Blue Jasmine (2013)

Blue Moon Martini, Xanax-Stuffed Appetizer with Denial on the Side

Blue Jasmine is a typical Woody Allen comedy. Jazzy tunes, a fucked-up protagonist and a simple plot that flows around the characters' flaws. Jasmine is broke, delusional and hooked on Stoli martinis. Before she was, Jasmine had her whole life figured out. She had a successful social life and was married to a wealthy finance mogul. When her husband's financial fraud was discovered, Jasmine's world collapsed. She lost everything she had from the money to the husband who committed suicide in jail. Now she is forced to leave New York City and temporarily move in with her sister in San Francisco to start a new life. This witty film reminds me a lot of Allen's Melinda & Melinda in which the core protagonist was also a mentally damaged alcohol and pill-popping addict. Woody Allen definitely has a thing for depressed yuppie female leads. Those generally occupy my favorite Allen movies. The way the writer punctuates the basic plot with insightful flashbacks transforms the story into a very interactive viewing experience. Blue Jasmine's cast is impressive. Actors and comedians from Louis C.K. to Peter Sarsgaard and Alec Baldwin are part of the picture. But the main character and by far the most mind-blowing performance of the panel is Cate Blanchett's. She is phenomenal and masters the art of a cinematic nervous breakdown with such dexterity that those 98 minutes alone are an Inside the Actors Studio's seminar of its own. 

1 reason to watch: Cate Blanchett's astonishing presence

Top 5 Badass Movie Kids: Who Would Likely Win The Hunger Games?

Find my cinemachords.com article here!

As you may have heard of – unless you have been living in a cave for the past 6 months – Catching Fire – the second opus of The Hunger Games franchise – is to be released in a few weeks. The film will actually hit London first on the 11th of November. The dystopian sci-fi first movie does feature kids killing each other on live television. As cruel as it sounds, it may be the most accurate portrayal of what could become reality-TV if broadcasters keep going in the direction they’re headed. For the upcoming release of this disturbing follow-up directed by Francis Lawrence, we came up with the Top 5 Badass Kids in Movies. Who do you think would win in this bloodbath?

5. Simon - Mercury Rising (1998)

Simon Lynch (Miko Hughes) is this autistic genius who threatened U.S. National Security in Mercury Rising. The 9-year-old solves a puzzle only to discover it was hiding a government secret code. Bad government guys are obviously on to him and they send a hitman to get rid of the boy. That’s when Simon teams up with FBI Agent Art Jeffries (Bruce Willis) to escape from this situation.

Simon might not be big on sword fights but he could probably pierce your eardrums with his scream and come up with an ingenious scheme to get rid of the other kids in the Hunger Games arena. This boy who screwed up U.S. National Security could probably be able to fight off a few kids with bows and arrows.

4. Hayley - Hard Candy (2005)

Hayley (Ellen Page) is the modern Little Red Riding Hood. In Hard Candy, she tracks down a pedophile to make him pay for his crimes. All it takes is a few weeks to seduce the man over the internet, agree to meet him in a café and Hayley manages to get invited to his place and makes us forget who the real predator is.

Hayley is the master of convincing and uses elaborate plans. She isn’t scared of blood and she can handle a scalpel, a rope, or a gun. Hayley is used to attack adults. Sure enough, a bunch of kids wouldn’t do her a lot of harm.

3. Rufio - Hook (1991)

Rufio (Dante Basco) is the leader of the Lost Boys. He took over the gang when Peter Pan left Neverland to become an adult. He is a kickass skateboarder who knows his way around a golden sword and has killed several pirates during his adventures.

We all know Rufio’s tragic fate but if he had another chance and was thrown in the arena, he would certainly not blow it. He may not be able to fly but nobody can in The Hunger Games. He could challenge Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) at climbing trees. The guy lives in them! He’s also very good at cursing.

2. Wednesday Addams - The Addams Family (1991)

Wednesday (Christina Ricci) is a deadpan kid with a passion for deadly weapons. She spends a lot of time terrorizing other kids and trying to kill her brother as part of her sick games.

That little homicidal maniac isn’t afraid of anything or anyone. Death is her favorite extra-curricular activity. She feeds on other people’s fear. If no electric chair is available in the arena, she will probably be able to come up with a lethal use of any item around her. Wednesday wouldn’t just kill the kids though, she would torture them until they die. Otherwise, where’s the fun?

1. Mathilda - Léon : The Professional (1994)

Mathilda (Natalie Portman) is so adorable that she could seduce any kid in the arena to team up with her and probably shoot them in the head at the first opportunity. After all, she learned from the best. Mathilda was trained to be a 12-year-old hitman by Léon (Jean Réno), the best in his field. Even though he hasn’t trained her to master the bow and arrow, she’d be good at using anything with a trigger. A crossbow would do.

So who do you think would challenge Katniss Everdeen the most ?

Enjoy the trailer of Catching Fire until it hits your theaters in November !

Blue is the Warmest Color U.S. Trailer Released

I wrote this article for cinemachords.com - direct link!

We all have been waiting for the Blue is the Warmest Color trailer for what seems to be an eternity. The official premiere at the Cannes Festival back in May 2013 had kept us all hanging on. When Adbellatif Kechiche’s movie won the Palme d’Or, audience anticipation for this film grew even stronger.

Well, the trailer is finally here!

It is a captivating premise to what will surely become a classic of New Queer Cinema. The simple waterfall of emotions to the tune of Beach House is a piece of art of its own. The mute characters displayed here are another attempt to keep the mystery alive until you get the chance to watch the full movie. For the UK, you will have to wait until the 15th of November to rush to your movie theater. Lucky for me, it will be shown at the Vancouver International Film Festival in a few days…

The French drama – based on the graphic novel by Julie Maroh – focuses on Adèle’s self-discovery and her love story with Emma, a blue-haired art student. The sublime Adèle Exarchopoulos / Léa Seydoux duo received critical acclaim for their performance. Blue is the Warmest Color has already been described as the first great love story of the 21st century. Expect some pretty realistic sensual scenes between the two actresses. In an interview earlier this year, Adèle and Léa were asked « What shouldn’t you think about during a sex scene ? ». Adèle looked into Léa’s eyes and simply stated : « I shouldn’t think… That I have my nose in your asshole.»

Local Legends: Interview with Director/Producer/Actor Matt Farley

Matt Farley as himself in Local Legends

The Squeerelist - We're in 2013 and you decided to make a black and white movie. What are the reasons for this directorial commitment?
Matt Farley - I think black & white is beautiful. The movie is heavily influenced by Woody Allen, who has done plenty of black & white. My previous movies are weird, silly, straight-faced comedies--so I thought doing this one in black & white would be an easy way to show that I'm being a little more serious this time. And, finally, when you're shooting a movie with a digital camera, sometimes the colors look too bright. On film, there's a softness to the image that is lost in a lot of digital photography. If you take out all the color, it's an easy way to look more like film.  

In Local Legends you keep mentioning how much you dislike pompous artists. Is this because you feel like their media is not reachable by the common folk?
It's hard to describe, but there's just something about a lot of creative people that drives me crazy. Lots of them seem to be lacking in self-awareness. I definitely have more sympathy for someone who's just trying to entertain an audience than I do for artists who make purposely "difficult" works. I feel like most of the best work from the past was made primarily as entertainment. Any additional "deeper meaning" should just be a bonus.

When did you decide you would spend your free time making music, movies and stand-up shows? Were your relatives supportive or were you the black sheep of the family?
I always wanted to make movies and music (I only dabble in stand-up comedy). I worked on projects all through high school and college. Upon graduating, I made sure I got a job that might not pay a lot, but would give me the time to continue to do music and movies. My family has always been supportive--especially because I have a full-time job and can support myself whether or not my creative endeavors earn me anything. I feel like a lot of the "pompous artists" from the previous questions are the ones who can't be bothered with day jobs as they embark on their selfish quests to create difficult art.

Watching Local Legends, we can feel that you praise the New-Englander way of life. Have you ever considered moving to L.A. or NYC to pursue your artistic career and have a better shot at breaking through?
No. I wish more creative people stayed in the area where they were born. If you're surrounded by nothing but people who share your interests, you quickly lose touch with the real world. You can tell pretty easily when you're watching or listening to the work of an artist who only spends time with other artists.

Your movie is extremely autobiographical. Some of the people your character encounters - the stalkerish girl for example - are very peculiar human beings. How much of what happens to Matt in the movie actually happened to Matt in real life?
Most of it happened in real life. The Abby character is based on the traits of lots of different girls I've met over the years. I really hired a girl to keep track of the stats of 1-on-1 basketball games with a friend of mine. I've seen plenty of ambitiously planned comedy shows get downgraded to basement show levels. Most of the characters play themselves, and most of the conversations are based on actual conversations I've had with them. Of course, plenty of it was manipulated for the sake of making the movie more entertaining. I guess the best way to say it is that this movie collects all of the best things that have happened to me, and makes them all better and funnier.

We can witness in your comedy that you embrace your narcissism and ridicule. Aren't you ever embarrassed?
Yes. I get embarrassed by all of this stuff from time to time. But, ultimately, my fear of embarrassment is weaker than my desire to make more music and movies. It's sometimes embarrassing when we're filming scenes in a public area and people walk by and start gawking at us, etc. And it was definitely risky to make this movie because it's hard to make a movie all about yourself without coming across as completely narcissistic. Ultimately, I justified making this feature-length ego-fest by telling myself that most mainstream artists have teams of publicists who do that dirty work for them. Small-timers like myself need to also be self-promoters. It might come off as crass. But ultimately, it's no different from big time artists who hire others to do the promoting.  

You give away your DVDs and CDs like peanuts at Fenway Park. You don't hesitate to go out of your way for people to watch your movies or listen to your music (I personally can testify as the postage on my package shows $7.35). It is very enjoyable as an audience member - and as an indie critic - to be treated with such respect and consideration. This being said, how do you do to make ends meet with such a generous marketing technique?
The only money I make from creative endeavors comes through sales of my music on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc. The movies are labors of love. But, even with all the money that goes into the movies, and giving away some of the music, I still end up making plenty more than I spend. And I have a day job, so it's all just bonus money anyway. I guess a long term dream would be that all this stuff I'm giving away will eventually create word-of-mouth that leads to more sales. But who knows? I'm just happy to have people hearing my songs and watching my movies.  

As an indie film-maker is there any advice or word of wisdom you would like to share with whoever tries to make it in the industry?
I've seen lots of people try to make movies but never finish. So I suggest setting deadlines for yourself. Declare that you must finish the movie by a certain time, and stick to it. If you stick with it, you'll end up with a finished product. Lots of people get bogged down trying to make everything perfect, and before you know it, you've wasted all your allotted time completing just a small portion of the movie. Better to have a flawed finished film than half of a perfect film. Also, don't write scenes that you won't be able to film.  If you don't have access to a police station, don't write any scenes that take place in a police station. And make sure you trust your actors. If one of your lead actors is unreliable, it's going to be very hard to film. Also, don't write scenes that require lots of different actors to be at the same place at the same time. It's very hard to get a lot of people together for any extended amount of time (if, like me, you're not paying any of them). Make it as easy as possible for the people who are helping you out. They're probably a lot less devoted to this project than you are, so don't expect them to devote more than a few hours here and there.

More on Matt Farley's projects at moternmedia.com !

Local Legends (2013)

Black & White Is the New CGI*

Black and white modern pictures seem to be trending these days. After discovering Frances Ha earlier this year and re-watching Manhattan, I'm reviewing this piece of comedy directed and produced by Matt Farley. Local Legends is an autobiographical comedy with Farley as the main character. The movie follows the unusual life of Matt, a New England entertainer who works at a nursing home by night and writes novelty songs by day. That is, when he doesn't walk through Manchester, NH listening to Red Sox games or perform live from someone's basement. Being from New England myself, I feel very attached to the universe of Farley and his portrayal of the entertainment industry from a little-towner perspective. Farley is a Woody Allen aficionado and you can sense this from his shots to the numerous Annie Hall references or the voiceover he uses. But the New England director doesn't copy the New York master of intellectual comedies. Farley keeps his style and authenticity and his dry humor is definitely to be taken with a pinch of salt. Farley is an enthusiastic supporter of self-mockery and a shameless protagonist who opens his feature film with a song about how Scarlett Johansson farts like everyone else. Farley's honest narration is not just about poop and puke - even though these cover a lot of his world - it's also about the weirdest human interactions, the hard work of local entertainers who thrive in their art but never seem to reach the slightest recognition, and uncommon marketing techniques. Local Legends is a whole concept of its own which helps define indie, low-budget feature film, amateur acting and fun. I am pretty amazed by its extraordinary screenplay structure. You will certainly burst into laughter as you encounter Matt's entourage and get aboard his routine and adventures.

1 reason to watch: it is definitely something else. And Matt would be happy to write a song about you.

Read my interview with Matt Farley here!

Watch the full movie here!

*Computer-generated imagery

Jeune & Jolie (Young & Beautiful - 2013)

Teenage Wasteland

Isabelle is turning seventeen. She comes from a somewhat wealthy family. On her birthday, she decides it's time to lose her virginity to a German tourist she met on her summer vacation in the South of France. Back in Paris, Isabelle steps into a dangerous spiral when she decides to become an independent sex worker. François Ozon tells her story during 4 seasons to the tune of 4 Françoise Hardy songs. The French director explores the teenage journey to self-indulgence. From typical fantasies to acting out, Ozon's movie is not a movie about prostitution. For me, Jeune & Jolie is a movie about adolescence and its complexity. I find the sex scenes to be artistically coherent to the plot and not just gratuitously titillating. Is there a more vulnerable time in one's life? The intricate relationship one has with their feelings and changing bodies, and what a teen is capable of doing out of boredom or just because they are looking for something they don't seem to find, are utterly common. The extreme acting out chosen by Isabelle is less typical though. Marine Vacht is a revelation who is able to give substance to the heroine's suffering and her conflicting emotions - and lack of emotion - without descending into cheap pathos. Jeune & Jolie examines a serious theme but keeps a certain lightness specific to Ozon's style. 

1 reason to watch: Charlotte Rampling appears for the last 10 minutes of the movie