Film Reviews & Previews
Through a clever mix of stop motion animation and interviews, THE WANTED 18, opening June 19 at the Music Hall, recreates an astonishing true story: the Israeli army’s pursuit of 18 cows, whose independent milk production on a Palestinian collective farm was declared “a threat to the national security of the state of Israel.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ovnrf3pZ8X0
When seminal documentary filmmaker Ed Pincus, considered the father of first-person nonfiction film, was diagnosed with a terminal illness, he and his collaborator Lucia Small teamed up to make one last film. One Cut, One Life is an intense, unflinchingly honest, and sometimes humorous exploration of the human condition that invites the viewer to contemplate what is important, not only at the end of life, but through all phases of live and creative pursuits.
We open One Cut, One Life at the Music Hall on Friday, June 12. Co-director Lucia Small and executive producer Neal Baer will participate in a Q&A after the 7:20 PM screening that night.
“The L.A. River is on the mend and safe to paddle,” declares L.A. River Kayak Safari, the outfit that offers guided kayak tours throughout the summer.
Kayak season has indeed officially begun and you can now book your adventure through the end of September. Your L.A. River excursion will take you through the beautifully restored and surprisingly bucolic Elysian Valley stretch that runs just south of Griffith Park. Having taken advantage of this opportunity last year, this an experience we highly recommend! For someone who hasn’t been kayaking before, or who is inexperienced, this is a great way to get into it. Reading articles on sites like campingfunzone.com, and getting first-hand experiences can make someone much more confident in the water, and create a more enjoyable experience.
Returning the L.A. River to a more pristine state and making it more hospitable for both people and wildlife has been of paramount concern of the Laemmle Foundation.
“Upgrading our natural waterways is one of the simplest and most effective ways we can improve the quality of life in our city,” says Foundation Board President Greg Laemmle. The Foundation backs up his words through its ongoing support of FOLAR (Friends of the L.A. River), a grassroots non-profit dedicated to river improvement.
To celebrate last year’s grant to FOLAR, Greg and his wife Tish hosted a group kayaking tour led by L.A. River Kayak Safari. Happily, Greg captured his experience on a GoPro camera. The video has since been edited into a three-minute short — CLICK HERE or scroll down to the bottom of this post to check it out!
The L.A. River has a checkered history, but the future looks promising. As the folks at Kayak Safari explains, “In the later 1930?s after a series of devastating floods, Federal Authorities began to create a concrete straightjacket for the river. With channelization, natural habitats suffered. By the 1960?s Freeway expansions, industrial pollution and street run-off further degraded the river. Yet, in the Elysian Valley stretch, a high water table and the dynamics of the river’s bends around the local hills left a soft-bottom (instead of concrete,) creating an environment for aquatic plants, fish, birds, and humans.”
What’s more, large scale restoration projects envisioned by L.A. city officials could channel billions in funds (some from the federal government) over the next couple of decades into the river project. In it’s wake, we could be left with a truly unique river area that both reflects our aspirations as a modern city and yet stays true to our region’s pre-industrial heritage. On the cusp of real change, now is an exciting time get to know the L.A. River and be part of its transformation. To be able to flow down the river at your own leisurely place, picking the right kayak will make all of the difference in your experience of the river. You might decide that the inflatable kayaks are the best choice for you and the group that you’re with. Make sure you thoroughly research kayaks before you pick one first so you know that it’s definitely right for you. You can find reviews of the best inflatable kayaks at outdoorempire.com if you are interested in that type of kayak.
In addition to the aforementioned kayaking, FOLAR hosts a wide variety of river-related activities. And their offerings really ramp up for the summer. Consult their River Blog and Community Calendar for upcoming events.
After their teenage son is killed in a car crash, Paul (Andrew Sensenig) and Anne (Barbara Crampton) move to the quiet New England countryside to try to start a new life for themselves. But the grieving couple unknowingly becomes the prey of a family of vengeful spirits that resides in their new home, and before long they discover that the seemingly peaceful town they’ve moved into is hiding a terrifyingly dark secret. Now they must find a way to overcome their sorrow and fight back against both the living and dead as the malicious ghosts threaten to pull their souls – and the soul of their lost son – into hell with them.
The WE ARE STILL HERE cast and producers will introduce and participate in a Q&A after the 9:55 PM screening at the Music Hall on Friday, June 5: Barbara Crampton (Star), Lisa Marie (Star), Monte Markham (Star), Elissa Dowling (Supporting), Travis Stevens (Producer) and Eben Kostbar (Co-Producer).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvdZjLXkK-U
The weekend of June 19-20 we are very pleased to be opening Oeke Hoogendijk’s epic documentary The New Rijksmuseum at the Royal, Playhouse 7 and Claremont 5. Originally presented as four television episodes over four hours, this version had its world premiere to great acclaim in New York City last year. The filmmakers have now created a 131 minute theatrical version which won the Beeld ed Geluid Award at IDFA for Best Dutch Documentary in November 2014.
In 2003, the ambitious renovation of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam began. One of the world’s preeminent art institutions and home to a glorious collection including masterpieces by Rembrandt and Vermeer, the museum was scheduled to re-open its doors in 2008. But, from the start the project was opposed by unyielding bureaucratic forces and public resistance and the landmark was slowly transformed into a seemingly perpetual construction site. The museum’s director Ronald de Leeuw, and his successor, Wim Pijbes, battled with politicians, designers, curators and the Dutch Cyclists Union as they endeavored to re-open the museum and put its massive collection back on display. Five years late and costs exceeding $500 million, the museum reopened in 2013.
Filmmaker Magazine published this short interview with the The New Rijksmuseum filmmaker about the decade-long project of recreating the museum and creating this film:
Filmmaker: Were you commissioned to do this piece or did you conceive of it yourself?
Hoogendijk: I was approached by somebody from the museum who knew my work and thought maybe [I was] a person who could make this film. At the beginning they thought that it would be great if the renovation would be documented by a filmmaker, so they brought me in to do the job.
Filmmaker: Did they have ideas for an aesthetic they had in mind or did you have free reign over the piece conceptually?
Hoogendijk: No, they did not have a plan. They thought it was such a major operation that they wanted for everyone to see what they had done and why they had come to make the decision about what to do. It was an entire renovation, you know, it was everything in the museum. That’s why they thought it would be okay and very well if this were all documented. They didn’t have any thoughts about how I should make the film. I thought at the beginning that this would be a film about how they reinvented themselves; this was my idea of the film. I knew everything would have to be different in this renovation, that’s how I started it, but soon all the trouble started with the cyclist union and everything else and I decided to throw away my scenario because it wasn’t of any use anymore.
Filmmaker: With these time-based documentary projects, so much is left to chance because of the nature of events, whether it’s the cyclists being upset about the passage being blocked or the debate over whether to include 20th century art or not. I’m curious when, over the course of those years, something that felt like a full film began arising out of the various cuts and sequences I’m sure you were assembling and organizing during the shoot?
Hoogendijk: What happened is we were filming and I knew the main characters and I knew the events I wanted to follow over the years but I knew that the editing process would be the place to see if my idea was working. That’s why during filming, even just after one year, I started to work with my editor to see what I had and whether I was going in the right direction or not. Sometimes the editing was done to see whether it was effective and what I wanted and if it was good enough. Normally the renovation would have taken four years. My plan was to make one documentary. The project was supposed to be finished in 2008 but because it took five more years, I had to make a decision to press on and be involved for five more years to finish the film. I couldn’t stop in the middle of the project. That’s why we decided to tell four parts in the end. We had discussions with the commissioning editor and we had to tell him we couldn’t make one film that we had to tell it in parts.
Filmmaker: What most surprised you about the process of a mounting a massive museum restoration project like this?
Hoogendijk: In terms of politics, I would say that the bid from the constructors was double of what the museum expected it to be and that’s how this whole project became so expensive and that was really surprising fro everyone. It was amazing. You get the feeling that there was corruption involved but you can’t prove it. That would be one, and the other thing is the director not wanting to go on. That was quite surprising too; it was unbelievable that he wanted to jump out in the middle of it. That was a sign that the trouble was fairly serious.
Filmmaker: Did you follow many individuals who ultimately did not end up in the film?
Hoogendijk: There were some people we tried to follow who didn’t work out like we wanted to but not many, only two or three. It was more that people disappear in the editing because of the nature of the film. The two Spanish architects, Antonio Cruz and Antonio Ortiz, are focused on earlier in the film but later on they are not. We only see them again when the process of putting the art back into the building begins. It was logical. Everybody has their own part which at a specific moment is important. That was the way to choose. We choose people who were good choices for the camera. At least I think we did.
Filmmaker: What was the response like once you screened the movie for the museum?
Hoogendijk: It was very good! It turns out that it’s very good for them that the film is there. They get many more visitors! They were very happy with it. There’s only one person who’s not happy: Ronald De Leeuw. He’s never seen the film. He’s heard about it, but he can’t dare to watch it, he told me. For him it’s not so flattering. It’s not good news for him. He’s off at his house in Vienna. It should have been the crowning achievement of the end of his career, the opening of the brand new renovated museum and yet ultimately someone else was stewarding it to completion. So it’s difficult for him, it’s not his thing anymore and someone else walks away with it.
Filmmaker: Do you think the renovation and restoration of the museum has lived up to what it was billed as? Is it the museum everyone hoped and dreamed it would be?
Hoogendijk: That’s a nice question. Nobody expected it at a certain point when all the troubles were there and nothing was moving as people wanted to, but now that’s it complete, everyone loves it, not just The New York Times. In my personal opinion, it’s marvelous, it’s so beautiful, it’s better than anyone expected it to be. It took a lot of time, there were a lot of setbacks, but it was worth it.
“Epic…Art lovers will find it edifying.”- John DeFore, The Hollywood Reporter
“Eye-opening.”- A.O Scott, The New York Times
“Four Stars!”- Stephen Boone, RogerEbert.com
We’ll be opening UNCERTAIN TERMS, the terrific new film from rising American independent director Nathan Silver this Friday at the Music Hall. The story follows Robbie (David Dahlbom), who, after catching his wife with another guy, flees Brooklyn for the countryside to stay with his neurotic aunt. She runs a home for pregnant teenagers and as the only man in the house, Robbie inadvertently becomes the object of the girls’ attention… and affection. He eventually meets Nina, (India Menuez) who is mature beyond her age and struggling with relationship troubles of her own. The more Robbie and Nina get to know each other, the more “complicated” their friendship becomes. In his Village Voice review, Alan Scherstuhl described UNCERTAIN TERMS as “brisk, brief, well acted, smartly crafted, and shrewdly judged…[the director] does nothing less than put on the screen life as it’s lived.”
UNCERTAIN TERMS writer-producer Chloe Domont and producer Josh Mandel will introduce the 10 PM screenings at the Music Hall on Friday and Saturday, June 5 and 6.
EDIT: The voting period has ended. The winners are NORTH BY NORTHWEST, PEE WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE, E.T., THE BIG LEBOWSKI, and THE GENERAL. Thanks for voting!
CicLAvia: Pasadena is Sunday and we need your help choosing movie backgrounds for our free #LaemmleVia photo booth! Our green screen photo booth will transport you directly into scenes from iconic films but we have too many to choose from. The five images with the most votes* will be available for your picture-taking pleasure in front of our Playhouse 7 theater from 9am to 4pm on 5/31. Vote below!
We’ll also be giving away free popcorn! Click here for the full list of CicLAvia activities.
BACK TO THE FUTURE II |
BREAKING AWAY |
CHARIOTS OF FIRE |
E.T. |
THE GENERAL |
THE BIG LEBOWSKI |
MAD MAX |
MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO |
NORTH BY NORTHWEST |
PEE WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE |
THE USUAL SUSPECTS |
[gravityform id=”2″ action=”polls” mode=”results”]
*In the event of a tie, I will choose the winner and bump the other photos down one spot. Who am I to make such decisions? I’m the tie-breaker guy, that’s who!
=)
THE FAREWELL PARTY is an acclaimed Israeli comedy about the residents of a retirement home who build a machine for self-euthanasia in order to help their terminally ill friend, though they are faced with a series of dilemmas when rumors of the machine begin to spread. (Yes, it’s a comedy.) Well into their ’70s, Yehezkel and his wife Levana are living a comfortable life inside a Jerusalem retirement home. When it comes to retirement, there are some people who find this adjustment an easy one. Even though before this, there is a lot to understand like understanding what Key Equity Release is, for example, and managing finances, but when the time does come to give up working life, hopefully, a lot of people will find it worthwhile, just like Yehezkel and his wife have done. It’s also useful looking into financial benefits that retirees may be eligible to. Things like social security benefits are definitely worthwhile with the ability to cover your spouse and close family members as well as yourself. If you want to learn more, you can look how Social Security spousal benefits are calculated here.
But their contented lives are soon dealt a deep shock when their dear friend Max falls prey to an irreversible illness. Looking for a way out, Max asks Yehezkel for help to end his suffering. Whilst many in real life in these situations end up ignored, and need help from a nursing home neglect lawyer to get the support needed, it is different here. Yehezkel, a longtime amateur inventor, rises to the challenge by constructing a machine that will allow Max to self-administer a dose of tranquilizers. Levana, however, believes that such a device is immoral, and expresses her passionate disapproval. But when Levana herself begins to face a serious health issue, Yehezkel finds that his feelings about his new contraption become increasingly complicated. In THE FAREWELL PARTY, co-directors Sharon Maymon and Tal Granit have tackled an extremely sensitive issue in a vibrant and unique way. You will cry while watching this movie, but whether from laughter or compassion will be difficult to separate.
Co-directors Sharon Maymon and Tal Granit had this to say about their acclaimed — THE FAREWELL PARTY won four Israeli Academy Awards, including in Best Actor for Israeli star Ze’ev Revach, and received a total of 14 nominations, including Best Film, Director, Screenplay, and Actress — film:
“‘For against your will you are formed, against your will you are born, against your will you live.’ ~ Ethics of the Fathers, Chapter 4). Can you at least determine when to die? THE FAREWELL PARTY deals with separation. Separation from someone you love, separation from yourself – when the mind begins to fail, and the separation from life and the right to choose how it all ends. The main characters are senior citizens, in a retirement community in Jerusalem, people who have retired from their life’s work – these type of people are not usually heroes of movies. But out of that very place of retirement and inactivity, they decide to gain control over their fate. As in any tragedy where the protagonist tries to change his destiny and of those surrounding him, there isan unbearable price to pay. THE FAREWELL PARTY is also a film about love and friendship. Our five main characters find comfort, strength and hope in each other in the difficult and funniest moments of life. The plot is not autobiographical, but is based on personal experiences accumulated while caring for a ‘Helga;’ someone close to us, towards the end of their life. In our process of saying goodbye to a loved one, we discovered that when the body fails and the mind remains lucid, self-irony and humor remain the best way to cope with the prospect of death. In our films we try to deal with contemporary social issues, which are often controversial. We try to break the emotional drama with absurd and comic elements. We do so also by casting comedians, and in the case of this film some of the icons of Israeli comedy, in dramatic roles. We feel this makes this difficult and important issue more accessible to our audience, and hopefully, as in life, they will laugh as they wipe away their tears.”