FRED Entertainment

By Christopher Stipp

The Archives, Right Here

Check out my other column, This Week In Trailers, at SlashFilm.com and follow me on TWITTER under the name: Stipp

MONOGAMY – DVD REVIEW

Color me surprised at how much I liked this film.

At first glance you could see a movie about a photographer who takes clandestine pictures of clients who pay to be shot in the wild, an odd subset of humans who need to see what it’s like to be shown in their natural territory, as something Hitchcock would cook up when one of the clients takes it up a notch and gets a little freaky deekey, having a penchant for voyeurism.

Purposely antagonizing the guy, the sexualized client and photog share in a relationship that isn’t so much physical as it is cerebral. As, you see, the guy is getting married to Rashida Jones, a woman who is shown to be tamer than vanilla ice cream on a summer day. Both Rashida and our protagonist Theo are the quintessential couple of the 21st century: bland, common, and not very exciting. However, it’s the relationship that our camera man has with his client that shows him how much he’s missing, carnally, by being in a relationship that’s safe.

This is a movie that tests your idea of what it’s like to settle for “good enough” and what it would look like if you took that path less traveled with a partner who wanted nothing more than make you forget your troubles if for only a few minutes. The relationship, obviously, doesn’t go as planned and the fallout between fiancee and suitor isn’t very surprising. What is surprising, though, is how much this story keeps you riveted with its ideas about sexuality without ever becoming a passe exercise in been-there-done-that territory.

You absolutely need to find this film and watch how a relationship can erode in perhaps one of the most honest ways. What director Dana Adam Shapiro does well is to depict these people in a manner that is more honest than it is an exercise in seeing what would happen if two actors played the part of a couple and broke up. These feel like people you know. People you want to care about.

More details about the DVD:

Increasingly anxious about his impending marriage to Nat (Rashida Jones) and thoroughly bored with his day job as a wedding photographer, Theo (Chris Messina) establishes a hobby: he’s hired by clients to clandestinely snap voyeuristic photos of them as they go about their days. Things go smoothly until a sexy exhibitionist (Meital Dohan) leads him into an all-consuming obsession. As Theo stalks her day and night, the woman’s mysterious public trysts send him reeling, forcing him to confront uncomfortable truths about his sex life at home.

MONOGAMY is an acutely observed portrait of a relationship on the brink, a timely tale of masculinity tested by fantasy and fear of commitment.

DIRECTOR:
Dana Adam Shapiro was the co-director/producer of the 2005 Oscar-nominated documentary Murderball. His animated short My Biodegradable Heart premiered at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. Other projects for Shapiro include the upcoming Screen Gems movie Holler, which he wrote and will be executive produced by Jennifer Aniston. Shapiro is a former senior editor at Spin Magazine and the author of the novel The Every Boy, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice that was optioned by Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment. MONOGAMY is Shapiro’s first narrative feature, and is a reunion with Murderball producing partners Jeff Mandel and Randy Manis, and producer Tom Heller (Precious – Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire).

DVD Features:

Music video for “You Don’t Know (Nat’s Song)” by Rashida Jones with Bummer and Lazarus
Deleted scenes
Collection of behind the scenes footage and outtakes with the cast & crew
Feature length screenplay by Dana Adam Shapiro and Evan M. Wiener
With an excerpt from Dana Adam Shapiro’s upcoming book “You Can Be Right Or You Can Be Married” and an exclusive essay by film critic Amy Taubin

WHO TOOK THE BOMP? LE TIGRE ON TOUR – DVD REVIEW

This is a great concert documentary.

I don’t say this flippantly or with any amount of hesitation because this film is something that is not only an interesting expose into a hot indie band but it’s a comprehensive look at the women behind it. It’s not just live performances, it’s commentary on the state of music circa 2004-2005. It’s not just a set list punctuated with behind the scenes fluffery, it’s an indictment of those who would dismiss this band as anything short of revolutionary.

Yes, it’s just music but this is a band who I only casually knew of prior to watching but through a mix of film grade camera work mixed in with shaky cam video that simultaneously weaves in different perspectives on the songs presented this is a concert film that needs to be seen by those who would purport to be supporters of great music. Every tune isn’t a winner but it’s the band’s infectious energy and, at times, anger that makes you believe that Riot Grrrl power is still in effect and it’s coming through your ears with hard and fast guitars with an 80’s back beat.

The band’s leader, Kathleen Hanna, is the general in charge and after a successful run in Bikini Kill from the 90’s you can see echoes of that in their lyrics and stage presence. What could have been dismissed as a band just enjoying the success of independent adoration Le Tigre is a full throttle experience that I would not have otherwise known was such a thrill to watch if I didn’t see this. To hear Hanna belt out a song on a disc is one thing but to see her whip an audience into a frenzy is something you wouldn’t catch most navel gazing “alt-rock” bands doing nowadays.

There is a time and place for everything, to be sure, but there is a place to rock out and the stage is where it’s at. WHO TOOK THE BOMP? is a wonderful exploration into the ways that our past shape our present and how art can be made from the experiences we’ve had and that need an audience to see it. It’s heartbreaking, hilarious, insightful, biting, but, best of all, it’s a concert film that wants you to move and groove. I went from casual fan to full-on disciple in a matter of minutes as you realize that there are bands out in the wild who really do want to do more than craft interesting melodies, there are bands that make you want to r-r-rock.

And, if you’re still on the fence about wondering whether to check it out, peep this clip from the film.

SYNOPSIS

WHO TOOK THE BOMP? LE TIGRE ON TOUR follows iconic feminist electronic band Le Tigre on their 2004-2005 international tour across four continents and through ten countries. Supported by a community of devoted fans and led by outspoken Riot Grrrl pioneer Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill), Le Tigre confronts sexism and homophobia in the music industry while tearing up the stage via performance art poetics, no-holds-barred lyrics, punk rock ethos, and whip-smart wit in this edgy and entertaining documentary. Directed by Kerthy Fix (STRANGE POWERS: STEPHIN MERRITT AND THE MAGNETIC FIELDS), WHO TOOK THE BOMP? LE TIGRE ON TOUR features never before seen live performances, archival interviews, and revealing backstage footage with these trail-blazing artists.

DVD Features:

Video commentary with Le Tigre about the film (2009)
Rare performances from the tour: “After Dark,” “What’s Yr Take on Cassavetes,” “Mediocrity Rules,” “Nanny Nanny Boo Boo,” “Seconds,” “Well, Well, Well,” and “Punker Plus”
Outtakes with Johanna and JD
Live show in Vienna, Austria (2002)
Rattina the puppet interviews the band at Ladyfest (2001)
With an exclusive essay by filmmaker Matt Wolf (Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell)

THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU – CONTEST

I didn’t get a chance to see this in the theaters when it came out and I am looking forward to being able to do so when this comes out this Tuesday, June 21st. The film garnered a more than healthy score on Rotten Tomatoes but this was a film that seemed to come and go before anyone had a chance to really enjoy what it was selling, to follow-up on the number of people who said, “It’s really good.” People I knew who really responded to it talked about the questions it raised and the way the story played out. I’m glad I don’t have to wait much longer to see what the buzz was about and hopefully this film gets a second chance on the home video market.

To that end I am giving away five copies of The Adjustment Bureau to those who can tell me who wrote the short story this movie is based on and can send a note to Christopher_Stipp@yahoo.com. Good luck and hopefully you’re one of the chosen few.

About the DVD:

Academy Award® Winner Matt Damon and Golden Globe® Winner Emily Blunt Star in the Heart-Pounding Action Thriller THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU

Available on Blu-rayâ„¢ Hi-Def Combo Pack and DVD on June 21, 2011

From Universal Studios Home Entertainment

Universal City, California, April 19, 2011 – A rising politician finds himself caught up in a pulse-pounding, mind-bending conspiracy in The Adjustment Bureau, the acclaimed film coming to Blu-rayTM Combo Pack and DVD on June 21, 2011 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Academy Award® winner Matt Damon (the Bourne series, True Grit) and Golden Globe® winner Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada, The Wolfman) are the star-crossed lovers chased by mysterious forces that threaten to destroy their futures unless they abandon one another. Deleted and extended scenes, filmmaker commentary and exclusive bonus features offer behind-the-scenes looks at the making of the film. Plus, for a limited time only, the Blu-rayâ„¢ Combo Pack of The Adjustment Bureau includes a downloadable digital copy of the film that can be viewed anytime, anywhere, on an array of digital devices.

Written for the screen by George Nolfi (Ocean’s 12, The Bourne Ultimatum) who also makes his directorial debut, The Adjustment Bureau is based on the short story “Adjustment Team,” by visionary writer Philip K. Dick (Total Recall, Minority Report, Blade Runner). The Adjustment Bureau also stars Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker, Eagle Eye), John Slattery (“Mad Men,” Iron Man 2), Michael Kelly (Changeling, Dawn of the Dead) and Terence Stamp (Wanted, Valkyrie).

BONUS FEATURES AVAILABLE ON BOTH DVD AND BLU-RAYâ„¢ COMBO PACK:

DELETED AND EXTENDED SCENES
LEAPING THROUGH NEW YORK ““ An inside look at how the production team filmed David Norris’ (Matt Damon) race to the courthouse, featuring interviews with Damon, director George Nolfi, special effects coordinator Mark Russell and producers Michael Hackett and Chris Moore.
DESTINED TO BE ““ The Adjustment Bureau provided Matt Damon with his first opportunity to play a true romantic lead in a feature film. Co-star Emily Blunt, director George Nolfi and Damon himself reflect on this new role for the star and the relationship between David Norris and Blunt’s character, Elise Sellas.
BECOMING ELISE ““ A look at Emily Blunt’s dance training for the role of Elise. Blunt, Matt Damon, George Nolfi and Blunt’s dance choreographer discuss her transformation from slender actress to well-muscled athlete.
FEATURE COMMENTARY WITH WRITER AND DIRECTOR GEORGE NOLFI

SYNOPSIS

On the brink of winning a U.S. Senate seat, charismatic politician David Norris (Matt Damon) meets Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt), a woman unlike any he’s ever known. As he realizes he’s falling madly in love with the beautiful, contemporary ballet dancer, strangers conspire to keep the two apart. David learns he is up against the men of the Adjustment Bureau, who will do everything in their considerable power to prevent the pair from spending the rest of their lives together. In the face of overwhelming odds, he must decide whether to accept his predetermined path and let her go”¦or defy Fate and risk everything to be with the woman he loves.

Super 8 Hugs and Shrugs By Ray Schillaci

Before I even get started, I already know the argument that will be placed before me from the emotionally charged set”“ if you think you can do any better, show us. Of course, that is not a requirement on my part. I’m the one going in, like everybody else, paying my hard earned money, hoping to be entertained. Did J.J., Spielberg and company do it? In a way yes, the talent achieved that task. Did they deliver an original piece of entertainment that will rock cinema history or remain in our minds for years to come? In a way no, at least not in the minds of the audience that has already been initiated to the wonders Spielberg thirty year ago.

“Super 8” reeks of the sweet nostalgia of great movies that have gone by. That is not a bad thing especially when we are taking it all in with an absolute winning performance by Elle Fanning. The first half of the film is mired in a combination of reminiscent shots from other greater Spielberg movies that were far more original in their day; Close Encounters, E.T., Jurassic Park and yes, even Goonies (the last being directed by Richard Donner ““ having all the earmarks of a Spielberg directed film).

Where J.J. Abrams trips up is somewhere in the middle of all the action, when the film shifts from coming-of-age to monster movie. It’s not without its fun, but it’s a little schizophrenic and the big pay off feels quite small compared to the well developed buildup. Director Abrams has proved to be a wonderful storyteller with LOST and Star Trek, but he appears to be weighed down in the shadow of a fabulous mentor that does not do him any favors.

The story starts off with a beautiful and touching homage to those wonderful, innocent days of super 8 filmmaking. Boys are wrapped up in telling their stories to the best of their abilities with their favorite subjects (monsters, zombies, etc.) with their less than shoestring budgets. This is also a great way to meet girls and Elle Fanning as Alice Dainard is the object of affection and she provides all the magic to break our hearts.

Eventually, there is the all too publicized train wreck that the kids witness and a bizarre chain of events ensue. Don’t get me wrong, the train wreck is a breathtaking spectacle; a worthy footnote in disaster film history. But the drama that ensues is more weaving a story that does not matter as much as what has already been set up.

The story from there feels more stitched together for momentous sequences rather than the simple tale it could have been. It reminds me of Spielberg taking his wonderful classic, “Close Encounters” and monkeying with it after the release; providing two other versions that had all the David Lean, Cecil B. DeMille like spectacle, but lost the personal vision originally intended. All the Spielberg trademarks are here; children appearing to have it more together than the adults, covert government activity, a hapless hero searching for answers and great action set pieces. Even specific shots are mimicked from earlier Spielberg films. Bicycles, flashlights and arguing kids will bring to mind many of the producer/director’s films of the past.

There are wonderfully directed scenes that tug at our hearts and make us laugh. But there are also scenes that actually have made audiences speak out loud and state, “Oh, just like E.T.” or “Didn’t I see that bus scene in Jurassic Park?” I think it was actually “The Lost World: Jurassic Park”. It’s those particular moments that take us out of the magic of “Super 8” and that’s a shame. The trailers also do not do justice to the film, giving it a false sense of what it is truly about and if I am not mistaken, there are moments in the trailers that are not in the film.

Audiences will embrace J.J. Abrams new opus for good reason, it brings back a nostalgic sense of entertainment and that is a good thing. But, like having Chinese food, one will be hungry an hour later. It is not a movie that knocks our socks off or demands repeatable viewings like earlier Spielberg classics.

Is it unfair to compare “Super 8” to those other films we have such fond memories of? In a way yes, when the amount of talent is compiled and a media blitz touts that we are about to witness something amazing. After all, this is the cinematic birth of Steven Spielberg and J.J. Abrams. It’s a well developed child, but with no special abilities.

By Christopher Stipp

The Archives, Right Here

Check out my other column, This Week In Trailers, at SlashFilm.com and follow me on TWITTER under the name: Stipp

THE KIDS IN THE HALL: THE COMPLETE SERIES – DVD REVIEW

Over the course of a couple of weeks I made it my mission to go through the entire Kids In The Hall series in this slimmer version of the series that was recently released a few years ago. It’s been a while since I sat down with the modern progenitors of sketch comedy. Yeah, Monty Python blah blah blah I’ve heard it before and I am in complete agreement.

However, if Monty Python was the pater noster of this religion of sharp and incisive comedy then it was the Kids In The Hall who were born of that great legacy and thrust it into a modern sensibility. Through the use of basic comedic setups on sound stages that looked like anything else you could have seen on SCTV or SNL the KITH brought an intelligence, not necessarily lacking in either formerly mentioned shows but it was just these five guys and their minds that helped guide this show into stratospheric heights.

It could have gone either way but the funny clicked with the audience that was not only operating on their same beta wave but were hardcore enough to support a show that would have blown up the Internet with their fandom if the Internets were as robust as they are today. Alas, all this was, perish the thought, more than two decades ago but this series is, without question, worth your money. It is actually CHEAPER to buy now, along with getting their new miniseries, Death Comes To Town, that the Kids made last year, than it was when you had to buy each season separately. It’s the one DVD purchase that you must make this month if you’re any kind of fan.

I actually have to admit that even though I received a review copy I bought a copy on Amazon just because it was important to support the one program I could watch again and again on reruns for as long as they would run for there are no clunkers here. Not one episode falls flat or is unworthy, certainly you could point out dozens upon dozens of television series that had a rough patch or a bad season even, of your attention but I understand I am coming at this as a decades long fan. However, those of us who discovered them at the turn of the 90’s and then lived with the reruns through that decade would be hard pressed to say what kind of impact this troupe had on our collective comedic conscious.

Watching the seasons from one to five you can see the sharpness of the KITH get tighter and tighter. If you were a fan of the E-E-E-E-Eradicator or were more of the D0-Re-Mi sketch (that one kind of encapsulates what they were going after) kind of enthusiast there are more than a few nuggets that will cause flashbacks to a more creative time in sketch comedy. The reason why the Kids in the Hall still endure as a troupe worth classifying as legendary is because they played with the medium. They subverted your expecations (who here was stuptifyed by Sausages? I’m still analyzing that one decades later) but they, more importantly, delivered with every single episode. Not only is it worth the price because it’s cheaper than buying all five volumes of the previously released version of this series but you also get the Kids’ newest offering: the Death Comes to Town miniseries.

This isn’t a recommended buy, it’s a MUST buy.

More details about the DVD:

FROM THE INFAMOUS CHICKEN LADY TO CROSS-DRESSING LUNACY , CANADA ‘S MOST IRREVERENT (AND BEST-SELLING) COMIC PRODIGIES RETURN WITH 50% LESS PACKAGING, BUT 100% OF THE LAUGHS!

For five groundbreaking seasons, Canadian-bred comic prodigies THE KIDS IN THE HALL stretched sketch comedy to its ultimate limits with hilariously off-the-wall results. With a cast of comic creations only the brilliant– or truly twisted — could imagine, THE KIDS IN THE HALL: THE COMPLETE SERIES MEGASET presents the Kids’ nearly 800 sketches from every single episode of each season in this stunning 22-disc set with 50% less packaging, but 100% of the laughs!

From the infamous Chicken Lady and Crushing Your Head to Buddy Cole and the romantically challenged Cabbage Head, these pioneering, edgy, and ever-charming comedians always managed to land on the stranger side of funny–and look good in floral dresses while doing it.  This best-selling MegaSet, now refreshed with new eye-catching art in a slim, shelf space saving package, includes all five of the groundbreaking, Emmy®-nominated series, plus two bonus discs featuring the new IFC 8-part mini-series “Death Comes to Town.”

Run Time: 42 h, 5 mins. + extras
Format: DVD/22 Discs

About DEATH COMES TO TOWN:

THE BEST-SELLING COMEDY TROUPE RETURNS TO THE SMALL SCREEN FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE ’90S WITH THIS NEW, HILARIOUS MINI-SERIES

For those died-in-the-wool-dress KiTH fans, this May, A&E will release THE KIDS IN THE HALL: DEATH COMES TO TOWN a must-own, all-new 8-episode comedy series that originally ran on IFC in 2010.  It will be available individually, as a 2-DVD set,  as well as part of the KiTH MegaSet.

When Death gets off the Greyhound bus in small town Shuckton , Ontario , everyone in town is implicated when one of its most distinguished citizens is found murdered. As a suspect is arrested and the trial plays out, the entire town is affected and its dark secrets are unraveled and exposed.  Featuring the Kids playing all the characters, this uproarious mini-series showcases Canada ‘s most irreverent exports in a must-see production that marks the return of the audacious comedy troupe to U.S. television for the first time since their cult series ended in the mid-1990s.  Extras include audio commentaries with Dave Foley and Bruce McCulloch; deleted and extended scenes and bloopers.

SUBMARINE/SUPER 8 – REVIEW

In the battle for stories that deal with coming-of-age issues it’s hard to believe that a tale about a young man who is very tough to love would win out over a film that depends on tapping into the halcyon days of Gen X’ers would be the last man standing.

Truth of the matter is that the latest from director/writer Richard Ayoade trumps fanboy wunderkind J.J. Abrams’ attempt to mine the countless childhood memories of those who remember being personally affected by the tender relationship between a boy and his alien who just couldn’t stop eating Reese’s Pieces in ways that put the blockbuster in the making to shame. Shame being, you understand, that Abrams’ story about a pack of kids who inadvertently stumble upon a train crash that is more than just a crash just rings hollow.

When we meet our main protagonist in Super 8, played by Joel Courtney who does all he can with the character he’s inhabiting and is easily believable as a good-hearted young man, he’s reeling over the death of his mother. This presentation of information at the very outset of the film should propel us forward in feeling a connection to the kid but this is where Abrams fails to create an emotional spark and, really, this is an issue that plagues the rest of the film. Like primitive man trying to knock two rocks together to create a spark, you simply have a film that is invested more in making us aware that this movie is happening in 1979 than it is with stoking the fire of some obvious kindle that sits before us throughout the entire film. We are exposed to some tired tropes of the father who doesn’t understand his son after losing his wife, and is emotionally adrift, a father who can’t be bothered to get off the sauce and raise his daughter the way she ought to be, and a pack of friends who have to come together to overcome an obstacle in a way that they only can, and Abrams does nothing with the two former elements and only shows up to blow out the latter. The problem, you see, isn’t that this is a bad movie but it’s a movie that’s just good enough. Good enough to see at full price and good enough to take the kids to but there’s not much else to say about it.

There are moments of great camaraderie between our pack of friends, the movie calling back to the days when you could spend a whole film with a bunch of pre-teens and have it be completely exciting, and Elle Fanning as Alice is a delightful surprise in the way she just lights up the screen with her youthful exuberance, but that’s about it. Abrams wants to spend the rest of his time, it seems, reminding us that this movie really is happening in 1979. With a fetish for detail not seen since Wes Anderson, Abrams fills more than a few scenes with unnatural quantities of period bric-a-brac to the point of distraction. Case in point, at one point in the film the town sheriff comments to a gas attendant who is listening to authentic music from 1979 on a first generation Walkman that portable music is a harbinger of bad things to come it not only feels inauthentic but it’s disingenuous pandering. As well, Abrams’ copious use of lens flares is a signature style that now is becoming a trademark that is growing as tired as John Woo’s doves. I need to be submerged into your world, not reminded that you’re behind the curtain pulling the levers every ten to fifteen minutes.

Abrams, ostensibly, smarter than this but who’s to say he is after listening to a script that is filled with enough cliched situations and over-the-top melodrama you wonder who this movie really is aimed at. Certainly not anyone with the kind of taste who can see through the veiled notion that there is anything of note to keep secret, because there isn’t and honestly it’s like Godzilla circa 1998 all over again with the film’s insistence to keep you from seeing the alien in question, as the movie’s ultimate denouement is both facile, disappointing, and aggravating. It’s maddening to try and make sense of what’s really at fault in this picture because, at its core, it’s a fun film. It’s just not the steely guarded fairytale the movie’s marketing would have you believe.

If you’re needing a real catharsis I would recommend Richard Ayoade’s tale of a borderline unlikable protagonist Oliver Tate, played by the excellent Craig Roberts, in Submarine. The story about a young man’s quest for female love and attempting to keep the fire alive between his mother and father. Again, just like Super 8, there are conventions we’ve seen before and this film would be in serious jeopardy of simply being a movie you would see once and forget but Ayoade’s confidence as a filmmaker makes this movie hum with the electricity of true love. Love that is in every way silly, pathetic, sad, hopeful, and every other adjective you would associate with young people trying to make a go of things when there are competing interests.

Tate’s love interest, Jordana, is a surly kind of woman who you wouldn’t think would be the object of desire for a boy like Tate but the story’s strength comes from the way it positions the relationship as something that Tate needs while Jordana is a woman who could leave it at any moment. You have moments where you think that the two are coming together on common ground only to pull apart in a constant battle between what is a normal human relationship and an immature coming together that is bound to end badly for both. Lucky for us, we’re able to see both and witness Ayoade’s deft ability to also incorporate a story of the relationship between Oliver’s parents and make that simply heartbreaking and hilarious at the same time. Both Sally Hawkins and Noah Taylor are wonderfully cast as the adults who are trying to help their son through his adolescence while also trying to figure out whether they would better be served to leave their married lives behind them.

To talk about the amusing nuances of how Ayoade makes this film compelling is to really spoil the secret sauce of a director who wants, and succeeds, in fashioning a world that feels torn out of Wes Anderson’s oeuvre but doesn’t ever feel stolen. If Anderson and Mike Leigh ever had a cinematic love child this movie would be the result. It’s heartbreaking to see a kid go through the growing pains of a young boy becoming a man but usually where there’s a buffer between observer and subject Submarine pulls you into its well crafted world and generates real emotionality.

Even though the story of how boy meets girl and how boy loses girl is something we’ve seen before there hasn’t been a more compelling reason to give it another look than Submarine. Through the use of effective musical direction as well as a color pallate that evokes something more akin to to sadness than it does the young blossoms of blooming love there hasn’t been a love story this good since Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind.

For more with Richard Ayoade here’s a link to a recent interview he gave to some journalists regarding the film.