Tribeca Film Festival ’10: Preview
Let us get something off our chests: the powers-that-be at The Tribeca Film Festival denied our request for press passes. You read that right. Illustrious bloggers Jeff Hart and Jeremiah White, founders of Culture Blues and curators of such important work as The 80s Badass Tournament aren’t fancypants enough to get face time with Idris Elba (we were going to ask him where Wallace is - so what!). We might not know the secret handshake to the journalist club, but we created a sentient website for fuck’s sake! We deserve a little respect.
We wouldn’t be so bitter if applying for a press pass to Tribeca was as simple as: “hey can we have a press pass? no.” But it’s hard work! We had to fill out forms, provide clippings, and forge assignment letters from our “editors” (we wrote identical ones for each other and sent them in). We even had to send in our passport photos. And after all that blood and sweat (did we mention the DNA tests?), what did we get in return? A form letter dismissal from the prestigious institution that has Jessica Alba sitting on this year’s World Documentary panel of judges. Is this because we keep telling everyone that Al Pacino is a way better actor than Robert DeNiro? Because we stand by that.
Of course, just because we’re now the black sheep of the New York critical community (sorry Hoberman) doesn’t mean we’re not excited for this year’s festival. Last year gave us editor favorites like Moon and Black Dynamite, along with provocative duds like Whatever Works and The Girlfriend Experience. This year’s line-up is, without a doubt, the strongest line-up since last year and, even if we have to rub shoulders with the commoners in non-reserved seating, we’re still pretty psyched!
Here’s a look at the 13 films your intrepid editors will be seeing over the next 10 days:
Meskada
What it’s about - On the surface, Meskada looks like your standard police procedural. A small town detective (Nick Stahl) is on the hunt for a child murderer. There’s also a strong element of class warfare here being waged between two counties – the rich county with the murdered kid, and the poor county with its abundance of desperate child murderers. This is what happens in a recession, people!
Why we’re going – The trailer for Meskada doesn’t do the film any favors (the words unpolished and rote come to mind), but that’s par for the course with a lot of these indie flicks; you can’t put too much stock in trailers probably put together by unpaid production assistants. While I’m hoping that this one rises above the generic procedural it resembles, maybe even reaches Gone Baby Gone levels, the real reason I signed up is for Nick Stahl. He’s one of those actors that I root for, has been since his run on the woefully underappreciated Carnivale. It also doesn’t hurt that writer/director Josh Sternfeld is on record as a fan of Homicide: Life on the Street. If that’s the kind of procedural he’s drawing inspiration from, then Meskada definitely has potential. Oh, it also co-stars some dude from Twilight. (Jeff)
Beware the Gonzo
What it’s about - A high school comedy about a rebel journalist who goes underground when he gets kicked off the school paper. Starring Lenny Kravitz’ daughter, Amy Sedaris, The Accountant from Kidnapped and Jesse McCartney (yes, the faux boy band singer).
Why we’re going - High school comedies don’t really excite me. It just seems like you know what you’re getting. But a first time director who’s been around for 15 years and has written The Basketball Diaries, the Blair Underwood episodes of In Treatment and not much else has me interested. A journalistic drama played out in the halls of a high school could be effective if handled right. We could be looking at a modern day Pump Up the Volume. For the record, that’s a good thing. (Jeremiah)
William Vincent
What it’s about - James Franco stars as the titular William Vincent, described as a “a quiet and peculiar criminal uninterested in the fruits of crime.” He falls for a gangster’s moll (is the word “moll” still in use?) and is forced to flee New York. Four years later, he returns to rescue his true love. Also stars Julianne Nicholson, Josh Lucas, and Martin Donavon.
Why we’re going – As far as I’m concerned, any project picked by Franco during his recent General Hospital/aspiring novelist/Japanese-pillow-fucker stage is absolutely worth seeing. I love that crazy bastard. Also, Vincent is directed by Jay Anania, who is the brother of Elizabeth Edwards who is the wife (?) of John Edwards who has a love child. Although, according to this horrendously vague Hollywood Reporter article, co-star Josh Lucas seems to remember Franco doing most of the directing. I’m intrigued to find out just what the hell that means! (Jeff)
Clash
What it’s about - The highest grossing Vietnamese film of 2009 makes its way to American shores in the form of a high-octane action film featuring martial arts, firefights and a very valuable laptop. Mercenary Trinh (Thanh Van Ngo) must complete a series of tasks for a crime boss to win free her kidnapped daughter. She hires some mercenaries to help her, including Quan (Johnny Tri Nguyen). The two start to fall for each other, but things become complicated when it's revealed they have different motivations.
Why we’re going - There is something truly magical about the trailer for this film. It appears to combine the thrilling fight scenes of Ong Bak with an espionage-tinged plot that reminds me of Face/Off. It looks gloriously over the top without being silly, while still maintaining an all-important sense of humor and self awareness (see the last line of the trailer). A first time director and a writer more experienced in stunt work than screenplays (Nguyen) do temper my excite… who am I kidding? This smorgasbord of action badassery is the kind of thing I live for. Here's a highlight reel from Nguyen and Ngo's recent film The Rebel - feel free to jump ahead to 3:15 which features one of the most beautiful jumping spinning kicks I've ever seen, promptly followed by arm snapping and Hate Me Now! (Jeremiah)
The Killer Inside Me
What it’s about - In this film noir, a small town sheriff with sociopathic tendencies (Casey Affleck) takes up with a local prostitute (Jessica Alba). The pair hatches a blackmail plan that quickly spirals out of control, leading to Sheriff Affleck committing what I’m hoping to be copious amounts of violence. Michael Winterbottom directs. Kate Hudson, Bill Pullman, and The Mentalist co-star.
Why we’re going – Outside of Shrek, this might be Tribeca’s most star-studded offering. Alba and Hudson, both very pretty girls, aren’t exactly the first two names in indie credibility, but I like Affleck and the idea of him sporting a cowboy hat and doing some murders gives me flashbacks to Clay Pigeons (that’s a good thing). I also just had a long overdue first viewing of Winterbottom’s 24 Hour Party People which I really, really enjoyed. Although the film has already been picked up by IFC, it received lukewarm receptions at Sundance and Berlin (the Germans allegedly booed Winterbottom). The negative advance word gave me a little pause on this one, but I decided to roll the dice. Don’t disappoint me, Casey. (Jeff)
Tetsuo: The Bullet Man
What it’s about - When a man’s son is the victim of a hit and run accident, his grief and rage turn him into a walking weapon. As he transforms and exacts revenge, he learns secrets about his past as well as his father’s. This is cult director Shinya Tsukamoto’s first English language film and his third Tetsuo film (they all deal with men turning into living weapons).
Why we’re going - The original Tetsuo, a 67 min. film with very little dialogue or coherence, offers some images you won’t forget and a nice bare bones story, but it’s all a little too nontraditional for me. The second film supposedly strived for a more easily digestible story, to the chagrin of critics and fans who embraced the mania of the original. The trailer for The Bullet Man suggests a more action movie inspired affair and the promise of some scientific conspiracy business indicates a more mainstream film. Frankly, that all sounds pretty good to me. (Jeremiah)
Legacy
What it’s about - After a botched Black Ops mission, Malcolm Gray (Idris Elba from The Wire) holes up in a Brooklyn motel room, melting down and stressing over the mission he’s supposed to tackle next. Co-starring Eamonn Walker from Oz. The trailer reveals little.
Why we’re going - It’s Stringer Bell freaking out in a motel room for 95 minutes, with Kareem Said along for the whole crazy ride. Why wouldn’t we be going? (Jeremiah)
Micmacs
What it’s about – Filling our French language quota, Micmacs follows Bazil and his misfit friends as they attempt to exact revenge on the competing weapons manufactures responsible for both the landmine that killed Bazil’s father and the bullet lodged in Bazil’s head.
Why we’re going – I have to confess a shameful ignorance to director Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s work. I’ve never seen Amelie and I barely remember Delicatessen. I have, however, watched the shit out of Alien: Resurrection. Micmacs was one I felt like I couldn’t pass up: an intriguing plot and a marquee director, it has all the makings of a future candidate for the Best Foreign Film Oscar. Also, I don’t know if you looked at that picture up there – but that dude’s about to be shot out of a cannon! (Jeff)
Monogamy
What it’s about - A Brooklyn wedding photographer who takes clandestine surveillance photos on the side accepts a job from a mysterious woman and gets tangled up in a web of deception and blah blah blah. Spoiler alert: the mysterious woman is actually his fiancé (Rashida Jones).
Why we’re going - Well, in case you couldn’t tell, the plot for this one doesn’t really do it for me. It sounds like a direct-to-dvd movie that will be on Lifetime in 2 months. Thing is, it’s directed and co-written by Dana Adam Shapiro, an author, a former senior editor of Spin (a respectable magazine) and the co-director of Murderball (the paraplegic rugby documentary). Someone with a resume like that must have something interesting to say. Right? (Jeremiah)
Dog Pound
What it’s about – Set in a juvenile corrections facility, Dog Pound follows three teens trying to survive the inside. The Tribeca synopsis uses phrases like “blistering performances” and “ruthless assaults.” Basically, it sounds like a grittier version of Bad Boys (Sean Penn, not Will Smith), only directed by French auteur Kim Chapiron.
Why we’re going – Along with James Franco’s William Vincent, Dog Pound is the other film that we’ll be seeing from the World Narrative Feature Competition. That means it’s up for Tribeca’s main awards. If the judges were handing out trophies (they get trophies, right?) based on trailers alone, I think Dog Pound would already have Best Film locked up. Check out the rager of a trailer and tell me that it doesn’t get you fired up. It’s like Oz with teenagers! (Jeff)
The Disappearance of Alice Creed
What it’s about - Two men, one experienced and ruthless, the other younger and less ruthless, kidnap the daughter of a millionaire. Their meticulously planned and perfectly executed crime goes awry when their captive starts to play with their heads. Plot twists ensue.
Why we’re going - The plot synopsis above is loaded with elements we’ve seen many times before, but that doesn’t make them any less appealing to me (I loved Kidnapped). Despite the somewhat tired sounding premise, it's supposed to be really smart and those who've seen it are singing its praises. I have high expectations for this one. (Jeremiah)
Zonad
What it’s about – From John and Kieran Carney (Once), Zonad is the name adopted by a rehab escapee who finds himself posing as an alien in an anachronistic Irish hamlet. It’s a comedy.
Why we’re going – Although I wouldn’t call Tribeca’s lineup particularly stuffy this year, it’s still nice to squeeze a comedy in to all the serious festival films. With a great premise that relies heavily on a fat man in a red spandex bodysuit, Zonad seems right in my wheelhouse. Last year, Tribeca gave us Black Dynamite, which should be destined for cult comedy status (Netflix it). I’m hoping Zonad falls into the same category. (Jeff)
Get Low
What it’s about - Billed as equal parts folk tale, fable and real life legend, Get Low tells the story of a 1930s eccentric who arranges his own massive, festive wake… to take place while he’s still alive. Robert Duvall is the eccentric and Bill Murray is the man he enlists to pull the whole production together.
Why we’re going - Raging narcissist that I am, I’ve long fantasized about what people would say about me after I die. I was hooked by the line “I want everyone to come who's got a story to tell about me.” Beyond that, I want to figure out just what the hell is going on here. The trailer looks alternately like Secondhand Lions 2 and a movie where Robert Duvall lures everyone who’s ever known him to one place so he can wipe them off the face of the earth before he bites the dust himself. Despite Duvall and Murray, I’m skeptical, but if these seemingly disparate tones find a comfortable middle ground, we could be in for something special. (Jeremiah)
1 Responses »
Trackbacks
Leave a Response
Entries(RSS)