BoomMic

Friday, June 1, 2012

Badass Documentary Trailer - The Imposter!

This gave me chills!

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Gary Oldman joins cast of "Monster Butler"

Gary Oldman was confirmed today as the newest addition to the coming-soon indie film Monster Butler, the true story about Roy Fontaine, a bisexual jewel thief/ con man/ serial killer. Malcolm McDowell takes the lead role as Fontaine, and Dominic Monaghan is also slated to play David Wright, a friend of Fontaine. This was on the list of "The Year's 28 Most Anticipated Films of the Year", and with a cast like that, it's not hard to see why.(thehollywoodreporter.com/photosurf.net/fanpop.com)

Documentary Wednesday - "The Devil's Miner"

    Every day in Bolivia, atop the highest city in the world, Potosi, over 800 children rise each morning and set off to work in the Bolivian silver mines. They don't have Fruit Loops or morning cartoons or Pop-Tarts. They are lucky to have heat in their houses. At nearly 14,000 feet, Potosi is a rural mining village set in the backdrop of the Cerro Rico, a mountain known for large veins of silver. "The Mountain That Eats Men", as the natives say, employs one such child, named Basilio Vargas. He is 14 years old. He had been working in the silver mines of Cerro Rico for almost two years when documentary filmmaker and writer Kief Davidson, as well as his camera crew, decided to make a movie about his daily life. The Devil's Miner is a quality film about children thrust into adult roles full of danger and drudgery, and how they, while still being children, are able to dream, laugh, and live under such precarious conditions.
The historical significance of the silver mines of Potosi is tactfully and succinctly highlighted in the film without overshadowing the story of Basilio and his family. The Spanish conquerors of Bolivia transported the silver back to Spain during the expansion of the New World Empire in South and Central America. To a young kid like Basilio, however, the silver mining of the Cerro Rico is just work. Being the oldest boy in the family and having lost his father years before, he has become the head of the household, and has a father-like protective nature over his little siblings and his mother, a basket weaver. The relationships Basilio has with others around his is sweet and extraordinary. Basilio's bosses in the silver mines are not exploitative or abusive; they are mentors to Basilio and his younger brother, especially in matters of safety. Every day, the miners pray to God outside of the mine below a cross, begging for safety and provision. But once inside the mine, they believe they are in the Devil's quarters - and they bow and pray to "El Tio", a statue with horns, represented to be the Devil. Basilio teaches his younger brother to not be afraid of Tio, and to ask him for help in staying alive while occupied with such dangerous work.
     What's so interesting about this documentary is that it never got a wide release, and probably wouldn't be as well known in smaller circuits as it is today unless it wasn't on Netflix. The material is stunning and important, and the way that Davidson films and portrays the people is justified and true, not condemning nor pretentious. This is a documentary about kids that hasn't tugged at my heart strings so hard since I saw Which Way Home last year, about illegal immigration through Central America and Mexico. Great movie and a great documentary.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Teaser Trailer for a Tuesday: "Skyfall"

James Bond will never die.

Films I've Been Watching This Week...And You Should Too

If you are in the mood for unsettling dramas and distressing downers, this week you're in luck.

Tyrannosaur

The amount of anger and violence this cinematic depressant carries with it is quite extraordinary. With a plethora of violence between men and women, men and other men, men and animals, Tyrannosaur is not for the faint of heart. Set in the unwelcoming neighborhoods of the projects of Ireland, this film focuses on two main characters who could not be more different - Joseph, an out-of-work widowed drunk who can't even get along with his own pet dog, and Hannah, a deeply religious shopkeeper whose husband viciously abuses her. How their paths cross is trivial; it is the fact that their paths cross at all that intertwines them both fatally into each others' corroded and distorted lives. They are both prisoners in different cages - Joseph, a prisoner to poverty, rage, and malicious behavior, and Hannah, a woman not safe even in her own million dollar home. Attempting to help one another break out of those cages proves only to be disastrous. Despite the weight this film brings to the audience, it is loaded with incredible writing and even more incredible performances. Amateur director and writer Paddy Considine has proven his worth and talent with this film festival favorite. If you are at all curious, take a gander at this film, and let it touch you - even for a few minutes.

Melancholia

Lars Von Trier continues his controversial film run from Antichrist to Melancholia, a truly melancholy piece, yet a visual feast for the eyes that delves into human fears and courage, the rationality of science and the mythic realm of imagination, and the strained relationships these are all placed into. Kirsten Dunst very convincingly plays Justine, a mentally ill and depressed woman who struggles to cope on the night of her wedding with a looming planetary disaster ahead. Justine, as we discover later, is not so much mentally ill and sad as she is aware and awake; she is unable to perceive or buy into illusion. This is not the case for her sister, Claire, a fully-functioning and capable adult whose husband John (Kiefer Sutherland), a rich astronomer, repeatedly assures her that a newly discovered planet, Melancholia, rightfully named for its blue hue, will not crash into Earth. But Claire discovers quickly that is not the case. The pivotal shift of roles in the characters highlights the whole film for me. Once the patient protector and provider, Claire becomes the distraught and anguished sister in the relationship, whereas Justine must step in as a calm and peaceful presence in the midst of a mysterious phenomenon. A cross between The Tree of Life and Another Earth, Melancholia is something I enjoyed thoroughly. It is a movie largely and purposely made for discussion, debate, recollection, and re-watching.

Infernal Affairs

I'm going to come out and say it - Martin Scorsese's The Departed completely, almost scene for scene, ripped off this film. Yes, it was always stated to be the inspiration for the Academy Award winning crime film, but it's so obvious, there isn't even in shame in it. I'm not saying The Departed isn't a good film. On the contrary, it's a fantastic film, and in some ways, better than its original Chinese counterpart. But it is absolutely not original. This Chinese crime thriller is a pull-no-punches action drama about a gang mole and an undercover cop that has a solid plot, great acting, and an amazing director and cinematographer heavily involved in Hong Kong filmmaking. If you liked The Departed, watch this film. The only thing you'll be disappointed in is how familiar it all seems.

(img sources=cinesnark.wordpress.com/cinefamily.org/d-addicts.com)