Let’s get this thing done – Only the Young

Only the Young posterAt the True/False film festival this year I saw some great documentaries. There are two that I tell everyone about. One of those is Only the Young, a film about a few ordinary teenagers in Southern California living their lives and growing up right before the camera. It doesn’t sound like an amazing premise and that’s largely what makes this film such an incredible feat. The cinematography is gorgeous, the soundtrack is unexpectedly great, and the editing is crisp. Add to all that some amazing kids and the results are magic on the screen. No lie. Magic.

Only the Young is making its debut at the Hot Docs festival in Toronto this May. Great! But the bad news is the film makers still need some help finishing the film. I mentioned the soundtrack stood out as being particularly excellent. Well, that soul music filled soundtrack costs quite a bit to license. There is also some technical work that needs to be done to make the film look and sound its best. All this adds up. Fortunately, the film makers have connections and are getting good rates on the technical work that needs to be done which lowers the costs. But they still need around $15,570 to pay for everything.

There is a Kickstarter project and everyone can help make this happen. I supported the film and will get a DVD for that contribution. This is a film I’ve been wanting to get my hands on ever since I saw it at True/False so the chance to support it early and get a DVD later is a good deal. I don’t normally go around peddling for projects like this so I hope that shows just how much I enjoyed this film and think you will too. If you want to support a great film and get a copy of it (and possibly more, depending on how much you contribute) in the not so distant future, now is the time to act:

Support Only the Young on Kickstarter

Quote from EC: “No one who’s old thinks they’re old.”

Two people proving EC's pointThis one came from my 11 year old son in a conversation I overheard between he and his grandfather. EC asked grandpa why he was skinning most but not all of the skin off a cucumber. Grandpa replied that he liked it that way. EC replied with, “Gee, I never knew old people could be so picky.” To which EC’s grandfather said something along the lines of “I’m not old.” And that led to the quote above.

Way late review: A Better Life

Proving that making a point doesn’t have to happen as a result of preaching, A Better Life successfully tells the simple story of an illegal immigrant Carlos (Demián Bichir) who struggles to make ends meet while keeping his teenage son, Luis (José Julián), away from the gangs of East L.A.

There is no doubt, A Better Life is just as much about the plight of the illegal Mexican immigrant in the United States as it is about Carlos and Luis. But, one can watch the film and never feel as though the larger theme of the film overwhelms the narrative or the characters. That is a credit to the director, Chris Weitz.

Carlos is a hard worker. He’s landed steady work with another illegal immigrant who owns a truck and has a base of customers for his landscaping business. Unfortunately for Carlos, the truck and the business are going to be sold to the highest bidder. Carlos is tempted to bid but doesn’t have the funds. He finally breaks down and calls his sister to ask for the money. She’s reluctant to give it, not because she doesn’t trust Carlos but because her husband won’t approve. Without her husband’s knowledge, she delivers $12,000 in cash to Carlos. He buys the truck, goes on to run a successful landscaping business, and achieves the American dream for he and his son. Not so fast.

In his altruistic and trusting nature, Carlos selects an older gentleman from the group of those looking for work. This is a man who shared his sandwich with Carlos. This fairy tale arrangement doesn’t last long, as the old man waits until Carlos is in a tree to steal the keys to the truck and take off. Most businessmen in this situation would proceed to call the cops, but most businessmen probably aren’t illegal aliens. Carlos shows up home late that night distraught and drunk. His son guides him to the couch and tucks him in for the night.

Luis is at a crossroads. His girlfriend has uncles in a gang and are covered in tattoos that would make even Mike Tyson question their tastes. Luis doesn’t like school and is developing the mentality of a street thug where hard work, honor and decency his father displays on a daily basis are scoffed at. There isn’t much keeping Luis away from joining the gang. His friend desperately wants to join and eventually does, but there is something keeping Luis from committing. It’s likely the respect he still maintains in a small part of himself for his father. Even though Luis talks irreverently to his dad throughout much of the film, he doesn’t give into the impulse to take what likely seems to be the easy way out in joining his girlfriend’s uncles.

The theft of the truck leads father and son on a detective mission. It’s at this point in the film where I felt an odd, yet strong comparison to Winter’s Bone. As much as Winter’s Bone was a backwoods film noir, it seemed to be about displaying the conditions and culture of the poorest folks in the Ozarks. Similarly, A Better Life shows us a slice of life for the illegal Mexican immigrant in LA while the mystery of where the truck is gets solved. The journey and the sites along the way are far more interesting than the amateur detective work being done. The contrast between the ethos of Carlos and Luis are played out in some trite and less trite manners. In the end a deeper bond between the two develops as they both pursue a common goal that becomes bigger than either one of them.

A Better Life walks a tightrope of authenticity and after school special television episode. There were moments I was sure the movie was going to plunge to depths it could not recover from but the screenwriter resisted and the fine acting wouldn’t allow it to teeter into schmaltz. An admirable task with the payoff being a solid movie with a bigger message behind it.

[xrr rating=4/5 label=” “]

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwIzW7yk3ZI[/youtube]

Way late review: Take Shelter

After working closely with those impacted by and helping out with the aftermath of a devastating tornado I’m not crazy about watching films that have tornadoes as a central prop. Take Shelter is more about a man struggling with losing his sanity than it is about the storms around him, whether they be real or in his head.

Curtis (Michael Shannon) is a husband to Samantha (Jessica Chastain) and father to a young daughter who lost her hearing. He lives in a small town where your secrets are only well kept for a matter of minutes if not less. Everyone knows everyone. There is nothing extraordinary about Curtis. He works hard, appears to have a good relationship with his wife and child, and enjoys the friendship of those he works with. Contrasted with his relatively simple way of life are visions and dreams he has of deadly storms approaching along with strangers and loved ones threatening to kill him. The events seem so real that physical pain is inflicted. The torment this down to earth man goes through is hard not to feel.

After one too many painful dreams, Curtis realizes he needs to figure out what is going on. He knows there is a history of schizophrenia in his immediate family. This leads him to seek help though without letting his wife know. While desperately seeking help he also goes about securing a risky home equity loan in order to get funds for expanding the tornado shelter out back. It’s at this point that Samantha loses her patience. She has seen changes in her husband, mostly writing them off as one off oddities or physical illness. But when she comes home to discover Curtis and his friend from work tearing up the backyard to expand the tornado shelter she is at a loss for words. She can’t comprehend the project, the way she discovers it, where the funds are coming from – none of it makes sense. Since there is a sweet chemistry between Curtis and Samantha this grenade set off in their relationship by Curtis is painful to watch, even though we as viewers understand a bit more about what Curtis is dealing with it’s also hard for us to justify his self destructive behavior.

To go further into the plot development is to potentially ruin one of the components that makes the film so compelling. Take Shelter is sure to leave some perplexed, others enthralled, and almost everyone thinking for days about what it all meant in the end. Count me in the camp of those enthralled. The performances, the overall mood, and the contrast between an everyday life and schizophrenia are done in a near perfect manner.

[xrr rating=5/5 label=” “]

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1B6VleLDh0I[/youtube]

Way late review: Grizzly Man

Timothy Treadwell and Werner Herzog were made for each other. Unfortunately their meeting meant the death of Treadwell, as Herzog’s Grizzly Man documents Treadwell’s life and death at the paws of the grizzly bears Treadwell felt were his surrogate family.

Knowing how things end makes Grizzly Man an uncomfortable watch, not because we get to see a bear rip a man and his girlfriend to shreds (we don’t), but because a majority of the film is filled with laughs. For example the movie opens with Treadwell talking about being a warrior, a samurai of sorts as bears roam behind him. Seriously? Herzog finds a plethora of odd footage Treadwell shot of himself, the bears, and the rest of nature around him. Perhaps even stranger are some of the role players, such as the coroner whose every movement and word have creepy connotations. Herzog can’t help himself, as even the seemingly mundane pilot who flew the grizzly man in and out of the Alaska wilderness is introduced with a subtitle of pilot and former rodeo performer. And, like most Herzog documentaries, the narrative is done by the director, not only for exposition but to opine. The deadpan delivery makes it hard to know if Herzog is part of the comedy or sincerely trying to make a point.

The fact that Treadwell wanted to be an actor is not surprising. His roughly one hundred hours of footage he shot while out in the wild is filled with manufactured drama. We know this because we’re allowed to see some of the outtakes and setup of various scenes. This doesn’t take away from the authenticity, in fact it raises it. Instead of pretending the grizzly man is pure in his insane pursuit of his large furry friends, a more complete picture is painted of a man losing his sanity but still hoping to make it big someway. Truth is, Treadwell died just about the time reality TV took off like a rocket. Had he been doing his crazy living with the bears routine today there is little doubt there’d be a bidding war for the rights to the show.

In order to balance out the insanity, there are interviews with those gracefully calling Treadwell out on his crossing the boundaries between man and animal. They don’t make fun of him or point fingers but question his misguided mission. These level headed folks seem alien in comparison to those dominating the majority of the film.

A fascinating character study filled with uncomfortable laughs, Grizzly Man succeeds to peel back the layers that make up the life of a man who wanted nothing more than to trade in the painful reality that life can be at times for the fantasy that grizzly bears could be his best friends.

[xrr rating=5/5 label=” “]

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWycuaWJFCM[/youtube]

Way late review: The Adventures of Tintin

2011’s scariest movie of the year, The Adventures of Tintin? Maybe not, but the animation style first made popular by the just as terrifying Polar Express is not comforting. Even more disconcerting is Tintin’s orange on a toothpick head. His boyish looks mashed up with his Bourne like skills don’t make sense. Every other character in the movie seems to have oversize cucumbers for noses. It’s as if Gonzo mated with a human. Bizarre.

Beyond the off putting looks of the characters in Tintin, there is a somewhat fun adventure movie buried underneath. Not a great screenplay by any stretch, as Tintin annoyingly rushes through endless iterations of journalistic “by golly, I’ve found another clue!” moments, the film sprints into action set pieces as if those will make up for the cold characters. Whatever magic Spielberg or Peter Jackson could lend the movie goes wasted on animation that fails to deliver and a mundane screenplay.

[xrr rating=2/5 label=” “]

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xz3j8gKRUTg[/youtube]

I’m sorry Apple, this is stupid

The iPod Touch (4th generation) is a nice device. What isn’t so nice is trying to load music onto it from anything other than iTunes. I work for Canonical and run Ubuntu on all our computers here at home. Even before joining Canonical I had switched over to Ubuntu. With that bias out of the way, can I ask why it requires a nuclear scientist to crack the code that is updating music on an iOS device outside of iTunes? How is it that my silly little Sansa Clip+ MP3 Player can get music from just about any software known to man, including the good old file system of the operating system you’re running, while it requires iTunes to properly add music to an iPod Touch?

OK, I get it. I’m not that naive. Apple has total control of the ecosystem. You buy one of their products, you’re locked in the trunk. In fact, you’ve bought the trunk! Most people don’t care and (for the most part) nor should they – until they do. Until one day you realize that what was once done in the name of great design and user experience crosses the line and becomes more about protecting high margins than much else. By that time it’s too late. We’re invested and the trunk has a lock not even Houdini could wiggle his way out of.

Anyway, my son’s iPod Touch looks like it’s getting new music from Banshee 2.3.6 on Ubuntu Precise Beta 1 but it appears the iTunes database is not updating properly, even though I can see the database is getting updated and the files are on the device in the same cryptic manner iTunes would do it (iTunes Control/Music/F00, F01, etc.) I’m guessing the iTunes database format changed and Banshee isn’t updating it quite right. I’m not sure. What I am sure of is that I used to LOVE Apple back in the day. Now? Not so much.

P.S. Yes, I know my son can stream music from Ubuntu One on his iPod, but he wants the tracks on the device and playable through Apple’s music app. Yet another hardening of the lock on the trunk.

Way late review: Hugo

Martin Scorsese’s love letter to cinema, Hugo, is like most love letters – full of passion, often beautiful, yet lacking in anything resembling a cohesive narrative.

Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) is an orphan who keeps the clocks ticking behind a train station in Paris. Why he and almost everyone around him have British accents is a mystery. I suppose every story set in days of old (yet not too old) demand British accents. Regardless, Hugo does what he needs to do in order to survive, which entails stealing food and other small items he needs to complete his project his father left him, an automaton, a mechanical man who writes with a pen and has a head just small enough to give everyone an uneasy feeling. The station inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen) doesn’t make Hugo’s life easy. He is determined to catch Hugo and put him in an orphanage. Inserted for comedic value, the station inspector seems like a distraction more than an integral part of the story, which is fine except for the fact that a decent portion of the film is spent on that character and his pursuit of Hugo. It’s as if someone told Scorsese he had to add some slapstick fun in his film or no child would tolerate it.

Desperate to find all the parts to get the automaton working so he can see what message his father left him, Hugo gets caught trying to steal a mechanical mouse from Georges Méliès (Ben Kingsley) by Méliès. He is forced to give up his notebook which contains the detailed sketches his father left of the automaton. Méliès promises to burn the book that evening and hands Hugo the ashes the next morning.

Hugo makes friends with Méliès’ god-daughter, Isabelle (Chloë Grace Moretz) who is desperate for adventure. It isn’t long before Hugo sneaks her into Isabelle’s first ever movie. Her godfather won’t allow her to watch films. She is mesmerized by the experience and Hugo is reminded of his father’s shared love for the cinema.

In a moment of chance Hugo discovers that Isabelle is wearing a key with a heart shaped end, which is exactly the key he needs to get his automaton working. In exchange for giving up his secret headquarters behind the walls of the train station, Isabelle allows Hugo to use the key to rev up his automaton so that he can finally see the message his father left for him. To go further is to spoil the surprise, which isn’t much of a surprise mainly because it takes numerous unnecessary twists to revel in Hugo’s true purpose, an undying love for films of old.

It’s hard to imagine a more beautifully shot film than Hugo. Every scene is masterfully shot with colors dazzling and the motion of the camera purposefully setting every moment. And yet for all its beauty, the story and characters pale in comparison. A two hour film that should be at least twenty minutes shorter without losing an ounce of its cinematic grander, Hugo still entertains even while reminding the audience that it could have been so much better.

[xrr rating=3/5 label=” “]

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5IP-78xH6g[/youtube]

Way late review: Being Elmo

It’s Elmo’s world, we only get to watch it. That’s until Being Elmo exposes the red furry one’s diabolic plans to rule the world! OK, so maybe the documentary Being Elmo isn’t anything like that. Part of me wishes it was or at least dared to take a bizarre twist in the third act in that direction.

Kevin Clash is the gentle giant behind the most beloved character on Sesame Street. (Wait, did I just start a controversy with that statement? Fight amongst yourselves Big Bird, Cookie Monster, and Count fans.) His story is one of the outsider whose obsession is the world of puppetry. From a very early age Clash has been infatuated with the worlds Jim Henson and Frank Oz managed to create on television and the big screen. His keen interest moves from curiosity to making his own puppets and performing wherever he can. Mind you, Clash is doing this in Baltimore, not the suburbs of southern Cal. Despite ridicule from his peers, Clash continues to pursue his passion. Before long he gets a chance to star in a local TV show using all his own handmade puppets.

The love Clash has for his craft is enthralling to watch. He is so sincere about his desire to become a great puppeteer that it’s easy to miss the contrast of this large African American male from Baltimore performing with his felt covered creations. As Clash continues to hone his craft he gets the opportunity to work with the best of the best, including Jim Henson, Clash’s hero. The retelling of how the two met and the working relationship they developed is endearing. Hearing Clash talk about it makes it feel as though it happened just moments ago.

Throughout the doc there is the use of still photos, but rather than settle on the now tried and true practice of Ken Burns like camera movements on and around the photos, the doc uses a 3D like journey through the stills. The effect draws you into the story and is never overused as to make it feel gimmicky. The same cannot be said for the narration by Whoopi Goldberg. Her style of narration seems to be one of over pronouncing every syllable to the point of distraction. While her voice is distinguishable it does not enhance the film.

By the third act the fairly short documentary runs out of steam. Clash is a quiet man and, like so many who are completely taken by their trade, doesn’t seem to have much of interest outside of his puppetry. The film makers do their best to draw more out of his story but it becomes clear that the most interesting story has been told.

The highest notes of Being Elmo are fantastic. The sincerity cannot be missed and the story of the man behind one of the most popular children’s characters of all time is an enjoyable one.

[xrr rating=3.5/5 label=” “]

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRotWuJNIQA[/youtube]

Way late review: Close Encounters of the Third Kind

When I saw Close Encounters of the Third Kind a number of years ago for the first time I remember being disappointed. I wanted E.T. and instead I got a bizarre story of a man who sees a UFO and proceeds to lose his mind. Years later I appreciated Spielberg’s first alien movie much more having my expectations reset.

When Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) encounters a UFO, he’s left with a sunburned face, a skeptical family and a shaken psyche. In an attempt to make sense of what he saw, Roy starts seeking out others who’ve had similar “visions”. Among those he finds are a woman, Jillian (Melinda Dillon) who has lost her son to the invaders, and a researcher (Francois Truffaut) preparing for Earth’s first contact with extraterrestrials.

The second act is all about observing a man who appears close to losing his mind. He sees images of a strange mountain that he can’t escape. Everywhere he looks he sees this vision and feels an uncontrollable urge to model it out of everything he can, including mash potatoes and piles of dirt he throws inside his home. His wife loses patience after Roy begins his indoor landscaping project. She and the kids take off. Roy tries to stop them but it’s no use, they’re gone so he continues to build a large model in the middle of his home of the image that’s burned into his mind. The model is built and Roy is no closer to understanding what it is or what it means. He’s lost his family and his sanity until he catches a glimpse of Devil’s Tower on a TV news report. This revelation leads Roy to Wyoming where he meets Jillian.

The government is trying to scare everyone away from the area near Devil’s Tower. They know they’re making contact with alien lifeforms and they don’t want the public to know about it. That doesn’t stop Roy, Jillian and others from making their way to the sacred spot. The army does its best to capture and deport all those who’ve made the trek but Roy and Jillian escape.

The last act is quite long and a bit disappointing after experiencing the full on insanity of knowing what Roy saw and the torment he went through trying to convince himself and others that what he witnessed was real, that it wasn’t the end of the story. What should act as closure feels more like a merciful ending.

Spielberg has commented in the past that he wouldn’t likely end Close Encounters the same way if he was making the movie today. I respect him for admitting this yet still leaving the original film intact unlike some other directors I won’t gratify by mentioning by name who take their prized works of the past and tinker endlessly with them.

Finally, it should be mentioned that this Blu-ray transfer is gorgeous, especially considering the age of the film. It gives me great hope for the release of Jaws, E.T. and the Indiana Jones series on Blu-ray yet this year. If you watch Close Encounters I highly recommend the Blu-ray release. Definitely worth the high-def treatment.

[xrr rating=4/5 label=” “]

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XA6B1_0CEDc[/youtube]