The Screengrab : garden state

Trailer Review: 500 Days of Summer

Paul Clark — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:00:00 GMT

Anyone else getting a Garden State vibe off this trailer? Sure, there’s that leaden voiceover, which sounds vaguely like the narrator was trying channel Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving. But otherwise, there’s the offbeat-cute male lead pursuing the free-spirited woman, set against plenty of quirky backdrops. No doubt this vibe was intentional on the part of Fox Searchlight, looking to turn their latest Sundance title into an arthouse hit among the indie-rock set (which band will change the characters’ lives this time?). Of course, I’m willing to give anything with Zooey Deschanel a chance (I have to- it’s a condition in my Screengrab contract), and I’ll definitely take Joseph Gordon-Levitt over a mopey Zach Braff. But still, this looks like the sort of kinda-sorta romance that has turned the “Sundance movie” into a hidebound genre unto itself. And after a quick scan of IMDb revealed that the “Summer” of the title references Deschanel’s character’s name, I have no reason to believe that my early assessment of the movie is too far off base.

All The Real Girls Is One of the Most Influential Movies of the Decade

Vadim Rizov — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 19:30:00 GMT

Over the weekend I watched All The Real Girls for the first time since it came out for a couple of reasons. One, it's been a weird year for David Gordon Green fans, watching his two weakest films (Snow Angels — with its nervy naturalism eventually undercut by an all-too-schematic doom-and-gloom plot and heavy-handed symbols straight from the worst middlebrow novels — and the pointless '80s simulacrum of Pineapple Express) come out in quick succession. Was I overrating Green based on false memories, or is he just going through a weird transitional phase? Two, I was wondering if All The Real Girls is secretly one of the most influential films of the decade.

The answers are no and yes. Sort of.

Five years down the line, All The Real Girls retains its position as one of the most visually distinctive American independent films produced. Working with immensely talented DP Tim Orr, Green sets pretty much every scene to "stun." Unfortunately, that hasn't really rubbed off on followers; as in George Washington, Green wanted to bring a new way of looking at poor regional areas to the screen, making them as gorgeous as any movie set in ostensibly pretty settings. Instead, we got the self-consciously ugly Ballast. Oh well.

All The Real Girls' true influence extends in two directions, mostly pernicious. There's the issue of score: as in George Washington, Green loves droning, post-rock guitars suffusing everything in an atmospheric haze, punctuated by the occasional indie-rock ballad (Will Oldham for the opening!). I don't recall this happening in independent films before Green, but it seems to be everywhere now (e.g. Bubble, Half Nelson). This isn't really that big a problem, though sometimes it makes movies blur together. Presumably this and the post-Juno wave of twee pop soundtracks will get into a battle to the death.

The other influence is a broader, thematic one. All The Real Girls is nothing if not embarrassingly unmediated in presenting all the soppy and jejune things young couples can say to each other when no one is listening. Sometimes this leads to emotional honesty; unfortunately, occasionally it leads to stupidly "quirky" lines like Zooey Deschanel's infamous "I had a dream that you grew a garden on a trampoline and I was so happy I invented peanut butter." This realm of affectation and self-conscious quirk in the name of emotional truth (as opposed to what it actually is: stupid, youthful self-indulgence of everything you think being interesting to other people) is, of course, directly how we got to Garden State and all its off-spring. In many respects, Zach Braff's emo template seems more than ever like an unacknowledged steal of All The Real Girls' aesthetic and proclivity for mawkishness without any of the things that made it interesting. On the bright side, as Matt Dentler once said, it also seems like a direct path to mumblecore. Unless that makes you angry too.

Cannes 2008: Meet the Jury!

Paul Clark — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Yesterday, The Screengrab was the 152nd blog on the web to post the Competition slate for next month's Cannes Film Festival. But before you start predicting the winners sight unseen, we suggest you get to know the members of the Competition jury. That way you'll know whose names to curse when your favorite filmmaker gets smoked by some little-known furriner whose name you can't pronounce.

This year's Cannes Competition Jury:

Sean Penn (Jury President) is a filmmaker of some note, directing four films since his 1990 debut, The Indian Runner. His most recent film is the memorably Oscar-snubbed Into the Wild. When not behind the camera, Penn is also known for his political and charitable work, which has taken him to Iran and to the post-Katrina New Orleans. Penn has also been known to act on occasion.

Sergio Castellitto has appeared in several films in Competition, including 2001's Va Savoir and 2002's The Religion Hour (My Mother's Smile). Once referred to by Screengrab favorite Mike D'Angelo as "maybe the most underrated thesp alive," he also starred in the popular Mostly Martha, better known as No Reservations, Except Good. Castellitto has also directed two features, including the 2004 film Don't Move, in which he exercised his director's clout in order to give himself several love scenes with Penelope Cruz.

Natalie Hershlag, alternately known as Natalie Portman, made her big-screen debut at age 13 in Luc Besson's The Professional, sometimes referred to as Léon by various talkbackers on Ain't It Cool News. Since that time, she has become one of the most sought-after actresses of her generation, particularly among horny fanboys who despair that she will never get completely naked onscreen. Hershlag is set to make her directorial debut in this year's omnibus film New York, I Love You, where her short film will appear alongside new works by such acclaimed filmmakers as Brett Ratner and Scarlett Johansson. She also wants you to know that the Shins will totally change your life.

Alfonso Cuaron first gained international critical attention with his 1995 film A Little Princess, and subsequent films like Y Tu Mama Tambien and Children of Men have proven him a formidable talent (he also allegedly made a low-budget adaptation of a little-known English fantasy novel, but no one knows what became of this). In 2006, his high-profile friendship with fellow Mexican filmmakers Guillermo Del Toro and Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu let to the trio briefly becoming known as "The Three Amigos" for several months before they were sued by Chevy Chase, Martin Short and Steve Martin.

Apichatpong Weerasethakul has such a long name that I run the risk of hitting my character limit simply by typing it. Luckily for me, he prefers to simply be called "Joe." Joe has garnered widespread critical acclaim for his whimsical, magical-realist films, which include Mysterious Object at Noon, Blissfully Yours, and Syndromes and a Century. His 2004 film Tropical Malady won the Jury Prize at Cannes, and Roger Ebert called the film "a meditation on portentous but incoherent themes." By which we're guessing he meant "awesome."

Alexandra Maria Lara, a ravishing Romanian who moved to Germany at age 4, made her movie debut at 16. However, the role that brought her international acclaim came in 2004's Downfall, in which she portrayed Hitler's personal secretary Traudl Junge. Since then, she costarred in Francis Ford Coppola's Youth Without Youth and in last year's Ian Curtis biopic Control, where she met current boyfriend Sam Riley (isn't that cute?). Lara will next appear in Stephen Daldry's The Reader, as well as taking a supporting role in Spike Lee's WWII drama Miracle at St. Anna, a role you won't find out about by looking her up on IMDb.

Rachid Bouchareb is a French director-producer who last appeared at Cannes with his 2006 drama Days of Glory. In addition to his own films, he has also produced the work of numerous other filmmakers, including all four features to date by Bruno Dumont. Sorry, I have nothing humorous to say about this guy.

So there you have it. Seven jury members, down from nine last year. How will they vote? Will Penn insist on a political bent, or at least something appeals to his artier side? Will Cuaron stump for his fellow Latin Americans? Which Bouchareb will show up- the one who directed the rousing WW2 or the guy who produces Bruno Dumont movies? Will Joe gravitate to fellow talking-primate lover Charlie Kaufman? Will the paparazzi devote most of their attention to Portman and Lara (yes, they will)? Let the blind prognosticating commence in 5, 4, 3...