Streamathon - Movie Making Movies

Streamathon - Movie Making Movies

Streamathon

Movie Making Movies (April 2018)

Preface: This is part of an ongoing blog series of curated movie marathons that are thematically or otherwise tied together. The other common factor tying these films together will be their availability to watch them all from the comfort of your own home on various streaming platforms. The goal is that writing this blog will somehow justify the excessive number of streaming platforms I subscribe to. The films will be found on some combination of Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Mubi, FilmStruck, Shudder and/or Fandor. These titles will be available for the month that the blog is published. All of these subscriptions offer free trials so feel free to dive in and follow along… Have fun. Just don’t message me for my login information.

By: Emery Martin-Snyder

It’s almost time yet again for the Phoenix Film Festival and the International Horror & Sci-Fi Film Festival. This is the opportunity for internet writer schlubs like me to rub elbows with filmmakers and industry people. The whole thing tends to leave me inspired, exhausted and exhilarated simultaneously. I thought about doing my stream this month on films that I’ve seen over the years at the festival but it turns out that I’ve already covered a lot of them in other posts. So instead, I decided to pay homage to all of the artists that make this and festivals like this actually possible, the filmmakers themselves.

Film has always been the most post-modern of all art forms. I think it’s because of that fact that you find some of the greatest cinematic stories ever told are the ones that are actually about the creative process. In 1952, Gene Kelley and Debbie Reynolds lamented cinema’s transition to the sound era with SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN. Billy Wilder’s SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950) and Preston Sturges’ SULLIVAN’S TRAVELS (1941) gave us a glimpse into what it takes to write a meaningful script. Later, films like Barry Sonnenfeld’s GET SHORTY (1995) or Robert Altman’s THE PLAYER (1992) would take a more cynical look at the process. Whatever the case, I’ve always felt inspired by movies about making movies. So, here’s some that are available to stream right now.

The Stream

8 ½ (1963)

Directed by Federico Fellini – Streaming on FilmStruck

“I really have nothing to say, but I want to say it all the same.” – Guido Anselmi

When it comes down to it, Fellini’s most famous work may be the mother of all arthouse ‘films about films’. Marcello Mastroianni’s Guido is a famous director day tripping his way through the dreamscape of his next film.  His constant distractions provide both the plot of the film as well as its backstory. And throughout this process, he is forced to face his own introspection. The end result is like a double layer of art for the sake art for the sake of art for the sake of possibly nothing at all.

BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO (2012)

Directed by Peter Strickland – Streaming on Hulu

This is a story about a sound technician working on an Italian horror film in the 1970’s. Toby Jones gives a very rare lead performance that is absolutely on point. The audience is treated to an aesthetically beautiful behind the scenes look at how the sound of cinema is achieved. A film about sound design should have great sound in it and this one unquestionably does. Slowly but surely, Gilderoy (Jones) begins to question his decision as well as his own mind. As is wont to happen, art begins imitating life and vice versa in this Poe-esque tale of the hauntings of the mind.

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION (2006)

Directed by Christopher Guest – Streaming on FilmStruck

First of all, Parker Posey is a national treasure and her comedic timing is criminally underrated. That being said; this, like all of Guest’s films features an ensemble cast in which each and every piece is delightful to watch. His style always seems to leave his subjects teetering on the edge of a comedic cliff. It would be so easy for them to fall off the edge into a pit of pity and self-loathing but it never seems to happen.  I don’t think this is quite the work of genius that is BEST IN SHOW (2000) or A MIGHTY WIND (2003) but all of the same pieces are there. It’s a great film to spend time with.

LIVING IN OBLIVION (1995)

Directed by Tom DiCillo – Streaming on Fandor

The only thing better than a weird 90’s indy comedy might be a weird 90’s indy comedy poking fun at weird 90’s indy comedies. And who better to tell a story like this than Tom DiCillo? He started his career working as Jim Jarmusch’s cinematographer. By the early 90’s, he began writing and directing his own work with the charmingly weird, JOHNNY SUEDE (’91). I think it’s this background that gave him the particular insight of all of independent filmmaking’s trials and tribulations. If you can watch this flick and still be inspired to do this kind of work, nothing will discourage you.

LOONEY TUNES: BACK IN ACTION (2003)

Directed by Joe Dante – Streaming on Netflix

Looney Tunes has always had a very meta flare to their properties. That’s why hiring Joe Dante to direct this one was one of the 21^st Century’s most genius decisions. Underrated actor Brandon Fraser teams up with super-crush Jenna Elfman, Daffy & Bugs to save something or someone (honestly, I have no idea what this movie is about and it doesn’t matter.) There’s also a pretty great list of cameos and supporting characters. Not the least of which, is a small but hilarious part for Joan Cusack. So, if you’re a 90’s kid like me and grew up thinking SPACE JAM was cool, you’re wrong. This is far better and deserves much more attention.

ROUGH CUT (2008)

Directed by Jang Hoon – Streaming on Amazon Prime Video

I wouldn’t necessarily put this into the upper tier of Korean cinema by a long stretch but I still think it’s got a lot of interesting stuff going on. Directed by Jang Hoon (SECRET REUNION) and penned by Kim Ki-Duk, this film tells the story of a spoiled brat movie star forced to work with a gangster to finish his latest action flick. A lot of what’s found here can be boiled down to a pretty typical ‘odd couple’ type film but I credit Ki-Duk’s screenplay for going above and beyond the expected.

THE VICTIM (2006)

Directed by Monthon Arayangkoon – Streaming on Shutter

Bad CGI and cheap jump scares are all to be forgiven in this much underseen Thai horror flick. That is because the direction (& misdirection) that its plot takes will completely take you by surprise. Ting is an aspiring actress that has been hired by the police department to play the victim in reenactments of various murders for evidentiary purposes. This act seems to illicit a scary and sometimes violent response from the ghosts of the real victims (apparently Thailand is just like, lousy with ghosts). Then the plot reveal is exposed and things get really weird. I’m not going to say any more about that because I found it very effective the first time I watched it. This isn’t a perfect film by any stretch of the imagination but I feel like it more than makes up for any of its shortcomings with its uniqueness. It’s well worth its runtime.

Streamathon - Mental Health Issues (Nov. 2017)

Streamathon 

Mental Health Issues (November 2017)

Preface: This is part of an ongoing blog series of curated movie marathons that are thematically or otherwise tied together. The other common factor tying these films together will be their availability to watch them all from the comfort of your own home on various streaming platforms. The goal is that writing this blog will somehow justify the excessive number of streaming platforms I subscribe to. The films will be found on some combination of Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Mubi, FilmStruck, Shudder and/or Fandor. These titles will be available for the month that the blog is published. All of these subscriptions offer free trials so feel free to dive in and follow along… Have fun. Just don’t message me for my login information.

By: Emery Martin-Snyder

Mental health is quite frankly not something that is openly discussed enough. There is a very unfortunate stigma attached to mental health that makes is difficult for most to open up. I’m not trying to say anything too profound here, I actually just happened upon a very good crop of films this month that deal with this topic so I thought I’d share.

These issues have been a staple in cinema for a very long time, especially in horror. These ailments have been the catalyst for a wide variety of deranged killers like Peter Lorre’s character in Fritz Lang’s masterpiece M (1931). Or even earlier than that, they have been used to create an unreliable narrator like the one in Robert Wiene’s THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1920). Other genres tie in the illness to serve family dramas that tell heartfelt stories such as Lasse Hallstöm’s WHAT’S EATING GILBERT GRAPE (’93) or Barry Levinson’s RAIN MAIN (’88).

The Stream

BENNY & JOON (1993) 

Directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik – Streaming on Hulu

We’ll start off pretty light with some Buster Keaton stylings via Johnny Depp and his quirky performance. Mary Stuart Masterson plays Joon, a young woman afflicted with schizophrenia that can’t be left to take care of herself. She eventually ends up in a group home where she meets Johnny Depp’s character, Sam. I’m sure most thirty-somethings have at least a nostalgic affinity for this film. It’s worth a second look. Depp’s performance is so much fun to watch and I appreciate how it lets the character’s personalities and charisma breathe through the plot. It’s pretty sweet.

TAKE SHELTER (2011) 

Directed by Jeff Nichols – Streaming on Shutter

This film has some scary moments but don’t let the fact that it’s currently streaming on Shudder fool you into thinking it’s a horror film. It’s a beautiful family drama that I think it criminally underseen. Michael Shannon plays a man with a family history of paranoid schizophrenia that may or may not be succumbing to his illness. Sometimes the beauty of a film is in its isolation. This isolation comes from the perspective of the character that the story is being told from. When the two possible outcomes of the story are apocalyptic doom or total mental collapse, it’s hard to decide which would be worse. Both will lead to the end of the world as we (the audience) know it. This film is tense, depressing, hopeful and beautiful and everyone should see it.

THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY (1961) 

Directed by Ingmar Bergman – Streaming on FilmStruck

I was tempted to leave this film off of this list because when I first saw it, I had no idea what it was about. And I think that was probably a little more effective. Harriet Andersson pulls together one of her many amazing performances for Bergman. I think this is her best by far though. Her depiction is one of the desperation of a woman perfectly aware of her own condition yet powerless to do anything about it. Be warned, this is not the happiest film you will ever see. It’s devastating… and beautiful.

THE VOICES (2014) 

Directed by Marjane Satrapi – Streaming on Netflix

Speaking of great performances, this is Ryan Reynolds’ best work. He is on another level with this one. He plays a man battling with schizophrenia who takes his queues from his talking cat and dog (also voiced by Reynolds.) Although this picture starts out as an absurdist dark comedy, it very quickly turns extra dark. This really works for me.

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN (2011) 

Directed by Lynn Ramsay – Streaming on Netflix

If there’s ever been a cinematic call to action for more openness and discussion about mental health, this would be it. This film tells the story of a disturbed teenager with sociopathic tendencies through a series of flashbacks experienced by his mother. Unfortunately, we realize very quickly that the time for intervention has passed. This picture is shot beautifully with just a touch of surrealism that you find typical of Lynn Ramsay’s work. Often times punishing, I wouldn’t tell you to watch this if I didn’t think it was rewarding.

WHAT ABOUT BOB? (1991) 

Directed by Frank Oz – Streaming on Hulu

I bookended this marathon with some pretty light choices. That’s because I do them alphabetically but let’s just pretend that I had a greater design in mind. This film should work as the perfect palate cleanser after the emotional punishment endured by the rest of this list. Bill Murray plays an anxiety riddled patient of Dr. Leo Marvin (Richard Dreyfuss)…hilarity ensues. I don’t really know if this film passes 2017’s sensitivity test in reference to its treatment of the multitude of anxieties and phobias discussed here but you know, it’s Bill Murray acting goofy for 90 minutes. Let’s just say that this one’s in here for your mental health.

Streamathon - Reunions (August 2017)

Streamathon

August 2017 - Reunions

Preface: This is part of an ongoing blog series of curated movie marathons that are thematically or otherwise tied together. The other common factor tying these films together will be their availability to watch them all from the comfort of your own home on various streaming platforms. The goal is that writing this blog will somehow justify the excessive number of streaming platforms I subscribe to. The films will be found on some combination of Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Mubi, FilmStruck, and/or Fandor. These titles will be available for the month that the blog is published. All of these subscriptions offer free trials so feel free to dive in and follow along… Have fun. Just don’t message me for my login information.

By: Emery Martin-Snyder

REUNIONS – What better setting for a film than a reunion? Old friends, families, lovers, enemies and casual acquaintances all come with their own baggage and backstories. Maybe we’re watching a couple of blond bombshells try to convince their old high school classmates that they invented “Post-It Notes” in David Mirkin’s ROMY & MICHELE’S HIGH SCHOOL REUNION (1997). Or we spend another night with Jesse & Celine as they reunite nine years after their European romance in Richard Linklater’s BEFORE SUNSET (2004). Either way, there’s a common rush of emotional anticipation that accompanies the set. What’s old becomes new, what’s familiar becomes awkward and what’s safe begins to terrify. Here’s a list of films that you can put on when you’re trying to avoid talking to the people you’ve recently been reunited with.

The Stream

BEAUTIFUL GIRLS (1996) 

Directed by Ted Demme – Streaming on FilmStruck

Timothy Hutton’s character Willie shows us why we can never go home again. He shows back up in his hometown to essentially give up on his dream of being a professional musician. Willie’s old friends are less than enthusiastic at the idea of not being able to live vicariously through him any longer. But they all have their own problems to deal with as well. For all intents and purposes, this is an ensemble piece with a cast list that reads like a 90’s who’s who of talent. Some performances are better than others, but I particularly like Michael Rappaport here as Paul.

THE BIG CHILL (1983) 

Directed by Lawrence Kasdan – Streaming on Hulu

Lawrence Kasdan is better known as a screenwriter than a director. He was responsible, or at least co-responsible, for some really big screenplays during the 80’s including RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK and EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. He is currently working with J.J. Abrams to extend the STAR WARS universe. In 1983, he co-wrote and directed this little Oscar nominated gem about a group of college friends reunited for a funeral. Now older, the group reminisces about their revolutionary years at the university and wrestle with the notion that they have grown up and out of their principals. They get drunk, high, argue about philosophies and hook up with each other. I actually think that this is a great time capsule film. The characters perfectly portray the type of upper crust thirty-somethings that you would likely find in the early 80’s. The baby-boomers were working hard to ensure that their liberal social principals wouldn’t clash with their conservative economics. Cocaine helps.

CHEAP THRILLS (2013) 

Directed by E.L. Katz – Streaming on Netflix

Craig (Pat Healy) and Vince (Ethan Embry) are a couple of old punk rock friends that reconnect at a bar after Craig, now settled down, has lost his job and faces an eviction. They happen to meet up with an eccentric couple that introduces them to what turns out to be a potentially lucrative opportunity. All that it will cost them is any sense of decency or morals that they may have left. This film is a lot of fun. Watch it with an old buddy.   

IT’S ONLY THE END OF THE WORLD (2016) 

Directed by Xavier Dolan – Streaming on Netflix

Xavier Dolan has a magical habit of directing small family melodramas as though they’re Hitchcockian thrillers. He’s kind of like the anti-Ozu. His filmmaking is manipulative and overwrought and beautiful and at times transcendent. This is one of those times. This film got very understandably mixed reviews. For some reason, those seem to frequently be my favorites.

LAST TRAIN HOME (2009) 

Directed by Lixin Fan – Streaming on Amazon Prime Video

There are 130,000,000 migrant workers in China. And they all want to head home to be with their families to celebrate the Chinese New Year. This is exactly the logistical nightmare you would expect for a mass public transit system. Director Lixin Fan takes us on this journey with one family year after year in this heartbreaking documentary. The reunions are short and bittersweet at best, usually more bitter than sweet. Watch this film the next time you start feeling sorry for yourself.

PEPPERMINT CANDY (1999) 

Directed by Lee Chang-dong – Streaming on Amazon Prime Video

The reunion here takes place at the beginning of this film but at the end of its story. It is a character piece that is told in reverse chronology by one of my favorite Korean filmmakers. We first see its tragic end, and then we witness all the events that led to our main character’s ultimate demise. This is a very effective way to show how we should feel empathy for Earth’s fellow inhabitants. Someone who may seem calloused and heartless probably wasn’t born that way.

RACHEL GETTING MARRIED (2008) 

Directed by Jonathan Demme – Streaming on Hulu

Rachel, the titular character of this film, is not the main character. And that is part of the problem. It’s supposed to be her big day but her little sister Kim (Anne Hathaway) has come home from rehab to attend the event. Emotions that the family had been working so hard to suppress seem to have so easily found their way back to the surface. BEAUTIFUL GIRLS director Ted Demme was the nephew of this film’s more prolific filmmaker, Jonathan Demme. Ted passed away back in ’02. Unfortunately, we lost Jonathan earlier this year. If you’re not familiar with his work, this is as good of a place as any to start.

TOKYO STORY (1953) 

Directed by Yasujirō Ozu – Streaming on FilmStruck

This is probably the mother of all art-house family melodramas. An elderly couple comes to visit their children and grandchildren as they enter the twilight of their lives. They find their children to be much less receptive and compassionate than they were hoping for. This film, like much of Ozu’s work, beautifully illustrates how values will always change generationally and just how finite the time we spend with our loved ones can be.