Posts tagged tribeca film festival

Tribeca Film Festival 2011 wrap-up

Ten years in, Robert De Niro’s post-9/11 downtown rehabber finally hits its stride. Check out our picks for this year’s hits and clunkers.

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Tribeca Film Festival 2011: Turning up the starpower with ‘Everything Must Go’ and ‘Last Night’

In years past, Tribeca has gotten flack for leaning more popcorn than indie, often screening films that seemed more suited to the MTV Movie Awards than a fledgling film fest. “Spider-Man 3” and “Shrek Forever After” both premiered here, and in one infamous year, the fest closed out with “Speed Racer” (‘memba that masterpiece?).

This year’s slate has notably dialed down the Hollywood flash—no summer blockbusters in sight. (Why slug it out now with festivalgoers when you can slug it out a few weeks later with opening-weekend mobs!) That said, there was still some semblance of starpower at the fest, notably in two films that are worth seeing when they finally hit theaters.

In “Everything Must Go,” Will Ferrell trades his funny bone for dramatic muscle with a performance that seems ripped right out of the Jim-Carrey-does-Truman-Show-to-prove-he-doesn’t-just-talk-out-of-his-butt-playbook. The film, from first-time director Dan Rush, is based on a short story by Raymond Carver and centers on an alcoholic sales exec who—in one day—is fired from his job and gets ditched by his wife, who locks him out of their house. He ends up living on their front lawn, where he tries to sober up and pull his life together. A very muted movie—at least by Will Ferrell standards—and a quietly enjoyable one, too. I liked its many tender moments, which skillfully balanced just the right amount of drama (not too weepy) and humor (not too hokey). And Ferrell has an empathic dramatic presence that belies a whole other side to the actor I’d love to see more of.

If Ferrell seems keen on showcasing his serious side, then Sam Worthington seems keen on proving he can actually act alongside real people—and not just plug his freaky Na’vi pontytail into CGI animals. The brawny Aussie, of course, shot to fame slugging it out with all sorts of CGI baddies in “Avatar,” “Clash of the Titans” and “Terminator: Salvation.” But in the sexy, intimate drama “Last Night,” he’s up against another formidable foe: infidelity. Worthington plays a married Manhattanite tempted by a hottie coworker, but whose own wife finds herself seduced by a former lover in town for a brief visit. Upping the starpower are Keira Knightley as his wife, and Eva Mendes as his office temptress (but of course! Maybe time to start stretching things a bit, Eva?). I found it to be an engrossing character study on fidelity and fantasy, charting the symbiosis between the two and how one fuels the other. Worthington does a so-so job—his acting tends to be so serviceable but unspectacular that you don’t often feel anything for him. Knightley, on the other hand, is beguiling as his conflicted wife, and you see her deftly rifle through layer upon layer of cluttered emotions, going from wistful glance to questioning glare with effortless fluency. She makes this “Night” one to remember. —Alexis L. Loinaz

Tribeca Film Festival 2011: Alex Gibney’s ‘Catching Hell’ catches fire

Among mainstream documentary filmmakers, you could argue that Morgan Spurlock is the most gimmicky, Ken Burns is the most cerebral, and Michael Moore is the most self-serving. But few would dispute that Alex Gibney is the most prolific.

In the last five years alone, he’s directed eight documentaries, including critical hits like “Client 9” and “Taxi to the Dark Side,” which won an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature in 2008.

This year, he’s back at Tribeca—which seems to have become a de facto launching pad for his films—with the sports-themed nail-biter “Catching Hell.” In it, he investigates the concept of scapegoating in baseball, as filtered through two of the most notorious cases in history: Red Sox baseman Bill Buckner at the 1986 World Series, and bleacher whipping boy Steve Bartman, who infamously intercepted a foul ball at the 2003 NLCS.

I’ll admit that I’m not a huge baseball fan and was marginally familiar with these two stories, so you can forgive me for not coming into this documentary with the bloodlust of a wronged Cubs lifer. I left it, though, feeling like I’d lynched Bartman along with all of Chicago: It sucks you in fiercely, holding you rapt with all sorts of sports minutiae you didn’t even know you cared about.

I’m amazed at how Gibney was able to turn a split-second moment of infamy into a captivating 102-minute documentary filled with such highs and lows. It’s clear that Gibney, a Massachusetts native, created this movie as both a filmmaker and fan—he admits to being a Red Sox diehard, natch. The film goes overboard, though, when it starts pontificating on lofty theories about scapegoating—at one point, he even talks to a preacher, and then things start zipping over your head. But when the action sticks to the outfield, it’s riveting stuff. —Alexis L. Loinaz

Tribeca Film Festival 2011: A mixed menu of food flicks, from refined to overcooked

For those whose movie appetites veered toward the culinary, there were ample servings of food flicks at Tribeca. Whether or not they satiated you, though, was another matter.

The one that seemed to have generated the loudest pre-fest chatter is “Jiro Dreams of Sushi,” a fetishistic portrait of famed sushi sage Jiro Ono, who is often heralded as the best sushi chef in the world and whose teeny Tokyo sushi counter commands $300 a head. I say fetishistic because the food porn in this movie makes Jenna Jameson look like Anita Bryant. Loads of gloriously lit/photographed sushi being religiously placed on platters, which becomes both the movie’s biggest visual hook and its ultimate undoing. Director David Gelb—he likes sushi maybe?—gets so swept up in Ono’s cultish mystique, and in the hypnotic power of all that sushi, that he doesn’t know when to pull back on the food porn—or when to wrap up the 80-minute movie, which feels like it should have ended waaaaay sooner. I enjoyed the first half—Ono is a fascinating subject, and there’s a ritualistic elegance to watching him massage an octopus, or knead rice, or inspect a new shipment of tuna. But the film soon becomes repetitive and indulgent: an overly ornate counterpoint to the simplicity of the cuisine it spotlights.

A much more enjoyable food docu was “A Matter of Taste,” which follows British import Paul Liebrandt through several high-profile chef jobs in New York City. Casual moviegoers may not be too familiar with Liebrandt, but within food circles he’s widely considered a wunderkind, specializing in the kind of refined, technique-driven cooking that’s earned him raves from the New York Times and Michelin. The movie already made the rounds of the SXSW Film Fest this past March, and it appropriately makes its New York premiere at Tribeca. First-time director Sally Rowe has crafted an engaging study that follows the chef for seven years, from his early days as an upstart New York City toque to his years hustling for gigs to his ultimate triumph helming a buzzy Tribeca restaurant that won unanimous acclaim. I liked the fact that Rowe clearly approached the docu as storyteller rather than a foodie: You get a real sense of Liebrandt’s dramatic journey, which elevates this movie above its food-genre trappings and spins it into a universally relatable story about one’s ambitious drive for perfection, and the struggle to succeed.

For a movie that pokes fun at the hoity-toity-ness of fancy food and fancy restaurants, “The Trip” was a riot. I already wrote about it last week after catching it early on, but I’ll say that, a week out, it still remains one of my favorite films at Tribeca this year. In it, comedians Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan play loose versions of themselves, and they end up going on a road trip along the English countryside to sample a bevy of restaurants as part of Coogan’s assignment as guest food critic for The Observer. The two riff sharply and zippily about everything from head-scratching gelees to bizarre emulsions, all while impersonating famous Brits like Sean Connery and Michael Caine. Now that’s a delicious mouthful! —Alexis L. Loinaz

Check out our picks for must-see films at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival

Tribeca Film Festival 2011: Dolly gee whiz! Carol Channing is still kicking at 90

Last year’s Tribeca fest was the launching pad for an acidly funny documentary about an irreverent drag-queen icon that went on to have a successful theatrical run: “Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work.”

Apparently, the fest’s programmers have a soft spot for acidly funny documentaries about irreverent drag-queen icons, and this year they’ve reserved that slot for “Carol Channing: Larger Than Life.” Suffice it to say, they’ve now probably won a lifetime supply of show tickets from Channing wannabe Richard Skipper.

The film is a hoot, filled with the sort of self-referential Channing-isms you’d expect from a Broadway legend who’s well aware of how parody-ready she is. And she appropriately hams it up, uncorking the kind of wide-eyed kookiness that’s made her so endearing to fans.

The film is affectionately made (it was directed by veteran Broadway producer/director Dori Berinstein), and despite its subject’s seemingly showy artifice—those eyelashes! That hoary voice! That equatorial smile!—Channing comes across as surprisingly genuine, kind and real. There are glowing testimonies galore from her “Dolly Boys,” as well as friends like Debbie Reynolds and Lily Tomlin. Berinstein also digs up captivating archival footage of Channing back from her early days on TV.

Indeed, her fans are legion, and at the screening I attended at the fest, the audience seemed just about ready to pass out from all the fawning. It was also oddly emotional: At the end of the screening, which featured a Q&A with Berinstein, one of the Dolly Boys in audience stood up to thank the director, and got all choked up while doing so.

Most impressive: At 90 years old, Channing’s still got some kick in her. You’re lookin’ swell, Dolly! —Alexis L. Loinaz

Check out our picks for must-see films at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival

Tribeca Film Festival 2011: Chris Evans takes on another superhero role - Erin Brockovich!

Chris Evans has played The Human Torch (twice!) in “Fantastic Four,” and this summer he’ll be seen wielding the iconic patriotic shield of Captain America. Apparently, the guy can’t resist playing superheroes, and in “Puncture,” which premiered this week at the Tribeca Film Festival, he tackles one more crime-fighting role: Erin Brockovich! (Minus the busty corsets and big hair.) His nemesis: Big Bad Corporation that picks on the little guy.

In the film, Evans plays a flawed (aka drug-addicted) but determined lawyer who takes on a case involving a nurse who, after accidentally getting pricked by a needle while working the ER, contracts HIV. As he investigates the case with his law partner Paul (Mark Kassen, who also co-directed the film), he uncovers a deep-rooted conspiracy between needle manufacturers and hospital-product buyers to prevent a new line of safety needles from being used in hospitals.

It’s a decent, solid do-gooder story that pits greedy corporate bullies against idealistic crusaders, and although the movie won’t win points for pushing the envelope, you do wanna give it props for pushing its agenda out there. The movie is also going to be an interesting test for Evans, who’s no doubt out to prove that he’s more than just a beefcake in superhero tights. If it weren’t for all the attention Evans is getting from his Captain America gig, “Puncture” would have been just another genre story starring another pretty-boy actor. Keep an eye out to see if “Captain America,” which opens in July, helps raise his profile enough to juice up grosses of “Punctured” when it finally hits theaters. —Alexis L. Loinaz

Check out our picks for must-see films at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival

Tribeca Film Festival 2011: ‘The Trip’ is ‘Sideways’ for foodies

If “Sideways” made you want to pop a bottle of Pinot Noir after seeing it, then “The Trip”—the new buddy-road-trip mockumentary starring Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan—will make you want to pop into wd-50 or Gramercy Tavern.

The movie is practically a foodie redo of “Sideways,” down to the plot about two middle-aged men who travel the English countryside while sorting out some personal issues. But instead of vineyards, the guys swing by fancy-schmancy restaurants and gorge on all sorts of emulsions, foams and molecular gastronomy-esque what-nots. In other words, food porn galore! Plus, cameos from restaurant biggies like Michelin-starred L’Eclume.

But the main course, of course, is the hilarious combo of Coogan and Byrdon, who previously teamed up in “Tristram Shandy” (which was directed by Michael Winterbottom, who also helmed “The Trip”) to play loose versions of themselves. Surprise! In “The Trip,” they again play fast-talking, loopy versions of themselves—Coogan as a morose actor in a rocky relationship who’s tapped by The Observer to be a guest food critic, and Brydon as his happily married buddy along for the ride.

It’s a wickedly delicious movie filled with loads of improv, zippy repartee and some of the most hilarious impersonations this side of SNL—the duo parody Brit mainstays from Sean Connery to Hugh Grant to Michael Caine. (Oh, poor, poor Michael Caine, who gets the most brutal send-up.) But let’s max out the food puns, shall we? These guys are like peanut butter and jelly! Or mac and cheese! Or pickles and ice cream (if we were preggers, at least)! Coogan and Brydon just go well together.

Toward the end, the film goes a bit overboard with the impersonations, which get tired. (You’ll probably not want to hear Michael Caine’s voice for a while). But overall, “The Trip” gases up for one memorable road trip, and indeed it’s a gas.—Alexis L. Loinaz

Check out our picks for must-see films at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival

Tribeca Film Festival 2011: A vibe for Tribe; a high note for Elton John and Leon Russell

Two Hollywood players have taken their love of music—and their passion for  specific musical acts—and turned that into two rock-and-sock-’em documentaries that left me drumming my fingers nonstop on my seat’s armrest while watching these films unspool.

Actor and native New Yorker Michael Rapaport (you might remember him best from his memorable guest stint on “Friends”—at least I do) has been a lifelong fan of hip-hop pioneers A Tribe Called Quest, who started out in Queens. He now makes this directorial debut with “Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest,” a trippy, funk-laced excursion that tracks the group from their childhood days to their booming success in the ‘80s and ‘90s to their abrupt dissolution in 1998 to their tense reunion tour 10 years later. It’s a captivating survey of the impact the group has had on future generations of hip-hop artists, and big names like Pharrell Williams, Mos Def and the Beastie Boys pop up to give due props to them. Admittedly, I was only marginally familiar with ATCQ before this screening (I first came across a song of theirs in 1992 on the “Boomerang” soundtrack—go figure!), but I left it fully hooked on their story, and their sound. No doubt die-hard fans will get a real kick out of this reverential tribute.

Over on the West Coast, filmmaker Cameron Crowe trained his camera on Elton John and iconic rock keyboardist Leon Russell and chronicled their recent collaboration on the critically acclaimed album “The Union,” which is also now the title of his new documentary on them. (It opened the festival this year.) In a way for Cameron, it’s a return to his roots—he famously got his start as a young music reporter for Rolling Stone, and his experiences there formed the basis of his Oscar-wining screenplay for 2000’s “Almost Famous.” The guy sure knows how to craft a rock ‘n’ roll story, and “The Union” is a fascinating ballad, keying in to Elton John’s creative process (this is the first time the singer allowed cameras to capture him writing songs) while paying homage to the inspirational genius of Leon Russell, whose wild keyboard riffs (and even wilder mane and beard) are legendary. The result is a toe-tapping creative summit of two keyboard savants that brims with affection, nostalgia and abundant doses of shoop-shoop exuberance. —Alexis L. Loinaz

Check out our picks for must-see films at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival

Tribeca Film Festival 2011: ‘The Bully Project’ pulls no punches

The festival doesn’t officially kick off until tomorrow, with a free public screening of Cameron Crowe’s new Elton John docu “The Union,” but several films have already been generating advance buzz based on early press screenings in the week leading up the fest.

One of the films that I’m predicting will hit big, and connect big time with audiences, is “The Bully Project,” an alarmingly topical and heartbreaking documentary that follows five families whose children were victimized by vicious bullying. In two cases, those youngsters committed suicide.

The movie is devastating. It left the audience I saw the screening with in tears, and afterward everybody shuffled out in stunned silence. It’s a lump-in-your-throat kind of film that cuts across race, gender and sexual orientation. Among others, we meet a 16-year-old lesbian whose schoolmates struck her with a car, and an incarcerated 14-year-old black girl who, fed up with being bullied, threatened her tormentors with a gun she found in her mom’s room.

With compassion and conviction, director Lee Hirsch (whose apartheid-themed docu “Amandla!” won an Emmy) maps the geography of childhood cruelty and hate, presenting schools as battlefields, children as casualties, and apathetic school officials as complicit collaborators. Front and center are the youngsters who bravely chose to share their stories, as well as families dealing with the inconsolable grief of losing children who will never be able to tell theirs.
—Alexis L. Loinaz

Check out our picks for must-see films at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival

Preview: Tribeca Film Festival 2011

The 10th annual fest kicks off tomorrow night with a free outdoor public screening of Cameron Crowe’s new documentary “The Union,” about the creative collaboration between Elton John and iconic keyboardist Leon Russell, to be followed by a free performance by Elton John. Double whammy!

It starts at 8:15 p.m. at the World Financial Plaza, at the north end of the World Financial Center. Admittance is first-come, first-served, and all attendees will need wristbands to get in. They’ll be handed out starting at 4 p.m., and you can get them at the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center, at 199 Chambers St. along the West Side Highway. Godspeed getting those wristbands!

For highlights of other notable films screening at the fest this year, check out our preview. —Alexis L. Loinaz