May 2008

This Week in Independent Film

  • Title: How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer
  • IMDB: link

Three generations of women in a Mexican American family all experience a sexual awakening during the same summer in this new film by writer/director Georgina RiedelElizabeth Pena, America Ferrera, Lucy Gallardo, Eliana Alexander, and Alyssa Diaz star.  Check out the official site.  The film, presented in both English and Spanish, opens in select cities on Friday.

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Speed Racer

  • Title: Speed Racer
  • IMDB: link

speed-racer-poster

I’m always looking for reasons to love the Wachowskis.  I am one of the few and faithful who have stuck with the Matrix through all of its sequels, and still love it.  But then V For Vendetta came along, and if you know how I reacted to it, then you know that my faith in the duo was thrown into doubt.  With all that in mind, I was excited for Speed Racer – a silly cartoon adaptation that couldn’t be bogged down by politics or philosophy, all it had to do was be superficially awesome.  If the Wachowskis could pull this one off, it might finally justify my love for the writer/directors.  Did I find that validation?

Nope.

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Mamet + MMA = Good Times

  • Title: Redbelt
  • IMDB: link

redbelt-poster

Okay, I love David Mamet, but at first glance the mixture of Mamet and mixed martial arts sounds like a formula for disaster.  With memories of many horrific MMA themed films running through my head (including Hollywood’s latest blunder) I sat down to see what one of the best writers working today had to say on the subject.  I walked out a very happy man.

Our story centers around Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a guru and owner of a martial arts dojo struggling to get by.

A series of events disrupt Mike’s world and force him to make hard choices about his core beliefs about martial arts, training, and his disdain for competing in staged MMA tournaments.

This is a David Mamet script and, as you would expect, things don’t go from A to B here, and if they do it’s never in a straight line.  There are surprises, twists, and an elaborate con which leaves our hero out of options and at odds with the world and himself.

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Young at Heart

  • Title: Young@Heart
  • IMDb: link

“Oh yes we can, I know we can can, yes we can can, why can’t we?  If we wanna, yes we can can.”

young-at-heart-poster

The documentary by Stephen Walker follows the the Young@Heart Chorus as they learn new songs and prepare for their next live performance.  This, however, isn’t your average chorus.

The Young@Heart Chorus is made up of senior citizens, all over the age of 70, from the New England area.  Led by director Bob Climan, the group has been performing since 1982, although not the type of music you might expect from a senior citizen group.  No, the Young@Heart sing contemporary and classic rock and pop songs such as “I Wanna Be Sedated” by the Ramones and “Should I Stay or Should I Go” by the Clash.

For their upcoming concert the group is practicing hits ranging from “Yes We Can Can” by the Pointer Sisters to “Schizophrenia” by Sonic Youth.  We get to meet each some of the members of the chorus, including two former members who have returned after serious medical conditions to perform one last time with their friends.

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Quote of the Week

Our quote this week comes from Stephen Colbert who reacts to the news he came in third in total votes on Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People Online Poll.  Colbert came in behind Korean pop singer Rain, and Legend of Zelda and Donkey Kong creator Shigeru Miyamoto.  Check out the video inside the Full Diagnosis.

“Donkey Kong?  Donkey Kong??  Oh sure it’s okay when a gorilla does it, but when I throw barrels at an Italian plummer they call it a hate crime.”

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