 I grew up in the 1990’s, so it’s pretty much required that I like the Foo Fighters. So when I heard they were premiering a Foo Fighters documentary at SXSW I was intrigued. I grew up listening to Nirvana, and the Foo Fighters early albums are great. I can still vividly remember some of their music videos, when you could still see videos on TV. But by the time I got to high school and they were at their most popular my interest in the band had already waned. But it’s good to revisit an old friend from your youth. “Foo Fighters: Back and Forth,” is a documentary that covers the 16 year span of the Foo Fighters music. It starts with the inception of the band after the death of Kurt Cobain and ends with them making their latest album in Dave Grohl’s garage. The film was incredibly interesting in the beginning. Seeing the bands early days and reliving some of the music I love was great. I also had no idea the band experienced so many changes in their lineup through out the years. To see them rise from obscurity to being one of the biggest bands in the world is pretty incredible even if their new music isn’t my cup of tea. |
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| SXSW 2011: Page One Review
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| Saturday, 26 March 2011 07:22 |
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 Somehow the most meta thing I saw at all of SXSW this year was a fairly straight forward documentary about the New York Times. We all know that newspapers are going the way of celluloid film, compact discs, and pay telephones. The times they are a-changin. And while many newspapers have been driven out of business, the New York Times hangs on. Not only that but they had the insight to setup a media reporting department that essentially reports on the collapse of their own industry. What better place to take a snapshot of how media is transforming in the internet age than a newspaper department that reports on newspapers. “Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times,” is a fascinated documentary about this shifting landscape and what it means for our society. The internet was a game changer on how people receive information. Why wait for the morning paper when you can see news unfolding in front of you with the click of a mouse. The problem is that no real investigative journalism takes place on the internet. It’s just a lot of sites regurgitating sexy bullshit link bate to bump up their views so they can make more ad revenue. No newspaper has been able to find the right business model for the internet age to keep them afloat. Some think tablets will save the newspaper industry, but take a look at how iPods crippled the music industry and guess again. |
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| SXSW 2011: 13 Assassins Review
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| Saturday, 26 March 2011 07:20 |
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 A few days after the tragedy of the earthquake in Japan, I found myself watching a samurai movie at SXSW. It was a weird coincidence. I’ve seen a lot of old black and white samurai movies but I haven’t really been paying attention to how the genre has played out in contemporary Japanese cinema. And while the main tropes and archetypes remained the same in this one, the style is decidedly now. The film “13 Assassins” is about an old samurai given a special mission as the feudal age in Japan is coming to a close. A sociopathic lord has been given dominion over a clan by the shogun and has tortured and mutilated too many people. The samurai is given a secret order to assassinate the lord. First he must cobble together a band of 13 aging and untrained samurai to fight against the lord’s army of guards. The film is deliberately paced. It starts out disturbingly violent and ends the same way, with a slow middle. The third act of the film is intensely brutal. Ultra violence has found its way into a classic cinema form. The directing and acting in the film are impeccable. But it did lose me in a couple places. |
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 Werner Herzog is film icon. His canon of films is incomparable. Lately he has been doing a mix of commercial films and nature documentaries. Most recently he made the mind bendingly crazy “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans,” a film in which Nicolas cage loses his shit in the best way. His most famous documentary was “Grizzly Man” about a nature documentarian who is eaten by bears, as well as “Encounters at the End of the World,” a film about the Antarctic. His latest film is, in true Herzog fashion, unimaginably spectacular. I was lucky enough to see it at SXSW. “Cave of Forgotten Dreams” is a documentary about a cave that was discovered recently in France which contains the oldest cave paintings ever found. The most striking thing about the film is that it is Herzog’s first foray into 3D. I hate 3D, as most people do because we have been totally inundated with it recently. However if there is any single movie that is worth the headaches it is this one. People other than the scientists examining the cave may never again be allowed in these caves as other similar caves were exposed to destructive mold from human breath. This is your best opportunity to see something that human eyes have not seen for almost 35,000 years. That’s older than any other piece of human culture on the entire earth. |
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| SXSW 2011: Kumare Review
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| Saturday, 26 March 2011 07:16 |
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 I don’t even know where to begin with this one. This movie is unlike anything I have ever seen. I saw this film this year at SXSW, and it was easily the most thought provoking film of the whole festival. It starts out as kind of a joke but gets real in an unexpected and gripping way. The film asks a lot of big questions right away, and the experiment of the film leaves you with a lot to mull over. “Kumare” is a documentary about a man who sets out to do an experiment on the nature of spirituality. His assertion is that spirituality comes from within and no one needs a spiritual leader or guru to find inner peace. So he decides to put on some robes, invent some fake yoga techniques, and adopt a fake Indian accent to become the made up guru Kumare. The film starts as this kind of Borat style subversive prank, but as soon as he gains actual followers he realizes it’s not a joke. Fortunately he designed his spiritual teachings in such a way that hopefully the people knew it wasn’t real the whole time. |
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| SXSW 2011: Senna Review
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| Saturday, 26 March 2011 07:14 |
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 The first film I saw this year at SXSW was “Senna.” Let me preface this by saying I have no interest in motor sports of any kind. They seem completely asinine to me. While I can appreciate the athleticism inherent in them, they just don’t appeal to me. I like basketball, case closed. The film was shown as a way of building buzz about the upcoming Formula 1 grand prix that will be held in Austin. Apparently, previous Formula 1 races were held on an Indy course (I have no idea what the distinction is), and for the first time there will be a proper Formula 1 course in the United States. Racing fans please feel free to correct all the errors I’m sure were made in this paragraph. Even though I may not like racing, I love movies so let’s get down to it. |
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| Interview: Kate Bosworth (The Warrior's Way)
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Written by Michelle Thorton
Friday, 04 February 2011 08:34 |
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 Several weeks ago, I was able to attend the press day for "The Warrior's Way" which stars Kate Bosworth, Danny Huston, Dong-gun Jang and Geoffrey Rush. Admittedly, I hadn't heard much about the film prior to attending the press day, however, by time I'd left I reckon I knew all there was to know about "The Warrior's Way." Okay, obviously that isn't true. The film follows a warrior-assassin who is forced to hide in a small town in the American Badlands after refusing a mission. Yeah, I know I'm a little behind in posting this but better late than never right? Read on for our interview with Kate Bosworth and be sure to check out our interview with Danny Huston as well! |
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| Interview With Tangled Star Zachary Levi
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Written by Jared Owen
Friday, 07 January 2011 16:06 |
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Zachary Levi is one of the many voice actors in Walt Disney's animated feature "Tangled." He plays a charming thief, Flynn Rider, in the 3D flick.
When Flynn takes refuge in a mysterious tower, he encounters Rapunzel (Mandy Moore), a feisty but sheltered teenage princess with 70 feet of hair who wants nothing more than to be liberated from the place where she’s been locked away for years. Rapunzel realizes Flynn is her ticket out of her predicament and strikes a deal with the dashing rogue. Together, the unlikely duo embarks on a hair-raising adventure during which both discover their true destiny. Reel Empire was in attendance at a roundtable interview with Zachary Levi to discuss "Tangled." You may know Zachary from NBC's hit television series "Chuck." During the interview, he told us what his attraction to the project was as well as why his character is so unique. In addition, he shared his thoughts on working with directors Byron Howard and Nathan Greno. You can read on for the interview and be sure to share your thoughts! |
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| Craig Moss: The New King of Parodies?
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Written by Shanna Wilson
Thursday, 10 June 2010 19:51 |
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In the not so distant past when a parody was made about a movie, it was meant as homage to the success of a blockbuster film. Only recently have parody movies gotten a bad name and have been criticized by the movie going public. There are some movie makers out there who want to bring the prestige of making a parody using pop culture icons back to the silver screen. One such person is Craig Moss, and he hopes with his newest film, The 41 Year Old Virgin Who Knocked up Sarah Marshall and Felt Superbad about It, to erase the recent stigma of parodies and make them fun again. An accomplished comedy writer, Moss has plans to parody the Twilight films in a movie called Fully Mooned which is set to start filming this summer. With these movies Moss is taking his experience with comedy writing and turning his eye to the director’s chair. In a recent phone conversation with Moss he talked about his latest projects and why he started directing.
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| A Night of Firsts for Sean Hayes
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Written by Shanna Wilson
Thursday, 10 June 2010 19:47 |
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 Some people might say that Sean Hayes, famously know as Jack McFarland from Will & Grace, has experienced the ups and downs on the roller coasters of life all in a few short months. After an article was published in Newsweek criticizing his ability to act, he is showing everyone his talents by not only being in his first Broadway show called Promises, Promises but also being nominated for a Tony for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. And wait, that’s not all he also hosting the awards show set to air on CBS, Sunday, June 13,2010 at 8pm/7c. Alas! One more tidbit to add to his resume is his new television show called Hot In Cleveland, which he executive produces, set to air Wednesdays on TV Land starting June 16th at 10pm/9c. Hayes participated in a press conference to promote the Tony Awards in which he answered questions about his hosting gig, nomination, and new duties as executive producer of a sitcom. Any reporters hoping to get a sound bite about his reaction to the Newsweek article were sorely disappointed as Hayes stayed mum about the scathing review and only answered questions about his hosting duties and nomination. He did tell everyone to expect a star studded line up of presenters including Cate Blanchett, Daniel Radcliffe, and Denzel Washington. Another greatly anticipated element to the show will be a performance by Green Day and the musical filled with their music called American Idiot is nominated for three awards. Read on for more! |
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| Mike Myers & Cast Talk 'Shrek Forever After'
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Written by Chad Langen
Sunday, 23 May 2010 09:08 |
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Mike Myers & cast talk 'Shrek Forever After'. "Shrek Forever After" is purportedly the last installment in Dreamwork's extremely popular and highly successful animated franchise. The series has grossed over a billion in box office earnings and has certainly paved the way for dozens of other animated pictures.
In "Shrek Forever After", the ogre Shrek (Mike Myers) suddenly finds himself a domesticated family man. Instead of scaring villagers away like he used to, Shrek is now a local celebrity, signing autographs and waving at tour buses full of people. Longing for the days when he felt like a real ogre, Shrek is duped into signing a pact with the deceitful Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn) and suddenly finds himself in a twisted alternate reality where Shrek and Fiona (Cameron Diaz) have never met, his best friend Donkey (Eddie Murphy) doesn’t know him and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) has put on a few extra pounds. |
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| Interview: Steve Carell & Tina Fey
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Written by Chad Langen
Saturday, 10 April 2010 08:26 |
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Two of the biggest talents in the realm of comedy, Steve Carell and Tina Fey, have finally teamed up to deliver 'Date Night', a film that is being raved as the funniest picture of the year so far and by far. The film centers around a typical married couple who's date becomes an unforgettable night of hilarious events where everything that occurs seems to be for the worse.
Reel Empire had the oppurtunity to sit down with Steve Carell ("The Office") and Tina Fey ("30 Rock") to discuss their new side-splitting rom-com which was shot in New York City. The acting duo talked about everything from pole dancing to taking their own marriages to new levels. Read on to check out our interview! "Date Night" is now playing nation-wide and in addition to Carell and Fey, the film also stars Mark Wahlberg, James Franco, Leighton Meester, Common, Kristen Wiig, Ray Liotta, Mila Kunis, Mark Ruffalo, William Fichtner and Oliliva Munn. |
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| SXSW 2010: 'Reel Injun' Review
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| Wednesday, 24 March 2010 21:49 |
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SXSW 2010: 'Reel Injun' review. I don’t know what the bigger travesty is, that I was taught relatively nothing about Native American history in high school, or that I was taught nothing at all about Native American film history in film school. After 9/11 patriotism came back in a big way. But what does it really mean to be an American? I’m American because I was born in this land, but my ancestors come from Europe so am I really American? The story of the real Americans is a tragedy and a shame that this nation should never live down. But on the other hand, I wouldn’t exist here if not for the suffering of the indigenous peoples. My white guilt runs deep. The least European American’s could have done was not add insult to injury. But unfortunately not only was what happened to the Native American’s a terrible genocide, the film industry effectively erased their history and culture as well in the collective subconscious of the world.
The film “Reel Injun,” is about the legacy of Native American’s in Hollywood films, from the beginning of film until now. There is so much about Native American’s in film that I did not know. Somehow in all the film history classes I took this information was omitted. I found this film to be fascinating and incredible. This is one of the best films I saw at the entire SXSW 2010 festival. |
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SXSW 2010: 'World's Largest' review. I’m sure at some point many of us have wondered what is the deal with all those tourist traps that tout they are the “worlds largest” fill in the blank. Oddly enough I visited one on the way to SXSW 2010. It’s the world’s biggest peanut in Ashburn GA, and believe it or not it makes an appearance in this film. I took many a picture in front of it, stopped to eat some chicken and went on my merry way, not giving it a second thought. The minds behind this film however did all the grunt work that none of us really ever thought we would care about. They illuminated a world that nobody ever thinks of. And they made a really fascinating documentary.
“Worlds Largest,” is about the all of those roadside things, from the world’s biggest apple, to the world’s biggest cow, and even shows us one town’s struggle to build the world’s largest lava lamp. I really enjoyed this film. It’s full of that charm that is purely American. And it really delves deeply into why all these things exist. It’s a sad story really, of a shifting American landscape. Small towns that fall on hard times risk losing their way of life forever. The only way they can really think of reinvigorating their local economy is to build something that will bring in tourist dollars, often in vain. Most people it turns out do what I did; stop, take a picture, eat, and leave. |
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| SXSW 2010: 'Centurion' Review
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| Wednesday, 24 March 2010 21:43 |
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SXSW 2010: 'Centurion' review. I have a very rare opportunity before me. I don’t think I have ever had this much power in my life, as little power as it may be. I feel the way I felt on Election Day. I have the potential to keep a terrible movie from being released, and that is what I hope to do. I was privileged enough to have my brains insulted at a secret screening of “Centurion,” at SXSW 2010. I should have known what I was getting myself into. I remember when I saw “The Descent,” just how bad I thought it was. There must be something to that movie because I remember everyone I was with liked it, but to me it was one of the worst things I had ever seen. It’s rare that I actually hate something, because hatred takes effort. But I can safely say that I really hate this movie. And if I can somehow voice these feelings and stop people from wasting their hard earned money, or possibly stop more movies like this from being made, then I have done my good deed for the day.
“Centurion,” is about a Roman soldier who is trapped behind enemy lines fighting the Picts in England. One odd thing about this film is that you’re supposed to be on the Roman’s side, even though they are the invaders. What makes it even weirder is that the the actors playing Roman’s are British, so it’s like they are desecrating their own history or something. |
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SXSW 2010: 'Richard Garriott: Man on a Mission' review. When you are a kid, one of the biggest dreams you might have is to be an astronaut. But for most of us that dream dies when we grow up. Most of us are not Richard Garriott. As a boy he grew up with an astronaut for a father. When he was still in his teens he created one of the first computer games, and became an unlikely billionaire. Now with the means and the opportunity he was able to accomplish his dream of traveling into space. Luckily for us, he brought a camera with him to document his trip.
“Richard Garriott: Man on a Mission,” is a documentary chronicling Garriott’s training and eventual launch into space. And while this film is an interesting portrait of a man determined to live his dream, he is rarest of men who have the ability to actually realize it. The film is not really about any kind of struggle. All the obstacles facing Garriott are quickly solved by his fabulous wealth. There is no problem too big to throw money at. He is extremely lucky in this way. But what saves the film is the fact that he actually captured footage that none of us would ever have seen otherwise. All the footage of the actual launch and of the international space station is incredible. Just as a pure document of space life, it is remarkable. Every second of footage in space is mesmerizing. |
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SXSW 2010: 'All My Friends Are Funeral Singers' review. Ugh… I don’t even want to write this review but I guess it’s my job. This one will be personal; I’ll give you the whole story. I went to see this film with two friends who are big fans of the band Califone. The interesting thing about the screening at SXSW is that the band performed the soundtrack to the film live in front of us. And while that was an interesting experience, someone like me, who is not familiar with this particular band, has no place being in that movie theater.
“All My Friends are Funeral Singers,” is a film about a medium and the spirits that inhabit her home. Those spirits include the band Califone. The movie was also directed by a member of the band. I had never heard of this band but I went in with an open mind. Having been a musician, I try to understand music even if it’s not to my particular taste. |
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SXSW 2010: 'A Serbian Film' review. If you are reading this please understand that it is a warning. You are not going to enjoy this film. If you do enjoy this film then you did not understand it. Never in my life have I seen such unspeakable things recreated in a movie. It’s rare that I have a visceral reaction to something so strong that I am physically ill or queasy. I’ve seen a lot of movies and I have never seen anything quite as disturbing as this. If you are a gore fan you may be thinking to yourself “Awesome, I’m gonna love this movie.” And if somehow you are not rocked to your core by this film then you my friend are a sociopath. So now that you’ve been warned let me tell you about this film.
“A Serbian Film,” is remarkable. It is the story of a retired porn star who is desperate for money for his family. He takes a job that promises him millions but he soon finds out it will cost him more than he bargained for as he is forced to perform terrible acts. To further warn you I will give away one of the tamer scenes in the film. Please keep in mind that what I am about to describe is the tip of the iceberg, that is, it gets soooooo much worse than this!! In one scene a woman has all her teeth pulled out and is forced to perform fellatio on a man with her blood spewing gums until she chokes to death. How can it be any more disturbing than that you wonder? |
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SXSW 2010: 'The People vs George Lucas' review. Having gone to film school I know all too well the impact that George Lucas has had on a generation. Many people were inspired by him to pursue careers in the world of film. I personally love "Star Wars,” but to be honest I love his movie “THX 1138,” even more. “Star Wars,’ is not the be all and end all of film that fans make it out to be. There are people out there who take his movies way too seriously. It’s because they associate his films so strongly with feelings of childhood. And so he has a very uneasy relationship with these people. On the one hand they made him a billionaire, on the other… well… would you want fans like his if you thought of yourself as a serious artist?
This and other debates are at the heart of the film “The People vs George Lucas.” It’s a movie about the “Star Wars” fans and how conflicted they have become over the years. You might think this film harkens back to another film about obsessive fans, “Trekkies,” but I assure you this film is not quite as good. The film is full of interviews with experts on popular culture and fans alike. And while the information from the experts is the most interesting, as a fan none of the information in this film is new to me. I feel almost like I might have enjoyed it more had I known absolutely nothing about “Star Wars.” |
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SXSW 2010: 'Trash Humpers' film review. So I had no particular feeling one way or another toward Harmony Korine. I like the movie “Kids,” and “Julien Donkey-Boy,” which is a film that is oddly unique and surprisingly funny and sad and disturbing. But I wouldn’t say I was a huge fan. That is until I saw the new film “Trash Humpers.” I don’t even know where to begin with this film. And it’s quite inexplicable. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. And I have no idea what it means or what it’s even about. And also, it was awesome and I wish I could watch it again. It's easily my new favorite movie of SXSW 2010. This might be a really short review because I don't want to give it away and I also don't really know what to say.
So “Trash Humpers” should give you an idea of what you are going to see in the film; people humping trash. It’s fucking strange but amazing. It’s about people who are perhaps elderly and surely deranged and a series of weird events and encounters that happens over the course of a few days and nights. It is shot (or made to look like it was shot) entirely on VHS, which makes the film that much more interesting. |
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