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Tribeca Review: Lioness

BuzzSugar — Sun, 04 May 2008 08:00:49 -0700

I was compelled to see the documentary Lioness at the Tribeca Film Festival because the basis is so intriguing. In the press notes for the film, this is the description: "Despite written policy banning women from direct ground combat, military commanders have been using women in direct ground warfare as an essential part of their operations since 2003. Though official policy forbids this operation and publicly denies its existence, this initiative and company of women have a name: they are called Team Lioness. Lioness. . .tells the story of the first group of Lionesses who went to Iraq as clerks, mechanics and engineers but returned a year later as America's first female combat veterans."

Much of the film deals with that last detail — that these women went abroad with the military, possessing expertise in certain fields but not having much training in direct combat. Mainly, it appears from the film, they were brought into hostile areas to help calm and placate the Iraqi women during raids, but when violence erupted, they were often forced to engage in direct combat, something official policy blatantly forbids. From here, the issues become not that women can't handle violence, but rather that these women simply weren't trained for that kind of action and that they innately handle the experience differently than men. For more about this complicated issue,

Rewind: This Week's Buzz

BuzzSugar — Sat, 03 May 2008 08:00:36 -0700

I can't tell you how much fun I had at the Tribeca Film Festival this year. In addition to making new friends, I saw some terrific (if quirky) movies, like The Wackness, Trucker, and Bart Got a Room. I also gave a word of warning for the bleak and disturbing Savage Grace which still makes me feel kinda icky.
I saw The Life Before Our Eyes, a movie adapted from my April book club selection and I found the movie to be visually gorgeous but also puzzling. Ah well, the book was still a lovely read. Which reminds me — check out my May selection for the book club.
The title Made of Honor confused me and much of the blogosphere this week. Baffling non-puns aside, the movie was, well, boring. All is not lost, though, because it gave me an excellent picture for the Caption It contest.
Woo-hoo! May is going to be a fun month! I've rounded up some of my must-haves for the month, including the Sex and the City movie. Speaking of which, I put together a slideshow all about the essential episodes to catch before the big movie release on May 30.
American Idol was shaping up to be a bit of a snoozer with the Neil "Sparkly Tops" Diamond songbook. But then, just when I was about to doze off, PaulaGate came crashing through. What did you think about her little on-air hiccup?
So now that shows like Gossip Girl and Grey's Anatomy are back in full swing are you still watching as much TV? Or are there some shows you've quit?
There were some cool and even moving music videos out this week, like this one from R.E.M. and an important message from Radiohead. Coldplay even gave us a glimpse of a song from their upcoming album.
Finally, if you're looking for entertainment this weekend I highly recommend seeing Iron Man in the theaters and settling in Sunday night for the season premiere of This American Life on Showtime.

Tribeca Review: Gotta Dance

BuzzSugar — Thu, 01 May 2008 14:31:06 -0700

OK, that's it. I think I'm tapped out on the ridiculously heartwarming documentaries about elderly folks doing things like singing Coldplay songs or learning hip-hop to perform during basketball games. It's not that I'm sick of them, it's that they reduce me to an overemotional puddle on the floor. And movie theater floors are sticky. Of course, I think other people should seek out these movies. I've just learned that they're like my emotional kryptonite. . . in a good way.

Gotta Dance is similar to the recent documentary Young@Heart in many ways. Both focus on groups of older people doing things that most older people don't do: singing "the young peoples' music" and "dancing the young peoples' dances." The joy this brings them, and the sense of self-worth and aliveness is so inspiring it brings tears to my eyes. Gotta Dance differs, however, in that these people are physically pushing themselves to do the dances, so there is a much heavier emphasis on the subject of growing old and what kinds of limitations one faces. More than merely having a difference in taste (Young@Heart features elderly people who, though it's not necessarily their taste in music, sing rock songs) this kind of activity poses physical challenges that end up making the dancers feel both old and young. To see what else happens and for more of my thoughts,

Tribeca Review: Tennessee

BuzzSugar — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:36:06 -0700

Here's the good thing I can say about Tennessee: The effort behind the film is commendable. "A" for effort. "D" for most everything else. And you know, I wasn't altogether convinced that it would be a terrible movie simply because Mariah Carey was in it. I wanted to give Tennessee the benefit of the doubt, so I did, but now I just want those 95 minutes of my life back.

On paper, maybe a touching drama about road trips and brotherly love looked like cinematic gold. And some of the shots of bronzey Southwest sunsets are quite striking. But that's where the "pros" of this movie end. You know how sometimes a series of slow and quiet scenes can be evocative, tense and rich? Not so much here. In this case it just makes for an incredibly flat, boring film. The story comes out lackluster and cliché, and none of it is helped by Mariah Carey's mumbling, careless shrug of a performance. It’s not even worth it to go into the details of the plot, really, but still,

Tribeca Review: Bart Got a Room

BuzzSugar — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 06:29:54 -0700

Bart Got a Room isn't high art and it's not fall-down funny, but it's easily the sweetest of all the Tribeca films I caught and the one movie I would wholeheartedly recommend. It's silly and goofy and fun, all the while washed in bright hypercolor Florida shades of pink and turquoise. It trots along quickly to swinging, squealing Big Band tunes, which is a funny juxtaposition of the old timers' Florida retirement community with the painfully hilarious adolescent experience at the center of the plot. At times the film seems to be reaching for something it can't quite grasp, but it still shakes out to be a great indie comedy.

Steven Kaplan plays high school senior Danny Stein, whose life’s challenge has come down to finding a date to the prom. Despite receiving an invitation from his best friend Camille (Alia Shawkat), Daniel wants a girl he can take back to the hotel room after the dance. And the hotel room has become the most important factor of all now that word has gotten around that "even Bart got a room.” The significance of this — and the elusive Bart's identity — is a mystery until the very end, but it’s clear that if even Bart's getting a room, then Danny Stein surely must have a prom to remember. So he goes on a quest for a prom date with the support of his divorced parents (William H. Macy and Cheryl Hines) who are each experiencing their own romantic adventures.

To see what else I thought of Bart Got a Room,

Tribeca Review: Savage Grace

BuzzSugar — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:32:38 -0700

As is the case with many movies, you can kinda tell how you'll feel about Savage Grace from how you feel watching the trailer. For me, I thought the trailer was tense, dark and disturbing. Julianne Moore looked powerfully off-kilter, exhibiting that magnificent control she utilizes with every role she takes on, but ultimately the trailer left me with a bleakly ominous feeling. Physically, it was like I'd swallowed cement.

The full movie left me with that feeling times a thousand. Julianne Moore's character is appalling in this story, and yet Moore makes us sympathize with her. But aside from that, this supremely messed up film is just hard to watch. Moore portrays the real-life American socialite Barbara Daly Baekeland whose hostile marriage with plastics heir Brooks (Stephen Dillane) Baekeland produced one son, Antony (Eddie Redmayne). After the dissolution of Barbara and Brooks' marriage, Antony became Barbara's closest friend and confidant. Barbara and Antony's relationship was really close, if you know what I mean. If you don't (even if you do),

Tribeca Review: Trucker

BuzzSugar — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 08:30:33 -0700

Trucker largely reminded me of another indie movie titled Come Early Morning, which was written and directed by Chasing Amy's Joey Lauren Adams (who, incidentally, also stars in Trucker). The tone of both movies features a kind of weary, weathered fondness for the southern American landscape (in Come Early Morning it's the South, in Trucker it's the dusty deserts of southern California). At the heart of both movies, too, are hard-edged, tough-talking women in jobs that others in the movie ridicule for not being "women's jobs": Ashley Judd's character in Early Morning worked in construction, while the main character of Diane in Trucker, played by Michelle Monaghan, is a truck driver.

On the surface these two films might blur together in my mind as one unrecognizable narrative of the rough-around-the-edges woman learning to soften and accept love as well as give it. Trucker stands out a bit, though, as a more interesting story, more layered with higher stakes. And while it's not the most memorable movie in general, it's captivating enough and ultimately sends a heartwarming message. To see what I mean,

Live From the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, Part II

BuzzSugar — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 05:30:57 -0700

OK, all this rain quickly went from comforting and good for snuggling up in movie theaters to just plain dreary. But it can't dampen my movie-loving spirit! The Tribeca Film Festival continues to deliver some awesome stuff — and now I have the pictures to prove it.

My time here in New York is soon to draw to a close, but it's been an exciting and thought-provoking four days. I can't wait until next year's festival! Check out some of my thoughts below and a slideshow of pictures here.

I stood on the red carpet for War, Inc., that surreal wartime movie that was co-written by John Cusack and stars Hilary Duff and Marisa Tomei. Cusack bailed on Tribeca altogether, but Marisa Tomei and Hilary Duff looked spectacular on the red carpet. Duff was whisked by me, so I didn't get to ask her about all the things that perplexed me about her role (was it really a live scorpion that she put down her pants in this film? Really?).

More thoughts and stuff if you

2008 Tribeca Film Festival

BuzzSugar — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 05:28:23 -0700

Check out some of the pics I snapped during my time at the Tribeca Film Festival!

Tribeca Review: The Wackness

BuzzSugar — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:30:52 -0700

Previously, I'd mostly known The Wackness as that weird-looking Sundance movie in which an Olsen twin makes out with Ben Kingsley and which features a ton of pot smoking. While those things are true, I also gotta say I really liked this weirdo pot-smoking movie. I can easily see why The Wackness won the audience award at Sundance this year: it's funny, it's got that tender boy-grows-up storyline, and there's plenty of sex, drugs and a ridiculously awesome, rap-heavy soundtrack.

Also, it's got Josh Peck, Olivia Thirlby and Ben Kingsley at the heart of it, which is what ended up endearing this movie to me most of all. Peck plays Luke Shapiro, a kid on the Upper East Side who deals pot and feels alone amongst his classmates. He lives with parents who fight about money nonstop and he sees a therapist, Dr. Squires (Kingsley) in exchange for weed. Luke soon graduates high school and starts another summer of peddling his goods from out of an ices cart. He befriends his therapist's stepdaughter Stephanie (Thirlby) and then quickly falls in love with her. That's not all, though, so

Live From the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival

BuzzSugar — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 06:30:42 -0700

I'm here! 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, New York, New York. And it's like the cloudy, rainy chilliness arrived just in time to make all of us moviegoers feel justified about sitting in darkened theaters all day. Which is precisely what I've been doing, awesomely. So far, I've caught six movies and attended the red carpet event for Tennessee. Here are some of my thoughts so far:

Nothing says drizzly Sunday mornin' like a movie about socialite incest and murder. Savage Grace is heavy on the savage, not so much with the grace. Julianne Moore is phenomenal, but this horrifyingly tragic story is difficult to watch and harder to enjoy.
I came thisclose to a petite man approximately my size before realizing it was Ben Kingsley, but by the time I doubled back toward him, he was being swept away by his people. After seeing his surprisingly hilarious performance in The Wackness, I have this intense urge to pick that guy's brain.

More thoughts if you

Tribeca Preview: The Documentaries

BuzzSugar — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 11:00:58 -0700

There are tons of amazing-looking documentaries screening at Tribeca this year, but I can only get to see so many! Of the docs listed, the following ones most catch my fancy. Fingers crossed I have the time to see each of these.

Gotta Dance
It's like Young@Heart but with dancing! You know stories like these make me weepy so I'll be seeing this one for sure, probably cushioned by wads of Kleenex. The documentary follows the first-ever, senior citizen hip-hop dance team for the New Jersey Nets Basketball team "from auditions through to center court stardom."

Several more docs if you

Rewind: This Week's Buzz

BuzzSugar — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 08:00:00 -0700

In addition to ABC's Thursday night lineup returning from the strike-induced break, the CW got its teen (and slacker) drama on with the return of Gossip Girl and a new episode of Reaper. One magazine even crowned GG the best show ever, but what show do you think reigns supreme over all teenage dramas?
Guess what? I'm off to the Tribeca Film Festival and am so excited and curious to see some of the movies I've been previewing all week, including a film with Mariah Carey in it. She's everywhere!
If you're planning a wedding these days (or helping a friend) I came up with a couple of tips for choosing music and some playlists that might be helpful including some oldies, a few indie dance songs, some '70s and '80s hits, and a couple of slow jams. And another tip: Here are some movies you definitely should not watch if you're about to head down the aisle.
In TV, news Alicia Silverstone is going to play a mom on an ABC pilot and J. Lo (oopsies, Jennifer Lopez) is getting a reality show. And um, is Cashmere Mafia canceled? Because Lucy Liu's got a new gig. Someone I really want to get a job is Lauren Graham —what role should she tackle next?
If you missed How I Met Your Mother, I've got you covered with a clip of "Sandcastles in the Sand". Speaking of cheesy '80s flashbacks: I'm recasting Hey Dude!
OK, American Idol plus Andrew Lloyd Webber officially equals a bad idea. How painful was that night? Were you surprised by who went home this week?
There was a lot of good music leaking onto the web this week, too, including more of Scarlett Johansson's Tom Waits covers, a song from My Morning Jacket's upcoming album, and the whole Madonna album on MySpace!
We reached the end of the line for The Life Before Her Eyes. Stay tuned for the announcement of my May book club pick!

Tribeca Preview: Lake City

BuzzSugar — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 11:45:58 -0700

The description of this movie caught my eye largely because of the eclectic cast list: Sissy Spacek, Rebecca Romjin, Drea de Mateo, and . . . Dave Matthews. Yup, Dave "Ants Marching" Matthews. The story follows Billy (Troy Garity) and his young son Clayton who are on the run from Billy's wife's (de Mateo) drug dealer (Matthews) after his wife stiffs him and disappears. Desperate, Billy hides out at his mother's (Spacek) countryside house in Virginia where he "reconnects with his childhood friend, now a local police officer (Rebecca Romijn), and begins to confront his troubled past" in the midst of escalating threats against his family.

I love seeing Sissy Spacek still getting work, and a family drama seems best suited for her (though she is also pretty funny as Andy Samberg's mom in Hot Rod). Also, after his turn on House, I'm curious to see what Dave Matthews can do with this threatening drug-dealer role.

Tribeca Preview: Trucker

BuzzSugar — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 12:30:10 -0700

This one looks like a heartwarming tale of family and redemption and . . . aw, who am I kidding? Nathan Fillion's in it, of course I'm going to see this movie. In Trucker, Michelle Monaghan plays Diane Ford, "a hard-nosed truck driver who leads a carefree life of all-night bar benders and one-night stands until her estranged 11-year-old son shows up at her door one evening." Their relationship is rocky and contentious, but as long as Diane's ex-husband (Benjamin Bratt) is hospitalized, mother and son are stuck with each other. However, with the help of "a handsome and doting neighbor" (Nathan Fillion), Diane starts to learn that being a responsible mother might not be the worst thing ever.

This is one of the first movies I'll catch at Tribeca and I'd say a little Fillion will start things off right, wouldn't you?

Source

Tribeca Preview: Bart Got A Room

BuzzSugar — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:30:14 -0700

Sure, maybe we don't need another coming-of-age comedy with awkward geeky boys, but I'll still watch one. Especially one with William H. Macy who was funny/pathetic in his Sundance comedy The Deal (not to be confused with Deal, which should not be confused with 21 — or Rounders, as Brittfish pointed out), along with Cheryl Hines and Alia Shawkat (who is pretty busy these days).

The Tribeca description of Bart Got A Room states that "director and writer Brian Hecker takes us back in time to a quirky world full of plastic flamingos, golf carts, and teen anxiety." The pink flamingos and golf carts are because the movie's set in Florida. Teen anxiety, in this case, is caused by young Danny's (Steven Kaplan) desire to get some action on prom night. He's got everything — limo, tux, hotel room — except for the girl. Apparently the film follows Danny on an excruciating three weeks as he searches for a prom date. I seriously can't wait to see this one when I get to Tribeca.

Tribeca Preview: Tennessee Starring Mariah Carey

BuzzSugar — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 11:29:47 -0700

Who's got two thumbs and is headed out to the Tribeca Film Festival in a few days? This girl! I can't wait to live it up in the Big Apple, stalking celebs and checking out the festival's best new films. Want a taste of what I'm hoping to see during my time at Tribeca? This week I'll be bringing you previews of some of the most intriguing-looking films in the lineup.

Some big-name movies are premiering at Tribeca this year, like Baby Mama, Speed Racer and David Mamet's Redbelt. But I'm equally intrigued to catch some of the less-publicized flicks like Tennessee, a road trip movie that stars Mariah Carey (who is everywhere these days!).

The story follows two brothers who hit the road back to their home state (Tennessee, natch) in search of an abusive father who may be a marrow match for one of the brothers who's suffering from leukemia. Along the way, they befriend a diner waitress (Carey) who aspires to be a singer. According to the film description, "The relationship that brews between the three is a heartwarming, contemporary spin on the American road movie."

To see a clip from Tennessee,