Top Picks of 2014 (so far)

With 2014 being half finished, I decided to make a list of my top 10 favorite 2014 films thus far. Granted, there is still many films that I regrettably missed and my list definitely reflects that. While some of these are serious contenders to be on the top of my list at the end of the year, others will shortly be knocked off as I see new films coming out and catch up on the ones I may have missed earlier on. I'll be counting down from 10 to 1.

10 - Neighbors (dir. Nicholas Stoller)

Now this is case and point of the fact that I just haven't seen all the movies I should have this year. However, I did really enjoy Neighbors. This studio comedy contained enough absurdity and weird bits to keep my interest and the performances were on-point. And I think at the end of the movie there is something to be said about learning to move on and accepting your current situation in life.

9 - Godzilla (dir. Gareth Edwards)

I had a tough time with this movie, simply because I wanted so bad to love it. I personally don't even fully know what I expected, but I was a bit let down. I am a huge fan of the 1954 Japanese Godzilla. It's simply one of the best monster movies period. I am also a huge fan of Gareth Edwards first film Monsters. A really unique low budget monster movie that features really great characters and some beautiful visuals. So my hope was that Gareth would be able to give us a 2014 Godzilla that contained the spirit of the original monster himself, along with human characters that I could really get to know and care about. I got about half of that. I'm not sure if a Hollywood version of Godzilla in the year 2014 could be handled any more faultless than he was for this movie. I mean, I could truly feel his presence in the theater. I'm pretty sure I was cheering during the battle scenes. However, everything else in the movie fell completely flat for me. I couldn't of been more disinterested in the characters and I thought there was a large waste of great talent. Not a huge of Aaron-Taylor Johnson either and I don't think he was a good lead. However, the thirty minutes that Godzilla is on screen was so much fun and that is why Godzilla is number 9 on my list.

8 - X-Men: Days of Future Past (dir. Bryan Singer)

It is extremely rare that a superhero movie will ever make my top 10 list. I'm just not that into superhero movies. The X-Men though, have always been an exception. I think that they are the most interesting and entertaining of the superhero movies, especially in the Marvel universe. X-Men: Days of Future Past exceeds on many levels, but mainly from it's great cast. I think that the actors chosen fit the roles perfectly and I am able to find myself engaged with them almost immediately. Dealing with a subject such as time travel, can too often become convoluted and distracting for the audience, because they are too busy trying to figure out the timeline of events. This movie skips all of that by making it very straight forward of how time works in the universe and how the future is affected by going back and changing events.

7 - The Grand Budapest Hotel (dir. Wes Anderson)

Wes Anderson gives us a black comedy that is very funny and yet sad. The tone of the movie almost depends on the audience you see it with. As expected there is an excellent ensemble cast in the movie, but Ralph Fiennes is truly superb and really stands out. You either like or don't like Wes Anderson's movies, I happen to like them.

6 - The Final Member (dir. Jonah Bekhor, Zach Math)

A documentary on the world's only penis museum and one man's pursuit in finishing his collection of mammal penises by finding the right human to donate his own. Absolutely hysterical and absurd, while also carrying a poignant theme on what it means to leave your mark or legacy.

5 - The Overnighters (dir. Jesse Moss)

There's so much I could say about The Overnighters, but none of my words would do it justice. What a roller coaster of a documentary. The turns it takes through out are not only surprising, but just truly and utterly affecting. This is going to be a contender for my end of year top 10 list for sure.

4 - Under the Skin (dir. Jonathan Glazer)

Beautiful, ambiguous, intense. This movie is on another level.

3 - Borgman (dir. Alex van Warmerdam)

What if evil came in a physical form and found it's way into your life unexpectedly and started turning everything around for you. Slowly taking over everything you once knew, until everything you had is no longer yours? Borgman is one of the most brilliant dark fairy tales I have ever seen. Hilarious, disturbing, and horrifying.

2 - Blue Ruin (dir. Jeremy Saulnier)

A very intense revenge thriller. Sounds pretty typical, but Blue Ruin handles revenge as something that one may not always want to do, but sometimes it has to be done.

1 - Only Lovers Left Alive (dir. Jim Jarmusch)

One of the greatest working directors Jim Jarmusch returns with one of the best and most unique vampire films in recent memory. With a fantastic lead cast, Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton as a couple of misfit aging vampires, Only Lovers Left Alive is hilarious, smart, and poetic. By far my favorite film of the year and it's going to be a strong contender at the end of the year as well.

Attention Marvel

So you remember the post I shared about Watchworks studios and their short films leading up to the feature Iris, yes? Well, the team at Watchworks has produced their first non Iris universe short. It's actually a fan film that is trying to get Marvel's attention. Actor Nathan Faudree (one of the stars of Iris) wants to be cast as a villain in the new series Marvel is producing for Netflix. So this is his way of getting Marvel's attention and hopefully get an audition for the show. The short film is about the Marvel villain Killgrave. Well, we hope he gets his audition! Watch the short and let us know what you think!

"Transparency" Watch the Full Movie

Last summer I helped crew on my friend Anthony Mormile's film Transparency. If you have been following my blog, you may have seen the film already when I posted about the film being available for a limited time. However, the film is now available to watch in it's entirety, when ever you'd like. So if you haven't seen it or would just like to watch the film again, here it is. Enjoy.

Transparency from Anthony Mormile on Vimeo.

"How to Build a Time Machine" Trailer

How to Build a Time Machine has been one of my most anticipated films since director Jay Cheel first announced it. It's his follow up to his 2011 film Beauty Day, which if you haven't seen, you should go onto Hulu and watch it right now.

As the production took off, it seems there has been some changes to the film's focus from it's original ideas. That is precisely why I love documentaries, how the journey ends can't be known until you reach it.

Now that a trailer is here, I can say that I'm even more jazzed to How to Build a Time Machine. From the trailer, I get the idea that it will be a compelling look into obsession, nostalgia, and mental acquisitiveness. For more updates on the film you can like it on it's Official Facebook Page. I hope you all enjoy the trailer as much as I did.

How to Build a Time Machine - Teaser from Jay Cheel on Vimeo.

"Rashomon" and the Truth

An essay I wrote about Akira Kurosawa's murder mystery Rashomon. Enjoy.

     Japanese master Akira Kurosawa released two films in the year 1950, Scandal and Rashomon. While both films are brilliant in their own respects, it is the latter of the two that achieved international acclaim and introduced Japanese cinema to the western world. Like many of his films, Rashomon explores the moral integrity of individuals and asks difficult questions about the nature of human behavior. In Rashomon, Kurosawa brilliantly constructs a non-linear narrative that is never once convoluted and shows the audience through the use of visuals that the truth told by humans is never objective. 
     In the film, an event is depicted through the use of flashbacks from the perspectives of four individuals. The first individual to tell his version of the events that took place is the bandit Tajômaru, played by frequent Kurosawa collaborator Toshirô Mifune. As Tajômaru recites his memories of what happened, the camera shows the audience the events unfold from his perspective. After drinking some water that makes Tajômaru feel sick, he decides to go rest by a tree in the forest. He is awakened by two people passing by: a samurai walking side by side with his wife, who sits gracefully atop a horse, her face hidden by a veil. The viewers attention is directed to what Tajômaru sees and is focused on the camera cutting from a close up of his eyes looking camera right to a close up of the woman's feet hanging from the horse. This shot is then quickly followed by the camera slowly panning up to her face. As the flashback of events continues, a pattern of editing is developed, cutting from close ups of Tajômaru's eyes to what he sees. At one point we see in the same shot the samurai and woman pass Tajômaru leaning against the tree, and the camera's motion tracks with the direction he turns his head as he watches them walk away. Through both the use of camera movement and editing, viewers are able to see events unfold from the perspective of the characters.

  The ways in which the characters relate and relay an experience directly correlates with how they view themselves. Kurosawa frames the shots of the different characters flashbacks to match their disposition, revealing this to the audience through his artistic vision. The bandit Tajômaru is introduced as a haughty and prideful man. It is by no mistake that Kurosawa chose to open his flashback with an ultra expansive wide-shot of him riding bravely across the screen on the horse he has stolen. The width of the shot can be clearly linked to the character's own expansive ego. When the camera isn't directing the viewer to what Tajômaru is seeing, he is shown looking very masculine in medium and long shots, demonstrating to the audience how a person like him would imagine themselves. When the other character's recall their version of what happened, Kurosawa implements this same techniques to represent their own ego or lack thereof. Kurosawa is revealing to the audience the characters’ true personas. 

  The direction of the performances play a role in showing the subjectivity of the truth as told by the characters. As each person recalls the events, the performances and behavior of each character involved changes based on who is telling the events. In Tajômaru's rendition of what happened, his own inflated view of himself contributes to a very stylized performance rather than a naturalistic one. Because preserving his ego is more important to him than getting to the actual truth of what happened, his views are skewed. In his telling of the story, his performance shows him as brave and cunning while the woman is weak and the samurai is gullible. If the performances were more natural these attributes may have still been there, albeit not as overtly shown. In Tajômaru's telling it is with ease that he tricks and overcomes the samurai, and the samurai's wife is not as resistant to his sexual advances. Had Kurosawa made the film in which the audience watches the events unfold first hand, he may have chosen to direct the performances in a more natural approach. However having over-emphasized stylistic performances, the overall theme of the film is underlined: the truth as told by humans is subjective.

  If one were to ask three different people who witnessed the same event to recall what they saw, they will invariably tell a different story. How humans see themselves and each other affects their perception of the world around them. Akira Kurosawa uses this idea when approaching the narrative for Rashomon, one of the most influential films of all time. The cleverly framed unreliable narration shows the same events four different times, but from a different character's perspective. Through the use of visuals, Kurosawa explores the subjectivity of truth and the individual’s tendency to lie in order to make himself appear better than he really is.

"Briarwood" Trailer

Awhile back I posted about a kickstarter campaign for the film Briarwood directed by Ryan Farmer. Well, the campaign was successfully funded and production is finished. Its supposed to available May 2014, which is next month. A teaser trailer was released and from the looks of it, we are looking at suspense thriller that's going to have lots of twists and turns throughout. I personally am very excited to see it for the visuals alone. The film was shot by my friend Kyle Crowell who is a fantastic cinematographer and Ryan Farmer seems to have a very strong sense of direction. You're definitely going to want to keep your eye out for future projects from both of them.  Check out the trailer below and let us know what you think.

Briarwood Teaser Trailer from Ryan Farmer on Vimeo.

Criterion Pick: "A Man Escaped"

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a huge champion of the Criterion Collection. As with many devout cinephiles, I am an avid Criterion collector. Right now, I would say my collection is rather modest, but it's growing. During my journey through the collection, I've come across some of the greatest films I've personally ever seen along with the most informative supplemental material. It is because of this that I've decided that I'm going to try to write about one film in the Criterion Collection biweekly. I hope you all enjoy.

A Man Escaped (1956) Directed by Robert Bresson

Robert Bresson's A Man Escaped is a film that is completely unburdened from what viewers expect from cinema. There is almost no added music for suspense, no surprises in the editing, very simple camera work, and the film stars only non actors. The film itself plays very straight. We simply watch the main character Fontaine, as he goes through his daily routine in the prison and looks for a way he can escape his cell. We see very little of anyone else in the film and when we do, there is very little added drama. There is no stereotypical evil or overly nice Nazi guard. The guards just exist- doing their job as they are told.

Please don't misunderstand me, I am not saying this film is boring. Far from it. I found it gripping in every sense of the word and the subject of the film alone forces you to care about what happens. We as an audience want Fontaine to escape, because if he doesn't he faces his imminent death. As we reach the climax, there is a moment in the film in which Fontaine has to take decisive action on a matter. Depending on he chooses to handle the situation - it will change everything, including how we as an audience will judge him. It's these moments in the film that a completely natural tension is created without any superfluous elements.

Everything in A Man Escaped is a matter of life or death. It's the small details that exist that draw the viewer in, despite the film being void of almost any cinematic flare.

Kenji Mizoguchi Retrospective

When speaking of master Japanese filmmakers two names always seem to appear Akira Kurosawa and Yasujirô Ozu. And for good reason, both of them had a huge influence on cinema internationally both at them time and years to follow. There is another filmmaker however, who is just as great and in some people's opinion has a stronger body of work. Kenji Mizoguchi, who is often considered one of the early "feminist" directors has made around 85 films, most of which, disappointingly are lost. His work that does remain though, is incredibly powerful and contains very human stories that are still just as poignant today.

It's been 20 years since there has been a retrospective of Mizoguchi's existing filmography in the United States until this year. From May 2nd to June 8th the Museum of Moving Image will be presenting his entire body of work that still exists on both 35mm and 16mm film prints. This is a great opportunity for those who are unfamiliar with this master filmmaker to delve into his body of work and witness his famous extended takes on the big screen. This is definitely something cinephiles in New York City will not want to miss and if you have the opportunity to travel to the city for this, it would be well worth it.

Here is the schedule:

May 3rd

2:00 PM - Sansho the Bailiff (1954) (preceded by a presentation from film scholar David Bordwell)
7:00 PM - Street of Shame (1956)

May 4th

2:00 PM - Song of Home (1925) (with live musical accompaniment by Makia Matsumara)
3:30 PM - Oyuki the Virgin (1935)
6:30 PM - Sisters of the Gion (1936)

May 9th

7:00 PM - Utamaro and His Five Women (1946)

May 10th

1:00 PM - Hometown (1930)
3:00 PM - White Threads of the Waterfall (1933)
4:30 PM - Miyamoto Musashi (1944)
6:00 PM - The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums (1939)

May 11th

2:00 PM - Hometown (1930)
4:00 PM - White Threads of the Waterfall (1933)
6:30 PM - Miyamoto Musashi (1944)

May 16th

7:00 PM - The Life of Oharu (1952)

May 17th

4:00 PM - The Downfall of Osen (1935)
6:30 PM - Straits of Love and Hate (1937)

May 18th

5:00 PM - Poppy (1935)
7:00 PM - Women of the Night (1948)

May 23rd

7:00 PM - A Geisha (1953)

May 24th

2:00 PM - The Famous Sword Bijomaru (1945)
4:00 PM - Portrait of Madame Yuki (1950)
7:00 PM - Osaka Elegy (1936)

May 25th

2:00 PM - The 47 Ronin (Part 1 & 2) (1941)

May 31st

5:00 PM - The Love of Sumako, the Actress (1947)
7:00 PM - Miss Oyu (1951)

June 1st

2:00 PM - The Crucified Lovers (1954)
4:30 PM - Victory of Women (1946)
7:00 PM - My Love Burns (1949)

June 6th

7:00 PM - Princess Yang Kwei-fei (1955)

June 7th

5:00 PM - The Lady of Musashino (1951)
7:00 PM - The Woman of the Rumor (1954)

June 8th 

2:00 PM - Tales of the Taira (1955)

For more information visit Museum of Moving Image

Spring Break at Film Forum 4/1

If you are a student in New York City, you should definitely be at the Film Forum on April 1st. Tickets for students will only cost $7.50, which is the price for Film Forum members. Along with that students will receive a free bag of popcorn and entered into a raffle to win a Film Forum membership. There will be four raffles, one at each of the following shows:

The Missing Picture (2013) - 7:45 PM
Confidentially Yours (1983) - 7:45 PM

Jules and Jim (1962) - 10:00 PM

Jodorowsky's Dune (2013) - 7:50 PM

A great chance to see some great films on the big screen for a really low price. Whether you want to check out Truffaut's French New-Wave classic Jules and Jim or learn about one of the greatest films never made in Jordorowsky's Dune, this is going to be a great night for cinephiles in New York. It will also be an excellent opportunity to network and meet other cinema enthusiasts. Below is a trailer for Jodorowsky's Dune. 

86th Academy Awards

Tonight is the 86th annual Academy Awards and I must say as far as Best Picture Nominees it's a solid year, though I still think it's clear which films don't stand a chance of winning. But thats OK, tonight isn't really about who wins or loses, since we all know the Academy rarely gets it right. Tonight is about celebrating a year of the movies and to yell at the television every time someone accepts an award that you wish went to somebody else. I have some thoughts about what films will win the awards, but I'm not going to get into that. Instead I'm going to rank the best picture nominees on how much I enjoyed them. This year I actually liked every movie nominated, though I wasn't crazy about one in particular.

9 - American Hustle

OK, not a horrible film, but seriously I don't know what they hype is about. Apparently it's against internet law to speak about Jennifer Lawrence in a negative way, so I'll skip her and jump to the rest of the cast. Christian Bale was fine and so was Amy Adams… but Bradley Cooper? I found him slightly annoying in this. Convoluted story and the characters were unlikeable. It was fun to watch, but a possible contender for one of the best movies of the year? Far from it.

8 - Captain Phillips 

I just watched this one today. Paul Greengrass needs to make more movies and Tom Hanks gave a hell of a performance.

7 - Philomena 

This one surprised me. Very powerful story and a very powerful performance from Judi Dench. Pretty sure it doesn't really stand a chance at winning tonight, but I guess stranger things have happened before.

6 - Gravity

As far as technical achievements go, well this movie is phenomenal. And I was really impressed with Sandra Bullocks as well at her ability to carry the movie on her own. 

5 - Nebraska

Something about the story of a Son and his Dad taking a road trip together to pick up a million dollar prize really struck a chord with me. Loved all the performances in it and it was nice to see Bruce Dern.

4 - Dallas Buyers Club

Matthew McConaughey is fantastic and 2013 has been a great year for him. There is no stopping him and he really gave it his all in this film. Really great to see Jared Leto return to the silver screen again, also with an incredibly strong performance. 

3 - The Wolf of Wall Street

What need's to be said? Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio kill it again. Also Jonah Hill is the man.

2 - Her

I will never look at my computer the same way again.

1 - 12 Years a Slave 

This is by far the most important film of the year and most important film made in a long time. I'd encourage everyone to go see it. Steve McQueen is one of the most brilliant artists of our time and the world's he creates with his films evoke both pain and beauty unlike anything I've ever seen or experienced. By far my favorite of the 9 nominated films and my favorite film of the year.

Watchworks Studios Presents "The Money" the "The Offer"

At the end of last May, Christopher Steinberger began production on his feature film Iris. With the film getting closer to being finished he along with his company Watchworks Studios began releasing a series of short films that will lead up to the release of Iris. Each short film will explore the characters and backstory behind the plot of Iris. 

Thus far two of the six short films have been released. The first is entitled The Money which introduces us to a character named Edward West who appears to be a notorious figure in the crime underworld. The short is brilliantly shot and edited together so as to appear as one long single take and it really puts the viewer right into the action. Steinberger's approach to blocking the scene is excellent and the results are some very strong and interesting visuals. His writing isn't as strong as his direction and some of the characters actions and dialogue come across a bit contrived rather than natural, but none the less this is a very strong short.

The second short film which was just released on Wednesday is The Offer. In this one we are introduced to another interesting character named Sigmund and a sort of ominous organization/company called "Scarlet". I personally really liked this short and the tone it set visually with the use of low key lighting. I'm highly anticipate the rest of the short films a long with the feature film.

To stay up to date on the remaining four shorts make sure you check out Watchworks Studios on Facebook and check out The Cinema Outlaw on Facebook

What's Happening

It's been a little while since an update and I really hope to start posting more content, but as of recently I relocated to Brooklyn, New York for school, so I have been really busy lately. I am studying Film so I plan on showcasing my fellow students work, my own work, and hopefully covering other film events that I attend in the city. My focus is still to cover as much about films being made by my peers all over the state so I'll still be talking about films like Killswitch and Iris which are both currently in production. In the meantime you should all head over to WatchWorks Studios and check out the films of Christopher Steinberger and stay up to date on his full feature Iris. Also check out the WatchWorks Studios Facebook page and like it for opportunities to win cool prizes. And like The Cinema Outlaw Facebook page as well!

First Video Interview with the creators of "Killswtich"

Hello everyone, it's been awhile since my last update, but rest assured I will be more consistent in the coming weeks! I've been busy because I am getting ready to make my move to New York City. Once the I'm moved and settled in I will hopefully have more time to dedicate to The Cinema Outlaw. I mentioned in a previous post that I planned on doing some video interviews with independent filmmakers. Well, just the other day I sat down with Michael Yammine and Patrick Campbell to talk about their film Killswitch: Part 2. I had a really great time talking with them about their work and plans for the film which begins production this coming week. Please check out the interview and I would love to get some feedback on what you liked, didn't like, and if you would like to be interviewed or have someone in mind that I should interview, please let me know! Watch the interview below!

The Cinema Outlaw ft IRIS Media & Productions from IRIS Media & Productions on Vimeo.

Also please go ahead and like The Cinema Outlaw on Facebook!!