We're Loving:

// By Kyle Heller //


Ataque de Pánico! (Panic Attack!)
A YouTube movie that lists its budget at $300. I know this is old for the internet, but it is a testament of the rapidly increasing capabilities of independent/at-home filmmaking. The filmmaker Fede Álvarez, was offered a $30 million Hollywood deal to develop and direct a full-length film to be produced by Sam Raimi.

BROOKFIELD - All Recovered Monster Footage

A video assembled by our friends at Firestarter Films. Event organizers, Shawn Monaghan and Phil Koch assembled user submitted snippets and segments to create this Cloverfield parody, only this time the movie takes place here in Milwaukee. The digital effects used in the film are similar to Ataque de Pánico! in that something as uneventful as Wisconsin Avenue can turn into the next great monster scene.

If independent/at-home filmmaking does not continue, this is what happens...

The Muppets: Beaker's Balad
A reminder that while YouTube may be a great platform for independent/at-home filmmaking, the commentary and critiquing of pieces still need to grow up some.

*Still image from Ataque de Pánico! (Panic Attack!)

Collaborative Cinema: Filmmakers Workshop

// By Anna Krutzik //

This past Saturday February 6th a group of talented local film professionals got together at RDI Stages to give a crash course in film making to 35 Wisconsin high school students. The event was presented by Milwaukee Film as part of its Collaborative Cinema program, a unique education program that provides high school students the chance to experience all aspects of film, from scriptwriting to working on an actual film set. The event was free for students and made possible by the incredible generosity of the film professionals who donated their time, equipment, and knowledge. The Collaborative Cinema program is generously funded by the Richard and Ethel Herzfeld Foundation.

During the Filmmakers Workshop students rotated to different stations to learn about the art department, camera, and production and shadowed crew members as they shot a scene from the animated Pixar film Up, using live actors (including Collaborative Cinema's project director Mark Metcalf) instead of computer generated ones. Carlo Besasie (amazing local filmmaker and creator of the 2009 Milwaukee Film Festival sponsor and commercial trailers) directed the scene along with AboutFace Media's Ryan Dembroski as the assistant director. Local production companies like Independent Edit, North American Camera, and Blue Moon Lighting also helped out in filming the scene. DocUWM was on hand to document the excitement. All in all, it was a great example of the local film community coming out and supporting the future filmmakers. It was amazing to see the students' eagerness to learn. And kudos to all the film industry professionals. You guys make great teachers!

Of the 35 student participants, 5 will be chosen to work as interns during the film shoot this summer as Collaborative Cinema turns the winning script from its high school screenplay competition into a short film that will premier at the 2010 Milwaukee Film Festival. But first, the Collaborative Cinema mentors must chose the top 15 scripts to move on in the competition and attend the second writing workshop to be held February 27 at Discovery World.

Good luck to all the participants in the program and thanks to those who made Saturday such a great success!

See You at the Movies

// By Jonathan Jackson //

Bored by the prospect of seeing all 100, I mean 10, films nominated for a Best Picture Oscar this year? Thankfully, you are in luck, as the 13th Annual UWM Festival of Films in French is playing NOW at the UWM Union Theatre.

No country in the world has as a rich a cinematic history as France, so it is with just cause that Milwaukee has its very own festival dedicated to French film.

From February 5 - 14, the festival will unfurl 16 films, a mix of acclaimed new films and rare classic titles, almost all free and open to the public. The festival includes three films from the 2009 Milwaukee Film Festival, Seraphine, The Beaches of Agnes and Azur and Asmar; the US premiere of Germaine Dulac's 1927 surrealist masterpiece The Seashell and the Clergyman; and the LONG OVERDUE Milwaukee premiere of the acclaimed 2007 film The Secret of the Grain.

Unfortunately, as with every year of this venerable festival, I will be out of town at the Berlinale for its duration. I hope to hear from everyone after my return about the treasures that unfolded during this year's UWM Festival of Films in French.

Full Schedule of Films

*Still image above is from The Secret of the Grain

JJ's Loving

// By Jonathan Jackson //


Best Online Videos of 2009 According to Sight & Sound


I Heart Zooey


Ariana Delawari on David Lynch Foundation Television


Question of the Day: Why are There So Few Female Filmmakers? Read the Comments!


For a Mere 700 Million You Could Own Miramax


*Behind the scenes image from Ariana Delawari music video directed by David Lynch

Because Reality TV is Lame.

//By Anna Krutzik//

If you are like me, then it doesn't even matter what films are being released on DVD today because all you can think about is the season premiere of Lost tonight on ABC beginning at 7pm. I mean, does anyone else hear that ticking sound? That's the deafening crescendo of the hands on your wristwatch, ever so slowly ticking down the seconds until you can turn on your TV tonight and your life is complete. The title of this Tuesday blog post says it all: because reality TV is lame, watch Lost.

But if you want to rent a DVD tomorrow to take your mind off of the long week ahead until the next episode of Lost airs (Tuesday nights, 8pm) then you should definitely rent The House of the Devil, a delightful throwback to the heyday of '80s horror films and an Official Selection at the 2009 Milwaukee Film Festival. The film is directed by Ti West who at only 29 years old already has four feature films under his belt and is steadily making a name for himself as a new master of horror. Jocelin Donahue plays the central character, Samantha, who accepts a shady babysitting job at the last last minute on the night of a full lunar eclipse to get the money she desperately needs to move into her dream one-bedroom apartment. And actually, that pretty much is the whole plot. So to recap: young college girl, babysitting, alone, night of lunar eclipse, huge old house. That is all it takes to set the stage for one of the scariest films I've seen in a long, long time.

I was fortunate enough to see this film at its Midnight screening to a packed house at the Oriental Theatre during the 2009 Milwaukee Film Festival. The look and feel of the film seemed to be very authentic '80s, from the music to the hair and clothes, even the use of camera and editing resembled a time when people had longer attention spans than today's current YouTube generation. The film does an amazing job at building extreme tension out of virtually nothing, following Samantha as she explores the house, tries to delay boredom and put herself at ease, playing on the audiences' sense of dread and knowledge of the inevitable (it is called The House of the Devil, that should be your first clue). Which is the other thing I love about this film, the title. It's slightly over the top, and yet sort of comes across as confidence, as in "FACT: this is the devil's house" and you can't help but keep that in the back of your mind through the entire film. The tagline on the film's promotional poster reads: Talk on the phone. Finish your homework. Watch TV. DIE. Brilliant. Simple. I love it. The expectation of horror and tension is building before you even press play on this DVD.

If you're the type of person who enjoys that moment in a horror film when you just have to look away from the screen because you know something bad is about to happen and you simply can't stand the tension of waiting for it, then you will love this movie because the entire film is that moment. (A quick tip: If you have a boyfriend, and he has a shoulder, it definitely helps to be clutching his shoulder in a deathgrip for the first 40 minutes of this film to relieve that tension, otherwise it might be too much for you.) And if you're not that person, it should be worth sitting through this movie anyway because the ending definitely delivers on what the title promises and does not disappoint.

All in all, The House of the Devil is a must see for horror fans, '80s fans, and Lost fans suffering withdrawal.


*In an attempt to harness even more of the spirit of the '80s (which is almost impossible at this point) The House of the Devil is being released on a special edition VHS tape (that's right, VHS, like the thing you need a VCR for) in addition to the standard DVD and Blu-ray DVD. Awesome!

See You at the Movies!

// By Anna Krutzik //

If you're headed out to see a brand new film at your local Milwaukee cinemas this weekend, I will warn you that there are some slim pickings. Of course, you could just see Avatar again. Everybody's doing it. But as the Friday blog spot is dedicated to reviewing and recommending just released feature films, I am relegated to writing about When in Rome (the latest "I'm-smoking-hot-but-just-can't-find-the-right-guy-and-when-I-search-for-him-hilarity-ensues" film) or Edge of Darkness.

So, Edge of Darkness is an emotionally charged thriller set at the intersection of politics and big business, according to its website. The film is directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale), and stars Mel Gibson in his first leading role since M. Night Shyamalan's Signs in 2002. Yeah, 2002. I guess Mel's been really busy doing, um, other things.

My initial reaction to the trailer for Edge of Darkness was that it seemed to closely resemble the 2008 film Taken starring Liam Neeson, in which a grizzled old man goes on a rage-fueled rampage for the truth because of his daughter being kidnapped, the only difference being that in Edge of Darkness the daughter is murdered. However, IMDB tells me that Edge of Darkness is actually based on a 1985 BBC mini-series of the same name, which was also directed by Campbell. I find it interesting that the director would choose to make a scaled-down movie version of his own 6-hour mini-series, which is often cited as one of the best and most influential pieces of British television drama ever made.

What it all boils down to is that Edge of Darkness just isn't my type of film, really. But please don't misunderstand my lack of enthusiasm for this movie and take it as a bad review. It looks like it would be an entertaining conspiracy theory action-filled 2 hours complete with a bad-ass ultimate hero. And if that floats your boat, more power to you. Maybe I'm just bitter because I couldn't write a review for Saint John of Las Vegas which stars Steve Buscemi and also comes out today but only in New York and LA. Or maybe I should have reviewed When in Rome, which isn't my type of film either, but I might have enjoyed making fun of that one more.

I guess Crazy Heart is still playing at the Downer Theatre. And that film won two Golden Globes recently, one for Jeff Bridges as Best Actor and one for Best Original Song ("The Weary Kind"). I do love T Bone Burnett who was a producer of the film in addition to co-writing the music and lyrics of "The Weary Kind". Darn it, I change my mind. This review is no longer about Edge of Darkness and is instead urging you to see Crazy Heart, a film about a broken-down hard-living country music singer on his road to salvation, starring Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Robert Duvall, and Colin Farrell, in a directorial debut by Scott Cooper.
I hope you like it.

And if you go see Edge of Darkness, I hope you like that too.

And if you were really looking forward to seeing When in Rome, I'm sorry.

Rodrigo Garcia Saves The Melodrama

// By Jonathan Jackson //

Director Rodrigo Garcia has stayed relatively under the radar. An astonishing feat considering his impeccable directing and writing track record, which includes the 2005 Milwaukee International Film Festival Closing Night film Nine Lives and countless hours of the best television of the last decade (Six Feet Under, The Sopranos, Big Love and In Treatment).

He is a gifted storyteller whose direction, which comes across as effortless, creates a lyricism that supports, not distracts, the complex character studies he creates. I would argue that no other writer/director working today creates characters with the same degree of psychological depth.

Actors must be dying to work with him.

Mother and Child features Annette Benning, Naomi Watts, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Jimmy Smitts and David Ramsey in a multi-character drama centered on love and parenthood. The scandalously under seen Annette Benning, the luminous Kerry Washington (in her second 2010 Sundance appearance), and the masterful Naomi Watts all deserve awards consideration at next year's Academy Awards.

Most melodrama in television and movies today is not generated from the characters, it is manufactured by vacant plot twists, over dramatic acting and vomit inducing scores. It is reassuring that we have an master/writer director choosing to work in the genre, reminding us of the potential it has to generate a profound connection with audiences.