Let ‘Em Riot

A friend of mine recently recommended Monsters to me, explaining that it was an alien movie that looks like it was made by Sofia Coppola, (one of my faves). Just to be clear is is not a Coppola film. Just a little indie written and directed by Gareth Edwards and a couple of undiscovered actors. So, of course I hunted it down on Netflix. Here’s the plot from Netflix:

Six years after aliens invaded Earth, a security force maintains tenuous control in the Infected Zone straddling the U.S.-Mexican border. Andrew (Scoot McNairy), a photographer, is documenting this war-torn area when he’s interrupted by an unexpected rescue mission. Samantha (Whitney Able), daughter of a media mogul who just happens to be his boss, needs an escort home, and Andrew reluctantly takes on the job.

It’s true that the film moves slowly for a story that revolves around aliens, which was the curious draw for me. What I loved about it is that it’s not really about the alien creatures at all, it’s about the relationship between the journalist and the girl. Although the script has some serious problems, (wayyy too much exposition, and dialogue that doesn’t ring true at times), the idea is pretty great. I think that Mr. Edwards hit on some very good points along the way, but was not able to bring those out. It ended a little abruptly. I really wanted at least a little epilogue.  For a film that was done for less than 1 mil. it looks freaking fantastic though. If I can find a DP like this for my stuff, I would be ecstatic. Definitely something to check out.

I was also able to catch a pre-screening of PAUL with those crazy guys from Shaun of the Dead. It was so much fun! From IMDB:

Two British comic-book geeks traveling across the U.S. encounter an alien outside Area 51.

I don’t want to give anything away so I won’t write a lot about it. There were definitely laugh out loud moments and the whole film is chock full of sci-fi references, some of which I’m sure I missed. Paul, the alien is voiced by Seth Rogen. It’s nice to hear his voice and not see his face. He’s not my favorite actor, but he is funny. The entire cast is a win for me: Jason Bateman, Sigourney, Bill Hader, Jane Lynch… it just keeps going. The film is out on March 18th. Definitely a fun one to catch.

These alien movies make me really excited for Aliens & Cowboys which will be out July 29th. Oh yes.

I am looking forward to many, many things in 2011. New classes, new experiences, new movies and renewed creative juices. We’ll see, anyway. It seems there’s a huge amount of remakes, prequels/sequels (no surprise), movies about aliens, superheroes, assassins, ghosts, and multiple personality disorders. Here’s the short list of what I’m looking forward to seeing this year:

The Green Hornet – Jan 14 – why? Michel Gondry directs.

Ip Man 2 – Jan 28 – The first one is the best kung fu movie I’ve ever seen. Hoping part deux will be just as good.

Sucker Punch – March 25 – It looks pretty badass, but during the course of watching the trailer, I changed my mind about 5 times.

Hanna – April 8 – Coming of age assassin story. We’ll see how it plays out.

Water for Elephants – April 22 – purely here because I heard good things about the novel. Possibly interesting to see Pattinson in something where he doesn’t have fangs.

The Hangover, Part II – May 27 – The first one cracks me up. My hopes are not as high for this, but I’ll still see it.

The Tree of Life – May 27 – First Malick movie in a long while.

Super 8 – June 10 – Directed by J.J. Abrams, who still seems to be on an alien kick.

Green Lantern – June 17 – Ryan. Reynolds.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II – July 15 – The last chapter.

Cowboys & Aliens – July 29 – Cats and dogs living together… mass hysteria!

Columbiana – September 2 – Another assassin story penned by Luc Besson.

Here’s what I haven’t seen yet from 2010, but hope to catch soon.

1. black swan

2. true grit

3. blue valentine

4. tron

5. tangled

6. the fighter

7. winter’s bone

8. somewhere

9. the king’s speech

10. howl

11. 127 hours

Anything that I’m overlooking that I should see??

Process… an artist’s process has always been something of an intrigue; to see how something can flow out of a person’s cranium and onto paper, canvas or a cement wall is simply fascinating because everyone does it differently. The process of becoming a popular artist, while you’re still alive is something of an art in and of itself. However, there are more respectable ways of achieving this than others.

I recently saw Exit Through the Gift Shop, a doc about graffiti art, during which I was hoping to see a bit of how famed graffiti artists do their dangerous work. Instead, I was met with this little french man, Thierry Guetta, the amateur filmmaker, amateur graffiti artist, and amateur everything.  Although I am not opposed to documentarians inserting themselves into the stories they are telling, Thierry was walking a fine moral line. Using his family connections with French graffiti artist, Space Invader, Thierry weasels his way deep into the underground, secretive world of Banksy and Shepard Fairey, (two of the most famous graffiti artists ever) and in so doing, decides this is what he wants to do with his life. He is a pure opportunist and puts everything at risk to make art that people started buying into, with Banksy and Fairey’s blessing, of course. Or at least a quote that Thierry used to promote himself.

The thing that bugs me the most about this film: Thierry has nothing to say. Nothing. He is simply obsessive and doesn’t give a damn about art. Or at least art in the sense of passion. What he makes is art for art’s sake. This is something I have no respect for. Banksy and Shepard Fairey speak to the camera and I think very well not just about their own work and the messages they are sending, but about why they do it. They were also candid about Thierry’s methods. Banksy: “Most artists take years to develop their style, Thierry seemed to miss out on all those bits.” What makes me very very sad is that ridiculously interesting people like Banksy are deterred from inspiring others to make art because people like Thierry have not earned respect, found their voice, or create anything remotely interesting with their own two hands. Banksy says near the end of the doc, “I used to encourage everyone I knew to make art; I don’t do that so much anymore.” When he said this I almost cried. And then I became outraged at the awful art that was being sold for thousands of dollars a piece to a person who hired an army to create the art itself and who calls himself, Mr. Brainwash. UGH.

Photo Courtesy of Ericka Nelson

I did love seeing footage of Shepard Fairey and Banksy, (who must have had a hand in funding the film since it says “A Banksy Film” right on the front.) Their work amazes me and right around the time that the doc came out, a friend and I went hunting for one of 3 Banksy walls in Boston (see above). In the film you see how both of them work. Shepard at Kinko’s cutting his own stencils with the help of 1 assistant. The only reason why I can see Banksy would support this film is if it was a joke. Read the New York Magazine article here.

It also made me think of the documentary My Kid Could Paint That about a 4 year old artist who’s paintings were selling for a pretty penny. It was argued that the little girl was being prodded by her parents to paint more, (feasible after the cash started coming in.) But the question of art for art’s sake and making art because you love it, or making art as therapy or making art as whatever your process happens to be… is it still art? And who decides the value? As a filmmaker, I’m still finding my own voice and style and working very hard at it. The fact that a man can travel with the best graffiti artists in the world and then do it himself, as successfully as he did, makes me wonder how many filmmakers ‘made it’ this way. Additionally, out of those, how many do I love their work? There’s no way to answer these questions unless a documentary was created, wink wink.

Total side note, I love Shepard Fairey and there is a permanent collection at the ICA in Boston. Check it out if you’re in the area!