Oscar nominated documentary The Garden by Scott Hamilton Kennedy (who previously directed the doc about Our Town being performed in a South Central Los Angeles High School). The Garden, also taking place in South Central is about a 14-acre community garden that was bulldozed by the land owners. The story of the garden is an interesting one.

The plot of land, in an industrial neighborhood, was taken by the city in the 80’s by imminent domain, in the mean time the project for which it was intended was derailed by a powerful community group. After the Rodney King riots, which sparked a rather understandable outrage after the police acted like criminals, even though King deserved an ass beating, aren’t cops support to comply with the law and act professional?  - the Garden was born as a way of healing the neighborhood.

I should back up and say The Garden catered mostly to the Hispanics. Kennedy, a white documentarian does slightly get into the racial dynamics, but the film doesn’t dwell there. The land is sold through a back room deal back to its original owner, who I sympathized with up to a certain point, until the bulldozers came into the picture. (Spoiler warning)

The film, along the way is a compelling documentary about a neighborhood and the political dynamics of this location. I agree up to a certain extent with the developer that the farmers felt they had a sense of entitlement, in that I sometimes disagree with imminent domain laws. In fact if you want to get enraged there, like everything - is a blog for that (emdo.blogspot.com). I found this blog in trying to research a story I remember in Hartford, where the city had taken over someone’s home with the intention of building an on-ramp to either 84 or 91, and when that didn’t happen the owners wanted to purchase there home back. The courts, if I recall said “no” and the city continues to rent out the house - I remember that. I’m trying to find proof of that, but that is one example of how eminent domain can work at its worse.

At it’s best? Glad you asked - you know that crack house? Yeah. The city can that over. Sadly with the amount of foreclosures in certain areas you may see vacant homes being used to cook crystal meth, it’s bad, but I’m not making that one up, for that I’ll point you to the Tribeca Film Festival selection American Casino.

The city did what I think was a back room deal in The Garden, and they sold the property back to its original developer, Ralph Horwitz. Of coarse Mr. Horwitz declined to appear in the film, the filmmakers didn’t even feel the need to disclose this fact, but they get him on a deposition tape and later in an awful interview. Horwitz, which got 5 million for the land, bought it back for 5 million and tells the farmers they can purchase it back for 16 million. Amazingly through grants, pledges and donations the farmers and the mayor of LA who supported the farmers were able to meet Horwitz’s offer, which he didn’t take.

Here’s where things get out of control - the filmmakers obtained a radio interview with Horwitz who makes some decent points, but ultimately comes off as a shady bastard (most landlords probably are). He is made into the villain here, whereas the filmmakers did I think try to keep the story balanced up to a certain point, perhaps a true balance would have included an interview with the man himself, it’s clear he probably wouldn’t want to participate in this project.

As a post script to the story the field sits empty and the farmers have moved on. Horowtiz, I learn is working with Forever 21 to build a distribution center on the land, which has led to an internet boycott against Forever 21 in the event the deal goes through. Interesting, the land has been salted, so to speak.

Perhaps it’s Horowtiz’s character that is the problem - he proposed a purchase price, not thinking the group would obtain it, and when he did he decided to hold out for more money, citing he was personally offended because he believe the group made anti-Semitic comments about him. The film doesn’t document it, it spends more time with the farmers and in the court room. Watching this bizarre conflict play out, reminds me of an Avi Mograbi flick, although this one doesn’t quite have the bite and its not really about land conflicts.

Perhaps, as part of the eco movement, more community gardens should be developed. This all occurred in the “Hooray for me and fuck you” era of George W. Bush, but now we’re in a new territory - the green movement is in so is local produce. Michael Polan proposed the idea of the first family planting a garden, I’m unsure if they listened to him, but they have and its rather inspiring. This is not to say that things would be different today, but the farm and Polan’s book The Omnivore's Dilemma (which calls out Whole Foods) highlights the importance of going local and going fresh. I almost want to plant a garden my back yard again as well, I haven’t done so since my grandfather was alive (he inspired me to do it when I saw his backyard, not the green movement). 

The Garden is essential, not as a film about the green movement, it is, but it’s wrapped in the foil of a compelling legal and social realist drama.

Rent it with someone you've rented....

I agree with Bill Maher - Elliot Spitzer wasn’t lashing out - he just wanted to get laid.

I believe this even after seeing Steven Solderbergh’s The Girlfriend Experience which stars actual “adult film” star Sasha Grey. The film is pretty good, and if you’re feeling cheap you can watch it at home through Amazon.com and Tivo - which is where I had the experience, while I can go into a separate rant on video on demand two factors came into play: 1.- it was cheaper than paying $12.50 a ticket plus the $8 toll to see the flick at the Sunshine Theater in New York City, and 2.-I could watch it now, and I was bored.

I just watched Spitzer on Rachel Maddow who wasn’t all that aggressive on the one time New York governor and now journalist on Slate.com. Spitzer had some interesting points of view on the crisis and I agree - Wall Street really hasn’t paid for the damage they may have done. Regarding The Girlfriend Experience, and how much he paid a girl that was cute, sure, but not worth that much per hour (in fact I can say I’ve been out with cuter women, for free, well it’s never really free - it usually involves buying dinner and perhaps a movie - but that’s dating after all, not prostitution), Spitzer said he’s still gaining perspective essentially. Hey, none of my business what he’s going though or what he was actually in, perhaps it’s not so much his wife he wasn’t in to, but that it’s something different.

I hate to be cruel but if you were told you could only eat Peter Luger’s steak for the rest of your life and you could never say, go to Chick-Fil-A, for example - you’d get bored soon, even with the best steak known to man. This is why I don’t understand the rush to get married, not with Plato’s Retreat closed for good.

But back to The Girlfriend Experience - a decent enough movie with a good performance by Sasha Grey who plays a high end call girl who doesn’t always have sex with her clients, in fact she likes what she does, she’s selective. Her boyfriend, played by Chris Santos, feels the need to indulge her, they live in an awesome apartment in Manhattan of coarse, he’s a personal trainer. She is a trainer or healer of sorts as well.

The story is non-linear, in fact it may even lack a plot (Ercan tells me my films have no plots either, fair enough - I like to capture time and place, it’s why I’d be bound to fail out of Florida State University’s graduate film program). It’s the type of film that I didn’t mind watching at home, where you have probably watched the other performances of Ms. Grey. This is not to say it’s explicit, it’s the type of film that actually benefits I think from being relaxed at home for some odd reason. I rather enjoyed laying on the couch for The Girlfriend Experience, maybe I’m becoming boring.

With this said, please Magnolia and IFC, please - Video On Demand can’t become a reality. I’m with David Fenkel, who co-founded one of the most exciting new film distributers to come on the scene Oscilloscope Laboratories (the company behind Wendy & Lucy and most recently the beatiful yet simple Treeless Mountain). Mr. Fenkel’s belief, as recorded in the most recent issue of Filmmaker, is that there needs to be some sort of theatrical release first, before video and video on demand, and that theatrical has a certain value. I agree - why not release it first in theaters, and then two weeks or so later on demand. It’s sick when IFC and Magnolia are showing films on demand the same day they are playing at film festivals, no less. I knew things were going to hell when South by Southwest partnered with IFC Films, it’s great that you can build awareness for the festival but at what cost? 

Then again it’s unfair to slam IFC, they are picking up literally everything lately - there aren’t many distributers, and they are getting indie film out there. I just wish some, not just the better ones, but most would get a chance to prove themselves in theaters first. A movie like The Hunger should be seen on a big screen - it’d be boring to watch at home. What’s the incentive to play it outside of New York and LA when it’s on demand. I, for one, prefer Oscillosope’s model. But if you don’t - then you too can have The Girlfriend Experience in your apartment, with your girlfriend, or someone you’ve rented for the hour.

from BFF to TFF - Reviews from Tribeca

It’s been a while and I’m playing catch up. I’m getting over being sick - and I’ve been in the middle of several other things, including screening a film at the Bergenfield Film Festival, which had a nice sized crowd (thanks for the filmmakers of Chronicles of the Beyond, which had 100+ folks packed into a tiny theater at the Clearview Cinemas in Bergenfield - we had about 80 or so at my film, Mary May’s Suicide Letter).

But now to focus on TFF - the film festival in the area:

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Perhaps shrinking Tribeca this year is the best thing they’ve done. The Tribeca Film Festival has in the past few years struggled to really find its identity, often trying to compete with SXSW in looking for cutting edge indies, often it’s been a mixed bag. Tribeca still isn’t in the same category as Toronto or the New York Film Festival, but the slate seems stronger this year.

My first day was pretty typical of TFF - I saw four screenings, two were pretty good - Blank City, a documentary about underground filmmaking in New York City in the late 70’s-early 90’s, and the fun British romantic comedy My Last Five Girlfriends. The other two programs were a little disappointing, a shorts program of documentaries and Shadow Billionaire, a documentary about DHL founder Larry Hillblom. Shadow Billionaire seemed too long (even at 86 minutes), it would have made for an interesting short subject. It also seemed a bit too soft, it held back and never reached a level in which emotionally cared about the subjects, even though it is a fascinating legal case, it never builds to outrage.

Then I had further doubts at TFF - the next night I saw Stay Cool, the Polish brother’s latest and not their best. The film had an interesting 80’s style vibe, but lacked the wit required to pull the thing together. I kept watching thinking the lead would have been good for Adam Sander, not sure if Mark Polish pulls it off.

The next night I had two shorts programs: both pretty good with strong selections. Deadline was the strongest, telling a clear, three-act story about a prison guard and a “released” prisoner facing off. It’s one you hope will get expanded into a feature. Also fun in its briefness was Section 44 by Daniel Wilson.

The next program I saw featured Cutless by Kate Hudson, who wasn’t in attendance that evening, most of the other filmmakers were, however. Here’s where I have problems: while film festivals can use celebrities to attract mainstream media to the new talent playing, it’s bizarre that a whole set of limits are put on other films. Kate Hudson’s film, which is a fine, professional film and deserving to be in the film series had screened online including on YouTube and iTunes. Strange that it was showcased in the program, yet Kate Hudson was a no-show.

Of the other selections, the best was Todd Luoto’s Oil Change, which is very much in the mode of a good comedy TV show like The Office or Arrested Development, melded with an early Neil Labute film. It’s pitch perfect with an ending that one-ups itself to new and perverse levels - stick with it, it’s brilliant. Also in this strong line up was This Will All Make Perfect Sense One Day, also another film that could be expanded to a feature, and a lovely romance. Two others in the series I’d like to endorse are Of Best Intentions from Iceland and the haunting Shiamsani. This was a strong narrative program.

The next day of TFF was enough to make a film geek like me orgasm. I only saw two programs but both were brilliant - Vegas: Based on a True Story by Amir Naderi, like his Sound Barrier was an edge of your seat film about greed and destruction, there was no happy ending in one of the most tense films of the year. I don’t want to say much - discover this one for yourself, it’s genus.

Then I saw the festival’s only experimental program - a very strong set of films, amazingly diverse, it also included a special treat - a screening of Helen Levitt’s brilliant time capsule In The Streets, a pure documentary that is a heartwarming flashback. It’s a truly wonderful film.

The program was comprised of experimental short works from all over the world and a few from NYC, including Chop Off by M.M. Serra, Mark Street’s latest Trailer Trash, and Ken Jacob’s latest attempt at 3-D without polarized glasses - Hot Dogs at the Met. This program also introduced me to some new international filmmakers including Sara Cox, Tal Rosner, Anna Linder, Paula Gaitan and Martan Caporte - all working in various modes of experimental film. At the post film Q & A I asked each filmmaker to elaborate on their intentions and process - which unfortunately for others occupied the whole duration of the Q & A, still the answers were all fascinating.

Coming into Friday, I started to feel sick - but couldn’t stop - I had five shows to get to. My first was the lovely collaboration between filmmaker Laura Bari and a blind young man, Antoine - the film was a hybrid of eliminates - both narrative and documentary to capture Anoine’s world. Next up was Wonderful World - Joshua Goldin’s romantic comedy, similar to the film The Visitor, Matthew Broadrick plays the world’s most negative man. It’s a fun flick - uplifting and light, I went along for it and dug it.

Rachel, a long (well it felt long) and haunting documentary by Simone Biton about Rachel Corrie, a 22-year old protestor who was murdered by Israeli construction workers, it’s important but doubles back too often to cover the same ground, perhaps the accounts, the witnesses to this action are the point. The world is watching.

Tell Tale was an effective horror film by Michael Cuesta, director of L.I.E. and 12 and Holding. I’m shocked it didn’t have a big studio’s logo in front of it yet, it’s extremely mainstream but also pretty effective. Josh Lucus and Brian Cox star.

My last film of the evening wasn’t worth staying up for the 11:45PM showtime - it was a one joke, b-grade action flick named Newsmakers from Russia. This is like something you would see on HBO at 3AM, fitting for midnight madness perhaps. The only problem with TFF’s Midnight show is they aren’t anywhere near as exciting as Toronto’s. Where is Collin Gedies when you need him. The audience isn’t energized, and the programers here are warn out.

At Toronto they only run one screen at midnight - Ryerson, everyone gathers and it’s like going to a party or a graduation - beach balls fly around - it’s wild and fun. At Tribeca, it’s like a Wednesday night at 10PM here at the Loews Village 7, you feel alone in one of those creepy top floor theaters.

The next day, as the festival winds down and the energy slows down I continued. Going uptown for the screening and Tribeca Talks panel of American Casino, a rather paint by the numbers film about the mortgage crisis. The film never reached the engaging, easy to follow and informative reporting of moderator of the panel Alex Blumberg. The panel was interesting featuring the filmmakers, NYU economist Nouriel Roubini and Bloomberg News correspondent Mark Pittmann. If you’ve been following the mortgage crisis the way I have, the film isn’t necessary, it has some emotional punches but never nails it home, and it’s a bit dry. Not that every doc has to be in your face like Michael Moore, but the voice of its filmmaker is very journalistic and a bit bland as a film.

Anything but bland, next up was the lively Here and There, taking place in Belgrade and New York City, this is a character driven comedy that won the festival’s award for New York Narrative, it’s a little film that could and it delivers. Lastly the night closed with Hysterical Psycho, Dan Fougle’s B-movie (another Midnight show). The film was actually surprisingly fun, it’s more on par with Psycho Beach Party in terms of actually being worth while, it’s silly, sure but it’s fun and short enough to pull it off.

The last day of Tribeca is always like being hung over, it’s a Sunday naturally, the festival is dying down, practically nothing has a rush line and the theaters are crowded but not sold out. It’s sad. Everyone is tired and dizzy. The film I had purchased tickets for was the winner of New York Documentary - this year it was Partly Private about circumcision, not a great film, in fact I think I saw a better New York documentary on day one, Blank City - but not horrible. The voice of the filmmaker is there, which leads me to question how much was staged. But that’s not really fair given the film is what it is, a mother's journey and an exploration of cut flesh. Interesting stuff, at times.

TFF was strong this year, I think the festival, under Geoffrey Gilmore will become more exciting the next few years - so far so good, I could see a new direction here. I just hope it doesn’t become a festival for the elite only - that would suck.

Welcome.

Alright - here goes, my first blog post here.

I have been blogging on Live Journal for years, which isn’t really a blog although I happen to think it inspired the whole blogging revolution in some strange way. Blogging can offer commentary or it can be a way of chronicling your every move. For those of you that don’t know me, I keep a separate journal offline, in fact on paper for those types of things.

Friends that know me and know about that separate journal will make fun of me, saying that even Dougie Houser MD was more advanced and that was 1990 when he kept his journal on his computer. Well, I am not a 16 year old Doctor, and boy I wish I was sometimes.

Feel free to catch up at johnfink.livejournal.com. The purpose of this blog is to announce   new projects and share commentary and film reviews. I see an awful lot of films and used to be pretty good about updating flickster over at facebook, I hope to be better at it here.

I intend to catch up on a some reviews and commentary from this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, where I caught 15 features and 4 shorts programs, still a drop in the bucket but I had an excuse (I got to it later than I did last year). 

Enjoy - this will be awfully random but hopefully interesting. Feel free to holla back at anytime.

-John Fink  May 4, 2009